2020-05-12
Philippians 4:8 NIV
We all need an ‘attitude adjustment’ from time to time. It’s crucial that we maintain the right attitude when life gets tough. We need to be determined that we’ll go through whatever comes our way with the right attitude. If we decide in the good times that we’re going to work on maintaining our attitude through all situations, we’ll be prepared to put it into action in the bad times. Paul wrote, ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things’ (vv.8 NIV). It’s not always going to be easy to think this way. When things are going wrong, it can be easy to let negativity fill our minds. But when we start to let negative thoughts in, we then act from those thoughts, and we can make the atmosphere around us negative too. It can be challenging to change things when we get to this stage. Maintaining the right attitude is always much easier than regaining the right attitude. So as soon as we sense ourselves becoming negative, it’s important that we make an immediate attitude adjustment. The Bible says: ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7 NIV). The moment the enemy sends negative thoughts into our mind, let’s stop them in their tracks by recognising that they’re negative and replacing them with positive, godly thoughts. The Bible tells us to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). So let’s discipline ourselves to stand strong with a positive attitude in every circumstance. Then we’ll experience God’s peace, and we’ll have the strength to make it through whatever we’re facing.
Num 25-26; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2020-05-11
2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV
God called David “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NKJV). But David struggled with a weakness in his life. What was it? A lustful spirit that surfaced from time to time, and the people closest to him knew about it. When he grew old and couldn’t get warmed, they brought a young girl to lie beside him in bed that he “may get heat” (1 Kings 1:1-2 KJV). They figured if that didn’t get David’s circulation moving he had to be dying! But there’s something sad here. David passed on his weakness to his son Amnon, who ended up raping his sister. And although David was angry about it, he didn’t confront or punish him. After all, what could he say? Like father, like son! Lust isn’t just a whim or a passing fancy, it’s a sin. And when it passes from one generation to the next it becomes a “stronghold.” Today psychologists refer to it as “a genetic predisposition.” Maybe somewhere in your family tree there’s a workaholic father, a mother who was emotionally unavailable, or a brother or sister who drank too much, and now you’re wrestling with the same issues. Don’t be discouraged; Paul says, “The weapons we fight with…have…power to demolish strongholds.” So before you run off to a divorce court or a rehab center, name your stronghold, then pray, believing God to break its stranglehold on your life. Do it before it infects the next generation. Don’t pass it on – pass it back to where it came from.
Soul food: Num 22-24; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
2 Korintiërs 10:4 NLV
God het vir Dawid ‘…’n man na my hart…’ (Handelinge 13:22 NLV), genoem. Dawid het egter met ‘n swakheid in sy lewe geworstel – ‘n wellustige gees wat van tyd tot tyd te voorskyn gekom en waarvan die mense naaste aan hom geweet het. Toe hy oud word en nie meer warm kon word nie, het hulle ‘n jong meisie gebring om langs hom in die bed te lê ‘…sodat [hy] kan warm word’ (1 Konings 1:1-2 NLV). Hulle het gedink as dit nie sy sirkulasie aan die gang kon kry nie, was hy definitief op sy sterfbed! Daar is egter iets hartseers hieraan. Dawid het sy swakheid aan sy seun Amnon oorgedra, wat uiteindelik sy eie suster verkrag het. Alhoewel Dawid daaroor kwaad was, het hy nie vir Amnon daaroor gekonfronteer of hom gestraf nie. Wat kon hy immers sê? Soos vader, so is seun! Wellus is nie net ‘n bevlieging wat mens kry nie, dis ‘n sonde. Wanneer dit van een generasie na die volgende oorgedra word, word dit ‘n ‘vesting.’ Sielkundiges verwys deesdae daarna as “‘n genetiese vatbaarheid.” Miskien is daar êrens in jou stamboom ‘n werksverslaafde pa, ‘n ma wat emosioneel ontoeganklik was, of ‘n broer of suster wat te veel gedrink het en nou worstel jy met dieselfde kwessies. Moenie ontmoedig word nie; Paulus sê: ‘…die kragtige gevegtoerusting van God [kan] vestings… vernietig…” Voor jy dus na die skeihof of rehabilitasiesentrum hardloop, noem jou vesting en bid dan daaroor, met die geloof dat God die wurggreep daarvan op jou lewe kan verbreek. Doen dit voor dit die volgende generasie aansteek. Moet dit nie oordra nie – gee dit terug van waar dit gekom het.
Sielskos: Num 22-24; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Spr 11:12-13
2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV
A stronghold is defined as a fortified place where people can be protected from attack. It’s a place of safety because it’s so well protected. However, we can end up with negative strongholds in our lives. We might believe certain negative things about ourselves. We might turn to unhelpful things to help us cope with tough times. But these types of strongholds aren’t places of safety; they’re actually dangerous places to be. We’re trapped in them, and they’re so well fortified that the truth can’t get in and we can’t get out. Our lives can be controlled by these strongholds, and they can end up being passed on from generation to generation because no one can escape. Fortunately, with God, this doesn’t have to be the case. With His help, our strongholds can be destroyed, and we can live in freedom. The Bible says: ‘One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust’ (Proverbs 21:22 NIV). With the help of God’s wisdom, we can identify the strongholds in our lives where we have been placing our trust, and where we have been trapped. So how can we destroy the negative strongholds that we’ve identified? Paul wrote: ‘The weapons we fight with…have divine power to demolish strongholds.’ One of the main weapons we have is the Bible (take a look at Ephesians 6:17). It’s full of truth, and when we discover the truth we can declare it out loud and begin to break down the walls of our strongholds. It’s not easy to destroy a stronghold, but gradually, with God’s help, we can take it down brick by brick. Then we can experience His freedom for us, and for the generations to come.
Num 22-24; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
2020-05-10
Romans 10:17 NIV
The Bible says that faith is ‘confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’ (Hebrews 11:1 NIV). Faith isn’t empty hope, or simply a positive confession of something we want to be true. Faith is recognising something that’s already a reality despite the fact that it can’t yet be seen. The Bible says that God ‘gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not’ (Romans 4:17 NIV). When God promised Abraham that he would be the father of future generations, and that he would have a son even though he was old, Abraham had to put his faith in the God who speaks things into being. Abraham didn’t speak Isaac into existence, God did. Abraham simply believed that God would act on His promise, and as a result Isaac was born. The Bible tells us that ‘without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised’ (vv.19-21 NIV). Do we have faith that God will do what He’s promised? Our faith can begin to waver when we don’t see anything change or when we’ve been praying for years without seeing His promises come into being. So how do we develop strong faith? The Bible tells us that ‘faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.’ So let’s immerse ourselves in God’s Word, and build up our faith.
Matt 5:10; 1 Thes 2:13-3:5; 1 Cor 4:11-13; Rev 6:9-11
