WE ARE NOT STUCK!

John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

I heard a preacher say the other day "You are not stuck!" and it really struck my spirit. We are not stuck! Jesus came to set us free from every single thing that's been holding us up or holding us down. He came to deliver us out of the pits that we fall in, out of the despair that tries to choke the life out of us sometimes. 

His word says He came to give us a future and a hope which means we're not staying where we are  but with His help we are moving forward towards it.

He came so our cup would run over, so that we would have abundant life - not half a life. The enemy tells us we're stuck but don't listen to his lies. Jesus came to tell us we are not stuck - He came to set us free, but it's like I said yesterday it calls for us to be persistent in His word. It's the truth of His word that gives us the revelation that we need in all areas, that we are not stuck!

v.36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

So the next time we feel stuck, either in a situation or with a weakness of some kind, or stuck with a disease or the enemy tries to tell us we are stuck in any way, let's turn it around and remind ourselves, "I belong to Jesus and He says He's set me free, so I am free indeed, so I tell Satan to get behind me because he is defeated and disarmed and I serve an eviction notice on him right now. - get out. I am not stuck - I am free in Jesus and I'm moving forward, in Jesus Name.  Amen."

Have a lovely holiday weekend.😊

THE WORD OF GOD WILL NOT FAIL

Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. 

The word of God prevailed which means it overcame, it was victorious, it did not fail.

Can I ask whoever is reading this, "Do you have something or anything in your life right now that needs to be overcome, that you are needing to gain victory over? If so, can I encourage you to use the word of God and let it grow mightily in you until you see it overcome whatever is afflicting you and bringing you down. 

You see the word of God is supernatural, and it's one of God's mighty weapons with which we can bring down those strongholds in our lives whatever that trouble us, whether it's hurt, or addiction, or fear or inferiority complex, or sickness. In fact, whatever it is, God has given us His word, His promises to defeat all the works of the enemy in our lives but it takes persistence on our part and calling on His Holy Spirit to be our Helper.

Jeremiah 1:12 (Amp) reminds us that 'God is alert and active watching over His word to perform it.' You may have a stronghold that says "I can't overcome this". But God's word says 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' The more we hear that, and speak it, the more we will believe it, the more it will prevail over your circumstances.

Whatever is trying to bind us, or hold us back, if we take the time to search the word for God's promises and apply them, by speaking them out over our lives, the more it will grow mightily in us and prevail - it will overcome, it will set us free, it will not fail. Thank You Jesus.

JESUS IS IN OUR NOW

Exodus 3:14  And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."

John 10:11 I AM the good shepherd...

Our God is the Great I AM. Jesus Himself is the great I AM. Present tense. He is in our now so we need to stay in the now as well. There's no point in going back into our past, whether it's to bemoan our mistakes or failures, or even to remember the good old days. There is no favour or grace in our past that we can draw on.

God is the I AM in our here and now so there's no point in going forward either, and worrying about our future because God graces us and favours us for our present. He gives us daily bread not tomorrow bread. Fretting over our tomorrows will only drain us of the energy we need today. 

When tomorrow comes, when our future comes, God will be there as our great I AM and He will supply and impart to us whatever it is we'll have need of. He will be our Provider, our Healer, our Wisdom, our everything, just like He is to us right now at this moment in time.

Jesus is here with us in our present, so let's live in the present with Him because all the grace and favour we need today is right here, right now, in the person of the Lord Jesus himself. 

He is our Good Shepherd and good shepherds look after their sheep, protect them and feed them on green pastures today. When Jesus fed the five thousand He fed them there and then, not the next day.  All we, as the sheep have to do, is go where He leads us and do as He tells us and He'll make sure we have more than enough. All will be well. 😊

Thank You Lord.

NOTHING IS WASTED

John 6:12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." 

We looked at the feeding of the 5,000 two days ago, then at Jesus' teaching on giving yesterday. Today we're looking at His next instruction.

First of all Jesus waited till everyone in the crowd had had enough, they were all full up, they were satisfied. I love that. Jesus wants us full and satisfied not needy and dissatisfied. That's His heart right there to bring us life, to the full, till it overflows. (John 10:10) 

In fact He provided so much more than they needed that there was a load of leftovers lying around after they'd all eaten. You wouldn't think Jesus would have paid any attention to what was left but it was obviously important to Him or He wouldn't have told His disciples to gather them all up, so nothing was wasted. 

Our society today is very much a throw away society but that's not God's way. Jesus is letting us know God doesn't like us to squander or waste anything He gives us.

I think He's reminding us that when we've got more than we need, don't let's waste any of it, let's put it to good use. Maybe we can gather it up so someone else can be helped and blessed by it or reuse it. 

No doubt it doesn't just refer to food but to all areas of our lives and I'm sure He'll show us what to do with anything we have that's leftover if we'll ask Him so nothing is wasted. 😊

And in a similar way God gathers all of us up even when we've maybe been leftover and feel no-one wants us. We can be tempted to think God could do nothing with some people they look too far gone but in God's eyes no one is a leftover, no-one is useless or hopeless or can't be restored. In God's kingdom He doesn't allow anyone or anything to be wasted.😊

SOW IT AS A SEED IN FAITH

Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Jesus Himself said those words to His disciples. Yesterday the Lord reminded us that if we bring what we have to Him He can multiply it to meet our need or the need of others.

For instance when we bring our tithes and offerings to the Lord first, He promises in Malachi to open the windows of heaven so we receive blessings we can't even contain. He even tells us to put Him to the test! (Malachi 3:10) His words, not mine.😊

The disciples only had a few loaves and fish to bring to Jesus, but they had a big need. Perhaps you have a need, small or big, in your life right now and you only have a small amount to give.  Then bring it to the Lord, ask Him where He wants you to give it. Thank Him for it and ask Him to multiply it back to you to meet your specific need. Sow it as a seed, plant it in His kingdom for the benefit of others.

Jesus promised in our verse that it would not only return to us but it would be running over!

So often we're tempted to think, 'You give me some money Lord and then I'll give into your kingdom.' But that's back to front. Jesus said to give first of what we have and then believe God to multiply it back to us, thirty, sixty and even a hundred times what we've given.

Sometimes what Jesus said goes against our upbringing, our culture or our understanding. But He said if we'll do what He says we'll be building our house on a rock, not on sand.

Maybe we'd like to have a think and decide what we can give Him to work with today. Sow a seed, having faith in Jesus' words, for our specific need, and see the windows of heaven begin to open over our lives in new ways.😊

JESUS ALREADY KNOWS WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO

John 6:5-6 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

The disciples were looking at a crowd of more than 5,000 people and Jesus knew they were needing to be fed with no supermarket round the corner.

Philip's response was "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them."  I wonder if we fall into that trap sometimes? We look at a need in our lives or in others', and think 'I'll never be able to pay for that.' He saw it only from what they could do.

Andrew had a glimmer of insight when he said "There's...five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" He knew he had something but couldn't see what Jesus could do with it. He could see what he had available but couldn't see beyond it's inadequacy. Maybe we're like that too. We have limited vision. We know we could give something but think 'what difference will it make?'

Jesus then revealed a wonderful truth. If we bring what we have to God, in faith, knowing He can do something with it that we can't, and give thanks for it, we're opening up a channel for God to flow through, to meet the need.

As we begin a new week let's remember Jesus already knows what He's going to do for us but He waits for our faith response. All it takes is a believing, thankful heart that knows God is able and willing to do the impossible for us and bring Him what we have, knowing He can use even what we think is inadequate, for His glory and for our benefit. 😊

BLESS THE LORD

 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 

Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: 

Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, 

the victory and the majesty; 

for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; 

Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.

Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. 

In Your hand is power and might;

In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.

If ever we feel stuck in our prayers and can't think what to say, this psalm of David's has some wonderful words to pray to lift our thoughts up to the Lord and acknowledge our amazing God.

They remind us that the Kingdom belongs to Him. Riches, honour, strength, power and might - they are all in His hand. He is the source of everything we need and we are safely held in the power of His hand too.

So much to praise and thank our God for today, don't you think?😊

GOD'S LITTLE SURPRISES

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

How do we acknowledge God in all our ways? Maybe it's not as complicated as we think.

Throughout our day God gives us little indicators of His presence and His care of us. Those moments when we see something we especially like or we're at the right place at the right time. They are not coincidences but God-incidences.

My daughter went with her family  to a converted barn on holiday over Easter and when she  arrived she loved the wildlife pattern duvet, the lovely rabbit cushion and the picture frame with miniatures inside it. Why? Because she's interested in all of those things and her comment was "God has blessed us!" She acknowledged the hand of God at work directing her to book that place.

God is interested in everything that interests us, those things that make our hearts sing and He loves us so much He springs those little surprises on us to make us smile and bring us joy.

It's when we acknowledge His hand in our every day lives and thank Him for His kindness that we're acknowledging Him in all our ways, that He's directing us. 

We went for a walk in the woods this week and there were swathes of bluebells which I absolutely love. I could smell their perfume and when you hunkered down and looked across all you could see was a sea of blue. So lovely and I thanked the Lord for them, for the opportunity to walk amongst them. Acknowledging Him is such a simple thing isn't it?

Let's be on the look-out this weekend and coming days to recognise and acknowledge God's hand of blessing on us and see Him spring His little surprises on us, and sometimes big ones - they'll make you smile.😊

TURNING OUR LIVES AROUND FOR GOOD

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go I will go, wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

The story of Ruth is so encouraging because she was a young woman whose life had been filled with sadness and trauma when her husband of ten years died along with his brother but as her story unfolds we find her tragic life being steadily turned around for good.

Ruth made a great choice when she stayed with her mother in law.  She finds work in the fields so they could both have enough grain to eat and while there she's noticed by the land owner Boaz .  She just 'happens' to go to his field to glean grain not knowing he is a wealthy relative. You see God had plans for this young woman and she would one day be in the ancestry of Jesus Himself.

So Boaz notices her and tells the young men not to give her any hassle. He invites her to eat with him and she was able to eat all she wanted and still had some left over. He then made sure she didn't go back to her mum in law empty handed.  It reminds me of the five loaves and two fish we read a few days ago where Jesus provided so much, there were leftovers. 

Boaz is a picture of the Lord Jesus - He is our family redeemer. He is the One who provides more than enough for us, the One who redeems our lives at great cost to Himself to bring us into His family and who blesses us beyond measure.

Be encouraged today, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He is still our Redeemer, still turning our lives around for good, still providing more than enough for us, still making sure we're protected and greatly loved and cared for. 

I hope that brings peace to your heart and a smile to your face today. 😊 Thank You Jesus.

FAITH OR FEELINGS

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

God has given us a key to life in this verse. We can live by what we feel or we can live by the truth of God's word. Feelings cause us to walk by sight but God calls us to walk by faith. We may not realise it but what we hear coming out of our mouths will direct the way our lives will unfold because death and life are in the power of our tongues. So often we're speaking defeat and doubt when God exhorts us to speak what He says - life, hope, joy, peace, prosperity, healing, victory.... 

We can't expect victory when we're talking defeat and negativity because they're the opposite of what God says. We're contradicting God without even realising it! We can't expect healing to come when we're talking and expecting sickness all the time. God says 'Let the weak say I'm strong, let the poor say I am rich.'  God's way of doing things is not ours and yet we doggedly go on with our way, because it's what we can see or feel, and wonder why things don't improve!

I believe if we'll change what we say and start speaking the word of God by faith, instead of what we feel, we'll begin to see victory manifest. We'll see our tongues produce the fruit of life, instead of a downward spiral in our situations.

Here's a suggestion. Take any area of your life that you need to see change, find a promise of God about it in scripture and every time you're tempted to say anything negative about it, substitute it with the promise. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and do it for a morning, then for a day and so on. God says He'll perform His word. Now our part is to believe Him and do what He says.😊

WONDERFUL MESSAGE

2 Corinthians 5:19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

It's good to be reminded that God is no longer counting people's sins against them and it's wonderful to know God is not standing over them with a big stick just waiting to hit them for doing anything wrong. In fact, because of Christ He's not holding their sins against them any more! 

So I asked myself, "Am I still holding the sins of some people against them? Am I still holding my own sins against me, when I get it wrong? Have I forgiven them and myself?" God reminded me that because God has forgiven them and me, then I can and must do the same.

It's so easy to judge people for what they've done, to judge ourselves when we get it wrong, to point the finger whether it's at a national leader, someone we know personally, or at ourselves. Jesus told us not to judge or we will be judged. We tend to forget that very conveniently when we point the finger don't we?

God has given us a wonderful message to share. It's what His grace is all about. It's giving us what we don't deserve - His forgiveness, His blotting out of all our transgressions as though they never were. Jesus did that for us. He took ALL our sin upon Himself, and everyone else's as well, so we can ALL come back to God and be washed totally clean. That is amazing grace and it's for everyone if we'll receive it.

God wants you back! If you want to come back to the God who loves you, then repent of your sin,  confess Jesus is your Lord, that you believe Jesus died and rose again for you and thank Him for forgiving all your sin. Receive His forgiveness. He'll welcome you back into His family with open arms and great love today. 

JESUS IS THE LIFE

Judges 17:6 In those days Israel had no king, all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Our verse sounds a bit like what is happening in our own world. Everyone doing what they think is right in their own eyes but we only have to see the News to know it's not working and it's because we were created and designed by Almighty God for a life lived with Him, loved and protected and guided by Him. We weren't designed to do our own thing!

Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God's thoughts are not the world's thoughts, that His ways are not the world's ways. He says His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts and the only way we can find out His ways and thoughts is through His Word, through Jesus.

When we read the book of Judges we read of people who seem to be muddling along but God doesn't want His people muddling along any more and He gave us Jesus to be our Wisdom, our Righteousness and anything else we need. 

Let's be a people today who don't do what seems right to us but a people who know their God, who seek after Him, who follow Jesus and His ways. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and Jesus came to give us His life to the full, till it overflows.

That is a firm, definite, glorious promise of a fulfilling life in Jesus. There is no 'seems right' about it. He is The Life. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

GOD LIFTS US UP

Psalm 113:6-7 He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.

When we couldn't come up to God's level He stooped down in order to come amongst us, to be a human being just like us, in order to rescue us and lift us up to be able to be with Him.

That's what the cross and resurrection were all about - Jesus coming down to us in order to lift us up to His Father. What an amazing God is our God. His love reaches down to our lowest point, even when we feel like we're so low we could never get back up and He puts His loving arms around us and lifts us back up. 

We were all sinners at some point, all needy in the dump of sin, but praise God He didn't leave us there - He lifted us up and out of it all and gave us His robe of righteousness.

There is no mess, no sin so bad that His blood can't cleanse us and wash it away. No sickness, no disease so bad that His blood hasn't already bought and paid for our healing. No fear, no anxiety so bad that His love and His blood haven't already defeated and rendered powerless.

God's love never fails and when we see His love for us on the cross and receive and believe His love for us, His perfect love can cast out our fear.

Can you see Him stooping down for you? Let's allow God to lift us up afresh today, to see ourselves where we truly are, seated in heavenly places in Christ where He has placed us, safe for all eternity because of Jesus. Thank You Lord.

NO LONGER TRAPPED - STONE ROLLED AWAY

Matthew 17:65 Pilate replied, "Take guards and secure it the best you can." So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it....

The chief priests thought they had Jesus' body trapped in the tomb, sealing the stone and putting guards in place. Likewise the enemy thinks he has us trapped and sealed into our circumstances so he thinks we'll feel helpless or hopeless.

But read on...Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it...Then the angel spoke to the women, "Don't be afraid!", he said. ".... He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen....

Good news! The tomb has been burst open and so has our 'tomb'! Whatever has had us trapped in, has been dealt with at the cross by Jesus. Whatever has been spoken over us or done to us, to try to seal us in has been rolled away by the blood Jesus shed at the cross. He has given His victory to us over all the works of the enemy. 

We are 'in Christ' and He is no longer in the tomb or trapped in any way. He is not sick, defeated, depressed or helpless. He is our Victorious Risen Saviour, and 1 John 4:17 says...as He is, so are we in this world! That is amazing!

Let's grab hold of the victory Jesus gives to us and walk out of whatever entombs us, and see ourselves as Over-comers, as people who are no longer hopeless or helpless. By faith we know we are forgiven and reconciled to God and we give Jesus all the praise and glory today. 

Christ is Risen Indeed!  Hallelujah! We are all so blessed.😊

GOD HAD RESURRECTION ON HIS MIND

Luke 23:55 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

These ladies had just been through an incredibly traumatic experience watching their beloved Master and close friend being crucified, His battered and bloodied body lowered down from the Cross, and then lovingly carried into Joseph's new tomb. 

