2022-07-09
Malachi 3:10 NIV
Gangaram Mahes became known in New York as the “Serial Eater.” This immigrant from Guyana loves elegant dining but doesn’t have the money to pay for it. Instead of denying his appetite, he merely walks into a fine restaurant, orders the best meal on the menu, the finest liquors, and the costliest desserts. He then eats and drinks to his heart’s content, and, when the tab arrives, he simply tells the waiter that he isn’t able to pay the bill. The police then arrive and arrest him, and he receives at least a few days of free meals in jail.
Guess what: Our churches are full of people who drink the milk of God’s blessing, eat the steak of God’s kindness, savor the dessert of God’s love – and don’t even “tip” Him 10 percent. Don’t be one of them! When you give God the first 10 percent of your income, a divine dynamic comes into play. God blesses the 90 percent you have left, and it goes much further than your 100 percent without His blessing.
Does that mean God will give you back more money than you gave Him? Not necessarily, but He does promise to bless you more than you have ever dreamed possible. It may be with good health, or favour with your boss, or guidance for your life, or protection for you and your loved ones. God says: “‘Bring the whole tithe… Test me in this… see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'”
Go ahead; take the tithe test.
Soul food: Jer 33:1-36:26; Matt 24:36-51; Ps 122; Prov 15:10-14
2022-07-08
Jakobus 5:16 NLV
‘n Opregte verskoning kan ‘n gespanne of gebroke verhouding help genees en herstel. Dit eindig egter nie daar nie. Let die volgende op:
1) Om jammer te sê is nie genoeg nie! Dis ‘n goeie en noodsaaklike begin, maar dis nie ‘n goeie einde nie. Om byvoorbeeld te sê: ‘Ek is jammer jy het my woorde verkeerd opgeneem,’ is nie ‘n verskoning nie; dis ‘n aanval! Jy moet spesifiek wees wanneer jy dit waaroor jy berou het, bely. Deur te sê: ‘Ek is baie jammer dat my woorde jou beledig het,’ erken jy wat jy gedoen het en bevestig dat die ander persoon seergemaak is.
2) Neem volle verantwoordelikheid vir jou gedrag. Daarsonder is daar nie genesing of versoening nie. ‘Dit was verkeerd van my om so met jou te praat,’ is eerlik, nederig, konkreet en verantwoordelik. Dit help die gewonde party om jou verskoning as opreg te ervaar. Opregtheid verminder woede en moedig ander aan om jou woorde te vertrou en te aanvaar.
3) Bied aan om dinge reg te maak. Vra: ‘Is daar enigiets wat ek kan doen om dinge beter te maak?’ Dit maak jou verskoning hartlik en opreg. Jakobus het dit as volg gestel: ‘Daarom moet julle julle sondes teenoor mekaar bely en vir mekaar bid sodat julle gesond kan word…’
4) Vra vir vergifnis – en moet dit nie as vanselfsprekend aanvaar nie. ‘Sal jy my asseblief vergewe vir dit wat ek gedoen het?’ Dis nodig dat jy dit sê en dat die ander persoon dit hoor, voordat genesing en herstel kan begin plaasvind. Wanneer jy vergifnis vra en dit gegee word, het julle saam ‘n kontrak geteken. Julle teken julle wedersydse verbintenis om verby die seer te beweeg en na ‘n gesonder verhouding te werk, aan.
Sielskos: Jer 31-32; Matt 24:26-35; Ps 110; Spr 15:8-9
James 5:16 CEV
A genuine apology can help heal and restore a strained or broken relationship. But as Dr. Gary Chapman tells us, it doesn’t end there. Observe these: (1) Saying “I’m sorry” isn’t enough! It’s a good and necessary start, but it’s not a good finish. For example, “I’m sorry you took it that way” isn’t an apology; it’s a covert attack! You need to specifically confess what you’re remorseful about. “I’m so sorry that what I said insulted you” acknowledges what you did and affirms the wounded person.
(2) Take full responsibility for your behaviour. Without that, there is no healing or reconciliation. “I was wrong to speak to you like that” is honest, humble, concrete, and responsible. It helps the injured party see your apology as genuine. Genuineness diminishes anger and encourages others to trust and accept your words.
(3) Offer to make amends where possible. Ask, “Is there anything I can do to make things better?” Putting yourself on the line to do everything you can do makes your apology heartfelt and sincere. James puts it like this: “Tell each other what you have done. Then… pray for one another and be healed.”
(4) Ask for forgiveness – don’t take it for granted. “Will you please forgive me for what I did?” You need to say it and the other person needs to hear it before healing and restoration can start. When you ask for forgiveness and it’s been granted, you have “signed on the dotted line” together. You’re recording your mutual commitment to move beyond the hurt and work toward a healthier relationship.
Soul food: Jer 31-32; Matt 24:26-35; Ps 110; Prov 15:8-9
2022-07-07
Spreuke 23:16 NLV
Moet nooit die mag van woorde onderskat nie. Vir elke woord in Adolf Hitler se boek, Mein Kampf, het 125 mense in die Tweede Wêreldoorlog omgekom. Net een man in die Amerikaanse geskiedenis het ooit uit die presidentskap bedank: Richard Nixon. Het jy al ooit gedink wat tot mnr Nixon se ondergang gelei het? Tradisionele denke sê dat dit die opnames van sy privaat gesprekke was. Dit was egter nie die opnames wat sy ondergang veroorsaak het nie, maar sy tong. Dit was nie die opnames nie, maar dit wat hy op die opnames gesê het, wat sy ondergang bewerkstellig het.
Die woorde tong, mond, lippe en woorde word amper 150 keer in Spreuke genoem; rofweg vyf keer in elk van die een-en-dertig hoofstukke. Die feit dat so baie klem op ons woorde gelê word, sê vir ons dat ons versigtig moet wees met dit wat uit ons monde kom.
Stop en oorweeg die volgende: Die gemiddelde persoon sê in ‘n periode van vyftig jaar genoeg woorde om twaalfduisend boeke van driehonderd bladsye elk, te vul. As dit die gemiddeld is, dink aan die biblioteke wat jy vul en die nalatenskap wat jy agterlaat.
Wat hartseer is, is dat sommige woorde wat jy spreek nooit vergete sal raak nie. Een digter het geskryf: ‘If your lips would keep from slips, five things observe with care: To whom you speak, of whom you speak, and how, and when, and where.’ Salomo wou graag gehad het dat sy kinders met wysheid moet grootword, dus het hy gesê: ‘Ek sal baie bly wees, my kind, as jy ook ‘n wyse mens word. Ek sal in my hart juig wanneer jy reg praat’ (verse 15-16 NLV). Beheer vandag dus jou tong.
Sielskos: Jer 28-30; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 102:18-28; Spr 15:4-7
Proverbs 23:16 NIV
Never underestimate the power of a spoken word. For every word in Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, 125 people perished in World War II. Only one man in American history ever resigned from the presidency: Richard Nixon. Have you ever considered what brought Mr. Nixon down? Traditional thinking says it was the tapes of his private conversations. But it wasn’t the tapes, it was his tongue. It wasn’t the tapes but what he said on the tapes that determined his demise.
The words tongue, mouth, lips, and words are mentioned in the book of Proverbs almost 150 times; roughly five times in each of the thirty-one chapters. The fact that so much importance is placed on our words tells us we had better take care of what comes out of our mouths.
Stop and consider this: In a period of fifty years, the average person says enough words to create twelve thousand volumes of three hundred pages each. If that’s the average, think about the libraries you’re filling and the legacy you’re leaving behind. And sadly, some of the words you speak will never be forgotten! The poet wrote, “If your lips would keep from slips, five things observe with care: To whom you speak, of whom you speak, and how, and when, and where.”
Solomon wanted his children to grow up with a heart of wisdom, so he said, “My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right” (vv. 15-16 NIV). So today, control your tongue.
Soul food: Jer 28-30; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 102:18-28; Prov 15:4-7
