THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Sometimes things happen that really knock us for six because we didn't see them coming and they're not always bad, they can be wonderful! 

I had one of those this weekend when we had a phone call from our son in Australia saying he and his whole family are coming to pay us a visit, like, next week!  We haven't seen any of them for eight years and his youngest then was only a baby and now he's nine years old.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect or think they would all be able to come to the U.K. to see us, but it's happening. I can't explain it but I just wanted to cry my eyes out at the goodness of God because I've sometimes thought I might never actually see them again in the flesh and now we will. God is doing something way over and above all my expectations. Do you remember last week I was blogging about 'The God Who Goes Beyond Our Expectations'?, well it's happening in my own life right now and it's simply the goodness of God. 

The reason I'm sharing all that is to give each one of us hope for our future. As we go into this week, this year even, may I encourage us all once again to know God is so good to us and kind beyond anything we deserve because He loves us, and what He's doing for me He can do for you too.  He has good things stored up for each one of us and He can do the things you've never even put into words, the secret desires of your heart.

Nothing is impossible with God! Thank You Lord.

GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT US

 Psalm 139:1-3 (Nlt)

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me. 

You know when I sit down or stand up;

You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

You see me when I travel 

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

Recently we've looked at entering the rest of God and this psalm is one which can give us that great sense of resting in Him. The knowledge that God knows everything about us but that He still loves us and accepts us in Jesus is our rock solid foundation and security.

He just wants us to totally relax in that knowledge today knowing His hand will guide us, His strength will support us and His hand of blessing is on our heads.  Just rest in that today as you read the rest of Psalm 139.😊

SEEING OUR GIANTS FALL

1 Samuel 17:49 ...and he (Goliath) fell on on his face to the earth.

Throughout life we all have our Goliaths, those giants that loom up and try to intimidate us. David had the same experience, but his was a 9-10 foot tall warrior, fully armed, experienced in war, shouting intimidating threats before he even came at him. Sound familiar?

David, even though he was just a teenager, never had been to war, never experienced this situation before, had no physical protection and was half the size, yet he faced Goliath fearlessly, head on, and ran at him! 

How did he do that? Here's the difference. David knew his covenant with God and he saw himself defeating his giant before he faced him.  He knew God had delivered him from a bear and lion before, so knew He would deliver him from Goliath. He made a declaration first...but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies...whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you....for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands. (1 Samuel 17: 45-47)

Our enemy shouts all sorts of things at us but we don't need to be intimidated or cower away in fear. Jesus has already defeated and disarmed him at the cross. If you have some giants to face, remember your covenant with Almighty God through Jesus, that this battle is the Lord's and He will cause you to knock that giant's head off! 

By faith  'see' yourself  overcoming and slaying that giant. 'See' it fall at your feet. 'See' it defeated before you run at it in the Name of Jesus. Make your declaration based on God's word and tell it Jesus has rendered it powerless and God has already given you the victory. Amen.

Romans 8:37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

Have a blessed, overcoming, greatly loved by God weekend.😊x

LET'S CHOOSE JESUS, THE LIFE

Deuteronomy 30:19  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death,  blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

Everyday we have to make choices. Do we listen to the voice of reason, the voice of  our circumstances, the voice of what we feel and see and hear or do we choose to listen to what God says, what God has promised because those two choices are very often poles apart! 

God calls us to choose life and Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life. When we choose the life route we're choosing Jesus and His way and when we do we'll choose to obey His word and believe His promises over every other voice, just because of who He is. It may not even make sense but we'll still choose God's promises!

When I had a serious diagnosis in 2007 and the doctor's report was awful we had to make a choice. Do we receive the doctor's report which stated facts, as final authority, or do we believe God's healing promises are more powerful, the final authority, and more than enough to change the facts?  I'm realising more and more that if God says something, He means it, and He'll back it up if we'll grab a hold of it by faith. I can testify God's promises are more than enough, they changed the facts, and I'm still here. Thank You Jesus!

The wonderful thing is our verse reminds us that choosing life will bring life and blessing not only to us, but also to our  children, our descendants, our family. Now that is a strong incentive, to do it for their sake, to choose to believe what God tells us, regardless of what every other voice is saying! 😊 Amen.

GOD GOES BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS!

Isaiah 64:3-4 When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations....For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!(Nlt)

We probably all have dreams and aspirations in life and it makes no difference how old or young we are for them to be fulfilled. God spoke to Samuel when he was still a little boy and led him to be a great prophet of God. He spoke to Abram at 99 years old and changed his name to Abraham and restored his vigour to be able to have many children including Isaac. Abraham went on to be our father in the faith as our example.(Romans 4) Sarah had her youth renewed at the age of 90 so she could have a baby and men desired her! Now that's a wow thing right there!

When we involve God in our affairs this verse encourages us to expect beyond our highest expectations because God is, and can do, beyond everything we can imagine and He works on your behalf and mine. That's maybe hard for us to grasp but He says it, so it is so!

Ephesians 3:20 'Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,'

God delights in us thinking big, imagining big, and looking to Him to do over and above all of that. All He asks is that we trust Him, knowing He wont be late, and to wait with great expectation. 

Hope is great expectation of good from God, and faith is the substance of things we're hoping for. It's good to stop and ask ourselves occasionally "What am I expecting, what am I hoping for and faithing for?" because whatever it is, God has something bigger and even better for you than what you're expecting.' Glory to God!

DON'T LOSE HEART

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

There's a famous line in an old movie where the old Indian chief speaks and says in a deep voice, "we endeavour to persevere." It's become a bit of a standing joke in our house if ever we feel like giving up on something. We just say instead, 'we'll endeavour to persevere!"

There are times in our Christian walk which are challenging and it's at those times we have to encourage ourselves and each other in the Lord, and 'endeavour to persevere' knowing the Holy Spirit is helping and strengthening us from the inside.  The enemy may come and try to put pressure on us to give up on whatever promise we're standing on, but the good news is the Holy Spirit is available to us 24/7 to withstand him, and push through in faith, knowing God's promises will never fail us. 

In 2 Peter 1:6 the Apostle Peter tells us to add 'perseverance' to our faith because he knew we'd need it at some point.

Today's promise is so encouraging to us all, because it lets us know there's always hope, that there's always a 'due season' and there is a reward we'll reap if we'll just hang in there and not give up and not lose heart. 

So no matter how things may look or feel let me encourage you to keep going, keep reading God's word, keep looking to Jesus and praising Him for the victory before you see it, and keep believing His promises and know your due season is on it's way.😊

CALL ON THE NAME OF JESUS

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

A few days ago I pulled my back very severely and haven't been able to sit down without excruciating pain so have been forced to lie down. I'm making progress but instead of just groaning when it catches me and it takes my breath away, I've decided to do what scripture says to do - I'm calling on the name of Jesus.

If the pain shrieks I shout out 'Jesus! Jesus! You're my Deliverer. I'm calling on Your name.' Every time I move and it hits I cry out Jesus! What am I doing? I'm believing Jesus is my Deliverer and calling on Him to deliver me! Scripture tells us Jesus has already born our pain in His own body on the cross (Isaiah 53) so satan has no legal right to put his pain on us, whether it's physical or mental anguish.  Scripture says to submit to God and resist the devil, so I'm resisting him. This affliction has to go because I know Jesus has already paid the price for it.

Can I encourage you today, no matter what the enemy is trying to put on you, whether it's pain, sickness, disease, fear, panic attacks, depression, lack of finances, - whatever form it takes - to call on the name of Jesus, every two seconds if you need to! We have a Deliverer, a Redeemer, a Saviour, a Healer and His name is Jesus. 

Scripture says to Call on the name of the Lord and be saved which is not a one time experience. It's moment by moment when we need His saving, His deliverance, His healing, His rescuing, but we have to do the calling! 

I had to walk to the village yesterday and all the way there I kept saying  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, so I can do this. Thank You Lord You're helping me and strengthening me and my back. I can do this with You Lord. You've made me an overcomer."  It wasn't easy and it took a while but we did it, glory to His name.

Keep calling out to Jesus today. He's there for you.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

WE'RE HIDDEN IN CHRIST

Ezra 8:31...And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.

When you were playing as a child, did you ever pounce out on someone in ambush? I can remember playing bandits with my brother and doing that! An ambush is a surprise attack by people lying in wait in a concealed position. Our enemy satan does try to ambush us along our way but God has already gone ahead of us and told us He's delivering us from the hand of our enemy because His hand is upon us. Just think about that for a minute - God's hand is on you protecting you.

 

Psalm 91:3 says a similar thing. "Surely He shall deliver you from the snare (or trap) of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence." How do we access this wonderful deliverance and protection? By 'dwelling' or living in the secret place of the most High, under His shadow. But how do we do that? It's by being 'in Christ' because when we're in Him we are in that secret place; we are safe and protected from our enemies. 

When we declare 'I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust",  we're acknowledging and believing He's promised to cover us with His feathers, that His truth (His word) will shield us, that we shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence (any plague) that walks in darkness, nor anything else that tries to cause our destruction, and He gives us angel protection.

All through each day if necessary let's keep reminding ourselves and make it personal and say - Thank You Lord your hand is on me and You are my refuge and my fortress. I trust you Lord and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, because I'm in Christ, and I'm resting in Your protection in Jesus Name. Amen.

GOD WILL HEAR OUR CRY

 Psalm  20 (excerpts Nkjv and Nlt)

v.1 In the times of trouble, may the Lord hear your cry. ... 

v.5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory...

v.6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; ...

He will answer him from His holy heaven 

With the saving strength of His right hand.

v.7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;

But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

If you're going through some trouble at the minute, whatever form it takes, may I encourage you with this Psalm.  The Lord hears your cry and He will answer you. He's promised to save His anointed and that's us if we've asked Jesus to be our Saviour. He will give you the victory over it and we will all shout for joy with you when He does. Our trust is in the mighty name of Jesus today.

RETURN TO JESUS AGAIN AND AGAIN

Isaiah 30:15 In returning and rest you will be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. 

I asked Jesus into my life when I was a little girl, went to church all my life but found I was only a 'Sunday' Christian. I had no personal relationship with the Lord Jesus and was backslidden, although I still believed in Jesus. Then after my first baby was born I had post natal depression which was really, really bad and in desperation one day I fell to my knees in tears, I was so messed up, and asked God to help me. 

I opened my bible and it fell open to this verse where I read God was inviting me to return to Him and rest in Him and be 'saved'. He was the only one who could deliver me, help me, rescue me and give me the victory, but I had to return to Him and rest in Him.

Well, I did just that and asked God to forgive me and for Jesus to come and rescue me. He told me to spend time with Him and read His word every day, so every morning I would get up early and did that. Over a period of the next year or so by listening to faith filled teaching, He gradually helped me to change my thinking which had been all wrong. He put me back together again, bit by bit, and restored my confidence which I'd totally lost. It was a slow process for me but by the grace of God He built me back up and gave me the victory and I give Him all the praise.

That was 43 years ago now so why am I telling you all that? Because sometimes we all need encouragement to return to Jesus again and again; to come to Him afresh when we've maybe grown cold or just plain weary, and rest in Him once more. (as we looked at in yesterday's blog)

If that's you today, please let this blog encourage you to 'return and rest in Him'. He's waiting with open arms of love for you, to rescue and deliver you too. 😊

LET'S ENTER HIS REST

Hebrews 4:7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today...v.9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. v.11 So let us do our best to enter that rest....(Nlt)

God's heart is for us to enter the rest He has provided for us through what Jesus did on the cross and He wants us to enter into it today, not sometime in the sweet by and by. 

He calls it a special rest because it was won for us by Jesus and it's not achieved by our struggles or our trying or our good works. Jesus has done it all for us and He calls us to believe it by faith and enter into what He's already done.

Whatever it is we need from God He wants us to go to Him and rest in Him for it.  If it's for healing then rest in what Jesus did by taking all our infirmities upon Himself, rest in Him for His goodness and favour, His provision and protection. 

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said 'Come to Me and I will give you rest.'  Now, if it's a gift, can you work for it or earn it? No, so there's only one thing left to do and it's to receive it by faith and thank Him for it. God doesn't want us weary and anxious. Jesus went on to say 'Take My yoke upon you and let Me teach you and you will find rest for your souls.

Do you need rest for your soul? I think we all do! Our verses today tell us there is a special rest waiting for us so let's come to Jesus today and ask Him to help us enter into it more and more, and give us a greater revelation of it. 

Lord Jesus, we come to you and by faith we choose to rest in what You've already done for us. We rest in You for healing and believe it's pouring into our bodies, for restoring our tired souls, we rest in Your protection and provision and for everything else we need today and thank You for it. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

WE'RE SURROUNDED!

Psalm 5:12 For You O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround Him as with a shield.

Do you remember the old western movies where the cowboys were being chased by the Native Americans and at some point as the wagon train formed a circle to defend themselves someone would shout "We're surrounded!"? Well they were surrounded in a negative way but today God wants to remind us we are surrounded in a wonderful way. Remember being encircled by His goodness yesterday? Well, if we've asked Jesus into our lives we're surrounded by God far more than we realise. 

Let me show you what He means. 

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is our refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms. 

Psalm 125:2 .... so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.

Psalm 139:5 You go before me and behind me;You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Psalm 91:4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge:...

Psalm 5:12 For You O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround Him as with a shield.

God is underneath us, ahead of us and behind us, He covers us and totally surrounds us. I love that He's surrounded us with His favour because when you have the favour of the King, you really have favour don't you? So wherever we go, whoever we're with, whatever we have to do, God says He's gone ahead of us and given us His favour in that situation. That is amazing and true. Thank You Jesus.  We too can shout "We're surrounded" and enjoy being 'surrounded by Him' in the unfolding year. 😊 Woohoo!

INVITATION: God loves you and if you would like to belong to Jesus too it's very simple to do. Just say from your heart, "Lord Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for me and rose again from the dead. Please forgive my sins, and come into my life, I make you my Lord and Saviour. I thank You for making me a righteous person and a child of God." Amen.

GOD'S GOODNESS AND ABUNDANCE

Psalm 65:11 You crown the year with Your goodness and Your paths drip with abundance. (Nkjv)

Yesterday we saw how God has crowned us personally with His loving kindness and tender mercies which was wonderful. Today we're looking at the fact that He has also crowned our coming year with His goodness which means He 'encircles' it with His goodness. It just gets better and better don't you think but we have to receive it by believing it by faith.

We can be tempted to say "Well, I'm surrounded by doom and gloom so it's probably not for me. I never get any good breaks..." But God doesn't want our thinking to be like that and it's not me saying it, it's the psalmist by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which makes all the difference. God wants us to walk in, and into, His goodness this year, not off in the dim and distant somewhere. He wants us to believe Him for it now.

I know the economy shouts rising prices etc. but God tells us His paths drip with abundance whether it's in finances or relationships or wisdom, or joy, whatever. I believe it's in all areas of our lives.  Now you and I have to choose who we're going to believe and whose path to follow; the paths of God or the paths of the world. I know which I choose, how about you? 

Let's have a great expectation of God's goodness encircling us, and our paths dripping with His abundance. Let's 'see it' in our spirits, and believe Him for it and please Him with our declaration of faith.😊 Amen.

GOD'S KIND OF KINDNESS

Psalm 103:4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

This is one of my favourite psalms but what struck me afresh is God's kind of kindness and His kind of mercies because He treats us with lovingkindness. Some people are kind to us just because they are kind people and they may not even know us. But God does know us and His kindness is full of His love for us. There's a big difference because when we know the heart and attitude behind it, it means so much more and we can receive it with no reservations and then pass it on to others because kindness is a fruit of the Spirit.

Notice His 'mercies' are in the plural and they are tender mercies. When someone is tender towards us they are gentle not brash, they have a heart to minister to us in a way that builds us up and soothes us. They are full of compassion, not judgement or criticism. Do you get the picture?  Is that how you see God today because it's how He wants us to see Him, so great is His Father's heart of love for us. 

A crown is something of great value isn't it and He says He has 'crowned' us with His lovingkindness and tender mercies which are of great value to us.  We didn't crown ourselves with them - God did, so we can wear them with confidence knowing we can't lose them. 

So no matter how your day goes or how people treat you, remember you're still wearing your crown.😊 

YOU ARE SO VALUABLE!

1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

On the days when it feels like we're in a dark place or don't feel we're much use to anybody or a bit rubbish we need to remember that feelings can be deceiving, or just a con of the enemy.

A preacher offered his congregation a crisp new £50 note and many hands went up to receive it. Then he crumpled and crushed it, stood on it, smeared it with dirt and made it look worthless. He really spoiled it and once again held it up and asked if anyone still wanted it. Well of course they said yes because they knew it was still worth £50 regardless of what had happened to it, or it's condition.

The point being, no matter what experiences we've been through, or what we, or others have done to us, regardless of how messed up we look or feel, God see us as immensely valuable. Last week we looked at the price Jesus paid by shedding His own blood at great cost and agony to Himself. That's how high a value He places on each one of us and how much He greatly loves us.

Next time you have one of those dark 'rubbish' days or feelings, please remember it's not who you really are because God says you are one of His most treasured possessions, one of His special people, His very own son or daughter, and as far as He is concerned you are priceless. Who you really are is a child of the Most High God and He is your Heavenly Dad!

So begin this new week confident in your Father's great love for you and smile again.😊

OUR PLACE OF SAFETY

Psalm 18: 1-3 (Nlt)

 I love you, Lord; 

you are my strength. 

The Lord is my rock, 

my fortress, 

and my savior; 

my God is my rock, 

in whom I find protection.

 

He is my shield, 

the power that saves me, 

and my place of safety. 

I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, 

and he saved me from my enemies. (Nlt)

Who is it that saves me? Where is my place of safety? Who is my strength today? Who is my rock and fortress to run to and find my protection? Who is my shield? We know don't we! It's the Lord Himself. 

We praise and thank You Lord. Please help us to remember Your promises. Amen.

GOD HELPS US EVEN WITH THE LITTLE THINGS

Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

I've been going to the same hairdresser for 12 years but at Christmas she retired from business which meant we all had to find a new hairdresser, but where to go? 

Now for many people that would not be a big deal but I was definitely not looking forward to it and had asked the Lord to lead me to the right one. (I've had some bad hair cut experiences in the past and didn't want to go through that again!😊) Can anyone relate?

Anyway, I'd put it off too long and this past week it had to be done. Yes, I'd prayed about it and cast the care of it on the Lord, but I still had to take my courage in both hands as I went through the door and put myself in this total stranger's hands. You're probably thinking what a fuss about nothing but what is easy for some is hard for others and vice versa! One of my family members says she'd rather go to the dentist than the hairdresser, so you see what I mean!😊 (apologies to any hairdressers reading this). I'm pleased to report 'All is Well' and I hope I've made you smile. 

The point of my story today is that God was in the middle of even the things some would call trivial and He helped me to be a 'Can Do' person. If you've been following the blog the past two days you'll know what I'm talking about and sometimes we have to keep reminding ourselves God is helping us with everything if we allow Him to and invite Him to.

If it's important to us, then it's important to God, and it was just to share the 'I can do this in Christ' thinking even in the less important things of life. Are there some things you're struggling with? If so, God wants us all to grab hold of the assurance that the Holy Spirit is our Helper.

We're not doing this life on our own, and God wants to be involved and help us with everything that concerns us. So whatever you do in the coming days, do it with Jesus in the middle of it all, with His help and His strength. 😊 

Have a great weekend.

TAKING A RISK FOR GOD

 Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.....

The New King James says ...coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Yesterday we looked at being 'can do' people and Joseph of Arimathea was one of those. He realised God was asking him to do something which was way out of his comfort zone. I think going to see Pilate just after the crucifixion was a bit like going into the lion's den and he had to take his courage in both hands in order to do it. 

Perhaps God is asking you to do something which will take you out of your comfort zone too. Maybe His good plan for you involves saying something to someone, or doing something you hadn't planned on or thought you were capable of, or taking a risk for God. 

As it happened, God had already gone ahead of Joseph, and Pilate was happy for him to remove Jesus' body. In the same way, whatever God is asking us to do, He will have certainly gone ahead and prepared our way for us to have a successful outcome but He has to wait for us to take that first step of faith.

So be encouraged, or to put it another way, use your courage that God has already given you, and take that risk and do whatever it is He is asking you to do, knowing that 'in Christ' you can do it. You wont regret it. Be blessed.😊

BEING A 'CAN DO' PERSON

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

This verse will get us through anything when we believe it. How often do we catch ourselves saying 'I can't do this or that. It's too hard! I've had no training to do that. I don't have the confidence to do this. I'll only mess it up. Get someone else to do it.' ?

But God says we can do all things! Not just a few, not just the ones we're qualified to do, but all things through Christ. Notice we're not doing it in our own strength, which would probably be a disaster, but we're doing it through Christ who's strengthening us, enabling us, and anointing us for the task.

So take heart today. If you're facing a challenge that's caught you off balance, or having to make difficult decisions, or having to deal with an illness. Maybe the Lord is asking you to move somewhere and you don't think you can, whatever it is that you feel you 'can't do', then go to Jesus the Author and Finisher of your faith. He's the one who will make it possible. Take your eyes off yourself and put them firmly on Jesus and lean on Him.

Listen, this is God Himself telling you through Apostle Paul "You can do all things." Now go out and remind yourself, every five minutes if you have to, "I'm a 'can do' person because I am 'in Christ' and He is strengthening me, because God says so."

Let's be one of God's 'Can Do' people today, and don't forget to smile.😊

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Revelation 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb ......

Why is the Blood of Jesus so important? Everything we have in Jesus is only possible because of Jesus' pouring out His blood for us and without it we would be lost. Because of His pure sinless blood that He shed at Calvary for you and me we can be brought near to God Himself. Ephesians 2:13 ....once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

The price Jesus paid for us was huge and He poured out His blood in seven places: His back bled profusely and Isaiah 53 tells us by the wounds which ripped into His back we are and were healed  In the Garden of Gethsemane He sweat great drops of blood with the anguish of it. His brow was pierced by the cruel crown of thorns and blood flowed. His side was pierced and blood and water flowed, His beard was plucked out and His face bled, His hands and feet were nailed and His blood flowed and it is that blood which is now on the mercy seat of God in Heaven on our behalf.

When we plead the blood of Jesus we're calling on Heaven and reminding ourselves what Jesus' shed blood represents in our here and now: redemption from the curse of the law, forgiveness of our sins, the gift of eternal life, being made righteous with His righteousness, healing, protection and being reconciled to God Himself.

There is enormous power in the blood of Jesus and it's why we take the wine at communion. We're remembering that blood and that power, all it represents and what it did for us.  Nothing can withstand it. It's also proof of His great love for us.

The Blood of Jesus is so powerful it destroys every yoke, so we can declare the protection of the Blood of Jesus over ourselves and our families and all we own, and remind the enemy Jesus' blood is against him and satan cannot cross the bloodline. 

As we go out into our world today let's lay hold of the amazing blessing of the protection of the precious blood of Jesus. Lord Jesus, we can never thank You enough.

Refs: Luke 22:44/Isaiah 50:6/Matthew 27:29-30/Matthew 27:26/Psalm 22:16/John 19:34/1 Peter 2:24

JESUS IN THE CENTRE

Matthew 21:9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, "Praise God, for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!"

It's good to be reminded that when we have Jesus in the centre of our lives, in the centre of our 'procession' through life that it will cause others to praise God and be a blessing to Jesus Himself.

When our focus is taken off ourselves and put on Jesus and what He has done for us and is doing for us right now, as He intercedes for us day and night before God, when we have Jesus in the midst of everything we do, it will affect others around us as well as ourselves for the good.

The 'religious' people didn't like it, but the man in the street did! If what we do and say causes God to be praised it has to be good. Just in case we forget, and it happens to all of us, let's consciously ask Jesus to be in the middle of everything we do today, in the middle of our decision making, in the middle of our work or play. When we're at home let's remember to include Jesus in our mealtimes, our talking with the family or when we're chatting on the phone because He's with us even when we don't realise it or forget. 

When we're on our own it's lovely to know Jesus is right there with us and we can talk to Him about anything and everything because He cares about us and He's interested in every part of our lives. 

Let's keep Jesus in the centre of our 'procession' as we go through this week and give Him praise.😊

WE'LL SEE GOD'S GOODNESS

Psalm 27:13-14 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Well we're certainly all still in the land of the living so we can join the Psalmist and be confident we'll see the Lord's goodness to us in the coming days this year. Yes we do have to wait patiently but how we wait is very important.😊

If we wait with a great sense of expectation of good from God then we make His heart glad because we're in faith believing He can do the impossible and that He's the God of more than enough, of exceedingly above all we ask or think. When we look to Him for His favour in our every day lives we're releasing our faith and it's our faith that pleases Him. Isaiah tells us God is looking and longing to be good to us and He's looking to see who is believing Him for it so He can do it.

The lovely thing is, it's got nothing to do with our goodness or performance, it's all based on His grace to us because of Jesus and His finished work at the cross. He doesn't ask us to deserve it or work harder for it, or read our bibles more or anything like that. He just asks us to believe Him for it and receive it by faith, that's how lovely our God is.

So will you join with me and lock our shields of faith together believing we really will see the Lord's goodness to us in our lives, even this week? And let's thank Him for it in advance knowing He's working it all out for our good.

THE LORD CARES ABOUT US SO MUCH

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

We read that verse but maybe we don't realise just how much God loves us. 

I received such an encouraging testimony this week from someone who had been helped by reading the blogs when a whole lot of things had come against them, fighting a bug, car breaking down, etc. and how the Lord made sure they weren't alone when they broke down, how He provided lifts to work etc.

Sometimes it feels like the enemy is throwing everything at us doesn't it, and it's then we need encouragement to fight the good fight of faith, for someone to come along side and say 'We are Overcomers through Jesus, we will win this fight because God is for us all the way. He's helping us to rise above our circumstances, to take authority over the enemy, to use God's word against him, to know God has given us the victory over it all. We will win when we hang in there with God.'

So let me encourage us all today. We are not defeated, we are not hopeless or helpless or failures or mistakes. God says we are precious in His sight, that His favour surrounds us like a shield, that He cares about us with great love, that He goes before us into each and every day and has our backs covered. He calls us His special treasures, He calls us righteous and blameless in His sight in Jesus and as far as He is concerned we are a success going somewhere to succeed because of Jesus.

God loves us and cares about us far beyond our understanding and He wants us to rest in that wonderful truth. 

POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 

Today we're looking at the Name of Jesus. I love these verses because God says every knee will bow to Jesus' Name no matter what realm we are in.  In Ephesians 1:21 he tells us Jesus is far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named and not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 

So what does that mean for us? It means we can use the authority we've been given (which we looked at yesterday) to speak to our strongholds, sicknesses, lack etc; and tell them to bow the knee to the Name of Jesus and be removed. We're telling them to submit to Jesus' authority and name and they must bow. There is enormous power in the name of Jesus and every demon from hell knows His name and is terrified of it.

So what name does your trouble have? What's your mountain called? Whatever it is you can call on the mighty Name of Jesus and tell it to bow to Him because His name is above it and it cannot stand in His presence. Maybe it's called low self esteem, high blood pressure, arthritis, allergies, or any other disease or maybe it's called fear, or some form of addiction or debt. Whatever it is Jesus tells us to speak to our mountain and tell it to bow the knee and be removed in His name. (Matthew 17:20)

Jesus' Name is so powerful everything has to bow to it and He has given His name to us to use (John 14:13). I hope I've inspired you enough to find out more about His wonderful name.

And whatever you do today remember you are a child of the Most High God.😊

JESUS HAS GIVEN US HIS AUTHORITY

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Jesus Himself gave us His authority over all the power of the enemy which is wonderful. Maybe we've been conned into thinking we can't do much about the devil's attacks, that he's supposedly so powerful that we just lie down and let him ride over us but God wants us to know that is not true! Jesus has defeated the devil.

He wants to remind us all today, that we do have authority over the enemy right now because Jesus has had all authority given to Him (Matthew 28:18) and He has given that authority to us to use, to bring strongholds down in our lives, and others' lives too. (Mark 16:17)

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall proper, ....

Yes the enemy forms weapons against us but God has said they wont succeed and it'll help if we get that truth down in our spirits. We can't stop the enemy forming weapons against us but we do have authority over them and the enemy himself, and we're told to resist him (James 4:7) and do something about it. 

As long as we remember we're not doing it on our own authority or in our own strength, which wouldn't work anyway, but on Jesus' great authority and in Jesus' great strength, He will help us demolish strongholds. 

Remember we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and that includes using our God given authority over the enemy. Thank You Lord.

GOD BREATHING IN AND OUT

Psalm 2:5 I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.

 I don't know if this will help anyone else but I find doing the following helps me.

When I wake early in the night around 4 a.m. I find it hard sometimes to go back to sleep and if that happens I know I'll be tired out the next day. It's when I find it hardest to turn my mind off as all the concerns of the day come flooding in to try to make me anxious. For me it's one of the strongholds that needs to be broken. 

So last night instead of lying there fretting, I did this over and over again. As I breathed in, I said in my head, "God's love in", and as I breathed out I said "God's love out". Then I went on to "God's peace in" as I breathed in, and "God's peace out" as I breathed out, then "God's joy in" as I breathed in and "God's joy out"  as I breathed out. 

Forgive me if that sounds too simple to you but all I know is that as I stuck with it and concentrated on seeing His love, joy and peace flowing into me and then seeing it flowing out to others as I'll need it, eventually I found peace and went back to a sound sleep.

It helps too to remember our verse that the Lord is watching over us and as we fill our minds with His love for us, His peace and His joy all being poured into us, it crowds out all the other anxious thoughts. Just see His loving arms enfolding you, His great peace filling your soul and mind, and His joy beginning to bubble up on the inside. Be blessed.

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

PLACE THE WORD AGAINST IT

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Today we're looking at God's Word as one of the weapons of our warfare. We've all experienced the devil putting pressure on us either through sickness or trying to cause lack or condemnation in our lives or just through discouragement in one way or another.

I don't know about you but I get fed up with his tactics and God told me to turn the tables on him by putting pressure on him for a change. How do we do that? 

Whatever our situation regarding anything, whether it's lack or sickness or whatever, place the Word of God against it.  Apply the pressure of the truth of God's Word to it. Keep applying the Word of God and don't give up. 

When it's a sickness Proverbs says it's like applying medicine to it (Proverbs 4:20-22) - apply the Word of God till the symptoms bow the knee and leave or change. Use the many healing scriptures and reverse the pressure by telling that devil Psalm 107:20 God has sent His word and healed me and delivered me from all my destructions. 

When we're feeling condemned reverse the pressure by telling the enemy there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) When we're under financial pressure, turn it round and read him Phil 4:19 and tell him to flee and take his hands off your finances.. God tells us to put the Word of God to work for us because He'll back it up.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me void but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

When we put God's Word in our mouths, when we believe it and confess it, which just means to agree with it, when we hold fast to it and don't let it go, God's Word will defeat the enemy every time. Jesus used it when He was tempted by the devil. He said 'It is written...' 

So let's confess the Word and use this weapon of God's word to pull down strongholds, to turn the tables on the enemy for a change, and put pressure on him by telling him to flee!

Remember Jesus is the Word (John 1:1)