2022-06-12
2 Timothy 2:13 NIV
Here is something you should be very glad about: God’s faithfulness to you doesn’t depend on your faithfulness to Him. The Bible says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.” Your mistakes may take you out of God’s will, but they will never place you beyond His reach.
Catherine Marshall tells of a great personal struggle she experienced after writing a novel titled Gloria. She began the book in 1969 and abandoned the project two-and-a-half years later. To her, the shelved manuscript was like “a death in the family.” Attempting to reconcile her conflicting thoughts and feelings, she spent time at a retreat house. And while there, she reread the Bible story from Numbers about a time when poisonous snakes filled the Israelite camp. The people recognized the snakes as punishment for their sin, and cried out in repentance. The Lord told Moses, “Make a [bronze] snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Numbers 21:8 NIV).
Catherine realized that just as the Israelites took that which had hurt them, lifted it up to God, and were healed, we can take our mistakes and sins, lift them up to God in prayer, and trust Him to heal us. She writes, “When any one of us has made a wrong (or even doubtful) turning in our lives through arrogance, lack of trust, impatience, or fear – God will show us a way out.” Even when you stray, God loves you so much that He will draw you back to Himself again. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.”
Soul food: Ezek 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Eph 1:19-20
2 Timothy 2:13 NIV
God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t depend on our faithfulness to Him. The Bible says, ‘If we are faithless, he remains faithful.’ Our mistakes might take us out of God’s will, but they’ll never take us to a place where we’re beyond His reach.
Author Catherine Marshall told the story of a personal struggle she experienced while writing a novel called Gloria. She started the book in 1969, but then she had to abandon the project two-and-a-half years later. She described the shelved manuscript as feeling ‘like a death in the family’. Her confidence shattered, she decided to spend some time at a retreat house in an effort to understand and reconcile her conflicting thoughts and feelings. While there, she reread the Bible story from Numbers about a time when poisonous snakes filled the Israelite camp. The people recognised the snakes as punishment for their sin, and cried out in repentance. God told Moses, ‘Make a [bronze] snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live’ (Numbers 21:8 NIV). Catherine realised that just as the Israelites took what had hurt them, lifted it up to God, and were healed, we can take our mistakes and sins, lift them up to God in prayer, and trust Him to heal us.
She wrote, ‘When any one of us has made a wrong (or even doubtful) turning in our lives through arrogance, lack of trust, impatience, or fear – God will show us a way out.’ Even when we stray from God, He loves us so much that He’ll draw us back again. ‘If we are faithless, he remains faithful.’
Ezek 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Eph 1:19-20
2022-06-11
Psalm 48:14 NLV
Hier is ‘n vers wat mens ontnugter: ‘…Ná hulle het daar ‘n geslag mense gekom wat nie die Here geken het nie…’ (Rigters 2:10 NLV). Hoe het dit gebeur? Hulle ouers het hulle nie van die Here vertel nie. Lees die volgende drie Skrifgedeeltes noukeurig en met gebed: 1) ‘Kyk na die versterkte mure en bekyk al die vestings, sodat jy dit kan beskryf aan die geslagte ná jou. Want dié God is ons God vir altyd…’ (Psalm 48:14-15 NLV). 2) ‘verswyg ons nie vir ons kinders nie, maar vertel vir die volgende geslag van die roemryke dade van die Here, van sy krag en van sy wonderdade’ (Psalm 78:4 NLV). 3) ‘Geslag na geslag sal u dade prys en van u magtige werke vertel’ (Psalm 145:4 NLV).
Jy sê: ‘Ons het ‘n beter regering en ‘n beter skoolstelsel nodig.’ Miskien, maar regerings en skole maak nie kinders groot nie, ouers doen. Jy is as ouer geroep om jou eie huis te regeer en jou kinders in die weë van die Here op te lei. Begin dus so gou as moontlik om jou kinders diep geestelike wortels te gee. Gaan hulle rebelleer? Moontlik; die Verlore Seun het uit ‘n goeie huis gekom en hy het gerebelleer. Hy het egter teruggekom, omdat hy herinneringe en waardes gehad het om na terug te keer.
Toe hy die einde van sy lewe nader, het Josua die nasie se leiers bymekaar geroep en gesê: ‘Julle het gesien wat die Here julle God alles ter wille van julle… gedoen het…’ (Josua 23:3 NLV). Toe het hy vir hulle opdrag gegee om hulle kinders daarvan te vertel. Hulle het dit egter nie gedoen nie en hulle seuns en dogters het met ander nasies getrou en hulle sondige leefstyle aangeneem. Moenie toelaat dat dit met jou kinders gebeur nie.
Sielskos: Op 15-18; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 132:1-10; Spr 13:4-6
Psalm 48:13 NIV
Here is a sobering verse: “Another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord” (Judges 2:10 NKJV). How did it happen? Their parents failed to tell them. Read these three Scriptures carefully and prayerfully: (1) “Tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:13-14). (2) “We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4 NKJV). (3) “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4 NKJV).
You say, “We need better government.” Perhaps, but governments don’t raise children, parents do. You say, “We need better school systems.” Maybe, but schools don’t raise children, parents do. As a parent, you’re called to govern your own home. As a parent, you’re called to educate your children in the ways of the Lord. You get the first bite of the apple! So give your children deep spiritual roots, starting as early as possible.
Will they rebel? Possibly; the Prodigal Son came from a good home and he rebelled. But he “came back,” because he had memories and values to return to.
Approaching the end of his life, Joshua called the nation’s leaders together and said, “You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done” (Joshua 23:3 NIV). Then he instructed them to tell their children. Did they do it? No. And what was the end result? Their sons and daughters ended up marrying outsiders and adopting their sinful lifestyle. Don’t let that happen to your children.
Soul food: Rev 15-18; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 132:1-10; Pro 13:4-6
Acts 2:8 NIV
The Bible tells us: ‘[The disciples] were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them. There were some religious Jews staying in Jerusalem… each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were completely amazed at this. They said, “Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own languages?”‘ (v.4-8 NCV). What they were witnessing was fulfilment of an Old Testament prophesy: ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people’ (Joel 2:28 NCV).
So what can we learn from this? When we’re filled with God’s Spirit, He’ll equip each of us to reach a specific kind of person or group of people in a way they’ll understand. Psalm 33:15 says: ‘He fashions [our] hearts individually’ (NKJV). God doesn’t ask each of us to reach every type of person. Instead, He’s created us to have a heart for certain groups more than others. And that’s okay, because that’s how He designed us.
So, how do you find out who He wants you to reach out to? Start off by asking yourself these questions: 1) Who do you find it easy to talk to? Maybe you feel uncomfortable talking to adults, but you get on great with children. 2) Who do you feel the most compassion for? It might be homeless people, asylum seekers, victims of violence. Chances are that your answers to these two questions are where your heart and calling lies, and that could be where God’s leading you to reach out to people.
Rev 15-18; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 132:1-10; Pro 13:4-6
