The man who wore the wrong clothes

  Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.”

This section of Scripture reminded me of how our normal wedding ceremonies are  conducted.  The invited guests all assemble at the wedding venue, and then sit/stand together waiting for the bride to arrive.  The groom and his attendants normally stand in front of everybody, nervously searching for the bride as well, and as such have a very good view of all the guests gathered before them. 

And in this story, our King also came before the proceedings started and looked at those who had been invited and who had accepted the invitation, when He noticed the gate-crasher among them.

There is an Old Testament parallel to this:  Zep 1:7, 8:—"Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath bid His guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel."

What are these wedding clothes?

Is 61:10  "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels".

Rom 13:14 “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

The invitation to the Feast is the invitation into the King’s Kingdom.  And although acceptance of this invitation is free, it is also true that something is expected from those who invite Jesus to be Lord over their lives. Jesus Himself says in Luke 14:28 that we have to estimate the cost: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”  

Did we clothe ourselves with Christ; did we keep ourselves pure and holy, washed clean by the tears of repentance and through the blood of the Lamb?  To follow Jesus will cost us a lot, nothing less than our whole lives (Luke 14:33 “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”).

Even the disciples of Jesus had to be accountable for what they did with their invitations – Judas was called “Friend” by Jesus in Matt 26:50, and look how he turned out. Not everyone who accepts the invitation, does so from the sincerity of their own hearts (maybe they accept Jesus because of peer pressure, or because their parents expect it).  They may do so in inappropriate ways (maybe holding on to false beliefs like keeping idols to worship as well).  Or maybe they are not doing this with the seriousness that it deserves (and therefore they just carry on with their lives as if nothing has changed).

Matthew 22:12 “He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.” 

There was nothing that this man could offer to excuse his behaviour. He had known that special wedding clothes were required by the King, but had decided to follow his own preconceived ideas and beliefs, instead of bringing honour to the King and fulfilling HIS requirements.  In his life he had followed the notion that he was “free” and as such, could do as he, and he alone, had decided was valid. His life choices therefore did not line up with his position as a child of God.

Matthew 22:13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

A heavy punishment rests on someone like this, people who live their lives as supposed citizens of the Kingdom, but entirely on their own terms, never choosing to align themselves with Jesus. Those who accept God’s mercy as a matter of course (they do not understand how much it cost Jesus); who take God’s goodness and grace for granted (thankfulness is not part of their lives).  We must remember that our lives as disciples of Jesus must be characterised by repentance and obedience.  Jesus must rule your life, not you.  You cannot attend the Feast on your own terms.

Matthew 22:14  “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

All are invited, but only those who accept the invitation with sincerity of heart, are chosen.

In summary I wish to say that sincerity of heart before the Lord guarantees your entrance to the marriage supper of the Lamb!  This means that the following is your heart attitude in life, only because you love Him:  you have chosen Jesus with an honest heart, in other words not because of the expectation of others;  you have invited Him to be Lord of your life, so that you try your best to only make choices according to His will and obey His instructions; you live a life of thankfulness towards Him; repentance has become a lifestyle; and you daily deliberately choose to live closer and closer to Him.  This does not mean that you have to be perfect, or that you can earn anything by your actions.  But that your eyes are always fixed on Jesus.  Then you can know for sure that you are welcome at the King’s Wedding Feast!

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Title deeds

 We are in the process of selling some property at the moment, and this brought the implications of what title deeds mean, to my attention again.

A title deed to a property means that you own it, fair and square.  Even though it may be in a different town than where you live, and you cannot see it, it still remains your possession.  In the eyes of the authorities there is a demarcated space somewhere that legally belongs to you, and to no one else.

So when Hebrew 11:1 speaks of faith as being the title deed of the things we hope for but do not see yet, it means that we own those things we hope for, fair and square, through our faith, even though it is not revealed to our senses yet.

All God’s promises to us are accessed through faith.  What are you trusting God for?  If you believe, through faith you can now view these promises in the following way (remembering the title deed):

I own a place in heaven.

