Today Reminder - 30 April 2012 (Mercy)

My prayer for you for today is that you will remember that you are saved out of mercy and that God has incredible patience with you out of His great love, in Jesus name.

1Timothy 1:15-16

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.

Mercy - But God had mercy on me. What a powerful statement Paul makes to Timothy here in the first chapter of his letter. Paul briefly tells of his past and how God changed him to become his messenger to the gentiles. Paul says that Jesus came into this world to save sinners and that he is the worst of them all. Do you feel like that, do you feel that you are the worst sinner? God’s mercy goes beyond that, it goes beyond your sins all the way to eternity. It is in His great mercy that God send Jesus to carry this burden and be punished for our sake. How much more do we need to hear? How much more sins must be committed before we realise how wrong we are? 

My dear friend, do not think yourself to be too great of a sinner to receive forgiveness. The forgive part is the easy one and the eternal life is free for all who believes, it is in living according to God’s will that is the hard part. Once we have accepted Jesus as our saviour and glorified God for His mercy and love we will be saved. This is such an awesome gift and that is why we must shout it out through our lives so that others too will see God’s mercy and seek His forgiveness.  Remember this: When Jesus died for our sins, He died for all of them. So what is holding you back? Do not let your past keep you from receiving God’s mercy and love. Break the bonds that the devil has on you and give your life to Jesus so that He will take away your burden of sin which you do not need to carry anymore, and free you from sin’s bondage. It is in this newly found freedom that we can truly live for God and honour Him with our lives. Accepting His forgiveness will bring us even closer to God as we seek His guidance in every day.  

So live each day rejoicing, because you are forgiven - "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"

Have a great “Freedom day” dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 27 April 2012 (Believers)

My prayer for you for today is that you will allow the Lord to lead your hearts into a full understanding of His love and the patient endurance that comes from Jesus, in Jesus name.

2 Thessalonians 3:2-5

Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Believers. It is inevitable that we will meet many non-believers in our journey with God, some will be open to hear the message of Jesus and some will even accept this truth, but there are those whose hearts have been hardened and they will never see nor understand the gospel of Jesus. It is sad that they will continue to live their lives oblivious to the truth and even sadder that they would think our religion to be a joke. Satan on the other hand will not complain, he will continue to bring these people with all kinds of scientific explanations to us to bring division between us and God. This is why my prayer for you is based on understanding God’s love and experiencing the patient endurance that comes from Jesus, so that you will endure through all temptation and all lies and stand firm on the truth so that you will not be misled but instead you will seek the answers from God, from His word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in this. 

My dear friend, I pray today that you we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. I pray that you will stand your ground steadfast and firm on Jesus, because the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. I also pray that you will continue to do the things God commands and that you will be patient and that you will withstand all evil. God is faithful, He will give you strength and He will set you free.

Have an awesome fighting day and remember this:

"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28 – Jesus Christ)

Cheers

Today Reminder - 26 April 2012 (Worthy)

My prayer for you for today is that you will live a live worthy of God’s call and that He will empower you in every aspect of your life to accomplish this, in Jesus name.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honoured because of the way you live, and you will be honoured along with Him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Worthy - Living a live worthy of God’s call. I was just telling our prayer group yesterday how hard it is firstly making the choice to live fully for Jesus and secondly then living a life worthy of God’s call. We are so easily set off course when things are difficult and many lose their way and become mild Christians. 

My dear friend, I don’t want you to fall away. I don’t want you to give up, I want you to stand with me and fight. This life is short and temporary and the devil will continue each day to drive us of our direction and this direction should be simply focused on Jesus and eternity with Him. Stand with me in prayer today as we pray for victory in people’s lives all over this wonderful world. Stand with me today so that we will live lives worthy of God’s call. Stand with me and pray that God will empower us to accomplish this and all the good things that our faith prompts us to do. Stand with me today so that we will bring honour to our Lord Jesus in the way that we live. Stand with me so that we will be united in prayer and that we will be invulnerable to the deceptions of the enemy.

I pray that you will be filled with peace and joy in this day no matter your circumstances. I pray that God will give you power and wisdom so that you will be unmoved in your faith and that you will see beyond the temptations of the enemy. I pray for victory in all areas of your life today so that you will bring honour to Jesus.

This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

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

Cheers

Today Reminder - 25 April 2012 (Persecution)

My prayer for you for today is that you will remain dedicated to the Lord through all your persecutions and that through this you will grow stronger in your relationship with the Lord, in Jesus name.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-8

And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.
And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

Persecution. Every day we are victimized by a relentless enemy and he will use everything in his power to break you and make you lose hope. It is in our safe places where he will always try to create the most destruction. I find that at my work I am constantly challenged by waves of attacks on everything and in every area. It is as if the enemy wants you to doubt yourself and to make you think that you are worthless and not good enough. Once he gets a foothold or even a slightest inclination that your mood changed and you feel miserable, he will come with waves and waves of attacks putting all kinds of demoting thoughts in your head, making you feel more and more worthless. It is in these persecutions that we must remain steadfast and faithful to God. God will show His justice in these persecutions when He destroys the enemy, but He also uses these persecutions to make us stronger and to help us rise in our faith. 

My dear friend, don’t give up and don’t let the enemy bring separation between you and the Lord but instead of misery, let these persecutions make you stronger and bring you closer to God. Take your worries to Him and let Him fill you with His peace, love and strength.

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

Have an awesome glory to God day!

Cheers

Today Reminder - 24 April 2012 (Care)

My prayer for you for today is that you will be a true friend to those around you, encouraging them and being patient with them, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

Care. Today the Holy Spirit just wants to remind us on how important we are to people we know and to people we meet.  A patient heart, a tender warning and an encouraging word can change the worst of days. It is not only you that faces the enemy on a daily basis, but everyone is under constant attacks to bring them down and to create distance between them and the Lord. Therefore it is even more important that we take care of each other so that everyone you know will not feel alone in their struggles but will be encouraged by a caring friend. Paul makes four important statements that we can focus on today:

Warn those who are lazy – Laziness is a terrible disease. It is so important that we should always work with a joyful heart, willing and motivated by giving glory to God in everything we do. Laziness will be scolded where hard work will always be rewarded.

Encourage those who are timid – The devil thrives on fear. Encourage those who are fearful, shy and nervous to seek God’s strength and fear no more. Be a source of motivation and a light in their darkness.

Take tender care of those who are weak – When we are weak, we are strong. Take care of those who are weak and bring them to God in prayer so that they will find strength in their weakness and glorify God in their victories.

Be patient with everyone – Most of all we must be patient, because it is in our patience that Jesus will shine bright to the world like a light tower guiding a lost ship. 

My dear friend, be the difference maker today and show Jesus in everything and everywhere to everyone.

Have a glorious day shining brightly over an ocean of God’s children.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 23 April 2012 (Encourage)

My prayer for you for today is that you will be an encouragement to those around you and that you will be encouraged, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Encourage. It is funny how it is sometimes so easy to be harsh to someone than to rather say something encouraged. We can so easily bring people down and find it so hard to uplift them. There are also thousands of books that will teach us how to be positive and how to live our lives, which is great. To me there is only one book and that is the Bible and one example and that is Jesus Christ. He never turned away from people. He ministered among the outcasts, the lepers and even the hated tax collectors. He saw good in everyone and in the end died for all even you and me. When compared to Jesus I fail miserably, yet with God all things are possible and that is where my thought for today comes in, my reminder. I believe that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we live each day knowing that Jesus already won the battle and that our struggles here on earth will ensure our eternal future with the Lord in heaven we must be joyful, we must laugh and sing praises even in the midst of pain and suffering. Paul knew this well, because after a terrible beating and being thrown in jail, he sang praises to the Lord in chains. This is how we should take each day, we should be full of happiness and joyfully face each challenge as we are victorious in Jesus. Then we should take our own joy and encourage those that are going through hard times and in our joy we must build those up that we see every day. We must accept people for who they are and remember that Jesus loves them regardless of who and what they are and beyond what they did. 

My dear friend, like Paul sang praises to the Lord in chains, let us bring praises to the Lord in our daily lives and in this encourage each other and in the end build each other up so that we can form an unbreakable force that will glorify God and destroy the attempts of the enemy.

Have a wonderful day dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Note: If I live each moment of my life as if it is my last I will be light shining in the darkness, an unstoppable force of joy. A blessing most needed.

Today Reminder - 20 April 2012 (Be prepared)

My prayer for you for today is that you will always be prepared so that you will not be surprised when the day of the Lord is upon us, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 5:2

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.

Be prepared. Paul writes here in Thessalonians 5 that our lives must be lived in such a way that we will not be surprised when the day of the Lord is here.  He continues in verse 5 with “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.” This made me think of Matthew 25, where Jesus told the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

"Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn't take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight they were roused by the shout, 'Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!' "All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, 'Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.' "But the others replied, 'We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, 'Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' "But he called back, 'Believe me, I don't know you!' "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

My dear friend, keeping watch means living your life expecting the return of the Lord every day and do not fall asleep in living a relaxed life. Live each day knowing He will return soon and expecting Him prepared like the five wise bridesmaids. Don’t be fooled by the enemy in thinking that tomorrow is just another day. That is what he wants, he wants you to be relaxed and postpone so that you will forget. No, you are not children of the darkness, you are children of the Light, so be on your guard each day and let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armour of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

Have an awesome day in the light dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 19 April 2012 (Please God)

My prayer for you for today is that you will live to please God, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 2:4

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

Please God. God alone examines the motives of our hearts, my goodness this statement made by Paul surely made me think this morning. How many times do we do something for someone just to please them yet inside we are angry about it. God not only sees the deed but He also sees the intentions behind it. We must be so careful about the way we commit our lives to please. We must please God in everything we do, from the smallest “hallo” up to your commitment in a relationship. We are so easily blinded by the enemy in who God is in our daily lives and in how we behave and treat other. We forget that God is not just somebody that we must keep happy. He is God and ultimately holds your salvation in His hands. 

My dear friend, it is so important that we remember who God is and that we realize how important it is to please Him and not ourselves nor people but God and God alone. We must remember who God is in the way we are with people and in our motives in everything we do.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom today so that you will know how to please God in everything and with everyone.

Have a wonderful day dear friend of Jesus.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 18 April 2012 (Idols)

My prayer for you for today is that the idols of this world will have no effect on your life as you serve a living and true God, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

For they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

Idols. Don’t you just love the show – idols? All the glamour and excitement, the surprises and the sorrow, and all that leads up to the final episode where the best idol is crowned. I must say Idols have shown us some wonderful and really weird people, and people with truly amazing talents. The world we live in today is world of idols, and out of all of them I think that most people fall for fame and fortune. People always want to be popular and have lots of money to throw around to impress other people and they will stop at nothing to get there. We are so easily dominated by our own need and concerns that we place God in the background as a last resort, when He should be our first resort. We idolize people and we want to be like them, and yet we should idolise Jesus and be more like Him.  I love this statement in today’s scripture: “and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.”

My dear friend, let’s turn away from the things of this world and seek the things of heaven. Let’s idolise Jesus and be excited about the things He did and is still doing. Let us strive to be more like Him and seek His presence in our lives, but above all let us worship Him in such a way that we will create a “want” in other to do the same. Ask God today to break the idols in your life and replace them with Himself, and as we place Him first in our lives looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment, and He is the one we should worship above all.

I don’t have many friends that will be brutally beaten, mocked and punished, hanged on a cross out of love for me AND then die so that I can live, AND after three days rise up from the dead to spend time with me making sure I am still fine AND sits on the right hand of God arguing my case each day, never giving up on me AND loves me unconditionally. Nope I don’t have many of those friends, in fact only the one. Only Jesus and He calls me friend. He is so AWESOME!

Have an awesome excited about Jesus day.

Cheers

Today Reminder - 17 April 2012 (Live)

My prayer for you for today is that you will highlight Jesus in your way of life, in Jesus name.

1 Thessalonians 1:5

For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.

Live. I often talk about the way we live our lives and how we should be ambassadors for Jesus wherever we are. I think when you suddenly find yourself on God’s side and you realize how wrong your life has been it is sometimes embarrassing. This to me must be the hardest mind shift that you should make and that is to put the past behind you and to focus on what lies ahead.  It is so easy to fall back into old habits when you feel unworthy of God’s love. I think we miss so many lives by not noticing the need because we live a life not close to God. It all starts with you, you have to forgive, forget and ask for forgiveness to free you from your past so that you can have a complete new beginning. It is in this freedom that we can commit anew to God and align our lives to His plan. This new direction will steer you towards people and this is where this scripture is so important today - And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.

To truly love is to give up something for someone. Jesus set the ultimate example by giving up His life for everyone. This means that the love of God for each one should be reflected in the way we live our lives and because we want all to know Jesus we should live in such a way that Jesus will be visible in us. Out of love and concern for other we should live completely committed to Jesus. To show Him to the world and to bring His light into the dark and to set free those that are bound by the enemy.

My dear friend let the Holy Spirit give you the strength to show the light to the world and in that you will become a changer – a life changer. Set your sights on Jesus and keep aligning yourself to Him each day, because the closer we get to Him the clearer He will be. I must set the example by living a life committed to God.

Have an awesome living day!

Cheers