GET IN TUNE WITH GOD

Job 22:21-22 (ESV) Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

I heard someone say ‘Get in tune with God’ and it struck a chord in my spirit if you’ll forgive the pun! God is full of faith, forgiving, loving, kind, merciful. I could go on and on but if we want to be in tune with God we need to align ourselves with how He thinks and what He does, and agree with what He says about Himself, about ourselves, about everything.😊

God says He delights in prospering us, so we can agree and thank Him for making our 2023 a bountiful year, a year of favour and good. God says He blesses the head of the righteous that we’re blessed going out and coming in again, so let’s agree and thank Him for doing exactly that.

Let’s zip up anything that contradicts what God has said, stop any negative confession that might say we’ll never get well, that things keep going wrong for us. Those kind of words are not in tune with God, so let’s agree with what God says about us that He is restoring health to us, that whatever we set our hands to do He prospers it, that there are good days up ahead.😊

All those things are written in scripture for us to claim and so many more besides but until we agree with God and lay hold of them by faith they won’t show up. All the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Jesus. (2 Cor.1:20)

Let’s begin the week with all the good things God has declared over us and have such a sense of expectation and hope because of who our God is - El Shaddai - the One who is More Than Enough, the Almighty One who fights our battles and leads us always in victory. 

Lord we praise and thank You and ask You to help us get in tune, and agree with You and Your word this week. Amen.

CELEBRATE GRACE WITH GREAT JOY

Nehemiah 8:10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

In a way every day is a sacred day before the Lord because whatever day it is, it’s the day the Lord has made for us, a day to celebrate our redemption. The people he was addressing had been listening to the Law of God being read out and realised how they had failed miserably to obey it so they repented but were still feeling sad and dejected.

God knew none of us could keep the Law of God either, which is why Jesus came to fulfil it for us and pay the price for our rescue, on the cross, with His own blood. How wonderful that when we put our trust in Jesus, then God puts all Jesus did for us to our account. It sounds almost too good to be true.😊

It’s good to remember the amazing message of grace. How Jesus’ perfectness and total righteousness is put to our account when we put our faith in Him and make Him Lord of our lives. We didn’t deserve anything but He did it for us. Thank You Lord!

Nehemiah told them to go and celebrate and to be full of joy so they would regain their strength. 

Jesus says the same thing to us today. “Go and celebrate all I’ve done for you, don’t be dejected or depressed anymore. Don’t look at your circumstances, look at what I’ve done for you. I’ve made you right with God the Father, He’s forgiven all your sins past, present and future. Your slate has been wiped clean. I’ve given you My Holy Spirit, My love, My peace, My joy - now celebrate, be glad about it. I’ve made you righteous. Be made strong in your joy in your freedom!”

Let’s celebrate His wonderful gift of grace and how much Jesus has done for us, with great joy today. Amen.😊

And if you’ve never invited Jesus into your life yet then let me encourage you to do it today and don’t delay any longer. Allow Him to wash your past away and give you a wonderful future with Him. The salvation prayer on the side bar of the web page will help you. God loves you so much.😊

GOD LIFTS US OUT

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

Thankfully there are many times in our lives when everything is going well and we’re walking along very happily, but sometimes we go through things that can feel like a pit or a prison similar to the story of Joseph. We may hear people saying “What I’m going through is the pits” and maybe you’re having to deal with one of those just now or have done in the past? 

Or perhaps your experience has been more like the prison Joseph was put in for something he didn’t do. How unfair it must have seemed. Perhaps you can identify with him on that one where life feels like you’re trapped in circumstances, or in a prison of fear or ill health or anything that holds us back when we want to move forward?

God lifts us out.

If so, can I encourage you with the end of Joseph’s story because he ended up in the palace with royal robes, great authority and respect, second only to Pharaoh himself. 

God never leaves us in the pit or the prison because Jesus has already bought and paid for our freedom. He’s given us His royal robe of righteousness, His authority to use His name, His Spirit to give us His power. He’s the God who delivers and rescues us when we call on Him and David said God brought him up out of the pit of despair and steadied him. How encouraging that is, as we all need lifting and steadying up sometimes.😊

Joseph had one of those happy endings we talked about yesterday, like Job, and I believe as we continue to follow the Lord He will bring us out of any pit or prison into our happy ending too, with a testimony that will be an encouragement and a blessing to others. Thank You Lord.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

HAPPY ENDINGS!

Isaiah 43:1-2 …Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Nor shall the flame scorch you.

I love happy endings, don’t you? Whether it’s a book or a film. I can cope with tears in the middle as long as there’s a smile and hurrah at the end. 

I’ve just started reading  the book of Job and before I started I said “Lord thank You Job had a happy ending.” So even when I read all the sad bits in the middle I know the happy bit is coming. Although he went through great loss, he ended up with double what he lost and all within about ten months - he had a very happy ending, despite unhelpful friends, and a grumpy wife.😊

I believe God loves happy endings too! It’s why He gave us Jesus to rescue His world that He loved so much. He wanted as many people as will believe in Jesus to have the happy ending He has planned for them. Yes, there will be sad bits in the middle, bits we don’t understand, the times when our heart feels broken, like Job, but God never leaves us there does He? He’s promised to bring us out to a glorious finish, to an inheritance in Jesus that will blow our socks off.

So whatever situation you are in at the minute, keep trusting Him, knowing that God is in the middle of it with you and He’s bringing you, not just through, but out, to a place of safety, a place of blessing and healing and restoration. Psalm 18:19 He also brought me out into a broad place. He delivered me because He delighted in me.

He is a good God and His plans for us all are to bless us and help us mature to be more like Jesus Himself as He leads us onwards and upwards towards our final happy ending with Him.😊 Thank You Lord. 

WE’RE SURROUNDED!

2 King 6:16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

Have you ever felt like you’re surrounded by troubles? It’s as if you overcome one thing, and another one hits? I think we’ve all been there and it can make us weary. 

But God wants to encourage us today to know that He is the one who has us surrounded - by His love and by His angels. His strength is underpinning us and His favour is also surrounding us like a shield.(Psalm 5:12 Nkjv) Yes we are surrounded, but we’re surrounded by Almighty God! Maybe we can just think about that for a minute and draw confidence from it.

Elisha’s servant looked out one morning and they were surrounded by an army of enemy soldiers all over the hillsides. He was scared stiff until Elisha asked God to open his spiritual eyes. When He did, he was able to see multiple thousands of angelic warriors surrounding the enemy soldiers, and he realised God had it all under control and they were being kept safe.😊 He’s doing that for us too.

Our God is for us, so who can be against us?(Romans 8:31), no weapon turned against you will succeed (Isaiah 54:17) and no matter what the enemy may be challenging us with, we know that we’re not alone.(Hebrews 13:5)

God is surrounding us and fighting our battles for us as we look to Him in faith. We’re on the winning side to the glory of God. Amen.

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

Isaiah 65:24 I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!

Being the youngest of four children our house was often noisy and if the one you wanted was upstairs we would shout up for them to come on down. Sometimes they didn’t hear and you’d have to shout until they did come! Like I say, it could be noisy!😊

Thankfully we don’t have to shout up to God over and over again. He hears us the first time, in fact, He already knows what we’re going to say, so He goes ahead and prepares the answers before we even get there! What a wonderful God we have. He’s setting in motion the things we’ll need well in advance of our knowing we’re ever going to need them. I think that’s amazing.

I heard a true story about some visiting surgeons who were doing operations in a remote third world country when their monitor went down so they had to stop operating. They prayed, they asked around for help but there was no monitor to be found anywhere. They were stuck. Suddenly the hospital administrator arrived at the hospital with the exact monitor they needed, still in its box, brand new! Two years before he had been given it as a gift for the hospital but at the time had no need for it and put it away. But God had known the hospital would be needing it two years down the line so He provided before they even had to ask for it and all was well, they could continue operating.😊

That’s the kind of God we serve who cares about us so much He sets things in place years in advance of when we’ll ask for it. 

Be encouraged today, your prayers are being answered. Keep in faith, expecting and believing your needs are being met by the God who hears, who knows and who answers, even before you call. Hallelujah! 

OUR FATHER GOD IS GREAT

Psalm 145:1-3 I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

I wonder who you would consider ‘great’ these days? They used to give great acclaim to people who achieved important breakthroughs in medicine or who were generous philanthropists helping their fellow man. Today society’s priorities seemed to have changed and maybe we’ve lost the meaning of ‘great’!

All through scripture we read ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised’. The Message translation says “God is magnificent!” *The song ‘Great are you Lord’ says ‘You give life, You are love, You bring light to the darkness, You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken, And great are You, Lord.’

The Psalmist says he praises God every day and it will help us keep our problems in perspective if we remember how great our God really is, to remember all He has done for us in giving us Jesus and giving us a relationship with Himself. What a privilege it is to know we’re now part of God’s family, we can call the Great One our Father, the One who was, who is and who is to come. We praise You Lord.

Just for a minute can we stop and think about how great God is to us personally, how our future is secure because of Him, how He is Jehovah Rapha - our Healer, Jehovah Tsidkenu - our Righteousness, Jehovah Jireh - our Provider, Jehovah Shalom - our Peace, Jehovah Nissi - our Victory, to name but a few.😊

Thank You Father that when our problems seem to loom over us, You help us remember just how great and powerful You really are, that You are so much greater than our biggest problem. We say “You are great Lord and greatly to be praised”, and we pour out our praise to You. Glory to Your name. Amen.

Psalm 145:3 (Msg) God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness. 

*Songwriters: Jason Ingram / David Leonard / Leslie Jordan

GOD’S PERFECT TIMING

Esther 6:1 That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him.

We pick up this story where Haman had had a decree passed by the King to have the Jews all killed on one day the following March. He was due to go with the King to a banquet at Queen Esther’s palace on the following day but had arranged for Mordecai, who was a Jew who refused to bow down to him, (not realising he was Esther’s uncle), to be impaled on a pole the following morning before he went to the party.

Meanwhile that very night the King couldn’t sleep and had his book of events read to him and discovered Mordecai had saved his life by reporting a planned assassination plot! It sounds like a film, doesn’t it! Anyway, the king decreed Mordecai was to be greatly honoured for his good deed, the tables were turned and it ended up with Haman being exposed as a wicked man at the banquet by Queen Esther and being impaled on the pole himself! All the Jews were also later rescued by Queen Esther’s intervention and bravery. She was God’s person for that moment in history and so are we! We are all here for such a time as this, as our lives touch others.

Scripture repeatedly encourages us to know that God is in control of our lives. His timing is never late and amazingly accurate. He can cause a king to be sleepless so he does what God wants him to, and even turns death threats around overnight, so how much more can we have confidence that He can turn our situations around for good when we need Him to.😊

As we start another week, we can relax knowing God is going ahead of us, lovingly ordering our steps with His perfect timing, and blessing our lives as we trust and listen to Him. Thank You Lord.

Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Have a blessed week.x

GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE

Psalm 63:3-4 

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.  

V.6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.

v.7 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings; 

I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. 

God’s unfailing love - where would we be without it? But praise God we’re not without it and never will be because of Jesus and His shed blood at the Cross. He showed us God’s unfailing love in action, and it still calls to us down through the ages of time and for all eternity. Praise His name.

David wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness and he gives us the impression he would lie awake at night and, rather than toss and turn, he spent his disturbed nights in meditating on God’s wonderful love for him. What a good idea instead of going over our problems again and again!

He spent the small hours of the night in praising God and thinking how he was sheltering under the shadow of His wings. It’s such a lovely thought we might do well to get this psalm out when we can’t sleep and remember we’re under God’s protective wings all night and by day.😊

He takes it a stage further and tells God how he’s so dependent on Him that he is literally clinging on to Him, clinging to His unfailing love for him. In his mind’s eye he’s seeing God holding him steady and securely with His strong right hand, knowing He’ll help him deal with whatever his future holds.

So next time we can’t sleep, why not let David guide us through what he did and see ourselves singing for joy under the shadow of His wings, wrapped around by His loving arms, holding tightly on to God’s hand. I think we might just drop back off to sleep a lot easier in order to wake up and praise God some more - for His never ending, unfailing love. Amen.😊

TAKING THE LIMITS OFF

Jeremiah 32:17 O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

Have you ever been tempted to look at people and situations and think “They’ll never change! It’s impossible!”? Well I have good news.😊 God can do what men can’t. The things that are impossible with men are possible with God. No matter how bad things look if we will believe that God can do the impossible we will release Him to do it.

Doubt and unbelief wont accomplish anything, but believing in a mighty powerful God will. He’s not only the God who made the tiny microbe but He also made the biggest planet, and all the cosmos. Why do we think our problem is too small or too big for Him? Let’s stir up our faith today, and declare we are believers in the God who loves to do the impossible, who specialises in making miracles out of messes. 

Psalm 78:41-42 The Nkjv says the Israelites limited God again and again by their unbelief when they were in the wilderness, and apart from Joshua and Caleb, not one of them entered into the promised land because they doubted God could help them conquer the giants. The Nlt says “They forgot His miraculous power and how He’d rescued them before.”

So can I encourage us all today, to take off the limits of doubt and unbelief because our God is looking for someone to say “I believe you can do it. I believe You can turn it round for good. I’m not a doubter, I’m a believer and I believe all things are possible with You. In Jesus Mighty name. Amen.”

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible.

PS If it would help, write down the things you think are impossible and then write above it all, “With God these are all possible”.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

JUST SMILE!

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

As I passed a young lady in a shop, I noticed her T shirt said “Nothing to do all day - Just Smile.” As I read it I couldn’t help but smile. It’s such a simple comment and yet it made others smile effortlessly as they passed by.

Did you know smiling takes about only 13 muscles but frowning takes about 47 muscles! It’s so much less effort to smile! I’ve found out that smiling can reduce blood pressure and decrease stress levels while it releases chemicals that make us feel good head to toe and is a natural painkiller! I hope that makes you smile some more. It’s very similar to laughing.

So where do smiles come from? If we have joy in our hearts then it will surely show on our faces, and the source of all joy is Jesus Himself. Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing … Believing what? Believing in Jesus. When we believe in Him God will fill us with joy and peace and out of that inner joy will come the ability to smile even when things are tough. Jesus kept saying to his disciples “Cheer up!” 😊

So next time we’re tempted to frown, let’s try to change it to a smile, knowing it’s not only doing us so much good, but people are more likely to be drawn to Jesus by a happy face than a miserable one. And if someone is nasty, or cuts us up on the road or offends us - we’ll just give them the biggest smile from ear to ear remembering Jesus is on the inside, giving us His supernatural joy which no one can steal from us. Lord help us smile! 😊

Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart….

GOD DOESN’T RUSH INTO THINGS

Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

A very kind friend gave me a kit to make a needle case with the pattern printed on the cloth with heat erasable pen which I should have remembered! Instead I saw that the cloth was all creased so without thinking I promptly proceeded to iron it so it was ready to sew, only to find the whole pattern had disappeared as if by magic! What a ninny! How could I forget it was heat erasable!? So then I had to try to copy it freehand from the paper picture but I think it turned out OK in the end.😊

It does pay to think things through before we do them, doesn’t it, instead of just rushing ahead? No doubt you’ve experienced making a mistake as well and wished afterwards you’d given it a bit more thought!

God doesn’t rush into anything, He plans well in advance and tells us He has plans for each of our lives that will really bless us and not harm us if we trust Him to lead us and do as He asks. God is never taken by surprise or wishes He’d thought a bit harder first! He knows what He’s doing.

He tells us the path of the righteous will get brighter and brighter because He knows what He’s planned for us. He says goodness and mercy will pursue us all the days of our lives and that He goes before us into each and every day with new mercies and loving kindness.

So even if we’ve been impulsive or made a mistake and need correcting, let’s keep going back to the Lord and ask Him to put us straight and redirect our paths if we’ve taken the wrong route, knowing He will be gentle with us because of Jesus. He’s bigger than our mistakes and really can turn them round for our good.😊 Thank You Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope….”

CHOOSEDAY!

Deuteronomy 30:15 Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.

Today is Chooseday! I read that comment the other day and thought how relevant to our every day it is. We wake up and choose our clothes, choose our breakfast but we also choose our attitude and our mood, sometimes even before we get out of bed! None of us enjoy dealing with someone who rolled out of bed on the wrong side!😊

Moses was well aware that the people, who were looking to him for leadership, wanted some wise words so before he handed over to Joshua he tells them to choose wisely. Deuteronomy 30:19 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses….Oh that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live.

Those are huge issues which will affect our family for generations to come. He goes on to tell them which to choose which would have seemed obvious to us all anyway, and yet they went on to make some wrong choices!

Years later Joshua gave the Israelites the same choice and asked them if they would choose to serve the Lord. He says in Joshua 24:15 But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

Part of serving the Lord involves the daily choices we make which may not seem that important at times but they can have long range consequences. Things tend to have a ripple effect, don’t they? 

The Lord wants us to choose to be positive, to be helpful, choose to be patient and forgiving, choose not to be bitter or resentful, because they will all have on going good effects in the lives of the people we meet as well as in our own lives. He’s trying to protect us from the results of wrong choices.

So here’s one of my gentle reminders to us all, to choose wisely, because every day is ‘Chooseday!”😊

EVERY ACT OF KINDNESS

Proverbs 11:17 Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you. 

“Every act of kindness is a piece of love we leave behind.” So wrote Paul Williams the song writer, and I thought what a lovely quote it is.

Even a smile can be a drop in somebody’s ocean of sadness or loneliness. Being kind is anything that lifts up someone else and makes them feel better.  Even though it may seem so insignificant to us, it could be huge to them.

Just like there is a straw that breaks the camel’s back when the last horrible thing has happened, likewise an act of kindness and love could tip the scales in the other direction at the critical moment for somebody. It might just give them a new perspective, a hope that all is not lost, that somebody actually cares enough to be kind to them.

Being kind is for everyday, for everywhere, for everybody, for the rich or the poor, for the young and the old, for the lost and the found, for those we like and those we don’t. An act of love and kindness could be the all important link in the chain for someone to come to know God loves them and Jesus died for them. Only God knows and our verse encourages us to know every act of kindness will reap a reward.

So let’s go out today with the thought of leaving a piece of love behind with any act of kindness we perform knowing we’re being a blessing to someone we might not even know.😊

Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

JESUS IN THE EVERYDAY

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.

I saw a lovely series of drawings of Jesus doing all kinds of things in the present day. He was there on a bus sitting beside a young lady, then He was lying on the floor helping a child colouring in the pages with her, then He was on the Underground holding on to the strap next to a man. Everyday things any of us could be involved in, just to show us Jesus is right there with us. 

Maybe like me you enjoy doing jigsaws, the Lord is right there, or perhaps you love baking or cooking, He is there by your side, or going shopping, or when you’re at work, or on the school run - Jesus is there in the car with us, involved in all those things and I thought how reassuring that is. They all seem such ordinary things, don’t they? The things that make up the fabric of our lives and He wants us to know He’s in the middle of it all with us.😊

Jesus walked and talked with His disciples for three years doing all the everyday things men have to do each day. He lived with His many brothers and sisters for 30 years, went errands for His mum, worked for His dad in the workshop. Jesus knows and understands about the everyday and He’d like to be included in our everyday too.

So as we begin another week, let’s have a picture in our minds’s eye of Jesus beside us joining in all our activities and be thankful He’s there to help us. He wants to join in our joys and ‘laugh out loud’ moments, but He wants us to know He’s there to comfort us when we’re upset too.

Lord we just commit the whole week ahead into Your powerful loving hands and thank You for being in it all with us. Amen.

Enjoy your week with Jesus.x

Psalm 118:7 The Lord is with me; he’s my helper,…

ONLY BY GOD’S POWER

Psalm 44:5, 7-8 

Only by your power can we push back our enemies;

Only in your name can we trample our foes….

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.

Glory to God we have a Champion and Jesus is His name. Goliath was the Philistines’ champion but David became the Israelites’ champion when He defeated Goliath. Jesus became our Champion when He defeated the devil for us and because of the cross we can push back our enemies and use His mighty name to tell the principalities and powers to bow their knee to Him.

We’re not looking to a future of defeat but of victory because Jesus is our Saviour, the One who gives us the victory day by day as we look to Him. We’re not trying to gain the victory but we’re coming from a position of victory. Part of that victory is control over our feelings, our attitudes and over our words, especially when we can’t control our circumstances or other people. Inside we can know and remember we already have been given the victory.😊

When we reread these verses, I think the more we acknowledge and believe that it’s by God’s power and understand we’re not on the losing but the winning side, the more we shall constantly praise His name and give Him all the glory.

I don’t know about you but I’m so thankful it’s not by our own efforts but by God’s power.

