2021-05-11
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
When we think about our nation and its problems, we might begin to feel disheartened. We can find ourselves worrying about what the future holds for each of us personally, but on a wider scale, we might also worry about the future of society, or even the wider world.
We might think that we don’t have the power to make any real change. But God told Abraham if there were as few as ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorra, He would spare the cities from judgment. If only ten people could have made a difference to those cities, imagine what the prayers of the whole church could do for our nation today. God said: ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.’
Let’s take a closer look at this verse: a) ‘If my people, who are called by my name.’ As God’s redeemed people, we need to take responsibility to pray for our nation. b) ‘Will humble themselves…pray and seek my face.’ God, who needs nobody’s authorisation or approval to act, promises to move when His people turn to Him and seek His face in prayer. c) ‘And turn from their wicked ways.’ Instead of complaining about what’s wrong with society, God commands His people to examine their own hearts to see what’s wrong and make it right. And when they do, He promises to: d) ‘Hear from heaven…forgive their sin and…heal their land.’
The truth is, it’s up to us. We can help bring change to our nation if we’ll pray and seek God with all our hearts.
Num 34-36; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2 Kronieke 7:14 NLV
Winston Churchill het glo gesê: ‘Diegene wat nie uit die geskiedenis leer nie, is gedoem om dit te herhaal.’ Kyk na ons hedendaagse samelewing; sien ons die toestande wat die val van baie groot samelewings vooraf gegaan het, is in plek.
Jy vra: ‘Kan ons nasie gered word?’ Ja! God het vir Abraham gesê dat indien hy so min as tien geregtige mense in die land kon vind, sou Hy Sodom en Gomorra van die oordeel gespaar het. ‘n Geregtige minderheid kan ons land nog red. Hoe? Deur gebed! God het gesê: ‘Wanneer die volk wat my Naam dra, hulle verootmoedig en bid, en My weer soek en hulle afkeer van hulle bose lewens, sal Ek in die hemel hoor en hulle vergewe en hulle land gesond maak.’
Daar is vier belangrike voorwaardes wat in hierdie Skrifgedeelte genoem word: a) ‘Wanneer die volk wat my Naam dra.’ Die toekoms van ons nasie rus nie in die hande van bankiere, nuuslesers of politici nie, maar vierkantig in die hande van God se verloste mense. b) ‘Hulle verootmoedig en bid, en My weer soek.’ God, wat niemand se goedkeuring of magtiging nodig het om op te tree nie, belowe om te beweeg wanneer sy mense na Hom toe draai en sy aangesig soek. c) ‘Hulle afkeer van hulle bose lewens.’ In plaas daarvan om te kla wat met die samelewing verkeerd is, beveel God sy mense om hulle eie harte te ondersoek en reg te maak wat verkeerd is. Wanneer hulle dit doen, belowe Hy: d) ‘Sal Ek in die hemel hoor en hulle vergewe en hulle land gesond maak.’
Dit is ons verantwoordelikheid, nie hulle s’n nie! Dis nie te laat nie. Ons nasie kan gered word as ons bid en God met ons hele hart soek.
Sielskos: Num 34-36; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Spr 11:14
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
Winston Churchill is attributed with saying, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Take a look at society today; the conditions that preceded the fall of many great civilizations are in place. You ask, “Can our nation be saved?”
Yes! God told Abraham if he could find as few as ten righteous people in the land, He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah from judgment. And a righteous minority can still save our nation. How? Through prayer! God said: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves…pray…seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven…forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Notice four important conditions mentioned in this Scripture: (a) “If my people, who are called by my name.” The future of our nation doesn’t rest in the hands of bankers, talking heads on TV, and politicians; it rests squarely in the hands of God’s redeemed people. (b) “Will humble themselves…pray and seek my face.” God, who needs nobody’s authorization or approval to act, promises to move when His people turn to Him and seek His face in prayer. (c) “And turn from their wicked ways.” Instead of complaining about what’s wrong with society, God commands His people to examine their own hearts to see what’s wrong and make it right. And when they do, He promises to: (d) “Hear from heaven…forgive their sin and…heal their land.”
The truth is, it’s up to us, not them! It’s not too late. Our nation can still be turned around if we’ll pray and seek God with all our hearts.
Soul food: Num 34-36; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2021-05-10
Hebrews 2:11 NIV
Every family has its secrets. A cousin with a prison record, or a dad who abandoned the family, or a grandparent who ran off with a coworker. It may surprise you to know Jesus didn’t come from a perfect family either. The Bible records the details of Jesus’ ancestral lineage – and it includes some not-so-nice characters! There’s a prostitute called Rahab, and there’s a white-collar criminal named Jacob who took advantage of his brother and his father-in-law in order to get rich. And how about King David? One day he’s writing Psalms, and the next day he’s seducing the wife of one of his army officers.
The list goes on, and Scripture records it to let you know two important truths: (1) You are not unique. If your family tree has damaged fruit, Jesus wants you to know He’s been there! In the absence of any mention of Joseph’s involvement in Jesus’ adult life, scholars believe Mary may have raised Him and his siblings alone. And Jesus wasn’t reluctant to call His ancestors family – which means He’s not ashamed of you either.
(2) Jesus doesn’t look at your past in order to decide your future. In His eyes, spiritual DNA trumps natural DNA! The Bible says: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NIV).
So don’t be afraid to tell others that what Jesus did for you, He will do for them when they put their trust in Him.
Soul food: Num 32:25-33:56; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
Hebrews 2:11 NIV
Every family has secrets. It might be something like a family member who was in prison, an unwanted pregnancy, or a mistake in the past that the family still feels ashamed of. It might be something that happened a long time ago, or something that’s taking place now. The truth is that every family has a flaw somewhere in its background, but it may be surprising to learn that Jesus didn’t come from a perfect family either.
The Bible records the details of Jesus’ ancestry, and it includes some flawed people. There’s Tamar, who tricked her father-in-law in order to seduce him, and Jacob, who took advantage of his brother and his father-in-law in order to get rich. And then there’s King David – one day he’s writing psalms, and the next day he’s seducing the wife of one of his army officers.
The list goes on, and Scripture records it to let us know two important truths: 1) We are not alone. If our family tree has damaged fruit, Jesus wants us to know He’s been there. And since He wasn’t reluctant to call His ancestors family, we can be certain that He’s not ashamed of us either.
2) Jesus doesn’t look at our past in order to decide our future. The Bible says: ‘If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new! All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him’ (2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NCV).
So let’s not be afraid to tell others that what Jesus did for us, He’ll do for them when they put their trust in Him.
Num 32:25-33:56; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
