2023-06-01
Lukas 4:18 NLV
Elke dertig sekondes word ‘n kind of jong persoon ontvoer en vir seks verkoop; amper een miljoen mense elke jaar! Baie word gedwing om tot dertig of veertig ‘kliënte’ elke dag te ontvang. Kan jy jou indink wat die regerings van die wêreld sou doen as ‘n stad met een miljoen mense gevange geneem word en elke dag uitgebuit en mishandel word?
As jy dink dis erg, sal die volgende statistiek jou hart breek en jou tot jou knieë dwing: Slegs 1 persent van diegene wat vir mensehandel ontvoer word, word daaruit gered! Jy sê: ‘Wat van die ander 99 persent?’ Wanneer hulle te oud is om waarde vir hulle koppelaars te hê, of as hulle te siek word om te werk, swanger word of siektes kry, word hulle soos vullis weggegooi. Hulle is die gewondes wat met emosionele en geestelike littekens rondloop en die res van hulle lewens met die gevolge daarvan worstel.
Miskien dink jy: ‘Dis hartseer en skokkend, maar dank die Here dis nie my kinders of kleinkinders nie.’ Jy moet beslis die Here daarvoor dank! As verloste kind van God, het jy egter ‘n verantwoordelikheid om daarvoor om te gee. Jesus het gesê Hy het gekom ‘…dat gevangenes vrygelaat sal word, dat blindes sal sien, dat onderdruktes bevry sal word van hulle verdrukkers’ (vers 18 NLV).
Dit beteken dat jy nie die probleem kan vermy nie, jy moet bewus daarvan wees en tot aksie oorgaan. Eers wanneer genoeg mense hul stemme laat hoor, begin politici optree. Laat dus jou stem hoor! Begin daaroor bid. Ondersteun bedieninge wat daarby betrokke is. Op daardie manier sal jy eendag voor God kan staan en sê: ‘Here, ek het gedoen wat ek kon!’
Sielskos: 1 Kon 12-13; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 82; Spr 12:18-19
Luke 4:18 NKJV
Every thirty seconds, a child or young person is abducted into the worldwide sex trade; almost one million of them every year! Many are forced to service up to thirty or forty “customers” a night. Can you imagine what the governments of the world would do if a city of one million people was taken captive and exploited and abused every day?
If you think that’s bad, here is a statistic that should break your heart and bring you to your knees: Only 1 percent of those who are abducted into the sex trade are being rescued from it! You say, “What about the other 99 percent?” When they get too old to have value to their pimps, or too sick to work, or become pregnant, or diseased, they’re thrown away like garbage. These are the “walking wounded” who carry emotional and mental scars and struggle with the effects for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “It’s sad, and it’s shocking, but thank God it’s not my children or grandchildren.” Thank God, indeed! But as a redeemed child of God, you have a responsibility to care about it. Jesus said He came to “heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives… to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (v. 18 NKJV). That means instead of avoiding the problem, you must become aware, alarmed, and activated.
Only when enough people speak up do politicians start to act. So speak up! Start praying about it. Support ministries that are involved in it. That way, you will be able to stand before God one day and say, “Lord, I did what I could about it!”
Soul food: 1 Kings 12-13; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 82; Prov 12:18-19
2023-05-31
Daniel 1:8 NKJV
Are you continuing to do things you don’t want to do and indulge in thoughts that lead you astray? Are you being constantly overcome by the same old temptations? Here is the bad news: The new birth doesn’t do away with your old nature; it actually intensifies the struggle between your flesh and your spirit. Here is the good news: You can live victoriously! How?
(1) Through prayer. Jesus told His disciples, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41 KJV). If you’re tired of praying for forgiveness after you have failed, start praying before the temptation comes. No, you can’t pray temptation away, but you can prepare yourself in advance to overcome it. And if you need help, call in reinforcements. Find someone who knows how to stand with you in prayer. The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 NKJV).
(2) By making up your mind. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” The way to subdue your impulses is by activating your will – in advance. When you do that, God empowers you by His Spirit. Where did Daniel’s strength of purpose come from? God. He prayed three times every day (See Daniel 6:10). Don’t set yourself up for failure; keep yourself out of harm’s way. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, he “fled and ran outside” (Genesis 39:12 NKJV). Both Joseph and Daniel had prayed and made up their mind what they would do before temptation came knocking. You must do that too.
Soul food: 1 Kings 10-11; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 127; Prov 12:15-17
Daniël 1:8 AFR83
Gaan jy voort om dinge te doen wat jy nie wil doen nie en gee jy jouself aan gedagtes wat jou verlei oor? Word jy voortdurend deur dieselfde ou versoekings oorval? Hier is die slegte nuus: Die wedergeboorte doen nie weg met jou ou natuur nie; dit verskerp eintlik die stryd tussen jou vlees en jou gees. Hier is die goeie nuus: Jy kan in oorwinning lewe! Hoe?
1) Deur gebed. Jesus het vir sy dissipels gesê: ‘Wees waaksaam en bid. Anders sal die versoeking vir julle te sterk word. ‘n Mens se gees is wel gewillig, maar jou liggaam hou nie altyd by nie’ (Matteus 26:41 NLV). As jy moeg is daarvoor om vir vergifnis te bid nadat jy misluk het, begin voor die versoeking bid. Nee, jy kan nie versoeking wegbid nie, maar jy kan jouself voorberei om dit te oorkom. As jy hulp nodig het, roep versterkings in. Kry iemand wat weet hoe om saam met jou in gebed te staan. Die Bybel sê: ‘Twee is beter as een. Saam bereik hulle meer’ (Prediker 4:9 NLV).
2) Deur jou besluit te maak. ‘Daniël het hom voorgeneem om hom nie met die koning se kos en wyn te verontreinig nie…’ Die manier om jou impulse te onderdruk, is om jou wil vooraf te aktiveer. Wanneer jy dit doen, bemagtig God jou deur sy Gees. Waar het Daniël se doelgerigtheid vandaan gekom? Van God af. Hy het drie keer elke dag gebid (sien Daniël 6:11). Moenie jouself in moeilike situasies laat beland nie. Toe Potifar se vrou probeer het om vir Josef te verlei, het hy ‘…uit die huis gehardloop’ (Genesis 39:12 NLV). Beide Josef en Daniël het gebid en hulself voorgeneem wat hul sou doen voor versoeking aan hulle deur geklop het. Jy moet dit ook doen.
Sielskos: 1 Kon 10-11; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 127;
Spr 12:15-17
2023-05-30
Romans 8:31 NKJV
To overcome fear, you must believe that God is with you. It’s the key to your ability to obey what He tells you to do. As you become confident that He is with you, your fear will lessen. When David volunteered to fight Goliath, King Saul said to him, “You are not able to go against this Philistine… for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33 NKJV). David replied, “The Lord… will deliver me from… this Philistine” (v. 37 NKJV). You’re not in this battle alone; the Lord is with you. When you’re convinced of that, your fear will subside.
You may not always know what God will do, but you can relax in knowing He will do what needs to be done at the right time. When you think about the future and all the things that are unknown to you, it’s easy to feel afraid. But you can view it two ways. You can either be pessimistic and fearful, or you can say to yourself, “The battle is the Lord’s, and He has never lost a battle!”
You may not always know what to do in a tense situation, but God does. He knows everything prior to it happening, and He has planned your deliverance in advance. Just put one foot in front of the other, confident that He is guiding you. You don’t have to see God or feel Him in order to believe that He is with you. Faith is a matter of the heart instead of the natural senses. God is with you! Believe it and refuse to live in fear.
Soul food: 1 Kings 8-9; Matt 13:24-35; Ps 108; Prov 12:14
