He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Psalm 40:3
God invites us to see his face so he can change ours. He uses our uncovered faces to display his glory. The transformation isn't easy. The sculptor of Mount Rushmore faced a lesser challenge than does God. But our Lord is up to the task. He loves to change the faces of his children. By his fingers, wrinkles of worry are rubbed away. Shadows of shame and doubt become portraits of grace and trust. He relaxes clenched jaws and smoothes furrowed brows. His touch can remove the bags of exhaustion from beneath the eyes and turn tears of despair into tears of peace. How? Through worship. We'd expect something more complicated, more demanding. A forty-day fast or the memorization of Leviticus perhaps. No. God's plan is simpler. He changes our faces through worship. Just Like Jesus (Max Lucado) “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Mark 10:38-39 We could have no greater example or hero of a servant than Jesus Christ. Today’s passage shows us that Christ deliberately chose to become a servant. Servanthood came at a great cost to Jesus, and it comes at a cost to us too. When Jesus spoke to His disciples about servanthood at the Last Supper, He didn’t try to convince them that it would be an easy ride. He got straight to the small print of the contract: the cost in the service of the kingdom. The task to be entrusted to them was tremendous. Jesus needed men and women of keen perspective and deep conviction. Disciples with both eyes wide open, hearts fully committed, and wills completely surrendered to Him; men and women who would follow Him to the death. The Lord’s searching question was superficially answered, “We can”. Jesus told them that they would indeed drink the cup and experience the baptism. They must learn that for an influential spiritual ministry to bear fruit, there would be a steep price to pay — and that it cannot be acquired in one easy payment. In the end, it cost James his head, and John finished his days in exile doing hard labour on the island of Patmos. We may not suffer the way the disciples did, but as Christians, we should never be surprised when trials come our way. The thought of suffering and servanthood are intertwined. In 1 Peter 2:21 we read, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” Take some time today to read through 1 Peter and consider the call to stand firm for Jesus even when it brings suffering to us. Spend some time in prayer, meditating on how willing you are to bear the sufferings of Christ wherever you happen to be. Prayer: Lord, strengthen me that I might be able to endure eagerly and faithfully the difficulties that come with being a Christian. Thank you for Christian friends who encourage me to stand firm for Christ. The manufacturing business is a weird industry. Here you can’t even deviate one millimetre from any process, because the negative impact will be just enormous. Suddenly poor quality forces you to employ more people– and before you know it expenditure is up and output down. Therefore, it is always extremely important that minimum standards are met at each and every station. It’s exhausting, but like a sergeant major in the army you have to watch every process like a hawk to ensure that it is carried out a hundred per cent correctly. Adhering to the processes will give good results.
It seems to me the lives of God’s children are exactly the same. The processes according to which we live life are continuously being changed by God’s Word so that a better output can be achieved. Cut off a bit here, change something there, clean this, ask forgiveness, and try again. I try very hard, and yes, sometimes it is all becomes too much. But, really, we shouldn’t be defeated by a bit of hard work, but rather keep our eyes on the outcome, the output. We must realise that God is shaping us to fit His shape. He has this big dream for us, and we can only achieve it with some hard work. Therefore, we must at all times ensure that our processes are correct, that we are on the road that God wants us to be on, and that we don’t deviate one single millimetre from that road. Allow the Spirit to shape you. Listen to Jesus and to God’s Word. 5This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. Jesus came as a shining light to our dark world to bring light indeed. Jesus’ light shone on our lives and processes to show us where something is wrong. He came to show us precisely what the outcome of our processes to live life would be. And it is not a good place. It is a place where darkness reigns – the hell. It is bad to see that place and know that you will never get to a place where you can live happily. But what do we do now? Man has been living his life like this for centuries. Can we simply change the process around and think it will work? Fortunately, we know Jesus was not just a shining light. He did something. He taught us what the right processes are. He told us to first love our God and then others as we love ourselves. He taught us that we can make a difference. He showed us that he believed so much in what He came to do that He died on the cross to make it easier for us to one day achieve the desired outcome. But even more, God sent His Spirit to help us with our processes. We will have to come back to our processes again and again. We will have to find the places that really, really need renewal. Together with the Holy Spirit shining the light we will have to make sure that each part of the process of our lives work optimally. We will have to watch out for the dust that thickens the lubricants and throws a spanner in the works. We will have to work hard so that our lives will run on well-oiled wheels and reflect Jesus’ light. Then we will be able to play our part in God’s dream well and produce the outcome that we need to produce. Reflection Which processes are not yet working so well? What can you do? Where can you get help? How much light is shining from you? “Remind people to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work.”
(Titus 3:1, AMP) In what ways do you honor God? A lot of times, people think, “I go to church to honor God. I read my Bible to honor God. I sing and clap to honor God.” And yes, those are ways to honor God, but did you know that you honor God just as much when you get to work on time? You honor God when you are productive each day and honor the people in authority over you. You honor God when you excel in your career. Actions speak louder than words. When you give your very best in the workplace, your whole life is giving praise to God — it’s one of the best witnesses you could ever have. Just showing up with a good attitude, friendly, organized, being your best — people will notice there’s something different about you. They’ll want what you have. As believers, we should set the standard in all areas of life. People should see the depth of your character and your spirit of excellence and know that you are a child of the Most High God. Make the decision to honor Him in all that you do because you are His representative in the earth today! Father, I choose to honor You in all that I do. I choose to set the standard and do my very best. Thank You for the privilege to be Your representative. I love You and bless You in Jesus’ name! Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen ‘n Jong vrou wat met kanker gediagnoseer is, is aangeraai om haar “dinge in orde te kry” aangesien sy net drie maande oorgehad het. Sy laat kom toe haar predikant om haar wense met hom te bespreek. Sy het gesê watter liede sy gesing wou hê, watter teksvers hy vir sy preek moes gebruik, ens. Alles is
noukeurig neergeskryf, maar net toe die predikant wou loop, sê sy: “Daar is net nog een ding. Dis baie belangrik. Ek moet begrawe word met ‘n vurk in my regterhand.” Die predikant het nie mooi geweet wat om te sê nie en toe sê die vrou: “Verbaas dit u?” “Wel, ja” het die predikant geantwoord, “ek verstaan nie mooi nie.” Die vrou sê toe haar ouma het altyd ‘n verhaal vertel wat sy gebruik het om mense te bemoedig. Sy is dikwels na sosiale geleenthede en na belangrike etes genooi. Wanneer die eetgerei van die tafels verwyder is, was daar gereeld iemand wat gesê het: “Hou jou vurk; die beste kom nog.” Dit was wonderlik! “As ek daar in my kis met die vurk in my hand lê, moet die mense wonder en dan moet u vir hulle sê die beste kom nog.” Trane het in die predikant se oë gekom, want hy het geweet die vrou het ‘n beter begrip van wat op haar wag as die meeste ander mense. Dit het toe presies so gebeur. Almal het gewonder wat die vurk in haar hand doen. In sy boodskap kon die predikant sy gesprek met die vrou en wat die vurk vir haar beteken het, met die aanwesiges deel en afgesluit met die woorde: “Hou jou vurk; die beste kom nog!” A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they had gotten soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma, and then asked, "What's the point, Mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" The question today is, "Which one are you?". Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have you become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4) |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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