2020-12-15
Psalm 119:104 NLT
‘Only the LORD gives wisdom; he gives knowledge and understanding’ (Proverbs 2:6 NCV). True understanding is a gift that only God can give, and He gives it to us through His Word. The psalmist wrote, ‘Your commandments give me understanding.’ The Bible helps us to gain understanding and to begin to interpret life the way God does. In a letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, ‘Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this’ (2 Timothy 2:7 NIV).
As we immerse ourselves in Scripture, God speaks to us. He’s saying, ‘This is how I see it, and this is how I want you to see it.’ He gives us His insight into the situation. And we can use that insight to help us in everyday life.
There are a lot of self-help books out there, which are designed to help us improve all kinds of areas of our lives. They’re often written by experts in a particular field, and some of them contain very good advice. But when we turn to the Bible, we’re getting direct access to God’s authority and wisdom. There’s so much to discover in the Bible – we can find wisdom and advice about money, relationships, work, prayer, what to do when we feel worried or fearful, and how to deal with bad habits and sins. Psalm 119:9 says, ‘How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word’ (NIV).
Whatever we’re facing in our lives, let’s resolve to make God and His Word the first place we turn to for advice and wisdom to handle the situations we find ourselves in.
Neh 5-7; John 19:31-42; Ps 105:23-36; Prov 30:15-19
2020-12-14
Spreuke 1:5 NLV
Om sukses in die lewe te behaal, moet jy persoonlike groei een van jou hoogste prioriteite maak. Die feit is dat jy nooit stilstaan nie. Jy beweeg vorentoe of agtertoe, jy strek of jy stagneer. Kom ons neem ‘n oomblik om te dink oor wat gebeur wanneer jy jouself toelaat om te stagneer.
Jy verloor jou invloed. Soek vriende jou raad en tree dan daarvolgens op? Waardeer jou kollegas jou opinie? As jy nie op ‘n gereelde basis nuwe idees en inligting na die tafel toe bring nie, sal mense dit êrens anders begin soek en sal jy eenkant toe geskuif word. Vandag se besighede beweeg teen die spoed van lig. Nuwe idees, tegnologie, leierskapstegnieke, finansiële modelle, verkoopsbeginsels en maniere om te kommunikeer word konstant ondersoek, bespreek, geëvalueer en getoets. Maatskappye soek mense wat nie outomate is nie. Hulle soek mense met oorspronklike idees, mense wat verby die alledaagse interaksies in die werksplek kan kyk en met nuwe oplossings tevore kan kom. Wees die persoon waarna hulle gaan wanneer dit by antwoorde en idees kom. Wees die persoon wat weet hoe om nuwe inligting te bekom en wat innoverende insigte en perspektiewe kan lewer.
As jy jou oë en ore oophou en versigtig luister, sal jy ontdek dat daar goeie idees reg rondom jou is. Jy sal ‘n honderd mense kry wat ‘n goeie idee kan bestuur, vir elke persoon wat met ‘n goeie idee vorendag kan kom. As jy nie besluite, rigtings of mense beïnvloed nie, moet jy onmiddellik ‘n plan vir persoonlike groei implementeer.
Salomo, wat dikwels die wysste man (na Christus) wat nog ooit gelewe het, genoem word, het gesê: ‘Selfs hulle wat wys is, kan luister na die spreuke sodat hulle tot dieper insig kan kom…’
Sielskos: Neh 1-4; Joh 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Spr 30:10-14
Proverbs 1:5 NIV
To succeed in life you must make personal growth one of your highest priorities. The fact is, you never stand still. You’re either going forward or backward, stretching or stagnating. Let’s take a moment and think about what happens when you allow yourself to stagnate.
You lose your influence. Do your friends seek your advice and then act on it? Do your coworkers value your opinion? If you’re not bringing new ideas and information to the table on a regular basis, people will start looking elsewhere and you’ll end up becoming marginalized.
Today’s businesses move at the speed of light. New ideas, technology, leadership techniques, financial models, sales principles, and ways to communicate are constantly being scrutinized, discussed, evaluated, and tested. Company leadership is looking for men and women who aren’t automatons. They’re looking for original thinkers, people who can look beyond normal everyday workplace interactions and find new solutions.
Become the “go-to person” when it comes to answers and ideas. Be the one who knows how to find new information, and who can provide innovative insights and perspectives. If you keep your eyes and ears open, your mind alert, and listen carefully, you’ll discover that great ideas are all around you. You’ll find a hundred people who can manage a good idea, for every one person who can come up with that good idea.
If you’re not influencing decisions, directions, or people, you need to implement a plan for personal growth – immediately! Solomon, who is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, said, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”
Soul food: Neh 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
Proverbs 1:5 NIV
Solomon, who is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, said, ‘Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.’ If we want to achieve all our God-given potential, we must make personal growth one of our highest priorities.
When water stays still for a long time, it becomes stagnant. And when we stop growing and stay in one place, we can stagnate too. Let’s take a moment to think about what happens when we allow ourselves to stand still and stagnate.
1) We lose our creativity. As we learn and discover new things, it opens up new connections. When we stop growing, we’re relying on old knowledge and old ideas, which makes it difficult for us to come up with fresh, innovative ideas.
2) We lose our influence. Friends, family or colleagues who used to seek out and value our opinion might stop coming to us for help and advice. As we saw in the first point, when we stop learning and growing, we lose a lot of our ability to bring new, creative ideas and solutions, so people will start to look elsewhere for advice.
3) We can’t reach our full potential. We might wonder why we’re stuck stacking chairs or making the coffee when we want to be leading a Bible study group or leading worship. Sometimes God will keep us in one place for a reason, but we also need to ask ourselves if it’s because we’re not putting in the effort to learn and grow the skills we need.
With God’s help, we’re capable of doing so much for His kingdom. But if we stop growing, God can’t give us the more skilful tasks He’d planned for us.
Neh 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
2020-12-13
Spreuke 4:18 NLV
Phil Cooke skryf: ‘Groei is wat ons met kennis doen. Groei is waar ons ons kennis neem, hoe ons dit toepas en hoe ons dit in ons alledaagse lewe gebruik. Die leierskapskundige, John Maxwell, het my lank gelede geleer om my uitgangspunt van doelwitte na groei te verander. Dit was ‘n openbaring. Ek het altyd geleer dat doelwitte belangrik was en ek het ‘n sisteem gebruik waar ek oor en oor doelwitte probeer bereik het, maar aanhoudend daarmee gesukkel het. Ek kan sien dat doelwitte baie mense motiveer, maar dit het my leeg en onbevredig laat voel.
Toe John my egter wys hoe om my aandag op groei te fokus, het alles skielik in plek geval. Die proses het my geleer dat doelwitte goed is, maar wanneer ons ‘n doelwit bereik, is dit klaar.
Groei is egter ‘n nimmereindigende proses – waar jy altyd leer, altyd vorentoe beweeg en altyd presteer. Ek hoop dat wanneer ek die einde van my lewe bereik, daar ‘n paar goeie boeke op my bedkassie sal wees, want ek wil tot met my laaste asem nog leer en groei.
Kyk na mense in jou vriendekring. Hoekom behaal party van hulle sukses, terwyl ander stagneer? Hoekom beweeg sommige van hulle na hoër prestasievlakke, terwyl ander jare lank op dieselfde plek bly? Baie mense blameer die sisteem, die maatskappy of hulle baas. Hulle blameer die samelewing, hulle opvoeding of hulle verlede. ‘n Lewenslange plan vir groei kan egter grense breek en amper enige struikelblok oorkom.’
Die Bybel stel dit so: ‘Die pad van die regverdiges is soos die lig met dagbreek. Dit word al helderder totdat die volle dag aanbreek.’
Sielskos: Eseg 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Tess 4:13-18
