Day 130

TRUST GOD AND ACT WISELY

Today’s Text: He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. (Proverbs 16:20)

Today’s Thoughts: Today’s text is pretty simple to understand and shows obvious outcomes. If we handle situations wisely we will have good outcomes. If we trust in the Lord we will be happy. If we do both we will be even better off. There are times when we need to leave our problems totally in God’s hands, and there are times that God wants us to use the wisdom He has blessed us with to sort out a problem as well as trusting Him to do His part. If we do this, we will truly be happy.

Today’s Testimony: In South Africa there is such poverty that the poverty stricken will come and look through the trash bins or bags that are waiting for collection to find food or anything else of value. Here in Australia, the poor are looked after and have no need to search through rubbish. Australia is also very much a “throw away” society: if you don’t want it – throw it away. Twice a year we have what is known as “hard waste collection” in which all abnormal rubbish like appliances, furniture, household accessories, tools and toys etc. are put out for collection and then a big truck comes along and these items are collected and crushed, no matter what condition they are in. I think this is one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in Australia, especially coming from South Africa where poverty is everywhere. But the unwanted goods have to be disposed of somehow I suppose. The more calming part about it is that people do go around and see if there is anything of worth to them and therefore save a lot of the truly valuable items.
Anyway, to get back to our washing machine… One evening while sitting having supper, my step-dad mentioned that he’d seen a washing machine thrown out for collection the day before. We all said, “Why didn’t you go get it?!” And so he did. It was still there and it was brought home. This was one of the items that had been thrown out exceptionally early. A few days later when he had a chance, my step-dad tried it to see if it worked. It seemed ok, until it came time to spin. The pump had seen the last of its days. We figured it was all excitement for nothing, but then the Lord gave me an idea and I asked if the pump for our washing machine was the same size. The two washing machines were the same make but this one was bigger. My step-dad looked and said it possibly would fit. Finally he had our pump out and in the “new” machine. Then it was time to test it. It all seemed ok at first, but then water started leaking out the bottom where the screws fitted in. We once again thought it was premature joy. But then the Lord impressed my step-dad to turn the pump and use some other holes on it for the screws instead, which he did. Now we have a bigger, better (metal drum as opposed to our plastic one), working washing machine. God is so good! We needed to trust Him and then work wisely with the wisdom He has given us and then we were truly happy. God sustained us for a while and then intervened.

Today’s Task: Trust God no matter what it is you need. Pray for wisdom and then be sure to use it. God wants us to be wise – not with the type of wisdom the world promotes, but with true wisdom that we can only acquire from God. Leave your problems and concerns at His feet and then listen for His direction if He has a part for you to do. God always knows what is best.

Today’s Thanks: Dear Lord, I thank You that You can sustain us and also intervene when we need help. I thank You that You grant us wisdom to do what we need to do to fix the problems. I praise You that You are a powerful God who does not need our help, but also that You give us the privilege to be a part of Your miracles sometimes too. I thank You that You care about us so much and long to make us truly happy. I praise You. Amen.

Day 129

GOD CAN SUSTAIN YOU

Today’s Text: Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

Today’s Thoughts: Do you have a burden that you’re battling to bear? God knows what it is and He longs for you to cast it on Him. He may take the problem away totally or He may see it best to help you bear the load for a little longer. He knows how much we are able to bear and will intervene at the perfect time. If we forsake Him because of trials it is our own lack of trust. He will never give us more than He knows we are able to handle because He is not willing for us to forsake Him. God is willing to sustain us and to deliver us – we just need to trust Him completely.

Today’s Testimony: Firstly I need to say that a lot has been happening in my life over the past year. The sending of Today’s T’s had a break for quite a while, and I therefore need to fill you in on what’s happening in my life before I share today’s testimony.
My step-dad applied to immigrate to Australia a while ago, everything was eventually approved and right now I am already in Australia. I’ll share more blessings about this at a later stage. Right now I just needed you to know that I have moved to Australia.
Getting ready to move was a nightmare. There was a long list of things we couldn’t bring into the country so we had to decide whether to give forbidden items away and who we would give them to or to sell them. Then we had to decide what other things we were going to keep, get rid of and get rid of and replace in Australia. It was cheaper to bring most of our household goods over in a container than to replace them this side, so we did.
Our washing machine had had its pump replaced and now for some or other reason would only fill if the water pipe was connected to the hot water side, even though we were filling it with cold water. But it seemed to still have some life in it so it came with. Soon after we arrived it began throwing a tantrum. We think something had possibly disconnected in transit. Our washing machine would wash, but when it reached the spin cycle it would either stop or refill. Refilling for the rinse cycle instead of spinning wasn’t so bad, but when it was due to spin for the last time we would have to run to stop it before it refilled. Then we would have to ring out all the freezing cold washing and either just hang it on the line or try spinning it in sections and see if it worked.
Now for the testimony. It was shortly after we’d arrived in Australia and we had quite a lot of hand washing to do. That meant washing the clothes in buckets and then spinning it in the washing machine. Question was whether the washing machine would do its job properly. So I began washing all the clothes. I started with the first load, chucked it in the machine to spin and then prayed that it would spin properly. I stood there and watched as the machine span as I hadn’t seen it spin in ages and then left to wash the next load. The loads were not too big at all, but the normal size I usually put in to spin. Even a load of one item had been giving trouble at that time. But because I had cast my burden on the Lord He intervened and I was able to spin all the loads I wanted to – about 6 loads I think.
We still had many ups and downs with our washing machine, but God sustained our patience until He intervened in a greater way. That story you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to hear.

Today’s Task: Cast your burdens on the Lord and trust Him to deliver you or sustain you till the right time to remove it. If you have burdens of sin cast them straight on the Lord and He will remove it – He longs to free you from sin. He cares about you and does not want to see His people suffer. He allows trials in order to refine us and not to harm us – trust Him.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You care about us. I thank You that You will never give us burden’s that we cannot bear and that You will help us to bear our heavy burdens. I thank You that You are able to deliver us from our burdens. Please help us to trust You. Please help us to surrender our burdens of sin. I thank You that You are willing to take them. We love You and praise You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 128

GOD SPEAKS IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

Today’s Text: Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. (Haggai 1:13)

Today’s Thoughts: God has so many messages that He wants to share with us. He has so many ways in which He can share those messages. His primary way of sharing His messages is through His Word, but sadly, few take the time to read those messages. Then He can speak through others and even certain events. God is not limited in the ways He can speak to His people. He wants us to know that He is here for us and that He loves us. Look out for His messages.

Today’s Testimony: I’m an animal lover. I’m also the one that my family calls upon if there is a bug that needs to be rescued. I’m known as the “bug saver”. Those that know me best know that I think just about everything is cute, including bugs. Well, certain types that is.
While sitting in my final exam for the first semester last year, some sort of fly came and sat on the corner of my desk. I chased it away and then a few seconds later a fruit-fly came and sat in more or less the same spot. It seemed somewhat odd, but I found it quite interesting. To me, it wasn’t coincidence, it was a message from the Lord. Not a grand one, just a special little something to say, “I’m here and I care about you.”
The Lord truly does care about us. He had been with me through another exam period. He has never left me and if you ask Him to be with you He will be with you and never leave you either.

Today’s Task: Look out for God’s messages. Search for the ones in His Word, He has some that will touch your heart like nothing else can. Spend time reading your Bible every day – it’s worth it. God blesses those who read His messages in a special way. Keep your eyes and ears open for any other messages from the Lord, He wants to speak to you.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You speak to us. I thank You that You speak in so many different ways. Please help us to spend time in Your Word. Please help us to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open so we don’t miss any of the messages You would have us hear. I thank You that You love and care about us so much. I praise You and thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 127

GOD IS IN CONTROL

Today’s Text: And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. …And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. …And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. (1Kings 17:1; 18:1, 41)

Today’s Thoughts: Today’s Scripture verses give a bit of an outline to the text we shared yesterday. God’s people had strayed from Him and He sent Elijah, His prophet, to tell King Ahab that because of their rebellion there would be no rain. King Ahab wanted to kill Elijah thinking that that would solve the problem, so the Lord told him where to hide. The Lord sent him to a stream of water and commanded birds called ravens to feed him. When the stream dried up, God sent him to the woman we spoke about yesterday. Then the Lord sent Elijah to prove that He is God in a miraculous display on Mount Carmel. Finally the Lord sent rain again. If you are unfamiliar with this story I encourage you to read it. I’ve only given a brief outline.
For today, the part I would like to highlight in this story is the fact that God is in control and can bring rain and stop it. If God can control the weather, He surely can control other details in life. We just need to trust in Him and call upon Him to intervene. He longs to rain blessings down on you.

Today’s Testimony: The day of my last exam for this last semester the weather was poor. My best-friend, who is now my boyfriend, was taking me to my exam. I still wanted to go over a few things, so we landed up leaving a little bit later than I’d planned to. While I was getting ready to leave I heard the rain start and wished I’d rather left earlier as planned. I then did what has become the logical thing for me – I prayed. Even though it did continue to rain that day, it stopped for me to get into my friend’s car and then into and out of my exam venue. The only time I got a little wet was when we’d arrived back at my uncle and aunt’s place where I was staying and we’d gone a few other places first. I’m not sure how much it rained that day, but I know that the Lord intervened so that I stayed pretty dry.
God can control the weather, but it may not always be in His will to do so. He knows what is best for all his creation and for every single person. If you have a complaint about the weather, ask the Lord to open your eyes to see His reasoning, or to at least help you to be content or even thankful.

Today’s Task: Trust the Lord. He knows what is best and can intervene in every situation. He can change the weather or anything else that needs changing – just ask Him. Praise Him for doing what’s best even if you don’t understand how it is best. God knows everything and He truly does care about you. Believe it!

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You know when to send rain and when to keep it away. I thank You that You continually rain blessings down on us. Help us to see them. I thank You that we can trust You completely even if we can’t see Your plans. I thank You for Your constant love. I praise You for all You’ve done for us, in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 126

GOD USES PEOPLE TO HELP US

Today’s Text: Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 
(1Kings 17:9)

Today’s Thoughts: The rest of this Bible story is definitely worth reading and I encourage you to go read it. It’s a story of how God used a poor widow to feed His prophet, Elijah, and in turn provided enough to keep Elijah, her and her son fed until the famine was over. God can still use people to help us as one of His many ways of intervening for His children. God has no limits to who He can use and what He can use. He cares about us!

Today’s Testimony: I needed a new watch battery, so when we went to the best place that I know of to get a good battery at a good price I took my watch with to buy one. We asked how much it would cost and the price was really reasonable. We were then told that it would cost more than three times the price of the battery if they put it in as well. I looked in my wallet and realized that I didn’t have that much to spare, so I said that I would just take the battery. That particular watch of mine has screws to keep the back on so I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult for me to just put the battery in myself. The young gentleman helping us then brought us a screwdriver to sort it out right then and there.
My older sister’s boyfriend was with and he took the screwdriver to give it a try. He was taking a few seconds to fit the screwdriver into the tiny screw, when the young gentleman said, “Here let me do it,” and reached for the watch and screwdriver. Once he’d taken out a screw or two my sister’s boyfriend said he thought he could manage now, but the young gentleman said, “No, it’s ok, I’ll do it… and I won’t charge.”
Within a short time my watch was sealed up and ticking and I was standing in awe. God is SO good! He knew I wanted a watch battery, but that I couldn’t afford the full price, so he took us to the right young gentleman who would help us for free. God truly does care about the little things in life and can use people to supply those blessings.

Today’s Task: Watch for God to use people to bless you. But more importantly, allow the Lord to use you to help and bless others. Be awake to know when He calls you to do a special task for Him and then do it to the best of your ability.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You can intervene for us in so many ways. I thank You that You give us the privilege to be used by You to bless others. Please use us. Help us to be willing instruments available to You at all times. I thank You for caring enough about us to help and bless us. I thank You for Your great love. I pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 125

GOD IS TOUCHED WITH OUR GRIEF

Today’s Text: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Today’s Thoughts: Many people have heard about Jesus coming to Earth as a baby, living here preaching and healing, giving his life for us, being resurrected and then ascending to Heaven. But do you know what He is doing right now? The text before our text for today tells us that the High Priest mentioned in today’s text is Jesus. He is interceding on your behalf and my behalf to His heavenly Father so that our sins can be forgiven. He died in our place and if we accept that sacrifice He will plead His blood in our place. The greatest thing about our High Priest, as the text says, is that He knows what we are going through. He knows the battles we fight against sin. He is touched with the grief we feel when we have sinned. He cares! He loves us! He wants to help us to resist temptation as He did when He was here. He doesn’t want us to sin, and we should accept His power to stop, but I praise Him that if we do sin, He does not cast us off. James 2:1 says: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” God is ready to plead for us when we fall. What an amazing love!

Today’s Testimony: Today I’d like to share the words of another one of my songs. A friend of mine was in trouble and I felt empathy like I’ve never felt before. I couldn’t sleep the night after I heard, I lost my appetite for about four days and battled to eat, and I felt really strange. I asked the Lord how to describe what was going on inside and He put it this way: “Your heart is crying with him.” Then the Lord told me that that was how he felt and He inspired this song.

God’s Heart Is Crying with You

After sin when the heart just wants to break

And you would do anything to erase your mistake

Though you may feel condemned there’s one thing you must know

God’s arms are wrapped around you and He will never let you go

God’s heart is crying with you

For He knows what you’re going through

All that He wants you to know

Is that He really loves you so

God’s heart is crying with you

For He’s sharing your heartache too

God’s heart is crying, crying with you

Now you stand before the Lord overwhelmed with guilt

But He says, “Child it was for you that My blood was spilt

I do not condemn you; your sin’s what I died for

Your sin I have forgiven, go and sin no more”

God’s heart is crying with you

For He knows what you’re going through

All that He wants you to know

Is that He really loves you so

God’s heart is crying with you

For He’s sharing your heartache too

God’s heart is crying, crying with you

But He knows you still will pay a high price for your sin

So with all the consequences He wants to give you peace within

He has a mighty shoulder to cry on, as His chest you lean upon

His greatest concern is you now, so He grants you strength to go on

God’s heart is crying with you

For he knows what you’re going through

All that He wants you to know

Is that He really loves you so

God’s heart is crying with you

For He’s sharing your heartache too

God’s heart is crying, crying with you

God’s heart is crying, crying with you

Today’s Task: Ever felt bitter grief after sinning? Ever felt condemned by God? Ever felt that there was no hope for you – that you’d gone too far and it was too late? God knows what you’re going through. He feels your pain. He wants you to sense His presence as He wraps His loving arms around you and cries with you. If you know of someone who the world condemns – dare to be different. Show them God. Let them know that He is still there and still loves them. There are many hurting people drowning in guilt – God cares!

