God's Orchird ~ Yvette van Niekerk

Matthew 6: 33
“But first and most importantly seek
(aim at, strive after) His kingdom
and His righteousness [His way of doing
and being right – the attitude and character of God],
and all these things will be given to you also.”
If you are like most people you would have insurance coverage in your homes, your vehicles and many other items of value. Have you considered that you are valuable? Yes, of course, you are. You are covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ. The minute you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your own salvation and started a personal relationship with Him, you are covered.
We are reminded to first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, in doing this we do not have to worry about anything. As Children of God, we are covered, the Blood of Jesus Christ is our cover. Think about this, you know your insurance will pay out if the house you live in burns down, or if your car is stolen.  In a way it doesn’t worry you because you know you are fine, it is covered.
Do you agree w…

John 14: 26 AMP “But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor –
Counsellor, Straightener, Standby),
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name [in My place,
to represent Me and act on My behalf],
He will teach you all things.
 And He will help you remember
 everything that I have told you.”
You know when you always aspire to do your best job now. I do not procrastinate when an assignment is given to me I do it when I receive it. Because I feel that I want to do my best job now, I check my work all the time. It was difficult in the beginning but now I know that whatever I am doing is 100% correct.
I have come to realize that I can only do my best job now with the help of the Holy Spirit. I cannot do anything on my or even in my own strength.
I think it's not so easy becoming a doer when other just say "yes" and walk away. The "doing" is what makes the difference in today's life.
Prayer: Holy Spirit in my weakness I stand before You please com…

James 1: 22 AMP
“But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively
and continually obeying God’s precepts],
and not merely listeners [who hear the word but
fail to internalize its meaning],
deluding yourselves [by unsound
reasoning contrary to the truth].”
You know when you get that bright idea and it keeps you out of sleep almost the whole night? The next day you feel like a train hit you. I know those thoughts and then I forget all about my great idea.
Or someone is constantly telling you what they are going to do, “I’m going to write this very good story and then I’m going to be a rich as “Castle” on TV. I also used to talk about all the wonderful things I was going to do. The sad part is I never put action to my talking. I never actually did anything about it. I just talked about it.
It is the same with serving God, we have all this information at hand and we supposed to be sharing with the World. I write because I enjoy writing and I believe someone is reading what I think and may agr…

Exodus 14: 14 AMP
“The LORD will fight for you while you
[only need to] keep silent
and remain calm.”
We all go through life with all kinds of “hang-ups” I am no different. Today it feels like the odds are stacked against me and that there is no way forward for me. I didn’t plan on things to work like this but again I am reminded of something called consequences.
If you think you can get away from this little word “consequences” I want to give you a short message, you will reap what you sow. Good or bad, whatever you say will catch up with you and whatever you do will impact you going into your future. Be warned.
Because I feel that all the odds are stacked against me my only refuges is the LORD. I cannot change my past, I made mistakes and have to live with them. It drives me up the wall at times but I want to say this much. I pray for God’s hand over my life.
I feel that God is reminding me to “be still and trust in HIM.” My only way out is through God and no other way.
Prayer
LORD hum…

Daniel 10: 12 AMP
Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid,
Daniel, for from the first day that you set
your heart on understanding this and on humbling
yourself before your God,
your words were heard,
and I have come in response to your words.”
I am waiting for my breakthrough and I am trusting in the Lord, I know God hears my prayers. I have been praying for a number of people in my life and I believe God has touched each person’s life. I pray for my family and friends and I see that God is with them. I am so grateful for that because it inspires me to keep on praying.
Lord, I want to come into Your presence and say thank You, I believe that You have answered my prayers. Yes, Lord, You are awesome, wonderful and I adore You. Thank You, thank You, thank You for answered prayers, I know that nothing is impossible with You. I see my breakthrough and I praise You for it.
In the Holy Name of Jesus Christ. Amen


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Jeremiah 15: 1 AMP
“Then the LORD said to me,
“Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand
before Me[interceding for them],
My heart would still not be
[turned with favour]
towards this people[Judah].
Send them away from My presence and out of My sight
and let them go!”
The LORD said even if Moses and Samuel came and prayed about this people, I will not change my mind God is truly angry. We know that Samuel prayed for rain and it rained. We also know that the LORD Jesus used to get up early in the morning and pray.
It is my desire to pray as often as possible but that’s not the point, I want my prayers to count, I don’t have ‘clout’ like Moses or Samuel. I don’t have the ability to move mountains but I can ask for help. We need to be saturated with our prayer life so that when something happens we don’t have to quickly come and say a rushed prayer. No, we should also make the time to pray and ask God to be our protection, our helper and our salvation.
Prayer
Abba Father, O Lord, please teach us to…

2 Samuel 2: 3
“Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
let not arrogance come out of your mouth:
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighted.”
What are your motives? What drives you? Where do you find yourself? Who do you look out for? I think the motive is something that drives many people. I want to be this, that or the other. I am this, that or the other. All clichés and to be honest God is weighing our actions.
In honouring God, what do you do? I read that it is our duty to look after the homeless and widows and orphan children. Or do you just pull up your nose and ignore the plea for help? I think we all have the ability to help someone.
In writing to you every day, I want to learn more and for me to learn I need to study God’s Word. I like to read everything I can about God. The Bible, good novels based on Biblical characters. What drives me? I feel I am lacking in wisdom and knowledge so I try and read as much I can to grow my knowledge. Wisdom comes from God and I…

Psalm 62: 11 AMP
“God has spoken once,
twice I have heard this:
that power belongs to God.”
I sometimes believe I can handle whatever comes my way, you know I am a Christian so hey, bring it on brother. That is not true, there are times when I just don’t have the strength to handle what comes my way. I fail many of the time and it humbles me all the time. Something I realised is that God is in control and He is the only one with the Power.
Jesus reminds us that “apart from Him we can do nothing.” We need to know our limitations and we always have to come to the Lord in prayer for strength for each and every day.
I know that God has all the strength I need for each and every day, even when I wake up in the morning when I feel like I didn’t sleep a wink. Then I am asking “please help me, Lord.”
Even in my weakness, God is with me, I just need to call on Him and I believe He will strengthen me. Prayer
Abba Father, humbly I admit that I sometimes forget that You are my strength, you have the power…

I am sure you also want to know what God’s Will is for your life, I know I want to know God’s Will for my own life. How will we find out what God’s Will is? Create an expectation and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 25: 9 AMP
“He leads the humble in justice,
and He teaches the Humble His way.”
I think we actually need to ask God what His Will is for our lives. We need to admit that we are lost and that we cannot do this on our own. Failing to ask for guidance closes the door to finding out what the Will of God is.
When you ask for guidance you are stating that you actually don’t know what the future holds for you and that you need someone to show you the way forward. I think God is waiting for us to ask Him to show us.
I used to plan my month and weeks but lately, I have stopped that, I actually cannot plan anything without asking God’s guidance. It isn’t that important to plan ahead anymore. I do make plans here and there but I don’t think of it all the time.
Let’s look at James 1 verse 5 – 6 NIV “…

Psalm 2: 12 KJV
“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way,
when his wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Psalm 5: 11 KJV
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:
let them ever shout for joy,
because thou defendest them: let them also that love
thy name be joyful in thee.”
I want to encourage you today don’t quit praying. God is blessing each one of us for our faithful prayers and our service. We know that the LORD Jesus Christ is there for us each and every day. It may seem like nothing is happening right now but while we pray for our circumstances and wait on the LORD, He is working on our behalf.
Our strength is in the LORD and we know that He is our protection. Today I want to encourage you to stand on God’s Word, meditate on it. Don’t just read it but think about the word. Let it take root in your heart, while you focus on the Word ask the Holy Spirit to speak into Your heart. Let Him show you what you need to do …

This is my mission field and please don’t take offence I want to share the Lord Jesus Christ with you today. I know that you must know Him and perhaps you are able to share this message with someone that doesn’t know Him.
I believe that God loves me so much that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ for my life. In doing this God wants us to come into His presence and have a special relationship with Him. His purpose for our lives is salvation and from there we may receive eternal life.
Let’s take a look at me for a moment, I have a past and I always was under the impression that I was just fine. I used to go to church every Sunday. The rest of the week I would crack open my Bible and then place my finger somewhere on a page read the scripture for the day. Sometimes those messages were hectic. I never really read the Bible until I actually was born-again.  Now, remember according to Romans 3 verse 23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I was guilty of sin and …

2 Corinthians 9: 8 AMP
“And God is able to make all grace [every favour and
earthly blessing] come in abundance to you,
so that you may always {under all circumstances, regardless of
the need] have complete sufficiency in everything
[being completely self-sufficient in Him],
and have an abundance for every
good work and act of charity.”
Whew … are you looking at this verse? Do you look at your spiritual life and wonder where you are currently. Yes there are three different places you can find yourself in. Let us take a look and see which one you currently find yourself in.
Are you just not getting enough? Think of this the Israelite's were held captive by Pharaoh in Egypt. Are you being held captive by anything? Think about this your salary comes in at the end of the month before you open your eyes all your debt orders have run, you still need to pay the bond. You realize you just don’t have enough to pay your electricity bill. You haven’t even tithed for the month. Now you need to rely on…

Proverbs 3: 3-4 AMP
Do not let mercy and kindness and truth
leave you [instead let these qualities define you;
bind them [securely] around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So find favour and high esteem
in the sight of God and man.
I don’t know whether you also experienced this in your life but when I fast I find that I am constantly in the firing line. People will be angry with me for no good reason and it seems that at that point in time I step on many feet.
It surely isn’t intentional but I still seem to do that, so in these times I humbly come before the Lord in prayer especially at the office.
I would submit my day into the Lords' hands and ask Him to straighten my path and I also would humbly pray for wisdom and insight. These are very important to me because I feel that I need divine intervention in my life and I don’t want to be the person sitting around with no support.
I also clothe myself with mercy and kindness and I opt to speak the truth at all times. I do we…

Proverbs 28: 9 AMP “He who turns his ear away from listening
to the law [of God and man],
even his prayer is repulsive [to God].”
#1 Refusing to hear the truth. I believe there are many reasons why God doesn’t answer any of our prayers and we need to search our hearts and minds when that happens. I realised that one of the reasons God couldn’t answer my prayer was a lack of trusting that the Word spoken to me was the truth. I wouldn’t listen to the Word and turned my back on it. The consequence was that in my hour of need there was no answer. My prayer wasn’t heard because I didn’t listen to the Words, I never believe it was true.
#2 Lack of being humble. Another contributing factor to prayers not being answered is the lack of humility. I believe we become all puffed up and think the “world” of ourselves and forget that we are just human. In my hour of need I believe God revealed that if I will not humble myself and pray seeking God’s face and repent of my wicked ways, God will not hear my…

Philippians 1: 27
Only conduct yourselves in a manner
worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether
I come and see you or remain absent,
I will hear of you that you are standing
firm in one spirit, with one mind striving
together for the faith of the gospel;
It is my desire to become more and more like the Lord Jesus, but I know that I fail every day. It’s easy to say these words “become more like the Lord Jesus” but the truth is it isn’t that easy. I love the Lord Jesus with all my heart and I try and imitate Him as best I can and I actually fail. I believe with the help of the Holy Spirit I will get there at some stage but all in good time.
In the meantime I need consistency in my life and I like things to go according to plan. I don’t like chaos and mayhem it makes me feel uncomfortable. Something I also realized is that people tend to watch me. How I speak to them, what I say and how I act around people. It is difficult because I do have my off days.
In my mind I am striving towards …

Psalm 45: 1
For the director of music.
To the tune of “Lilies.”
Of the Sons of Korah
A maskil. A wedding song. “My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.”
So what is the story of your life? Mine isn’t that spectacular I am a normal person with a normal life. I love my God and my family. I love to write and I love to read, my life isn’t something that will make the new but I believe God is able to still use me.
I am working hard at learning how to treat people with the highest esteem, respecting other people’s desires and opinions. I am trusting in the LORD to renew my mind each and every day. The most difficult situation I find myself in is killing the desire of doing what I want to do. 
Especially when I know that it goes against Gods Word. My flesh is always against me and I really have to watch myself.
Prayer
O LORD You know that I have not made it on my own. I am asking You to help me forget what happened in my past and…

Micah 7: 18
“Who is a God like you,
pardoning iniquity and passing over transgressions
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.”
Just writing to you today is confirmation that God gave me another chance in life. I am just a normal woman with a very, normal life. I don’t have anything to boast about in my life the only one good thing I believe that has come from my life are my three beautiful children and being blessed with three beautiful granddaughters.
When I reflect on my life and think of all the mistakes I made, it makes me feel miserable but then I have come to realize that yes, I made them and those mistakes formed my character today.
I am grateful to the LORD my God for a second chance, a third and many other changes in my life. “But you, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86 verses 15.  
One thing that stands out to me is the fact that …

Zechariah 4: 10 NLT
“Do not despise these small beginnings,
for the LORD rejoices to see the
work begin, to see
the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand.”
Zechariah is speaking to the people about the ruins in their city and it seems that they thought it couldn’t take off. But Zechariah says to them “do not despise these small beginnings.” Where are you right now? Are you focusing on starting something but feel it is insignificant and what difference will it make?
Today I want to encourage you to start whatever you have been thinking about because the LORD rejoices to see the work begin. Take the first step, do it now.
You never know what the result is going to be, are you going to start something that is going to change your future? Are you going to make an impact on the world? Are you going to make an impact in the lives of the people around you? You don’t know until you actually try it. Then once you start don’t lose heart, work hard and do what you can, then pray and trust that God will …