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Good morning. In the business of daily life it is important to distinguish God’s thoughts from competing voices. This requires practice and the help of the Holy Spirit. The world, the flesh, and the devil interfere with our ability to hear God clearly. One of the most important things we can do in hearing from the Lord is simply learning to be still and listen. It is in slowing down, cutting out distractions, and listening to the still small voice that we hear what God is saying. In the quiet intimate moments with the Lord we will hear Him and be refreshed. "Those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV) Have a wonderful day worshipping with fellow followers of Christ today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Our minds! Oh, how they play tricks with us! "Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things." (Proverbs 23:33) Now we believe something and then, strangly, somewhere along the way, we change our minds. Joice Meyer has written a best seller, "The Battlefield of the Mind". Our minds hatch our actions. Thoughts become attitudes and beliefs, and attitudes and beliefs become actions. It is small wonder that Paul writes, "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) So how do we go about winning the battle of the mind. Paul has the answer. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5) This will happen as we lean into God and develop an intimate relationship with Him. As we do this we will conform less and less to the pattern of the world as our minds are transformed, as Paul says in Romans 12:2. Enjoy the weekend, remembering to "guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Proverbs 4:23) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. "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) God's Word contains so much wisdom, but it is much more than a book of wisdom. David, out of intimacy with God, says: "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." (Psalm 119:105) Spending time meditating on the Word of God flows from our relationship with God. Meditating on the Word is different than simply reading it. We read for information, but meditating on God's Word leads to transformation. Paul reminds is that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) David, the psalmist says, "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord , my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) As we go through the day doing life, may our meditation flow from our intimacy with our Lord. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The cares of the day are waiting for us the moment we open our eyes. When we woke up celebrating Jesus through worship is probably the last thing on our mind. Celebrating His love and goodness every morning enhances our relationship with Him. An intimate relationship with God does not come from a laissez faire approach. It is intentional. Worship is a heart issue that begins with a surrendered will God has created us to worship Him with joy. Worship is the expression of reverence and adoration for Him. In worship we express our feelings for Him. The psalmist says, "Shout for joy to the Lord , all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." (Psalm 100:1‭-‬2) We have found that listening to worship music brings with it a sense of God's presence and leads to a gentle interaction between the Holy Spirit and our hearts. Paul writes, in the context of being filled with Holy Spirit, "Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19) As we sing and make music to the Lord, it's as if there is a release of God’s Spirit in us. With the desire for a deeper, intimate relationship with our Father, let us set aside time daily to sing and make music to Him. Enjoy your day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Intimacy with God begins with us surrendering to Him. Surrendering to God demonstrates our relationship of love, trust and faith with God. The value of surrender is experienced when we surrender our will to God. Daily, as we spend time with God, we acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives. By acknowledging God’s lordship in our lives, we position ourselves to hear His voice. The psalmist tells us to "take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) The Hebrew word translated ”delight” means “to be soft or pliable”. Intimacy with God leads to us becoming soft and pliable in His hands, like clay in the hands of the Master Potter. An intimate relationship with God will lead us, like Jesus, to be able to pray, "not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) As we begin each day may our prayer express the same sentiment as David when he wrote: "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 143:8) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Many folk suffer from constant anxiety and fear attacks. They wake up each day anxuous about finances, life's challenges in general, feeling trapped. As we try to get out of the feeling of impending doom we can so easily let our relationship with God slip, perhaps even to the point of neglect. Notwithstanding this, God watches over us and is longing to spend time with us. As we spend time with God we are inwardly strengthened. Anxiety, fear and depression will no longer be able to find a foothold in our thoughts. As Paul says, we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we present ourselves as a living sacrifice, that's our true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1-2) May the prayer of Moses be our prayer. "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14) Let's commit, afresh, to spending time alone with God every day in an atmosphere of worship, surrendering ourselves to Him and receiving His love. Blessings. Mike and Daphne.

Good morning. Another week and opportunity to serve God and to bring honour to His name. The news is filled with the evil taking place around the world - mass shootings, family violence, robberies and hijackings. It is encouraging to know that God holds all things, even the evil that Satan commits, in His hand. He does not allow anything beyond His plan and purpose. We need to recognize that evil will never triumph. On the contrary, we are assured that God has good at heart for His followers. "How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19) Let us not get discouraged by the increase of evil. God is still in charge! Have a great week. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Today followers of Christ all over the world will be joining together to worship our awesome God. Stop for a moment and take it in - hundreds of millions will be praising Him. Isaiah tells us why this will be happening. "In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord , we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9) We so easily take things for granted. Today we have the opportunity to do what the psalmist says: "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24 NKJV) Have a super Sunday. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The winters are cold and bleak on the Highveld in South Africa. The lush green grass of summer fades into a dull beige/brown. Plant life dies down. People bemoan the cold days and nights and long for summer. There is, however, good news. "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.... they will see the glory of the Lord , the splendor of our God." (Isaiah 35:1‭-‬2) When we take our eyes off of our surroundings and lift our eyes to the Lord, we will see the future hope we have in Him. Have a good day. Keep warm. Look to Him and see His glory. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. What would you ask for if you could have anything you wanted? It's been so cold, perhaps a gas heater would come in handy. Or perhaps free Petrol for the rest of your life. We are reminded of 2 occasions in the Bible where this question was asked. In response to Solomon's request, "God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” (2 Chronicles 1:11‭-‬12) The second acount concerns Elisha. "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” (2 Kings 2:9) Shortly after Elijah was caught up to be with God, Elisha struck the Jordan with Elijah's cloak and passed over on dry ground. The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” (2 Kings 2:15) Elisha then went on to perform twice as many miracles as Elijah. We can, at any time, come boldly before our Father and make our requests known to Him. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. On cold mornings one is tempted to snuggle up in the warmth of the blankets and lie in bed for just a bit longer as I, Mike, did today. Lying in bed my mind went to what the writer of proverbs had to say. "How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:9‭-‬11) We may well get a laugh reading this. But what was the context of these verses? The writer is warning against standing security for someone. He tells us that if have done so, we must not rest in getting the person to meet his/her obligation so that you can be released from the agreement. "Go—to the point of exhaustion— and give your neighbor no rest! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids." (Proverbs 6:3‭-‬4) Context is important - not only in understanding scripture, but also in life. The lesson of context for us in daily life is not to jump to conclusions. Find our the facts and then respond appropriately. One of the sayings of the wise in Proverbs tells us: "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." (Proverbs 24:3‭-‬4) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. South Africans face loadshedding regularly. Loadshedding is defined as "action to reduce the load on something, especially the interruption of an electricity supply to avoid excessive load on the generating plant." God, out of His inexplicable love for mankind, introduced loadshedding long before the invention of electricity. His loadshedding plan does not deal with the burden of generating electricity, rather, it deals with reducing the load of sin we bear. God's loadshedding plan also has different stages. • Conviction of sin - The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. (John 1:9) • Salvation - Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12) • Baptism - “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36) • Baptism in Holy Spirit - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:8) While the loadshedding South Africans face leads to increasing darkness, God's loadshedding plan leads to increased light. Today, "if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) Blessings. Mike and Daphne