Reading John 17 as an adult just hits different, Jesus is pleading with God to watch over us and take care of us because the world is hard. He is saying that while He was on earth He was watching us, He said that He is not of the world and neither are we so we really need to be watched over… ugh no greater love 😭😭😭😭 Jesus knows how this life feels and was pleading for us 😭
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, as we rise to meet You in prayer this Sunday morning, we give You glory, honor, and praise for all You’re doing in our lives. We thank You for the many blessings You’ve given us this week. How thankful we are for the Holy Spirit and Your precious word, which lead us in the way we should go and give us peace.
Today, I ask for Your healing touch for all Your people around the world. Clear any mental confusion they may be experiencing and give them clarity of thought. Heal anything that needs healing in their lives. Break any bondage hindering their walk with You, and set them free from all fear and anxiety. Let hope rise in their hearts today and bless them with Your peace, as the Holy Spirit continues to lead the way. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Should the taxpayer still bear the burden of proof in instances where a tax dispute with the Revenue Authority is based in pre-populated & third party data?
In my submission before the National Assembly's Finance & Planning Committee on behalf of the Tax Research Centre at @StrathU, I argue that Finance Bill 2026's proposals seeking to anchor Incomes & Expenses Validation in law will be incomplete if they do not include a proposal for the the Revenue Authority being saddled with the burden of proof in such instances.
Here's why:
· Finance Bill 2026 proposes to amend Sec75 of the Tax Procedures Act to provide that the Revenue Authority may use technology to pre-populate tax returns on behalf of a person required to submit or lodge a tax return
· Finance Bill 2026 further proposes that a person required to submit or lodge a tax return may rely on pre-populated return generated by the Revenue Authority to file their return
· Finance Bill 2026 proposes to amend Sec112 to provide that the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury may make Regulations for the procedure for the submission or lodging of returns based on pre-populated tax returns generated by the Revenue Authority
Here's where the problem is:
· In all this, Sec56(1) which provides that "In any proceedings, the burden shall be on the taxpayer to prove that a tax decision is incorrect" remains unchanged
· Sec56(1) is predicated on the fact that Kenya has been running on a self-assessment based regime & the data upon which tax disputes emerges was held by the taxpayer
· With Incomes & Expenses Validation & the onset of a Dual Assessment regime in Kenya, taxpayers are now exposed not just to errors of judgement & data on their part, but also errors of technology & transmission which are out of their control
· Can we really still have the burden of proof lying exclusively with the taxpayer in an environment where tax compliance has shifted from a function of record keeping to one where system integration reliability is now a key factor?
The biggest shift in my prayer life was moving from desperation to authority.
There was a time I thought prayer was about begging God…
Crying louder, fasting longer, hoping maybe heaven would notice me.
But then light came.
God is not asking us to beg…
He is asking us to believe.
Begging comes from uncertainty.
Authority comes from revelation.
When you don’t know who you are in Christ, you will pray like a victim.
When you know who you are, you will pray like a son.
The Bible says:
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace…” (Hebrews 4:16)
Not crawling.
Not shrinking.
Boldly.
Why? Because you are not a stranger trying to gain access…
You are a child who already belongs.
Listen—prayer is not convincing God to do what He is reluctant to do.
Prayer is enforcing what He has already made available in Christ.
That’s why you will never pray amiss if you pray scriptures.
Because when you pray scriptures, you are not speaking your emotions…
You are speaking His will.
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” (1 John 5:14)
Scriptures reveal His will.
So when you pray the Word, heaven has no option but to respond.
Instead of saying:
“Lord… please help me, I don’t know what to do…”
You rise and declare:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
Instead of saying:
“God, I’m afraid…”
You stand on His Word:
“For God has not given me the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Instead of begging for victory, you declare:
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
This is the difference.
Desperation prays from lack.
Authority prays from finished work.
Jesus already paid the price.
He already secured the victory.
You are not trying to win…
You are enforcing what has been won.
So when you pray, don’t come like someone trying to persuade God.
Come as one who knows:
“I have access.”
“I have backing.”
“I have authority in Christ.”
Let your prayers be filled with Word.
Let your mouth speak what heaven has already said.
Because when God hears His Word in your mouth…
He confirms it.
Stop begging.
Start believing.
Stop pleading.
Start declaring.
You will never pray amiss…
If you pray scriptures.
@ProLifeisProGod As someone who went through a very dark season (including depression and psychosis).
The Bible saved me and continues to improve my life daily.
Her name was Josie. She was a 17-year-old blind lioness in South Africa. Her two daughters hunted for her every day. They also used her to hunt. Prey would freeze and stare at the blind lioness while Dawn and Duffy snuck around and attacked from behind.
She lived in Addo Elephant National Park. She was put down this past October. She was older than almost any wild lioness on record. The oldest ever was a lioness called Mathata. She made it to 19. Most wild lionesses only make it to 15 or 16. Josie spent her last five years nearly blind, and she still got there.
Her right eye went first. Then her left started to fade. She would stumble sometimes as she walked. She'd call out softly so she could follow Dawn and Duffy by their voices.
Lions usually don't look after their sick or injured. Wild animals rarely do.
In May 2019, Josie had three grown sons. All three were sedated for a move to another reserve. One brother took longer than the other two to come out of it. He was groggy. He wobbled when he tried to stand up. His two brothers killed him right there on the spot.
Her daughters did the opposite, and the reason has a name. Biologists call it kin selection. A biologist named Bill Hamilton wrote it up in 1964. You share a lot of your genes with your kids, your siblings, your parents. So if you help those people survive, you're helping some of your own genes survive. Evolution rewards that.
Female lions stay in the pride they're born into for life. Males leave. So a daughter grows up next to her mother. She shares her mother's genes. Helping her mother stay alive helps keep those genes going. A son doesn't get that same payoff. He'll be forced out of the pride eventually. A brother who can't walk straight won't help him survive what comes after.
Josie lived past the age any wild lion has any right to reach, nearly blind, in the company of the two animals who had the most reason in the world to keep her alive.
Psalm 91 (King James Version) 🔥
• He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
• I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
• Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
• He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
• Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
• Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
• A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
• Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
• Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
• There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
• For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
• They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
• Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
• Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
• He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
• With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.