2024-02-02
Proverbs 5:1 NLT
Solomon told his son: “Pay attention to my wisdom… the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword…. Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honour and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor… You will say… ‘If only I had not ignored all the warnings… now I must face public disgrace'” (vv. 1, 3-4, 8-10, 12, 14 NLT).
It’s always easier to dispense good advice than to follow it. Solomon’s life proves it. He tells us repeatedly and with great conviction that only fools fall into adultery. Yet he failed to heed his own advice and God’s explicit warning about taking too “many wives, or his heart will be led astray” (Deuteronomy 17:17 NIV). Solomon married seven hundred women. And what was the result? “His wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord” (1 Kings 11:4 NKJV).
Here is an interesting question: Was the reason Solomon had so much to say about this particular subject because it represented an area of struggle and vulnerability in his own life? Sometimes leaders do that; they speak out against areas of weakness they see in their own lives. One thing is certain; if Solomon had taken the advice he gave his son, his life story would have been very different. So, the word for you today is – heed your own advice.
Soul food: Num 14-15; Matt 10:32-42; Ps 107:23-32; Prov 3:25-26
2024-02-01
Psalm 127:3 NLV
‘n Christelike sielkundige skryf: “‘n Paar maande terug het ek met ‘n man gesels wat een van die pynlikste ervarings van sy lewe beskryf het. Toe hy sewentien was, was hy een van die sterre van sy hoërskool se voetbalspan. Sy pa, ‘n baie suksesvolle sakeman, was egter altyd te besig om sy wedstryde by te woon. Die finale wedstryd van die seisoen, wat ook die staatskampioenskap was, het vinnig nader gekom. Die seun was desperaat om sy pa daar te hê. Die aand van die groot wedstryd was hy op die veld besig om op te warm, toe hy opkyk net om te sien hoe sy pa, saam met twee ander sakemanne, die stadium binnekom. Hulle het vir ‘n oomblik of twee gestaan en gesels en toe weer geloop.
Die man wat hierdie verhaal vir my vertel het, is nou agt-en-vyftig jaar oud en tog het die trane oor sy wange gestroom terwyl hy daardie oomblik van jare gelede herleef het. Dis veertig jaar later en tog is die verwerping en pyn so helder as ooit.
Ek was weer eens diep getref oor die invloed wat ‘n pa in die lewe van sy kinders het. Wanneer hy onbetrokke is, wanneer hy nie liefde of omgee aan hulle wys nie, skep dit ‘n vakuum wat dekades lank weergalm. My vriend se pa het onlangs gesterf. Soos hy by sy pa se liggaam in die lykshuis gestaan het, het hy gesê: ‘Pa, ek het jou nooit regtig geken nie. Ons kon soveel liefde gedeel het – maar jy het nooit vir my tyd gehad nie.'”
Ma, Pa, jou kinders is ‘n ‘gawe’ van God. Koester en geniet hulle.
Sielskos: Num 11-13; Matt 10:21-31; Ps 107:17-22; Spr 3:21-24
Psalm 127:3 CEV
A Christian psychologist writes: “Several months ago I talked to a man who described one of the most painful experiences of his life. When he was seventeen, he was one of the stars on his high school football team. But his father, a very successful man in the city, was always too busy to come and see him play. Quickly the final game of the season came around, which happened to be the state championship. The boy was desperate to have his dad there. The night of the big game he was on the field warming up when he looked into the stadium just in time to see his father arrive with two other men, each wearing a business suit. They stood talking together for a moment or two, and then left.
The man who told me this story is now fifty-eight years of age, and yet he had tears streaming down his cheeks as he relived that moment long ago. It’s been forty years since that night, and yet the rejection and pain are as vivid as ever. I was struck again by the awesome influence a father has in the lives of his children. When he is uninvolved, when he doesn’t show love or care for them, it creates a vacuum that reverberates for decades. My friend’s father died not long ago. As he stood by his dad’s body in the mortuary, he said, ‘Dad, I never really knew you. We could have shared so much love together – but you never had time for me.'”
Mom, Dad, your children are a “gift” from God. Treasure and enjoy them.
Soul food: Num 11-13; Matt 10:21-31; Ps 107:17-22; Prov 3:21-24
2024-01-31
Filippense 4:7 NLV
Wanneer jy angstig of bang voel, moet jy die volgende twee dinge doen:
1) Kry ‘n ‘geloofsvriend.’ Wanneer angs jou gedagtes beetpak, is een van die kragtigste maniere om die siklus van bekommernis te breek om dit met ‘n ‘geloofsvriend’ te deel. Toe Israel uitgegaan het om die Beloofde Land in besit te neem, het God vir hulle gesê: ‘…Is iemand bang? As dit so is, gaan huis toe voordat jy ander bangmaak’ (Deuteronomium 20:8 NLV). Pessimisme, angs en ontmoediging is aansteeklik. Dapperheid is egter ook!
2) Neem aksie en staar jou vrees in die gesig. Preke oor hoe God vir jou sal sorg, is op sigself nie voldoende om angs uit jou lewe te verwyder nie. Jy moet sekere dinge ook doen, soos om in vertroue uit te tree. Die manier om God se vrede van jou gedagtes na die res van jou liggaam te versprei is deur Hom te vertrou tot op die punt wat jy jou vrese direk kan konfronteer.
Met dit in gedagte, a) mediteer dus op Skrifgedeeltes soos Psalm 23; verbeel jouself dat die Here jou deur groen valleie en na strome water toe lei, b) praat met jou ‘geloofsvriend’ voordat die bekommernis ‘n houvas in jou gedagtes kry, c) gebruik ‘n ‘asem van gebed’ soos: ‘God, ek gee al my bekommernisse aan U oor,’ d) oefen; fisiese oefening is een van die beste maniere om te keer dat ‘n oormaat adrenalien opbou, e) identifiseer jou vrees en neem selfs net een klein tree om dit te konfronteer, en f) kry genoegsame rus. Dawid het gesê: ‘Ek sal in vrede gaan lê en slaap, want U alleen, o Here, laat my veilig woon’ (Psalm 4:9 NLV).
Gee vandag jou bekommernisse aan God oor!
Sielskos: Num 8-10; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 107:10-16; Spr 3:19-20
Philippians 4:7 NIV
When you feel anxious and afraid, here are two things you should do:
(1) Find a “faith friend.” When anxiety grabs your mind, one of the most powerful ways to break the worry spiral is to disclose it to a “faith friend.” When Israel went out to occupy the promised land, here is what God said to them: “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too” (Deuteronomy 20:8 NIV). Pessimism, fright, and discouragement are contagious. And so is courage!
(2) Take action and face your fear. Sermons about how God will take care of you aren’t in and of themselves sufficient to remove anxiety from your life. You must do certain things, like stepping out in trust. The way to get God’s peace from your head to the rest of your body is to trust Him to the point where you can confront your fears head-on.
So, with that in mind, (a) meditate on passages like Psalm 23; imagine yourself being shepherded by the Lord through green pastures and led beside still waters, (b) talk to your “faith friend” before worry gets a foothold in your mind, (c) use a “breath prayer” such as, “God, I’m casting all my cares on you,” (d) exercise; physical exercise is one of the best ways to stop excess adrenaline from building up, (e) identify your fear and take even one small step toward confronting it, and (f) get sufficient rest. David said, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8 NIV).
Today, give your worries to God!
Soul food: Num 8-10; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 107:10-16; Prov 3:19-20
