2021-12-25
Hosea 14:8 DB
Die woord ‘vier’ beteken om te verbly, te verlustig en te waardeer. Jack Hayford skryf: ‘Daar is so baie wat in die naam van Kersfees gedoen word wat Christus nie verbly of eer nie. Desondanks bevind ek myself waar ek teen godsdienstige mense wat glo dat amper elke Kerstradisie verkeerd is, stry. Hulle is teen versierings, kersbome, of sommer net pret, asof sulke deelname iets heiligs besoedel. Sulke harde sienings is egter onnodig. ‘n Kersboom is ‘n spesifieke stelling. Deur middel van hierdie boom sê ons dat ons in die viering van Kersfees glo. Ons dien ‘n God wat ‘…aan ons ryklik alles skenk wat ons nodig het om die lewe te geniet’ (1 Timoteus 6:17 NLV), en wat deurgaans in die geskiedenis deel van sy volk se feesvieringe is: ‘Hulle het in die Here se teenwoordigheid feesgevier en gedrink en was daardie dag vol vreugde…’ (1 Kronieke 29:22 NLV).
Alhoewel niemand kan sê dat die Bybel ons beveel om kersbome te hê nie, kom ons met vreugde rondom ons bome bymekaar. Ons sien sy lewendige takke as ‘n simbool van die ewige lewe wat Jesus se dood aan die kruis vir ons gegee het. Hy het vir ons vergifnis en ewige hoop gegee. Die kersliggies is ‘n getuienis van sy lig in die wêreld en van sy heerlikheid. Die ornamente reflekteer die dekoratiewe prag waarmee sy goedheid ons lewens versier. Die ster straal hoop uit en herinner ons dat die Here weer sal kom om ons te ontvang.’
Soos julle hierdie Kersfees om die boom bymekaarkom, moenie vergeet om die Een wat: ‘…Ek is die lig vir die mensdom. Wie My aanhou volg, sal nooit in die duisternis leef nie, maar sal die lig hê wat lewe gee’ (Johannes 8:12 NLV), gesê het, te vier nie.
Sielskos: Jes 9:1-7; Matt 1:18-25; Miga 5:2-5a; Jes 7:14
2021-12-24
Luke 2:10 NIV
For many people Christmas is filled with dread instead of delight. Author Jon Walker writes this: “I’m sitting in a fast food restaurant observing a young girl celebrating an early Christmas with her mother. Her presents are spread out across the booth and she just said, ‘I miss you, Mommy.’ ‘I miss you too, Baby,’ her mother says. Beyond the booth…a woman casually, but carefully watches them. Using my journalist’s eye, I put it all together. The watching woman is a social worker supervising a structured visit for a mother and child who are doing their best to celebrate Christmas…a few minutes later foster parents arrive and take the little girl home. The mother leaves alone.
There’s a darker side to Christmas we rarely acknowledge. We create this fantasy that seldom matches reality, even in the best of homes…many Christmas memories are full of tension, not tinsel…the holidays are just another excuse for Mommy to get drunk, or Daddy to be with his new family…yet another reminder that the one we love is far away or perhaps never coming back…The suicide rate is extraordinarily high in December…depression as common as ‘Joy to the World’…more people hurt at Christmas than we initially imagine. For those tired of the hollow hope…of Christmas, the good news is, God is with us. Jesus came to earth to ‘bring…good news…for all the people.’
Regardless of your situation, Christmas is the best gift you’ll ever get, because: (1) it’s the costliest you’ll ever receive because it cost Jesus His life; (2) it’s the only gift that lasts forever; (3) it’s one you can enjoy for the rest of your life.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 4-6; Matt 1:12-17; Ps 117; Prov 31:18-21
Luke 2:10 NIV
Are you excited for Christmas? Or do you secretly wish that it were all over already? For many people, Christmas is filled with dread instead of delight.
Author Jon Walker writes this: ‘There’s a darker side to Christmas we rarely acknowledge. We create this fantasy that seldom matches reality, even in the best of homes…many Christmas memories are full of tension, not tinsel…yet another reminder that the one we love is far away or perhaps never coming back…more people hurt at Christmas than we initially imagine.’
We may dread strained family gatherings, parties where we have to put on a happy face in spite of how we’re feeling, or reminders of painful past Christmases. Even if we enjoy this time of year, we might find the preparations stressful. Relatively trivial things like wondering if we’ve chosen the right present for someone or mentally calculating if we have enough wrapping paper can take tiny bites out of the joy of Christmas. But whatever is stealing our joy, let’s reclaim it back. Jon Walker continues with these words of encouragement: ‘For those tired of the hollow hope…of Christmas, the good news is, God is with us. Jesus came to earth to “bring…good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
Regardless of your situation, Christmas is the best gift you’ll ever get, because: 1) it’s the costliest you’ll ever receive because it cost Jesus His life; 2) it’s the only gift that lasts forever; 3) it’s one you can enjoy for the rest of your life.’ We can get so weighed down by all the things we’ve made Christmas about – the food, the parties, the decorations, and so on – that we sometimes lose sight of what it’s really about. This year, let’s try to focus on the true meaning – the gift of Jesus.
1 Cor 4-6; Matt 1:12-17; Ps 117; Prov 31:18-21
Lukas 2:10 NLV
Vir baie mense is Kersfees met vrees, in plaas van plesier, gevul. Jon Walker skryf die volgende: ‘Ek sit in ‘n kitskos restaurant en sien ‘n jong meisie wat ‘n vroeë Kersfees met haar ma vier. Haar geskenke is oor die tafel versprei en sy sê eenvoudig: ‘Ek verlang na Mammma.’ ‘Ek mis jou ook, my kind,’ sê haar ma. Agter die tafel sit daar ‘n vrou wat hulle versigtig dophou. As joernalis, pas ek die legkaartstukke bymekaar. Die vrou wat hulle dophou, is ‘n maatskaplike werker wat oor ‘n gestruktureerde besoek tussen ma en kind, wat hulle bes doen om Kersfees te vier, toesig hou. ‘n Paar minute later daag die pleegouers op om die dogtertjie huis toe te neem. Die ma verlaat die restaurant alleen.
Daar is ‘n donkerder kant aan Kersfees wat ons selde erken. Ons skep hierdie fantasie wat selde met die realiteit ooreenstem, selfs in die beste van huise. Baie herinneringe aan Kersfees is vol spanning, nie blink liggies nie. Die vakansiedae is net nog ‘n verskoning vir Ma om dronk te word, of vir Pa om by sy nuwe familie te wees. Die selfdoodsyfers skiet oor Desember die hoogte in. Depressie is algemeen.
Vir diegene wat moeg vir die leë hoop van Kersfees is, is die goeie nuus dat God by ons is. Jesus het aarde toegekom om ‘…goeie nuus wat groot blydskap vir almal inhou’ vir ons te bring. Ongeag jou situasie, is Kersfees die beste geskenk wat jy ooit sal kry, want: 1) dis die duurste geskenk wat jy ooit sal ontvang, omdat dit Jesus sy lewe gekos het; 2) dis die enigste geskenk wat vir ewig sal hou; 3) dis die enigste geskenk wat jy die res van jou lewe kan geniet.’
Sielskos: 1 Kor 4-6; Matt 1:12-17; Ps 117; Spr 31:18-21
2021-12-23
Proverbs 15:27 NKJV
J. Paul Getty’s estate exceeded four billion dollars. He was considered the richest man on earth. The Los Angeles Times quoted something Getty wrote: “I have never been given to envy, save for the envy I feel toward those people who have the ability to make a marriage work and endure happily. It’s an art I have never been able to master. My record: five marriages, five divorces. In short, five failures.”
The newspaper article continues: “He termed the memories of his relationship with his five sons ‘painful.’ Much of his pain has been passed on with his money. His most treasured offspring, Timothy, a frail child born when Getty was fifty-three, died in 1958 at the age of twelve, of surgical complications after a sickly life, spent mostly separated from his father who was forever away on business. Other members of the Getty family also suffered from tragic circumstances. A grandson, J. Paul Getty III, was kidnapped and held for a ransom of $2.9 million. When Getty refused to pay, they held the boy for five months and eventually cut off his right ear. Getty’s oldest son apparently committed suicide amid strange circumstances. Another son, Gordon Paul Getty, has been described as living a tortured existence. He was ridiculed in correspondence by his father and was the least favoured son. Similar sorrow has followed other members of this unfortunate family.”
Putting money first and family second make you nothing more than a wealthy failure. So if you have been sacrificing your family for your career, start making changes! Don’t look back, rich but regretting, having lived for the wrong things.
Soul food: 1 Cor 1-3; Matt 1:6b-11; Ps 113; Prov 31:14-17