Today’s Thanks: Dear Lord, I thank You that You love us so much! I thank You that You do not leave us to bear the consequences of sin alone, but that You are right there with us with Your arms of love around us as You cry with us. I praise You that You know what we’re going through and feel our pain. I thank You that You intercede on our behalf so that we can be forgiven. Please help us to live in You and flee from sin. We love You, Lord. Amen.

Day 124

GOD’S MERCIFUL KINDNESS IS GREAT TOWARD US

Today’s Text: O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. (Psalm 117:1,2)

Today’s Thoughts: These texts tell us to praise the Lord for His merciful kindness. God is kind to us, that is one thing – but merciful kindness is a totally different thing. The fact that His kindness is merciful tells us that we deserve it in no way, and rather, that we deserve the opposite. We so often disappoint our God, but how many times does He disappoint us? God does not disappoint us unless we would only have one way, and then the disappointment is self-chosen seeing God always does what is best for us. God’s merciful kindness is truly great toward us. Even though we are mainly focusing on just the first part of these texts, I’m going to add a few thoughts on the second piece. God’s truth endures forever. There are so many different things that we can believe, but we need to know what is God’s truth and what is not. God’s truth will endure for ever – His truth is important. It is so important for us to know the truth about God and His ways. His truth can only be found in His Holy Word, the Bible. It is true that my God is mercifully kind; this is one of His truths and I’m glad that it endures forever!

Today’s Testimony: Yesterday I mentioned that there was another assignment that has an amazing testimony. That subject was Zulu for my African Languages module. The first assignment was multiple-choice and I completed that one without too much trouble. The second assignment was a written assignment and I was having quite a struggle to obtain the correct answers. I applied for an extension, but received no reply. I, once again, forfeited all the due dates and extensions due to completing my other assignments and, as I mentioned yesterday, this was a rough semester. I completed all I could and then gave the assignment to a friend whose mother tongue is Zulu so she could help me. But this was already pretty late and the exam period soon arrived and I realized that I’d better just submit what I had so I could at least get the 50% which, as far as I know, is the mark received for late assignments. I feared that I had already missed that and would receive 0%. I submitted what I had and was informed that my assignment was accepted but was late, which I knew. Then I had to wait to see if I would get my 50% or 0%, in which case I would have been upset with myself for not just submitting my assignment earlier.
I finally received my mark. I didn’t get 0%. I didn’t even get 50%. I received 70% for my half-completed, extremely late assignment. God is SO good!!! I’m not sure if I’ll ever find out the truth regarding the marks for this assignment, but all I know is that God blessed. I should have gotten 50% or 0%, but my God was merciful and intervened and I got 70%.

Today’s Task: Praise the Lord for His merciful kindness. Do not take advantage of God’s mercy and neglect to do what’s right in the first place, but when you need it, ask Him to forgive and bless you. Learn from Your God and ask Him to help you to be merciful to others. I encourage you to spend time reading God’s Word every day searching for truth. Truth is vitally important! Place Your life in God’s hands and follow Him wherever He leads.

Today’s Thanks: O, Lord, I praise You that You are mercifully kind! I thank You that You didn’t give up on us, but in Your mercy, You died in our place and gave us another chance. Please help us not to disappoint You, but to make Your sacrifice worthwhile. Lord I thank You that You are always there for us, even when we get ourselves into trouble. Help us to walk as You would have us walk right from the start instead. I praise You for Your great love. Amen.

Day 123

GOD’S GREATNESS IS UNSEARCHABLE

Today’s Text: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.(Psalm 145:3)

Today’s Thoughts: Our God is great and I have no doubts. Our God is good – always good and only good and I have no doubts about that either. Our God deserves our praise. We truly cannot understand His ways and His greatness, but we can definitely trust Him because we know that He loves us.

Today’s Testimony: Today I’m going to share the amazing testimony of how the Lord intervened as my Tutor once again. For one of my modules this semester I was required to conduct an interview for my second assignment. This was a busy semester and I also had three other subjects to see to, so I had to apply for an extension. My lecturer didn’t respond to my application, but I was still unable to complete my assignment by the due date. UNISA then granted all students an extension for all the second assignments for the second semester modules due to a postal strike. I was extremely glad for the extension, but that only helped me to be able to submit another assignment on time. I had two assignments submitted, and two outstanding. There is another amazing testimony concerning the other assignment, but that I’ll share tomorrow. I finally came to the conclusion that I would have to simply submit my assignment late and have it returned to me unmarked and accept the standard mark for late assignments which I think is 50%.
My assignment consisted of interviewing someone who had experienced or was experiencing a crisis and then to compile a report. I firstly couldn’t decide who to interview, and then I had to formulate and conduct the interview. I knew I had to submit something, but especially seeing, as it would be late, my assignment would not be marked and I would only get 50% for it, I was not very enthusiastic about completing it. My assignment was due on the 12th of September and the UNISA website where we go to submit our assignments had a problem around the 19th of September and assignments due then could not be submitted. UNISA gave notification that any assignments that were due on those dates were granted an extension. Mine was however due seven days before that, so that extension didn’t help me. But then a few days later, for some or other “strange reason”, which I know was my God’s intervention, I received notification that all assignments that were due between the 12th (my due date) and the 19th of September were granted an extension until the 7th of October. There was no logical reason why an extension should be granted for assignments due seven days before the 19th, but my God is good and can work miracles for His people.
I then knew that seeing the Lord had intervened for me I had to try my best to get this assignment submitted on time. This blessing also gave me the energy I needed to complete the assignment. I submitted the assignment on time and when I received my results I had gotten a good mark for it. God is so good – always good, and only good!

Today’s Task: God is so great! We truly cannot search and understand His ways and His dealings with His people. Praise Him for His greatness. Trust Him in all things. He cares about you. His love for us is so great – love Him back!

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You are great enough to help Your people. I praise You that You are loving enough to help your people. Your greatness is unsearchable, so we just stand in awe and trust and praise. I thank You for Your love and care. I praise You and thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 122

GOD BLESSES THOSE WHO FEAR HIM

 

Today’s Text: He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. (Psalm 115:13)

Today’s Thoughts: God will bless those who fear Him. He is not a respecter of persons, He will bless all people if they choose Him as their God. If God will bless people no matter how small or great they are He is also able to and will bless us with blessings no matter how small or great they are. He knows what we need and what we desire, and He will bless us out of His love and wisdom. God cares about all of us so much – make sure He is your God.

Today’s Testimony: One morning a short while before I got up to have breakfast one of our neighbours phoned to ask if we had electricity. We then discovered that our power was out. Seeing it was already light outside we didn’t have too much of a problem with not being able to use electricity.
When I came to have breakfast, however, I popped some toast into the toaster and pushed the button down, and then sadly remembered that I was unable to make toast. Breakfast is usually a sweet meal, and seeing I haven’t got much of a sweet-tooth I usually like to either end on something savoury, or sometimes even eat a savoury breakfast instead. That day was one of those mornings that I decided to have a savoury breakfast, but now I couldn’t have the toast I had planned to.
Firstly, I asked the Lord to please put the power back on because I really wanted some toast, and then I started preparing a bowl of cereal. By the time I had finished eating my fruit and was ready for my main course, the power went back on. My sister said something about it being “unfair” that the power went on in time for my breakfast, but I thought it was absolutely amazing that God intervened for something as unnecessary as the power going on so I could make toast.
I wish I had had more faith and waited on the Lord to intervene as I asked Him to, because seeing I had already put the cereal in my bowl I decided to eat it. I did make and eat toast, but I couldn’t manage to eat all four slices that I’d toasted.
I learned, once again, that we need to have more faith when we ask the Lord to intervene for us, and I also was once again reminded that God is interested in the small things in our lives and loves to intervene for His children. We truly do serve a loving and amazing Heavenly Father who loves to bless us with big things as well as little things.

Today’s Task: Fear the Lord. Make Him your God today. He loves you and longs to bless you. He knows what we need and what is best – ask Him. He blesses both small and great and He can bless us with blessings that are small and great too – trust Him. He also knows what will make us smile. God loves to bless His children. Choose to fear the Lord and make Him smile.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You love each of us the same and love to bless all of Your children. Help us to fear You and make You our God. Help us to come to You and ask no matter how small or great our needs and desires are and then help us to trust You to do what’s best. I thank You for Your great love. Please help us to live to please You and make You smile. We love You Lord. Amen.

Day 121

MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD

 

Today’s Text: My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:2)

Today’s Thoughts: Where is the first place that we run when we have a problem, decision to make or other need? Do we run to the Lord or to someone or something else? God made heaven and earth – He is in control. He has the power to intervene in every situation. We need to learn to turn to Him for help. Our greatest source of help will definitely come from the Lord who cares about us more than anyone else ever will, and not from any other source. I invite you to place your trust in Him alone and, like the psalmist, confidently say, “My help comes from the Lord”.

Today’s Testimony: Have you ever heard people say that God has given us the wisdom to make simple decisions for ourselves? They say we don’t need to ask the Lord what we should wear, eat or drink, or small issues like that, on a particular day, provided that all the options will be pleasing in his sight. If they aren’t, I suppose we shouldn’t be asking anyway, because we would already know the answer. I agree totally with the fact that God has given us the wisdom we need to make our own simple decisions, but sometimes I will wake up in the morning, go to my cupboard and say, “Lord, what should I wear today”. Not that I “need” Him to make the decision for me, but I like inviting Him to be a part of my decision-making anyway. And on top of that, I “can” decide for myself, but He might know better what I should wear that day. I ask and He helps me decide. Now if this is sounding odd to you, let me share a story of how it really helped one day.
I went to my cupboard one morning and that day I asked the Lord for help deciding what to wear. I knew what I wanted to wear, but I have two different colours of the top I wanted to wear. “Should I wear the pink one or the black one?” I decided to wear the black one, but I know that God’s wisdom was involved in my decision because I’d ask Him for help. A bit later that day when our family was getting in the car to go out on a picnic and walk at a nature reserve, my top got hooked on the picnic basket as we tried to move it from its seat next to me and my top got a little hole in it. If I had been wearing the pink top that shade of pink would have been very difficult to match in order to stitch, but the black one obviously would be easy to match and fix. God knew what would happen in my day, and He therefore guided me to wear the right top that day. God is so good! He can help us with anything and everything – the little things too!

Today’s Task: Make the Lord your helper. Let all your help come from the Lord. He is willing and waiting for you to ask Him for help. Allow God to be a part of every aspect of your life – you will not regret it. Invite Him to help you with even the small decisions you have to make. God cares about you!

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You are willing to help us with all our problems, decisions and needs. Please teach us to turn to You and You alone when we need help. I praise You for the help You have blessed us with in the past and I praise You for help that You are still willing to give us. Please help us to trust You more. I thank You for being our Helper. Amen.

Day 120

GOD CARES ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS

Today’s Text: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:30)

Today’s Thoughts: Does it matter to you that every hair on your head is numbered? Does it matter to you when one or two fall out? God often included the hairs on the head in His promises of protection saying that not even a hair on their heads would perish. What a way to promise protection! If even our hairs are safe – then the rest of us has nothing to fear. God knows how many hairs you have on your head and he knows when one of them falls out. A friend once said that this statement tells us that God even knows which hair fell out, seeing they are all numbered. Such a tiny and insignificant thing to us, but God cares. If God cares about the little things in life that we may even see as unimportant, how much more does He care about the big things in life that do matter?! We truly serve an amazing and loving God!

Today’s Testimony: Today I’m going to share a strange story, but it tells that God cares even about the little things.
Toothpaste usually comes with one of two different types of caps: a flip-top cap or a screw-on cap. The toothpaste I use usually always came with a flip-top cap. The other day my toothpaste came to an end and as I was about to throw the empty tube away the Lord sent the thought, “Keep the cap in case the next tube has a screw-on cap.” It doesn’t really matter what type of cap I have, but it would be preferable to be able to choose if I wanted to remain with a flip-top cap if the cap had changed. I argued with that thought for a few seconds and then finally took the cap off and left it on the basin’s counter-top and threw the tube away.
Later when I opened the new box of toothpaste and took out the tube… ok, you’re probably expecting this, but the tube of toothpaste had a screw-on cap instead of the usual flip-top cap. I didn’t change the cap after all, but I still have the cap if I ever change my mind.
This might seem like a silly little story, and it is, but to me it speaks an extremely important message that God cares! He cares about the little unimportant things! He cares about the big extremely important things! And He cares about all the things in between! My God cares! Believe it!

Today’s Task: Take all your problems to the Lord – He cares! It doesn’t matter how small or how big they may seem to you – it matters to God because He cares about you and He can help you. Know that if your life is in the Lord’s hands you can have peace that He will protect you. Always remember that God knows and does what is best for us. Thank Him for His love and care.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You care about even the little things. I thank You that what matters to us matters to You. Please help us to trust You. I thank You that You will do what is best in our lives. I thank You that You love us so much. I thank You that You care. I praise You and thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 119

BE A TRUE FRIEND

Today’s Text: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Today’s Thoughts: No one likes to be in a one-sided friendship. True friendship is when there is mutual love, trust, giving and taking and whatever else is necessary, but it is all twoway. If we want friends – the bottom line is that we must be friendly. A true friend like that will often be a more faithful friend than a blood-relative. We all need and long for that type of friend. I hope we all strive to be that type of friend too. Ultimately, there is only one Friend that we can rely on without reserve and know that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of that Friend, and that Friend is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is no Friend like Him.

Today’s Testimony: I love people! Many of the people that know me will agree that I am a very friendly person. Normally I am quite relaxed to speak to or befriend a total stranger. I love making new friends. Most attempts to be friendly work. Most people will be more than willing to exchange a greeting and a smile. Today I’d like to share my favourite story of making a new friend that happened a few years ago.
A new tenant had moved in to the one granny-flat next door. The gentleman appeared pretty serious and gruff to me at first. I’d greet him and get no more than a casual greeting back – no smile. Then, seeing I’d done my best to try and befriend this neighbour, the Lord stepped in.
Firstly, let me tell you the ingredients the Lord needed, and then you’ll need to follow the story to see how each one of them fitted in and was totally necessary. This might sound like one of the weirdest testimonies you’ve heard so far, but God works in ways we never would have thought of. To form a friendship between me and my neighbour the Lord used: guineapigs, a dog, a boy, a bunny and some Japanese quail. Ready to hear?
It was a Monday afternoon and I was going outside in the front garden to see to the guineapigs that we had at the time. Family of ours had gone away for a while and we were looking after their small dog. Seeing I’m the animal lover in my family, this dog stuck by me most of the time. He therefore came with me to sort out the guinea-pigs. While we were busy with them, I heard someone calling from the other side of the garden. I looked up and saw a boy hanging over the wall trying to get the dog’s attention. I therefore left the piggies for a moment and took the dog over to visit the boy. I held the dog up so he could stroke him a bit and then I had a brief conversation with the boy. I asked him if he lived there, seeing that house has a few granny flats, and he said, no, his mom’s boyfriend lived there. From that I gathered that it was the newest tenant next door.
The following Monday while I was seeing to Blobby, my new bunny at the time, whose cage was near the wall the boy had been hanging over, I heard strange noises coming from nextdoor. Eventually I saw the culprit, the little boy, poking over the wall, making the noise and then ducking. Finally he stopped and just hung over the wall for a while a little bit away from where I was. I then asked him a question, and seeing he didn’t hear the first time, he moved closer. We then had a good conversation until my neighbour came along. He asked me what type of birds those were that we had in the cages nearby, I replied, “Quail”, and then the two of them left.
 I never saw the boy again, but a while later when I was seeing to Blobby again, in his new pen right opposite my neighbour’s door, my neighbour came out and asked me what type of birds I said those were. He’d looked them up and they looked more like another type of bird. I then told him that they were not normal quail but Japanese quail. From that day forward we would often greet and have a brief chat when he was arriving or leaving home while I was busy with Blobby.
God wants us to be friendly and make friends for His glory. I did not see any positive results from that friendship, but he knew I was a Christian, and one day when we get to heaven I hope that this story will be completed with me meeting my neighbour and hearing him say, “I saw that you had something that I needed, and I’m here today because of you.” I want to keep making friends and I hope that every single one of them will be friends that I can keep for all eternity. Will you be one of those friends?

Today’s Task: Be a true Friend. Be friendly to everyone you meet. You never know what an impact you can make on someone. There are so many people dying in need of a Saviour – maybe you can be a friend to one or more of those people and introduce them to your Best Friend. Do your part to make friends and God will intervene. He knows where each one of His lost sheep is. Help the Lord to bring them home.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You are the greatest Friend we will ever have. I thank You that You are a faithful Friend. Please help us to find and befriend your lost sheep. Help us to introduce them to You. Lord, we want friends, and we want to be able to keep them for all eternity. Help us to be friends – true friends. I thank You that You can intervene to form friendships when we can do no more. We love You! Amen.

Day 118

GOD HEARS WHEN WE PRAY

Today’s Text: And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. (1John 5:14, 15)

Today’s Thoughts: If we ask God for anything and He knows that it is in our best interest He hears us. We do not have to keep praying for that same thing in order to be heard. I’m not saying that we should only take our petitions to the Lord once – the reason for repeating our requests is for another reason. I’m simply emphasizing the fact that God hears each of our prayers as soon as we pray them. Our text then tells us that if God has heard our prayers, which He has, then we can know that He is busy answering them. And yet we need to remember and be thankful that He will answer in the way that is best for us. God has a time for everything, we just need to be patient and wait in faith for Him to intervene when He knows the time is best.

Today’s Testimony: A while ago someone gave me a quote by my favourite author and asked me to write a song about it. I won’t share the quote here, but it was to do with what I shared in Today’s Thoughts. Today I simply want to share the words to the song and let them speak for themselves.

Lord I Praise You For Answered Prayers

The promises in Your Word we read
That if we pray You’ll help when we’re in need
Your promises are true
What You’ve said You will do
And so now by faith I will start praising You

Lord I praise You for answering my prayers
You have always intervened for me
Lord I praise You for answering my prayers
Though sometimes Your hand I’ve failed to see
Your ways are higher than mine
And You work in Your perfect time
But You’ve always come through
So for answered prayers I praise You

Lord sometimes we cannot see Your hand
But we know that on Your promise we can stand
So although Your work’s not done
We know that it’s begun
And so now by faith I will start praising You

Lord I praise You for answering my prayers
You have always intervened for me
Lord I praise You for answering my prayers
Though sometimes Your hand I’ve failed to see
Your ways are higher than mine
And You work in Your perfect time
But You’ve always come through
So for answered prayers I praise You

Lord You’ve always come through
So for answered prayers I praise You

Today’s Task: Take God at His word. Place your petitions before His throne and by faith believe that He has heard and is already intervening. God cares about you – believe it. Trust God’s wisdom to know and do what is truly best for you. Praise God for answering your prayers.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You for hearing and answering our prayers. Help us to believe by faith that You are intervening. I thank You that You will do what is best for us. I thank You that You care about us and will help us if we take our problems to You. I thank You for Your love. Amen.

Day 117

MY KINDNESS SHALL NOT DEPART

Today’s Text: For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:10)

Today’s Thoughts: Even if everything that seems so certain in life disappeared God will still remain. His kindness and His promise of peace shall never fade away. In God’s mercy He is always there for us. We can place our trust safely in Him. God loves us and is kind to His people. We truly do serve an amazing God!

Today’s Testimony: A few weeks ago some of my family members went to fetch a baby guinea-pig for someone from a friend of ours. We thought we’d have to look after it for a few days, and my family decided that if I had to look after it I’d get too attached, being the biggest animal lover in our home. Long story short – they came home with a fully-grown, long-haired guinea-pig for me as well. At first I didn’t know what to think. But he’s pretty cute.
I let him run around inside the house at some stage every day. At first he didn’t go very far. He usually stayed behind the book-case and the cabinet next to it in the lounge. Now he is a bit more daring. One night, before he started venturing out, he was still relaxing behind the book-case and cabinet while I did my chores in the kitchen when we suddenly had a powerfailure and I had to go find my “piggy” and put him to bed. When I was able to go look for him I went with a lamp and couldn’t see him. He normally stayed in that spot, but I thought that maybe in the dark he became brave and ventured away. I didn’t know how I was going to find my piggy in the dark if he’d wandered off somewhere – he could be anywhere. My stepdad had been busy out the front door a short while earlier while it was still light and for all I knew he could have even escaped then. It was pitch-dark and I couldn’t see my piggy in his normal place and I wasn’t even certain that he was even inside the house. I started calling him both by name and in the language (popping sounds) that he responds to. But he gave no reply. My two sisters then came to help me look. With someone to hold the lamp, another with a candle and three of us to look we were able to spot him in his usual hiding place – he hadn’t ventured out anywhere. It’s hard enough to catch him with the lights on because he hates being put away, but it didn’t take too long to catch him in the dark.
God is so good and so kind! He looked after my piggy and kept him safe. I was concerned when I couldn’t find him, but God knew exactly where he was. He knew that my piggy was exactly where he was meant to be – I just couldn’t see him. God knows all our problems and he knows the answers. We just need to place our trust in Him. God cares about each one of us and is so kind even when we get ourselves into the mess. We serve a wonderful God!

Today’s Task: If life seems to be crumbling before your feet remember that God’s love, kindness and care will never pass away. He is always there for you. Take every trouble to Him. He is merciful and cares about your well-being. Trust Him – He will not let you down.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You care about us when we don’t deserve Your care. I thank You that You are kind to us. Please help us to treat You with the love and respect You deserve. I thank You for Your great love. Please help us to learn from You and be kind and merciful to others. You love us so much Lord – help us to love You back. Amen.

Day 116

WAIT FOR ME TO SAVE

Today’s Text: It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:26)

Today’s Thoughts: When Satan tempts you how long do you resist before giving in? Today I’m going to share a few texts that can help us to remain strong when tempted. God wants us to take hold of His strength when facing temptation and wait for Him to save us. God gives us a way to escape every temptation – we just need to patiently endure until we overcome. It is good for us to place our hope in God and wait patiently for Him to save us from the tempter’s snare.

Today’s Testimony: It’s all fine and well for me to encourage you to keep God’s Commandments and live for Him, but keeping them might not come naturally. We have been living in this sinful world for so many years. The battle against sin is not an easy one to fight, so today I’m going to share some Scripture texts that should hopefully help us to gain victory over sin.
Remember how when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the Devil He used Scripture as His weapon? We can do the same. Firstly, let us take a look at these few texts: “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations….” (2 Peter 2:9). “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). Christ knows what we are going through when we face temptation and can give us the strength to resist it and be victorious. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Christ knows what we can bear. Every temptation that comes our way is something that we can endure. He gives us the way to escape – we just need to accept it. Then our text for today: “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26). God wants us to wait for Him to save us from temptation and sinning. So often we just give in without a fight, but as we read yesterday, God wants us to resist unto blood, striving against sin (Hebrews 12:4). God wants us to resist temptation and He can give us the power to do so. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13) “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). God wants us to flee from sin and He has made it possible. “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The way to be victorious is available, “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and we therefore need to watch and pray and then wait and resist. God will give us strength. He came to save us from our sins.
There is one more thing that we need to do in order to be equipped for our battles against the Devil: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18). God wants us to put on His armour. He has given each piece for our protection, we just need to put it on.

Today’s Task: Put on the whole armour of God – truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God. Watch and prayer, lest you enter into temptation. God wants to give you the strength to resist every temptation – take hold of that strength and gain the victory over every sin. Give yourself the joy and peace of freedom from sin. God has done all He can, the rest is up to you.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord, You know what we go through when we are tempted. You know what we can bear. You can give us strength to resist every temptation. Please help us to run to You whenever Satan comes to attack. Help us to put on Your armour so that we can stand victorious in You. I thank You that You have not left us to battle against sin alone. We love You and praise You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 115

I CAME TO SAVE

Today’s Text: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

Today’s Thoughts: Jesus did not only come to save us from the result of our sin – death, He came to save us from sin itself. He has a better life for us. He wants us to put sin behind us and live with the joy and peace of this better life. It was never God’s desire for us to have to suffer so much, He longs for the day when He can take us to our heavenly home free from pain and heartache. Right now He wants to give us relief from so much of our sorrow by helping us to gain victory over our sins. He came to save us from our sins. That’s how much He loves us!

Today’s Testimony: Today we’re going to take a look to see if God really wants us to stop sinning. Some say we can never stop and therefore try to resist temptation, but hardly. We sometimes take advantage of Christ’s mercy and sin, believing that we can simply run to Him for forgiveness and all will be well. Does God require more of us?
We already shared the text that states that God came to save us from our sins, obviously meaning that He doesn’t want us to live in sin any longer. Our next text is Galatians 2:17, 18, “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” Ok, so this tells us that we are not to be found as sinners. What is it that we have destroyed and should not build up? “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9, 10). When did this putting off of the old man take place? “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we accept Christ into our lives He gives us the strength to live a new life in Him. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This means that our own sinful lives die and we allow Christ to live out His life in us. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. (1 Peter 2:21, 22). Christ left us the example of a sinless life. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. …He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:5,6,8,9). This passage is pretty strong, but it shares a logical truth. But we can sin a little right? “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10) – obviously not. But does God really intend for us not to sin? Can we stop? Well, for starters, read Hebrews 12:4. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin”. Now I don’t know about you, but this is my problem. I think for most of us if not all of us, Satan tempts us, we may try to resist for a while, but we give in without too much of a fight. God wants us to strive against sin as though our lives depended on it, and to put it plainly – they do.
Ok, so now we have a problem. God wants us to be free from sin, but we are so weak. Tomorrow we’ll share texts that can help us gain victory over sin. But for now, let’s solve our problem. Read the following text: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Problem solved! God doesn’t want us to live in sin any longer. He wants us to put sinning behind us. He wants us to strive against sin and be victorious. However, if we do sin, He wants us to know that we are not beyond His mercy. We have an advocate, Jesus Christ. He doesn’t intend for us to sin knowing that we have an advocate and can be forgiven afterwards, but He does want us to know that there is hope for His battling people when they realize they have sinned. God loves us enough to free us from our lives of sin, and to forgive us when we err. We serve an amazing and loving God. I choose to live for Him and strive against sin. I hope you do too.

Today’s Task: Strive against sin with God’s help. Live the better life that God longs for you to enjoy – the life free from sin. Ask Him to give you the strength. Know that God’s children do not sin. But know that God is merciful if they do. Surrender your selfish and sinful desires to the Lord and live for Him with your whole heart. He has done all He can for you.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You came to free us from sin. Please help us to turn away from our lives of sin. I thank You that we are not beyond Your mercy when we fall. But please help us not to take advantage of that mercy and sin presumptuously. We want to live for You. I thank You that You can give us the power to do so. Please save us from ourselves. Amen.

Day 114

BLESSED ARE THEY

Today’s Text: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

Today’s Thoughts: Those who keep the Ten Commandments will be blessed. Keeping them gives us the right to enter heaven and to eat of the tree of life. However, this does not mean that we are saved because of keeping God’s Law. Simply put: We are not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, but we cannot be saved without keeping them. If this still doesn’t seem to make sense, read further.

Today’s Testimony: The keeping of the Ten Commandments will not save us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). There is nothing we can do in order to be saved – we are saved entirely by God’s grace. Some people think we need to work our way to heaven, others think we have nothing to do at all. Today we’re going to discover the truth about the balance between grace and works.
The text I shared above states clearly that we are not saved by works. But does that mean that we can neglect to do what the Lord would have us do? Romans 6:14, 15 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” Well, this text tells us that we are not under the law but under grace, from which many derive the idea that we do not have to keep God’s Law. However this text also tells us that the fact that we are under grace doesn’t mean we should sin. Would you like to know what it means to be under the law or under grace? Let’s look at 1Timothy 1:8, 9 – “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners….” Firstly, notice that this text tells us that it is good to keep God’s Law. Secondly it tells us who the Law is there for. Let me explain by using this simple illustration. In South Africa we have laws against smoking in many public buildings. I don’t smoke, and I therefore obey those laws by default and they are not a restriction to me at all. I don’t need to check where I can smoke and where I can’t because I don’t smoke in the first place. …When Christ enters our lives we allow Him to live out His life in us. We turn away from sin and breaking God’s Law because we have chosen to live for God and God alone. God’s Commandments are no longer a restriction to me because I keep them by default because I love the One who gave them. Yes, sometimes we do give in to temptation and sin but we repent and turn back to the ways of the Lord. We have chosen a life free from sin instead of a life of sin. That makes all the difference. Those who rather choose to stay in sin will always have the law condemning them even though they choose to ignore it. Those who choose to surrender their lives to the Lord and live according to His will will be under God’s grace having every sin covered with Christ’s blood. God’s people keep the Ten Commandments because they love the Lord and want to serve Him. The Commandments are not a restriction to them, but guidelines of love.
Now let’s talk a bit more about Today’s Text. I’d like to use another simple illustration. Imagine that your city or town is throwing a huge banquet. All are invited. However, before entering the banquet your record is checked. If you have any offense against your name like an unpaid traffic fine, you may not enter. You are invited to join for no reason other than the fact that you are a citizen of that place and not because you have been a faithful, law-abiding citizen. However, your failure in being a faithful, law-abiding citizen can keep you out of the banquet. Make sense? We are saved purely by God’s grace. All we need to do is have faith in Him as our Saviour and place our lives totally in His hands. We will then keep His Commandments out of love for Him and when our record is checked we will have a clean slate – all our sins would have been paid for with Christ’s own blood because we have accepted His death in our place and have allowed Him to live out His life in us. We are not saved by our works, but we are judged by them (Revelation 20:12, 13). We need to allow Christ to live out His sinless life in us – what an insult to say, “I’ll accept Your death in my place, but I refuse to accept Your life in my place.”
I want to live for my God. I want to please Him. I want to be able to live with Him eternally. He loves me more than anyone else ever could. He wants me to reap the benefits of keeping His Commandments. I want to be a follower of Christ who keeps God’s Law by “default”, and who runs to the Lord in repentance if I sin. I want to have a clean slate so I can enter heaven. I choose to keep my Saviours Commandments of love. Do you?

Today’s Task: I invite you to study God’s Word more deeply. Search for His truths. He gave us His Word so we could know how to draw close to Him and live for Him. He gave us the Ten Commandments so we could live happy lives here on earth, and be suitable for the sinless life that awaits us. Those who enjoy sin will never be happy in heaven. Get a taste of heaven – surrender to the Lord and live in accordance with His will. Love God enough to keep His Commandments. Follow Him with all your heart.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You for Dying in our place. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and You chose to die so that we could live. Lord I pray for all those who have decided to rather die and pay their own penalty. Lord they don’t know what a huge mistake they are making. One day, when You come, they will realize how foolish they were, but it will be too late. Lord help us to tell the world about how great You are so that decisions can be made to surrender to You. I thank You for giving us guidelines of love. Help us to follow them. I thank You for the blessings that You have promised to those who faithfully do Your will. We love You Lord! Amen.

Day 113

DELIGHT IN MY DAY

Today’s Text: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58:13,14)

Today’s Thoughts: God doesn’t want us to trample on His Sabbath. He wants us to spend it with Him. He gave it to us as a rest-day to spend in worship to Him and to take a pause from our own busy and pretty selfish lives. He gave us a whole seven days in each week. He only asks us to give one of those back to Him. And yet we must keep Him by our side every single day. We have six days to sort out our busy lives, and then one whole day to rest and recharge for the next week. God has a special blessing for those who come to spend a day with Him. He wants each of us to take the time to build a close and personal relationship with Him. God has promised a reward for those who obey His command to keep His Sabbath, and what God has promised stands forever. He gave us the Sabbath as a benefit to us; He wants us to delight in spending that day with Him. I invite you to try it. Delight in God’s Sabbath day.

Today’s Testimony: Out of all ten Commandments, I think the fourth one is the one we most often push aside. Most people don’t set aside a full 24 hours for the Lord. They don’t feel the need to, and don’t believe we have to. So today I’d like us to talk a bit more about keeping the Sabbath holy.
When we discussed the fourth commandment we shared what we should and shouldn’t do on this day, so we won’t go into that again. Firstly, let us talk about which day is the Sabbath. There are so many theories going around that many just don’t know anymore. I would say look at the calendar to see which is the seventh day of the week, but calendars are changing these days so even they confuse us. And yet even then, some say, “How can we be sure that the calendar hasn’t changed over years?” “How do we know that what we may view as the seventh day of the week is the same seventh day that Jesus blessed at Creation and kept while He was here?” That is an extremely valid question. I want to spend one full day with the Lord every week, and I want it to be the only day that God blessed – I hope you do too. So for me, amongst all the other evidences I have, this stands as the most persuasive that Saturday truly is the seventh day of the week – the Sabbath blessed and set apart as holy since Creation…. Ever heard of animals that keep Sabbath? I’ve heard of a donkey that wouldn’t budge because those intended to use it to work wanted to keep the Sabbath. They couldn’t work without the donkey, so they were let off from their work. I’ve heard other similar stories too. Now we could say, “Well, in those situations God could have been honouring the convictions of His people who were living up to what they believed.” Fair enough. But what about the bees in Brazil? They live far away from civilisation. Their bee-keepers live in small huts while the bees live in tree stumps as they always have. Bees are known to work hard, and these bees do, but only for six days of the week. On Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, these bees remain in their hives. They don’t go to collect nectar, and they don’t do anything in their hives either – they rest. Who told them to rest on Saturday? Could it be that God wants to tell us something through these bees? If God’s “sinless” creation (by the way – these bees don’t sting, just for interest sake) keep Saturday as God’s Sabbath day, I choose to do the same.
Why most people go to church on Sunday instead of Saturday is something we’re not going to deal with now. My Bible doesn’t say anything about God’s holy Sabbath changing from the seventh day to the first day of the week and I believe that seeing this day is so important to Him He would have mentioned any change at least once. If you were Satan wouldn’t you want to turn the world away from worshipping on the only day that God blessed and from keeping that day holy as God commanded? Could it be that that was and is Satan’s goal? Just some food for thought. Like I said, we’re not going to dig into that now.
Now we need to discuss the time for Sabbath-keeping. According to Leviticus 23:32, the Sabbath should be celebrated from evening until evening. When God made the sun and the moon He set the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. At the end of each day of the Creation story we read that “the evening and the morning” were whichever day. To put it simply – we now function with the day being from midnight till midnight, but God set the day to be from evening (the moons time), till evening (the moons time). This means that a Biblical day lasts from sunset to sunset. The Sabbath therefore is from sunset on what we call Friday until sunset on what we call Saturday.
The Sabbath was given to us as a rest-day in commemoration of Creation. It is a day to remember our Creator. I have a twin sister. That means that I don’t get my own birthday – I have to share. When I was young I asked my mom if I could celebrate my birthday a few days later because I wanted to have my own day to feel special. I was very disappointed when she told me that wasn’t possible. Fact is – we can’t change the day we were born. The Sabbath is planet Earth’s birthday. I plan to worship my Creator on that day and spend it with Him. I hope you do too.

Today’s Task: I’m going to be keeping the Sabbath this week. Will you join me? Please do. God wants to spend this special day with you. Please don’t disappoint Him. There is a special blessing for all those who delight in this day. I invite you to keep this Sabbath and all those to come. Delight in spending the Sabbath with the Lord and you will be blessed.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You have given us a day to rest and recharge. Help us to take advantage of this blessing. I thank You that You, the Creator, want to spend time with us, the creation. Lord You want a close and personal relationship with each and every one of us. You have even set aside one whole day to build that relationship and I praise You for that. I thank You that You love Your creation so much. Lord help us to love You with all our hearts and to do whatever You ask. I praise You for the Sabbath. Amen.

Day 112

LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW

Today’s Text: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Today’s Thoughts: If we love others we will not do them any harm. Therefore, if we love God and others we will not break the Ten Commandments. God wants us to love Him and our fellow man. Everyone wants to be loved. No one wants to be mistreated. God wants what’s best for all of us. This is why He wants us to love.

Today’s Testimony: Have you ever heard people say that we don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments anymore because God gave us a new commandment to love? Today I’m going to share the texts that the Lord gave me to explain this theory.
First of all let’s share the text from which some get this false idea, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). Now this new commandment for one only speaks about loving others. Do you believe that it is essential for us to love God too? If your answer was yes, we’ve already hit a problem with the “new commandment” theory. In the very next chapter of the Bible Christ says these words, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This means that even if we are only required to love, in loving God we will keep His Commandments.
When we started this series I mentioned that the Commandments can be divided into love for God and love for our fellow man. You may go and look at the Ten Commandments again to double check (Exodus 20:1-17). Here are the texts that bring us to this conclusion: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Mat 22:36-40). So this means that the Commandments can be summed up in “love”. Read Romans 13:8-10, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” There is no clearer text to explain the simple truth that the new commandment to love was just a more simple way of stating the ten. Think about it… even if Christ did mean that we only have to love now, by default we would have to keep all ten Commandments. We cannot kill and yet claim to love. We cannot dishonour others and yet claim to love. We cannot spend as little time as possible with the Lord and claim to love Him.
But beyond the fact of “love” being a more simple way to state the Ten Commandments, look at it this way. When Christ came the people were “keeping” the Ten Commandments, but most of them were doing it because they had to keep them and thus were doing so with long faces. Think about it this way – you are so angry with someone that you feel you could kill, but you refrain because the Commandment says you mustn’t kill. Yet you still harbour that anger in your heart. For one, that’s why Christ told them that if they “hate” they are breaking that Commandment anyway (Matthew 5:21, 22). But I believe the reason Christ gave us the “new commandment” wasn’t because He was changing anything. We had missed the point – we were “keeping” the Commandments but with hate in our hearts. Christ intended to open our eyes. If we truly focus on loving God and others we will naturally want to keep all ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were never nailed to the cross, nor were they replaced. We had just fallen asleep and needed to be reminded of the reason that God gave the Ten Commandments in the first place. He wants His people to be happy. The Commandments were given for our benefit and the new commandment was given as a reminder. Let’s remember these Commandments given in love.

Today’s Task: Love God and love your fellow man. I invite you to make the commitment to keep all ten Commandments. God gave them for our benefit. Taste the joy of living the life God intended for us to live.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You gave us the Ten Commandments. I praise You that You reminded us that we cannot truly keep Your Commandments if we are doing so with hate. Lord please help us to love You more and to love others more too. Please help us to keep Your Commandments. You gave them for our benefit and we want the blessings that come from keeping them. I thank You that You love us so much. Amen.

Day 111

MY COMMANDMENTS STAND FOREVER

Today’s Text: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)

Today’s Thoughts: God never intended for us to throw away His commandments. He gave them so we could keep them, and continue keeping them. After all – we learnt over the last few days that He gave them for our benefit. Why would He want to take them away?! And more than that – why on earth would we want to stop keeping them if they benefit us?! There is a curse for those who neglect God’s commandments of love, and there is a blessing for those who obey them. The Ten Commandments stand forever. They were written in stone with the finger of God. Let us keep them forever.

Today’s Testimony: Have you ever heard someone say that the Commandments were nailed to the cross? Do you have any idea where they get this idea from? This assumption is taken from a verse in the Bible itself, but it is interpreted out of context. Now I don’t know what you believe about whether or not we should still keep the Ten Commandments, but I’d like to share some Scripture texts with you. If you disagree at all you can either e-mail me or go directly to God Himself seeing I will be sharing purely Scripture. Please read the passages mentioned if you have any problems and also read their surrounding verses to obtain a better idea of what God is saying in these passages.
The text that gives many the idea that the Commandments were nailed to the cross is found in Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Well let’s start by noting that this text does not say Law or Commandments, it says “handwriting of ordinances”, and yet people still assume this text refers to the Ten Commandments. Secondly I’d like to bring to your attention that whatever was nailed to the cross was “against” us, but we’ve just had a look at the benefits in keeping the Ten Commandments. According to this text, something was definitely nailed to the cross, but was it the Commandments?
Did you know that the children of Israel were given other laws besides the Ten Commandments? Our next text is Ephesians 2:15, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances….” Ok, so this text refers to the nailing as abolishing, but it speaks about the law of commandments contained in ordinances. So, could it be that these laws were what was nailed to the cross? What laws are these then? Let’s take a look at Hebrews 9:10, “Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.” Here we find that these things were “imposed” on God’s people “until” the time of reformation. These were the sacrificial and ceremonial laws – the ones about washing and offerings etcetera. The sacrificing of lambs for one was no longer necessary because the Lamb that it pointed to had died as our true sacrifice.
If you’re still not convinced then you better keep reading and follow carefully. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1John 3:4). Therefore it follows that “where no law is, there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15). In other words – if sin is the breaking of the law, and there is no law, we cannot sin. Then take a look at Galatians 3:19, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made….” Once again this is referring to the law that was nailed to the cross. This law was “added because of transgressions”. That means that another law must have been broken first right? Think about it… God’s Commandments of love were broken and He therefore had to put in place the sacrificial laws to point us to our redemption and turn us to our Saviour – the only way we could be saved. These laws were only needed until the real Lamb gave His life for us. Make sense?
God gave us the Ten Commandments because He loves us. They were not nailed to the cross. God knew that life would be far better if we kept each of these simple guidelines to a happy life. I invite you to take another look at the Ten Commandments and ask the Lord to help you to keep them. God has special blessings waiting for you. Trust Him.

Today’s Task: Please give the Ten Commandments a chance. Try keeping them even if you only plan to do so for a while. But remember that God never gave us an option. They were never nailed to the cross and will stand forever. Ask the Lord to help you to keep them. Praise Him for giving them to us for our benefit. God has given you simple guidelines – please follow them.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You love us so much. I thank You that Your Word can interpret itself. I thank You that You did not nail Your gift of the Ten Commandments to the cross. Please help us to keep them with Your strength. Please forgive us for breaking Your commandments in the past. I thank You for giving us guidelines that will benefit us. Help us to keep them and reap the benefits. We love You Lord. Amen.