NO LONGER A SLAVE!

Galations 4:5 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out,  Abba, Father. v.7 Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child....

Good news! We're not slaves anymore to anything in the enemy's kingdom, which means we are no longer a slave to worrying, to fear, to sinful tendencies, or to anything else that would pull us down. 

Romans 8:15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."

There it is again! So next time something is thrown at us which tries to make us think negatively, or act wrongly or feel fearful we need to remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit has already set us free from the power of it. He's already released us from it's hold so we can resist it, not in our power, but in His, because of who we are - a child of God. 

The Holy Spirit is reminding us that we've been adopted by God Himself, that He is our Abba, our Daddy Father God who we can run to any time for help. The enemy tries to deceive us into thinking we're still his fearful slaves, that we are helpless against him- but that is one of his deceiving lies, it is not God's truth!

God knows we get fearful sometimes but He wants us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are no longer a slave to them! He's done something about it. Let's ask Him to help us receive a fresh revelation of that truth deep in our spirits so that He can strengthen us to resist the fears and worries that try to overwhelm us. Let's keep reading these scriptures over and over until they take root inside us.

If nothing else today, remember you are a child of God, and even when you feel fearful, know that you don't actually have a fearful spirit, but you do have the Holy Spirit who has set you free from the power and hold of it and let's thank Him for it by faith. God loves you.😊

PRAYING FOR OTHERS

Job 42:10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before. v.12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.

Job's life couldn't get much worse. He was really sick, his children had all been killed and he'd lost his fortune and his social standing. When he really needed them his friends were no help, telling  him he must have messed up somehow, or it must be his own fault or maybe God was punishing him. They had it wrong!

Yet even though God was angry with his friends for what they'd said and not speaking accurately about God Himself, God wanted Job to pray for them to be forgiven.  So even though they'd treated him badly and while he was still very ill, he prayed for them all. As a result of his willingness to obey God, all of his situation was turned round for good and God healed him and blessed him with twice as much as before it all began!

Job was in the second half of his life and he had probably been thinking it was too late for things to change. Maybe we're thinking the same thing and if so, be greatly encouraged today because God proved it wasn't too late, and He's still in the business of turning things around. As He did it for Job He can do it for you and me too. 

I expect we all have people in our lives who we need to pray for, perhaps those we need to forgive as well, and as we obey God's promptings, like Job, He can bless the second half of our lives too. 😊

CHANGED INTO HIS GLORIOUS IMAGE

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

What a way to start the week knowing we can reflect the glory of the Lord.😊 

Have you ever wanted to be more like Jesus? Well our verse assures us that we are, bit by bit, day by day! The Lord Himself is making us more and more like Him. It says all of us, not some! The more we look to Jesus the more He will change us into His glorious image.

When we look in the mirror we may be a bit bleary eyed, especially in the morning, or we may see wrinkles but that's not what God sees. He sees the glory of His Son being reflected in us. 

So take heart as we begin a new week. God is transforming us from the inside out and He's not finished with us yet - we are a work in progress and God says we are His workmanship, made in His image for His glory. In His eyes you are glorious, glowing from the inside out, reflecting His glory. 

How wonderful is that!! Let's smile and let some of the glory out. 😊 Have a great and glorious week in Him.

THE LORD IS OUR EVERYTHING

Psalm 18:1-2 (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. 

O He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. 

Don't those verses make your heart sing?  If we sit and think on those words for a little while we'll be reminded of how the Lord is everything to us and how secure He makes us feel. 

Our God is the One who holds the wind in His fists, who wraps up the oceans in his cloak, who has created the whole wide world (Proverbs 30:4). Isaiah tells us He measured off the heavens with the span of His hand, He measured the waters of the oceans in the hollow of his hand. He knows the weight of the earth and weighed the mountains and hills on a scale (Isaiah 40:12). 

He is immensely powerful and yet He is our loving Heavenly Father because of Jesus. What a wonderful Saviour we have and how worthy of all our praise.

We praise You and thank You Lord with all our hearts for saving us and being our everything. Amen.

***If you don't know Jesus yet as your Saviour but would like Him to be, may I encourage you to invite Him into your life, ask Him to forgive all your sin and be your Lord and Saviour today. If you scroll down and click on the Web Version there is a prayer at the side of the Blog to help you.  God bless you.

