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Good morning. In life, there will always be things to worry about, things that cause anxiety. There is no shortage of troubles in this world. In these situations Paul reminds us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6‭-‬7) In the original Greek, what these verses express is that we should not be so overly anxious that we fall apart, become utterly consumed by our cares to the point where it becomes sinful. How does it become sinful? This level of anxiety implies a lack of faith and confidence in the Lord and demonstrates a high degree of self-centeredness. It becomes all about how "I" will sort this out.Paul is saying that we can be free from the unbelievably heavy burden of worry and anxiety. We have a confidence in God that develops in us such a level of dependence on Christ that His peace sweeps over us. The key to experiencing this peace and confidence is prayer and thanksgiving. A result of our intimate relationship with God we walk in gratitude and faith that God will provide, instruct, care for, and comfort us. As we relax this weekend, let's take time to "up" our confidence in God who gives us peace. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We may have discouraging situations and difficulties coming against us, but God has placed us out of their reach. They can’t defeat us. David the psalmist wrote, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." (Psalms 27:5) David lived with this attitude, “God’s got this. I’m not going to worry or live in fear. He will be with me when trouble comes. He will place me out of its reach.” We, like David, need to remain confident and keep our peace. We may feel like we are surrounded by an army, but the truth is we’re surrounded by God’s favour. The forces that are for us are greater than the forces that are against us. God’s got this. He’s done it in the past, and He’s not going to stop now. We can thank God for His promise of protecting us when troubles come and placing us out of its reach. We can live from a place of peace, knowing that we're safe in the palms of His hands. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When life catches us by surprise and we wonder if God is still with us, we need to remember that we have a Father who will meet us where we are; wherever we are. Doubting Thomas said, "If I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe." I, Mike, wonder how he felt when Jesus came to him and told him to do just that. Have you ever felt ashamed of your doubt? Or felt like you should have known better than to make a mistake that still haunts you? When we are struggling, worried, or frustrated about our circumstances, we can tell God without fear of being judged, rejected, or abandoned. Thankfully, we have a Savior who doesn’t judge us for our doubts or mistakes. He hears us and is willing to show us He is near at all times. No matter what we experience or how far we stray, He will leave the ninety-nine and meet us right where we are. Have a wonderful day secure in the knowledge that He cares about you in all circumstances, wherever you are. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. There are times when we are forced to slow down and rest. Having come through 3 opperations on my eyes in the past month, it has been difficult to do very little other than sit and rest. In times like that, it is good to reflect on God's Word. When we do so we are reminded of the greatness of God and His amazing love for us. Join us in quieting ourselves down and in reflecting on His Word. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:28‭-‬29) "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalms 91:1‭-‬2) "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When we read the Bible, we realize that within its pages, you find help, healing, provision and encouragement. The Word teaches us what to do during times of crisis, and it also gives us instructions before difficulties arise. If we know it’s going to rain, we don’t leave home without an umbrella. Much like how that umbrella protects us from rain, we can read Ephesians 6:10-20 and see how God's Word protects us. • The belt of truth is where we store our knowledge of God. • The breastplate of righteousness: when we do what is right in God's eyes. • Feet fitted with the gospel of peace: (The good news of how Jesus gives eternal life) and being ready to share it with others. • The shield of faith covers our doubts and reminds us to have faith in God. • The helmet of salvation is the confidence we have that as children of God our minds are protected against the lies of the enemy. • The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. When we know God's Word, we stand on His truth and are not easily shaken. As we face each day let's do so being confident of the protection we have in God and His Word. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Once again the weekend has come and gone. Today we join the 7 dwarfs in their song: "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go." We do not know what the week ahead has in store for us, but for most of us this we do know; if we do not go to work our troubles and problems will become an even bigger mountain to climb. And then we read: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) But, what happens when we read this in our deepest valleys? When we are facing death, heartbreak, or failure? Does God expect us to take a deep breath and forge our way forward? Is that how we win? As followers of Christ we don’t conquer our trials by being strong and invincible. We conquer them through Christ. We win when we humbly admit that we are weak and limited. We win by making room for God to move. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9) The "Headline" in our story is this: "God overcomes all!" He fights the battle for us. As we head into the week, let God lead us through our hardships. He will renew our strength. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:15‭-‬20) The Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the reason we join together as the church in worship today. As we do, our sole purpose is to make much of Him. He alone is worthy of our worship. All praise and all glory belong to Him. He is our sovereign Lord. "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (Hebrews 1:3) With this in mind, let Him be the focus of our worship today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Over the past 3 days we have been stirred by by God through the messages brought at the NCMI Gauteng Equip 2022. Once again we have been reminded the part each follower of Christ has in taking the good news of the Gospel to unreached people groups of the world - those who have never heard of Jesus Christ. We have had time to reflect on God's amazing grace which we received when We responded to Him. The refrain of the hymn penned by Isaac Watts says it all. "At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!" This happiness is not determined by our circumstances. Paul put it this way. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12‭-‬13) Our happiness comes from who we are in Christ and in what He has done and continues to do by daily pouring out His grace on us. Let's make time to reflect on the goodness of God demonstrated by the salvation He brought us through His son, Jesus Christ. Have a super Saturday. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Over the past few days we have seen different ways of renewing our minds which, when practiced, will result in transformed lives. • Remove the lie and replace it with truth. The devil's strategy is to use lies. We replace these lies with the truth contained in God's Word. • We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how we perceive it. We refame our perception. • We change our perspective through prayer and praise. So, instead of becoming fixated on what we see, we fix our thoughts on Jesus. He made us. He will sustain us. He can carry us, strengthen us, and empower us to do what He’s called us to do. When we let God change our thinking, He will change our life. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) We are more than conquerors through Christ. God is more than enough. And nothing can separate us from God’s love. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We're 75% of the way through 2022. How's it gone as far as your new year's resolution(s) for 2022? Have you done what you resolved to do? I (Mike) would guess that sticking to your resolutions has not gone all that well. Why? Behavior modification doesn’t work, because the focus is only on modifying behavior. You don’t get to the root of the problem, which is the thought that produces the behavior. To remove a tree, it does not help to merely cut off a branch. You have to get to the roots of the tree. If you don’t remove the root system when you cut down the tree, it could still grow back. In the same way we need to deal with the root of our behaviour. If we merely stop a behavior, it will come back, unless we remove the lie at the root of the behavior, and replace the thought pathway that leads to the behaviour. Where will we get these new thoughts? Hint: we won’t get them from scrolling through social media posts, listening to our favorite playlist, or phoning a friend for their opinion. To stop the lies and replace them with truth, we need to look to God’s Word. That's what Jesus did when tempted. He followed that path, leading Him to obedience and freedom. And that’s what we need to do - have our minds renewed through God's Word. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalms 119:105) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We often often use/hear the expression "Praise the Lord." It is usually used after the fact - "God did ..... Praise the Lord." Some of the lessons learned about "Praising the Lord". • We praise God for the "who" not the "what". If we had asked Paul and Silas while they were in prison, “What are you praising God for?” I don’t think there was any “what” that they could point to. Nothing good was happening, but their God was still good. They weren’t praising God for the what. They were praising Him for the who. Our circumstances may be bad, but our God is still good. • So often we only praise God after He provides what we want. Paul and Silas were praising God before the provision. We want to be like Paul and Silas who praised God before He answered their prayers or changed their circumstances. • Have you noticed that when we praise God He shows up. Paul and Silas were worshiping God in the middle of the night and—boom!—God showed up. They did not praise God because He showed up; God showed up because they praised Him. The Praise Principle will change our way of thinking, renewing our minds, leading to a transformed lifestyle. We must remember the "who" before the "what". "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant." (Psalms 135:3) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When it was my (Mike) 70th, I invited friends and family to my party. Each person that attended received a gift (all be it a small one) attached to a personal thank you card. I trusted God to give me a word of encouragement for each individual. And then we enjoyed a a lovely spit braai together. Why did we go to all this trouble? Well, we have learned that it is more blessed to give than receive. Money is not a problem for us, not because we are rolling in money, butbecause we have God who is an abundant provider who meets every need. Because we are blessed, we endeavor to always be a blessing. We will lead the way with generosity, because we know it’s truly more blessed to give than to receive. This was not always our mindset. We had to change our thinking by applying the Rewire Principle, i.e. we had to renew our mind. The Bible speaks to all our problems. God’s Word gives us truth that empowers us to break out of the old ruts and onto a new path that leads to life. The pull toward your old negative thoughts will likely be stronger than you can imagine. Resist those lies. Keep renewing your mind with God’s truth, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8) "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Blessings. Mike and Daphne