We are like clay, and you are the potter; your hands made us all. Isaiah 64:8
[God] wants us to be just like Jesus. Isn't that good news? You aren't stuck with today's personality. You aren't condemned to "grumpydom." You are tweakable. Even if you've worried each day of your life, you needn't worry the rest of your life. So what if you were born a bigot? You don't have to die one. Where did we get the idea we can't change? From whence come statements such as, "It's just my nature to worry" or, "I'll always be pessimistic. I'm just that way." … Who says? Would we make similar statements about our bodies? "It's just my nature to have a broken leg. I can't do anything about it." Of course not. If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn't we do the same with our hearts? Shouldn't we seek aid for our sour attitudes? Can't we request treatment for our selfish tirades? Of course we can. Jesus can change our hearts. He wants us to have a heart like his. Just Like Jesus (Max Lucado) "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance
that we should desire Him." Isaiah 53:2b Our society worships outward appearance. Stars are usually attractive hunks and hotties. So when God sent His son to be the biggest star the world's stage has ever known, He chose for Him to look very ordinary. In other words, He wasn't much to look at. Now, that might surprise us in thinking about the Son of God, but God sought to identify with the majority of us. But that was in His earthly ministry. What does He look like now? The Bible tells us that He gave a sneak preview to His three closest disciples. One day Jesus led them up high on a mountain, "...and He was transfigured before them; and His face shown like the sun, and His garments became as white as light." One day, Jesus is coming again and we will all easily recognize Him as the Son of God. And more good news for those who trust in Him: we'll receive new bodies -perfect bodies - that never get sick and tired, that never age and die. Like Jesus, our new bodies will be dazzling. We will be eternally grateful. Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.' When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here,you gave me too much change ..' The driver, with asmile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?' 'Yes' he replied. 'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.' When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.' Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.' Geen “S” op sy bors nie Die strokieskarakter Superman dra ‘n S-teken op sy bors. Wanneer hy in sy gewone drag is en hy moet skielik ‘n krisis hanteer, dan ruk hy eers sy klere oop om sy super-drag te wys! Hoe anders is die Held van die hemel nie! Jesus het nie tussen ons aangekom geklee in ‘n spesiale uniform nie. Ook was Hy nie gewapen met hemelse lasergewere nie. Jesus se aardse drag was onopvallend, want dit was slawe se klere, soos wat Paulus ons in Filippense 2 herinner. Jesus se vriende was weerloses, sondaars en gewone mense. Sy enigste ‘wapens’ was sy woorde en dade wat lewe gee.
By Jesus het sondaars elke keer ‘n nuwe kans gekry. In sy teenwoordigheid kon siekes ‘n genesende aanraking te wagte wees. Hoe anders as vandag se helde, wat alles met krag en geweld uit die pad wil slaan, skiet of bombardeer, het Jesus op die hakke van mense geloop om hulle laste op sy skouers te tel. Hy is die Goeie Herder. Hy is die Lig vir die wêreld. Hy deel lewende brood en gewone brood uit. Hy is die Bruidegom wat vreugde weggee vir elkeen wat naby Hom loop. Nee, Jesus skiet nie al ons probleme in ‘n oogwink uit die pad nie. Hy het nie gekom om al ons vrae te beantwoord nie. Hy werk nie vir ons nie. Dis net mooi andersom. Jesus roep ons om Hom op sy terme te volg. Ook waarsku Hy vooraf dat sy pad smal is en dat ons sy kruis sal moet dra. Dieselfde beledigings en moeilikhede wat Hom te beurt geval het, wag ook op ons. Tog sal ons die hemele oop sien. Ware vreugde begin eers as ons ontdek dat ons nie vir Superman volg wat heeltyd in al ons selfsugtige behoeftes moet voorsien en al ons vrese en behoeftes aanspreek nie. (Lees dit weer...!) Nee, ons volg Jesus die Here. In sy teenwoordigheid geniet ons hemelse oorvloed en lewe wat tot ‘n ewigheid anderkant die graf aanhou. Like many people today, I have big dreams and goals. I have desires in my heart. But my prayer now is, “God, not my will, but let Your will be done.” If a door closes, it’s no big deal; I let it go. If my plans don’t work out, no big deal; I know God has something better. I’ve learned to not get so consumed by a dream that if it doesn’t happen my way, I get all bent out of shape.
