"Be strong and steady . . . for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT)
We sometimes encounter conflicts in our daily lives and tasks that cause us to waver in our focus or purpose. However, when we live each day in obedience to what God has called us to do, things are different. When we accept where God has planted us and engage our tasks for His glory rather than our own, then every day becomes a day of joyous ministry for Jesus Christ. Accept this day's tasks as those God has called you to and see how purposeful it can be for you. Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to live for You today. Please let my actions and attitudes reflect well on You, my Lord. Thank You. In Jesus name, Amen. Dan Elliott
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Life turns every person upside down. No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is in an affair. Not the teenager who discovers a night of romance has resulted in a surprise pregnancy. We’d be foolish to think we’re invulnerable. But we’d be just as foolish to think evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith; God recycles evil into righteousness. I don’t have an easy solution or magic wand. But I have found something—or Someone—far better. God Himself. When God gets in the middle of life, evil becomes good. Trust God. No, really trust Him! He will get you through this. Will it be easy or quick? I hope so. But it seldom is. Yet God will make good out of this mess. That’s His job. From You’ll Get Through This "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also..." John 14:7
Once a Journal ran an interesting article titled, "Re-Defining God," about how so many in our modern world are re-defining who God is. One professor said, "People seek out new gods the way they seek out new products in the marketplace." How would you describe God? 1. The first two of the Ten Commandments say there is but one God and no others. More than anything else, we need to get this right. God gets angry about worshiping false, man-made gods. 2. The best way to define God is through a man--Jesus. He is God's ultimate revelation of Himself. How do you understand Jesus? The most authoritative word is the Bible. Scripture gives us the complete and full picture of Jesus. Otherwise, it's just somebody's opinion. So how do you define God? Get to know the Jesus of Scripture. I promise, you will not be disappointed. Jakobus skryf: "As jy dink jy is godsdienstig, maar jy hou nie jou tong in toom nie, bedrieg jy jouself. Jou godsdiens is niks werd nie." (Jak 1:26 NLV). Hoe beheer jy jou tong se geneigdheid tot negatiwiteit? Gebruik dit positief. Hoe?
Sielekos: Jes 22-25; Joh 6:52-71; Ps 127; Spr 27:25-27 JOHN 10:10 …I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Though Jesus is completely God, He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them. (Hebrews 4:15) And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He conquered sickness, the winds and waves, the powers of darkness and death. It is His life that brings victory over the devil and all his works. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! Finally, Jesus went to the cross. And that life in Him put an end to everything that was natural of the Adamic race—sickness, poverty, failures, pains, curses and death. All that was natural ceased to be in that life of His. But all that was supernatural remained in Him. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! Then, Jesus rose from the dead. And in that life of His was added the power of resurrection. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! After His resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven to His Father. Today, He is seated at the right hand of God, resting in His finished work, occupying a place of the highest authority. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! And because Jesus went back to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you (John 16:7), so that you will live life with His anointing in you and walk in His overcoming power. All that Jesus is, God meant for you to be. All that He has, God meant for you to have. All the exciting things that you read in the Bible about Jesus, all the treasures of Him hidden in the Old Testament and the unsearchable riches in Him that you find in the New Testament, all of that life of His, is not out there somewhere. God has deposited all of it in you, so that you can live the abundant life that Jesus came to give you! EPHESIANS 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome. God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favor because harboring bitterness and unforgiveness can sometimes destroy our health! So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter. Joseph had forgiven his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness. (Genesis 50:15–21) So you may remember the incident, but the bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture—“God in Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I forgive you.” When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We walk by faith, not feelings. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some people are waiting for feelings—“I am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to forgive that person.” That “right emotion” may never come! No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: “Father, I bring this person before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus’ cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person and I let my anger against him go in Jesus’ name. Amen!” Once you forgive by faith, you will see the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in your body! From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. 2 Corinthians 5:16
Ask God to help you have his eternal view of the world. His view of humanity is starkly simple. From his perspective every person is either: Entering through the small gate or the wide gate (Matthew 7:13-14) … Heaven called or hell bound (Mark 16:15-16) … Our ledger, however, is cluttered with unnecessary columns. Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What color is her skin? Does she have a college degree? These matters are irrelevant to God… To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the saved and rejoice! They are just one grave away from being just like Jesus. To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the lost and pray. For unless they turn, they are one grave away from torment. Just Like Jesus (Max Lucado) "...he who spreads slander is a fool." Proverbs 10:18
A pastor went to visit a woman from his church before she was to have serious surgery. As he walked into her hospital room, he found her in the arms of a man who was not her husband. Stunned and embarrassed, he silently walked out. Later he discovered that this woman's brother had flown in to comfort her before her surgery. Later, the pastor said, "I could have told others I saw that woman in the arms of a man who was not her husband and it would have been a fact, but it would not have been the truth." The press often does this in reporting what people have done. They confuse the facts with the truth. This results in half-truths that are really the worst forms of lies, because they are so believable. Gossip and slander are big on facts and short on truth. They unfairly destroy people's character. The next time you hear something bad about another person, be sure you have more than the facts. Be sure you have the whole truth, for it is easy to confuse the facts with the truth. 1 KINGS 20:23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. In 1 Kings 20, we find the Syrians being defeated by the Israelites. Then, some of the Syrian king’s advisers gave the king what they thought was the reason for their defeat. They said that they had fought on the hills and lost because Israel’s God is the God of the hills. So if they were to fight the Israelites on the plains or in the valleys, they would win. What stupid advice! They thought that the God of Israel only helped His people up in the hills and mountains, and not down in the valleys. Now, mountains refer to our good times, and valleys, our bad times. Some people have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but He is not there when we are going through bad times. They think that He leaves us helpless in the valleys, especially when the troubles are of our own making. My friend, I want you to know that our God is the God of the mountains, but He is also the God of the valleys! God the Son laid aside His crown of glory, His royal majesty and came down for us, stepping into a human body as a baby. He came down to where we were for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, so that He could bring us up to what God the Father has for us at His right hand. Jesus came down to crown us with glory and honor, to clothe us with robes of righteousness and make us His bride, sharing everything that He has with us. That is the grace of God. He came down to our valley. So whatever you are going through right now, know that God is right there in your valley with you. He is holding you in His arms and carrying you through the valley. Victory is already yours. Just as the Israelites were also victorious in the valley (1 Kings 20:28–29), so will you be because the God of the valleys is right there with you! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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