A true friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17).
Many are the good weather friends and plenty are the other consumers who happily use your time, energy and resources when you are popular, successful and prosperous. But it is in times of hardship, loss, suffering, weakness and failure that false friends will turn away from you and true friends remain. The process is painful but the relationships that remain are like the gold that remains after the fire has burned away all that was not gold.
donderdag 24 september 2015
maandag 14 september 2015
Stewardship
Christian stewardship is a biblical theological concept that influences our lifestyle, our choices, and our contribution and involvement in Gods Mission of Salvation to the World. It poses the question to us: "To whom does it belong?" The answer in Scripture is clear: "Whether He entrusts us with man or with few 'talents', It all belongs to God." All we enjoy on earth is a gift from God.
Christian stewardship is Theocentric: God Himself is our example: In love He gave us everything we needed, even His own Son for our salvation. It is also Christocentric as we look upon Christ who invested everything, even His very life in obedience to God and for our salvation. It is Holy Spirit centred too, for the Spirit encourages us to live a life of love in accordance with the law of Christ and pours out Gods love into the hearts of those who belong to God (Rom. 5:5). The Holy Spirit points us at Christ and His teachings concerning faith and money and encourages us to apply it in our daily living: "How much money, time and energy am I able to give faithfully as a spiritual response to God and all He has done for me?"
Our stewardship of all that God entrusted to us is a litmus test of our spiritual growth. It helps us to see to what extend are we living selfishly to please our flesh or selflessly to please our Lord. It is part of life-long spiritual growth. As stewards of all that God put at our disposal we are called to use every opportunity to do good for all people and so doing make Christ and the love of God visible in a needy world.
Christian stewardship is Theocentric: God Himself is our example: In love He gave us everything we needed, even His own Son for our salvation. It is also Christocentric as we look upon Christ who invested everything, even His very life in obedience to God and for our salvation. It is Holy Spirit centred too, for the Spirit encourages us to live a life of love in accordance with the law of Christ and pours out Gods love into the hearts of those who belong to God (Rom. 5:5). The Holy Spirit points us at Christ and His teachings concerning faith and money and encourages us to apply it in our daily living: "How much money, time and energy am I able to give faithfully as a spiritual response to God and all He has done for me?"
Our stewardship of all that God entrusted to us is a litmus test of our spiritual growth. It helps us to see to what extend are we living selfishly to please our flesh or selflessly to please our Lord. It is part of life-long spiritual growth. As stewards of all that God put at our disposal we are called to use every opportunity to do good for all people and so doing make Christ and the love of God visible in a needy world.
maandag 7 september 2015
Satan's ways are not unknown to us
Genesis 3:1-8
1 The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.
The Word of God reminds us that Satan's ways are not unknown to us. In Holy Scripture we see how Satan deceives and destroys starting here in Genesis 3 when he misled humankind into sin and into opening the door for all the horrors we have suffered ever since.
Genesis 3 shows how Satan gets a hold on our minds by making us doubt the Word of God. He sows distrust in our hearts and minds so that we start questioning whether God is truly all good and perfect. All sin starts with doubting God and His good intentions for is. Satan loves it when we no longer fully trust God for it affects our relationship with the Lord. Once a sheep starts distrusting the Good Shepherd he/she will start to wander away and ultimately become an easy prey for Satan who seeks to destroy.
However, the righteous will live by faith. Once we learn to fully trust God and His love and good intentions then change will occur. We will be made righteous by Him. Let us therefore resist every lie from Satan which makes us doubt Gods love, goodness, justice, fairness and good intentions for us. Let us believe Him who is the way, the truth and the life:
11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will bless you (Jeremiah 29).
1 The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.
The Word of God reminds us that Satan's ways are not unknown to us. In Holy Scripture we see how Satan deceives and destroys starting here in Genesis 3 when he misled humankind into sin and into opening the door for all the horrors we have suffered ever since.
Genesis 3 shows how Satan gets a hold on our minds by making us doubt the Word of God. He sows distrust in our hearts and minds so that we start questioning whether God is truly all good and perfect. All sin starts with doubting God and His good intentions for is. Satan loves it when we no longer fully trust God for it affects our relationship with the Lord. Once a sheep starts distrusting the Good Shepherd he/she will start to wander away and ultimately become an easy prey for Satan who seeks to destroy.
However, the righteous will live by faith. Once we learn to fully trust God and His love and good intentions then change will occur. We will be made righteous by Him. Let us therefore resist every lie from Satan which makes us doubt Gods love, goodness, justice, fairness and good intentions for us. Let us believe Him who is the way, the truth and the life:
11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will bless you (Jeremiah 29).
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