Today Reminder – 30 April 2014 (Day 23 – My Life)

A reminder for today

Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. (Psalm 95:1-2)

Today is the last day of April and also the end of our “Life” theme. I guess it is only fitting to end a theme about life with knowing who created life and giving glory to the maker of life. God has been so good to me in this month. Not only did He bless me with 40 amazing years but He also blessed me with wonderful people in my life. He gave me all I need and continues to bless me each day with the wonders of His love. 

I close my eyes and see us standing on the edge of a mountain looking over a green valley. Mountains rise on either side of it with lush green forests stretching from the bottom to the top of each mountain. They are separated by a wide and winding river gushing over rocks and splashing wave on wave on a pebbled filled shore. Huge rocks peek out from the forests on the mountain sides and a red setting sun touches all that we can see with its last rays before the day comes to an end.

As we stand here we feel a light breeze as the creator softly join us. We unite our voices and we bring glory to Him as He just overwhelms us with His presence. Our voices unite as we shout joyfully to our Rock of our salvation and we fall down with thanksgiving in our hearts. We rise singing praises to Him.

To God be all the glory. 

Let me end with my last thoughts on life. Life was not designed so that we passively live each day accepting the darkness that the enemy pulls over our eyes. Life is all about Jesus and Jesus is all about life. He lives and in that He redefined life by showing us that in death we live. Life in Jesus is not something we know it is something we are. The way we walk, the way we talk and the way we look at today. There is no darkness in us but only light which means that each step we take in life is illuminated by His glory. We live, because He lives. We are more, because He is more. There are no limits in life for us, because Jesus broke the limits by taking our sins and destroying them. We are the very reason life is about living it and not about dying. We must live my friend and live we must in each moment. Living is Jesus and Jesus is life, love and truth… The only way!

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder – 29 April 2014 (Day 22 – My Life)

A reminder for today

I cried out, "I am slipping!" but your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (Psalm 94:18-19)

Life is full of potholes and most of them are hidden from sight. Why do we fall? We fall so that we can stand up again. I have written to you before about slipping and falling. Sometimes we slip with minor injuries and sometime we get stuck in sink sand and it feels as if we are pulled under as life and all its problems start to suffocate us.

My friend, life is all about falling and standing up again. It is when we fall that the enemy will always try and confuse us by filling our minds with doubt. Doubt makes us rethink our choices and this is when we make more mistakes. These mistakes cause more doubt and in the end we start losing faith and that is exactly what the enemy wants.

These verses are so awesome. The minute I read these verses I just knew they were for you. I see us on a mountain climbing a steep section when we start to slip. The more we try to regain our grip the more we slip and the further we fall. Suddenly the rope around our waists is tightened as we are pulled up to the top of the ledge where we were on our way to. When we finally calmed down we see a number of rangers who helped to rescue us from a definite and painful end. 

When we slip it is the Lord who throws a rope at us and who pulls us out of the sand in back onto dry land. It is the Lord whom supports us and comforts us with renewed hope and cheer. With this in mind we should not slip anymore nor should doubt find its way into our minds.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder – 28 April 2014 (Day 21 – My Life)

A reminder for today

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (Psalm 91:1-2)

Psalm 91 is one of my favourites. There are so many amazing things written here about the wonders of our Lord and how He looks after us through each day and each night. Life is filled with a number of storms that we face and through these storms we seek shelter. There is no better shelter than the shelter we have in our Lord. He is our refuge and our place of safety. 

When we talk about a refuge or a place of safety I get a number of images in my mind. I see a sudden cloud burst and rain pouring over us. We scatter in all directions looking for a dry place out of the rain. There are those who did not find shelter and ended up soaking wet, and then there are those with umbrella’s who tried to remain dry but still got wet due to the fact that the umbrella could not shelter them completely. Then there are those who tried hiding under trees but ended up wet also and then there are those who found shelter in a building and remained dry until the storm passed.

When we face our storms we can try them on our own, but then we are the people without umbrella’s standing in the pouring rain ending up soaking wet and cold. Then we could try and trust God and ourselves leaving holes in our armour and our defences which meant we are those under the tree that eventually got wet anyhow. Then we could try and resolve our problem by allowing God to give us shelter but our faith is thin and our trust is low, which means we are those with umbrellas. God ties to protect us but our own stubborn ways leaves us open on the sides and we are still wet.

Then there are those who declare the Lord their refuge and place of safety. They are completely and wholly protected by the Lord leaving no place vulnerable for the enemy. They are ones who found shelter in building and just as that building protects them from all sides, God protect us from all sides and we can find rest in His shadow.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder – 25 April 2014 (Day 19 – My Life)

A reminder for today

Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. (Psalm 86:1)

April is nearing its end and that means we are 4 months into this year with 8 months remaining. Time is moving at a massive pace and life seems more demanding with every new month. The next few months are winter time in South Africa which means extra vitamins to fight an ever changing flu virus and expensive medicine. With winter come extra burdens on our timid salaries as inflation lurks around every corner. 

How are you my friend? How are you today? Do you feel like David asking God to hear His prayer for he needs help? What is it that worries you? 

David writes “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly”.  Are you calling on the Lord or are you trying to fight your battles on your own? My dear friend, God never made you with the intention that you should struggle through every day challenges on your own. He made you for His glory and this means that He stands by you in each struggle, keeping you up and giving you the strength you need. 

As we stand here together asking the Lord to hear our prayers and help us, He is already working on a solution to take us through these challenges that awaits us. Say with me: “Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you.” (Verse 4) 

You belong to Jesus, because He paid an expensive price for you. He gave His life for you so there is no way He will allow you to drown in your challenges. Let us stand together and unite in our prayers as we give our hearts to Jesus and allow Him to guide us through life today.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers

Today Reminder – 24 April 2014 (Day 18 – My Life)

A reminder for today

Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honour you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. (Psalm 86:11-13)

Yesterday was the last day for my wife’s parents here in South Africa before they had to return to Canada. As we sat down together for supper I could sense that heavy feeling of sadness hidden among light humour and merry laughs. It is always a difficult part of their time here, because we see them only once a year and even then it feels as if our time together is way too short. It is frightening when you realise how quickly time passes and then you get that suffocating feeling that you just need more time. There is no extra time and before you know it, the little you had is gone. It is in these last moments that we show real purity of heart and it is then when emotions can no longer be controlled.

How important is our moments together? When we have time to be with each other it is precious moments that we must use and enjoy. Time can sometimes be so cruel and that is why I feel a huge need for the Lord to teach me His ways so that I can live according to His truth so that I can utilize the little time I have with you to bring honour to His name and to spend quality time with you.

That is why I ask the Lord to grant me purity of heart so that when we talk I can invest time in you and honour Him. It is my heart’s desire to do His will and to give you all that He gives me. Then we can praise Him and give glory to His name. The Lord’s love for you is very great and with that knowledge we should look at each other with new eyes and we should love with new hearts, because we have been rescued from the depths of death. 

We should use our lives to live for Him and stand by each other. We should not waste time, but use time to our advantage. We should take time and be more for each other. We should be pure friends with pure hearts.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus

Cheers