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Good morning. Our hearts drive everything we do. What we let into our heart will ultimately drive our actions and way of life. If you've ever had an open cut, you know the importance of cleaning it out immediately before the bacteria settles inside of the wound. If it’s a surface wound, it takes cleaning and a band-aid. But if it's a deep wound, it needs constant attention. Sometimes with extreme wounds, you have to clean them out multiple times a day. It’s the same with our hearts. Our hearts have to continually be cleaned to remove anything that is infecting us from the inside out. It is a daily pursuit. When we invite God to purify our hearts, He will do it. He will remove the unhealthy that we've given shelter our hearts; roots of anger, pride, selfishness, entitlement, judgment, etc. etc. What’s incredible about God is that no matter what He unearths from our hearts, He still loves us. There is no shame. Paul's tells us in Romans 8:1, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Proverbs 4:23 tells us what our part is: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." God is ready to help us live our best. He loves and cares for us deeply without judgment. Have a blessed day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Frequently our hopes and prayers are based on wanting something specific to happen - provision because of financial difficulties, for healing or for suffering not to happen. If thse things are taken care of, then folk believe they will be happy or joyful. Here's what Paul says: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12) In other words be joyful in the act of hope, patient during trials of affliction, and faithful in the act of prayer. Paul then follows this up with the advice to concentrate our actions on sharing God’s resources with other people. He knows the more we concentrate on helping others, the less we will center our thoughts on ourselves. It should bring us joy as we share hope with others. Paul says, "Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:13) By doing this we demonstrate our hope in the Lord. Our motivation is based on what Jesus said: "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) Blessings. Mike and Daphne.

Good morning. When I was dating Daphne, I'd make sure that I got cleaned up and sprinkled with plenty of aftershave before I ventured to her home and presented myself to her. It was the standing joke in the family that they could smell the aftershave way before I reached the door of the house. Sometimes I think we try to take that same sort of approach with God. We think we can scrub off the filth of our bad deeds with our good deeds. The problem is that with God, even our good deeds come up short. Isaiah reminds us "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags, ..." (Isaiah 64:6) It is easy for us to fall into the trap of developing a self-righteous attitude because of the good things we do for others. But even our “good deeds” are tainted by an inner core of selfishness that bleeds into everything we think, say and do, so that compared to the standards of our holy God, our best efforts measure up to nothing more than filthy rags. But through the work of Christ on the cross, God washes us clean and embraces us with open arms. As we come together to worship God today, we do so with greatful hearts for the completed work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have a wonderful time worshipping Him together today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

How does fear impact you? For many, fear can be physically and mentally crippling. We don’t have to live in fear. Followers of Christ have the God given power to counteract the effects of fear with faith in Him. Faith is not a refusal to acknowledge that fear exists. Fear certainly is real. But faith is the understanding that even when we don’t have an answer or a solution, we can trust that God does. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) When we grasp the might and power of our God, we will know without a doubt that He is bigger than the valleys in front of us. He will carry us to the other side. Let’s no longer allow fear to run rampant in our lives. Take comfort in the God that promises to bring peace to every storm we face. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good day to you. Have you ever felt like giving up on the Christian life? It feels unrewarding. Growth seems slow, the same sins tempt us, our spiritual life feels stale. We feel hopeless and discouraged. When we feel down like that, it is difficult to keep our focus on Jesus, our chief cornerstone. We need to remind ourselves that our lives are under construction and God is a faithful builder. God is transforming us, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to conform to the likeness of Christ. We are a work in progress. When we experience dry spells or setbacks, we’re tempted to think that we haven’t grown at all. We develop tunnel vision, focusing only on the present and forgetting the ways in which God has been faithful to us in the past. Today, let's lift our heads and together with Paul remind ourselves, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The procession of the late Queen Elizabeth ll from Buckingham palace to Westminster yesterday at one stage was flanked by the flags of the countries making up the Commonwealth. The commentators mentioned that among the people who had come out in force to observe this moment in history, were many who traveled from other countries. All of this got me (Mike) thinking. We belong to a greater community, the global church. There are Christians faithfully witnessing around the world, some in difficult and dangerous places. The global church can give us many reasons to be joyful and can encourage us to continue in our faith. The communion of the saints extends around the world. When we get together in our Life Groups and church services imagine the cloud of witnesses joining us in praise and thanksgiving to God. We are part of a great and grand assembly of believers. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When we were children it was easy for us to tell what we wanted to be when we grew up - a teacher, a doctor, a nurse or a policeman. As we grew through our teenage years what we wanted to become in life became more blurred. What would the future hold? Would life have meaning? Followers of Christ do not need to create meaning and purpose for their lives. We have already received our calling: to live lives worthy of Jesus Christ. People who do not know the Lord have their sense of worth defined by personal success, wealth and possessions. Their sense of self is like a car tyre that has a slow puncture and must constantly be re-inflated by achieving or doing something new. As followers of Christ we do not have to create our own sense of value or purpose; it has been purchased by Jesus and given to us by grace. We are living for something much greater: the glory of God. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12‭-‬14) Have a wonderful Wednesday. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Watching the recent Commonwealth Games I (Mike) was taken by the stamina of the athletes competing in the triathlon. These athletes had a daily schedule that they followed in order to build the stamina to be able to complete the race. Such discipline. In Philippians 4:13 Paul describes spiritual endurance when He says,"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." He is describing the ability to stand firm in faith no matter what life circumstances he finds himself in. Paul’s endurance was not the product of his will but flowed from his relationship with Christ. A relationship with Christ is sustained through daily spiritual exercise. We don't wake up one morning and suddenly decide to be joyful, grateful people. No! If we want to be like Paul, we need to develop a training routine to build our spiritual endurance. Paul, like the triathlete, had a goal in mind. "My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." (Acts 20:24) Paul said, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1) "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Paul has good advice for us at the outset of the new week. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6) As followers of Christ we do not need to make elaborate sacrifices or seek the mediation of a priest to speak to God. We have direct access to him whenever we pray. Prayer reconnects us to God and maintains our relationship with Him. It helps us properly order our priorities, and it reminds us that we are in the hands of an Almighty God who will never abandon us. When we pray, we are having a conversation with the one who made us and who loves us as a father loves his child. Our heavenly father always hears what we say and knows what we truly need. This is why Paul says we can present our requests to God with thanksgiving. When it comes to prayer our goal should be to pray constantly, i.e. to make prayer the primary way that we process our daily experience. When we do that, our lives will abound with gratitude, joy, and peace. Join us in making a conscious effort to turn our thought process into an act of prayer. Have a good week. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. What is uppermost on your mind when you join with fellow followers of Christ to worship the Lord? David was sure. "One thing I ask from the Lord , this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." (Psalms 27:4) A lifestyle of worship is about this one thing; to seek Him. We need to have a deep yearning to meet with Him. Jesus, himself, demonstrated this desire to come into the presence of the Father. In Mark 1:35 we read, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Having this desire to be with our Father motivates us to join fellow followers of Christ to worship Him. Have wonderful time worshipping our Father today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Over the years we have observed parents and their children. Most parents will happily spend the rest of their lives giving them everything they possibly can, showering them with gifts. But the relationship would become toxic if every time their children came to them all they did was ask for something. Nothing blesses a parent's heart more than when their child wants to crawl up onto their lap and just sit with them with no agenda. Let’s apply this to our relationship with God. His heart is to bless us. Our responsibility as a His son/daughter is to keep our hearts postured more on His heart than His hand. If our posture is just focused on the blessings, we’ve got it all wrong. We won’t be spending time with God because of who He is but only what He can do for us. And, if that’s the case, we’ll never be able to fully enjoy the blessings and gifts He has for us because they’ll never be enough. Yet if our posture is set on Jesus, if we come before Him to spend time with Him because we love Him, without an agenda, then His blessings become like icing on the cake – a byproduct and fruit of the relationship. As you sit in our Father's lap, hear Him say; "You are my son/daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning If we’re honest, we’ll probably have to admit that much of what we listen to or watch does little to sustain us spiritually. In fact, the commercial media is designed to make us feel unhappy and dissatisfied with our lives so that we buy whatever the advertisers are trying to sell. If we consume media indiscriminately, we risk becoming cynical or shallow. It’s the spiritual equivalent of living on junk food. Paul encourages the Philippians to practice discernment when he says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8) Have a super day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne