2023-11-08
Amos 3:3 NKJV
If you want to know how the person you’re marrying will look twenty-five years from now, look at their parents and you will get a clue. Regular exercise and good diet will only take you so far, then Mother Nature and Father Time begin to take their toll. The truth is that looks may bring you together, but only commitment and a shared faith will keep you together!
The Bible says, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT).
That doesn’t mean the two of you must hold identical views on every issue and practice your faith in similar ways. But you need the same values and views regarding the fundamentals of your faith – how you view God, the role of the church, and personal practices. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
Faith is that indescribable strength, that secret weapon of the soul that allows us to persevere even when the facts seem damning and the truth unbearable. It’s what keeps us going when we’re not sure we can continue. It’s the light that leads us out of the darkness, and the map that guides our way. Without faith we would probably pull over to the side of the road, give up, and watch everyone else pass us by. But when we trust in the Lord and believe that He will guide us, there is almost nothing we cannot withstand and walk through together.
Soul food: 1 John 1:1-3:10; John 8:1-11; Ps 123; Prov 25:18-20
2023-11-07
Matteus 19:5 NLV
Om kinders te laat gaan, is een van die moeilikste fases van ouerskap. Erma Bombeck vergelyk dit met iemand wat ‘n vlieër vlieg. ‘Ma en Pa hardloop in die pad af in die hoop om ‘n briesie te vang. Uiteindelik en met baie moeite, kry hulle dit reg om die vlieër ‘n paar meter in die lug te hys. Net wanneer hulle dink dit is veilig en aan die gang, dreig groot gevaar. Dit duik na elektriese drade en draai gevaarlik naby die bome. Dit is ‘n skrikwekkende oomblik. Dan, onverwags, vang ‘n rukwind die vlieër en dra dit opwaarts. Ma en Pa begin so vinnig as wat hulle kan die lyn voer. Die vlieër word dan moeilik om vas te hou. Ouers bereik die einde van hul lyn en begin wonder wat om volgende te doen. Die vlieër vra meer vryheid. Dit styg al hoe hoër. Pa staan op sy tone om dit te probeer akkommodeer. Die tou word tussen sy wysvinger en duim vasgegryp en uitgestrek boontoe gehou. Dan kom die oomblik van vrylating. Die tou glip deur sy vingers en die vlieër sweef majestueus in God se pragtige lug in. Die vlieër is nou ‘n blote punt van kleur in die lug. Die ouers is trots op wat hulle gedoen het – maar hartseer om te besef dat hulle werk klaar is. Dit was ‘n liefdesarbeid. Maar waar is die jare heen?’
Ouerskap is ‘n opwindende en vreesaanjaende ervaring, een wat van die begin af so beskik is. Met die uiteindelike vrylating is jou taak as ouer voltooi. Die vlieër is vry en vir die eerste keer in twintig jaar of so, is jy ook. Wat is volgende? Vra God; Hy het ‘n plan vir jou lewe.
Sielskos: Esra 9-10; Joh 7:45-53; Ps 30; Spr 25:13-17
Matthew 19:5 NKJV
Letting go of our children is one of the toughest phases of parenting. Erma Bombeck compared it to flying a kite.
“Mom and dad run down the road hoping to catch a breeze. Eventually, and with much effort, they manage to hoist the kite a few feet in the air. Just when they think it is safely underway, great danger looms. It dives toward electrical lines and twirls perilously near the trees. It is a scary moment. Then, unexpectedly, a gust of wind catches the kite and carries it upward. Mom and dad begin feeding line as rapidly as they can. The kite then becomes difficult to hold. Parents reach the end of their line and begin to wonder what to do next. The little craft demands more freedom. It rises higher and higher. Dad stands on tiptoe to accommodate the tug. It is now grasped tenuously between his index finger and thumb, held upward toward the sky. Then comes the moment of release. The string slips through his fingers, and the kite soars majestically into God’s beautiful sky. The kite is now a mere pinpoint of color in the sky. The parents are proud of what they have done – but sad to realize that their job is finished. It was a labor of love. But where did the years go?”
Parenting is an exhilarating and terrifying experience, and one that was ordained from the beginning. With the ultimate release, your task as a parent is finished. The kite is free, and so, for the first time in twenty years or so, are you. What’s next? Ask God; He has a plan for your life.
Soul food: Ezra 9-10; John 7:45-53; Ps 30; Prov 25:13-17
2023-11-06
Johannes 19:30 NLV
Een van Christus se laaste verklarings op die kruis was: ‘…Dit is nou afgehandel!..’ Daardie frase bestaan uit net een woord in Grieks, tetelestai, wat ‘ten volle betaal’ beteken. Dit is die woord wat handelaars op ‘n rekening geskryf het as dit gekanselleer is. Jesus het die volle prys vir elke sonde wat jy nog ooit gepleeg het, betaal! ‘Vir hulle wat aan Christus Jesus verbind is, is die oordeel nou heeltemal weggeneem’ (Romeine 8:1 NLV).
Die vraag is, as God jou sonde die oomblik wat jy dit bely vergeet, dink jy nie jy moet dit ook vergeet nie? Hoe lank dink jy aan ‘n faktuur nadat jy dit betaal het? Jy vergeet dit minute nadat jy dit betaal het. Soortgelyk, aangesien Christus jou rekening ten volle betaal het, hoef jy dit nie meer te onthou nie. Paulus, wat homself een keer as die ergste sondaar van almal (sien 1 Timoteus 1:15) beskryf het, het geskryf: ‘…ek vergeet dit wat agter my lê, en strek my uit na dit wat voorlê. Ek jaag wenpaal toe, na die hemelse prys wat God aan my wil gee…’ (Filippense 3:13-14 NLV).
Ons kan God se krag in ons lewens kortwiek deur nie te vertrou dat Hy ons werklik vergewe het of deur te besluit om onsself nie te vergewe nie. Hoekom doen ons dit? Soms gebeur dit oor die manier hoe ons grootgemaak is. Ons ouers het vir ons gesê: ‘Ek vergewe jou,’ maar aanhoudend weer melding daarvan gemaak. Jou hemelse Vader is egter anders as jou aardse ouers. Wanneer Hy jou sondes vergewe, wis Hy jou klagstaat uit, kanselleer jou verlede, vergeet dit, praat nie daaroor nie en sal dit nooit weer noem nie. Aanvaar dus vandag sy vergifnis. Indien nodig, vergewe ook jouself en beweeg aan.
Sielskos: Esra 6-8; Joh 7:33-44; Ps 86; Spr 25:8-12
John 19:30 NIV
One of Christ’s last declarations from the cross was, “It is finished.” That phrase comprises just one word in Greek, tetelestai, meaning “paid in full.” It was the word merchants wrote on a bill when it was canceled. It was also the word stamped on a document announcing that a prison sentence had been commuted. Jesus paid the price in full for every sin you have ever committed! “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV).
The question is, if God forgets your sin the second you confess it, don’t you think you should forget it too? How long do you think about an invoice you have paid? You forget it the minute you have paid it. Similarly, since Christ has paid your bill in full, you don’t need to remember it anymore. Paul, who once described himself as “chief among sinners” (See 1 Timothy 1:15), wrote, “Forgetting what is behind… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV).
We can short-circuit God’s power in our lives by not trusting that He has truly forgiven us or by deciding not to forgive ourselves. Why do we do that? Sometimes because of how we were raised. Our parents told us, “I forgive you,” but they constantly brought it up. Good news: Your heavenly Father is different from your earthly parents. When He forgives your sin, He expunges your record, cancels your past, can’t remember it, doesn’t talk about it, and will never bring it up again. So, today accept His forgiveness. And if you need to, forgive yourself and move on.
Soul food: Ezra 6-8; John 7:33-44; Ps 86; Prov 25:8-12
