In the last chapter of the letter to the Galatians Paul gives practical advice. The first piece of advice is not always that easy to do: 1Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Not everybody finds […]
Read moreWe have now discussed the fruit of the Spirit step-by-step. We shone a spotlight on or own lives and saw that a lot of work needs to be done. At times, you, like me, hung your head in shame, realising that you are not getting there. Maybe you wanted to throw in the towel, because […]
Read more22… able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. This is the fruit of self-control. The Spirit must help us with this, but do we allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in us? Sometimes we simply enjoy taking over the wheel again. The last fruit of the spirit concerns self-control. How much control […]
Read more22… not needing to force our way in life. The Greek word for the second from last fruit of the Spirit is praotes. It is a very pregnant word – pregnant because this word gives birth to so many different meanings. The 1953 and 1983 translations chose to translate it with humility. The fruit of […]
Read moreMy wife and I are sitting next to the river close to Swellendam, relaxing in a wonderful house. We look out over the beautiful mountains and the clear blue sky. In front of us the water ripples over the rocks and its soothing sound fills our ears. An abundance of birds joyfully chirp around us […]
Read moreSome people are like magnets that automatically attract others. Other people are more like magnets with the same poles pushing others away the whole time. And it’s not nice to be around people like these. And normally people who are so miserable don’t even want to be like that. They don’t want to push others […]
Read moreWe’re looking at this fruit twice, since most of us fail with this one. Most of us are quick to respond. We get on our high horse and say what we want to say. If someone does or say something that we don’t agree with, we don’t hesitate to express our opinion about it. And […]
Read more<strong>22… a sense of compassion in the heart …</strong> Susan Coetzer wrote the following (my translation): <em>I’ve decided to fast a little. </em> <em> NO, not a food fast – I get far too hungry and then I don’t have enough energy for running and for work appearances. </em> <em> I’m fasting from WORDS. </em> <em> I keep […]
Read moreMany people do not have peace, because they’re not satisfied. They’re not satisfied with the way they look or with what they have. They’re not satisfied with their house, car or work and not with their children or spouse either. Most things in their lives bring them only discontent and that is why they’re always […]
Read moreThere were times in my life that I lived between the floor and the polish. Times when things weren’t going well. Times when I longed to experience a little bit of joy. Real joy. Then I started dreaming. If I could just earn a little bit more money, then I would find joy. Soon I […]
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