2023-05-16
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
When you’re about to do something and you’re not sure if you should, ask yourself, “Will doing this glorify God?” If you follow that rule, you won’t go wrong in life. Let’s get specific. If you earn your money honestly, then it’s yours to spend as you wish. Once you give God His portion, which begins at 10 percent, you get to choose what you will do with the rest.
However, your financial decisions have consequences that affect not only you but your family. When you go into debt you can’t repay, they suffer with you. So does your reputation with others. The question is not even can you afford it, but will it bring glory to God? Will He be pleased?
And how about your relationships? You’re single, lonely, and longing for companionship. So, you find someone you really like. Today when unchecked passion leads to sex before marriage, society doesn’t blink at it. But as a redeemed child of God, you are different. Jesus said we are in the world, but not of it. That means we live by a different set of rules: scriptural ones. Perhaps your partner will see your refusal of sexual intimacy as rejection. And they may even decide to leave you. What should you do? Ask yourself, “Will this glorify God? Will He be pleased?”
You say, “Pleasing God isn’t easy.” It never has been. And the Bible doesn’t say it will be. But if you want to live with joy, self-respect, confidence, and integrity, you have to choose the right path. And that’s the path which always brings glory to God.
Soul food: Num 30:1-32:24; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 67; Prov 11:16-18
1 Korintiërs 10:31 NLV
Wanneer jy op die punt staan om iets te doen waaroor jy nie seker is nie, vra jouself af: ‘Sal dit God verheerlik as ek dit doen?’ As jy hierdie reël volg, sal jy nie verkeerd gaan in die lewe nie. Kom ons wees meer spesifiek. Wanneer jy jou geld op ‘n eerlike manier verdien, is dit joune om te spandeer soos jy wil. Nadat jy God sy deel, wat by 10 persent begin, gegee het, kan jy kies wat om met die res te doen.
Jou finansiële besluite het egter nagevolge wat nie net jou nie, maar ook jou familie affekteer. Wanneer jy skuld aangaan wat jy nie kan terugbetaal nie, ly hulle saam met jou. Jou reputasie ly ook daaronder. Die vraag is nie of jy dit kan bekostig nie, maar of God daardeur verheerlik sal word? Sal Hy tevrede wees?
Wat van jou verhoudings? Jy is enkellopend, eensaam en smag na geselskap. Jy ontmoet iemand waarvan jy regtig hou. Wanneer ongekontroleerde passie deesdae tot seks voor die huwelik lei, knip die samelewing nie eers ‘n oog nie. As verloste kind van God is jy egter anders. Jesus sê dat ons in die wêreld, maar nie van die wêreld is nie. Dit beteken dat ons volgens ‘n ander stel reëls leef: Skriftuurlike reëls. Miskien sal jou maat jou weiering van seksuele intimiteit as verwerping sien en mag dalk selfs besluit om jou te verlaat. Wat staan jou te doen?
Vra jouself af: ‘Word God hierdeur verheerlik? Sal Hy tevrede wees?’ Jy sê: ‘Dis nie maklik om God tevrede te stel nie.’ Dit was nog nooit nie. As jy egter met vreugde, selfrespek, selfvertroue en integriteit wil lewe, moet jy die regte pad kies. Dis die pad wat God altyd verheerlik.
Sielskos: Num 30:1-32:24; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 67; Spr 11:16-18
2023-05-15
Proverbs 1:5 NLT
The book of Proverbs begins: “These are the proverbs of Solomon… Their purpose is to teach people wisdom… to help them understand the insights of the wise… to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance” (Proverbs 1:1-5 NLT).
Creative thinking is simply disciplined thinking. If you think you know all there is to know, then you already know everything you’re ever going to know. In order to break out of the box, you must begin by asking the right questions. Sir Antony Jay said, “The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions.” Wrong questions halt the process of creative thinking. They send you down the same old path.
In order to change your life, you must change your thinking. That means you must be willing to ask these two questions: “Why must it always be done this way? Is there a better way?” Whether your goal is to build a better life, or a better family, or a better business, or a better church, or a better career, or a better “anything,” all change and progress must begin by honestly asking those two questions. The saying is true: “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” So, do you want to succeed? You must be willing to change your thinking in order to accomplish it.
Soul food: Num 27-29; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 62; Prov 11:15
Spreuke 1:5 NLV
Die boek Spreuke begin met die volgende woorde: ‘Hierdie is die spreuke van Salomo… Die doel van hierdie spreuke is om mense wysheid te leer… Dit sal hulle help om wyse woorde te verstaan. Deur hierdie woorde sal hulle dissipline leer en weet hoe om regverdig, reg en billik op te tree. Iemand wat nog onervare is, sal verstandig word. Die spreuke sal jongmense kennis gee en onderskeidingsvermoë. Selfs hulle wat wys is, kan luister na die spreuke sodat hulle tot dieper insig kan kom…’ (Spreuke 1:1-5 NLV).
Kreatiewe denke is eenvoudig gedissiplineerde denke. As jy dink dat jy alles weet wat daar is om te weet, dan weet jy reeds alles wat jy ooit gaan weet. Om buite die boks te dink, moet jy begin om die regte vrae te vra. Sir Antony Jay het gesê: ‘Die onkreatiewe denker kan die verkeerde antwoorde raaksien, maar dit verg ‘n kreatiewe denker om die verkeerde vrae raak te sien.’
Verkeerde vrae bring die proses van kreatiewe denke tot ‘n stilstand. Hulle stuur jou by dieselfde ou paadjie af. Om jou lewe te verander, moet jy jou denke verander. Dit beteken dat jy gewillig moet wees om die volgende twee vrae te vra: ‘Hoekom moet dit altyd op hierdie manier gedoen word? Is daar ‘n beter manier?’
Of jou doelwit nou is om ‘n beter lewe, ‘n beter familie, ‘n beter besigheid, ‘n beter kerk, ‘n beter beroep of ‘n beter ‘watookal’ te bou, alle verandering en vooruitgang moet begin deur hierdie twee vrae eerlik te beantwoord. Wil jy dus sukses behaal? Dan moet jy gewillig wees om jou denke te verander om dit te kan bereik.
Sielskos: Num 27-29; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 62; Spr 11:15
2023-05-14
Proverbs 13:20 NKJV
If you’re surrounded by negativity, look for a better environment. Charlie Brower said, “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.” Negative environments kill great ideas every minute. A creative environment, on the other hand, becomes like a greenhouse where ideas are seeded, then sprout and thrive. In order to grow, you must seek out people who are committed to personal growth. Such people:
(1) Encourage creativity. David Hills says: “Studies of creativity suggest that the biggest single variable of whether or not employees will be creative is whether they perceive they have permission.” When innovation and good thinking are openly encouraged and rewarded, people see they have permission to be creative.
(2) Are willing to risk failure. Even when you have studied and prepared yourself thoroughly, you will have to try several times before you succeed. So, you need to be in an environment where mistakes are viewed as part of the creative process.
(3) Believe in the potential of a dream. A creative environment encourages the use of a blank sheet of paper and the question, “If you could draw a picture of what you want to accomplish, what would it look like?” A creative environment allowed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak with passion and declare, “I have a dream,” not “I have a goal.” Goals may give focus, but dreams have power. Dreams expand your world. And God is the giver of dreams and visions (See Joel 2:28).
Soul food: Isa 51:1-16; Mark 5:1-20
