The world looks for something real something tangible .People look for Love and God is Love (see 1 John 4:8). Because we know God, we can offer the answer to the searching hearts around us and the needs of people we encounter in life because this God of love is the answer to all our needs.
"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." (Matthew 25:21) Somebody has facetiously said, "Blessed be he who aimeth at nothing for he shall surely hit it!" On the same theme, Bill Bernbach made the following insightful comment: "If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you and nobody for you!" It is true, if we aim for and stand for right, for justice, for integrity, for truth, and are committed to doing the will of God, there will always be opposition. Chances are the more worthy our cause, the greater will be the opposition—and the temptation to discouragement. However, when we get to the end of life's journey, how rewarding it will be to have the Savior welcome us to Heaven with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!" What Jesus will say to us when we meet him face to face will totally depend on what we are doing and how we are living today. We have that opportunity now. As a favorite one-liner puts it, "It is choice, not chance, that determines our destiny." Suggested prayer: "Dear God, grant that I will so live that when I meet you face to face, I will hear your wonderful words, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!' Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." "His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithfull over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord." (Matthew 25:21) Dick Innes www.actsweb.org Jy kan nader aan die Here kom as jy regtig wil. Jy kan Hom intiem en persoonlik leer ken. Jy hoef nie tevrede te wees met Sondagoggend-preekbrokkies, tweedehandse inligting of 'n langafstandverhouding nie. Johannes skryf: "Ons het Hom self gehoor; ons het Hom met ons eie oë gesien; ja, ons het Hom gesien en met ons hande aan Hom geraak. Hy is die Woord, die Lewe." Om nader aan God te kom, vereis dat 'n mens 'n groter bewustheid van Sy teenwoordigheid aankweek. Dit het groot voordele:
1) Vriendskap. Geen mens op aarde, maak nie saak hoe wonderlik hy of sy is nie, kan alles wees wat jy nodig het nie. Maar die Here kan. In die Bybel word Hy beskryf as "'n vriend... wat nader is as 'n broer." (Spr. 18:24 NV). Hy sal deur alle seisoene van jou lewe by jou wees, die slegtes en die goeies. Selfs wanneer jy nie getrou is aan die Here nie, sal Hy getrou wees aan jou. 2) Ontferming. As 'n jong dissipel, wou Johannes vuur uit die hemel afroep op 'n dorp wat nie vir Christus en Sy dissipels blyplek wou gee nie (Luk. 9:54). Maar na 'n lewe saam met Jesus het hy geskryf: "Wie nie liefhet nie, het geen kennis van God nie, want God is liefde." (1 Joh. 4:8 NV). 3) Vertroue. Jy kan alles hanteer wat die lewe oor jou pad stuur as jy volle vertroue het in God se almag. "Ek is tot alles in staat deur Hom wat my krag gee." (Fil. 4:13 NV). Sielskos: Jer. 49-50; Mark. 2:18-22; Ps 50:1-15; Spr. 10:8-10 When the Holy Spirit truly comes upon a person that person will be changed. Samuel 10:6. People will see evidence of change of character and the development of the fruit of the Holy Spirit Gal 5:22. God wants to enable usto life for Him. Be changed men and women and make a difference through the Holy Spirit
Die Psalmskrywer skryf: "Hulle moet vir die Here dankie sê omdat Hy doen wat Hy belowe het..." Let op dat daar staan "moet". Dankbaarheid is 'n keuse wat jy moet maak, ongeag jou omstandighede. Daar is so baie om voor dankbaar te wees. Jy sê dalk: "Ja, maar daar is heelwat om oor te kla ook." Dis presies hoekom jy 'n keuse moet maak! Robinson Crusoe was vir 27 jaar lank gestrand op 'n eiland. Hier is 'n verwerking van 'n gedeelte uit sy dagboek. Daar is 'n lys wat ons die "klalys" kan noem, asook 'n "dankbaarheidslys". Klagte: "Ek is gestrand op hierdie verlate eiland, sonder enige hoop." Dankbaarheid: "Ek het nie verdrink soos die res van die mense op die skip nie." Klagte: "Ek het niks om myself mee te beskerm teen ander mense en diere nie." Dankbaarheid: "Ek sien geen wilde diere hier wat my sou kon bedreig het soos aan die Afrika kus nie. Sê nou ek was daar gestrand?" Klagte: "Ek het niemand om mee te praat nie." Dankbaarheid: "Die Here het die skip naby genoeg aan die strand laat dryf dat ek alles kon kry wat ek sal nodig hê solank as wat ek leef." Dit is kragtige woorde! Indien jy dit kan begryp en begin uitleef, sal dankbaarheid jou help om nie 'n deel van die Ou-Testamentiese wildernisklub te word wat net gemurmureer het nie. Jou ingesteldheid is eenvoudig die keuse wat jy maak oor hoe jy dinge gaan benader. Dit is nie onrealisties om op die goeie dinge in die lewe te fokus nie; dis wysheid!
