2021-03-25
John 10:28 AMPC
Your salvation isn’t guaranteed by your performance – but by Christ’s performance at the cross. Yes, you’ll have moments you’re proud of and moments you’re ashamed of. But as long as your trust is in Christ, you’re saved, and you’ll go to heaven. Jesus said: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.” Even more, God stakes His claim on us. “By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge – a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete” (2 Corinthians 1:22 MSG).
You’ve done something similar: engraved your name on a valued ring, etched your identity on a tool or iPad. Stamping declares ownership. Through His Spirit, God stamps us. Would-be takers are repelled by the presence of His name. Satan is driven back by the declaration: Hands off. This redeemed child is mine! Where there’s no assurance of salvation, there’s no peace. No peace means no joy. And no joy results in fear-based lives.
Grace creates a confident soul who declares, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 NIV). Your boarding pass for the flight to heaven is secure: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NKJV). It’s not about your hold on God – but His hold on you!
Soul food: Job 38-39; Matt 25:22-30; Ps 38:13-22; Prov 8:24-26
2021-03-24
Deuteronomy 33:27 NLT
Do you ever go through times when you feel God’s deserted you? Today, let’s take a few minutes to reassure ourselves that God never leaves us.
Margaret Fishback Powers wrote the following poem: ‘One night I dreamed…I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord. When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set…I realised that this was at the lowest…times of my life. This always bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma. “Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk…with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.” He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”‘
Here are some Scriptures to hold on to: ‘The LORD himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry’ (Deuteronomy 31:8 NCV). ‘God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” So we can be sure when we say, “I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me”‘ (Hebrews 13:5-6 NCV).
Job 35-37; Matt 25:14-21; Ps 38:1-12; Prov 8:22-23
Deuteronomium 33:27 NLV
Dink na oor hierdie tydlose woorde deur Margaret Fishback Powers: ‘Een nag het ek ‘n droom gehad. Ek het gedroom dat ek op die strand loop en gebeure uit my verlede het voor my afgespeel. In elke toneel het ek twee rye voetspore in die sand gesien: myne en die Here Jesus s’n. Toe die laaste toneel voor my afspeel, het ek teruggekyk na die voetspore in die sand en merk toe op dat daar soms net een ry spore was. Dit was telkens gedurende die eensaamste en droewigste tye in my lewe! Dit het my gehinder en ek het gevra: ‘Here, toe ek begin het om U te volg, het U beloof dat U my nooit in die steek sal laat nie. Hoekom was daar dan net een ry spore gedurende daardie moeilike tye in my lewe? Ek kan nie verstaan waarom U, in die tye wat ek dit die nodigste gehad het, my verlaat het nie.’ Die Here het geantwoord: ‘My liewe kind! Ek het jou lief en sal jou nooit verlaat nie. Die tye wat jy net een ry spore gesien het, was die tye toe Ek jou gedra het.’
As jy nog versekering nodig het, lees hierdie twee Skrifgedeeltes: ‘…die Here is die Een wat voor jou uitgaan. Hy sal by jou wees. Hy sal jou nie in die steek laat nie en jou nie verlaat nie’ (Deuteronomium 31:8 NLV). “…Onthou dat God die versekering gegee het: ‘Ek sal jou nie los nie. Ek sal jou nie in die steek laat nie.’ Daarom kan ons moed skep en antwoord: ‘Die Here is my hulp, daarom sal ek nie bang wees nie. Wat kan nietige mensies my aandoen?'” (Hebreërs 13:5-6 NLV). Die woord vir jou vandag is – God is by jou.
Sielskos: Job 35-37; Matt 25:14-21; Ps 38:1-12; Spr 8:22-23
Deuteronomy 33:27 NLT
Consider these timeless words by Margaret Fishback Powers: “One night I dreamed…I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord. When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set…I realized that this was at the lowest…times of my life. This always bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma. ‘Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk…with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.’ He whispered, ‘My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you!'”
And if you need more reassurance, read these two Scriptures: “The Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not” (Deuteronomy 31:8 KJV). “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:5-6 KJV). The word for you today is – God is with you.
Soul food: Job 35-37; Matt 25:14-21; Ps 38:1-12; Prov 8:22-23
2021-03-23
Ecclesiastes 2:21 NLT
Ecclesiastes 2 isn’t the most cheerful Bible passage. It reflects the heart and mind of someone who feels like they can’t get any joy or meaning out of the world. A large part of their despair has to do with feeling as if they’d worked hard, only to have to give all of their riches away.
Read these verses: ‘I hated everything I had worked for on earth, because I must leave them to someone who will live after me…and I don’t know if he will be wise or foolish…So I became sad about all the hard work I had done here on earth. People can work hard using all their wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but they will die, and other people will get the things for which they worked…This is also unfair’ (Ecclesiastes 2:18-21 NCV).
We all know that it’s difficult to have perspective once you’re stuck in a rut of negative thinking, but we can take two positives here. Firstly, we work for God, not for gain. This is a reminder to correct our outlook. We’re not here to hoard riches, but to do good work for God. Secondly, we have a great opportunity to invest in others. Leaving everything to someone ‘who hasn’t worked for it’ is our chance to invest in future generations.
Overall, if we find our attitude towards work and money becoming negative, Ecclesiastes 2 is a reminder that that can make us bitter and miserable, and that it’s time to shift our focus. Be prepared to work hard for God, then let it all go.
Job 32-34; Matt 25:1-13; Ps 55:12-23; Prov 8:19-21
