Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Praying for Rain - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Praying for Rain

Tuesday, March 27, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
South Africans last week gathered to pray for rain from heaven.
On the back of a prayer meeting that drew 1.7 million Christians to intercede for their nation last April, a similar event was held in Cape Town.
Led by farmer/evangelist Angus Buchan, It’s Time again petitioned God – not only for physical rain to end a crippling three-year drought, but for a Holy Spirit outpouring to end a famine of God’s Word in the land.
And God has promised to answer such a plea. Speaking to Israel, his chosen, he says: “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…” (Isaiah 44.3)
It is well to remember that this pledge was originally addressed to, and still specifically applies to, the nation of Israel. And it’s no secret that the Jewish state has been transformed from a barren wilderness to a fertile garden since its re-birth 70 years ago. And, yes, the promise for Israel can indeed be appropriated for Gentile nations who honour the God of Israel along with his special people, the Jews.
But pleas for rain from heaven will otherwise go unheeded as such blessing is dependent upon our first blessing his people (Genesis 12.3, Numbers 24.9). However, it will not come if we belatedly accept Israeli offers of help with water technology; it’s the ultimate water supplier we need to call upon in prayer and repentance.
The above scripture (Isaiah 44.3), promising heavenly outpouring on a thirsty land, once provided the inspiration to pray for revival in the Hebrides for two elderly ladies, http://www.sapphirethroneministries.com", who just happen to be grant-aunts of U.S. President Donald Trump. And I believe this has a direct bearing on the way the President has led the way in honouring Israel by recognising Jerusalem as its capital.
Blind 84-year-old Peggy Smith and her 82-year-old sister Christine, who was almost bent double with arthritis, pleaded day and night for God to fulfil his word, and the ripples of the subsequent revival of 1949-52 went all around the world.
Note that the Scripture verse quoted does not stop with the promise of water (both physical and spiritual), but continues: “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”
Not surprisingly, President Trump is proud of his Scottish heritage and has visited the Isle of Lewis where his ancestors helped to change the world for Christ.
God truly honours his word, and responds to faith in his promises. But please note the Zionist connection!
As I contemplated last week's gathering in Cape Town, city of my birth, I pictured the majestic mountainous landscape surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans – all that sea and yet no rain – and imagined the waves piled high to make way for the faithful to walk through in prayer and petition, rather like the Israelites of old passing through the waters of the Red Sea as Moses led them out of slavery towards the Promised Land.
Jews everywhere will be celebrating Passover later this week, recalling how the angel of death ‘passed over’ their first-born, but did not spare Egypt’s sons, paving the way for their exodus as Pharaoh had his fill of plagues.
The Jews were saved, however, not just by the water that subsequently drowned the Egyptian army, but by the blood of the sacrificial lamb daubed on the lintels and doorposts of their homes.
Has South Africa – and its leadership in particular – not had its fill of plagues – of sin, corruption, poverty, violence, unemployment, disease and drought?
The way out of this trap is the blood of the ultimate Passover Lamb, Jesus the Messiah, sacrificed on a hill outside Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no-one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14.6)
Fellow South Africans: mark your hearts with the blood of the Lamb, and He will send water on a thirsty land!
PHOTO: “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…” (Isaiah 44.3) A refreshing scene at Ein Gedi in the Judean desert, on the shores of the Dead Sea. Picture: Charles Gardner
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

South Africa Eats Humble Jewish Pie - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

South Africa Eats Humble Jewish Pie

Tuesday, March 20, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
In the face of an apocalyptic scenario, the South African government has apparently been forced to eat humble pie in its ongoing spat with Israel.
The three-year drought that has afflicted the nation has now reached the drastic stage of a looming so-called Day Zero – July 15 this year – when Cape Town, a city of four million, will effectively run out of water; that is, they will be cut off from running water, and will be forced to line up at collection points for a miserly rationing.
Opposition MP Kenneth Meshoe revealed in the Cape Town Parliament last month that both the national and provincial authorities there had refused an offer of help from the Jewish state, who have developed an extraordinary prowess in innovative water technology.
The African Christian Democratic Party member said the aid had been turned down in the pursuit of a “narrow political agenda” focused on boycotting Israel over its alleged discrimination against Palestinians.
But now an Israeli researcher who attended a water symposium in Johannesburg last month is saying that the South African government is open to the possibility of help from Israel, and that suggestions they had spurned such aid were incorrect.
Dr Clive Lipchin, a water expert and lecturer from Tel Aviv University who grew up in South Africa, said: “ANC (the ruling African National Congress) government officials who addressed me from the audience said they were happy to look at Israel as a model.”
Whatever the truth about refusal or acceptance, I have not heard any official denial of Mr Meshoe’s damning claim. In any case, the ANC leaders have made their aggressive stance against Israel abundantly clear, accusing it of being an ‘apartheid’ state, which is obviously based on misinformation spread by the UN-backed Palestinian propaganda machine.
But South Africans who lived through apartheid and know more about the situation on the ground in Israel have made their position crystal clear – for those with ears to hear – that ‘apartheid’ in Israel is pure fiction, but is very much a reality in the surrounding Arab states.
And a further dose of reality is that a dry country with a scarce water supply has more than it needs due to innovative programmes such as desalination. This has obviously led to the new approach in Cape Town, which has seen Economic Free Fighters (another opposition party) leader Julius Malema challenge those who “created water out of nothing” to see if it can be done in the Cape.
But back in 2016, a Johannesburg conference focusing on the water crisis was cancelled due to Israeli participation. There are also wild claims circulating that the drought is a Zionist plot from which Jews stand to benefit. But apparently a fear of dying of thirst is trumping political correctness.
However, I believe the crisis does have a Zionist link. And it is quite simple and straightforward. The South African government has repeatedly – and openly – spoken against God’s chosen people about whom He said: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse…” (Genesis 12.3)
South Africa’s leaders have despised the people God has chosen to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49.6) – yes, a spiritual light because they gave us the Bible, and they gave us Jesus, but also a practical, physical light in the form, for example, of technical expertise in water conservation. It is marvellous indeed how people living in a desert have turned their country green in fulfilment of ancient prophecies (see Isaiah 35).
The Bible speaks of how there will come a time when many will acknowledge the hand of God on Israel. Isaiah 49.23, for example, says: “Kings…and queens…will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet.”
But those who oppose Israel will find that they are fighting God, who brought them out of Egypt with a mighty, miraculous hand by making a path through the sea to freedom.
Why wait until the plagues have multiplied, as Egypt did, before repenting over evil plans against God’s people?
There was a drought in Israel at the time of Elijah, of similar length to South Africa’s. And it was only broken after the people turned from idols thanks to the prophet’s leadership.
South Africa’s leaders, I suggest, need likewise to repent and abandon the worship of false gods.
PHOTO: While suffering from a drought of its own, Israel has become an expert in water management, and is still able to assist others. (Yaakov Lederman/FLASH90)
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Drought-Stricken Nation Refuses Water Aid From Israel - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Drought-Stricken Nation Refuses Water Aid From Israel