Maybe you’ve gone through a disappointment. You don’t understand it. You could easily be bitter, live with a chip on your shoulder, and give up on your dreams. Realize today that God is at work in your life. He is directing your steps. What you thought was a setback is going to turn out to be a setup for a comeback! When you surrender your will to Him, when you humble yourself before Him, that’s when God can take you to another level. Today, shake off the self-pity. Shake off the disappointment and realize that God has you in the palm of His hand. Know that He has good plans in store for your future, better than you could ever imagine! Trust Him with your whole heart today and every day! Precious heavenly Father, today I surrender every area of my heart, mind and life to You. Have Your way in me. Do Your will in my life. Let everything I am bring glory to You in all things! I bless You today and always in Jesus’ name. Amen. “To stand firm in the battle for our marriages, we must be prepared. We can never assume that having a good marriage shelters us from temptation. In this age of “anything goes,” the wise woman will purposefully build walls around her marriage ahead of time to help close the door on opportunities for temptation” (Judy Starr).
That also goes for the wise man. Last week we talked about our marriages being more vulnerable to infidelity than we realize. For various reasons we think it could happen to everyone else but us. But as we also discussed last week that’s also what Judy Starr thought. Judy is the author of a book titled, The Enticement of the Forbidden. She and her husband had a great ministry to over 40 countries showing the Jesus film and never thought either of them could be attracted to anyone else because they loved each other and were happily involved in ministry work together. But they let their guard down and Judy found herself tempted. This can be a lesson for all of us because if it could happen to Judy, it could happen to any one of us. Building upon last week’s message, which was prompted by a 2-part interview with Judy we heard on the radio program Family Life Today www.familylife.org with Dennis Rainey, we’d like to share a few more things from this interview that we think everyone could find beneficial. As the Bible says, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” We’re hoping this message will help us to be more careful so none of us fall as Judy did. We’re all vulnerable to temptation if we don’t stay on the alert as the scriptures tell us in 1 Peter 5. First off, we want to say that Judy was fortunate because her husband wanted to work with her to rebuild their broken relationship. That doesn’t always happen. She and her husband Stotler began the process of putting their marriage back together the way God showed them. She said: “I began making our marriage the priority that God intended it to be in the first place. I had allowed work to overshadow that, so I really focused on our marriage.” “I also really worked on rebuilding trust. Anytime I felt there was something Stotler needed to know or wanted to ask, I’d give him that opportunity; or I’d share with him things that I felt were important for him to know, so that he really sensed I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I really wanted to rebuild trust in our relationship.” What else did Judy and her husband do to rebuild a healthier marriage? She said: “There are basic things any marriage needs to do to build walls of protection around them, not only to reestablish trust but for the future of that marriage.” The following are important practices Judy shares in this interview and her book that will strengthen and fortify the walls around your marriage: • “The first thing is, having our times with the Lord individually. I don’t believe there is anything more important that protects our marriage than our individual time with the Lord, making sure that we’re yielded to Him and willing to do anything that He tells us to every day. That’s absolutely the most important thing that we can do daily.” • “And then there’s the issue of learning to protect our relationship with other men, how we respond to them, because in this society, it’s such a lax situation between men and women and the friendships that grow. It’s very easy for a friendship to grow quickly beyond the bounds that God intends for a friendship with another man.” (Please note that the same goes for a man with a woman. Judy’s testimony is aimed at women but that doesn’t make it any less significant for men to apply these principles.) Judy was then asked: “As you look at friendships with men from church and in ministry with you, what keeps it an appropriate versus an inappropriate friendship?” She replied: “I call it building an ‘invisible wall,’ and certainly one of the first things is not sharing personal, private information —anything that should be kept exclusively for my husband and for that relationship. “If I find myself looking forward to sharing something with another man rather than my husband, that’s definitely a red flag. I need to focus on sharing all the things that are important in my life with my husband, first and foremost, so those needs for intimacy are met in that relationship.” (Again, this applies to men and their dealings with other women.) • “Build protective walls in the workplace. The workplace is one of the first places women are being drawn to men, because there are so many women in the workforce these days, and it’s so easy. As women —we go to lunch with the men we work with, we’re dressed our best, we’re working with other men on the same important projects. It’s the same kind of driving thing all day. By the time you go home, you’ve already shared your heart with everybody else. You have nothing that you need to share with your husband anymore. We need to be so careful of saving those kinds of intimacies and those things that are exciting in our lives to be able to share with our husband.” Please men — this applies to you also. • “Protect your marriage through discretion in clothing. Men become easily aroused sexually by the stimulation of sight. Therefore, what we wear is very important. To attract men to you sexually by the clothing you choose is to defraud them because you cannot (or should not!) fulfill the desire you arouse. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 tells us, ‘For this is the will of God—that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in this matter.’” • Protect your marriage by spending time together. One of the best guards against infidelity comes from having your emotional needs met within your marriage. That means sticking to the plan of spending time alone together each week! Unless we purposefully protect that time, all of life’s “urgent” needs will undermine our marital intimacy like termites that slowly eat away the foundation of a house. What can be more urgent than protecting your marriage? • Protect your marriage through accountability. Accountability to a mature godly woman [is] invaluable. Accountability may be the key issue that makes or breaks our faithfulness to God and to our spouse. There are other important things Judy Starr shares in her book, The Enticement of the Forbidden. And there are other things included in this compelling interview that you may want to learn about. Ps.112:4 Vir die opregtes gaan Hy op as ‘n lig in die duisternis: genadig en barmhartig en regverdig.
