2022-01-13
Psalm 78:4 NIV
A legacy is something that’s passed on from one person to another, and it can be good or bad. That’s why we should consider what we’re passing on. We might have used harsh words that stemmed from what was happening in our lives at the time; but now we’re able to see things more clearly, and feel ashamed of the hurtful words we said. James wrote, ‘Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires’ (James 1:19-20 NLT). Our words can do lasting damage, so we should care about what we’re saying. Paul wrote, ‘See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many’ (Hebrews 12:15 NIV). Maybe we’ve planted seeds that caused a root of bitterness to grow in someone’s heart.
If possible, we should make amends by seeking forgiveness and trying to set the record straight with those we’ve left hurt over a situation that we feel differently about now. It’s humbling, but we need to do it because we won’t feel right with God until we’re right with those He loves. Jesus said, ‘If you are offering your gift at the altar and…remember…your brother…has something against you…go and be reconciled…then come and offer your gift’ (Matthew 5:23-24 NIV).
Dr Dale Turner wrote: ‘It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them…A mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows weakness of character.’ When we’ve made a mistake, let’s do the right thing by making amends when we can.
Gen 28:1-30:24; Luke 2:34-40; Ps 74:1-11; Pro 2:6
Psalm 78:4 NIV
A legacy, good or bad, is something handed down from one person to another. I hope, over time, God has healed your hurts and you have moved on, but what are you leaving behind? The harsh words you spoke may have been based on what was happening in your life at the time, but now you see things more clearly. It’s wonderful when you move from resenting others to forgiving them – but have you left unhealed wounds?
James writes, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” (James 1:19-20 NLT). Your words can do lasting damage, and that should concern you. Paul writes, “See…that no one falls short of the grace of God and…no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15 NIV). Have you planted seeds that caused a root of bitterness to grow in someone’s heart?
If possible, you must make amends by seeking forgiveness and trying to set the record straight with those you have left festering over a situation you now feel differently about. It’s humbling, but you must do it because you won’t feel right toward God until you’re right with those He loves. Jesus said, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and…remember…your brother…has something against you…go and be reconciled…then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24 NIV).
Dr. Dale Turner writes: “It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them….A mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows weakness of character.”
Soul food: Gen 28:1-30:24; Luke 2:34-40; Ps 74:1-11; Pro 2:6
2022-01-12
Romans 1:21 NLT
Contemplating the amazing design of our universe, physicist and Nobel laureate, Arno Penzias, tries to explain it this way: “Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe…created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life. In the absence of an absurdly improbable accident, the observations of modern science seem to suggest an underlying, one might say, supernatural plan.”
Harvard biologist Stephen Jay Gould describes humans as “a glorious accident” of evolution which needed sixty trillion contingent events. Cosmologists estimate the earth to be 4.55 billion years old. So, to accomplish those sixty trillion events would necessitate more than thirty-six essential events a day for 4.55 billion years – just to get Homo sapiens. And conveniently, each of these thirty-six new events would have to occur in the right place, at the right time, in the right sequence. And this doesn’t take into account the astronomical number of “accidents” required to form the tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of individual ecosystems.
One individual put it this way: “The odds would be better of getting hit by lightning at the moment you won the Power-ball lottery while dying in the crash of a plane that got struck by a meteor.” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, a believer himself, describes exploring nature as “a way of getting a glimpse of God’s mind,” and observes, “All truth is God’s truth, and therefore God can hardly be threatened by scientific discoveries.” God is real, and when you reach for His help, you will get it.
Soul food: Gen 25:19-27:46; Luke 2:21-33; Ps 71:17-24; Pro 2:3-5
1 Peter 3:15 NCV
In 1 Peter 3, we read this: ‘Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have, but answer in a gentle way and with respect’ (v.15-16 NCV). We can sometimes underestimate the importance of our own personal testimonies, but the reality is that they’re so valuable in sharing evidence of God. Our first-hand experience of God’s goodness could be the thing that someone connects with and encourages them to find out more about God. We don’t have to embellish our testimony or try to make it seem more exciting. All we need to do is truthfully lay out the facts and the experiences we had, then trust God for the rest.
We might think our story isn’t very dramatic and won’t have much of an impact; but God’s in everything, the big things and the small things of life. Our honesty in telling our story just as it happened, and even revealing our own doubts and explaining that there are some parts we don’t understand, can be just as powerful to our listener and open the door to a real, worthwhile conversation about God.
And we can even encourage ourselves with stories of what God’s done for us. When we look back and remember all the times He’s been good to us, the times He’s walked beside us, and the times He’s guided and sheltered us, we can grow our confidence and trust in Him when we’re beginning to have our own doubts. People might argue that the Bible isn’t inspired by God, or that Jesus didn’t perform miracles, and so on. But nobody can argue with the evidence of a life transformed because of our faith in Him.
Gen 25:19-27:46; Luke 2:21-33; Ps 71:17-24; Pro 2:3-5
Romeine 1:21 NLV
Die fisikus en Nobelpryswenner, Arno Penzias, het die wonderlike ontwerp van ons heelal as volg probeer beskryf: ‘Sterrekunde lei ons tot ‘n unieke gebeurtenis. ‘n Heelal wat uit niks geskep is nie, een met ‘n baie fyn balans wat nodig is om die presiese toestand te voorsien om lewe te kan toelaat. In die afwesigheid van ‘n absurde, onwaarskynlike ongeluk, dui die waarnemings van moderne wetenskap op ‘n onderliggende plan, een wat mens selfs ‘n bonatuurlike plan kan noem.’
Die Harvard bioloog, Stephen Jay Gould, beskryf mense as “‘n glorieryke ongeluk” van evolusie, wat sestig triljoen voorwaardelike gebeurtenisse benodig om te kon ontstaan het. Kosmoloë skat dat die aarde 4,55 miljard jaar oud is. Dus, om hierdie sestig triljoen gebeurtenisse te bereik, sou daar meer as ses en dertig noodsaaklike gebeure per dag vir 4,55 miljard jaar nodig gewees het – net sodat Homo sapiens kan ontstaan. Elkeen van hierdie ses en dertig nuwe daaglikse gebeure sou ook op die regte plek, op die regte tyd en in die regte volgorde moes plaasvind. En dit hou nie rekening met die astronomiese aantal ‘ongelukke’ wat nodig is om honderdduisende individuele ekosisteme te vorm nie. Een individu stel dit so: ‘Jy sou ‘n beter kans hê om te sterf terwyl jy deur weerlig getref word op die oomblik dat jy die Powerball-lotto wen, terwyl jy in ‘n vliegtuig wat deur ‘n meteoor getref is, vlieg.’
Dr Francis Collins, direkteur van die Menslike Genoom projek en self ‘n gelowige, beskryf die verkenning van die natuur as “‘n manier om ‘n blik op God se gedagtes te kry”, en merk op: ‘Alle waarheid is God se waarheid en daarom kan God nie deur wetenskaplike ontdekkings bedreig word nie.’ God bestaan en wanneer jy na sy hulp uitreik, sal jy dit ontvang.
Sielskos: Gen 25:19-27:46; Luk 2:21-33; Ps 71:17-24; Spr 2:3-5