Wednesday, February 28, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
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As Jews celebrate the time in ancient Persia when they were rescued from annihilation, anti-Semitism rears its head at UK universities and the South African Parliament.
The effects of the longstanding drought that has struck South Africa’s Western Province could have been alleviated if they had accepted an Israeli offer of help, the Cape Town Parliament heard.
In responding to a state of the nation address from new President Cyril Ramaphosa following the resignation of Jacob Zuma amidst allegations of corruption, opposition MP Kenneth Meshoe revealed that the Jewish state had offered their world-renowned expertise in the prevention of water shortages.
The ACDP (African Christian Democratic Party) member said it had been refused on the grounds of a narrow political agenda linked with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign that seeks to isolate Israel along lines comparable to that suffered by South Africa during the apartheid era.
BDS supporters accuse Israel of being an apartheid state because of their alleged mistreatment of Palestinians – this in a region where in fact they stand out as the lone democracy with Arabs and Jews sharing equal rights along with positions of influence in the nation.
Mr Meshoe said it was surely irresponsible for the government (both national and provincial) to turn down aid from people with a proven track record – “people who live in a desert and yet have no water shortages” – and described it as “the politics of hatred that will not help our country,” urging the new President to root out corruption, starting with his Cabinet, and pursue truth, righteousness and justice for all.
Israel has also suffered a drought of late, but their innovative drip irrigation scheme has already been successfully tried in other dry areas of the world including Africa.
Meanwhile UK universities are taking part in another so-called Israel Apartheid Week, part of a hostile worldwide campaign to delegitimise and demonise the Jewish state that in fact contravenes the International Definition of Anti-Semitism the British Government adopted last year, which states that “claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist and illegitimate endeavour is anti-Semitic”.
Christians United for Israel last year successfully campaigned to prevent some universities hosting these weeks after sharing their concerns with academic authorities – pointing out, for example, that Israel’s 1.6 million Arabs have the same rights as their 6.8 million Jewish fellow citizens.
The truth is that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and apartheid is being practiced by its neighbours, where there is no freedom of speech or religion, and where women do not enjoy equal rights.
South Africans like Kenneth Meshoe lived through apartheid, which bears no resemblance to Israel’s policies.
Jewish people everywhere will this week be celebrating their annual feast of Purim, marking their deliverance from genocide in ancient Persia when Queen Esther used her position of influence to save her people.
Those who call for boycotts and protests against Israel today are in danger of being linked with unsavoury groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and their sponsors, Iran, who seek the annihilation of the Jewish race. Hitler tried it too.
At a London university, Jewish students were jeered and sworn at as a motion was passed supporting BDS while photographs were taken of those who opposed the motion! Since apartheid was basically racist, is this not a case of the pot calling the kettle black? And all this on UK campuses that were once the bastion of free thought.
Those who stand with Israel, and for truth, would do well to match the courage of America’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who responded to the advice of a top Palestinian negotiator that she should “shut up” by saying: “I will not shut up! Rather, I will respectfully speak some hard truths.”
The great evangelist Billy Graham, who died last week, succinctly put it this way: “The Jews are God’s chosen people. We cannot place ourselves in opposition to Israel without detriment to ourselves.”
PHOTO: "Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool..." (Isaiah 35.6f) Expertise in water conservation has helped to fulfil such prophecies. A desert spring near Dimona provides rest and refreshment for weary tourists. Picture: Charles Gardner
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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Sunday, February 25, 2018

COMMENTARY: Rainbow of Hope - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

COMMENTARY: Rainbow of Hope

Sunday, February 25, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
News of the resignation of Jacob Zuma as South Africa’s president comes as a great relief following allegations of corruption that have hung over the country like a dark shadow for far too long.
And it coincided with a literal downpour of heaven’s blessings as the drought-stricken land was drenched by an all-night cloudburst in the Northern Cape – I will explain more about that later.
Zuma’s longstanding refusal to budge from his position has further threatened the stability of an embattled nation already facing serious economic and social problems.
Cyril Ramaphosa, declaring himself “a servant of South Africa”, has been sworn in as his replacement, and I am hopeful of a brighter future for the ‘Rainbow nation’ that showed such promise following the success of its first-ever multi-racial elections in 1994. But the legacy of peace, prosperity and reconciliation left by Nelson Mandela was thrown to the winds of tribalism and strife that mirrored much of what has been going on in the rest of Africa.
The dawn of the New South Africa, you may recall, was preceded by a very worrying time when civil war looked a real possibility – and was widely predicted by the media – as the Zulu-led Inkhata Party threatened not to cooperate with the transition talks.
Thankfully, South Africa’s many Christians flooded sports stadiums to pray for a resolution, and Christian leaders like Michael Cassidy were used by God to broker peace. The nation was pulled back from the brink as a result, relatively little blood was spilt, and a wonderful new era dawned.
Tragically, in recent years, lack of leadership with integrity, along with non-cooperation with all parties of goodwill, has left a trail of destruction in its wake – violence, especially in rural areas, is rampant, along with corruption, unemployment and disease. And with the ruling African National Congress party strongly influenced by Marxism, South Africa has inevitably climbed onto the bandwagon of political correctness where anything goes except good, honest living according to God’s standards. Part of the government’s PC dogma is a thoroughly nonsensical accusation that Israel is now practising the ‘apartheid’ that so blighted South Africa, and they are using this as an excuse to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
The irony of the earlier threat to peace posed by Inkhata is that Zuma is a Zulu. But I don’t wish to taint the rest of his people – the country’s largest ethnic group – with his alleged corruption. They are a wonderful tribe; I was virtually brought up by a lovely Zulu woman, Agnes Nzimande. Indeed, they were once great warriors, who even defeated the British at the Battle of Isandhlwana in 1879, and their present King, Goodwill Zwelithini, is reputedly a believing Christian who has bravely challenged the government over their anti-Semitic stance against Israel, urging them against loosening ties.
Wrong relationships have caused all these problems; politicians have allowed themselves to be influenced by the wrong people, leading to division and corruption. But we worship a God who is, above all, a God of relationships. He himself is not alone, but acts in harmony with the Son and the Holy Spirit, and he calls us into a relationship with him. And when this happens, we also come into a right relationship with others. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbour as ourselves. (Matthew 22.37-40)
But there is now another rainbow of hope on the horizon. Before I had even heard the news of Zuma’s fall, my wife and I were still in bed having a WhatsApp conversation with friends in South Africa who were touring the Northern Cape encouraging farmers to keep trusting God through these difficult times, especially the long-running drought that has blighted the country for so long. Not surprisingly, there has been much prayer for rain.
Our friends – Julian and Trish Southey (Julian was my best friend from boarding school days over 50 years ago) – were escorting another couple on a ministry tour of the region, and were travelling to a distant farm to hold a Bible Study on the eve of Valentine’s Day. On arrival, they could see a black cloud heading their way, and during the evening there was an almighty downpour. The heavens opened and the farmers were ecstatic. They rushed outside to measure it, and reported that they hadn’t seen that much rain in ten years.
But much more was to come! Our friends left the farmhouse at 10.45pm, but due to the downpour, and their planned route being rendered impassable, they had to make a 100-mile detour over very rough roads to return to base.
It took them all night. Their truck got stuck in deep mud, and it must have been a frightening experience watching a river of floodwater rushing past as they prayed for help, which eventually came complete with a tow-bar to extricate them from the mire.
Their ordeal was matched with much joy, of course, because these god-fearing farmers have been faithfully praying for an end to the drought for a long time. The picture above was taken next morning – a rainbow (promise of God’s faithfulness) of hope now hangs over the land, no longer parched but drenched by the goodness of God. And it stands as a reminder that South Africa’s only long-term hope is to put their trust in the only One who can supply the rain, while at the same time putting their relationships right – first with God, and also with one another.
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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Monday, December 4, 2017

How Israel Plays Into South African Revival That's Reaching the Halls of Power - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

How Israel Plays Into South African Revival That's Reaching the Halls of Power

Monday, December 04, 2017 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
A momentous prayer meeting took place in the South African Parliament last Friday that is likely to have significance for generations to come.
The focus was on reconciliation, with white people asking forgiveness from blacks, and blacks confessing their sins against the white community in recent years.
Many were reportedly brought to tears during an extended time of prayer and confession, after which farmer-evangelist Angus Buchan addressed MPs and other dignitaries about the need for faith in South Africa.
One MP, Steve Swart, even confessed the government’s anti-Semitism during World War II when Jews who had fled the Holocaust were not allowed to disembark in Cape Town.
The meeting was held in the Parliament’s former main chamber where many discriminatory laws were passed, and was by invitation only due to the venue’s maximum 250 capacity.
Anneke Rabe, praying on behalf of South Africa’s whites, sought forgiveness for the way they had treated the nation’s black, Coloured (mixed race) and Indian population along with other minorities – for oppressive laws, land dispossession and the way the churches condoned apartheid:
“I repent for the way that we shamed, humiliated and oppressed you…for those who died under the evil system of apartheid in Sharpeville, Soweto and many other places; for the inferior education you received under that system; for the pain, anguish, fear and shock you had to endure; for the detentions, imprisonments, tortures and violence.”
Cape Town intercessor Ashley Cloete, a descendant of slaves and the Khoi people, was reduced to tears “when one speaker after another recalled laws that had affected my life down the years such as the Group Areas Act and the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act.
“As a result of the former law, and the related practice of so-called ‘slum clearance’, almost all the buildings and places of my childhood memories had been eradicated. And the latter law was the reason for my exile of just over 18 years,” he told Gateway News.
Representing the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, Rev Moss Nthla prayed “with a deep sense of awareness of the grace you showed us through what many have described as the miracle of 1994 (the relatively peaceful transfer of power).”
But he went on: “I stand to confess our failure, as a people, to be good stewards of that miracle. We have neither sought nor walked in your ways. As a result, we have harmed ourselves and each other as South Africans. I ask for forgiveness that sadly, a growing number of white South Africans have been made to feel unwelcome in this country and that they have no future for themselves or their children (a possible reference, in part, to the policy of positive discrimination favouring blacks over whites for jobs). I further ask for forgiveness for the thousands of farmers who have been murdered in our country by black people.”
Commenting later on the reference to anti-Semitism, Ashley Cloete said: “The attitude of our present government towards Israel is of course something that we are not at all proud of as followers of the Jewish Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.” (There are moves afoot to downgrade diplomatic ties with Israel). And he also referred to regular worship on Signal Hill (adjacent to Table Mountain) “in our Isaac-Ishmael prayer battle for Jews and Muslims”.
Driving through the wilderness through which the ancient Israelites wandered for 40 years during my recent tour of Israel, I was profoundly struck by the wonder of how they were able to survive in such arid conditions. It was to teach them to depend on God for everything, and learn that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4.4, Deuteronomy 8.3) There were no bakeries or bottle stores there; they had to trust God, who duly provided manna from heaven and water from the rock.
It also occurred to me that trusting God was not an option for them; it wasn’t reserved for the ‘religious’ – they were all in it together. Judaism sees no separation between the sacred and the secular; it’s all part of life. And neither should Christianity, whose roots are in Judaism. That is where we fall down so often.
But South Africa’s Christians have taken the bull by the horns and stepped straight into the very heart of government. Didn’t Jesus say the gates of Hell would not prevail against his church? They are not shy about their faith, or happy to keep it to themselves. They know it’s the only hope for the nation’s future.
Clearly, God has anointed Angus Buchan and others for such auspicious moments, but we have to ask if there is someone in Britain, with comparable courage and conviction, who is prepared to raise his voice among our politicians?
Angus knows where his strength comes from – the mighty power of the Holy Spirit that was first poured out in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.
In 1960 British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan also addressed the Cape Town Parliament warning of “winds of change” blowing through Africa among nations seeking their independence from colonial powers.
But our farmer friend knows that the only wind of change God requires from leaders in these dark days is the acknowledgement of rule from heaven above, and the restoration of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
As with Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and Ezra drawing the people back to God by reading the Law, so South Africa is experiencing a restoration – both in spirit and in truth.
Our need in Britain is the same; chiefly for reconciliation with God, though working together in unity with our Christian brethren is a vital first step, without which our secular nation will not fully grasp that we love one another.
Like Angus and his fellow leaders, we also need courage – the sort that caused those who witnessed the boldness of Peter and John to recall that they “had been with Jesus”. (Acts 4.13)
We too need to repent – over the shameful laws we have passed that contradict the commandments handed down to us on Mt Sinai; and over our treatment of Israel, who gave us God’s Law in the first place.
Thankfully, an anti-Semitic campaign calling on the British Government to apologize for the Balfour Declaration (promising to do all we could to restore Jews to their ancient land) has come to nothing. If anything, we should apologize for trying to prevent its eventual implementation, largely through appeasement of Arabs opposing it.
Worse still, we prevented Jews trying to escape the Holocaust from entering the Promised Land through our policy of limited immigration during the (internationally-approved) Mandate we held over the region.
And since we’re discussing South Africa, perhaps we also need to repent over our disgraceful dealings with the Afrikaners, 26,000 of whom perished in the British concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902.
I am still proud to be South African, despite my problems with immigration when initially refused re-entry to the UK on my recent return from Israel. My loyalty to the country of my birth is chiefly due to the god-fearing Afrikaners who rescued my orphaned great-grandfather and his siblings from possible death in the veldt following the roadside murder of their widowed father.
My great-grandfather, also Charles, was subsequently brought up in the parsonage of the Rev Andrew Murray, a much-loved revivalist who, together with his famous son of the same name, became a father-figure for Dutch Reformed evangelicals throughout the country.
The passion for Jesus exhibited by so many Afrikaners today is in no small way connected, in my opinion, to the legacy left by the Murray clan – I happen also to share Scottish ancestry with both Angus Buchan and the Murrays.
But it’s about the heart more than our genes. May passion for God’s rule over our nations drive us to our knees, as we are witnessing so powerfully in South Africa, where 1.7 million Christians converged on a farmer’s field to pray for the nation back in April. Amen.
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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