Bible Society of South Africa
Gerhard Lindeque

Pentecost – Day 2 (26 June)

God’s Spirit makes us new

Itekisi yeBhayibhile

KWABASEFILIPI 1

Umbulelo novuyo lukaPawulos

3Ndisoloko ndimbulela qho uThixo wam xa ndinicinga. 4Naxa ndinikhumbulayo emthandazweni, ndinithandazela nonke ngovuyo, 5ngenxa yendlela enasebenzisana ngayo nam kwamhla-mnene kumsebenzi wam wokuhambisa iindaba ezimnandi, kude kube ngoku. 6Yaye ndiqinisekile ngale ndawo yokuba lo msebenzi mhle awuqalileyo uThixo kuni, uya kude awuqabelise ngeMini kaKrestu uYesu. 7Nina kum nihlala nisenyongweni; yiyo ke le nto ndinyanzelekile ukuba ndinithathe ngolu hlobo. Kaloku nani niyixhamle inyhweba endiyinikwe nguThixo, ngoku kanye ndisentolongweni, naxa iindaba ezingoKrestu ndizilwelayo ndizimela kananjalo. 8UThixo uyazi ukuba ndinyanisile xa ndithi ndinilangazelela kanye ngale ndlela uKrestu anilangazelela ngayo.

9Umthandazo wam kukuba ze niye nikhula ngokukhula eluthandweni naselwazini oluphangaleleyo, nibe nombono onzulu, 10ukuze nibe nokukwazi ukuzicalu-calula izinto. Xa kunjalo ke iMini kaKrestu yofika ningenasiphako, nimsulwa, 11ubomi benu buqhelezela sisidima esinokuveliswa nguKrestu kuphela, ukuze uThixo abongwe adunyiswe.

KWABASEFILIPI 1:3-11XHO96Vula kumfundi weBhayibhile

None of us are perfect. This does not necessarily mean that we are bad people, but that we are all sinners. This is confirmed in several places in the Bible, such as Galatians 5:17 and Romans 7:15. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary for God to constantly mould us.

God’s Spirit works in us. He transforms our lives so that he can work through us. When God’s Spirit works in us, something happens. We begin to see life and people in a different way. As humans, we tend to look at the outward appearance, but God looks at our hearts. God wants to change our attitudes so that we will act differently. The result of this constant working of God’s Spirit in us, is that we will eventually develop a servant’s heart. This is the same attitude that Jesus Christ had.

It is important to remember that it is not us who are capable of this. It is God who works in us and who will continue to do so until the day when Jesus Christ returns. We must always keep in mind that God’s Spirit is also at work in other people, at the same time. We are all sinners with shortcomings and we all make mistakes. Therefore, it is necessary that our love for each other should grow and include understanding, so that we will be able to discern what really matters in life. Once we acknowledge our own weaknesses, we will get better at understanding other people and learn to be more tolerant.

Bible Society of South Africav.4.26.9
SIFUMANE KU-