Today Reminder - 04 January 2012

My prayer for you for today is that you will find peace in your anger and that no evil will conquer you, but that you will be victorious over all evil. In the Name of Jesus.

Romans 12:17-21

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
"I will take revenge;
  I will pay them back,"
  says the LORD.
Instead,
"If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
  burning coals of shame on their heads."

Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. I have always found that my judgement is very pour. I have been wrong about people so often, you see the outside can never reveal the inside of any person. Yet we judge by looking at the outside and that is merely only 10% of the real person. We get angry at people for things they do wrong, and we are quick to judge and even quicker to take revenge. I find myself this morning reflecting back over the previous year and I can’t help to get this overwhelming grateful feeling. God is so good to us in everything we do and He gives so much more than we deserve out of love. If we get so much who are we to keep anything from anyone. The devil are just waiting for you to lose your patience and get angry, because it is in anger that we are a much easier target. It is in anger that evil will conquer us. The challenge that lies in front of us is to conquer evil by doing good, and to live in peace with everyone. Let’s take this day and focus on overcoming evil, because if we can succeed in one day, we can succeed every day. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide today and let Him help you to be the master of your anger. My prayers are with you in everything that you may face in this day.

Another day given as a gift, let’s share the joy.

Have an awesome day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 03 january 2012

My prayer for you for today is that you will be steadfast in your faith and that you will keep on praying even in times of trouble. In Jesus Name.

Romans 12:12-16

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!

A shoulder to cry on. Sitting in a coffee shop and watching people go by can be fascinating at times. Watching them rushing by, consumed by their lives, and heading off to their various destinations. Some are in a hurry, some are more relaxed and some almost seem lost. Then there are all the different dresses and hairstyles and facial expressions, some are happy and some are angry, some are on the phone and some are still in the sixties. Each one of us is living a life that God already planned out for us. We travel through this life facing each day with all the joy and heartache that it brings but do we stop and just watch the other travellers. Do we help those in need, and are we hospitable. Do we get angry easy and do we weep with those that are sad. Do we live in harmony?

When you travel through this day try and invite people into your life, be hospitable, pray for other even the bad ones, weep with the sad ones and laugh with the happy ones. Be patient when things are not bright and be patient when it rains in your life. Don’t be too proud but be humble so that Jesus will be visible to even the least of all of God’s creation. 

Live one moment at a time and that moment for God.  Don't think of a holy life for that will drown you by its immensity, but remember that a holy life is a series of holy moments.

Another beautiful day added to our lives.

Have an awesome day, friend of Jesus. You remain in my prayers.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 02 January 2012

My prayer for you for today is that the Lord will help you to really love with genuine affection. In Jesus Name.

Romans 12:9-11

Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Falling in love. I remember (vaguely – ha ha) when I was in school how it was when you were in love. The world seems to turn slower, the air was clearer, you had a permanent smile on your face and your heart leaped every time you saw the other person, and they could do nothing wrong, all was just perfect. You are almost floating as if you are in a cartoon. Love can be so powerful. Paul reminds us of what Jesus said the important commandments are, and that is to love each other, but I love how he repeats it in the next statement: “Really love them.” Paul comes back and doubles his love statement with really love each other. He wants us to get the concept that love overcomes all, love is the measurement we must use to measure others. Jesus said that you must love other as you love yourself. Love to me is the way I love my family, my wife and my two sons. When you really love someone you get a burning feeling every time you take a moment and just be with them. It is in watching them work or watching them play, seeing achievement and victory in their eyes or just watching them laugh. It is not just watching but really looking, seeing their inner beauty. It is true affection that makes your heart bounce. Then Paul repeats it again in: “ Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.” he makes it clear how important this way of life is. Love can set you free, it can break the boundaries and overcome fear. Love can change any person and any circumstance, love can overcome the world. 

Jesus is the prime example, He died for all, even those on our bad list. Let’s try and serve God enthusiastically by beginning to love more. Hate what is wrong and hold tight to what is good. My prayers are with you.

Blue skies, and warm days in South Africa, it is going to be a beautiful day. All the best for 2012, my prayer is that we will grow in our relationship with God as we continue to serve Him.

Have a great day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 30 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that you will use your gift to honour God, and that God will bless your gift as you continue to grow with it. In Jesus Name.

Romans 12:6-8

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. - Louis Nizer 

Shopping is a strenuous exercise to me, especially this time of year when the shops are overflowing with people doing their last minute shopping. It is always amazing how people become little robots with no feelings. They would almost run you over with their shopping carts, they would get angry at the slightest of inconvenience and then there are the cashiers. They are also programmed to ask only a few questions and they never smile and almost never even greet, there are those that is in an important discussion with the helper and you are merely a fly passing by. How much do we miss, how many opportunities pass us by in a day? Do we just do our jobs and carry on? Do we just drive to work and get angry when we are late because of traffic? Do we live our lives for us or do we live it for God? Are we placing ourselves ahead over God’s plan? When God designed you and me He knew ahead what our lives would be like, where we would travel and where we will work. With this knowledge He designed us and gave each one of us special gifts. The sad thing is we rarely use them and when we have the opportunity we only give a little effort. We do our jobs as if the job needs us instead of us needing the job. Be more than just another worker, another employee, be the difference maker. If you do not know what your gift is, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discover your gift. Use your gift well and honour God in each moment. You are strategically placed where you are to be God’s ambassador and to let His light shine in an almost dark world. You remain in my prayers dearest friend of Jesus.

Cloudy skies over South Africa, with the promise of more rain. What a blessing!

Have an awesome day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 29 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that the Lord will help you to become the person in Christ’s body that you were intended to be. In Jesus Name.

Romans 12:4-5

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Every hero is designed for a special purpose. My son loves to build the Lego Hero robots. He would take them apart and put them back together and then he would combine them putting different parts of each one together in one robot, he would change and combine the colours, create different weapons, change their helmets and then he would put the correct parts back on the correct figure. I am always amazed at how he knows the parts and if something is missing he would know which one it is and which colour it is. And then finally when he plays each robot has a special ability. In this world we all form part of Christ’s body each one with a special gift and special ability. God knows each one of us, because He designed each one with a special gift. Sometimes He combines our gifts for a larger and better result or if the task at hand requires more talent. If one of us goes missing He knows exactly who it is and would spend a lifetime to find the lost one. You are important to God and He designed you for a reason. We are all linked together in the body of Christ as He is in us and above us and below us and around us. Don’t ever feel that you are not as important in your role as someone else, don’t ever underestimate your value in God’s design. Let us unite in our prayers as we continue to live for His glory. Let’s stand together against the enemy as we fight in prayer for those still lost. You remain in my prayers.

Fighting the good fight.

Have an awesome day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 28 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that you will live your life for God and that this world will not influence you. In Jesus Name.

Romans 12:1-2

A Living Sacrifice to God
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

It is always quiet before the storm. I was woken last night by thunder and lightning as it rumbled through the night sky lighting up the earth and flashing through our window. The sudden sound of rain rushing down on the roof faded out the loud thunder that still continued in the background. I listened for a while as the storm continued before I fell asleep again. I love to listen to the rain at night, it always had a calming effect. Funny though, rain has a single purpose yet so many things can be affected by it. Our lives have but a single purpose but so many can be affected by it. Have you ever wondered how you can live a life acceptable to God? Like the rain we can either storm in with thunder and lightning or we can be the consistent down pour of a holy sacrifice. The consistent fall of rain fades out the thunder and lightning until it is all you hear. It does not copy the thunder, nor does it try to be lightning. It consistently just rains. Paul pleads with us to live our lives as a holy sacrifice to God, the kind that will be acceptable to Him, and then he says that this is truly the way to worship Him. Living a life acceptable to God is truly the way to worship Him. Simple and easy! No, because we are influenced by the behaviour and customs of this world. Let us surrender to God today and let the Holy Spirit transform our minds as we sacrifice ourselves for God. Be the consistent and calming rain wherever you are today and glorify our awesome God with a living sacrifice. You remain in my prayers.

What a beautiful day!

Have a great day friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 27 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that you will be the good news and that you will know that God is far greater than anyone can ever imagine, above all wisdom, above all power and above all glory. In Jesus name.

Romans 10:14-15

But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways! For who can know the LORD's thoughts?
Who knows enough to give Him advice? And who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

I am your servant. How great is our God, how amazing His might and how awesome His splendour. I love this verse in Romans 11: “For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory.” Everything we have, everything we see and all that we know and are is from God and for God. I think this is one of the biggest mind set changes we can ever make and that is to know that we can never understand God, nor can we know His ways. He is far greater than we have the ability to comprehend. No one can give Him advice, and I love this: “Who knows enough to give Him advice? And who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back?” God is beyond our thoughts. We are here for His glory and His purpose and not for our own glory. We are here to tell the world about a loving God and creator.  Then the best part is, and you will love this. This God is your God. He loves you with endless and boundless love. You are His creation and His child. No one, yes no one can take that way or separate you from His love. Let us take this day and just love Him back. Let’s give God glory is everything we have and everything we do. And the world will see Him in us and we will be the beautiful feet that bring the good news. You remain in my prayers.

What a beautiful day. I woke listening to the birds outside and I can help thinking how God takes care of each of them and that we are far more valuable to Him. 

Have a great day, friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 26 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that you will believe in your heart that Jesus is alive and confess it with your life every day. In Jesus Name.

Romans 9:17-18

For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth."

Romans 10:9-11

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" Christmas is such a wonderful time, I love seeing the family and handing out gifts to the little ones.  I love to see that excitement in a little hand as they open their gifts. Every day is like that. Every day to us is a gift God wrapped and placed in our lives. We can choose to open it with excitement and live it fully or we can choose to ignore God and carry on with our lives on our own. There are those who will never change their ways and keep on living their lives. I sometimes look at the rich living their lives almost untouchable and it saddens me, because I know they are being blinded by this world. But then again God can change any heart and any life or use anybody for His purpose, like he used Pharaoh. In the end every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord. The great thing is that Jesus died for all, yes even the bad dudes. It is in us that other will find Jesus. We are His children, we open our gifts with excitement every day and the world sees us as we enjoy each moment with this gift. They will then want what we have and the search will begin. They will look in books, search online, maybe Google, maybe ask a friend or maybe even ask you and me and then we get to tell them that this gift is free. Then we get to live our purpose as we say: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." Never underestimate the power of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit you are like Superman. Nothing is impossible. Just trust in God.

Rainy days down here in South Africa – awesome!

Have a great day friend of Jesus, my prayers are with you.

Cheers

The Lord my saviour

The Lord my saviour

As I struggle through the dark streets of life I will not fear nor will I fail. My God and my creator is with me. As I stand in the ruins of a fallen world persecuted and mocked I will feel free and joy will fill my soul as my spirit longs for an eternal home with my God. I will not make my decisions on my own but I will listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit sharing God’s heart and will. I will not be broken nor will I be pushed down by daily life and difficult times. I will soar like an eagle on the wings of a loving God through the lines of my enemy. I will succeed because I am a child of God. Those who laugh, criticise and mock me will be stunned at the work of the Holy Spirit through my life. And I will gladly give my life for God, because He gave His for me.

Today Reminder - 23 December 2011

My prayer for you for today is that you will know God loves you and nothing can separate you from His love - ever. In Jesus Name.

It is two days before Christmas and today I want to share one of the most important things you must always know, remember and maybe say to yourself every day. It is: “Nothing can separate us from God’s love.” Christmas just confirms that to us. Romans 9:34 “For Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.” We struggle through our daily lives and we tend to feel that we lose the battle as we slip on our way. But God love you so much that He send Jesus to die, so that we cannot be condemned. Romans 9:32-33 “Since he did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.” God gave you right standing with Him and through Jesus your sins is forgiven, you are free and no one can condemn you. You are a child of God perfectly created by a master designer. Oh what wonderful God we have, who loves us so much. I can’t help but shout out Paul’s words in Romans 9:31 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

You are not facing this day and each day after this one on your own, no, you have a loving God, a pleading Son and a powerful counsellor travelling with you. God is in you as Jesus is in you and as the Holy Spirit is in you, above you, below you and around you.  Romans 9:35-39 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God loves you and will never stop loving you. Have a blessed Christmas friend of Jesus, you remain in my prayers.

We were blessed with rain in South Africa, what an awesome God we worship.

Have a great day.

Cheers