GOD USES WHAT WE HAVE

2 Kings 4:...Elisha asked. "Tell me what do you have in the house?" "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied.

This is a very well known story of the widow lady who had two sons who were going to be taken from her and sold as slaves in order to pay off her debt. She was so distraught she went to the prophet Elisha for help who asks a very unusual question "What have you got?" and she seems to think that what she has got (a flask of olive oil) is of no account and hardly worth mentioning.  And yet that jar of oil is all she needs to give her an escape from her problem. 

Sometimes we hold the answer to our problems and we don't realise because we maybe haven't asked for wisdom in the first place or haven't recognised that God can bless what we think of as of no account or not much use to anyone.

God can use and multiply whatever we have!

Elisha only gave her the solution one step at a time.  Get the whole family involved, send the boys out to collect jars, then start pouring out what you have and then get the next instruction. Can you just imagine the excitement of this lady and her two sons as she starts to pour her little flask of oil into the first big jar and it fills right up to the top? And then the next  one and the next one, and on and on it went till they had no more jars left and suddenly the flask of oil stopped flowing. Those boys saw faith in action. So off she trots to the prophet and he tells her she can now sell it all, pay off her debt and what is left over she can live on!   Maybe she lived another 40 years, who knows, but whatever was left was enough to live on and she would never be in debt again! That was one happy lady!! God turned her life around with a little flask of oil! 

Can I encourage us today to ask the Lord to help us recognise what He has already given us, however insignificant it may seem and ask for wisdom to know how to use it. 

The key to this seems to be her obedience to do what she was told and not ask questions! 

So whatever troubles us today we can go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him "what have I got that you can use?" and whatever He tells us to do 'Just do it' and wait for the next instruction.😊

GOD SAYS GET YOUR HOPES UP

1 Corinthians 13:7 ....(Love) hopes all things....

This is such a well known verse but we tend to skip over the bit about hope. God is telling us here that not only does love bear all things, believe all things but it hopes all things.

Bible hope is nothing like the world's hope. They have an uncertainty in their hope, they're not sure if the thing they are hoping for will happen or not. But Bible hope is a sure expectation of good so our hope is a sure expectation of good.  Is that how you look at life today?  God wants us to look at life that way.

It doesn't say love hopes when things look ok or they look possibly like they could change or happen. No, it says love hopes all things. That means when it looks impossible, when everything is upside down, when pain is bad, when doctor's reports are not hopeful, when money doesn't seem to be enough, when we're offended and hurt or whatever your unhappy circumstance might be.

God says, not me, not someone who you may respect but God, He tells us love hopes all things.  

Can I encourage us all today to get our hopes up in line with God's word. Find a promise of God, find a  "Surely" statement in scripture and stand on it in hope and certain expectation of good.

Here is one to start us off :Psalm 91:3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. When we really believe that we wont go around fearful, we wont feel like we have to hide away because God never gave us a spirit of fear, He gave us a 'surely'.

God's 'surely' is certain, no doubts about it. We can expect good things from God in the coming days. So next time you're tempted to doubt that, get out your 'surelys'!  All of the promises of God are 'surelys', they are yes and Amen in Jesus. Hallelujah! 

ASK GOD FIRST!

1 Kings 22:5 Then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let's find out what the Lord says."

King Ahab who was an evil King of Israel had the idea of  joining forces with King Jehoshaphat of Judah to reclaim Ramoth Gilead from his enemies. So they both agreed with each other but King Jehoshaphat had the wisdom to say "Let's ask God first".  Wise man!

How often do we get what we think is a good idea, a good plan, we get all fired up with enthusiasm and promptly go ahead to implement it without stopping and just saying "Lord is this what you want? Is this a good idea or a God idea?" 

King Ahab's prophets all told him to go ahead because they knew that was what he wanted to hear, but there was one honest prophet of God who told him the truth, not to go to war or he would die. But King Ahab wanted to hear what he wanted to hear so he ignored the good advise and went to war anyway which led, you guessed it, to his dying on the battlefield! 

Sometimes we get sound advise but we don't always want to hear it do we? "I want to do this, it'll work out all right, it's a good idea!" Down deep, though, there is this little nudge saying "Hold on a minute, that's not God's plan, that's not what He wants."

What if everyone else is saying to do something and you just go along with it because you're not brave enough to say "I don't think that's what God wants". Again you've had this nudge in your spirit to not go with the flow but to stand up and be counted because you have no peace about a situation. Can I encourage us all to listen to the Holy Spirit's nudges? He's trying to save us from heartache and problems if we'll only listen to Him and obey Him.

What about our plans for the rest of this year, as individuals, as a church? It takes humility to lay aside our own agenda and submit to God's agenda but it will bring untold reward if we do as He says not just in the big things, but the little things too. We're to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.

So what is the Holy Spirit saying to us today?  ASK GOD FIRST, then do as He says.😊 You'll be very glad you did!

GOD IS 'HERE' WITH YOU

1 Kings 19:5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat" 

Elijah was scared stiff and fleeing for his life. He'd just had the most amazing victory over all the false gods, called down fire, executed 450 prophets of Baal and God had shown up in such power they all bowed to the ground before Him. Yet here he is running for his life and he's bone weary, emotionally drained after all he'd just been through, he thinks he's the only prophet of God left and he wants to die! We find him sleeping under a tree. Have you ever felt a bit like that?

When we're tired we become easy prey for the enemy to deceive us, we start to feel sorry for ourselves and our thinking gets all confused so we sometimes make wrong choices.  But God meets him where he's at and tells him there are 7000 prophets left and he's not the only one! God has such compassion on him and sends an angel to give him food and water that will supernaturally sustain him for 40 days and nights and he has another sleep!

So Elijah goes on and God now finds him in a cave and He says "What are you doing here?" (1 Kings 19:9.) A huge wind blows the mountainside, the earth quakes and fire rips through the mountain but God isn't in any of those. Instead Elijah hears a still small gentle voice and it asks him the same question but I believe God spoke with such compassion and God says to him again "What are you doing here Elijah?"

In other words, this is not where you're supposed to be stuck away in a cave.  I don't want to see you defeated, feeling sorry for yourself when I still have work for you to do.  Your excuses don't hold water. Come on Elijah, get up and go and finish what I gave you to do. If you need me to produce earth shattering wind I will, if you need something to shake the earth I can do that, if you need fire to burn stuff up again you know I can do that but keep listening for my whisper in your ear. I haven't gone anywhere, I'm right here with you. I don't want to have to just talk to you in the huge dramatic events but in the everyday moments your life is made up of.

Notice God said "What are you doing here". God was 'here' with him. In the same way God is 'here' with you and me now and he says to us "What are you doing here?" What does 'here' look like for you? Whatever it looks like God says "You're not the only one, just as I've given you victories in the past I have many more for you in your future, I still have work for you to do and I've anointed you to do it in My strength not your own. Get up again and go from here and I'll show you what to do."

GOD'S COMMANDED BLESSING

1 Kings 17: "4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." v.9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, ... and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

Elijah had just told evil King Ahab there would be no rain again until he said so and then the Lord  told him to go and hide by the Brook Cherith. After a while the brook dried up and the Lord then told him to go and stay with a widow, single parent mum. We're not told how old she was but she was on the point of starvation and only had enough food for one last meal for herself and her son.

God used the most unlikely things to help the man of God. We probably wouldn't have chosen ravens to feed someone but God can command even birds to help His man. If God knows you need help don't despise the help He sends. It may not come from a known or likely source! Be open to what God wants to do for you and how He wants to do it! 

What of the widow lady?  God knew she needed help as well as Elijah but the interesting  thing is He used the widow lady to help someone else first and by doing that she then opened herself up to God's blessing. You see obedience brings God's blessing. His instructions may not make any sense in the natural but she believed God's prophet when he said her jars of flour and oil would not run dry if she did as God said. Her obedience took her into the realm of God's supernatural provision but she had to take a step of faith in order to get there.

Deuteronomy 28:8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, ....

God has commanded blessings for each one of us. Can I encourage us all today to believe God knows our situations and has a plan to help us but it will require our obedience and our trust. It may mean He wants us to help someone else first or it may mean we have to put 'our' thoughts of how God should do it on one side but if we'll do as He tells us we shall be blessed and we'll also be a blessing to others.

God has commanded His blessing on you. It's not an if or a maybe it is a command of God! I think that is so exciting, don't you? Thank You Lord!

GOODNESS STORED UP FOR YOU

Psalm 31:19 How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

Yesterday we were reminded that God is all good, there is no badness in Him at all. In other words He is full of goodness and our verse today says He has stored up this goodness for us who deeply reverence Him. It says He wants to lavish His goodness on us when we trust Him and He'll do it for us where everyone will see it.

Now our part is to believe what He says! We should have such a high expectation when we go out each day, regardless of what the economy says, or the doom and gloomers tell us on the media.  All their doom and gloom may be correct for the ungodly but GOD says He will lavish His goodness on those who trust Him, whose eyes are on Him, who believe what He says and that's you and me! It's good to remember that we are not of this world, but we are citizens of heaven here and now. The goodness God has for us, is in the land of the living, that is in this life.

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Can I remind us that we are to believe we'll see the goodness of the Lord in our lives in 2021 or whenever you read this. You see that is the secret - we have to believe it, expect it, anticipate it.

What are we expecting this week and in the coming days? Are we expecting healing, expecting to prosper and have more than enough? Are we expecting God to bring good out of bad situations? What are we expecting? What are we, what are you believing for?  Maybe you're muttering under your breath,"Well you've only got to turn on the news or know what's going on in my life and it doesn't look like that to me!" If you are then can I encourage you to change your focus and hear what GOD says. We have to make a choice everyday. Are we going to believe what we see, or are we going to believe God's Word which is for us personally?

Will you get your bible out, find these verses and underline them? Will you join with me today and together believe that God has all His goodness stored up for us in a huge warehouse and all He's waiting on is for us to believe that He wants to lavish it on us if we'll only trust Him and believe Him for it. 

God hasn't stored up His goodness for Himself. He has stored it up for you and me! Thank You Lord!

GOD IS ABSOLUTE GOODNESS

Psalm 34:8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in  Him!

When you woke up today God was there with you, wherever you go and whatever you do today God will be there with you, when you go to bed tonight God will be with you all night long, but not only with you but in you.

The fact is God by His Holy Spirit indwells us. (1 Corinthians 6:19) He is inside us, whether we feel Him or not, whether we acknowledge Him or not. If we are born again of the Spirit of God He is as close to us as our very breath, so we need never ever feel alone or feel like He's out there somewhere and we can't reach Him.

The enemy comes and whispers in our ears that God feels so very far away sometimes, that He's not pleased with us, that we've blown it yet again maybe. But can I tell you the devil is the Father of Lies. Jesus said he was a liar from the beginning so whatever the devil has told you, it's a lie!

God wants us to be reminded today, as we start the new week, that not only is He with us but He is a Good God, that He is absolute goodness. What is absolute goodness? It means there is zero bad in Him. He is also Light and there is zero darkness in Him and He is pure Love and He's living in you all day, all night, wherever you are. 

I hope that lifts your spirits today because He wants you to be confident in Him and in His great love for you as you go out into the world this week. Confident that He only wants absolute good for you and to only bring His Light into your life. 

Have a blessed week walking in the goodness of God.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

Proverbs 12:25 Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

We all know we can go to work and worry, make the dinner and worry, we can clean our teeth and worry.....we can do anything and worry at the same time! But scripture here tells us that worry weighs us down.  We've all felt the weight of it but scripture is full of commands telling us to drop the Worry Bag and let it go!

When we worry we're revealing that we've forgotten to trust God to sort things out. That's a bit of an ouch but it's true.

Jesus said 'Don't worry about tomorrow'.  So how do we counteract the worries that try to crowd in on us? Well our verse gives us a clue where it talks about encouraging words that cheer us up.  

Read something encouraging or listen to an encouraging talk or sermon. Remind yourself of something encouraging someone has said to you; that text they sent to you or letter or card.  If that doesn't lift your spirits, sometimes it helps to just give yourself a good talking to out loud in the form of encouraging words!! Words like....

"I'm fearfully and wonderfully made by God. He loves me very much. I'm God's special treasure. I've got God's favour with me wherever I go. He blesses me going out and blesses me coming in.  I'm above and not beneath. I'm more than a conqueror through Christ. I can do all things through Christ. God has promised to provide all my needs and He's promised to keep me safe so I'm giving all my worries to God and He's taking care of them."

King David encouraged himself in the Lord too. In other words he grabbed himself by the ear and started telling himself  all the amazing things God had done for him in the past.

We can do that too.  We can remind ourselves of how much God loves us, how He's preparing us a home in heaven and we'll spend eternity with Him forever. We can remind ourselves of His goodness to us in the past, all the blessings He's poured on us, how He's brought us through every trial and difficulty and strengthened us.

Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a good encouraging, cheer me up talk.😊 And while we're at it why not ring someone else up and encourage them too. There's nothing like hearing a friendly voice on the other end of the phone and encouraging each other in the Lord. 

So whoever is reading this please be encouraged. God has got your back and He's working on all your worries so you don't have to, so you have His official permission to Cheer Up.

You're a great person with great potential and God's got great things for you to do.  He has placed His greatness inside you and you have unique gifts and talents that will bring blessing to others. Be encouraged today and remember you're a great person and God is pleased with you.  Woohoo!

JESUS CAN TURN IT ROUND

Acts 4:21-22 .....For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign - the healing of a man who had been lame for more than 40 years.

This man had been crippled, lame for over forty years and yet Jesus turned it round, through His disciples' obedience, in the space of moments!

Sometimes it's good to stop and ask ourselves if there is anything in our lives that has affected our walk through life? Have there been attitudes, maybe prejudices, works spoken over us in the past that have hindered or crippled our progress? Cripple just means to disable, weaken or damage. I think we've all probably experienced things like that where people have tried to 'put us down', or make us feel inferior in some way.

Many people go through life carrying things which hinder them from entering into all God has for them. But the good news is Jesus is still our Healer, the Restorer of our souls, our Burden Lifter, Bondage Breaker, our Yoke Destroyer. He is whatever we need him to be.

It's so good to know we can come to Him at any time to tell Him what troubles us, what hinders us and ask Him to minister His great grace to us as only He can. We can come and surrender our thoughts about things and ask Him for His thoughts, His perspective, His way to move forward.

We can ask Him for the grace to let go of the need to control everything and ask Him to take control all over again. We can ask Him to make us whole again just like the lame man, even if we've suffered for more than forty years! It makes no difference whether it's physical or mental our Healer is the same yesterday, today and forever and there is power in the name of Jesus.

Acts 4:16 Through faith in the name of Jesus this man was healed.....  That's for you and me today. Thank You Lord.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Phil 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.

Today we're looking at the Name of Jesus because He bequeathed His name to us. (John 16:23-24, John 14:13-14).

The Name of Jesus is one of the weapons of our spiritual warfare. I love the verse in Philippians because it means that whatever comes against us, if it has a name, then Jesus'  Name is above it and it has to bow to His mighty name. 

What sort of things do I mean? Any sickness or disease whether it's cancer or diabetes or any disease has to bow to Jesus Name. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, lack of confidence, lack in any area, whatever the enemy throws up at us we have been given the authority to use the Name of Jesus and tell it to bow to Him and to be cast out. The name of Jesus is so powerful that if you don't know what else to pray just pray 'Jesus' and call on His name to be saved and rescued from whatever is trying to oppress you. Romans 10:13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. that doesn't only mean for conversion it means on a daily basis when it's needed.  Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and they are safe.

There are so many aspects to this that we could do a whole bible study on the name of the Lord but here's another one to consider in the meantime.

Colossians 3 :17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever you do! When I bake my cakes as I put them in the oven I'll often say "I'm making and baking these cakes in the name of Jesus. Thank you Lord please bless them."  Maybe you think that's too simple but it says whatever you do in word or deed! So next time you're going to work or starting a project, or watching TV, whether you're cleaning windows or sitting down to read the bible, whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus thanking God the Father through Him. It doesn't make any difference whether you're doing something 'spiritual' or something mundane God wants us to learn to do it in the name of Jesus because then our focus will be on Him and not our own efforts.

Don't forget today - there is power in the Name of Jesus and He has given you His Name, you are a Christ One. Glory to His Name!

*****

PS If you want to know more can I encourage you to have a look at these verses as a starter:

Devils are cast out in His name (Mark 16:17-18). Healing occurs in His name (Acts 3:6, 3:16, 4:10). Salvation comes in His name (Acts 4:12, Romans 10:13). We baptise in His name (Matt. 28:19) We are justified in his name (1Cor:6:11). And that's just a few, there are many more!

GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS POWER

Acts 3:5-6 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!" 

When you read that verse who do you identify with? Is it the man, always looking to others to supply what he needed or is it Peter who noticed someone else in need and reached out to help them up?  It's tempting to focus on our own needs so much that we forget to notice others.

I think if we're honest we've identified with both parties at different times but I'd like to encourage us all to identify more and more with Peter because I believe that's what God wants of us, to take His help and healing power to others if that's what they need. They may need a listening ear, someone to care enough to hear what they have to say and to encourage them to look to God for help.

Peter didn't give the man money which would only solve his problem for a day.  Instead he addressed the root of the problem and used the name of Jesus to deliver and heal the man so he could earn his own living and he gave him back his integrity. That's what Jesus does for people and He wants to do it through us too. Scripture says Peter grabbed him by the right hand and lifted him up and Jesus restored his legs so he could walk again.

Peter did his part, he gave what he had - faith in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit inside him. We have exactly the same power living in each one of us and we have the name of Jesus. Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. We may have to read that verse many times until we really believe it and act on it! The Holy Spirit and His great power that He used to raise Jesus from the dead lives in you and me and He wants us to use it!

As Peter reached out in faith to lift the man, and as the man responded, Jesus healed him and he jumped up and started leaping about! If Peter hadn't noticed the beggar, if he hadn't been listening to the Holy Spirit prompting him that man would have stayed as he was.

As we go about our day, listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit, remember you have the name of Jesus and the power that raised Jesus from the dead living on the inside of you. God may want to use you to give someone a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom to help them. It may even be He wants you to reach out your hand and say be healed in Jesus Name. Notice Peter didn't say "I'll pray for you to be healed." And He didn't say "Oh God please heal this man."  He just said "Get up and walk in the name of Jesus". Very simple, very straightforward. No religious prayers, no faffing about!

Let's be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying today and obey his promptings. It may change someone's life!

JESUS SEES YOUR TROUBLE

Mark 6:47-48 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves....

The disciples were in trouble in the middle of a storm and they were struggling. I think we've all been there at some time or another - it's the small hours of the night and we're struggling with issues. We can't sleep and we're tossing and turning. It may be that we're actually in serious trouble, whether it's our health or relationships or our jobs or our age in life.

Can I encourage you today to know that Jesus sees when we're in trouble, He knows when we're struggling against everything that's being thrown at us, He sees our distress.

The first thing Jesus said was to tell them that I AM is here and He says the same thing to you and me. The great I AM is right there with you right now whether it's day or night and He wants us to trust Him and invite Him into whatever situation has got us all tied in knots.  How do we do that? We get the Word of God out and let Him speak to us through it and believe that His ministering angels have been released to help and minister to us. (Hebrews 1:14)  When the I AM is with us nothing is impossible and nothing is too hard for him.

If we know any promises of God then we get them out and read them over and over again and speak them over our lives in faith. We let God's Word sink down into us until it brings His peace as we believe it. Come back to that place of peace and trust.

2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...

Grab those upsetting thoughts and tear them down. Thoughts of fear and worry are thoughts that are exalting themselves against the truth of God's Word. Cast them down! God wont do that for us, we have to do it but the Holy Spirit helps us. 

Remember He who is in you is mightier than he who is in the world. Remember no weapon formed against you will prosper. Remember that God has good plans for your life to bless you and not to harm you. 

Most of all remember God is for you and not against you because He loves you, you belong to Him and you are most precious in His sight. Jesus Himself the great I AM is with you and He says to you personally "Don't be afraid, Take courage! I AM here." (Mark 6:50)

GOD WANTS HIS LOVE TO FLOW THROUGH YOU

1 Corinthians 13:4-7  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I hope you have a lovely peaceful week but just in case you have some challenges, and they come to all of us, where you want to give someone a piece of your mind or you feel like retaliating when someone is unkind or unfair, I thought it would be a good idea to start the week by reminding ourselves of these verses before we say or do anything. So we're starting off the week focusing on God's kind of love and how it affects us.

I don't know about you but I have to confess that in the natural there are times I just don't feel like these verses and unless I understand I can't live up to them in my flesh, I'll feel defeated. 

We all know God is love and all of these attributes we've just read are how God loves us and thank God He does! but Romans 5:5 says the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. That means we actually have God's love down in our spirit and when we read verses like that we have to make a decision to believe what it says and take it by faith. 

It means the Holy Spirit has placed inside us the ability to be patient and kind, not to be envious,  not to behave rudely or be provoked etc.  We do have the ability to bear all things, to hope and endure all things but it has to come out of our spirit not out of our flesh. Remember last week we looked at Spirit, Soul and Body and it's out of our spirit man that we walk by faith in the love of God. 

When we get irritable and touchy, when we want to get mad or hurt by someone because they've treated us badly it's because we're what the scripture calls carnal, or 'in the flesh'. It's at that point the Holy Spirit will give us a prompting to just hold on a minute and remember that's not who we are any more. He's given us the supernatural love of God in order to deal with it.

We do have God's love down in our spirit and by faith we can make the choice to ask the Holy Spirit for His help to release it. Maybe it will help us if we remember just how much God loves us even when we're unlovely and then we might find it easier to share it with someone else.

My prayer is that we are so aware of how much God loves us this week that it will overflow to others who need it so much too. Amen. 

GOD'S FAVOUR SURROUNDS YOU

Psalm 5:12 For You O Lord will bless the righteous; With favour You will surround him as with a shield.

