Hidden Matters: A supplication to walk in simple truth...

Hidden Matters: A supplication to walk in simple truth...

by Witnessed by Stef Louw
Hidden Matters: A supplication to walk in simple truth...

Hidden Matters: A supplication to walk in simple truth...

by Witnessed by Stef Louw

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Overview

HIDDEN MATTERS is a candid conversation between the carnal human and the ineffable God. In this cogent exposé, the reader is challenged to re-examine conventional belief and urged to consider the grievous consequesnce of living outside the boundary of the honorable. Herein, the words become a lambent candle in the hands of anyone who dares to walk out of darkness.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781482877335
Publisher: Partridge Africa
Publication date: 08/31/2017
Pages: 116
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.28(d)

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

The Fort of Denial

(Searching for Love)

Once in a lifetime comes a real opportunity to take inventory and discover that life is spent chasing after the notion of love. People think they know much about the matter of love but they can't explain the all-consuming need for it. Perhaps what propels and fuels their lifelong search is the primal belief that love is weaved into the tapestry of the human being. It is the desire to experience love that has become their absolute goal. So humanity blindly boards a ship and sails away to uncover the mystery. But the harsh elements, the length of time and the impossibility of figuring out such enigma soon render their efforts a failure and halt the search. The sad realization arrives that the people of this world always return ravished from sailing, left with a bag full of unfulfilled dreams. Many have pitiful ideas of what true love could be and try to define the spectrum. If only they knew, their complex experiences and filtered perceptions is what got them wondering away from the truth in the first place. I was one such person, who went looking and searching for love.

And while on this implausible voyage, the fallen world got a hold of me and forced down my throat its own twisted version of the image of love. In the interim, I, the brave sailor of discovery, became no exception to dismal worldly conformation. Surely many have shared the same fate as me. But in all the pursuing and after all the failed attempts, I was not satisfied with what I presumed to be unadulterated loving. This explains why I often found myself emptied out, broken in pieces and wandering. Looking back on my journey, I see now that whatever I encountered was lust and not love. Although I tried to blame it on the enthusiasm with which I landed in all the wrong places, one thing became evident; I fell short of the fairy-tale experience every time. I hope many will agree when I say the search for love has become an artifice. Songs are written and movies are made to commemorate the fantasy, but in reality humans are nowhere near experiencing true love. The habitual way of thinking, which this world has adopted is a joke. People acts as if they understands the truth about love. It seems like somebody out there has taking the human mind for a ride. But even though this illusion has wrecked people emotionally, their unsettled hearts continue to desire love. The search goes on; for me, for you, and for the whole of mankind.

Personally, it took me many itinerant years of wondering. But only after I became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as I crossed over the threshold of my thirties that the mystery of love unfolded before me. It was then that I could learn and understand its meaning and purpose. Bravely I ought to confess I was seriously lost, misled to roam in dark places and forced to drift away from authenticity. The more I looked for love the deeper I sunk in wretchedness. Today, my involvements and the extensive research I have done make up the essence of this book. This is my testimony but it adds to the collective story of mankind! Every paragraph was written to expose the identity of the culprit behind the demise of my innocence. To reveal the delinquent's intentions by presenting the facts, triumphs and failures experienced during the derisory search for love. On these pages, I am confident of telling the truth regarding my human downfall and backing it up with a few hard lessons learnt. The point is to share. At some strange level of life, we are not so different from each other. Our stories may match up, here and there, often, and in so many ways. The bottom line remains the same; we both want loving.

Still, it may come as a surprise to find out that people's archest enemy, the devil, begins his iniquitous work in their lives at the time of infancy. He enters through the gates of their cities (regarding 'the city' I mean the mind area), while no one is watching, and goes in unnoticed. His mission is to carry out a cruel and vicious assignment against the human heart (regarding 'the heart' I mean the thinking process). Later on, folks discover the manifold snares and traps he sets before their feet, to capture and confine them in prison. His trickery is too weighty for a simple explanation. It is somewhat disquieting to learn how he lays the foundations of denial. He implements a deliberate progression of wicked events that are carefully designed and put in place to abort the development of the human being. Wickedness makes people subject to his will, lucratively and for long. The enemy disguises horrible things as normal and ordinary, thus persuading them to accept and follow in his ways. There is evidence of evil everywhere, expressed through total disregard for moral boundaries. It leaves little left to the imagination on its path of destruction. Humanity is taken captive without the possibility of parole, not able to grasp the idea of mercy. He knows many would not wake up to 'smell the coffee', and even if they did, it may be too late. Innocence is stained and time is lost. Many lives lay in ruins. Let me tell you the adversary has resolved to waste our time because time, as I recently discovered, is the redemption factor for mankind. So, the enemy often has an unfair advantage in battle. He has purposefully built the fort of denial and from there he wastes time. Yes, indeed! Time is wasted while people deny wickedness exists or they deny that they partake of it. Meanwhile, the devil finds the good soil and plants his seeds. He waters, watches over the produce and patiently waits for the harvest of souls.

The discouraging part is that the gates of many cities remain unguarded, and there are no watchmen on the walls. The rest is history. However, this enhances the making of people's testimonies as the world bravely sails into the sunset to discover the meaning of love.

(In the Beginning ... Creation & the Connection)

Well, every journey begins somewhere, right? The all too familiar words 'in the beginning' has never failed to give direction to any kind of story told. And even though we live in the 21st Century, the origins of this tale transcend from thousands of years ago. Such ancient legends inspired my curiosity and got me asking questions; like what was back then and still is now the force that attracts and keeps God's finest creation together. And by finest creation I mean them, male and female, made in God's image. Is it love that does it? In my experience love is an invisible thing that embraces and fulfills people holistically. Love is first perceived in spirit, and then made manifest through acts of the soul and body, which translate it to mortal tenure. I think so because purest love conceals itself in the entrails of death and death is a human thing. Of all God's craftsmanship, it is the human who has revolutionized the enlightenment of love. But in the same breath, love may remain a mystery to most people because they are unwilling to 'die' to their carnality. Yet, this poses the question how can a male and female be fastened together with an invisible bond? What attracts them to connect and to inhabit one another in this love phenomenon? Is it physical or spiritual, or both? My search brought me to the beginning of all beginnings. In the first few chapters of Genesis, the Bible clarifies that the original plan of God included the making of a man and his wife. They would know each other to become two in a flesh. The process unfolds with God forming the man's body from the slime of the earth and breathing into his face the breath of life. Then the man becomes a living soul and gets placed in the Paradise of Liking to tend it and keep it. Further down the line he gets help (a wife), which is taken from his rib. Then they know one another, increasing and multiplying to fulfill God's word. The story identifies two very important things. Foremost, it proves that the connection between the spiritual and the physical exists. This illustrates how God, who is spirit and is unseen, associates Himself with matter that is physical and can be seen, which gives it life. Second, it further confirms that the human being is made after the image of God to be in His likeness. It is the process where humans make or multiply life, as God did it the first time. So when a man and a woman meet, in a moment of time, visual connects with audio and instantly forms a thought in the mind. Then energy charges the thought and converts it into a feeling. Subsequently the feeling continues to grow in strength and brings forth an action. This action is called speaking. Sounds strange, does it not? Let me remind you that God spoke and light was made. God spoke and the earth came forth. God breathed and man became a living soul. If we are made in God's image to be like Him, we should possess the power of life and death in our mouths. Our words are seeds and the human mind is the fertile soil where we do the planting. The voice of a man is the external and audible representation of his innermost being and the act of speaking is likened unto sowing. When two people get together and they verbalize their intentions to connect on a deeper and more personal level, the inventive force in their words has to accomplish that which is spoken. This is the law of creation. No wonder how quickly thereafter, they become intimate with each other in body and soul. This represents the binding of their physical matter (body and soul) that can be seen and their spirits, which are unseen. ...

I wonder what people say to each other when having sex; quite an intriguing and certainly entertaining thought to ponder on. But it would terrify me to imagine the detriment when I consider the negative side of things. As radical as this explanation sounds, it attests to the fact that manner is both natural and spiritual. On the natural side the offspring receives a unique DNA that comes half from the male and half from the female. The genetic code carefully maps out the child's physical characteristics such as facial features, hair and eye color, body length and much more. And on the spiritual side, the child inherits blessings and curses as whatever thought patterns, feelings/ emotions, actions and words the parents have cultivated in their lives. Undeniably, this plays the most intrinsic role in making up the psyche of that new person. So, from that moment on the human exists. Nevertheless, what happens from conception, through birth and into the first twelve years of such existence is vital to the developing of the flesh and the spirit later on.

(The Guardians of the Gates)

If I asked you to close your eyes and imagine you're holding a tiny baby in your arms, and then I asked you to choose one word to describe the infant, what word would you use (besides the usual "cute" or "sweetie pie")? What word comes to mind? May I suggest the word "vulnerable", and why would I consider the child as such? Perhaps the answer lies in the definition of the word. Being vulnerable means to stand exposed to the possibility of being hurt, physically and emotionally. Quite frankly, we are all at risk of being in harm's way but a baby is incapable of defending him or herself, on any level. The odds differ for a grown person as he or she may choose to flee or learn to fight in a battle. They may also have a chance of winning. This explains why darkness always creeps in our lives through this early stage when the human is still so fragile and in need of love and care to grow and develop further.

