January DTS 2012

‘Our lives are defined by our relationships’

This is a very big statement but when analyzed we can see great truth in it. Because when you think about it everything we do in life involves others so who we associate with will start affecting how we think and act. I think this week opened our eyes to see the big picture of relationships. God created man to be in community with one another. He designed this from the beginning of time when He created Adam and Eve. We can see God’s heart for relationships in the Trinity- They’re all God and all have full authority but they all humbly submit to each other. Its such a beautiful example for us of how we should treat relationships – with love and humility.

Something that really stuck out to me this week was when Lindsey (our speaker) said God created us in His image so when we decrease the value of someone we decrease the value of God. The greatest commandment is love the Lord with all your heart followed by love your neighbour as yourself so that the love we receive from God should be reflected in how we treat the people in our lives. Lindsey spoke to us about being interdependent-mutaual need and trust between both people in the relationship- we shouldn’t be so dependent on someone that we find our value in them but also not so independent that we feel like we don’t need anyone. We were given an example of a bucket and how when God fills our bucket, He fills it with value, identity and worth but how we sometimes want to fill it with value in our friends, selfish desires, etc. but by doing this we are creating a hole in our bucket and we never feel completely whole- only God can complete us.

We need to find our identity in Him! We saw that there is a difference between honour ad respect and how its so important to honour our parents. Gratitude towards our parents is so important and I think it really made me realize how often I forget to thank them for all they do. God definitely spoke to me a lot this week through Lindsey and its opened my eyes to see relationships from a different angle. The best part is that God wants to have relationship with us!

By Natalie from South Africa.

 

I have been trying to explain DTS to my friends and family back home. It is a difficult task. I figured that the best way to describe it is to just try and walk through a full day here.  So here is what a hypothetical day looks like for me. It’s hard to describe because each day is different, but I’ll give it a shot. -Breakfast: It’s my work duty to get breakfast out and clean up after, so I get up early and do that.

It doesn’t take that long, but sometimes I really feel like sleeping in. But I don’t. People without their coffee and breakfast are scary. -Worship/Prayer: Different people lead each time. Sometimes we just pray for something specific or sometimes we just do general prayer. Crying is optional during worship. It’s a little early in the morning still so completely falling apart will probably not happen. -Class: Take a minute after worship to clean myself up if needed and get everything ready for class. Grab a seat. Maybe volunteer to pray for the speaker before he/she starts.

Listen and get awesome revelation about who God is/who God has made me to be. Be amazed. -Break: eat toast. Wednesday is treat day so we get yummy food on that day. 🙂 [:)] -Back to class: Learn more amazing things. Sometimes find out how to apply what you learned in the morning. Do something interactive like an exercise or something. Be excited about what I learned so tell someone. Maybe share with the class when they ask for feedback. Or don’t. Whatever. Arrow up. -Lunch: Eat. Lunch is not the most exciting meal. -Afternoon: Most people have their work duties at this time. I usually have a nap. Sometimes I start my journal or read the book we are supposed to be reading. Almost every time I end up sleeping. Usually in the sun room. It’s really nice and warm there. Sometimes we go to the beach or get icecream or buy stuff at checkers .

What we do in the afternoon switches everyday. -Dinner: Eat. Also not that exciting. Although it is usually very loud and full. That makes dinner fun. Or it gives me a headache. One of the two. -Evening: This differs depending on the day: -Class: Wednesday especially is an important class. It’s the last day that the speaker is with us usually, so it’s like the Saturday night at a youth retreat weekend. That’s when everything gets real. Crying is not optional. Be ready with real tissues because toilet paper will fall apart on your face and leave white pieces everywhere. -Free evening: We hang out, play dutch blitz, talk, eat toast, run to Bray’s quickly before it closes to get some junk food and talk to the guys there, or sometimes I seclude myself and have quiet time to process (my new favourite ywam word = Process. I never used to say it, but it’s fantastic.)

There is ALWAYS a game of dutch blitz going on. It gets very competitive. There is a lot that happens throughout the day that I’ve missed out. Like people being picky about where they sit in class. Or us making fun of all of our different accents and fighting about the “right” way to say different words. Or the beautiful drawings that appear in the morning on the white board in the classroom. Or the stinky room boys causing trouble. Or random worship springing up somewhere. Or heart-to-hearts and deep discussions. So that is as much as I can explain a day in DTS. This is not something you can explain in words though. It’s different for everyone. God works on all of us in different ways. You just have to experience it to fully understand it.

From Rachelle Steegstra, Canada

Daddy, Dad, Papa, are names that I would not normally think of in addressing God. That the great God, the all powerful Creator of the universe, mighty in valour desires to be my Dad was just unfathomable. Yet He does!! This glorious living God want to be known as our Daddy.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18 NIV)

Learning about the Father heart of God this week was a revelation of an incomparable love, the love our heavenly father has for us. God is the perfect father…… For many of us, our image of God the father was limited to impressions of our earthly fathers. It all depended on whether your father was physically and emotionally present. Whether he taught you how to ride a bike or walked you down the aisle. All tokens of a father’s love. Still God’s love is greater! Our heavenly father far surpasses our earthly fathers.

“Even if my father and mother should desert me, you will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10 CEV)

“…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Despite this great knowledge of His love, we can sometimes have self-inflicted hindrances obstructing our relationships with God. It is these hindrances that can often make it hard for us to believe the Father’s tender heart for us. Unforgiveness was just one of the barriers I had put up, preventing intimacy with God. It was when I brought all the baggage to the foot of the cross (Fear, shame, unforgiveness etc), I began to see a breakthrough. God revealed painful scars of my past yet he also provided me with a comforting shoulder to rest my head on. This week we had the opportunity to sit on the lap of our beloved Daddy, relinquish all our problems to Him and be wrapped in His arms. God only responded with great affection. He has good intentions for his children

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

 He wants to provide for us, to give us all that He has. He even promised

“all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine”.

Wow, that promise is just wonderful. You are as close to God as you want to be. Are we ready to step into our rightful identities as children of the amazing heavenly Father? Are we willing to call Him Daddy?

By Pelumi Botti, Nigeria/Swaziland

Ever felt that your father was absent or even your mother? Luckily this week in DTS we took a look at God as our Father and Mother.  A Father who loves and provides and who wants His children to have an intimate relationship with Him. A Mother who is caring, compassionate and heart broken to see Her children struggling; to see people die without having a relationship with Him.

Sometimes we have projected the image of our earthly father to the way we see God, and  that stops us from having an intimate relationship with Him as our everlasting and ever loving Father, but today God is calling His sons and daughters with a welcome voice and He waits with an open arms and a warm smile to make us part of His incredible family.

Now we wonder what can we give back to God as our Father, but isn’t it true that the greatest thing we can do is to try to be like the Father? If we love others the way God loves them or forgive others the way God forgives us, God’s heart is skipping a beat. In Matthew 5:48 it is written “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” It doesn’t mean if we are not perfect we aren’t His children it means that our ultimate goal is to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. God brings forgiveness through His Son, forgiveness that sets us free.

I want to quote a verse out of Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” We can’t expect to receive forgiveness if we don’t forgive. Forgiveness brings freedom. Forgiveness opens the way for the Holy Spirit to heal. “So If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9. SO then if we look at our past we see the cross rather than the sin. God sees Jesus in our lives rather than the sin. As we went through the week we saw a part of God’s heart though everyone saw a different part some saw the loving part, others the emotional healing part and a lot saw the forgiveness part etc. The most important thing is that there is a special place for each and everyone in the Father heart of God.

He knows you by name and even know how many hairs there are on your head. Thats amazing… God is a Father that provides. God know what you want but He longs to hear your voice asking it from Him. So this is the challenge ask it from God our Provider. In Matthew 6:26 is written “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” God will provide in His time if we ask from Him and believe it. I want to conclude by saying God is my Father but also your Father. He is gracious, loving, caring, merciful, forgiving, He is a relational God. He knows the best for you. He is everywhere and with everyone; all the time. He hates sin but loves the sinner. He doesn’t change. We are made in His image. Can we have a better Father than this? This is just a summary of what this week meant to me and the best thing is, He has so much more coming for us. Amen.

By Arno from Namibia

Where is God during the day? Is He with us during prayer? Is He with us during worship? …the answer, of course, is YES! In fact, most of us have probably experienced His presence during these ULTRA spiritual times. Recently, however, God has been revealing to me that His love and desire to spend time with us goes much further. He wants to penetrate our conversations, our time at the beach, our relationships, our dreams. He wants to be there while we’re eating our delicious base food and while we’re riding on the train, while we’re hiking up Muizenberg mountain with friends or having deep talks with classmates. If you’re not getting the picture yet… He wants to be part of EVERYTHING!! God has used many methods to teach me this over the last few weeks, but one very unconventional way sticks out in particular. What do Namibia, Canada, South Korea, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States have in common? Is this a new alliance of nations? …maybe in a way yes:) It is an alliance forged from a common ability to generate an offensive odor! This alliance is fondly refered to as the “Stinky Room” by our fellow students. We are room #15 at YWAM Muizenberg. If we were to have a flag it would most likely be crafted from the unending supply of smelly socks and underwear that reside in every corner of our humble living space. Our room also has a supernatural anointing of gaseous eruptions that have often blessed our room with continuous melodies:) At this point I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “What does a room full of smelly dudes have to do with my relationship with the Lord?!” Our goal, as a group of brothers, is where the answer lies. Our goal is to know God and to have Him consume our lives. See, the Father is there when we pray as a room, or when we worship late at night, or when we’re having room bible studies… but may I also suggest that he’s there when we’re laughing, when we’re exercising, and even when we’re pranking one another. God doesn’t only want to be invited to share certain aspects of our lives… He wants to enjoy it ALL with us! The question is, are we inviting Him and do we recognize His presence during these times? God is a Father, a mother, a sister, a brother, and a friend. He is excited about our lives!! He cares about everything from the smallest detail to the biggest life altering decision. When was the last time you took a walk on the beach with the Lord? …played soccer with Him? …shared a cup of coffee with Him? It’s often during these times, when we least expect it, that we can feel the closest to Him. Challenge yourself this week to involve God in your everyday activities. Go body boarding with Him. Scrub some dishes with Him. This simple concept has been life changing for me. It has brought me to new levels of relationship with the Lord. Even as I write this His presence brings me peace and happiness. So take a lesson from the “Stinky Room”and give it a shot! Jesus is a pretty fun dude!! 🙂

By Nate McPherson from USA