LET HIM RESTORE YOUR SOUL

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Another week has gone by and you've either been to work or you've been at home for whatever reason, but I'm sure there have been some things that have happened which have upset your soul at some point! 

It's part of life and God is well aware of it so, as always, He provides for it. He provides restoration.

Our soul is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions and when any one, or all three of those are out of kilter then we could do with going into the secret place for a restoration job.  Just at the minute I think we all might need it!

At 3.20 a.m. this morning we had a huge Car Off Loader, with zillions of lights flashing, roll up opposite our house which proceeded to off load someone's car with all the engines running, doors banging, etc. etc. Can I tell you my 'soul' got somewhat ruffled!!  After we shared a cup of tea and had several muttering moments I said as I went back to bed, "Well I'm not going to let them steal my joy and I forgive them for waking me up." (I knew it would be more than likely I wouldn't get back to sleep).

You may smile but I had a choice. I could stay ruffled, really annoyed at their thoughtless waking the neighbourhood up at some unearthly hour, lose my joy, or I could just let it go. 

I'm sure you've all had stuff like that happen, but instead of just bottling it up, or pushing it down on top of all the other upsets, we need to go to the Lord and let Him be our Good Shepherd who restores our souls, let Him restore the joy of our salvation. 

Just sit down with Him for a while, maybe let Psalm 23 wash over you and cleanse you again of all the junk. Meditate on each verse and ask Him to speak to you. See yourself walking by His side leading you to a restful spot and sit down on the grass with him. Let Him walk with you along the river bank refreshing you, hear the water gently running by with the sun twinkling on the water and let Him restore your soul. Let Him whisper His peace into your troubled mind. Let Him put things back into perspective. 

Whatever passage ministers to you, read it,  go over it in your head because God says His word cleanses us.  I need regular cleansing I don't know about you.

So two thoughts today:

1) Let the Lord be your Shepherd by letting Him restore your soul, your equilibrium. We need to draw aside to let Him do it.

2) Don't let people or circumstances, steal your joy today or in the coming days (or nights, as the case may be). Let it go! Just forgive them.

Why not spend some time this weekend just letting Him RESTORE YOUR SOUL. Glory to His wonderful name.

JESUS IN YOUR BOAT

John 6:17  the disciples got into the boat, and went over the sea..And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. v.18 the sea arose...great wind was blowing v.20 they had rowed 3 or 4 miles...they saw Jesus v.20 He said 'It is I, do not be afraid.' v.21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat.

Does it seem 'that it is already dark'? Does it feel like Jesus has not come to you? Are the winds howling and everything is tossed up in the air and threatening to overturn your world? Have you rowed and rowed, you've kept going, gone forward, made some headway, then been pushed back by the waves and lost ground, so you have to keep rowing harder and harder?

The disciples knew just how you felt. They were in the same boat!

In Mark 6:48 Mark tells us Jesus came to them walking on the sea and would have passed them by. That's terrible you say, why would He pass them by when He could see their desperate struggle and could see their fear?

But He does speak to them. He must have shouted actually for them to hear Him over the storm and He shouts 'It is I, be not afraid'.  At that point they had a choice - do we carry on in our own efforts and being fearful, or do we invite Him into our boat?

You see Jesus will never force Himself on us and even though He sees our struggles, our fears, He always waits to be invited in.

Jesus is shouting to us today over our storm we're all in at the moment. He says the same thing IT IS I, BE NOT AFRAID.   Remember this is the Great I AM declaring HE IS HERE, HE IS CLOSE BY, DON'T BE AFRAID. 

The thing is, is our storm shouting so loud in our minds we're not hearing Jesus? 

He is waiting for us to willingly invite Him into our boat, where the virus is tossing things upside down, or whatever your storm might be. He wants to bring our lives safe to shore, to the other side of it all.

As soon as Jesus got in their boat He did bring them safely to the other side. But they had to willingly invite Him in.  When they thought Jesus hadn't come to them He was already on the waves but they just hadn't seen Him yet.  Jesus by His Holy Spirit is already here, but He's waiting for our invitation to come in and still our fears and uncertainties again today. Will you join with me?

Lord, we invite You once again to come into our individual boats where the storm is trying to toss us up and down. Come in and calm us down and bring us safely through and out the other side of it all. Thank You Lord You are here to uphold us, strengthen us and help us. There is nothing to fear when You are involved.  We praise You for victory over the virus. We praise You for the vaccine on it's way. We praise You for deliverance for our nation. We praise You for giving wisdom to our leaders in authority over us. We praise You because You are our Waymaker, our Miracle Worker. We praise You Jesus because we know our praises bring down the enemy's strongholds and stops the mouth of the destroyer. So we praise You and praise You again and will carry on praising You. Amen.