JESUS IS OUR YES!

2 Corinthians 1:19 For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between "Yes" and "No." ...as God's ultimate "Yes", he always does what he says.  v.20 For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.

When you've read scripture and seen one of God's promises you may have thought 'Is that for me or not? Is God speaking to me personally?' Well according to the Apostle Paul in our verses today the answer is a resounding "Yes"!

Jesus has fulfilled all of God's promises and when we believe them and say our "Yes Amen" to them we are taking them for ourselves. Jesus said when we believe, then all things are possible to us. Believe what? Believe His promises.

You may have heard it said that when we pray God sometimes says ''Yes and sometimes 'No'.  That may be true if what you're asking for is not based on a promise but if it is based on one of His promises then the answer is always Yes! How do I know that? Because our verse says Jesus Christ does not waver between Yes and No! You may have to wait for it all to happen but it will.😊

It's like God giving you a cheque with one of His promises written on it, made out in your name. He's waiting for you to take it to the bank of heaven in prayer and say "I'm cashing this cheque in for this promise" and then doing the same thing with all His promises.

I hope that encourages someone and if you are standing on a promise of God then keep standing on it because Jesus is backing it up to the hilt and He always does what He says. 😊

THE JOY OF LETTING GO

Hebrews 12:1 ...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Things happen in life and we tend to go over and over them in our minds until they seem to be stuck in a groove! It may be family upsets or childhood memories or anything. Whatever those things are, they're like carrying heavy suitcases which weigh us down and I know I've had a few!

The good news is that Jesus died to set us free from it all and we don't need to hold on to anything that pulls us down any more. God wants us to 'throw them off' and let them go!

There is such a release and even a joy in letting go. We'll know if we're holding on to something which isn't helpful when we think about someone or something and have that sinking feeling, like a dark cloud hanging over us.

God wants us to bring all of those things to Him and allow Him to deal with them. What He doesn't want is for us to hold on to them. He wants us to let them go, to throw them off on to Him because Jesus died to set us free from them.

I don't know if it might help, but I had a picture in my head of seeing ourselves throwing all the stuff that weighs us down, that we've been carrying round for far too long, into big suitcases, tying them to huge helium balloons and letting them go, seeing them rise up and flying away out of our lives for God to deal with. 

Your suitcases may be full of resentment or hurts. For others it will be different things but as we choose to let them go I know our loving God will fill us instead with His joy and peace once again.

GOD WANTS US TO GROW

Hebrews 6:1 ...Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding....v.3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

Just as we'd be disturbed to see a grown man or woman still sucking his/her thumb, God doesn't want us to stay spiritual babies either. He wants us to grow up and mature so we can go on and help others to grow spiritually too. Peter says to crave the milk of the Word of God and Paul says to go on from there to the meatier, stronger things. 

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech .....you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation (1 Peter 2:1-2). We don't want half an experience but the full experience.😊

One way we know we need to do some growing is when we take offence. If we don't take offence we know we're making progress.😊 When we say 'I can never forgive them', we know we need some help from the Holy Spirit to grow in that area. It may be in the area of growing in confidence or controlling our moods, all sorts of things!

Thankfully we have the Holy Spirit to help us and as we allow the Lord Jesus Himself to live in us and through us, He will change us from the inside out if we let Him. 

It's a bit like watering our flowers in the garden to help them grow, the Word of God waters us and helps us grow spiritually too.😊 

Isaiah 48:11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

BEING THANKFUL

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

God is the same God as He's always been. He has always been slow to anger and great in mercy. He's always been generous to us so we have more than enough and Jesus showed us God's heart has always been to heal His children and it still is. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and His examples of how God does things remains the same too.

When the little boy gave the disciples his lunch of five loaves and two fish Jesus didn't look at it and say "Well that's not enough. What do you expect me to do with that?" No He did something very significant. He took what was given to Him, what He had, and He thanked His Father for it, He blessed it, and it multiplied in His hands. The little was multiplied because He was thankful, and He had an attitude of faith.

In the same way He doesn't want us to moan about what's wrong, what we don't have, but to thank Him for what we do have.

Our verse reminds us being thankful is God's will for us, and part of the reason is because it allows God's power to be released into our lives. The next time we have a pain or don't feel well, instead of only focusing on the pain or sickness, let's give God thanks for all the parts of our bodies that are working well and that He's healing the bits that aren't! Thank Him for all the bits that do work, the organs that are functioning properly, the mobility we do have. If you have a sore finger, thank Him for the nine that are not sore! I hope you get the idea.😊

So let's be thankful and let God know we're grateful for all His goodness to us and all He has given us already. I believe that what we are thankful for, God will multiply, whether it's health, finances, whatever, for His glory. Amen.

BEING FAITHFUL

Luke 16:10 If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you wont be honest with greater responsibilities.

Doing the little things, that no-one sees, and keeping a cheerful attitude about them can be a challenge sometimes. It may be at home doing repetitive cleaning or clearing up and we're tempted to think why bother? It may be in church behind the scenes that no one knows about, doing the not so glamorous jobs. It may be in work where we have to do a menial task and wish someone else would do it!

Even though no one else may see all the little things we do, God sees and knows, and is so pleased when He sees us doing them faithfully and honestly, doing them as well as we can, and not giving up or complaining. Jesus reminds us that if we remain faithful in doing the little things God knows He can trust us to be faithful with bigger responsibilities.

So as we begin another new week let's keep being faithful in whatever it is He has given us to do because then we'll know we'll be able to be faithful in whatever it is God has planned for our future.

And to encourage us even more He gives us this promise - 

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, .....

Have an aboundingly blessed week.😊 

 

JOY INSIDE

 Psalm 97:ll (Nlt)

 Light shines on the godly, 

and joy on those whose hearts are right.

Light and Joy! What a wonderful combination of blessings that God has given to us.

Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit - 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.' (Galations 5:22-23) Even though we may not be happy about some things in life we can still experience His joy.😊

Why is that you may ask? The Amplified Bible translates and explains: 'His joy is the irrepressible joy which comes from being conscious of His favour and protection'.

If you had the favour of some very influential and wealthy person you'd probably feel joyful about it. Well how much more when we remember and are conscious that we have the favour of God Himself and His mighty protection. It will produce His joy deep down inside us and it just can't be held down.  It's only when we forget, or don't believe we have His favour and protection, that we begin to lose our joy and start worrying.

So be encouraged, let His joy bubble back up again today because God has said we have His favour shining on us and we can enjoy His protection for ever more. As we believe that, I'm sure we'll begin to feel a little bubble coming up again. 😊 Thank You Jesus!

HOW TO STAND STRONG

Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

When we were in Devon a few weeks ago we noticed a house on the clifftops had totally collapsed and fallen down the cliff  due to coastal erosion in the storms.

None of us wants to collapse in life's storms and yesterday we looked at our lasting foundation and roots going deeply down into God's love. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation bedrock of the church and of our faith as individuals, and here He tells us how to build on it.

He says to be wise people and not only hear His teachings but actually do them. If we do them we will be able to withstand the storms of life that He describes.

Jesus talks about not judging people, forgiving them, loving our enemies, not worrying, doing to others what we want them to do to us, to ask, seek and knock, and so much more. He says if we do as He says we won't collapse. 

Jesus never intended us to do those things in our own strength but when we remember He has us deeply rooted in His great love for us then we can do them in His strength and His ability.  With His help we can build our spiritual house strong and we will keep standing. 

Have a blessed weekend.😊

WE'RE BEING HELD STEADY

Proverbs 10:25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

Our verse doesn't say 'if' the storms of life come, it says 'when' and we've all probably experienced some storms along the way but I love the fact it says we have a lasting foundation. In other words, we're being held steady. 

Our verse cross references to Proverbs 12:3  ...But the godly have deep roots. We're not left to be tossed about by the storms, because we're deeply rooted with roots that hold us strong. Scripture says we're like a palm tree and they are known to be able to bend over to ground level in stormy winds but have the God given ability to spring back upright. How wonderful is that? No matter how far bent over we get God is strengthening us to be able to spring back up. Thank You Lord.

So what is it we're rooted in that keeps us so strong? Ephesians 3:17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into Gods love and keep you strong.

It's because we belong to Jesus that we are now rooted and grounded in His great love for us and we know love never fails and His perfect love casts out all fear. That's what our foundation and our roots are in and the more we learn about His love for us the stronger our roots will be.

So be encouraged today to know that we are deeply rooted in Christ's love, He's holding us steady and He's giving us the ability to always spring back up. 😊Thank You Lord.

WHEN LIFE SEEMS PUZZLING!

Hebrews 12:1(b)-2.....And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.....

I've been doing jigsaw puzzles the past couple of days and if you do them too you'll know how frustrating it is when you can't find the bit you want or there appears to be a bit missing! 😊

Life is like that sometimes when no matter what we do it feels like we've missed a bit somewhere or the pieces don't seem to fit together the way we think they should! It can feel quite puzzling!

It's at those times when we have to keep our eyes on Jesus so He can see we're trusting Him even when the picture isn't coming together as we thought it would. Corrie Ten Boom used to say that life is like a patchwork quilt and there's a mess of loose threads all tangled up on the back side of it but when you turn it over on the front side it looks beautiful as it comes together.

Very often all we can see is the back of the quilt and things look somewhat muddled but don't worry because God is making something beautiful out of all our lives and one day we will get to see it all finished. We are all a work in progress.😊

Until then let's encourage each other to run our race with the endurance God is giving us and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.  As we trust Him He will help us and get us to where and who He wants us to be in His good time.

.....I'm just off to find another piece of my puzzle.😊

HE WILL CERTAINLY CARE FOR YOU

Matthew 6:30, 33-34 ...he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow...... (Nlt)

That phrase 'he will give you everything you need' really stood out for me yesterday. We all have different needs at different times and may be concerned about the increasing bills. But here is Jesus standing in front of us again saying "but don't worry about tomorrow, God will certainly care for you and give you everything you need!"  That is a wonderful promise!

Jesus has total confidence in His Father and His ability to meet whatever need or care we may have, in every area of our lives. He wants each one of us to have that same confidence, to know He is a generous and loving Father to us and He does what He says. He will give us everything we need. He will care for us. He doesn't want us to say "How?", but "Thank you!"

In 2 Kings 6 the city was surrounded by it's enemies, being literally starved to death when four lepers left the city thinking they may as well die in the enemy camp but at least they would have food there! Elisha had said food would be available again by the next day but the commanding officer said "That couldn't happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!". He didn't believe! The four lepers found the enemy camp deserted with all the spoils of food and goods left behind so they returned to tell the city and sure enough the whole city ate next day and were overly provided for, but the commander was trampled to death by the stampede. He didn't believe!

Jesus Himself has told us not to worry about coming days but tells us to believe that God will look after us and provide for us. Don't let's be like the unbelieving commander but believe Jesus. 

Let's believe God will give us whatever we're going to need in every area of our lives and let Him care for us like He wants to.  There is joy and peace in believing.😊

PEACE AT ALL TIMES

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

Yesterday God reminded us that Jesus is the source of our peace. Today He's reminding us that He offers to give us His peace at all times and in every situation, which is wonderful, but we do have to turn to Him in order to receive it. 

Imagine it's a bit like a worry situation is standing there in front of us offering us anxiety, fear and tormenting thoughts, and then on our other side is Jesus standing there offering to give us His peace and joy in believing and for some reason we turn back to the worry and say "I'll take that one please, and carry on worrying!" Why do we do that when we know we don't have to!?

We forget how big and powerful our God really is - how He can turn any situation around for our good and that His ultimate plans for us are always for good and not for evil. We forget He has already defeated every foe and in Him we now have the victory. We forget He's with us 24/7 and He knows the end from the beginning and has promised to protect and provide for us. Absolutely nothing is too hard or impossible for God!

Next time we need His peace, or a situation that needs His peace to flow, let's turn away from the worry and fear, turn back to Jesus, (over and over again) and say "Thank You Lord for loving me. I need Your peace and I'm taking it with both hands. I believe Your peace and joy are flowing into me right now and by faith I receive them, in Jesus' Name. Amen."

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing...😊

BEING AT PEACE

Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace... 

God is telling us that even when there is turmoil and trouble in our lives we can still be at peace. As long as we remember that Jesus Himself is our peace and the source of it, and not something we have to conjure up for ourselves, we'll be able to stay in peace because we know Jesus can't be shaken so our peace can't be shaken either.

If you're like me you want to stay 'in peace mode' and Jesus said "in Me you may have peace...."

There is no other place we can be at peace or find peace other than being in Jesus and keeping our eyes firmly on Him and trusting Him with all the affairs of our lives. If we forget we're in the palm of His hand, that He loves us unconditionally, and He only wants what is best for us, then we'll be tempted to step out of His peace and into worry and fear.

Peace is something we're going to have to make a stand for. Scripture says to pursue peace or 'follow' it. We may not realise it, but when we worry we're choosing to 'follow' the worry thought while peace is standing by waiting for us to 'follow' it and allow it into our minds. We're actually choosing to step out of peace as though God can't deal with our problems but we have the Holy Spirit in us to help us stay in peace if we ask Him to.😊

This week let's choose to follow peace, hand all our worries over to God, be thankful, make our requests of Him and let His peace guard our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:6)

Have a peaceful week.😊

OUR GOD NEVER FAILS

Psalm 24:8 (Esv)

Who is this King of glory? 

The Lord, strong and mighty, 

the Lord, mighty in battle!

There are a couple of  lines in a song called 'See A Victory' that say 'The God I serve knows only how to triumph, My God will never fail.'

I think that is so encouraging and so good to remember whenever we have a situation that tries to overwhelm us, that looks impossible or difficult. God wants us to have an injection of faith today.😊

2 Chronicles 20:15 ...This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

When things 'look like' the enemy is getting the upper hand, or if you 'feel like' you're facing a mighty army of some kind, remind yourself of these truths. Don't give in to what things 'look like' or feel like! We're called to walk by faith not sight.

Listen, we serve a God who only knows how to triumph. Failure is never an option in God's book and the battle you may be in is the Lord's and He only knows how to win! Let's praise Him for that. 

Remember He has told us in Romans 8:37 (Esv) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Now let's believe it and know we're not dealing with battles on our own.😊

If your enemy is roaring at you, roar back! "My God only knows how to triumph and He will win this battle for me! I am more than a conqueror through Jesus who loves me. My God is the King of glory, strong and mighty, mighty in battle and He never fails. He wins. Hallelujah! Praise You Lord."

Song link:'See A Victory'    https://youtu.be/AI3VcChbPBY

PRECIOUS IN GOD'S SIGHT

Isaiah 43:4 ....because you are precious to me You are honored, and I love you.

I was praying for someone and I had this God thought come into my mind, "Each one of us is more precious to God than we can ever imagine."

Yesterday we were looking at how valuable we are to God but when someone is precious to you that is even more intimate. 

God wants us all to know that is how He sees us and that He is right there with us involved in everything that affects us. He hears our every sigh, every groan, every tear and every giggly, joyful moment we may have and those moments are important to Him because He loves us so, because we are so precious to Him. Whatever matters to us also matters to Him because He is our Creator.

He showed us just how much we matter to Him by going to the cross for us. So if ever you're tempted to think He's not listening, or doesn't care, or doesn't know what's going on with you, remind yourself of the cross, how He suffered for your sake because you are so very precious to God. 

He says the same thing to us as He did to Daniel.... 

Daniel 10:19 "Don't be afraid," he said, "for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!"

Have a blessed weekend.😊

GOD VALUES YOU SO HIGHLY

1 Corinthians 7:23 God paid a high price for you, so don't be enslaved by the world.

When someone pays a high price for something it means whatever they are buying is of great value and worth to them. In the same way God paid the highest price imaginable in order to ransom us back from the devil and out of his control for ever. 

Scripture tells us the blood of Jesus has redeemed us, we have been delivered from bondage to this world and Satan and now we belong to Almighty God. He valued us so highly and wanted us to be part of His family so much, He was willing to pay the highest price. 

So the next time someone tries to put you down, or make you feel less than, remember the price that God paid for you to be His own precious child, His treasure, one of His chosen ones and shake off the words, the hurts, the offences and let them go. Nothing anyone can do or say can change our worth to God or take us out of our Father's hand because He has redeemed us and covered us by the blood of Jesus our Saviour.

And if we're tempted to want all the things this world tries to tell us we have to have or to be, in order to be acceptable in their eyes, just remember we're no longer under their control, we're no longer a slave to those things because we belong to our loving Heavenly Father and His kingdom now.

He goes on in verses 30-31 to say we can use the things of this world just don't become absorbed or attached to them, for this world as we know it will soon pass away.

Remember the high price God paid for you because He loves you. 😊  Thank You Lord Jesus. 

GO WITH THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE

Judges 6:12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!" Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have,....I am sending you!" v.15 "But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I..." v.16 The Lord said to him, "I will be with you..."

Do you have some days when you know you have a job to do but just don't seem to have the get up and go to do it? Or maybe an opportunity has been presented to you or God is asking you to do something and you think like Gideon '"How can I?" 

It's at times like that we have to remember God is not asking us to do anything on our own because He has promised to be with us. He tells us to go with the strength we have.  Instead of talking ourselves out of it, we have to talk to ourselves into it and say "I'm strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! God has made me an I Can Do Person!"

Even if we don't feel qualified or equipped to do what God is asking, that is not what matters because He will equip us and qualify us as we obey Him.

The Lord called Gideon a mighty hero even though Gideon saw himself as the least of the least. He had such a low opinion of himself and his own ability and thought he couldn't do much, and we may feel like that some days. 

Another translation says God called Gideon a mighty man of valour, even though he was hiding in a wine press at the time! So whether or not we feel lacking or full of fear like Gideon, God still sees us as a person of mighty valour, as a mighty hero. Why? Because He is with us, and He will provide the strength, the ability we need as we do it with Him.

He's saying the same thing to us today as He did to Gideon "Go with the strength you have" and leave the rest to Him.😊

SUPERABOUNDING GRACE TESTIMONY

2 Corinthians 9: 11-12 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving - the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

Yesterday we looked at God's grace being poured out in our lives in the here and now, so I felt I should share a testimony of His superabounding grace in my own life this past week.

I make quite a lot of crafts and cards and enjoy sending them in the post but post has gone up in price so much recently I sometimes hesitate when the thing I'm sending actually costs far less than the postage! 

Then out of the blue this past week my friend sent me some second class stamps for me to use - not just a book of 12 which would have been lovely - but a book of 100 stamps! Then I looked again and there was another one! She had sent me 200 stamps! How amazing is that! Superabounding grace! What a kind friend! I was totally overwhelmed, so obviously the Lord wants me to keep sending out my parcels and cards because I now have more than enough!😊 

I just wanted to encourage whoever reads this to know and believe the grace and favour of God are powered up to each one of us in our here and now, even in the seemingly little things -and not just in a small way - but in a superabounding way. 

As our verse says I joyfully express my thanks to God and to my friend because my stamps mean I can now be a blessing to others which is all part of the grace of God, being blessed to be a blessing.

2 Cor. 9:10 In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

God is giving us all sufficiency in all things (even postage). Thank You Lord. 😊

GOD'S GRACE TO US IN ALL THINGS

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Those words ' God is able', in the original, actually mean that God is powering up all grace to us right now, not in the sweet bye and bye, not 'one day', but in the here and now, whatever it looks like.  

So how much grace is He giving us? All grace. Grace also includes favour so He is giving us aboundingly, generously His favour in all areas of our lives. Our God is gracing us, enabling us, empowering us in every situation and circumstance. So if we find we're struggling in any area we'll hear Him tell us His grace will be there to bring us up and over. (My grace is sufficient for you. 2 Cor. 12:9)

Then He says as a result of that, we will always - that's all the time - have all  sufficiency, not just a scrape by, not by the skin of our teeth, but more than enough - in all things. He is the God of grace to us in all things, not some things!

So His grace is superabounding to us right now - all the time - for everything in our lives whether it's health, finances, relationships - all things. And the result of that overflowing grace is so that we can have such an abundance that we can be a blessing to others, so we can be a support for every good work, to spread the gospel of the good news about Jesus. 

He is blessing us to be a blessing to whoever we meet, or whoever He leads us to help. 

Let's believe for the 'all' grace and enjoy being blessed and being a blessing to others.😊

HOW TO SAFEGUARD OUR FAITH

Philippians 3:1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

The Holy Spirit was constantly reminding His people to rejoice in the Lord and the reason He gives is to safeguard their faith. He's not saying we’re to rejoice about circumstances but to rejoice in the Lord Himself, so if we want to safeguard our faith we need to listen to His instruction.😊

We may be going through difficult situations which make it feel like it's really hard to rejoice at the minute but we can still rejoice in our Lord Jesus and what He's done for us. If we actively do that we'll be safeguarding our faith from faltering because our focus is not on the here and now but on Who our faith is in.

So what are we to rejoice about? He's forgiven us all our sins, (what peace and joy that brings!). Jesus has given us His own righteousness so we can have a close relationship with His Father (what joy!). We have His grace and mercy available 24/7 and all the promises of God are ours to call on (what hope!). He is committed to looking after us and protecting us, and if we're still struggling we'll find more inspiration in Psalm 91 and Psalm 103 to inspire us to rejoice.

All those things are eternal, they will not change when everything else shakes around us. They are forever truths that belong to us and as we remember to rejoice about them we will safeguard our faith and I just wanted to encourage us all because it's something we can all do as we begin our new week.

Rejoice in the Lord because He loves you. 😊😊

FILLED WITH JOY, PEACE AND HOPE

Romans 15:13 (Nlt)

 I pray that God, the source of hope, 

will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. 

Then you will overflow with confident hope 

through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think we'd all like to be filled with joy and peace and Paul tells us here that God will do that for us as we continue to trust and believe in Him. The good news is we don't have to conjure it all up by sheer grim determination or will power, but it's the power of the Holy Spirit inside us that will give us that kind of confident hope that will bring the joy and peace. He is at work in us all the time.

So if you've not been feeling very joyful lately will you join with me today and turn this verse into a prayer and maybe it would help us to pray it (or one like it) before we begin each day. 😊

Thank you Lord You are the source of my hope, and I ask You to fill me completely with Your joy and peace, even when things go wrong, because I'm believing and trusting in You. Thank You Lord that Your Holy Spirit is causing me to overflow with confident hope for the future by His great power regardless of my circumstances, and I give you all the glory and thanks for it even before I see it. In Jesus' Name Amen.

GOD IS COMMITTED TO US

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

God is committed to taking care of us. That means no matter what is going on in any area of our lives, God is committed, He has promised, to take care of us because He loves us.

Our verse doesn't say only cast those cares on God that we can't handle on our own, or to deal with all the smaller things ourselves and let Him deal with the big stuff. No, it says cast all our cares because even the little ones pile up and begin to weigh us down. 

So whether you have a difficult neighbour, a dwindling bank balance, relationship or health issues, or a sore thumb, whatever it is that's giving you bother, He wants us to go to Him with it, hand it over and let it go, knowing He wants to take care of it for us.

I expect we all turn to God with our big issues. Instead as soon as a care arises let's go to our loving Father with it and tell Him what's bothering us, and thank Him for taking care of us. He cares even about the little things!😊

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

God is really making sure we get this message that He is committed to us in every way, to strengthen and help us. He's committed to uphold us through thick and thin. He wants us to cast each and every care on Him.

So if you've not done it for a while, why not go and have a care casting session with the Lord and let Him reassure you that He is personally taking care of all that troubles you. 

I wont say to us 'to take care' this weekend rather I'll say 'take our cares to our Father', then we can relax and have a truly blessed weekend.😊

OUR GOD OF THE MUCH MORE

2 Chronicles 25:9 Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?" The man of God replied, "The Lord is able to give you much more than this!"

Amaziah had paid troops to help him win a battle but God's man told him not to use them because God wanted to be the one to help him. Amaziah is just like us, he says, "What about the money I've already spent?"  He knew he wouldn't get his money back and was worried he wouldn't have enough but he's told 'God can give him much more than he's had to spend out.'

Maybe that resonates with someone today; the bills are rising, money is going out and we wonder if we'll have enough. God wants us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is El Shaddai, which means The All Sufficient One, He is the God of More Than Enough! His resources can never run dry.

Jesus was speaking to a crowd, and in Matthew 7:11 He says "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."

Jesus is saying our Father is the God of the 'much more' and He encourages us to ask for the much more. So often we feel like we shouldn't do that, but Jesus actually encourages us to do it!

All week we've been looking at the goodness of God and how He wants to bless us. Let's believe in His goodness and if we have needs let's go with our mouths open wide and let Him fill them so we can really taste and actually see some of His goodness, some of His wonderful 'much more' in our daily lives. 

Let's do what Jesus us told us to, and do some asking but don't forget to do the receiving bit by faith when we ask. 😊

TASTE AND SEE THE LORD'S GOODNESS

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

In order to taste something we have to experience it. We can't just look at a plate of cream cakes or hold them at arm's length to taste them. We have to actually put them in our mouths to enjoy them! Yum!

In the same way we can't hold God at arm's length and expect to taste His goodness. No He wants us to allow Him to be up close and personal with us so we can experience His goodness and blessings. 

God wants us to know part of His goodness is His generosity to us. God's nature is to bring us joy and to bless us and it gives Him great pleasure when we're willing to receive from Him. 

It's really hard when we want to bless somebody with something but they're too proud, or feel they don't deserve it, or don't want to be beholden to the giver, so they won't receive whatever we're trying to give them. 

God doesn't want us to feel like that but wants us to be willing to receive all His goodness. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. (Psalm 145:9) I think some people have learned to open themselves up to have a greater capacity to receive from God and that's why they're so blessed. We can do the same. There's another scripture which says if you open your mouth I will fill it!😊

He is a good Father and His heart is overflowing with goodness. So let's taste and see that the Lord is good and give Him all the praise and heartfelt thanks for it. 

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

GOD'S GOODNESS TO US

Psalm 107:8-9 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Our God is a good God and does only good. (Psalm 119:68 Nlt)  As we think about that more and more, we'll find we're more at peace because we're being held by Someone who is totally good.  We can look to Him with a confidence that He will deal with us with goodness and mercy because He is our good Father and we belong to Him.

All through scripture we're reminded of His goodness. David says he would have lost heart unless he believed he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13) David faced many troubles and yet he trusted God to show him His goodness in the middle of it all and we can too.

Psalm 31:19 (Amp) How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who (reverently) fear You, which you have prepared for those who take refuge in You, ... If you've ever wondered what's in your future then this verse reminds us God has prepared goodness for us to look forward to as we trust Him.

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. Are you in a day of trouble? Then grab a hold of that verse and make it personal to you.

These are only a few verses about the goodness of our wonderful God and I hope they have encouraged us to go out with a fresh confidence in Him and a smile on your faces knowing His face is shining down on us with great love and kindness, and His goodness is being poured out on us each and every day.😊

GOD WILL DO WHAT HE PROMISED

Genesis 28:15 What's more, I am with you and I will protect you wherever you go....I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.

Jacob has just had the ladder leading up to heaven vision and God has given him this wonderful promise. I believe He says the same thing to us, that He'll be with us and protect us and He will finish giving us everything He's promised us in His word as we keep believing.

Jacob had to go through a lot of life experiences; being deceived and marrying the wrong woman, being cheated constantly by his relative, separated from his favourite son for many years, facing famine. He went through some things but in the end He received the blessings that God promised. God was faithful to him, never let him down and did what He said He would do.

God has prepared blessings in our future too that have our names on them and no one else can take them so we don't need to worry. He is in the process of preparing us to be in a place to be able to receive them because sometimes we have to grow in order to be ready to receive them.

It will be worth the wait though and we don't need to try to manipulate people or circumstances to get them. At the right time God will get whatever it is to us because He is in the middle of it all with us. He has us in the palm of His hand and we can trust Him to help us wait patiently in faith, not in discontentment, and not in fear that it's too late.

So be encouraged, God is in control and if we've gone through some things that the enemy meant for our harm God is in the process of turning them around for our good, and good things take time.😊

DUSTING OFF OUR FAITH DAY

Hebrews 11:6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Faith knows our impossible is God's possible! As I wrote that statement a couple of days ago it triggered off in me some other things about faith.

Faith speaks out what it knows. For instance when faith knows the promises of God are true our faith will prompt us to speak them out over our lives.

Faith takes us into God's supernatural realm where it knows all things are possible regardless of our own impossibilities in the natural realm.

Faith trusts God to get us to where we need to be and rests in that trust.

Faith will put a smile on our faces because it's backed up by Bible hope which is an expectation of good. Faith never believes or expects the bad! When we're expecting something bad to happen we've stepped away from faith.

Faith is unaffected by time. It's eyes are fixed on the end result promised by God, however long it takes.

Faith will always lift us up and never cause us to despair.

Faith in the goodness of God holds us steady when things don't look good.

Now having read that list of some of the things faith will do, let's do a little check and see if our faith is working for us or if it's become a bit rusty lately.

If it has, may I encourage us as we start our new week, to use the faith God has already placed inside us. Let's dust it off, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us walk by faith more, knowing that when we do, we're really pleasing our Heavenly Father and things will begin to change for the better. 😊