Is daar dalk 'n area in jou lewe, wat vandag lig benodig? Miskien is jy in 'n nagdonker situasie en jy het nie die vaagste benul, waar voor of agter is nie. Scubaduikers sê vir my, as jy in 'n stikdonker watergat afduik, weet jy glad nie watter kant bo is nie. Die enigste manier om jou posisie vas te stel, is om lug uit te blaas en die borrels dop te hou, hulle sal altyd boontoe trek. Het jy lig nodig? God se Woord leer, 'Vir die opregtes gaan Hy op as 'n lig in die duisternis'. Die Psalmis sê, U woord is 'n lig op my pad en 'n lamp vir my voete. Hoe kry ek Sy lig angeskakel in my donker lewe? Lees die Woord, bestudeer dit en 'eet' dit daagliks. Vra die Heilige Gees om jou pad te verlig en in elke donker hoekie van jou hart, die lig van die waarheid te laat skyn. Ek wil jou bemoedig met, Jes.60:1 "Staan op, word verlig; want jou lig kom, en die heerlikheid van die HERE gaan oor jou op. 2 Want kyk, die duisternis sal die aarde oordek en donkerheid die volke; maar oor jóu sal die HERE opgaan, en sy heerlikheid sal oor jou gesien word". Soos 'n helder verligte aanloopbaan, sal jou pad uitgestippel wees. Gebed. Baie dankie Vader, in U lig sien ek die lig. Verlig my hele lewe, sodat ek weer 'n lig vir andere kan wees, in Jesus naam. Amen [All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus. ROMANS 3 : 24 THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE !! .. AND THE TRUTH IS .. YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS !! When God Declares Something Over You .. You Are Definitely Not In A Position To Argue With Him !! So .. If You Have Accepted Jesus Christ As Your Personal Lord And Savior AND You Have Faith In Jesus Christ .. It Has Been Declared That YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD !! Now this declaration of your righteousness was not made by any Teacher, Pastor or Preacher .. OH NO !! .. This declaration was made by none other than God Himself !! .. So who do you think you are to doubt or argue ? Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction .. Romans 3 : 22 TRUTH .. If You Love And Have Faith In Jesus Christ .. YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS !! FACT .. Once Again It Is Decision Time .. Righteousness Has To Be Believed And Then Received !! .. And .. That Is A Choice Only You Can Make For Yourself !! WILL YOU STOP AND THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MOMENT !! Knowing that you are not a perfect individual, you are bound to make mistakes and step into sin occasionally. Now .. When you realize that you have sinned .. What do you do to make it right with God ? If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought and action] .. 1 John 1 : 9 That’s Right !! .. If God’s Word has the final authority in your life .. Then .. Your response to your sin will naturally be based on the above. You go to God and you confess and repent of your sin .. And .. When you do this God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Alright .. So you go to God and you ask Him to forgive you .. How Do You Know That You Have Received God’s Forgiveness ? .. You can not see anything .. You can not feel anything .. How Do You Know ? Well .. You Believe, Don’t You ? .. God says if you repent, He will forgive .. And .. You simply believe Him and you receive His gift of forgiveness. Now, although the above is how it should be .. On the odd occasion, do you still perhaps find yourself toiling with the idea that you are expected to “Do” something more than just simply believe and act upon what God’s Word says in order for you to be truly forgiven. You seem to have a very hard time accepting that if you repent of your mistakes, God has a genuine desire and willingness to forgive you .. Your human nature tells you that forgiveness couldn't possibly be that easy. You have allowed your natural mind to be deceived by thoughts that make it difficult for you to believe that your sins can be erased, allowing you to stand boldly and guiltless before God. Sadly, you have lied to yourself for so long that you actually now believe that in order for you to receive full forgiveness, you first have to experience your fair share of pain and suffering. Well Here Is A Little Reality Check !! .. Forgiveness Is Based On God’s Promises .. It Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Your Human Feelings !! As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us .. Psalms 103 : 12 For I will be merciful and gracious towards their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more .. Hebrews 8 : 12 Do You See That !! .. When your prayer for forgiveness reach God .. He takes that mistake, rips it out of your journal, then He scatters it as far as the east is from the west .. And .. He remembers them no more !! Because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. Hallelujah! If you were to sit with God one day, and you tried to talk to Him about all the sins you have ever committed .. God would choose to not even acknowledge them .. Because .. He truly is a God of “forgive and forget” !! Choices !! .. Choices !! .. Choices !! Now, of course you can choose to carry on believing that you must first endure your pain and suffering .. However The Reality Is This .. After you have suffered, you will be no more forgiven than if you actually choose to believe in God’s forgiveness and start acting as though you have received your forgiveness !! O.K. .. So we have now spent some time looking at Forgiveness .. And You May Well Be Wondering .. Why so much about forgiveness in a message that is actually about your Righteousness ? Well, God’s forgiveness was an important example to illustrate to you .. BECAUSE .. The way you receive God’s forgiveness is exactly the same way that you receive your righteousness !! You Must Believe That You Have Received It .. And Then .. Start Behaving As If It Is So !! Your Righteousness Gives You The Ability To Stand Before God With No Sense Of Guilt And No Sense Of Inferiority !! Your righteousness allows you the ability to boldly and confidently stand before God and speak to Him, as a child to your Father .. Expecting His response .. And .. Knowing that you have the right to receive what you ask because of what God has declared over you !! If you do not believe that you receive your forgiveness by faith, the unfortunate thing for you is that the next time you stand before God in prayer, you might well be saying to yourself “I believe that I am forgiven” .. However .. If you are carrying a guilty conscience about something or you find yourself returning to ponder over this mistake or that .. Then .. Unfortunately you have not faithfully received God’s promise of forgiveness. And .. If you are unable to believe that you are forgiven .. Then .. Sadly you will also be unable to believe the Truth that you are the righteousness of God !! There Is No Magic Formula To This !! .. There Is No Secret To This !! .. The truth is that you already hold the very key that you require, however the choice remains .. Will You Use It Or Not ? God Has Given You His Word .. He Has Also Given You Faith .. The Choice Is Yours !! Faith And Nothing Else !! .. It Takes Faith To Believe God’s Word !! Every Truth you will ever require lies protected in the treasure of God’s Word. However .. If your faith is not ignited to believe that Every Word, Every Promise, Every Blessing, Every Prayer and Every Declaration made by God, was made to you .. Then .. You are putting yourself at risk of being unable to believe the Word enough to receive God’s gifts .. And .. Yes, that includes your righteousness !! GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IS YOURS .. DO YOU HAVE THE FAITH TO RECEIVE IT ? Your Gift Of Righteousness Has Been Paid For By Jesus Christ !! .. Take It Off Lay-Bye !! .. And .. Receive It Into Your Life !! You Are Righteous !! .. You Cannot Work For It !! .. You Cannot Be Good To Get It !! .. You Can Not Earn It !! .. IT IS A GIFT !! .. And .. It Has Been Paid For By The Precious Blood Shed By Jesus !! You cannot, cannot, cannot make yourself righteous by your good deeds .. However .. You can choose to believe God enough to receive His declaration .. And Then .. You can thank and honor God by giving all the praise and glory to Jesus Christ !! God says .. I will declare as righteous everyone who receives my Son, Jesus Christ, by faith .. This means that from the very moment you became a born-again child of God’s, His declaration became active in your life !! So The Bottom Line Is This .. You Are Righteous Because You Accepted The Free Gift Of Salvation Through Jesus Christ !! God Has Declared You Righteous !! .. So Who Are You To Argue !! Stop Trying To Fight It .. Stop Trying To Debate It .. Stop Trying To Earn It .. Stop Trying To Work For It .. Stop Trying To See It .. Stop Trying To Feel It. YOU LOVE AND HAVE FAITH IN JESUS .. RIGHT ? .. Then you Believe Him .. And .. You Receive your righteousness into your life !! You step out with your head held high and you confidently show this lost world what a blessing it is to have Jesus Christ as the lover of your soul !! WHEN GOD GAVE YOU HIS SON .. HE GAVE YOU HIS BEST WHEN GOD GAVE YOU HIS HOLY SPIRIT .. HE GAVE YOU HIS ALL The Bible Definition of righteousness is: - the acceptable state before God - being approved of God - God's integrity - God's virtue - God's purity of life - rightness before God - correctness of thinking, feeling and acting like God |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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