1Tim 6:11 But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.
1Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned and [for which] you confessed the good confession [of faith] before many witnesses.
Deut 30:8 And you shall return and obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today.
Deut 30:9 And the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, of your cattle, of your land, for good; for the Lord will again delight in prospering you, as He took delight in your fathers, Deut 30:10 If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being. Work as if working for the Lord, He will help you with time, where you now feel there is no time, He will provide financially, where you now feel there is lacking, He will open doors of opportunities, where you now feel you stuck with dragging work forever, He will broaden your mind with creative [out of the box thoughts] HE WILL SURELY WITHOUT FAIL BRING YOU TO YOUR DESTINY, THAT YOU WERE BORN FOR Please note God gives the promotions, not man Geloof en bekommernis is nie vriende nie. Inteendeel. Bekommernis is 'n geloofsdief. Psalm 37 bied egter 'n paar belangrike beginsels om uit bekommernis se kloue vir altyd te ontsnap:
"Moenie jou energie mors om heeltyd oor slegte mense te praat nie" (vers 1). Los die skelms vir die Here. Hy het hulle naam en adres. Hy sal met hulle afreken. "Glo in die Here" (vers 3). Kies om jou aandag net op God te fokus. Kyk weg van negatiewe dinge; kyk na God. Kies elke dag van voor af om aan Hom vas te hou. "Doen goeie dinge vir ander mense" (vers 3). Raak betrokke by ander. Jy is geroep om 'n impak in die wêreld te maak. Wees 'n lewende inspirasie vir mense rondom jou. Sorg dat jou naam en adres op die lippe is van een persoon wat regtig swaarkry. Wees die hande en voete van ons Heer vir mense in nood. "Wees elke oomblik bly dat jy die Here ken. Hy sal sorg dat jy kry wat jy wil hê" (vers 4). Kies vir vreugde, die Here se soort. Wees bly dat die Here jou ken en liefhet. Nee, jy is nie maar net 'n nommer hier op aarde nie. Jy het Koninklike bloed in jou are, Christus S'n. "Stel jou lewe elke dag in die Here se hand. Glo in Hom; Hy sal jou op die regte pad hou" (vers 5-6). Meld daagliks aan vir aktiewe diens by die Here. Vertrou God blindelings om jou lewe op sy regte pad te hou. Gebed Heer, gee dat bekommernis vandag tweede kom in my hart Laat dit sommer die heeldag lank verloor, asseblief! Haal alle negatiewe gedagtes uit my hart. Verwyder donkerte en hooploosheid van my lewe se perseel af. Hoor my as ek op die hemel se deurstoep voor U kniel My lewe is in u hande, Here Vul my met u Gees en met nuwe hoop In Jesus se Naam, amen Standing for what you believe in regardless of the odds against you,
and the pressure that tears at your resistance ...is Courage. Keeping a smile on your face when inside you feel like dying, for the sake of supporting others ...is Strength. Stopping at nothing and doing what's in your heart that you know is right ...is Determination. Doing more than is expected, to make another's life a little more bearable, without uttering a single complaint ...is Compassion. Helping a friend in need, no matter the time or effort, to the best of your ability ...is Loyalty. Holding your head high And being the best you know you can be when life seems to fall apart at your feet, ...is Fortitude. Facing each difficulty with thoughts that time will bring you better tomorrows, And never giving up... ...is Confidence. “An enduring marriage requires possibility thinking, elasticity, and resilience. It needs continual attention and adaptation. It requires a shift in interest as our partner’s interest’s shift. Marriage, to remain good, involves a lifelong project of adjusting and readjusting our attitudes. For this is the only path to finding positive options to our
most perplexing circumstances.” How true that advice is from Dr’s. Les and Leslie Parrott in their terrific book (which is no longer in print), When Bad Things Happen to Good Marriages! As they go on to say, “We find what we’re looking for”— especially when it concerns how we look at our marital partner. On this point, they go on to say: Once a year we teach a course on marriage to undergraduates at our university. Soon into the semester we give them a simple exercise to demonstrate a simple fact about attitudes. “Look around the classroom and show the person sitting next to you everything you can find that’s the color green in this room.” Everyone immediately starts talking. “Okay,” we interrupt. “How many of you came into this room looking for green things before this exercise?” No hands go up. “What we have done, in only a few seconds, is given you a ‘green mind-set.’” We go on to tell them that all of us see whatever it is we prepare our minds to see. Our perception, how we view a situation, is the result of our attitude. Once we have a particular mind-set, we see everything and everybody in a certain way—either more positively or more negatively—even if our perception isn’t accurate. That’s why in marriage and in life, we so often find what we’re looking for. If you think your spouse is lazy, you can find plenty of evidence to support your case. If you think your spouse is efficient, you can find experiences to back that up, too. Whatever you have it in your mind to find, you will. Not long ago I was convinced Leslie had taken a fifty-dollar bill from my wallet. I was certain because I took special care to place it at the back of my other bills earlier in the week when I went to the bank. And now it wasn’t there. “I didn’t touch your wallet,” she protested. But during the entire afternoon everything she did seemed suspicious—the tone of her voice, her gestures. I was convinced she had taken the money and probably forgot. But that changed in an instant when I suddenly recalled using the bill two days earlier when paying for groceries. A mind-set is a powerful thing. Some people find a problem in every solution. “Yes, but…” is their common refrain, especially in marriage therapy. “Have you tried reflecting your partner’s feelings before you try to make your point in a conversation?” we might ask. “Yes, but that doesn’t work because he doesn’t listen to me,” the client responds. “Have you considered trying to understand him before getting him to understand you?” we say in another attempt. “Yes, but he doesn’t talk to me.” One of the reasons some people can’t find a solution to their problems is that they aren’t looking for one. They’ve developed a mind-set, in fact, that filters solutions out. Husbands and wives around the world are divided into two camps when it comes to their attitudes: those who have a positive mind-set and those who have a negative mind-set. By force of habit, each of us is either basically positive or basically negative. The negative person defends his attitudes with the rationale of being realistic, while the positive person looks beyond the current state of affairs and sees people and situations in terms of possibilities. The choice is theirs, or should we say yours. If you want to do what you can to have a positive attitude, you’ll need to learn how to change a negative mind-set. You’ll need to open your eyes to things you probably haven’t been looking for. How to Change a Bad Attitude: We offer the following four steps, which have proven effective for many couples who want to turn a bad attitude good. Step 1: Look for the Positive. This simple step can be revolutionary for some couples. It involves trying on a new mind-set, one that looks for good things about your partner and positive solutions for your predicaments. Each of us sees whatever we have prepared our mind to see. This step, then, becomes vital to changing a bad attitude. If you have a negative attitude you can’t seem to shake, you’ve created a convincing mind-set. Maybe you see your spouse as sloppy, selfish, or insensitive. Whatever the negative trait, the idea is to look beyond it. See if you’re wearing blinders that prevent you from seeing his or her more positive qualities that balance out the negative ones. See if your mind-set is making one bad quality worse than it really is. Step 2: Refuse to Be a Victim. Perhaps you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you don’t have the financial resources your friends do. Or maybe you didn’t grow up in a home that provided good role models for marriage. Or maybe you or your partner has been laid off. Or maybe you have a physical illness where you feel the right to feel sorry for yourself. Whatever your situation, no matter how tough, you will gain nothing by being a victim. Self-pity is the luxury no marriage can afford. It’s guaranteed to drain all the energy from you and your relationship. Any amount of self-pity is more than enough. Don’t allow self-pity to sabotage your attitude. Choose to step out of the victim role and determine your destiny. Step 3: Give Up Grudges. Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, is a terrific example of someone who put this third step into practice. She was never known to hold a grudge against anyone. One time a friend reminded her of a cruel accusation that someone had made up against her years earlier, but Clara seemed not to remember the incident. “Don’t you remember the wrong that was done to you?” the friend asked. “No,” Clara answered calmly. “I distinctly remember forgetting that.” Nothing keeps good attitudes from emerging more than carrying a grudge. Bitterness and resentment are the poisons of positive thinking. So in your desire to build a better attitude, it’s important to follow Clara Barton’s example and give up your grudges, no matter how well justified they seem. Whatever the cause, bitterness clogs the veins of a positive attitude, and it must be expelled in order to give life to good thoughts. Step 4: Give Yourself and Your Marriage Some Grace. Some negative attitudes are so habit-forming they become like big ruts that we can easily find ourselves in them 20 years down the road. It takes serious effort to change these negative thinking patterns, so we urge you to give yourself and your partner grace along the way. If your attitude change isn’t as quick or as consistent as you’d like, go easy on yourself. Remember that each new day presents another opportunity to start fresh. And each day that you make this effort to improve your attitude brings you closer to the marriage you desire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Abraham Lincoln said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” We pray you’ll make up your minds to “adjust and readjust’” to open your mind to “possibility thinking, elasticity, and resilience” so your marriage can be the best it can be as the Lord teaches you how to truly love your spouse as He does. God Bless Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psa 119:105
