2021-04-06
Joshua 24:15 NCV
If we want to stay on God’s path, it’s a good idea for us to set out our priorities as soon as we can, and then make a conscious decision to maintain them every day. Here’s why:
1) It means we don’t have to keep re-establishing them. When we’re thinking about our priorities, we need to involve God and ask Him to help us set them. That way, we can make sure our priorities line up with His will, and we won’t need to keep changing them because we’ve chosen the wrong things.
2) It helps take the emotion out of our decisions. If we’re not careful, we can make a life-altering decision based on a temporary situation or feeling rather than God’s will. By setting out our life’s priorities first, we can make decisions without our emotions manipulating and controlling us. Plus, we’re more likely to set them with integrity. Joshua did that: ‘As for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.’
3) It makes managing our lives easier. Once we nail down what’s important to us, we can live based on those priorities. For example, someone who’s inclined to procrastinate or do their work half-heartedly might decide to break that habit by basing one of their priorities on 1 Corinthians 10:31: ‘Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’ (NIV). Once they’ve decided to put God first in their work, they’ll find it easier to be enthusiastic about the tasks they need to do.
It takes prayer and perseverance, but once we decide and ‘commit [our] actions to the LORD…[our] plans will succeed’ (Proverbs 16:3 NLT). He’ll give us the strength each day to live by our decisions.
Lev 8-10; Matt 28:16-20; Ps 72:12-20; Prov 9:7-9
Josua 24:15 NLV
Mense wat sukses in die lewe behaal, bepaal hulle prioriteite vroeg en handhaaf hulle daagliks. Dis ‘n goeie idee om twee redes:
1) Dit neem die emosie daaruit. As jy nie versigtig is nie, kan jy ‘n lewensveranderende besluit op ‘n tydelike situasie baseer, in plaas daarvan om dit op God se wil te baseer. Wanneer jy jou prioriteite vir jou lewe betyds bepaal, kan jy dit doen sonder emosies wat jou manipuleer en jou beheer. Jy sal ook meer geneig wees om hulle met integriteit vas te stel. Josua het dit gedoen: ‘…Ek en my huisgesin sal die Here aanbid.’
2) Dit maak dit makliker om jou lewe te bestuur. Sodra jy dit wat vir jou belangrik is besluit het, kan jy volgens daardie beginsels begin lewe. Kom ons sê jy is ‘n kompulsiewe dobbelaar wat besluit om op te hou. Jou taak word dan om jou lewe in lig van daardie besluit in te rig. Dit beteken dat jy nie meer by die perderesies kan uithang of by Sun City kan vakansie hou nie. Of, kom ons sê dat jy ‘n beter huwelik wil bou: dit mag dalk beteken dat jy minder tyd by die werk of op die golfbaan deurbring en ‘n weeklikse afspraak met jou eggenoot maak om te gaan uiteet.
Dit verg eerlikheid, gebore in gebed, om te weet wat jou ware kwessies is en om daarvolgens goeie besluite te maak. Dit neem ook karakter en volharding om deur te druk wanneer daardie besluite gemaak is. Die wonderlike ding is dat wanneer jy jou besluit geneem het, kan jy weet dat: ‘Alles wat jy doen, moet jy opdra aan die Here, dan sal jou planne slaag’ (Spreuke 16:3 NLV). Hy sal jou die krag gee om elke dag volgens jou besluite te lewe.
Sielskos: Lev 8-10; Matt 28:16-20; Ps 72:12-20; Spr 9:7-9
2021-04-05
Revelation 2:5 NCV
In the book of Revelation, Jesus gave these words to the Ephesian church: ‘I know you do not put up with the false teachings of evil people…You have patience and have suffered troubles for my name and have not given up. But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you do not change, I will come to you and will take away your lampstand from its place’ (Revelation 2:2-5 NCV).
When we first become Christians, we can be full of excitement at the thought of our new life with God. We want to spend time in His presence, listening to everything He has to say to us. We feel refreshed and strengthened after our prayer times. We’re hungry for His Word – it’s filled with fresh insights that nourish our souls and challenge us to go deeper with Him. We can’t wait to tell others about Jesus.
But we can find that some of our enthusiasm fades as daily life takes over. We can reach the same point that the Ephesians reached when Jesus spoke to them. They hadn’t turned away from God, but their love for Him had faded.
If we find ourselves at that point in our relationship with God, it’s important that we take some time to slow down and renew our love for Him. He can’t be conveniently fitted into the framework of our complicated lives; He is the framework of our lives. We need to choose to put Him first, and keep Him there.
Lev 5-7; Matt 28:11-15; Ps 72:1-11; Prov 9:1-6
2021-04-04
John 20:7 NLT
In Bible days when you wanted a fine piece of furniture made, you picked someone with a reputation for excellence – a master carpenter or a finish carpenter. But these carpenters had an interesting custom. When a carpenter completed a job, he took off his apron, folded it up, and set it on his finished work, signifying the job was complete.
So with that picture in mind, read this: ‘Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved….Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed – for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead’ (John 20:1-9 NLT).
Did you notice the words ‘the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up’? The master carpenter had finished the job. Our salvation was complete. That means we don’t have to work to be saved. We only have to put our trust in Christ, and our sins are forgiven and our place in heaven is assured.
1 Cor 15; Matt 28:1-10
2021-04-03
1 Corinthians 15:17 NCV
In 1 Corinthians 15 we read these words from Paul: ‘If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing. And also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified of him that he raise Christ from the dead…And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins’ (v.14-17 NCV). How can we be sure that Jesus was resurrected? Let’s take a look at some of the evidence.
Mark 16, John 20, and Matthew 28 all give accounts of Jesus appearing first to women after He was resurrected. In those times, women were often considered to be less reliable witnesses than men, and their testimony didn’t carry as much weight. If the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection were made up, they would have been more believable to people of that time if the writers had said Jesus appeared to men first. Therefore many biblical scholars believe that women being the first witnesses points to the truth of the resurrection accounts.
There’s also the number of accounts of Jesus appearing to different people in different circumstances. As well as the women, He appeared to the twelve disciples, to Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus, and 1 Corinthians 15:6 tells us that he appeared to 500 people at the same time. But for us, the best proof of His resurrection can be seen in how He changes lives.
Paul wrote: ‘You have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you’ (Romans 8:10-11 NLT).
Num 21:4-9; Matt 27:51-66; Ps 69:7-21; Deut 21:22-23
2021-04-02
Colossians 1:20 MSG
In some churches, on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Good Friday) the church is stripped of all flowers, statues and decorations. Any that can’t be moved are covered up with plain cloth, and the church is left empty and bare.
During the Good Friday services, the solemn room reflects the sadness and despair that Jesus’ followers must have felt when He was crucified, and helps people in the church to understand the seriousness of Jesus’ sacrifice. But when Easter Sunday comes, a transformation has happened – all the decorations have been returned, and the church is filled with flowers and colour, celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and victory over death. It’s a powerful visual reminder of how God can change a bleak situation into one that’s full of celebration.
We might think it’s strange to call Good Friday ‘good’ – it seems so far from that – but as soon as we experience the Easter Sunday joy of Jesus’ resurrection, we see how God can bring good out of even the worst times.
If you’re struggling and waiting to see the ‘good’ in your situation at the moment, focus on these words: ‘He was supreme in the beginning and – leading the resurrection parade – he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe – people and things, animals and atoms – get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross’ (Colossians 1:18-20 MSG).
Gen 22:1-18; Matt 26:69-27:50; Ps 22; Isa 53
