John 21:9, 12
Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread… Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Like many parents, Wendy and I pray for our daughter Jessica every night before she sleeps. When Jessica was two years old, we decided to pray that her diapers would not overflow during the night. Her diapers not overflowing might be a small thing, but we knew that it would give our little girl a comfortable sleep every night. And after we started praying for this, we noticed that her diapers did not overflow. That incident made me realize that our God is not just interested in the big things that affect us. He bothers and cares about the minor things that affect us too. There is nothing too insignificant for Him. So don’t be like some religious people who have this idea that God only wants us to bring the big issues to Him, and that He doesn’t want us to bother Him with small issues. Nothing could be further from the truth. God cares about everything that you experience, from the small ulcer in your mouth to your concerns about the world’s economy. Even when you tell Him about the inconvenience that might arise if the bus is late, He takes note of that too. In fact, when you come to Him often about anything and everything in your daily life, you compliment Him because you are telling Him that He is your Daddy God who watches over you. Jesus represented the Father’s heart and will when He was on earth. (John5:19) He cared when His disciples were out at sea the whole night, cold and shivering. He cared when they caught nothing that night. (John 21:3) He cared that they would not have fish to sell. So He gave them a huge catch early the next morning. (John 21:5–6) He knew that they were cold and hungry, so He prepared breakfast for them, served over a fire of coals to keep them warm. Jesus showed us that God is our loving heavenly Father who cares about the big and small things that happen every day in our lives. Nothing escapes God’s eyes because He loves you!
0 Comments
“Who could ever have told God what to do or taught him his business?” Isaiah 40:13
On the first day, God created the dog and said: “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.” The dog said: “That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?” So God agreed.. On the second day, God created the monkey and said: “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.” The monkey said: “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?” And God agreed. On the third day, God created the cow and said: “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and labour under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.” The cow said: “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?” And God agreed again. On the fourth day, God created man and said: “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.” But man said: “Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?” “Okay,” said God, “You asked for it; you got it.” So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we labour in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. The moral of the story is: It’s best to let God do His own work in His own way. He knows what He is doing. When we interject our own ideas into the process, we only mess things up royally! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. GALATIANS 5 : 1 JESUS SAID : "Neither do I condemn thee : go and sin no more .. John 8 : 11 JESUS CHRIST .. The King of king's and the Lord of lords .. He had a ministry that appealed to and attracted the hearts of many, many ordinary, common, humble people .. much to the dislike of the leaders that ruled at that time. In fact they disliked Jesus so much that when He was teaching in the temples, there were those who went out of their way to try and deliberately trap Jesus and catch Him out with His own words. The leaders did this because they thought that if they could force Jesus into saying some critical, condemning things, that people would no longer want to follow Him. But these fools obviously forgot Who they were dealing with .. JESUS CHRIST .. The Son of the Living God !! HAVE WE ALSO SOMEHOW FORGOTTEN ? Are we making the same mistake .. are we making choices that are causing us to forget Jesus ? Forgetting about Jesus by living our lives so tied down under the heavy weight of burdens, problems, worries, fear, anxiety, stress .. Forgetting Jesus by allowing negative attitudes, thoughts and emotions to take power over us and control us .. .. Here is something that you must always, always, always remember ..The Blood of Jesus is highly effective and very powerful The blessed blood of Jesus was powerful and effective enough, that it totally cleansed the woman that felt unclean .. John 8 : 1 - 11 The very same blessed blood of Jesus is so powerful that it is able to wash, cleans and make whole the lives of any man or woman who feels unclean, ruined and corrupted .. Isaiah 1 : 18SO WHO ARE WE TO REJECT AND TURN OUR BACKS ON WHAT JESUS HAS ALREADY CLEANSED AND MADE WHOLE ?Yes .. That Would Be Yourself .. Who do you think you are to reject and turn your back on yourself .. the one that Jesus chose to die for .. the one that Jesus shed His blood for .. who do you think you are to allow your life to be controlled and dominated by burdens, problems, worries, fear, anxiety and stress .. You are a precious child of God .. He hand picked you .. He loves you .. He cherishes you .. He adores you .. He washed you .. He has cleansed you .. So who are you to reject what Jesus Christ has cleansed and made whole ? .. Just as Jesus said to the woman then, so does He proclaim to you today .. "Neither do i condemn thee : go and sin no more" In reality .. in your day to day life .. you do have heavy trials and tribulations .. chains that weigh you down and tie you up .. sometimes the chains come into your life through events that you personally have no control over .. and sometimes the chains are in your life because you yourself have knowingly made decisions and choices that have lead you into bondage and pain .. It doesn't actually matter how the chains that weigh you down entered into your life .. what does matter is this .. Jesus Christ came to set you free .. Do You Get It .. JESUS CHRIST CAME TO SET YOU FREE !! Jesus came to let you loose and allow you to feel, experience and live in His freedom .. He has forgiven ALL of your sins and .. His forgiveness heals and restores .. BELIEVE IT AND RECEIVE IT !! Jesus does not want to be forgotten anymore .. stop allowing the world and your very own negativity to shut Him out of your life. Jesus has given you the wonderful opportunity to discover the true potential of your future .. if only you will allow His magnificent, amazing power and grace to operate in your life .. IF YOU WALK WITH GOD .. YOU WILL ALWAYS REACH YOUR DESTINATION God is strong and can help you not to fall. Jud 1:24
You and I are on a great climb. The wall is high, and the stakes are higher. You took your first step the day you confessed Christ as the Son of God. He gave you his harness—the Holy Spirit. In your hands he placed a rope—his Word. Your first steps were confident and strong, but with the journey came weariness, and with the height came fear. You lost your footing. You lost your focus. You lost your grip, and you fell. For a moment, which seemed like forever, you tumbled wildly. Out of control. Out of self-control. Disoriented. Dislodged. Falling. But then the rope tightened, and the tumble ceased. You hung in the harness and found it to be strong. You grasped the rope and found it to be true. And though you can't see your guide, you know him. You know he is strong. You know he is able to keep you from falling. A Gentle Thunder (by: Max Lucado) As jy jou vertroue in Christus plaas, sal jou siel gered word en jou lewe sal op 'n positiewe manier verander. Baie mense kan hiervan getuig. Abraham Lincoln vertel dat hy opnuut deur God se Gees gebore is die dag toe hy sy bekende toespraak by Gettysburg gelewer het. Martin Luther was uitermate godsdienstig en hy was nie eers bewus van die hergeboorte nie. Dit het egter verander toe hy hierdie woorde ontdek het: "Elkeen wat deur God vrygespreek is omdat hy glo, sal lewe." (Rom. 1:17 NV). Skrywers soos Fyodor Dostoevsky en Leo Tolstoy van Rusland het ook al beskryf hoe God se Gees hul lewens verander het. Chuck Colson, een van President Richard Nixon se persoonlike assistente en skrywer van die blitsverkoper Born again, het vertel van 'n drastiese verandering in sy lewe na sy hergeboorte. Dit getuig daarvan dat jy gered kan word ongeag die saldo van jou bankrekening. Toe die tronkbewaarder van Filippi vir Paulus vra wat hy moet doen om gered te word, het Paulus nie vir hom 'n teologiese skripsie gegee nie. Hy het eenvoudig gesê: "Glo in die Here Jesus, en jy sal gered word, jy en jou huisgesin." Jy kan vandag gered word, én jou lewe en getuienis kan jou hele familie vir Christus wen as hulle hul sonde berou (2 Pet. 3:9). Dink net watter verskil dit kan maak! Jy hoef dit nie noodwendig te verstaan nie, maar jy kan dit ervaar deur vandag jou vertroue in Christus te plaas.
Sielekos: Jos 8:30-10:43; Luk 19:28-40; Ps 103:13-22; Spr 23:1-3 “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”(Proverbs 18:16, NASB) When people hear the story of David and Goliath, sometimes they think, “That was all God.” And yes, in a sense, I know it was God. But the truth is that God didn’t sling the stone. God didn’t cause it to hit at just the right spot. It was the skill God gave David that he had developed. Like David, God has put in you skill that can slay a giant. You have skill that can open new doors, skills that can lead to an abundant life, but the key is that your skill has to be developed. Every day that you spend growing, learning and improving, you’re getting prepared for that new level. Today, while you’re waiting for that new opportunity, start sharpening your skills. Study your boss. Study your manager. Learn that position. Be able to step into their shoes. When God sees that you are prepared, then He can open new doors. The scripture says, “Your gifts will make room for you.” Keep developing your skills because there is a giant slayer in you! A PRAYER FOR TODAYFather, thank You for depositing in me everything that I need for life and godliness. I choose to be faithful with what You have given me. I choose to sharpen my skills. Help me prepare for every opportunity You have for my future in Jesus’ name. Amen. You’ll get through this! You fear you won’t. We all do. We feel stuck, trapped, locked in. Will we ever exit this pit? Yes! Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: bold, brassy, and everywhere. Out of the lion’s den for Daniel, the whale’s belly for Jonah, and the prison for Paul.
Through the Red Sea onto dry ground. Through the wilderness, through the valley of the shadow of death. Through! It’s a favorite word of God’s. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.” It won’t be painless. Have you wept your final tear, received your last round of chemotherapy? Not necessarily. Does God guarantee the absence of struggle? Not in this life. We see Satan’s tricks and ploys, but God sees Satan tripped and foiled. You’ll get through this! From You’ll Get Through This Twenty years of marriage, three kids, and now he’s gone. Traded her in for a younger model. She told me her story, and we prayed. Then I said, “It won’t be painless or quick. But God will use this mess for good. With God’s help you’ll get through this.”
Remember Joseph? Genesis 37:4 says his brothers “hated him.” Far from home, they cast him into a pit, leaving him for dead. A murderous cover-up from the get go. Pits have no easy exit. Joseph’s story got worse before it got better. Yet in his explanation we find his inspiration: “You meant evil against me,” he said, “but God meant it for good. . .” The very acts intended to destroy God’s servant, turned out to strengthen him. The same will be said about you. You will get through this! From You’ll Get Through This |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
All
Archives
June 2015
|