THE GOODNESS OF GOD

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Another year has come and gone and it seemed to whizz by! Whatever our year has been like there’s one thing I know for sure and that is that God was in it with us, every second of every day. Our God is always faithful and His hold on us has strengthened us when we needed it, held us up and kept us afloat when we’ve felt like we were overwhelmed. His love has held us tight when we were struggling, and He rejoiced with us when we were rejoicing!😊

His goodness has fed us and clothed us and blessed us when we haven’t even been aware of it.

So whether 2024 was a good year for you, or if it went pear shaped, God doesn’t want us to get stuck in the past or let the enemy have us looking back with regret for the things we did wrong or for things we lost, because we can’t move forward if we’re looking back all the time. 

Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. V.20 ….so my chosen people can be refreshed.

God wants us looking to what He has coming, to what His grace has set us free to enjoy - the abundant full life Jesus came to give us and His peace to hold us steady in the storms.

So as we say goodbye to 2024 and we reach out in faith towards the coming year, let’s rejoice in the good things we’ve enjoyed, and be thankful for the happy memories we have and not dwell on the unhappy ones. 

God has many more happy memories yet to be made in our futures as we continue to put all our trust in the goodness of our God. Amen.😊

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BATTLE WEARY

Colossians 1:9-10 NLT So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

I expect we’ve all noticed there are times when the enemy tries to wear us down and when I’ve been speaking to some friends recently we’ve said how there is a battle weariness that begins to creep in when one thing after another seems to come against us. 

It’s at those times we need to build our faith up and like Paul says, we need to be praying for one another to have spiritual wisdom and understanding, to know God better, which is what we’re all aiming for, right?

He goes on …Colossians 1:11-12 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father….

He knew we would all need endurance and patience and he gives us a clue when he says to be always thanking the Father, because thankfulness releases joy and the joy of the Lord is our strength as we know.

So to all my lovely Blog readers, if any of you are a bit battle weary can I encourage us to be thankful, and to pray for one another to be strengthened with all His glorious might, and to have spiritual wisdom and understanding. Together we will stand strong and be fruitful, and grow to know our loving God better and better. 

We shall be more than conquerors and the overcomers God has called us to be.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

DON’T DRIFT AWAY!

Colossians 1:19-20 NLT 

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 

and through him God reconciled everything to himself. 

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth 

by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

We heard the angels declare ‘Peace on earth, goodwill towards men’ on the night Jesus was born, and 33 years later Jesus fulfilled God’s promise on the Cross when He made peace with God possible for everyone who believes in Him.

What an assignment He had been given and how wonderfully He fulfilled it for us all.😊 Paul goes on and says…

v.21-23 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Did you get that? Don’t drift away! We can grow luke warm if we’re not careful, so this is a nudge to us all to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and remember He has given us peace with His Father and we can come to Him any time, His door is open. 

Did you notice it says God has brought us into His own presence. What an honour and a privilege that is, but I wonder if we take it for granted sometimes? Just stop for a minute and think about whose presence we are in - the One who made everything, and He made it out of nothing that could be seen! (Hebrews 11:3) So if you can’t ‘see’ a way forward, be encouraged because God is making one for you.😊

We can come and praise Him for His great mercy and unfailing love for us all today. He is so worthy of all our praise. In Jesus name. Amen.

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THE REAL YOU

Ephesians 1:6 NKJV to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

I read this quote the other day. “Don’t change so that people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. So who is the ‘real’ you? Well God’s word tells us, just in case we forget.😊

We are who God says we are and although we don’t always behave like it or feel like it, nevertheless that is the ‘real’ you, the born again you. You are not the old you anymore.

You are the apple of God’s eye, His masterpiece, anointed by God to do every good thing He has prepared for you to do. You are washed in the blood of the Lamb, so you are spotless in His sight. He says you are above only and not beneath, you are blessed going out and blessed coming in. You have the mind of Christ and all wisdom is available to you.

He has given you His Holy Spirit, gifted you with the unique talents He put in you from before you were born, some of which you are still to discover. You are precious in God’s sight because you trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus, and you are blessed to be a blessing.

So next time you worry about whether people like you, or accept you or not, just remember that your Heavenly Father loves and accepts you in His beloved Son Jesus and that is all that matters. And as He’s always reminding us, we are children of the Most High God, being changed from glory to glory. So don’t be discouraged, because we’re all still on the potter’s wheel.😊

Most of all let’s keep remembering we are deeply loved by God, highly favoured and greatly blessed.

