WEARING THE RIGHT COAT

Romans 5:17 NIV For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Just recently we went to see the Saltmine Theatre’s production of Cinderella. In it the Prince was constantly changing his coat according to how he saw himself, so if he wore his ‘Panic’ coat he panicked and didn’t know what to do. If he took it off and called for his ‘Man of Action’ coat he immediately became decisive and in control of the situation.😊

How we see ourselves is so important which is why God tells us to read His Word because it tells us how He sees us, how He has made us to be new creations in Christ Jesus. If we don’t know, or when we forget who we are, we can start to fall back into old behaviour patterns.

It can be easy to put on the wrong coat and start to panic when things suddenly go wrong, like when illness hits or an accident happens. But God has put His Holy Spirit inside us to hold us steady, to give us wise counsel, to help us deal with whatever comes. 

We need to keep reminding ourselves that nothing is going to happen to us today that, together with the Holy Spirit, we can’t handle. God has given us eagle’s wings to rise above the trials but sometimes we forget and stay in the chicken coup of self pity or hopelessness. Instead God wants us to rise up on wings of faith and hope, and believe Him to turn things around for our good, believing He can do the impossible.😊

As we go into our new week let’s make sure we’ve remembered to put our armour on, that we’re wearing the right coat - our robe of righteousness which causes us to reign in life! 

It’s the coat which proclaims we are forgiven, we are children of the Most High God, that God is our own Heavenly Dad, the most powerful Being in the universe, and that He is looking after us. So we don’t need to be afraid or dismayed because our God is for us and He loves us.😊 Thank You Lord. Amen.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

GOD’S WORD STANDS FIRM

Psalm 119:89-91 NLT 

89 Your eternal word, O Lord,

stands firm in heaven.

90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation,

as enduring as the earth you created.

91 Your regulations remain true to this day,

for everything serves your plans.

114 You are my refuge and my shield;

Your word is my source of hope.

If ever we have a need for security for the days ahead, we need look no further than these verses today. They breathe stability and hope into us as we absorb their truth into our spirit. They talk of God’s word being eternal, that it stands firm in heaven, how much more so can we stand on it, and walk into our future because of that truth.

These verses talk of God’s faithfulness going beyond ourselves, of it going into our following generations which is so encouraging as we look at the way things are going in the world. God has promised to be faithful to our families even if they’re off course at the minute, He will bring backsliders home and heal them. (Isaiah 57:18-19/Hosea 14:4)

When we read ‘everything serves your plans’ it helps us keep things in perspective, to know God is ultimately in control and that His plans and purposes for the world and our individual lives remain the same.

So be encouraged today, no matter what changes may come, or what is going on around us, we can praise our God with joyfulness, and the certainty that our eternal hope is secure in His Word, and that He will always be our refuge and our shield.😊

Let’s give Him all our praise, and all the glory today. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash