There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner changes his heart and life. —Luk 15:10
Why do Jesus and his angels rejoice over one repenting sinner? Can they see something we can't? Do they know something we don't? Absolutely. They know what heaven holds… Heaven is populated by those who let God change them. Arguments will cease, for jealousy won't exist. Suspicions won't surface, for there will be no secrets. Every sin is gone. Every insecurity is forgotten. Every fear is past. Pure wheat. No weeds. Pure gold. No alloy. Pure love. No lust. Pure hope. No fear. No wonder the angels rejoice when one sinner repents; they know another work of art will soon grace the gallery of God. They know what heaven holds. Just Like Jesus (Max Lucado) I kept my faith, even when I said, "I am greatly afflicted" (Psalms 116:10 NRSV Bible)
We have two choices in dealing with the unexpected. We can become bitter, or we can allow the unexpected to enrich our lives. If we choose to allow the unexpected to enrich our lives, then how can we survive the pressure? I believe there is only one thing that can truly help us deal with all of the changes of life - our faith in God. I would not be the person I am today without my faith in Jesus Christ. I would not have been able to handle all the ups and downs in my life without God's love working in me. So, we must nurture our faith - no matter how much we have. Whether we have lots of faith or only a tiny bit, we must nurture it. We do this through worship, study, conversations with God, mutual support of one another, by helping those who need us, by giving our time, and by sharing our resources. The greatest growth in my faith has come from experiences of helping other people. So, we must nurture our faith, which will help carry us through the unexpected twists and turns of life. “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
So you become a Christian. You think, “Follow Jesus: that won’t be so hard. Obviously, this is the way I want to live, so I’ll avoid all the bad things." Unfortunately, it is not so easy to avoid those bad things – those sins – that keep you away from God. But the good news at least, as St. Paul noted, is that anything that has tempted you, has tempted others, as well. Any sin you commit is not the first of its kind. Others know how you feel! But the even better news, he wrote, is that God will give you a way to avoid falling into the trap of yielding to your temptation and falling into sin. "Get Behind Me, Satan!" In Matthew 4, our Lord Jesus was sorely and brazenly tempted before He started His ministry. Jesus had gone into the wilderness by Himself. While He was alone and hungry, the Evil One tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread, to have Him summon angels to attend Himself, and to make Jesus worship him. Each time, Jesus used God’s Word to rebuke the Devil; Jesus would not give in to sin even if it made his life easier. God does not want us to give in to sin either. For us, temptation will probably not show up as the devil. But we are tempted to sin – to make life easier for ourselves, to enjoy a pleasure not allotted to us, to avoid something we don’t want to do – in hundreds of ways. Our temptations tend to show up in more earthy ways: for the original humans, it was eating a piece of fruit God told them not to. Have you ever taken a sweet, or something else, that didn’t belong to you? That’s an easy temptation to fall prey to. As Jesus quoted in Matthew 4, and in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, God taught His Chosen People after they’d escaped Egyptian captivity. He humbled and tested them in the wilderness, allowing them get hungry and then to feed them, “to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3a) The manna God provided was only available at certain times and certain ways, and the Israelites had to obey God’s words to be able to even eat. We also have to depend on God’s Word for survival in avoiding sin. When the Spirit fell upon His disciples, they became fearless. As they
went forth to the temple to witness, the Holy Ghost made their words cutting, convicting — as swords piercing the heart. They preached the gospel with power and authority because they had Holy Ghost fire within them. Under this anointed preaching, in just a short time some five thousand people were saved. Even priests were converted. And further outpourings happened in nearby villages, in distant cities and even among Gentiles. The best part of this unbelievable scene is that the church got all of its direction from the Holy Ghost. Nothing happened until the disciples had shut themselves in with the Lord and fasted and prayed. When they did this, the Spirit came and began to direct their every move. Something else happened that was very important. The disciples were to take the gospel to every nation, every people, yet Jewish tradition forbade them even to touch the clothes of a Gentile. How were they supposed to bring the good news to people with whom they weren't even allowed to associate? It seemed to be an impossible command because even the Jewish converts held to these prejudices. The widespread proclamation of the gospel began only when the Holy Ghost took over. The Spirit visited Peter during his daily prayer time on a rooftop: "The voice spake unto [Peter] again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (unclean)" (Acts 10:15). He told Peter, "Don't dare call unclean what I have sanctified and made clean. Now, go downstairs, because there are some Gentiles knocking on your door. I want you to go with them and preach to them about Jesus!" The Holy Spirit had solved the prejudice problem overnight. He opened up the Gentile world to the gospel simply by speaking to His followers. It was all clearly directed from heaven! The powerful first-century believers received all their marching orders from the Holy Ghost Himself: “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed” (Acts 13:4). They never made a move until they first got alone with God and fasted and prayed. And the Holy Ghost answered them by giving clear direction! Hierdie is 'n opstel deur 'n laerskool leerling. Ingesluit is al die spelfoute en dinge: Die koei is 'n soogdier. Hy is ook 'n huisdier. 'n koei is orrals. 'n koei het 'n baie Fein reik - jy reik hom oor die jele plaas. Agteraan die koei sit die stert. An die een Kant van die stert sit die pint van die stert wat die kwas genoem word en an die anner Kant sit die koei. Die koei gebruik die kwas om die flieje van haar weg te hou anners Val hulle innie melk. Vooran die koei sit die kop. Daar groei die hoorings. Die kop hou ook die bek vas. Tissen die stert en die kop sit die koei. Die koei is oorgetrek met 'n beesvel. Onderan die koei hang die melk. Om die melk te kry, maak jy die koei se bene vas. Die agterstes. Dan sit jy onner die koei en trek die toutjie. Dan kom die melk. As die Gras goed is, is die melk goed. As die Gras sleg is, is die melk sleg. As die donner-weer in die lug is, is die melk weg. As dit 'n ou koei is, is die melk suur. Dit is baie goedkoop om 'n koei aan te hou want jy gee hom net eenkeer kos, Dan kou hy twee maal. Die man van die koei is die OS. Dit lyk soos die koei maar daar hang net nie melk aan hom nie. Om OS te se is nie 'n vloekwoord nie. Verder weet ek niks. Behalwe dat as 'n koei baie stip na jou kyk, moet jy padgee want Dan is dit 'n bul. William Barclay said: 'It's more difficult to congratulate another on his success if it involves disappointment to us, than to sympathise with his sorrow...Only when self is dead can we take as much joy in the success of others as in our own.' Karen Ehman's home had been for sale twenty months when a friend called to say hers sold in twenty days. Ehman says: 'Although I was thrilled, I felt jealous - that poor me mentality when God answers someone else's prayer and my answer seems to be no. As a child I envied kids from two-parent homes. In high school it was other girls' looks and cute clothes. I was average looking, and although I was every guy's pal, I was nobody's gal. Once married, I struggled with miscarriage and slapped a smile on my face every time I attended yet another baby shower.' The cure for envy isn't easy. But when you call on God He will tell you things you could [never figure out on your own] (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV). Instead of begging Him to sell my house, take away my pain, and fix my kids, I need to ask what He's trying to teach me that I won't learn if He rescues me; and what qualities He's trying to grow in me. God's willing and able to answer our prayers as He sees fit...[His goal is] growing us to be more like His Son.' Paul writes, 'Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.' To be Christlike, you have to be able to do both. Soul food: Lev 16; Lev 23:26-32; Heb 9:1-14; Heb 13:11-16 William Wilberforce was 'n rykmanskind wat na Cambridge-universiteit gegaan het. Twee weke na sy 21ste verjaarsdag is hy tot die parlement verkies, waar hy 'n briljante redenaar en politikus geword het. Toe ontmoet hy John Newton, die skrywer van die lied Amazing Grace. Newton was voorheen die kaptein van 'n slaweskip, maar toe het hy Christus gevind, tot inkeer gekom en 'n predikant geword. Nadat hy Newton ontmoet het, is daar saadjies in Wilberforce se hart gesaai wat 'n groot wending in die geskiedenis sou meebring. In 1787 het Wilberforce 'n veldtog geloods om Groot-Brittanje bewus te maak van die gruwels van slawerny, sodat dit afgeskaf kon word. Dit was 'n hewige stryd. Uit sy sterfbed het John Wesley vir Wilberforce geskryf: "As God vir jou is, wie kan dan teen jou wees? Is almal van hulle saam sterker as God? Moenie bang wees om goed te doen nie! Gaan aan in die naam van God en met Sy krag sal tot selfs die Amerikaanse slawerny (die ergste wat bestaan) verdwyn." Wilberforce het deurgedruk omdat hy geweet het miljoene mense se lewens was op die spel. Op 23 Februarie 1807 is die Wet op Slawehandel, wat slawehandel onwettig gemaak het, uiteindelik deur die Britse Laerhuis goedgekeur met 283 stemme teenoor 16 daarteen. Ses-en-twintig jaar later, naby die einde van Wilberforce se lewe, is slawerny in die hele Britse Ryk afgeskaf. Kort daarna is dit ook in die Verenigde State afgeskaf. Hoe het dit gebeur? Deur een mens wat besluit het om te leef volgens die beginsel "... [dien] mekaar met liefde..." (Galasiërs 5:13 NLV).
Sielskos: Eksodus 19-21; Joh. 7:1-13; Ps 114; Spreuke 24:23-25 Isaiah 40:31
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. - God wants to renew your strength. - When God strengthens us we can accomplish the impossible. - This new strength comes as we make time for God in our lives. - As a result we can fly like eagles. PRAYER: Lord, it is Your strength that allows me to fly like an eagle. Please renew my strength for the rest of this week. Amen. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…
John 14:26 If you are asking whom or where you can go to to get the help you need, ask no more. Just turn to God who has already promised you the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom He has sent in Jesus’ name to dwell in you. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things. Yes, teach you all things! Do you really believe that? Or are you like some who believe that you seek God’s counsel only for spiritual things, but consult “professional” help for all other things in your life? God does not want you to run to and rely on worldly wisdom. Now, there is nothing wrong with going to a doctor or engaging a financial consultant, but God wants you to come to Him first for counsel and direction. That is why He has sent the Holy Spirit, the Counselor (John 16:7, NIV), to teach you all things. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13) The apostle John said, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things… the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things…” (1 John 2:20, 27) So the way God teaches you is through the anointing within. It is a continuous anointing. In any particular situation, He is anointing you from within, teaching you by the presence or absence of His peace. For example, a deal you are considering may sound very reasonable. But if you don’t have the peace in your spirit, don’t sign on the dotted line. Sign only when you have the peace. Be led by His peace and you will find that your heart will not be troubled, neither will it be afraid. (John 14:27) When you follow that peace which only God can give to you as an inward witness, good things and even miracles will come forth! Thought For The Day The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will guide you into all truth. "Your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well what you need and he will give it to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to." (Matthew 6:33 LB) When I was a kid, anytime I had a need, I'd just go to my dad and ask for whatever it was. Not once did I ever wonder or worry about where he was going to find the money. That was his job; he was the father, and I was the kid. Some of us act like spiritual orphans. We forget we have a heavenly Father who already knows what we need. Does God take care of little birds? They don't worry. Human beings are the only things in all creation that worry. Everything else trusts the heavenly Father and creator to care for their needs. Do you trust God enough not to worry about your circumstances? Worry is really just a form of atheism, because every time you worry, you're saying, “It all depends on me.” You must trust God with your life. As long as you love anything more than God, that thing or person or item will become a source of anxiety. "Don't put your hope in wealth, which is so uncertain. But put your hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). No matter how much money you make, you can still lose it all. You must always remember that your security is not in your bank account; your security is in the Lord. If God turns off one faucet, he can turn on another. If he turns off one job, he can turn on another. The book of Romans says that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for you to pay for your salvation. If God loves you enough to send his own son to die for you, don't you think he loves you enough to take care of your bills? Don't you realize that any other problem is minor by comparison? He solved your biggest problem when he saved you. The bottom line is this: Are you going to trust in God to do what he says he will do? As evidence of that faith, will you trust him enough to do what he tells you to do? Talk About It What concerns have caused you worry recently? Pray with someone today and give your concerns to God so that you can trust him for the future. Is there anything that you love more than God? How is your answer to this question reflected in your life? |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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