2023-05-01
Psalm 16:11 NKJV
If you were miserable before you met Jesus, it’s easy to make the mistake of thinking that the only place His presence can be enjoyed is in church. No, you can enjoy His presence everywhere. At home, at work, at school, in business, and even in times of suffering and adversity.
Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk in a French monastery, wrote the best-selling book, The Practice of the Presence of God. He resented his daily routine in the kitchen. Then God showed him that everything he did each day could be done for God and with God. That truth transformed his life.
You can cultivate your mind to be more productive, and you can also cultivate your spirit to be more sensitive to God. You can reach the place where you sense His presence and His pleasure in all that you do. Believing God is present with you won’t help you much if you think He is always upset with you. But when you see yourself as accepted in Christ, you realize that He is not only present with you at all times but pleased with you (See Ephesians 1:6). That will radically change your thinking about God.
There are dozens of things pertaining to everyday life, and you can enjoy them all if you just make the decision to do it – getting dressed, going to work, organizing things, running errands, grocery shopping, etc. After all, these are the things life is made up of. Joy comes not merely from being entertained, but from a decision to be grateful for each moment you are given as a rare and valuable gift from God.
Soul food: Jam 3-5; Matt 5:13-20; Ps 94:12-23; Prov 10:27
2023-04-30
2 Peter 3:10 NLT
Don’t let “date-setters” make you cynical about Christ’s soon return. When the founder of a major church denomination predicted in print the date of Christ’s second coming, his successors faced the embarrassment of having to publicly acknowledge that they were wrong. Do you remember the alarmists of Y2K? Declaring to a scientific certainty that the year 2000 would bring the end of the world and the return of Christ, they caused people to leave their jobs, sell their homes, stock up on food, and head for the hills. And because of such embarrassments, many preachers today have silenced or toned down the truth of Christ’s second coming.
Yes, when some folks hear the message, they roll their eyes and say, “Not again!” But doubt about Christ’s return is one of the signs that guarantees it will happen. The Bible says: “In the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth… They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.
‘…The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief… the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment… so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight” (vv. 3-4, 9-10, 14 NLT).
Soul food: Col 1:9-23; 1 Sam 3
2 Petrus 3:10 NLV
Moenie dat mense wat datums voorspel jou sinies oor Christus se spoedige wederkoms maak nie. Toe die stigter van ‘n groot kerkdenominasie in die pers die datum van Christus se wederkoms voorspel het, moes sy opvolgers in die openbaar erken dat hulle verkeerd was. Onthou jy die skrikaanjaers van Y2K? Hulle het dit ‘n wetenskaplike sekerheid verklaar dat die jaar 2000 die einde van die wêreld en die wederkoms van Christus sou meebring en het veroorsaak dat mense hul werk los, hul huise verkoop, kos opgaar en na die heuwels toe vlug. As gevolg van sulke verleenthede, verswyg of onderbeklemtoon baie predikers die waarheid van Christus se tweede koms. Ja, wanneer sommige mense die boodskap hoor, rol hulle hul oë en sê: ‘Nie alweer nie!’
Twyfel oor Christus se wederkoms is egter een van die tekens wat waarborg dat dit gaan gebeur. Die Bybel sê: ‘Heel eerste wil ek julle herinner dat daar in die laaste dae mense op die toneel sal verskyn wat die waarheid bespotlik maak en doen net waarvoor hulle lus is. Hulle sal soos volg redeneer: ‘Jesus het belowe Hy sal terugkeer, nie waar nie? Nou maar wat het van daardie belofte geword? Julle weet self: So ver terug as wat mense kan onthou, van die skepping af, bly alles nog net soos dit was’… Die Here stel nie die vervulling van sy beloofde terugkeer uit soos party mense dink nie. Nee, Hy wag geduldig ter wille van julle en daarom gee Hy meer tyd dat almal tot inkeer kan kom. Maar die Dag van die Here sal so onverwags kom soos ‘n dief… Daarom, geliefdes, terwyl julle wag dat hierdie dinge gebeur, moet julle hard werk om vlekkeloos en sonder fout deur God bevind te word. Lewe in vrede met God’ (2 Petrus 3:3-4, 9-10, 14 NLV).
Sielskos: Kol 1:9-23; 1 Sam 3
2023-04-29
Colossians 3:16 NIV
Before written languages were developed, memory was the only way to learn. In our day, memorizing has gotten a bad name as “rote learning.” But memorizing never makes your mind a duller place – just the opposite! When we have stored wonderful words in our memory, we will have a much richer inner life than someone who doesn’t.
Eva Hermann spent two years in a Nazi prison camp. She wrote how a young cellmate happened to recite the prayer of St. Teresa: “Let naught trouble thee; let naught frighten thee; all things pass. God alone changeth not. Patience can do all things. Whoever has God, has everything. God alone sufficeth.” When Eva saw how much this helped the girl, she began to repeat the prayer at the end of every day. Eva later wrote of how her time in prison was transformed by the words she had memorized.
This illustrates that the words we carry in our minds are available to transform any given moment. So when there is a verse of Scripture that speaks to you, stop and write it on a card. Put it on a mirror in your bathroom, or on your smartphone or calendar, or in your car. If you’re an auditory learner, listen to the Scripture being read on CDs or on an iPod. If you’re a visual learner, light a candle and read these words: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 NIV).
When God’s Word is rehearsed, remembered, and repeated often, it’s like a stream of joy, peace, and strength that flows and carries your soul along with it.
Soul food: Jam 1-2; Matt 5:6-12; Ps 94:1-11; Prov 10:24-26
Kolossense 3:16 NLV
Voor geskrewe tale ontwikkel het, was mens se geheue die enigste manier om te leer. Deesdae sien mense dit as uitgedien om dinge uit jou kop te probeer leer. Om woorde uit jou kop te leer maak egter nooit jou gedagtes ‘n dowwer plek nie – inteendeel! Wanneer ons wonderlike woorde in ons geheue gestoor het, sal ons ‘n baie ryker innerlike lewe as iemand wat dit nie het nie, hê.
Eva Hermann het twee jaar in ‘n Nazi-konsentrasiekamp deurgebring. Sy het geskryf hoe ‘n jong selmaat toevallig die gebed van Sint Teresa opgesê het: ‘Let naught trouble thee; let naught frighten thee; all things pass. God alone changeth not. Patience can do all things. Whoever has God, has everything. God alone sufficeth.’ Toe Eva sien hoe baie hierdie gebed die meisie help, het sy begin om dit aan die einde van elke dag te herhaal. Eva het later geskryf hoe haar tyd in die kamp getransformeer is deur die woorde wat sy gememoriseer het.
Dit illustreer hoe die woorde wat ons in ons gedagtes dra, beskikbaar is om enige gegewe oomblik te transformeer. Wanneer daar dus ‘n vers of Skrifgedeelte is wat tot jou spreek, stop en skryf dit op ‘n kaartjie neer. Plak dit op jou badkamerspieël, of stoor dit op jou slimfoon, ‘n kalender, of in jou kar. As jy ‘n ouditiewe leerder is, luister na die Skrif wat op CD’s of op ‘n iPod voorgelees word. As jy ‘n visuele leerder is, steek ‘n kers aan en lees hierdie woorde: ‘…God is lig en daar is hoegenaamd geen duisternis in Hom nie’ (1 Johannes 1:5 NLV).
Wanneer God se Woord geoefen, onthou en gereeld herhaal word, is dit soos ‘n stroom van vreugde, vrede en krag wat vloei en jou siel daarmee saamdra.
Sielskos: Jak 1-2; Matt 5:6-12; Ps 94:1-11; Spr 10:24-26
