My thoughts and my life

A reminder for today Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30) This morning we spoke to one of South Afrika’s top bodybuilders and I soon realised we train to hard. We need to take time to rest. But don’t we do that in life too. We work and work and soon work becomes all we have, and we overwork without realising it. When you live in South Africa you know what work is. We have to work twice as hard as ever before to get somewhere. This burden that we have has increased in the last years with all the laws that was passed and the constant crime and hate that drives the bad ones to destroy us and everyone in their way. So, as a South African we understand the words “heavily burden” very well. But I am sure any Christian in the world will know how it feels to...

A reminder for today Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22) Forgiveness is one the most powerful acts of love we can do unto other. First let us look at our own forgiveness for our sins. 1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Notice the word propitiation here. The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him. Propitiation teaches us that man is a sinner and that God hates s...

A reminder for today And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (1 Corinthians 13:13) What can we say about love? I love 1 Corinthians 13 and I have read it a thousand times. Paul says here that there are three things that is very important, and they are faith, hope and charity. The dictionary translates charity as an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need or the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need. Newer Bible translations such as the amplified translates this verse like this: And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love. The Greek word 'agape' is translated both as 'charity' and 'love' in many places in the new testamen...