Opgestane en lewende Christus, dit moes al somer gewees het in my geestelike lewe.
U het aan my lentelewe geskenk en ek loof u Naam daarvoor. Ek kom pleit nou om groei tot geestelike volwasse wording. Ek bely met skaamte dat ek dilwels so ongehoorsaam is: Dat ek so geheg is aan wêreldse genot en so min belang stel in geestelike dinge; So traag is om my siel te voed met u Woord; so onverskillig is oor die vreugde wat U wil gee; So onwillig om met toewyding vir U te werk en getuig; So haastig om te ontspan en so traag om te bid So gou om myself te behaag en so traag om ander te dien. Liefdevolle en genadige Meester, Ek ontvang so graag en gee so min. Ek is so vroom in my woorde. En so gebrekkig in dade so onverbiddelik teenoor my naaste en so toegeeflik teenoor myself So gou om te kritiseer en so gekrenk as ander met my fout vind. Geen wonder nie, Heer, dat die somer nie in my geestelike lewe wil deurbreek nie. Genadige heiland. Skenk my nogeens u vergifnis: gee my krag om voortaan op oorwinningsgrond te lewe; om in die wingerdstok te bly sodat ek soete somervrugte kan dra. Gee dat ek die somerpad van geloof en heiligmaking sal bewandel sodat ek meer aan my hemelse voorbeeld gelyk sal word. Ek bid dit op grond van u soenverdienste, In die naam van my verlosser Here Jesus Christus. Amen A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us, "as the apple of His eye." Prayer is so simple
It is like quietly opening a door And slipping into the very presence of God There in the stillness To listen to his voice Perhaps to petition Or only to listen It matters not Just to be there In his presence Is prayer. How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood???? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what's important.
David J. Pollay explains his story in this way.... Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean...he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck." "Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did."I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore."Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe that everything happens for a reason. Never let the garbage truck run over you... The apostle Jude writes, 'But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.' Jude places the responsibility of building yourself up spiritually and strengthening your faith where it belongs - squarely on you. There are two kinds of faith: mechanical faith and intentional faith. Each time you flip on a light switch you're exercising mechanical faith. But when you face the unknown, the untried and the undone, you need intentional faith - faith that believes God to do '...exceedingly abundantly above all that [you] ask or think...' (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV). If you're proactive, your faith will grow. If you're passive, it won't. Like the rush of water against a riverbank, there's an erosion of faith that comes simply from living every day. If you don't do anything to secure and strengthen your faith it begins to deteriorate. Christ told the church at Ephesus to remember the heights from which they had fallen (Revelation 2:5). What a strange thing to say! If you fell from a significant height, don't you think you'd remember it? Not if the fall was so gradual that you didn't notice it. So ask yourself: 'Have those who know me best begun to notice that the gleam has gone out of my eye, the joy out of my step, the peace out of my spirit and the Word of God out of my conversation?' Faith is like a muscle; if you don't exercise it consistently it will atrophy and become powerless. So the word for you today is: '...Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die...' (Revelation 3:2 NKJV). This word 'building' is an architectural term that means to renovate. It implies tearing down what's not working for you and building up what will. When you don't understand that, you are left to believe that whatever life has handed you is just the way it is, and you have to take it. You'd be surprised at the number of people who go to church every week just to get a word to help them survive. They sing about faith and talk about it. But when you ask them, 'How are you doing?' they say, 'I'm just hanging on. I'm just hoping I can make it through.' Yes, there are times when that will truly be the case. But that should be the exception, not the rule. The Bible says, '...We are more than conquerors...' (Romans 8:37 NKJV). To be a conqueror means to fight a battle and win it. But to be more than a conqueror means to win a battle - without even having to fight it. Jesus has already fought and won the battle for you. And today He is saying, '...I give...you power...over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you' (Luke 10:19). You say, 'How do I get this power?' Jude says we can access this power for living by '...praying in the Holy Spirit' (v. 20). And you can do it anywhere: in your car on the way to work, on your treadmill, or even in your bathroom. You just need a place where you can be alone with God, praying and reading His Word, building up your faith.
Soul food: Rev 19-22; Matt 25:1-13; Ps 55:1-11; Pr 8:17-18; Rev 15-18; Matt 24:36-51; Ps 13; Pr 8:14-16 The song "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL" was written by a successful Christian lawyer.
He had a wife and two girls, and the family planned a summer trip to go overseas. Since he had a lot of work to do, he sent his family and decided to follow them later. He heard the news while on the following ship that another ship had capsized and he knew that his family had been on it since they mentioned the name of the ship. On his return home, his law firm burned down and the insurance refused to pay. They said "ITS AN ACT OF GOD". He had no money to pay for his house and no work, so he also lost his house. Then while sitting and thinking what's happening to him, being a spiritual person, he wrote a song - whatever my Lord, you have taught me to say - IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL. My dear friend, a good attitude will determine your altitude. When you look at your life, career, job or family life, what do you say? Do you praise God? Do you blame the devil? A good attitude towards God makes Him move on your behalf. Just sit down and say, Today God , it is well with my soul, I am thankful I had a peaceful sleep, I am thankful I am alive with possibilities, I am thankful I have a roof over me, I am thankful I have a job, I am also thankful that I have Family and Friends. Above All, I AM thankful that I have JESUS on my side. Be blessed. And please don’t be envious or shocked when others are prospering, because you don’t know what they have been through to get there (test, trials and tribulation) so thank God for what you have. "Little is much when God is in its” IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL AND YOU? |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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