SEND IN THE BEES!

Deuteronomy 28:7 The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way, but flee before you in seven ways.

A friend who keeps bees was telling me that they are very quiet at the moment as it's winter time. As she was looking at the hive this week a wasp came out of nowhere and flew straight into the hive. Suddenly there was pandemonium as at least six 'Bouncer Bees' who were on guard duty chased the wasp out and began to beat it up big time. They left it in do doubt it wasn't welcome, that they wouldn't let it stay and if it tried again they'd beat him up some more.  Needless to say the wasp left!

I was thinking about the bees and how we need some 'Bouncer Bees' in our minds when we come under attack from the enemy in our thought lives.

I expect you've had it too. You get this thought pop in your head from nowhere, you know it's not a God thought, it doesn't agree with God's word and it's negative or critical or depressing, whatever.

Sometimes we entertain the thought for a minute or even let it settle down - big mistake! That's when we need to get the bees out and annihilate that thought by using the Word of God against it. We can't afford to let enemy intruders in our minds!

For example, you maybe don't feel too well and the thought comes 'You're not well and you're not going to get your healing this time.'  As soon as that pops in your head send in the Bouncer Bees declaring 'God has promised me healing, He is causing this illness to be defeated, by Jesus' wounds I am healed. Buzz off you enemy thought.'  

How about the thought that you wont have enough at the end of the month and it worries you. Send in the bees with 'My God shall supply all my need. No good thing will God withhold from those who walk uprightly.'

Or maybe you're just having 'what if' thoughts that try to steal your peace. Send them packing with 'Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'  There are so many verses you know that will 'chase' those enemies away but we need to use them.

God says they will flee from us in seven directions! So let's do our part and put some guard bees on the door of our minds and beat those wasp thoughts up, send them fleeing with a flee in their wings! 😊

Tell them to buzz off!!

WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD!

Peter 1:6-7 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. v.7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (Nlt).

Have you ever wondered why you go through so many trials or how you're supposed to react to them?  I think these verses help explain some of our struggles don't you? God doesn't necessarily send the test but it allows us to see if our faith is weak and needs strengthening in some areas.

Scripture tells us every believer goes 'through' stuff,  no one is exempt, so we can take some consolation from that, but the challenge in these verses is to find the joy in the midst of it all.   

I think what Peter is trying to explain is that no matter how tough your trial is, it will bring you something to shout about at the end of it. Have you ever asked yourself why am I having to go through this, what is it all about?  The Holy Spirit is saying through Peter that our faith is being tested.  You never know how real or good something is until you test it to make sure it's working.

It's a bit like the brakes on your car, you don't know if they work till you try them out or you don't know if you will pass the school exam or test until you sit the test and get the results! 

Really he's trying to encourage us all to look beyond the trial because the rewards will be so big by comparison. 

He says when you pass the test, when you choose to stand strong in your faith and keep trusting God no matter what it looks or feels like, it will bring you so much praise and glory and honour when Jesus returns for us that you'll be so glad you kept standing. Not only that but we're pleasing our heavenly Father when we keep our faith strong, and Jesus' name is honoured and glorified too. 

So no matter what is happening with you, remember it's proving your faith is genuine, so you get a beautiful reward at the end of it.    One translation says Rejoice which means Jump for Joy! 

Be encouraged. It will all be worth it - there is wonderful joy ahead. Now that is something to be glad about and why we can rejoice in the midst of the trials.😊 Thank you Jesus.

WHAT GOD SEES IN YOU

 2 Cor 3:18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his  glorious image.

When you looked in the mirror this morning, what did you see? A new wrinkle, a new grey hair maybe, eyes a bit bleary from waking up, hair all over the place? Or did you see what God sees?

He sees His child, blameless in His sight, His unique creation made especially for Him, fearfully and wonderfully made for His glory. He see His workmanship in you and He's never made anything second rate.  When He brought you forth from your mother's womb He called you and chose you because He loved you and wanted you.

He sees you being transformed by the Word of God, as you look into it, to be more and more like His Son Jesus, being changed from inside to be like Jesus to our world we meet each day.

He sees who you really are, a child of God, strong in the power of His might even when we feel weak.

He see the love He put in your heart, the peace and the joy He placed inside you by His Spirit.

He sees Jesus in you.

Next time you look in the mirror just take a moment and see how God sees you.😊

And next time you look in the Word of God remember the Spirit is actually changing you from one degree of glory to another to be like Jesus, as you read it.  Wonderful isn't it!

LET HIM RESTORE YOU

Psalm 23 He restores my soul.

I've been thinking about Peter this morning and how he gives us all hope as we identify with his struggles.

They were all there round the table with Jesus at the last supper, listening to Jesus teaching them for the last time. At that moment they were safe in the upper room. The next scene is the garden where Judas came with the mob to betray Jesus. The upper room was forgotten and Peter saw red. He was so angry he cut off a chap's ear and Jesus had to put it back on again. That was anger out of control, don't you think?

Then we see him at the trial of Jesus and fear gets a stronger hold. At that point he was pretty low anyway as he'd blown his top so badly and now he was vulnerable to fear, to such an extent that he denied the Lord three times.  Fear makes us think and do things that are out of character and takes us down paths we don't want to go.

I can't imagine how gut wrenching it was for him to see his best friend and Lord crucified and hanging in agony on the cross. He must have felt like all was lost, that nothing would ever be the same, that his life lay in tatters and had been destroyed. All his hopes and dreams gone, or so it seemed.  Ever been there?

Then we see him at the tomb where he finds out Jesus' body is missing and he's faced with the possibility of hope. Should he believe what he's being told? Is there hope that Jesus is really alive? Can you feel his confusion? He probably hasn't slept well in the last 3 nights and has relived his failures and 'seen' the Lord on the cross in his mind's eye over and over again. Maybe you have known those nights, reliving failures, things you've seen or experienced you never want to see again.

But wait, look what happens a bit later. Jesus really is alive, and meets him on the seashore with the others and they have breakfast together. 

Then we're given this glimpse of Jesus tremendous compassion and love for Peter as He singles him out for a one on one conversation where He restores Peter and puts his mind at rest. The moment where He lets Peter know he has been forgiven, that Jesus loves him unconditionally and gives him the opportunity to tell Jesus he loves Him too. Then Jesus goes on to commission him with a big undertaking and responsibility to feed His sheep when He leaves.

Peter knew every emotion in the book. He'd literally been on the mountaintop of transfiguration with Jesus and fallen into the pit of despair and hopelessness, then been pulled back out personally by Jesus Himself.

God made us all so very different. You may be the laid back, relaxed, nothing phases me type or you may be the emotional, more volatile type like Peter.  But the good news is, whatever type you are God loves you unconditionally. Whatever mess you've been in, or put in by someone else, God has a way out and His name is Jesus. He wants to restore you and tell you that you are loved beyond measure, that He wants to bless you and give you a purpose again in life. 

Our God is a rescuing God, a restoring God.  Do you feel battered by your emotions and feel you need restoring? Then why not have a 'one on one' conversation with Jesus and let Him personally restore you today?  He is a wonderful Saviour.

GOD'S FINEST AND BEST

Psalm 81:16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock. (sweet not bitter things).

In our house we usually only buy the 'Finest' range of food around Christmas or birthdays as a treat or if they come on offer. But here God is saying He wants to feed us with the "Finest Range" which comes from His supply houses.

He told the Israelites He was taking them to a land flowing with milk and honey. In other words somewhere with abundance and quality, where there would be no lack. That is God's heart for each one of us.

In Deuteronomy 32:13-14 it talks about the finest of foods that God gave His people - God is not into the least, or the Essentials range - He is thinking Finest Range! He is not mean and stingy but generous and a God of more than enough.

God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His thoughts are for us to walk in the best of the land, not just in food obviously but in all areas of our lives. He wanted His people to get a picture in their minds of the land He was taking them to so they would have anticipation and a spirit of expectancy.

When He gave them that original promise and picture they were wandering in the wilderness. Sometimes we feel a bit like that - wandering about from day to day, one week flowing into another.

Well be encouraged because God wants us to have that same 'picture' of hope and expectancy for our futures.  He wants us to see beyond the now of our experience and seek His face so He can show us what our future will look like.

In John 16:13 Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would tell them of things to come and the Holy Spirit will do the same for us if we will ask Him. Let Him fill you with an expectancy for His "Finest" things, sweet not bitter things. 

Thank you Lord, we praise You for it in advance. We look forward to it with glad hearts. Amen.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE!!

