2022-03-15
Luke 13:12 NKJV
We don’t know how long it took this woman to get to the front of the church when Jesus called her. Disabled people don’t move as quickly as others. There are two important lessons for you in her story.
(1) Sometimes you won’t grow and mature as fast as others because you have been struggling with a debilitating problem for a long time. What seems easy for others can be very difficult for you. But there is good news: Jesus will wait for you, and He will work with you until you overcome your problem.
(2) Your testimony will come out of the tests you have been through. And no matter what you have been through, today Jesus is calling you. He is saying, “Get up! You can approach me.” Regardless of what you have done or what kind of abuse you have suffered, He is calling you.
You may think your secret is worse than anyone else’s. Rest assured that God knows all about it. And His promise is this: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you… I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt” (Jeremiah 31:3-4 NKJV). Like a master sculptor creating something beautiful out of a crude piece of rock, God can turn your mess into a message of hope for others.
The reason Satan has attacked you is because you have something valuable to contribute. This woman’s story ends with these words: “The multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him” (Luke 13:17 NKJV). God’s plan is to have people look at your life and say, “Something has happened to you; you’re not the same person anymore!”
Soul food: Est 5-10; Luke 17:1-10; Ps 18:1-29; Pro 26:24-27
2022-03-14
Luke 13:12 NKJV
“There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (vv. 11-13 NKJV).
This woman couldn’t walk right because she had been bound by “a spirit of infirmity” for eighteen years. That’s a long time to struggle with something. And during that time, she had come to church and received no help. Then Jesus “called” her to the forefront. Why didn’t He just heal her in her seat? Here are two reasons:
(1) God wants us to exercise faith and act on His Word. When you live with an unsolved problem for a long time, you start thinking, “This will never change.” So, before God changes your circumstances, He changes your mind and enables you to see new possibilities. This is called “faith.” The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]” (Hebrews 11:6 AMPC). Today God wants to see you moving toward Him.
(2) God wants us to invest in our own deliverance. When you have an investment in something, you value and protect it. That way, when Satan tries to bring the problem back, you say, “No, I don’t receive that. That’s no longer who I am. I’m a new creation in Christ.”
Soul food: Est 1-4; Luke 16:19-31; Ps 24; Pro 7:24-27
Luke 13:12 NKJV
The Bible says: ‘There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God’ (v.11-13 NKJV).
The woman couldn’t walk properly because she had been held captive by ‘a spirit of infirmity’ for eighteen years. That’s a long time to struggle with something. And during that time, she had come to church and received no help. Then Jesus ‘called’ her to the front. We might ask why He didn’t just heal her in her seat.
Here are two reasons: 1) God wants us to exercise faith and act on His Word. When we live with an unsolved problem for a long time, we can start to think, ‘This will never change.’ So, before God changes our circumstances, He changes our minds and enables us to see new possibilities. That’s ‘faith’. The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]’ (Hebrews 11:6 AMPC). And today, God wants to see you moving towards Him.
2) God wants us to invest in our own deliverance. When we have an investment in something, we value and protect it. That way, when Satan tries to bring the problem back, we can confidently say, ‘No, I won’t take it. That’s no longer who I am. I’m a new creation in Christ.’
Est 1-4; Luke 16:19-31; Ps 24; Pro 7:24-27
Lukas 13:12 NLV
Daar was ‘n vrou ‘…wat deur ‘n bose gees inmekaargetrek is. Sy was vir agtien jaar lank kromgetrek en kon nie regop staan nie. Toe Jesus haar sien, roep Hy haar nader en sê: ‘Vrou, jy is van jou kwaal genees!’ Toe het Hy haar aangeraak en sy kon dadelik regop staan. Hoe het sy nie God geloof en gedank nie!’ (verse 11-13 NLV). Die vrou kon nie reg loop nie omdat sy vir agtien jaar lank deur ‘n bose gees kromgetrek is. Dis ‘n lang tyd om met iets te worstel. Gedurende daardie tyd het sy kerk toe gegaan en geen hulp ontvang nie. Toe het Jesus haar vorentoe geroep. Hoekom het Hy haar nie net daar waar sy gesit het, genees nie?
Hier is twee redes daarvoor: 1) God wil hê ons moet geloof uitoefen en op sy Woord reageer. Wanneer jy vir ‘n lang tyd met ‘n onoplosbare probleem lewe, begin jy dink: ‘Dit sal nooit verander nie.’ Voor God dus jou omstandighede verander, verander Hy jou denkwyse en stel jou in staat om die moontlikhede te sien. Dit word ‘geloof’ genoem. Die Bybel sê: ‘As jy nie glo nie, is dit onmoontlik om God tevrede te stel. Wie tot God wil nader, moet glo dat Hy werklik dáár is en dat Hy dié wat na Hom soek, daadwerklik beloon’ (Hebreërs 11:6 NLV). Vandag wil God sien hoe jy na Hom toe beweeg.
2) God wil hê dat ons in ons eie bevryding moet belê. Wanneer jy in iets belê het, waardeer jy dit en beskerm jy dit. Op hierdie manier, wanneer Satan die probleem probeer terugbring, kan jy sê: ‘Nee, ek neem dit nie aan nie. Dis nie meer wie ek is nie. Ek is ‘n nuwe skepping in Christus.’
Sielskos: Est 1-4; Luk 16:19-31; Ps 24; Spr 7:24-27
2022-03-13
John 4:23 CEV
Let’s talk about how to become a worshipper. First of all, there is no one-size-fits-all. The Bible doesn’t say we must worship God in a certain way. That’s because worship is such a powerful outpouring of our hearts towards the Lord that it can’t be limited to words or defined by a song, a shout, or silence. Jesus said, ‘True worshippers are… led by the Spirit… These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him’ (v. 23 CEV).
Second, God created us to worship Him. Perhaps you’ve never thought of this: God created us to do the one thing He can’t do for Himself – worship! John the Apostle wrote, ‘You are worthy… to receive glory and honour and power, because you made all things. Everything existed and was made, because you wanted it’ (Revelation 4:11 NCV). Nothing brings more pleasure to God’s heart than the love and adoration of His redeemed children.
Third, worship can be expressed by anybody, anywhere, anytime. The Samaritan woman in Scripture grew up believing that true worship must be carried out at a sacred mountain called Gerizim, whereas the Jews believed it should be practised in the temple at Jerusalem. But Jesus said it wasn’t to be confined to church or a particular day of the week. The psalmist put it like this: ‘Servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised’ (Psalm 113:1-3 NKJV).
So wherever we are, in whatever way we choose, let’s be worshippers.
1 Sam 5:1-6:16; Rev 11:15-19
