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Good morning. "Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe" (Psalms 107:1‭-‬2) The chances are high that you’ve heard someone ask this question: “If God is good, why do bad things happen?” You may have even wondered this yourself. It’s hard for us to reconcile the goodness of God with things like war, pandemics, and social injustice. For many people, personal circumstances affect and even define how they see God. The psalmist didn’t know exactly how God would ultimately redeem His people from trouble, only that He would. So, he called God’s people to give thanks. Our thankfulness and worship of God, isn’t predicated by our circumstances but His character, who He is. Remember who He is, and go ahead and sing about it. No matter what’s happening in the world or what season we are in, it’s never wrong to believe that God is good all the time. Have a wonderful time worshipping God today, for he is good; his love endures forever. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) A letter to you from God. “You are my child, and I am so pleased with you. When I first saw you, before time, before the rolling of the waves, before the movement of the mountains to make land, I loved you. I knew you, and I loved you. I wanted to be with you always. My precious one, the one who would walk with steady steps, speak with a voice richer than sound. How dearly I love you. How I love to be with you. How I never tire of you. How I dream of you and continue to dream as I watch you, hear you, speak to you, and continue to imagine new possibilities of hope, beauty, and discovery for your heart. I have so much more for your heart. Come now, into the deep place of my love. Come now, where you are filled with my abundant grace that overflows and gives you courage and energy and wisdom and all you need to thrive this day and the next and the next and the next and the next. Come be with Me. I am the one who never sleeps and watches over you, at all times, in all ways. Come discover more of my love for you. Discover who you are, the treasure of my love." (Thanks to Gather Ministries) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When we look around us at what is going on in the world, wisdom appears to be in short supply. As we face life’s challenges, we all need wisdom. James says: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1:5) Paul knows the importance of us having wisdom from God when he says: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation..." (Ephesians 1:17) Followers of Christ need wisdom to live in the purpose God has for us. Paul continues: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people" (Ephesians 1:18) As we continue our walk with Him, the revelation of the hope we have in Him grows stronger. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." as Paul says in Colossians 1:27. The riches of His glorious inheritance is in store for us. Now, there is something to spur us on to go deeper in our relationship with Him. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We all have "those" days. Anything that can go wrong, goes wrong. We may feel like our world us falling apart. It is at times like that that we see the truth of Paul's words: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) David amazes us. Psalm 18 opens with a note stating, “King David composed this Psalm when the Lord rescued David from his many enemies and from the hand of Saul.” Davis says: "He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name." (Psalms 18:34‭, ‬49) Do you see what he says. He says it is that the Lord has trained him with the weapons of warfare - praise and worship. Worship is our weapon. Praise is our weapon. Our praise and worship to Jesus has the power to turn things upside down for the glory of God and for our benefit. The words of the song be Jonathan and Melissa Helser say it all. "I raise a hallelujah In the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah Louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah My weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah Heaven comes to fight for me" Have a good day worshipping Him in the middle of life's challenges. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When I (Mike) realized the truth of Paul's statement, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) I knew beyond doubt that my past no longer had a hold on me. The outrageous message of grace, God's scandalous grace, sank into the very depth of my being. I am saved not by what I do, rather I am saved from what I do. His amazing gift of grace has done it all. Here's the extent of His grace - no one is beyond the reach of God's grace! His love is a love which is shown through grace. "The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The wandering child is reconciled by God's beloved Son. The aching soul again made whole, and priceless pardon won." (Frederick Lehman) This audacious love of God is at work in my daily walk. With God guiding me through life, it's not the shoes that I wear, but the steps I take: steps that are ordered by His grace. Today, you too can live in His grace. It is more than sufficient for all of us. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. I remember the time in my (Mike) teenage years when our youth group was involved in an interprovincial Bible quiz. When it was my turn to answer a question, the group I was representing started chanting "Mike. Mike. Mike." It was nerve-racking but spurred me on. God was chanting your name, in a manner of speaking, when He sent His Son to die so that you can have eternal life. It is as though all of heaven is chanting for you, in view of God’s mercy, to go all out for Him when Paul writes, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1) He is still chanting your name, today, when He says, "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) Remember that as we "go" for Him, He has given us a helper - Holy Spirit - who us with us wherever we are. Have a super day. Go for it! Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Love, joy, peace, goodness, and kindness are all supernatural expressions of the character and presence of God in our lives. The Holy Spirit enhances and strengthens them in us to become a river of living water that flows out of us to help bless others. Even though we have a fountain of love springing up in our spirit, we still live in a world with people. And people are a guarantee that we will still go through some tests and trials. The devil will constantly tempt us to step out of love and into strife, unforgiveness, or offense. We don’t have to be a victim of these attempts to steal our fruit. James says to us, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) The more time you spend with the Lord, the easier it will be for you to respond in love to any situation—even when people are being unlovely, unreasonable, irrational, or all three. When we do this, we'll be a happier, healthier people and be pleasing to God in the process. Have a good week. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12) Really? When difficulties come, it is easy to give up. When we face illness or death in life, it’s hard not to get discouraged.It’s easy to be overwhelmed sometimes due to lack of success, or lack of support. We often reach to a point of despair. We feel it’s time to give up, This is surely how the disciples felt. They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. But Jesus said to them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish." (John 21:6) All the heroes of the faith faced moments like this in life. Moses before Pharaoh, David and the Israelites facing the Philistines and Goliath. They trusted in the Lord, and God made them victorious. Jonah is remembered for his reluctant obedience, but God rescued him, turned his hopelessness into obedience to Him, and an entire city received God’s mercy. Today God is with us. When discouragement comes our way, know that we have Christ by our side to help us through. He has not abandoned us. Knowing this, despite our circumstances, we are able to worship God with fellow followers of Christ. Let's do just that today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3) Peter understood what the promises of God hold for those who choose to believe. Peter knew there is nothing more valuable to our lifestyle than appropriating the truth of God’s promises to our everyday behavior. Because of Jesus, I don’t have to wear my aunt’s temper or my grandfather’s propensity to criticize. I get to exhibit the divine nature. Because of Calvary, I don’t have to be filled with shame over past sins or stay up all night worrying. Because of the Word of God, I don’t have to wonder what God’s will is or wander aimlessly through life. I am a "show-and-tell" of how to live life filled with God’s nature. Paul tells us how we are able to do this. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25) Each of us should determine for ourselves that keeping in step with Holy Spirit should become the norm for exhibiting a life that reflects God to those around us. Enjoy the weekend. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Here we are 50 days to be start of 2023. When we look back over the past 324 days we may well wonder whether we have achieved what we had intended to. Now is the time for us to look beyond 2022. Craig Meyer, speaking at the Pretoria Connect (a meeting where the elders and leaders from NCMI relating churches in Pretoria), encouraged us to ask God what He would have us do in 2023 and beyond. In planning/setting goals we need to follow the advice given in Proverbs 27:11, "Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart ..." As we plan for ourselves and our families ask the following questions to assist in arriving at the plan. • What do you do best? • What do I love to do most? • What results matter to me most? For the plans to take off and succeed we need to pay the price by being and remaining committed to our plan. Who do I need to walk with to get where we are going? Ecclesiastes 4:12 reminds us that "One may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." As we begin to look ahead, we need to get one or two trusted friends who are committed to the Lord to walk with us and who will hold us accountable. We pray that each one of us will be asking God for His direction and wisdom. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. As followers of Christ, believing in God is what we do best! We believe in a God who is at work in all things for our good and for His glory. Through prayer we are able to enjoy the sweet closeness with our Father. Instead of lying awake and worrying, we are able to experience His peace by drawing nearer to Him through prayer. The peace that we receive from the Father is not based on our circumstances, but it is based on His character. He is the Prince of Peace. The peace that is ours through Christ is not delivered through perfect circumstances, but it is a peace that rules in our hearts when we quietly acknowledge that He is at work in all things for our good. It is a peace that is never delivered without His presence. When we stop the habit of worrying and begin the discipline of rejoicing, praying and giving thanks, we receive the most valuable treasure of our entire life: the peace of God! As Paul so aptly puts it: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) Have a peaceful day in all that you do. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Spending time with family and friends is a big part of life. So, loving those we spend time with and truly enjoying those relationships is very important. We were created by God to have relationships, and some of the greatest joys in our life can be found in our connection with others - with our spouses, our friends, our children and grandchildren, coworkers and neighbours. Healthy relationships bring us new strength and true joy. Some relationships, however, can be difficult. One of the keys to building better relationships is putting the needs of others ahead of our own. Selflessness makes relationships thrive, while selfishness can destroy a relationship quickly. Paul says, "live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." (Romans 12:16) Jesus said: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34‭-‬35) Let's go and look for ways to bless others. By doing this our relationships will improve. And the amazing result is, God will bless us in return. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne