2022-03-19
Lukas 17:14 NLV
“…tien melaatse mans… het hard na Hom geroep: ‘Jesus, Here, kry ons tog jammer!’ Toe Hy hulle sien, sê Hy aan hulle: ‘Gaan wys julleself aan die priesters.’ Terwyl hulle soontoe op pad was, het hulle gesond geword. Een uit die groep, toe hy sien dat hy gesond geword het, het omgedraai en met ‘n harde stem vir God geloof… Toe merk Jesus op: ‘Was daar dan nie tien wat gesond gemaak is nie? Waar is die ander nege?’… Aan hierdie man het Hy gesê: ‘Staan op en gaan. Jou geloof het jou gered'” (verse 12-19 NLV).
Hierdie verhaal leer ons drie dinge: 1) Soms kom die antwoord gou; ander kere stadig, stap-vir-stap. Die Bybel sê: ‘…Terwyl hulle soontoe op pad was, het hulle gesond geword…’ Jy weet nie watter stap die antwoord gaan meebring nie, dus moet jy in geloof bly wandel. Mosaïese wette het vereis dat voor ‘n melaatse weer in die samelewing toegelaat kon word, ‘n priester hom eers as ‘skoon’ moes verklaar.
2) Moenie tou opgooi omdat ander mense jou verwerp nie. Hierdie mans het van Jesus verwag om hulle ook soos uitgeworpenes te hanteer. Wanneer jy egter nader aan God beweeg, sal Hy nader aan jou beweeg (sien Jakobus 4:8 NLV). Worstel jy met ‘n kwessie wat veroorsaak het dat ander mense jou vermy of eenkant toe stoot? Jesus sal dit nie doen nie. Hy het gesê: ‘…Ek sal dié persoon wat na My toe kom, glad nie verstoot nie’ (Johannes 6:37 NLV).
3) Onthou altyd om vir God dankie te sê en Hom te prys. Net een van die melaatse mans het die dankbaarheidstoets geslaag. Sou jy geslaag het? Wanneer jy besef hoe baie jou danksegging vir God beteken, sal jy nie ‘n dag laat verbygaan waar jy Hom nie loof en prys nie.
Sielskos: Job 8-10; Luk 18:18-30; Ps 116:1-11; Spr 8:8-9
Luke 17:14 NCV
‘Ten men who had a skin disease… called to him, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!” When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As the ten men were going, they were healed. When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice… Jesus said, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine?… Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go on your way. You were healed because you believed” (v.12-19 NCV).
This story teaches us these three things: 1) Sometimes the answer comes quickly; other times it comes slowly, step-by-step. The Bible says, ‘As the ten men were going, they were healed.’ We don’t know which step will bring the answer, so we must keep walking in faith. Mosaic law said that before someone with leprosy could be welcomed back into society, the priest must pronounce them ‘clean’. But Jesus saw the change in these men before it ever took place; that’s because He has the power to make it happen.
2) We mustn’t give up because others reject us. The men were social outcasts, and they expected Jesus to treat them like everyone else did. But when you draw close to God, He will draw close to you (see James 4:8). Are you struggling with an issue that has caused others to shun you or cast you aside? Jesus won’t do that. He said, ‘Whoever comes to me I will never drive away’ (John 6:37 NIV).
3) Always remember to thank and praise God. Only one of the ten men passed the gratitude test. When we realise how much God appreciates our thanks, we’ll never let a day go by without praising and worshipping Him.
Job 8-10; Luke 18:18-30; Ps 116:1-11; Pro 8:8-9
2022-03-18
Proverbs 4:23 CEV
When it comes to everyday living, you can walk according to the unchanging principles of God’s Word or by your constantly changing feelings. When you live by God’s Word, you have stability. When you live by your feelings, it’s like riding a roller coaster; one day you’re up, the next day you’re down.
God wants to bring you into emotional maturity, but you have to cooperate with Him. This calls for a daily act of your will; choosing to do things His way rather than your own. And once it becomes a habit, you discover that life is more enjoyable. Now, you don’t let everyone who knocks on your door come in and make themselves at home, so why would you let every emotion that surfaces dictate the direction of your day or decide your responses?
“Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life” (v. 23 CEV). It’s your thinking that produces your feelings, not vice versa! That’s why Paul writes, “Capture every thought and make it… obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV). In other words, if a thought doesn’t line up with God’s Word, don’t give it a voice or a vote. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
This may come as a surprise, but as a Christian, you won’t always feel God’s presence. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the Emmaus road, yet they didn’t recognize Him. Why? Because they were occupied with their feelings! How did He lift them out of their negative emotions? “He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27 NKJV). Bottom line: You must be led only by God’s Word.
Soul food: Job 5-7; Luke 18:1-17; Ps 19; Pro 8:6-7
Proverbs 4:23 CEV
When it comes to everyday life, we have a choice: we can walk according to the unchanging principles of God’s Word; or we can be ruled by our constantly changing feelings. When we live by God’s Word, we have stability. When we live by our feelings, it’s like riding a roller coaster; one day we’re up, the next day we’re down.
God wants to bring us into emotional maturity, but we have to cooperate with Him. That calls for a daily act of will; choosing to do things His way rather than our own. And once it becomes a habit, we’ll discover that life is more enjoyable when we do it God’s way. We should try not to let every emotion dictate the direction of our day or decide our responses.
‘Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life’ (v.23 CEV). It can often be our thinking that influences our feelings. That’s why Paul wrote, ‘Capture every thought and make it…obey Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV). In other words, if a thought doesn’t line up with God’s Word, we mustn’t give it a voice or let it influence us.
‘We walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV). As Christians, we won’t always feel God’s presence. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the Emmaus road, but they didn’t recognise Him because they were preoccupied with the way they were feeling. So how did He lift them out of their negative emotions? He ‘began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures (Luke 24:27 NCV). So today, let’s resolve to be led only by God and His Word.
Job 5-7; Luke 18:1-17; Ps 19; Pro 8:6-7
Spreuke 4:23 NLV
Wanneer dit by die alledaagse lewe kom, kan jy volgens die onveranderende beginsels van God se Woord, of volgens jou gevoelens wat konstant verander, lewe. Wanneer jy volgens God se Woord leef, het jy stabiliteit. Wanneer jy volgens jou gevoelens leef, is dit soos ‘n tuimeltrein; een dag is jy op, die volgende dag is jy af.
God wil jou tot by emosionele volwassenheid bring, maar jy moet jou samewerking gee. Dit verg dat jy daagliks kies om dinge op sy manier, eerder as jou eie, te doen. Wanneer dit ‘n gewoonte word, sal jy ontdek dat die lewe baie meer plesierig is. ‘Bo alles, wees versigtig met wat in jou hart aangaan. Wat jy dink, bepaal alles wat jy doen’ (vers 23 NLV). Dis jou denke wat jou gevoelens produseer, nie andersom nie!
Dis hoekom Paulus skryf: ‘…Ons neem ook elke gedagte gevange om dit aan Christus gehoorsaam te maak’ (2 Korintiërs 10:5 NLV). Met ander woorde, as ‘n gedagte nie in lyn met God se Woord is nie, moenie dit ‘n stem gee nie. ‘…ons leef deur te glo en nie deur te sien nie’ (2 Korintiërs 5:7 NLV).
Dit mag dalk as ‘n verrassing kom, maar jy sal nie altyd God se teenwoordigheid as ‘n Christen aanvoel nie. Jesus het na sy opstanding aan twee van sy dissipels op die pad na Emmaus verskyn, maar hulle het Hom nie herken nie. Hoekom nie? Omdat hulle met hulle gevoelens besig was! Hoe het Hy hulle uit hulle negatiewe emosies uitgelig? ‘Hierna het Jesus begin om vanaf Moses en al die profete al die skrifgedeeltes wat oor Hom handel, vir hulle te interpreteer’ (Lukas 24:27 NLV). Jy moet slegs deur God se Woord gelei word.
Sielskos: Job 5-7; Luk 18:1-17; Ps 19; Spr 8:6-7
