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Good morning. Reading through Paul's letter to the Colossian church, we are struck by Paul's focus on Christ - His centrality to God's redemptive plan for mankind, His supremacy and His Deity. Because of this, Paul has this to say. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1‭-‬2) Why? "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority." (Colossians 2:9‭-‬10) As we head towards the weekend let's follow what Paul had to say: "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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8‭-‬9) Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Welcome to the 2nd half of 2021. Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and having a personal relationship with Him will carry us through the remainder of 2021 and beyond. Colossians 1:15-20 paints a magnificent description of our Lord. The fullness of God dwells in the Son. Paul continues in verses 22 & 23, "But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel." (Colossians 1:22-23) We are reminded that our hope is to be found in the supremacy of Christ. By holding firmly to our hope in Him and by having unshakable faith in Him, we can confidently believe God's promise to His people. "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) Confidently enjoy your day having unshakable faith in Him. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. In the sermon series "Unshakeable Faith - Life Above the Chaos" we are going through at GraceCov, our faith is being challenged. On Sunday we heard that the supremacy of Christ is key. So what do we do when we are bombarded with all the negative news, fake news and in general conversation, all the panicky stuff? Jesus, himself, had this to say. "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:6‭-‬7) Scary stuff! But Jesus also had this to say, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Our view of the supremacy of Christ will determine whether His words are comforting or not. If we see Christ as supreme, then we will find assurance in Him saying, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35) Christ's words rise above the clamor of what the world is peddling. When we have faith in the supremacy of Christ, then the words of Paul will strengthen our faith. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) Have a wonderful Wednesday. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning to you. There are days when it may feel like the burden of life is too heavy. Hang in there. The story is told of the elderly negro woman who was asked what her favourite scripture was. Her response was immediate and without hesitation: "It came to pass." When pressed as to why that was her favourite, her response was, "It came to pass. It didn't come to stay." Jeremiah tells us, "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity ... I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” (Jeremiah 31:23‭, ‬25) God's promise is sure. He says "when" not "if". Remember what David said. "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul." (Psalms 23:1‭-‬3) Be refreshed in the Lord today. Have a good one. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We trust you had a good weekend and that you are doing well. 458 days into the lockdown we find ourselves asking "How much longer?" We may feel like we're dancing - 1 step forward and 2 steps back. When it feels like we are caught up in the darkness of life in the pandemic, just managing to cope with everything coming our way, we can, no must, take heart in what Jesus said. Jesus speaking to the people said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) So when it feels like darkness is all around us, press into Jesus and walk close to Him. He is the light of the world. In Him there is no darkness. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We are reminded that when we abide in Christ we will be fruitful. Jesus said "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4) When we abide in Christ we receive the most amazing care from an awesome Gardiner. Jesus said “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." (John 15:1) Furthermore, Jesus promises that if we remain in Him, He will remain in us. (John 15:2) Today as we draw near to worship God together, let's commit, afresh, to abiding in Him. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The weekend is upon us. Take time to relax and enjoy it. In the Scriptures we are able to read and mentally digest various pictures / revelations of God. Jesus said, "no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27) We see that through Christ, God sustains us."And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We see that through Christ, God provides for us.“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). We see that through Christ, life in God is eternal. "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11) With this in mind we can look to the future with confidence. Keep safe and take care. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Yesterday we saw that the benefit of meditating on God's Word is that it helps us see/learn more about God. The psalmist says: "He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Saviour.’" (Psalms 89:26) During the course of today take time to thank God that He is your Saviour. The disciple that Jesus loved, reminds us that Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:11‭, ‬14) During the course of today make time to remember what all the shepherd does for His sheep. One of the things Jesus said to the disciples was, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet." (John 13:14) A teacher is honoured when those who are taught put into practice what they have been taught. Have a good day with your Saviour, Shepherd and Teacher. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The good thing about meditating on God's Word is that it reveals more about God's attributes and how much He cares for those who follow Him wholeheartedly. David, the psalmist, was a man after God's heart, (Acts 13:22) and as a result of his deep relationship with God asked "what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Psalms 8:4). David knew God was his "all in all". (Psalm 23) Like David, we need to see God for who He is and walk in His ways. Let's join in singing this song by Michael W. Smith. "Oh God, You are my God Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You" "Oh God, You are my God Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You" "I will seek You in the morning And I will learn to walk in Your ways And Step by step You'll lead me And I will follow You all of my days" Let's make these words our prayer as we draw closer to God. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We trust you are keeping warm on these winter days. If the daily stats are correct, we are well and truly in the 3rd wave of the pandemic here in Centurion, Gauteng. How are we responding to what is going on around us? Are we doing the basics - wearing face masks, sanitizing etc.? For some it is "Que sera,sera. Whatever will be, will be." While for others it is Psalm 91:7 "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you." How should we as followers of Christ be responding in the present circumstances? Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice." This quote from Martin Luther is worth noting. MARTIN LUTHER'S PASTORAL ADVICE DURING THE BLACK PLAGUE "I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy..." Proverbs 1:5 says, "let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance" Let us, intentionally, stand in the gap by praying for each other today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. For Followers of Christ meditating on God's Word sets the tone for living through our circumstances. Following on from what was posted yesterday, here are some scripture verses for us to focus on. "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:2) "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) "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7) "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) "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) “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (Psalms 46:10‭-‬11) Have a blessed day and remember you are loved. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We trust you had a good weekend. One of the points in the Fathers Day message at GraceCov yesterday was that we are each called to run our own race with perseverance. This reminded me (Mike) of the series we went through in April last year - "Runner". Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds us "... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Acts 20:24 says: "I consider my life worth nothing to me; 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." In that series we were encouraged as to how we should run our race? Acts 20:23ff 1. Run your own race with perseverance 2. Run with personal sacrifice 3. Run it with partners 4. Run for future pleasure Run with eternity in mind 5. Run to the finish line Run to the end We would do well to heed the words of Forrest Gump's friend, Jenny who yelled at him, "Run, Forrest. Run!" In the week ahead, let's run for Him. Blessings. Mike and Daphne