2024-09-02
Matthew 11:12 NLT
Peter gets unfairly criticized. He is the disciple who denied Christ three times, but he is the only one who got close enough to Jesus to get caught. He is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus’s ear when the lynch mob came to arrest Jesus, but he is the only one who came to Jesus’ defense. He is the disciple who sank in the Sea of Galilee, but he is the only disciple who walked on water.
It’s so easy to criticize people from the comfortable confines of the boat. Basically, there are two kinds of people: creators and criticizers – those who get out of the boat and walk on water and those who sit in the boat and criticize the water walkers. When everything is said and done, our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we didn’t take.
German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do.” Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.”
What do you believe God is leading you to do? What is the persistent prompting of the Holy Spirit urging you to do? Do it. Failing to take a faith-based risk is like permanently misplacing a piece from the jigsaw puzzle of your life. It leaves a disappointing hole. When we reach the end of our lives, our biggest regrets will be those missing pieces. So today, go ahead and take a faith-based risk.
Soul food: Josh 1-4; Luke 19:1-10; Ps 84; Prov 22:24-26
2024-09-01
Markus 4:39 NLV
‘n Pastoor beskryf ‘n paar storms in die lewe: ‘Jy kom by die huis, loop in die kombuis in en vind ‘n nota wat sê: ‘Ek wil nie meer in hierdie huwelik wees nie.’ ‘n Donderslag! Jy gaan na die dokter toe vir ‘n roetine ondersoek en die bloedtoetse wys jy het kanker. Die wind huil! Jy gaan in vrede bed toe, net om drieuur die oggend ‘n oproep te kry wat sê dat jou pa aan ‘n hartaanval dood is. Jou skip slaan amper om! Die enigste voorspelbare ding van die lewe se storms is hoe onvoorspelbaar hulle is. Hulle waai in wanneer jy dit die minste verwag.’
Jesus het vir sy dissipels gesê: ‘…Kom ons vaar oorkant toe…’ (vers 35 NLV). Hulle moes besef het dat die oomblik toe Hy in die boot geklim het, dit onsinkbaar geword het. Inherent aan sy woorde was ‘n belofte van ‘n veilige aankoms. Daar is ‘n verskil tussen om ‘n belofte aan te hoor en dit te glo. Te dikwels versuim ons om te glo dat Jesus sal bereik wat Hy ons belowe het.
Die pastoor moedig ons aan: ‘In daardie oomblikke moet ons onsself daaraan herinner dat die son dalk mag ophou skyn, die wind mag begin waai en die golwe mag begin dein, maar Jesus kom altyd sy beloftes na. Jesus wil hê dat jy moet onthou dat daar geen rede is om te vrees wanneer Hy naby is nie. Hy wil die Kaptein van jou lewe se skip wees. Jy mag dalk nie altyd van Jesus bewus wees nie, maar Hy is daar. Vir daardie dissipels was die veiligste plek in die wêreld presies in daardie boot. Veiligheid is nie die afwesigheid van probleme nie. Veiligheid is die teenwoordigheid van Jesus.’
Sielskos: Fil 2:5-11; Op 19:11-16; Hand 3:1-16; Matt 1:18-21
Mark 4:39 NKJV
A pastor describes some storms in life: “You come home from work, walk into the kitchen, and find a note saying, ‘I want out of the marriage.’ A clap of thunder! You go to the doctor anticipating a normal checkup, and the lab work comes back, and you have cancer. The wind howls! You go to bed at peace, only to be interrupted by a phone call at three in the morning telling you that your father has suddenly died of a heart attack. Your ship nearly capsizes! The only predictable thing about life’s storms is their unpredictability. They sweep in when you least expect them.”
Jesus had told His disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side” (v. 35 NKJV). They should have realized that when He climbed aboard the boat, it became unsinkable. Inherent in His words was a promise of safe arrival. A difference exists between hearing a promise and believing it. Too frequently, we fail to believe that Jesus will accomplish what He has promised us.
The pastor encourages us: “In those moments, we should remind ourselves that the sun may quit shining, the wind may start blowing, and the waves may begin crashing, but Jesus never fails to keep His promises… Jesus wants you to… remember that there is no need to fear when He is near… He wants to be the Captain of your life’s ship. You may not always be aware of Jesus, but He is there just the same. For those disciples, the safest place in the world… was right there in that boat. Because safety is not the absence of problems. Safety is the presence of Jesus.”
Soul food: Phil 2:5-11; Rev 19:11-16; Acts 3:1-16; Matt 1:18-21
2024-08-31
Mark 4:35 NKJV
Growing in faith and getting to know Jesus intimately requires going through storms with Him. The disciples discovered this when Jesus said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Next, we read: “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling” (v. 37 NKJV). Their story has a happy ending. Jesus calmed the storm, and they said in amazement, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (v. 41 NKJV).
There are life-changing truths Jesus taught and aspects of His character that you will never understand until you have been through a storm with Him. Sometimes when storms come, we assume they are the result of something we have done wrong or that we’re not in the will of God. The disciples were in the storm due to obedience, not disobedience. They hadn’t done anything wrong; they had done something right.
Understand this: Even if you love Jesus with all your heart, you will still face storms. As the disciples discovered, the storm can come when you’re closest to Jesus. He doesn’t promise that the storm won’t strike your boat but that the storm won’t sink it. He doesn’t promise smooth sailing, but He guarantees a safe landing. You will either face life’s troubles with fear or faith. How are they different? Fear concentrates on the storm; faith concentrates on the Saviour.
It may sound surprising, but we need storms. Jesus permits us to sail into them so that we will (1) consider His promises, (2) stay calm in His presence, and (3) have confidence in His power.
Soul food: 3 John; Jude; Luke 18:31-43; Ps 119:169-176
Markus 4:35 NLV
Om in geloof te groei en Jesus intiem te leer ken, verg dat jy saam met Hom deur storms moet gaan. Die dissipels het dit ontdek toe Jesus vir hulle gesê het: ‘…Kom ons vaar oorkant toe.’ Ons lees verder: ‘Daar het ‘n hewige stormwind opgekom. Groot golwe het teen die boot gebreek, met die gevolg dat dit alreeds vol water begin word het’ (vers 37 NLV). Hulle verhaal het ‘n gelukkige einde gehad. Jesus het die storm laat bedaar en hulle het in verwondering gesê: ‘…Wie is Hy werklik? Selfs die wind en die see luister na Hom!’ (vers 41 NLV).
Daar is lewensveranderende waarhede wat Jesus jou leer en aspekte van sy karakter wat jy nooit sal verstaan nie, totdat jy ‘n storm saam met Hom meegemaak het. Soms wanneer die storms kom, aanvaar ons dat dit die resultaat is van iets wat ons verkeerd gedoen het, of dat ons nie in die wil van God is nie. Die dissipels was as gevolg van gehoorsaamheid, nie as gevolg van ongehoorsaamheid nie, in die storm.
Verstaan die volgende: Selfs al het jy Jesus met jou hele hart lief, sal jy steeds storms moet trotseer. Soos die dissipels ontdek het, kan die storm kom wanneer jy die naaste aan Jesus is. Hy het nie belowe dat die storm nie die boot sou tref nie, maar dat die storm dit nie sou sink nie. Jy sal die probleme van die lewe óf met vrees óf in geloof trotseer. Vrees konsentreer op die storm; geloof konsentreer op die Verlosser.
Dit klink dalk verbasend, maar ons het storms nodig. Jesus laat ons toe om hulle te trotseer sodat ons (1) sy beloftes sal glo, (2) kalm in sy teenwoordigheid sal bly, en (3) vertroue in sy krag sal hê.
Sielskos: 3 Joh; Judas; Luk 18:31-43; Ps 119:169-176
