2021-04-10
Romeine 8:32 NLV
George Müller word as een van die grootste geestelike reuse van die kerk geag. Doen jouself ‘n guns en gaan lees op oor sy lewensverhaal. Hy het keer op keer voor oorweldigende behoeftes te staan gekom, na God toe in gebed gedraai, sy beloftes opgeëis en wonderbaarlike wonderwerke ervaar. Groot geloof word egter nie oornag verkry nie; dit word deur ‘n leeftyd van wandel met God gebou.
Müller het gesê: “My geloof is dieselfde geloof wat in elke gelowige te vinde is. Dit het bietjie-vir-bietjie oor die afgelope ses-en-twintig jaar vermeerder. Baie kere wat ek mal van bekommernis moes geword het, het ek vrede gehad omdat my siel die waarheid van God se beloftes geglo het. God se Woord, tesame met die hele karakter van God soos Hy Homself openbaar, beantwoord alle vrae. Sy onveranderende liefde en sy oneindige wysheid het my kalmeer. Ek het geweet: ‘God is in staat en gewillig om my hierdeur te bring.’ Daar staan geskrywe: ‘As God werklikwaar nie sy eie Seun gespaar het nie, maar Hom ter wille van ons almal aan die dood oorgegee het, is daar tog geen manier waarop Hy nie ook alle ander goeie dinge aan ons sal skenk nie.”
Jy vra: ‘Hoe kry ek hierdie tipe geloof?’ Die Bybel sê: ‘Die geloof volg uit die aanhoor van die boodskap…’ (Romeine 10:17 NLV). Net soos ‘n daaglikse dieet van goeie kos jou fisies versterk, so versterk lees, mediteer, bestudeer, verbaliseer en staan op God se Woord jou geestelik.
Die ‘geheim’ tot ‘n suksesvolle Christelike lewe is glad nie ‘n geheim nie – bestudeer God se Woord en ontvang God se Woord in jou. Jy kan nie situasies in die lewe wat angs veroorsaak vermy nie, maar wanneer jou geloof sterk is, kan jy hulle oorkom.
Sielskos: Lev 18-20; Mark 1:21-28; Ps 25:16-22; Spr 10:2
Romans 8:32 NKJV
George Müller is considered to be one of the spiritual giants of the church. Do yourself a Favour and read his life-story. Faced time and time again with overwhelming needs, he turned to God in prayer, claiming His promises and experiencing amazing miracles. But great faith does not come overnight; it comes over a lifetime of walking with God.
Müller said: “My faith is the same faith which is found in every believer. It has been increased little by little for the last twenty-six years. Many times when I would have gone insane from worry, I was at peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promises. God’s Word, together with the whole character of God as He has revealed Himself, settles all questions. His unchangeable love and His infinite wisdom calmed me. I knew, ‘God is able and willing to deliver me.’ It is written, ‘He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'”
You say, “How do I get this kind of faith?” The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Just as a daily diet of good nutrition strengthens you physically, so do reading, meditating, studying, verbalizing, and standing on God’s Word each day strengthen you spiritually. The “secret” of successful Christian living is not a secret at all – just get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into you. You can’t avoid anxiety-producing situations in life, but when your faith is strong you can overcome them.
Soul food: Lev 18-20; Mark 1:21-28; Ps 25:16-22; Prov 10:2
Romans 10:17 ESV
George Müller is considered to be one of the spiritual giants of the church. Faced time and time again with overwhelming needs, he turned to God in prayer, claimed His promises and experienced amazing miracles.
But great faith doesn’t come overnight; it comes over a lifetime of walking with God. Müller said: ‘My faith is the same faith which is found in every believer. It has been increased little by little for the last twenty-six years. Many times when I would have gone insane from worry, I was at peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promises. God’s Word, together with the whole character of God as He has revealed Himself, settles all questions. His unchangeable love and His infinite wisdom calmed me. I knew, “God is able and willing to deliver me.” It is written, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NKJV).’
So how can we get this kind of faith? The Bible says, ‘Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17 ESV). Just as nourishing food strengthens us physically, reading and studying God’s Word every day strengthens us spiritually. The ‘secret’ of successful Christian living isn’t a secret at all – we need to get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into us. We can’t avoid anxiety-producing situations in life, but when our faith is strong, we can face any challenge or problem with confidence, knowing that God’s ‘able and willing’ to walk through it with us.
Lev 18-20; Mark 1:21-28; Ps 25:16-22; Prov 10:2
2021-04-09
2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
Have you heard of the velvet ant? It has a coat of tiny hairs that feel smooth and velvety. But it’s all a disguise. It isn’t an ant at all, but a wingless wasp with a nasty sting. After injecting its victims with a venom, it lays eggs in their incapacitated bodies.
One of Paul’s greatest concerns was that, after being saved by grace, the churches would go back to living under the Old Testament law. He constantly warned them about basing their salvation and their relationship with God on their own performance. “I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed” (vv. 3-4 NLT). Another Jesus! Another spirit! Another gospel! Again Paul warns, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (v. 14 NLT).
Yes, your work for God on earth determines your rewards in heaven. But only by trusting in the finished work of Christ will you get to heaven. No one in heaven will say, “Look what Jesus and I did!” Legalism will not only infect you, it will incapacitate you. Scottish minister Horatius Bonar wrote, “Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.” How do you protect yourself against “the sting” of legalism? By depending on God’s grace alone.
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Mark 1:14-20; Ps 25:8-15; Prov 10:1
2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
Ever heard of the velvet ant? It has a coat of tiny hairs that feel smooth and velvety. But it’s all a disguise. It isn’t an ant at all, but a wingless wasp with a nasty sting. After injecting its victims with a venom, it lays eggs in their incapacitated bodies. And when we try to earn our salvation by rule-following, we can find that legalism is like the velvet ant – it can sting, infect and incapacitate us.
One of Paul’s biggest concerns for the churches was that, after being saved by grace, the people would go back to living under the Old Testament law. He constantly warned them about basing their salvation and their relationship with God on their own performance. ‘I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed’ (2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NLT).
Paul also warns, ‘Satan disguises himself as an angel of light’ (v.14 NLT). Our work for God on earth determines our rewards in heaven, but we only get to heaven because of Christ’s work. Scottish minister Horatius Bonar wrote, ‘Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.’
We can’t earn our salvation, no matter how many rules we follow. Salvation is God’s gift to us, and by His grace, our place in heaven is secured as soon as we accept that gift and put our trust in Him.
Lev 15-17; Mark 1:14-20; Ps 25:8-15; Prov 10:1
