written by Stephan Joubert
I’m sold out to Philip Yancey’s definition of grace. He says that there is nothing we can do to make God love us less, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us more. He loves us regardless. God loves us on Christ’s behalf. He loves us despite ourselves and not because of who we are. God’s unmentionable love is never performance-driven, but always relationship-driven. Listen again… He doesn’t look at who does the most for Him and then loves those people more. Even less does He love us more for obedience and less when we fail.
God is our Father. That’s why his love for us happens without that performance clause that’s flourishing everywhere in the business world. Grace is nothing different than God’s free caring for us. Grace is a godly verb. It tells us that Jesus is on our heels with a handful of goodness. That’s why grace is a rest-word for you and me. Now then, stop running. Go rest in God’s arms.
written by Stephan Joubert
God dreams and He dreams big. He dreams about a new world, one where his will prevails. He dreams about a society where hate comes second, and injustice loses. He dreams about poor people having enough food to eat and about the lonely ones being cared for. He dreams about people who live together safely and in love for one another. He dreams about his kingdom spreading across the earth like a runaway bushfire, and billions of people bowing before Jesus. He dreams of people who discover this treasure in a field, like Jesus tells in Matthew 13, and leave everything to get their hands on it.
God dreams new dreams. And the good news — you have a place in God’s dreams. He noticed you when He dreamed big about people and his creation. He wants to use you to make his dreams reality. You should report for duty at once. He’ll take care of the rest. The Lord will use you by causing streams of living water to flow through you. He’ll use you to touch the lives of those around you. He will give his dreams wings in your life. So, what are you waiting for?
written by Stephan Joubert
In one moment even the most stormy sea can become calm. In the blink of an eye huge storms can abate. The same can happen in your life. Chaos can instantaneously make room for reason. Noise can be replaced by soft silence in an instant. Unrest can be chased away by heavenly peace. How? Just realize afresh that the Lord is God. He alone! Believe the Word that the Lord is with you in the storm. Believe the Word that He is the Hiding-place in danger.
Subside. Calm down. Come to rest. Let your heart become still and calm. Let your turbulent mood find a hiding place at the Lord’s feet. Look up. Notice the Lord, high over nations and far above the dead gods of this world. See Him in faith. Bow gently before Him in the beautiful Name of Jesus. Kneel in deep worship. Know anew that the Lord is the Almighty. He has power in his hands. He alone is Lord, only He. He is your only Hope, He is the only Savior. Notice Him, and come to rest in his presence. Look up to Him and experience his heavenly peace.
written by Stephan Joubert
You’re not a victim of your emotions. You can live thankful every day. You can have an “attitude of gratitude” lifestyle. How? Well, here’s a few pointers:
a. Choose to live every day proactively in the Lord’s good name, never reactively. Refuse to constantly react to everyone and everything. You don’t have to have an opinion about everything under the sun.
b. Don’t get dysfunctionally attached to strangers. Don’t allow bad drivers or criminals to fill you with anger. Detach yourself emotionally from negative people. Don’t allow them to pull you down to their negative level.
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written by Stephan Joubert
You are what you watch! Watching television isn’t always just a good time-killer. It forms your thoughts. It shapes your humanity. No wonder that television addiction is pointed out by social experts as one of the biggest inhibitors of our psychological health and adaptability. It changes too many good people into couch potatoes and robs them of their creative thoughts and active participation in life.
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written by Stephan Joubert
Experts say that one of the biggest dangers staring modern society in the face is our endless consumer mentality. Too many people are like bottomless pits that need to constantly satisfy the one desire after the other… and then today still. Tomorrow is way too late, because tomorrow there’s already a new CD, cell phone, automobile, or set of clothes that need to be acquired. How true wasn’t this in the festive season just past? It was barely over, and people descended on every possible sale like vultures to buy even more. Our closets are taking strain. Our houses are stacked, and still the end is not in sight!
Tragic that the abundance of things became the measuring stick for success in our day. But the question still remains: When is enough enough? One can walk around in only one set of clothes at a time, and drive around in only one car at a time. Are the lives of consumers truly filled with peace when they have all the right things on their name? No, because I suspect they are still drinking at the wrong well. Living water is found elsewhere — at Jesus’ well of life. His type of water gives life eternally.
written by Stephan Joubert
Some have it… others don’t. I’m speaking about spiritual finesse. In the Proverbs it’s called wisdom. Wisdom, the type that starts with reverence for God according to Proverbs 1:7, touches your daily life dramatically. That’s why this kind of wisdom is to know when to say your say, and when to keep your mouth shut. It’s to never storm blindly into any situation with an artificial quick-fix for every possible problem. Wisdom makes you daring to do God’s will, but also careful for the traps of folly.
Spiritual finesse is to know the difference between wisdom and folly and to apply that knowledge. Where do you find this type of finesse? Well, please listen afresh to the Proverbs where it’s taught that it all starts with a life of dedication to God. Wisdom is equal to full-time, day in and night out respect for the Lord. This type of wisdom is the reason why you can’t help but treat other people constantly with great respect. Respect for God continually flows over into respect for other people. Such a life filled to the brim with spiritual finesse causes you to read the “Handle with care!” sticker on others every time… and to respect it!
written by Stephan Joubert
Paul’s farewell words to the church leaders Ephesus in Acts 20 grabs my heart over and over again. It just should have been one of the more well-known and popular texts in the church than it is today. Especially precious is the apostle’s words that he worked hard to always have something to give to the poor! This verse belongs in the same company as John 3:16, the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23.
In these deep words of Paul we encounter the complete heart of the gospel in a nutshell, namely that we must always life generously. That’s what the gospel is about — giving, not receiving. And not storing things up just for ourselves. We don’t work only for our own retirement package or the next luxury item on our never-ending shopping list. No, we also work hard to be able to care for those who are suffering. Our biggest investments in God’s kingdom is to reach out every time we encounter someone that’s less privileged than ourselves. So, how about a fresh re-appreciation of Acts 20:35 here in the new year?
written by Stephan Joubert
Once again, it’s the time of new year’s resolutions being made everywhere. Can you believe it?! Well, I also have a couple of set resolutions for the 2010 that’s lying in wait just around the corner… like making more time for silence in my life. God doesn’t compete with all the noise in and around me. I realize that I have to hear Him on his terms, not mine, in the new year. That’s why I would love to be still and quiet more often in the new year, to get to know the Lord better.
Another resolution — I don’t want to send or answer any nasty emails or text messages during 2010. It’s an unnecessary waste of energy to try and argue with those who believe that they know better, or with those who are always the only correct ones. In the new year, I also don’t want to fret about some road users furiously chasing around just to win 2 minutes of saved time, and 2 hours of higher blood pressure as “reward”. Finally, I want to live all of 2010 at the ‘today-speed’ — one day at a time. I reckon that’s just about fast enough.
written by Stephan Joubert
“And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” That was Jesus’ words about that remarkable woman who poured a bottle of very expensive perfume over his head at a dinner in Bethany (Mark 14). It was more than a year’s income for the average person in Palestine that she “wasted” on Jesus. But it was exactly the right kind of wasting! It was the right kind of thing to do since Jesus was the Recipient thereof.
To pour out your life on the Lord, by giving your money, talents, time and energy to Him in an overly generous way, might seem like a useless waste in the eyes of those around you. However, that’s not the case when the Lord is the Recipient. In this festive season, learn from this woman where unnecessary wasting of earthly things is in order. Learn from the Lord’s contemporary heroes who are wasting to perfection in the proper way. Go and practice the art of over-the-top wastefulness in such a way that heaven and earth will start noticing.
