Waarmee beklee jy jouself?

Ons almal beklee onsself daagliks met liefde, vriendelikheid, bedagsaamheid, haat, woede, vrees, pyn, leuens, onsekerheid, ensovoorts.

Dalk begin jy jou dag waar jy beklee is met liefde en vriendelikheid, maar dan gebeur daar iets wat jou dan ‘n ander baadjie laat aantrek… woede, vrees of haat! In hierdie deurmekaar en gejaagde lewe gebeur dit soms te min dat dit goeie dinge is waarmee ons onsself beklee…

Ons is soms nie dadelik bewus daarvan dat ons ‘n ander baadjie aangetrek het nie. Onverwagte gebeure wat spanning veroorsaak is gewoonlik die sneller wat alles laat begin en dan hoop die spanning net op. Kort voor lank is die mooi aangename baadjie weg en het jy ‘n ongeskikte vuil lelike ou baadjie aan.

Jy kan seker maak jy trek nie daardie vuil lelike baadjie aan nie. Indien jy dit wel onbewustelik of selfs bewustelik aan trek kan jy vir jou huweliksmaat of betroubare vriend vra om jou te laat weet as hul dit op merk.

Om die gebeure van elke dag te sorteer help jou om te voorkom dat jy die vuil, ou baadjie aantrek. Elke keer as daar iets negatiefs gebeur dan praat jy met die situasie en sê dat jy dit nie gaan toelaat om jou negatief te beïnvloed nie. Jy praat dan ook met jou negatiewe emosies en sê vir dit dat jy nie gaan toelaat dat dit jou dag bederf nie. Kolossense‬ ‭3:12 moedig ons aan om goedheid en sagtheid aan te trek, wanneer jy dit doen kies jy weer om die mooi aangename baadjie aan te trek.

 

Beklee julle dan, as uitverkorenes van God, heiliges en geliefdes, met innerlike ontferming, goedertierenheid, nederigheid, sagmoedigheid, lankmoedigheid. Verdra mekaar en vergewe mekaar as die een teen die ander ‘n klag het; soos Christus julle vergeef het, so moet julle ook doen. En beklee julle bo dit alles met die liefde wat die band van die volmaaktheid is. En laat die vrede van God, waartoe julle ook in een liggaam geroep is, in julle harte heers, en wees dankbaar. Laat die woord van Christus ryklik in julle woon in alle wysheid. Leer en vermaan mekaar met psalms en lofsange en geestelike liedere, en sing in julle hart met dankbaarheid tot eer van die Here. En wat julle ook al doen in woord of in daad, doen alles in die Naam van die Here Jesus en dank God die Vader deur Hom.
(Kolossense 3:12-17).

Hemel Vader vergewe my swakheid as ek oorweldig word met vandag en alles wat om my gebeur. Help my om die vuil, lelike, ou baadjie raak te sien en gee my die krag en vrymoedigheid om dit uit te trek en ‘n nuwe, skoon baadjie van geregtigheid aan te trek.
Dankie Here Jesus vir U bloed, dood en opstanding wat dit vir my moontlik gemaak het!
AMEN!

 

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Abide in my love

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:9, 10 ESV)

Recognise the work of the enemy

Good morning, Lovers of God!

I want us to focus on recognition. Our daily living is plagued by the lies of satan and the only way to stop this infiltration is to know and recognise it when it approaches… Thus, we need to recognise the works of the enemy in our lives. In order to this, we should differentiate between God’s works, our works and satan’s works…

Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine! And corded instruments and wind-instruments and wine are in their feasts: but they give no thought to the work of the Lord, and they are not interested in what his hands are doing. For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water. For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it.
(Isaiah 5:11-14 BBE).

Our works as in this passage is to make strong drink (alcohol) our lord. We are then not concious of God’s works allowing the enemy to enter into our lives AND his works will always lead to destruction as Jesus said:

The thief comes only to take the sheep and to put them to death: he comes for their destruction…
(John 10:10 BBE).

There is always a consequence, a cause, an effect in every action we take, good or bad… The enemy (satan) will always try to hide this from us, because if we know and understand the consequence(s) of our actions, we will not do it. We will be targeted by satan through thoughts, pictures, ideas and other lies in-order to separate our works from God’s works. Thus as Christians we are walking in God’s works and satan will do everything is his power to keep us from doing so.

For we are His (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:10 NKJV).

We need to listen to the voice of God and not the voice of the enemy. Therefore we need discernment!!!

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
(Hebrews 5:14 NKJV).

We need to have our “senses exercised to discern both good and evil”… Our measuring rod (tool) is LOVE… What is not Love is not the works of God! Our works needs to be the works of God as Jesus said:

… “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
(John 5:19 NKJV).

It is then Love we need to know and measure everything we do against. Paul gives us an idea of what Love is and what actions Love takes:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…
(1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV).

For Love not to fail is to keep God’s commandments and Jesus explained it like this:

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
(John 15:10-14 NKJV).

Love then is the source, the measuring rod and the fullness of God’s commandments. Our love should be to lay down our lives for our friends like Jesus did when he proved His love and died on the cross…

Hold fast to this promise:

And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
(Revelation 2:26 NKJV).

Blessings,
Thomas

Love is…

Love is not there to fill us, but love is to form us. God is love and therefore when we receive His love we are becoming more like Him. We can only receive love if we accept the love of Christ and in that we are formed into God’s image and likeness.

…I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.
(Ephesians 3:17-19).

In the same light, God knows us by our love in Him. (Like Kelley Varner says, "God is out looking for God")

I know your works and love and service and faith and your patience, and your works; and the last to be more than the first.
(Revelations 2:19).

But concerning the sacrifices to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
(1Co 8:1).

Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.
(John 13:35).

May we learn to give love God’s way and to receive God’s love His way and move away from our worldly mindsets of wanting love for ourselves, just for gratification – We are not in this world to make people "feel" better or to "please" people or to keep anyone "happy". We are here to give "true" and "pure" love from the Father, a love that will bring people into relationship with the father, a love that will edify and strengthen His body. This love is not the "nice guy love" that we know so well, but it is a love that brings truth and correction, brings justice but also gives mercy.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law
(Romans 13:8).

 

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Living The Wasted Life

A lifetime of living is recorded by thousands if not millions of people, yet most feel at the end of their lives that it was for nothing…

What then are you willing to waste your life for, or even have a fulfiled life for?

David wrote:

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
Only to God is my soul in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my tower; I shall not be greatly moved.
How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You will shatter him, all of you; you shall be like a bowing wall and a tottering fence.
Surely they have plotted to cast him down from his great height; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse in their heart. Selah.
My soul, be silent only to God; for my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my strong tower; I shall not be shaken.
In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength; my hiding-place is in God.
Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a hiding-place for us. Selah.
Surely the sons of men are vanity; the sons of men are a lie; they go up in the scales; they are altogether lighter than vanity.

(Psalm 62:1-9)

I read once in a book:

Captivate your mind and spirit with a ravishing vision of GOD,
diving to the bottom of His ocean,
there you will find a pearl of great price
behind a piece of white coral,
waste your life for this pearl
and you will be found in the door without a key.
(A man called blessed by Ted Dekker and Bill Bright)

Thus you will find entrance; That which you give or waste your life for will give you entrance to the greatness of the pearl you have chosen.

Whatever pearl and whatever life you choose will become your wasted or fulfiled life…

Truly waste your life for the pearl of great price found only in Jesus Christ.

Thomas Dreyer

Trusting God’s unfailing LOVE forever and ever

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.
(Psalm 52:8)

Where are you planted?
Are your roots settled deep into God’s unfailing love?

There would be thousands if not millions of reasons for us not to trust in His love. We may focus on the dead and dying world – without hope and love, and become like the world believing that there is no hope nor love…

And now faith, hope, love, these three remain; but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)

When all else fails and everything destroyed, faith, hope and love remains… Without it (faith, hope and love) you will also be destroyed.

remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father,
(1 Thessalonians 1:3).

But let us, who are of the day, be calm, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation for a helmet
(1 Thessalonians 5:8).

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies
(Psalm 36:5).

