End of 2017

We are at the end of yet another year -2017. There is so much that we are thankful for. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't change. His word is true and His ways are just. He is with us always and His word tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. What a beautiful name it is - the name of Jesus.......

Praise His Holy Name.

Goodbye 2017. Come on in 2018!

Thought for the day - Forgiveness

Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32:
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

Mark 11: 25
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 

Matthew 6:14 - 15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

Psalm 103:22
As far as the East is from the West, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  

Luke 23:24 
And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Forgive appears 42 times in the Old Testament and 33 times in the New Testament excluding the words forgiven, forgives or forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13  
 Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.

1 John 1:9 
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Forgiveness is the act of pardoning an offender, In the Bible, the Greek word translated "forgiveness" literally means "to let go", as when a person does not demand payment for a debt. Matthew 18:23 - 35  
Forgiveness does not come naturally to people. It is a process depending on the level or depth of the offense. It is so much easier to 'hold on' to the offense and wallow in self-pity. We need God's help to really 'let go' of the offense, to feel no pain or anger when talking about it and to move forward in our walk with God...... to actually forgive. With God, all things are possible!  

Christmas at Crossroads

Gifts under the Christmas tree

Our very own Father Christmas - Stephen Manhanga with Eva Ndlovu

It's the thought that counts

Crossroads Community Church wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful, God-centered New Year. Stay blessed.

Reflecting on the season

It's a sobering thought when you think of all the things that are happening in the world today: of lives being lost due to mud slides, earth quakes, floods, road accidents, natural causes, people being shot or stabbed and so on, and at the same time there are many babies being born or lives that are being saved in the hospitals. 

At this time, we think of families coming together to celebrate Christmas and we also think of those who do not have family close to them, or those who have lost a loved one, the homeless, the destitute, the orphans; those that are lonely.

The unifying factor of Christians during this season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ - our Lord and Savior.  
 
Luke 2 Verse 1 - 20
vs 11 "Today in the City of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

Matthew 1 verse 21
"She will give birth to a son and you shall give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."

Isaiah 9 verse 6
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, And the government will rest on His shoulders, And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."



He came to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly
He came to give us Peace beyond measure
He came to Reconcile us with the Father
He came to SAVE us. It's not only the "Wow factor" right there but a definite cause for us to celebrate Jesus birth..... such immeasurable love He has for us.

Christmas is definitely more than what is under the Christmas tree.

By Molly Manhanga

Encouragement for today

Be encouraged by the word of the Lord. It brings life, hope, peace, love, direction, protection and so much more.........

Tis the season

Christmas is so much more than what you find under a Christmas tree.

How do we see things?

What lens are we looking through today? Is it the lens from your background and upbringing? Is it the lens from the environment you live in? Is it the lens that someone else put on you? Is it the lens of the community and the people around you? Is it the lens of what you have heard? Your upbringing, environment that you live in, schools you've attended, friends, leaders and so on all shape the lens that you use - how you see things. We hear, read, watch and see many things on a daily basis. Do we filter the information or not? Is our perspective a Godly one? The Bible is our guide, our blueprint on how we see things, how we live, how we interact with each other. We may be living in this world but we are certainly not of it. Lets avoid the smoke screens that can easily tint our lenses and let's have the mind of Christ.

Camera lenses

 

 

By Molly Manhanga

Reactions

I have been thinking quite a lot about different stimuli that is created to generate a response or reaction from people. So what does reaction mean? It's basically a response that reveals a person's feelings or attitude. We can have internal or external stimuli.

I have also been quite interested in seeing how different people responded to various situations that presented themselves in the Bible. Some reactions are:

• King Ahab: When Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to King Ahab, the King went home, lay on his bed, sulked, refused to eat and turned his face away. Interesting response for a king!
• Naboth: His response to the offer on his vineyard was "The Lord forbid....."
• Jezebel: After King Ahad poured his heart out to his wife Jezebel, she said: "I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." She the proceeded with her schemes.
• Joseph: His response to Potiphar's wife's temptations was; "How can I commit so great a sin against God?" 
• Potiphar's wife told her husband of what Joseph 'supposedly' tried to do and he was outraged. He sent Joseph to prison.
• Job's wife: When Job was being tested she said to him;"Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die."
• Other people from the Bible who we can learn from is Mary, Joseph, David with Goliath, King David with Bathsheba, Tamar, Nehemiah, Sanballat and Tobiah and so on.

There are so many incidents in the Bible where we see different reactions from people: some good and some, well, not so great.

Our reactions to different stimuli are important and we need God's help to strengthen us.

By Molly Manhanga

Fan it into flame

Stephen Manhanga encouraged the young people from the Baptist Church to fan into flame the gifts that are in them.

With this amazing setting as a background Stephen Manhanga, lead Elder of Crossroads Community Church, brought an even more amazing word.

Stephen started off by sharing about faith - what it is, before he linked it to a young man Timothy whose grandmother was Lois and mother Eunice. He encouraged the young people to stir up and use the gifts given to them by God.

He also encouraged them to run their race in their own lane.

All too often, we desire the gifts that other people have instead of focusing on what God has given to us.

Baptist Youth

Summarized by Molly Manhanga

Thought for the day - Keep going.....

Hebrews 12 1 : 3

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

The christian life is not an easy one. We need to give up whatever endangers our relationship with Christ. Let's keep going......

It's raining again....

Grace Tshabangu (Left) and Mildred Mkwananzi (Right)

Grace Tshabangu (Left) and Mildred Mkwananzi (Right)

We want to thank God for the generosity of Lance Edwards and Foundations for Farming  for giving Stephen Manhanga maize seed to share among folk in the community.

What a blessing! The rainy season has started and people are planting their seed. We pray for a double portion in their harvest.

Maize seed

Catching up with Mqondisi Moyo

Mqondisi Moyo

It was great catching up briefly with Mqondisi Moyo last week Sunday when he 'dropped' in at Crossroads. 

M.M: What have you been up to since leaving Ebenezer Agricultural Training Centre?
M.M: I left Ebenezer in 2011 and worked for Beyond Belief until 2014. I left and went into Bulawayo to work with Lance Edwards in Foundations for Farming.

M.M: I understand that you have started your own farming project?
M.M : I am now running my own business in agriculture and it has been a great experience.

Mqondisi Moyo catching up with Sithabiso Khoza

M.M: What have you felt God saying to you during 2017?
M.M: I felt God leading me to do my farming business which will bring light to the community around. I also strongly believe that God is taking me to a new level.

M.M: Thank you Mqondisi and we pray that God will continue to bless your business.

By Molly Manhanga

Global Leadership Summit 2017

Pretty Ndlovu with her daughter Rejoice

Mbusiso and Pretty Ndlovu attended the screening of the Global Leadership Summit 2017 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe last weekend. 

Some of the topics included:
1. Rules of respect and identifying young leaders
2. Leading through the uncomfortable
3. Leading from the inside out
4. The act of forgiveness and so on.

Interesting that Bill Hybels, Founder of Willow Creek, started with Rules of respect and identifying young leaders.

• How do you lead in an era of divisiveness and disrespect?

• There is a growing epidemic of disrespect.

• Leaders need to realize that the solution begins with us. How we choose to behave matters.

• The 10 rules of respect followed. 

Crossroads Community Church is in a community which values respect. So how do we handle disrespect - disrespect of leaders, disrespect of the elderly, disrespect of each other?  What about divisiveness? There is a saying "divide and rule". As Christians, is this style of leadership Godly? Should we accept it?
We are living in interesting times.

Bearing Fruit

It was great having Michael Mulao - lead elder from Hamara Church, come to Crossroads this morning and share a message entitled "bearing fruits"

His key scripture was from Luke 13: 1 - 8 and 1 Peter 2 :9

Mike encouraged us to bear fruit that glorifies God and that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.....chosen by God Himself.