1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (Nlt)

A full experience of salvation. Hmm. That implies it's possible to have an even greater experience, a more in depth understanding of the salvation God has given us, don't you think? He says to grow into it, you must crave it.  That's strong language!  (I do sometimes crave liquorice allsorts  but don't tell anyone.😊)

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.  The Psalmist and the Apostle Peter instruct us to go on from the 'taster' we've had, the experience we've had so far, and go on and taste more, dig deeper in the Word.  What have I been missing? There's More! Wow, doesn't that get your taste buds going spiritually? Hope so.

That word Salvation (Soteria) in the original language means so much more than forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven. It doesn't stop there, and He wants us to go on from there to understand more of what it does mean.  He says cry out for it!  Dig into the word.

Part of it's  meaning is deliverance on a daily, moment by moment basis, healing for every sickness and disease, rescue from lack, deliverance from danger in all forms, returning to a place of safety. That's powerful!

Whatever the enemy has stolen or destroyed, that is what Jesus came to be a Saviour to deliver us from as well as our forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.  It's not either one thing or another they are all included in our salvation in Jesus - Yeshua our Saviour. Glory to His name.

God has made a covenant with us through the Lord Jesus, as our only Mediator, to be our Saviour, Deliverer, Healer, Provider, Protector, our Righteousness, I could go on....

Has the Holy Spirit inspired you to dig deeper into His Word and find out more of your covenant with Him, to find out more so you can grow in your salvation, to taste and see even more of the Lord's kindness, to crave it?  Let's not miss, or waste any of it, because it's bought and paid for with the precious blood of Jesus Himself.  

I hope I've stirred up a craving in you and I don't know about you but I want to grow more and more into a fuller experience of this amazing and wonderful salvation God has given us through the Lord Jesus. Praise His glorious name!

GOD IS INSIDE YOU

Isaiah 8:18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me. We are for signs and wonders.

God has put something amazing inside each one of us who are born again of the Spirit of God. He has breathed Himself into us. So whatever is inside God, is now inside us. He says we are for signs and wonders.

The Word tells us to be imitators of God, and that we are children of the Light. God spoke light into the darkness so we have a mandate to do the same thing. How can we do that?  Whenever we speak His Word into any situation we are speaking His light into it. Just our very being somewhere has brought the Kingdom of God near to those people. He has placed inside us an unstoppable and an invincible Spirit. He has declared us to be more than conquerors, that He always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. We may not feel like it but our feelings have nothing to do with the truth of what God has said about us. 

Remember a few weeks ago we looked at our hands and feet and saw God flowing through each of us? That's what this verse is talking about, to be available to the Holy Spirit for Him to do His signs and wonders through. God needs the gifting He has placed inside you!

When we step out in faith declaring what God says (speaking the Light) then the Holy Spirit moves on those words and brings them to pass.

God has placed Himself inside you, to be whatever this world needs at any given time, wherever you find yourself. You carry His anointing, the anointing of Almighty God is in you and on you. 

Because you have been born from heaven, you can think like God thinks and act like God acts because it's not you doing it, but the Holy Spirit doing it through you. He has called us to be imitators of God. That is quite a thought!  Lord help us to get in agreement with your Word.

When we get a God thought it will be higher and bigger than our own. God is waiting to do exploits through you and me, not someone else.  He has someone lined up today for you to be a blessing to. 

So be on the lookout remembering you are anointed by God Himself for signs and wonders, whatever that may look like.😊

GOD IS HOLDING US STEADY

Psalm 61:3-4  for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Psalm 62: 5-8 Let all that I am wait quietly for God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honour come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. (Nlt).

There are times when we get some news or something happens and we get knocked a bit sideways and think how did that happen?  Those are the times when we need to stop what we're doing for a minute and get alone with God. Why? Because He is our fortress where we will not be shaken. 

If you're feeling shaken this morning by anything at all, the Psalmist encourages us to pour out our hearts to God. Isn't it interesting he doesn't say to ring everybody else and see what they think! 

You see the enemy will try to shake us off the Word of God by producing circumstances, or 'experiences' whether they are our own or someone else's, because he knows if he can get us off The Word we will be shaken and start to fall apart because Jesus is The Word.  If you get off Jesus, you are off your rock, out of your place of shelter and safety and vulnerable to attack.

So whenever something comes to challenge God's Word we have a decision to make. What will I believe? Will I believe the way I feel, what I see, what I've just heard, or will I go to my God and declare He alone is my Rock, my place of safety. His Word is truth and whatever it says, is The Truth, and I trust Him. He is holding me steady and I will not be shaken. 

Be encouraged today, whatever has happened to 'shake your faith' just know that God hasn't changed one bit and nothing that has happened has altered His promises or His Word to you His child. You are His treasured possession, His beloved son or daughter, and you are precious in His sight.

God is waiting with compassion and understanding for us to get alone with Him. He wants you in His sanctuary (His presence) where He knows you will be safe under His wings. Let's do it personally now.

Father God, I run to You today to be in Your presence, for You alone are my Rock, my place of safety. Forgive me Lord for listening to any fears and doubts of the enemy. I choose life today, I choose to trust You and Your Word. Thank You for providing me with the shelter of Your wings and I thankfully come under them again today. I am so grateful to You Lord. Amen.

PEACE AND CONFIDENCE!

Will you imagine with me for a moment that you are sitting at your breakfast table this Monday morning (or whenever) and across the table from you Jesus is sitting eating His breakfast with you. You may smile but bear with me. You're there eating your tea and toast perhaps, thinking of all that this week may bring and maybe apprehensive about what else may happen in the world, and maybe weighed down with your responsibilities, be they family, work or just getting through another day.

As all these things are going through your mind Jesus starts to talk and at first you're so preoccupied you don't hear Him then He taps on the table to get your attention and you realise you've not heard a word He said.  So in case you missed it here is what He is saying to each one of us as we start this week afresh...

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have (perfect) peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer (take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted)! For I have overcome the world. (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you). John 16:33 (Amplified)

Perfect peace and confidence!  Isn't that what each one of us would like to start out this week and Jesus is offering it to each of us every day no matter what is pressing in on us.

Perfect peace - that word also translates as 'rest'. Jesus wants us to remember He is the Great I AM.  He is whatever you will need Him to be this week and He offers it to us so we can have complete confidence in Him and rest in Him with such a great sense of peace that nothing will daunt us or disturb us.

So as you get up from the table and get ready for the day, remember what Jesus just said, put your armour on again this morning, knowing that you are surrounded by the favour of God like a shield, that you can be confident in His presence with you personally, and rest and lean on the sure knowledge that nothing is going to happen that He doesn't already know about and has already got an answer for. He has deprived the world of the power to harm you and He says it's Ok you can cheer up.😊

IT'S LOVELY AND UPLIFTING

Ephesians 4:29 Do not use harmful words but only helpful words, the kind that would build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. (Good News Bible).

We all know the reason for lockdowns is to stop us passing on the virus so we and others don't catch it.

But there is something else that can be passed on even when we are locked down and that is our attitude. Have you ever noticed how attitude is very catching and when you've had conversation with someone who has a 'bad attitude' you tend to come away feeling grumpy too! You don't have to be in close contact, you can pick it up over the phone, something you read on social media, a TV programme, or heard down the pipeline! The spirit behind those things tries to settle on us.

But there is something lovely that can be passed on which is very uplifting and it's a good attitude. I've heard it said that attitude determines your altitude. In other words a good attitude raises you up above your circumstances and a bad one has us grovelling round in the dust of despair and discouragement. 

I've been challenged this week to ask myself what am I passing on in my daily contact with people, at home, on the phone, wherever? It's so easy isn't it, to fall into the 'let's have a mutter about things' mode and before you know it the atmosphere has changed and everybody is fed up!

Our verse tells us to speak helpful not harmful words, so it's good to ask, will what I'm about to say build this person up or will it make them more miserable and add to their discontent and upset?

We all know how great it is when we've had a phone call with someone who is upbeat and positive. So  next time you want to have a good old moan, how about stopping for a moment, and think of at least three things you can have a good old praise up for first, and then see if you can carry on with what you were going to say. 😊 

Yes, there may be umpteen things to legitimately mutter about but is it helpful? Do you remember the character Polyanna had a habit of  finding something to be glad about and spread cheerfulness wherever she went, even when things had gone pear shaped?  I think she'd been reading our verse don't you?

And don't forget there is a reward for planting helpful seeds......