I own the right to inherit with Jesus.

I own the fact that I can hear His voice.

I own my healing.

I own my redemption.

I own my freedom from the oppression of sin.

I own the prophecies over my life.

I own my future in His hands.

I own my provision.

I own my deliverance.

Start exercising your faith, your title deeds of the promises God made to you!

 

 

20 June 2022

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Load shedding

And here we woke up this morning to another round of load shedding.  Unfortunately, I had not checked my warning app, because actually we had come a long time now without the inconvenience of having no electricity.  This was not a nice surprise, believe me!

These unexpected situations can sometimes result in the most hilarious moments, like arriving at meetings with hair that could not be blow dried and taking on a life of its own; or trying out roast beef recipes on the gas stove top because the meat had been defrosted already; or arriving to pick up your children from school with an uber because you could not de-latch the automatic garage door opener….

But mostly we just learn to live with it and work around it.  The thing is, by just coping with another disruption, and another one, and another one, we are building up an inner stress level without even realizing that we are doing so.  Abnormal ways of living have become normal for us.  And it taps our inner strength in ways that we were not designed for.

Luckily for us, Is 40:29 shows us that we have a power source that is not dependent on load shedding schedules.  It reads like this:  “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”  This power is always available.  Always at full strength.  Never failing us. Showing up just when we need it.  We do not have to make contingency plans. We do not have to wait for someone to put the switch on. 

All we need to do is admit that we are weary, and weak.  And then call out to Him.  And He will do the rest!

 

23/06/2022

Priscilla Koegelenberg

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Diamond Painting

I sometimes enjoy relaxing with an art activity which is called diamond painting.  Basically it is a coloured picture covered with glue, and you are given different coloured plastic diamonds (which are resin balls that are flat on the one side and raised on the other) to stick on to the glue so that the whole picture comes alive and you have created a vivid, shimmering work of art.

The important thing here is that the whole picture is given to you before you even start, because without it you do not know where to place the plastic discs, and also every little disc has demarcated spaces where it will fit.

This is exactly how the end-time Biblical prophecies work:  God has already given us the whole picture of what is going to happen through His prophets in the Bible, and history is now just placing the events that lead up to the end in their pre-ordained places.

People can talk and talk about the Great Reset, but actually it is just the Great Preset!   God has declared the end since the beginning, says Is 46:10, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ - He does not change His mind, and whatever He says will happen, will certainly come to pass in the finest detail.

When fear and uncertainty about what is happening in the world take hold in your mind, remember God has given the complete picture – nothing that is happening now is a surprise to Him.  And the beautiful thing about it is that in the end, the picture will be a vivid, shimmering work of art – we will live in a shimmering golden city with our Abba Father and our Bridegroom Jesus and our Friend Holy Spirit - Hallelujah!

In the words of Jan Markell, “The world is not falling apart, it is falling in place!”

Take heart, therefore my friend, our heavenly Father has not only given us the complete picture, but also promised to never leave us nor forsake us, throughout all eternity.  This includes help in all the times of trouble we may be facing now, or might be facing in the future!

Is Heaven a real place?

I believe so, yes.

We know from Rev 21-22 that heaven will one day be on a new earth, and that there will be a great city as its capital called the New Jerusalem.  This is clearly seen in the following verses:

Rev 21:1-2 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband".  God is going to create a new earth (whether He restores the old one or creates a completely new one, I do not know), onto which the New Jerusalem will descend. The city is as beautiful as the bride who will one day live in her.

Rev 21:15 “The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.”  The enormous detail given about the actual physical measurements and appearance of this city cannot be only to impress the reader with the splendour thereof.   John is not just trying to convey the glorious majesty of this city to us in ways he thinks we might understand – he actually saw this city and is describing to us what he saw – a literal city.

The following verses raise a “Why?” in my heart:

Rev 21:24 “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.”  Some will live inside this city, some will live outside, meaning that there is a definite border/wall with no less than twelve gates through which these kings have to move to bring their splendor into it. It seems as if there will be a lot of traffic in and out of the city.  Also Rev 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”  Why bother with gates, if it is only spiritual? 

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:2-3 “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.´  Why does He talk about a definite place, and why refer to rooms, if it were not literal?  Why does He need to prepare them, if it is only spiritual?

When Jesus went to heaven, He told his disciples in Matt 26:29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom". Why refer to grapes in His Father’s kingdom, if there are not real vineyards that will produce real grapes in heaven?

Phil 3:20-21 reads “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body“. The body of Jesus after His resurrection was physical (he ate and drank with His disciples) but yet different – He could move through earthly walls and doors, and He ascended in clouds to Heaven without needing equipment to protect His body as He moved through our earthly atmosphere into space.  Jesus said in Luke 24:39  "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have".  Why would we still need such a physical body, which - even if it has enhanced characteristics - still has flesh and bones,  if everthing after this is only spiritual? “Flesh and bones”-bodies can walk on streets, sit on chairs, eat fruit from the Tree of Life, drink water from the river….

We know from what Elisha saw (2 Kings 2:11 “ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”) that there is technology in heaven.  God’s throne also, moves on wheels within wheels (Dan 7:9; Ez 1:16).  It is therefore not impossible to imagine that there is a literal city being constructed there which will one day descend onto the new earth.

Maybe we need reminding of Matt 18:3-4?  “And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  We have to sometimes set our adult analytical minds aside and believe like a child.  It is not necessary to understand everything in the Bible perfectly to be able to believe that it exists. Who can perfectly understand the love of God for us? Who can perfectly understand the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross?  Who can perfectly understand our redemption?  And yet we choose to believe that it exists, because the Bible says that it does, and the Holy Spirit  in us confirms it.

We will do well to remember that Heaven is also the place where our treasure should be stored up (Matt. 19:21), the place of our true citizenship (Phil. 3:20), the place of our inheritance (1 Pet. 1:4-5), and the place of our stored-up hope (Col. 1:5).

May the numerous verses in the Bible referring to Heaven inspire us to become homesick for our future abode!

 

 

25/05/2022

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Watter Doop?

  As mens oor die doop begin wonder, dink ek dit mag baie help om die volgende te doen. Dink aan wat ‘n persoon - wat nog nooit Bybel gelees het of in ‘n kerk was of enige Christelike agtergrond het nie – sal lees oor die doop as hy die Bybel vir die eerste keer oopmaak en begin soek daarvoor.  Lees dus die verse oor die doop soos dit geskryf staan, en nie met enige interpretasie daarvan in jou agterkop nie.

Die Nuwe Testament was in Grieks geskryf.  Hy sal vind dat die Griekse woord vir doop BAPTIZO is, en as hy dit gaan naslaan, sal hy sien dat dit indompel of onderdompel beteken.

Hy sal, interessant genoeg, nie een enkele vers vind waar ‘n baba gedoop word nie. Maar hy sal uitvind dat orals waar daar oor waterdoop gepraat word, dit volwassenes was wat gedoop is.

Hy sal lees dat die opdrag om te doop nie van mense af kom nie, maar van Jesus self (Matt 28:19).

Hy sal agterkom dat Jesus nie net die opdrag gegee het nie, maar dat Hy self vir ons die voorbeeld gestel het van wat Hy daarmee bedoel (Matt 3:15).

Hy sal in Rom 6:4 sien dat die doop ‘n simboliese profetiese aksie is, m.a.w. dit is ‘n uiterlike simbool van iets wat reeds innerlik plaasgevind het.  Dit beteken dat iemand reeds groot genoeg moet wees om eers vir Jesus te kies voor hy gedoop word (Hand 2:38); hy moet eers ‘n dissipel (volgeling) van Jesus wees (Matt 28:19) voordat hy gedoop word; hy moet eers glo in Jesus (Hand 2:41) voordat hy gedoop word.

Hy sal agterkom dat die doop nie ‘n verbond is nie.   Gal 3:7-9 sê dat die wat glo, kinders van Abraham is, en vers 29 sê dat as ons aan Christus behoort, is ons naklomelinge van Abraham en dus erfgename van die belofte van God, en dus ingesluit in die verbond van Abraham.

Hy sal lees dat mens die Heilige Gees deur geloof in Jesus ontvang (Gal 4:6), dit word nie aan baba’s oorgedra met ‘n doophandeling nie.

Hy sal sien dat die kinderdoop nie in die plek van die besnydenis gekom het nie. Dit word verskriklik sterk beklemtoon in Gal 5:2-3.  Lees die woord “kinderdoop” orals in daardie verse in die plek van “besny” – want as jy glo die kinderdoop is in die plek van die besnydenis, is hierdie twee begrippe mos dieselfde – dan sal jy sien hoekom jy nie die kinderdoop as ‘n vervanging van besnydenis moet beskou nie.

Hy sal lees dat die doop jou een met Christus maak (Gal 3:27).  Dat jou ou self saam met Jesus begrawe word, en jou nuwe self saam met Hom weer opstaan uit die water uit (Kol 2:11-13).

Nêrens sal hy lees dat die doop jou red nie.  Geen baba word gered omdat hy ‘gedoop’ is nie; so ook geen grootmens nie.  Die doop is ‘n aksie van gehoorsaamheid – Jesus het gesê ‘doen dit’, dus doen ons dit.  Kyk wat het met Jesus gebeur tydens Sy doop:  Die Heilige Gees het kragtig oor Hom gekom, Vader God het Hom geseën omdat Hy gehoorsaam was; en Hy is bemagtig om Sy bediening op aarde te begin.  Net so gebeur dit ook met ons – om onder water gedoop te word is soos om ‘n deur vir die Heilige Gees oop te maak sodat Hy ons geestelike lewe hier op aarde lewendig en kragtig kan maak.

Ef 4:5 se baie duidelik:  Daar is net één Here, één geloof, één doop.  Mens sal ‘n keuse moet maak.  Ek het die bekeringsdoop van die Bybel gekies, omdat die Bybel so duidelik daaroor praat.

Priscilla Koegelenberg

12/05/2022©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Get out of prison

I remember seeing a video a few years ago of the testimony of a man in prison for committing a murder, who had just received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.  And while I do not remember all the details of his story, I remember very clearly his absolute exuberance as he repeated over and over again:  There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus!  There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus! Over and over again!

This is of course the well-known Rom 8:1 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

What is condemnation?  It means a very strong disapproval, or censure, or blame, and also condemnation to a punishment; being sentenced in other words.

This man, who had faced supreme condemnation from all who knew him, and certainly mostly from himself, had been condemned to a very severe sentence in prison, but was now set free from the burden of that guilt that had been hanging over him for so long.

Before we met Jesus, we could not escape God’s condemnation and sure judgement.  But now we can have confidence and peace knowing that Jesus has taken all the guilt and condemnation and punishment that should have rightfully been ours, upon Himself, so that we can be set free from it.

Imagine you standing in a court room, guilty as anything, the evidence against you piled up like a huge mountain in front of the judge, and the judge handing down his sentence: Not Guilty!

Are you putting yourself on trial for something that you did in your past?  Are you currently in a prison of your own making, maybe even giving yourself a life sentence for doing something wrong way back in the history of your life?

Then take the key to freedom from Jesus’ hand, my friend!  You can be free today, in this very instant!  Know that He has already paid the price for your freedom on the cross at Calvary; repent sincerely for that which was done, or not done; most importantly – forgive yourself; and then leave that guilt and condemnation at the foot of the cross with Jesus; walk away a free man or woman!  Free for ever!

Come on, what’s stopping you – do it now!

1 February 2022

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Reverence and awe

 There is a trap we as modern Christians easily fall into.  It is the trap of not believing with our whole being that God is as all-powerful and mighty as indeed He is!  Oh, we say we believe that, but deep down…we often don’t.

We have somehow grown into a shallow familiarity in our dealings with our God:  we see Him as Abba Father, which He certainly is, but then we often tend to interact with Him according to the example that our own fathers modelled for us, not to mention the influence of the skewed picture of fatherhood that society has portrayed for us. 

In these modern times it has become very difficult indeed to see our Heavenly Father in His full role of fatherhood, which encompasses not only love, provision, protection, mercy and  loving-kindness, but also justice and righteousness, and a hatred of sin in all its forms.

Let me show you what the effect of being in God’s presence and seeing Him in a vision, was on people in biblical times.

Dan 10:5,7,8  “I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist.  7  Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8  So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak.”

Rev 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.”

Ez 1:28  “All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the LORD looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.”

Acts 9:4, 7 “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”  7 The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.”

That is what reverence and awe looks like. 

So my friend, when you are in that space of doubting God’s ability, not fully trusting Him to keep His promises to you:  Go into your prayer closet, fall down on your face or kneel down in deep reverence, keep humbling yourself until you become aware of Who God really is. Day by day. Even if it takes a week, a month,  and longer.  Come to the understanding that He is the all-powerful Creator of everything, magnificent in all His Being, supreme in His Majesty.

And then, from that position of humbleness, say, “Abba!  Father!”

 

 

31 January 2022

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Slaves to sin

Have you thought about slaves recently?  If so, you probably had an image from some or other movie come into your mind, because slaves are not normally part of our modern lives anymore!

Essentially, a slave is someone who has a master, to whom he must be obedient at all times.  He has no choice in the matter – when his master says: Jump!  He jumps….  He does not have the privilege of denying the command.

Which brings us to Romans 6:6, where Paul talks about slaves.  It reads “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” 

Before we knew Jesus, we were slaves to sin.  We sinned because sin was our master, it commanded us to follow the sinful urges jumping up from inside our sinful natures.

But no more!  That very same old sinful nature was crucified with Christ, and is now deader than a doornail!  Sin immediately lost its power over our lives.

Does that mean that we no longer sin after becoming a Christian?  Of course not!  It means that we now get to choose whether we will sin or not.  Yes, you heard right.  When you sin now, it is because you choose to do it.  Not because a sin slave master cracked his whip over you and you had to obey.

Remember this image, my friend, when you next feel so powerless because there is some or other sin in your life which you feel is overwhelming you.  See your old sinful self on the cross with Jesus, breathing out his last.  Then see the new you rising up, facing that sin slave master squarely in the eyes, and saying a resounding, NO!

And simply walk away from the temptation.  In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we have such good news about temptations.  God promises in that verse firstly that “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. (so you are not being singled out for extra punishment), secondly, And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. (He made sure you would be able to counter this temptation, it is not beyond your abilities or strength). And also When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (as you walk away, start looking for that way out!  The telephone may start ringing, for instance, giving you an excuse to disengage with the temptation. God is such a practical, hands-on God!)

And the more you stand up against that old sin slave master, the better you are going to get at it!

Hallelujah! Praise God! Jesus set us free indeed!

 

31 January 2022

©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

What your enemies plan for evil

 

The beautiful story of how God rescued three Jewish men out of a fiery furnace, is found in Daniel 3.  The very specific way in which God orchestrated this miracle always amazes me.

These three friends of Daniel were called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and they refused to bow down to a statue of King Nebuchadnezzar to worship him, and consequently were thrown into a fiery furnace as the King’s decree demanded. 

But here’s the thing.  The whole incident up to here was planned by their enemies.  We read in verse 8 that they reported the men’s non-compliance to the King with malicious intent, telling Nebuchadnezzar that these Jews paid no attention to him.  This resulted in Nebuchadnezzar reacting with rage and fury, and hearing that the men still refused to worship his statue from their own lips, he commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.  It was so hot that the men who threw the three friends into the fire were themselves killed by the flame and sparks from the fire. 

The Bible tells us very specifically that the men were wrapped in all their clothes round about and then bound up, this was of course so that the moment they entered the fire, they would become human torches. 

