Today Reminder - 03 February 2012 (The mailman)

My prayer for you for today is that your letter will resemble Christ and that you will allow the Holy Spirit to continue to write your letter as we trust in a living and amazing God, in Jesus Name.

2 Corinthians 3:3-6

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of His new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

The mailman – you’ve got mail. I am once more amazed at how dependent I am on God and how important it is to place my trust in Him. I cannot succeed one day without His help. Sitting at the table and listening to the guys talking about the things that happened in their lives and how easy it is for us to slip and fall. How the devil will take the most innocent circumstance and disguise it to look good and right and convince you with nice ideas that it is all good, just to set you up for destruction. How the world has become a place of misery and pain, and how easily we can turn our backs on God. Each time we slip and fall, satan will try and convince you that you are bad, and that you are not worthy to be a Christian, and it is best to stay defeated and stop fighting it. He will finally use all your mistakes to make you think you are not worthy to enter heaven, and he will convince you that hell is not even real.

The funny thing is and this is so amazing, nobody’s letter is perfect. Every person’s letter will have sections that they are ashamed of or not proud of. This is what makes our “life letter” real. Real pain, real struggles, real mistakes and not a perfect picture that will let others feel it impossible to reach God. I am confident that this is why God made humans and not robots, because it is in our mistakes and bad choices where God will be visible. Satan may lead you into a place where you are fair game, but it is God that rescues, God heals and God restores out of love and out of grace. It is these real letters that will make people see Jesus for who He really is and why He gave up His life for us. It is then when this new covenant will be clear to everyone. 

So yes it is not right to sin, but when you have humbled yourself before God and asked Him for forgiveness and you allow Jesus to clear away the dust so you will shine, you will shine out of love. The bottomless love of an all-powerful and limitless God. By giving up a life lived for this world and accepting a life for God we will glorify Him and be His letter to the world and the people we meet. An imperfect letter to show a perfect God, so don’t give up my dearest friend, for we live by faith and not by sight, we make mistakes to learn not to fall in satan’s trap once more, we make mistakes to help those that is caught in the trap and is struggling to get free…

I pray that today your letter will have a new chapter, one of hope and forgiveness and one that will glorify God.

Live free and have an awesome day.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 02 February 2012 (Where is Jesus)

My prayer for you for today is that you will be a life-giving fragrance for Jesus, in Jesus Name.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

Where is Jesus? Once upon a time not so long ago in a little house not so far away lived a little ant no so little at all. He no longer lived under the rule of an evil dictator but was free and lived a quiet live in the country side. Every day was the same even though he tried to make it interesting it was still a little the same. He still felt little in this rather large world and he thought that he needed some change in his life. He felt sad and lonely and rather bored. One morning with coffee and rusks sitting at his little table in his little kitchen he heard on his little radio “Jesus can change your life”

Oh boy he leaped from his little chair and thought to himself “I must find Jesus.” He rushed outside and watched as the normal country side traffic made its way towards the fields and houses for work. A grasshopper came by “Sir, Sir” he shouted “Do you know where I can find Jesus”. The grasshopper looked at the little ant. He seemed a little confused, smiled and said “Sorry young fellow, I don’t have any money with me” and he flew off. “Oh my” the little ant thought “Where can I find him?” he walked on towards Bug City and on his way he saw two flies arguing with a moth. “Excuse me” he said “Do you know where I can find Jesus” the flies turned around and said in a rather unfriendly voice “Go away, we are busy” the little ant, being a little scared swiftly walked away. As he reached the outskirts of Bug City he came across a mosquito sitting in front of a rather familiar yet peculiar place called the: The Joyful Bug Pub. He looked at the mosquito and asked “Sir, do you know where I can find Jesus?” The mosquito slowly looked up from under his sad eyes and slowly said “Nope, is he a relative of yours?” and then continued without giving the little ant a slight chance to explain, about his wife and about the bottle and my goodness he just buzzed away and finally said “Sit down, have a drink, it all will look a lot better soon…” as he continued to talk the little ant turned around and continued walking looking, searching and wondering in his little mind where he could possibly find Jesus…

Would the little ant see Jesus when he meets you? Is your life a Christ-like fragrance? Don’t let little ants slip by when your eyes are focussed on large caterpillars. Let Jesus shine from within you, this is where change begins. It begins with us. My prayers are with you dear friend of Jesus, be different, be like Jesus so that He will be visible to each and every person you meet.