Thank You Lord we are who You say we are, and for Your great mercy and loving kindness to each and every one of us, every day. In Jesus name. Amen.

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JUST ONE WORD

John 16:33 NIV I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus reminded us that in this world we would have trouble and when we go through difficulties and trials, it’s important to have people who will stand in faith with us believing for God to keep His word to us.

The Lord knows what we need and all it takes is a word spoken by Him through someone, when it’s spoken in faith. I had that happen the other night. I received a word of encouragement from a friend and it brought great peace and assurance to my heart when a family member was suffering. I just knew that God was in control and all would be well.😊

When we have the Maker of all things on our side then we’re on the victory side. We know He’s fighting our battles so we can sleep at night. It’s good to declare the end result by faith before you can see it in the natural, because it pleases God when we believe what He says and trust Him to do it.

It’s so good to know Jesus didn’t stay a helpless baby in a manger. The reason for His coming to earth was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), to deliver us out of sin’s hold, and whatever trap the enemy set for us, to heal and restore us, and He passed His victory over to us to claim as part of our covenant with God.

Praise God Jesus is still our Deliverer and Healer, God with us. He still upholds us, and strengthens us when we’re weak so let’s stir up our faith in a mighty God who holds us safely in His hands, and all who are dear to us. Amen. 

Joshua 1:9 NKJV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

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GOD PROVIDED A LAMB

1 Peter 1:19-20 NLT It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

It’s an amazing thing to get our hearts around the miracle of God coming into our world in human form as a small baby. Even more so, to know He was also the Lamb of God, who would become the sacrifice God had promised. God’s plans are so far reaching and it’s easy to forget in all the lead up to Christmas Day, all the present buying, all the food preparation, and now it’s all over.

But praise God, it’s not over is it? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He’s promised to never leave us, forsake us or abandon us or leave us without support. (Hebrews 13:5 AMP) What promises!

Because He came, because He is alive today, we can deal with whatever comes and He tells us not to worry about tomorrow because He’s already there, to not be afraid or be anxious, but to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us.

The One who was held in His mother’s arms is now the One who holds us in His strong arms and holds us close speaking words of wisdom, strength and love into our hearts. So we can know the joy of Christmas every day because Jesus came and is still ‘Emmanuel-God with us’, and always will be.😊

He is calling each one of us to rest in Him today, because God has provided and revealed the Lamb who bore the sin of the world. He is right now our Risen Glorious King, reigning victorious for evermore and He is still our God, our strong tower and our refuge in all the affairs of our lives. Glory to God. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

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HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Isaiah 9:6-7 6 For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called:

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice 

from the throne of his ancestor David

for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the 

Lord of Heaven’s Armies

will make this happen!

God’s passionate commitment has made it happen! The long awaited day has arrived and I pray that however you celebrate Jesus’ birthday, whether it’s on your own, or with family and friends, that your heart will be full of joy and the peace of God which passes understanding.

Luke 2:11-12 NLT The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

As we open our presents, we can remember the best gift of all, to us all, is Jesus Himself. Thank You Lord You have given us Your Son and we give you all our praise and thanks today. In Jesus name. Amen.

Happy Birthday Jesus, and a Blessed and Happy Christmas everybody. I pray you really enjoy your day and are greatly blessed as we celebrate Jesus. Sending my love. Jackie x❤️

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GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISE

Matthew 1:21 NLT And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Well it’s Christmas Eve and Mary and Joseph’s lives were about to unfold the next part of God’s great plan for mankind. We all know babies change our lives forever and the arrival of Jesus more than any other baby in history! 

Can you hear their voices when they finally held Him in their arms and they looked with awe and wonder as they whispered His name for the first time to each other, ‘Jesus’ - Emmanuel - God with us.’ He was here, no more waiting. God’s promised Messiah had entered our world after being prophesied for 700 years. What a momentous, emotion packed moment!

What a responsibility to be given! Were they anxious, elated, overwhelmed? Maybe all of the above but one thing was for sure He was God’s Son. Right from when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, and said He would provide Himself a Lamb, the world had been waiting for the One who God had prepared, and He had finally arrived!