THE SECRET TO MORE THAN ENOUGH!

2Corinthians 9:8-10  'Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything-every moment and in every way.

He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.  Just as the scriptures say about the one who trusts in him: Because he has sown extravagantly and given to the poor, his kindness and generous deeds will never be forgotten.      This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. 

First he supplies every need, plus more. Then he multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow.  '(The Passion Translation)

Paul wrote all that and more to the Corinthians to encourage them in their giving and praised them for it. He reveals the secret to having more than enough.  

First he explains that God is ready to overwhelm us with His generosity. That's good news!

Then God wants us to trust Him because then we ourselves will sow generously into God's work locally, nationally and globally.  God's kingdom is growing, but it takes finance for the Good News of Jesus to be sent to people so they can get saved, or fed and clothed, etc. God wants us to have a heart for His big picture not just for our own small world and our own needs. God is so big He can take care of it all!

Paul says as we sow, then it will be multiplied by God.  He explains that God gives us a seed to sow in the first place.  So whatever God has put in our hand He says you keep the 90% but when we give Him the tithe, (the 10%), then we're trusting Him to multiply that 10% back to us in an overwhelming, multiplied way so not only will our bills and needs be met but we shall have overflow!

Have you ever said 'But I've got bills to pay, how can I give to Your work first? I'll just give what I can afford after I've paid the bills.' That's an easy trap to fall into but the reason we haven't had enough is sometimes because we have it backwards!

Jesus praised the widow who gave her last penny because He knew she trusted God to provide for her.  Don't let us ever deprive people of the privilege of giving and having their seeds multiplied. That's back to front thinking or human reasoning.  If we do it God's way we will, in fact, be giving people the opportunity to prosper! They're not losing something they're gaining a harvest! God's ways are definitely not our ways are they?

We don't give to God because we have to, we give to God because we're allowed to. Big difference. It's a privilege to be allowed to be part of God's plan and work don't you think?  He's giving us an amazing opportunity to be part of what He's doing.  This is not us paying a debt we owe, Jesus paid all our debt. It's us giving out of our love for Him. The Old Covenant was paying the tithe as a debt owed but that is finished now and we're now in the New Covenant way of giving.

I think it's lovely that God doesn't tell us to try to think of ways to raise the money we need for church or ourselves. He just tells us to be givers and follow the leading of His Holy Spirit and He'll multiply it back to us and be responsible for the rest.  

The secret to more than enough is to give to God first, with love, trust Him to multiply it back to meet our need, and He will. God loves a cheerful giver.😊

LET'S HAVE A CLEAR OUT!

 Proverbs 19:11  A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offence.

When you go to your fridge do you sometimes have to have a clear out because there may be an unpleasant smell, or things are out of date?

Our lives are like a container and some things may smell a  little bit or be outdated. Depending on what our lives are full of will decide how much we are giving off a nice fragrance for Jesus. Have you ever noticed a negative person doesn't exactly reflect Jesus?

I've heard it said we may have 10% offence at someone or something, 12% resentment, 12% bitterness, 15% doubt, 16% worry, 5% envy or jealousy. In other words a little bit of all, or any of them, but when you add them all up they come to around 70% filled with junk which only leaves 30% or so for all the good things God wants to fill us with. 

Interesting concept isn't it? So when you think about that, how much of your container is full of 'stuff'? And how much would you like it to be full of God's mercy, grace, joy, peace, favour and victory? We only have a limited amount of space.

Well if you're anything like me you want all of God so that means we have to do some emptying out of the other things.  Let's have a clear out and make room for more of God.

Today though, we shall just look at one of those blockages. Our verse talks about it being to our glory to overlook an offence. It's so easy sometimes to take offence at the government, the media, that person who cuts us up on the road or steals our parking space. Maybe someone in the family or a friend said something hurtful.  The offence may have happened 20 years ago but it still bothers you today. The list goes on but God says He will give us glory when we forgive the offence, however or whenever it came. Taking offence blocks the flow of God's grace and goodness. 

Holding on to an offence (which we've all done from time to time) not only allows the person to harm you initially but it goes on harming you the longer you hold it. It's a form of unforgiveness, just in disguise.  

You may only be  a 'little bit offended', but can you afford to add it to the other stuff ? I know I can't!

Let's empty it out and forgive the offence by God's grace and be free of it. God will be pleased to give us glory to our account for it.  What a lovely thought.

As for all the other 'little things', whatever amount of each one we have, let's ask the Lord to help us by His Spirit to dump them out one by one as well, so we can receive the full flow of God's overflowing love and favour in our lives.

Let's have a clear out! 😊

SURPRISES FOR YOU!

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore the Lord (earnestly) waits (expecting, looking, and longing) to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who earnestly wait for Him (for His victory, His favour, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship)!  (Amplified Bible)

This is just a quick update on God's surprises.

The other day we looked at how to nearly miss it.  Well this time I DID NOT MISS IT!!!!

Last Friday was my birthday and my daughter popped round with my birthday pressies which was lovely but then she said "There is one more thing but it's very heavy, I'll just bring it from the car".

It was a secondhand, now new to me, PC console to replace my very old PC.  

I've been praying about new equipment with several other things which are wearing out but I was thrilled to bits.  It came free to her husband whose company were relocating and discarding their old equipment for brand new in their new building. It was being thrown away and as he knew I needed a new one they let him have it free!!

How amazing is our God and what a wonderful surprise. Now all I need is someone to help me transfer all the stuff from my old one!! But that will come too.

Anyway I'm just here to remind us all how our God knows what we need and I believe He loves to surprise us even with things we don't 'need'!  Do any of you like nice surprises?  Then start believing God, like I've been doing, for Him to surprise you too.  

We have a wonderful Saviour, a wonderful God, whose heart is for us, to bless us, and be generous towards us.  No-one deserves it, but that is the wonder of His grace, isn't it?  We don't qualify for lovely surprises in ourselves, but Jesus has qualified us. That just thrills my soul. Jesus has qualified you too. Glory to His wonderful name.

START BELIEVING FOR GOD'S LOVELY SURPRISES, for His LOVING-KINDNESSES, because that is what a surprise is, isn't it?  

God is lifting Himself up, off His seat, looking for someone who's looking for Him and for His kindness and mercy.😁 God wants to surprise and amaze you too!

YOU ARE SO VALUABLE!

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Just in case you might have forgotten, or you don't feel much like it, God wants to remind you today just how valuable you are to Him, how very precious you are and that you are His treasured possession.  

So no matter whether you think you might have messed up or not 'done enough' in your eyes, God says turn your eyes on Jesus because He has done it all for you.  Our performance may well not be perfect, but Jesus is perfect and we are so valuable to God that He has hidden us IN CHRIST. 

He loves us like He loves Jesus Himself which is an amazing thought.(John 17:23 and 26)

In these verses Matthew talks about us being more valuable than the birds, and God looks after them so well.  He is saying if God can look after the birds He can surely look after us and provide for us so there's no need for us to worry or be anxious about tomorrow, next year, or any year.  

God doesn't want us to be anxious about things.  When these verses were written, the Jews were under Roman dictatorship. They crucified them if they felt like it and Caesar who was a foreign king, had the power to do what he liked with them.  Despite all that, Jesus says to the people listening, don't be anxious, you are so valuable to God that you can rest and relax in the sure knowledge that He will take care of you. 

God is saying the same thing to us today if we're listening. 

"You are valuable to Me. Don't be anxious. I'm looking after every single thing that concerns you, now and in the future and if ever you're tempted to doubt that - consider the birds."

So the next time you see a bird - remember how valuable to God you are and how He's looking after you. 😊

HOW TO NEARLY MISS IT!

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

For those who read this blog from far away I'll explain that I had told some friends recently on a Monday that that week God had some lovely surprises for us.  So I was excited and every day I got up I thanked the Lord for the lovely surprise He had for me and others.   I was expecting!

Each day went by as normal and nothing seemed to be any different but I kept expecting.

On the Friday my daughter came by with a big black bag and just said oh there's some brand new posh Romo material in there she had been given, but didn't particularly like it, so gave it to me and told me to pass it on if I didn't like it.  It went in the spare room and I promptly forgot about it!

She was so unenthusiastic about it that I never even looked in it till the following week!!  I had forgotten I was expecting something from the Lord!  And guess what - there was my surprise!  Yards and yards of neutral shades curtain material suitable for my dining room.  It wasn't to her taste but will look lovely in my house.  

It had arrived within the week God had said but I hadn't recognised it or acknowledged it!  How awful to have been given such a blessing and not to acknowledge it!  God is very patient with me!!!

So after my confession 😊 now I'm encouraging you all to not only believe for what God says He'll do for us, not only expect it and keep believing for it, but to recognise it and acknowledge it when it comes.  Don't be like me and nearly miss it!!

How often are we receiving all our blessings from God and not recognising they come from His good and kind hands.

Thank You Lord for all Your wonderful blessings to us every day. Help us to recognise them more and more and give you all the glory.

DON'T BE AFRAID

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Whenever we  recognise that we're straying into the 'fear' zone there is something we can do about it.

First thing is to know it didn't come from God, it came from the devil. 

Second thing is, we can know we're not obliged to receive it. In fact we are told to resist anything we know comes from the devil because scripture says 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you'. 

