GOD CAN PROTECT YOU

Today’s Text: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91:10)

Today’s Thoughts: God has the power to protect us from anything and everything. But then why do we still see so much pain and disaster? We’ve talked about this question before, and yet because it is a very common question in the world today, I’m going to go through it again.
Have you ever sinned? We’ve all sinned. Do you know who we chose as our master when human beings first sinned? Yip, we chose to follow Satan rather than God. Many of us have since realized the terrible mistake of believing Satan rather than God, but right now, Satan is still the prince of this world by our own choice. God would love to protect us from everything, but legally, he can’t. Satan would not allow it. But our loving Heavenly Father knows how much we can handle. He still, believe it or not, protects us from so much. I’m glad that I have chosen the Lord as my Master now. Satan is still prince of this world, but God is my King. I don’t need to fear. He
will protect me from all that He will, and He will be with me through the rest. Is He your God too?

Today’s Testimony: I usually teach Grade 3 and 4 for Vacation Bible School, but one year I had to teach Grade 0 with Julie, my twin sister. I had taught that grade before, but that year was extremely exhausting.
There wasn’t a classroom available for us, so we were situated at the bottom of a staircase in a partially enclosed area. We do often get kids that are younger than Grade 0-age if their older siblings attend, and one little three-year-old got “clever”.
While Julie was telling the story, he decided to crawl under his table. He was under the table facing upwards. Then he decided to pull himself up. The table fell over and would have smashed his little face in, but because we were in a small area, it hit against the wall. It all happened so fast. He got such a fright – so did I. But God knows all things and placed us in a space where we would avoid serious injuries.
Then later that same day we took the kids to play on the field. This same little boy was halfway down the stairs, and another little boy at the top of the stairs decided he’d let the ball bounce down the stairs. It wasn’t a soft ball and as I called to the boy at the top of the stairs to tell him not to let go – he let go. The ball came bouncing straight toward the other boy’s head. He was holding the railing, and I honestly believe an angel pulled him away, because while the one second he had been holding the railing, the next second there was a gap in which the ball bounced past just between his head and the railing. I told you I had an exhausting week – same little boy; same day. God protected him twice. Kids can be quite a handful, but God’s
hands are big enough for all our problems, and His heart is even greater.
God does love you. He does care about you. He knows how much you can handle. He will protect you from all harm that he knows you cannot handle. Don’t doubt his ways – trust His heart.

Today’s Task: Do you ever feel that God is just not there for you? He is. I don’t know what you would think if He wasn’t. He cannot place a hedge around us, because Satan would accuse Him of being unfair. But He can still protect us from anything and everything. He knows what we can handle and what we can’t. He loves you. Believe it. Trust Him. Ask Him to protect you. Ask Him to give you strength to face your trials. He will not leave you to face them alone. He cares about you too much.

Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You protect us from so much. I thank You that you care about us so much, even though we often cause You so much pain. I thank You that You are with us in every trial. I thank You for the strength and comfort You give in times of need. Help us to trust You. Help us to come to know You for who You really are. We need You Lord. Amen.

NEVER TOO LATE FOR A MIRACLE

Today’s Text: Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. (Luke 7:22)

Today’s Thoughts: The blind had not seen for years, if ever; the lame hadn’t walked for years, if ever; the lepers’ bodies were probably in an extremely poor state; the deaf had not heard anything for years, if ever; and the dead, to the human mind were beyond help. The poor who were thought to be hopeless received hope through the Gospel message. What does this tell us? It’s never too late for a miracle. No matter what you’re going through, do not give up hope, if it’s in God’s will to intervene –it’s never too late for Him to work a miracle.

Today’s Testimony: Yesterday I shared a story about George, our Basset Hound, today I’m going to share a story about Rolo, our Golden Labrador cross Golden Retriever.
Rolo is terrified of loud noises, and when there are fire-works in the neighbourhood, he goes absolutely berserk. One night when there were fire-works being set off in the neighbourhood we let him in the kitchen for a while. I washed dishes and sang to him until he fell asleep. I’d often calmed him down by singing to him when he was a puppy, and it still worked.
But then we had to get to bed. We couldn’t leave him in the kitchen, and the bathroom wasn’t dog-proof either. He and George lived in the court-yard just of our kitchen, so he would have been in an enclosed area, but even that didn’t seem safe enough to him. We let him out into the court-yard for a while to see if he would calm down before attempting to renovate the bathroom, and he just didn’t seem to be calming down. I had been praying the whole time. One thought that the Lord brought to mind was that it’s never too late for a miracle.
Toni, my older sister, and I were the only ones still awake, but she was in bed. I went into her room to discuss what we were going to do. I figured I’d leave him for just a little while longer and see. But then just before leaving Toni’s room I prayed again mentioning something about the Lord being able to do a miracle even at the “eleventh hour”. That is another way of referring to the last moment.
Silence! It really is never too late for a miracle.

Today’s Task: Are you in need of a miracle? It’s not too late. God can still work a miracle for you now no matter how long it’s been, no matter how complicated the situation may be. Trust Him. Never lose hope. Ask him to work a miracle in your life today.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that it’s never too late for a miracle. I thank You that you care about what we are going through. I thank You that You can intervene. Lord please work a miracle in each of our lives. It’s never too late. We love You. Amen

JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING

Today’s Text: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

Today’s Thoughts: God hates sin. He doesn’t hate the sinner, He hates the sin. He is never pleased when we sin, but His displeasure only lasts a little while. When we repent we can once again find favour with Him. God’s anger is but for a moment, but His love endures forever. When we repent, God forgives us and we can find joy in being restored to His favour.
We see pain and heartache all around us. These are the sad results of sin. Our weeping over sin and its results will all be over soon. Jesus is coming back to destroy sin forever. In the mean time, God is with us in every trial. Our troubles usually only last a little while, but if they are more permanent – soon they will all be over. We will spend eternity in a sinless, unscarred environment with our Saviour. The choice is yours. Will you be there?

Today’s Testimony: We have two dogs. One is a Golden Labrador cross Golden Retriever, Rolo, and the other one is a Basset Hound, George – we got him with that name. The Basset Hound by default is my dog. He’s huge and slobbers everywhere and I’m the only one who loves him.
One day while resting on my bed, I was woken up with everyone screaming my name. The two dogs had been playing outside fighting over something and it had landed on our trampoline. Now George always wants better than Rolo. And although they both hesitated to climb on the trampoline, George decided to take the risk. He got on just fine, only to have Rolo snatch his prize from the other side. Now George had to get off. He walked around surveying the situation, and then made his attempt. His paw-pad on one of his hind feet got stuck in the triangular clip connecting the trampoline to one of the springs.
We somehow got him to turn around and sit on the trampoline. His paw had swelled, thus making it even more difficult to get him loose. My step-dad was out at the time, but the tenant staying in our garden-flat came to help.
Sadly it wasn’t my first thought, but at some stage I started praying. I was there trying to comfort and calm George down. He was in a lot of pain; it was terrible to hear him complaining. I said to him, “It will all be over soon.” I had absolutely no idea how on earth we were going to get him loose, but I knew that somehow or another, the problem would have to be sorted out. We eventually got him loose. And he then started trying to find his way off the trampoline “again”. I got my step-dad, who was home now, to rather carry him off the trampoline instead.
Later while I was thinking about everything that was going on in my life at the time, the Lord reminded me of what I had said to George, “It will all be over soon.” I did not know how and when, but God said it would all be over soon, and I believed Him.
I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but I do know that God is right there with you. He will give you the strength to endure your trials. And the best part – it will all be over soon.

Today’s Task: Trust God. You can allow Him to give you peace and joy right now in the midst of turmoil. Weeping endures for but a little while; but true joy is everlasting. Give your burdens to the Lord, He wants them. Turn away from sin and find peace in Christ. He will give you a peace and joy that you won’t be able to describe.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You for the peace and joy that only You can bring. I thank You that You are a forgiving God who will give us everlasting joy when we deserve everlasting sorrow. Lord if we accept You into our hearts You will give us everlasting life that is full of joy and peace. We want You. We need You. Please come into our hearts today. Amen.

MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU

Today’s Text: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Today’s Thoughts: Everyone longs for peace in their lives. We so often try to find it in all the ways Satan offers it. But we cannot find true and total peace in anything or anyone other than in Christ who offers us a peace that we could never dream of. We do not have to worry or fear when we accept the peace that God offers us. He has promised us His peace; we just need to accept his gift.

Today’s Testimony: The morning that I was going to be writing a certain exam, my stomach was in knots. While I was sitting on my bed having my morning devotions I prayed for peace. I had so much to do and needed some study time, but do you know what the Lord did?! He put me to sleep. The next thing I new I woke up, but I had an unbelievable sense of peace. God knew that I wouldn’t have allowed Him to calm me down and give me peace while I was awake, so He allowed me to fall asleep. I needed that sense of peace even more than the study time, so God intervened.
One day I was feeling very down and out and I couldn’t even pin-point the reason. It was kind of a mixture of a whole lot of things. I prayed, I sang, I tried everything, but the feeling wouldn’t leave.
A friend of mine was looking for a home for her cat and I had been trying to find someone to take him. While I was putting my bunny away in his hutch – the same bunny I mentioned before – my neighbour, who I would often chat to and hadn’t seen for ages, arrived home. He stayed in a garden-flat next door, and his door was right opposite where my bunny’s pen was. We greeted, and then I asked him if he knew of anyone who was looking for a cat. He said that he didn’t. As I continued to put my bunny away I thought to myself, “I can’t believe you just asked him that!” I guess that maybe there wasn’t really anything strange about asking, but whether there was or
not, I then burst out laughing – not out loud, but inside. I couldn’t stop smiling. That was the end of me feeling down and out.
God has so many ways to grant us His peace. Some of them may seem almost totally ridiculous, like Him allowing me to sleep when I was still hoping to have time to study, and making me laugh about something which wasn’t even that funny. Never ever underestimate God. He can give you peace, His peace, right now. Just ask Him for it.

Today’s Task: Ask the Lord to grant you His peace. Trust that He can give you peace, no matter what you’re going through, in ways you would never dream of. Please accept that peace that only He can give. He wants you to have it more than you want it for yourself. He loves you. Believe it.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You for Your peace. I thank You that You can grant us peace no matter what we may be going through. I thank You that You know just how to give us that peace. Lord we need peace. We need You. Grant us Your peace today. Amen.

DO NOT WORRY

Today’s Text: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34)

Today’s Thoughts: In this passage of Scripture Jesus was speaking to a multitude of people and encouraging them not to worry. He provides food for the birds of the air and He clothes the grass of the field with beautiful flowers, so how much more will He take care of the needs of His children. Some of us may always be finding something to worry about, but no one truly likes to worry. Yet we seem to worry all the time. God wants us to hand our worries and concerns over to Him, He can intervene. He can give us peace.

Today’s Testimony: I woke up one morning thinking that my alarm clock was taking far too long to go off. I had prayed my usual prayer the night before, but I still thought something had gone wrong. I couldn’t sleep. I wasted so much time just lying in bed worrying when I had absolutely no excuse to worry. Firstly, it didn’t really matter whether or not it went off because Julie would have set it off for me when she got back from the bathroom. Secondly, I could have used my torch to check what the time was on our wall-clock. And thirdly, I could have even gone to check my alarm clock. But no, I didn’t do any of that, and thinking about it not really mattering whether or not it went off didn’t help.
I had prayed my usual prayer: “Lord please let my alarm clock keep time all night and go off on time in the morning. Your will be done. Amen”. I had left it in His hands. All I had to do was trust Him. But no, I took the problem back and lost sleep over it. My alarm clock did go off on time the next morning – all that worrying for nothing. If only I’d been more willing to fully trust God.
Now sometimes we have worries about issues that are far more serious than this one. Sometimes we are faced with a real problem that cannot be sorted out as simply as my situation could have been. We need to find peace in Christ even in those situations.
In this same passage of Scripture Christ also says, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew 6:27). Worrying about a situation will be of no benefit to us. And yet we still worry. God wants to spare us from worrying, He knows it will only cause us harm and no good. But sadly, even though we no it doesn’t help, we can’t seem to help but worry. But God never asks us to do something that He knows we cannot do. He can and will grant us peace so that we don’t worry, we just need to ask Him to, and allow Him to give us that peace. I want that peace. Don’t you?

Today’s Task: Ask the Lord to take your worries and concerns away. Ask him to give you a peace that you never thought possible. Place each and every worry in His mighty hands and leave them there. Don’t take them back, you are far better off without them; you don’t need them. If you think you will never truly sense His peace, pray that God will help your unbelief and surprise you. Ask Him for His peace right now. You need it.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that you care about us so much. You don’t want to leave us to worry; you want to give us peace. Help us to accept that peace. Help us not to worry. Help us to entrust every situation to You and find peace in knowing that our problem is left in the hands of an all-knowing, all-powerful God. Lord, grant us Your peace. I thank You for making it available. Amen.

THY WILL BE DONE

Today’s Text: And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (Luke 11:2)

Today’s Thoughts: This is a piece of what is usually referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. Today we’re simply going to focus on the “Thy will be done” part. I’d rather ask the Lord for anything than to ask a human being. If people gave me everything I asked for I probably wouldn’t be a very happy person right now. Do you feel the same? Maybe not. But God is all-knowing. He would love to never disappoint us by refusing our requests, but He also knows that some things are best done a different way. I’ve seen His will stand out as far greater than mine time and time again. I don’t know about you, but I want His will to be done in my life in every situation.

Today’s Testimony: Now for some more stories about my alarm clock. One morning I got up and went off to the bathroom when Julie’s alarm went off. Before I climbed back into bed I checked my alarm clock’s time. I’d never done that before when I’d come back from the bathroom in the night, but that day the Lord impressed me to. It wasn’t ticking. I changed it, prayed my usual prayer, and then climbed back into bed for what was left of my sleep.
So why didn’t God just keep my alarm clock ticking in the first place? Well for one, that would be nothing out of the ordinary to share as a testimony. God had already blessed in that area. To me it was a message that said, “I care about you. I want you to see miracles – big and small.” But one thing that I know for certain is that God’s will was done – I’d asked for that.
On another occasion my older sister, Toni, was sleeping in the room with my twin sister and me. She got up to go to the bathroom in the night, and when she came back she checked on my alarm clock for the time. Julie checked the time on her alarm clock. Both gave the same time. But when Julie set my alarm clock off that morning the time still read the same as when we had checked it during the night.
Why had it lost time this time? Not that it really mattered too much though, because as I said before, Julie would simply change the time and set it off for me in the morning. And yet there had to be a reason, there always is a good reason if my alarm doesn’t go off since I’ve started praying for it to go off. I thought about it, and couldn’t remember if I’d prayed, “Your will be done”, when I’d prayed the night before. I believe that’s the reason that it didn’t go off. We need to ask God to do His will, it’s always best. But why didn’t God just remind me to pray for His will to be done in the first place? Possibly because He wanted to give me a testimony to share. And then, hey, in that case, maybe He did do His will even though I’d forgotten to ask. He does that you know. He does so much more for us than we could ever deserve. And that’s because it’s in His will to love and bless us. I want him to do His will in my life – always. How about you?

Today’s Task: God always knows best. He can see the beginning and the end. Often we don’t understand His reasoning, but in those cases we need to trust His heart. He really does love each and every one of us. He cares about you – believe it. Trust Him and ask Him to do His will in your life in every situation. You might not understand the path He leads you in, but you will not regret it – if not now, then in Heaven when you get a better glimpse into the wise intervention of our loving Heavenly Father. Trust Him today.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I praise You that You love us so much. I thank You that Your will is always for our good. Lord I pray that You will help us to submit to Your will. Help us to always allow You to do Your perfect will in every situation. Lord You love us so much, and You cry with us when we reap the results of sin, whether it be our own sin, or sin in general. It was never Your will to have us suffer so much, but we chose Satan as our master, and thus You cannot put a hedge around us and spare us from all harm. But Lord I thank You that You are still with us even in turmoil, and You still work all things out for our good, even if we can’t see it that way. Lord, may Your will and Yours alone be done in each of our lives. We love You Lord. Amen.

THE APPLE OF HIS EYE

Today’s Text: For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. (Zechariah 2:8)

Today’s Thoughts: Did you know that you’re one of the apples of God’s eye? That’s how much He cares about you. He hurts when you’re hurting. He cries with you when you cry. He knows how you feel, and He feels it too. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God really cares about you? If not, please give Him a chance. Your life depends on it.

Today’s Testimony: I was at a church camp near the beach. On the Saturday afternoon we went for a beach walk. Our task was to find something to represent a few Bible characters. I was also looking for “used-to-be-beautifuls”. Those are broken pieces of shells that used to be beautiful. This is a piece of a song that I wrote about it:

It used to be beautiful, when it was whole
But now it is broken, like my sin shattered soul
But there’s hope for me, I can be made whole again
For our broken lives, our God, can in His mercy mend

God cares about each one of us no matter how broken we may be. He can make us whole in Him.
While walking along the beach I found a “whole” cowrie shell. It wasn’t spectacular, but I thought it was really beautiful.
A while later I was thinking about my shell, and thought of how special it would have been if ‘the man of my dreams’ had picked it up for me. I don’t think I particularly had a ‘man of my dreams’ in mind, but I just thought that would be special.
Then the Lord said to me, “Child, I gave it to you.” He has done so much for me, and given me so much. I don’t need a ‘man of my dreams’ to make me happy, I have a Heavenly Father who thinks of me as an apple of His eye. He cares about us so much.
God has often given me great and small blessing that have screamed that He is good and that He loves me with an unmatchable love. He wants to do the same for you. Allow Him to love you. And please, love Him back.

Today’s Task: God loves you. He thinks of you as one of the apples of His eye. He cares about your well-being so much. Believe it. Open your eyes to the many blessings He bestows; He wants to tell you how much He loves you. Please, accept His love today; tell Him you love Him too.

Today’s Thanks: O Lord I thank You that You love each one of us so much. You love us individually, not collectively. Lord every single one of us is the apple of Your eye. And I praise You for that. Lord what would we do without You?! I’d never survive. I thank You that You will never stop loving us. Lord, we love You. Amen