GOD GIVES GOOD GIFTS

Today’s Text: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matthew 7:11)

Today’s Thoughts: We know how to give good gifts most of the time. If we want to please someone we usually know what to give. God knows far better than we do what we need and what we really want. He loves to bless us with the perfect gifts. He will often bless us with gifts that we would never choose for ourselves, simply because in His wisdom He knows how much we will come to appreciate those gifts. God is the giver of good gifts.

Today’s Testimony: Yesterday I shared a story about the Lord providing me with the perfect pair of shoes. I also mentioned that the Lord had chosen shoes for me before that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself. I’ve shared the one story before (Today’s T’s Day 47) and now I’m going to share the second one.
This time I needed a new pair of sandals. I hadn’t seen any that I liked, so I was just making do with the ones I had until I found a pair. But God knew which shoes I needed and seeing I had seen them but didn’t like them all that much, He intervened.
My older sister had met with friends at the mall, and we’d come to fetch her when they were done. Just a few steps into the mall my one shoe hooked on a tile; I tripped; and my shoe broke. I then made my way to the nearest place where I could buy a pair of shoes; found a pair that I could manage to live with; and bought it. Like I said, I had seen those shoes before but I didn’t think they were “me”.
Those shoes also turned out to be one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I have ever had, and I eventually did come to like them a lot. Even though they were brand-new they never gave me blisters. The only time they ever gave me pain was when they were nearing the end of their days and if I wore them too long it felt as though I was walking on the ground itself. By then I already had another pair of shoes to take their place, but they were definitely not as comfortable. God knows how to choose shoes! God knows how to give good gifts no matter what they are! God is Good – always good, and only good!

Today’s Task: Trust God’s knowledge; trust God’s timing; trust God’s goodness; trust God full stop. He knows what you need and He knows when you need it. He loves you and cares about you – believe it. Ask Him to intervene in whatever trying situations you have. Thank Him for His intervention. Thank Him now in advance, and praise Him again and share the testimony once it happens. God loves you – love Him back.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You give good gifts. You never give bad gifts. Everything good comes from You, and everything bad comes from Satan. I pray that You will give us strength to endure every trial. I thank You that You never leave us to face them alone. Help us to trust You. I praise You that we can place our trust fully and confidently in You. We praise You and thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

A PEACEFUL TRUST

Today’s Text: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)

Today’s Thoughts: No matter what our trouble is, if our minds are stayed on Christ, He will give us a peaceful trust in Him. If we are trusting Him to intervene in the way that He knows is best we will have peace. We will know that God has a perfect way and a perfect time. We mustn’t focus on the problem, but on the One who can solve the problem. If we truly trust the Lord and keep our eyes fixed on His soon-coming intervention, in the way He knows best, then we will have peace. And we will therefore have a peaceful trust in our God. We all need that.

Today’s Testimony: I needed a new pair of casual-smart shoes. We had been asked to sing during a week-of-prayer at my church and I therefore hoped to be able to get a pair before then. We went to the mall to look for shoes. I saw a few pairs, but none of them seemed to “scream my name”. Finally my step-dad said, “Ok, we’ll go to one more shop, and then we’re going home.”
I had been praying from the start that the Lord would help me to find the perfect shoes, and throughout our shopping experience I had continued talking to the Lord about it. The main conversation that I had with the Lord was just after my step-dad had said that we would only go to one last shop. That was the only other shop where I would normally buy clothes anyway, so in my opinion, if there weren’t shoes there, then I would have either had to settle for something I had already seen or wait and get shoes at a later stage.
I really needed a new pair of shoes and wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I couldn’t find any, but the Lord blessed me with a peaceful trust in Him. I asked Him to intervene, but also said that I knew that He knew what was best. He had chosen shoes for me before that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself, and those were some of the best shoes I’ve ever had, so I knew He could help me to choose from the ones I’d already seen, or He could still have a pair waiting for me at the last shop. I also knew that He might have a better plan in mind and maybe I wasn’t supposed to get shoes at that stage. I left it totally in His hands. I took hold of that peaceful trust that He had offered.
We went into the last shop, and there was the perfect pair of shoes. This pair did “scream my name” and they were within my price-range. God is so good! He can intervene in all our troubles, but He can also give us a peaceful trust in Him in the meantime. Won’t you accept that peaceful trust with me?

Today’s Task: Keep your eyes fixed on Christ – know that He can and will intervene no matter what you’re going through. But as I’ve said many times before, remember that God knows what is truly best. Place your trust in Him and He will give you peace until the time is right to intervene. Ask the Lord to give you a peaceful trust in Him – then accept that blessing.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You care about us. You do not want us to worry and stress, You want us to have peace. Lord please give us Your peace. Help us to trust You so that we can have that peaceful trust in You. Help us to know and remember that You care about our well-being. Help us to leave all our troubles in Your hands. Help us to keep our minds stayed on You. I thank You that we can trust You. I thank You that You give us peace. I thank You that You will always come through for us. We love You Lord. Amen.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR HEART’S DOOR

Today’s Text: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Today’s Thoughts: Christ is standing at the door to your heart, unless you’ve already let Him in. He wants to come in and reign in your heart. He wants to become a personal Friend of yours. If you hear Him knocking, please don’t ignore Him. Letting Christ enter your life will be the best decision you’ve ever made. Do you hear His voice tenderly calling to your wondering heart? You might not get another chance to open the door and allow Christ in. If you do not make it through this day, would you have been happy with the one reigning in your heart? Please open your heart’s door to Christ today.

Today’s Testimony: Today I’d like to share another song that I wrote. This one was also written six years ago. This time I’ve shared the whole song as is, except that the chorus gets repeated at the end. I’ll once again let the words speak for themselves.

Open Your Heart’s Door

Let me take you on a journey to the scene where Jesus was crucified
You hear the crowd screaming, you see people crying on the side
You carry on looking around
And this is where your attention is found

You’re looking at our blood-stained, thorn-torn, nail-pierced Christ
With love in His eyes and you on His mind
He turns to look at you and says, “Don’t make Me die for nothing
‘Cause to Me you’re truly something
It’s you I’m dying for
Please open your heart’s door”

Christ’s grace abounds so freely to every kindred tongue and nation
But will you choose this gift – the perfect gift of salvation
If you want to meet the one who can give you freedom
Then now with me to the cross come

You’re looking at our blood-stained, thorn-torn, nail-pierced Christ
With love in His eyes and you on His mind
He turns to look at you and says, “Don’t make Me die for nothing
Cause to Me you’re truly something
It’s you I’m dying for
Please open your heart’s door”

O please open your heart’s door and let Christ in

Today’s Task: Listen for the Lord’s knock. Listen for His voice. Do you hear it? Please don’t leave Him standing outside. You need Him in your heart. You need Him in your life. He died in your place – don’t let His death for you be in vain. God has done all He can. Please open your heart’s door and invite Christ in. Do not wait – do it right now.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You were willing to die in our place. I thank You that You did not stop there – You are knocking on ever closed door. I thank You that You love us so much. Please help us to take the step to open the door. We need You. Please enter our hearts and change our lives for Your glory. We love You Lord. Amen.

GOD IS LOVE

Today’s Text: And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (1John 4:16)

Today’s Thoughts: Have you seen God’s love? Do you know and believe that He loves you so much? Let us focus for a bit on the words “God is love”. The text does not say that God “loves”, it says that God “is love”. This means that God cannot be anything less than love. Everything He does is done in love. Love comes from God – we cannot love without God placing that love in our hearts. If we ever want proof that God is love we simply need to think back on the cross. If that doesn’t convince us that God is love and only love, then nothing will. God loves you. Do you know how much love God is offering to you? Think about it – He is love itself. Please accept that love today.

Today’s Testimony: Six years ago I wrote a song entitled “Why Did God Create Man?”. I’m going to share the words of that song with you today and I’ll let them speak for themselves. I’m once again only going to insert the chorus once. The chorus is the piece after the first two verses and should come again at the end of the song.

Why Did God Create Man?

Why did God create man
When He knew we’d only leave the hollow of His hand
And that these wicked people would only cause Him pain
And that when we reaped the result of our sin He would get the blame?
Well you see, God is love – He has so much love to share
So He wanted to share that love with someone, although we couldn’t care

Why did God create you and me
Although the future He could see?
Surely when He saw our sin and the price He’d have to pay
He should have thought twice and thrown His plan away
But still He chose to create sinful people like us
For then He would not only share, but show that He loves us so much

O He knew, He knew that we would never cease to sin
And He knew, He knew that when temptation came we would give in
But He still chose to die
It’s hard to imagine why
But He saw it as a bonus
To be able to display His love to us

So you see it was purely out of love
That Christ came from above
To share and to show
His great love for His people below
Now I pray that you see
That out of love, God created you and me

Today’s Task: No matter how many people try and tell you that God doesn’t care, even if it is the way you’ve been feeling – please wipe that thought from your mind. We definitely might not always see God’s hand working in our lives, but His hand of love is always there. God does love you – believe it. If you do believe that God loves you, please tell as many people as you can that God is love. Show them that God is love by letting His love shine out of your heart. Praise Him for His love.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You for Your love. I thank You that You have never and will never stop loving us. Help us to live to please You. Help us to love You in return. I thank You for the plan of salvation that You were willing to set in place, although You knew how much it would cost. Lord I thank You for loving us that much. I praise You in Christ’s name. Amen.

FOR GOD SO LOVED

Today’s Text: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16)

Today’s Thoughts: God loves us so much that He was even prepared to send His Son to save us, knowing that he was going to be mocked, beaten, humiliated and murdered. Watching those last scenes of Christ’s life must have broken the Father’s heart. God knew all this would take place. He knew His Son would have to die if we were to live even before He created us, yet He still did. God and Jesus were both prepared to pay the price. That’s how much you are loved. All we have to do is believe in Christ. Believe that He is all He says He is. Believe that He truly does love you, and then love Him back. Show Him that you love Him by living to please Him. God loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend – love Him back.

Today’s Testimony: At my church we often have what we call a Praise and Worship Service in which we share testimonies and sing songs together, as well as have a number of groups or individuals sing. A few years ago we had one and the topic was Praise God for Salvation. I thought the topic was a good one, and with me, whenever I hear of an interesting topic – I write a song. I therefore wrote a song which shares that title. Today I’d like to share the words of that song with you. However I’m only going to insert the chorus at the end.

Praise God For Salvation

Guilty, condemned, destined to die
We could not save ourselves, though some people try
Satan stood there smiling – he thought the battle had been won
But his joy soon turned to worry when God said He’d send His Son

Pardoned, redeemed, given a second chance
To live for Jesus Christ in every circumstance
We can live forever it is up to you and I
If we give our hearts to Jesus we will not have to die

This gift of grace is for you and me
But the greatest thing about it is that it is free
We just need to accept it and give our Lord control
He has promised He will cleanse us and once again make us whole

Lord I praise You for salvation
For the plan You worked out before creation
I praise You for coming to die so that we might have life
Lord I praise You for Your sacrifice
You died in our place
What an awesome gift of grace
Lord I praise You for salvation

Lord I praise You for salvation

Today’s Task: Praise God for salvation. Thank Him for sending His Son to die in your place. Thank Him that He loves you that much. Please accept His gift of salvation if you haven’t already. Christ gave His life for you – give your life to Him.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You so loved the world that You gave Your one and only Son to suffer and die so that we could have the chance to live eternally. It makes no sense because we are so unworthy, but I thank You that You think with the heart of a loving God and not with a heart like ours. I thank You for Your amazing gift. Help us to accept it. I praise You for salvation. Amen.

WE CAN ALWAYS REJOICE

Today’s Text: Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17, 18)

Today’s Thoughts: No flowers, no fruit, no produce, no livestock – that’s a pretty bad situation. If farming is ones livelihood and there is nothing to take to market, the farmer has a huge problem. What about in our lives? What if everything was taken away from us? Would we still be able to rejoice simply because we still have God? Would we be able to rejoice to know that even though all earthly things are taken away, we still have salvation and therefore a bright future in Heaven with the Lord? Would we? We need to be so close to the Lord and trust Him so completely that nothing else matters. To rejoice when life is crumbling at your feet is definitely not easy, but God can help us to find peace and joy in Him.

Today’s Testimony: Four years ago my twin sister and I were asked to sing at a program at the women’s prison in Durban. A few ladies from my church visited with some of the inmates regularly and the program was the graduation of those who had completed one or more Bible correspondence courses. That was the first time I’d ever been inside a prison.
Once the women were all seated they started singing. I have never heard singing like that in all my life. They were singing in Zulu and from the bottom of their hearts. It was so loud, but so beautiful. There must have been about a hundred of them all singing and praising their God.
These people were in prison – away from family and former friends and the comforts of home, but still they could rejoice. I wish you could have heard them sing. They were so polite and friendly. You could see that Christ had entered their hearts and made a difference in their lives.
If people in prison can praise the Lord like that, then surely we can too. And yet, yes, they have shelter and at least something to eat, some people do not even have the benefits of those in prison. But prison is definitely not a happy place. The life-style in prison is not enviable. But these people are still able to have joy in Christ; they can still wear a smile and praise their Saviour who has set them free from the chains of sin. Some will get out of prison and begin a new life – this time with Christ at their side; others may never get out of prison, but no matter whether they go or stay, many have found the most valuable Friend they will ever have and they will never cease to praise Him. I want to learn to rejoice in the Lord at all times no matter what “prisons” I am in. Don’t you?

Today’s Task: Rejoice in the God of your salvation no matter what is happening in your life. If it is difficult, start by praising Him for the things that you do have and are thankful for – it could be as simple as water, food, a beating-heart, friends and family. With time the Lord will help you to rejoice fully, regardless of what you are going through. We will always have God even if we have nothing else – thank Him for that blessing. God loves you and has made salvation available to you – praise Him for that. Ask the Lord to give you a peaceful trust in Him so that you can rejoice at all times. Remember that He cares about you.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that Your joy is available to each one of us. Lord life is definitely not always easy; help us to rejoice in You even when things are really rough. Help us to trust You. We thank You that You are trustworthy. We thank You for all the blessings that we do have, even though we have got trials. Please give us the strength to endure the trials so that we can be closer to You on the other side. I thank You that You are with us in every trial. I thank You that You care. Please put praise in our hearts right now – You deserve it. We love You Lord. Amen.

NOT OURSELVES, BUT CHRIST

Today’s Text: For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Today’s Thoughts: We live to exalt Christ. When we preach or witness we do so in order to exalt Christ, not ourselves. We are but the humble instruments that the Lord has chosen to use to proclaim Himself to the world. Our hearers are meant to see through us and see Christ and Christ alone. Our priority is to show Christ to the world – it does not matter if the world sees the messenger as odd, as long as they see Christ. We need to proclaim Christ to a lost and dying world at all costs. Show them God – show them God’s heart.

Today’s Testimony: Usually when I speak in public I am open and honest (not that I’m not always honest when speaking, but I probably don’t always open up totally if it’s unnecessary). Then afterwards I feel so transparent, by which I mean that others can see right inside me and see a better glimpse of who I am, faults and all.
One night after presenting a topic to a group of people, I said to the Lord, “O Lord, I feel so transparent.” The Lord then said to me, “Good, you’re supposed to be. They’re meant to see right through you and see Me.” Then I said, “That’s not what I meant, but thanks Lord.”
Yes I might have revealed a bit of my human nature; yes others may have been able to see that Lindy isn’t perfect – but that’s a good thing. Only my God is truly perfect. If I had to share pieces about myself, good and bad, in order for my God to be glorified then that’s the way it must be. Whenever I speak I am simply the messenger. I am not important – the one who gave the message is. I preach Christ and Him alone. I am nothing worthy of praise. But my God deserves total praise. I hope that as you have been reading and as you continue reading Today’s T’s you see right through this messenger and see Christ. Every testimony is shared in order to reveal how great my God is. My God truly is great!

Today’s Task: Preach Christ. Don’t allow others to think highly of you as a messenger. Exalt Christ and Christ alone. Share Him with the world. Tell them how great your God is. Do not get discouraged if the world thinks poorly of you as a person – make sure you are living for Christ and then focus on exalting Him. Ask the Lord to help you to become and stay transparent so that all those you speak to will only hear Christ’s message and see Christ. Reveal to the world your God of love. Introduce them to your Saviour.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that we do not have to worry about what the world thinks of us – all that matters is that they get a true picture of You. Help us to live our lives so that all can see You in us. Help us to proclaim You and You alone. Please Lord, help us to die to self so that we never want to exalt ourselves but only You. Teach us to be humble servants of Yours. I thank You that You have given us the privilege of showing Your true character to the world. Lord I praise You because You are all-worthy of praise. We love You Lord. Amen.