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Good morning. When we, as followers of Christ, look back on our lives, God's words recorded by Isaiah stand out. God says: "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you ... I have chosen you and have not rejected you." (Isaiah 41:9) Daphne and I frequently speak to each other (and others) about God's continued outpouring of His love and blessing on our lives. This is so evident in our retirement years. We definitely cannot claim that our well-being and provision is due to our own effort. Psalm 16:8 reveals the secret of our confidence and assurance. "I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." When you keep our eyes on the Lord, the giver of life, our shield and protector, our provider and sustainer, the words of David will become your testimony: "Lord , you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:5‭-‬6) The encouragement for us is to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:2) Enjoy your day knowing He is with you. He has not rejected you. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Officially "Freedom Day" is celebrated in South Africa today. In reality, this year, we are celebrating 10 days too late. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1) "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36) As a result of Christ's death and resurrection we can celebrate Freedom Day every day. Enjoy the freedom we have in Him. Happy Freedom Day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. In times of uncertainty we a need a word of reassurance. We so easily begin to doubt - doubt that anybody cares. We may begin to wonder if it is worth the effort. Know this. You are loved with and everlasting love. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) If God loved us when we were dead in sin, then what we may be going through at this point in time, will not change God's love for us. The world can throw all sorts of things at us. That will not change the fact that God is for us. Mike's friend, Paul, puts it like this. "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) Take heart. Nothing can separate us from God's love. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38‭-‬39) Let us remind ourselves of God's love for us in all situations. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We can so easily glance over Jesus' injunction to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." found in Matthew 6:33. It is such a well known verse and we've all heard it numerous times. If we take time to break the verse down we will find it is rich with meaning. • Seeking first implies the place to start; having the right foundation. • The right foundation leads to the advancing of the kingdom of God. • The greatness of God's kingdom is implied. • Being in God's kingdom will result in our worldly requirements being met. • God's purposes will prevail. • Solutions are to be found there. Now there's something to think about. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne (The above points are with thanks to Joseph Dlamini, one of the NCMI Translocal Team Members.)

Good morning. Sunday is upon us. While it is not the only day to worship God, it presents us with an opportunity to do so with other followers of Christ. Paul has this to say about our corporate times together. "What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up." (1 Corinthians 14:26) What makes our times together special is that it is all about God. He is amazing. He is awesome. When we are together itseems easier to do what Paul says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6) Somehow we are emboldened to bring our requests to Him. And the size of our requests increases. It is therefore not surprising that we can come before God and put onto practice the words of Psalm 2:8, "Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." Have a wonderful time in the presence of our Almighty God as we worship Him together. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Many folk spend a lifetime striving for success. The reason it takes a lifetime is that the goal posts constantly move. Some define success as "possessions". The problem with this is that enough is never attained. For some, being at every church meeting is what determines whether they are a successful church member. The list defining success goes on and on - good job, education, popularity, circle of friends, wealth etc. etc. Perhaps "significance" is what we should be looking for, rather than success. As followers of Christ our significance is found in Christ. One day when we stand before the Father, He will look at us and see, not what we define as success, but who we are in Christ. "That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers." (Psalm 1:3) Have a wonderful day enjoying your significance in Christ. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. God's Word us full of assurance and encouragement. There Bible repeats "Fear not/do not be affraid" 365 times. That's amazing - one for each day of the year. It would seem that God wants us to take note. When we take our eyes off of our problems, when we stop playing "what if" games, and focus on God, we will begin to experience the peace He has promised us. His peace is mind boggling. It really passes understanding. Often the path to experiencing what God has in store for us is counter-intuitive. “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! (1 Samuel 12:16) Stand still and let God! There is a lot of truth in the saying, "Let go and let God!" The key to doing this is trust. The words of the refrain of the hymn "Trust and Obey" written by John H. Sammis says it all. "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." Will you join us in standing still and seeing this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes? Let's go for it. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. At some time or other we all have a day when we feel down. One of those days when we can't put our finger on any specific problem/issue, but things are just not right. Sometimes we face situations that can feel overwheled. How do we react when we feel out of our depth or desperate? David has wise words for us. "From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2 NKJV) It is at times like these that we can call on God to lift us up. Aftet all, He is the lifter of our heads. Taking time to draw aside and quieten our spirits, just sitting in His presence, pouring out our thoughts, our hearts to Him, brings a release of His peace into our situation. "He is the Lord and He reigns on high He is the Lord Spoke into the darkness, creating the Light He is the Lord Who is like unto Him, never ending in days He is the Lord And He comes in power when we call on His name He is the Lord" "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Day after day, year after year, we experience the goodness of God toward us. We are reminded of this when we read His Word. Look at what David, the psalmist, has to say. "You, Lord , keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop ; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord ’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord ? And who is the Rock except our God?" (Psalms 18:28‭-‬31) Notwithstanding 2 years of stringent lockdown regulations which placed huge restrictions on our lives and corporate worship, we have continued to experience God's hand on us. We have so much to be thankful for. As Don Moen reminds us in one of His songs, " God is good. All the time. And all the time, God is good." Let's declare, together with David, "As for God, his way is perfect." Have a good day knowing that He is with you each step of the way. Blessings Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Reading through the Gospels we see that Jesus, through His actions, put great store on meeting with smaller groups of people. We read that He often met in people's homes. Think of Him going to the homes of Matthew, Zacchaeus, Mary and Martha amongst others Luke records that the early followers of Christ met in each other's homes. "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts " (Acts 2:44‭, ‬46) They were there for each other. We read of Priscilla and Aquila having the church meet in their home. We read of Lydia - "After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them." (Acts 16:40) Having recently completed the "Gifted" series in GraceCov many folk re-discovered that the gifts of the Spirit are given for building up others in the Body - this is frequently experienced in a small group setting. It is important for followers of Christ to enjoy meaningful fellowship with each other, to build meaningful relationships. If you are not in a small group within your church family, we encourage you to slot into one sooner rather than later. Have a super day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We have just come through the Easter weekend. It is interesting to to observe what the world does to celebrate Easter. The supermarkets encourage us to buy 2 limited edition items that are generally available for a limited time - hotcross buns and easter eggs. Not to mention the traditional migration from Gauteng to the coast. In contrast, for followers of Christ, it is a time of remembering the purpose that the Son of God was born into this world. That is what good Friday is all about - “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) This is central to our faith. Then, three days later, Christ arose, victorious over sin and death. That is the true meaning of Easter. Bill Gaither in his song says, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow Because He lives, all fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth a living just because He lives." The psalmist sums up how we as Christ followers respond to the good news of gospel: "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy." (Psalms 47:1) As we face the future we have renewed hope. "There’s a New Day Dawning, I can feel it in my heart, A time of hope and healing, A chance for a brand new start. The past is gone, tomorrow calls, I will not turn away, That New Day Dawning starts today." (Hank Fellows) Have a wonderful day reveling in His love for you. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Two of the wounds we carry as a consequence of our sinful nature are shame and rejection. Our emotions have been left with deep scars. On the cross Jesus suffered both shame and rejection: the shame of being executed on a cross, naked and ridiculed by all; rejected by His Father, all alone. The Divine exchange that took place is this: • Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that "... he endured the cross, scorning its shame" • Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance as a child of God. "He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ ... which He has freely given us in the One he loves." (Ephesians 1:5‭-‬6) • Jesus became a curse that we might receive the blessing. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." (Galatians 3:13‭-‬14) Today, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, remember His last words as He hung on the cross, "It is finished." His resurrection is the stamp of validation that the Divine exchange is complete. Blessings. Mike and Daphne