2025-08-04
Acts 26:16 NKJV
In baseball, the catcher tries to distract the batter. On one occasion when Yogi Berra was behind the plate, Hank Aaron came up to bat. Yogi started in, “Hank, you’ve got the writing on the bat in the wrong place. The words should be facing you.” Yogi kept going, “You better check it.” Hank didn’t say a word. On the next pitch, Hank hit the ball over the centre field fence. He rounded the bases, stepped on home plate, looked at Yogi Berra, and said, “I didn’t come here to read, I came to win.”
It’s vital to know why you are here and not to let anyone talk you out of your calling or purpose. In the world today, people say they are trying to find themselves. Such a search is pointless. As one pastor states: “If you don’t know who you are, how do you know what to look for? And how would you know when you have found it, since you don’t know what you are looking for? Toasters don’t find themselves… A toaster… just [has] to do what the manufacturer had in mind.”
Paul had a supernatural encounter on the Damascus road when Christ said to him, “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you” (v. 16 NKJV). To discover your life’s purpose, you must start with God as your reference point. He made you; He redeemed you; He has a plan for your life – and He will reveal it to you.
Soul food: Deut 32:29-34:12; Matt 14:13-21; Ps 119:17-24; Pro 17:7-10
2025-08-03
John 5:6 NIV
What an amazing question Jesus asked this paralyzed man: “Do you want to get well?” Who wouldn’t? You might be surprised! Kay Arthur tells of passing a beggar one day on a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. As he sat begging, his trouser leg was pulled up to reveal his terrible sores.
She writes: “My nurse’s heart brought my feet to a halt. I wanted to bend down and shield the open wound from the dust… It should be washed, medicated, and dressed by someone who cared. My friend gently took me by my elbow and propelled me toward our destination. I was a tourist and did not know about these things. She then proceeded to tell me that this man did not wish to be made well. He made his living from his wound! As I looked back… I caught one last glimpse of someone who was less than what he could have been.”
The man lying helpless on a cot by the pool called Bethesda had been there for thirty-eight years. Question: How long does it take before a problem becomes a way of life? Jesus said to him, “Get up… and walk” (v. 8 NIV), the inference being that it’s time to get up and go to work – to become a father to your children, a husband to your wife, a contributor to your community, a solution to someone else’s problem – it’s time to take responsibility for your life.
Are you letting your past or present circumstances keep you stuck and stop you from moving forward? If Jesus asked you, “Do you want to get well emotionally, physically, and spiritually?” what would your answer be? Today let Jesus make you whole!
Soul food: 1 Sam 17:4-51; Eph 6:10-18
Johannes 5:6 NLV
Wat ‘n wonderbaarlike vraag het Jesus vir hierdie verlamde man gevra: ‘Wil jy graag gesond word?’ Wie sal nie wil nie! Jy mag dalk verbaas wees. Kay Arthur vertel hoe sy eendag verby ‘n bedelaar in ‘n straat in Jerusalem geloop het. Terwyl hy gesit en bedel het, het hy sy broekspyp opgetrek om die verskriklike sere op sy been te wys.
Sy skryf: ‘My verpleegsterhart het my voete tot stilstand gebring. Ek wou af buk en die oop wonde teen die stof beskerm. Dit moes gewas, ontsmet en verbind word deur iemand wat omgee. My vriendin het my saggies aan my elmboog gevat en weggedraai na ons bestemming toe. Sy het aan my verduidelik dat hierdie man nie gesond gemaak wou word nie. Hy het sy bestaan uit sy wonde gemaak! Toe ek terugkyk, het ek een laaste blik gekry van iemand wat minder was as wat hy kon wees.’
Die man wat hulpeloos langs die waterbad genaamd Betesda gelê het, was al agt en dertig jaar daar. Hoe lank neem dit voordat ‘n probleem ‘n manier van lewe word? Jesus het vir hom gesê: ‘…Staan nou op… en loop!’ (vers 8 NLV), wat impliseer dat dit tyd is om op te staan en aan die werk te spring – om ‘n vader vir jou kinders, ‘n man vir jou vrou, ‘n bydraer tot jou gemeenskap, ‘n oplossing vir iemand anders se probleem te wees – dit is tyd om verantwoordelikheid vir jou lewe te neem.
Laat jy jou verlede of jou huidige omstandighede toe om jou vas te hou en jou te verhoed om vorentoe te beweeg? As Jesus jou sou vra: ‘Wil jy emosioneel, fisies en geestelik gesond wees?’ wat sou jou antwoord wees? Laat Jesus jou vandag heelmaak!
Sielskos: 1 Sam 17:4-51; Ef 6:10-18
2025-08-02
2 Timoteus 2:15 DB
Gegradueerde, hier is elf lesse om jou te bemagtig en jou te inspireer:
1) Jy is hier vir ‘n rede en die belangrikste is om hierdie rede te ontdek.
2) Volg jou passie. Jy mag dalk nog nie weet wat dit is nie, maar maak dit jou missie om dit uit te vind.
3) Alhoewel jy dalk van ‘n maatskappy se produkte hou, beteken nie noodwendig dat jy dit sal geniet om vir die maatskappy te werk nie.
4) Moenie net bedank omdat die werk moeilik is nie. Bedank omdat jy diep binne-in jou weet dat daar iets anders is wat jy veronderstel is om te doen, of dat jy nie besig is om die werk of jouself te verbeter nie, of omdat jy weet dat jy nie meer veronderstel is om daar te wees nie.
5) Leer uit elke ervaring. Elke werk berei jou voor vir die werk waarvoor jy gebore is.
6) Jou huidige werk mag dalk nie jou hoogste doelwit wees nie, maar dit kan as ‘n wegspringplek daartoe dien.
7) Wees diensbaar waar jy ook al werksaam is. Om in mindere mate diensbaar te wees, bied jou geleenthede om in groot mate te dien.
8) Jou droomwerk is dikwels nie die een waarvan jy gedroom het nie. Ons beland gereeld in merkwaardige loopbane buite die grense van ons grade.
9) Die pad om jou doelwit te bereik is met uitdagings, oorwinnings, ompaaie, doodloopstrate en uitstel gesaai. Bly hoopvol en getrou.
10) Jy mag dalk iets onmiddellik wil hê, maar wanneer dit gebeur het, sal jy reg wees daarvoor?
11) Saad val op die grond sodat dit vir ‘n groter doel gebruik kan word. Plant jouself en laat jouself vir ‘n oes, wat ander sal bevoordeel, gebruik word.
Sielskos: Deut 30:1-32:28; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 119:9-16; Spr 17:4-6
2 Timothy 2:15 MSG
Graduate, here are eleven lessons to empower and inspire you:
(1) You’re here for a reason, and the most vital thing you can do is find it.
(2) Follow your passion. You may not already know what it is, but make it your mission to discover it.
(3) Although you might love Facebook, you might not like working for the company. And because you enjoy cooking doesn’t mean you will enjoy owning a restaurant.
(4) Don’t quit because the work is hard. Quit because deep inside you know there is something different for you to do, or you’re not improving yourself or the organization, or you know you’re not supposed to be there anymore.
(5) Learn from every experience. Each job gets you ready for the work you were born to do.
(6) Your present job may not be your highest purpose, but it can assist as an agent to prepare you for it.
(7) In whichever job you accept after graduation, serve. Serving in minor ways affords you opportunities to serve in major ways.
(8) Your dream job probably isn’t the one you dreamed about. Frequently we end up in remarkable careers outside the scope of our degrees.
(9) The pursuit of your purpose is filled with difficulties, wins, detours, dead ends, and postponements. Remain hopeful and faithful.
(10) You may want something to happen immediately, but if it did, would you be ready for it?
(11) Seeds yield to the ground so they can be utilized for a greater purpose. So, plant yourself, and let yourself be used for a harvest to benefit others.
Soul food: Deut 30:1-32:28; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 119:9-16; Pro 17:4-6
