Hosted by TruLight Ministries – The Place of Truth
God knows what You need, But you need to Ask!
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He says, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matthew 6:31–32). In understanding this passage, it’s important to identify what Jesus is not teaching and what He is.
Jesus is not teaching the miraculous eradication of worldwide hunger and poverty. In fact, Jesus later said that “you will always have the poor among you” (Mark 14:7, NLT). He is not issuing a blanket promise that everyone in the world will always have the staples of life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is specifically addressing His disciples, not the general public (Matthew 5:1–2); that is, He is speaking to those who were committed to Him and had made His teaching the basis of their lives. Those who follow Christ are not to be anxious about food and clothing.
Even to His disciples, Jesus is not promising a constant, uninterrupted supply of food, drink, and clothing. He is only teaching in Matthew 6:32 that God in heaven is aware of all their needs. The knowledge of God’s awareness of our needs is meant to have a calming effect in our lives. There is no circumstance in which our worry is validated. We may lack certain necessities for a time, but we do not fret, complain, or resort to worldly scheming.
The apostle Paul is an example of a child of God who lacked food and drink many times: “I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food” (2 Corinthians 11:27). His physical deprivation was, in fact, according to the will of God: in Acts 9:16, God says, “I will show [Paul] how much he must suffer for my name.” Even in his discomfort, Paul always had enough of what he needed to serve the Lord.
The book of Hebrews describes people of faith who likewise endured persecution to the point of being destitute: “Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. . . . They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated” (Hebrews 11:36–37). Jesus’ promise in Matthew 6 is not that we will always have everything we need to be comfortable, only that our Heavenly Father is worthy of our trust, even in the lean times.
What Jesus is teaching in Matthew 6:31–32 is that God’s children have no reason to worry. God knows the need, and God is good. He will not allow true needs to remain unfilled but will, in His providence and in His time, see to His children’s welfare.
Also, Jesus is teaching His disciples to prioritize their lives. They are to place matters of eternity before their own earthly needs: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Put the Lord first; seek to lead a holy life, and “all these things”—your temporal, material needs in this world—will be granted to you. God, who is in absolute control, will make sure that you have all you need for your own good and His glory.
How we define necessity is often influenced by purely subjective considerations. Jesus mentions food and clothing—anything beyond that starts moving away from true essentials (see also 1 Timothy 6:8). It’s important to allow God to determine our “necessities”; He will deem what is best for us.
There are many cases of destitution and privation in the world. None of them, however, are the result of God’s failure to keep a promise. On an individual level, some lack food and clothing as a result of gambling, drunkenness, slothfulness, covetousness, etc. On a national level, even greater numbers of people suffer privation because of inept governments, corrupt leaders, or unjust wars. God is not responsible for such evils (see 1 John 1:5).
God is good, He knows our needs, and He is perfectly capable of providing: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). The Lord’s promise that He is with us is the source of our contentment: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
In Jesus se Bergpredikasie sê Hy: “Moenie julle bekommer en vra: Wat sal ons eet? of wat sal ons drink? of wat sal ons aantrek nie? Want die heidene jaag al hierdie dinge na, en julle hemelse Vader weet dat julle dit nodig het” (Matteus 6:31–32). Om hierdie gedeelte te verstaan, is dit belangrik om te identifiseer wat Jesus nie leer nie en wat Hy wel is.
Jesus leer nie die wonderbaarlike uitwissing van wêreldwye honger en armoede nie. Trouens, Jesus het later gesê dat “julle altyd die armes onder julle sal hê” (Markus 14:7). Hy gee nie ‘n algemene belofte dat almal in die wêreld altyd die noodsaaklikhede van die lewe sal hê nie. In die Bergpredikasie spreek Jesus spesifiek Sy dissipels aan, nie die algemene publiek nie (Matteus 5:1–2); dit wil sê, Hy praat met diegene wat aan Hom toegewy was en Sy leer die basis van hul lewens gemaak het. Diegene wat Christus volg, moet nie bekommerd wees oor kos en klere nie.
Selfs aan Sy dissipels belowe Jesus nie ‘n konstante, ononderbroke voorraad kos, drank en klere nie. Hy leer slegs in Matteus 6:32 dat God in die hemel bewus is van al hulle behoeftes. Die kennis van God se bewustheid van ons behoeftes is bedoel om ‘n kalmerende effek in ons lewens te hê. Daar is geen omstandigheid waarin ons bekommernis bekragtig word nie. Ons mag dalk vir ‘n tyd sekere noodsaaklikhede kortkom, maar ons tob nie, kla nie en wend ons nie tot wêreldse planne nie.
Die apostel Paulus is ‘n voorbeeld van ‘n kind van God wat baie keer ‘n tekort aan kos en drank gehad het: “Ek het honger en dors geken en dikwels sonder kos gebly” (2 Korintiërs 11:27). Sy fisiese ontbering was in werklikheid volgens die wil van God: in Handelinge 9:16 sê God: “Ek sal [Paulus] toon hoeveel hy vir my Naam moet ly.” Selfs in sy ongemak het Paulus altyd genoeg gehad van wat hy nodig gehad het om die Here te dien.
Die boek Hebreërs beskryf mense van geloof wat eweneens vervolging verduur het tot die punt dat hulle behoeftig was: “Sommige het bespotting en geseling en selfs kettings en gevangenskap verduur… Hulle het rondgeloop in skaapvelle en bokvelle, behoeftig, vervolg en mishandel” (Hebreërs 11:36–37). Jesus se belofte in Matteus 6 is nie dat ons altyd alles sal hê wat ons nodig het om gemaklik te wees nie, net dat ons Hemelse Vader ons vertroue werd is, selfs in die moeilike tye.
Wat Jesus in Matteus 6:31–32 leer, is dat God se kinders geen rede het om bekommerd te wees nie. God ken die nood, en God is goed. Hy sal nie toelaat dat ware behoeftes onvervuld bly nie, maar sal, in Sy voorsienigheid en op Sy tyd, na Sy kinders se welstand omsien.
Jesus leer ook Sy dissipels om hul lewens te prioritiseer. Hulle moet sake van die ewigheid bo hul eie aardse behoeftes plaas: “Maar soek eers sy koninkryk en sy geregtigheid, en al hierdie dinge sal aan julle gegee word” (Matteus 6:33). Stel die Here eerste; streef daarna om ‘n heilige lewe te lei, en “al hierdie dinge” – jou tydelike, materiële behoeftes in hierdie wêreld – sal aan jou gegee word. God, wat in absolute beheer is, sal seker maak dat jy alles het wat jy nodig het vir jou eie beswil en Sy eer.
Hoe ons noodsaaklikheid definieer, word dikwels beïnvloed deur suiwer subjektiewe oorwegings. Jesus noem kos en klere – enigiets verder as dit begin wegbeweeg van ware noodsaaklikhede (sien ook 1 Timoteus 6:8). Dit is belangrik om God toe te laat om ons “behoeftes” te bepaal; Hy sal bepaal wat die beste vir ons is.
Daar is baie gevalle van armoede en ontbering in die wêreld. Nie een daarvan is egter die gevolg van God se versuim om ‘n belofte na te kom nie. Op ‘n individuele vlak het sommige ‘n tekort aan kos en klere as gevolg van dobbelary, dronkenskap, luiheid, hebsug, ens. Op ‘n nasionale vlak ly selfs groter getalle mense ontbering as gevolg van onbekwame regerings, korrupte leiers of onregverdige oorloë. God is nie verantwoordelik vir sulke euwels nie (sien 1 Johannes 1:5).
God is goed, Hy ken ons behoeftes, en Hy is volkome in staat om te voorsien: “Ek was jonk en nou is Ek oud, maar Ek het nooit ‘n regverdige verlate gesien of dat hulle kinders brood bedel nie” (Psalm 37:25). Die Here se belofte dat Hy met ons is, is die bron van ons tevredenheid: “Hou julle lewens vry van geldgierigheid en wees tevrede met wat julle het, want God het gesê: ‘Ek sal jou nooit verlaat nie, jou nooit in die steek laat nie’” (Hebreërs 13:5).
Bible Verse and Prayer for Today
Even as [Jesus] spoke, many put their faith in him.
—John 8:30
While we often talk about Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can also find it easy to ignore his voice, or worse, hear Jesus’ words and ignore them. Our obedience to what Jesus says demonstrates that we have put our faith in him. To foolishly disobey, ignore, or neglect to do what Jesus says is to show that we don’t believe him to be our Lord to DO what he says to us as our Lord! Jesus promised a very rude awakening at judgment for those who take this attitude (Matthew 7:21-27). So, let’s commit to reading through each of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) before the end of the year. As we read about Jesus’ life and teachings, let’s do it as a search for the heart of Jesus and ask God to help us know him better and follow him more thoroughly and more obediently as the Holy Spirit conforms us to be more like him (2 Corinthians 3:18)!
Prayer
Be with me, dear Father, as I seek to know Jesus better and obey his words more faithfully as I read your holy Scriptures, which find their center in him. So, I pray for obedience in my daily life in the name of my Lord, Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and my Savior. Amen and Amen
Bybel Vers en Gebed vir Vandag
Selfs terwyl [Jesus] gepraat het, het baie hulle geloof in Hom gestel.
—Johannes 8:30
Terwyl ons dikwels oor Jesus as ons Here en Verlosser praat, kan ons dit ook maklik vind om sy stem te ignoreer, of erger nog, Jesus se woorde te hoor en dit te ignoreer. Ons gehoorsaamheid aan wat Jesus sê, demonstreer dat ons ons geloof in Hom gestel het. Om dwaaslik ongehoorsaam te wees, te ignoreer of te versuim om te doen wat Jesus sê, is om te wys dat ons nie glo dat Hy ons Here is om te DOEN wat Hy vir ons as ons Here sê nie! Jesus het ‘n baie onbeskofte ontwaking by die oordeel belowe vir diegene wat hierdie houding inneem (Matteus 7:21-27). Laat ons ons dus daartoe verbind om deur elk van die vier Evangelies (Matteus, Markus, Lukas en Johannes) te lees voor die einde van die jaar. Terwyl ons oor Jesus se lewe en leringe lees, laat ons dit doen as ‘n soektog na die hart van Jesus en God vra om ons te help om Hom beter te ken en Hom meer deeglik en meer gehoorsaam te volg soos die Heilige Gees ons vorm om meer soos Hy te wees (2 Korintiërs 3:18)!
Gebed
Wees met my, liewe Vader, terwyl ek daarna streef om Jesus beter te ken en sy woorde meer getrou te gehoorsaam terwyl ek u heilige Skrifte lees, wat hul middelpunt in Hom vind. Daarom bid ek vir gehoorsaamheid in my daaglikse lewe in die Naam van my Here, Jesus, die Seun van God, die Seun van die Mens en my Verlosser. Amen en Amen.
Bible Teaching of the Day
Within all of us there exists a strong desire to be known and to know others. The most important Person to know is our Creator. In fact, Jesus taught that eternal life is not just a span of time; it is a relationship: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
The key to truly knowing God is found in what God has revealed about Himself in the Bible. He wants to be known (see Acts 17:27). The problem is our sinfulness. We are all sinful (Romans 3), and we fall short of the standard of holiness required to commune with God. We have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles” (Romans 1:23). So, in order to truly know God, we must first acknowledge our sin and repent of it (see Acts 3:19).
In turning from sin, we must turn to Jesus Christ, the only Savior from sin. In Jesus alone is salvation (Acts 4:12). We receive Jesus by faith: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12, NKJV). Jesus’ death and resurrection provided for the forgiveness of our sin, and He alone is the way to a personal knowledge of God: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me” (John 14:6, NKJV).
Jesus revealed to us who God is, so in knowing God we must look to Jesus: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. . . . Believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me” (John 14:9–10; cf. John 17:6). Every work that Jesus did was in obedience to the Father in heaven (John 5:19). Every word Jesus spoke was straight from the Father (John 12:49). To know God, we must know Jesus.
Another key ingredient in truly knowing God is reading the Bible, God’s Word. In the Bible we have God’s revelation of His character, His promises, and His will. It is through the Bible that we know that God is “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). It is through the Bible that we know that God is “mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes” (Deuteronomy 10:17). It is through the Bible that we know that God is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible,” worthy of “honor and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:17).
Truly knowing God also comes through our commitment to obey what we read in the Scriptures. We were saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10), and, as we obey the Lord, we become part of God’s plan of continuing to reveal Himself to the world. We are salt and light on this earth (Matthew 5:13–14), designed to bring God’s flavor to the world and to serve as a shining light in the midst of darkness. Jesus Himself placed the greatest importance on loving God with all we are and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–40).
These are the keys to truly knowing God. Of course, those who know God will also be committed to prayer, fellowship with other believers, sincere worship, and walking in the Spirit. Jesus taught His disciples about the Holy Spirit, contrasting the world’s ignorance of Him with the disciples’ knowledge: “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). It is through the Spirit of God that we have “adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15–16). Through Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, our lives can be filled with God, and we can experience the joy of truly knowing Him.
Bybel Lering vir die Dag
Binne-in ons almal bestaan daar ‘n sterk begeerte om geken te word en om ander te ken. Die belangrikste Persoon om te ken, is ons Skepper. Trouens, Jesus het geleer dat die ewige lewe nie net ‘n tydperk is nie; dit is ‘n verhouding: “Dit is die ewige lewe dat hulle U ken, die enigste ware God, en Jesus Christus wat U gestuur het” (Johannes 17:3).
Die sleutel om God werklik te ken, word gevind in wat God oor Homself in die Bybel geopenbaar het. Hy wil geken word (sien Handelinge 17:27). Die probleem is ons sondigheid. Ons is almal sondig (Romeine 3), en ons skiet tekort aan die standaard van heiligheid wat vereis word om met God gemeenskap te hê. Ons het “die heerlikheid van die onsterflike God verruil vir beelde wat lyk soos ‘n sterflike mens en voëls en diere en reptiele” (Romeine 1:23). Dus, om God werklik te ken, moet ons eers ons sonde erken en ons daarvan bekeer (sien Handelinge 3:19).
Deur van sonde af weg te draai, moet ons ons tot Jesus Christus wend, die enigste Verlosser van sonde. In Jesus alleen is verlossing (Handelinge 4:12). Ons ontvang Jesus deur geloof: “Almal wat Hom aangeneem het, aan hulle het Hy die mag gegee om kinders van God te word, aan hulle wat in sy Naam glo” (Johannes 1:12). Jesus se dood en opstanding het voorsiening gemaak vir die vergifnis van ons sonde, en Hy alleen is die weg na ‘n persoonlike kennis van God: “Ek is die weg en die waarheid en die lewe. Niemand kom na die Vader behalwe deur My nie” (Johannes 14:6).
Jesus het aan ons geopenbaar wie God is, daarom moet ons, om God te ken, na Jesus kyk: “Wie My gesien het, het die Vader gesien… Glo dat Ek in die Vader is en die Vader in My” (Johannes 14:9–10; vgl. Johannes 17:6). Elke werk wat Jesus gedoen het, was in gehoorsaamheid aan die Vader in die hemel (Johannes 5:19). Elke woord wat Jesus gespreek het, was direk van die Vader (Johannes 12:49). Om God te ken, moet ons Jesus ken.
Nog ‘n sleutelbestanddeel om God werklik te ken, is om die Bybel, God se Woord, te lees. In die Bybel kry ons God se openbaring van Sy karakter, Sy beloftes en Sy wil. Dit is deur die Bybel dat ons weet dat God “‘n barmhartige en genadige God is, lankmoedig, vol liefde en trou” (Psalm 86:15). Dit is deur die Bybel dat ons weet dat God “magtig en ontsagwekkend is, wat geen partydigheid toon en geen omkoopgeskenk aanneem nie” (Deuteronomium 10:17). Dit is deur die Bybel dat ons weet dat God “die ewige Koning, onverderflik, onsienlik” is, waardig van “eer en heerlikheid tot in alle ewigheid” (1 Timoteus 1:17).
Om God werklik te ken, kom ook deur ons verbintenis om te gehoorsaam wat ons in die Skrif lees. Ons is gered tot goeie werke (Efesiërs 2:10), en soos ons die Here gehoorsaam, word ons deel van God se plan om Homself aan die wêreld te openbaar. Ons is sout en lig op hierdie aarde (Matteus 5:13–14), ontwerp om God se geur na die wêreld te bring en as ‘n skynende lig te midde van die duisternis te dien. Jesus self het die grootste belang geplaas op die liefde vir God met alles wat ons is en om ons naaste lief te hê soos onsself (Matteus 22:37–40).
Dit is die sleutels om God werklik te ken. Natuurlik sal diegene wat God ken ook toegewy wees aan gebed, gemeenskap met ander gelowiges, opregte aanbidding en wandel in die Gees. Jesus het Sy dissipels oor die Heilige Gees geleer en die wêreld se onkunde oor Hom gekontrasteer met die dissipels se kennis: “Die wêreld kan Hom nie aanvaar nie, omdat dit Hom nie sien en Hom nie ken nie. Maar julle ken Hom, omdat Hy by julle bly en in julle sal wees” (Johannes 14:17). Dit is deur die Gees van God dat ons “aanneming tot kinders het. En deur Hom roep ons: Abba, Vader! Die Gees self getuig saam met ons gees dat ons God se kinders is” (Romeine 8:15–16). Deur Christus en die inwonende Heilige Gees kan ons lewens met God gevul word, en kan ons die vreugde ervaar om Hom werklik te ken.
Today’s Devotional
Everyone knows that God exists. “God has made it plain” that He is real, “for since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Some try to suppress the knowledge of God; most try to add to it. The Christian has a deep desire to know God better (Psalm 25:4).
In John 3 we read about a man who clearly wanted to know God better and who became more studied than most in the things of God. His name was Nicodemus, and he was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. This Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God, and he was truly curious to learn more about Jesus. Jesus patiently explained to Nicodemus how he must be born again (verses 3-15). In order to know God better, Nicodemus had come to the right person—“In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is indeed the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). Jesus revealed God through His words and works. He even said that no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus.
So, we must start with faith. The first step in knowing God better is to know Jesus Christ, who was sent from God (John 6:38). Once we are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can truly begin to learn about God, His character, and His will. “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). By contrast, “the person without the Spirit . . . cannot understand [the things of God] because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (verse 14). There is a difference between the “natural” man and the “spiritual” man.
Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” It cannot be emphasized enough how the study of God’s Word, the Bible, is paramount to knowing God better. We must, “like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it [we] may grow up in [our] salvation, now that [we] have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). God’s Word should be our “delight” (Psalm 119:16, 24).
Those who are learning more about God are also those who obey the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Born-again believers always have the Holy Spirit, but Ephesians 5:15-21 teaches us to walk in the Spirit and surrender to His will.
Prayer is also an important part of knowing God better. As we pray, we praise God for His character and for what He has done. We spend time with Him, relying on His power and allowing the Spirit to intercede for us “through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).
Also consider that one can get to know God better by fellowshipping with other believers. The Christian life was not meant to be lived alone. We learn more about God through the preaching of God’s Word and the godly counsel of those who walk with Him. Make the most of your church experience, get involved, do small-group Bible study, go witnessing with fellow believers. Just like a log ablaze on the hearth soon goes out when it is removed and placed aside, so we will lose our fervor for God if we do not fellowship with other believers. But put the log back into the fire with the other logs, and it will burn brightly again.
To summarize how to get to know God better: 1) Accept Christ as your Savior. 2) Read His Word…it is alive (Hebrews 4:12). 3) On an on-going basis, be filled with the Holy Spirit. 4) Seek the Lord through prayer. 5) Fellowship and live out your life with the saints (Hebrews 10:25).
Vandag se Bemoediging
Almal weet dat God bestaan. “God het dit duidelik gemaak” dat Hy werklik is, “want van die skepping van die wêreld af kan God se onsigbare eienskappe, naamlik sy ewige krag en goddelike natuur, duidelik gesien word in sy werke, sodat die mense geen verskoning het nie” (Romeine 1:19-20). Sommige probeer die kennis van God onderdruk; die meeste probeer om daarby te voeg. Die Christen het ‘n diep begeerte om God beter te ken (Psalm 25:4).
In Johannes 3 lees ons van ‘n man wat God duidelik beter wou ken en wat meer bestudeerd geraak het as die meeste in die dinge van God. Sy naam was Nikodemus, en hy was ‘n Fariseër, ‘n heerser van die Jode. Hierdie Nikodemus het geweet dat Jesus van God gekom het, en hy was werklik nuuskierig om meer oor Jesus te leer. Jesus het geduldig aan Nikodemus verduidelik hoe hy wedergebore moes word (verse 3-15). Om God beter te ken, het Nikodemus by die regte persoon uitgekom—“In Christus woon al die volheid van die Godheid in liggaamlike gedaante” (Kolossense 2:9). Jesus is inderdaad die Woord van God wat vlees geword het (Johannes 1:14). Jesus het God deur Sy woorde en werke geopenbaar. Hy het selfs gesê dat niemand na die Vader kom behalwe deur Hom nie (Johannes 14:6). As jy wil weet wie God is, kyk na Jesus.
So, ons moet met geloof begin. Die eerste stap om God beter te ken, is om Jesus Christus te ken, wat van God gestuur is (Johannes 6:38). Sodra ons wedergebore is deur die krag van die Heilige Gees, kan ons werklik begin om oor God, Sy karakter en Sy wil te leer. “Die Gees ondersoek alle dinge, ook die dieptes van God” (1 Korintiërs 2:10). In teenstelling hiermee, “die mens sonder die Gees … kan [die dinge van God] nie verstaan nie, omdat dit slegs deur die Gees onderskei word” (vers 14). Daar is ‘n verskil tussen die “natuurlike” mens en die “geestelike” mens.
Romeine 10:17 sê: “Die geloof kom dus uit die gehoor, en die gehoor is deur die woord van Christus.” Dit kan nie genoeg beklemtoon word hoe die studie van God se Woord, die Bybel, van die allergrootste belang is om God beter te ken nie. Ons moet, “soos pasgebore babas, smag na suiwer geestelike melk, sodat ons daardeur kan opgroei tot saligheid, noudat ons gesmaak het dat die Here goed is” (1 Petrus 2:2-3). God se Woord behoort ons “vreugde” te wees (Psalm 119:16, 24).
Diegene wat meer oor God leer, is ook diegene wat die opdrag gehoorsaam om met die Heilige Gees vervul te word. Wedergebore gelowiges het altyd die Heilige Gees, maar Efesiërs 5:15-21 leer ons om in die Gees te wandel en ons aan Sy wil oor te gee.
Gebed is ook ‘n belangrike deel daarvan om God beter te ken. Terwyl ons bid, prys ons God vir Sy karakter en vir wat Hy gedoen het. Ons spandeer tyd saam met Hom, vertrou op Sy krag en laat die Gees toe om vir ons in te tree “deur woordlose versugtinge” (Romeine 8:26).
Dink ook daaraan dat ‘n mens God beter kan leer ken deur gemeenskap met ander gelowiges te hê. Die Christelike lewe was nie bedoel om alleen geleef te word nie. Ons leer meer oor God deur die prediking van God se Woord en die goddelike raad van diegene wat met Hom wandel. Maak die meeste van jou kerkervaring, raak betrokke, doen kleingroep Bybelstudie, gaan getuig saam met medegelowiges. Net soos ‘n houtblok wat op die vuurherd brand, gou uitgaan wanneer dit verwyder en eenkant gesit word, so sal ons ons ywer vir God verloor as ons nie gemeenskap met ander gelowiges het nie. Maar sit die houtblok terug in die vuur saam met die ander houtblokke, en dit sal weer helder brand.
Om op te som hoe om God beter te leer ken: 1) Aanvaar Christus as jou Verlosser. 2) Lees Sy Woord…dit is lewend (Hebreërs 4:12). 3) Word voortdurend met die Heilige Gees vervul. 4) Soek die Here deur gebed. 5) Leef gemeenskap met die heiliges en leef jou lewe uit (Hebreërs 10:25).
TruLight Ministries Daily Entertainment
TruLight TV – Gaither Gospel Series – Live from Toronto
The Gaither Homecoming Tour celebrates its 10th anniversary in a big way by capturing all the sounds and excitement of a concert-in-the-round on video in Live From Toronto.This one-of-a-kind event showcases performances by the Gaither Vocal Band, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Russ Taff, Jessy Dixon and many more!
Today on TruLight Radio XM
TruLight Radio XM 24/7
Program
GMT / UTC +2
Monday To Fridays
00:15 Words to Live By Testimonies
01.15 Science Scripture and Salvation
02.15 Ground Works
04.00 Gospel Concert of the Day
05.00 The Daren Streblow Comedy Show
5:55 It is Today devotional
6:00 Gaither Homecoming Morning Show
7:15 Discover the Word
8.15 Destined for Victory
8:55 Science Scripture and Salvation
9:00 Holy Spirit Hour – Normally Sermons
10:15 Hope of the Heart
11:15 Unshackled
11.45 Words to Live By
12:15 Truth for Life
13:15 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram
14:15 Focus on the Family
15:00 Kids Hour
16:00 In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley
16:30 Groundwork
17:15 Live in the Light
18:15 Renewing your Mind
19:00 Gaither Homecoming Show
20:15 Growing Hope
21:15 Adventures in Odyssey Radio Drama
21:45 Bible Reading
22:15 Nightsounds
23.00 Good Old Country Gospel / Rhema Gospel Express
VISIT THE WEBSITE
https://TruLightRadioXM.org.za
BIBLE PROPHECY IN THE NEWS
The 5th Seal has been Open for Years , 2nd Part of the Seal wil start soon !
China Conducts Mass Arrests Of Christians Right Before Christmas
Hundreds of Christians in China will likely spend Christmas in jail this year, according to a recent report. Starting on December 13, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mobilized “more than a thousand police officers, SWAT units, anti-riot forces, and firefighters” in the Zhejiang Province’s Yayang Town in Wenzhou City, raiding churches and conducting mass arrests of Christians, ChinaAid reported.
“Belongings of relevant individuals were illegally confiscated, roads leading to the church were completely blocked by police, and Christians in Yayang Town were unable to enter the Yayang church. The operation lasted nearly five days, yet no public statement was issued by officials,” the outlet noted. “Within just the first two days, several hundreds of people were taken away for questioning. On December 16 and 17, at least four more individuals were detained.”
Two local Christians, 58-year-old Lin Enzhao and 54-year-old Lin Enci, were labeled “principal suspects of a criminal organization” by the CCP, with locally-posted wanted posters charging the two with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” which ChinaAid noted is a “commonly used charge” by the CCP against religious and political dissidents.
Over the past several years, CCP officials in Yayang Town have attempted to forcibly destroy church property, including symbols such as crosses, and install CCP propaganda and imagery, such as the five-star Red Flag and the CCP’s constitution. Enzhao and Enci were key figures in opposing the CCP’s efforts.
Chen Yixin, director of China’s Ministry of State Security, is a native of the province and has led efforts to demoralize the Christian community there, including by initiating a program to destroy crosses in 2014 and install the national flag, the Constitution, laws, and socialist core values in Christian spaces and promote the “localization” and “politicization” of religious activities. However, the Christians of Yayang Town have resisted the CCP’s efforts for over a decade, hosting rallies and demonstrations and even confronting state police when necessary.
Following the mass arrests this month, the CCP hosted an “Elimination of Six Evils” demonstration, with SWAT officers and riot police deployed en masse “to demonstrate force, intimidate local Christians, and create an atmosphere of fear, framing the earlier law enforcement actions as ‘results of the anti-organized crime campaign,'” by which the government means the crackdown on Christians.
According to ChinaAid, police have stationed vehicles at the homes of known Christians, “disrupted” communications among Christians in the area, and have even gone “door-to-door” questioning church members and asking them to denounce Enzhao and Enci.
“Government-driven public opinion campaigns are spreading defamatory rumors portraying Christians as ‘unpatriotic’ or belonging to a ‘cult,'” ChinaAid reported. “This approach aligns with China’s recent trend of criminalizing certain religious activities. On September 29, China’s leader reiterated in a speech the need to ‘systematically advance the Sinicization of religion.’ Earlier, mass arrests at Beijing Zion Church saw pastors and church members detained on fabricated charges of ‘fraud.'”
In comments to The Washington Stand, ChinaAid founder and Senior Fellow for International Religious Liberty at Family Research Council Bob Fu said, “The massive pre-Christmas assault on churches in Wenzhou is a chilling reminder that the Chinese Communist Party fears the light of Christ most when it shines brightest.
To raid churches days before Christmas is not only an attack on Christians — it is an assault on human dignity, conscience, and the hope that faith brings to a wounded world.” He continued, “History teaches us that no regime has ever succeeded in extinguishing faith through force. These pre-Christmas attacks will only strengthen the resolve of China’s house churches and further expose the moral bankruptcy of state-sponsored persecution.”
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and other religious liberty watchdogs have repeatedly warned that China’s totalitarian regime is enacting human rights abuses against religious groups within the nation’s border. A USCIRF report late last year detailed mass arrests and the destruction or removal of church property, part of CCP President Xi Jinping’s “sinicization of religion” policy.
Religious groups and leaders who do not register with the official government-approved religious organizations are often arrested, imprisoned, and forced into “anti-cult” programs to “de-program” Christians. Earlier this year, USCIRF called on President Donald Trump to designate China as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) due to the CCP’s brutal oppression of Christians and other religious dissidents.
PASTOR DIRK SAYS :
The 1st 5 Seals of Revelation was opened Already . the 5th Seal the Product of The 1st 4 Seals – Christian Prosecution
- The Roman Catholic Believe System – The White Horse
- The Communist and Socialist Believe System – The Red Horse
- The Capitalist Believe System – The Jesuit Order and Illuminati – The Black Horse
- The Muslim Islam Believe System – The Light Green Pale Horse
The 5th Seal as 2 Parts to it , Before the Great Tribulation and The Great Tribulation , the 2nd Part will start , as soon as the Jewish Messiah become the Antichrist
Read these Articles
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Light In The Darkness: Redeeming Technology To Tell The Greatest Story Ever Told
Scroll through social media today and you’ll likely feel a quiet unease. Artificial intelligence is replacing jobs. Algorithms are reshaping culture. Screens dominate attention. For many Christians, technology feels less like a tool and more like a threat–something to be tolerated cautiously, if not resisted outright. That fear isn’t entirely misplaced.
Tens of thousands of jobs are being disrupted by AI. Digital platforms can hollow out human connection. But history–and Scripture–reminds us of a deeper truth: technology itself is neutral. It is neither good nor evil. What matters is whose hands it is in, and what story it is being used to tell.
This Christmas season, one Texas church offered a compelling answer.
In Manvel, Texas, just south of Houston, The Church on Masters Road decided not to retreat from technology–but to redeem it. As part of its annual Bright Lights community outreach event, the non-denominational church used 1,000 drones to tell the story of Jesus Christ across the night sky. What unfolded over three evenings in 2025 was not a gimmick or a spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It was a bold, creative, and unmistakably Gospel-centered proclamation–written in light, motion, and wonder.
Bright Lights was free and open to the public, intentionally designed as a family-friendly event that welcomed the entire community, churchgoers and skeptics alike. The festival included a snow hill for children who rarely see snow in South Texas, live music, bonfires, free food and hot chocolate, inflatable games, and a petting zoo. But perhaps the most quietly powerful feature was a car giveaway–two reliable used vehicles per night, awarded to individuals and families facing hardship who had applied in advance. It was generosity with no cameras chasing reactions, just love put into action.
Yet each night, as darkness settled, all eyes turned upward.
For fifteen minutes, one thousand synchronized drones rose hundreds of feet into the sky, forming scenes that traced the life of Christ–from His birth in Bethlehem to His sacrificial death. The Nativity appeared in glowing outline. Shepherds and angels took shape. The cross emerged in solemn clarity. Accompanied by a voiceover narration, the drones did more than entertain; they explained. The Gospel message was spoken plainly, faithfully, and without apology. In a world drowning in noise, the story of Jesus was told with precision, beauty, and reverence.
This is what it looks like when the Church refuses to confuse medium with message.
For centuries, Christians have used the cutting-edge tools of their time to spread the Gospel. The early Church relied on Roman roads and handwritten letters. The Reformation surged forward on the back of the printing press. Radio and television carried sermons into homes that would never open their doors to a pastor. The internet itself–now so often criticized–has delivered Scripture, worship, and testimony to the ends of the earth.
Drone technology is simply the next chapter in that story.
What makes the Manvel event so powerful is not the novelty of the drones, but the intentionality behind them. This was not technology used to impress, but technology used to serve. It was art in the service of truth. Innovation in submission to mission. The Church on Masters Road understood something many believers are still wrestling with: if the world is going to be shaped by technology, then the Church cannot afford to be absent from that shaping.
As we look toward 2026, this becomes a challenge for all of us.
Not everyone has access to drones or advanced software–but everyone has gifts, talents, and resources entrusted to them by God. Some are skilled in design, coding, or media. Others in hospitality, organization, storytelling, or generosity. Some understand emerging technologies deeply. Others simply know how to bring people together with warmth and purpose. The question is not whether we have something to offer the Kingdom. The question is whether we are willing to ask how it might be used.
Fear leads to retreat. Faith leads to creativity.
The Church does not need to mimic the culture, but it must engage it. We do not dilute the Gospel by presenting it through modern tools; we amplify it. The message of Christ has never depended on the medium–but every generation has been called to steward the mediums available to them.
On a December night in Texas, a thousand drones silently declared what angels once announced over Bethlehem: “Good news of great joy, which shall be for all people.” The sky became a canvas. Technology became testimony. And the Church reminded the world that innovation, when surrendered to God, can still point unmistakably to the cross.
The question now is ours to answer: in the year ahead, how will we use what we’ve been given–not just to keep up with the world, but to invite it into the greatest story ever told?
GOG AND MAGOG UPDATE
SHOCKING: Syria drops Golan Heights from map, recognizes Israeli control
Damascus has finally updated its map of the country, placing the strategic plateau on the Israeli side of the border.
The government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has apparently given de facto recognition to Israeli control and sovereignty over the Golan Heights, dropping the strategic plateau from an updated state map of Syria.
Syria lost the nearly 700-square-mile Golan to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Six years later, during the Yom Kippur War, Syrian forces briefly occupied part of the Golan before the IDF recaptured the plateau and advanced on Damascus.
While Israel applied sovereignty over most of the Golan Heights in 1981, with the US recognizing the move during the first Trump administration, Syria has for decades rejected Israel’s annexation and demanded the Golan be ceded as part of a future peace deal.
Last Friday, however, the Syrian government released a new map of the country, redrawing its own borders to reflect the loss of the Golan.
In a post celebrating the repeal by the US Congress of the Caesar Act, which tightened sanctions on Syria, the Syrian Foreign Ministry shared a visual of the updated map of Syria and the Syrian flag, under the caption “Syria free from Caesar sanctions.”
The new map appears to remove not only the two-thirds of the Golan retained by Israel under the 1974 separation of forces deal with Syria and annexed in 1981, but also the additional roughly 100 square miles in the former demilitarized zone occupied by Israeli forces since last December.
The Al Thawra Al Souria newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Syrian government, has also begun using the new state map.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an anti-Assad, London-based Syrian nationalist outlet hostile to Israel, castigated the al-Sharaa government over the move, calling it “full submission to US dictates and the fulfillment of all Israeli demands.”
“These maps used by the caretaker government, particularly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, are identical to the maps currently used by the Israeli government and various Israeli media outlets.”
TruLight Ministry News
TruLight Ministries orders from God since 2012 . Teach Them , Comfort Them and Warn Them!
////////////
TruLight Ministries opdrag vanaf God sedert 2012. Leer hulle, Troos hulle en Waarsku hulle!
WHY DON’T TRULIGHT MINISTRIES CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ??
Doctrine of Demons – Teaching for the Christian , Discerning the spirits
Share this Feeding of Manna with your Friends and Family. just click on the Social Media icon and share !
