2017-07-11
James 1:4 NLT
If you’re serious about changing your life, a well-known leadership expert offers this advice: “Don’t just change enough to get away from your problems – change enough to solve them. Don’t just change your circumstances to improve your life – change yourself to improve your circumstances. Don’t do the same old things expecting different results – get different results by doing something new. Don’t see change as something hard that must be done – see it as something helpful that can be done. Don’t avoid paying the immediate price tag of change – if you do you’ll pay the ultimate price of never improving.” The Bible says, “When your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” Character building is a slow process; don’t expect it to be easy. When you try to escape life’s difficulties you short-circuit the process, delay your growth, and end up with a worse kind of pain – the useless kind that accompanies denial and avoidance. A letter was once returned to the post office and handwritten on the envelope were these words: “He’s dead.” Due to an oversight the letter was sent again to the same address. This time it was returned with a note that said – “He’s still dead!” Let’s be honest, most of us don’t like change; we do everything in our power to avoid it. We want improvement but we don’t want to pay the price that goes with it. And that’s a problem, because you’ll never become what God intends you to be by remaining what you are. It’s not enough to want change, and be open to it, you must pursue it!
Soul food: 2 Sam 1:1-3:21; Mat 25:1-13; Ps 109:16-31; Prov 18:1-3
Jakobus 1:4 NLV
As jy ernstig daaroor is om jou lewe te verander, bied ‘n bekende leierskapkundige die volgende raad aan: ‘Moenie net genoeg verander om van jou probleme af weg te kom nie – verander genoeg om hulle op te los. Moenie net omstandighede verander om jou lewe te verbeter nie – verander jouself om sodoende jou omstandighede te verbeter. Moenie dieselfde ding oor en oor doen en verskillende resultate verwag nie – kry verskillende resultate deur iets nuuts te doen. Moenie verandering sien as iets moeiliks om te doen nie – sien dit as ‘n hulpmiddel wat gedoen kan word. Moenie die onmiddellike koste van verandering probeer vermy nie – as jy dit doen, sal jy die prys betaal deur nooit te verander nie.’ Die Bybel sê, ‘Julle moet egter enduit volhard. Dan sal julle julle lewensdoel bereik en geestelik gesond wees. Julle sal niks kortkom nie.’ Dis ‘n stadige proses om jou karakter te bou; moenie verwag dat dit maklik gaan wees nie. Wanneer jy kortpaaie probeer vat wanneer jy die probleme van die lewe probeer ontsnap, sal jy nie groei nie. ‘n Brief is eenmaal aan die poskantoor teruggestuur met die volgende woorde voorop geskryf: ‘Hy is dood.’ As gevolg van ‘n administratiewe fout is die brief per ongeluk weer na dieselfde adres gestuur. Hierdie keer is dit met ‘n nota teruggestuur wat lui – ‘Hy is nog steeds dood!’ Die meeste van ons hou nie van verandering nie; ons doen ons bes om dit te vermy. Ons wil verbetering hê, maar wil nie die prys daarvoor betaal nie. Dit is ‘n probleem, want dan sal jy nooit word wat God jou geskape het om te wees nie. Dis nie genoeg om te wil verander nie, jy moet dit aktief najaag!
Sielskos: 2 Sam 1:1-3:21; Mat 25:1-13; Ps 109:16-31; Spr 18:1-3
2017-07-10
Galatians 4:19 NKJV
Here are the three scriptural keys to help you grow and mature spiritually: (1) Conception. This results from intimacy between two people who love each other. Now, God’s love for you is clear and compelling (See 1 John 3:1); the question is how much do you love Him? (See John 21:15.) (2) Forming. Paul writes, “My little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” God knows the tests and trials required to produce in you the character of Christ, and He will do whatever it takes to make it happen. (3) Pushing. When you’re fully committed to bringing forth what God’s placed within you, you’ll have to push against every negative thing people have done to you or said about you. You’ll have to push against Satan’s attacks in all their debilitating forms: painful memories, feelings of hopelessness, and low self-esteem. The Enemy may have spent years pushing you aside, pulling you back, and putting you down, but God will empower you to give birth to what He’s placed in you. And here’s something else to think about: When a baby is born, everything in the family changes. And the same is true for you. When you give birth to what God has put inside you, everything in your life will be affected. God’s blessing is an “overflowing” blessing; it will touch every area of your existence. Just as a mother can tell when she’s pregnant, the same is true in the spiritual realm. So don’t fail to give birth to what’s within you. Now is the time to bring it forth!
Soul food: Eph 4:17-6:24; Mat 24:36-51; Ps 109:1-15; Prov 17:27-28
Galasiërs 4:19 NLV
Hier is drie Skriftuurlike sleutels om jou te help om geestelik te groei en volwasse te word: 1) Begrip. Dit ontstaan uit intimiteit tussen twee mense wat lief is vir mekaar. God se liefde vir jou is duidelik en gebiedend (sien 1 Johannes 3:1); die vraag is hoeveel het jy Hom lief? (sien Johannes 21:15). 2) Vorming. Paulus skryf, ‘Ag, my kinders, totdat Christus julle hele lewe oorneem, het ek elke keer weer geboortepyne oor julle.’ God ken die toetse en beproewings wat nodig is om jou in die karakter van Christus te vorm en Hy sal doen wat nodig is om dit te laat gebeur. 3) Druk. Wanneer jy ten volle toegewyd is om dit wat God in jou geplaas het, voort te bring, sal jy nodig hê om teen elke negatiewe optrede teen jou en negatiewe uitspraak oor jou, terug te druk. Jy sal teen Satan se aanvalle in al hulle vorms moet terugdruk: pynlike herinneringe, gevoelens van hopeloosheid en lae selfwaarde. Die Vyand kan jare spandeer om jou eenkant toe te druk, jou terug te trek en jou neer te druk, maar God sal jou bemagtig om geboorte te gee aan dit wat Hy in jou geplaas het. Nog iets om oor na te dink: Wanneer ‘n baba gebore word, verander alles in die familie. Dieselfde is waar vir jou. Wanneer jy geboorte gee aan dit wat God in jou geplaas het, word alles in jou lewe geaffekteer. God se seën sal elke area van jou bestaan aanraak. Moet dus nie versuim om geboorte te gee aan dit wat binne jou is nie. Nou is die tyd om dit voort te bring!
Sielskos: Ef 4:17-6:24; Mat 24:36-51; Ps 109:1-15; Spr 17:27-28
2017-07-09
Galatians 1:10 NLT
We tend to fall into one of two traps: (1) Thinking too much of ourselves. Harry Truman was thrust into the presidency by the death of Franklin Roosevelt. That’s when Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House, took him aside and said, “From here on out you’re going to have lots of people around you, and they are going to tell you what a great man you are. But Harry…you know and I know you ain’t.” Truman took that advice to heart, and became a truly great president. To succeed in the assignment God has given you in life you need two things – dependence on God and confidence in God (See 1 John 3:21, 22). As long as those two things are in place you’ll succeed. (2) Thinking too little of ourselves. Many of us have made it our goal to change someone’s opinion of us; to prove to them that we’re valuable. Until you quit agreeing with the opinions of those who criticize you, you’ll remain locked in a prison of your own making. When your critic’s opinion becomes your opinion, you’ve built a prison inside your soul with only one prisoner – you. The fact is some of the people you’ve spent your life trying to impress may never be impressed. And you need to accept that from God’s perspective, it doesn’t matter! To succeed, you must be able to work alongside others without letting yourself be controlled by their moods and opinions. That’s why Paul wrote, “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
Soul food: Ex 20:1-17; Mat 5:1-12
