Pilgrim on the Sola way

Pilgrim on the Sola way

Pilgrims walked down the mountainous road called life

Their destination: A Glorious Fellowship Party in Heaven.

However, the road forks ahead and ...

only one way goes the right way,

Not all the roads lead to Rome.

Most pilgrims carried on and took the wide way,

The easy way, or so it seemed.

Yet, A few pilgrims stopped,  looked and asked.

They asked the Ancient of Days for the ancient way

Where is the good way, the right way?

Their eyes opened to see a narrow ledge

On the side of the mountain

Jesus stood by the start of the path

Only by His Grace can you go through

And by placing your faith, in that He has done it all.

There is no space for bringing any good work

The only map-book for the journey: The Bible,

His ancient words, Yet still living and active

Sharper than anything else in the universe

The grass fades, people fade away,

Yet the Word will stand and live forever.

And when the few pilgrims get to the other side

And the myriads of faithful witnesses before them

welcome them in by the Gates of Pearls

All would be singing 

Soli Deo Gloria

Riana Odendaal

May 2015

Jeremiah 6:16; Acts 4:12; Eph 2:4-9; 1Tim 2:5-6; 2 Tim 1:9-10; Isaiah 40:8; 1 Tim 3:16-17. 1 Thesalonians, 1:17. John 14:6. 

Philippians 3: An example to follow.

As part of the bible study homework in Philippians, were asked to write a poem on chapter 3.


Here's my take on it.

Philippians 3:      An example to follow.

An example You gave us

Paul.

He had everything man can wish for

To gain eternal life

In the thoughts and ways of men.

Born in the chosen nation and tribe

The law kept flawlessly

Zealous for what he does.

Then he met his Messiah

You opened his eyes

He realised he believed in lies

Confidence in self, so vain, and empty promises.

With the same zeal he had

He now follows after you

Eyes fixed on heaven

All others things counted as nothing

This is the example you wants us to follow

To keep our eyes fixed on our Messiah

Eternity burning in our hearts

And all others things counted as nothing

In light of Who you are

Riana Odendaal 

May 2015

Cry the beloved country

Cry the beloved country

South Africa, South Africa

What are you doing?

Your brother's blood

is screaming out to Me!

Lord, help me!

Why do you keep on fighting?

You take out your revenge and thunder

on a statue of a person

hundred year six foot under

... and when the piece of cement is gone...

you carry on to kill and plunder

those from here and another country.

Can you not allow the sun to shine 

on one another?

The one thinks he's better

than someone else

of different race or culture

Yet before the Holy Lord

the Creator of us all

we are all condemned prideful sinners

that need blood

.... The saving Blood of Jesus Christ

who will set us free from our need to fight

When will you see

that you will never be free

unless the Son Jesus Christ

sets you free?

O Lord, open our eyes

and heal our hearts

heal our country

We need You here. 

Riana Odendaal

April 2015

Garissa

One peaceful night

yet it awaits fate
some days before Easter

Students going their about

not knowing that

soon they would breath their last

Suddenly faced with a gun in their face

Terrorists shouting

"whom do you belong to?"

Are you with us or

with the man of Nazareth called Christ?

The terrorists may think they have won

They wiped out more Christ-followers

and the world is in tears and fears

thinking by shouting allah akhbar 

that they won, and we all now think 

that allah is great. 

Yet in the end Christ will show them

Who truely is greater than allah

Friends, family and loved ones

cried on hearing shots echoing down halls

Angels were singing when 

Christ-followers came Home

in this fateful way

and for the rests of us here on earth

longing to be Home

Yet asking Why

Why do they have to go that horrible way?

Why so rudely ripped away from their loved ones life's?

We can ask books full of questions 

and never have an answer

Simply Lord, we ask

Give your Comfort and Peace

Peace beyond all our understanding

to those who lost loved ones 

Ones that are now with You

May it be etched in our hearts

that they can take away 

all from us, even our earthly lifes, but....

they can never take away our Jesus our Saviour. 

We will be followers of the Nazarene

and follow You Home. 

Prayer points for July 2015 Outreach

Thanks for being willing to pray with me and for me and for the dear folks in Mozambique, and our outreach in July.



I have over the years come to love these dear women in Moz and I am thankful that I am Lord willing able to go back again to them this year.

Rev 5:9-10 ESV  And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  (10)  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

As Newsboys sing in He reigns
It's the song of the redeemed rising from the African plains ...... It's all God's children singing, Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns. 

