VVD

No Comparison

2004-12-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:15
But God's free gift is not at all to be compared to the trespass [His grace is out of all proportion to the fall of man]. For if many died through one man's falling away (his lapse, his offence), much more profusely did God's grace and free gift that comes through the undeserved favor of the one Man Jesus Christ abound and overflow to and for the benefit of many.

Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! (The Message)

Sin and grace are not even remotely the same. They are not even remotely different. One man's disobedience resulting in the death of all mankind, one Man's obedience resulting in life for all mankind. It's not the same.
The benefits are just too much.
Liefde en Groete

2004-12-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:12-13
Therefore, as sin came into this world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop or escape its power] because all men have sinned.
To be sure sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged to men's account where there is no law to transgress.

You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in - first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death.
That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses.

Sin is the problem, and sin came into this world when Adam failed to at his job to guard and protect the earth and let snake deceive the woman and him into eating what God forbade them to eat.
What the first man failed at, the second Man had to undo.
Thank you Jesus.
Liefde en Groete

The Question is Removed

2004-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:9-10
Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ's blood, how much more certain is it that we shall be saved from the indignation and wrath of God.
For while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion) through His resurrection life.

Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.
If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!

The pig and the chicken are involved in giving for man to have breakfast. The chicken lays an egg, the pig lays down his life.
Now you know. When you were at your worst, God gave His best. So that you can eat and live.
Liefde en Groete

Love on the Line

2004-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:6-8
While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.
Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.
But God shows and clearly proves His own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway.
We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.
But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

What can you do for me? Let me first determine that before I decide what I will do for you. That's the way we think. That's what we do. That's the logical thing to do. But God does the extraordinary thing, (I love that) He dies for the ungodly, those that are of no use to Him. Why? He sees the end from the beginning, He can count the apples in the seed.
Liefde en Groete

The Law of Deliverance / Working for It - 4

2004-12-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

Romans 3: 27-28
Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded (banished, ruled out entirely). On what principle? On the principle of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle of faith.
For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by faith independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of the Law). [The observance of the Law has nothing to do with justification.]

So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does.
We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. (The Message)

Why do you think we cannot work for our salvation? Why is it God that does the job?
I think it is because some of us work harder than others and working will then provide a better salvation than others and then we get to go to better heaven than the lazy bums. See, pride raises its ugly head when we get involved. And God hates pride.
Sit back. Relax. Watch God work.
Enjoy.
Liefde en Groete

The Law of Deliverance / Acquittal - 3

2004-12-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:23-24
Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.
All are justifed and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus.

Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,
God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. (The Message)

Read the rest of the sentence, Koos. Dont stop at "All sinners and fall short of the glory of God". "Woe is me, I can never make it, I'll just have to accept my fate , a sinner till I die, I just hope God has mercy on my soul when I die".
Read all of it. It says "since we were sinners" God did it all for us. We were made upright, like a fallen toy soldier, incapable of doing anything, God made us upright.
When did this happen?
2000 years ago, Koos, so it's for you now.
Learn and Live
Liefde en Groete

The Law of Deliverance / Acquittal - 2

2004-12-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:21-22
But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actally it is attested by the Law and the Prophets.
Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction.

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened.
The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. (The Message)

There has been a change in the method. The way things were, are not. The Law has been made complete by Jesus. Faith in Him is the only way to acquittal.
You as always have a choice in this matter. It is like your mamma said about the food; You can take it or you can leave it. But if you dont eat you are going to be hungry and there is no other food out there.
Believe.
Eat.
Drink.
Liefde en Groete

The Law of Deliverance 1

2004-12-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:20
For no person will be justified (made righteous, aquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescibed by the Law. For the real function of the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception but acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and a holy character].

Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin.

The main point to get here is that jusyification is not up to me. It is up to Someone else to acquit you, to set you free, to find you acceptable, it is something you CANNOT do on your own. You cannot impress God enough to love you.
The Law is there so that you can know how bad you are, for you to realize the I cannot do the impossible no matter how hard I try. I cannot escape gravity on my own.
Accept the fact.
Liefde en Groete

Heart Ambush

2004-11-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ps 118
13 I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me.
14 God's my strength, he's also my song, and now he's my salvation.
15 Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? "The hand of God has turned the tide!
16 The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!"
17 I didn't die. I lived! And now I'm telling the world what God did.
18 God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn't hand me over to Death.