Let’s praise Him today because God has given us His own faith so we can overcome whatever the world throws our way and we can stand strong in His strength and His victory. Glory to His name. Amen.

https://youtu.be/BilsYdGtQ3E

THOUGHTS VERSUS THOUGHTS

Isaiah 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts… For as the heavens are higher than the earth…so are My thoughts than your thoughts.

If I was to say to you ‘Big black snarling dog’ that’s probably what you’re thinking about. But if I now say ‘Beautiful tranquil lake, surrounded by willow trees with swans and cygnets gliding serenely across in the sunshine ’, your thoughts will have changed accordingly!

So the principle is, when we have black depressed thoughts the only way to get rid of them is to deliberately replace them with different thoughts altogether that lift us up, like victorious, God inspired thoughts.😊 One thought will displace another.

When we think, ‘I’ll never get better, never get out of this situation, things always go wrong for me, I wish I could be more successful’ etc. the only way to rid ourselves of those thoughts is to think God’s thoughts. ‘God is restoring my health, He has good plans for my life, God loves and approves me, I can do all things through Christ, God is causing me to succeed because He’s for me and His favour surrounds me like a shield.

Although we may feel sorry for ourselves sometimes, God knows when we genuinely want to change, so whatever gloomy thoughts we find ourselves dwelling on, with God’s help we can replace them with positive uplifting thoughts from His word and we wont be able to stay down. We get to choose whether we think about angry dogs or serene swans!😊 

If we can remember that God still loves us very deeply, that He’s given us a Power inside that is greater than anything this world can throw at us, that He says we are a victor and not a victim, then we’re half way there.

The battleground is in our mind and we have the casting vote as to what we choose to think about, so let’s ask the Lord to help us make them His uplifting higher thoughts.😊

Have a God inspired weekend.x

LEARNING TO TRUST MORE

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart…

Another of the dog walkers who passes our house has a rescue Rottweiler who wears a special collar saying ‘Nervous’ because he was ill treated, so it takes him a while to trust people. When he sees me now he sidles up with his rear end and bumps my legs as if to say ‘it’s ok you can stroke me now’ but he never approaches me head on. He still has ‘issues’ although he’s a lovely gentle dog!

I was thinking how helpful it would be if people wore a sign saying how they were feeling, just to give us a warning like the dog’s collar.😊 It might say ‘‘Fragile’, or  ‘Worried and uptight’. Or ‘I need a hug’ or ‘I’m struggling!’ We all know that’s not going to happen but it’s wise to remember we can’t expect each other to be mind readers!

Psalm 139:2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. The comforting thought is that our Father God does know us inside out so He knows where we’re coming from, or what’s happened in our day. He knows what ‘sign’ is invisibly hanging round our neck!😊 whether we’re bubbling with joy, worried, down, or nervous, etc. He embraces us with great love and says ‘It’s Ok, I understand already, but tell me all about it’. Even if we have days when we may not feel like talking to anybody! 

Well can I encourage each one of us to know that God cares about it all and even if we’re like the dog with trust issues, He wants us to learn to trust Him enough to tell Him all about it anyway, believing He will work it out for our good. 

When we come to Him, we’re coming to the One with the love and understanding we need. He has the comfort, the ability to sort it out and the joy and peace we need to restore us but He can only help us if we trust Him enough to ask Him to!😊

INVITATION - COME TO ME

Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Yesterday we looked at God saying “Look to Me, and Call to Me. Today He’s saying Come to Me”.

That’s the most important invitation we’ll ever receive while we’re on earth - to come to Jesus! What a lovely invitation it is, to come to the One who loves us to the Cross and back, who only wants to bless us and love us. He wants us to respond to His invitation because He knows we need His forgiveness, we need His rest. We need all He has to give us.

In today‘s busy world so many people have too much to do and too little time to fit it all in and God knows and understands. Jesus’ disciples had the same problem which is why He told them to come to Him and let Him give them His take on things, to learn from Him so they could deal with all they had to do without suffering burnout.

We often read how Jesus spent time in prayer with His Father before He started His day. He took time alone with God first, to commit it all to Him. We can all do that. It doesn’t have to be hours, just an ongoing recognition that God is in control of our lives, He’s guiding us through our day and He’ll equip us with the ability to do it well, if we do it allowing Him to pull the load with us.

So this is just a gentle reminder to continue to look to Jesus, to call on Him and most of all to come to Him before we do anything else each day. God never intended us to be weary and heavily loaded down. He wants to give us His rest in our souls, to live our lives easier, with Him to help us do it all. Amen.😊

LOOK TO ME - CALL TO ME

Isaiah 45: 22 Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.

God knew we’d all need rescuing, not only from our sins but on a daily basis especially with the world as it is today. So He says ‘Look to Me’ for salvation. He’s the only One who has provided the answer. Then He explains further how He’ll do it…

Hebrews 12:2 look to Jesus,… Sometimes we forget to do that and we’re looking at everything but Him. Some may look to alcohol when they feel stressed, others may binge for hours on watching a screen, or they go to the fridge.😊 We all know our attention can be distracted by 101 other things, some of which are legitimate, but God says Look to Jesus, think about Him and remember He’s our High Priest. We can go to Him any time. He’s our hope, our source of peace and everything else.

He’s the One who steps in when we’ve blown it and He goes to the Father and says ‘Remember I shed my blood for them, for their mistakes, for their guilt and shame, for their sins. They’re washed clean by My blood.’ And the Father remembers the Cross. Thank God we have a Saviour! 

Then He says, ‘Call to Me’. Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. When things ‘happen’, do we pick up the phone or text everyone to tell them about it? Or do we go and call God and tell Him all about it first? He tells us to cast all our cares and anxieties on Him, to pour it all out to Him and leave it with Him. If we could learn to go to Him first, He would take the sting out of it for us. He’d remind us He still loves us, He’s still in control, and He’d show us things we don’t know. Are we listening, am I listening?

So whatever else we do today, let’s keep Looking to Him, and Calling to Him and I know our day will go much better with Jesus in the middle of it all. Amen. 😊

WHEN WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO PRAY

Romans 8:26-27 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

I find those verses so comforting when I don’t know how to pray. God thinks of everything, even the times when we just can’t seem to pray at all. The Holy Spirit, our Helper comes and intercedes for us with groanings, and things are being dealt with in the unseen realm. 

It’s as though the Holy Spirit is entering into our great distress so He feels what we feel and with sounds beyond words, He conveys what’s in our hearts to our Heavenly Father for Him to deal with and because He knows the will of God whatever He prays is going to be right.

Our God works behind the scenes all the time but He doesn’t want us to leave it all to the Holy Spirit so He is also given to help us to pray faith filled prayers as well and to pray in the Spirit.

In Mark 11:22-24 Jesus said when we pray, to believe we have received it there and then, not in the dim and distant, and even though we may not see anything happening, He wants us to know it is happening, no matter what we’re standing on the promises of God for - healing or finances, or anything. 

The devil does his best to try to keep us in the realm of seeing and feeling but we have to put our faith foot down and refuse to give in to his tactics. We’re walking by faith.

So be encouraged. Even when we don’t know how to pray, even when we sometimes get it wrong, keep trusting, keep standing in faith, keep believing, knowing the Holy Spirit is praying deeply for us, and with us, for God’s will to be done, and Jesus our High Priest is interceding on our behalf night and day as well. God will make sure it all works out for our good in the end.😊

Hebrews 7:24-25 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever….. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

FILL UP AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Ephesians 5:18 Be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Here we are once again at Monday morning and the weeks go by so quickly! If you’re a morning person you probably jumped out of bed, raring to go, but if you’re more of a night person then you might not be such a happy bunny! You probably rolled out of bed very reluctantly.😊 

Whichever it is we need to remember we’re going into our day with the One who offers us His help, His wisdom and anything else we might need to navigate our coming week.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 We know dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be His people. We’re starting each day with the One who loves us and holds us steady when things get tough, who lifts us up when we’re down, and who breathes His life into us when our strength has run out.

Whatever time of day it is with you, just take a minute and if you can, lift your hands up to Him, and in your spirit see yourself receiving His strength, wisdom and peace flowing into your body, along with His love and joy because He is our Joy-Giver. It’s a bit like taking the car to a petrol station when it’s nearly empty, if we’re sensible we’ll fill up again before we run out along the road!

God never wants us running on empty. His heart’s desire is to have us running on full so if you find yourself rolling out of bed feeling like your tank has nearly run out, can I encourage you to once again ask the Holy Spirit to fill you up with whatever you need, or need more of, regardless of what it is, and when you ask, believe by faith that you receive it, and thank Him for it in advance. The Holy Spirit wants to fill us all up, not just with Himself, but with whatever we need for our day.😊

Have a blessed, filled up week.x

JESUS IS ALWAYS WORTHY

Revelation 5:8 

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

There are some flowers that look beautiful but unfortunately I can’t stand the smell of big white lilies as they make me feel queasy and I have to put them outside in the garden! Some people absolutely love them and their smell, but to me, they’re awful!

Apparently we give off an aroma as well… 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God…..To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume…. It’s a bit like the lilies, it depends which camp people are in as to how they react to us but wonderful we are a life-giving perfume to some!  

Our first verse today also reminds us that our prayers are giving off a pleasing aroma, like incense as far as heaven is concerned and they’re being received right into the portals of heaven to be used as part of their worship. I hope that encourages us all to pray some more.😊 And it’s lovely to know the saints referred to, are all of us who are saved by grace through the Lord Jesus, so our prayers are included.

It goes on to say the creatures and elders who were holding the golden bowls with the saints’ prayers in them, then went on to sing a new song along with thousands and millions of angels. 

Vs.12 (Nkjv)Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing. 

V.13…Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne. And to the Lamb, forever and ever!

We give You all the glory Lord and join in with the praise of heaven today. Amen.

TAKE AND GIVE

Hebrews 4:16 (MSG) So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

We’ve all heard the expression ‘Give and Take’ as being important for good relationships of any kind. I was thinking about that and realised that in our relationship with God it’s a bit different. For us, it has to be ‘Take and Give.’

We have to take His love, His forgiveness, His righteousness, His mercy, peace and joy, etc. before we are ever able to give out to others. If we haven’t taken first, we’ll have nothing to give out. When someone gives us a present we have to take it from them because it’s not ours till we take it.😊

God tells us that living water will flow from our innermost being, from our spirit on the inside of us, because it’s in our spirit we first have to receive from God all He has given us in the Lord Jesus. John 7:38 (Nkjv) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

For instance, we know we can’t give or show God’s love to others, if we haven’t first received His love for us, but it has to be a continual fresh supply from our Father. Once we’ve received God’s love for us, then we can give it out again and again to whoever He brings across our path. 

God is overflowing with gifts for us to take, but if we don’t actually take them by faith they’re not really ours till we do. Jesus died so we could have it all in the New Covenant and tells us in Luke 12:32 it’s His pleasure to give us His kingdom.God wants us to take all Jesus died for us to have, and to come boldly to His throne of grace in order to receive it.

So although it may sound backwards, He wants us to learn to take from Him, with hearts full of thankfulness and gratitude, and then we can go and be givers, channels of all He’s given us, the way He wants us to be.😊

Have a blessed weekend.x

LEAVE A TRAIL OF PEACE

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It show no favouritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

I enjoy making mini cushions for people but this is one I haven’t been able to part with as it literally speaks peace to me whenever I come in the room and it catches my eye. Sometimes we need reminders don’t we, to be at peace or to be a peacemaker?

James tells us that wisdom is peace loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. No doubt we’ve all known times when we forgot his words and those attributes were not foremost in our minds at the time!!

But he goes on to encourage us to plant seeds of peace and we all know that when we plant seeds of any kind it can take a while for them to come up, let alone bear a harvest! So really, when we sow peace we may have to have some patience before we see the fruit of it.😊

But what about the times when everyone is getting hot under the collar, when words are flying? Those times when you come into a room, whether it’s at work or home or wherever, and you can feel the tension, as though the atmosphere could be cut with a knife? It’s when we have to draw a breath and ask the Lord to help us sow some peace into the situation for immediate effect! It’s amazing how our words can inflame a situation or diffuse it and we get the choice which way we’ll run with it. Our words are powerful!

So today, it’s just an encouragement to be a peacemaker whenever we can be, and not only bring some of the fruit of God’s peace with us, but leave it behind wherever we go. 

Jesus said He was leaving His peace behind with us, so let’s follow His example and do the same - leave a trail of peace behind us and it might even blossom into a harvest of joy!😊

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…..

 

THE LORD IS DIRECTING OUR STEPS

 Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

One of my neighbours takes her dog for a walk each day but when she comes to a crossroads in the path, if the dog doesn’t want to follow along the path she chooses, it just sits down and refuses to go anywhere until she goes the way he wants to go! The dog is directing her steps!

Our verse today reminds us that we have God directing our footsteps and because He delights in every detail of our lives and He loves us, we can be sure He will only lead us in good paths.

Sometimes though we think we know better than God and don’t follow His leading even though He’s shown us the path He wants us to take. We think it has too much uncertainty attached to it, and because we like everything mapped out in advance we just sit down, like the dog, and refuse to budge! Or even worse we go the way we want to go and end up in the wrong place. I don’t know if you’ve ever done that, but I have! Jonah did it too and ended up in a whale of a mess!😊

Proverbs 3:5-6  (MSG) Trust God from the bottom of your heart, don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

You may be facing a crossroads of some kind and the path God wants you to take looks full of unknowns, it might not even look sensible to your mind but God is encouraging each one of us to take the first or next step, to trust Him even when it doesn’t always make sense. He can only lead us if we’re willing to follow. Don’t let’s be like the little dog who was only willing to go where he wanted to go and refused to follow his boss! That’s how we get stuck in a rut whether personally or in our work or even our churches!

God has a place for us to be, at the right time and the right place but we’ll only get there if we’re willing to follow His thoughts and plans and say ‘Lead on Lord, I’m right behind You.’ I know it may not be necessarily easy but I know it will be a blessing.😊

GOD LIFTS OUR HEADS HIGH

1 John 5:4 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

My petunias were doing so well in their pots and I felt so pleased with them - until I had a closer look and discovered they’d been infected with white fly and had begun to hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves!

We can be a bit like the petunias, merrily going along, everything doing well when suddenly we find we’ve been infected by the news bulletin or something someone said or did which hurt or offended. Maybe you were stepping out in faith, believing the promises of God and strongly standing in faith when out of nowhere a doubt began to creep in, a negative thought here, another ‘what if’ thought there, and before you know it we’ve begun to feel sorry for ourselves! Our heads are down and we’ve lost our joy.😊

So what’s the antidote? Well one thing I’ve found is to pay attention to who and what we’re listening to, whether we’re left feeling depressed after watching or hearing it. If it keeps bringing us down then our alarm bell should be going off!  We need to guard our minds and hearts more diligently so that when words are thrown at us we can counteract them straight away with the truth of the Word of God. 

Paul tells us to have our armour on, to not go out unprotected. It’s all common sense in a way. We wouldn’t send a soldier out with no protective gear, no weapons and no back up. God has given us the armour to wear but we have to put it on. If we’re wise we’ll claim God’s promises of protection and back up, and ask Him to help us guard our hearts and minds so we don’t end up like my petunias were.

Psalm 3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

If we find we have been infected, may I suggest we kill those bugs off with the promises of God once more, stir ourselves up and dust off our faith because it’s making us world over comers and enabling us to win this battle in Jesus Name as God lifts our heads high again.😊

HE KNOWS YOUR NAME

Isaiah 45:3 I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness - secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

I was listening to a testimony of a young woman who had led a very rough, hard life but had felt drawn to a local church. They were genuinely caring, and took the time to find out about her life so she kept going back. The comment she made which touched me was “They know my name.” Up until that point no one had cared for her, or about her enough to find out her name and when these people did, and showed they loved her, it began to change her life as she discovered God loved her too.

Can I tell you today that God not only knows your name but He calls you by your name and He doesn’t forget it. What a great thought that the God who created all things, and with his own hands stretched out the heavens, and all the stars are at His command, this same God calls you and me by name.😊

Our God is personal, not removed or far away but He knows every detail of our lives and He cares about all that is happening. He offers to walk with us through each moment if we’ll allow Him to.

Isaiah 43:1 … ”Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

On Sunday we looked at belonging to God but He seems to love reminding us about things and here He is doing it again in this verse. He takes it one stage further and reminds us that He doesn’t just call us by name but that we are His, we belong to Him, so we don’t need to be afraid. 

We can walk through our day and under our breath keep reminding ourselves, “I matter to God, He  knows me and calls me by my name and I belong to Him. Thank You Lord.”  

I hope that lifts you up today and puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face.😊

TAKE A BREAK AND TRY AGAIN!

James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

I saw a cute picture (which I've tried to draw!) of a sleeping dog, crashed out on a cushion with this caption : If at first you don’t succeed, have a nap, and try again! I thought it was funny but at the same time quite good advice.😊 

You know the days when you’ve tried to do something, maybe over and over again without success and you can feel the frustration rising? Well it might not be a bad idea to take five minutes out, (dog nap) or go and have a snack and recharge our batteries like the dog, and try again! I know we can’t have a nap when there are kids around, or we’re at work, but the principle is to leave it alone for a while and if need be, just go to sleep on it that night, ask the Lord to give us some fresh inspiration and wisdom on how to go about it in a different way and then tackle it again tomorrow with His help.

It’s like that with difficult people situations as well. If it’s possible it can be a good idea to just leave the room for a few minutes before we say something we might regret, especially when we’re upset. It’s time to take a deep breath, and send an SOS prayer of ‘I need wisdom here Lord, please show me what to do and say.’ Sometimes it’s wisdom to recognise we can’t win them all and to know when God is saying to leave it alone and say nothing and leave Him to sort people and situations out, knowing He’ll do it better than us anyway.😊

So as we begin another week remember in the middle of everything to just take a little break when things are getting sticky, and ask the Lord for His input and wisdom, then try again with His help, and a smile.😊

Have a blessed week.x

WE STILL BELONG TO HIM

Psalm 73:23-25 

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 

You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. 

Whom have I in heaven but you? 

I desire you more than anything on earth. 

No matter what happened this past week or what will happen in the coming week nothing can change the fact that we still belong to God. We thought about being anchored a few days ago and belonging to God is one of the truths that we’re anchored to, and the fact that He is holding our right hand. When someone is holding your hand it gives a picture of caring, of being there for the other person, of deep affection and love. Have we allowed the Lord to hold our hand this week through the ups and downs? I do hope so because that’s what He wants us to do.😊

Another part of our anchor is the fact that the Lord Himself is giving us His counsel. We don’t have to go and pay for someone else to do it, or flounder around on our own, and we can be sure that the counsel He gives us will not only be spot on but available to us day or night.

Then he reminds us that God is leading us somewhere - to a glorious destiny and we maybe forget that fact in the middle of all the stuff that happens from day to day. I love the thought of it, don’t you? A glorious destiny. Wow! Not just a destiny but a glorious one! Now that is something to look forward to don’t you think?

Above everything else we’re anchored to the truth that we actually have the God in heaven on our side, who is for us and not against us. If we had nothing and no one else He would be more than enough.

He holds our past, our present and our future in the palm of His loving hand and He’s watching over each and every one of us, holding on to us. How wonderful that is and I hope these reminders help us desire Him more and more and put a smile on all our faces. 😊Thank You Lord.

LOOK FOR THE BEST

1 Corinthians 13:7 (Amplified) Love bears all things (regardless of what comes, believes all things (looking for the best in each one),…

Love is not always easy is it? We find here that part of loving people is to look for the best in everybody which can be quite a challenge. It’s maybe another way of saying do to others what we’d like them to do to us. We want people to see the best in us don’t we, not the worst? In fact many people go out of their way to not let others see their worst side, in case they don’t accept them anymore! 

The thing we forget is, we can all be not very nice sometimes, when our thoughts are not always the most loving! It’s so easy to criticise or judge but that’s not God’s way.😊

Even though God knows everything about us, the good, the bad and the ugly, if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, as far as God is concerned we’re now sparkly clean without one blemish because He’s washed them all away in Jesus. Isn’t that wonderful? He’s now seeing the best in us! Knowing that should help us to love other people with the same mercy and grace and not reject them when we see their faults.

God reminds us that in everyone we meet, is a person God made in His own image who He loves and He wants us to love them by seeing the best in them. You may be thinking of someone right now who you just can’t love and you’re right! We can’t do it with our own human love or effort, so God has put His own love in our hearts so we can.

Romans 5::5 …For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

He wants us to show them the same mercy He has shown us when we were still sinners, and let Him love them through us.

Lord help us to see the best in people instead of always focusing on their faults, and help us to love the ones we struggle with. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x