Yvette's Whispers of Faith

by Yvette van Niekerk We read in the Message 1 Peter 4 verses 12 to 13 "Glory Just Around the Corner.    Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner." Honestly, it has been a tough week for me, my emotions have been up and down, and I was going through stuff. I wonder how you cope when life puts the squeeze on you? We know that there are testing times, and it is a regular thing. We need testing and trials in our lives to keep us real, to help us grow, and our spiritual lives need to build. The apostle Paul said "Every detail works to your advantage and God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the in...

by Yvette van Niekerk I read D.L. Moody said, "When a man has no strength if he leans on God, he becomes powerful." The Lord is trustworthy, and when we are facing insurmountable issues and problems, we should not turn to men, but lean on God, He is powerful. What does it mean to trust in God? He has a position of security, and we can trust Him because He reveals Himself as reliable. If you will take a moment with me and read Psalm 91 out loud, you will see the Lord God is a symbol of protection from attack. The best description I can give you is of an old Castle with the walls that surround it, people living behind these fortified walls of protection. It would have to be a smart and robust army that penetrates these sturdy walls, how we should view God, His robust, sturdy and will put His arms around us His children. Putting our trust in the Lord is the way we should go. He has never failed us, why now? Psalm 91 MSG "You who sit down in the High God's presen...

by Yvette van Niekerk  The past couple of years have taught me an invaluable lesson, to be a little more flexible. I am working hard at not being so right. In the Bible, Romans 12: 16, 18, I saw it says 'readily adjust yourself to (people, things). And, if possible, as far as it dependents on you, live at peace with everyone. I know I am in the process of letting go of my own self-importance, and I am learning to become obedient to God's Word. I am struggling with an attitude of having things go my way, and adaptation is not so easy when I don't want to be submitting to the Word of God. Now I realized I am learning to bend, and I am becoming more obedient. I'm not as upset and miserable these days. Key to a well-balanced relationship is being flexible and consideration for your spouse. Pushing for my own way brings discord and resentment into my relationship. I am praying that the Holy Spirit will guide me going forward. Prayer Dear Father God, please help m...

by Yvette van Niekerk This book of mine has not been thrown together by chance and united by a series of coincidences, no! God has been speaking to me and is the result of Daily Devotional Ebenez er inspired by circumstances and experience by me and friends and family. In 1 Samuel 7 verse 12, we read "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying "Thus far the LORD has helped us." When I was studying God's Bible, and I was in a place of dark and uncertain times, "Thus far the LORD has helped me." stood out on the pages and I knew God was with me in every situation when my life seemed to be filled with brutality. My life-changing attitude started when I connected with the Ancient of Day, God Almighty through daily worshipping, prayer and devotion. Follow me: Kellan Publishing ; Facebook ; Twitter ; LinkedIn ; Instagram ; Pinterest ; Stumble Upon God’s Orchid   Get your copy of Daily Devotional Ebenezer

by Yvette van Niekerk 2 Samuel 22: 20 "He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." John Newton (1725 - 1801) was an atheist, bully and blasphemer. I believe that John was wild and very angry when he was young. He was forced to serve as a sailor in the Royal Navy for a period. During this period he broke the rules so boldly that he was publicly flogged for desertion. His crewmates hated and feared him, and he even became a slave trader. When Newton was twenty-three, his ship came into a severe storm off the coast of Donegal, and it almost sank. During this storm, Newton called out to God as the ship filled with water, and on the day, 10 March 1748, God rescued him. His life changed for the better. He started praying and reading the Bible. He joined up with William Wilberforce in a campaign to abolish the slave trade and was the leader in this campaign. William Wilberforce, in the campaign, to abolish the slave trade, and became a...

by Yvette van Niekerk Good morning, let's find a peaceful place and quiet our spirits before the Lord. Ephesians 4 verse 2 MSG "In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk - better yet, run! - on the road, God called you to travel. I don't want any of your sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline - not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences." It struck me that I am very stubborn, and I am not making allowances for people. I want things done in a specific way at my pace, not theirs. It causes so much trouble there cannot be peace with the people around me when I'm in a no negotiation phase. I am not learning to put love before others ...

by Yvette van Niekerk The past couple of months it felt like everything has been against me, I don't know how you may have thought during the COVID 19 lockdown but this what I felt. I see the enemy has been working against me, I experienced it, and I am sick of his attacks. He is always trying to delay and deter me from reaching my potential. I have decided to trust in the Lord; the only way forward is through prayer and meditation in God's Word. I am standing on my Faith, this is trusting in God, and His word. I am going to focus on God, drawing from His word and taking in as much as I can, trusting in Him. Hebrews 13 verse 5 to 6 [God Himself has said, He will not in any way fail me nor give me up nor leave me without support. [He will] not, [He will] not, [He will] not in any degree leave me helpless nor forsake nor let [me] down (relax His hold on me)! [Assuredly not!] So I take comfort and am encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will ...

by Yvette van Niekerk According to the Apostle Paul "let God transform you" or "be transformed." The secret in Pauls prayer is to allow God's Holy Spirit to renew our minds. The only way we can change is through meditation and focusing on God and spending precious time in the presence of our Lord and Savior.   Paul is saying that if I am willing to spend time with God and striving to behave like the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit will renew my mind, and my thinking will change. When I seek God, my outcome changes, I will be blessed. How can I renew my mind, and what will happen? Thinking about where I spend my time, am I honestly spending quality time in God's Word? To be honest no, I believe I have fallen in this regard. I have been filling my days with non-important things. The sad part is I listen to the Word of God and get distracted, and I am trying to stay focused, but I am not fully involved. What is wrong with me? I have decided that I should st...

by Yvette van Niekerk Something to ponder, God is the Beginning and The end, and I can only see things from my perspective, I don't have a clue as to what I can do with or without God. I so many times wish I knew how things are going to work out, but I need to wait and see.   The reality of the matter is that God knows all, and I don't have a cooking clue. This year turned out so strangely, the whole world turned on its head. Life changed in a blink of an eye, and people all over the world was in lockdown. They were staying home, not going to work for months. You might feel you are at the bottom of the pit and you can't see the daylight. God has a plan to pull you out of this pit, you may be facing a promotion, and it also could be a calling into ministry. Psalm 2 verse 12 "I am blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) because I seek refuge and put my trust in the Lord." Prayer  Father God, I am trusting in You, God whose word I praise, in God I trust,...

by Yvette van Niekerk   Agreed the first half of this year 2020 has been hectic, I believe we all have been through enough. COVID 19 has changed history.    I have been going through a lot this past couple of weeks, I have been struggling with my identity and thinking that I must be ancient. My hair is greying, and I cannot control it, it's going at such a rate I wonder I should be grey by the end of this year if I do not find a hairdresser.   Mark 12:29-31 (ESV) 29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."   This past couple of years have been engaging on my side, accepting myself for who I am isn't as easy as it sounds. What I lost si...