PROVE ME NOW

Today’s Text: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)

Today’s Thoughts: Tithe is ten-percent of all our increase, or profit. God asks us to return to Him only ten-percent of the money that we earn. It might not always be easy, but God promises us that He will provide for our every need if we trust Him. He will give us more blessings than we can handle. He may test our faith, but He will always come through for His people. I’ve seen it.

Today’s Testimony: Yesterday I said that there was something special that I wanted to share about the Lord blessing me with R150 when I’d set aside R1500, and R200 when I’d set aside R2000. Do you see it? Each time I was left with ten-percent of what I’d given to the Lord.
The Lord asks us to give Him back one-tenth of all that He blesses us with. But sometimes He will also give us back one-tenth of the money that we give to Him. I think that’s so amazing. He might even bless us with more than that. Each time I was only giving Him another R500, but He gave me ten-percent of the total that I’d given Him. We serve a generous, loving God. His blessings so out-weigh anything we could ever give Him, or do for Him. And He really owns everything we give Him anyway.
I encourage you to start setting aside money for the Lord. Watch Him bless and provide. I also encourage you to give Him ten-percent of all that He blesses you with. He will provide your every need. Trust Him.
A while ago I was trying to think of a time that the Lord hadn’t come through for me – I couldn’t think of one. He has never failed me. Sometimes His providence may be in a totally different way from what I thought would be best, but I’ve often seen His reasoning at a later stage. God always provides. I’ve seen it.

Today’s Task: Trust the Lord. Return your tithe to Him, He will bless you abundantly. I also encourage you to give Him more than just the tenth. Ask Him where He can use your money. Give until it hurts. It’s well worth it. I truly met the Lord by making room for His hand in this manner. Wouldn’t you like to do the same? Please do.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You bless us with so much. I thank You that You also often work on a tithing system by giving us ten-percent back when we give to You. Help us to give to You more freely. I thank You that You can provide for all our needs. Please help us to trust You. Please give us the faith we need. I thank You for Your love. Amen.

TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD

Today’s Text: O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)

Today’s Thoughts: This text sums up the whole reason why I am sending out “Today’s T’s”. I want the whole world to taste the God that I know. I want everyone to see for themselves that my God is good and the greatest Friend that they will ever have. So how do you taste Him? Don’t ask me. Seriously, ask God Himself – you can. But I also firmly believe that sometimes we need to make space for Him. If we’re all sorting out our own lives, where are we wanting to see His hand?! O friend, give the Lord room to work. Taste and see that He truly is good.

Today’s Testimony: Now for some more of my testimony about Praise Corner. Just before my sisters and I flew down to Cape Town, I placed my last R20 note in the offering-plate at church. I went down to Cape Town broke, but trusting.
I had to wait a while before getting money, but I eventually received some. After I’d received most of the money I would get I had R800. R500 was set aside for Praise Corner, I set some aside to return tithe and offering to the Lord, and I was left with R150. I spent some; received some more; and was once again left with R150.
Now there’s something very special about that R150, but I’ll share that with you at a later stage. I know, I also would love to share it now, but I’d like to go into depth about it and talk heart to heart. God really is so good!
During those December holidays I had truly tasted that the Lord is good, and I had yet to see so much more. He stretched and provided; He still does. I’d given Him place to reveal His hand, and He was truly taking hold of the opportunity. He longs for you to do the same.
I was now back in Durban; I’d put aside R150 for Praise Corner, which now had R1500; and I had a concern that I voiced to the Lord. I said, “But Lord, R500 increase per year is not going to increase very fast.”
He intervened!!! My dad and step-mom came up to Durban that year for my twin sister and my birthday. They brought money from themselves and other family members. I was able to put aside another R500. That’s 2 years – R2000. God is so good! And O, I was left with R200 after returning my tithe and offering, if that means anything to anyone; but it will later. We truly serve a loving and powerful God!

Today’s Task: O friend, I so encourage you to taste and see that the Lord is good. Give Him place to reveal His hand in your life. It might be by giving Him a portion of money that forces you to rely totally on Him to provide – He will (I’ve seen it). It might be in another way. That’s why I said you must ask Him. He knows exactly what you need to do in order to make place for His hand. Give God a chance. He cares about you so much. He longs for you to know Him personally. O taste and see that the Lord is so good.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord, thank You that You are a very personal God. I praise You that You are so good. Help us to taste You. We need to. We need to know You. Please reveal to us if there is anything that You would have us do in order to make space for Your loving hand. And Lord, then please give us the faith and strength to do it. You truly are good. Amen.

HERE AM I; SEND ME

Today’s Text: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)

Today’s Thoughts: Has the Lord ever called you to do something special for Him? Are you available for Him to call? If He was looking for someone, would you be willing to say, “Here am I; send me”? He wants to use each one of us. He’s simply waiting for us to be available. He knows who will do the task He wants done. As I’ve heard people say many times before, “God is not looking for ability; He is looking for availability. He does not choose the capable; He equips the available.” Are you available?

Today’s Testimony: In May/June 2004 my dad came up to Durban on business and gave my sisters and me each R1000. I was 15 at the time and had never owned so much money before in my life. Seeing I had money at the time, I figured I’d “save it for a rainy day”. I often asked the Lord what He wanted me to do with the money.
Then on the 21st of November that same year, I finished reading a book entitled “In His Steps.” The story was fiction, but it had a powerful message. The book was about a group of people who pledged to not do anything without asking the question, “What would Jesus do?”, and then to do likewise. I had made that same pledge when I started reading the book, but now that I had finished it God had something more in mind.
The Lord said to me, “Lindy, that R1000 in the box behind you, I want you to give it to me. I want you to start a ministry for the poor.” In child-like faith at 16, I gladly pledged all the money to the Lord. That was the start to a ministry that was later called “Praise Corner”. The poor are cornered in poverty, but we can give them a reason to praise. I learnt to truly praise the Lord in all things because of my testimony of Praise Corner. Are you in a corner? Ask the Lord to give you a reason to praise. He might just need to open your eyes.
I did not stop there. I then said, “But Lord, R1000 to feed the poor isn’t going to go very far. If I get R1000 when I go to Cape Town in December, then I’ll give it to You. But if I don’t get R1000, and I get R500, then I’ll give that to You.
The Lord had asked me to do something for Him, and I accepted His calling. My life has never been the same since. I’ll unwrap the rest of the amazing testimony of Praise Corner in some more “Today’s T’s”.

Today’s Task: Today I simply want you to hear the Lord’s voice saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Make yourself available. Say to Him, “Here am I; send me.” Ask Him to help you to make yourself available to Him. Ask Him to equip you for the task. You will never regret it.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You have given us the privilege of being used by You. O Lord, help us to make ourselves available for whatever task You may have for us. We want to serve You. We long to do a mighty work for You. I thank you that You will equip us for the task You call us to. Lord here we are; send us. Amen.

GOD IS MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS

Today’s Text: I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (Psalm 91:2)

Today’s Thoughts: Where do you run when you need to escape from the troubles of life? So many people have nowhere to go and live extremely unhappy lives. Others end their lives because they cannot bear life anymore. Where do you run? I hope you run to God. He can be your refuge from the storms of life. He can be your fortress and protect you from the things that cause you harm. I run to Him. I’ve chosen Him as my refuge, strength and fortress. How about you?

Today’s Testimony: Once when life was getting a bit much for me the Lord took me to Psalm 46. It wasn’t the first time He took me to that portion of Scripture when I needed strength. This is a beautiful passage that speaks about God being our refuge in times of need. I encourage you to read it.
This time when the Lord took me to this passage He inspired me to personalize it. The text speaks about the mountains being carried into the midst of the sea and a few other things that, I don’t know about you, but these things are not problems that I face. So the Lord lead me to draw personal meaning from each portion of this passage. I invite you to compare the Scripture text with my version. I tried to retain the meaning of the original passage, and yet make it more suitable for us today. I believe that the Lord helped me with every word. Here is my personalized version of Psalm 46. I hope it will be a blessing to you as it is to me.

Psalm 46 (Personalized)

God is very present when I am in trouble. He is right there with me. In Him will I take refuge. He will be the source from which I receive my strength.
For this reason, I have no reason to fear, no matter what happens. When everything I trust crumbles beneath my feet; when everything that I thought to be unchangeable changes; when the course of my life seems threatened on every side; when the things I placed hope in are no longer certain – I need not fear, my God is Here. Amen.

But I have the privilege of being able to dwell in the presence of my Lord and to have Him dwell in me even in the midst of turmoil. In His presence I find a calm river and its streams give me peace and joy. God is in the midst of our quiet place together and He will let nothing remove my place of peace and safety. My Lord will not delay to comfort me and strengthen me and give me courage to press on.
My enemies were waiting to attack me; plans were set in place for my destruction. But my God spoke, and all the threats on this earth disappeared or shrank into insignificance. Surely God is with us; the same merciful, miracle working God of the Bible is still right here as our refuge from this world today. Amen.

Come see all the works of the Lord, He has taken away the things that threaten His people time and time again. He has often put an end to their conflict with others. He has destroyed their enemies’ weapons of attack and closed the way for them to harm His children.
O be still, and know that that the Lord is God – He is in control and He can do the impossible. He will be exalted among all those that now hate Him, He will be exalted in the world.
The Lord who has been tasted and proved by so many people is with each one of us; the God who can change us from deceivers into princes and princesses in Christ has His arms open to shelter us from the storms of life. I have chosen Him as my refuge. Amen.

Today’s Task: Run to the Lord as your refuge. He wants to be your strength and comfort as you face life’s trials. Trust Him. He will be there for you and with you – always. You have no need to fear if you invite the Lord to be your refuge and strength.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You are always there for us. I thank You that we can take refuge in You and that You will be our fortress no matter what comes our way. Lord please help us to run to You when we need to escape, for we can only find true peace in You. I thank You that You care about each one of us. Lord be our refuge and our fortress. Amen.

THE LORD WILL BLESS HIS PEOPLE WITH PEACE

Today’s Text: The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

Today’s Thoughts: This text doesn’t say that the Lord might give strength and peace; it does not say that He’ll think about it; it says that He “WILL” give strength and peace. It’s not always easy to trust the Lord to provide peace when we are facing problems and stressors. But He wants to bless us with that peace. The only thing that prevents us from receiving God’s peace is our failure to ask for it and then our failure to accept it.We need to believe that God can remove our stress, and then allow Him to do so.

Today’s Testimony: When I tried to send out the previous Today’s T’s I had numerous problems. Satan had an agenda to get me stressed on top of the fact that he already hates this ministry.
My uncle had told me to be sure to send Today’s T’s early in the morning so that he can read them as soon as he gets to work. I always try to send them as soon as possible, but now I will try my best to make sure that they do go out early every morning. I was trying to send them out early, but above the fact that Satan stuck a spanner in the works, I believe God wanted to teach me something.
We received a new lap-top while in Cape Town and I had started typing the previous Today’s T’s on it. It has a newer version of ‘Microsoft Word’and the format was slightly different. I’ve now figured out how to fix that problem easily, but at first I had to go about it the long way.
I’m used to turning Today’s T’s into PDF’s in ‘Open Office’ and the new lap-top doesn’t have that yet, so I put the word document on a flash-stick and did that on the other lap-top. I then somehow managed to save it in the wrong place. I finally found it and then proceeded to get Today’s T’s ready to send. Then I accidently misplaced my contact list and had to search for that.
Somewhere in the middle of all this I had to go for morning family worship. I was hoping to send them out before that. Then I still battled afterwards. Today’s T’s was not ready and waiting for my uncle when he got to work.
During family worship I was stressing. Time was ticking, and I still had problems to sort out. I knew that Today’s T’s wouldn’t be sent early enough. It was then that the Lord reminded me of what I had said in Today’s T’s just the day before: “If you need peace, comfort or strength ask the Lord to provide it, He will.”
The Lord has provided me with peace in the past but I can’t say something that is not true, and that I am not willing to try myself. If I really believe that, I have to prove that it works. So I asked the Lord for peace. He held it out to me, but I then had to accept it. In this case He calmed me down by saying the following: “It doesn’t matter what others require of you. Try your best to please them if it is not against my will, but what ultimately matters is what I require of you. Don’t stress because of people’s expectations whatever they may be, live for Me, and that’s all that really matters.” I accepted God’s peace.
Everything I say about what God can do for each and every one of us I believe with all my heart. I have seen it many times before. But it is far easier to speak from past experience than to put those words into practice when facing a problem. But I don’t expect you to do anything that cannot be done. I have an extremely rough year ahead of me and I will be drawing on God’s peace, comfort and strength continually. Won’t you ask Him for it too?

Today’s Task: No matter what Satan throws your way, allow God to use it for His glory. Ask the Lord to intervene. Ask Him for His peace, comfort and strength. He longs to hold it out to you. And when He does – please accept it. You need it.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that Your peace, Your comfort and Your strength are always available to us. Please help us to believe that You can give it to us, and please help us to accept it. I thank You that You can turn any situation around for Your names honour and glory. You are good Lord, and I praise You. Amen.

GOD HEARS WHEN WE CALL

Today’s Text: Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. (Psalm 4:1)

Today’s Thoughts: God hears prayer. He hears when we call on Him to intervene. The Psalmist had seen the Lord intervene for him before and he did not hesitate to call on Him again. We too can ask the Lord to provide our every need. The more you see His hand, the more you will make use of the privilege to ask the Lord to intervene. He wants you to turn to Him in your time of need. He loves you. He cares about you.

Today’s Testimony: One evening, during the evangelistic campaign that I mentioned two days ago (Today's T's days), my mom asked me to deliver a letter for her seeing she could not attend that night. I had the letter but figured that it would be better to deliver it after the meeting so the gentleman I was to give it to wouldn’t have to look after it the whole evening, seeing he then had to deliver it to his wife who also could not attend.
When the meeting had finished I waited for the perfect opportunity to deliver the letter. He was busy packing up the technical equipment and talking to people so I simply waited my turn – it never came.
Before I could get a chance to deliver the letter, all the helpers were called to make a circle so we could discuss a few matters and then close in prayer.
But of all the people who could land up standing next to me, he was one of them. I was so excited. I figured that as soon as we’d closed in prayer I could hand him the letter. Problem solved.
But the discussion went on for a little bit longer than he could afford to stay for and he excused himself. Now what?! I hadn’t given him the letter.
I then heard him talking downstairs to the ladies at the refreshment table. The Lord brought to my mind the story of a lady named Brenda Walsh who was witnessing to the passenger sitting beside her on a two-hour flight. He was very interested in what she had to say and they needed more time, so she prayed silently asking the Lord to intervene. That two-hour flight turned into a seven-hour witnessing flight.
I then prayed, “Lord if You can delay a flight’s landing, You can delay Uncle Gerrit’s leaving.”
We finished the discussion; had our prayer; and then before I could make a run for it, I was asked if my twin sister and I would sing for one of the evenings. I said that we would and then dashed down-stairs.
He was still talking at the refreshments table. I was able to give him the letter.
Never ever underestimate the power of our God. Having your flight’s landing delayed by five hours might not seem like such a blessing to you, but God can do that if He has a reason. He can do the impossible. He can stall landings, people and all sorts of other things. We just need to ask Him. God hears prayer. He loves to intervene for us in miraculous ways. Trust Him and prepare for blessings.

Today’s Task: If you are in need of a miracle today, whether small or great, take your burden to the Lord, He will hear you. If you need peace, comfort or strength ask the Lord to provide it, He will. Take everything to the Lord in prayer – He cares about you.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that when we pray, You hear. I thank You that we can take anything and everything to You. Please give us the faith to know that You will grant our petitions. Please help us to trust You so that we know that You will only do what’s best for us. Lord help us to accept Your answers and praise You for them even if they are not what we had hoped for. You always have our best interest at heart. Thank You so much. Amen.

PEACE BE STILL

Today’s Text: And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39)

Today’s Thoughts: This text comes from the story of Jesus calming the storm. That same God who stilled the wind and the waves so many years ago is still in control of the weather today. He is more than able to change the weather. But He always knows best. But more than the physical storms, God can still the storms in our lives. He can say to our troubled souls, “Peace, be still.” I want that peace.

Today’s Testimony: A few years ago I went to visit my gran at Anerley Place, a retirement village in the Durban area, for a few weeks. Every morning, except for Saturdays, a group of the residents meet and go for a walk. While I was visiting I joined my gran and the others on the walks.
One morning while we were standing waiting for some more people to arrive, one of the ladies said, “Not a day for washing.” I looked out over the see, and clearly it wasn’t a day for washing.
I needed to get some washing done that day so I prayed, “Lord, please clear the weather, I need to do washing. You can do all things. Your will be done.”
A while later when my gran came inside from hanging her load of washing she said, “Look at the gorgeous day.” I turned and looked out the window and the sky was blue with not a cloud in sight. The Lord had answered my prayer and taken all those dark clouds away. God can still calm the weather for us even today.
He has stilled many of the storms in my life too. He wants to do the same for you. He can do all things, ask Him today. Take every problem to Him. He can calm the weather and your heart. Trust Him.

Today’s Task: Are you in need of peace today? God wants to give you that peace. Ask Him for it, then trust Him and believe that He will grant it. I don’t know what you’re going through, but God does. And more than that, He knows just how to intervene. But in the mean time, He can give you the peace you need while you wait for His miracle. His timing is perfect, He will intervene at the right time, but he can give you peace right now. Ask Him for His peace today, right now.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You have peace for every single one of us. Lord we want that peace, we need it. I thank You that You can work miracles for us no matter what our troubles may be. Lord help us to trust in You. Help us to come to know You as the loving heavenly Father that You are. I thank You for Your love and Your peace. Amen.