WHO OR WHAT IS IN THE CENTRE?

1 Corinthians 6:19 Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price….

Who or what is in the centre? It’s ok, it’s not one of those trick questions where you have to decide whether you can see a cube or just spots!😊 It’s just a question we need to ask ourselves as often as we need to, to check and see what’s at the centre of our lives. 

It’s so easy to be focused on ourselves all the time because that’s where it’s all happening for us! We ask how do I look? How do I feel today? How am I going to manage? 

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God… Jesus talked about our anxieties and concerns and told us not to worry about it all but to turn our attention instead to God’s kingdom and His way of doing and being right. Jesus said to give first place, first thoughts, first of our energies to seeking what God wants and then He added this wonderful promise - if you’ll do that then God will add everything else to you. Do we struggle sometimes because we have it back to front?

We wake up and think of all the things we’ve planned for the day and we might forget to ask ‘What does God want of me today?’ I know we all have responsibilities, we have to go to work, or run the home and family, or whatever, but if those things are taking first place, and we just try to fit God in somewhere as and where and when we can, then alarm bells should be ringing, because we’re maybe in danger of becoming ‘my kingdom’ centred and not God centred!

Our verse tells us we’re not our own anymore, that we actually belong to God because Jesus bought us with His own life blood. What a price to pay! This is just a gentle reminder, to myself as well, that maybe we do some things because we’ve  decided to do them, but is it possible God is tapping us on the shoulder saying - “Where am I in what you’re doing?” 

If that’s so, then will you join with me and ask the Lord to show us how to always give Him first place every day of the week, and put Him in the centre of everything we do, so we can honestly answer our question and say, “God is in the centre of my life and I’m giving Him first place”. Amen.😊

EARTHQUAKE!

Psalm 62:1(NLT) I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. 

We were living in Lincolnshire in 2008 when our house, along with many others was hit by an earthquake which was 5.2 on the Richter scale, which the BBC called ‘rather large’!😊 We were woken in the middle of the night by a terrific noise and it felt like a freight train was driving through the whole house, everything shook for several seconds. Lights in the road all came on, everyone was up trying to find out what had happened, the old church steeple across the road was damaged, chimneys fell but praise God He protected us and we had no damage. It was a miracle and I hope I never go through another one like that!

Sometimes we go through things in life that can seem earth shaking and we may even feel like we can’t go on. But I’ve discovered in my own life, when I told the Lord I didn’t think I could go on, when I was so weak and had no strength left, and could barely stand, that when we call on the Lord, He steps in and we can.

You may feel like you’re down to your knees. But God wants you to know you were built to outlast the storm, outlast the disease, the trauma, to outlast the shaking, because your life is built on Jesus. He is your foundation stone.

No matter how fierce the storm, you will still be standing because God is the One who is holding on to you and holding you up. It may feel like something is trying to wreck your life but you’re being strengthened on the inside because God has you in the palm of His hand.

Be encouraged today and know that God sees and God knows what’s happening with you and He is doing something behind the scenes you may not be able to see but He has angels on assignment at your house, in your life, and the enemy’s hold is broken off you. You belong to God, bought with the blood of Jesus, and He has won the victory over whatever is trying to mess with you, so hang in there. Don’t give up because the turn around is on its way. 

Believe God loves you, believe He is for you and not against you. Don’t believe all the enemy’s negative lies. Believe and receive the truth that sets you free, that Jesus loves you to the Cross and back and He will never ever leave you or forsake you. Breakthrough, healing and restoration are yours. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash