Have you ever had one of those moments when you aimed small, but the outcome turned out to be way bigger than you imagined? I sure have, and I suspect that you have too!

When I started out in the ministry of Christianityworks (the ministry that produces Fresh) it was a case of "last one out, turn out the lights". So I prayed – man, I prayed – prayers that to me, at the time, seemed like big, impossible prayers. But with the benefit of over two decades of hindsight, seeing all that God has done, I can see now how tiny they really were.

We often pray small prayers, don't we? We hedge our bets, we aim low, because deep down we're not sure if God will really show up. And yet Paul, sitting in prison, writes this:

Ephesians 3:20 With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.

Did you catch that? Much, much more. Beyond what you can ask. Beyond what you can imagine. This isn't wishful thinking. It's God's power – resurrection power – working in us through Christ.

Now, does that mean life will be perfect? No. Paul wasn't writing this from a beach chair sipping iced tea. He was chained up in prison. But even there, he knew: God is still able to do more.

More grace. More strength. More breakthrough. More glory through the church, through Christ, forever.

So whatever you're facing today – don't shrink your prayers. Don't limit your hope. Because the God who raised Jesus from the dead is still doing more than you can ask or imagine. And He's doing it in you.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

It's easy to imagine that God will do a miracle for other people, but never, ever for me. Sure I believe God can do miracles…just not for me. I mean, if I believe in a miracle and He doesn't show up, I'm going to look like a fool.

How often in life do we think to ourselves – I just need a miracle. Nothing but a miracle is going to get this done. And you know the struggle with that? We just don't know when, or even if, a miracle is ever going to happen. Is God going to step in this time, or not? I mean, if I believe in God for a miracle and it doesn't happen – I'm going to look like an idiot. And you know something, so often that's exactly what stops us from believing in Him for a miracle.

What will other people say? What if I believe God for this or for that and I tell someone else and then God doesn't come through and then I look stupid. Well maybe, maybe it would be safer not to believe God for that breakthrough. Maybe I should just shut up and stay in my little box and put up with the misery that's going on in my life and let other people ask Jesus for stuff. Do you see the mentality? Do you see how pride can stop us from asking and receiving?

Jesus once said to his disciples, "The reason you haven't received anything, is because you haven't asked me for anything yet." But … well, anyone who's ever dared in their heart to believe God for a miracle will know that feeling, that niggling sense of "what will other people think?" This is real life. I don't want to dress up the idea of miracles. There are two equal and opposite mistakes in talking and thinking about miracles. The first one is to under spiritualise.

We can think and act and behave and believe as though miracles never happen. I have to tell you something – if miracles never happen, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now, I just wouldn't. I wouldn't even be on air on this station. I would have gone broke ages ago.

The other end of the spectrum is too over spiritualise. This kind of drifting on cloud nine kind of spirituality. As if nothing ever goes wrong in life if you believe in Jesus. What a load of rubbish. Of course things go wrong. Of course we make mistakes. Of course people get cancer. Of course children die. But somewhere in the middle of all that, the notion that I might be embarrassed if I believe in God for a miracle and He doesn't show up. Well … that sort of thing niggles away at our minds, doesn't it?

I want to introduce you today to a couple of men – men at the bottom of the social ladder who put everything on the line. And a third man, right at the top of the social ladder who did the same. The first of these two men are blind beggars. They heard that Jesus was in town. Here's what happened. You can read about it in Matthew, chapter 20:29-34.

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"

The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!" Jesus stood still and called to them, saying, "What do you want me to do?" They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."

Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

See, these were two blind, beggarly outcasts. There was no social security safety net in those days. No cheque coming in the mail every two weeks. They were blind, they couldn't work, therefore they were poor, therefore they were ostracised. Therefore they weren't part of the crowd following Jesus. They were sitting on the side of the road And these crowds were milling around Jesus. They were normal people. They were the beautiful people. They were the people who had a

What if God’s answer to your need arrives as peace—before the provision does?

It's easy to imagine that miracles don't happen anymore these days. But God is a miracle working God – he was 2000 years ago and He is today. Nothing's changed and I for one, still believe in miracles.

Have you ever needed a miracle in your life? Have you ever wondered even what a miracle looks like?

Well, I decided to go to Wikipedia – the internet based encyclopaedia to find out what it says about miracles. Well, here's the definition it came up with:

A miracle is an event believed to be caused by the interposition of divine intervention by a supernatural being in the universe by which the ordinary operation of Nature is overruled, suspended, or modified.

A bit dry and clinical isn't it? But it's pretty much bang on the money. Except – I happen to believe not in the divine intervention of a super natural being in the universe, I happen to believe that the only God that performs miracles, real miracles, the sort that speak of His love for us – is the same God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you and for me on that cross. Now, that was a miracle, not just the dying bit – as if that weren't enough – but the being raised from the dead bit. That is one major miracle.

Now it's easy to believe in miracles, until we desperately need one for ourselves. Until someone we love has cancer. Until we're the ones in the jobless queue. Until it's our marriage that's in trouble. Then all of a sudden, it becomes incredibly hard to believe in miracles.

Miracles are a difficult subject for us to talk about. Because I know that there's someone listening today who believed that God would do a miracle for their loved one who was dying – and they died anyway. And there's someone who believed in a miracle when they lost their job and couldn't afford to pay for their mortgage and they lost their house anyway. And there's someone today who believed … you get the picture? God doesn't always do miracles when we want Him to? Why? Because He's God and He gets to choose.

See the statistics are that we live in a world where, the last time I checked, out of every 100 people – any 100 you'd care to choose – out of every 100 people – exactly 100 will die at some point. The body gets old, it wears out and it gives up. Either that or Jesus will return first. It's just the way things are. I watched my dad die over 10 years ago, he was only 74.

A good friend of mine in Africa, his brother was killed by rebel fighters and his father was injured in the fighting and died because of the lack of medical care. Now this friend is a humble, powerful man of God. He believed for miracles.

We live in a world that rejected God and the result of that is that people suffer and people die. Look around, there are billions suffering in the world today. People who believe in Jesus and people who don't. Jesus suffered. Jesus asked for the suffering to be taken away – but it wasn't. But still, still I believe in miracles. Sometimes God steps in for no reason that's particularly apparent to us and performs a miracle.

The first time I prayed for someone to be healed was a woman at church. She had bad knees, they were painful, I prayed. Now I didn't really expect her to be healed and I kind of avoided her after that. Months later she told me that she had been healed.

I was shocked. Back then I thought it had something to do with me. And that – that's the mistake that's so easy to make. If I'm really, really, really, really good, God will give me a miracle. If I believe until I bust, if I clean up my act, if I do this or do that or say this or pray that … then, then I'll get the miracle I've been hoping for. See, that completely and utterly misses the point.

Let me read you something, a letter that the apostle Paul wrote. This comes from Galatians chapter 3, beginning at verse 1. He writes:

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your ey

Sometimes life just doesn't go the way you'd planned. You map it all out – the career, the family, the retirement dream – and then out of nowhere something knocks you off course.

Before inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison had had thousands of failed experiments. Reporters mocked him, "Why do you keep going after so many disasters?" His reply? "I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." What others thought of as failure … He saw as part of the plan.

God's people, back in the Prophet Jeremiah's day, must've felt like failures too – dispossessed of their land, exiled in Babylon, far from home, far from the temple, the dwelling place of their allegedly invincible God, far from everything that had once given them security.

But right in the middle of their pain, God speaks:

Jeremiah 29:11 "I say this because I know the plans that I have for you." This message is from the Lord." I have good plans for you. I don't plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future." 

That wasn't written as some catchy Instagram meme. It was written to a broken, displaced people. Yes, Israel was eventually restored to the Promised Land. But God was ultimately promising Himself as well. He was promising that His good plans would one day be fulfilled – plans that came to life in Jesus.

Because in Him, you already have the future God promised. Eternal life. Forgiveness. Hope that cannot be shaken. So when your own plans fail … don't panic. God's plan in Christ is still on track. And His plan is always good.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

What will they think? Will they be disappointed? Am I letting people down? If you've ever wrestled with those questions, you're not alone. The fear of others doesn't just speak—it shouts. It's a fear that's destroyed many a life.

In the ultra-high-pressure glare of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, with seemingly the whole world looking on, superstar gymnast Simone Biles shocked everyone when she withdrew from multiple events to protect her mental health. The critics were quick to question her mental toughness.

But she didn't cave to their voices—she listened to what she knew was right. Later, she said "I've to put my pride aside. I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health." That's not weakness. That's courage.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure. (NRSV)

Fear of others is a trap. It looks like approval, but it becomes a cage. You start living for likes, for praise, for expectations, instead of walking in the truth that God's placed inside you.

If you've ever been there, if you're there now, you know exactly what I mean. But trusting God … well, that's where real strength begins. You stop being pulled in every direction and start standing secure—even when people don't understand.

Simone Biles didn't please everyone. But she chose something better: integrity, health, and truth. That's the fruit of trusting God—not public applause, but inner peace.

So, question: Are you living for them—or for Him?

The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure. 

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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Life throws a lot our way, doesn't it?  And yet, you can survive an awful lot if you have hope. But take that hope away—I mean, really take it away—and you stop moving. Stop trying. Stop caring. Hope isn't just a nice-to-have. It's oxygen.

In 1952, Florence Chadwick tried to swim the 26 miles from the California coast to Catalina Island. Partway through, a thick fog set in. She couldn't see the shoreline. After 15 hours, exhausted and disoriented, she gave up—only to discover that she was less than a mile from the finish.

Later, she said, "I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it." I don't think any of us doubts that. Her problem wasn't a lack of endurance. Her problem was that she'd lost hope.

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ's resurrection from death.

This isn't "cross your fingers" hope. This is living hope—anchored in something already accomplished: Jesus rose from the dead. And that … that changes everything. It means that no matter how deep the fog gets, the shore is real. The finish line is there. You're not imagining it. You're not just surviving. You're headed somewhere.

And that kind of hope isn't just for dying—it's for living. It gives you courage to love again, to fight again, to believe again. You can keep going. Because Jesus lives, so does your hope.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Kenny believed God had nothing to offer for the practical problems of life. Then a lost ID card, a simple prayer, and an unexpected answer challenged everything he thought he knew about God.

We plan for the future as though we're somehow in control. You know, … tomorrow's meeting, next month's goals, next year's vacation, where we want to be in five years' time. But then life shows up uninvited. A diagnosis. A phone call. A headline. Suddenly, tomorrow's not as solid as we thought.

On the 11th of March 2011, commuters in Japan boarded their morning trains … just as they did on every other day. Lunches packed. Texts sent. Appointments to keep. But then, at precisely 2:46 p.m., a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck. 9.0!

It triggered a massive tsunami, killing over 15,000; altering lives, destinies, and eternities forever. Not a single person that morning expected it to be their last. But that's life, and that's why this proverb hits so hard:

Proverbs 27:1 Don't brag about what you will do tomorrow, because you don't know what will happen between now and then.

Look, that's not anti-planning. It's anti-pride. God's point here is to remind us of something that we'd rather forget: we don't own tomorrow.

It's easy to live as though our time is unlimited –  as though we can delay obedience, forgiveness, change, or even surrender—because "there's always later." But later isn't guaranteed.

What is guaranteed? Now. This moment. This breath.

So don't put off what matters most. Don't delay the conversation, the prayer, the decision to come home to God. Live like today counts—because it does. And when you hold tomorrow loosely, you'll grip today a whole lot tighter.

Don't brag about what you will do tomorrow, because you don't know what will happen between now and then. 

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.