2020-01-15
Psalm 127:3 NLT
Children aren’t bargaining chips to secure attention. Reasons like, “I want someone to love me,” or “I agreed to have children because my partner wanted them” are immature at best and a recipe for disaster at worst. If you are considering having children, it is vitally important to take time to ask yourself if you are emotionally, financially, and spiritually ready for the job. Becoming a parent means taking on the immense task of being responsible for another human being – for the rest of your life! You can’t exchange them, or return them, or divorce them when things don’t go well. It’s a lifetime commitment, and you must accept this reality without pretending otherwise. Don’t go starry-eyed over the babies you see in strollers at the mall. Don’t deceive yourself about parenthood, and think you’ll just “grow into it” after the baby arrives. You will be on call around the clock for the next twenty years or so! Make sure you’re ready for the leap of faith required to love someone more powerfully than ever before. You owe it to them, and to yourself. So approach parenthood with prayer, consideration, deliberation, and most of all, a sense of humor before you take that leap. One wrong decision on your part can sentence your entire family to a lifetime of heartbreak. And it can be avoided by praying, and waiting a little while longer to do things right! If you’re not ready to lead a totally different lifestyle for the next few decades, slow down. Babies who have babies leave our communities on life support and our marriages on respirators. Think about it and talk to God about it.
Soul food: Exo 19-21; Matt 7:1-14; Ps 74:12-23; Prov 2:7-8
2020-01-14
Psalm 34:1 NIV
You can praise God too little, but you can never praise Him too much. David writes, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3). “Seven times a day do I praise thee” (Psalm 119:164). “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” When you are overwhelmed by circumstances, the last thing you feel like doing is praising God. But it’s the first thing you should do, because praise gets your attention off yourself and onto God’s miraculous power. Jehoshaphat faced an army he had no hope of defeating. But when he started to praise God, his enemies destroyed each other while he looked on in amazement. When Paul and Silas praised God in prison, their chains broke and the doors opened. It’s normal to focus on the problem and forget to praise God, but praise solves problems. Peter writes: “The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Start to acknowledge the power of praise and choose to exalt God regardless of how you feel. Praise brings you into God’s presence and positions you for His favour and blessing. You say, “But I don’t understand how praise works.” Think about it like this: You don’t have to understand aerodynamics in order to fly. You just get on the plane and the pilot takes you where you need to go. It’s the same when you praise God – just do it and you’ll get results.
Soul food: Exo 16-18; Matt 6:19-34; Ps 74:1-11; Prov 2:6
Psalm 34:2 NLV
Jy kan God te min prys, maar jy kan Hom nooit te veel prys nie. Dawid skryf: ‘Van waar die son opkom tot waar dit ondergaan, moet die Naam van die Here geprys word’ (Psalm 113:3 NLV). ‘Ek loof U sewe keer per dag…’ (Psalm 119:164). ‘…Sy lof sal altyd op my lippe wees.’ Wanneer jy oorweldig deur omstandighede voel, is lofprysing die laaste ding waarvoor jy lus is. Dis egter die eerste ding wat jy behoort te doen, omdat lofprysing die aandag van jouself aflei en dit op God se wonderbaarlike mag fokus. Josafat het voor ‘n weermag te staan gekom wat hy nie kon verslaan nie. Toe hy egter vir God begin prys, het sy vyande mekaar vernietig terwyl hy in verwondering toegekyk het. Toe Paulus en Silas God in die tronk geprys het, het hulle kettings gebreek en het die tronkdeure oopgegaan. Dis normaal om op die probleem te fokus en te vergeet om God te prys, maar lofprysing los probleme op. Petrus skryf: ‘…Julle geloof is vir God baie kosbaarder as goud. As die toetse die egtheid van julle geloof uitwys, loop dit uit op lof en heerlikheid en eer op die dag wanneer Jesus Christus aan die wêreld geopenbaar word’ (1 Petrus 1:7 NLV). Lofprysing bring jou in God se teenwoordigheid en posisioneer jou om sy seën en guns te ontvang. Jy sê: ‘Maar ek verstaan nie hoe lofprysing werk nie.’ Dink so daaroor: Jy hoef nie aerodinamika te verstaan om te vlieg nie. Jy klim net op die vliegtuig en die vlieënier neem jou waarheen jy moet gaan. Dis dieselfde wanneer jy God prys – doen dit eenvoudig net en jy sal resultate kry.
Sielskos: Eks 16-18; Matt 6:19-34; Ps 74:1-11; Spr 2:6
Psalm 34:1 NIV
When we’re feeling overwhelmed by our circumstances, the last thing we often feel like doing is praising God. But it’s the first thing we should do, because praise gets our attention off ourselves and onto God’s miraculous power. Jehoshaphat faced an army he had no hope of defeating. He didn’t know what to do. But He went into the battle with worship leaders at the front of his army singing, ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever’ (2 Chronicles 20:21 NIV). While they were praising God, his enemies destroyed each other while he looked on in amazement. When Paul and Silas praised God in prison, their chains broke and the doors opened (take a look at Acts 16). We need to start to acknowledge the power of praise and choose to worship God regardless of how we feel. We can praise God too little, but we can never praise Him too much. David writes, ‘From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised’ (Psalm 113:3 NIV), and ‘I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.’ Peter wrote that challenges come so that ‘the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed’ (1 Peter 1:7 NIVUK). When we face a challenge, we can praise our way through. Because of the challenge, our faith is strengthened, and that’s something to praise God about. Whatever we’re facing right now, let’s keep praising God through it all.
Exo 16-18; Matt 6:19-34; Ps 74:1-11; Prov 2:6
2020-01-13
Psalm 32:5 NLT
When God forgave David for adultery and murder, he wrote: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said…’I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (vv. 1-5 NLT). Unconfessed, unforgiven sin will make you miserable. But after you’ve acknowledged it and received God’s forgiveness, you shouldn’t continue to feel miserable. So why do we feel miserable? Many times it’s because of how we were raised. We grew up hearing words like, “I hope you feel bad about what you’ve done!” or “Shame on you!” And if our offense was great, like wrecking the family car, we may even have been put on probation! In other words, we’re programmed for long-term guilt. The good news is, God’s forgiveness doesn’t work that way. The moment that brings conviction and confession of sin also brings cleansing of sin, and leads to restored confidence before God. Don’t let Satan keep condemning you. Refuse to walk around feeling guilty and ashamed. Today say with the psalmist, “You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” Now go out and live freely, confidently, and with joy!
Soul food: Exo 13-15; Matt 6:9-18; Ps 71:17-24; Prov 2:3-5