Have an awesome day.

Cheers.

Today Reminder - 01 February 2012 (The comfort of knowing)

My prayer for you for today is that the Lord will comfort you in all the troubles that you face, in Jesus Name.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

The comfort of knowing. We have a 3 month old baby, and it is amazing how he change from being upset to where he’s got this big smile on his little face. This is because he sees us, he can be crying, but the moment he sees us he stops and then comes this beautiful little smile. It is the knowledge that we are near and ready to help him in any problem he might have. I think when it comes to us as Christians we are a little like that. When we face problems we are unhappy and stressful and we get upset that we do not see a way out or we can’t get past it. We are almost arrogant in a way when we want to tell God what to do and how we would like the outcome to be. 

I had an almost similar experience now when we wanted to build on to our house. At first I was upset because it was too expensive, but then God found a way to help us with funds. Then when the final quotes came in, I realized we still did not have enough and was upset again. Then God brought in help to make small changes that made it more cost effective and affordable. In the beginning I was annoyed, because we had to wait so long, but looking back I can clearly see how God blessed us with this whole process and that it all fell into place just a He wanted it. He send the right people to help us and He is constantly part of the whole process. So I can clearly see His hand at work, because in the end we can do more than we thought. 

What the enemy wants is for us to try and standalone so that we can be easily beaten. God will comfort you and He will help you. He is just not on your schedule nor does He need advice from us. He will comfort you and let it all happen as He planned it, for His glory. So I can honestly say that God is visible in everything. In the eyes of our children, in the smiles of our friends, in the laughs of our parents, in the walls of our homes, in the jobs we have, in the joy we share, in the sorrow we hide, in the pain we feel, in the happiness and in the sadness, in the good and the bad, God is always and ever present, ready to listen and ready to comfort. It is in this knowledge that you will find your peace.

He died and defeated death to live and give the greatest comfort to us all. The comfort of freedom.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers.

Today Reminder - 31 January 2012 (Extreme makeover)

My prayer for you for today is that you will be transformed into a Christ warrior as we ask the Holy Spirit to help us in our limited earthly bodies to face each day knowing that there is eternity in the Kingdom of God as our prize, in Jesus Name.

1 Corinthians 15:40-44 and 50

There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

Extreme makeover. You must have seen these shows on television where they take a very unattractive looking everyday person and transform them into this shining star. Is that not something most people desire, to look like somebody else. If I only had his eyes or her hair or his nose or her smile or his hands or her toes or his arms or her legs, we desire to be like somebody else when instead we can be like Christ. I think that this is just another way the world invented to make us feel substandard and then the world decided what a perfect person should look like, and they advertise this everywhere so that you would think that this is what you should look like, and then you spend thousands on all kinds of supplements to be more worldly instead of being more like Jesus. Oh I agree we should be healthy, but we should be healthy in our own bodies. Your earthly body in all its glory is not even close to what your spiritual body will be when we are resurrected. You earthly body will perish while your spiritual body will live forever. This, my dear friend, is the ultimate extreme makeover. All this we see now is temporary, so exercise to be healthy, but focus on a Christ like look. When we focus on being more like Jesus, our worldly ideas and desires will fade and we will be less like ourselves and more like Jesus. This is the ultimate goal, and believe me it is a lifelong goal. 

Remember this: If there is one fact that you must not forget it is this – Time can be our greatest enemy and time can be our greatest partner. Time does not stop nor does it wait. Time heals, but time can also destroy. Time can be slow and time can be fast. Time will tell but time will also be silent. Time is important and time can be lost. Time can never be turned back, and time flies. Time is running out…

I will lift my eyes up to the heavens and I will know where my strength is. 

Have a great day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 30 January 2012 (Who am I)

My prayer for you for today is God will pour His special favour over you, in Jesus name.

1 Corinthians 15:10-11

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favour on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

Who I am. I am sitting here this morning reflecting back over a life lived with many mistakes. When I read this part where Paul says that is all because of God’s special favour then I can relate. I have travelled the road mostly travelled and made all the mistakes you can possibly make. I have been completely lost up to a point where God pulled me out of the dump I found myself in and brought me back by His love and His grace to a place where I can be worth something. I realise now that each day is a gift and each moment that we have is a blessing. God’s love is great, it is much greater than any human mind can comprehend, much greater than any value we know and far greater than any distance we can cover. 

If God can take a sinner like me and change my life and bring me to place where I can stand and be part of Him, then He will surely do it for each one of you. He can pull you out of any misery, out of pain, out of sorrow, out of failure, out of trouble and out any wrong direction and place you back on the road of recovery, the road of Jesus Christ.

Above all God is patient and He is patient with you as much as He has and is with me. Don’t give up, let the Lord be your help line. Bring your problems to Him and you will see how small they really are.

In the hands of an all-powerful God anything is small and more than possible.

Have an awesome day, dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers.

Today Reminder - 27 January 2012 (Dear friend)

"Look into the depths of another's soul and listen, not only with our ears, but with our hearts and imagination, and our silent love."  - Joyce Kanelakos 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Dear friend of Jesus, I pray that you will be filled with love today. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you a little part of God’s love so that you will smile in the face of fear and be solid when your world wants to crumble. I pray that your heart will bounce with love when you share in the joy’s and success of those around you and that your love will shine out so that people will experience God’s love. 

I pray that you will be stronger when you are weak, that you will easily forgive when you are wronged and that you will return friendship to everyone you meet. I pray that God will bless you through this day, that He will fill you with joy and take away all that troubles you as you steadily walk through today into the weekend. I pray that you will be safe and warm and that the blessings of this day will continue through the weekend as you continue to live a life for God and that every person you meet will see the light and love of God in your eyes. I pray that you will be a lighthouse in the world ruled by storms and disaster. I pray that you will be incorruptible and unbreakable against the attacks of the evil forces of this world.

I pray that you will have enough rest and that you will start Monday fully restored and ready for another week. I pray this in the name of Jesus.

Have an awesome day and even greater weekend dear friend.

Cheers.

Today Reminder - 26 January 2012 (The hammer and the nail)

My prayer for you for today is that you will know how valuable you are and you will see the value of other in the body of Christ. In Jesus Name.

1 Corinthians 12:22

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

The hammer and the nail. There was once a hammer that thought himself to be the greatest tool in the shop. He would hammer all day long about how important he was and that no job could be done without his help. Yes this hammer was a proud hammer. He would marvel at his strength and boast about his gracious curves. He would bang down on the nails and laugh as he smashed them into the wood. One day as he was slamming his weight down on a tiny nail, the nail started to laugh. “What are laughing about” he shouted. “Well …” the nail said “I do not think you are as strong as you say you are” he said smiling. “What do you mean” he said this time in a growling unhappy and very sarcastic voice. “Well, I bet you that you cannot keep these two boards together longer than what I can.” Said the nail, again with a smile “What!” the hammer laughed “Off course I can and I can do it better than anyone” he said with his big hammer head lifted up in pride. “Well then, it is a challenge” Said the nail.

The hammer took two equal slabs of wood and started to try and keep them together as the rest of the tools continued with building the cupboard. The nail smiled as he just stood there keeping his wood bounded by his length. The hammer on the other side struggled, and struggled. He grinded on his teeth as he struggled to keep the wood together and finally he could not hold on any more, and gave up, he fell to the side watching the cupboard fall apart. He could not believe that such a simple job was impossible for him to do. He realised that each tool, no matter how small, played a vital role in the world of carpentry.

You might not be a hammer and you might not even be a nail, but you are most certainly a vital part for God. He made you irreplaceable in your role that you play in this world. Don’t ever think yourself too small or too weak for whatever God allows to come your way. You are designed to succeed against all odds, because you have a loving and all powerful God by your side. I pray that you will be strong when faced with large obstacles, and humble when you overcome them with ease.

Have a great day friend of Jesus.

Cheers.

Stay Focussed

Philippians 3:14 - I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Today Reminder - 25 January 2012 (The battle continues)

My prayer for you for today is that you will be strong against all temptation and that you will hear the warnings of the Holy Spirit and that you will see the way out. In Jesus Name.

1 Corinthians 10:12-14

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.

The battle continues. The world has become one big pool of temptation. We see it everywhere, it is in magazines, on television, billboards, shopping malls, cell phones and windows. People even advertise on shirts and cars. Every day people are trying to find a way to sell things to you that you do not need, and then there are the need of things we can’t afford. We find good reasons and strong arguments for why we would need another pair of expensive shoes or jeans and finally when we have our expensive needs they become so important in our lives that our world starts to revolve around them. This is when material things begin to take God’s place in our lives and we start to worship ourselves and our possessions. We start to ignore the need of the poor and we focus on our ever increasing need to possess more. We lose the face of Jesus and we become the enemy. How hard is it for us to see that we have fallen into the trap as the enemy will continue to strengthen our arguments of why, how and when to keep us in his grip. The devil does not play nice, and your downfall is his main goal. He knows our weaknesses and he will continue to attack us with as many ways as possible. He does not want you to succeed but he wants you to become dependent on him and forget about God. He will lift you up and prepare you for the drop so that you will fall into his trap. He will show you the “good life” in a temporary and decaying world, to give a false sense of security so that you will not need God…

God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted above your ability to withstand it. When satan bombards you with temptations God will show you a way out. Paul says that you must flee from the worship of idols. We must not let anything take God’s place in our lives. Let the Holy Spirit help you and ask God to open your eyes and assist you when you are tempted so that you will glorify God in the end for each temptation destroyed. I will continue to trust the Lord every day to provide me with what I need and to help me own what He had in mind for me, to not overindulge but to take only what is needed and to let the need of other be part of my daily life. I pray that the Lord will strengthen us in our fight against temptation and that we will be victorious against a relentless enemy.

After the rain comes the sun, in every difficult time Jesus will shine. 

Have an awesome day great warrior.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 24 January 2012

My prayer for you for today is that you will train your spirit so that you can run the race of life with endurance and succeed to gain the eternal prize. In Jesus Name.

1 Corinthians 9:23-27

I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

A healthy body hosts a healthy mind. I must admit I love to exercise. I love to train until my body is tired and I reached my limits. I might be a little fanatic in that sense but before my day starts I spend time with God, this is our quiet time. It is a special time of the day that I reserve for Him in prayer. This is my time I exercise my spirit. I believe that training your spirit is just as important as training your body. I find that in the challenges of life a healthy body alone cannot withstand the continuous battle that the spirit faces. You need you train your spirit so that it can endure these attacks and carry you through. Exercise without a goal can be a torture, and it will destroy your motivation. In the same sense exercising your spirit without a goal can be a challenge. To motivate myself I have a number of goals that I want to achieve physically and spiritually. I exercise my spirit to reach a closer and more intimate relationship with God and ultimately winning the eternal prize – eternal life. But not only do I spend time fighting my own battles but I carry the battles of my loved ones, my colleagues and you and I bring them to the Lord. So to sum it up, not only my personal gain but also the success of those around me motivates me to get up every morning and spend time in prayer. I love this quote: “Determination today, leads to success tomorrow.” Believe me when I say I have seen that in practice many times. Don’t give up in your daily exercise, the prize is much greater than the effort.

While I am sitting here writing to you it started to rain outside and I am once again in awe.  What a wonderful God we worship. Rain cleanses the world much like the Holy Spirit cleans the body. Let it rain in your spirit today as the Holy Spirit helps you to clear away and clean the areas where it is needed. My prayers are with you, friend of Jesus.

Have a wonderful day.

Cheers.