2019-02-03
Galasiërs 6:2 NLV
Almal wat jy ontmoet, steek iets weg. Nie omdat hulle jou wil mislei nie, maar omdat sommige wonde net te persoonlik is om oor te praat. Wanneer jy ‘n harde woord van jou man se kant af kry, kan die pyn te diep wees om dit te bespreek. Of wanneer jou man giftige woorde van jou hoor, kry hy seer maar kan dit nie wys nie. Dus gaan lek beide van julle julle wonde en probeer om aanmerkings en vrae van ander mense te vermy. Is dit waar jy vandag is? Sukkel jy met iets wat te moeilik is om oor te praat? As dit die geval is, onthou dat ander mense dieselfde doen! Dikwels is hulle woede ‘n simptoom van hulle seer en steek hulle afsydigheid net ‘n vrees vir verwerping weg. Jesus het die beste in mense gesien en uit sy pad gegaan om teenoor hulle genadig te wees en hulle laste te probeer verminder. Onthou jy hoe Hy die vrou wat owerspel gepleeg het, hanteer het? (sien Johannes 8:1-11). Hy het haar opgehef, omdat daar tussen onkruid ‘n potensiële roos kan wees! Herinner jouself dat ander mense deur dinge gaan wat hulle nie met jou bespreek nie. Hulle stort trane wat jy nie kan sien nie en voel geïsoleerd op maniere wat jy jou nie kan indink nie. Probeer dus om hulle las ligter te maak, nie om daar toe by te dra nie. Jy mag dalk die enigste geneser wees wat vandag hulle pad kruis. Wanneer jy hulle las ligter maak, sal God joune ook ligter maak. Die Bybel sê, ‘Julle weet mos dat die Here elke mens wat sy werk goed doen, sal beloon…’ (Efesiërs 6:8 NLV). Vra God om jou vandag ‘n lasdraer te maak.
Sielskos: Eks 16:1-35; Joh 6:30-40
Galatians 6:2 NIV
Everyone you meet is hiding something, and it’s not because they’re deceptive. It’s because some wounds are too personal to talk about. When you receive a harsh word from your husband, the pain can be too deep to discuss. Or when your husband hears acid words from you, he’s crushed inside but can’t show it. So you both go off to lick your wounds, and try to avoid comments and questions from others. Is that where you are today – struggling with something too difficult to talk about? If so, remember other people are doing the same! Often their anger is a symptom of their hurt, and their seeming aloofness is just hiding their fear of being known and perhaps rejected. Jesus saw the best in people, and He went out of His way to be gracious to them and lift their burdens. Do you remember how He treated the woman caught in the act of adultery? (See John 8:1-11). He lifted her up, because with Him every weed is a potential rose! Remind yourself that others are going through things they’re not discussing with you. They’re crying tears you don’t see and feeling isolated in ways you can’t imagine. So instead of adding to their burden, try to ease it. You may be the only healer that crosses their path today. And when you help lift their burden – God will lift yours. The Bible says, “Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:8). Today, ask God to make you a burden bearer.
Soul food: Exo 16:1-35; John 6:30-40
2019-02-02
Spreuke 30:8 NLV
Wanneer jy daaroor besin, kan jou rykdom op twee maniere bepaal word: óf die hoeveelheid wat jy besit, óf die hoeveelheid waarmee jy tevrede is. Baie van die huidige skuldkrisis is deur ons onvermoë om met genoeg tevrede te wees, veroorsaak. In ‘n briljante deel van Spreuke vind ons hierdie gebed: ‘Twee dinge wil ek van U vra. Moenie dit weier solank ek leef nie. In die eerste plek, keer tog dat ek lieg. In die tweede plek, laat my nie arm of ryk wees nie. Gee asseblief vir my net dit wat reg is. As ek te veel het, sal ek U verloën en vra: ‘Nou wie is die Here?’ As ek te arm is, sal ek steel en God se Naam beswadder’ (verse 7-9 NLV). Na aanleiding van hierdie Skrifgedeelte, moet ons die volgende ses riglyne volg wanneer ons geld wil leen. Skuld is verkeerd: 1) Wanneer jy dit nie op ‘n tydige basis kan terugbetaal nie. 2) Wanneer dit jou daarvan weerhou om God se regmatige deel vir Hom te gee. 3) Wanneer die skuldlas so swaar is dat jy nie vir die toekoms kan spaar nie. 4) Wanneer dit vir die luukshede in die lewe gebruik word. 5) Wanneer jy ander mense in gevaar stel deur hulle vir jou te laat borg staan (sien Spreuke 6:1-5). 6) Wanneer dit jou huwelik onder finansiële druk plaas. Die finansiële kundige, Larry Burkett, het gesê dat skuld die motiverende faktor in amper 80 persent van alle skeisake is. Dit beteken egter nie dat jy nie familieprobleme sal hê as jy ryk is nie. Dit beteken eenvoudig dat wanneer jy geld eerste en jou familie tweede stel, dit jou niks meer as ‘n ryk mislukking kan maak nie. Voor jy dus geld leen, bid en vra God vir wysheid.
Sielskos: Gen 7-9; Luk 7:36-50; Ps 111; Spr 3:29-30
Proverbs 30:8 NLT
When you think about it, you can be rich in one of two ways: either in how much you have, or in how little you want. Much of the recent debt crisis has been caused by our failure to be satisfied with enough. In a brilliant section of Proverbs penned by the mysterious Agur, we find this prayer: “O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name'” (vv. 7-9 NLT). Having read that, always try to observe these six rules when it comes to borrowing. Debt is wrong: (1) When it’s beyond your ability to repay it on a timely basis. (2) When it prevents you from giving God what’s rightfully His. (3) When the burden of debt is so heavy that you can’t save for the future. (4) When it’s used to pay for the luxuries of life. (5) When you put others at risk by having them cosign a note (See Proverbs 6:1-6). (6) When it puts your marriage under financial pressure. Financial expert Larry Burkett said credit is the motivating factor for perhaps 80 percent of all divorces. That’s not to say being rich guarantees you’ll never have family problems. It’s simply saying that putting money first and your family second can make you nothing more than a wealthy failure. So before you borrow, pray and ask God for wisdom.
Soul food: Gen 7-9; Luke 7:36-50; Ps 111; Prov 3:29-30
2019-02-01
1 Thessalonians 4:18 TM
In the movie Heaven Is for Real, Colton Burpo was only four years old when he survived an emergency appendectomy. Over the next few months, he talked of his visit to heaven. He described exactly what his parents were doing during the surgery, and told stories of people he had met in heaven – people he had never met on earth or been told about. He told his mother, “You had a baby die in your tummy, didn’t you?” His parents had never mentioned the miscarriage; he was too young to process it. His mother asked, “Who told you I had a baby die in my tummy?” He replied, “She did, Mommy. She said she died in your tummy.” Then he added, “It’s okay, Mommy. She’s okay. God adopted her.” His mother said, “Don’t you mean Jesus adopted her?” He replied, “No, Mommy, His dad did!” His mother’s eyes lit up and she asked, “What was her name? What was the little girl’s name?” Four-year-old Colton said, “She doesn’t have a name. You guys didn’t name her.” And he had one more memory. He shared it before he went out to play: “Yeah, she said she can’t wait for you and Daddy to get to heaven.” And right now someone in heaven is saying the same thing about you, looking forward to the day when God’s family is back together. And shouldn’t we be doing the same? The Bible says, “Then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.”
Soul food: Gen 4-6; Luke 7:24-35; Ps 107:33-43; Prov 3:27-28