Yesterday we looked at how we are now righteous.  Today is one of my favourite subjects, it's all about the favour of God. We're reminded in our verse that God blesses and surrounds us (the righteous) with His favour and it's like a shield.  So what is favour in God's eyes?

Strong's concordance says it means He takes delight in us, accepts, approves, enjoys and takes pleasure in us and that His favour gives us special advantages and preference. We know that in the natural realm if we have the favour of a King we're going to be well taken care of and to expect special treatment. It's just like that, we are the children of the King of Kings and we are highly favoured in His sight. Our next verse tells us....

Ephesians 1:6 ...... by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. That word 'accepted' is the exact same Greek word the angel used when he told Mary she was highly favoured by God in Luke 1:30. So God wants us to know we are as favoured as Mary was by God when He chose her to raise His son and He has accepted and highly favoured us in His beloved Son Jesus.

We, as the righteous in Jesus, are now blessed and surrounded by God''s amazing favour. We are a people who have been given special advantage wherever we go and whatever we do. We didn't do anything to deserve it, it's another amazing gift of God to us.

How long will His favour last? Psalm 30:5 His favour is for life... How wonderful is that?!

So how does that affect us in daily life, knowing we have this incredible favour of God on us for the rest of our lives?  It means that wherever we go we can have a great expectation of God's goodness and special favour. I've heard many testimonies of people who have a real revelation of God's favour and how they have received preferential treatment, or obtained jobs, or been upgraded on aeroplanes, taken to the front of a queue, places in schools, etc. for no apparent reason other than the favour of God. 

As God's beloved children, we can go out each and every day expecting and confident in the sure knowledge that His favour is surrounding us. We can believe it and receive it because God says so.

You and I are highly favoured, greatly blessed and deeply loved by God.

Doesn't that make your heart sing? And it's all because of Jesus. Praise His wonderful Name.

Have a very blessed, highly favoured weekend.

GOD SEES YOU AS RIGHTEOUS

2 Corinthians 5:21 (Complete Jewish Bible) God made this sinless man to be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God's righteousness.

Today we're laying a foundation for something lovely that's coming tomorrow. But today we're looking at the fact that we have been made righteous in God's eyes when we confess Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and believe that God raised Him from the dead.

So what does 'made righteous' mean? We know it's being put into right standing with God because He now sees us through the lens of Jesus and His righteousness, but it's good to be reminded that He's not only taken our sin away but also given us Jesus' perfect standing with Him. Would you say Jesus was totally righteous in all He said and did? Then it is that exact same righteousness which belongs to Jesus that has been given to you and me as a gift.

Romans 5:17 ...much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ.

Notice it says we have to receive it.  We have to believe and receive God's gift of righteousness regardless of how we feel. The full meaning of 2 Cor. 5:21  explains that we get to fully share in God's righteousness. We actually now partake of God's own righteousness.  It makes your head tilt a bit doesn't it? Well it does mine! It makes me think "Really?" and yes the answer is Really!

Now our part is to believe and accept God's word by faith and realise that just as He forgave us our sins past, present and future that means we are actually now righteous in His sight regardless of whether or not we just messed up.  How is that possible? Because as we saw earlier this week in Spirit Soul and Body, it is our Spirit Man who is righteous and our soul and body are still being transformed by the Word of God but God only sees our Spirit Man and He sees that as holy and righteous with His own righteousness! 

So the next time you blow it remember it has not changed your righteous standing with God. You didn't just lose your righteousness and have to get righteous all over again. It doesn't work like that. You have been MADE righteous in your Spirit Man at the new birth and that never changes. 

Jesus was MADE sin for us so we could be MADE righteous to God. You can't undo what Jesus did at the cross by your behaviour. It is the divine exchange and our behaviour can't undo that. When we do fail or make mistakes God says to confess it and receive the forgiveness He's already provided immediately so the enemy can't mess you up and condemn you. If we truly love God we wont deliberately go out and sin anyway so it's not an excuse to live any old how. 

So can I encourage us all today to receive afresh the truth about our righteousness and declare aloud  "I am the righteousness of God in Christ."  Thank You Lord Jesus.

GOD'S OPEN DOOR OF FAITH

Acts 14:27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

God has opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (non Jewish people) in order to receive God's righteousness, His forgiveness, His grace, His healing, His blessings and the gift of eternal life. We would be a lost and helpless people without it.

But praise God He did open that door of faith to us and those who have made Jesus their Lord and Saviour enter into all of the above blessings and countless others besides.

But I have been challenged this morning. How far through the door of faith am I entering into God's provision? Some Christians seem to squeeze through the door and take their forgiveness and gift of eternal salvation and say "that's enough, I don't want to know any more than that." They've never fully entered in to receive all God has because they didn't understand that God has far more than that for them. If we're honest, even when we do know that, we let fear of the unknown stop us as well sometimes. 

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.  Which one are we walking by today?

So often we get stuck inside the door and don't progress into things we can only receive by faith. We find our feet stuck in the mud of  'what I see and feel realm' and forget God opened the door of faith because He wants us to go right through into the unseen supernatural world of faith beyond it. 

Does that sound far out to you? I hope not when you read what God constantly says about faith in His Word. It's the world where we have to believe something He's said before we see it. It goes beyond the natural. It's the realm where you receive your healing even when the doctor says you can't, the realm of supernatural debt cancellation, the world of seeing people saved who you never thought would or could. We get saved by it, walk by it, stand in it, fight for it, get healed by it, enter into the world of signs and wonders by it. I could go on but we've looked at the world of faith many times in this blog. 

So I pass on the challenge to you today to at least think about, and then pray and ask the Lord what He'd like you to move further into by faith.  Are we willing to let go of the door handle and take some steps of faith knowing He is the one holding our hand and we can trust Him. I pray that as we do we will more fully enter into all His good plans for us. How about asking someone to pray with you about it?

Thank you Lord you're helping us to move further through your open door of faith into all You have already prepared for us.  Amen.

(If you'd like to read more about faith just type Faith in the Search box).

GOD IS BIGGER

Hebrews 1:3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...

God is bigger than all our problems. No matter what shape or type or size of problem we may experience God does have a solution. Jesus told us we would have trials and troubles in this world but He wanted us to remember, in the middle of them, that they would not defeat us if we keep our eyes on Him and guard our hearts from letting the enemy in, and not be afraid.

When we constantly think on the negative and the awful things that happen in the world we will be defeated because we haven't guarded our hearts. We've let them be troubled, but Jesus said 'Don't let your heart be troubled.' So that means we get the casting vote! I either let myself be troubled by all these things or I choose to not let my heart be troubled but to trust that God is bigger and more powerful than all we see or hear or experience and trust that He will deliver us, help us, restore, provide and save us in whatever way we need 'saving'.  

Can I ask 'how big is God to you?' Have the 'situations' you're experiencing, the tragedies you see and hear on the news or from friends got you upset and disturbed? If so can I encourage you to remember that your God, the Lord of Hosts of Heaven's armies, the Lord God Almighty, the Prince of Peace, the Saviour of the world, is on your side.. He holds the stars in place. He gives the rain, and sun to rise every single day. When man released atom bombs He had already balanced the earth to withstand the disruptions of man. This earth will only fold up when He gives the word and until then He is upholding all things by the word of His power and that includes you and me!

Notice in our verse it say the WORD of His power is what is holding it all? God's WORD is what is holding the universe together.  We have God's Word in the Scriptures and when we put His Word in our mouths we are releasing His Word into our world and when we take the time to do that we release His power into our circumstances and others'.

So be encouraged today! Our God is bigger and more powerful than anything we will ever encounter in this life and He is for us not against us. 

OUR GOD IS BIGGER! Hallelujah!

Thank You Jesus. 

YOUR SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This verse explains here that we are a three part being, spirit, soul and body and when we understand the different functions of each one and how they function we'll understand better why we behave the way we do and how to live our Christian lives, dare I say, more successfully. Anyone want that?

If you're like me you'll get frustrated and sometimes discouraged with your own behaviour and even the Apostle Paul said at one point he didn't know why he did what he didn't want to do! There is an answer to it all and if we'll take the time to read what God says in His word He explains what to do about it. God doesn't want us to feel frustrated or discouraged but built up and encouraged.

I've been greatly helped to understand it better by the three links below, each one is only about 6 minutes so they're easy to watch and they explain it much more clearly than I can so if you'd like some help to grow may I encourage us all to watch it. It helps us understand that everything we receive from God comes directly into our spirit man, it then has to pass through our soulish part and then flows into our body and then on to others. The only way to connect with God is through our reborn spirit.

Romans 12:2 explains that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and that comes about by the reading and understanding of God's Word.  

As we've all probably found out if we try to live the Christian life by will power we just can't do it. But if we allow the Spirit of God to change us in our thinking we will learn to behave right.  Each one of us have been influenced by the world's way of thinking for so much of the time that we are going to have to allow God's Word to give us God's thinking and perspective on everything, it's not automatic.

I hope and pray that these links help us all. Enjoy and be blessed. 😊

1.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5aAGTNWNBA

2.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsSom12Wba0

3.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rd8pRxlCcg

SOMETHING LOVELY

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.

I thought it would be good to start off the week with 'something lovely'.  My friends mother who is in a home, has been very ill and bedridden for well over a year. We've been praying for her and this past week she's been up and about and able to sit in their communal lounge which is a miracle. Her daughter is having to find her shoes and clothes because she now intends going out! No situation is hopeless with God and He is in the business of turning sad to glad, bringing hope where there appears to be none.

I've been reading the testimonies of people who have been healed of chronic back pain, ME, incurable cancer (so called), and so many other things that God has wonderfully turned around and delivered them all as they have believed His Word. 

God is in the business of transforming lives and it's so good to be reminded of that. I've read testimonies of people who lost their jobs due to Co-vid then been given better ones, of people being delivered from pornography and addictions just by learning that they are the righteousness of God in Christ and that righteousness setting them free from the enemy.

God wants to encourage each one of us to believe Him, to believe His Word and to think about the good that He is doing around the world. He wants us to find out and think about the praiseworthy things that His people are seeing on a daily basis. 

Let's spread a little joy around by reminding each other that nothing is impossible with God, things are never hopeless with God and He doesn't want us thinking and dwelling on the doom and gloom but on the good and glorious. 

He commands us this week to 'think and meditate on anything praiseworthy, any good reports, the lovely things'. 

There is a man called Todd White who ministers on the streets and he sees miracles every day as Jesus heals people right there and then. It's so encouraging so I've put a link below if anyone is interested.

God still heals, God still transforms lives and God is so good, we give Him all the praise and glory today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek8p3m9HdZ4 

Also in the UK https://hopecoventry.org.uk/healing-on-the-streets/

OUR TEARS AND OUR SIGHS

Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. 

Psalm 38:9 You know what I long for, Lord, you hear my every sigh.

I felt the Lord wanted to talk to us about our tears and our sighs today because He hears every single one of them and they matter to Him. I don't know about you but that comforts me greatly and when I read these two verses it confirms how much God cares for us and is involved in our lives so intimately. He hears your every sigh today and He sees every single one of your tears and He collects them in a bottle and records them in a book because they matter to Him. I'm thinking His book needs to be pretty big to write all our sighs and tears in!