James 3:18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Have a great uplifting weekend.😊

ALL ABOUT JESUS

Acts 2:33 Now he (Jesus) is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

Everything good in our lives, as believers, is about Jesus, His love and forgiveness, His grace, His righteousness, His mercy.

Everything good we have in life, as believers, is because Jesus came to this earth, suffered the cross and rose victorious from the grave. 

Everything good we do in life, as believers, is because he has equipped us to do it, say it, write it, give it, receive it, whatever.

OUR WHOLE LIVES ARE A REFLECTION OF WHO JESUS IS IN US AND THROUGH US.

James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

If we're any good at anything it's because God has given that ability, it's not our 'smarts' that enable us, it is God Himself.  It is His goodness that is blessing us with every gifting we have.

So today, I just want to exalt Jesus and give Him all the praise and glory for any good that is coming to anyone through this blog.  I give Him all the honour and thanks because without His inspiration and enabling it wouldn't happen. 

I am giving a shout out for Jesus and thank Him for His grace in helping each one of us to do whatever He asks us to do. Maybe it's in phoning and encouraging someone, maybe it's in making a cake or giving a plant, or just telling someone they matter to you and you're glad they are in your life.  Just listening and being there for someone is a gifting from God. It all comes under the banner of encouragement and building one another up and all of that comes from the Holy Spirit who Jesus has poured out on each of us.  God knows we all need encouraging.

So let's exalt Jesus together each day for all His goodness that comes to us, but also for any goodness that flows through us to others. 

We give Him all the glory and pass on all the thanks to Him for every person He uses to make our way brighter and lighter. 

And do you know who that person is?  It's YOU! 😊 

KEEP RIGHT ON GOING

Hebrews 11:27  It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the King's anger.  He kept right on going because He kept his eyes on the One who is invisible.

Moses kept right on going by faith. He didn't let fear stop him or what the King or other people were saying stop him - he kept right on going - he endured. How could he do that when such pressure was being put on him?

He had learned the secret of keeping his eyes on the One who called him, on the One who gave him the promise, who gave him the command.

When he started out by faith to do what God called him to do, he probably thought this will be over soon, all I have to do is throw my stick down a few times to turn it into a snake and Pharaoh will give in.  He may not have expected it to drag on week after week, maybe months. Everyday brought him a new challenge. His people were moaning about worse conditions than when they started. They probably kept on at him "When Moses? How long is this going to go on? Can't you see the difficulties this is causing? Someone else died in the brickpits today Moses! When is God going to rescue us?"

BUT MOSES KEPT HIS EYES ON GOD.  He didn't give up, he endured, he kept right on going. He just kept obeying God and believing for better days to come.  Even when he faced the impossible at the Red Sea he kept listening for the next instruction. He knew His God was bigger than his impossibilities. And he was proved right wasn't he!

He didn't focus on what he could see, he focused on what he couldn't see - on God Himself - and His promises. He knew if God had promised it He would fulfil it.

Can I encourage each one of us today to be like Moses? Just keep right on going by faith in the One who loves you, who holds you in the palm of  His hand, who has promised you a future and a hope, to bless you and not to harm you. 

Each one of us has been called by God to be here at this moment in time. He has a reason for that and our job is to be always listening for His next instruction, to read His word to see what He's saying today.

So JUST KEEP RIGHT ON GOING. Keep our eyes on God, the One who is bigger than our impossibilities, our problems. 

God has a plan and He will work His purposes out. 

Thank You Lord you are always here with us strengthening us to keep right on going. Amen.

IN GOD'S BUBBLE

Psalm 115:11 All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. v.12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us. 

We've heard a lot of talk about people being vulnerable and that they need to shield themselves from the virus. 

According to the dictionary, a vulnerable person is one who may be unprotected, exposed to danger....

But praise God we, as God's people, are not unprotected! GOD HIMSELF IS OUR SHIELD. HE HIMSELF IS HELPING US.  HE HIMSELF IS PROTECTING US.

Psalm 116:6  The Lord protects those of childlike faith...

Of course it is important to obey the government guidelines, but we should never forget that at base level GOD is shielding us. 

He doesn't call us to have huge faith, He calls us to have Childlike faith in Him, in His goodness, faithfulness and love, in what He says.

Our verse says God is shielding us. WE ARE IN GOD'S BUBBLE! It's a bubble of God's protection we are in. That means we can go into the workplace and into the shops or wherever, when we have to, and know that God's bubble of protection is surrounding us, and nothing can by any means harm us.

When you tell a child something, if they know and trust you, they just believe what you say. They trust you to tell them the truth, they trust you to look after them and provide for them, and that's the way it should be.

Now we are God's children aren't we? We know He never lies, that He loves us dearly and that He is guarding us so we can go out holding God's strong right hand this week knowing He goes with us. He is not only helping us but He is shielding us. He doesn't want you anxious about it.

Go out with peace in your heart and rest in your soul, knowing you are inside God's bubble with Him. Get your childlike faith out and trust Him. 

Actually 'see yourself' inside the Bubble of God's Protection, inside that bubble walking through your day with God holding your hand. Are you seeing it with me? I pray so.

Have such a blessed week inside God's bubble of protection.😊

WE WISH TO SEE JESUS

 John 12:21 Then they came to Philip...and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." nkjv

Why did they wish to see Jesus? Probably because they'd heard He did miracles and healed the sick. Jesus is just the same now as He was then. He still works miracles and still heals people but the big difference is He's doing them through us, His people.

Two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are miracles and healings and these gifts are available to each one of us through the Holy Spirit. The only reason we don't see more of the supernatural miraculous works of Jesus is because we're probably not believing we can be the instrument they come through.

Jesus is here - but He is in us, waiting for us to be available to lay hands on people believing He'll touch them through us. He's waiting on us to believe for, and call for, the miraculous to happen in people's lives.  You'll sometimes hear people saying 'we're just waiting on God to do such and such'. May I suggest they will wait a long time because all the time He is waiting on us!

We are His hands, feet, voice and whatever it is people need.  When we say or think 'I couldn't do that, I'd need to get more holy before I could do that', then we've been deceived by the enemy because God says, and Jesus says we can!  Why? Because it's not us doing it, we're just the channel for Jesus to do it.  His treasure is hidden in our earthen vessels, scripture says.

We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. What do believers do? They believe Jesus is in them, He's the same yesterday, today and forever and He's still working through them to bring glory to His Father.

Let's believe we can be what God says we can be, do what He says we can do and have what He says we can have.  Let's be imitators of God, bringing healing, restoration, miracles and whatever else God has for people. 

Let's be Jesus to people because we are Jesus Carriers! Healing Carriers! Miracle Carriers!

It's not us doing it - it's Jesus through us. Let's ask God to help us to stop seeing ourselves as 'can't do people' but to really see ourselves as He does - people who carry His anointing for the supernatural touch of God in others' lives. 

Just stop for a minute and see yourself laying hands on the sick and Jesus using your hands to allow Him to heal them. See it with your spiritual eyes of faith.

Jesus said you will do greater things than I have done and more besides! Believe it, it's true. Jesus said so!😊

There are people out there who are still wishing to see Jesus but they will only see Him through you and me. I know I find it challenging and expect you do too but God will lead us and strengthen us to do what He calls us to do.

Enjoy being a Jesus Carrier, a Christ One, today😊

LET'S BELIEVE!

Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."

What are you, what am I, believing Jesus for today?

Most people you talk to are believing for a financial down turn, for economic crisis, for their jobs to be lost, etc. But we need to be wary of agreeing with any of that because Scripture tells us clearly that what you believe for is what you get. It works both ways, positively and negatively.

As believers in the Word of God we read something quite different to the doom and gloomers and we have to decide whose word to believe and to act on.

God says in His Word ....

That His plans for us are good and not to harm us

We shall be the head and not the tail. 

We shall be above only and not beneath. 

Everything we set our hand to shall prosper.  

We shall not borrow but lend to others. 

God wants us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. 

As we give so it will be given back to us, good measure, pressed down and running over. 

God's favour surrounds us like a shield. 

Nothing shall by any means harm us. 

We'll be blessed going out and blessed coming in. 

God is restoring our souls. 

Goodness and mercy are chasing us down, so even if we lose our job we shall find an even better one because God is our Source, not our employer.

God is providing all your needs by Christ Jesus according to His riches in glory (which are limitless). 

Whatever seeds we sow we shall reap a harvest in due season. 

God is for us, so who or what can successfully be against us - no one! 

God is strengthening us when we feel weak. 

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

We are anointed for such a time as this.

God wants us to believe He can do all of the above for us because He says He can. He is not a liar and He is waiting on us to agree with Him in faith for all of the above.

AS YOU HAVE BELIEVED, SO LET IT BE DONE FOR YOU.

What are you believing for? Will you join with me and decide to believe for all of the above because Jesus bled and died so we could have them and countless more blessings besides. 

The wonderful thing about God's grace is that He pours all of these blessings on us just because we believe it - we believe Him - we believe in Jesus - we believe His Word and act on it, not forgetting to thank Him for it all in advance!

Our wonderful Saviour has done it all for us.  

Let's do our part - let's believe!

JESUS IS WONDERFUL!

 Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I do not change...

I just want to encourage us with those words this morning. Jesus hasn't changed one bit and neither has God the Father or God the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus has redeemed us out of the kingdom of darkness and we've been put in God's Kingdom. God still forgives us and calls us holy and righteous in Jesus. Jesus is still our Redeemer, Healer, Provider, Protector, Counsellor, our Prince of Peace....I could go on.  

Glory to His wonderful name! Jesus is still wonderful and always will be.

The things of this world are changing on a daily basis but that doesn't need to disturb us in light of Jesus always being the same and God being for us.

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth.

What is your mind 'set' on today? Jesus told us to 'let not your heart be troubled'. If we repeatedly look at the 'things' going on at the moment on earth we will be troubled and sucked into the doom and gloom.

I believe the Scriptures are Holy Spirit breathed and inspired, don't you? So the command the Holy Spirit gave to the early Christians He gives to us today...Set your minds on things above. He is calling us up higher in our thought life.

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are Gods's house if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

Ephesians tells us we are chosen and called from before the foundation of the world. Jesus wants us to put all our confidence in Him, not in anything else. He calls us to be salt and light in our troubled world. He calls us to bring His message of hope to people who have no hope. He hasn't called us to join in the hopelessness. God is still on the throne and He wants us to focus on Him and His Kingdom which is unshakeable.  We are 'in' the world, not 'of' the world. Our citizenship is in Heaven. We are just here for a short time but our real home is Heaven. Sometimes we forget that.

Hebrews 13:14 For this world is not our permanent home, we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

Regardless of what each day brings we can keep looking to God our Father, knowing He hears our prayers for our family, friends and the world situations that keep coming up.  He has the answer to every situation and every problem. But He has commanded us nevertheless to set our minds on things above. It is not a suggestion, it is a command from the Lord of Heaven.

God hasn't changed and never will and He is for us. Jesus is still our Wonderful Deliverer. What more could we possibly want?😊

GUARD YOUR HEART

 Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Above all else!  Why is that? Let's look at Luke 6:45 "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart."

 It's good sometimes to examine what we are allowing in our hearts, and what is already in there, and what maybe needs digging out before it pours out!

Proverbs explains our heart determines the course of our lives.  To put that in practical terms here is an example. Have you ever met a bitter person? Something has happened and they allowed bitterness to enter their hearts and then that bitterness keeps flowing out of them in their conversation and their attitude to others. You could use the same analogy for all sorts of things. If condemnation comes out of people then that is in their own heart. If forgiveness comes from them then they have a forgiving heart. If they spread joy and hope then that is what is in their heart.

The wonderful thing is we have a great High Priest called Jesus and we can go to him at any time and ask Him for His help to cleanse our hearts of all iniquity, whether it's fear or anger or resentment, bitterness or condemnation - whatever it is Jesus can wash us clean, and give us a new heart.

A prophet once told King Saul that God was taking his stoney heart out of him and giving him a new heart.

Be encouraged, if you recognise anything in your heart that shouldn't be there just go to the Lord, confess it and ask Him to cleanse you of it. Let Him fill your heart today with His great love so it can flow out to others, let Him fill you with His forgiveness today so you have some to forgive others with, let Him fill your heart with His joy and peace.

And above all else guard your heart today. Don't let anything in that shouldn't be there. Don't let fear come in from watching the media, don't let offence in from anything people may say, don't let the enemy's lies in, but surround your heart with the Word of God. It will guard your heart better than anything!

Whatever else you have to do today GUARD YOUR HEART ABOVE ALL ELSE!

Lord please help us today to guard our hearts from anything that would steal our peace or spoil our walk with You. Forgive us Lord and wash away anything in there that's not pleasing to you. In Jesus Name. Amen.