2020-04-05
Mark 10:27 NIV
Ever been struggling with something, or waiting for something to happen, and someone quotes the verse ‘all things are possible with God’? While it can be a great encouragement to us, it’s important to add some context, otherwise we can end up feeling disappointed and disillusioned if the things we’re hoping and praying for don’t happen. Firstly, we need to remember that it says ‘all things are possible’, not ‘all things will happen’. Just because something is possible, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for us. While God might be able to change our situation or give us the thing we’re praying for, He might not. That’s not because He’s trying to assert authority over us or because He doesn’t love us. It’s because He knows what’s best for us and can see the bigger picture. Secondly, this verse is found in a conversation about being saved by God. A rich young man came to Jesus and asked Him how he could have eternal life. Jesus taught the people that entering God’s kingdom was challenging. He said, ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’ (Mark 10:24 NIV). The disciples exclaimed: ‘Who then can be saved?’ (v.26 NIV). That’s when Jesus said that all things are possible with God. We can’t earn our salvation. We will never be good enough to enter God’s kingdom. But because of Jesus, we can have eternal life. He’s made it possible for us to enter the kingdom. So while it’s true that ‘all things are possible with God,’ let’s remember the context around this verse, thank Jesus for what He’s done, and be grateful that God wants the best for us.
Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
Mark 10:27 NKJV
When you label something as being “impossible,” three things happen: (1) By giving in to the fear of failure you kill your own faith and motivation. (2) You risk settling for less than God wants you to have. (3) By excluding God from the equation you cut yourself off from the greatest power in the universe. When oil prices went through the roof in the 1970’s, automobile makers were ordered to build more fuel-efficient cars. One manufacturer asked a group of senior engineers to drastically reduce the weight of cars they were designing. They worked on the problem and searched for solutions, but they finally concluded that making lighter cars couldn’t be done, would be too expensive, and would present too many safety concerns. What was the automakers’ solution? They gave the problem to a group of less experienced engineers, and the new group found ways to reduce the weight of the companies’ automobiles by hundreds of pounds. Why? Because they believed solving the problem was possible – and it was. Every time you remove the label of impossible from a task, and include God in it, you raise your potential from “average” to “off-the-charts.” George Bernard Shaw said, “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?'” Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” In the natural world, you may not be able to accomplish it. But when you step into the realm of the supernatural, God adds His “super” to your “natural,” and what seems impossible becomes possible.
Soul food: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
Markus 10:27 NLV
Wanneer jy iets as ‘onmoontlik’ etiketteer, gebeur drie dinge: 1) Deur aan vrees vir mislukking toe te gee, vermoor jy jou eie geloof en motivering. 2) Jy loop die risiko om met minder as wat God vir jou wil gee, tevrede te wees. 3) Deur God uit die situasie te haal, sny jy jouself van die grootste mag in die heelal af. Toe die olieprys in die 1970’s deur die dak geskiet het, is motorvervaardigers beveel om motors te bou wat meer brandstofdoeltreffend is. Een vervaardiger het ‘n groep senior ingenieurs gevra om die gewig van die karre wat hulle ontwerp, drasties te verlaag. Hulle het aan die probleem gewerk en vir oplossings gesoek, maar op die ou einde tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat ligter karre nie gebou kon word nie, dat dit te duur sou wees en te veel veiligheidsrisiko’s sou veroorsaak. Wat was die vervaardiger se oplossing? Hy het dieselfde probleem aan ‘n groep ingenieurs met minder ervaring gegee en hulle het maniere gevind om die maatskappy se motors met honderde kilogramme ligter te maak. Hoekom? Omdat hulle geglo het dat hulle die probleem sou kon oplos. Elke keer wat jy die ‘onmoontlike’ etiket van ‘n taak verwyder en God daarby betrek, verhoog jy jou potensiaal. George Bernard Shaw het gesê: “Sommige mense sien dinge soos dit is en vra: ‘Hoekom?’ Ek droom dinge wat nog nooit was nie en vra: ‘Hoekom nie?'” Jesus het gesê: ‘Menslik gesproke is dit onmoontlik, maar nie by God nie. Alles is by God moontlik!’ In die natuurlike wêreld sal jy dit dalk nie kan bereik nie. Wanneer jy egter die gebied van die bo-natuurlike betree, waar God by jou oplossing betrek word, word die onmoontlike moontlik.
Sielskos: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
2020-04-04
Psalm 31:12 NIV
When your mate breaks your marriage vows, it can break your heart. And after the initial shock wears off, your driving desire can be to hurt them in return. So what should you do instead? (1) Take time to process your emotions. A quick, “I forgive you,” or just sweeping things under the rug, will sabotage any hope of rebuilding a strong relationship. (2) If your mate is a habitual betrayer who wants to live as he or she pleases, God’s Word gives you the right to be set free from them. But don’t move too quickly. Ask yourself if work and family pressures may have caused you to neglect each other. Did you inadvertently open a door for the Enemy? These are hard questions – but they must be answered, because the decision you make is one you will live with for the rest of your life. You may not believe it right now, but God can make a good marriage out of a bad mess. Yes, it will take time – trust can only be rebuilt slowly. And that means: (a) Learning to be sensitive to one another. (b) Acknowledging that your mate may need detailed accountability, and you may have to go the extra mile to rebuild the trust that was lost. But it can happen. “The righteous cry out…the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:17-18 NKJV). God can turn your situation around. If you’ll work with Him – He’ll work with you.
Soul food: 2 Thes 1-3; Matt 27:1-10; Ps 32; Prov 9:10-16
Psalm 31:12 NCV
Ever gone through something that has left you feeling broken? Maybe you feel like you’ve been shattered into tiny pieces. Maybe you’re trying to stop the cracks appearing in your life from getting worse? When we’re feeling broken, we can feel useless, worthless, and ashamed. The psalmist felt like this; he wrote: ‘I am like a piece of a broken pot. I am forgotten as if I were dead.’ Broken pots aren’t very useful. Pots are supposed to hold things, but if they’re broken or cracked then they can’t fulfil their purpose. They become ignored, hidden away at the back of a cupboard, or thrown out and replaced with something new. This broken pot analogy is used a number of times in the book of Jeremiah. He wrote: ‘Jehoiachin is like a broken pot someone threw away; he is like something no one wants’ (Jeremiah 22:28 NCV). We can sometimes feel that we’re broken beyond repair, cast aside, and unwanted. Maybe we even feel that God can’t use us because we’re too broken, and our lives are too much of a mess. But God’s close to those who are broken. The Bible says: ‘The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed’ (Psalm 34:18 NCV). He doesn’t abandon us when we’re broken, He comes close to us. We might feel like hiding our broken pieces, but He wants to come and bring beauty from them. The Japanese have a tradition called kintsugi, where they mend their broken pottery using gold. This not only makes the pottery useable again, but it also increases its worth. When we let God into our brokenness, He reminds us how much we’re worth to Him. And He can turn everything that’s been broken into something beautiful.
2 Thes 1-3; Matt 27:1-10; Ps 32; Prov 9:10-16
