2022-06-09
2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV
The film Schindler’s List tells the story of one man’s efforts to rescue who he could out of a desperate situation. Oskar Schindler was the director of a munitions factory in Poland during the Holocaust, and he decided to use his position to save Jewish lives. By employing them in his factory, Schindler rescued many condemned Jews from the gas chambers. But it was expensive to keep them employed, and little by little he sold his personal property to keep his factory going.
At the end of the story, the Nazis are defeated, and the full impact of Schindler’s efforts is revealed as the dead are counted and the living make it back to freedom. In one scene of the film, as Schindler is kneeling by the railway tracks that had carried thousands to their deaths, he had a startling realisation. He could have saved a few more! If only he hadn’t kept hold of the few things he still owned. If only he had known when the war would end, he would have done more. Oskar Schindler is credited with saving more Jews during World War II than any other single person. He was a hero. But all he could think about was what he didn’t do. He wished he had done more.
A powerful lesson in Schindler’s story is this: even generous and joyful givers will look back on their lives and wish they had done more. There are also others who gave less than they could have given, or who never gave at all. We all have different levels of what we can afford to give, whether that’s time, money, or some other resource, but let’s not waste an opportunity to give when God prompts us, and give with joy. ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’
Rev 5-9; Matt 15:29-39; Ps 16; Pro 13:1
2022-06-08
Hebrews 4:16 NLT
Boldness. Boldness isn’t arrogance, presumption, or a sense of entitlement. It’s confidence based on who you are in Christ. Paul writes, “Let us come boldly to the throne of… God. There we will receive his mercy, and… grace to help us when we need it most” (v. 16 NLT). As God’s redeemed child, you have a right to approach Him at any time. And understanding that enables you to overcome Satan’s attempts to make you feel unworthy. It removes your natural inclination to say, “I know God can do it, but it’s hard to believe He will do it for me.” You think like that when you feel unworthy. But the glorious truth is – Jesus has made you worthy! (See Colossians 1:12).
Note also, “We… find grace… when we need it most,” and grace is simply undeserved favour. In other words, God will give you what you don’t deserve when you’re confident enough to ask Him. Plus, you’re asking in Jesus’ name, not your own. You’re presenting to the Father all that Jesus is, not all that you are.
And here is another thought: When you have hidden sin in your heart, you can’t pray with confidence. Unconfessed sin locks you in and shuts God out (See Psalm 66:18). But the good news is, when you ask God to reveal your sin, He will. And when He does, you must deal with it if you want to keep the lines of communication open. If God reminds you of a situation in which you didn’t do the right thing, don’t try to sweep it under the rug. Acknowledge it, receive His forgiveness, and then you can pray with confidence.
Soul food: Rev 1-4; Matt 15:15-28; Ps 129; Pro 12:27-28
Hebrews 4:16 NLT
Boldness. Boldness isn’t arrogance, presumption, or a sense of entitlement. It’s a type of confidence that’s based on who you are in Christ. Paul wrote, ‘Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find his grace to help us when we need it most’ (v.16 NLT). As God’s redeemed children, we have a right to approach Him at any time. And understanding that enables us to overcome Satan’s attempts to make us feel unworthy. It removes our natural inclination to say, ‘I know God can do it, but it’s hard to believe He’ll do it for me.’ That’s how we think when we feel unworthy.
But the amazing truth is… Jesus has made us worthy! (See Colossians 1:12.) ‘We will find grace to help us when we need it most,’ and grace is simply undeserved favour. In other words, God will give us what we don’t deserve when we’re confident enough to ask Him. Plus, we’re asking in Jesus’ name, not our own. We’re presenting to the Father all that Jesus is, not all that we are.
Another important truth is that when we have hidden sin in our hearts, we can’t pray with confidence. Unconfessed sin locks us in and shuts God out (see Psalm 66:18). But the good news is, when we ask God to reveal our sins, He will. And when He does, we need to deal with it straight away. God will help. If He reminds us of a situation when we didn’t do the right thing, we shouldn’t try to ignore or hide it. Instead, we should acknowledge it, receive His forgiveness, and then pray with renewed confidence.
Rev 1-4; Matt 15:15-28; Ps 129; Pro 12:27-28
Hebreërs 4:16 NLV
Vrymoedigheid. Vrymoedigheid is nie arrogansie, aanmatiging of vermetelheid nie. Dis selfvertroue, gebaseer op wie jy in Christus is. Paulus skryf: ‘Kom ons gaan dan met volle vrymoedigheid na die troon van ons genadige God. Hy sal aan ons sy deernis en onverdiende goedheid bewys sodat ons op die regte tyd gehelp sal word’ (vers 16 NLV).
Jy het as verloste kind van God die reg om Hom enige tyd te nader. Wanneer jy dit verstaan, stel dit jou in staat om Satan se pogings om jou onwaardig te laat voel, te weerstaan. Dit verwyder jou natuurlike neiging om te sê: ‘Ek weet dat God dit kan doen, maar dis moeilik om te glo dat Hy dit vir my sal doen.’ Jy dink op hierdie manier wanneer jy onwaardig voel. Die heerlike waarheid is egter dat Jesus jou waardig gemaak het! (sien Kolossense 1:12).
Genade is eenvoudig onverdiende goedheid. God sal dit wat jy nie verdien nie vir jou gee, wanneer jy die vrymoedigheid het om Hom daarvoor te vra. Jy vra dit mos ook in Jesus se naam, nie jou eie nie. Jy bied aan die Vader alles wat Jesus is, nie alles wat jy is nie.
Wanneer jy egter versteekte sonde in jou hart het, kan jy nie met vrymoedigheid bid nie. Onbelyde sonde sluit jou toe en sluit God uit (sien Psalm 66:18). Die goeie nuus is egter dat wanneer jy vir God vra om jou sonde te openbaar, Hy dit sal doen. Jy moet dit dan hanteer indien jy die kommunikasielyne oop wil hou. Wanneer God jou aan ‘n situasie herinner waar jy nie die regte ding gedoen het nie, moenie dit onder die mat probeer invee nie. Erken dit, ontvang sy vergifnis en gaan dan voort om met vrymoedigheid te bid.
Sielskos: Op 1-4; Matt 15:15-28; Ps 129; Spr 12:27-28
2022-06-07
James 4:3 CEV
Right motives. The reason you pray is much more important than the words you say. The motive is the why behind the what. And having a pure heart that loves God and loves people is always acceptable to the Lord. On the other hand, selfishness is unacceptable, revenge is unacceptable, manipulation and control are unacceptable, jealousy is unacceptable, pride is unacceptable, and praying to win the lottery is unacceptable. In fact, anything that’s selfishly based is an unacceptable motive. Somebody once asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night. He thought about it for a second and replied, “No, some nights I don’t need anything.”
Sound familiar? The first and foremost reason for prayer is to develop an intimate relationship with God. Think about it: How long do you think your marriage would last if you only came home to see your spouse when you needed clean laundry, a good meal, and a little loving? Not very long, right? The same principle applies to prayer. Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7 NKJV). When you focus on “abiding” in Christ, you will get a response to your “asking.”
James writes, “Your prayers are not answered, because you pray… for selfish reasons.” The truth is, we’re innately self-centered. That’s why we need to purify our hearts on a regular basis – and that calls for examining our motives. It may be painful at first, but you must do it if you want to see your prayers answered.
Soul food: 1 Kings 21-22; Matt 15:1-14; Ps 124; Pro 12:26
