Feb 22 2026
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Remember those early days

By Sodwana Bay

Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way. Hebrews 10:35-36 MSG Originally posted 2015-09-19 16:03:49.

Feb 19 2026
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Steadfast love to thousands upon thousands

By Sodwana Bay

Steadfast love to thousands upon thousands… “And then, having handed over the legal documents to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to God , ‘Dear God , my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, named God -of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do. Jeremiah 32:17 MSG Read on the Bible App Originally posted 2015-09-18 05:27:07.

Feb 16 2026
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Message of God’s powerful plan

By Sodwana Bay

God’s Plan… It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.” Romans 1:16 MSG Originally posted 2015-09-14 12:16:50.

Feb 15 2026
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WALLS THAT DO NOT SHUT US IN

By Sodwana Bay

WALLS THAT DO NOT SHUT US IN “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him… the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem…” (Revelation 3:12) If I am to be protected by the walls of God, does that mean I will have no freedom to reach out? Am I trapped in something constraining? Not at all! George Matheson, the 1800s writer of the great hymn O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go, wrote about the New Jerusalem to come: “So there is to be no liberty? Is the penalty of being within the walls to be my captivity? Not so; you can go where you like; the world shall be yours. Simply because there shall no more be anything outside; the whole universe shall be enclosed in Christ. You shall never get beyond your walls; but your walls shall enfold creation. You shall never escape from God’s presence; but you shall find God’s presence everywhere.” So in the here and now, the Lord Jesus is the new temple and wherever we go, He comes with us. His walls never impede our progress in the world. We are at one and the same time shut in to Jesus and secure but also free to go out and fulfill His will for us in the world. Within the bounds of His love there is great peace. Originally posted 2015-09-14 08:20:55.

Feb 12 2026
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This is the way God put it

By Sodwana Bay

This is the way God put it: “They found grace out in the desert, these people who survived the killing. Israel, out looking for a place to rest, met God out looking for them!” God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again, dear virgin Israel. You’ll resume your singing, grabbing tambourines and joining the dance. You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards on the Samaritan hillsides, And sit back and enjoy the fruit— oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests! The time’s coming when watchmen will call out from the hilltops of Ephraim: ‘On your feet! Let’s go to Zion, go to meet our God !’” Jeremiah 31:3 MSG Originally posted 2015-09-07 11:18:29.

Feb 11 2026
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MANNING THE WALLS WITH THE LORD

By Sodwana Bay

MANNING THE WALLS WITH THE LORD “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) Nehemiah faced tremendous opposition to rebuilding the wall, but he knew that their God would fight for them (see v. 20). This didn’t mean that he didn’t take all possible action (v. 13, 18) to ensure success. And it certainly didn’t stop him from exhorting his fellow builders (v. 14). Very often I ask God to do something in my life but neglect to take steps to accomplish the objective. The Ephesians passage tells us to be “strong in the Lord” by “putting on the full armor of God” (vv. 10-11). It is God’s armor, but we do have to put it on. This is spiritual warfare against the forces of evil which would have us neglect our God-given means of defense. Some have found it helpful to consciously put on each piece of armor in our minds, taking up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We then find that the Spirit brings relevant verses into our minds through the day. As with Nehemiah, we don’t know where the enemy will strike next. But we do know and affirm what Nehemiah declared: the Lord is great and awesome (v.14)! Source: Anchor Devotional – Manning the Walls with the Lord Originally posted 2015-09-07 08:43:22.