2021-06-14
John 4:35 NIV
Jesus said, ‘Don’t you have a saying, “It’s still four months until harvest”?…open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’ Someone close to you today might be in desperate need of God’s love. And the fact is, you might be the only Christian they’ll meet – or meet today. So if you don’t tell them, who will? There are five main reasons we don’t share our faith more often.
1) We think it’s a pastor’s job to do it – but Acts 8:1 says: ‘When the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses’ (NCV).
2) We aren’t certain about our own salvation – but 1 John 5:13 says: ‘I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life’ (NCV).
3) We’re afraid of being rejected – but Jesus said: ‘If the world hates you, remember it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world’ (John 15:18-19 NLT).
4) We’ve never taken personal responsibility for learning how to share our faith – but 1 Peter 3:15 says: ‘If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it’ (NLT).
5) Our love for Christ has grown cold – but Joel 2:13 says: ‘Come back to the Lord your God, because he is kind and shows mercy. He doesn’t; become angry quickly and he has great love’ (NCV).
Today, someone’s eternal destiny could rest on your willingness to share God’s love with them. That’s your God-given assignment – to tell them about Jesus.
2 Ki 18:17-20:21; Mark 16:1-20; Ps 80:12-19; Prov 13:13-16
2021-06-13
Galatians 5:17 CEV
The Bible says: ‘If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies…always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should’ (vv. 16-17 CEV). The battle between our old and our new natures is constant, so here are four keys to winning the struggle each day:
1) Be honest. Acknowledge that your flesh will always crave satisfaction in the wrong things – and it never takes a day off.
2) Be humble. Acknowledge that you’re powerless to win the battle without God’s help. By committing yourself to God, you draw on His strength in those first crucial moments of each test. And your ability to do that will grow as you practise this spiritual discipline. The closer you draw to God, the stronger you become when faced with temptation and trouble.
3) Be disciplined. This is a personal matter; no one else can do it for you. Paul writes, ‘You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives’ (Romans 6:12 MSG). If someone else has to restrain you, it doesn’t work.
4) Be alert. As a soldier David should have known better, but Satan caught him off guard with his defences down. As a result he ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba, then having her husband put to death in an attempt to cover it up. When someone sins, we can often think ‘That wouldn’t happen to me.’ But the moment we let our guard drop, we leave ourselves vulnerable to attack, even in the areas we think we’re strongest.
So let’s make the decision to stay close to God and not allow our old natures even a foothold in our daily lives.
Gen 11:1-9; Phil 2:1-11
Galasiërs 5:17 NLV
Die Bybel sê: ‘…Laat julle leefstyl eerder deur die Gees bepaal word. Dan sal julle glad nie aan die begeertes van julle sondige geaardheid toegee nie. ‘n Mens se sondige geaardheid wil dinge doen wat teen die Gees is, en die Gees wil dinge doen wat teen jou sondige geaardheid is, want hulle is mekaar se vyande’ (vers 17 NLV). Klink dit bekend? Hier is vier maniere om die daaglikse stryd tussen jou ou en nuwe geaardheid te oorwin.
1) Wees eerlik. Erken dat jou vlees altyd na bevrediging in die verkeerde dinge sal smag.
2) Wees nederig. Erken dat jy magteloos is om die stryd sonder God se hulp te wen. Deur jouself aan God oor te gee, ontvang jy sy krag in daardie eerste deurslaggewende oomblikke van elke toets. Hoe nader jy aan God beweeg, hoe sterker sal jy word wanneer jy voor versoeking en moeilikheid te staan kom.
3) Wees gedissiplineerd. Dit is ‘n persoonlike kwessie; niemand anders kan dit vir jou doen nie. Paulus skryf: ‘Julle moenie langer toelaat dat sonde julle aardse lewe beheer nie; moenie toegee aan sy verleidelike begeertes nie’ (Romeine 6:12 NLV). As iemand anders jou daarvan moet weerhou, werk dit nie!
4) Wees waaksaam. As soldaat moes Dawid van beter geweet het, maar Satan het hom onkant gevang toe sy weerstand swak was. Gevolglik het hy owerspel met Batseba gepleeg en haar man laat vermoor in ‘n poging om sy sonde weg te steek.
Miskien dink jy dat dit nie met jou kan gebeur nie. Paulus, een van die grootste apostels, het geskryf: ‘Ek brei my liggaam en dissiplineer dit om werklik bruikbaar te wees. Ek wil tog nie, terwyl ek vir ander gepreek het, self deur God gediskwalifiseer word nie’ (1 Korintiërs 9:27 NLV).
Sielskos: Gen 11:1-9;
Fil 2:1-11
Galatians 5:17 CEV
The Bible says: “If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies…always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should” (vv. 16-17 CEV). Sound familiar? Here are four keys to winning the daily battle between your old and new natures.
(1) Be honest. Acknowledge that your flesh will always crave satisfaction in the wrong things – and it never takes a day off.
(2) Be humble. Acknowledge that you’re powerless to win the battle without God’s help. By committing yourself to God, you draw on His strength in those first crucial moments of each test. And your ability to do that will grow as you practice this spiritual discipline. The closer you draw to God, the stronger you become when faced with temptation and trouble.
(3) Be disciplined. This is a personal matter; no one else can do it for you. Paul writes, “You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives” (Romans 6:12 MSG). If someone else has to restrain you, it doesn’t work!
(4) Be alert. As a soldier David should have known better, but Satan caught him off guard with his defenses down. As a result he ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba, then having her husband put to death in an attempt to cover it up. Maybe you think it couldn’t happen to you. Paul, the greatest of the apostles, wrote, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:27 NIV).
Soul food: Gen 11:1-9; Phil 2:1-11
2021-06-12
Filippense 3:8 ABA
Die geheim om moeilike tye te oorleef, lê nie in wat jy weet nie, maar wie jy ken. Jy sê: ‘Op die oomblik het ek meer probleme as Job.’ Wel, toe die bodem uit Job se wêreld geval het, het hy gesê: ‘Maar Hy weet waarheen ek gaan! Wanneer Hy my toets soos goud in ‘n vuur sal Hy my onskuldig verklaar. Want ek het op sy paaie gebly en Hom gevolg sonder om weg te draai. Ek het alles gedoen wat Hy my beveel het. Wat Hy sê, het ek in my hart bewaar’ (Job 23:10-12 NLV).
Paulus se lewe was ook nie ‘n piekniek nie: ‘Ek was dikwels op reis; in gevare van riviere; van rowers; van my volksgenote; van nie-Jode; gevare in die stad en in verlate gebiede; gevare op see en gevare onder vals medegelowiges. Ek weet van harde werk en swaarkry, van baie nagte se wakkerbly, van honger en dors; van dikwels sonder kos te moet klaarkom, van koue en sonder klere wees. Behalwe al dié dinge, was daar nog elke dag die bekommernis oor al die gemeentes’ (2 Korintiërs 11:26-28 NLV).
As mens hierdie lys so lees, wonder mens hoe Paulus dit alles oorleef het. Paulus het die geheim geken om moeilike tye te oorleef. Hy het sy probleme toegelaat om hom nader aan die Here te dryf: ‘…Daarom sal ek baie liewer oor my swakhede spog sodat die krag van Christus voortdurend deur my kan werk. Ek is dus tevrede met my swakhede, beledigings, ontberings, vervolgings en benoudhede ter wille van Christus, want wanneer ek swak is, juis dán is ek sterk’ (2 Korintiërs 12:9-10 NLV). Wil jy dit hê wat Job en Paulus gehad het? Beweeg dan nader aan die Here – dít is die geheim!
Sielskos: 2 Kon 16:1-18:16; Mark 15:33-47; Ps 80:1-11; Spr 13:11-12