God doesn’t forget His promises. What He has said He will do, He will do. So take heart as we remember the arrival of God’s entry into our world and welcome Him into our own personal world in amongst all the celebrations, because in the middle of it all, it’s all about Jesus.😊

I pray we all have a lovely Christmas, one which whispers Jesus all the way through. And as we take the time to remember Who we are celebrating we won’t be anxious but we’ll be elated and overwhelmed again with the goodness of God and His enormous love He has for each one of us, and His promises which never fail.  In Jesus name. Amen.

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EVERYTHING WAS READY

Luke 2:1 NLT At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. v4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. v5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

Well, is everything ready for your Christmas or are there still some last minute gifts or things to do, so it’s all tickety-boo on Christmas morning?😊

It never fails to amaze me how everything eventually does come together, but much more so when we see how God orchestrated all the events leading up to Jesus’ big arrival on the first Christmas Day.

Herod had to decree a census months before it took place, which meant Joseph and Mary had to be in Bethlehem when she was ready to give birth. The angels were all primed and ready to go as soon as the shepherds were in place on the hillside that night. The inn had to be all booked up so Jesus wasn’t born in a hotel bedroom but away from the crowds in an animal shelter, and wise men from the East were on their way. Everything was ready!

 

And what of Mary and Joseph? Had Joseph carved a rattle or two all ready to give the baby, being as he was a carpenter by trade? Did Mary have the nappies all waiting? They especially had to be ready to receive Jesus, the Saviour of the world, when He arrived!

Jesus’ arrival affects our lives too! When we wake up each morning, we can welcome Him into our day because we know He brings His hope, His joy and peace and most of all the love of His Father. 

Jesus is for every day, not just for Christmas, He is our everyday Saviour, everyday Healer, Protector and Provider. How wonderful that is, so let’s open our hearts and welcome Him in today.😊 Amen.

REAL LOVE

1 John 4:10 NLT This is real love - not that we loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins.

It’s the 4th Sunday in Advent already and it’s about love. If you’ve ever read romance novels you’ll know the heroine finds true love by the end of the book and they all live happily ever after.😊 Real life doesn’t always work out that way but there is one relationship we can all have which does have a happy ending.

Scripture tells us about a real love that knows no boundaries, has no limits, has no conditions. It is the amazing love of our Heavenly Father and of the Lord Jesus who proved His great love for us by dying a cruel death so we wouldn’t have to.

If ever you feel as though nobody loves you, just look at the Cross and see Jesus there, taking your place and mine, bearing all our sin so we could go free. His love goes beyond everything we know and Apostle Paul says this…

Ephesians 3:17-19 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully….

God’s love is outside the box, goes the extra mile and even if we feel we are at rock bottom we’ll find God’s love is there waiting to bring us out into His light, into His grace that wipes our past away, and gives us glorious hope for our future.

Jesus came as a baby, to grow into the kindest and most compassionate man who ever lived. He is God, He is love and He is for us and not against us. His arms are still stretched out to each one of us, calling us to believe the love He has for us, and to walk in His ways and spread His love wherever we go this week.

May you receive His love afresh today and your Christmas week be overflowing with His love and grace. In Jesus wonderful name. Amen.❤️

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MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME

John 14:23 AMP Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.

Make yourself at home! What welcoming, friendly words those are when someone greets us with them at their door. When we hear them we know we’re wanted and loved, know we’re not intruding or being an imposition on anybody. 

Jesus reminds us that He and His Father want to come and be ‘at home’ in our hearts and lives too, and our part is to throw the front door open and say “Come in Lord, and make yourself at home.”😊 

You see we mustn’t forget that our Father God has thrown His home open to us and one day we will go and live with Him at His home, where He has prepared a lovely place for us to live. (John 14:1-4) It’s being specially prepared and designed for us at this moment and when it’s ready He’ll come and pick us up and take us home.

What an awesome thought that is, but in the meantime let’s make sure we’ve made Him feel totally at home at our home, in our lives. May we never ignore Him or make Him feel like He’s not wanted, loved and appreciated, but rather, included in everything, whether it’s the joys or the sorrows. May He be included in our plans and invited to help us in our struggles. May He be the first One we turn to, to discuss our day, and the last One we turn to when we’re closing our eyes at night.

Father God we invite You to make Yourself at home in our hearts and lives and in our homes today. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

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GOD IDENTIFIES WITH US

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

I don’t know about you but I’m so thankful God doesn’t think or act like we do, otherwise we’d all be in a sorry state! It’s why it’s good to come up higher and see things from His perspective.😊

I was thinking about His plans in sending His Son into our world and how we’d probably have made sure He came into a posh palace. Instead He sent Him to grow up in a humble home, just like any one of us might have had, where there were normal struggles, where daft things happened to make them smile, and sad things came on them from time to time. 

Jesus experienced a normal life so we know He can identify with us and understand where we’re coming from in our daily ups and downs. So don’t ever think God doesn’t care or is not aware of everything that’s going on in your life. He hears every sigh, knows your fears, knows every heart beat, sees when you sit down and get up, every detail in fact, and He’s watching over you with love each moment.

Jesus went from the cradle to the Cross to give us an abundant life, so we could defeat every enemy in the power of His Holy Spirit, by His shed blood, and with the authority of His name, so we could be over-comers not victims.

So we can stand up and put our shoulders back today, knowing we are citizens of heaven, just passing through this earth for a few years and our future is glorious, beyond our imagination in the eternity to come. Our Good Shepherd is with us, leading us every step of the way, His angels are protecting us wherever we go, and Jesus Himself is interceding for us 24/7 with our Father.

And I’m here to remind us all of Isaiah 3:10 NLT Tell the godly that all will be well for them…. So let’s look above our circumstances and keep looking with great expectation to Jesus our Provider, Deliverer and Healer and give Him all the praise. Amen.😊

ANGELS ON THE JOB

Psalm 91:11 NLT For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

There are angels all around us whether we’re aware of them or not and I’ve heard three amazing testimonies from friends in just this past week of God delivering and rescuing them from different situations. One of those would have been a three vehicle pile up caused by brake failure, but they were miraculously delivered by their angels and saved from a terrible collision.

Yesterday I was in our daughter’s car and we were going to post a card on the way home. As I jumped out to post it I hadn’t realised my foot had caught in the strap of my bag which was in the car footwell. As I went to put one foot in front of the other I went sprawling all over the pavement which was a bit of a shock to the system!

But praise God I was wearing a padded coat which cushioned me and no bones were broken, just some nasty bruises and sprains but I know there must have been angels on the job or it could have been so much worse. It might have been an unhappy Christmas in plaster and I’m so thankful it wasn’t!😊

We pray, don’t we, for protection as we declare Psalm 91 and it’s promises over our lives but don’t ever let’s forget to thank God, not just for the times we know He’s rescued us, but also for the times when we haven’t even realised He’s done it.

Our God is a delivering God, like the day I was just about to be scammed by a fake bank call to give them access to my bank account when I felt a nudge of the Holy Spirit that it was all wrong and shut it down just in time. 

Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

You could probably testify to similar stories in your lives, so let’s give a big thank you to our God for His protection and for His angels who are on the job on our behalf around the clock. Thank You Lord. Amen.

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BLAMELESS AND WITHOUT FAULT

Ephesians 1:4 NLT Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

What an amazing statement that is! We might need to read it again.😊

In today’s world we tend to see society find fault with people wherever they can, pointing a finger. Anyone in the public eye especially soon gets pounced on and mercilessly criticised.

If we’re not careful we can fall into that trap too, but I’m so thankful God isn’t like that with us. He says He sees us as holy and righteous, as blameless and without fault. He says He has put His Holy Spirit inside us, that we are in Christ and He is in us. 

When we remember we are a three part being, made up of spirit, soul and body we can understand better that it’s our spirit part that is blameless and holy. Our soul part is still a work in progress being changed from one degree of glory to another.😊 We are not ‘only human’ anymore, but the spirit part of us is wall to wall Holy Spirit and His power is available to us.

We’re not righteous because of anything we’ve done but because of what Jesus did for us. Do we think we are being righteous when we go to church, or read our bible, but when we drive the car, do the dishes, go to work, it’s not the same? 

The truth is God counts us as righteous all the time whatever we are doing, because Jesus has given us His righteousness as a gift, because He says He has made us the righteousness of God in Christ. It’s not about our ‘doing’ but about what Jesus did for us at the Cross.

When we do the wrong thing, the enemy comes and accuses us and says we’re not righteous anymore but praise God our position of righteousness has not changed! I read this recently “The only sin Jesus ever had was ours, and the only righteousness we will ever have is His.” 

So today we can remember, in our spirit we are the righteousness of God in Christ, holy and blameless in His sight, and the Holy Spirit will help us behave righteously, and it’s all because of Jesus. Thank You Lord. Amen.

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ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

Hosea 14:8-9  NLT O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully….

“Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.” That phrase started with the BBC radio programme ‘Listen with Mother’ in the 1950s and it ended up in the Oxford Dictionary Of Quotations. It was settling the listeners down and saying in effect “Stop fidgeting and listen.”😊 

These verses are like that too when they say listen carefully, but they start with a warning - stay away from idols! You’re probably thinking, “I don't have any idols!”

Idols are anything that will take God’s first place in our lives, anything we give more attention to than Him. It’s saying to us to stay away from activities that comes between you and Him, or to not put other people, or things, in a place of more importance than Him. 

For instance, we can get carried away with hobbies, or work, or even church activities, so we forget to spend as much time with God Himself. He does challenge us sometimes as to how we spend our time.😊

He goes on and reminds us that it’s God who answers our prayers and cares for us so I have to ask myself why would I want to make anything else more important than Him anyway?

He’s letting us know He is the source of every good thing in our lives. He gives us the breath we breathe in order to even wake up in the morning, so we’re totally dependent on Him whether we realise or remember it or not, but when we do, it makes us so grateful for every blessing we receive from Him!😊

God wants us to be wise and understand what He’s saying, to listen carefully, because His heart is to bless us. I wonder, are we fidgeting and distracted or are we listening, so we can hear Him today? 

Lord help us to be aware of You in the everydayness of our lives, especially leading up to Christmas, and help us give You first place in everything we do. In Jesus name. Amen.

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THE GREATNESS IN YOU

1 John 4:4 NLT But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

We may look at some people and think how ‘great’ they are; those who find cures for diseases, or feed the hungry, etc. But can I tell you, you have greatness inside you too!

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in you and me, if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. In other words we have greatness in each one of us because of ‘Who’ is in us.😊

We often receive reminders on our phones to go to appointments or remember birthdays, etc. We need reminding! In the same way God knows we need reminding constantly of who we are in Christ, and what we now have ‘in Him’, and what we can do with His help.

John 5:19 NLT So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. Even Jesus knew His greatness was not His own. He totally depended on His Father, on the Holy Spirit within Him to do and say the right thing, to be at the right place at the right time.  So can we.😊

The potential He has placed in us is enormous but sometimes we forget just who we are in the spirit realm.  We have been born again of incorruptible seed by the word of God. The Creator of all things dwells inside our spirit. We have access to all God has - His wisdom, His counsel, His anointing and gifting are in us in His Holy Spirit, but Jesus said we have to be as humble as a child to be truly great in His kingdom, to serve others to be the greatest. (Matthew 18:4/ 20:26)

Let’s remember who God has made us to be, and get a vision of the greatness and power He has placed within us, at our disposal. Let’s use the gifts He has given us and not waste the greatness inside us.

As you walk through this unfolding week remember there is greatness in you, believe it, and release it into your world, in Jesus name. Amen.

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A JOYFUL GATHERING

Hebrews 12:22 NLT

No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, 

the heavenly Jerusalem, 

and to countless thousands of angels 

in a joyful gathering. 

23 You have come to the Assembly of God’s firstborn children, 

whose names are written in heaven. 

24 You have come to Jesus, 

the one who mediates the new covenant 

between God and people, 

and to the sprinkled blood, 

which speaks of forgiveness 

instead of crying out for vengeance 

like the blood of Abel.

The writer to the Hebrews reminds believers in Jesus where, and who, they have come to. We no longer need to go to Mount Sinai where the Law was given and God gave His dire warnings about not keeping His covenant. 

Instead he encourages them to know they have now come to Mount Zion which is a joyful gathering, to the place where God lives, a place of affirming their names are written in heaven.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine seeing one angel but he talks about countless thousands of angels that we can come and be part of. What a privilege!😊

It’s the city of the living God, not a dead god as with other religions. He reminds them they don’t need any other mediator than Jesus Himself because He was the only one who gave His life blood to pay the price for all our sin. He was the only one who could provide the forgiveness of God instead of His vengeance.

What a Saviour we have today, what a wonderful Advocate and Mediator to run to when we need forgiveness. Because of Jesus we have been bought back from the enemy’s hold over us and we belong to God our Father. 

We are in a place of rejoicing today, a place of security, a place of worshipping our Wonderful Saviour and our Mighty God who planned it all before the earth was made.

Let’s leave behind all the affairs of this world and fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the First and the Last, on the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, on the One who loved us to the Cross and back. Let’s join the joyful gathering and rejoice in our salvation today.😊

We give You all the praise Lord Jesus. Amen.

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FORGOT TO BE HAPPY

Nehemiah 8:10 NLT …This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” V.12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

I read this quote the other day, “I was so upset, I forgot to be happy”. I suspect we’ve all felt a bit like that at some time. Something has upset us and we forgot to be happy!😊

I know God doesn’t expect us to be happy clappy all the time, especially when bad things happen, but He does want us to hang on to His inner joy.

It might be something small like a comment we’ve heard that has upset us, or when things go wrong like when my printer ink leaked. If we’re not careful life has a way of creeping up on us and stealing our joy bit by bit, and when that happens we have to ask the Lord for His help to get our joy back.😊

Our verse reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength and there are days when we’ve been really busy and we’re a healthy tired, but other times we feel tired and worn out just because we lost our joy. Without even realising it we can lose our perspective and see things from a negative point of view, instead of seeing what God sees, which is the bigger picture.

Perhaps we all need a bit of a challenge sometimes to see if our faith has been taking a back seat when God reminds us we should be walking by faith, not by sight and not by how we ‘feel’. I know it’s not easy when things are not how we’d like them to be, but with the Holy Spirit’s help to call on, He will bring us through to our place of victory, when we are strengthened by His joy. 

So this is just a little nudge to us all not to get so upset that we forget to be happy, but to draw on the joy of the Lord for our strength.😊 Amen.

TIME TO BE SPECIFIC

Psalm 116:1-2 I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

We sometimes see a child tugging on his daddy’s jacket to get his attention and the daddy bends down to hear what the little one is saying. It’s an endearing picture and the psalmist wants us to see that God is like that with us.

He is our loving Father and He is listening to all we say, whether we’re giving Him praise or asking for His help, or provision or whatever our need is, and He too bends over to give us His full attention. God knows your voice.😊 Just the thought of that might help us to pray more, knowing God is wanting to hear our voices, wanting to answer our prayers.

God tells us to come to His throne of grace to receive help and although it’s lovely to know people are praying for us, I was reminded this week that nobody knows better than we do what it is we need. We have direct access to the Father’s ear ourselves, just as much as anyone else, so it’s up to us to be praying and believing that God is listening to us.

Jesus encouraged us to ask, seek and knock, so this is a little reminder to be doing exactly that, because we know He hears us when we pray. If we’re not asking, we won’t be receiving which is so obvious, but are we asking in faith? Are we believing for anything specific at the minute or are we praying general prayers so we might not even notice when the answer comes!?

I know of one man who asked the Lord for a new bike but the Lord surprised him when He told him to be more specific - what kind, what make, etc. The man then said he’d like a German bike and was specific about the make, colour, number of gears, etc. In due course the Lord provided him with exactly what he had asked and believed for. 

So, do you have a need today? If so, be specific. Jesus said ask and believe you receive it before you see it because we can come in faith and ask Him to bend down to listen to us today, knowing He’s promised He will.😊 Amen.

Mark 11:24 NIV Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Photo by Olivia Snow on Unsplash

FOCUS ON THE RIGHT THING

Luke 1:31 NLT You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High…

When Luke tells us about Jesus coming and His birth, he does it like the doctor he was, with precise detail, with the when and where, so we can see all the miraculous events took place in our real world. It actually happened. God had been born as a human being! 

He came, and He still comes to where we live, to our town, our street, our home. He reminds us He is God with us wherever we are. God is right there where you are, right now!

But this baby was going to grow into the man who walked the dusty streets, who would change the world, bringing us all hope. Our focus isn’t to be on Mary or the miraculous birth, amazing though it was. No, God wants our focus to only be on Jesus, His precious Son.

Can you imagine sitting round the camp fire with the other shepherds that night when the sky was split apart and filled with the host of heaven’s angels praising God? As far as I know, the angels had never done it before, and have never done it since! God really wanted us to know how important Jesus was and is. 

God’s own Son had left heaven and had now arrived to bring salvation to all mankind. He was bringing the Kingdom of God to earth! God’s plan was being revealed, unfolded before their very eyes.😊

May we not forget the significance, in all the run up to Christmas, that God actually came down to us, became like one of us, to identify with our daily ups and downs, our joys and sorrows, in order to raise us up to Himself, to be like Jesus. What a thought that is! 😊

Lord open our eyes afresh and help us, to not only grasp, but not lose sight of how great Your gift of Jesus is to each one of us. Amen.

Photo: Donald Teel on Unsplash

FEATHERS! FEATHERS!

Psalm 91:4 NLT He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armour and protection…v.11 For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

I was sitting looking at my Christmas feather wreath I made years ago when today’s verse about feathers came to my mind. It’s amazing how the Holy Spirit can connect things together for us and the importance of having put His word inside us so He can bring it back when we need it.😊

I’m reminded of a true account of a young lady who had been to a meeting where the preacher had been speaking on these verses in Psalm 91 and the protection God has promised us. 

He kept referring to being under God’s feathers, under the wonderful shelter and protection of His wings. Over and over again he talked about being protected by His feathers!

As she was walking home in the dark later that evening she was attacked and ruthlessly dragged into an alleyway. Although she was terrified by what was happening one word came to her mind from what the preacher had said, so she screamed out “Feathers, Feathers!” You see although in the terror of the moment she couldn’t remember the whole verse the Holy Spirit reminded her she was under God’s feathers and she believed it.

The man suddenly released her and was later caught and taken to the police station. When asked why he let her go he said, “I saw two huge men at the end of the alley coming towards me, so I ran off.”

Sometimes we forget we have the protection of Almighty God and His promises are our armour and our protection. We can call on Him night and day and his angels immediately respond and obey His word. 

Psalm 103:20 NIV Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.

So this is an encouragement today to put His word in our hearts and in our mouths, so the Holy Spirit can help us to use it and give our angels God’s word to perform in our lives, for our protection, or whatever we need, when we need it. How about having another read of Psalm 91 today?😊 Amen.

CHEERFUL MEDICINE!

Proverbs 17:22 NKJV A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

We all used to hate taking a spoonful of medicine when I was a kid because it tasted so awful, but God’s medicine is not like that so we can enjoy taking His medicine!

Life can be very serious and difficult at times but God reminds us today that it’s good to have a cheerful heart whenever we can. With that in mind I hope the following lightheartedness gives you a chuckle.

Did Noah Fish? 

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms." 😊

Say A Prayer

Little Tommy and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Tommy received his plate, he started eating right away. "Tommy! Please wait until we say our prayer." said his mother. 

 "I don't need to," the boy replied. "Of course, you do" his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house."  "That's at our house." Tommy explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook." 😊

Unanswered Prayer

The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why.  "Well, dear," he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon." 

 "How come He doesn't answer it?" she asked. 😊

I hope they made you smile and you can go out knowing God gave us a sense of humour to enjoy. And don’t forget it’s always good to be able to laugh at ourselves when things are getting a bit ‘intense’, and it probably won’t hurt us to try and see if there’s a funny side to situations when we can.😊

Lord help us have a cheerful heart today. Amen.😊

CONFUSED OR DISTURBED?

Luke 1:28-30 NLT Gabriel appeared to her and said “Greetings, favoured woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary”, the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!…”

Have you ever been confused and disturbed? We can probably all say ‘yes’ at some time or another! 😊

Mary had an amazing encounter with one of the most powerful angels there are - Gabriel himself, which shows how important his message was. It sounded wonderful, and it was, but it confused and disturbed Mary, and yet she didn’t let that stop her from receiving it and fulfilling her destiny.

Sometimes we read how blessed and highly favoured we are in scripture but we feel confused when we don’t see how, a bit like Mary. We can become disturbed by the difficulties of our daily experience or the size of the task God has given us, and forget who we really are in God’s sight. 

We’re standing in a position of great privilege as a son or daughter of God, able to enter God’s presence any time of day or night, through the shed blood of Jesus. We have access to all of heaven’s resources but we have to do it by faith.

Gabriel told Mary that God was with her and because of that she conceived the inconceivable. God tells us the same thing in His word, that He is Immanuel - God with us as well, which means we too can give birth to what God promises us if we’ll do like Mary and agree with God and say “May everything you have said about me come true.”

So Lord, as we walk through another week with You, help us be willing to lay aside our confusion, or our fears and doubts that disturb us, and just believe and receive what You say about us. Help us receive Your great grace in our lives in whatever way we need it, to fulfil the plans You have for us too. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Maiye Jeremiah on Unsplash

PEACE WITH GOD

Luke 2:13-14 AMPC 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, 

praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

The 2nd Sunday of Advent is about peace. Have you ever wanted to know what God’s understanding of peace is? Scripture tells us it’s God bringing harmony back between mankind and Himself through Jesus and it’s the peace and contentment that comes as a result of accepting Him.😊

We can look for peace wherever we like but He was telling us we’ll only find true peace through what Jesus did for us at the Cross. We all know that, but it’s good to remind ourselves of the great cost to Jesus it was, because it’s not a natural peace, it’s blood bought - the gift of God. 

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Romans 5:1 NLT Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

If you need peace today, I’d like to invite you to come afresh to the Cross and leave all your burdens there with Jesus. See Him take it all on Himself, every situation, every sin, every mistake or regret, all the pain and hurt, all the unfairness of life, all the sickness and disease, all the guilt and shame that might steal your peace, and allow Him to be your Saviour, your Deliverer and your Peace Giver. 

Jesus did all that so we can receive His peace today. What a wonderful Saviour, we thank You Lord Jesus and give You all our praise. Amen.

John 14:27 NIV Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

PIGEON ALERT

1 Peter 5:8  NKJV Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I was watching a pigeon sitting on top of a Tv aerial bobbing his head up and down like they do, but he was very alert looking around all the time watching out for predators. I thought if even a dopey pigeon knows to stay on the alert, how we should too.😊 

Scripture says our enemy the devil is prowling round seeking whom he may devour. Well he needs to know in no uncertain terms, that as far as we’re concerned we are not fair game, and he MAY NOT devour us!

God has given us many promises of protection for us to claim. We can use the protection of the blood of Jesus as our covering, safe from the enemy’s attacks, knowing we have angels on duty around us night and day.

We have the name of Jesus, which is a strong tower, given to us in order to resist and defeat the enemy at every turn, but we have to remember to believe it and use it. Our job is to remind the enemy and ourselves there is no higher name than Jesus and everyone and everything has to bow and submit to it. The devil knows when we resist him in Jesus’ name he has to leave! 

We know when we use God’s word it also defeats the enemy. Jesus had a face to face encounter with the devil but He said, “It is written…” and the enemy left as Jesus used scripture like a sword! God has given us His word to put in our mouths and He says He is active and alert watching over His word to perform it, so we can speak it out and see the devil flee too. 

And don’t forget the devil won’t hang around when we have our armour on and he hears us praising God. He can’t stand it!

I’m so thankful Jesus gave us His name, His blood, and His word which is sharper than a two edged sword, and His powerful Holy Spirit Himself to fight our battles. We are not helpless or hopeless victims, we are victors on the victory side, and no devil is going to win because our Champion is Jesus and He reigns supreme. Praise the Lord. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed and protected weekend.x😊

Photo: Rafael Rodrigues at Unsplash

WATCH YOUR STEP

Ephesians 5:16-17 MSG So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!  Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. 

When I was little we were walking through a field of cows but wasn’t watching where I was going and ended up stepping in something unmentionable! I was not popular all the way home!🫢

This photo reminded me that we all need to watch our step, to watch where we’re going, and let the Lord direct our steps. If we’re a bit impulsive by nature we can jump into things without asking Him first, and think about it afterwards, which doesn’t always work out too well!😊

God has given us His Holy Spirit though, and He is our Counsellor if we listen to His advice.  

James 1:5 NLT If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. Paul goes further and says He has given us the mind of Christ, but we have to be listening in order to hear what He wants us to do. 

We know we find out God’s thoughts from His word and it sometimes goes against the grain of what we want to do, or our world culture. Paul reminds us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and the way we do that is to allow scripture to change our thinking.

When we’re thinking negatively we’re hearing the wrong voice because the Holy Spirit won’t pull us down, He’ll encourage and build us up. He may well show us where we’re going wrong so we can put it right, but His job is not to condemn or punish the believer. Instead He will remind us of our righteousness in Christ before God, that He loves us unconditionally, that we’re forgiven and blessed by Him.

So next time we’re about to take a step, Lord help us remember to check it first with the Holy Spirit our Counsellor, and with Your Word, and we’ll know by the inner witness of peace when it’s ok to walk on and Your hand of blessing will be on it, to take us to new levels and places we never thought possible. In Jesus name. Amen. 

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash