2018-01-26
Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
Does a baby come into the world with a complex personality, or is that child a blank slate on which experience will write? In the past, behavioral scientists believed newborns had no temperamental or emotional characteristics upon arrival from the womb. Their little personalities were supposedly formed entirely by the experiences that came their way in ensuing years. But most parents knew better. Every mother of two or more children was convinced that each of her infants had a different personality – a different feel – from the very first time they were held. Now, after years of research, numerous authorities in child development acknowledge that those mothers were right. One important study identified nine characteristics that varied in babies – such as moodiness, level of activity, and responsiveness. They also found that the differences from child to child tended to persist into later life. Indeed, babies do differ in infinite ways that define our humanness and our individuality. If every snowflake that falls has its own design, and if every grain of sand at the seashore is unique, it makes no sense to suppose that children are assembly-line products stamped out by the same giant cookie cutter. There’s no denying the importance of environment and human experience in shaping who we are and how we think. But there can be no doubt that each person on earth is a one-of-a-kind creation from the earliest moments of life. As God told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” You need to know that about your children.
Soul food: Num 1-2; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 100; Prov 3:7-8
Jeremia 1:5 NLV
Kom ‘n baba in die wêreld met ‘n komplekse persoonlikheid, of is daardie kind ‘n skoon boek waarin ervaring sal skryf? In die verlede, het gedragswetenskaplikes geglo dat nuwe babas geen persoonlike of emosionele karaktereienskappe by geboorte het nie. Hulle klein persoonlikhede is glo heeltemal deur die opeenvolgende jare gevorm. Die meeste ouers het egter van beter geweet. Elke ma van twee of meer kinders was van die eerste keer wat sy hulle vasgehou het oortuig daarvan dat elkeen van haar babas verskillende persoonlikhede het. Nou, na jare se navorsing, het verskeie kenners in kinderontwikkeling erken dat daardie ma’s reg was. Een belangrike studie het nege karaktereienskappe wat by babas wissel, geïdentifiseer – soos buierigheid, vlak van aktiwiteit en hoe hulle reageer. Hulle het ook bevind dat hierdie selfde eienskappe steeds in latere jare by die kinders voorkom. Babas verskil inderwaarheid op onmeetbare maniere wat ons persoonlikheid en ons individualiteit definieer. As elke sneeuvlokkie wat val sy eie ontwerp het en elke korreltjie sand uniek is, maak dit geen sin om te dink dat kinders almal dieselfde sal wees nie. Ja, die omgewing en menslike ervarings speel ‘n baie belangrike rol om ons te vorm in wie ons is en hoe ons dink. Daar kan egter geen twyfel wees dat elke persoon op aarde ‘n unieke skepping van die eerste oomblikke van hulle lewens is nie. Soos God vir Jeremia gesê het: ‘Ek ken jou nog voordat jy gevorm is in die skoot van jou moeder. Voor jou geboorte al het Ek jou gekies…’ Jou kinders is almal uniek.
Sielskos: Num 1-2; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 100; Spr 3:7-8
2018-01-25
Kolossense 2:9 ABA
In sy boek Outlive your life, sê die skrywer Max Lucado dat die Griekse woord vir ‘geseënd’, makarios, die naam van ‘n eiland naby Griekeland was. Dit het as die ‘geseënde eiland’ bekend gestaan omdat dit so selfvoorsienend was. Die inwoners het nie nodig gehad om die eiland te verlaat om aan enige van hulle behoeftes te voldoen nie. Die natuurlike hulpbronne van hierdie eiland was so ryk dat alles wat jy nodig gehad het om die lewe te geniet, reeds daar was. Daar is les vir jou hieruit te leer. Die oomblik wat jy Christus as jou Verlosser aanneem, word Hy jou Koning en begin jy in sy koninkryk leef. Jy het nie nodig om dit te verlaat en iewers anders dit wat jy nodig het, te kry nie, omdat dit alles rondom jou in die eiland van seën is. Dis soos ‘n radio, jy moet net jouself instel en God se seën ontvang. Selfs al hou jou radio op werk, is daar egter steeds seine in die lug. Al wat jou radio doen is om die sein te ontvang en dit aan jou te lewer. Moet egter nie die radio meer krediet gee as wat dit verdien nie. Dis slegs ‘n punt van kontak vir die radioseine. Een van die redes hoekom ons nie God se seën in ons lewens herken nie, is omdat ons die afleweringsmetode met die bron daarvan verwar. As iets wonderbaarliks nie in ons skoot val nie, dink ons dat dit nie van God af kom nie. Nee, God sal jou op verskillende tye, deur verskillende mense, op verskillende maniere seën. Jy moet egter altyd onthou dat hulle net die draers van die seëning is, terwyl Hy die bron daarvan is (sien Psalm 31:19).
Sielskos: Jak 3-5; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 96; Spr 3:5-6
Colossians 2:9 NKJV
In his book Outlive Your Life, author Max Lucado says the Greek word for “blessed,” makarios, was the name of an island off Greece. It was known as “the blessed island” because it was self-contained. The residents didn’t need to leave it in order to get their needs met. The natural resources of this island were so rich that everything needed to enjoy life was already there. There’s a lesson here for you. The moment you trust in Christ as your Savior, He becomes your king and you begin living in His kingdom. You don’t have to leave it and go elsewhere to find what you need, because it’s all around you in the island of blessing. You don’t have to strive for God’s blessing; you simply have to “tune in” and receive it. It’s like your radio; there are no orchestras or newscasters inside it, it’s only a conduit and a point of contact. Even when your radio stops working, there are still signals in the air. All your radio does is receive the signal that comes from another source and deliver it to you. If you lose sight of that fact, you’ll give the radio more credit than it deserves. One of the reasons we don’t recognize the blessings of God in our lives is that we confuse the means of delivery with the source. If something doesn’t miraculously fall into our lap, we think it didn’t come from God. No, God will bless you at different times, through different people, in different ways. But you must always remember that they are only the carriers of blessing, while He is the source of it (See Psalm 31:19).
Soul food: James 3-5; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 96; Prov 3:5-6
2018-01-24
John 14:26 NIV
Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount with a striking story that addresses the gap between knowing and doing: “Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24 NIV). The problem is, we find is easier to be smart than to be good. You don’t need to know more about the Bible until you put into practice what you already know. John Ortberg says that when he taught tennis, unskilled novices would agonize over which racket to buy – whether to use nylon or gut strings, whether to string them up at sixty-five or seventy pounds. The problem was, they couldn’t even hit the ball. Instead of debating the minutiae, they simply needed to practice. But a word of caution here: You don’t become a “doer of the word” by drawing on your own strength and willpower. The Holy Spirit who dwells within you is referred to in Scripture as “the paraclete.” The word means “one who comes alongside to help.” When you decide to do what’s right, the Holy Spirit within you empowers you to do it. When a situation arises, He will prompt you as to what you should do. Jesus promised, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” You ask, “But what if I don’t get it right?” He will work with you, giving you opportunities until you do get it right.
Soul food: James 1-2; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 91; Prov 3:3-4
