"...Jesus said, 'with men it is impossible, but not with God.'" Mark 10:27
One of the greatest verses in the Bible is, "For nothing will be impossible with God." Do you believe it? It's what the angel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, when he announced that she would give birth to God's son as a virgin. If you are facing a particularly tough challenge where you need strength and wisdom beyond yourself, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? If you are in a season of grief and not sure you can make it, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? If you are facing discouragement, disappointment, depression, or despair, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? If you are struggling in your family, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? Mary did and because she did, Jesus came to be our savior. He died and rose, conquering sin and death for you and me. Nothing will be impossible with God. Honour God and obey his commands, because this is all people must do. Ecc 12:13 Here are some God-given, time-tested truths that define the way you should navigate your life. Observe them and enjoy secure passage. Ignore them and crash against the ragged rocks of reality … : - Love God more than you fear hell. - Make major decisions in a cemetery. - When no one is watching, live as if someone is. - Succeed at home first. - Don't spend tomorrow's money today. - Pray twice as much as you fret. - God has forgiven you; you'd be wise to do the same. In the Eye of the Storm (Max Lucado) "I am not trying to please people. I want to please God." Galatians 1:10
There's a story about an old man, a boy and a donkey on their way to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the boy was riding, making the old man walk. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions. Later, they passed some people that remarked, "What a shame that the man makes a little boy walk." So they then decided they both would walk! Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a perfectly good donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey. At length they passed yet another group of people, who shamed them by saying how awful it was of them to put such a heavy load on a poor little donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed over a bridge, they lost their grip on the donkey. He fell into the river and drowned. The moral of the story: If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your donkey (or whatever else you call it) good-bye!! Do you spend your life trying to please everybody? You will never be able to do it — give it a rest. Instead, why not play to an audience of One? He loves you, believes in you, and celebrates you. Why not live your life so as to please God? 1 TIMOTEUS 4:7-8: "Oefen jou liewer om in toewyding aan God te lewe......maar om in toewyding aan God te lewe, het in alle opsigte groot waarde, want dit hou belofte in vir –die teenswoordige (nou) en die toekomstige lewe." (na die dood)
In Johannes 15 lees ons van hierdie toewyding net in ander woorde as Jesus vir ons sê "Bly in My". Dit is 'n opdrag aan elkeen van God se kinders. Vers 7: "As julle in My bly en my woorde in julle, vra dan net wat julle wil hê, en julle sal dit kry". Die hoogste vorm van gebed ..'n totale oorgawe. Die opdrag in vers 7... "oefen": Ons gee eerder aandag daaraan om fisies fiks te bly as geestelik, maar hier lees ons dat dit wel 'n bietjie waarde het om jou liggaam te oefen, maar om in toewyding aan God te lewe....dit is die oefening waarmee ons besig moet wees. (Oefen om geestelik fiks te word en fiks te bly..hou aan met oefen.) Die oefening om in toewyding aan God te leef het waarde vir hierdie lewe: 1. Om te leer om God met my hele hart , siel en verstand lief te hê (Matt 22:37). Om te leer hoe om God te vertrou vir alles in my lewe, om te ervaar hoe Hy my deur moeilike tye van beproewing dra en getrou bly aan Sy beloftes. Met my hele wese bly ek op God gefokus want dit gaan nie om my nie, maar om God.......Oefen! 2. Hierdie toewyding het groot waarde vir die lewe hier op aarde...sodat jy vir die gelowiges 'n voorbeeld kan wees ..."in woord en gedrag, in liefde, geloof en reinheid". As ek leer om God elke dag meer lief te hê, sal hierdie liefde oorloop in my verhouding met my naaste. Mense om my hou nou nie meer vir my 'n bedreiging in nie, want in elke verhouding sien ek nou die geleentheid om my "naaste" lief te hê (ook met my hele hart) en die wonder van God se genade met hulle te deel. Hierdie liefde van God dring my, en ek kan nie anders as om om te gee nie....dit leer ek in my toewyding aan God. 3. My hart loop nou oor van DANKBAARHEID wat ek meer en meer in my toewyding ervaar. Ek beleef God al hoe meer as 'n Werklikheid en ek kry dit reg om my "vreugde in die Here " te vind ("verlustig jou in Hom"). Lofprysing en aanbidding word 'n spontane deel van my lewe (ook saam met my medegelowiges). Die oefening om in toewyding aan God te leef het waarde ook vir die toekomstige lewe: Ek leef met die verwagting op die oorwinnaarskroon wat vir my wag - 2 Tim 4:8 Ek het die Ewige Lewe. GEBED: Here help my om toe te neem in toewyding aan God. Maak my getrou. Proverbs 23:7 teaches us that we become what we think “where the mind goes the man follows.” One of the first things believers must learn to walk in victory is that our minds must be renewed according to the Word of God Romans 12:2 sadly too many of us believe things that simply is not true or an opinion of man. E.g. That we are worthless and have no value. This is not true Jesus died so that we can live. Be joyful in Christ for He cares for you.
"When a bird is alive... it eats Ants. When the bird is dead... ants eat the bird! So... time and circumstances can change at any time. Don't devalue or hurt anyone in life. You may be powerful today. But remember, time is more powerful than you! One tree makes a million matchsticks. But when the time comes, only one match stick is needed to burn a million trees. Don't judge me till you know me. Don't underestimate me till you challenge me. Don't talk about me till you talk to me. The world is full of haters: they will hate you, rate you, and even try to break you. But how you stand up to them will make you. Let your hater be your motivator..."
"His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure." (Ephesians 1:5 NLT)
Say the following as a prayer. In faith, I know this to be true: God is in love with me, and when he thinks of me, it brings him joy. It was his good pleasure to create me, and he created me so he could love me and his glory could shine through me. He chose me “in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4 NIV). In his love, he determined to adopt me into his family, and, even then, he planned for my redemption through Jesus’ blood, bringing “the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on [me] with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7–8). His love for me is continuous, so that I can say with confidence and joy, “When I awake, I am still with you” (Psalm 139:18b). By his Spirit, I can live a life worthy of the Lord, and I am able to “please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Jesus teaches me this confidence in God’s love, so that the same joy that is in him will be in me and so my joy will be complete, centered wholly in God (John 15:11). It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth that came from the others. This way they were able to survive. Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.
The real moral of the story......LEARN TO LIVE WITH THE PRICKS IN YOUR LIFE. "Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."
There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new gym - fellowship hall building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets." Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But a day well lived makes yesterday a dream of happiness and every tommorrow a vision of hope.
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Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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