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Good morning. The letters to the 7 churches in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation each has these words: "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 2:29) Most of us have experienced going to church and not remembering much, if anything at all, of what the message was about. It’s possible to “listen” to every word of a sermon while actually not hearing a word of it. Sadly, this happens in churches every week­—bodies may be on the seats, but minds are somewhere else. Passive listeners attend church but sit and let their mind wander. They watch people, notice how others dress and act, socialize with friends, and make lunch plans. They don’t go to church to hear from the Lord but show up out of habit. Active listeners, on the other hand, walk into the auditorium excited about what the Lord is going to say. And as they listen, they ask themselves, "How does this apply to my life?" God communicates in many different ways, and when He speaks, we should do our best to listen actively. Our attitude should be like that of David when he wrote: "Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." (Psalm 143:7‭-‬8) We all have days when we’re less focused, so when we find your minds wandering during worship, ask the Lord to refocus our thoughts and help us tune in to what He is saying. As we join with other followers of Christ today, let's actively listen to what God is saying to us. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Our compassionate Savior offers spiritual, physical, and emotional refuge for the hurting. This is such a comfort for followers of Christ. And the more we know Him, the easier it is be to turn to Him for refuge Jesus Christ our Lord: • Forgave others. He showed mercy, not judgment, to those who recognized their sin. • Comforted the hurting.He visited Mary and Martha, who were mourning the loss of their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-45). • Provided for needs.After spending three days healing, He was concerned that the large crowd hadn’t eaten. He could have sent all 4,000 away to find their own food, but He provided more than enough to satisfy their hunger (Mark 8:1-9). • Interceded for His disciples.Just before He was crucified, Jesus asked the Father to protect and sanctify His followers, including you and me (John 17:15-20). • Strengthened believers and gave them power to do God’s work. In Acts 1:8, the Lord sent His disciples out to share the gospel, assuring them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” Jesus still forgives, still comforts, still provides, still intercedes, and still empowers. We are indeed blessed that we can find refuge in our awesome Lord. Blessings. Mike and Daphne (Thanks to the late Dr Charles Stanley for the above thoughts.)

Good morning. In our ever-changing world, families move, friendships drift, and technology advances. If we seek security in people, possessions, or positions, we’re going to be disappointed. We all need somewhere to turn during the storms of life. The true anchor for our soul is Jesus, who Scripture promises will never change. Though fully God, He was fully man. Like us, Jesus has feelings He wept for hurting people and felt angry when people misused the temple. Most importantly, His resurrection defeated death, and He still lives today. God’s character never varies. Malachi reminds us, "I am the Lord , I do not change." (Malachi 3:6 NKJV) Of course, as situations change, He acts accordingly. Jesus is merciful, loving, compassionate, and holy. The Jesus we know in Scripture, is the same Messiah we can cling to today. "He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8‭-‬9) Difficult circumstances are inevitable. We prepare ourselves for them by leaning on Jesus. He’s the only true shelter and rock that will not change. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. "Do you feel that the Lord has forgotten your need? Just remember that God is always Working in ways you cannot see." These words sung by Don Moen catch the sentiment felt by many folk, as well as a reminder that God has not forgotten about us. "When you've prayed every prayer That you know how to pray Just remember the Lord will hear And the answer is on it's way Our God is able He is Mighty He is faithful And He never sleeps He never slumbers He never tires of hearing our prayer When we are weak He becomes stronger So rest in His love and cast all of your cares on Him " We can take comfort from the words of David in Psalm 32. "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance ... the Lord ’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him." (Psalm 32:7‭, ‬10) So, as we face whatever today holds for us, we can turn to God, who us at work in all things for our good. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We’re all guilty of falling into the trap of doing things the ‘same old way’ and then complaining that nothing’s changed. Paul's wisdom comes through in the first part of Romans 12:2 when he tells us: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world ..." To often we find ourselves being shoe-horned into the mould of this world and find ourselves defining ourselves based on position, possessions and people, and wonder "What will they think of us?" Paul says don't do this. He says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12b) The key is to change what we think, then what we do will change. When we begin to think of ourselves in the way our Father sees us we will begin to understand that He is the One who defines us - not our workplace nor our neighbourhood. Change our thoughts about our identity and our behaviour will follow. Paul continues: "Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2c) Enjoy working on a new pattern of thought. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. It is easy for us to say, “God is good!” when all is going well. But what about when life doesn’t look like what we expect? The Lord expresses kindness in more ways than wealth, health, and relationships. Take discipline for example. Proverbs 3:12 tells us that "the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." In His perfect, unfailing love, God corrects us when we go astray. Job reminds us that “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." (Job 5:17) The process may be painful but it produces fruit of righteousness. (Heb. 12:11). God knows which refining experiences we need in order to become fruitful in His Kingdom. What appears to us as a valley of weeping is God’s valley of preparation for godliness and service. We may be tempted to interpret God’s character on the basis of our circumstances. However, if we doubt His goodness, we must remember that while His gifts come in a variety of wrappings, they are always beneficial. As Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valley, God's love is the same. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We serve a great, big and a wonderful God. He is greater and more powerful than any of the challenges we face. The amazing thing is this. No matter what we are going through, He is with us; His spirit will not leave us. "My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you." (Isaiah 59:21) With this in mind we are faced with a choice - to continue focusing on our circumstances or to respond to Him with praise and worship. Isaiah tells us what our response should be. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you." (Isaiah 60:1‭-‬2) But the Lord rises! Oh, yes! He is greater than anything we can face. There is no limit to His knowledge and His understanding. Nothing is too difficult for Him. In His greatness He is still interested in every detail of our lives. As we go into the new week we can confidently trust Him to do what is best for us. "Great is OUR Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit." (Psalm 147:5) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We all will face hardship at some point. God’s purpose isn’t to destroy us; rather, it’s to stimulate our spiritual growth. In His great wisdom, He knows how to take an awful situation and use it to transform us into the image of Christ and equip us to carry out His will. Every adversity that comes into our life is sifted through the Father’s permissive will. That doesn’t mean the difficulty itself is His perfect will, but He’s allowed the trial to touch us so that He can use it to accomplish His purposes for our life. Since our human eyes can’t always see what the Lord is doing, we won’t always understand everything we face. Though we’ll never grasp the infinite mind of God, we can know His faithfulness and love. Remember, He sees the entire picture and loves you more than you can imagine. This is a time to walk by faith. God is perfect in knowledge, wisdom, and power. You can safely trust Him in whatever you face today. Have a wonderful time worshipping Him together with fellow followers of Christ today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Many folk struggle with difficult and, at times, painful circumstances. We might wonder why God allows us to go through these situations? We are tempted to ask, "why me?". How do we reconcile our suffering with His love for us and His power to prevent or stop it? In order to understand what’s going on, we need to consider the possible sources of the circumstances. • The world: We live in a fallen, sinful world. We are faced with evil around every corner. God has given us free will. i.e. God didn’t simply make us like puppets that were unable to choose sin. If we lacked free will, we’d be unable to choose to love Him. And love, by its very nature, must be voluntary. • The flesh: Sometimes we face consequences from our own foolish or sinful choices, driven by our own desires. • The devil: the devil's goal is to destroy believers’ lives and testimonies, thereby making us weak and useless for God’s purposes. As Christians, we’re assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) Have a lovely weekend Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Jesus invites all those who are burdened to come to Him for rest. Perchance we misunderstand what He is asking of us. We can’t merely dump our problems on the Lord and walk away unchanged. Using a farming image, He asks us to join Him in the “yoke” so we can walk and work together. In other words, He doesn’t want just our burdens; He wants us! God’s goal isn’t simply to remove a weighty trial or affliction. He longs to draw us to Himself in a close and trusting relationship. Remember, the “yoke is easy” and the “burden is light” when our Saviour is helping us bear it (Matthew11:30). The process of sharing the load begins with learning to know and understand the Lord. The burden is not necessarily removed, but the weight of the affliction shifts from our shoulders to His. Life’s pressures may not lessen, but if we are intimately linked with Jesus, our soul will be free from anxiety, and His peace will rule in our heart. The difficulties of this life are opportunities to walk closely with our Saviour and know Him better. That’s why those who take Him up on His offer will experience an amazing transformation. Have a good day. Keep warm. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. If you’ve ever carried something very heavy, you probably remember the feeling of relief when you could put it down. Not all burdens are physical. Emotional or spiritual burdens often feel heavier and more impossible than tangible ones. No matter what form our challenges take, we must not forget that every circumstance in life is lovingly sifted through our Father’s fingers before reaching us. From the Lord’s perspective, those things that seem to be too much for us are opportunitiesfor us to learn dependence on Him. God never intended that we shoulds carry a burden alone. Rather, He tells us to give it to Him and promises to see us through challenging times, no matter what. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalm 55:22) Casting your cares upon God means releasing them fully into His control and allowing Him to be your place of refuge from the storm we find ourselves in. Let's take hold of David's words at the end of Psalm 55: "But as for me, I trust in you." Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We have learned over the years not to let our doubts and insecurities rob us of the joy that comes from following God into what He has in store for us. Sometimes God gives us seemingly impossible tasks. In those moments, it’s important not to offer excuses but to instead focus on the One who has called us. Looking for a way out creates a faith barrier. Moses is an example. He hit the faith barrier due to his poor self-image. When God gave the command to go to Pharaoh, Moses asked, “Who am I?” Perhaps he was thinking of his occupation as a lowly shepherd or the fact that he’d killed an Egyptian and had to flee decades before (Exodus 2:12). The Lord answered Moses’ objection with a wonderful promise: “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). Another faith barrier Moses faced was his ignorance of God's power. To carry out God’s plan, we need to understand just how powerful God is. When Moses questioned his assignment, the Lord answered by revealing Himself as the great “I AM,” the One who had promised to rescue the Israelites (vv. 14-17). Faith barriers can keep us from experiencing the joy of walking closely with our heavenly Father. So whenever we’re tempted to back away from our calling, it’s important to remember both who He is and who we are in Him. Blessings. Mike and Daphne