2026-05-31
Matthew 28:20 NKJV
To have a personal relationship with someone, there must be two-way communication. Even the most uncommunicative husband has to grunt every once in a while, or it isn’t a marriage – it’s a monologue. So, the Lord being with you, and you being with the Lord, takes place primarily in your mind.
Two people may occupy the same room, but if one of them is sleeping or engrossed in television, they’re not really with each other. There must be interactive awareness. Now, as human beings, we don’t have “direct access” to each other’s thoughts. We can use words, human touch, or hand gestures to guide another person’s thoughts.
But God is infinite rather than finite, so He is able to guide our thoughts directly. He can speak to us through Scripture or through the words of another person. But He can also plant His thoughts directly in our minds. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV). And this can happen anytime, anywhere. So, your mind is your meeting place with God!
There’s much about God speaking to you that’s a mystery. There are no formulas. You cannot control God’s communication with you. You cannot force Him to speak by being more pious or more sincere or by working hard.
Jesus told Nicodemus: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 NKJV). This much you can be certain of today: God is with you, and He will speak to you if you take the time to listen.
Soul food: Matt 5:3; 2 Sam 7:18-29; Ps 40:17
Matteus 28:20 NLV
Om ‘n persoonlike verhouding met iemand te hê, moet daar tweerigtingkommunikasie wees. Selfs die mees in homself gekeerde man moet elke nou en dan instemmend grom, anders is dit nie ‘n huwelik nie – dis ‘n monoloog. Kommunikasie tussen die Here wat by jou is, en jy wat by die Here is, vind hoofsaaklik in jou gedagtes plaas.
Twee mense mag dalk dieselfde kamer deel, maar as een van hulle slaap of in die televisie verdiep is, is hulle nie regtig bymekaar nie. Daar moet interaktiewe bewustheid wees. Ons het as mense nie direkte toegang tot mekaar se gedagtes nie. Ons kan woorde, menslike aanraking of handgebare gebruik om ‘n ander persoon se gedagtes te rig.
God is egter almagtig, dus is Hy in staat om ons gedagtes direk te rig. Hy kan met ons deur die Skrif of deur die woorde van ‘n ander persoon praat. Hy kan egter ook sy gedagtes direk in ons gedagtes plant. ‘…ons is ingestel om soos Christus te dink’ (1 Korintiërs 2:16 NLV). Dit kan enige tyd en enige plek gebeur. Jou gedagtes is dus jou ontmoetingsplek met God!
Daar is baie omtrent God wat met jou kommunikeer wat ‘n raaisel is. Daar is geen formule nie. Jy kan nie God se kommunikasie met jou beheer nie. Jy kan Hom nie dwing om te praat deur meer vroom of opreg te wees of deur hard te werk nie.
Jesus het vir Nikodemus gesê: ‘Die wind waai waar hy wil. Jy hoor sy suising, maar jy weet nie waarvandaan hy kom en waarheen hy op pad is nie. Só is dit met elkeen wat uit die Gees gebore is’ (Johannes 3:8 NLV). Hiervan kan jy vandag seker wees: God is met jou en Hy sal met jou praat as jy die tyd neem om te luister.
Sielskos: Matt 5:3; 2 Sam 7:18-29; Ps 40:17
2026-05-30
Job 33:14-15 KJV
Job the patriarch said: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night… while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men” (Job 33:14-16 NKJV). A dream can be an important message from God or an answer to your prayer. God gave Paul a dream in which a man from Macedonia appeared to him saying, “Come over and help us” (see Acta 16:9). And Paul went there and preached the gospel. Solomon’s reign as king of Israel begins with these words: “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5 KJV). Solomon asked God for great wisdom, and God gave him wisdom, honour, and riches.
Would God still speak to us today in dreams? Yes. He says: “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6 KJV). The Hebrew word for dream is “chalom.” It has five meanings:
(1) “To bind firmly.” This pictures you being wrapped securely in God’s love.
(2) “To be or make plump.” In the Bible, fatness or plumpness is a picture of health, well-being, and prosperity.
(3) “A sense of dumbness.” When God gives you a dream, He is sharing with you information about things of which you are ignorant.
(4) “To be in good liking.” When God gives you a dream, He is showing favour toward you.
(5) “To recover.” When God gives you a dream, He is working on restoring what you have lost. So, ask God for a dream.
Soul food: Lam 3:40-5:22; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 82; Prov 14:5-8
Job 33:15 NLV
Die patriarg Job het gesê: ‘Maar God praat op verskillende maniere. Ons kom dit net nie agter nie. Hy praat deur drome en visioene, in die nag wanneer mense diep slaap’ (Job 33:14-15 NLV). ‘n Droom kan ‘n belangrike boodskap van God of ‘n antwoord op jou gebed wees. God het vir Paulus ‘n droom gegee waarin ‘n man van Masedonië aan hom verskyn en gesê het: ‘…Kom oor na Masedonië toe en help ons’ (Handelinge 16:9 NLV). Paulus het daarheen gegaan en die evangelie verkondig. Salomo se heerskappy as koning van Israel begin met hierdie woorde: “Daardie nag het die Here in Gibeon in ‘n droom aan Salomo verskyn en God het gesê: ‘Wat wil jy hê? Vra, en Ek sal dit vir jou gee!'” (1 Konings 3:5 NLV). Salomo het God vir groot wysheid gevra en God het hom wysheid, eer en rykdom gegee.
Praat God vandag nog in drome met ons? Ja. Hy sê: ‘Ek is die Here, Ek verander nie…’ (Maleagi 3:6 NLV). Die Hebreeuse woord vir droom is ‘chalom.’ Dit het vyf betekenisse:
1) ‘Om stewig te bind.’ Jy is veilig in God se liefde toegdraai.
2) ‘Om mollig te wees of te word.’ In die Bybel is vetheid of molligheid ‘n beeld van gesondheid, welstand en voorspoed.
3) “‘n Gevoel van onkunde.” Wanneer God jou ‘n droom gee, deel Hy inligting met jou oor dinge waarvan jy onkundig is.
4) ‘Om in voorkeur te wees.’ Wanneer God jou ‘n droom gee, betoon Hy guns aan jou.
5) ‘Om te herstel.’ Wanneer God jou ‘n droom gee, werk Hy daaraan om dit wat jy verloor het, te herstel. Vra dus vir God vir ‘n droom.
Sielskos: Klaag 3:40-5:22; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 82; Spr 14:5-8
2026-05-29
John 17:26 NIV
Just before He was arrested and taken to the cross, Jesus prayed: “[Father], I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” When it comes to recognizing and responding to God’s presence in our lives, Christian author, John Ortberg, says he lives by these twelve truths:
(1) God is always present and active in my life, whether or not I see Him.
(2) Coming to recognize and experience God’s presence is learned behavior; I can cultivate it.
(3) My task is to meet God in this moment.
(4) I’m always tempted to live “outside” this moment. When I do that, I lose my sense of God’s presence.
(5) Sometimes God seems far away for reasons I don’t understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn.
(6) Whenever I fail, I can always start again right away.
(7) No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God’s presence.
(8) My desire for God ebbs and flows, but His desire for me is constant.
(9) Every thought carries a “spiritual charge” that moves me a little closer to or a little further from God.
(10) Every aspect of my life, work, relationships, hobbies, errands – is of interest to God.
(11) My path to experiencing God’s presence will not look quite like someone else’s.
(12) Straining and trying too hard do not help. So, the word for you today is – God is working in you, with you, and through you!
Soul food: Lam 1:1-3:39; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 113; Prov 14:1-4
