2026-05-14
Mark 4:35 NIV
Jesus told His disciples: “Let us go over to the other side.” Next, we read: “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat” (v. 37 NIV). The disciples turned to Jesus and found Him sound asleep! They screamed, “Don’t you care if we drown?” (v. 38 NIV). Jesus woke up, commanded the storm to shut up, and then said to the disciples, “Do you still have no faith?” (v. 40 NIV).
What a stunning rebuke! The sea was raging; the water was churning. Why did Jesus scold them? Simple: they didn’t take Him at His Word. He said they were going to the other side. He didn’t say, “We are going to the middle of the lake to drown.” Jesus had declared the outcome. But when the storms came, the disciples heard the roar of the winds and forgot His Word.
Storms are coming your way too. Winds will howl, your boat will be tossed, and you will have a choice: Will you hear Christ or the crisis? Will you heed the promises of Scripture or the noise of the storm? God told Joshua to “meditate in [Scripture] day and night” (see Jos 1:8). The word meditate means to “mutter” over what you’re reading. The image is one of a person reciting, rehearsing, and reconsidering God’s Word over and over.
Paul says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV). Begin with a prayer: “God, please speak to my heart today as I read.” Then read with an open heart until the message hits you.
Soul food: Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11; Eph 4:7-10
2026-05-13
Markus 16:15 NLV
In 1993 het ‘n groep genaamd AD2000 United Prayer Track met ‘n innoverende idee vorendag gekom. Om hul doelwit van “‘n kerk vir elke volk en die evangelie vir elke persoon teen 2000 NC” te help verwesenlik, het hulle ‘n program genaamd ‘Praying through the Window’ gestig. Die ‘venster’ het na ‘n gebied op die aardbol van tien grade tot veertig grade noord van die ewenaar, van Noord-Afrika en Suid-Spanje ooswaarts tot Japan en die noordelike Filippyne, verwys. Byna drie miljard mense woon in hierdie gebied, waar die prominentste godsdienste Boeddhisme, Islam en Hindoeïsme is.
Vir die hele maand van Oktober 1993, en weer in 1995, het miljoene Christene vir die mense in ‘die 10/40-venster’ gebid. Die doel was dat nuwe kerke gestig en nuwe sendelinge na hierdie gebiede gestuur word. In 1993 alleen het die aantal kerke in Albanië van 50 tot meer as 300 gegroei en die aantal Christelike gemeenskapsgroepe wat in Indië gevorm is, het van ‘n gemiddeld van drie tot sewentien per dag gestyg.
As jou wêreld slegs uit jou geliefdes, jou werk en jou kerk bestaan, vra God om jou oë vir die buitewêreld oop te maak. Bid dat Hy in daardie nasies sal beweeg. ‘Vra My, en Ek gee vir jou nasies as erfporsie, die einde van die aarde as jou besitting’ (Psalm 2:8 NLV). Jy vra: ‘Kan ons realisties glo dat die hele wêreld na Christus sal draai?’ Lees die volgende: ‘Die hele aarde sal die Here erken en na Hom toe terugkeer. Mense uit elke nasie sal Hom weer dien’ (Psalm 22:28 NLV).
Sielskos: Deut 32:29-34:12; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 49; Spr 12:20-22
Mark 16:15 NKJV
In 1993, a group called AD2000 United Prayer Track came up with an innovative idea. To help realize their goal of “a church for every people and the gospel for every person by AD2000,” they established a program called “Praying through the Window.” The “window” referred to an area on the globe from ten degrees to forty degrees north of the Equator, from North Africa and Southern Spain eastward to Japan and the northern Philippines. Almost three billion people live in this area, where the most prominent religions are Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.
For the entire month of October 1993, and again in 1995, millions of Christians prayed for the people in “the 10/40 window.” The goal was that new churches be established, and new missionaries sent to these areas. In 1993 alone, the number of churches in Albania grew from 50 to more than 300, and the number of Christian fellowship groups formed in India rose from an average of three to seventeen each day.
If your world consists only of your loved ones, your job, and your church, ask God to open your eyes to the world beyond your world. Begin praying that He will move in those nations. “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Psalm 2:8 NKJV). You say, “Can we realistically believe that the world will turn to Christ?” Read this: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You” (Psalm 22:27 NKJV).
Soul food: Deut 32:29-34:12; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 49; Prov 12:20-22
2026-05-12
Genesis 2:22 NIV
God recognized our need for companionship when He said, “‘It is not good for the man to be alone’… Then… God made a woman… and he brought her to the man” (vv. 18, 22 NIV). Most of us are social beings who are at our best around others. We garner energy and support from them.
But there are those who feel a sense of shame over admitting their loneliness. They long for people to share their lives with but feel they must pretend they don’t need anyone. You should not feel shame for wanting love and social connection. Admitting your desire to be loved and taking a step toward involvement actually requires courage. Accepting that you are a person who needs to connect is healthy.
But problems arise when your need for companionship controls you. When you compromise your values in order to be accepted, the results are always negative. Clinging to other people without understanding who they are or what they represent is unhealthy. And the ramifications can have not only lifelong effects but sometimes also life-threatening consequences. Wise decisions about relationships are never to be made with a mind ruled by fear of loneliness or desperation. If that’s where you are, being single is a better alternative right now. It need only be temporary.
So do these three things: (1) Ask God to guide you: “God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6 NIV). (2) Live by the values you’d want your loved one to hold as well. (3) Start with what you have to give and share with others, rather than with your unmet needs.
Soul food: Deut 30:1-32:28; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 62; Prov 12:18-19
Genesis 2:22 NLV
God het ons behoefte na geselskap erken toe Hy gesê het: ‘…Dis nie goed dat die mens alleen is nie… die Here God [maak] ‘n vrou en bring haar na die mens toe’ (verse 18, 22 NLV). Die meeste van ons is sosiale wesens wat op ons beste funksioneer wanneer ons in ander mense se geselskap is. Ons kry energie en ondersteuning van hulle.
Daar is egter mense wat skaam voel om te erken dat hulle eensaam is. Hulle smag na mense om hul lewens mee te deel, maar voel dat hulle moet voorgee dat hulle niemand nodig het nie. Jy moet nie skaam voel omdat jy liefde en sosiale konneksie wil hê nie. Dit verg moed om jou begeerte na geselskap te erken en ‘n stap te neem om betrokke by mense te raak.
Probleme begin egter ontstaan wanneer jou behoefte aan geselskap jou begin beheer. Wanneer jy jou waardes in gevaar stel om aanvaar te word, is die gevolg altyd negatief. Om aan ander mense vas te klou sonder om te verstaan wie hulle is of wat hulle verteenwoordig, is ongesond. Wyse besluite oor verhoudings moet nooit met ‘n gemoed wat deur vrees vir eensaamheid of desperaatheid beheer word, geneem word nie. As dit is waar jy jouself vandag bevind, is dit beter om eerder vir nou enkellopend te wees. Dit hoef net tydelik te wees.
Doen dus hierdie drie dinge: 1) Vra God om jou te lei: ‘God gee aan die eensame ‘n tuiste…’ (Psalm 68:7 NLV). 2) Leef volgens die waardes wat jy wil hê jou geliefde ook moet hê. 3) Moenie toelaat dat jou onvervulde behoeftes jou soeke na geselskap lei nie, maar eerder deur dit wat jy het om te gee en met ander te deel.
Sielskos: Deut 30:1-32:28; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 62; Spr 12:18-19