The man and his wife are not only responsible for the chromosome delivery and distribution you know. They are also obligated to provide protection, care and good leadership thereafter. Parents ought to tend and keep what is theirs within the boundaries of their habitation. In the Bible, habitation like the Paradise of Liking for example, is described as a place of authority and prosperity. But because most people don't have a real and profound understanding of what it means to tend and keep their 'paradise' or place of authority, they regularly make the mistake of abandoning the guard post at the gates. God watches over His creation and likewise parents must watch over their children too. But, if they don't know what to watch for, the walls and the gates of the city will serve them no purpose at all. What do I mean by that? Let me elaborate ...

In the olden days, ancient cities were fortified and preserved by building big walls and putting up massive gates. It was an accepted practice for the elders and the wise men (the council) of the city to gather at these gates and discuss the crucial matters of the day. Amongst other things, they had authority to rule on who and what came in and out, which determined the wellbeing and prosperity of the city. If good decisions were made, the people and the land would be safe and affluent. But if wrongdoing prevailed, the city would fall and become ruined, and its people would be carried off into captivity. The Bible teaches many important lessons on entry points, which people should carefully study and apply in their lives, but this is the topic of another book for another occasion. So back in those days, whoever minded the gates of the city was in charge of what went on inside. In time of war, the enemy would try to overpower the gatekeepers and enter the city to spoil the goods within the walls. Likewise, a person's life is like unto a city. Whoever guards the entry points has dominion. Based on this analogy, many people have asked which entrances would be considered the gates of the human mind. It's simple; these are the mouth, nose, eyes and ears, skin and the genitals. Separately, each of these gates contributes to the overall development of the human being, but they can also be used detrimentally. Whatever goes in and comes out of the mind affects the whole person. It shapes their character and ultimately determines their destiny. In light of what is being said here, now ponder the hard question; when a child is born into this world, who takes charge of the gates of the child's city? In fact, let's go deeper; whoever took charge, if they even knew how to guard the gates, were they aware of the enormous spiritual responsibility that comes with the job of a guardian? I bet you most people don't have the faintest idea there is such a thing as 'a watchman on the wall'. Many have never even heard of it. The reality is that fathers and mothers are meant to be leaders and teachers, and as such they collectively lay the foundation upon which a house is built. I figured they are also the people God appoints as "the counsel at the city gates!" Mom and dad are "the wise folk in authority" who make the super important decisions and determine the outcome of family life. Everything I learnt about the world I live in was spoon-fed to me daily in small doses by my parents. Ever since I first breathed outside my mother's womb, I watched their every move and copied it. I also heard every word they said and then made mental recorded of it for future reference. So it is my erudite opinion that the enemy first corrupted my parents (the foundation builders) in order to bring me down later. Some people may argue this is not necessarily true because in recent years, science and psychology has offered alternative ways to deal with childhood problems and adolescent issues. But I am convinced this is the principle case with every one of us, from the beginning of time to date. There is sufficient evidence recorded throughout human history. Ok, what about the kids who don't have parents because they were abandoned or were given up for adoption? Or what about those who lost their folk to crime or in freak accidents? Even though every individual has their own intrinsic worth, nobody may render these two facts invalid; first, a human being is conceived and born after a man and a woman got together (and did it ...) in private. Second, we must acknowledge that somehow, somewhere, somebody has helped facilitate the human growth. If you agree with the above statements, then it also applies to you too; whether you have parents or not. I found out that when the connection between a child and a parent is biological (same flesh and spirit), the correlation between action and reaction is considerably intensified. Why? It is because of an imperceptible spiritual bond. Our family is actually glued together because I came from my mother and my father being expressed in my flesh. The best way to describe this is to refer to an invisible rope, which could be used to tie me to my parents, so whatever is of them becomes of me too. How is it even possible? Consider when one or both biological parents are missing from the picture and/ or are present but not (physically and spiritually) involved, for whatever reason. Most people I have spoken to, who come from such family environment, confirm a sense of loss or an empty feeling which has become their constant companion over the years. And they also report the lack of mom's love and care or dad's strong hand and leadership has crippled their emotional development (although they may have developed well in body). Many people struggle tremendously during adulthood due to poor childhood investment on foundational level. Do you wonder why? It's all because of this powerful invisible link. The good news is that in such situations a sensible proxy will add positively and bring a great deal of healing and comfort. However, he or she may never replace that which is organic and true.

(Continues…)



Excerpted from "Hidden Matters"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Witnessed by Stef Louw.
Excerpted by permission of Partridge Africa.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments, vii,
Chapter 1 The Fort of Denial, 1,
Chapter 2 A Bag Full of Red Flags, 33,
Chapter 3 At The Feet of Grace, 57,
Chapter 4 Two-Way Forward, 73,

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