On Thanksgiving I got a early Christmas present. Playing golf, early in the morning, I hade chest pains, quit playing, went to the hospital, got seen by man and machine, gave blood, and they found that one of my coronary arteries had 95% blockage. They put in a stent.
I haven't felt better in years.
Praise God

23 This is God's work. We rub our eyes - we can hardly believe it!
24 This is the very day God acted - let's celebrate and be festive!
25 Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God - a free and full life!
26 Blessed are you who enter in God's name - from God's house we bless you!
27 God is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hang colored banners above the altar!
28 You're my God, and I thank you. O my God, I lift high your praise.
29 Thank God - he's so good. His love never quits!

It's a Struggle

2004-11-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:9
Well then, are we Jews superior and better off than they? No, not at all. We have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin [held down by and subject to its power and control]

What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,

Under sin. I have never seen it like this, held down by and subject to its power and control. That is how we came into this world and how we will leave if we do not struggle. It's like sin is holding us under water and if we do not struggle and resist we will drown. It is a fight we all have to fight and one we cannot win on our own. Jesus won the fight. We have to accept that it was for us.
Liefde en Groete

Faithful, No Matter What

2004-11-23T05:36:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:3-4
What if some did not believe and were without faith? Does their lack of faith and their faithlessness nullify and make ineffective and void the faithfulness of God and His fidelity to His Word?
By no means! Let God be found true though every human is false and a liar, as it is written, That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged by sinful men

So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness?
Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you

So if I choose to believe that their is no God, does that mean that God does not exist? That is the faith of an ostrich, Head-in-the-Sand Faith. Pretending that something or Someone doesn't exist doesn't make it so, it just keeps you in the dark.
Pull your head out (from where ever you have put it, look around you , see everything that has been made, smell the roses, smell the coffee, know that every good thing comes from Him.
Liefde en Groete

The Real Jew

2004-11-22T07:52:00.000-08:00

Romans 2:28, 29
For he is not a [real] Jew who is one outwardly and publicly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical.
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. His praise is not from man but from God.

Don't you see: It's not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew.
You become a Jew by who you are. It's the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.

Who are you? Do you constantly have to go around and tell everyone who you are or do they see who you are by your actions.
Actions speak louder than words. A pig with an nose ring and lipstick is still a pig.
Al dra 'n aap 'n goue ring, hy bly maar nog 'n lelike ding.
Get rid of the facade, God sees through it, and who are you reqally trying to impress.
Liefde en Groete.

Built-in Knower

2004-11-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Romans 2:14,15
When the Gentiles wo have not the divine Law do instinctively wat the Law requires, they are a law unto themselves, sinc they do not have the Law.
They show that the essential requirements of the Law are ritn their hearts and are operating there, with which their consciences (sense of right and wrong) also bear witness; and their moral decisions (their arguments of reason, their condemning or approving thoughts) will accuse them or perhaps defend and excuse them.

When outsiders who have never heard of God's law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience.
They show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong

Even the most base athesist knows that it is wrong torture babies. We all have a conscience.
We all know right from wrong. It's just the way we are built.
Live with it.
Live it.
Liefde en Groete

God gives up?

2004-11-18T05:12:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:24,25
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their own hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies amoung themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever!

So God said, in effect, "If that's what you want, that's what you get." It wasn't long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out.
And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them - the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

God giving up? He doesn't give up on us but gives us up to do what we what. We have free choice and God will honor your choice, He will allow you to get in the gutter and play among the pigs, if you think that that is what you want. If you want to trade the truth for a lie, God will not force anything on you. Worship what you want, but know that God is there, waiting, watching, ready to run to welcome his lost and presumed dead son home (Luke 15:24)
Come home!
Liefde en Groete

Dangerous Knowledge

2004-11-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:21
Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their sensless minds were darkened.