But God!  He appeared in the fire with them; He let the cords that bound them be burned off so that they could walk in the fire with Him; and when the King called them out, nothing about them were in the least burnt or singed, or even smelled of the fire.  A spectacular turn-around of events!  I am sure that their enemies were absolutely astounded – they had seen their carefully hatched-out plans work perfectly up to now, I mean the King had been informed of their transgression of his decree; he had sentenced them to certain death in the fire; they had watched them being thrown in said fire!

And the worst outcome of all as far as the enemies of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were concerned, was that the King then promoted them!  We read about this in verse 30. 

So my friend, are you in a fiery furnace because you refused to compromise your faith and enemies then stood up against you?  Rest assured, exactly what they planned for your evil, God will use and turn it around for your good!

Priscilla Koegelenberg

 

9 January 2022

©2022Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

Two storms

Matthew 14 tells the story of a storm.  It is the well-known telling of Jesus walking on the water, and Peter attempting to do so as well.

What I find interesting here, is that the disciples were in the perfect will of God and yet experienced this storm:  Let me show you this in two verses:

Firstly in verse 22 we read: “ Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side.”  And then we read in verse 24:  “But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.”

They had heard God speak, and had obeyed Him.  And still, here was the storm!  It was not the same as happened to Jonah.  God sent that storm precisely because Jonah had also heard His voice, but had actively chosen not to obey God.  The storm was meant to force Jonah to get back on track.

Are you finding yourself in the same predicament as the disciples? Are you also finding yourself in a storm, even though you are doing what God told you to do? Then take Romans 5 to heart, my friend!  In verse 4 we read that our sufferings produce fruit, if we allow our attitude about them not to stand in God’s way!  Specifically, our troubles produce firstly endurance – and this test Peter failed when he got into trouble out on the water because he did not endure long enough! 

Secondly, this learning to keep on going produces strong character in that it develops our faith and integrity. Another test the disciples failed that day, because when Jesus came to the rescue, they reacted with terror!

And thirdly this mature character produces a joyful and confidant hope for an eternal view, a heavenly focus, in us.

So assess the storm you are in:  Have you disobeyed God somewhere along the line?  Then repent and accept His forgiveness and ask Him to show you how to navigate out of these circumstances.

If the storm is without a known cause to you:  work on your attitude!  Do not immediately assume God is somehow punishing you….or feel that God is unfair….that you do not deserve this….Romans 5 says you should be joyful in your circumstances, (not because of your circumstances), because soon these beautiful fruit mentioned above will start showing and you will be better off for it!

5 January 2022

©2022Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg

The angel's picture

 

Many years ago I saw a picture in a book, drawn for the author by an angel explaining what atonement means, to him.  Reading Ps 5:11-12 brought this picture to mind again.

In verse 11 we read:  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  The Amplified says even more clearly:  You make a covering over them…

This picture showed the word “Atonement” written in a rainbowlike form , and underneath it the word “sin” and then underneath that the word  “us” appeared with arrows pointing upward; and above the Atonement rainbow the word “God” was written with an arrow pointing downward.  The explanation of this is that we are covered by Jesus’ atonement like a canopy over us, and this is what God sees when He looks down from heaven on us:  He only sees the atonement, not the sin.  But unfortunately, when we look up to God, we most often only see our sin seperating us from Him. 

My friend, what a difference it would make to our day if we woke up with this picture in mind, and walked in the truth it portrays!  We would walk upright, knowing that we are in right standing with God.  We would be filled with joy, knowing that God is not condemning us.  We would praise Him all day long, secure in the knowledge that we are accepted by none other than the King of the Universe!

And I have not even added verse 12 yet, which reads:

Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

I likened this ‘surrounding’ to bubble wrap the other day.  Now imagine yourself walking under an impenetrable canopy, completely wrapped in bubble wrap so nothing can get to you from all around you either!  Add to this the fact that in Deuteronomy we read that God’s strong arms are also underneath us – well, we will then be a walking representation of  Ps 56:11  “in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?”

27 December 2021

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