2020-05-18
Psalm 84:12 NLV
Wat jy oor God en jou geld glo, sal bepaal hoe jy bid en waarvoor jy Hom vertrou. Jy sê: ‘Maar geld is die wortel van alle kwaad.’ Nee, die Bybel sê: ‘…die liefde vir geld is die wortel van alle soorte kwaad…’ (1 Timoteus 6:10 NLV). Dit beteken dat as jy ‘n gierigaard is, God nie vir jou nog sal gee nie. ‘Het sommige predikers nie al die Bybel gebruik om hulself te verryk nie?’ vra jy. Absoluut – en jy sal nie in hulle skoene wil staan wanneer hulle voor God verantwoording moet doen nie! Moet egter nie die baba saam met die badwater uitgooi nie. Die vraag is: Soek jy vir ‘n rede om aan God se beloftes te twyfel, of vir ‘n rede om in hulle te glo? Die Bybel sê: ‘…Hy sal die goeie nie weerhou van hulle wat doen wat reg is nie’ (Psalm 84:12 NLV). Ons almal kan saamstem dat om vir jou familie te sorg, bevordering te kry, jou kinders te laat leer en om aan ander mense se behoeftes te voldoen, ‘goeie’ dinge is. Wanneer jy dus ‘doen wat reg is’ voor God, kan jy verwag dat Hy jou sal seën. Johannes het geskryf: ‘Liewe vriend, ek hou aan bid dat dit in alle opsigte met jou goed mag gaan en dat jy nét so gesond sal wees soos dit geestelik goed met jou gaan’ (3 Johannes 2 NLV). Eers wanneer jou kinders volwasse is en verantwoordelikheid demonstreer, vertrou ons hulle met die sleutel van die familiekar, nie waar nie? Volwassenheid moet dus voorspoed vooruitgaan. Wanneer jy volwassenheid demonstreer, kan jy met vertroue na God toe gaan met die wete dat Hy aan jou behoeftes sal voldoen en jou sal seën. Die vraag is dus: Is jy besig om geestelik te groei en volwasse te word?
Sielskos: Jona 1-4; Mark 9:38-50; Ps 75; Spr 11:23
Matthew 6:24 NIV
Some people think that having money is wrong. But the Bible never says that. What it actually says is that ‘the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’ (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV). It’s not the accumulation of money that’s the problem, it’s the love we have for it. During the teachings known as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus taught: ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money’ (Matthew 6:24 NIV). He was basically saying that we can’t love God and love worldly things at the same time. God wants our whole heart. He doesn’t want to have a part of our love, while we give love to other things too. Jesus went on to teach that the greatest commandment is to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37 NIV). If we’re being honest, many of us don’t love God with undivided hearts. Other things take pieces of our hearts. Maybe it’s our relationships with others, our career, our hobbies, or our finances. While they are all important parts of our lives, loving God wholeheartedly means we don’t allow ourselves to be distracted and preoccupied by those things; instead we’re fully devoted to God. In order to do this, we need to protect our hearts from being taken over with love for other things. In Proverbs we’re told: ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it’ (4:23 NIV). If love for God is filling our hearts, everything else will fall into place. We’ll use our money well, we’ll have great relationships, and we’ll move forwards in life.
Jonah 1-4; Mark 9:38-50; Ps 75; Prov 11:23
2020-05-17
Isaiah 40:29 NKJV
When the battle continues to rage with no end in sight, you grow weary. Is that where you are today? Are things that once ran smoothly no longer working? Have you done all you know to do but it hasn’t helped? What should you do? Spend more time with God in prayer, and listen to Him as He speaks to you through His Word. As long as you don’t give up within, victory is assured without. It’s a matter of replenishing your strength by drawing on God’s strength, refocusing your faith toward victory, and ” [calling] to remembrance” God’s promises (Psalm 77:6 NKJV). When you feel overwhelmed by trouble in your marriage, your business, your health, your job, or your finances, stand on these two Bible promises: “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT). “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and…thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God…And he did rescue us…We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT). Instead of trying to escape the situation, seek God and He will give you strength and a strategy to come out of it stronger.
Soul food: Matt 4:12-16; Matt 5:14-16; Acts 9:1-19
Jesaja 40:29 NLV
Wanneer die stryd voortduur met geen einde in sig nie, raak jy moeg. Is dit waar jy vandag is? Werk dinge wat eers glad verloop het, nie meer nie? Het jy alles wat jy kon doen, gedoen, maar dit het nie gehelp nie? Wat moet jy doen? Spandeer meer tyd saam met God in gebed en luister na Hom as Hy deur sy Woord met jou praat. Jy moet jou kragte herwin deur op God se krag staat te maak, jou geloof teenoor oorwinning te herfokus en aan God se beloftes terug te dink (sien Psalm 77:6). Wanneer jy deur probleme in jou huwelik, jou besigheid, jou gesondheid, jou werk, of jou finansies oorweldig voel, kan jy op hierdie twee Bybelse beloftes staan: ‘Hy gee krag aan dié wat moeg is. Hy maak die kragteloses sterk. Selfs jongmense raak uitgeput en afgemat. Baie jongmense struikel en val. Maar dié wat hulle hoop op die Here stel, sal hulle krag terugkry. Hulle vlieg hoog, soos arende. Hulle sal hardloop en nie moeg word nie. Hulle sal loop en nooit vermoeid word nie’ (Jesaja 40:29-31 NLV). ‘…ons is ver bo ons kragte belas, met die gevolg dat ons selfs moed verloor het om te bly lewe. Dit het eintlik vir ons gevoel of ons die doodsvonnis ontvang het sodat ons nie op onsself sou vertrou nie, maar op dié God wat die dooies opwek. Dit is Hy wat ons van só ‘n groot doodsgevaar gered het en ons weer sal red. Hý is ons verwagting; Hy sal ons altyd weer red’ (2 Korintiërs 1:8-10 NLV). In plaas daarvan om te probeer om uit die situasie te ontsnap, vra na God en Hy sal vir jou die krag en ‘n strategie gee om sterker anderkant uit te kom.
Sielskos: Matt 4:12-16; Matt 5:14-16; Hand 9:1-19
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
When we’ve been walking through a tough time for a while, we can sometimes feel like our strength is fading away. We become tired and weary of hoping for change. Our faith begins to waver. It’s in these times that we need to draw closer to God. That might feel like the last thing we want to do if we’re wondering why God hasn’t brought us out of the struggle yet, but it’s the best thing we can do. It’s God who can provide the strength we need to keep going until we see breakthrough. The Bible tells us many times that God’s our strength. The psalmist wrote, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1 ESV). God’s strength is something we’re promised. God says: ‘I will strengthen you, I will help you.’ It’s a definite. When we feel overwhelmed by the circumstances in our lives, we can go to God and find rest. We can spend time in His presence, reading His Word, giving Him our burdens. He walks every step with us, strengthening us and encouraging us to keep going, even when it seems unbearably tough. Paul said: ‘We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God…And he did rescue us…We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us’ (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT). Instead of trying to escape our situations, we need to seek God. He’ll give us the strength we need to keep going through the struggle.
Matt 4:12-16; Matt 5:14-16; Acts 9:1-19
