WELL, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

Psalm 46:10 NLT Be still, and know that I am God!…

This is such a familiar verse, but what difference does knowing God is God make? You see what we ‘know’ will make a huge difference in how we handle life on a day to day basis. What we ‘know’ will change our perspective on our problems. What we ‘know’ will change our moods and how we feel about what’s happening around us! 

It’s good to ‘know’ that God is the Creator and sustainer of our whole universe. When He spoke “Light be” into the darkness, He, who is Light, was releasing Himself into the emptiness, and His light is still expanding at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, and still creating universes. What a thought! We have an awesome, mighty God! His power is vast, limitless!

When we ‘know’ that this amazing God is for us and not against us, it means we can run to Him any time. 

When we ‘know’ He loves us unconditionally with a love that’s deeper than we can ever imagine, we will ‘know’ He’s holding us safely in His arms when our world might feel like it’s falling apart.

When we ‘know’ that our God is backing us up and giving us angelic assistance, we will have security and confidence when we have to confront tricky situations. 

When we ‘know’ God is still God, the All Sufficient One, the one who is More Than Enough to guide and lead us through life, then our stress levels can drop - we can learn to relax more!😊

And because of Jesus we can ‘know’ He has made us ‘right’ with God. How reassuring, and how big that thought is! 

When we ‘know’ God is Sovereign, and is in control of our lives then we ‘know’ we can trust Him to turn things round for our good in His perfect timing. 

So I hope all of the above encourages us to ‘Be still and know He is God’ every moment of our day. What a privilege to be able to personally ‘know’ our God as our very own Father because of Jesus. 

Have a blessed weekend.😊x

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

WHEN OUR ENOUGH RUNS OUT

Genesis 17:1-2 NLT When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.  I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

I expect we’ve all had moments when we didn’t have enough of something. It may have been a physical lack, like when our strength was not enough. Or maybe our patience ran out - we didn’t have enough! Or it may be a lack of friends or finances, or not enough love for God Himself. It could be anything!😊

All through the Old Testament God revealed himself to His people by His different names, but God spoke to Abram in Genesis 17:1 when he lacked an heir, and God came to tell him he’d have countless heirs, more than enough, even when it seemed impossible! God said He was El Shaddai - the God who is More Than Enough, The All Sufficient One.

I love that name especially because whatever is happening, whatever lack we may have, we can go to our God, to El Shaddai, the One who is More Than Enough, the All Sufficient One, to His throne of grace and ask for His provision. That’s good news!😊

Do you need more than enough in some area in your life today? Not enough wisdom? Then El Shaddai says to ask for it and He’ll give it to you. (James 1:5). Not enough love in your life? Then come to El Shaddai who is Love and believe the Holy Spirit is pouring God’s love into your heart (Romans 5:5). If you want someone to love, and be loved by, then ask the All Sufficient One to bring them into your life. Not enough faith, courage, finances or health? Whatever it is, come to El Shaddai.

The Holy Spirit is reminding us, if our enough has run out in any area, then we know we can come in faith to the waterfall of God’s provision, to the throne of grace, and ask Him to be our More Than Enough and believe Him to provide all we need in our lives.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Jared Erondu on Unsplash

HE LEADS - WE FOLLOW

 Psalm 23:2 NKJV He leads me beside still waters. 

When we first moved to Nottinghamshire we were out wandering in the countryside and came across this lovely spot which made me think of Psalm 23 again. This photo was taken 13 years ago but since then the stream has changed for the worse as the embankments have been eroded by the storms and it’s overgrown. It’s looked after by volunteers but sadly they don’t always have the time to keep it the way it was.

I wonder if our times of drawing aside with the Lord have been eroded as well? We think we don’t have the time to spend to rest in His presence, or we don't ‘feel’ like it and so our peace and patience become worn away and it’s harder to hear God’s Spirit.

The Psalmist says 'The Lord leads us beside still waters’, but are we following where He leads, or going our own busy way? When He says to come and sit with Him, do we follow His leading?

Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

When we’re feeling stressed and worried, then we know we’re maybe not trusting Him and following as close to the Lord as we could be because we’re leaning on our own understanding.

Psalm 46 says 'Be still and know I am God.' If we do that, we can let Him 'lead us ' in our thoughts, and hear Him tell us what we need to know throughout our day. It’s that nudge to ring someone, or go somewhere where He has a blessing waiting for us or to maybe encourage somebody.😊

His grace is available for every need we come across today and He’ll only lead us in right paths that will encourage and strengthen us, so why not turn aside with Him for a while and allow Him to lead you in His paths today. Amen.

Enjoy your walk.....😊

GREEN MEADOWS AND QUIET WATERS

Psalm 23:2 AMP He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.

                                NLT He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

I think we all enjoy a peaceful walk with a gentle stream bubbling along beside the pathway. It does seem to bring rest for our souls and we can feel ourselves relaxing as we watch the water peacefully flowing over the stones and lapping up against the banks on either side, listening to the birds singing in the trees around us.

When life is full of turmoil we may not be able to do that physically but it’s good to draw aside for a few minutes and imagine ourselves sitting on the grass and watching the water gurgling gently by and allow our souls to rest and be restored in God’s presence.

The Holy Spirit is waiting to flow His gentle words of encouragement over us and into us. We need to hear Him tell us to not be afraid because He is right there beside us, even in our darkest valleys, because His presence will never leave us and His angels are with us to protect and guard us. 

It’s good to just take five minutes and breathe in His peace, His reassurance that He’s in control and He’s going ahead of us into our day, into whatever we have to deal with and He will hold us steady.

Maybe you just need to draw aside for a minute and hear Him tell you that your Heavenly Father loves you, that He’s waiting for you to cast all your cares and worries on to Him so He can sort them out, and feel His peace soaking into your soul today. In Jesus name. Amen. 

GESTURES OF LOVE

Romans 5:5 NLT And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

I’ve just been given this lovely plant by a kind friend and it prompted my thinking this week how loving gestures, whether they’re big or small, make a big difference in our lives. 

It’s the hand that reaches out to hold ours when we need reassurance, it’s the hug we need when we might be feeling low. It’s the kind word of encouragement that lifts our heads when we’ve been weighed down with the difficulties of a hard week, maybe at work, or at home.

At the root of all of that is the love of God, who gives us His Holy Spirit, who puts God’s own love in our hearts for those around us. There’s an old song which says it’s love that makes the world go round and it’s right in one way because God is love and He enables our world to go round in its orbit throughout the centuries!😊

Scripture says that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth which will be amazing. It also reminds us that faith hope and love will remain but the greatest of these is love, God’s love for us.

God loves us right this moment, and He will still love us a million light years from now. His mercy and loving kindness endure forever, steadfast throughout eternity, and sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that so we don’t get so bogged down in the here and now. This life is a drop in the ocean compared to the joys still to come that His love has planned for each one of us.

And we know God’s gesture of love surpasses all others because it took Jesus to the Cross which He endured for us, it cost Him everything, and His love remains faithful even when we’re not.

So no matter how we show our love whether it’s in listening to someone, or drawing alongside in some other way, we know we’re fulfilling the greatest commandment of all, to love one another because God loved us first.😊

Thank You Father for loving the world so much that You gave us Your Son who gave His life, and You gave us Your Holy Spirit who gave us Your love. We can’t thank You enough. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

GOD’S MIGHTY HAMMER

Jeremiah 23:29 NLT Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? 

Have you ever seen one of those huge wrecking balls that hammers into the sides of buildings to demolish them when they want to clear a site for new buildings? It’s quite dramatic to watch, and God has a wrecking ball, a mighty hammer as well!

It’s the mighty hammer of the Word of God which will demolish strongholds of the enemy. It will demolish arguments which stand against His word and His kingdom. It will demolish fears and lies of the enemy because it is The Truth. How do I know?

John 1:1-3 tells us that the Word was God, that Jesus is the Word, and Jesus told us He is The Truth, so they are one and the same but different manifestations of God Himself. Lord help us have a greater revelation of that down in our hearts.😊

When we put God’s word in our mouths we set things in motion that will demolish the plans of the enemy, and Jesus demonstrated it in the wilderness when He was being tempted by satan. Again and again Jesus just replied with the word of God and said, “It is written ….”

When we take the time to find the promise of God that applies to our mountain, we can use it like the hammer God says it is, and relentlessly bring things down and out of our lives. 

