ALIVE FOREVERMORE!

Mark 16:6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!…

Jesus is alive and Resurrection Day is something we can be excited about because it has changed everything forever.😊 But I wonder what it means to each one of us personally? Is it just something we celebrate as a matter of tradition or does it matter in the everydayness of our lives?

How wonderful it is that Jesus not only conquered death for us, but He opened up eternity as well, so we can live with Him forever. It means no more fear of punishment if we believe Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead, because He forever broke the power of sin and death in our lives. 

Matthew 8:17 ‘He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases’ Matthew reminds us we can go free from every disease and every form of weakness because He has already taken them into Himself and set us free from them. The Holy Spirit inspired both Peter and Isaiah to say by Jesus’ wounds we were and are healed. Resurrection affects our health and our wellbeing every single day!

Galations 3:13 tells us Jesus was cursed in our place and He set us free from all the curses including those in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 which is worth reading because it let’s us see what He has redeemed us from, and we can claim our freedom through Jesus. What a Saviour!😊 

His resurrection was the proof that God’s wrath had all been poured out on Jesus instead of us, and God was satisfied it had all been paid for with the sacrifice of His Son. Every sin, and every disease or addiction or bondage, all dealt with by the shed blood of Jesus, and in exchange God gave His righteousness to us forever when we believe what Jesus did for us personally.

So let’s rejoice in the resurrection every day because Jesus is Alive today to the glory of God our Father and how wonderful that is.😊 

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GOD GOES AHEAD OF US

Mark 14:28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.

It’s so much easier, when we have to go somewhere, if there is someone there who already knows the territory, or the best places to visit and the ones to avoid. Or maybe if you visit relatives in another country, you know you can relax because you’re confident they’ll make sure you’re ok.😊

In the same way, Jesus was telling his disciples and us, that He is going ahead of us into whatever situation is going to crop up. Not only that, but He assures us He will meet us there. He had previously told His disciples to follow Him, which is another way of saying He will be going ahead into their tomorrows. They were all eating their last meal with Jesus and He knew their world was about to be rocked but He also knew Sunday was on the way! Resurrection was in their tomorrow in three days time!

I have a little card which says ‘I don’t need to worry about tomorrow because God is already there.’ If you’re like me you’ll find that so reassuring. You see, God is never taken by surprise when something happens which we didn’t see coming. He already knows about it and has the solution all prepared. All we have to do is keep our eyes on our Shepherd, put our hand in His and say “What now, Lord?” 

Scripture tells us not to worry about tomorrow, that God is making our crooked paths straight, that He will guide our footsteps along the right path. In other words, when we stay close to Him, listening to our Good Shepherd’s voice, we won’t get lost or overwhelmed because He knows the way through whatever is coming.

In a way He’s saying, “Just relax, rest in Me because I’ve got you covered, but I’ve also got your back and I have a tight hold on your hand, so you’re safe.” He’s reminding us that you or I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us - no matter what tomorrow may bring, because He’s already gone ahead of us and prepared the way. Thank You Lord.

🎤 If you’d like to listen to this Blog as well as reading it please click link below:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WPmvL6zYTB2HRmeNA_j9Zoz-sqo55WIT/view?usp=share_link

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GOD THINKS YOU ARE WORTH IT

Romans 3:24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Have you ever been short tempered and bitten someone’s head off because you were worried, or tired or both? Then you probably felt bad, and I’m sure we’ve all been there from time to time. We tend to despair about ourselves and even the Apostle Paul admitted the things he wanted to do, he didn’t, and the things he didn’t want to do, he did, until He realised Jesus delivered him from all that. I think we can all identify with his struggles!

Have you ever had the enemy come and whisper in your ear that you’re just not worth God bothering with, and he tells you how useless you are? I know when I was ill, there were days and weeks when I lay in bed and felt no use to anybody!🙂 But you know what? All those ‘feelings’ are just lies of the enemy. It’s at times like that we need to be reminded that God thinks each and every one of us was worth Jesus’ sacrifice because He loves us.

He considered us worth all the agony and anguish of the Cross, because He looked ahead to the joy that was coming, and part of that joy was bringing us into God’s family. How humbling that is.

God thinks we’re worth it and He wants that truth to go right down in our spirit.

When we think we’ve made too many mistakes, or failed too often, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to keep reminding us God has not changed His mind and He still thinks we’re worth it.😊 He loves us that much and He wants us that much. He doesn’t see us as we see ourselves. He sees us as made in His image, forgiven and washed clean, as holy and righteous in His Son Jesus.

So if you’ve been feeling useless, or past it, or just not worth God bothering with, for whatever reason, take heart today because God wants you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He thinks you are worth it. In fact, He adds in Isaiah 43:4 (NLT)… you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.

Thank You Father God for loving us, thank You for Jesus and the Cross. Amen.

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GOD KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE

Acts 10:5-6 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.

‘He lives near the seashore.’ God knows where we live! He sees the road we live in, the environment we deal with every day, the people who are our neighbours. He’s very aware of our every circumstance and He’s not oblivious to what we deal with on a day to day basis, but He sees, He knows and He hears us.

Not only that, He’s actively doing something for us, sometimes we can see it and sometimes we can’t, but we can rest in the sure knowledge that He is making things happen. He even sent an angel to a Roman Centurion called Cornelius. If we need an angel God will send one, and if God needs a particular person to come to our aid He will send them too! 

Cornelius was told what to do and he immediately instructed two of his servants, and one of his own devout soldiers, to go and find Simon Peter, which involved more people in carrying out God’s plan. God will use however many people it takes to help us.😊

As we keep trusting Him to do what needs to be done, and obeying His instructions, we will see His mighty hand at work and God’s plan will be worked out. A few verses before it tells us God had seen Cornelius’s gifts and heard his prayers and was on his case, and I believe God has heard your prayers too and is on your case right now whether you can see it or not. 

He may be manoeuvring all kinds of people into place to help you or your loved ones, but whatever it takes, He wants you to have confidence He’s on it for you. So be encouraged today and know God has not forgotten you and He has your address in His address book! He knows where you live.😊

Cornelius’s story reminds us to obey God’s instructions, and be on the lookout for God’s help to arrive. It’s on its way, whether you live in a high rise flat in a city or by the seashore, down a dusty back lane somewhere, or in an average road, God knows where you live and He is there with you right now working behind the scenes because He loves you. Thank You Lord.

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BUMBLE BEES

1Peter 5:9 (NKJV) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

We had just driven into a car park and I was about to get out when a huge bumble bee appeared at the window trying to get in! I waited and he flew off and was about to open the door for a second time when he came back. He did it several times and we didn’t want him inside the car so I had to keep the door shut!😊

As I thought about it I realised our lives are a bit like that when the enemy appears at our door trying to get in and we have to keep resisting him till he gives up and goes away.

So how do we stop him? First of all, when we remember who we are in Christ, then we know we have been given the right and authority by God Himself to resist the devil and tell him to go. We have to stand firm in our faith and tell him to take his hands off whatever he’s trying to kill, steal or destroy, whether it’s family, health, finances or whatever.

It doesn’t work when we just think it, we have to speak it. Our faith is released by our words, and like God released His faith and spoke in the Garden of Eden and things happened, He expects us to use His words and make things happen too!

Matthew 18:18 (NLT) I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. Jesus is telling us it’s up to us, it’s what we permit or what we forbid,  what we bind or loose! He’s very direct. When we do our part, God will intervene!

He has given us His faith, His words, to speak into all our situations, to take back control of things the enemy tries to deceive us into thinking he controls. God defeated him at the Cross through the blood of the Lord Jesus and gave us back our authority over the works of the enemy, but we have to do something or speak something. We can’t ask God to do something He told us to do.😊

So just in case we have allowed any of the enemy’s bumble bees in, spiritually speaking, let’s use our God given authority today to resist them, to give them no permission, and tell them to get out in the name of Jesus. To go! Tell them to be gone, to buzz off!😊 Amen.

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TO GIVE US HOPE

Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

We all know ‘stuff’ happens and if it’s not happening in your life right now then praise God, but you probably know someone who is going through it! When life throws us some curve balls it’s then we need each other to stand by one another to comfort and encourage us through the hard times, fellow believers who will not judge us but love us at our lowest, to remind us God is right there with us.

I expect every family has had things happen that throw up questions. Why didn’t I see it coming, how do I get over this loss, this hurt, how do I deal with this illness? Maybe you’ve had some questions too, but God is big enough to handle them all. 

He doesn’t expect us to be robots with no emotions, and all through Scripture He allows us to glimpse the struggles of His people as they wade through their ‘stuff’, and ask God some hard questions. Our verse adds ‘to give us hope.’ Life is never hopeless with God!🙂

They encourage us is to know they came through and out the other side of their difficulties with His help and He has not changed. He is the God of our valleys as well as the God of our mountain tops. Even when the waves are the highest He wants you to know His peace is still available, even when the joy feels like it’s been sucked out of you, He wants you to know His joy is still there within you because He is in you. 

What God has done for one, He will do for us all. Even though we may suffer loss in whatever shape that may be, we haven’t lost God.🙂 He is still the restorer of our souls, the uplifter of our heads. He is who He says He is, our Helper, Strengthener, Healer, Provider, the All Sufficient One. 

I pray that whatever is happening in your life that you would allow Him to lift you up and give you hope. To know Him as the One who loves you beyond your wildest dreams, who understands your questions and isn’t mad at you, who will never let you down, who will always be there for you and will bring you through and out the other side with an amazing testimony of His faithfulness. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Photo Nick Fewings on Unsplash

GREAT GOODNESS

Psalm 31:19 How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

Our God is a generous God! He doesn’t give us a little bit of His goodness, He has great goodness and blessings stored up for us, and it’s not put off until the sweet by and by. He says it’s for the messy here and now, for all to see in our every day.😊

He says it’s available to those who have a godly reverence and awe of Him, recognising He is the Almighty but we can also know Him in the New Covenant as our loving Father and Friend.

He wants us to know we don’t need to go around in fear of what might happen but to have total confidence as we go to Him for His protection, and as we do, we take the limits off His goodness.

I love the thought of God lavishing His goodness on us, don’t you? Lavish sounds like a lot, it sounds unlimited, and extravagant, where everyone will see it! It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. God is an over the top God, the God of above and beyond and His goodness is all part of who He is.

So what is He waiting for? I believe He’s looking for people who wholeheartedly seek Him, not reluctant, half hearted “Well, I might as well try God” type of person. He’s looking for people who believe He wants to be good to them, who are expecting to see His goodness, who take Him at His word.

So as we go into another week let’s use the same energy we might use to worry, to trust God instead, and have an expectant heart that believes He is about to lavish His goodness on us in ways we’ve never even thought of. Thank You Lord. Amen.

John 10:10(AMPC) …I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

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TALK ABOUT JESUS

Psalm 30:4 (NLT)

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.

I was listening to Josue Avila singing worship songs and on his Tshirt it said ‘If you’re going to talk about somebody today talk about Jesus.’ That really struck me. Do we go to church or wherever we go each day and talk about everything under the sun, but not about how good Jesus had been to us all, and how wonderful He is?

That Tshirt reminded me that it’s all about Jesus, all about His grace, His goodness, and His great love for us. He sang ‘I sing praises to Your name, for Your name is great and greatly to be praised.’

It would be great if our conversation was about Jesus today because beside Him everything else is not so important. There is nobody like our God. He is the only One worthy of all our praise. He is the One who even gives us the breath we breathe …for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) In the busyness of each day do we sometimes forget every part of our lives, our very existence, is in Him.😊 

When we hear about sickness, let’s talk about Jesus our Healer. When we hear about any problem let’s talk about how Jesus will help us overcome it, provide for it, and give us the victory over it. Let’s talk about Jesus being the answer to it, about Jesus, the Great I AM. Praise the name of Jesus.😊

Father help us today to have our priorities right and remember it’s all about Jesus, and the wonders of Your grace and Your mercy towards us. Help us to not worry about the other things that are going on but to let them go in the wonder of Your presence and the great love You have for us. In Jesus Name Amen.

 Here is the link if you’d like to listen:  https://youtu.be/CYndecuMkKg?si=FiD70xCz7zqJDkEz

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GUESS WHAT!

1 John 4:4 (NKJV) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Have you ever seen the ‘Guess How much I love you’ illustrations? I have one of their bookmarks which is a favourite of mine. Well today I don’t have a ‘Guess How much’, but I do have a ‘Guess What!’🙂

Guess what! God is bigger than all of our problems, mistakes, all our failings or insecurities or fears and doubts. God is bigger than all of them put together! And you know what else? He’s inside you and me right now and He loves us. We have the Greater One living on the inside of us so that means with Him we are bigger than all of them too! I hope that gets down inside us and its truth lifts us up today.

No matter what we face or have to do, regardless of our physical or financial situation, because God is our source of everything we need, and He is living in us, then we are overcomers. That gives us hope for today and our tomorrows, because of Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Whenever you’re tempted to think you can’t do something, or can’t cope, just remember the Greater One is in you, and His still small voice is telling you, “You can do it, I’ve made you more than enough because I’ve given you My grace which is more than enough and in Christ you can do all things.” That’s why He says “Let the weak say I’m strong”. It’s because we have the Greater One in us all the time and He is strong!😊

The great thing is, there is no uncertainty with it because it’s the truth which God has declared in His word over each one of us. If you are faced with a tricky situation remember God has made you a CAN DO person because the Greater One is in you and He has said so. 

He has equipped us all with everything we’ll need if we’ll remember to lean on Him and do it His way. Thank You Lord. 

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

D.N.A. OF GOD

Galations 4:6 And because we are his children, God has sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 

I was reminded the other day in a prayer meeting that we have the DNA of God in us. Science tells us we carry the DNA of our parents but Scripture tells us when we are born again that we now have God as our Father. So we can say, as believers in the Lord Jesus, because we are a child of God, we now carry His DNA because He is our Father and we are made in His image, in His likeness. 

He has made us new creations in Christ Jesus and we have been crucified with Christ which means our old person has gone and our old DNA from our natural parents has been superseded by the life giving resurrection life of our new Father, God Himself. We have inherited His genetic heredity as our Heavenly Father, to us His offspring, and our DNA is now God’s DNA. What a thought!🙂

Scripture goes even further in 1 John 4:17 (NKJV) Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is (Jesus), so are we in this world. 

As with all scripture, that verse is one of those mind stretching statements that we accept by faith and not by human reasoning. ‘As Jesus is, so are we in this world!’ I know of a lady who really got a hold of this verse and meditated on it till it got down in her spirit and stood on it. She wrote across her negative doctor’s report, “As Jesus is, so am I in this world”. When she returned for more tests some time later they were all miraculously cleared up. 

By faith she believed God’s word and ‘saw’ herself as Jesus is, and we can do the same because we know we are in Him, and He is in us, and He is whole and healthy.

It may be a new thought to some, or we maybe knew it but haven’t applied it to ourselves in our everyday situations by faith. But I believe God wants to encourage us all to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to our spirits the wonderful implications it all has for us, in our here and now, as we walk by faith and not by sight.😊

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Galations 2:20 (NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Photo: Sangharsh Lohakare at Unsplash

WHEN FAITH SEEMS LOW

Hebrews 11:11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

I suspect we all have times when our faith is at a low ebb. Those times when we’re so tired we can’t think straight or we’ve been waiting for a promise a long time and we are tempted to want to give up on it. We think God has maybe forgotten about it, or us, and our faith has reached a new low! 

Don’t despair! When we feel like our faith has run out, we can do what Sarah did and remind ourselves that our God is still faithful and He has all the faith that’s needed. He gave the promises and He can’t fail so because He is faithful we can rest in Him. He doesn’t expect us to struggle on but wants us to rest in Him.🙂

She judged God faithful. She didn’t depend on her own faith, she leaned on God’s faithfulness, that He is totally trustworthy, that He doesn’t tell lies, that His promises are true no matter how we feel or how long they take or how low our faith is. Thank You Lord.

If we can remember God is faithful even when we’re at a low ebb, we can still receive the promises of God. What promise has God given you? Maybe you’ve waited forever, like Sarah waited for Isaac. If so, put your eyes back on God and just lean on His goodness, lean on His love for you, lean on His word that never fails and look for Him to do it.

God is faithful to us even when we’re down or worn out or get it wrong, or when we blow it. God is there for us and His strength will flow through our weakness when we lean on His faithfulness. 

2 Timothy 2:13 If we are unfaithful He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is. I wonder if that sank in? God won’t fail us because He cannot deny who He is. Why? It’s because it’s who He is - Faithful!

Be encouraged today, whether your faith is high or low, our God has not changed one iota. He is still faithful and He wants us to lean our whole being on His faithfulness and what He has promised, especially when we’re tired out and most vulnerable.

Lord, we come to You, we’re leaning on You, leaning and resting on Your faithfulness, and we know You will never fail us. Thank You Lord. In Jesus name. Amen. 

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MORE THAN WE REALISE

2 Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

There is so much more in you and me than we realise! God has already placed in our spirits, even before we were born, the gifts and talents He wants us to use, some of them natural but some are spiritual gifts. Our part is to seek Him and find out what they are and what He wants us to do with them in our here and now.

Even when we’re older we can still discover some new things He has put in us that we didn’t realise were already there! Joshua Campbell sold his first can of famous Campbell soup when he was 78! Smith Wigglesworth, who was from Yorkshire, wasn’t baptised in the Holy Spirit till he was 48, but God used him to heal multitudes and raise 14 people from the dead!😊

 We often ask God for more of His Holy Spirit, more of His power or more of ‘something’, but God has already given us all things that relate to our daily lives and godliness. We’ve already got them, they’re already given to us! How can God give us more, when He’s already given us ALL things!?

Peter goes on and explains that everything is available to us through God’s promises which are all ours through Jesus. We already have the Holy Spirit but what we need, is to give Him more of us, and believe the promises given, then all that He has given us will be able to flow from where He is inside us, to the outside where we can see it manifested. 

Miracles and healings are already in us because God is in us and we are in Him. Prosperity, joy and peace, overflowing rivers of life, spiritual gifts, all things we need, are already available for us to tap into right now, if we have Jesus as our Saviour. The more we believe His promises the more of what God has given us can flow out.

There really is so much more in us than we realise!  2 Corinthians 4:7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Let’s ask the Lord to show us more of what He has already gifted us with, and use our gifts and talents for His glory. Our world needs what He has given to each of us, whether we’re 9 or 99! What a thought!😊

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UPSET OR UPLIFTED?

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Do you find the Lord really challenges you about some things? The way we think, the things we say and how we say them? God never condemns us which brings guilt and punishment, but He does convict us which brings growth and change. He’ll often use scripture to do it, because He says it’s useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, which covers everything! The thing is, we have to allow it to do all those things, even when it makes us uncomfortable.😊

Now and again I have a ‘scratchy feeling’ on the inside that something is not right, I’ve lost my peace and I have to stop and ask the Lord what’s wrong because I know I’ve missed it somewhere. I may have heard something that upset me and it’s caused fear, or it might be I’ve said something upsetting and I need to say sorry. I just know He’s trying to get my attention and He often uses His Word to do it. I hope you can identify.😊

Some days when I write the Blogs I feel so challenged myself  because I know He can be speaking to me first, as well as anyone who reads it.

We all want to uplift people and not upset them, but there are times when God knows what we need and He’s willing to ‘upset’ us in order for us to then move forward and be uplifted. So when we read things in scripture or we hear a speaker say something that upsets or stretches our thinking, let’s have a soft heart that is teachable and not be hard hearted to whatever God wants to say and do in our lives.

Jesus said some hard things sometimes and people were upset and just left Him because they didn’t like what He said and didn’t want to change. He challenged his disciples on one occasion and asked them if they were going to abandon Him as well, but thankfully they stuck with Him.

Lord when you challenge our thinking and correct us, help us to stick with You and let You take us from upset to uplifted and help us to grow and bear much fruit for You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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TANGLED THREADS OR BEAUTIFUL CROWN

Romans 8:18(NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.

We probably all know people who are going through really difficult seasons in life or you may be in one yourself, but God wants to encourage us today because He has not forgotten any one of us, no matter what is happening in our lives. Isaiah 49:16 See, I have written your name on the palm of My hands. He knows you and me by name.😊

I heard of one lady who texted her distressed friend with lots of encouragements one morning and her friend texted back to say that although the enemy seemed to have stolen everything from her, in her private life and in her professional life, he couldn’t steal her Hallelujah! Satan couldn't steal her praise because God is still a good God and she chose to praise Him. 

She was reminded that God inhabits our praises, He is right there in the middle of the mess and He has promised to turn it for our good. It’s like doing a big jigsaw and we can't make some of the pieces fit. It’s very frustrating because it’s not coming together and life can feel like that. But if we’ll keep trusting God He will not only provide all the pieces but He’ll help us fit them all together, so don’t give up before the picture is complete.🙂

Corrie Ten Boom who survived a German concentration camp in the last war gave this illustration. She held up an embroidery of tangled, messy threads just like our lives, which don’t seem to make any sense. There were dark threads in amongst them representing our dark seasons, but then she would turn her embroidery over to the right side. It’s the side that God sees, and one day He will reveal it to us, and it was the most beautiful picture of a crown.

So let’s be encouraged as we launch into another week, trusting God to make whatever is distressing, or happening with us, into an amazingly beautiful crown, into something glorious, knowing He is with us every step of the way, making us strong when we’re weak, and giving us wisdom for every challenge. In Jesus’ name Amen.

GOD WANTS TO AMAZE US!

Psalm 40:3 

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. 

Many will see what He has done and be amazed. 

They will put their trust in the Lord.

This verse follows on immediately from yesterday’s verse about being lifted out of the pit of destruction and being put back on solid rock.

We all experience things which make us feel like we’re treading through treacle or miry clay but the Psalmist is reminding us that there is something better on its way. He testifies to the Lord lifting him back up and giving him a new song to sing, a hymn of praise. That’s who our God is and what He does for us. 

God doesn’t leave us in the hole unless we want to stay there and don’t ask for His help! When our faith is low, or we’re even deliberately unbelieving and think ‘what’s the point’, it’s easy to slip into self pity mode and not ask for help, which is exactly what the enemy wants!

David wasn’t like that though and goes on and says how everybody will get to see what His God has done for him and they’ll be amazed. That’s for us too!😊 God is in the business of turning our test into a testimony of His mercy and goodness as we trust Him and look to Him in faith. 

It’s worth noticing that David’s faith was in his mouth as he declared God’s goodness. He has a hymn of praise on his lips, not a hymn of moaning and complaining! I wonder what is in our mouths? It’s so tempting to moan and groan isn’t it, but with the Holy Spirit’s help we can turn it into a song of praise and see our enemies defeated.

So wherever you are, and whatever has been happening in your life, let’s look up today with a song of praise on our lips because deliverance is always on its way and we are going to be amazed at the Lord’s goodness. 

Jesus is our Deliverer. Let’s believe it and receive His word of encouragement today, to His glory. 

He is always worthy of our praise. Amen.

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POTHOLES!

Psalm 40:2(NKJV) He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 

Potholes! There are so many in our roads at the moment and in the dark the other night we didn’t see one and our car hit one really badly even though we were well within the speed limit. Down we went and Bang! The tyre wasn’t just punctured, it was ripped. We ended up having to buy a new tyre and tracking. Costly pothole!

Sometimes we hit potholes in our daily living too don’t we? They may be potholes of discouragement or fear. We don’t always see them coming and down we go into a horrible pit. It might be a sudden illness, or an unexpected bill or a family upset. Whatever it is we need to turn to the Lord for His help to raise us back up out of the hole!

God says He is our very present help in trouble. He’s not off on the other side of the universe somewhere when we need Him! As I stood at the side of the road with the torch in the dark, I was praying in tongues and asking for the Lord to give us His angel protection and assistance as cars sped past us. God is our ‘go to’ Person whatever our situation, even when we have a flat tyre!😊

Have you had any potholes, any horrible pits, in your life lately? If so, let me encourage you to know God is right there with you and He is in the process of turning things around for you, to bring you out of the mud and mire, and back onto solid rock. I was reminded yesterday that every setback is an opportunity for the Lord to orchestrate a ‘setup’ for blessing. We’re tempted to have that sinking feeling but we need to remember to find something to praise God for, in the middle of the hole. 

Jonah praised God in the middle of the whale, in the dark, and the smelly mess! I was standing by Chris changing the tyre, praising God that it wasn’t raining or freezing cold, because he’d not brought a rain coat. We can praise God even when we don’t feel like it, and to be honest I didn’t ‘feel’ like it!😊

Friends, God wants to encourage us today. If you are in a pit of some kind He is in the process of lifting you back up, so let’s keep our eyes on Him and praise Him regardless. He’s worthy of all our praise and you’ll be surprised how He turns things round for you. God is our ‘Lifter Uperer!’😊 So lift your arms up and let Him lift you up today in Jesus name. Amen.

Psalm 40:2 (NLT) He lifted me out of the pit of despair…He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Have a blessed weekend.x

Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash

EAGLE OR CHICKEN?

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.

We used to have a budgie years ago who definitely didn’t see himself as a budgie! He acted like he owned the place and would stand under the mixer tap in the kitchen for a shower then let us blow dry his feathers with a hairdryer like he was ‘somebody’ but he was a real entertainment.😊

I wonder, how do we see ourselves, because how we see ourselves will determine how we behave too. Did you know, we are history makers as our actions and words affect those around us each day. God says we have rivers of life flowing in us and out of us  into the world we rub shoulders with. We carry His anointing, His grace, and His love which can change the atmosphere wherever we are. It’s quite a thought isn’t it? 

When God saved us He enabled us to rise up above our circumstances like an eagle, to sit in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father with Jesus. He put His eternal life, His resurrection power inside us and it’s flowing to every cell of our bodies bringing healing and wholeness. Jesus said we, as believers, can even lay hands on the sick and it will flow out of us to them! Mind soaring thoughts aren’t they?😊 

Can I hear you say, “Well it doesn’t feel like it Jackie!” But we’re not called to walk by feelings, or by what we see. We’re Believers, New Creations in Christ, and He tells us to walk by faith in a mighty God. His truth will set us free from our ‘feelings’ of mediocrity, or inadequacy or whatever holds us down. 

God never called us to peck around in the hen coup, He called us to soar like an eagle. We can ask the Lord to help us ‘see’ ourselves high above our circumstances, above our limitations and let Him take those limitations off. See ourselves healed, receiving His promises, being a channel of God’s goodness and grace to those around us.

God doesn’t want us to see ourselves as chickens who can’t fly! When we’re tired and worn out He wants us to see ourselves as being daily renewed in strength by Him, mounting up with wings like eagles, being refreshed by Him so we can run and not be weary, who walk and not faint. 

We can only do that as we spend time with the Lord and believe we are who God says we are. He says our youth will be renewed like the eagle’s and He will lift us up to new heights in Him. I’d like to learn to soar like an eagle, how about you? Help us Lord to learn. Amen.

Photo: Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

DEJECTED PIGEON

Nehemiah 8:10…. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

As I looked out the window I saw the most depressed, dejected looking pigeon you’ve ever seen. He stood for ages on our grass, absolutely still, in the pouring rain, water running down his little body, with all his feathers soaked and sticking to him. He looked so sad but he didn’t seem to have the common sense to go and find shelter out the rain! He was a true bird brain but I felt so sorry for him!🙂

I wonder if we too can be a bit like my pigeon? Do we feel a bit dejected and depressed sometimes but still do the same things, wondering why we don’t have different results! We don’t come in out of the rain as it were, but still watch the same depressing programmes or disheartening internet articles and then wonder why we come away feeling low. I know someone who does that and they realise it makes them disgruntled but they keep doing it!

Do you think the Lord is telling us to do things differently, to maybe turn some programmes off, or not spend so much time with that person who does nothing but complain or run everybody down? The Lord has said His joy will be our strength but if we keep doing things that drain our joy we’ll find it hard to be strong!

Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our thoughts on what is true, and honourable and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable, things that are excellent and worthy of praise. God is very specific in His commands! Could we do a spot check sometime and see if we need to change anything if it’s not in line with that instruction? 

It seems to come back to guarding our minds again and I know it helps me if I deliberately seek to put things in my head that are uplifting, or encourage me in my faith. I have to work at it though, and I expect you do too, but we don’t want to be a depressed pigeon!🤣 Thankfully, God has given us a spirit of power and of love and a sound mind but we need to feed it the right thing.

I know we have to be aware of what’s going on in the world but we can ask the Lord to help us keep it in balance. I hope my dejected pigeon story helps us all to ‘come in out of the rain’ when we can, and not give the enemy any opportunity to pull us down by what we see and hear, but let the joy of the Lord once again be our strength.🙂

Photo by Sneha Cecil on Unsplash

BECAUSE OF JESUS

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

Isn’t it strange how some days we wake up and feel good and on other days we wake up and feel down! Our feelings can play far too big a part in our lives if we allow them to dictate our day!

On those days when we come under attack and the enemy tries to bring us down with a load of negative thoughts and accusations, before we’ve even got out of bed, we have to learn to turn it around. So how do we do it?

What comes out our mouths will affect our emotions! When we say ‘God loves me and accepts me. He is going ahead of me to help me, He’s giving me wisdom, He’s guiding and protecting me, and He’s giving me all the grace I’ll need for today’, we’re lifting our spirits. 

I find as well, by taking the focus off myself and putting it back on Jesus really helps too. When we remember God loves us like He loves Jesus (John 17:23)  and that Jesus is interceding for us constantly, that He has us safe in the palm of His mighty hand, then it helps us calm our emotions and steadies us up.🙂

When the enemy tries to tell us we are ‘less than’, that we’re not enough, or inadequate or insecure in some way, it’s then we have to look again to Jesus and remember that in Him we are not inadequate but we are complete in Him. He has made us ‘more than’ conquerors. We don’t need to feel down anymore because God has qualified us because of Jesus, accepted us in His Beloved Son and we are the apple of God’s eye, loved beyond measure, His masterpiece and He’s giving us His power to deal with our day. The more we speak that out the steadier we will be.

We may not get it right all the time but that’s because we’re still on the potter’s wheel and God is still moulding and making us more like Jesus everyday. He is still taking us from one degree of glory to another.

So if you’ve been feeling ‘less than’, just remember how God sees you and be uplifted and encouraged because God says you are precious in His sight and you are His child, and it’s all because of Jesus. Praise His Name. Amen. 

I hope someone is saying Hallelujah!😊

 

PIN UP SOME SIGNS!

Proverbs 4:23 (CEB) More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.

Chris has put this sign at the bottom of our stairs to remind him to take his muddy shoes off before he walks through the house. The other day he forgot and walked mud all through on the new carpet! He was not too popular!🤣 🤣

As I looked at his sign it occurred to me that we could all do with some warning signs to remind us to not allow muddy footprints in our minds either.  Thoughts we pick up from the media, or internet or rubbing shoulders with the world, or from the enemy himself, that are contrary to God’s way of thinking or doing life, have a habit of leaving us ‘muddied up’ don’t they! 

We forget sometimes that we serve and belong to a Holy God, who gave His own Son’s life so we don’t have to be slaves to unholiness or its wrong thinking any more. What we see, read and listen to is our choice. Maybe we could do with some signs reminding us who we are and who we belong to! Sometimes I’ll hear God’s still small voice telling me not to read something any more, or not to watch certain things, but we have to be sensitive to His voice and do what He says, don’t we?🙂 Are we listening?

Holy means ‘set apart’. We have the Holy Sprit living in us and He has set you and me apart too. ‘Holy’ Spirit! I wonder if we conveniently forget the ‘Holy’ part of His name sometimes. Wherever we go and whatever we do, watch or read, He is there too and wherever God is, is holy ground! That’s quite a thought!🙂

The uplifting part of that is, we are taking His Holy presence with us into whatever situation we work in, or live in, as well. We bring His peace, His joy, His love, His power to deliver and heal, and His wholesomeness with us wherever we go. 

What sign would you pin up in your thinking? Here’s some I like - ‘Help me remember I am set apart for you Lord’  - ‘I belong to God and He is here with me right now so I have the Greater One living in me.’ -   ‘The forces that are for me are more than the forces that are against me’ because I have the Holy Spirit in me.

So as we go about our day let’s remember to guard our hearts and minds and pin up signs in our thinking where we need to.🙂 And know the Holy Spirit who loves you, is going with you to help, guide, counsel and strengthen you in everything you do. Thank You Lord. Amen.

IS OUR HEART RESPONDING?

Psalm 27:7-8 (NLT) Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord I am coming.”

You may have a busy week scheduled with work or family commitments or have a telephone appointment booked where we have to discuss things over the phone. But in the midst of all that activity the Lord is reminding us today that He is speaking and calling to us all, all the time, and He’s saying “Come and talk with Me.” He wants our hearts to be like a ‘first responder’ where we respond immediately to His call.

Notice though it doesn’t say come and talk to Me, where we do all the talking. No, He is inviting us to talk with Him, to a two way conversation.🙂 God wants to talk with you and me just like we talk with our best friend where we can tell them anything and we know they will listen, even if they don’t understand. 

The good news is, whenever we talk to God, we can know He not only always understands where we’re coming from, He actually understands us because He made us, and if we have questions, we know He has the answers and the wisdom we need as well. We also know we can receive more grace, more help when we need it, if we’ll go and spend time and talk with Him, and actually listen for His answers instead of just dashing off to the next activity. I know I’ve done that!

Maybe He wants to talk with us because He wants to tell us how special we are to Him, how much He loves us, or perhaps He has something on His mind that He’d like us to do for Him. Maybe He has someone He’d like us to ring up, or go and visit. Perhaps He needs us to pray for someone to give them moral support or to just tell them how much He loves them too.

It’s not all about us, is it? Although we can all forget that sometimes when ‘life’ is happening all around us!🙂  So, are we listening? He’s talking to you and me today. He’s saying “Come and talk with Me” and His invitation is open 24/7.

No matter what your busy or quiet schedule is for this coming week I pray our hearts are like first responders, answering immediately with “Lord I am coming. I want to talk with You too.” I know we wont regret it.🙂

Have a blessed week.🙂

Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

YOU WOULD NOT LET ME

Matthew 23:37 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! 

How often I have wanted to gather your children together 

as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, 

but you would not let me.

I’ve been making little hens as well this past week and they reminded me of when Jesus was looking out over a rebellious Jerusalem and He mentioned a hen and her chicks.

Jesus gives us a glimpse in this verse into His heart of compassion for the lost, for the ones who keep turning Him away. Our God is so faithful to us all and He never gives up on us no matter how lost we may be. He will keep coming after us, regardless of how far away we have strayed or rebelled, or whether we’ve even given up on life, or God Himself.

What Jesus did on the Cross cancelled all of what blocks us. He forgave us every sin, every failure, every weakness and then promptly chose to forget about them. That is so powerful because when we believe that truth, the enemy no longer has any hold over our lives, our minds or our actions. Our past is washed away. Jesus truly sets us free!

No matter what the hold was that Satan had over us, its power has been totally broken and destroyed by the blood of Jesus. He took all our hurts and offences, our shame, our regrets and our guilt and He said “It is finished, the job is done, all wiped out, all dealt with, past present and future.

If you’ve never made Jesus the Lord of your life, or you want to recommit your life to Him because you’ve been wandering away, maybe you’d like to do it now and let Him bring you home to His Father? I pray none of us wants to be like the people of Jerusalem who were so stubborn they wouldn’t let Jesus rescue them and gather them under His wings.

If you need a fresh start may I invite you to pray this prayer, “Lord Jesus thank You for going to the Cross for me, for never giving up on me, for giving me another chance. I believe God raised You from the dead and I want to accept Your offer today. Come into my life Lord and make me into the person You want me to be. I repent of my sin and my stubbornness and I give my life to You. Thank You for rescuing me and making me a child of God.  In Jesus name. Amen.”

REST AND RELAXATION

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

As you may know I enjoy making all kinds of crafts, and recently I’ve been having some fun making little Blessing Bunnies of different varieties which I’m going to be giving away.🙂

How about you? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I know different seasons mean we don’t always have a lot of spare time but it’s important to have a regular break to recharge our batteries. For some it might be walking or fishing or playing sports, or making yummy cakes or funny bunnies!😊

Scripture says God gave us all things to enjoy so we don’t need to feel guilty when we do! He knows we need to have some rest and relaxation as well as doing all the serious stuff, and if we don’t do that, we can become stressed and uptight or even unwell. God actually commanded us to have a day off once a week because He designed us to need a rest and we need to follow the Maker’s instructions! He never designed us to be workaholics, so it’s a deception of the enemy if we feel we have to be.🙂

He gave us Sunday for us to take our eyes off all our problems and put them back on Him. We can worship Him because He loves us so much and He knows it will help us bring things back into perspective when we remember He is the Source of everything we have and everything we shall ever need, and He is going ahead of us into our coming week.

So maybe we can take a few minutes out of our day to do something we enjoy, or to stop and listen to birds singing in the hedgerows. Perhaps it could be to go outside on a dark night and count the stars and remember the One who put them there, or sit and count our blessings.

Whatever it is for you, take some time this weekend to turn off the screens and the phones and be still; take a few deep breaths and know that God is still God, He still loves you, He always will, and He’s right there enjoying the moment with you. Our hearts can worship Him every day of the week because His heart is always to bless us and do us good. What a lovely thought.🙂

Have a blessed weekend.x

Blessing Bunnies. Which one would you choose? 

Maybe you can let me know?🙂

THE OTHER SIDE

Mark 4:35-37 (NLT) Let’s cross to the other side of the lake. So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind…But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

You’ll have heard the expression ‘a storm in a teacup’. Some of our storms are just that, they’re not as serious as we first thought, but some storms are the opposite and we can feel so threatened.

We’ve found ourselves in the middle of something, knowing we have to crossover to the other side of it, whether it’s family troubles, financial difficulties, or maybe it’s an illness? We know Jesus said He’s going to get us to the other side of it and we know we’ve asked Jesus into our ‘boat’ so that’s OK. But then the storm grows worse, something happens to rock our boat, our world, we’re overwhelmed by water flooding in, by difficulty after difficulty and the enemy tells us we can’t handle it, it’s too much. We’re tempted to start listening to him and looking at the storm instead of listening to Jesus, and we feel like we’re beginning to sink! 

We all know how hard that is, but we mustn’t forget Jesus is still in our boat and He said He is going with us to the other side of this thing! Maybe we’ve done the same as Jesus’ disciples and shouted at Him, “Don’t you care we’re drowning?” We’ve forgotten that no matter what storm comes up, Jesus has said we are His, we belong to him, and He will never abandon us or leave us alone. He wants us to exercise our faith in what He has said and tell the enemy to shut up! Jesus really wants us to grow in our faith and use it!🙂

There are bound to be storms in all our lives but He is making us strong so we’re not hopelessly tossed about by them, to remember we have the One who calms the storms actually living inside us.🙂 He wants us to use our faith to let Him calm the storm inside us first, to remember we have the authority to tell the fear to stop because Jesus is with us, every moment, and to keep looking to Him in faith.

Jesus has given us all authority over the devil and his storms. My prayer is that we learn to use the authority we’ve been given and trust Jesus when He says we’re going to successfully reach ‘the other side’.🙂 Thank You Lord.

Isaiah 43:1-2 …”Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your 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.”

Photo by Daniel Ian on Unsplash