Sielskos: Jer. 45-48; Mark. 2:13-17; Ps 25:16-22; Spr. 10:4-7 “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” Romans 7:22-23
You have a war inside of you that will rage for your entire life between who you used to be and who you've become in Jesus Christ. Paul, the most decorated missionary in the history of Christianity and the author of most of the New Testament, battled with it. The Bible says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (Romans 7:22-23 NLT). I hate to tell you this, but you’ll always have this battle. You’ll never outgrow it. You can’t read enough Scripture to make the temptations go away. You can’t hide from them. Until you get to Heaven, you’re stuck with an all-out battle between your two natures. I’ve been a believer for a long time, but my old nature is still there. My old nature wants me to be prideful, lustful, self-centred, deceptive, and just downright sinful sometimes. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Willpower won’t solve the problem. Just because you want to change and put everything into making that change doesn’t mean you’ll make the change. It may work for a bit, but you’ll get tired and stop the effort. In your spiritual walk, you want to choose to follow your new nature, meaning you choose not to follow your old nature. For instance, if you’re tempted with lust but you immediately remove yourself from the temptation, you’ll starve the old self. If, when you’re tempted with pride, you remember your dependence upon God, your old nature can’t last long. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10b) I remember picking up a book one day called "Sleeping Through the Revolution" by Dr. Paul Rees . In that book, I came across a quotation from Dr. Stanley Jones's book, "Abundant Living". This is how the quote ran : "The early Christians did not say in dismay, 'Look what the world has come to', but they said in delight, 'Look what has come to the world!'" They saw not merely the ruin but the resources for the reconstruction . They saw not merely that sin did abound but that grace did much more abound ." Dr. Jones added this significant sentence, "The whole secret of abundant living can be summed up in this sentence : 'Not your responsibility but your response to His ability ."' I like that, don't you? "Not your responsibility but your response to His ability ." "Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die." (Genesis 42:2b)
F. B. Meyer in his book, The Life of Joseph, describes a time in the life of the 12 sons of Jacob in which they were driven from their lives of self-satisfaction to an unlikely place to save their lives. Many years earlier they had thrown their youngest brother into a pit, then sold him into slavery. Thirteen years later he became the second most powerful person in Egypt. Now the world was experiencing a famine, and Joseph controlled all the stored grain of Egypt. As long as the hills were green and the pastures clothed with flocks, as long as the valleys were covered over with corn and rang with the songs of reapers, Reuben, Simeon, and the rest of them would have been unconcerned and content. But when the mighty famine came, the hearts of these men were opened to conviction. Their carnal security was shattered. They were being prepared for certain spiritual experiences they would never have dreamed. And they were being prepared for the meeting with Joseph. This is how God deals with us; He breaks up our nest, He loosens our roots, He sends a mighty famine that cuts away the whole staff of bread. Then, at such times, weary, worn, and sad, we are prepared to confess our sins and receive the words of Christ when He says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28). A missionary once said, "There is a place where we will all be obedient." Joseph was a type of Christ in the Old Testament. The famine was an event designed to bring the brothers to repentance and a saving knowledge, physically and spiritually. It created the circumstances that led to freedom for these men, for they had been in bondage to a wicked crime against their brother for many years. It was the forgiveness from Joseph that led to that freedom. Is your life passing through a time of famine? Are your supplies limited? Is God leading you into directions that you would not normally seek? Perhaps this is God's hand creating circumstances for His purposes. Now is the time to look attentively as He directs you to unlikely sources. Os Hillman TGIF "Today God Is First" I have given you power … that is greater than the enemy has. Luke 10:19
Many players appear on the stage of Gethsemane. Judas and his betrayal. Peter and his sword… The soldiers and their weapons. And though these are crucial, they aren't instrumental. The encounter is not between Jesus and the soldiers; it is between God and Satan. Satan dares to enter yet another garden, but God stands and Satan hasn't a prayer… Satan falls in the presence of Christ. One word from his lips, and the finest army in the world collapsed. Satan is silent in the proclamation of Christ. Not once did the enemy speak without Jesus' invitation. Before Christ, Satan has nothing to say. Satan is powerless against the protection of Christ… When Jesus says he will keep you safe, he means it. Hell will have to get through him to get to you. Jesus is able to protect you. When he says he will get you home, he will get you home. A Gentle Thunder (Max Lucado) |
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