2024-10-17
Psalm 91:4 NLT
When our children are growing up, their protection and safety are uppermost in our minds. But how about the families of emergency personnel, like police, paramedics, and firefighters? Any day their loved one goes to work is a day they may not come home. And how about the families of those in our armed forces, serving in foreign lands under constant threat and danger?
When it comes to the safety of the people we love, here are wonderful Bible promises we can stand on: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NIV). “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour” (Isaiah 43: 1-3 NKJV). “You chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment, you know where I am. You know what I am going to say before I even say it. You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head. This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God!” (Psalm 139:3-7 TLB).
No insurance company can come close to matching the protection God guarantees to those He loves. So be at peace today – God will keep your loved one safe.
Soul food: Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-39; Zech 14:16-21
2024-10-16
Psalm 118:24 NLV
Een skrywer sê: ‘Een van die strategieë wat ek gebruik, is om genoeg tyd beskikbaar te stel sodat ek nie sit en dink aan wat ek volgende moet doen nie. Ek vind dit die beste om te wag totdat ek genoeg tyd het om saam met iemand te wees, sodat die persoon nie gefrustreerd met my verdeelde aandag en besige skedule raak nie.’
As jy aanhou om nie tyd vir jou geliefdes te maak nie, kan daar dalk ‘n dag aanbreek waarop hulle nie tyd vir jou gaan hê nie. Vra jouself af: ‘Is hierdie persoon meer werd vir my as die plan, projek, probleem of druk wat ek moet hanteer?’ Leer om die oomblik te geniet en fokus op die persoon by wie jy is. Vra oop vrae wat hulle aanmoedig om met meer as ‘n ja of nee te antwoord. Luister aandagtig en vra addisionele vrae. Dit help mense om te voel dat jy by hulle betrokke is en vir hul antwoorde omgee.
Ja, jou gedagtes kan dalk vir ‘n paar sekondes na die toekoms dwaal, maar druk dit onmiddellik terug na die hede toe deur daardie bekommernisse te verwerp. Jy kan later daaraan aandag gee. Konsentreer op die hede. Daar is groot genot daarin te vinde wanneer jy gewoond raak om dit te doen. ‘n Gedig lui: ‘Ek wil doelbewus lewe… en nie, wanneer ek sterf, ontdek dat ek nie geleef het nie.’
Om seker te maak dat dit nie met jou gebeur nie, luister na Salomo se woorde: ‘Mense moet eet en drink en onder al sy moeite nog die goeie kan geniet. Dit is geskenke van God’ (Prediker 3:13 NLV). As jy minder moet doen om die mense vir wie jy lief is meer te geniet, doen dit dan; jy sal nooit daaroor spyt wees nie!
Sielskos: Eks 28-29; Joh 4:1-12; Ps 89:38-52; Spr 26:23-26
Psalm 118:24 NKJV
One author writes: “One of the strategies I employ is to block enough time so that I’m not thinking of what I have to do next. I find it best to wait until I can invest more than a few minutes in being with someone so that the person is not frustrated with my divided attention and tight schedule.”
If you keep robbing your loved ones of time, there may come a day when they have no time for you. Ask yourself, “Is this person worth more to me than the plan, project, problem, or pressure I’m dealing with?” Learn to enjoy the moment and focus on the person you’re with. Ask open-ended questions that encourage them to answer with more than a yes or no. Listen carefully and ask additional questions. This helps people feel you are engaging with them and caring about their replies.
Yes, your thoughts may flit into the future for a few seconds, but instantly push them back into the present by rejecting those concerns. You can attend to them later. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. There is great pleasure in doing this after you get used to it. The poet wrote, “I wished to live deliberately… and not, when I came to die, discover I had not lived.”
To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, heed Solomon’s words: “People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour, for these are gifts from God” (Ecclesiastes 3:13 NLT). If you have to do with less in order to enjoy the people you love more, do it; you will never regret it!
Soul food: Exo 28-29; John 4:1-12; Ps 89:38-52; Prov 26:23-26
2024-10-15
Johannes 15:15 NLV
Die mentor wat jy kies moet aan jou beskikbaar wees. Jesus het vir diegene wat Hy gementor het gesê: ‘Ek noem julle nie meer slawe nie, want ‘n slaaf weet nie altyd wat sy eienaar doen nie. Ek het julle vriende genoem omdat Ek alles wat Ek by my Vader gehoor het, aan julle verduidelik het’ (vers 15 NLV). Jy het tyd met jou mentor nodig om vir hom of haar vrae te vra en uit sy of haar antwoorde te leer.
Dr John Maxwell skryf: ‘Die beste raad wat ek op die gebied van beskikbaarheid kan gee, is dat wanneer jy ‘n mentor soek jy nie te gou te hoog moet skiet nie. As jy dit oorweeg om vir die eerste keer die politiek te betree, het jy nie die raad van die president van die Verenigde State nodig nie. As jy ‘n hoërskoolleerling is wat daaraan dink om tjello te leer speel, hoef jy nie deur Yo-Yo Ma gementor te word nie. As jy net met jou loopbaan begin, moenie verwag om uitgebreide mentortyd by die uitvoerende hoof van jou organisasie te kry nie. Hoekom nie? dink jy dalk. Eerstens, wanneer jy met jou loopbaan begin, kan byna al jou vrae deur iemand twee of drie vlakke bo jou (nie tien nie), beantwoord word. Hulle antwoorde sal vars wees omdat hulle onlangs die kwessies waarmee jy te doen het, hanteer het. Ek sê nie jy moet nooit na die boonste vlak gaan nie. Ek sê, bestee die meeste van jou tyd om gementor te word deur mense wat beskikbaar, gewillig en geskik vir die stadium van jou loopbaan, is.’
Sielskos: Eks 25-27; Joh 3:22-36; Ps 89:15-37; Spr 26:20-22
John 15:15 NKJV
The mentors you choose must be available to you. Jesus told those He mentored, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (v. 15 NKJV). You need time with your mentor, asking and learning from questions and answers.
Dr. John Maxwell writes: “The greatest piece of advice I can give in the area of availability is that when you are looking for a mentor, don’t shoot too high too soon. If you are considering going into politics for the first time, you don’t need the advice of the president of the United States. If you are a high school student thinking about learning to play the cello, you don’t need to be mentored by Yo-Yo Ma. If you’re just starting your career, don’t expect to get extensive mentoring time from the CEO of your organization. Why shouldn’t I? you may be thinking. First of all, if you’re just starting out, nearly all of your questions can be answered by someone two or three levels ahead of you (not ten). Their answers will be fresh because they will have recently dealt with the issues you’re dealing with. Second, CEOs need to be spending their time answering the questions of the people who are on the verge of learning at their level. I’m not saying you should never go to the top. I’m saying spend the majority of your time being mentored by people who are available, willing, and suited for the stage of your career.”
Soul food: Exo 25-27; John 3:22-36; Ps 89:15-37; Prov 26:20-22
