"...It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick." Matthew 9:12
Jesus showed His love for all people, even those people many religious folks don't want to be around. One of those people was His disciple Matthew. He later became one of Jesus' biographers. Matthew was one of the last guys you'd want on your team if you were trying to impress good religious folks. He was a crook. He ran with a bad crowd. He was a party animal. But after Jesus reached out to him and asked him to join His team, Matthew was so excited he threw a party for all his wild and notorious friends, just to meet Jesus. And they all had a great time. But the religious crowd was appalled. They thought, "If Jesus is supposed to be a man of God, why would He run with such a rough crowd?" Jesus responded, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor. I came for those who know they're sinners and need help--not for those who think they're righteous." Remember that Jesus loves all people, including you. HI WAT MAAK JY?
Wag dat ek self kyk... O my aarde!!!! Jy het al begin werk!!! In elk geval,ek wil jou net gou pla en 'n wonderlike dag toewens en mag Liewe Jesus jou vandag lekker bederf. Vandag gee ek vir jou: ñ Stukkende HORLOSIE: Sodat die tyd van ons vriendskap nooit uitloop nie. ñ Ou SKOEN: Dat jy weet hoe vér Ek vir JOU sal LOOP. ñ VELDBLOMMETJIE: Dat jy kan sien dat daar wel nog MOOI dinge in die lewe is. ñ SPIÉEL: Dat jy kan onthou hoe Kosbaar & Spesiaal jy vir my is & dat mense jou Liefhet nés jy is. ñ SKOENLAPPER: Dat jy hoog en vry saam met God kan vlieg & Elke Oomblik van Elke dag Geniet Jou Dag! “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go”(Joshua 1:9, NIV)
When you look out into your future, what do you see? What are the dreams and desires that you hold close to your heart? So many people start with bold dreams, but then opposition comes. Life doesn’t turn out the way they planned. They lose a loved one or encounter difficulty they didn’t anticipate. Today, if that’s you, I want to remind you that the Creator of the universe designed you with specific gifts and talents that no one else has. He has you on this planet for a specific purpose. When you commit your life to Him, He promises to be with you wherever you go. Even though some things in life may have caught you by surprise, they didn’t catch God by surprise. His good plan for your life remains. You can trust Him because He loves you with an everlasting love, and He doesn’t want to see you settling for anything less than His very best. I want to encourage you to be bold, be strong and be courageous. Put aside the past and lift up your eyes to Jesus. He is the Author and Finisher of your faith. Live boldly and dream boldly so you can embrace the good things He has in store for you! Father God, today I come boldly to You. I open my heart and mind to Your Word. Fill me with Your strength today; fill me with Your hope, and keep me close to You always as I put You first in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen. We don’t like to wait. We’re the giddy-up generation. We frown at the person who takes eleven items to the ten-item express checkout. We drum our fingers while the microwave heats our coffee. “Come on, come on.” We really don’t like to wait!
Look around you. Do you realize where we sit? This planet is God’s waiting room. The young couple? Waiting to get pregnant. The guy with the briefcase? Waiting for work. Waiting on God to give or to help. Waiting on God to come. The land of waiting. And you? Are you in God’s waiting room? You may be infertile or inactive, in limbo, in between jobs or in search of a house, spouse, health, or help. Here’s what you need to know. While you wait, God works! God never twiddles His thumbs. He never stops. Just because you’re idle, don’t assume God is. Trust Him. In the right time, you’ll get through this. “He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.” (Deut 4:13)
In the Ten Commandments, the infinite character and holy requirements of God are recorded for our welfare. They are the foundation of ethics, and obeying them is the secret of happiness. So eternally true and yet so simple! An old English verse states them like this: Above all else love God alone; Bow down to neither wood or stone; God’s name refuse to take in vain; The Sabbath rest with care to maintain; Respect your parents all your days; Hold sacred life always; Be loyal to your chosen mate; Steal nothing, neither small nor great; Report, with truth, your neighbor’s deeds; And rid your mind from selfish greed; McGuffey Reader These are rules, not to hinder our happiness, but to teach us how to live our lives to the fullest. Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this brand new day. Help me to respect Your holy ordinances and obey Your commands at all times. Father teach me to respect my fellow man and show You ways to those who do not know You; I pray in Jesus’ Name…amen GENESIS 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
I don’t know about you, but I am not satisfied with just knowing that I am righteous by faith. I also want to get to know the One who made me righteous. I want to have an intimate relationship with my Savior! Abraham was such a man. He was righteous by faith, but he also had a close walk with God and was blessed by God in all things. (Genesis 24:1) His nephew Lot, on the other hand, although righteous too (2 Peter 2:7–8), had no heart for God. He ended up losing a lot when Sodom, the city he dwelt in, was destroyed along with Gomorrah. He was saved by the skin of his teeth! My friend, do you want to be a Christian like Lot, righteous but always finding yourself in trouble, or do you want to be a righteous-and-blessed Christian like Abraham? Then, like Abraham, have a heart for God. From place to place, Abraham would build an altar to the Lord. And in between altars, he grew very rich! (Genesis 13:2) There is no biblical record, however, of Lot ever building an altar to the Lord. What is an “altar” in today’s context? It is a place where you know that you have a close relationship with God. For example, when my late father was in the hospital, I was worried and did not know what to do. I remember driving down the road and crying. After a while, I just threw my cares to the Lord. When I reached the hospital, I just laid my hands on my father and said, “Be healed in Jesus’ name.” And he was healed! Till today, I can remember the place where I had cast my cares to the Lord and leaned on His love for me. That is my “altar”. And it is not the only one. We have got to have this kind of relationship with God, one full of “altars” that remind us of His love, goodness and faithfulness. Let’s not live the Christian life like Lot, saved by the skin of our teeth. Let’s walk closely with God as Abraham did, and be richly blessed in every area of our lives! Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events:
Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix and quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp. When she took the cake from the oven, the centre had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the centre of The cake.. She found it in the bathroom - - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30, and to buy the cake and bring it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold.. Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.Alice was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back. The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa , but having already RSVP' d, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.. The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!" Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself." Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good.” |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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