I can imagine they cried all the way home and wept some more as they prepared the ointments for his body. Interestingly they never had to do any of what they thought because God made sure they had to rest and I think that's very significant. When we've been through hard experiences He calls us to rest in Him for a while. Perhaps they didn't sleep much that night at the thought of their task in the morning, little realising their circumstances, and the whole of history, were about to change overnight.

The resurrection of Jesus changes everything for all of us. What seems hopeless one moment is turned around by God when all hope seems gone. There may be negative evidence in front of us, but be encouraged, God says it's not the end, it's just the beginning.

Hallelujah, resurrection was on it's way and that goes for us too, whatever seems to be lost or dead to us, Jesus still has the power to resurrect and bring new life to us. He is the God of all hope and comfort because of Jesus.  It's not over yet. Praise His Name.

DECLARING GOD'S LOVE FOR US

Psalm 92:1-2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.

Because today is Good Friday we're reminded of the evidence of how deep the Father's love is for us in giving us His only Son the Lord Jesus to die our death on the Cross, and take our punishment, so we can go free and be forgiven, so we can spend eternity with Him. What a Wonderful Saviour we have!

God is a faithful God, He'll never let us down or let us go. Faithfulness is part of who He is. Just as He is Love, so He is Faithful. There is tremendous security in that alone.

"So Lord we come to say thank  You for the Cross. We come and declare Your love, Your loving kindness and your great faithfulness to us. We thank you that You do love us so much, we soak and rest in Your love for us today and we give you thanks again and praise You for it and most of all for the Lord Jesus Himself and all He's done for us. 

We declare to the principalities and powers that our God loves us, He is protecting us and watching over us and will never let us go. In Jesus' name. Amen."

GOD WANTS TO REMIND US

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

God wants to remind us of some things today because it's easy to forget them and be distracted by everything that goes on in our lives.

He wants to remind us that He loves us not with a wishy washy love, or a love that fades in and out according to our behaviour. No, it's a strong, unchanging, rock solid love that never wavers, no matter what!

He also wants us to know that we are dear to His heart. We are the apple of His eye, we are so precious to Him because we've accepted and believed His Son, the Lord Jesus. He is lovingly watching over us every minute of our day and night. He's there when we can't sleep, He's there when things go right and when they go wrong. He's just there, because we're so precious to Him.

He wants us to know that He wants us to draw close to Him at any time. He wants our company, to tell us He loves us and for us to tell Him of our love for Him too. He wants us to spend some time with Him and ask Him of things to come because He has good plans for each one of us.

He wants to lead us into things one step at a time so we don't try to work it all out and He doesn't want us to do that. He wants us to trust Him for each step we're on and He will get us to where He wants us to be.

So be uplifted and encouraged - You are deeply loved and very dear to the heart of your Saviour. Will you let Him draw you close today?

Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all Your works.

HOW CAN I?

Judges 6:15: "But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

Have you ever felt like the Lord was nudging you to do something but you've had a fit of the "How can I's?", an attack of  "I'm the least likely person to do that!"  If you have then you're not alone, but this account of Gideon reminds us that if God is asking something of us then He is also enabling us to do it. He tells Gideon "go with the strength you have".

That's a challenge to all of us. We may feel like we're the least of the least but when God is with us we have the Greatest of the Greatest with us and no enemy will be able to withstand us! All He asks is that we go with the strength we have (however inadequate we think it is). 

In the previous chapter we read about the prophetess Deborah who told Barak, the Israelite commander,  to call to arms his men but in v.15-16 we read how the tribe of Reuben were suffering from great indecision whether to go and they just sat at home watching the sheep! How sad is that. Whereas some of the other tribes  answered the call and saw the Lord fight for them.

Just in case you're suffering from indecision whether to follow what the Lord has asked you to do, be encouraged by these true stories of Deborah and Gideon because the Lord went ahead of them and won the battles for them but He's waiting for us to answer His nudging.

He says to each of us "Go with the strength you have. I will be with you." 

WHAT'S IN GOD'S WELL?

Isaiah 12:2-3 'Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.' Therefore  with joy  you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Have you ever wondered what's in God's well of salvation? Some people only draw out forgiveness of their sins and a home in heaven but there is so much more and God wants us to draw from it every single day, all day with joy! If we don't, then it's a bit like being given a cheque for million of pounds and never drawing on it!

Maybe when we're not feeling any joy could it be because we've not been drawing from the wells of salvation?

The Greek word for the salvation Jesus bought and paid for with His blood, includes our forgiveness, God's acceptance of us, our healing, our financial supply (all our needs met according to His riches in glory); our peace of mind and security, good relationships, the comfort of God, His joy; wisdom and understanding....... 

Basically, if we have a need of anything God has made it available to us to draw on by faith. It has nothing to do with our deserving it or not, it is solely dependent on His great grace He's given us in Jesus and it's available to us all.

So may I encourage us again, taking our faith bucket with us, and go and meet with Jesus, and with joy draw from His well of life giving water, from the deep, deep well of His salvation for whatever it is we need in the coming days.😊 

FRESH LIVING WATER FROM JESUS

John 4:6-7 Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noon-time. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water.....

When Jesus sat down at the well He was waiting for a particular lady to come and speak to Him and He'd walked miles out of His way in order to get there at the exact moment she would be there too. Jesus is never late and He's sitting and waiting for you and me to come and talk to Him too.

That lady thought the water she had was the best you could get - it was Jacob's well after all! She couldn't see beyond where she was and what she'd known all her life. In a way she thought what she had was as good as it gets and was sceptical of Jesus' claims that what He had was better.

Then she had a light bulb moment. She realised Jesus knew every sad detail of her personal life but He still had time for her, still had a wonderful future for her. He didn't condemn her but offered her something infinitely better than what she had. The choice was hers. Would she go off in a huff, or say she was too busy right now, or would she accept what Jesus offered?

Thankfully she didn't take offence but received the life giving water He offered and was so bubbling over with the whole thing that she ran back to her town to tell everybody.

Jesus still offers all of us His life giving water, the life of the Holy Spirit, so if you could do with a fresh bucketful, why not go and sit at the well with Jesus for a little while and let Him love you and refresh you and give you His instructions at the start of this new week. You'll be glad you did - just like that lady.😊

WE GIVE GOD THE GLORY

 Psalm 44:7 You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies;

you disgrace those who hate us. O God, 

we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.

Some things had obviously been tough for the author of this psalm and he was suffering at the hands of his enemies but this psalmist had learned to take his eyes off himself and put them on his God. He was so convinced of the victory that God would give him that he just wanted to praise His name and give Him glory all day long.

So Lord we do the same today. You're our wonderful Saviour and thank you for delivering us and giving us the victory in all our circumstances, even before we can see it, and praise you in advance and give you all the glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.

GOD YOU SAID....

Psalm 103:20 Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.

God has brought us into His family and it helps us when we learn to talk His language, the language of His kingdom which is the Word of God. When we have His Word coming out of our mouths in faith then our Father God commissions angels to make it come to pass in our lives. That's good news! 

To encourage ourselves daily we can say:

"Lord You said You said You will withhold no good thing because I walk uprightly, that because I delight in You, You'll give me the desires of my heart." 

If we're struggling with finances we can say:

"Lord you said when I give it will be multiplied back to me pressed down and flowing over, that You would supply all my needs. You said You take pleasure in prospering me. You said You'd open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings I can't contain when I bring my tithes and offerings."

If we have a negative report from the doctor we can say:

"Lord you said with long life you will satisfy me. The number of my days You would fulfil, that I would live and not die, that You are restoring health back to me."

Instead of worrying, let's turn it around and thank God for what He has promised and declare those promises by faith. "Lord you said You hold victory in store for the righteous. You said Your favour surrounds me like a shield. You said the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. Thank You Jesus."

All the promises are 'Yes and Amen in Jesus' so let's bring them to our Heavenly Dad. Let's put a smile on His face by giving His angels something to work with today and declare His promises. "😊 God You said .......

ANTIDOTE TO THE 'LOWS'

Psalm 40:2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

We all have days when we feel low, maybe we've started listening to some of the lies of the enemy and we start to feel 'less than'. So what is the antidote to those low days?

We have to remember who we really are - a child of the Most High God, we belong to Him and we've been adopted into His family. God is now our Father, Jesus is our brother and we've been filled with His Holy Spirit - He's living on the inside of us. You are not just 'you' any more, because of 'Who' lives in you. That's our solid ground.😊

We have to remind ourselves constantly that we're fearfully and wonderfully made, that we are God's masterpiece, that we are one of a kind. There's no need, in fact it's unhelpful, to compare ourselves to someone else. God gave you the right looks, the right personality and the right gifts for the road He designed for you to walk on. God has anointed you to do whatever He calls you to do, and He says He has victory in store for the righteous, that's you and me.

God wants us to hold our head up high, put our shoulders back and remember who we really are, who He has made us to be. He says we're more than a conqueror, we're a victor not a victim.We have God's approval because of Jesus and we have on His royal robe of righteousness, we're wearing His crown of loving kindness and tender mercies. 

Now let's 'see' ourselves the way God sees us, the way we really are - you are one of the jewels in His crown, you are special to Him and He gave you gifts and talents no one else has. He only has one like you and you matter so much to Him. He has something for you to do that only you can do.

If you feel a bit low today let Him lift you back up, out of the pit of despair - to see who you really are, because of who God has made you to be in Jesus. Thank You Jesus! Amen.

HE'S SAVED THE BEST TILL NOW!

John 2:5 But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." v.11 This miraculous sign in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.

Today we find Jesus at a wedding with His mum Mary and his family and friends when the wine ran out. Mary knew Jesus could help and even though Jesus hadn't started His ministry yet, she did the 'mum' thing and told Him to do something about it! 

So Jesus demonstrated for us this principle that we looked at yesterday of using what we have and He'll get involved.  He told the servants to fill the huge jars (jars again!!) with 20-30 gallons of water each, then told them to take it to the master of ceremonies. As they took it to him it became wine and the man was so impressed he said to the bridegroom, "A host always serves the best wine first ...but you have kept the best till now!"

I believe that whatever has gone on before in our lives, when we involve God, He will do something new because He has saved the best for us till now. 

Be encouraged, God has not forgotten us and He's about to show us His glory in new ways if we'll do whatever He tells us. That's the key right there. Do whatever He tells us to do!

Maybe He's given you a God idea, or shown you something you already have that He can turn to your advantage. Maybe He's asking you to get out of the boat in faith and do something with it and if you don't know yet keep asking Him to show you. Whatever it is, He wants us to know and believe we are entering His best for us. 

Be encouraged - He's saved the best till now!  

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE?

2 Kings 4:2 So Elisha said to her, "what shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?

Elisha met a lady whose sons were going to be sold into slavery because she had no money to pay her debts so Elisha asked what she had in her house. She said she only had a little jar of oil. So he told her and her sons to go and find as many empty jars as she could borrow or collect, close her door then start pouring. She did exactly as he said and her tiny jar just kept pouring oil time and again till every jar, big and small, was filled. Then she sold them and was no longer a poor widow.

In 1 Kings 17 we read of Elijah talking with a widow who was on the point of starving and he asked her to bring a morsel of bread in her hand.  She replied she only had a handful of flour and a little oil.  Elijah asked her to make him a cake with it first, and from then on the flour and oil never ran out until the rains came again and she and her boy lived on supernatural provision.

God uses what is in our hand, or in our house and He uses the simplest things. Whether it's a sling and five small stones, a stick in Moses hand, a little jam jar, or just a handful of flour. When we offer what we have to Him to use, then He can bless it beyond our greatest imaginings to provide for us and others.

What do you have in your hand, in your house? Why not ask the Holy Spirit to show you, then offer it up to Him to use on your behalf and others. 😊

AWARE OF HIS PRESENCE

Psalm 139:5-7 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

What a wonderful God is our God! His care of us is everywhere and all around us. The psalmist goes on to say v.9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest ocean, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

We once flew to the other side of the world and stood on the shores of Australia's farthest ocean. I don't think we could have gone much further away from home in the UK if we tried, but God was there with us. Wherever we went, He went too. We just can't go anywhere where He is not there to protect and shield us, to bless us.

So if you need His strength to support you today - you already have it. If you need His hand to guide you the right way to go - you already have it. If you want God to be there for you every second of your day - His presence is already there with you. And if you want His hand of blessing on all you do - you already have it too. 

As I said - what a wonderful God we have! Let's praise and thank Him today for His presence with us and all His goodness and grace to us. He's with you every second.😊

LOVED TO THE END

John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

This is such a lovely verse and it's a great comfort to know, no matter what happens, that Jesus loves us to the very end - whether that will be to the end of our personal lives on earth or to the end of time and into eternity, it covers it all including all the bits in between. 

It says Jesus knew His time had come to leave this world and we know that moment will come for all of us at some point but one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that Jesus will love us to the very end.

So before you begin a new week, just relax and think about Jesus' love for you for a few moments, especially if you're feeling stressed or fretful or concerned about the coming week. Remember that God is love and His love never fails, it never gives up on us, it doesn't keep a record of our wrongs, His love is unconditional and it knows no limits. Every moment for the rest of our days we know God will love us. 

And if you have someone difficult to deal with today remember God's love is down on the inside of you to call on, to show His love to others too, when you need to.

Just keep saying to yourself throughout your day "Jesus will love me to the very end, I'm going to be Ok. "

BURSTING WITH JOY

Psalms 34:1-3
The Passion Translation

Lord! I’m bursting with joy over what you’ve done for me! My lips are full of perpetual praise. I’m boasting of you and all your works, so let all who are discouraged take heart. Join me, everyone! Let’s praise the Lord together. Let’s make him famous! 

Let’s make his name glorious to all.

This verse just makes you want to smile from ear to ear because it reminds us of what is really ours in Jesus and what He's done for us. So let's join the psalmist and boast of Him - He's forgiven all our sins past, present and future, redeemed our lives from a lost eternity in hell, given us His righteousness,reconciled us to God our Father, bought and paid for our healing with His blood, given us His peace and joy and so much more besides.

So if you've been discouraged this week try declaring this verse out loud over your life over and over again until the joy of it begins to fill your spirit once again. Praise defeats the enemy so let's do some praising today wherever we are.👏😊

LOOK UP

Psalm 121:1-2 I will look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

Where are we looking today? Are we looking at our problems, our circumstances, the lack, the sickness, the frustrations of life? Or are we looking up, away from ourselves, away from the problems and up to the Lord, the only One with the answers and solutions to those problems.

It's good to remember that it's not all about us, that we need to take the emphasis off ourselves and put it back on Jesus - our delivering, miracle working God.

When we have our eyes on a higher level it will help us get things back into perspective. We'll remember we have our all powerful God, the Lord Jesus, who is on our side, the One who makes the sun to rise each day, the One who can calm seas, feed thousands, who can go into Hell itself and come out again totally victorious.

We have a God who wants us to come to Him for help night and day with boldness and confidence in Him, with big prayers, not puny prayers. He loves to see our faith that says "I don't know what to do but I do know You are for me and not against me and nothing is too hard for You Lord. With You anything is possible, and I ask You to turn this situation around in the Mighty Name of Jesus. My eyes are on You."

When we do that we know that God is always moved by our faith and He rewards those who diligently seek Him and He'll do what He said He'll do - He'll come to our help and rescue. So let's remember to look up. 

Have a lovely weekend.😊

DON'T TRY TO WORK IT OUT!

1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

I'm sure we all have cares of some kind or another and if you have a brain like mine you want to figure everything out to the last degree. We plan, we organise, we look at problems from every angle, even the ones that don't exist, in order to solve problems! 

Maybe you're a problem solver too and want to try to fix everybody and make everything right for them which is a lovely caring thought but actually only one person can do that job and it's God Himself. How often do we inadvertently try to play God without even realising it? 

My daughter has often had to say to me "Don't overthink it Mum!" and she's absolutely right and what a blessing it is to have someone in your life to remind you of that. The overthinking thing often happens when we're tired or in the small hours of the night when things loom up like giants but in the light of day we remember we're not the problem solver, God is.

So will you allow me to be that someone for you and let me say it to you today "Stop overthinking things and don't try to work it all out!"  If God wants you to do something about it He'll show you what to do, and if He doesn't, then leave well alone and let Him do it because He'll do it so much better than us anyway.😊

Instead let's be thankful and pray in faith about our situations and then we'll receive the Holy Spirit's input and wisdom.  Trust the One who loves you and just rest in the knowledge that we can cast all our cares on Him and know He's sorting it all out. Our God is mighty.