Praise the LORD, God our Savior, who helps us every day. Psa 68:19
Perhaps the heaviest burden we try to carry is the burden of mistakes and failures. What do you do with your failures? Even if you've fallen, even if you've failed, even if everyone else has rejected you, Christ will not turn away from you. He came first and foremost to those who have no hope. He goes to those no one else would go to and says, "I'll give you eternity." Only you can surrender your concerns to the Father. No one else can take those away and give them to God. Only you can cast all your anxieties on the one who cares for you. What better way to start the day than by laying your cares at his feet? Walking with the Savior (Max Lucado) MATTHEW 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Peter asked the Lord how often he should forgive his brother. The Lord’s answer to him was simple: Up to 70 times seven times. (Matthew 18:22) In other words, all the time! “Well, Pastor Prince, he does not deserve my forgiveness.” Neither did you deserve God’s forgiveness. There is not a single person alive or dead who did not break all 10 of God’s commandments. There is no such thing as a “partial sinner” or “great sinner”. All of us were great sinners when Jesus saved us. And when we realize that we are forgiven much, we will love much. (Luke7:47) “Pastor Prince, how can you say that I have broken all of God’s commandments? I have never committed adultery.” My friend, Jesus said, “If you lust after a woman in your heart, you have already committed adultery with her.” (Matthew 5:28) That is God’s standard. Man looks outward, but God looks inward at the heart. Moreover, if you break one law, you are guilty of all. (James2:10) So everyone has broken all of God’s commandments. Everyone is a great sinner. Now, you are no longer a sinner if you have received Christ as your Savior. You are a new creation. But you were a great sinner and God forgave you your huge debt through the death of His Son. So if someone has wronged you, tell yourself this: “I did not deserve God’s forgiveness, but He forgave me through Christ. So I forgive this person also.” If you say something like, “He does not deserve it,” it makes no sense. Forgiveness is not for people who deserve it. If they deserve anything, it is punishment. But forgiveness means that you extend grace—undeserved favor—like how God extends undeserved favor to you. Beloved, if you choose to hold on to bitterness, no one suffers but you. You lose your peace, then possibly your health. It is just not worth it. God says to you, “Let go. Forgive them their debts, just as I have forgiven you yours.” GENESIS 39:2
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man… You may have no qualification, position or money—nothing in the natural. But when the Lord is with you, you will end up with everything because He will cause you to be successful. Joseph had nothing when his Egyptian master Potiphar bought him from the slave market. Yet, even then, it was said of him, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man...” Joseph the slave a successful man? He was a nobody with nothing, not even a shirt on his back, not a dime to his name, no family members with him and no friends to turn to. All he had was the presence of the Lord. But it was precisely because of this that he was successful wherever he was. He eventually became the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, who set him over all the land of Egypt. Joseph was given power, authority and riches (Genesis 41:40–44), all because the Lord was with him. A junior college student worshiping in our church experienced good success in his examination results for the same reason. The first to admit that he was just an average student, he obtained his first ever straight As for all his subjects when he sat for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) Examination simply believing that he would be successful because the Lord was with him! Another church member, who was a fresh university graduate, believed that because the Lord was with her, she would be successful in the workforce. Even though she had no work experience and was faced with a gloomy job market, she succeeded in getting her first job in a short period of time and which gave her a salary beyond her expectations. Then, in spite of a directive from the parent company to freeze the wages of all employees, she received a pay increment as well as a company scholarship for further education! Beloved, it does not matter if you are a nobody with nothing in the natural. When the Lord is with you, you will end up with everything because He will empower you to succeed and live the abundant life They sat on opposite sides of the room, a man and a woman, bidding on an adorable puppy at a school auction. Others dropped off, but not this duo. Back and forth until they’d one-upped the bid to several thousand dollars.
No longer about a puppy, but about victory. This was the Wimbledon finals, and neither player was backing off the net. Finally the fellow gave in and didn’t return the bid. Going once, going twice…going three times. Sold! You know what she did? Amidst the applause, she walked across the room and presented the puppy to the competition. Suppose you did that with your competition. With your enemy. Suppose you surprised them with kindness? Not easy? No, it’s not. But mercy is the deepest gesture of kindness. Paul equates the two in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Die Bybel sê: "Op 'n dag het Elisa na Sunem toe gegaan. Daar was 'n vooraanstaande vrou wat by hom daarop aangedring het om vir ete oor te bly. Elke keer as hy daar verbykom, het hy eers by haar aangegaan om te eet. Sy het vir haar man gesê: 'Ek weet dit is 'n heilige man van God wat gereeld hier by ons aankom. Kom ons bou 'n klein bovertrekkie en sit vir hom 'n bed, 'n tafel, 'n stoel en 'n lamp daarin...'" (2 Kon 4:8 - 10 NV). Let op:
Sielekos: Jes 63-66; Joh 9:13-23; Ps 115; Spr 29:7-10 Mark 9:50
In die Romeinse tyd het atlete net 'n eenvoudige lendedoek gedra sodat niks hulle kon hinder in 'n wedloop nie. Paulus skryf: "Weet julle nie dat atlete wat aan 'n wedloop deelneem, wel almal hardloop, maar dat net een die prys ontvang nie? Hardloop dan só dat julle die prys kan wen. Almal wat aan 'n wedstryd deelneem, ontsê hulleself allerlei dinge. Hulle doen dit om 'n verganklike oorwinnaarskroon te verkry, maar ons 'n onverganklike. Ek hardloop dan ook soos een wat nie van sy doel onseker is nie..." (1 Kor 9:24-26 NV). Wat van jou? Hardloop jy net vir die pret of om te wen? As jy suksesvol wil wees in God se plan vir jou, moet jy ophou om party (selfs lekker) dinge te doen en fokus op dit wat jy nodig het om jou roeping te voltooi. Dit beteken dat jy soms "nee" moet sê - selfs vir mense met goeie bedoelings wat jou probeer betrek by dinge wat nie met jou roeping te doen het nie. Dit beteken ook ons moet "... die sonde wat so maklik verstrik..." (Heb 12:1 NV) laat staan. As God sê iets is verkeerd, is dit verkeerd. Jy moet eenvoudig vergifnis vra en dit uit jou lewe uitkry. Wie kry die prys? Dié wat die prys betaal. Paulus het geweet dat hy nie die wedloop sou wen voordat hy nie sy liggaam, gedagtes en gees onder die beheer van God se Gees geplaas het nie. Dieselfde geld vir jou. Niemand kan jou forseer om te doen wat reg is nie; jy moet luister na wat God sê en daarop reageer.
Sielekos: Sag 5-8; Luk 23:1-12; Ps 39; Spr 24:26-28 We love because God first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Untethered by time, he sees us all. From the backwoods of Virginia to the business district of London; from the Vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings. From the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, he sees us. Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born. And he loves what he sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Star maker turns to us, one by one, and says, "You are my child. I love you dearly. I'm aware that someday you'll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, I've already provided you a way back." |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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