So my encouragement as always, as we begin our new week, is to put God’s word in our mouths, use it like a tool, like a hammer, and let God bring down anything that needs bringing down and then use it to build up anything that needs building up. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Moritz Mentges on Unsplash

BUT AS FOR ME…HOW ABOUT YOU?

Psalm 73:23-25 & 28 NLT

Yet I still belong to you;

you hold my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the 

wonderful things you do.

No matter what is happening around us we can still always say, “Yet I still belong to You”. Nothing and no one can take us out of God’s loving hand. He holds us steady through the fire and flood or the famine and out the other side. He never abandons us and is always faithful so we can rejoice today with hearts that are overflowing with gratitude to Him.

He has promised to guide us throughout our lives and in Christ we all have this glorious destiny he speaks about, but his focus is totally on God. He desires God more than anything else on earth! That is a big statement. Lord give us hearts that seek You above family or fortune, or anything else that would seek to steal Your first place in our hearts.

Then the psalmist gets very personal and he says, “As for me…” How about you? and I’m speaking to me too.😊 Have we made the Sovereign Lord our shelter today, have we drawn near to God today? 

The Holy Spirit is drawing us to Him with cords of love so let’s do as he says, and then go out and tell everyone about the wonderful things God has done for us and is doing still. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Colossians 2:10 NKJV and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Have you ever heard someone say “Who do you think you are?” It implies they think you’re thinking you’re something you’re not! But all through scripture God tells us who we are if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Saviour and been born again. The list goes on forever so I thought we’d remind ourselves of some of who God says we are today, to encourage us.😊

I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). 

I am adopted as God’s child (Ephesians 1:5).  (John 1:12).

I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20).

I am made right (righteous) in God’s eyes (Romans 5:1).

I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4).

I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18).

I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11).

I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20).

I am held securely (1 John 5:18)

I am accepted (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV)

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m so thankful that is how God sees us and it’s who He has made each one of us who love Jesus. It’s astounding, and there’s so much more we’ll look at another day but if ever you’re feeling a bit wobbly, just look up these scriptures and let the Lord steady you up.😊 We have a strong foundation and His name is Jesus. Glory to God! 

And if anyone asks you who you think you are, you’ll be able to tell them with a big smile on your face. 😊

Have a blessed weekend.x

Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash

CHANGE A FEW LIVES

Philippians 4:13 AMP I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

I was listening to a testimony of a lady who had been raised to be afraid of the devil, afraid of God, and to believe God wanted to punish her. Over two years, while listening to a Christian Radio Broadcast, she learned that it was all untrue, that God loved her to the utmost and had a plan for her life.😊

The Lord took her to Kenya and for a long time now she has taken in orphan children and is changing their lives one by one. She raises them as her own, teaching them that God loves them and has a good plan and purpose for each one of them.

God told her something that really resonated with me. He said, “I haven’t brought you to Kenya to change Kenya, but to change a few lives.”

That’s all God asks us to do, is to change lives wherever He puts us. He asks us to tell them the good news about Jesus, to give them hope, whether it’s in the workplace, through a text, or talking to someone at a bus stop. We are Jesus carriers, good news bringers, and we can do whatever God asks of us with His help and His grace.

We know it’s only Jesus can change lives but we’re called to show them the love of God and His forgiveness, and we’re all able to tell them of how good God has been to us.😊

Lord help us to make a difference wherever we find ourselves and allow You to change some lives for Your glory. Amen.

Photo: Damian Patkowski on Unsplash

WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING?

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Yesterday I was given a plant pot with lots of bulbs in it which are beginning to grow but not yet in flower. The label tells me they’re daffodils so I’m fully expecting them to produce what it says on the label. I’m going to have a lovely bunch of daffodils!😊

As I  looked at them this morning I felt the Lord asking me “What am I expecting from Him?” Am I reading things in His word and expecting Him to produce what He has promised? Do I believe His Word like I do the label on my daffodil pot?!

Is it possible that we see the beginning of the promise begin to grow, like my bulbs, and then forget to water it? By that I mean do we thank the Lord for every little sign of growth in ourselves and in our situations, the things we’re believing for, or do we become lazy and not feed regularly on His Word so it nourishes us and fertilises the promises we’re believing for?

Scientists have proved that you can kill plants by speaking negatively to them or you can make them flourish by speaking kindly and positively to them! What are we speaking over our lives, are we expecting God’s promises to grow and produce what He says? When we see an improvement in something we’re believing for, do we nourish it by praising and thanking God for it? Or do we inadvertently kill it by speaking negatively about it. “Oh, it’ll never change. It’ll always be this way!” 

Let’s have a great expectancy of good things from God, and speak them out, declare the goodness of our God, that His promises never fail, that He is faithful to deliver, heal and restore whatever we’re believing for.

Isaiah 55:11 NLT It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

God made daffodil bulbs to produce daffodils. Now we can expect God’s word to produce what He has said in His Word - fulfilled promises of healing, protection and provision. We can expect great things! Amen in Jesus.😊

THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE

John 14:6 NLT Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Jesus is The Truth! We can trust Him one hundred percent to always speak the truth and as we’re followers of Him so He calls us to follow His example. 

We all know how hurtful it is when we’ve been lied to but sometimes it’s good to examine our own hearts and see if there is any deception in us. Scripture tells us in the Old testament that the heart is deceitful above all things but praise God He has taken away our wicked heart and given us a new heart in the New Covenant.😊

I wonder how many of us have had occasions when we’ve only told half a truth, and tried to justify it! The world will tell us it’s only a white lie, but there’s no such thing and God hates lies whatever kind they are. He reminds us that Jesus is our benchmark and He is the Truth so He calls us to be truthful with the help of the Holy Sprit. He says the truth will set us free, whereas deception or lies hold us captive. God calls for transparency in all things. 

So we have to look at the log in our own eye first! James 1:22 NIV Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Sometimes it’s good to check and see if we’re only hearing and not actually doing the Word and just kidding ourselves!😊

Ephesians 4:25 MSG What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.

Lord, we ask You for wisdom, to help us to be honest and truthful, to be transparent and open, and to remember relationships are built on trust. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

DON’T BE RIDICULOUS!

1 Samuel 17:33 NLT “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

When Walt Disney first designed Mickey Mouse he was more or less told not to be ridiculous as women especially wouldn’t like a giant mouse on screen!🤣

No doubt we have all come across situations where someone has said, “Don’t be ridiculous! No way! You can’t do that!”  - people like Gladys Aylward who wanted to go as a missionary to China but was told she was being ridiculous but she did it anyway. 

Nothing is ridiculous where God is concerned. If He has promised it or commissioned it, then it can be done!

As I read in vs.38-39 about David being kitted out with Saul’s armour and weaponry, it struck me how he realised he couldn’t do it by trying to be like someone else. He knew he just needed to be himself, regardless of the odds stacked against him! 

I find that so encouraging because it’s all God asks of us, to just be ourselves, regardless of our shortcomings, and remember He has chosen us, appointed us and anointed us for whatever He calls us to do. 

David had been called from obscurity out in the fields, he was the least in his own father’s eyes, the last to be presented to Samuel as a possible king, but he was God’s chosen man. His family thought it was ridiculous, but God didn’t!

God often uses the overlooked, the least likely, sometimes even the least qualified, and He tells us what He wants us to do. We might be believing for a miracle or to do something new, and people may tell us not to be ridiculous, but we can remember David and believe and do it anyway! If someone had said to me five years ago I’d be writing a blog everyday, I’d have said don’t be ridiculous! But God said do it, so with His help I do.😊

What is God asking you to do, or to believe for? Are you facing a giant of some kind? Does it seem a bit ridiculous or impossible? If so, just look at David, be yourself, and know that all things are possible with our God and believe for it, and do it anyway. Why Not? Amen.

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MAKE WAY FOR IT

Romans 12:1-2 NIV Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We all love to see God’s promises when they become reality in our lives but I read this by Jack Hayford ‘To receive the promise means we make way for the transformation.’ 

It made me realise that in order for God to fulfil His promises He may need us to make way for them, to allow Him to transform our thinking in order for us to receive those promises. 

How we think is key to receiving from God. When we agree with His Word, whether our life looks like it yet or not, then we open the door to the promise. When we insist on seeing things from the flesh standpoint, complaining about what we ‘see or feel’ then we’re living by sight, not by faith.

God loves to respond to our faith, and He says not to cast away our confidence in Him. Are we allowing the enemy to dictate to us, or allowing God to transform us in our thinking. If we’re miserable we’ve been listening to the wrong voice and thinking the wrong thoughts.  

Are we willing to change our attitudes and our thinking and declare the promises of God for healing and wholeness and provision are all still yes and amen in Jesus? Are we willing to be transformed by the renewing of our minds by the Word of God when things don’t look like it? Jesus said we can’t put new wine in old wine skins!

Maybe we need to ask God to give us a new wine skin, a new thought process, to allow the promise to pour into? If our old wine skin is a bit rigid and inflexible then we need a new one! Perhaps we shouldn’t be complaining because the promise is taking so long, but rather finding out if we’re the ones holding it up?😊

As we begin another week we know God only wants the best for us, and His timing is always spot on. So let’s open up God’s word which will open up our minds to His transformation and rest in the knowledge that all things are working together for the good of those who love Him, who are in Christ Jesus, which is a promise.😊 Amen.

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WE CAN TRUST OUR GOD

 Psalm 33:1 NKJV 

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

NLT 3 Sing a new song of praise to him; 

play skilfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

4 For the word of the Lord holds true 

and we can trust everything he does.

5 He loves whatever is just and good,

The unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

We all need someone we can trust and the Lord is that Someone above all others who we know without a shadow of a doubt, won’t let us down. Our God is faithful in every circumstance of life. There will never be a day or an occasion when He won’t be there for us to call on and depend on.

Our psalmist reminds us that the word of the Lord is true, so whatever we read in His word is trustworthy and we can build our lives on it. It’s such a reassuring psalm because he’s reminding us again we can trust everything God does because He knows the end from the beginning. He is the only one we can say that about, throughout our entire lives. We can trust Him and no wonder we can sing for joy and give Him all our praise.

So next time we don’t know who to turn to, the Lord is our first port of call, our ‘go to’ person knowing He’ll never let us down and always be there for us. That is something to shout and sing about, and even the birds know it.😊Jesus said even the stones would shout…

Luke 19:40 NLT He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” I wonder when was the last time we burst out and gave Jesus a cheer?😊

So just in case we glossed over it - His word is true, we can trust everything He does, and His love will never fail as it literally fills the earth. What a wonderful Saviour we have. Let’s join with the birds and do something beautiful and lift the roof with our praises as we remember who He is to each one of us. In Jesus name. Amen.

ANOTHER PAGE IN YOUR BOOK

Psalm 45:1 NIV … my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.

“Let’s turn the page to an epic chapter called ‘Today’.”  I read that quote yesterday and it made me think!😊…

The God who holds the universe together, is walking with us through today and every day, and He holds our personal world together as well, so anything is possible!

Every day of our lives is another page in our book of life. Some of it will be decided by the choices we make, but just as importantly, how we react to the things that happen. We know we can’t always control our situations but we can control our attitude to them!😊

Just because someone is unpleasant to us doesn’t mean we have to behave the same way, tempting though it might be! It’s amazing how a smile can make a difference and kindness can be as contagious as meanness. We might tip the balance for someone by showing understanding rather than condemnation and instead of being the last straw in someone’s day let’s be the breakthrough for them that lifts them back up.

The Psalmist says we write with our tongues and what we say goes into our hearts and eventually shows up in our lives. So what are we going to say that will show up on the page of our book today? Let’s speak words of faith that will lead into adventures into the unknown, or ask God for a fresh vision of where He wants to take us as our pages turn.

Let’s begin today’s page with “I’m surrounded by God’s favour so I’m going to have a great day.” How about “I can do all things today with God’s help”, or “I’m blessed going out and blessed coming in today” or “Thank You Lord for all You’ve done for me.”😊

We can start each day off right with the One who tells us we’re an overcomer, that God loves us, that He is for us all the time!

We can expect the next chapter to be a page turner because God’s plans for us are always good. So why not write another page of your book today with the help of the Holy Spirit and let Him give you the words to speak, and the things to do, and one day it will be a best seller!😊

Have a blessed weekend.x

COME AND SEE

John 11:34-37 NLT Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

We probably know the story of Lazarus who had been sick and then died and was buried. On purpose, Jesus didn’t arrive in time to stop him from dying, and everyone was asking ‘Why?’ There was a reason!😊

All through life there will be things happen which don’t go according to how we think they should have done, and we sometimes ask “Why?” or we just bury it. We think a dream has died, so we bury it. We have a major upset or a hurt which we don’t know how to handle, so we bury it.

But Jesus comes on the scene and He says, “Where have you put him?” He says that to us as well. “Where have you put, whatever it was that upset you?”  Then comes the invitation. They say “Lord, come and see.”

I believe the Lord is wanting us to invite Him to come and see where we’ve buried the hurt or whatever has so grieved us, to come and see the buried dreams. You see, Jesus wept. He had great compassion on those who were grieving, over their loss, but He didn’t leave them to wallow in their grief, He was going to do something about it, and He wants to do something about whatever we’ve buried as well.😊

He wants to breathe His new life into your situation, but it all starts when you invite Him to come and see. Jesus wants you to let Him into the hurt or loss, and allow Him to heal and restore your heart, restore your dream you thought was buried forever, or bring His abundant life to what’s been stolen from you. Lazarus’s family had great joy coming, they just didn’t know it, and Jesus is still the same today. He is the Life Giver.

Why not invite Him in today to “Come and See”, and allow Him to resurrect your dream or give you a new one, to heal what lies buried and give you back your joy again.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

Isaiah 63:3 NIV and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

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LIVING IN PEACE

1 Peter 5:7 AMP casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

If I buy a car but don’t follow the manufacturer’s instructions, I can’t really complain to the manufacturer if it goes wrong!😊 We all know what it’s like when things go wrong in our lives and that’s when we need to turn to the Word for answers and not cast away our confidence. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Jesus said in John 16:33 AMPC I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Jesus told us to see ourselves ‘in Him’ because ‘in Him’ is His wonderful peace and the ability to overcome. We have to choose to take our eyes off the world with all its worries and fix our eyes on Him and His finished work.

We all have a battle in our minds, where tormenting spirits try to drive us to the end of our tether but God said if we’ll keep our minds fixed on Him we would know His peace. Jesus’ peace is connected to casting our cares onto our Heavenly Father. He never expected or demanded that we carry even one of them!

It’s not a suggestion, it’s an instruction in the manual from our commander in chief. The more we hang on to our cares, the more anxious and stressed we become, because we’re actually opening the door to the enemy to bring his trouble, his sickness, etc. by using our imagination, our faith, to believe for the wrong things.

The Holy Spirit told us in Philippians 4:8 NLT And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. He doesn’t say think about everything that’s gone wrong, going wrong, or might go wrong!

Phil. 4:6-7 NLT. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Jesus has given us His instruction manual on how to have the peace that passes understanding but the choice is ours. He says to submit to God so we can resist the devil, but if we don’t submit to obeying God’s instructions we allow the devil to continue his attacks. So let’s pull the rug out from under the enemy’s feet and do as God has said and cast all of our cares on to Him and have great peace of mind as we trust Him. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo: Matt Seymour on Unsplash

MORE THAN ENOUGH

John 6:5 NLT Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”

When Jesus asks his disciples where they can buy food to feed the people, I noticed He didn’t ask them how they were going to buy it, but where they would buy it, bearing in mind they were up in the hills! 

Phillip, however, was immediately thinking of the ‘how’! He said “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them.”  He was thinking of it from the perspective of all the responsibility was on them to work to make it happen and he realised they couldn’t do it.

Andrew on the other hand saw it from the point of view of his own resources and what he already had in hand, but again immediately dismissed it as not nearly enough. One was going to work for it - self effort - not enough. The other was looking at what he had - same conclusion - not enough! We’ve probably all done that too!😊

Then Jesus demonstrates we don’t need self effort, but what little we do have, if we’ll offer it to Him with a thankful heart He will multiply it and it will be more than enough when we trust in God’s supernatural ability to provide all we need.

It says in verses 11 and 12 they had all they wanted, they had more than enough, they were satisfied, and there were even 12 baskets of left overs besides! I love how God works!😊

Our God is the God of more than enough. There’s a spiritual principle at work here as Jesus shows us we need to give something so it can be multiplied. If we offer nothing, then our nothing will be multiplied to more nothing. But when we offer God the skills we do have, the faith we do have, the little resources we do have with a thankful heart, then God can, and will, multiply it.

So whatever our need is today let’s give something to God to work with, no matter how insignificant we think it is, and know He will multiply it and provide more than enough for us too.😊 Thank You Lord. Amen.

