Hate is the opposite of love. Consequently, where love is absent, hate takes its place. We can easily say that we don’t hate someone, but we also have no love for that person. If I understand it correctly, there are only two sides to the coin: love or hate. There is no neutral ground here. […]
Read moreJesus rose from the dead. He conquered death and, therefore, He lives forever. In a way, we also have such a resurrection from the dead experience. It sounds a bit strange, but let me explain. We need to understand that before we repented, our lives were filled with sin, and sin leads to death. This […]
Read moreMany things we take for granted may not be commonplace for others. When something typically considered normal is absent from your life, it quickly disrupts your sense of normalcy. Richard (not his real name) gives a good example: I have a beautiful mortgage-free house. My refrigerator is full. My lovely vehicle is paid off. My […]
Read moreRight off, a direct warning: 15Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. In the Bible the word “world” is used with different meanings (says Barnes, E-Sword). The world can refer to the physical world, the visible world. The world as God created […]
Read more5But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. When you obey the Word of God, when you allow Jesus’ teachings here on earth to become part of your being, your way of life changes. Love then becomes visible in everything we do and say. God’s love […]
Read moreThere’s a saying that goes: Love makes the world go round. Being a bit of a petrolhead I say it differently, but I suspect it comes down to the same thing: Love keeps the gears oiled. Have you ever heard how gears grind when they’re not oiled? Suddenly I start humming the following song: “Ubi […]
Read moreI had to drop someone off at the airport. On the way there I saw the N2 was quite congested and decided to take the Stellenbosch Arterial instead. The traffic ran fluently through a few suburbs, but then it also came to a stop. I turned up the music, but the many taxis whizzing by […]
Read moreBefore I started my quiet time one morning, I noticed a news report from an African country whose government had been overthrown again. Army rebels slipped in during the night and took over the country. The one guy’s commentary: “Africa’s democracy in action. The guy with the biggest gun is in charge.” That’s not God’s […]
Read moreThe Bible says: 17 Love your spiritual family. This is one of the easier assignments in the Bible, or so I thought at first, until I gave it a bit more thought. At the business, we had to provide a special window for a school. These were very unique windows and not part of our […]
Read moreI saw a picture of a dog and you could just tell that dog was happy. It wasn’t an expensive, purebred dog. When you ask the people what breed he is, they say he’s a genuine dog, because his mother and father were both dogs. They picked up the dog as a stray. Very neglected. […]
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