2022-07-20
Genesis 22:10 NLV
Ons word nie almal op dieselfde manier getoets nie, maar ons word almal oor dieselfde kwessies getoets. Kyk na Abraham. Nadat hy twintig jaar gewag het, het God vir hom ‘n seun gegee wat die belofte dat hy ‘…die voorvader… van baie nasies’ (Genesis 17:5 NLV), sou wees, sou vervul. Toe het God vir hom gesê om daardie seun op ‘n afgeleë altaar in die woestyn te gaan offer. Dit het nie sin gemaak nie, omdat dit God se belofte weerspreek het, maar tog het Abraham gehoorsaam.
Dis onwaarskynlik dat jy geroep sal word om voor dieselfde uitdagings as Abraham te staan te kom, maar weet verseker, jy sal oor dieselfde kwessies getoets word. Jy sal oor jou vlak van toewyding getoets word. Wanneer dinge moeilik raak, sal jy aan God toegewy bly en sy Woord gehoorsaam, of sal jy ‘n ander uitweg soek? Wanneer dit nie sin maak nie, nie regverdig is nie en jy dit nie verdien nie, sal jy God vertrou en aan Hom getrou bly?
Jy sal getoets word oor wie in beheer van jou lewe is. Wanneer jy die Vyand se hand aan die werk kan sien, of die persoon wat vir jou pyn verantwoordelik is kan identifiseer, sal jy onthou dat ‘alles ten goede sal saamwerk’ en dat God in beheer is? (Sien Romeine 8:28).
Jy sal oor jou geloof getoets word. ‘Omdat hy geglo het, het Abraham, toe God hom wou toets, sy seun as’t ware al klaar geoffer gehad…’ (Hebreërs 11:17 NLV). Hoe kon ‘n liefdevolle vader so iets doen? Omdat hy nooit getwyfel het dat God vir Isak ‘selfs uit die dood sou kon opwek’ (vers 19 NLV), nie.
Wanneer jy dus getoets word: ‘…hou styf vas aan die hoop wat ons bely, want ons kan op God staatmaak; Hy sal doen wat Hy beloof het’ (Hebreërs 10:23 NLV).
Sielskos: Hand 6-7; Matt 26:57-75; Ps 133; Spr 16:2
Genesis 22:10 NKJV
We are not all tested in the same ways, but we’ll be tested on the same issues. Consider Abraham. After waiting for twenty years, God gave him a son destined to “father… many nations” (Genesis 17:5 KJV). Then God told him to sacrifice that boy on a remote wilderness altar. It didn’t make sense because it contradicted God’s promise, yet Abraham obeyed.
Now, it’s unlikely you’ll be called to face the same challenges as Abraham, but, rest assured, you’ll be tested on the same issues. For example, you’ll be tested on your level of commitment. When the going gets tough, will you stay committed to God and obey His Word, or will you look for a way out? When it doesn’t make sense, isn’t fair, and you don’t deserve it, will you trust God and remain faithful to Him?
You’ll be tested on the issue of who is in control of your life. When you can see the hand of the Enemy at work or identify the person responsible for your predicament, pressure, or pain, will you remember that “all things work together for good” and God is still running the show? (See Romans 8:28.)
Another area where you’ll be tested is on the issue of your faith. When it looked like God was reneging on his promise, yet “by faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac” (Hebrews 11:17 NKJV). How could a loving father do such a thing? Because he never doubted that God could raise Isaac up, “even from the dead” (v. 9 NKJV). So when you’re tested, “hold fast the profession of [your] faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised.)” (Hebrews 10:23 KJV).
Soul food: Acts 6-7; Matt 26:57-75; Ps 133; Prov 16:2
2022-07-19
Isaiah 65:22 NIV
In 1968 a scientist discovered a six-hundred-year-old necklace in an Indian grave. It was made up of seeds which had been strung together. He planted one of those seeds, and guess what happened: It sprouted and grew. Although the seed had been dormant for six hundred years, it still had the potential for life.
Maybe you have been a Christian for years and have been spiritually dormant for most of that time, but now you would like to be productive. You desire to be fruitful. The good news is, it’s not too late! You can begin right now. “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree… planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock'” (Psalm 92:12-15 NIV).
Did you know that a palm tree produces its greatest harvest of fruit in its final years? That can be your destiny too. “For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.” That Scripture means bunions, bifocals, and baldness notwithstanding, your last season of life can be your greatest season of life. It may take you longer to do what you do, but fueled with the wisdom of God’s Word and the years you have walked with Him, you can still make a mark for God in this world.
Soul food: Acts 3:11-5:42; Matt 26:47-56; Ps 123; Prov 16:1
Jesaja 65:22 NLV
‘n Wetenskaplike het in 1968 ‘n seshonderd-jaar-oue halssnoer in ‘n Indiese graf ontdek. Dit was van sade wat saam gesnoer is, gemaak. Hy het een van die sade geplant en raai wat het gebeur: Dit het ontkiem en begin groei. Alhoewel die saad vir seshonderd jaar ongebruik gelê het, het dit steeds die potensiaal vir lewe gehad.
Miskien is jy al vir jare ‘n Christen, maar geestelik sluimerend vir die meeste van daardie tyd en nou wil jy graag produktief wees. Jy begeer dit om vrugte te dra. Die goeie nuus is dat dit nie te laat is nie! Jy kan dadelik begin. “Maar regverdiges sal blom soos ‘n palmboom, en welig groei soos ‘n seder van die Libanon. Geplant in die Here se woning, groei hulle weelderig, daar in die tempel van ons God. Al is hulle oud, is hulle ‘n aanwins; hulle is vars en lewenskragtig. Hulle sal sê: ‘Die Here is regverdig. Hy is my rots. By Hom is daar geen onreg nie'” (Psalm 92:13-15 NLV).
Het jy geweet dat ‘n palmboom sy grootste oes vrugte in sy finale jare produseer? Dit kan ook jou roeping wees. ‘…My volk sal oud word soos ‘n boom. Hulle wat Ek uitverkies het, sal die vrug geniet van hulle eie handewerk.’ Hierdie Skrifgedeelte beteken dat nieteenstaande knokkeleelte, bifokale lense en blesheid, jou laaste lewenseisoen die grootste seisoen van jou lewe kan wees. Dit mag jou dalk langer neem om te doen wat jy doen, maar aangevuur deur die wysheid van God se Woord en die jare wat jy saam met Hom geloop het, kan jy steeds jou merk vir God op hierdie wêreld maak.
Sielskos: Hand 3:11-5:42; Matt 26:47-56; Ps 123; Spr 16:1
2022-07-18
Ecclesiastes 4:9 KJV
Sportswriter Rick Reilly gave rookie professional athletes this advice: “Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked, the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while getting his head knocked off, and the good receiver drew the double coverage. Get over yourself!” During twenty-seven years coaching his ten-time national-champion UCLA basketball teams, Coach John Wooden reminded them, “It takes ten hands to score a basket.”
His message lines up perfectly with Solomon’s counsel: “Two are better than one”! No one realises his or her best potential on their own. God’s Word and life itself teach us that living is designed to be a team sport. In the very beginning, God established this principle: “It is not good for the man [or woman] to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18 NIV).
Being the “lone ranger” was never God’s intention for us. Loneliness is a killer. Companionship is the elixir of life. In Ecclesiastes 4:1-12, Solomon talks about the value of human relationships in a challenging and difficult world. And teacher Philip De Courcy tells us that biblical wisdom embraces “a theology of we” and “rejects a theology of me” (See Philippians 2:4).
To win in life, we need to commit ourselves to (a) resisting the “go-it-alone” spirit that often characterises our culture, (b) cultivating meaningful relationships and learning to treasure our friends, (c) staying closely connected to the members of the body of Christ, (d) reaching out to the lonely and the fallen, and (e) going out of our way to demonstrate the nature of real friendship (See Proverbs 17:17; Hebrews 10:24-25; Luke 10:25-37; John 15:13). Blazing your own trail is a dead-end street. Life shared is life fully lived!
Soul food: Acts 1:1-3:10; Matt 26:36-46; Ps 118:19-29; Prov 15:33