When someone dear to us has gone we have so many tears of grief  but we can know that God promises He is the One who heals the brokenhearted and He will help us reach the point where we can thank Him so much for all the time we did have with them before they left. 

Maybe you've been crying because of concern for others and their situations.  What about the times when we cry and we don't even know why we're crying! Ever felt like that? That happens to me.  And then there are the times we have tears of happiness and He records those too. God sees and hears them all.

But whatever reason we sigh or cry, God is right there with us and He is the God of all comfort.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

God reminds us here that the Holy Spirit groans on our behalf and He is interceding for us when we can't seem to do it for ourselves so be comforted today, know that God hears you and He knows your troubles and He's working behind the scenes. 

All He asks of us is that we trust Him even when we don't have the answers, when we have more 'why's' than we know what to do with. May I suggest that we give them all to Him, our loving Heavenly Father who holds us all in His powerful hand. We may not know why things happen but He does and that is what really matters. 

So whatever has caused you to sigh or caused your tears be encouraged, He wants you to know He is listening and He cares very deeply for you and about you. Even more than that He is upholding you and strengthening you and He has promised to give you the oil of joy in place of mourning. (Isaiah 61:3). 

His arms of love are wrapped around you. Thank You Lord.

YOU'RE OK BECAUSE YOU BELONG TO GOD

John 17:9 My prayer is not for the world , but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. v.10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. v.16 They do not belong to this world any more than we do. v.20 I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.

Jesus is with His 11 remaining disciples at the last meal they shared together before the cross and He prays to His Heavenly Father for them all. He talks to His Father about how He has protected them by the power of God's name, how He has taught them God's Word and how God loves them as much as He loves Jesus.  That is huge. God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. (v.23)

If you get the time today read John 17 slowly and really see yourself there seated at the table and imagine you are one of the eleven listening to Jesus pray, because in a sense you are. How can I say that? Because Jesus says He's praying for all those who will ever believe in Him through their message - that's you and me and that is wonderful.

He goes on to say that those who believe in Jesus not only belong to Him but they belong to God the Father too. We have a loving heavenly Father and we belong to Him and we belong to Jesus. 

To belong means to be the property of someone and we know that if something belongs to us which we consider valuable then we will protect it and look after it. We can know God thinks us of great value to Him because of the price He paid by giving Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the cross. And because He values us so highly He will surely protect us and look after us because He loves us so.

No matter what happens we know we belong to God and He knows all about us and He is watching carefully and affectionately over us,(2 Peter 5:7 AMP) we're part of His family.

So if you ever wake up and feel a bit rubbish just keep reminding yourself and mutter to yourself over and over again throughout the day if need be.   "I'm o.k. I belong to God and He's looking after me. He loves me like He loves Jesus and that is God's truth. Thank You Jesus."

WHY WE CAN CHEER UP

John 16:33 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). Amplified Bible.

I love it when Jesus Himself tells us to cheer up because He knows why we can! 

He tells us here we can be confident, we can be certain and undaunted by what is happening, has happened or may happen in the future. Undaunted means to not be intimidated, but to be fearless and brave.  Now in the natural I am definitely not like that but Jesus is encouraging each one of us to not see ourselves in our natural way but to see ourselves 'in Him'. He says 'in Him' we can be a different person, an overcomer through Him.  So what do you have to 'overcome' at the moment?

Did you see those two little words in our verse I underlined 'in Me'?  That is the key to this verse. Jesus reminds us that in Him we may have perfect peace and confidence to face whatever may come our way. Yes there's bound to be trials and frustrations just because we're living in a fallen world but He's telling us that as long as we're in Him we shall experience His overcoming power and His peace in the midst of it all, so He says we can cheer up. He's already dealt with it and if we listen to Him He'll show us what to do about whatever is trying to intimidate us.

First thing is to declare who you are in Christ. "I am a child of God. I am His property and I belong to Him so I am an overcomer through Christ. I can do all things through Christ who is strengthening me. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. My God is turning all things round for my ultimate good because my God is a good God and He loves me. So by faith I'm going to believe Jesus and cheer up because He says I can and He wants me to."

I believe as we spend time listening to what He says to do and as we read the Word He will show us His overcoming power and peace in our different situations.  

So today whatever is trying to get you down keep reading this verse over and over again till it gets down inside and believe Jesus and smile because He says you can. He's already dealt with it for you.😊

GOD'S PEACEFUL PLACE

John 14:27 I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. (NLT)

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (NKJV)

We probably all have a peaceful place where we like to go even if it means locking ourselves in the bathroom if we have demanding family!  Maybe it's a garden, or a park bench, or the rest room at work. We just need a few moments sometimes, even at work, when we need to just draw aside for a minute and get quiet inside because there is stress or turmoil outside. But what if you don't have a physical place to go, what then?

God has a peaceful place for us to come to when daily life gets a bit on top of us and you know where it is?  It's right inside each one of us down in our spirit man and if we'll learn to stop, no matter where we are, and just listen we'll hear the Holy Spirit speak His words of peace and calm and reassurance to us reminding us not to let fear in, not to allow the trouble to get to us. 

Very often He'll do that by bringing up a verse and reminding us Jesus has left His gift of supernatural peace with us and it's not something we have to search for it's already in us, in our born again spirit. By faith we just reach down into our spirit, to Him, and say 'thank you for your peace right now Lord, I believe I receive it, I take it by faith and I see it permeating my troubled soul and bringing Your calm right now. Thank you so much.'

We all know peace isn't the removal of all the winds blowing us about but it's tapping into God Himself in the midst of the storms knowing He has the answers and in His own good time He will bring our upside down world the right way up again when we trust Him.

Peace and trust walk hand in hand through life. 

So see yourself just now walking through today and all your tomorrows holding on to the nail pierced hand of Jesus, trusting Him to hold you tight and secure and as you walk see Him leaning in to your ear and hear Him whispering His words of peace and reassurance. That makes me smile, how about you? I hope you feel better already because that is what He is doing right now. 😊

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(You probably know this verse already but if you've been wondering what verse to memorise this week then this one is a great place to start.  I've written two versions of the same verse so you can choose whichever you find easier. I find writing it on a bit of paper and pinning it up somewhere where I can see it all the time helps. I've put mine by my bed so it's the last thing I see before I go to sleep.😊)

 

HOW TO BE BLESSED

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. v.3. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

Yesterday we looked at meditating the Word and here it is again. David gave it priority because he knew it brought many blessings. 

If you look up verse 1 it advises us what not to do if you want to be blessed.  It lists three sets of people to avoid spending our time with but then he goes on to tell us what will be a blessing.

If you take a delight in reading and doing the Word of God and meditate on it constantly you will be blessed.  God says we'll be continually well watered and not feel dry spiritually, we'll be fruitful people when the time is right, we wont all wither up, and best of all whatever we do will be successful. Now that is really encouraging!

Do you want to be successful in everything you set out to do? Then God says spend more time in My Word and it will unlock secrets, spiritual insights and wisdom you'll probably need down the road.

I can testify to that as in the 1980's the Lord put us in the way of a Faith Ministry which taught us how to learn about walking by faith. Year after year He kept teaching us and then in 2007 I found myself in hospital with a life threatening disease. If we hadn't been taught by the Lord through His Word how to stand against the enemy when the enemy hit us I probably wouldn't be here today but praise God He prepared us in advance and taught us the principles of faith so we could resist the enemy.  Standing on the Word  has rescued me time and time again and I give God all the glory for it. Has it been easy? No, because scripture tells us it is a Fight of Faith! But we win through Jesus' victory, if we keep standing on the Word, praise God.

So here is the Lord again encouraging us all to get into the Word because it's one of our main weapons to stop the enemy with. Jesus used it three times when He said to the devil "It is written..."  How much more must we need it!  

I really believe this is very important for each one of us as we don't know what may be coming in these end times and God wants us to be prepared and ready. So can I encourage you to not only spend time in the Word of God but to memorise it, even if it's only one verse a week. And be blessed.😊 

A KEY TO OUR WALK WITH GOD

2 Peter 1:2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

A lot of the Epistles begin like that talking about Jesus' followers being given grace and peace. God's desire for each one of us is to give us more and more of those things. 

We very often gloss over these sort of verses as just the introduction to an Epistle but they hold a key to our walk with God. 

According to how much we want grace and peace to increase in our lives will be how much we're growing in our knowledge of God. I don't mean knowing about Him but knowing Him personally, like you know a member of your family.  And how do we do that? By hearing God's words of faith preached by Holy Spirit inspired preachers, and by reading God's Word for ourselves and meditating on it and spending time with God.

Biblical meditation isn't some mystical thing but it's just asking the Holy Spirit to help us mull God's word over and over in our minds, muttering it under your breath throughout the day if you find that helps, but constantly going back to a verse or verses and thinking about them until the Holy Spirit sheds some new light on them for us. Then we learn something more about God and Jesus and know them better and automatically we'll find God's grace and peace will be multiplied in our lives. It's a win win situation but we do have our part to play.

I was chatting to someone the other day and they suddenly said "You know Jackie, God is love, He doesn't just have love, He is love.  They'd suddenly got a fresh revelation of that fact and had to tell me about it. I was really blessed by that because until recently they hadn't seen God that way.  And how did they come by that revelation? They'd just been reading and reading the Word about God's great love for us all and it bubbled up out of them!

Can I encourage us all to spend some time in the Word and see what happens?  Maybe choose a particular subject like God's blessings on the believer (the righteous) and find all the verses on God's blessing.  When you do, share it with someone, let it bubble up and we'll all be blessed! I'd love to know how you get on.😊

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P.S. If you've been reading my blog for a while and there was something that spoke to you and you want to go back to it but can't find it just type in the Search box roughly what it was about and hopefully it will pop up.😊

WATERFALL OF GOD'S LOVE

Psalm 42:8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime..... NKJV

Psalm 42:8 Each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me.....NLT

It's good to stop and recognise what God has promised He will do for us each and every day. 

These two translations of the same verse help to visualise the fact that He not only has commanded His lovingkindness to be on us today and every day but it's a picture of Him pouring it out on us.

Just imagine you're standing under a waterfall which is pouring out from a high rock, would you be dry or would you be soaked by it if you were standing in the way of it? You'd be soaked to the skin and refreshed. It makes you feel relaxed and invigorated at the same time and good. That's what God's love is doing for us if we stand underneath it as it were and consciously put ourselves in the way of it and acknowledge it. 

Psalm 40:11 .... Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.

This verse goes further and unfolds the fact that His love also protects us. God has you covered today with His love and faithfulness. 

Look at the other things the Lord does for His loved ones....

Psalm 41:2-3 (NLT)  The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies. v.3 The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.

That is absolutely wonderful!!! So every day take a shower under God's waterfall of love. Just stand there for a minute or two and thank the Lord out loud and tell Him that you're receiving His waterfall of  love, faithfulness, protection, prosperity, rescue and healing and you love it and Him! 

And don't forget you can have one of those showers anywhere, anytime.😊 Thank you Lord.