Today Reminder - 13 July 2012 (Humble)

My prayer for you for today is that you will humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 5:5-7

In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God opposes the proud but favours the humble." So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honour. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Humble - God opposes the proud but favours the humble. It is so easy to be proud and to know that I have been so successful and I have all these achievements and I am just the greatest.  Oh boy, can we love ourselves. I guess huge success can easily propel our pride and place us in a position where we can idolise ourselves or whatever it is that we have achieved. Being proud of yourself is one thing, but letting self-pride take away God’s glory is not a good thing. God opposes the proud, God does not like a proud heart that holds no place for Him.

My dear friend it is so important that our own pride does not place us in a position of self-idolising. God favours a humble heart and in being humble the glory will be God’s.  All that we are and all that we do is because of His love and grace. God will lift you up in honour at the right time and it will be His doing, because in honouring you – He will be glorified.

 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 12 July 2012 (Strange)

My prayer for you for today is that you will remain standing through all the trials you face and that you will rejoice for the glory of God, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 4:12

Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

Strange - don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through. It is amazing how many times Paul and Peter wrote about troubled times and difficulties and suffering for Jesus. They seem to be constantly encouraging and reminding us of the fact that it is not going to be easy and we will go through difficult times and we must remain focussed on Jesus. I love this verse from Peter as he says that we should not be surprised that we are going through trials and he goes on and say it is almost as if something strange is happening to you. Now I love that, because – yes I can relate. How weird is it when stuff goes wrong that it just keeps on coming. Like a snowball! When trouble comes, it always brings a few friends. And I have often thought, how strange that is. How many things can actually go wrong?

My dear friend, the hardest part in any situation or problem that you may face is facing it. It is the moment you realise the wave is upon you and you have nowhere to run. It is when you feel lost, broken and hurt fighting to stand as it all comes crushing down. It is in that vulnerable moment that you must turn to God with all your heart and grab His hand and humbly confirm your dependence on Him. It is in this moment that you must trust Him more with every passing second. It is in these trials that God will be glorified as we stand, holding on to Him as the storm slowly passes by.

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. (Verse 19)

Have a super duper awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 11 July 2012 (Gifts)

My prayer for today is that you will use the gifts God has given you to serve and glorify Him, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 4:10-11

God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen.

Gifts - God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Each one of us is blessed with spiritual gifts and talents and these make us unique in our abilities. Yes each one of us is special in our own way. God designed you and made you according to His requirements and placed you where He needs you so that you can use the gifts He has given you for His advantage. There are so many of us that feel inadequate and useless and they believe that there is nothing they are good at. This is the enemy placing nonsense in their heads and leading them away from their abilities and clouding their minds with negativity. This is the beginning of a long road that leads to disaster. 

My dear friend you are special. You are more than meets the eye, you are a gifted and talented miracle. You have all the right stuff to do the great stuff. Let us forget all the things we think we are not good at and focus on the things we are great at. The gifts and abilities you have make you unique in God’s plan and without you God will have to use someone else when you are perfect for the task at hand. Neither Paul or Peter or even Jesus were movie stars, yet from their humble lives they made an incredible impact on our lives. Do not seek acceptance from this world, but seek acceptance from God. Do not live to please the world, but live to please God. You can only be you, but it is the God in you that makes you an awesome you.

You are more than you can ever imagine, so live today to be the “you” God intended you to be.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 10 July 2012 (Love)

My prayer for you for today is that you will love to live and live to love, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 4:8

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Love – Love is a beautiful song. Love brings us together, love overcomes all boundaries, love is in the moments we have, love is the patience we show, love is in the smile, love is strong and unbreakable, love is the great soother, love understands and love scolds, love is in the air and love is in the heart, love stretches over all continents and love is here, love travels and love is at home, love feels, love hurts, love sees no colour, love is eternal and love is forever, love seeks and love is unlimited, love holds and love hugs, love loves and love is God and God is love.

My dear friends let us love today where we will normally be upset, let us love where we would be angry and let us love even if we can’t. Love will overcome and clear all the worldly issues we have and love will set us free. As Jesus loved us so much to give up His life to set us free, let us love passionately today as we live because we are alive and in being alive we can love, live and be free. 

Love every moment that you live and live every moment that you love.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 09 July 2012 (Insults)

My prayer for you for today is that you will bless each and every person you meet, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 3:9

Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it.

Insults - Don't repay evil for evil. One of the hardest things to do is to bless someone when they insult you. Reading this scripture form Peter this morning I can’t help letting my mind once again return to the capture and crucifixion of Jesus.  He remained calm and accepted all the insults knowing that He did not do what He was accused of. When looking at myself I think I am not even close to that, I am quick to get angry and certainly will not let an insult pass me by without returning one. This is how this world has changed us, it is what we see as accepted by society and it is shown on television as the way to react. We are under constant influence from the world that we live in. It is so much easier to hate than to love.

My dear friend, Jesus is the example we must follow. He is the blueprint that we must implement in our own lives. I believe that love can change the world, I believe that a nice word in the place of an insult can change hearts, I believe that keeping calm when you would normally explode can turn the tides and calm the storm, I believe that all changes must start with me.

"If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil." (Verse 10-12)

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 06 July 2012 (Remember)

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.
He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.  Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls. (1 Peter 2:21-25)

I just felt today that we should bring glory to God. He is always there, always with us and loves us so dearly. Today I want to remind you of a man, a God who became a man. A man who lived a perfect live and a live that was seen as a threat and a threat that was captured and a captured that was crucified. 

He walked our journey and did it with so much compassion. We are so blessed by the fact that we know Him and so much more blessed that we can journey with Him. Peter briefly summarises Jesus here in chapter two, but I can just see this “Rock” of the church with tears in his eyes as he writes about the death of His God and close friend, but I see how those tears turn into joy on a hard face as he remembers the resurrection, as he remember how they found the empty grave and how Jesus appeared to them confirming His resurrection.

My dear friend, Jesus wants us to remember His victory on the cross. He wants you to remember it when life is difficult and when life is good. He wants us to remember that He carried our sins and that we should be dead to sin. He wants us to remember that we must not retaliate nor threaten but instead leave the judgment to God. He wants you to remember that He is the good shepherd and that you can always follow His voice. He will lead you from the pit to a life to live for. 

My dear friend, I pray that today you will find His love and grace again and that you will be dead to sin. I pray that all your questions and worries will have answers and that you will break free from whatever it is that holds you back. I pray for victory in your life and I pray that you will live more each day, and in living more you will become more.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

“Living a full life is not in living in abundance, but living in every second”

Cheers

Today Reminder - 05 July 2012 (Honourable)

My prayer for you for today is that you will overcome all evil, fear God and respect authority, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 2:15-17

It is God's will that your honourable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.

Honourable - Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. I am once again in awe of the amazing and powerful word that the Holy Spirit brings to me every day. Peter writes here that it is God’s will that our lives will silence those who accuse us. The fact is that it is God’s will that we are where we are, and that we can live lives with so much to be thankful for. It is not what we say and what we are but how we live that glorified God and highlights Him in this dark world. We are free, yet we are slaves but the Master we follow is the one who freed us from our old selves and brought us closer to His heart. He is the giver of live, the maker of the universe and the King for all eternity. Peter makes it clear that we must not use our freedom to do evil, but it is in our freedom that we can defeat all evil with God that is always beside us. 

My dear friends, respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king. Respect must be given in order to be received, and once more I plead with you to right size God. Respect people whoever they are and whatever they are, because in the end it is God’s will and God will use people for His glory – good and bad.

I am a slave of God living for His glory and seeking His presence in all that I am and in all that I do. I pray that we will shine brightly today as the light of Jesus shine from within us to the world we live in.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus and live, because in living we overcome.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 04 July 2012 (Worldly)

My prayer for you for today is that you will steer clear from worldly desires and desire God’s will, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 2:11-12

Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when He judges the world.

Worldly - keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Once again I love Peter’s statement calling us "temporary residents and foreigners", and I thought that we should think about this some more. I have been a foreigner in a foreign country and I think there is a little of that in the way we should live our lives here on earth. You see, while living in another country away from your friends and family, you have that constant longing to be with them. When we are here on earth I believe that our hearts should long to be with God. Then obviously there are nice things in the foreign country and as time goes by these things start to cause conflict inside you. Just as the things of this world will make you desire them and these desires causes conflict. It is easy then for the enemy to cause confusion and worldly things starts to take God’s place in our hearts.

My dear friend, I pray that you will see this world for what it really is. That you will come to realise your time here is temporary and that there awaits a great reward in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your hearts will not be corrupted by worldly desires but instead that your hearts will long for God as I long for Him every day.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes and your heart so that you will look past evil and seek only God’s will.

So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (Verse 1-3)

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 03 July 2012 (Time)

My prayer for you for today is that you will live your new life in Jesus for His glory and that you will truly live each moment, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 1:23-25

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say,
"People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever."
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

Time - People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. It is when you are faced with death I think one truly realizes how quickly life can pass you by. We are all running along in our rat race seeking the now and forgetting eternity. Life goes by as quickly as the grass withers and the flowers fade. We have so little time to tell the good news to those around us and to those we meet. I think the Holy Spirit gave me something of God’s heart today and that is that He does not want anyone to be lost. God wants all to be saved. We don’t have eternity to make up our minds, we have only this life. 

My dear friend, living for you leads to death, but living for God leads to life. Our time here is but a moment of the eternity that we will spend with God in heaven.  We can continue living our lives oblivious to the fate that awaits us or we can start living our lives. Yes, truly live, because we are saved. God did not put us here to be miserable- No! God placed us here to be full of joy as we rejoice for His great love. 

Live as if there is no tomorrow, love until your heart bursts, laugh until you cry, hug as if it is your last, give as if it is Christmas, share, smile, cry and live – yes live, because you are free.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder - 02 July 2012 (Foreigners)

My prayer for you for today is that you will know God has no favourites and that He paid a ransom for you far greater than silver and gold, in Jesus name.

1 Peter 1:17-20

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favourites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as "foreigners in the land." For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but He has now revealed Him to you in these last days

Foreigners - And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favourites. What an awesome statement and such an important thing to remember: God loves equally! I think that it is a difficult concept for us to grasp being emotional beings. We are easily influenced by our personal feelings and we can easily create favourites. God is not like that, He has no favourites and if this is how God loves then I think we should learn from this when we look at the people around us. God loves each one with the same amount of love and that is why He paid such a high price to save us from our empty lives. Peter then goes and adds a very important statement: So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as "foreigners in the land." He reminds us of who God is with the knowledge that He has no favourites, He will judge you according to what you did, living on this earth. The power to judge is in God’s hands and this must bring a new and respectful fear back in us. We must not forget who God is and what He has done for us. I love how Peter says that we are foreigners of this land. We are citizens of heaven living as foreigners in this land and this makes us ambassadors of Jesus, so we must be diplomatic in the way that we live, showing the love of God with every chance we get. 

My dear friend, once again, we must right size God. He is the creator of the universe! He spoke and the universe was formed. This is the God that we worship. We have but one life to live for Him and make sure that we live it correct. Do not waste time on the things of this world, but invest your time in the things of God. 

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers