Know Sin - No God
Know God -No sin No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who practise sin have taken a good look at Christ. Theyve got him all backwards 1 John3:6 Msg Dont let anyone divert you from the truth, act according to Jesus example and live in victory 1 Cor 15:54-57 I no longer call you servants, but I call you friends. John 15:15
Through Christ's sacrifice, our past is pardoned and our future secure. And, "Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God" Romans 5:1. Peace with God. What a happy consequence of faith! Not just peace between countries, peace between neighbors or peace at home; salvation brings peace with God… God is no longer a foe, but a friend. We are at peace with him. In the Grip of Grace (Max Lucado) Deel (1)
Jou droom sal nooit vervul word as jy nie bereid is om die prys te betaal wat daarmee saamgaan nie. Dis nie 'n prys wat net een keer betaal word nie, maar oor 'n leeftyd. Eers is daar die aanvanklike prys. Jy sal dalk jou rug moet draai op aantreklike opsies en verhoudings waaraan jy waarde heg omdat hulle nie inpas by God se plan vir jou lewe nie. Om dit te doen, vereis deursettingsvermoë en genade wat net God vir jou kan gee. Paulus se "CV" het onder andere ingesluit dat hy "uit die stam Benjamin, 'n egte Hebreër" was (Fil. 3:5 NV). Hy het eens op 'n tyd geld en status gehad. Paulus se roeping was om die evangelie na Asië toe te bring en die helfte van die Nuwe Testament te skryf. Maar groot opdragte vereis groot opofferings. Paulus was nie die enigste een nie. "Omdat Moses geglo het, het hy toe hy groot geword het, geweier om die seun genoem te word van die farao se dogter. Hy het verkies om liewer sleg behandel te word saam met die volk van God as om die kortstondige genieting van sonde te hê. Die smaad ter wille van die Christus het hy 'n groter rykdom geag as die skatte van Egipte, omdat hy na die beloning uitgesien het." (Heb. 11:24-26 NV). Die vraag is dus: Het die Here vir jou 'n droom gegee? Het jy die geloof en vasberadenheid om dit te vervul? Het jy die prys bereken en is jy bereid om dit te betaal? Sielskos: Hand 14-15; Mark. 4:21-29; Ps 16; Spr. 11:1-2 Deel (2) Tweedens is daar die lopende prys. Ons wil almal hê wat suksesvolle mense het. Die probleem is dat ons nie die prys wil betaal wat hulle betaal het nie. Paulus vertel sy ware suksesverhaal: "Ek het harder gewerk... was meer in die tronk... is meer dikwels geslaan... was dikwels in doodsgevaar. Vyf maal het ek van die Jode die gebruiklike straf van nege en dertig houe gekry, drie maal het ek lyfstraf gekry, en een maal is ek met klippe gegooi. Drie maal het ek skipbreuk gely en een maal het ek 'n dag en 'n nag in die oop see deurgebring. Ek was dikwels... in gevaar: daar was gevare van riviere, gevare van rowers, gevare van my volksgenote en gevare van heidene; gevare in die stad en gevare in die veld; gevare op see en gevare onder vals broers. Daar was vir my harde werk en swaarkry, dikwels nagte sonder slaap, dikwels honger en dors; en dikwels was ek sonder kos, sonder skuiling of bedekking teen die koue. Behalwe dit alles was daar nog die daaglikse bekommernisse, die besorgdheid oor al die gemeentes." (2 Kor. 11:23-28 NV). Die meeste van ons het dalk 'n vae idee dat ons eendag opofferings sal moet maak, maar die prys sal gouer betaal moet word as wat ons dink. Ons verwag dit nie, en daarom word baie van ons moedeloos. Sommige van ons stel ons drome uit. Ander laat vaar hulle heeltemal. Die vraag wat jy moet beantwoord, is: "Wat sal ek oor vyf en twintig jaar wens ek het vandag gedoen?" Dít is die prys van 'n Godgegewe droom. Sielskos: Hand 16-17; Mark. 4:30-34; Ps 7:1-9; Spr. 11:3-6 Deel (3) Luister bietjie na die goed wat mense rondom jou sê. Baie van hulle is spyt omdat hulle jare gelede hulle drome laat vaar het. Dekades later dink hulle weer na oor hierdie drome, maar vir sommiges is dit eenvoudig te laat. Vir ander is die droom nog 'n moontlikheid, maar die prys is baie hoër. Dr John Maxwell skryf die volgende in sy boek, Put your dream to the test: "Om 'n droom te volg is soos om 'n berg uit te klim. Ons sal nooit die kruin bereik as ons te veel gewig met ons saamdra nie. Soos wat ons elke nuwe fase van die klimekspedisie binnegaan, moet ons 'n besluit neem: Neem ons nog meer goed saam met ons wat ons moet dra, los ons goed agter wat ons nie sal help nie, verruil ons wat ons by ons het vir iets anders, of hou ons heeltemal op met klim? Die meeste mense dra te veel goed saam met hulle... wanneer suksesvolle mense klim, begin hulle goed agterlaat of verruil sodat hulle 'n hoër vlak kan bereik... Daar is geen einde aan die paaiemente wat betaal moet word om 'n droom te bereik nie. Die reis duur slegs voort solank jy aanhou om die prys te betaal. Hoe hoër jy wil gaan, hoe meer moet jy opoffer. Hoe groter die prys is wat jy betaal, hoe groter is jou vreugde wanneer jy uiteindelik jou droom bereik." Iemand het gesê 'n taak sonder 'n visie is sleurwerk. 'n Visie sonder 'n taak is dagdromery. Maar 'n taak met 'n visie is die pad na oorwinning en sukses. Sielskos: Hand 18-19; Mark. 4:35-41; Ps 7:10-17; Spr. 11:7-9 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. Jos. 4:4-7
If only we’d stayed in Egypt! Change is not piece of cake. It’s not something that comes easily to us. Even the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt had second thoughts. Uprooting a nation from the place they’d stayed in for generations was no easy task. At least in Egypt they knew what to expect even if it meant enduring immense hardship and slavery. Change makes us uncertain On their journey through the desert the Israelites often lost their perspective. Time and again they were overwhelmed by the problems they encountered the hankered after the fleshpots of Egypt forgetting about the promise of freedom in a land of the proverbial milk and honey. Change is inevitable No-one can escape change but when you feel you can’t cope with change, share your concerns with God. The Hebrews certainly did! They expressed their complaints in no uncertain terms! God hears them and deals with their most pressing needs by sending them manna and quails to eat. In the same way God is with you in every change and upheaval in your life leading you to the Promised Land. Beacons on the way We have all come through changes in our lives and have the battle scars to prove it. Like Joshua, honour these victories in your life by erecting beacons as a reminder of the hardships you’ve endured and to remind future generations that with God’s help you’ve overcome change and entered the “promised land”. Prayer for today Lord, change brings uncertainty in our lives. Yet we know that change is inevitable. Thank you for being there every step of the way until I can say: with God’s help I made it through. Amen A man was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.
It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found hundreds of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of hundreds of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home thousands, but he just threw it away. You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God. There is a treasure in each and every one of us. The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I don't think he means just our physical bodies. I think he means our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden from others by the *earthen vessel*. But if you take the time to get to know that person, and if you ask the Father to show you that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.". (2 Corinthians 4:7) The fear of rejection may be one of the most basic fears of the human experience. Dr. Joe Harding tells a heart-warming story of a man who finally decided to ask his boss for a raise in salary. It was Friday. He told his wife that morning what he was about to do. All day the man felt nervous and apprehensive. Late in the afternoon he summoned the courage to approach his employer. To his delight, the boss agreed to a raise. The man arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china. Candles were lighted. His wife had prepared a festive meal. Immediately he figured that someone from the office had tipped her off! Finding his wife in the kitchen, he told her the good news. They embraced and kissed, then sat down to a wonderful meal. Next to his plate the man found a beautiful lettered note. It read: "Congratulations, darling! I knew you'd get the raise! These things will tell you how much I love you." While on his way to the kitchen to get dessert he noticed that a second card had fallen from her pocket. Picking it off the floor, he read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! These things will tell you how much I love you." Total acceptance! Total love. Her love for him was not contingent upon his success at work. In fact, just the opposite. If he were to fail there, if he were to be rejected by his boss, he'd be all the more accepted at home. She stood behind him no matter what; softening the blows, healing the wounds, believing in him, loving him. We can be rejected by almost anyone if we're loved by one. That's the way families can be with each other. And I like to think that's the way God is with us, too! "We love Him because He first loved us." "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) I've been to Bethlehem. It's fairly indistinguishable from many other Judean towns, except for the Church of the Nativity built over the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Bethlehem is located on a ridge some 2500 feet above sea level, and five or six miles southwest of Jerusalem. Why, with all the grand locations in the world to choose from, did God choose for His Son to be born in Bethlehem? I can think of three good reasons. 1) TO FULFILL PROPHECY Seven hundred years earlier the prophet Micah quoted God: "As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah... from you One will go forth from Me to be ruler in Israel, His goings forth are from long ago, from days of eternity." Now, some Messianic prophecies are cryptic - they are identified and understood only after the event has occurred. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 must have perplexed readers for hundreds of years as to their meaning. Only after the Savior went to the cross did the followers of Jesus realize how the first seems to be the thoughts of the Lord on the cross, and the second an eyewitness description of that event. God placed such prophecies in the Bible so that when they happened, His people would be comforted to know He had planned it from the beginning. However, Micah 5:2 stands out there in the open. God wanted everyone to know the Savior would be arriving in Bethlehem. And everyone did know, at least those familiar with the Scriptures. When the magi arrived in Jerusalem asking at every street corner where the newborn King could be found, word filtered up to King Herod in the palace and he called in his advisors. "In Bethlehem", they all agreed, quoting Micah 5:2. God keeps His word; Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 2) TO IDENTIFY WITH DAVID The Messiah would be a Son of David and sit on the throne of David. Old Testament prophecies emphasized both points again and again. Since both Mary and Joseph were of the lineage of David, Jesus was doubly covered. When the census of Luke 2:1 called everyone to his ancestral home, they made the journey of a hundred miles south to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was where Ruth lived and where she gleaned the fields behind Boaz' harvesters. Boaz spotted the lovely young widow and the rest, as they say, is history. Their son Obed became the father of Jesse, who raised a large family of sons and daughters, the youngest son being David. Thereafter, Bethlehem would forever be known as the city of David. Even the angels called it that. "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior," they said to the shepherds. Doubtless many of the psalms of David which God's people have loved and sung for thirty centuries were inspired by time spent in the same fields and meadows where the shepherds met the angels that wondrous night. One day as the Lord and His entourage were approaching Jericho, a blind beggar sitting beside the gate began to call out to Him. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Again and again, he repeated that refrain. When our Lord came within earshot, He had the man brought to Him and restored his sight. The son of God is the Son of David! Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 3) TO MAKE A CONNECTION Bethlehem in the Hebrew means "House of Bread" (Today, the Jews call it "Beit Lahm", meaning "house of meat".) What more fitting place for One to be born who would be known as the Bread of Life. One day, the Lord Jesus fed thousands of people with the lunch of a child. Soon afterward, He taught the people the meaning of the miracle. "There is a bread that endures to eternal life," He said. He Himself was the living and true Bread from Heaven, "which a man may eat and live forever." (John 6) Isaiah asked the people of God in his day: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? (Isa. 55:2) That is to say, why are you working and worrying and spending your life for things that do not nourish you, do not strengthen you, and do not satisfy you? A good question for our day, also. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies given hundreds of years earlier. Jesus Christ is the Son of David, born in the City of David. Jesus is the Bread of Life, born in the House of Bread. How much plainer can God make it? Jesus is Lord!!! “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NASB)
God wants you confident in the truth that, through him, all things are possible. Every day of your life, you have a choice:
However, two of the scouts remained confident in the promise from God that he would hand the land over to the Israelites. One of those scouts, Caleb, silenced the others when he said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30b NIV). He was focused on the magnitude of God and not the magnitude of any giant challenge ahead. Today, you may be facing giants that challenge your faith. Some of the giants crowd around you — giants of time and energy, finances and resources, fear and faithlessness. God wants you confident that he’s pouring his strength into you so you can do whatever it takes to overcome these obstacles. He says you can take possession of your promised mission; you can be certain you can do it because God is strengthening you. Consider this: God wants to build up your faith, and one way he’ll do it is by showing you how, together with him, it is possible to defeat the giants that keep you from moving into your promised mission. Once we understand Grace, we must grow and learn how to receive it in every situation, see 2 Peter 3:18. We grow in grace by putting our faith in God and receiving His grace in situations that is difficult or impossible for us. If you struggle with something now in your life ask yourself honestly if you are putting your faith in God and that you believe His grace will meet your need. Remember grace is unmerited favor to us sinners. It is God’s power coming into our situation to do for us what we can’t do ourselves. We need to leave the choice to God on whether to deliver us or just giving us the strength to carry on.
Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. 16 What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — if you don't give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. James 2:15-16 (GNT)
Serve the kingdom among the poor Just a stone's throw from my neighbourhood there are people living like ants in shanties leaning into the wind. And if by chance you pass by there, the laundry waves at you and the sheets of corrugated iron beckon you to take a closer look at the children playing in dirty streets while moms are cooking food on open fires and dads plod home through the smog. At night I cannot sleep. It's dark outside and the wind is blowing fiercely. It’s raining and I see the shabby little houses fighting for survival. I cannot get then out of my thoughts knowing there are too many people sleeping in one room, knowing that oil lamps and candles fall over setting houses on fire, knowing there are sounds in the night that scare children. But I wish I didn’t know as I lie between my clean white sheets with a solid roof over my head. Where is God's helping hand? If I could just once put reach out to someone in need to show that I am aware of them even if I can’t do much to relieve their plight. I know there are many helping hands of those who voluntarily help to build houses or who live simpler lives in solidarity with the poor and needy. What about me? Or you? Prayer for today God, in your house are many mansions but in my own heart I cannot even find room for one person in need. Forgive me and give me a loving heart and willing hands to help where you want me to. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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