So obviously the third thing is to RESIST HIM! The good news is you don't need to resist him in your own power or strength because Paul goes on to say God has given us a spirit of power.

As you probably know power in that verse comes from the Greek word 'dunamis' which is where we get our word dynamite from. So I'm here to remind you, the power God has given to us by His Spirit, is the dynamite kind of power, miracle power and ability, 'I CAN DO' power!!! 

Start reminding yourself of that everyday. When you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and declare out loud, by faith in the word of God, "God has put inside me His dynamite, miracle working power. He's put in me 'I can do' power. I resist fear in Jesus' mighty name. I take authority over it and  I tell it to flee from me."

Paul goes on to tell us God has also given us His Spirit of Love.  Let's go on then from the resisting part and start acknowledging that the Spirit of Love, in whom is no fear, is filling us up on the inside. "Thank You Father for filling me  with your wonderful Spirit of Love today so I don't need to be fearful about anything."

Last of all Paul explains that God has given us a Spirit of a Sound Mind, a Disciplined Mind that controls fear and tells it to go, and is able to acknowledge and receive the power and love God has put inside each and every one of us. Never listen to, or agree with the lie, that you're losing your mind. Resist that! That came from the devil. You have a Sound Mind!

No one is excluded or exempt from these wonderful gifts of God. How empowering is that! 

Go out in the dynamite power of God today, filled with His love and with a 'sound mind' not a fearful one.  Glory to God!

HEAVEN FOR YOU NOW

Matthew 6:10... Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

I heard Joseph Prince say "God not only wants to take us to Heaven, He also wants to bring Heaven to you in your life." 

What a lovely thought! Heaven in our lives now. So I started thinking, as you do!  

Is there any sickness in Heaven? - No. Is there any lack of provision in Heaven? -No. Is there any strife or sin in Heaven? - No. Are there any tears or worries? -No. Are peace and well being there? - Yes. Is there joy everlasting and a sense of plenty in Heaven? - Yes. Do I want to live somewhere like that? YES!

The Lord's prayer came to mind "Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. THERE IT IS!  We pray it in this prayer for God's Kingdom to come in our lives just like it is in Heaven. We're praying for what Heaven is like to manifest in our every day lives. Heaven on earth. Jesus prayed that and told us to pray in a similar way.

What is God's kingdom like in Heaven? It's the place where God's Word has first place, where He rules and reigns without hindrance, where His throne is the centre of His mercy and great grace, where whatever He says goes and is obeyed straight away. It's a place of total protection and overflowing provision, of great joy and celebration. A place of no sin, pain, sickness, disease, worry or oppression. A place of harmony and a place where our God is worshipped 24/7.

The list could go on, but that is where we're headed who know Jesus as our Saviour. 

Jesus says He wants us to start experiencing it now, not wait for the hereafter. Your will be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.  On earth, now in our present life and experience, even in the middle of a pandemic or financial downturn!  

"Your will".  What is God's will? Whatever we know it's like in Heaven, that is God's will for our lives on earth too.  Do I hear you say 'Get realistic Jackie, life is not like that?' 

Well because Jesus told us to pray for it I'm going to obey Him and I have my believing antennae up, how about you?  Let's receive Heaven by faith in our lives. Let's not limit God with unbelief.  Let's start expecting it even! Jesus told us to do it.😊

Lord our prayer is for Your Kingdom and Your will to be present in our lives, just like we know it is in Heaven. Your provision, Your peace and Joy, Your mercy and great grace to us and through us to others. Help us Lord to give Your Word first place and to obey You straight away just like it is in Heaven. Amen.

CAUGHT UP TOGETHER

l Thessalonians 4:17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. v.18 So encourage each other with these words.

When was the last time somebody came up to you and said, 'Jesus is coming back to get us who are born again. We're going to be whooshing up together into the clouds to meet Him and it will be wonderful. It might even be today! Are you listening for the trumpet call, are you ready?'

The Holy Spirit commands us to encourage each other with the sure knowledge that it will happen and as the days go by you can sense the Lord's return may be sooner than we think.  Are we ready?

It's so easy to get 'caught up' with other things, going to work, caring for the home and family, going through our routines, watching the news!  

Perhaps today is a good time to look at what we are most caught up in and spend some time 'getting ready' for being 'caught up' in the air to meet Jesus because it's as sure as the new day dawning.

I think the Lord wants us to live with a sense of expectancy and excitement at the thought of His return, don't you?  Just the thought of being with Him forever should float our boat and give us a bubbling up joy in our spirits regardless of the rubbish that's happening around us.  What is happening in our material world is subject to change but what is happening in the spiritual world is guaranteed. 

I can guarantee you JESUS IS COMING BACK FOR US. 

Have you ever had someone you love move away for a long time and you haven't seen them in ages, then you hear they've booked their ticket home and they can't wait to see you? How would you feel? Our son lives in Australia and we haven't seen him in the flesh since 2014 so if he was to send me a message to say he'd booked his ticket home you can imagine how I'd feel. 😊  EXCITED!!

Now transfer something of that into our anticipation of the Lord Jesus, our Saviour, who has His ticket booked to meet us and He can't wait till He can take us home to our new home in Heaven,  how do you feel now? I hope it thrills your soul! We can get EXCITED ABOUT IT!  

Let's not get bogged down with the everyday and forget the coming day.  Are you ready?

Why not encourage someone today and stir up some excitement about our 'forever' with Jesus.  

And if you know you're not ready then I urge you to do it today.  Ask the Lord Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour and to forgive your sins so you will be ready for Him when he comes.

Whether we are going by the way of the grave or going by 'air lift' we are going to meet Jesus face to face! Hallelujah!

NO LIMITS - ONLY BELIEVE

Psalm 78:41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. v.42 They did not remember His power...

I've just been reading about pilots during the war and something called CAVU which is an acronym for CEILING AND VISIBILITY UNLIMITED. 

They were flying with very basic instruments so looked for an unlimited ceiling in the sky above them and a visibility which was unlimited, in other words they needed to rise above the clouds to where they could see clearly where they were going.  

Just now there are quite a few 'clouds' about messing up our 'vision' and if we want to see and hear what God wants of us we are going to have to tune in our instruments, our spiritual ears and eyes, to hear and see what He is saying in His word.  The only way I know to do that is to prayerfully read His word to find out.

Do I, do you, have CAVU?  Do we as God's chosen people have ceiling and visibility unlimited over us today?  I know I've limited God with unbelief in my own life, maybe you recognise it in yours too? We are needing to rise up higher above what we can 'see' with our natural eyes  I know I really need that at the minute. What is God saying? What does He want us to be believing for?

Have we looked with our natural eyes at our circumstances and seen ourselves as limited. We can't do this, we can't do that because.... The children of Israel limited God with their unbelief and it's easy for us to do the same unless we fill our minds with God's promises until they are bigger than our circumstances. 

I have a challenge for each of us today but don't groan! I'm speaking to myself first!  

My challenge is for each one of us to go honestly before God and ask Him 'Where have I limited You Father in my thinking and believing Your promises? And please help me to recognise those areas, repent of them and rise above them until I see and believe what Your word says. Help me not to find reasons why not, but reasons why it can be because with You all things are possible, and with You I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  

When Jesus stood outside the tomb of Lazarus He found Mary and Martha had put limitations up. 'Get real Jesus - he's dead!' but He's not listening to them but to His Father, with His spiritual ears, and tells them He's giving them new grounds for believing. 

The wonderful thing about being with Jesus is that He knows no limitations and He brings resurrection wherever it's needed. HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE! What needs resurrecting in your life today, in your church, in your family?  Rather than bemoan our limitations let's ask Jesus to get involved and change our understanding and perspective until we too have no limits, no ceiling over us but an open heaven.  

ONLY BELIEVE!😊

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved . 

We are a 'not moved' people, praise God! Isn't that good? We can be like the Apostle Paul who, when he was bitten by a snake, he just 'shook it off'.  He didn't let it bother him.  Whatever it is SHAKE IT OFF!

We all love Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. But sometimes do you ever feel like you're under the wrong cloud, the wrong shadow?

We are either under the cloud or 'the shadow' of God's provision and protection, or we've heard something or something has happened and we slip out and under the cloud of the enemy's despair and discouragement.  

We all know the enemy comes to undermine our faith, but God comes to underpin our faith in Him. Underneath each one of us today are the everlasting arms of God. He has a very firm grip on our hand, on our families and all that concerns us. If it concerns us, then it is a concern to God and He is on it!

Deut 28:13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God...

God wants our eyes on HIM and not on other things that try to grab our attention. HE IS OUR DELIVERER, HE IS OUR PROVIDER. HE IS OUR SOURCE. Nothing has ever changed that nor ever will! As long as we keep focused on Him and not on our circumstances we shall not be moved. We shall be above only because He has declared it over us.  We are not under the circumstances today God says we shall be above only!  

THANKYOU FATHER GOD!  Thankyou Lord for having a strong hold on us so we wont be moved from our place of trusting You. Thankyou Lord for underpining us today. We thankyou we're under Your shadow of protection and provision no matter what changes are made around us. Thankyou Lord, we rejoice in it, we're just so glad You've got us on the Rock, the firm ground of Jesus. Praise You Lord.

CONSIDER JESUS!

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. 

What do we reply when people ask 'How are you?' Is it something like 'Well, considering everything that's going on I'm doing as well as can be expected.'  We've all done it haven't we?

But God has given us very clear instructions in this verse and it says something very different! 

He tells to  CONSIDER JESUS not "everything that's going on". That means when we catch ourselves considering our feelings, what our doctor's report said, how the economy is going, whether 'our' disease is getting worse or better, how bad our allergies are, what the politicians are saying or doing, etc., we stop ourselves and CONSIDER JESUS OVER ALL THOSE THINGS.

God commanded us to CONSIDER JESUS. So what does that mean in our every day experience?  Regarding feelings, we know they are subject to change at any given moment but JESUS NEVER CHANGES. He delivered us from depression and oppression. He says He has blessed us, given us his peace and His joy. Consider or think about that and tell your feelings to line up with that. Take authority over them in Jesus Name. Don't let the enemy dictate how you feel!

Considering sickness, diseases, allergies, doctor's reports, well we choose not to consider or 'think about' those all day long, but we consider  JESUS AS OUR HEALER , DELIVERER AND RESTORER OF OUR SOULS.   We put that uppermost in our mind. 

When we think about Jesus we can say ' Well, I'm considering Jesus in this situation with my health. God says Jesus has already borne this sickness, disease and allergy in His own body so I don't have to. So I resist it and tell it to be removed from me. I receive my healing by faith in Jesus.   I consider what Jesus has done to be final and complete. I don't submit to this attack. I resist it in Jesus Mighty Name.' 

I could go on but you get the gist. Is it easy? No. Is it worth it? Yes! and we do it all day, every day! 

What God commands us to do He enables us to do it with the Holy Spirit's help. We can't do it on our own.

I pray this week that I'll remember, that we shall all remember, to turn our eyes on Jesus more and more and think about what He has done and is doing for us moment by moment.   He is our High Priest interceding for us 24/7 with God our Father, Our Redeemer from every situation, our Wonderful Saviour, our Healer. Praise His wonderful name.

Have a truly blessed 'considering Jesus' week.😊

YOU ARE MORE THAN!

Romans 8:35  Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity.....v.37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. NLT.

v.37 Yet in all these things WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. NKJV.

How do you see yourself, because how you see yourself will determine how you act and react to the situations which arise each day?  Are you a MORE THAN person or a LESS THAN  person?

In the film 'Honey I Shrunk The Kids', the kids who were 'shrunk' found every circumstance overwhelming because they were so tiny and everything around them seemed so big.

Of the 12 spies who went to spy out the land, 10 came back and said 'we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, there are giants in there and we can't go and conquer the land.' Whereas Joshua and Caleb, who had a different spirit said something quite different!  Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." Numbers 13:30

God had told them they could do it but unfortunately,  they didn't believe it. All they saw were the giants. David saw his giant and brought him down.  That's what giants are made for - bringing down!  

When we face these giants God wants us to do it through the power of the Holy Spirit because Jesus has already won all the battles and defeated our enemy. When we put God's armour on and put the visor down over our helmet when we face the enemy he doesn't know it's you in there, he thinks it's Jesus and he's right because Jesus is IN us and HIS POWER IS IN US. 

The enemy is actually frightened of us when we know who we are IN CHRIST because he knows we can conquer him with God's word and with the blood of the lamb.

Can I encourage us all to remember who we are in Christ. WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH CHRIST WHO LOVED US.  We have not been 'shrunk'!!

He has made us 'well able to overcome' people! Let's believe Him and use the weapons of our warfare to bring down these giants that are troubling us.

SEE YOURSELF TODAY AND EVERY DAY AS A 'MORE THAN' PERSON because you are! 😊

WHERE ARE YOU LIVING?

John 15:9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

That word 'abide' means to 'live in, or remain', so Jesus is telling His disciples and us to 'to live' in His love.

When we forget to live in God's love we move next door and start living in worry and anxiety. Sometimes we go off and live up the street in fear and the land of 'what ifs'.

But Jesus gives us this command, live in My love because then you'll be safe, and secure.  When we believe God the Father and Jesus love us we can 'live' in that knowledge.  

When the enemy throws things at us and tries to move us into fear and worry we can turn around, resist him and say "I'm living and I'm remaining in God's love. My God is more powerful than this situation, He loves me, He's protecting me and He's the One directing my paths and I refuse to move out from under His protection so fear and anxiety and worry, you all get out of here! You have no right and no place in my life. I wont give you an inch, get out!"

When we believe God loves us and receive His love we can soak it up and we'll find it easy then to love others. There is a lost world of souls out there who need to know God loves them too.  God so loved the world, God so love you and me, He gave us His Son the Lord Jesus.

If ever you feel like doubting if God loves you, or you've blown it again and think He can't love you anymore, just stop for a minute and look at Jesus' nail pierced hands and His body so covered with His own precious blood just so we could receive His Father's great love for us. 

Never listen to the lie that God doesn't love you.  He wrote it in blood.

Let's 'live' and remain in the Father's great love today. Don't allow the devil to move you into anything else. Tell his removal van to keep driving, it doesn't belong at your house! 

l John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

v.18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear...

Thank You Lord for your great love for me. I believe it and I receive it right now. Amen.

 

THE POWER OF THANK YOU

1 Thessalonians 5:18  in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I read the true account of a man who was a Christian but who smoked heavily and couldn't give it up no matter how hard he tried. So he went to his pastor to ask for his advice and the pastor said "Will you do what I tell you?" So the man said yes he would.

The pastor said, "Every time you light up your cigarette I want you to say, Thank You Lord for delivering me from nicotine."  The man replied "But I'll still be smoking!".  The pastor said "I know it. Will you do what I said?" So the man replied he would and proceeded to obey.

So all through the day every time he lit up his cigarette he said "Thank You Lord for delivering me from this cigarette, thank You Lord for delivering me from nicotine. Thank You Lord it has no hold on me. Thank You Lord."

Now that was happening constantly, many times a day as he lit up. After three weeks, all through the day thanking the Lord for delivering him and setting him free, he suddenly found when he went to light up one day that he couldn't bring himself to smoke the cigarette.  He just didn't want it any more. The desire was gone, the addiction was gone.  His deliverance had manifested.  He no longer smokes.

Why am I recounting all this?   Because the Lord gave me the phrase in my spirit this morning "THE POWER OF THANK YOU" and reminded me of this story. 

Now you may not smoke but can I ask you, have you ever said "I can't seem to stop worrying?"  Do you get anxious about anything? Do you battle with fear?  Do you eat more than you know is healthy?  Do you struggle with sleeping at night?  Is there anything in your life you know has a repetitive hold on you? It might be drinking coffee, can't live without your mobile phone, looking at stuff you know is wrong?  Whatever it is there is good news.  

Start thanking God for delivering you from it, thank God it no longer has a hold on you (even if at the moment it does).  It is a principle of faith that we call things that are not, as though they were. Romans 4:17. 

Did you notice the man had to say Thank You LORD? He was making God the LORD of his situation, the MASTER of his situation.  I think that is so powerful, don't you?

When the Lord gives us a word He expects us to act on it, (be doers of the word not hearers only), so I'm going to apply this to my sleeping.

So in my case, I'm going to say all through the day and when I wake up in the night, "Thank you Lord for healing my sleep. thank you Lord I sleep soundly all night long, and praise you Lord in advance for delivering me from disturbed sleeping."

How about you?  Would you like to start releasing 'THE POWER OF THANK YOU LORD' in your life? 

JESUS IS OUR DELIVERER. HALLELUJAH!

A BIT LOST SOMETIMES?

  Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. (KJV)

We were staying in a holiday cottage way out in the country with a small wood behind the house. Our seven year old son had the 'spirit of explore and wandering off' come on him and he wandered off  into the wood on his own, which we hadn't realised.   We suddenly thought where is he?  Looked round the cottage - no Graham. Garden - no Graham.  We ran out into the wood calling and searching until we found him. We'd all had a bit of a scare because he'd got a 'bit lost' and couldn't find his way back to the cottage. There was great relief and joy when we found him!

Luke 19:1-11 tells about a man called Zacchaeus. Jesus knew where he was so He went to meet him where he was because He knew he was 'lost'.  Zacchaeus had become lost in the world of finance, to the degree he was cheating others to get what he wanted. But Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and wanted to get a look at Him. When they both met, Zacchaeus became a changed person, he wasn't lost anymore. Jesus found and restored him to what he was meant to be.

If we're not careful it's easy to 'wander off' into different things and get a bit lost.  We've just gone off into the wood to explore! It may seem innocent enough, too much media, too much hobby, even too much time doing good works, or whatever it might be, but it causes us to be distracted and it takes our eyes off  Jesus and before we know it our desire for the things of God is not as strong as it once was. Then we start with some negative thoughts and before you know it we can find ourselves on a path in the woods we don't want to be on, feeling a 'bit lost'  Or sometimes we've wandered off so far we don't even realise it.

But the  great news is that Jesus is always calling us back and in fact we're only one step away from Him.  

He knows exactly where we are and comes to meet us where we are. 

He wants us to come back and spend time with Him, and get our focus back on His kingdom and way of doing things; that's the place of love and acceptance, of right standing with Him, a place of peace and joy and protection.  

If we're honest we've all known times of wandering off so if you're maybe  feeling like that today then why not join with me in this prayer:

Lord You know where I am and You meet me where I'm at.  I'm sorry for wandering off and putting other things in front of You, please bring me back right now to that place of safety in You and help me to stay focused on Jesus and restore me so I remember who and where I'm meant to be 'in Him'. Thank You Lord.

Maybe you're reading this and you've never met Jesus yet. Can I tell you He knows where you are and He's right there with you now and wants you to believe He died in your place, took all your sin away and forgives you if you'll ask Him to. Why not come off the 'lost list' and make Him your Lord and Saviour today?  If you would like to, then pray this prayer with me

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died to take away my sin. Please forgive me for my sin and I turn away from it right now. I believe You rose again from the dead.  I make you my Lord and Saviour. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit in Jesus Name. Amen.

WHAT DO YOU NEED RIGHT NOW?

 Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Hebrews 4:3 tells us that everything we shall ever need He has already arranged it, provided for it and prepared  it from the day He finished creation.  'the works were finished from the foundation of the world.'

That is a mind boggling truth.  God knew every 'thing' we would need before we needed it and arranged for us to have it.  God tells us in Ephesians that He lavished His love on us but we have to receive it by faith.  

You know what would make God happy is when we go boldly to His throne of grace (Heb 4:16) and make our requests to Him, knowing He wants to give it to us and has already provided it.  Sometimes we think God can't afford it or isn't interested in that detail of our lives which we know is not true!

Pastor Yonggi Cho tells of a time he wanted a bike, a desk and a chair so He asked God for them. God asked him to be more specific; what kind of bike, desk and chair?  So he told the Lord the specific bike, a Japanese wood chair and a kneehole desk."  He then told his students that he had the three things even though he couldn't show them to them yet. He explained he was pregnant with them, he was 'expecting' them. In due course all three arrived. 

God wants us to grasp the truth of Mark 11:24 - we ask, we believe we have received them (before we see them) and then, in due course, they arrive.  The Lord gave him exactly what he had asked for because he had believed he'd received them.

What do you have need of today? Whatever it is you wont be asking for anything which is not already bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus.  We don't need to twist God's arm for anything.  He has already arranged for us to have it since the finished work at creation.  All He asks of us is to follow His way of asking and really believe it.  Hoping and wishing doesn't do it, but believing does.

For example, you may need bills paying and don't have enough money. So you lay the bills on the table and ask God your Source to provide the money to pay them, you lay hold of it by faith, declaring God's promise to provide for all your needs.  You 'see' the bills stamped paid in full. You 'call' them paid for by Jesus.  How it comes is not your business, that's God's part. You believe the bills are paid and thank God for it. Now listen to God He may give you some instructions to obey.😊

Let's exercise our faith muscles.  What are you asking and believing God for? Jesus told us to do it. Please don't think it's my idea!  Mark 11:22-25 explains it all. Then read Hebrews 4:2 and mix faith with the words of Mark 11 you've just read.  

Let's be doers of the Word and not hearers only.😊

KEEP MOVING FORWARD

Galations 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

So, we stepped out in faith to do what we believe God has called us to do and then the 'wearies' kicked in!

A few weeks ago we looked at taking those first steps of faith.  What happens then, when things don't grow as quickly as we thought or even seem to take a step or two backwards? The enemy wants us to give up, to step out of the race, let someone else do it.  

No, don't listen to those lies of the enemy (and there will be many!)  Discouragement is one of his key weapons and if we are feeling discouraged then you can know it came from the devil and you don't need to be listening to it.

Don't give up, keep going, keep moving forward. Reward is coming, due season is coming.

Well, you say, that's not easy. Look at the way things are going.  I tried stepping out in faith and it hasn't gone anywhere.

It may look like that, but then we're only seeing it in the natural.  God says 'Don't despise the day of small things'.  Is it possible that whatever God has given us to do is to see if we'll be obedient, to see if we have the courage of our convictions (I am so speaking to myself here as well as anyone reading this). Is it in fact a training ground for something in our future?  

Maybe you stepped out of the boat a long time ago and now feel like you're sinking? Why not ask Jesus for fresh help to get back on top of the water, fresh inspiration, fresh insights, to put a spring back in your step, to 'see' what He sees. If you've got bogged down then ask Him for the next step.

Don't get weary, your due season is coming.  

Or maybe you've been in the boat all your life and you're so weary of playing it safe, then maybe now is the time to get out of the boat and take some fresh steps of faith.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD. God is not looking for your ability but for your availability.

If you've been knocked over, then get back up and believe God is taking you places you've never been before. 

KEEP TAKING THOSE STEPS OF FAITH TODAY. Due season is on it's way!

My prayer is that this Blog helps somebody, somewhere, sometime even though I may never see it or hear about it God knows.