2021-04-19
1 Kronieke 29:14 NLV
Vrygewige mense is dikwels gemaklik daarmee om oor geld te praat en selfs meer gemaklik daarmee om dit uit te deel. Selfgesentreerde mense het ‘n obsessie daaroor om dit wat hulle het te behou en hoe om meer daarvan te kry. Dis hoekom Jesus, wat die vrygewigste mens in die geskiedenis was, so baie oor geld gepraat het. Hy het die bron daarvan verstaan, die gebruik daarvan verstaan en aan wie dit alles behoort. Sestien van sy agt-en-dertig gelykenisse gaan oor hoe om geld en besittings te hanteer. In die vier evangelies, raak een uit elke tien verse die kwessie aan. Die Bybel het vyfhonderd verse oor gebed, rofweg dieselfde hoeveelheid verse oor geloof, maar oor die tweeduisend verse oor geld en besittings.
Probeer God vir jou iets sê? Alles wat jy het, kom van God af! Jy is dus nie ‘n eienaar nie, maar ‘n bestuurder van sy eiendom. Dit beteken dat wanneer Hy jou op die skouer tik en sê: ‘Gee vir hierdie person of vir daardie saak,’ stry of rasionaliseer jy nie, maar sê: ‘Ja, Here!’ Nadat al die geld ingesamel is om die tempel te bou, het Dawid gebid: ‘Rykdom en eer kom van U alleen, want U heers oor alles. Krag en mag is in u hand, om te verhoog en te versterk. Ons dank U, o God, en prys u heerlike Naam! Maar wie is ek tog, en wie is my volk, dat ons enigiets vir U kan gee? Alles wat ons het, kom van U af, en ons gee vir U net dit wat U reeds vir ons gegee het!’ (verse 12-14 NLV).
Wanneer jy aan God gee, gee jy terug aan jou Voorsiener.
Sielskos: Dan 5-7; Mark 2:23-28; Ps 103:1-12; Spr 10:13
2021-04-18
Psalm 55:22 AMPC
After preaching about taking our worries to God in prayer, a lady approached the great preacher G. Campbell Morgan and said, “I don’t bother God with little things; I only take the big ones to Him.” Morgan replied, “My dear lady, everything we take to God is little.”
The Bible says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.” God knows you’re not built to carry the weight of worry, so He invites you to give it to Him today. Anything that’s big enough to be a source of anxiety should be turned into a prayer.
Peter writes: “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). Note the word “casting.” That’s the opposite of “carrying!” The moment you recognize that a worry is beginning to weigh you down, “cast” it on the Lord, knowing “He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
Now if He was a distant God who didn’t care about you, you would have reason to worry. Or if He was a weak God who couldn’t do anything about it, you would have reason to worry. The truth is, it’s as you give your worries to God that you discover how big He really is. The songwriter Joseph Scriven put it this way: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Soul food: 2 Ki 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36
Psalm 55:22 AMPC
After the preacher G. Campbell Morgan had given a talk about taking our worries to God in prayer, a lady came over to him and said, ‘I don’t bother God with little things; I only take the big ones to Him.’ Morgan replied, ‘My dear lady, everything we take to God is little.’ And it’s true – from God’s perspective, all our problems are small because His power can overcome all of them.
The Bible says, ‘Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.’ God knows we’re not built to carry the weight of worry, so He invites us to give it to Him today. Anything that’s big enough to be a source of anxiety should be turned into a prayer.
Peter wrote: ‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully’ (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). ‘Casting is the opposite of ‘carrying’. The moment we recognise that a worry is beginning to weigh us down, we need to ‘cast’ it on God, knowing ‘He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.’
If He was a distant God who didn’t care about us, we’d have a reason to worry. Or if He was a weak God who couldn’t do anything about it, we’d have a reason to worry. The truth is, it’s when we give our worries to God that we discover how big He really is. The songwriter Joseph Scriven put it this way: ‘Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’
2 Ki 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36
Psalm 55:23 NLV
Nadat hy gepreek het oor hoe ons ons bekommernisse in gebed na God toe moet neem, het ‘n dame die groot prediker G. Campbell Morgan genader en gesê: ‘Ek pla God nie met die klein goedjies nie; ek neem slegs die groot bekommernisse na Hom toe.’ Morgan het geantwoord: ‘My liewe dame, alles wat ons na God toe neem is klein.’
Die Bybel sê: ‘Gee jou kommer oor aan die Here. Hy sal vir jou sorg…’ God weet dat jy nie gebou is om die gewig van bekommernis te dra nie, dus nooi Hy jou vandag uit om dit vir Hom te gee. Enigiets wat groot genoeg is om ‘n bron van bekommernis te wees, moet in ‘n gebed omskep word. Petrus skryf: ‘Gee al julle bekommernisse aan God oor, want Hy gee vir julle om’ (1 Petrus 5:7 NLV).
Die oomblik wat jy vind dat ‘n bekommernis op jou begin neerdruk, gee dit vir die Here met die wete dat Hy vir jou omgee. As Hy ‘n ver af God was wat nie vir jou omgegee het nie, sou jy rede gehad het om bekommerd te wees. Of as Hy ‘n swak God was wat niks daaraan kon doen nie, sou jy rede gehad het om daaroor bekommerd te wees.
Die waarheid is dat wanneer jy jou sorge aan God oorgee, jy ontdek hoe groot Hy werklik is. Die liedjieskrywer Joseph Scriven het dit so gestel: ‘Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’
Sielskos: 2 Kon 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luk 6:27-36
2021-04-17
Romans 8:17 NCV
When our favourite football team wins, we say, ‘We won!’ But what do we mean when we say ‘we’? We weren’t on the pitch. We didn’t get tackled. We didn’t kick the ball. We didn’t score a single goal. How can we say ‘we won’? What we mean is that because the team we support and identify with won, we won as well.
There’s an important spiritual truth here for us as redeemed children of God. When Jesus died, we died with Him. When Jesus arose, we arose with Him to ‘live a new life’ (Romans 6:4 NCV). The difference between us and the team that won is that we’re unlikely to ever be part of it. But when Jesus won at the cross and we accepted Him as our Saviour, God positioned us ‘in Christ’. Today He sees each of us clothed in the righteousness of Christ (take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Paul explained it this way: ‘The Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God’s children. If we are God’s children, we will receive blessings from God together with Christ’ (Romans 8:16-17 NCV). As redeemed children of God, we are heirs of everything our heavenly Father owns. And we ‘receive blessings…together with Christ’, meaning that whatever Jesus is entitled to, we are also entitled to.
When we understand this truth and begin to walk according to it, we can start to identify and claim the blessings God’s promised in His Word. These blessings include things like grace, forgiveness, healing, provision, guidance, strength, etc. Our identity in Christ entitles us to all these things.
Dan 3-4; Mark 2:18-22; Ps 130; Prov 10:12
