Loop agter Hom aan In daardie klassieke film, The Wizard of Oz, word die hoofkarakter Dorothy, en haar hond Toto, deur ‘n tornado weggewaai. As sy later iewers grondvat, sê sy: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Ek wonder hoeveel van ons voel ook asof ‘n tornado ons weggewaai het van bekende terrein af. Alles is deesdae anders. Niks is meer vas, veilig of voorspelbaar nie. Dit voel of die lewe buite beheer geraak het. Bo is onder en onder is onderstebo. Om nie eers te praat van agter wat skielik agterstevoor is nie.
Wel, hier’s ‘n nuusflits: vandag se wêreld is deurmekaar. Dit is plek-plek buite beheer. Die oplossing is nie om dit te ontken, of kunsmatig onder beheer te probeer bring nie. Kies eerder om midde in die storms wat rondom jou, en soms ook binne-in jou woed, agter Jesus aan te stap. Hy floreer in storms. Veilige hawens is nie sy skuilplek nie. Hy is Lig in die donker. Hy bied hoop te midde van wanhoop. As jy naby aan Jesus loop, is jy op koers, selfs al is dit donker en gevaarlik rondom jou. Vrede Matthew 22:37Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind.
- Loving God is the greatest priority. - This is the first and the greatest commandment. - We must love God with all we are, heart, soul and mind. - We can love God because He first loved us! PRAYER: Lord, I declare that I love You! Thank You for loving me first and making it possible for me to love You! Amen. "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking." ~ Voltaire
"Too often we...enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." ~ John F. Kennedy "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." ~ George S. Patton "Mental fight means thinking against the current, not with it." ~ Viriginia Woolf God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. — John 3:16
He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind. Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio… Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill, … faces tear-streaked. All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command. "It must be done …" he said, and withdrew. The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful …" The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love." In the Eye of the Storm (Max Lucado) MATTHEW 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
You are probably a responsible person who is concerned about providing well for your family—making sure that there is food on the table, money for the children’s needs, comfort and education, and so on. What does God have to say to us about these legitimate concerns? According to Matthew 6:31, He tells us, “Do not worry.” Now, He is not saying that we don’t need all these things because in the same portion of scripture He says, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:32) So God cares about us having these things. He wants us to have all these things. In fact, He wants all these things added to us. And He tells us that the way these things are added to us is by us seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Therefore, our number one priority every day is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is not to seek to add these things to ourselves. But what is righteousness? Righteousness is not right behavior. It is right standing with the Father. It is the clearance of all your guilt, which makes you able to stand before God. It is not something you get through right behavior. It is a gift from God. Paul calls it “the gift of righteousness”. (Romans 5:17) And to “seek” this gift is to be conscious of the fact that you have it, to confess that you are righteous in Christ. So this righteousness we are told to seek is not right behavior, but right standing before God, which comes to us as a gift when we receive salvation. At the cross, Jesus didn’t just remove our sins, He also gave us His righteousness so that today, we can come boldly before the throne of God and receive freely everything that He died to give us! Today, if you want to provide your family with the good things in life, be assured that your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. Just seek His righteousness, not your own righteousness, and “all these things shall be added to you”! The prodigal son didn't end up among the pigs the day he left his father's house; he went through a gradual process of decline (see Luke 15:11-15). So it is with us. If the enemy presented the end with the first temptation, it would be easy to resist! But usually the departure from grace is so subtle that even leaders take the bait.
The warning signs are visible long before we fully embrace sin. One of the first is that we allow other people or things to take the place in our hearts that belongs only to God. Preferring any earthly thing over God is a clear sign that our hearts have wandered. Even the spiritually mature are in danger of allowing what is visible to usurp the place of the eternal, invisible God. The result is that we become lukewarm in our pursuit of God. Complacency sets in. We compare ourselves to the standard of others rather than to the standard of the Word and justify what we know is compromise. We begin to live "a form of godliness," being outwardly religious but having no power in our lives (2 Tim. 3:5, KJV). Self then takes the throne (see vv. 2-4). We are no longer able to express the pure love God desires and are often judgmental and critical of others. Ultimately, like the prodigal son squandering his inheritance, we end up on the path to sin and spiritual death. If your heart has wandered, recognizing your condition and crying out for God's help is the first step back into His empowering grace. Even your failure can be a stepping stone to a higher place spiritually if you come to see that your flesh can't be trusted. Understanding your own weakness is a key to releasing God's power on your behalf. The next step is to get right with God and others. Even if you have been wronged, you must forgive. This may seem difficult, but it is essential to maintaining communication with God--and it is worth the price. As one saint wrote: "When the soul seeks nothing in the universe but the smile of God and fears nothing but offending Him, it will gladly consent to pay any price to get perfectly right with Him." Third, look to God and His Word as your standard rather than to those around you. Jesus said, "'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect'" (Matt. 5:48). This is an impossible standard for us to attain on our own, but with God we can do all things (see Phil. 4:13). Finally, learn to walk in the Spirit, keeping your mind on God and His kingdom by praying continually. In this manner the Holy Spirit will become a filter for your thoughts. Daily pray Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (NIV). God will be faithful to answer this prayer and to keep your heart stayed on Him. * Psalm 81:6'Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. 'The Lord is the burden removing, yoke destroying God. He will take & lift the load from your shoulders. He will bring you out of bondage & into freedom. Give it to Him today & let Him lift your burden
Pray without ceasing. —1 Thessalonians 5:17
Brother Lawrence (1614–1691) felt intimately close to God as he humbly scrubbed pots and pans in the monastery kitchen. Certainly Brother Lawrence practiced specific times of devotional prayer. But what he found more life-transforming was prayer during the workday. In his devotional classicPracticing the Presence of God, he says, “It is a great delusion to think our times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to cleave to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer.” In short, he advocated that we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). That’s a helpful reminder, because sometimes we tend to compartmentalize our lives. Perhaps we pray only during church worship, small-group Bible study, family devotions, and personal quiet times. But what about during our workday? To pray on the job does not mean we have to fall to our knees with clasped hands and pray aloud. But it does mean that work decisions and relationships can be brought to God throughout the day. Wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, God wants to be a part of it. When prayer enters every aspect of our lives, who knows what God might do for His glory! Let’s always keep the prayer lines open, Knowing God is always there; For we upon His name may call Anytime and anywhere. —D. De Haan True prayer is a way of life, not an emergency detour! You Can Not Hang Out With Negative People... and Expect To Live A Positive Life -- Joel Osteen "You need to associate with people who inspire you, people who challenge you to rise higher, people who make you better. Don't waste your valuable time with people who are not adding to your growth. Your destiny is too important." -- Joel Osteen "You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It won't happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, "I don't care how hard this is. I don't care how disappointed I am. I am not going to let this get the best of me. I'm moving on with my life." -- Joel Osteen Joel's words and wisdom provide much needed help in Today's world. See beyond today. In your mind, you must be able to see where you want to go. Picture in your mind the place you want to be. Once you focus on that goal (picture) then you can get there. No one said it will be easy. As you may have heard... "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." You want great things? You must try new things in new ways and be open to the paths that God has for your life. And as you go, remember the great wisdom of Ben Franklin... "Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." So, keep reaching, keep trying and keep moving forward. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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