We NEED this unfailing, steadfast love of God in our lives, daily!

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings
(Psalms 36:7).

We NEED to desire His unfailing, steadfast love in our lives, remembering that He is a righteous, just and holy God.

We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple
(Psalms 48:9).

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire
(Hebrews 12:28-29).

Our love for Him is our acceptable worship and His Love is a consuming fire that will accept us, but also purify us.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness
(Psalm 86:15).

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever
(Psalms 136:26).

The LORD appeared to me in a faraway place and said, "I love you with an everlasting love. So I will continue to show you my kindness "
(Jeremiah 31:3).

No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13).

Not long after Jesus said this, He died for us, that we may live…

Lord Jesus I ask for an understanding of God’s love,
that we may receive a revelation of His love –
this unfailing, steadfast love for each and everyone.

Teach us, lead us, guide us.
Fill us with Your peace.

I ask in Jesus Name,
Amen

Love,
Thomas Dreyer
Blog: https://lewegewer.wordpress.com/

The Time Is Now!!!

Its our time now, to step into what the Lord has called us for. No longer are we babes needing to be fed and led by others, but the responsibility has become ours – to live out what the Lord Jesus has called us for. We are to be the pioneers and writers of our own stories. There’s so much in us that needs to come out. The time is now, the favour of the Lord is upon us to walk in His anointing and to perform the works that he has prepared for us before the foundation of the world. For such a time as this He has brought our lives together so that the fullness of His presence can be established in and through us. He has prepared us separately and invested different giftings, fruits and skills in each one of us. These individual attributes are not to function on its own as separate entities, but to come together as a symphony of the beautiful music that only the King of Glory can compose. He will lead, guide, instruct, teach, aid, comfort and bless His works in and through us. He is the composer, the conductor, the musician and the ultimate audience of this beautiful symphony of sounds that He is about to release in our time through us.

Let us cut ourselves loose from what holds us back and seize the moment!
His time is now!

His time – to reach the lost through us. We are responsible for what He tells us, when we hear Him we need to respond to His call. What an honour to be called by the King of Kings, to be chosen by Him to be carriers of His glory to a dark and dying world. Lord help us not to miss this chance you are giving us, help us to not neglect such great Salvation and its essential message – That you are Love !!

For indeed because of the time, you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again what are the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have become in need of milk, and not of solid food.
(Hebrews 5:12).

…Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth was dried.
(Revelation 14:15).

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:10).

Rejoice O, Africa! Rejoice!

This week I attended a conference on Theology, Church and City…

We went on a journey of discovery, begining with a look at the NEW season of BEING church. What stood out the most for me was the joy and celebration that is missing in the people of God today!

This is a unique season of Change filled with opportunities to make a difference and to Celebrate!
(Martiens Swart)

This journey should be about the meaning and purpose of our celebration: to be empowered by discovering the heart of God, the characteristics and the opportunities of this new season, to know THE NEED and THE HOW, becoming the gift of God in this specific situation/season (Martiens Swart).

The joy of our celebration should be the call to the Nations.
(Martiens Swart)

dream out loud in high volume!
Bono

What is our / your Image of Jesus Christ?

Ask your selves: Who am I?

We need to be renewed to the truth of Jesus Christ. We so easily allow believes and culture to dictate our view on life. The fact is, Jesus did bring an alternative way of Life (Francois Smit).
What is this alternative vision Jesus had?
Who is my Jesus? He belongs to all, but who is He?

In order to touch/reach those around you, you need Identity!
(Francois Smit)

What are there images of Jesus Christ?

What is the message of these images?

You need to come to a place where you know Jesus / Mirror Jesus
Jesus who knows me personally, who sees me who I really am, and shows me who I really am!
(Francois Smit)

YOU NEED TO FIND YOURSELVES IN THIS, UNDERSTANDING THE IMAGES OF JESUS CHRIST OUT THERE – remembering that EVERY BODY NEEDS A SAVIOUR!!!

And remember to make Jesus your own in every aspect of your life!

This Conference was only a wake up call for me…

For I do not care what your Jesus looks like – is it a white Jesus, black Jesus, goth Jesus, smoking Jesus, beer drinking Jesus…

Rather ask ‘What is His message?”

Jesus did not die for the Jews, He did not die for the Blacks, he did not die for the Whites…

JESUS DIED FOR THE WORLD!!!

We need to Become REAL Church!!!

The greatest threat to the church of today is not deception, heresy, division or even apostasy, but rather a love of God that grows cold…
(Marcus Visser)

Lip serves as Isaiah called it! We still go through the motions religiously, but we are cold and dead, our works cold and dead…

The one thing we cannot afford is a cold, impotent, apathetic, dead works, moralistic, religious relationship with a passionate Bridegroom… a God that does not want us to do the right thing, but rather to LOVE HIM with all our hearts, minds and lives – for He is worthy of our all!
(Marcus Visser)

David wrote in the Psalms:

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
(Psalms 51:12).

Isaiah wrote:

And with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation.
(Isaiah 12:3).

Habakkuk wrote:

yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
(Habakkuk 3:18).

God’s word echoes the invitation to return to Him that our joy may be full, that we may have an everlasting joy!!! Jesus said that one commandment do I give to you and that is to LOVE!!! – that your joy may be full…
(John 15)

Lets look again at what Martiens Swart said at the conference:

The joy of our celebration should be the call to the Nations…

I DARE NOW TO INVITE YOU TO EMBARK ON A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

COME WITH ME AND LET US DISCOVER THE TRUTH IN RETURNING TO GOD AND BE FILLED WITH JOY!!!

Your relationship with this only true, living and passionate God is more important to Him than anything else – for its reality will echo righteousness, mercy, truth and joy as a call to the nations.

THE PROMISE IS CLEAR. The promise is great. Light will replace deep darkness. Vision will replace blindness. Radiant hearts will rejoice — hearts that had been weighed down by darkness and exile. This [Isaiah lectionary] passage is about coming home — coming home to God, coming home to salvation, coming home to joy. Isaiah wrote these words to the people of Israel during a very dark time, the time of their exile in Babylon. These words from God carried the promise and hope to Israel in its time of desperate need.

Where in your life do you need to hear God’s words of light and promise? What dark places in the world need the witness of God’s light? How are you called to be a bearer of light and promise to others?

– Helen Neinast
“The Promise”
The Upper Room Disciplines 2003

Come now people of God let us REJOICE in the truth of Jesus Christ!

Rejoice in His sacrifice, death and life, for salvation is from Him and Him alone! This is why there are so many images of Christ out there – everybody needs and seeks a saviour…

It is not the image of Christ that is important but the message… If His message is true and embraced by those who needs and seeks Him, His image is restored within them. We first want to change the image of Christ or the image of man that we may bring salvation, but the TRUTH of HIS MESSAGE should restore HIS image in man whereby man’s image is restored also – this is SALVATION.

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners! (Luke 7:34).

He came to set the captive free – free from abuse, drug-abuse, prostitution, alcohol, fear, rejection, guilt…

He came not to abuse man, life, alcohol or anything but came to those chained to destruction by there addiction, to love and care for them and to set them free…

HIS MESSAGE is LOVE – He died because he love, He commanded because He love… What then is this message and commandment we have received from Him – TO LOVE!!!

If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. I have spoken these things to you so that My joy might remain in you and your joy might be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:10-13).

LOVE is the commandment and the restorer of joy and life – Love is the truth and the message of Christ!

My we all discover this LOVE and live a life filled with joy!

Love,
Thomas Dreyer
Blog: https://lewegewer.wordpress.com

Truth and Love

For God to use us to wield the sword we must have a spirit of wisdom and revelation and be full of His love. The sword with truth only and not love is like a machete, it maims and inflicts terrible wounds. The sword with both truth and love is like a surgical scalpel…it cuts with precision and removes the corruption or cancer from our souls. It still hurts but He who wounds us will also bind up our wounds. So when we minister the word we must always keep this as our focus and goal:
Marcus Visser

…of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
(Colossians 1:25)

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
(Colossians 1:28)

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
(1 Timothy 1:5)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
(2 Timothy 2:15)