You are called to do great things

 

Today's thought - 31 August 2026 (Frustration)

 

How are you, my friend? How was your weekend? Well, I guess mine was ok. Yesterday was my weekend day with my daughter and to be honest, I thought I had seen everything but yesterday just blew my mind. It was quite a challenge, and I would love to chat about it here with you, but I feel that the Holy Spirit wants me to focus on the emotions rather than the event.

To be honest this whole battle is very frustrating, and my ex-wife is trying her utmost best to make things as uncomfortable as possible since we are restraint to her house due to the current court order. So, yes, it can be a challenge some days and when one goes out of their way to sabotage your visit, well you can imagine it becomes more than a battle outside. It becomes an internal emotional battle.

Now, I want to take you to our scripture in John 1:48, Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

There was something in those words of Jesus that had a tremendous impact upon Nathanael. It is not just that Jesus saw him sitting under a fig tree that caused Nathanael to proclaim him to be the Son of God and the King of Israel. It may be that when Nathanael heard these words, he recognised that Jesus possessed a clear insight into the things that Nathanael was thinking about under the fig tree. It is Jesus’ intimate knowledge of the thoughts and meditations of Nathanael’s heart that produced this reaction. Nathanael realised that Jesus had seen into the depths of his heart and Nathanael concluded that Jesus must be the Son of God and the King of Israel. By using these titles Nathanael expressed his conviction that Jesus is the Messiah.

Now coming back to my frustration with my current situation, I know that Jesus sees into our hearts, and He sees the turmoil and the hurt that we deal with when faced with something difficult. Your battle or your tribulation. Jesus relates to the trouble we face because He saw the hearts of man and how they can be or rather how they can become and the things people can do to other.

My friend, what I am trying to say to you is that Jesus sees your hurt and He sees your pain. He sees the battles you have, and He sees the things we struggle with each day. He knows what you are going through and He is actively working to give you strength to carry on and to see it through. That is why Jesus said come to me all those who are weary and heavily burdened. He will give you rest; in other words, He will help you through it. That is why Jesus said forgive those who hate you or hurt you because there is power in forgiveness and it sets you free from an additional burden that is not necessary. That is why He also said, be of good cheer (take heart), I have overcome this world, in other words pain and hurt will never have the final say. That is why God says He will never leave you nor forsake and if He is for you who can be against you.

My dear friend, that is why Jesus also said in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep”. There is no way Jesus will leave you to fight on your own. He will show you the way, send people to help you and uplift you and He will make a way in your wilderness and believe me streams of living water will flow from it.

Just, do not give up, but keep holding on, keep fighting and keep resisting the enemy. Jesus is the way and the truth and life. He will give you rest and strength in your battles and He will make a way through it for you. Joy will come in the morning and hope will give you strength.

Have an awesome day, my friend.

Today's thought - 28 August 2026 (Salvation what)

How are you, my friend? It is Friday and the weekend is just around the corner. Do you have any plans for the weekend? It is getting warmer here in South Africa so we will be swimming soon. My kids love to swim and outside in the sun is always good. So, are you a sun and sand type of person or are you more like a home and city type of person?

I often write to you that you should dream, so if you could go anywhere in the world. Where do you want to go? What places do you want to see or what would you love to do? Now believe it or not but Europe is on my list like France and Portugal and Germany, but I would also love to see places like Brazil and Mexico and Indie and Pakistan and yes even Russia. In fact, there are many places I would love to visit one day and when it is time to go, we will go. It remains in God’s hands, and I am sure we will still see many beautiful places. Every country has beauty to it so, yes, I will travel a lot. Hahaha.

The Holy Spirit points me today to John 1; in fact, He did last night already. The verses I have are 12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.

Salvation is a gift. You can’t buy it. You can’t work for it. You can’t exchange it and you can’t steal it. It is freely given when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. It is by this declaration and by the baptism that we confess and accept His ways above our ways and His forgives for our sins. It is by this that we receive life and real life instead of worldly make-believe type of life. The important part is the “children of God” part. This means that you are paid for in full by a price that is impossible to pay. You are forgiven in full by the love of a loving Father and you are given identity for you are now a new person with a new identity.

Where are we going with this? Well, I am glad you asked. You see I am reminding you and me today of what happened when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ and we accepted the reality that we can not do anything without Him. It is in this epiphany that we see the light. Now you will see because John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it”.

Do you see it now? Ok, here we go. Before Jesus we were in the darkness. This darkness is the lies the enemy told us about ourselves. When we accepted Jesus, we stepped out of the darkness into the light. This light is the life we have in Jesus. This light removes all darkness, and this light is life and life in abundance. The darkness does not understand the light because they are blinded by the hold of a life that has no value and no future. We have to be the light bearers because once we accepted the light into our lives, we become the light because we are now children of the light maker. Our Pastor said that the best way to stay close to God is to stay close to the hurt of people.

As we go out into the world, we will see a lot of darkness and sometimes that darkness will do its best to destroy our light. The enemy wants to steal your word, your seed because if he can do that you will not be fruitful. John writes in verse 9, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world”.

My dear friend, the light that is in you is a light that can not be hidden and should not be hidden. I know it is not so bright some days and I know sometimes it feels as if it is not there but believe me, He is. He said that He will never leave you. Sometimes the battles and the hurt seem so much and sometimes the fatigue and stress feel too much, and you feel that your light is missing. It is not, it is just there waiting, listening and working to help you. It keeps the darkness away because where the Holy Spirit dwells, hell does not feel comfortable.

I am telling you today that in my darkest moments, I seek the light more than what I normally would, because the light of Jesus shines best when we have no more to give.

Have an awesome day, my friend.

Today's thought - 27 August 2026 (Are you hungry)

 

Are you hungry? Mmmm… maybe KFC. No, ok, maybe pizza. No, well a home cooked meal is still te best. I am just kidding. This is not a post about the hunger issues we have in the world and in our country. This is about your hunger for Jesus Christ.

When I competed many moons ago you could see that hunger in a fighter that makes him defy the odds and succeed where others would give up. It is this hunger that drives him to get up early and run kilometer after kilometer and then spend hours on speed training and perfecting his defense and attacks. His stepping and his agility. Yes, this hunger drives them to keep going, keep trying and not to give until they win. I know this because I was one of them.

My dear friend, why am I asking you if you are hungry? Well, I am glad you asked. You see we have been talking about abide and abiding in Jesus. Just to refresh your memory abide means to stay, remain, or dwell in a close, ongoing relationship with God.

The Holy Spirit took me to Deuteronomy 5 today and He showed me two interesting scriptures. Verse 29, “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever”.

God says that if we fear (reverence) Him and keep His commandments then it will be well with us. Yes, there are these ten commandments that is important to keep, but what did Jesus say about this? Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself”.

Now the question, how do we do this? How do we keep the commandment and how do stay true to this. My friend, Jesus died so that we can be free from the law. Why? So that through Him and in Him we will live a life that separates us from the norm and sets us apart from a worldly mentality. Does this mean I must not make any mistakes to be able to achieve this? No definitely not. God’s mercies renew each day, so yes, you are still going to make mistakes, and you will still face many difficult challenges, but… and now you have to listen very carefully.

It is in our hunger for Jesus Christ and in our deep surrender to Him that we overcome mistakes and we grow into a Spirit led, godly and righteous person that makes less and less mistakes each day. It is in our hunger and total surrender that we surpass the odds and the world and we become more like Jesus. Remember Jesus said that what the heart is full of will be visible in your life. If your heart is full of Jesus, you will begin to run from sin and the things that pollutes your mind. You will run towards the things that is Jesus and the need to be more like Him. It is this hunger that drives you to run the race and receive the reward, as Paul says. It is this hunger that wakes you up early to read the Bible and to spend time with God. It is this hunger that drives you to seek the need of others and to help others even if it is just to be the one who listens.

My friend, I keep telling you that you are more than meets the eye. Do not give up but stand with me today as we proclaim liberty to the lost and broken and carry the Holy Spirit into our homes, our work, our gym, our shops, our families and everywhere else we go. Remember Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”.

I want to leave you with this scripture today, “You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess”. (Deuteronomy 5:33 NKJV).

Have an awesome day, because the rest of your day will be the best of your day.

Today's thought - 26 August 2026 (Are you a sinner)

 

Today I am asking a bold question. Are you a sinner? Well to be honest with you we all are sinners and we are born into sin, but… and this the big BUT… Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. I am, as Paul writes, the Chief of all sinners.

This is what makes grace so amazing and the work of the cross even more so. Remember John 13:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

Yes, we are all sinners and yes, we all make mistakes. The important thing is to remember that you are not defined by your mistakes nor your past. You are not where you come from nor are you the very things that hurt you. Jesus went to that cross with you in mind. As Paul says, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.

It is what we do with grace that is so important. I wrote to you about fruit and how we should bear much fruit. When the Holy Spirit comes into your life and the old man/woman dies and a new man/woman is formed by grace and mercy. Then we basically say goodbye to that life, and we enter a new realm where we are sure about our future, and we stand in authority over this life.

We receive power but not power that we can use to hurt others but rather power to change. It is power to change us and power to change those around us. Yes, I know what you are thinking. There is this guy I work with, and he is just not getting it and so on and so on bla bla bad person bla bla bla. Hahaha, I am sure you understand.

My dear friend, I do not know what you have done or what you have been through or what you are facing, but I know God and I know what He can do. This morning as I was handing out food to the guys on the street the one man said that ever since I started to reach out to them, he changed. He said he does not want to do the drugs anymore or bad things in fact he reads his bible.

My friend, this Holy Spirit power and this is God at work. It is by their fruits the Bible says, that we will know them. It is the sound of their feet that brings joy. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit. The one man that has been suffering with a bad leg was so happy this morning because his leg is healing. This is God at work in the lives of people that the world kind of forgotten.

David wrote, who am I that you think of me. This is me saying who am I, that you use me and that you bless me. Well, I am a servant of the most high God and I am just a willing vessel taking what God has given me, and I share it with the world. God’s children.

My friend, can I tell you who you really are. You are a beautiful and wonderful creation. You are made in love by a God that made you and He made you with purpose. It does not matter what the world says or how you came into this world. When God made you, He had a plan and His plan is for you to prosper and to bear much fruit. His plan is for you to live a life of abundance and to be blessed above all that you can think or imagine. It is not the Holy Spirit that limits us, but we that limit Him. Start today and do your best in everything you have. Your work, your relationships, your health, your time with God and you will see how your life will change. You are not made to give up or to be mediocre. We are made to be more than conquerors.

Have an awesome day.

Today's thought - 25 August 2026 (In this lies hope)

 

Hallo my friend, how are you today? The seasons are changing here in South Africa, and the crispy cold mornings are now warmer with beautiful sunny days. I just love our country with its vast mountains and beautiful forests. From the warm and dense bushveld to the green hills of the ocean. Our country is truly beautiful and diverse. But just as beautiful is the diversity of the people that live here.

We truly have a wonderful mix of races and colors and each beautiful in its own way. God is truly a God of beauty and abundance.

Yesterday we looked at Monday blues, and I wrote to you about tribulations and how it builds character and finally character that builds hope. The Holy Spirit was not done with this so this morning He took me back to Romans 5 pointing me to verse 5.

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”.

I do not know what your Monday looked like, but mine was really cool. I have been postponing my pod cast for months with every excuse I can think of and finally yesterday I just did it. Dr Dave said we must do the difficult and God will do the impossible. I trust God for much fruit from this, because it is His pod cast and it is for His glory.

What is hope? Hope is an optimistic state of mind that combines a desire for something to happen with a confident expectation or belief that it is possible. In the Bible, hope is not a weak wish or a guess. It is a strong, sure, and safe trust that God will do what He promises.

Old Testament Hebrew Qavah / Yakhal): Means to wait or to look forward with tension and tight focus, like a rope twisted together. It means waiting on God even when life is hard.

New Testament Greek (Elpis): Means a happy and confident expectation of good, built on the solid fact of Jesus Christ rising from the dead.

A few things to consider:

Hope is certain: Unlike everyday hope ("I hope it does not rain"), Bible hope is a fact you can lean on.

Hope is tied to God (Abide): Your trust is not in luck or people. It is in God’s unchanging character and past faithfulness.

Hope focuses on eternity: It looks past current pain to eternal life and the return of Jesus.

Hope works with faith and love: The Bible groups hope with faith and love as the three greatest permanent Christian values. “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Paul says that hope does not disappoint. It is our hope in Jesus Christ through the power and counselling of the Holy Spirit that we can hope knowing who God is. Hope is knowing God and knowing Him comes through prayer and time spend with Him in your secret place (room) surrendering all and trusting Him completely. To be filled with the Holy Spirit knowing that as we abide in the Lord, we will be able to do anything, overcome anything and succeed in everything. It is in our walk with God and the Holy Spirit that our hope increases because of the love of God that flows in us. And finally, we will have hope that does not disappoint but flow in us by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

My dear friend, I pray that you will be filled with the Holy Spirit and that your hope and dreams will be renewed and restored by His grace and love, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Have an awesome day.

Today's thought - 24 August 2026 (It is Monday)

How are you, my friend? It is Monday – again. There is always that negative connotation to Mondays. People would say things like, “It is Monday” as a reference to things normally goes wrong or they would say, “It is another blue Monday”, where they refer to all that had gone wrong.

This weekend God gave me these verses from Romans 5, and I guess today they make more sense than earlier in the weekend.

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope”. Romans 5:3-4 NKJV.

Sometimes life can be life. And life can have a few obstacles that we might feel we did not really need at that time or even better, we could do without. You see we would connect a Monday to bad stuff after a weekend but personally I feel that in my case almost every day is Monday then. Things go wrong and I face obstacles and battles every day of the week. Some days are better and some days are just plainly from hell.

I wrote to you last week about a very important concept where Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing”.

We looked at the importance of consistently being connected to our Lord and seeking Him daily. Our Pastor said it is in our time with the Lord and our consistent reading of the Bible that builds this principal. In other words what we fill our minds with, with be visible in our fruit. As I said last week Jesus does not want us to just bear fruit, but much fruit.

Now coming back to blue Mondays and all the stuff that could go wrong. Paul makes it simple. He says that we should be happy in our tribulations and our challenges. Ok, well is he serious? When all hell breaks loose, we should jump up and dance on the tables. Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit there but in essence he says, “Well be happy when things are going soar”. I do not know about you but that is the opposite of my reaction when things go south or not as I would like it to go. When people say bad things about you, when you are late for work, when you are stuck in traffic, when someone offended you or even when your toast is burned.

You see being happy about and stuff has always been the last thing on my mind and when I fail, oh my word I get depressed. Then you would hear things like, “I am not good enough” or “I am alone in all this” or “How the heck can I do this”. You see we are worldly orientated to be negative first and then after hours of complaining we will get up and try again. Paul continues and says that in your tribulation you will grow. In your tribulation you will produce perseverance and perseverance will lead to character building and character building will lead to hope. And we know now that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  

So, what is Paul saying. Well, he is simply stating that once you have abided (connected) with our Lord Jesus and you have fully surrendered all to Him knowing that you can do nothing without Him and with Him you can do all things. Then you will realise that in your tribulations and in your battles, God is building perseverance and character so that you can have a hope and a future. It is in these obstacles that we have each day that we are drawn closer to the Holy Spirit so that our relationship with the Holy Spirit will increase. Then we will fully comprehend what Jesus said when He said, “Come to me all who are tired and heavily burdened, and He will give us rest”.

My dear friend I am remined today that in Isaiah 53 we read, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our  peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed”.

Do not let the lies of the enemy steal your joy and your peace today. Say after me, “The rest of this day will be the best of my day, and the rest of this week will be the best of my week”.

Have an awesome day, my friend.

Today's thought - 21 August 2026 (By this my Father is glorified)

 

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8 NKJV).

I want to come back to what we were discussing yesterday. The whole concept of “Abide”. I personally believe that this message is very important for us in our day to day lives and how we address the challenges we face.

Yesterday I made a statement: “The taller the tree the deeper the roots”. My friend pointed out to me that trees grow in two directions. They grow up towards the sun, but they also grow down in their root system. You see for the tree to grow upwards it needs to grow downwards first. A strong root makes for a strong tree. Now to bring that into human context. If we want to grow in life, we need to make sure our roots are planted in good soil and watered continuously so that the part of us that is visible can grow outward and upward. In other words, what we do in the darkness (our prayer room) will be visible in the light. What the heart is full of will be visible in our daily lives.

Where does the tree get good soil and where does the water come from? I am glad you asked. The good soil is our willingness to hear and apply the Word of God that we read. The water we get is to do this every day, go to homecell and church. Here we are watered by our fellowship with God and with other believers so that our lives can become fruitful.

Now this is the most important part: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NKJV).

It is in our time that we spend with the Lord and how we apply the Word of God into our lives that we abide in Jesus. Our Pastor said this morning that your Bible is actually a bag of seed and this seed needs to be sowed in your life and those in your circle of influence so that your will bear fruit and have a great harvest.

It is in our obedience and our faith that we will see a great harvest. As Paul writes in Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith”.

We walk by faith in complete surrender and trust so that God can shift things in our lives so that when He abides in us, that the result will be much more fruit than what we can think or imagine.

To summarise. It is how we connect with our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives that He can work through us for the benefit of all and for the glory of God. More of Him and less of us. It is removing ourselves from the equation and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us so that we will prosper and bear more fruit.

Have an awesome day, my friend.

Today's thought - 20 August 2026 (How does it work)

 

The taller the tree the deeper the roots. Today I want to talk to you and me about fruit. Yes, you are right. Grapes, apples, strawberries, peaches and oranges. How much can you carry at the same time and how much of these do you grow all by yourself. Sorry, I am being silly today.

Jesus said in John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”.

I find myself questioning my fruit. You see each day we face challenges and obstacles and temptations and some I can successful overcome but with some I fail miserably. I can succeed at not getting angry in traffic, but when I get to the office I am annoyed by some of my colleagues. I can do my work to the best of my ability, but I fail when I am overwhelmed and then I struggle. Some temptations I can bear and other make me fall.

So, it is a roller coaster ride of emotions and battles that leaves me to question my fruit and if I am worthy of my purpose and that is do share the gospel and to help people.

How can I reach my circle of influence if I am annoyed with them or judgmental. The answer lies in the word “Abide”.

The word abide is a verb that means to accept, obey, endure, or stay in a place. It has a few different meanings depending on how you use it in a sentence. Abide by: To obey or follow a rule, law, or decision.

In the Bible, abide means to stay, remain, or dwell in a close, ongoing relationship with God. It describes a permanent, life-giving connection rather than a temporary visit. The most famous picture of this is Jesus calling Himself the vine and His followers the branches, showing that life and spiritual growth flow only from staying attached to Him.

So, what did Jesus mean when He said abide in me. It boils down to the next verse, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing”.

Jesus simply says that on your own you will fail. But with Him (abiding) you will succeed. Connecting to Him and surrendering completely you will bear fruit. Trusting Him and implementing His principles will help but most important connecting, walking and building an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit will give you more success.

Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples”.

The He added, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full”.

 This is why this is so important. Not only will you glorify the Father, but you will be filled with joy.

So, come with me today, my friend, and let us plug into the Lord and abide in Him as much as we can, so that we will bear fruit in all areas of our lives and touch lives and live with abundant life. Paul wrote and I remind you again, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen”.

Have an awesome day.

Today's thought - 19 August 2026 (That's not very Christian)

 

Our church teaches us that to reach the lost at any cost we should SHARE our story. Now SHARE means basically S – See the need of a person, H - hear the call for help or cry for help or just listen, A – Act on this by accepting, caring, giving time and serving as Jesus did, R – Reveal the gospel and finally E – Engage where we invite them to church.

Now as I journey through this course, I am overwhelmed by the thoughts I have over people and the words I say. You see I am going through this massive battle for my daughter against my ex-wife and I find myself often saying that there must be something wrong or how could someone do something like this or I get angry at the system because it seems to never end. Then there are people I work with that causes equal frustration and finally I think “Whoa! that is not very Christian of me and how am I going to reach people if they annoy me even before I started.”

This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 126 and 127. This is interesting and I guess quite profound. The Lord says, “Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted” verse one, “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones” Psalm 127:2.

Then Psalm 126:5, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy”.

Ok so there is an entire sermon in these verses, but what is important to remember is that in everything we do, we plant the seed and we water the seed. We basically have to do our best to implement Biblical principles in our day to day walk and this waters the seed we plant. The way we live for Jesus and God will produce the harvest.

So, again God says to me. You do the difficult and He will do the impossible. This is why He says we may sow in tears, but we will surely reap with joy.  You see it is hard or anyway it is hard for me to not get upset at the unfairness I see, or the things people get away with, but at the same time I need to understand exactly what the cross meant for them and me and you.

The hard part is to remove “self” from the equation and to allow God to touch our hearts and change our hearts. Jesus did not judge. He did though point out the flaws in the religion of the priests and pharisees. In essence Jesus taught the truth and ultimately that is to what we should strive to do to.

What am I trying to say? Well, I guess I am trying to say that nothing that is worth your time and effort is instant. It is the process that aligns us and touches others. It is in our trust of the seedtime and harvest principle that we change the world around us. Our circle of influence. Our family, friends and colleagues. The people we deal with regularly. Sharing your testimony or the Gospel in not a magic wand, but a process of trust and faith and understanding. It is God’s heart when we want to give up, it is God’s Word when we want to run away, it is God’s comfort when we cannot get up. It is simply allowing yourself to be still so that God can guide you. In other words, less of us and more of the Holy Spirit.

Ok, so let us go out into this day and share our testimonies. Our love, our faith and kindness to serve the lost and save one more life for the kingdom of God. And at the same time stepping back and allowing God to be our compass and our guide and seeking His way and His will in our own lives so that we will flourish in everything we do.

Have an awesome day.