LOOK AT THE H’S!

Psalm 33:20-22 NLT We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

As I was reading these verses I noticed there are lots of God’s ‘H’ words - Hope, Help, Him, Hearts, and Holy! 

I like that the first one starts us off and ends with ‘Hope’ because our faith won’t work unless we’ve allowed ourselves to keep hoping! So just in case you’ve given up on hope this is a little nudge, to dig it up again and put it back firmly in place.😊

‘Help’ is next and we all need the daily help of the Holy Spirit who is our Helper around the clock. No matter what is happening, or where we are, or how often we may have tried and failed, we can try again with His help.

In ‘Him’, that is Christ, we live and move and have our being. We’re reminded we can only live our Christian life successfully when the Spirit of God is living on the inside of us because in’Him’, in Christ, we are forgiven and made righteous in God’s sight.

Which brings us to our ‘Hearts’. Scripture reminds us, whatever else we do, to guard our hearts above all things because all the issues of life come from there. When our heart is right with God we can rejoice, and Romans 5:5 tells us the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts with His love. What a wonderful thought!😊

Last of all is ‘Holy’. Our God is holy, His name is holy, and so are we! Ephesians 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. How astounding is that!

So as we go about our week, remember the ‘H’ words in scripture and I pray they will be an encouragement to you.  In Jesus name. Amen.

MOOD SHIFTERS

Colossians 3:14 NLT Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

What we wear can sometimes affects our mood and we wouldn’t wear scruffy gardening clothes to a wedding or we’d feel out of place! Very often when we wear something we like and we know it suits us, we may feel more confident, but maybe it doesn’t bother you one way or the other!😊

What we wear spiritually can majorly affect our mood as well. Are we wearing the right clothes, have we put our armour on?

Do you ever wake up on a Monday a bit grumpy or lazy and don’t feel like getting dressed, when you just feel like doing not very much?😊 Scripture says to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness so we can rise above the wearies, the moany groanies, the ‘can’t be bothereds’, and the ‘don’t want to’s!

Praise shifts the atmosphere around us and lifts our spirits. It lifts our eyes off ourselves and back on to our loving God, onto the thought that things can change and be turned round for good.

Colossians 3:12 NLT Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It doesn’t say God will, it says you must! Did we put the right clothes on when we woke up today, or did we not even think about it?

If we put our armour on and if we put on the Tshirt of thankfulness, the jacket of kindness and patience, humility and gentleness as well, then when somebody or something really ruffles our feathers at some point, we can remember we’re not wearing the coat of criticism or the scarf of complaining or offence, we’re wearing the jumper of patience, the shoes of peace, the bulletproof vest of righteousness and the overalls of love, which stop us retaliating.😊

So if your mood needs a bit of a shift, put your thankful Tshirt on! And as you go into this new week, or next time you wake up, remember to put all the right clothes on, and with God’s help you’ll be ready for anything.😊 Amen.

Photo by Lucas Lenzi on Unsplash