2026-03-24
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
Righteousness is not an optional spiritual supplement; it’s a necessity for Christian living. It’s something you must desire as much as a starving man desires food and a thirsty man desires water. Are you hungry for more of Jesus? Do you have an appetite for His Word? Do you long to experience the kingdom of God? If so, Jesus says that you will be “filled.” He will give you more of Himself.
When you are hungry for righteousness, He will impart to you the power of a righteous life – which means keeping God’s commandments and following the leading of the Holy Spirit day by day. The Lord will give you the power to say “no” to offers that are not right in His eyes. And He will give you the power to say “yes” to those things that are of eternal benefit and to manifest His power in right decisions, right actions, and right words spoken at the right times, in the right situations, for the right results. The Lord will fill you with the ability to be His agent at home, at school, in your place of business, in the political arena, and in church.
When you hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will satisfy you with His presence, His power, and His peace. When you deeply and truly desire more of the Lord, you will receive more of the Lord to the point of being filled to overflowing. God keeps His promises, and He will keep this one also: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Soul food: Jer 1-3; Luke 20:20-26; Ps 55:12-23;
Prov 8:19-21
2026-03-23
Matteus 5:5 NLV
Om ‘sag van hart’ te wees, beteken nie om ‘n deurmat, besluiteloos, skugter, angstig of ruggraatloos te wees nie. Dit beteken nie dat jy soos ‘n verloorder of ‘n lafhartige swakkeling optree nie. Sagmoedigheid is beheerste mag.
Die Bybel sê dat Moses sagmoedig was, meer as enigiemand anders op daardie stadium op aarde (sien Numeri 12:3). Tog was hy bereid om farao teen te staan, om ‘n klaende volk deur die woestyn te lei en ‘n berg wat rook en bewe te klim om die Almagtige God persoonlik te ontmoet. Jesus het Homself as ‘…sag en nederig van hart…’ (Matteus 11:29 NLV), beskryf. Tog was Hy die dapperste man wat ooit geleef het.
Wat het Moses en Jesus sagmoedig gemaak? Hulle het beheerste mag gehad. Spreuke 16:32 (AFR83) beskryf hierdie soort mag as volg: “‘n Geduldige mens het meer waarde as ‘n bedrewe vegter, ‘n mens met selfbeheersing meer as iemand wat ‘n stad inneem.” Spreuke 25:28 (NLV) beskryf die teenoorgestelde van iemand wat sagmoedig is: ‘Iemand wat homself nie in bedwang kan hou nie, is soos ‘n stad sonder ‘n muur wat beskerming bied.’
Die sagmoediges is diegene wat die mag het om seer te maak, maar kies om dit nie te doen nie. Hulle het kennis om iemand se reputasie te vernietig, maar gebruik dit nie. Hulle het rede om te haat, maar weier om daarop te reageer. Sagmoedigheid is bloot krag wat ingespan en gebruik word om goed te doen.
Diegene wat sagmoedig is, wandel in God se seën. Die sagmoediges volhard totdat die goeie die kwaad oorwin, antwoorde gevind word en versoening vervreemding oorwin. Die sagmoediges slaap snags goed – want hulle vertrou op die Here!
Sielskos: Hos 11-14; Luk 20:1-19; Ps 55:1-11; Spr 8:17-18
Matthew 5:5 NKJV
To be “meek” doesn’t mean to be a doormat or to be indecisive, timid, fearful, or spineless. It does not mean to act like a loser or a cowardly wimp. Meekness is “power under control.”
The Bible says Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth in his day (see Numbers 12:3). Yet he was willing to go toe-to-toe with Pharaoh, to lead a grumbling people across a wilderness, and to climb a smoking, shaking mountain to meet personally with almighty God. Jesus described Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29 NKJV). Yet He was the most courageous man who ever lived.
What made Moses and Jesus meek? They manifested supreme power under control. Proverbs 16:32 (NKJV) describes this kind of power: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Proverbs 25:28 (NASB) tells us the flipside of meekness: “Like a city that is broken into and without walls so is a person who has no self-control over his spirit.” The meek are those who have the power to hurt but choose not to. They have knowledge to destroy someone’s reputation, but they don’t use it. They have reason to hate but refuse to act on it. Such people exhibit meekness, which is simply strength harnessed and used to do good.
And those who exercise meekness walk in God’s blessing. The meek persevere until good overcomes evil, answers are found, remedies are generated, and reconciliation overcomes estrangement. And the meek sleep well at night – because their trust is in the Lord!
Soul food: Hos 11-14; Luke 20:1-19; Ps 55:1-11; Prov 8:17-18
2026-03-22
Matteus 5:4 AFR53
Jesus praat nie noodwendig hier oor die verlies van ‘n geliefde nie, maar dat diegene wat oor hul sondes treur, God se vertroosting sal ontvang. Wanneer jy oor jou sondes en die probleme wat hulle vir jouself en ander meegebring het treur, plaas jy jouself in ‘n posisie om God se vergifnis te ontvang. Ware bekering fokus nie op die self nie. Dit is nie morbied of wanhopig nie; dit spruit nie uit valse nederigheid of selfbejammering nie. Dit is om openlik, duidelik en eenvoudig te erken dat jy God se genade nodig het.
Solank as wat jy jou in jou sondes verlustig, probeer om dit te regverdig of ander daarvoor blameer, kan jy nie vergewe word nie. Dit is slegs wanneer jy bid: ‘Ek bely dat ek teen U gesondig het in my gedagtes, my woorde en my dade,’ dat jy jouself in ‘n posisie plaas om van jou sonde gereinig te word. Die Bybel sê: ‘As ons beweer dat ons nie sonde het nie, mislei ons onsself en leef ons nie volgens die waarheid nie. As ons egter ons sondes bely, Hy is betroubaar en regverdig om ons sondes te vergewe en ons skoon te maak van alle verkeerde optrede’ (1 Johannes 1:8-9 NLV).
Daarin lê ons troos! Dit is God se vergifnis wat ware vreugde en troos in ons siele voortbring. Dit is God se vergifnis wat ons diep innerlike wonde genees en wat ons intimiteit met ons hemelse Vader herstel. Dawid het gesê: ‘Maar ek het my oortredings bely, my sonde nie weggesteek nie. Ek het gesê: ‘Ek bely my opstand teen die Here.’ En my sonde en oortredings het U vergewe’ (Psalm 32:5 NLV).
Sielskos: Eks 17:1-7; Jes 44:3; Joh 7:37-41
Matthew 5:4 NKJV
Jesus was not necessarily speaking about mourning the loss of a loved one, but that those who mourn over their sins will receive God’s comfort. When you weep over your sins and the trouble they brought to yourself and to others, you put yourself in a position to receive God’s forgiveness. True repentance does not focus on self. It’s not morbid or despairing; it doesn’t come from false humility or from wallowing in self-pity. It is acknowledging openly, plainly, and simply that you need God’s mercy and grace.
As long as you delight in your sins, try to justify them, or blame others for them, you cannot be forgiven. It is only when you pray, “I confess that I have sinned against You in my thoughts, my words, and my actions” that you put yourself into a position to be cleansed of your sin. The Bible says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9 NKJV).
And in that is your comfort! It is God’s forgiveness that produces genuine joy and comfort in your souls. It is God’s forgiveness that heals your deep inner wounds, and that restores you to intimacy with your heavenly Father. David said: “I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5 NLT).
Soul food: Exo 17:1-7; Isa 44:3; John 7:37-41
