2022-04-11
Galasiërs 6:2 AFR83
Het jy al ooit iets gesê wat jy gewens het jy kon terugneem? Jy het al, né? Chuck Swindoll skryf: ‘Ons tree impulsief op en besef, na die tyd, hoe dwaas ons was. Boonop maak ons die mense vir wie ons die liefste is, seer. Al hierdie dinge druk swaar op ons gemoed en ons wonder hoe enigiemand, veral God, vir ons kan lief wees. Wanneer ons so begin dink, moet ons ons gedagtes op die ‘mekaar’ in die Nuwe Testament rig. Wees lief vir mekaar, bou mekaar op, wys mekaar tereg, bemoedig mekaar, lewe in vrede met mekaar, bely julle sondes teenoor mekaar, praat met mekaar, bid vir mekaar. ‘Dra mekaar se laste…’ (Galasiërs 6:2 AFR83).
Dink aan twee bergklimmers. Een het ‘n ligte rugsak terwyl die ander arme siel onder sy bagasie steier. Dit kan ‘n langslewende wrok wees wat sy binneste vergiftig. Of ‘n gebroke verhouding met sy vrou of een van sy kinders wees. Die rugsak kan met onbetaalde rekeninge oorlaai wees. Die vraag is: Waar kan hy gaan om af te pak? Wat hy nodig het, is ‘n plek waar daar persoon-tot-persoon omgee en opregte deelname is. Waar hy vry, sonder skaamte, kan voel om sy geheim of stryd te deel. Waar iemand na hom sal luister, hom sal help afpak en hom nuwe krag sal gee.
Volwasse selgroepe is nie miniatuur kerkdienste nie. Hulle is groepe mense wat Christus liefhet en daarin glo om mekaar te help. Hulle wys nie vinger of preek of vergelyk nie. Hulle is jou broers en susters in Christus. Is jy by ‘n selgroep betrokke? Indien nie, oorweeg dit om by een aan te sluit of een te begin.’ Sodra jy begin afpak, sal jy agterkom hoeveel makliker die reis voel.
Sielskos: Lev 18-19; Luk 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Spr 10:2
Galatians 6:2 KJV
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? You have, haven’t you? Chuck Swindoll writes: “We act impulsively and realize, after the fact, how foolish we were… On top of all that, we hurt the ones we love the most. All this stuff caves in on us… and we wonder how anybody could ever love us… especially God. When we start thinking like this, we need to turn our mind to the ‘one anothers’ in the New Testament. Love one another, build up one another, live in peace with one another, confess your sins to one another, speak to one another, admonish one another, comfort one another, pray for one another. ‘Bear one another’s burdens’ (Galatians 6:2 NKJV).
Imagine two mountain hikers. One… has a… light pack… while the other poor soul… is… loaded down… It could be a long-standing grudge… poisoning his insides… [Or,] a broken relationship with his wife or one of his kids. That pack could be loaded with unpaid bills. The question is, Where can… [he] go to unload? By sitting in church alongside a… couple thousand other folks? Hardly. What he needs… is… a place where there is person-to-person caring and… authentic sharing. Where he will feel free, without embarrassment… to tell his secret or state his struggle; where someone will listen, help him unload, and give him fresh strength.
Adult fellowships… are not miniature church services. They are pockets of people who love Christ and believe in helping one another. They don’t point fingers or preach or compare. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ… Are you involved in a… fellowship group? If not, consider joining or starting [one].” Once you begin unloading, you will discover how much easier the journey seems.
Soul food: Lev 18-19; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Pro 10:2
Galatians 6:2 NKJV
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back, held on to a grudge and been reluctant to forgive, or struggled to pass your worries over to God? The author Chuck Swindoll wrote: ‘All this stuff caves in on us… and we wonder how anybody could ever love us… especially God. When we start thinking like this, we need to turn our mind to the “one anothers” in the New Testament. Love one another, build up one another, live in peace with one another, confess your sins to one another, speak to one another, admonish one another, comfort one another, pray for one another. “Bear one another’s burdens.” Imagine two mountain hikers. One… has a… light pack… while the other poor soul… is… loaded down… It could be a long-standing grudge… [or] a broken relationship… That pack could be loaded with unpaid bills. The question is, Where can… [they] go to unload?’
We all need a safe place to unburden ourselves of our troubles. Just sitting in church with any number of other people isn’t going to do it. We can (and should) tell God about everything that’s weighing down our minds, but He’s also placed people around us to share our worries face-to-face, to help us make sense of the chaos of our problems, and to support us on our journey through them. There’s an old saying: ‘A problem shared is a problem halved.’
Other people may not necessarily take our burden from us, but there’s something powerful and liberating in sharing our worries. So who’s your safe place? Who are the trusted people in your life that will listen without judging or causing embarrassment? And could you be the trusted friend, the ‘safe place’ for someone else?
Lev 18-19; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Pro 10:2
2022-04-10
Matthew 12:34 NCV
When Mary Southerland came down with a raging fever, her doctor suspected viral meningitis. In the course of examining her, he checked the colour of her tongue. Mary was puzzled. Why did that matter? The doctor told her that the tongue can actually tell us a lot about our health. And a similar idea applies to our spiritual health.
The Bible tells us, ‘The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things’ (v.34-35 NCV). Our heart, our attitude, our outlook, and our temperament are all reflected by our tongue through the words we speak and the way we say them.
Mary Southerland wrote: ‘The tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart… Words are power tools that can build… encourage… destroy and cause confusion. We have all been hurt and even defeated by words spoken in anger or words rising out of a wounded heart… If my words are boastful, my heart is insecure. If my words are filthy, my heart is impure and if my words are critical, my heart is filled with pride and anger… Solomon said, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 KJV)… The right word, spoken at the right time and in the right way can bring order in the midst of confusion and light on a very dark path. “Good people know the right thing to say” (Proverbs 10:32 NCV). God gives us spiritual “radar” so we can assess a situation and speak the right word for that circumstance. We just need to check the “radar screen” before we speak.’
Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
Matteus 12:34 NLV
Toe Mary Southerland ‘n vreeslike koors ontwikkel het, het haar dokter vermoed dat sy virale meningitis opgedoen het. ‘Hoe lank het jy al die soliede wit laag op jou tong?’ het hy gevra. Die dokter het voortgegaan: ‘Die gesondheid van die tong is ‘n baie sterk aanduiding van die gesondheid van die hele liggaam.’
Geestelik gesproke is dieselfde beginself op ons van toepassing. ‘…Waar die hart van vol is, loop die mond van oor. ‘n Goeie mens bring uit die oorvloed goeie dinge in sy hart goeie dinge te voorskyn en ‘n slegte mens bring uit die oorvloed slegte dinge in sy hart die slegte te voorskyn’ (verse 34-35 NLV)
Southerland gaan voort: ‘Die tong is ‘n geestelike termometer wat die toestand van die hart reflekteer. Woorde is kragtige gereedskap wat kan opbou en bemoedig, of kan afbreek en verwarring kan saai. Ons is al almal deur woorde wat in woede of uit ‘n gewonde hart gespreek is, seergemaak of selfs oorwin. As ek met my woorde spog, is my hart onseker. As my woorde vuil is, is my hart onrein en as my woorde krities is, is my hart met trots en woede gevul.
Salomo het gesê: ‘Woorde op die regte tyd gesê, is soos goue appels in ‘n silwer houer’ (Spreuke 25:11 NLV). Die regte woord, wat op die regte tyd en op die regte manier gespreek word, kan orde te midde van verwarring en lig op ‘n baie donker pad, meebring. ‘Die regverdige weet wat die gepaste dinge is om te sê…’ (Spreuke 10:32 NLV). God gee vir ons geestelike ‘radar’ sodat ons ‘n situasie kan oorweeg en die regte woord vir daardie omstandighede kan spreek. Ons moet net eers die ‘radarskerm’ raadpleeg voordat ons praat.’
Sielskos: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