Yes some of these dear folk are not yet part of the great choir of the redeemed, and that's why we go there. And that's one thing you really need to pray for, for their eyes to open to see the need for the Saviour that we are telling them about. Then there are some that are part of the great choir of the redeemed, whom we go to encourage and equip, teach them and hug them. They also need that and they are so encouraged to see our familiar faces pop up again in their valley in the middle of nowhere. 

Here are some prayer requests, for the outreach but also for other outreaches taking place around this time in nearby villages. 

- There are plenty of people there who have heard of Jesus, and possibly even through Samaria Mission's trips there and the local believers there. But they want to add Jesus to their ancestor worship and whatever else they believe in. From 1 Tim 2:5-6 and John 14:6 (and many other verses) we know this will not work ever. Pray that they would understand it's Jesus only and will follow Him only. Pray that God would work in their hearts to follow Him and Him alone.  Pray that they would see that God is the only Way and follow Him, that He is the true Life and find their life in Him. 

- Pray for the believers there, that they would be strengthened and encouraged in their faith, that they will stand firm to the end and hold fast to the Truth of God's word. That they would be examples to those around them and share God's word with them. That they would grow in a deeper relationship with God and be rooted and grounded in His love for them. (Eph 3:16-21). 

- Pray for those we would meet, and share the Good News with, that God would prepare their hearts to receive His word, that they would receive it and their life's transformed. 

- For the health of the team members, unity among team members, pray that we would anew have a vision of reaching the lost to tell them about Christ. We are simply the messengers, God is the One doing the work, but we still need to go tell. Pray for us to follow God's nudgings and directions to where we should go and what we should share. For divine appointments. 

- For our preparations, for the trip in all ways: For the finances to go, from spiritual preparedness, preparing bible studies and for the preachers that would be preaching at the evening services, and going on hut-to hut and sharing testimonies and God's message with them. To be physically and mentally prepared too. 

For creative and true ways to use teaching aids (pictures etc) to make the message clearer. That we would spend quality and quantity time in our personal devotion time.

- Pray for the translators that they would not grow weary in their job of assisting us that don't know the language;  and that the rest of us would learn more and more of the language. That the message would be shared clearly through them. 

- and Pray for whatever the Holy Spirit lays on your heart to pray for. 

They have a beautiful song they sing, which one day will be true, and we will all sing together. 

Siku ri wandza Hosi Yesu U ta vuya (One day Our Lord Jesus will come back)

Hina cina cina Hita cina cina na Yesu (we will dance with Jesus)

Hina Hita yimbelela Hi Yimbelal na Yesu (we will sing with Jesus) 

What a great day that would be when we all, of all tribes, languages, nations and people groups would sing and dance together with our Saviour. What a day to look forward to. 

Beer lahai roi

Beer lahai roi

The God who sees.... me

You are the amazing God
who stretch the stars out
like a curtain on a rod
yet you know my biggest fear and doubt

The earth but a pinprick small
in the majestic universe
and we but dots on the earth
yet You taught the swallows to play swiftly
in the summer sunset sky
and know when one of them fall from on high

You hold the stars steady
and touch our beating hearts
You knew about my needs
before I knew about them
and provide abundantly in time
By your great grace

In the midst of wilderness
You saw Hagar, crying over a mess
she was part of, but didn't create
You send an angel
to point to the well
She named the place
Beer lahai roi
For you are Elohim chai
The living God, the God who sees... her

And now millenia down the line
You see us, me, your children
Crying in our various wildernesses over messes
In Your grace, You point us to the well
Your well of living water
and bid us, come, drink
and you will never thirst again.
..........................................


Riana Odendaal
January 2015

Scandalous Graceful Messiah

Scandalous Graceful Messiah

Throughout the centuries
promises were prophesied
about a Saviour, Messiah

He will redeem His people 
our sins forgiven, washed clean

A sinless perfect Saviour
we imagine his family
to be sinless and perfect too
How scandalous and shocking to find then
the social outcast, pagans, gentiles, 
tainted sinners, prostitutes and murderers. 
How did God allow these people
to be in the royal family line?

And yet these chosen sinners
did not in any way
taint the perfect sinless Saviour

It only points to more of His grace
and how now centuries later
He is still in the business of
adding to His family line
the social outcasts, pagans, gentiles,
and all kinds of tainted sinners
In His family line we are all
washed clean and pure

How scandalous, we think, 
as only perfect people go to heaven
(in our tainted mindset)
Reality being there is only ONE perfect person
and He died to cleanse us, and make us into His perfection. 

Grace



Riana Odendaal
December 2014