Michael Mulao (Left) and Brilliant Khoza (Right)

 

A time and a season for everything...

It was good catching up with Sithabiso Khoza at Crossroads this morning. I had one question for her: The end of 2017 is drawing near - what have been the highlights so far? 

Sithabiso Khoza

Sithabiso's response was as follows:

• Hearing the word of God which makes me grow.
• Sharing the word of God at Ebenezer.
• As an elders wife I am leading people. I therefore need to look at myself and ask: Am I doing the right thing? Am I growing?
• I learn new things by being involved and meeting with other leaders.
• I would like to see the fruits of discipleship. I would like the people I lead to lead others.

By Molly Manhanga

One on one with Michael Mulao

Michael Mulao

It was great catching up with Michael Mulao - lead elder from Hamara church.

M.M: Looking back on 2017, what has it been like for the church at Hamara? 
M.M: We have faced many challenges as a church this year from leadership development to lack of leaders or people moving on.

M.M: How did it make you feel?
M.M: I've realised that God is in control and I mustn't be moved by outward appearances. The church belongs to Him. I have also learnt to be patient and to trust God more.

M.M: Anything that has stood out in 2017?
M.M: Yes. We are an autonomous church and so I now understand what autonomy means and the church being governed by elders. It was also good when Mphemfulo Moyo was ordained as an elder at Hamara. I have been attending "The Academy" and have learnt a lot about leadership.

M.M: Thanks Mike. We continue to pray for Michael and his wife Smanga as they lead Hamara Church.

By Molly Manhanga

The word is alive

2 Timothy 2:15
"Study to show yourself
approved unto God, a 
workman who need not
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

We are encouraged to STUDY the word of God and to KNOW it. Not only to KNOW it but to LIVE it. 

The word teaches us how to live. It is the LIVING WORD. It has what we need to live HOLY lives - a life in right relationship with God and man.

The WORD protects us. Let us make it a MIRROR for the lives we lead. We have the greatest example of how to live the Christian life and His name is Jesus Christ.

"In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God........" as stated in John 1 :1. It continues in verses 2 and 3 "The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life of men."

Wanna have fun!?

Children at Crossroads Community Church having some fun during praise and worship. Such a joy to watch.

Lets be HOT for God

Stephen Manhanga

Stephen Manhanga has been sharing from Revelation 3:16 about the church at Laodacea. He encouraged everyone to be HOT for God. It's our prayer pointer this week that we will not be cold or luke-warm but be passionate for God.

By Molly Manhanga

God is still our Healer

Grace Tshabangu with her grand-son

It was wonderful listening to Grace Tshabangu testify this morning about how God has healed her grand-child who was in hospital for approximately 2 weeks. It's incredible serving a God who cares for our every need. What a testimony!

Why fear when we have Christ

Simple yet profound. The word of God says it ALL.

Thought for the day: Being Holy

God's call on our lives in to be Holy....

1 Peter 1 :16
"Be holy, because
I am Holy."

Leviticus 20:26
"You are to be holy to me
because I, the Lord, am holy...."

Pray.... and then some

An attitude of gratitude

There are so many "things" vying for our attention that being grateful or thankful can be furthest from our hearts and minds.
What is gratitude? Simply put......

It is such a good personality trait to be grateful. There are so many things we can appreciate and be thankful for, just as there are so many ways of expressing our appreciation. Its always great to have an attitude of gratitude for both the big things and the small things alike.

There are many scriptures on gratitude. Two that stand out are:
Psalm 118:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."
1 Chronicles 16:8 " Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the people's." 

Being humble

Stephen Manhanga sharing God's word

Stephen Manhanga followed after Mbusiso Ndlovu and shared about humility. If we humble ourselves before the Lord, he will lift us up. He spoke about Eli and his sons and about Samuel - Hannah's son. It was Samuel who was willing to listen to God. Steve encouraged us again to run in the lane that God has given to us and to use our talents for the glory of God.

Praise His name