2010 June | Vaal Triangle Business Directory | VaalFindit - Part 3
Bekering maak die gewete stil
Onbybelse metodes kan die gewete nie skoon maak nie. Alleen Christus se soendood kan ons sondeskuld betaal, en sodoende rustigheid in ons binneste bring. Deur sy dood en opstanding het Hy die rekening van ons sondes aan die kruis vasgespyker, en daarop staan asΓÇÖt ware in hoofletters geskrywe: BETAAL (vgl. Kol 2:14). Ons kan egter nie ons gewete-aanklag stil maak deur net te glo dat ons sondes vergewe is nie. Hierdie gawe (geskenk) van God, hang ook onlosmaaklik saam met ΓÇÿn opgawe (opdrag) aan ons. Saam met die gawe van vryspraak, kom ook die opdrag tot gehoorsaamheid.
Christus se kwytskelding van ons sondeskuld roep ons op tot bekering. As vrygemaaktes kan en mag ons nie anders as om elke dag teen die sonde te veg nie. Die Heidelbergse Kategismus verklaar bekering soos volg: Bekering behels ΓÇÿn hartlike berou oor ons sonde teen God en dat ons die sonde haat en daarvan wegvlug; dit behels ook ΓÇÿn lus en liefde vir ΓÇÿn lewe volgens God se voorskrifte. Ons aandeel aan ΓÇÿn skoon gewete behels dus ΓÇÿn afsku in en stryd teen sonde. D├¡t kan alleen gebeur indien ons God liefhet en van harte begeer om aan Hom gehoorsaam te wees. Die bloed van Christus reinig ons gewetes van die skuld van sondige dade, sodat ons God kan dien (Hebr. 9:14). Christus neem ons skuld weg, sodat ons ons kan bekeer.
Die pyn wat ons gewete-aanklag veroorsaak, word gestil deur die sonde-wonde wat die pyn veroorsaak, te behandel. Sonde word behandel deur opregte bekering. Deur reg te maak wat verkeerd is, deur aan sondige gedagtes, emosies, woorde en dade te werk, kom die gewete tot rus (vgl. Mat. 3:8; 1 Pt. 3:21).
Bekering maak die gewete stil.
Nuusbron:┬áMooivaal Media – Vaalweekblad
A decade of Watershed’s best
The internationally acclaimed band Watershed has always had an enviable relationship with their extensive and devoted fanbase ΓÇô and 2010 sees the band celebrate its 10-year-anniversary with a hit-packed compilation that also features two brand new tracks.
Titled ΓÇÿA Million Faces: 20 Hits, 10 YearsΓÇÖ, the album is an astonishing record of WatershedΓÇÖs decade-long hit-making spree that has turned the band into one of South AfricaΓÇÖs most beloved, with a solid international career also in the mix.
ΓÇ£We really wanted to use the compilation to mark the end of a decade and, most importantly, say thank you to the fans whoΓÇÖve enabled us to have a real music career that has allowed us to creatively flourish,ΓÇ¥ says Watershed founder, songwriter and frontman, Craig Hinds.
In homage to WatershedΓÇÖs fans, the band is including an upbeat and celebratory remixed version of ΓÇÿThank YouΓÇÖ off its fourth studio album, ΓÇÿStaring At The CeilingΓÇÖ in ΓÇÿA Million FacesΓÇÖ.
The 20-track release also features two brand new Watershed songs that point to the musical direction the band is headed in as it enters its second decade.
ΓÇÿA Million FacesΓÇÖ and ΓÇÿThe World Needs YouΓÇÖ are the titles of the two new songs and both reflect the more pared down, less produced route Hinds and the band are headed into. While ΓÇÿThe World Needs YouΓÇÖ is more rock-orientated, ΓÇÿA Million FacesΓÇÖ is an astrologically-themed ballad (ΓÇ£about the faces of a million stars looking down on us,ΓÇ¥ Hinds says).
The double album ΓÇÿA Million Faces: 20 Hits, 10 YearsΓÇÖ includes Watersheds greatest hits such as Indigo Girl, The Meantime, Lovely Day, Shine on me, Close my eyes, Train Ride, Angel and many more.
WatershedΓÇÖs 2010 plans include touring internationally ΓÇô including 16 German shows and appearances at two of North AmericaΓÇÖs key music platforms: South By Southwest and Canadian Music Week.
Visit www.amillionfaces.co.za via your cellphone or internet browser so see how you can win 2 x R5000 EMI CD hampers, a Watershed VIP card which grants access to all their own shows in 2010.
* One lucky Vaalweekblad reader can win this CD. Just SMS the name of the CD, your own name and phone number to 41913 to reach us not later than Friday. SMS’s cost R1-50.
Wen ‘n jag-uitstappie
VANDERBIJLPARK. – Die Nederduitsch Hervormde kerk Vanderbijlpark-Suid bied ‘n opwindende wedstryd aan waarin ‘n jag-uitstappie gewen kan word.
Dit sluit onder meer wild ter waarde van R6 000 (saamgestel uit ΓÇÿn koedoe of ΓÇÿn blouwildebees en rooibokke volgens waarde), asook selfsorgverblyf vir 5 mense vir 3 nagte in ΓÇÿn luukse kamp (waarde R4 500) op die jagplaas Bougasvlei en Ranch on Camel Creek in die Thabazimbi distrik in.
Inskrywingsvorms is by die kerkkantoor beskikbaar en moet volledig voltooi en nie later nie as 16 Julie ingedien word. Elke wedstrydinskrywing kos R50. Die wenner sal sy pakket vanaf 5 ΓÇô 8 Augustus vanjaar kan neem.
Wins uit die projek sal in die gemeente teruggeploeg word.
Navrae kan gerig word aan Sonia Visser of Anneline Grey by die kerkkantoor: (016) 932 2744 gedurende kantoor-ure.
Alle skuld word afgeskryf
Dit is God se wil dat ons van ons skuldgevoelens moet ontslae raak (vorige art.). Daar is verskillende maniere waarop mense probeer om dit te doen. Ons het reeds gekyk na die onbybelse metodes wat mense gebruik om die gewete-stem stil te kry, soos bv: (i) deur verskillende maniere van deaktivering van die gewete, (ii) deur sonde as nie-sonde te herklassifiseer en (iii) deur die skuld van sondige dade op iets of iemand anders te pak. Hierdie metodes bring egter nie ΓÇÿn skoon gewete nie, maar maak ons skuld voor God net groter.
Ons kan alleen ΓÇÿn skoon gewete verkry indien ons waarlik glo dat Jesus Christus ons sondeskuld weggeneem het. Sy vergifnis maak ons skoon sodat die gewete nie aanhou om ons aan te kla nie. Ons wat weens ons sondes die ewige dood verdien, het Hy lewend gemaak deurdat Hy al ons sondes vergewe, ΓÇ£en die skuldbrief teen ons…uitgedelg en weggeruim het deur dit aan die kruis vas te naelΓÇ¥ (Kol. 2:14; vgl. Mat. 26:28). In Jes. 1:18 s├¬ God vir sy volk: ΓÇ£…al was julle sondes soos skarlaken, dit sal wit word soos sneeu; al was dit rooi soos purper, dit sal word soos wolΓÇ¥. 1 Joh. 1:9 s├¬: ΓÇ£As ons ons sondes bely, Hy is getrou en regverdig om ons die sondes te vergewe en ons van alle ongeregtigheid te reinigΓÇ¥ (vgl. Hand. 10:43; Ef. 1:7; 4:32; Kol. 1:13-14; Rom. 4:7-8;1 Joh. 2:12).
Wie lewe onder die donker wolk van ΓÇÿn skuldige gewete, kan nie aanvaar dat Christus sy bloed gestort het om ons gewetes skoon te maak nie (vgl. Hebr. 9:14). Die begrippe ΓÇ£ChristenΓÇ¥ en ΓÇ£skuldkompleksΓÇ¥ sluit mekaar egter uit, daarom moet ons met groot dankbaarheid God se geskenk aanvaar: Hy het al ons skuld afgeskryf!
Musikarte in Sasolburg
VANDERBIJLPARK. – Die bekende Christelike musiekgroep Musiekart├⌐, tree op Vrydag 6 Augustus in die Etienne Rousseau-teater in Sasolburg op. Dit begin om 19:30 en kaartjies kos R80. Fondse wat met hierdie vertoning ingesamel word, is ten bate van Caritas.
-Caritas is ‘n Christelike organisasie wat ontstaan het deur ‘n groep mense wat die nood in die gemeenskap raakgesien het, maar ook die potensiaal met betrekking tot hulpbronne en fasiliteite. Hoewel hulle die hele Vaaldriehoek bedien, kom hul fondse tans uit ‘n baie klein deel van die gemeenskap in Vanderbijlpark.
Caritas fokus veral op die behoeftige bejaardes, werkloses en haweloses. Deur verskillende programme en bedieninge wil hulle hierdie mense help om weer betekenisvolle lewens te lei.
Enige persoon wat ‘n passie het om mense in nood te help, kan betrokke raak. Beplande strategiese vennootskappe sluit onder meer geloofsgemeenskappe, skole, welsynsorganisasies, die sakegemeenskap, vakbonde, die Departement Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling en die Departement van Arbeid in.
Individue en organisasies wat as borge wil optree, of vir nadere inligting kan Botha by (016) 982-3043 (n/u) of 072 600 6422 gekontak word.
Launch of diesel emissions awareness programme
VANDERBIJLPARK. – A major contributor to poor air quality in the Emfuleni area has been identified as diesel vehicle emissions by the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). ELM last week launched a diesel emissions control awareness programme from the local Fire Station on the corner of Frikkie Meyer and Westinghouse Boulevard.
The programme will be implemented in the area of ELM jurisdiction, which is part of Sedibeng District Municipality.
During the launch, ELM will display the procedure and instruments to be used to test diesel-driven vehicle emissions. ELM officials will also give advice.
ELM will launch this program as an awareness project in preparation for the promulgation of municipal air quality by-laws.
As part of Phase 1, ELM will test the municipal fleet and later help fleet companies who want to prepare for compliance with accredited standards.
This follows ELM’s recognition of its situation in the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area. The major sources of pollution are domestic coal burning and industrial emissions.
Traffic, especially diesel, is not significant but requires control. Diesel-driven vehicles are responsible for particulate matter (PM10) and NOx.
The Emfuleni area is highly industrialized and roads constitute the major transport routes. The numerous industries mean large traffic volumes of trucks coming and going. Most of these emit black smoke.
This can be associated with the aggravation of respiration-related medical conditions and some organ cancers. The smoke from diesel-driven vehicles is harmful to human health and to the environment, damaging trees, crops and also causing water and land pollution.
Diesel exhaust fumes contain “fine particulate matter”. Diesel emissions are one of the biggest sources of this other than natural sourceslike forest fires.
* Airborne particulate matter smaller than 10 micrograms is a significant health risk as it can pass through the nose and throat and become lodged in the lungs, where damage becomes likely. Diesel emissions can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
Historic guilty verdict on illegal landlords
VEREENIGING. – After a court case of five years, four illegal landlords were found guilty on May 20 of transforming Bedworth Park and areas around the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) into a nominal student village.
The illegal landlords are Dr Kiddo Mako, his wife Millicent, VUT lecturer Laurence Kok and his wife Annamarie Kok.
Ward 4 Councillor Milu Malhou of the Democratic Alliance (DA) says Messrs Mako and Kok are heads of a suspectedly non-existent student accommodation association.
The ‘transformation’ – which began in 1997 with the opening of a little gate to give VUT students access to the Bedworth Park Pick n Pay – embraced the flouting of numerous municipal Town Planning by-laws and lasted over 13 years.
Landlords were sentenced according to how many properties they owned and how many by-laws and regulations had been flouted, including refusal to stop expanding and renovating residential houses when instructed to do so by a building inspector.
Mr Laurence Kok and his wife were given a two-month jail sentence suspended for three years. They lost R10 000 bail each because they were found guilty. During the period of their suspended sentence they are required to rectify instances where they flouted municipal regulations. They are further required to comply with by-laws by accommodating four students to a house. Failing these conditions, they will be jailed.
Dr Mako and his wife were given a six-month sentence suspended for three years. During the period of the suspended sentence they are also required to rectify instances where by-laws were flouted.
Cllr Malhou, who has pursued the illegal landlords for years, says their conviction is a “community victory” and celebrated lambasting remarks made by the magistrate against the Emfuleni Local Municpality, ELM.
ELM was criticized for the “disgraceful non-enforcement of by-laws that had facilitated the creation of a student village”.
Cllr Malhou says the outcome opens the door for a lawsuit against ELM over the property devaluation inflicted by illegal student accommodation on Bedworth Park and other areas.
“It makes our case stronger and obliges the Receiver of Revenue to probe landlords,” she said. “It also sends a signal to landlords including councillors and municial officals who are also illegal landlords. I know who you are,” says Mrs Malhou.
Accept and understand albinism, asks Government
The Minister for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, has urged communities to stop discriminating against people with albinism.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the Life Choices Campaign, which encourages acceptance and understanding of albinism, Mayende-Sibiya said communities need to be aware and understand the condition.
ΓÇ£There are many myths surrounding people with albinism and some of these myths are scary, misleading and force people with the condition to live in fear for the rest of their lives,ΓÇ¥ said Mayende-Sibiya.
Her ministry is committed to ensuring that persons with albinism enjoy all human rights embodied in the Constitution, including the right to access education.
ΓÇ£In realising this right, assistive devices should be made available to assist with teaching and learning. Through public health facilities, children with albinism should be provided with glasses and optical aides to enhance their vision. Schools should ensure that children with albinism receive learning materials in an accessible format,ΓÇ¥ she said.
* She said she believes the campaign will ensure that people with albinism are not hindered from full participation in social and economic activities. -
Work on Jan Haak’s potholes are underway
SASOLBURG. – A wave of pothole complaints, as was reported in Vaalweekblad’s editorial comment on May 13, has moved media officer Gino Alberts of Metsimaholo to speak out on behalf of his municipality. Mr Alberts says the repair of potholes is recognized as an urgent priority but it’s equally urgent that people realise they must not effect private repairs.
He stresses that a motorist is likely to drive over privately-repaired potholes believing they have been formally repaired using municipally-approved material.
“The result is that they could damage their vehicles even more seriously than they are damaging them now.”
Alberts says a formal municipal program of pothole-repairing phases is underway. Some repairs are permanent, others are temporary, depending on the severity of damage and the frequency with which any particular road is used.
A particularly critical example of potholes is the Jan Haak Road.
Jan Haak, assures Alberts, has been lined up in Phase Two of the repair program so it’s only that the contractor hasn’t arrived there yet. Work is, however, underway.
The program stems from strategic sessions in which repair work is the subject of prioritisations. A time frame is not yet available because the repair plan compiled through strategic sessions operates on the fluid availability of funds and their equally fluid allocation. Funding and allocation are also the subject of priorisation as priorities that encompass more than potholes continue to shift as do sources of funding for other crises like grass-cutting, outdoor lighting, etc.
“We as a local municipality are trying our level best to cope with what everyone knows is a provincial and national problem,” says Alberts.