Ons goeie hoop

Vanoggend se luister na pragtige lofgesang, het my laat besef hoe geseënd ons is om in tye van voorspoed en swaerkry ons te kan wend na ons "Goeie Hoop," wat ons nooit beskaam nie.

Tydens my Bybelstudie vanoggend, sien ek toe: die woord "hoop" verskyn 139 keer in die AOV en "goeie hoop" een maal. Dit laat my toe dink aan hoe Jesus eenmalig ons almal se "beste en enigste hoop" geword het deur Sy lewe vir ons sin te verruil en dat ons lewende God ons enigste ware hoop is in nood.

Ek deel graag die verse met jou, ter erkenning aan ons "Goeie Hoop."

Ps.146:

1Halleluja! Loof die HERE, o my siel! 2Ek wil die HERE prys solank as ek lewe; ek wil psalmsing tot eer van my God solank as ek nog daar is. 3Vertrou nie op prinse, op die mensekind, by wie geen heil is nie.4Sy gees gaan uit, hy keer terug na sy aarde toe; op daardie dag is dit met sy planne gedaan. 5Welgeluksalig is hy wat die God van Jakob het as sy hulp, wie se hoop is op die HERE sy God, 6wat hemel en aarde gemaak het, die see en alles wat daarin is; wat trou bly tot in ewigheid; 7wat aan die verdruktes reg doen, wat aan die hongeriges brood gee. Die HERE maak die gevangenes los. 8Die HERE open die oë van die blindes; die HERE rig die wat geboë is, op; die HERE het die regverdiges lief. 9Die HERE behoed die vreemdelinge; Hy rig wees en weduwee weer op; maar die weg van die goddelose maak Hy krom. 10Die HERE is vir ewig Koning; jou God, o Sion, is van geslag tot geslag! Halleluja!

2Tess.2:16:

En mag onse Here Jesus Christus self en onse God en Vader, wat ons liefgehad het en 'n ewige troos en goeie hoop in genade gegee het, 17julle harte vertroos en julle versterk in alle goeie woorde en werke.

Please consider the environment before printing this. Thank you. © 2013. Lizette De Klerk. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reagan's Rule

Some wonder why the Reagan years were considered the Republic Party's golden years?
When God is for you, nothing else matters!!!

What a profound message and witness.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/OvN1jTkzXbY?rel=0

"What does it mean to honor my father and mother?"

Question: "What does it mean to honor my father and mother?"

Answer: Honoring your father and mother is being respectful in word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. The Greek word for honor means "to revere, prize, and value." Honor is giving respect not only for merit but also for rank. For example, some Americans may disagree with the President's decisions, but they should still respect his position as leader of their country. Similarly, children of all ages should honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents "deserve" honor.

God exhorts us to honor father and mother. He values honoring parents enough to include it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) and again in the New Testament: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6:1-3). Honoring parents is the only command in Scripture that promises long life as a reward. Those who honor their parents are blessed (Jeremiah 35:18-19). In contrast, those with a "depraved mind" and those who exhibit ungodliness in the last days are characterized by disobedience to parents (Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2).

Solomon, the wisest man, urged children to respect their parents (Proverbs 1:8; 13:1; 30:17). Although we may no longer be directly under their authority, we cannot outgrow God's command to honor our parents. Even Jesus, God the Son, submitted Himself to both His earthly parents (Luke 2:51) and His heavenly Father (Matthew 26:39). Following Christ's example, we should treat our parents the way we would reverentially approach our heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:9; Malachi 1:6).

Obviously, we are commanded to honor our parents, but how? Honor them with both actions and attitudes (Mark 7:6). Honor their unspoken as well as spoken wishes. "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke" (Proverbs 13:1). In Matthew 15:3-9, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the command of God to honor their father and mother. They were obeying the letter of the law, but they had added their own traditions that essentially overruled it. While they honored their parents in word, their actions proved their real motive. Honor is more than lip service. The word "honor" in this passage is a verb and, as such, demands a right action. 

We should seek to honor our parents in much the same way that we strive to bring glory to God—in our thoughts, words, and actions. For a young child, obeying parents goes hand in hand with honoring them. That includes listening, heeding, and submitting to their authority. After children mature, the obedience that they learned as children will serve them well in honoring other authorities such as government, police, and employers. 

While we are required to honor parents, that doesn't include imitating ungodly ones (Ezekiel 20:18-19). If a parent ever instructs a child to do something that clearly contradicts God's commands, that child must obey God rather than his/her parents (Acts 5:29).

Honor begets honor. God will not honor those who will not obey His command to honor their parents. If we desire to please God and be blessed, we should honor our parents. Honoring is not easy, is not always fun, and certainly is not possible in our own strength. But honor is a certain path to our purpose in life—glorifying God. "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" (Colossians 3:20).

Recommended Resource: Your Family God's Way by Wayne Mack.

from GotQuestions.org

May this Mother's Day be more than just another day to you and yours, and be a blesses day full of God's love, peace and comfort.

Our thoughts are with you.

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Warmest regards,

 

Lizette De Klerk & family

 

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"Did God create evil?"

Question: "Did God create evil?"

Answer: At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a "thing" like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all He created was good. One of the good things God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So, God allowed these free angels and humans to choose good or reject good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a "thing" that required God to create it.

Perhaps a further illustration will help. If a person is asked, "Does cold exist?" the answer would likely be "yes." However, this is incorrect. Cold does not exist. Cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness does not exist; it is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of good, or better, evil is the absence of God. God did not have to create evil, but rather only allow for the absence of good.

God did not create evil, but He does allow evil. If God had not allowed for the possibility of evil, both mankind and angels would be serving God out of obligation, not choice. He did not want "robots" that simply did what He wanted them to do because of their "programming." God allowed for the possibility of evil so that we could genuinely have a free will and choose whether or not we wanted to serve Him.

As finite human beings, we can never fully understand an infinite God (Romans 11:33-34). Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought. God looks at things from a holy, eternal perspective. We look at things from a sinful, earthly, and temporal perspective. Why did God put man on earth knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn't He just create us all and leave us in heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? These questions cannot be adequately answered this side of eternity. What we can know is whatever God does is holy and perfect and ultimately will glorify Him. God allowed for the possibility of evil in order to give us a true choice in regards to whether we worship Him. God did not create evil, but He allowed it. If He had not allowed evil, we would be worshipping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own will.

Recommended Resource: If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think about the Question by Norman Geisler.

From: GotQuestions.org Newsletter (http://www.gotquestions.org/) with thanks.

Further reading:

Why does God allow evil? - http://www.compellingtruth.org/God-allow-evil.html

Why does God allow evil men like Hitler and Saddam to come into power? - http://www.gotquestions.org/Hitler-Saddam.html

How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world? - http://www.gotquestions.org/goodness-of-God.html

What is theodicy? - http://www.gotquestions.org/theodicy.html

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Regards,

 

Lizette De Klerk

 

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Should Christians celebrate Christmas?

Question: "Should Christians celebrate Christmas?"

Answer: The debate about whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries. There are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue, each with multiple reasons why or why not Christmas should be celebrated in Christian homes. But what does the Bible say? Does the Bible give clear direction as to whether Christmas is a holiday to be celebrated by Christians?

First, let’s look at the reasons why some Christians do not celebrate Christmas. One argument against Christmas is that the traditions surrounding the holiday have origins in paganism. Searching for reliable information on this topic is difficult because the origins of many of our traditions are so obscure that sources often contradict one another. Bells, candles, holly, and yuletide decorations are mentioned in the history of pagan worship, but the use of such in one’s home certainly does not indicate a return to paganism. While there are definitely pagan roots to some traditions, there are many more traditions associated with the true meaning of Christmas—the birth of the Savior of the world in Bethlehem. Bells are played to ring out the joyous news, candles are lit to remind us that Christ is the Light of the world (John 1:4-9), a star is placed on the top of a Christmas tree to remember the Star of Bethlehem, and gifts are exchanged to remind us of the gifts of the Magi to Jesus, the greatest gift of God to mankind.

Another argument against Christmas, especially having a Christmas tree, is that the Bible forbids bringing trees into our homes and decorating them. The passage often cited is Jeremiah 10:1-16, but this passage refers to cutting down trees, chiseling the wood to make an idol, and then decorating the idol with silver and gold for the purpose of bowing down before it to worship it (see also Isaiah 44:9-18). The passage in Jeremiah cannot be taken out of its context and used to make a legitimate argument against Christmas trees.

Christians who choose to ignore Christmas point to the fact that the Bible doesn’t give us the date of Christ’s birth, which is certainly true. December 25 may not be even close to the time Jesus was born, and arguments on both sides are legion, some relating to climate in Israel, the practices of shepherds in winter, and the dates of Roman census-taking. None of these points are without a certain amount of conjecture, which brings us back to the fact that the Bible doesn’t tell us when Jesus was born. Some see this as proof positive that God didn’t want us to celebrate the birth, while others see the Bible’s silence on the issue as tacit approval.

Some Christians say that since the world celebrates Christmas—although it is becoming more and more politically correct to refer to it as “the holidays”—Christians should avoid it. But that is the same argument made by false religions that deny Christ altogether, as well as cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses who deny His deity. Those Christians who do celebrate Christmas often see the occasion as an opportunity to proclaim Christ as “the reason for the season” among the nations and to those trapped in false religions.

As we have seen, there is no legitimate scriptural reason not to celebrate Christmas. At the same time, there is no biblical mandate to celebrate it, either. In the end, of course, whether or not to celebrate Christmas is a personal decision. Whatever Christians decide to do regarding Christmas, their views should not be used as a club with which to beat down or denigrate those with opposing views, nor should either view be used as a badge of honor inducing pride over celebrating or not celebrating. As in all things, we seek wisdom from Him who gives it liberally to all who ask (James 1:5) and accept one another in Christian love and grace, regardless of our views on Christmas.

Recommended Resource: The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel.

This page is also available in: Español, Português

Related Topics:

What should parents tell their children about Santa Claus?

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

How should Christians respond to the "War on Christmas"?

Should a Christian celebrate Hanukkah (Christmaskah)?

What does the Bible say about the three wise men (Magi)?

Read more at and adapted (with many thanks) from: GotQuestions.org

See also: http://www.equip.org/articles/should-christians-celebrate-christmas/

Photo: Images of Christmas. © 2012. Lizette De Klerk. All rights reserved worldwide.

"...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

BE PREPARED, FOR GOD GAVE YOU THE ABILITY (AND FOREKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU NEED) TO DO JUST THAT.

"...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."


2 Timothy 3 - King James Version (KJV)

3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.

10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Watch this: "A question about the end times and dealing with those holding views in contradiction to the Scripture." - http://youtu.be/FQ7_o90XTLo

Bible Chronology

Which is the oldest and second oldest books in The Bible, and so forth?

Fabula-wise (the actual story of life the way it happened in chronological order) it is Genesis then Job.

Syuzhet-wise (the way the story is organized) the Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Judaism and the Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic Orthodox, Coptic, Georgian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches.

The time of the writing of each book is highly debated and debatable. Here is a sample listing of the books of the Bible in the supposed order in which they were written (end numbers represent the traditional English order):

Old Testament:

1440 - 1400 B.C.

Genesis #1
Exodus #2
Leviticus #3
Numbers #4
Deuteronomy #5

1400 - 1000

Joshua #6
Judges #7

1000 - 586 B.C. (pre-exile - mid-exile)

Period of David & Solomon (ca. 1000 - 931):

Psalms #19
Ruth #8
1st Samuel #9
2nd Samuel #10
Job #18
Proverbs #20
Ecclesiastes #21
Song of Solomon #22

Period of Rehoboam to Hezekiah (931 - 686):

Isaiah #23
Hosea #28
Joel #29
Amos #30
Obadiah #31
Jonah #32
Micah #33

Period of Hezekiah to the exile (686 - 586):

Nahum #34
Habakkuk #35
Zephaniah #36

1st Kings #11
2nd Kings #12
1st Chronicles #13
2nd Chronicles #14

Jeremiah #24
Lamentations #25
Ezekiel #26
Daniel #27

516 - 400 B.C. (post-exilic)

Ezra #15
Nehemiah #16
Esther #17

Haggai #37
Zechariah #38
Malachi #39

New Testament:

40 - 45. A.D.

Matthew: #1 (#40 )

45 - 50 A.D.

1st Thessalonians #13 (#52)
2nd Thessalonians #14 (#53)
1 Corinthians #7 (#46)
2 Corinthians #8 (#47)
Romans #6 (#45)
Luke #3 (#42)

50 - 55 A.D.

Galatians #9 (#48)
Ephesians #10 (#49)
Philippians #11 (#50)
Colossians #12 (#51)
Philemon #18 (#57)
Acts #5 (#44)

1st Timothy #15 (#54)
2nd Timothy #16 (#55)
Titus #17 (#56)
Hebrews #19 (#58)

55 - 60 A.D.

1st Peter #21 (#60)
2nd Peter #22 (#61)
Mark #2 (#41)
James #20 (#59)
Jude #26 (#65)

60 - 68 A.D.

John #4 (#43)
1st John #23 (#62)
2nd John #24 (#63)
3rd John e #25 (#64)
Revelation #27 (#66)

Further study & sources (with thanks):

Question: What is "chronology?" Answer: the science of arranging time in fixed periods for the purpose of dating events accurately and arranging them in order of occurrence.

There are three sets of "chronology:"

1.) The sequence of actual events i.e. the fabula, i.e. which events in which book of the Bible happened after Genesis, which is regarded as the first events, and the answer to that is the events described in the book of Job.

2.) Then there are the sequence of when the books of the Bible were written and here scholars differ by hundreds of years. ?Some scholars argue that Job was written before Genesis, while others argue the opposite.

Read these interesting discussions and resources for further study: http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Job.html / 

http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Genesis.html / 

http://bible.org/article/introduction-book-job / 

http://bible.org/seriespage/analysis-and-synthesis-genesis / 

http://ichthys.com/mail-Bible%20chrono.htm / 

http://www.truthingenesis.com/book-of-genesis-authors.html / 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080301073518AAUElMh / 

http://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/stewart.cfm?id=675 / 

http://carm.org/when-was-bible-written-and-who-wrote-it / 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis / 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chronology, and for the sceptics: 

http://atheism.about.com/od/Bible-Study-Pentateuch/a/Book-Genesis-Intro.htm 

3. Finally there is the chronology of how the books of The Bible are arranged, in what order, i.e. the sujet.

Please feel free to add your comments and or resources.