Dit is ʼn lieflike somer oggend. Ek draf vinnig by die
kwekery in om ʼn kliënt se vetplantbestelling op te laai. Die pragtige groen spekboompies trek my aandag en ek fluit vir Hans om ʼn ekstra een te laai vir my tuintjie. Later die middag is my spekboompie egter iets van die verlede. Een van die werkers het die kan diesel agter op die trokkie oopgelos en die diesel het bo-oor die spekboompie gespat. Sy blaartjies het reeds begin verkleur en die grond is papnat van die diesel. Vies, sommer baie vies sit ek die vernielde spekboompie agter die Wendy huis waar ek hom later sal weggooi. Dis twee weke later. Ek soek na die blou gieter, en loer agter die Wendy huis in. My mond val oop. ʼn Klein stukkie van die dooie, diesel-deurdrenkte spekboompie het oorleef! Ek tel die potjie op en kyk na die natuurwonder. Net een takkie van die spekboompie het gras groen gebly en is besig om nuwe blaartjies te stoot. Ek vat onmiddellik die snoeiskêr, knip die gesonde takkie af, maak ʼn pot vol kompos, gooi ʼn miswurm en ʼn ekstra erdwurm in vir geluk en plant die takkie. As hierdie plantjie so graag wil leef, verdien sy ekstra liefde en aandag. Sommer so op my knieë, voor die blompotjie dink ek aan al vriende, en mense wat my lewe omring. Baie van ons oorleef ten spyte van die diesel wat soms op ons gemors word. Ons klou vas, hou uit, stoot selfs nuwe blare in doodgaan tye. Al is die grond waar ons geplant is dood en sonder enige waarde, bly ons groen en lewendig, net soos hierdie spekboompie. My gebed vir jou hierdie week -; dat jy met jou oë op God gerig, sal vasbyt. Jouself sal omvou in Sy liefde. Sal aanhou dankbaar wees vir die son wat oor goed en sleg skyn. Nooit sal ophou bid en droom van ʼn uitplantdag in beter grond nie. Ek weet God beplan vir elkeen van ons ʼn pot met vrugbare grond en ʼn ekstra erdwurm net vir die liefde! Let me say this right off the bat; There is only one way to God…it’s through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is one of the least popular aspects of Christianity in our pluralistic society, for it’s not “politically correct” to make dogmatic statements. But Jesus said: “I am the way…no one
goes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). That’s pretty dogmatic and Peter added: “Nor is there any salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Although there is only one way to the Father, there are many leading to Jesus Christ. We don’t all approach Him under the same circumstances. Consider the characters in the Gospels: Peter found Jesus by the seashore. Nicodemus came under the cloak of darkness, the demonic was naked and frantic when Jesus saved him; Matthew was in his tax both and Zacchaeus was up in a sycamore tree. Think of the various ways in which people came to Christ in the book of Acts. Three thousand were saved through peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Saul of Tarsus was saved after being blinded and knocked to the ground. The Ethiopian in Acts 8 was saved when Philip showed up in the desert just as he was puzzling over the book of Isaiah 53. The Philippian jailer was saved during an earthquake, and a ship filled with terrified passengers became an evangelistic arena for the apostle Paul in Acts 27. Who or what led you to Christ? We all came to Him through one message (the Gospel), by one mean (by grace through faith), but God draws us all differently. In 2 Samuel 14:14, we read: “God…devises ways so that a banish person may not remain estranged to Him.” God devises ways to bring you in a position where you will have a chance to meet with Jesus. Yes! Sometime in very unusual manner…but God is God and He knows best, He knows how to reach each one of us in His own way…so that you may choose. “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16) 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, said that he determined to know nothing among them except “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. In other words, Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, had his mind full of Jesus and His finished work.Beloved, God wants your mind full of the cross of Jesus. He wants you cross-conscious. But what does it mean to be cross-conscious? To be cross-conscious is to see Jesus, who loves you so much that He willingly died for you on the cross. To be cross-conscious is to look to Jesus, who offered His own body to be punished, so that your body can be free from all punishment. To be cross-conscious is to fix your eyes on Jesus, who has provided for your deliverance and victory at the cross. At the cross, all your enemies were vanquished. All your diseases were destroyed. Your poverty was removed at the cross. Your sins were wiped out at the cross. When the Israelites tasted bitterness in the waters of Marah, God showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters, making them sweet. (Exodus 15:23–26) The tree represents the cross, which turned the bitter waters sweet. Today, Calvary’s tree has turned your bitter situations sweet. Because of the cross, you can expect to see the bitter situations in your life made sweet! When the Israelites were bitten by serpents in the wilderness, God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole. The pole represents the cross and bronze speaks of judgment. Those who beheld the serpent on the pole lived because they saw their problem—the deadly serpent—nailed and put to death on the cross. (Numbers 21:6–9) Today, you too will not die but live when you see all your sins judged at the cross, and with them, all your sicknesses, diseases, pains, failures and defeats! At the cross, all that is deadly in your life has been removed! “You, O God, sent a plentiful rain...” (Psalm 68:9, NKJV)
Every person goes through times of drought, or dry seasons, when we don’t see the changes we hoped for. We’ve got big dreams, we’re standing on God’s promises, but things stay the same. It’s dry and barren. Maybe you are blessed in one area and in a drought in another. It’s easy to think, “This is the way it’s always going to be. I’ll always have this struggle.” No, in 2014 that drought is coming to an end. Any area of brokenness, dryness, loneliness, every empty place, if you will stay in faith, God is going to rain down favor, healing, and restoration. We declare that this year, you are going to see an abundance of rain! Every drought is only temporary. That dry season is not going to last forever. Struggle and lack is not your destiny. It’s temporary. Rain is headed your way! Declare it by faith, “Father, thank You that the drought is ending and the rain is coming; and in 2014, I will see an abundance of Your goodness in my life!” Father, thank You for Your refreshing rain on the dry places in my life. Thank You for raining down provision, blessing, hope, wisdom, joy and peace. Give me strength to stand strong in You as Your plan unfolds for my life in Jesus’ name. Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen Stripped of God's Spirit, our bodies return to dust. Stripped of God's purpose,
our work is in vain. Stripped of God's love, our service is futile. We must put God first over all we do and in all we do because without him we have nothing. Knowing that life is futile without God motivates the wise person to seek God first. FOR GOD alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation PSALM 62 : 1
TALK TO GOD AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO HIS ANSWER Pause for a while and silently wait, and give God a chance to communicate. In Jesus Name,AMEN! “Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’ ”(1 Kings 18:41, NLT)
In First Kings 18, the Samaritans had been in a great famine. For three and a half years, there had been no rain. The prophet Elijah showed up and said to King Ahab, “I hear the sound of the abundance of rain.” When he said that, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, yet he chose to believe what he heard in his spirit in spite of what he saw in the natural. With his eyes, he saw drought, famine and barrenness; but inside, he heard the sound of the abundance of rain. Friend, this is what faith is all about. You’ve got to believe what you hear in your heart even when you see just the opposite. God is saying, “There’s about to be an abundance of favor in your life. The drought is coming to an end. You’re going to see healing, restoration, new opportunities, new growth.” Soon after, that rainstorm came. And just like Elijah, you have to believe that your rainstorm of blessing is right around the corner. No matter what anyone says, no matter what happens, keep believing and keep declaring because soon you will hear the sound of rain! Father, thank You for the blessing and victory You have in store for my future. Thank You for allowing me to see and hear in my heart the good things You have planned. I choose to keep my eyes on You and declare Your blessing over my life in Jesus’ name. Amen. Joel and Victoria Osteen “See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm...” Isaiah 49:16 There are seasons in life when we feel like we’re forgotten. These are times when you feel like your life is just a routine, there’s no progress, no new doors are opening. Maybe you’ve been praying and hoping for that situation to change, but nothing is happening. It feels like God is on holiday. Maybe you’re in a abusive relationship, you don’t feel valuable anymore and you feel like God is punishing you somehow! Everybody around you is getting blessed, but you’re not getting anywhere. Your friends are getting married and you’re still single. Your colleague is promoted and you’re demoted. Your classmate is passing with flying colors and you’re still struggling with that same subject. Your neighbor has bought a new car and you’re still struggling to fix yours. Your friends are blessed with their 3rd child and you still can’t conceive. You have a smile on the outside but on the inside you’re empty and sad. It seems like nobody cares. God has sent me to let you know that He’s thinking about you. Infact He has “tattooed your name upon His palm” that’s how much He loves you. He sees every tears you shed in the midnight hour. He knows all about your disappointments. He remembers how people mistreated you. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. He’s busy preparing your comeback. People may forget you but God will never forget about you. People may hurt or betray you! People may dumb you at the time you need them the most, but hey, God is a friend that sticks to you closer than your own family. God has not forgotten about the years when you raised those kids alone. He has not forgotten about the time when you were wrongly accused. Just take time and watch children’s behavior. They never worry about what they’re going to eat or wear tomorrow. They always trust their parents so much that don’t expect to be disappointed. If we could have that same kind of child-like faith, and know that when things are not going well; our Father will come through for us. When God remembers you, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been that way, He’ll turning it around. Maybe your house or car, it’s about to be repossessed, you’re about to lose your spouse or your job. I want you to know that God remembers the plans He has about your life. He remembers the purpose why He brought you down here. He hasn’t forgotten about your destiny. Please don’t throw in the towel yet, don’t give up, don’t kill yourself. That sickness will not kill you. You won’t drown in those debts. Remember that there’s a God who knew you before you were born. He sees your tears. He knows how you’ve been mistreated. He knows about the mistakes you’ve done and the good thing is that; He hasn’t written you off. When God remembers you; it’s an assurance that helps it’s on the way. Just hang in there! God has “tattooed your name upon His palm.” Enjoy a fresh new beginning today, have a very Blessed week and continue to be a Prisoner of Hope! An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.
He would miss the pay cheque, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter, he said, “my gift to you”. The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realise we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over we’d do it much differently. But we cannot go back You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. “Life is a do-it-yourself project, “someone has said : Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the “house” you live in tomorrow. Build wisely! Work as if you don’t need the money. Learn as if you will live forever. Love as if you’ve never been hurt. Dance as if nobody is watching. A woman baked bread for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra bread on the Window-sill, for whosoever would take it away. Everyday, a hunch-back came and took away the bread. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following words as he went his way: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" This went on, day after day. Everyday, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and uttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude," she said to herself... "Everyday this hunch-back utters this jingle! What does he mean? "One day, out of desperation, she decided to do away with him. "I shall get rid of this hunch-back," she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the bread she prepared for him! As she was about to keep it on the window sill, her hands trembled. "What is this I am doing?" she said. Immediately she threw the bread into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window- sill. As usual, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and muttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The hunch-back proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman. Everyday, as the woman placed the bread on the window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him... She prayed for his safe return. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway... He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, "Mom, it's a miracle I'm here. While I was but a mile away, I was so hungry that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunch-back passed by. I begged of him for a small part of his food, and he was kind enough to give me whole bread. "As he gave it to me, he said, "This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!" "As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale and red. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life! It was then that she realized the significance of the words: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!
"Do good; Don't ever stop doing good, even if it's not appreciated at that time. If you like this, share it with others and I bet you, so many lives would be affected. Have a wonderful afternoon Remember, "Give, and it will be given to you... for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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