The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God's plan to save His children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save his children. Though the Bible was written over sixteen centuries by at least forty authors, it has one central theme—salvation through faith in Christ. Begun by Moses in the lonely desert of Arabia and finished by John on the lonely Isle of Patmos, it is held together by a strong thread: God's passion and God's plan to save His children. What a vital truth! Understanding the purpose of the Bible is like setting the compass in the right direction. Calibrate it correctly and you'll journey safely. But fail to set it, and who knows where you'll end up. "How to Study the Bible" (Max Lucado) Wanneer jy moeg en moedeloos voel weens Verpletterende omstandighede en situasies .... Weet die Here hoe hard jy probeer het. Wanneer jy so lank trane gestort het En jou hart is beklemd .... Het die Here jou trane getel. As jy voel jou lewe is doelloos En die tyd het jou agtergelaat . Was die Here saam met jou. Wanneer jy eensaam voel en jou vriende Te besig is om te bel of nie verstaan nie .... Wag die Here saam met jou. Die Here is aan jou sy wanneer jy dink jy alles Probeer het en nie meer raad weet nie .. Hy het die oplossing. Wanneer niks sin maak nie en jy seer, Verwar of gefrustreerd voel .... Het die Here die antwoord. As jou blik op die lewe verhelder En jy tekens van hoop in die lewe vind .... Het die Here vir jou gefluister. Wanneer alles klopdisselboom gaan En jy volop stof tot dank het .. Het die Here jou geseën. Wanneer iets verstommends gebeur En jy daardie spesiale iemand vind .... Het die Here se glimlag op jou gerus. As jy 'n droom het om te volg En ook 'n werklikheid om uit te lewe . Het die Here jou oë geopen en jou naam genoem. Onthou net, waar jy ook al is, en wat jy ook al in die gesig staar . DIE HERE WEET! Here is a true story about a nine year old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee. His house was in a poor area of the community. A church there had a bus ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon.
The kid came to answer the door and greeted the bus pastor. The bus pastor asked if his parents were home and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother. The bus pastor couldn't believe what the kid said and asked him to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer and the bus pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed. The bus pastor asked the kid, "Where do you go to church?" The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, "I've never been to church in my whole life." The bus pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child's house. "Are you sure you have never been to church?" he asked again. "I sure haven't," came his answer. Then the bus pastor said, "Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?" and then he proceeded to share the Gospel with this little nine year old boy. The young lad's heart began to be tenderized and at the end of the bus pastor's story the bus pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God. The youngster exclaimed, "You betcha!" The kid and the bus pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation. They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he could pick the kid up for church the next morning. "Sure," the nine old replied. The bus pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off. He let himself in and snaked his way through the house and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a doughnut for breakfast on their way to church. Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before. The church was a real big one. The little kid just sat there, clueless of what was going on. A few minutes into the service these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates. One of the men prayed and the kid with utter fascination watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden like a bolt of lightning it hit the kid what was taking place. These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and couldn't find a thing to give Jesus. By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and with a broken heart he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed back and forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the sanctuary. Then he had an idea. This little nine year old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat and asked to hold the plate one more time. Then he did the most astounding thing I have ever heard of. He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor and stepped into the centre of it. As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, "Jesus, I don't have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!" Do you have a willing heart... willing enough to give Jesus EVERYTHING... anywhere, anytime, any place... your whole self? take the first step today. It's so simple. Close your eyes and tell Jesus, "Jesus, today I give you me. Help me to be on fire for you." As you take one step, He will come running to you, with arms wide open. "[Give] to God what is God's." Give to God that which is made in His likeness. Give yourself to Jesus. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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