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Good morning. 'When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”' (Matthew 21:10) Matthew records the account leading up to this question, "Who is this?" as well as the answer. - "A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:8‭-‬11) Don Moen says it so well in the chorus of his song "Hail to the King". "Hail to the King Hail to the living Word Let praise arise Heaven and earth Sing praise to the Lamb Seated on the throne Power and strength Are Yours alone Hail to the King Hail to the King" Because of what Jesus did on the cross in our stead, today we can declare, "Hail to our King". Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. There is something wonderful about trusting God. In doing so we declare that He is with us every moment of the day, every step of life's way. When we trust Him, our lives are filled with peace and joy. We trust Him because of the hope we have in Him. Paul reminds, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1‭-‬2 NIV) Our prayer for you today is found in Romans 15:13 - "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Have a wonderful day as we trust God and worship Him together. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning on this lovely Saturday morning. Our view of God will determine our view of everything else. It is helpful to allow the Scriptures to refocus our view / understanding of God. "For you, Lord , are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods." (Psalms 97:9 NIV) "The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalms 27:1 NIV) "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NIV) "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 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 8:35‭, ‬38‭-‬39 NIV) Have a great day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Today marks 1 year of the emergency regulations introduced in South Africa to help contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. 12 months of varying lockdown levels. We have all been affected but have made adjustments. We have drifted into, and grown accustomed to, a new way of life. The lockdown regulations inhibited our regular fellowship with each other. Coping with this was the toughest part of the lockdown for some. The writer to the Hebrews hit the nail on the head when he wrote, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise." (Hebrews 10:23) Holding on and not giving up has seen us through. Giving up will not get us to the breakthrough God has for us. The truth is that the Lord can be trusted to help and see us through. While we are still under the lockdown regulations, we remain resolute and unwavering in our faith that God is in control. Be encouraged not to waiver, rather to hold tightly to the hope we have in God. His promise is sure! With this in mind have a fantastic Friday. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. From time to time we all face a curveball. "Curveball" in baseball is a delivery in which the pitcher causes the ball to deviate from a straight path by imparting spin. For most of us "Curveball" is something which is unexpected, surprising, or disruptive. The big question is, what is our default setting in dealing with a curveball, when we are gripped by anxiety? "ń Boer maak ń plan!" (A farmer makes a plan.) This probably is the most common response to a curveball. I'll make a plan. Most of us put on a brave face to keep our friends from really knowing what we are going through. As followers of Christ we have an amazing privilege of letting God speak to us through His Word. Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Peter says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) David tells us to "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalms 55:22) We can, like the psalmist, ask God: "Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell." (Psalms 43:3) So, when life's curveball comes our way, we turn to God, listen to His prompting and apply His principles. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning to you on this day of celebration. You may well ask what are we celebrating? Today I celebrate God's amazing, relentless faithfulness. Today, 54 years ago God drew me into His arms and saved me. He set His seal, Holy Sprit, on me according to Ephesians 4:30 which says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." That moment in my life confirmed what God said about me in Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; Notwithstanding my times of lukewarmness, God has demonstrated His faithfulness. Daily I experience His love, grace, mercy, goodness, blessing and salvation. The words of the great hymn say it all. "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be" "Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me" I thank God for the assurance that my friend Paul brings when he writes: "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) Have a wonderful day as together we celebrate His faithfulness. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. We all face times when we don't seem to see light at the end of the tunnel. Life seems to be throwing all sorts of "stuff" at us. Perhaps this is how David felt when he wrote Psalm 23. "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. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalms 23:1‭-‬4 NIV) Matt Redman sings, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death Your perfect love is casting out fear And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life I won't turn back I know You are near" "And I will fear no evil For my God is with me And if my God is with me Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?" "Oh no, You never let go Through the calm and through the storm Oh no, You never let go In every high and every low Oh no, You never let go Lord, You never let go of me" No matter what we may be facing today, we can find comfort in the fact that God is with us and will not let go of us. With this assurance, have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good day to you on Human Rights Day. The world seems to be filled with voices proclaiming and/or demanding their rights. As born again believers, saved and set apart, we have relinquished our claim to our rights. Our rights have been replaced by privilege. A servant/slave has rights. A right to a daily wage. A right to be treated humanely. A child of God is in a position of privilege. Paul describes well the transition which takes place when we receive Christ as our Lord and our Saviour. He says in Romans 8:15 & 17, "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “ Abba, Father.” Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." David, the psalmist puts it this way: "They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights."(Psalm 36:8) So, on this Human Rights Day, enjoy living in the privilege of being a child of God. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. One day Peter and John were on the way to the synagogue to pray when they encountered the lame beggar. No doubt you know the outcome of that encounter. The lame man was healed. He got to his feet; walking and leaping and praising God. (Read the full account in Acts 3:1-10) We focus on what happened to the man who had been lame. We easily miss one important fact. Peter and John were going about their lives as followers of Christ. They were on their way to pray. We can surmise that they would be joining with other believers. As a result a lame man was healed and others were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened. Today our act of going to join with other believers to worship our Lord could have a similar outworking - someone's life being miraculously changed, others filled with wonder and amazement at what God is doing. Remember, at GraceCov we are a family on a mission together - Partners in the Gospel. Have a great day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. I recently came across the following summary of the New Testament which succinctly focuses us on the centrality Christ. In Matthew Christ is our Messiah In Mark He is our Servant King In Luke He is the great Physician In John He is the Son of God In Acts He is the Risen Lord In Romans He is our Righteousness In Corinthians He is our Holiness In Galatians He is our Justification In Ephesians He is our Perfection In Philippians He is our Provider In Colossians He is our Hope In Thessalonians He is our coming King In Timothy He is our Shepherd In Titus He is our Rewarder In Philemon He is our Encourager In Hebrews He is our High Priest In James He is our Wisdom In Peter He is our Inheritance In John He is our Lover In Jude He is our Warrior In Revelstion He is The Alpha and Omega! Begining and the End! God bless you as you focus on Him this weekend. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning and a blessed Friday to you. The 1st quarter of 2021 has been challenging for many people, including some of you reading this post. The biggest lesson that we have learned over the years as children of the Sovereign God is that He is in control. Sometimes this has been hard to see, especially when things don't seem to be turning out like we want them to. Our demeanor will let those in our world know whether we believe and live in the reality of Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Laying hold of the truth of this verse has helped, and continues to help us face all the challenges of life. Let's live today with the assurance that God is in control. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The picture of marriage runs throughout the Bible. At the time of Christ there were 3 aspects to a man and a woman getting married. 1. The marriage contract: involved both sets of parents and the bridegroom. Today the groom asks the bride's father/parents for his/their daughter's hand in marriage. The engagement. 2. The torch parade through the streets. On the eve of the wedding, the groom together with his friends would make their way to the bride's home, through the streets at night by torch light. The bride knew what was taking place and, together with her friends, would make herself ready. This brings understanding to the parable of the 10 virgins. (Matt. 25:1-13) 3. The marriage feast/supper itself. Represents the celebration of the joining together of the bridegroom and bride. The good news for us as followers of Christ is that we, as the Bride of Christ, are all invited to The Marriage Feast of the Lamb. "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Rev.19:7) God is so good to His bride. His hand is over us in every situation. We can do no other than to echo the words of the Psalmist: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord ; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" (Psalm 34:1‭-‬3 ESV) Have a good day preparing yourself for The Great Marriage Feast. Blessings. Mike and Daphne