What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives (The Message)

It looks to me like that to know is not enough. Knowledge might even be dangerous. I heard a preacher man once say that you would be asked two questions at the judgement seat.
1. How did you react to the truth that you knew?
2. How did you search for the truth?
When we get to know Him, we must honor and glorify Him, if we want to make any sense out of our lives, if not we will be like a ship without a rudder, tossed and turned by every little wind and wave, just waiting to be wrecked.
Know, Honor and Glorify Jesus.
Liefde en Groete

No Excuses Allowed

2004-11-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:20
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernable in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So men are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification].

But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is!
By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.

Ignorance does not prove innocence. Look around you, everything and anything that you see is proof, not only that God exists, but that He created everything. (It's much easier to believe that, Koos, than to believe it all just came together out of nothing, and higher life forms evolved from lower forms, ice creams melts, Koos).
It's the plain truth.
You don't have any excuse.
You don't have any justification.
That's His job.
Liefde en Groete

Cleaning House

2004-11-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:18
For God's holy wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make in inoperative.

But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. (The Message)

If you think that the eruption of Mount St. Helens was impressive be prepared to be blown away when God's anger erupts against evil man. This will not be pretty but it will clean the air. And all because the truth is suppressed. Truth leads to freedom and God is in the freedom business and does not like anyone hiding the truth from anybody.
Jesus said; "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" and "I am the way , the Truth and the Life"
Know the Truth.
Get to know the Way.
Know Life.
Liefde en Groete

Know the

Getting Right

2004-11-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:17
For in the Gospel a righteousness that God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall llive by faith.

God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives." Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral (The Message)

Getting right with God is up to God. He ascribes righteousness. He puts you right, makes you upright. He pulls you out the gutter and takes you to glory.
Righteousness - God, He say, I am alright!
No boasting about what I did, maybe just some reflecting of where I could have been on the Downward Spiral had He not intervened.
Liefde en Groete

Unashamed

2004-11-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is the God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! (The Message)

Martin Luther said (I think) that if Romans were the only book in the Bible, that it would be enough. So I am going to take some time going through it.

We have some good news here.
God is working His power.
Power to deliver from eternal death.
Everyone.
Anyone.
Just believe.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - November 8, 2004

2004-11-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

James 1:13
Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God, for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).

Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way.
The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. (The Message)

We tend to say we fell into temptation. This is wrong. it is not a trap or a snare, that is hidden from view and that we, unsuspecting and innocent, travelling along the path, suddenly find ourselves trapped or ensnared.
No we fall for temptations, it is the worm on the hook, and we are swimming we we are not supposed to, and because the bait looks good we take it and are trapped.
Watch were you go, be careful at what you look at.
Be accountable.
Liefde e Groete

VVD - November 5, 2004

2004-11-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Ps. 121:1-3

I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip or be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
He won't let you stumble, your Guardian God won't fall asleep.

I just realized that there is something God does not do. He does not sleep!
The Maker of heaven and earth and mountains (imagine making a mountain) does not sleep.
He watches over each one of us not allowing our feet to slip.
What a place to get your strength from.
Liefde en Groete.

VVD - November 4, 2004

2004-11-04T06:59:00.000-08:00

Ps. 119:175
Let me live that I may praise You, and let Your decrees help me.

Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well, use your decrees to put iron in my soul.

The purpose for living is yo praise the Lord.
The Word puts iron in the soul, I like that. Make me strong with Your word.
Laat my lewe dat ek kan loof.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - November 3, 2004

2004-11-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Ps. 119:165
Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.

For those who love what you reveal, everything fits - no stumbling around in the dark for them

Peace is more than an absence of war. It is a place when nothing or nobody can even bug you. You are not easily offended. Small things are just that, small things. You know God is in control, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He will not allow a hair fall from your head without his approval.
Peace, a state of mind that we all aspire to.
Love His law.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - November 2, 2004

2004-11-02T05:20:00.000-08:00

Ps. 119:142
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth

Your righteousness is eternally right, your revelation is the only truth. (The Messsage)

Righteousness is one of the big words with a simple meaning.
God declares us not guilty.
He takes our sins and casts them in the Sea of Forgetfulness.
There is no sin under the carpet.
He forgets our sin.
God looks at us as if we never sinned.
Forever.
Why then do we keep reminding ourselves of what rotten sinners we are?
Liefde en Groete

VVD - November 1, 2004

2004-11-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

Ps. 119:131
I open my mouth and panted [with eager desire], for I longed for Your commandments.

Mouth open and panting, I wanted your commands more than anything. (The Message)

I get the picture here of a sheepdog, his whole being focused on his master, ears up, tongue out, waiting for the next instruction for his master, that he may run and do it.
Prayer for the day:
Lord, make me half the man that my dog thinks I am.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 29, 2004

2004-10-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:118, 119
You spurn and set to nought all those who stray from Your statues, for their own lying deceives them and their tricks are in vain.
You put away and count as dross all the wicked of the earth [for there is no true metal in them]; therefore I love Your testimonies.

Expose all who drift away from your sayings; their casual idolatry is lethal.
You reject earth's wicked as so much rubbish; therefore I lovingly embrace everything you say.

There are things in life that we just don't have any control over nor any choice in.
You will be counted. You will be judged. You will die.
The choice we have is on Whose side will we be seen to be.
God wants us on His side. He sent His Son just for that purpose.
Black or White.
The choice is yours.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 27, 2004

2004-10-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:109, 110
My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I do not stray from Your precepts.

My life is as close as my own hands, but I don't forget what you have revealed.
The wicked do their best to throw me off track, but I don't swerve an inch from your course.

Read this again please Koos.
In whose hand is your life?
That's right, in your own hand! You have control. You are responsible. You can make the choices. You know what is right and what is wrong.
Choose Life.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 25, 2004

2004-10-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:101, 105
I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep Your word [hearing, receiving, loving and obeying it].
Your word is a lamp t my feet and a light to my path.

I watch my step, avoiding the ditches and ruts of evil so I can spend all my time keeping your Word.
By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

Ever try to walk in the dark in a place you dont know? Your toes and shins will tell your brain that they don't like it. There is a lot of hurt out there in the dark
Turn on the light. wait until morning. Watch where you walk. Stay in the light.
Liefde ne Groete

VVD - October 22, 2004

2004-10-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

Words to make you wise.
Ps. 119:97-100
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies, for Your words are ever before me.
I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, because I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]

Oh, how I love all you've revealed; I reverently ponder it all the day long.
Your commands give me an edge on my enemies; they never become obsolete.
I've even become smarter than my teachers since I've pondered and absorbed your counsel.
I've become wiser than the wise old sages simply by doing what you tell me.

If you want to be smart for the rest of your life,
Better make the Word be like your wife.

Keep her close, hear her, receive her, love her, and obey her.

Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 20, 2004

2004-10-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:96
I have seen that everything [human] has its limits and end [no matter how extensive, noble and excellent]; but Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity]

I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can't contain your commands! (The Message)

You can count the sand on the beach or the stars in the sky (It won't be easy, Koos, but it is possible). There is an end to everything we see or touch or imagine.
But God has no end, He has no beginning, He always was and will be. He is I AM.
You cannot limit who He is nor what He can do.
You cannot put God in a box.
Don't try.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 19, 2004

2004-10-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:89-90
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven [stands firm as the heavens].
Your faithfulness is from generation to generation; You have established the earth and it stands fast.

What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens.
Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up.

The promises of God are permanent. The steak on the plate is not to be compared with the pie in the sky. His word is real, it is true and it is for now.

VVD - October 18, 2004

2004-10-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Ps.119:73
Your hands have made me, cunningly fashioned and established me; give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.

With your very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you. (The Message)

We are His creatures. After every event during the creation God examined His work, and said "It is good", but after He formed man with His hands and breathed His life into the lump of red clay, He stepped back and said "It is very good!"
You have His approval, and you don't have to get cleaned up to get Him to like you, He approved when you still were a lump of red clay.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 15, 2004

2004-10-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:71-72
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
The law from Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

My troubles turned out all for the best - they forced me to learn from your textbook.
Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.

The Blind Whip. (Blinde Sambok)
Pain can be a good thing. We are born so stubborn that the only way we learn is through pain. We will keep on doing the wrong thing just because it feels so good, (it must be from God) until pain tells us different.
Smooth sailing will lead to rough water, rough water teaches us to be better sailors.
Permissiveness leads to death.
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil (Prov. 20:30 - KJV)
Listen before it's too late.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 14, 2004

2004-10-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:64
The earth, O Lord , is full of Your mercy and lovingkindness; teach me Your statutes.

Your love, God, fills the earth! Train me to live by your counsel. (The Message)

Where is God? Look around you, everything you see and everyone you meet is the result of the love of God. The earth is full of God.
You can run from God, but you cannot hide.
You can try but you cannot escape from His lovingkindness.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 13, 2004

2004-10-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:57
You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to keep your words.

Because you have satisfied me, God, I promise to do everything you say. (The Message)

This is great, I can have a piece of God. He is my portion and do everything He says.
Life is simple.
I get a piece of God and added on as a bonus, I get the peace of God.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 12, 2004

2004-10-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:53-54
Burning indignation, terror and sadness seize upon me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

But when I see the wicked ignore your directions, I'm beside myself with anger.
I set your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way.

We get mad when we see that the crooks get away with it. It seems so unfair; here we are, doing the right thing and we are getting buried while the heathens are are having the time of their lives.
Don't worry, don't judge, know that God knows all and sees all. He will take care of it.
(Ps. 73:1-17)
Just keep your song going.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 11, 2004

2004-10-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:45
And I will walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for and desperately required Your precepts

And I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom (the Message)

Freedom is the one common denominator that we all crave. We all want to be free. Free from rules, free from school, free from government, free.
Just leave me alone, I'll do my thing. My way.
But we confuse freedom with licence. We want God to give us a licence to sin. We want Him to be accountable for our screw-ups. We want rights without responsibility. It can't work that way. We can only be free if we know our limits. Good fences make good neighbors. We can only know our limits from the Word. We will only be able to walk, without running, free from stress and with no rushing involved if we look for Truth and Wisdom.
God fences makes God a neighbor.
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 8, 2004

2004-10-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:37
Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity (worthless things, idols and idolatry); and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways.

Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way, (The Message)

The eyes are the entrance into the heart, what you see can have a tremendous impact on your life. Images are seered into your memory forever. Things that you did not even want to see are there and you have to live with them.
Sometimes we look at stuff we should not be looking at, stuff that can hurt us.
What are you looking at?
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 7, 2004

2004-10-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:29-30
Remove from me the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness [to You], and graciously impart Your law to me.
I have chosen the way of truth and faithfulness; Your ordinances have I set before me.

Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation.
I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner.
(The Message)

Our natural way or bent is false and unfaithful and leads nowhere.
We have to choose truth and faithfulness.
We have to keep posting the road signs so that we don't get lost.
Time to change direction?
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 6, 2004

2004-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:10-11
With my whole heart have I sought You, inquiring for and of You and yearning for You; O let me not wander or step aside [either in ignorance or willfully] from Your commandments.
Your word have I laid up in my heart , that I might not sin against You.

I'm single-minded in pursuit of you; don't let me miss the road signs you've posted.
I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt.
(The Message)

Single-minded = whole heart
Empty heart leads to bankruptcy
What's in your heart?
Liefde en Groete

VVD - October 5, 2004

2004-10-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

Ps 119:9
How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to your Word [confirming his life to it].

To keep your nose clean, you have to keep your nose in the Word.

VVD - October 3, 2004

2004-10-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:1
Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the undefiled (the upright, truely sincere, and blameless) in the way of the revealed will of God, who walk (order their conduct and conversation) in the Law of the Lord (the whole of God's revealed will). - Amplified

You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God (Message)

The only way that you can stay on course is to be upright (nobody has ever won a race on his back in the gutter, just ask the rabbit, Koos).
The only way to be upright is for Him to make you upright. God declares us righteous.
God, He say I am okay.
Our job then is to stay upright and the way is to keep moving (ever try and balance a stationary bicycle, Koos)
Liefde en Groete

2004-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Ingrid & Spekkies

VVD - October 2, 2004

2004-10-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Ps. 124:2-3
If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side when men rose up against us. Then they would have quickly swallowed us up alive when their wrath was kindled against us.

Take a step back and look at your life and ask yourself, "Self, where would you have been if the Lord was not on your side?"
Scary thought, huh?

VVD - October 1, 2004

2004-09-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Phil. 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him, [that I may progessively become more deeply and intimately acquinted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection, [which it exerts over believers], and that I may also share His suferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death

It is not what you know, it's Who you know.