2024-09-19
Hosea 6:3 KJV
Having a “statement of faith” is a good thing because it lets people know your beliefs and values and where you stand on the issues. But it also carries with it a certain danger; you can end up believing you know all there is to know about the subject or at least all that is important to know. The Bible challenges us to keep learning and growing spiritually: “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.” The New King James Version says, “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.” In Scripture, the word “reveal” is used thirty-eight times.
Clearly, God wants us to get that there is more to know about Him than what we think we know. That’s why you must always keep your mind open. The day you stop “following” God or “pursuing” God is the day you stop learning more about God and growing spiritually. God has more to reveal to you!
Paul writes: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT). So, the word for you today is – you have more to learn.
Soul food: Mic 5-7; Luke 22:39-53; Ps 24; Prov 24:15-18
Hosea 6:3 NLV
Om ‘n ‘geloofsverklaring’ te hê is ‘n goeie ding, want dit maak aan mense jou oortuigings en waardes en jou standpunt oor kwessies, bekend. Dit bevat egter ook ‘n sekere mate van gevaar, aangesien jy kan begin glo dat jy alles oor die onderwerp weet. Die Bybel daag ons uit om aan te hou leer en geestelik te groei: ‘Kom laat ons die Here ken! Laat ons ons inspan om ons aan Hom toe te wy!..’ Die Boodskap vertaal dit as volg: ‘Kom ons maak ons vas aan die Here. Ons span ons in om Hom beter te leer ken…’
Duidelik wil God hê dat ons moet verstaan dat daar meer is om van Hom te leer as wat ons dink ons weet. Dis hoekom jy altyd oopkop moet wees. Die dag wat jy ophou om jou ‘in te span’ of jou ‘vas aan die Here’ te maak, is die dag wat jy ophou om van God te leer en geestelik te groei. God het meer om aan jou te openbaar!
Paulus skryf: ‘…Wat geen oog gesien het; wat geen oor gehoor het; wat in niemand se hart opgekom het nie – dit het God voorberei vir hulle wat Hom liefhet. Maar ons ken hierdie geheim omdat God dit deur sy Gees aan ons bekendgemaak het. Want die Gees deurvors alle dinge, ook God se diepste geheime. Niemand sal ooit die diepste gedagtes van ‘n mens ken nie, behalwe daardie persoon se eie gees. Net so kan niemand God se diepste geheime ken nie, behalwe die Gees van God. Ons het die Gees ontvang wat van God uitgaan – nie dié van die wêreld nie – sodat ons kan besef watter wonderlike geskenke God aan ons gegee het’ (1 Korintiërs 2:9-12 NLV). Die woord vir jou vandag is dus – jy het meer om te leer.
Sielskos: Mig 5-7; Luk 22:39-53; Ps 24; Spr 24:15-18
2024-09-18
Spreuke 2:6 NLV
Miskien kom jou gradeplegtigheid nader. Meer dikwels as ooit tevore, verwissel mense van poste en maatskappye en verander hulle hulle loopbaan. In 2014 het die loopbaanspesialis Andy Chan opgemerk dat jong volwassenes gemiddeld nege-en-twintig verskillende poste oor hul leeftyd sal vul. In 2013 het navorsers by Oxford Universiteit voorspel dat omtrent die helfte van poste teen 2033 deur tegnologie vervang sal wees. Hoe pas jy dus in ‘n omgewing wat aanhoudend verander aan?
Miskien is jy in ‘n groef. Jou lewe is veilig maar van weinig nut. Jy wil meer doen en meer wees. Miskien staar jy ‘n leë nes in die gesig. Jy ervaar skielik onafhanlikheid, tyd en opsies wat vir dekades lank nie aan jou beskikbaar was nie. Wat is die beste manier om dit te gebruik? Miskien tree jy binnekort af. Wat het God volgende vir jou in gedagte? Miskien het jy oorsee gereis en ‘n groot behoefte raakgesien, of ‘n probleem ondersoek waaraan jy ‘n verskil wil maak. Wat moet jy volgende doen? Miskien oorweeg jy dit om te trou. Hoe weet jy dat die persoon die regte een is? Wat as jy ‘n fout maak? Of dalk tob jy oor ‘n geleentheid in jou verlede wat jy misgeloop het. Sal God vir jou ‘n ander een gee?
Jy moet twee dinge in gedagte hou wanneer jy hierdie vrae beantwoord. In die eerste plek is God meer geïnteresseerd in wat jy word as waarheen jy gaan of wat jy vir ‘n lewe doen. Sy doelwit vir jou lewe is om jou soos Christus te laat word (sien Romeine 8:29). Tweedens, sal jy jouself ‘n klomp tyd, moeilikheid en moontlike hartseer spaar deur God eers te raadpleeg voordat jy enige besluite neem. ‘Dit is tog die Here wat wysheid gee. Sy woorde gee kennis en krag’ (Spreuke 2:6 NLV).
Sielskos: Mig 1-4; Luk 22:24-38; Ps 78:65-72; Spr 24:10-14
Proverbs 2:6 NKJV
Maybe you’re facing graduation. More frequently than ever before, people are switching to different jobs and companies and changing their whole careers. In 2014, career specialist Andy Chan observed that young adults will face, on average, twenty-nine jobs over their lifetime. In 2013 Oxford researchers predicted that about half the jobs will be replaced with technology by 2033. So, how do you adjust to a constantly changing environment?
Perhaps you’re in a rut. Your life is safe but unrewarding. You want to do more or be more. Perhaps you’re facing an empty nest. You abruptly find independence and time and options that have been unavailable to you for a few decades. What’s the best way to use them? Possibly you’re retiring. What might God have next for you? Maybe you have traveled abroad and seen a great need, or have investigated a problem and want to make a difference. What should you do next? Perhaps you’re considering marriage. How can you tell if this person is the right one? What if you make a mistake? Or maybe you have been agonizing over a lost opportunity in your past. Will God give you another one?
In answering these questions, you must keep two things in mind. First and foremost, God is more interested in what you become than where you go or what you do for a living. His goal for your life is “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29 KJV). Second, you will save yourself time, trouble, and possible heartache by consulting God before making any decision. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 NKJV).
Soul food: Mic 1-4; Luke 22:24-38; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 24:10-14
2024-09-17
Genesis 12:1 NLT
One author pens: “Would you want the kind of kids you have to tell their whole lives, ‘Wear these clothes. Take these classes. Go to that school. Apply for this job. Marry that person. Purchase this house,’ and you always have them do exactly what you tell them as long as they live? No… Why? Because your main goal is… that they become people of great character and judgment. The only way for them to do that is to make lots and lots of decisions. Of course, that means they’ll make a lot of wrong decisions. That becomes a primary way they learn.
Very often God’s will for you will be “I want you to decide,” because decision-making is an indispensable part of character formation. God is primarily in the character-forming business, not the circumstance-shaping business.” Abraham didn’t say, “Lord, exactly where are you taking me? How is the economy there? What are the job market and the housing market like? Do they have good medical facilities and schools?” The Bible says, “By faith… Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NLT). Abraham decided to follow God, and trust God with everything else. And he came out on top!
God does not promise to give us details but to give us wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5 KJV). Why does God do it this way? Because decision-making is character building.
Soul food: Neh 11-13; Luke 22:14-23; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 24:5-9