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SIT DOWN AND SEE WHAT GOD WILL DO

John 6:10 NLT “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes…

Jesus and His disciples are all out on the hills and 5,000 men and their families have been drawn to hear what Jesus has to say and do. Jesus sees the potential to demonstrate God’s goodness, so He asks Philip where they can buy bread to feed all the people. Jesus already knew what He was going to do but He wanted to hear what Philip would say. Then Andrew chips in and says what he thinks.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that look rather impossible to deal with but Jesus is waiting to hear what we’re going to say! Are we going to agree with the way things look, with how impossible it seems, how logically there is no way we can deal with this? Or are we going to say what God says?

God says ‘All things are possible with Him, that nothing is too hard for Him.’ God says, ‘We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ God says ‘He will provide whatever we need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ God says ‘No weapon formed against us will prosper.’ God says ‘He turns all things round for our good to those who love Him.’😊

Then Jesus does something interesting, He tells them all to sit down! It’s like He’s saying, “Make yourselves comfortable, because I’m about to show you what God can do.” 

Maybe you’ve been walking the floor, wringing your hands, saying “What am I going to do?” If so, can I encourage you to sit down, take your eyes off the problem, fix them on Jesus and His Word, and watch and see what God will do for you.

Those 5,000 plus people would have sat down with a sense of expectancy, of ‘what’s Jesus going to do now?’ We can have the same attitude. We can have an attitude of faith, of trust, knowing the goodness of our God is legendary, knowing His compassion never fails, knowing His mercy goes on forever and His grace and favour are for each one of us today. 

Jesus is saying to us to sit down which is another way of saying to trust Him, to have faith, and watch Him provide. Will we do it? I pray we will, and say what His word says about us, and what it says about God, and see what God will do.😊 Amen.

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WOKEN UP

Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

I heard this recently - Woken up, shaken up, picked up and grown up.

If we’re reading this then the sun has risen again and God has woken us up and given us another day, and we get to choose whether we praise Him for it, or moan our way through it. God is saying that even if things haven’t gone the way we wanted them to go, today is a new day and we know God is in it with us, so we have the advantage straight away. What a great thought to start the week.😊

So, what’s next? Now we can choose to shake off yesterday whether it was good or bad. If something happened to upset or disappoint us, let’s close the door on it. Yesterday is done and dusted and we can’t change it but we can learn from it and leave it in God’s hands because God is picking us up and blessing us with His new mercies this morning. He says in Psalm 23 that He has provided goodness and mercy to follow and overtake us each day and I’m on the lookout for them. How about you?😊

God plants us in this new day with new hope in our hearts because He is in it with us, strengthening, upholding and breathing new life into us. Just take a few breaths and imagine breathing His life into your lungs.

God doesn’t just leave us there though, because He’s also growing us up into something better, wiser and stronger than we were before. He’s taking us into a new place of trusting in Him, giving us fresh thoughts, new insights we can pass on to others to be a blessing to them.

God can use whatever has happened in our lives and turn it round for our good, to grow us up into who He needs us to be.

So let’s give our loving Father a big thank you for today knowing He loves us and He is with us in it. In Jesus name. Amen.

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HOW CAN YOU SAY…?

Isaiah 40:25 NLT 

“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 

26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars?

He brings them out like an army, one after another,

calling each by its name.

Because of his great power and incomparable strength,

not a single one is missing.

27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?

O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Isaiah 40 is a wonderful chapter and he stretches our imaginations to consider how great our God is. He describes in verse 12 how God held the oceans in the hollow of His hand, and measured off the heavens with His fingers. God knows the weight of the earth and weighed the mountains and hills on a scale. 

The AMPC translation says He measured off the heavens with a 9-inch span. A span is from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. Just imagine the brilliance of God’s mind that could work those things out using His hand!

You can almost see Isaiah being inspired by the Holy Spirit to ‘see’ how powerful and awesome our God is as he describes the creating of the heavens. God just becomes greater and greater in our thinking and then he suddenly shifts track and says “How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?”

He’s helping us realise that God sees and knows everything and He is so powerful there is no trouble we could ever possibly have that would be too much for Him to solve!😊

He continues in v.28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

So next time you have some troubles looming up that seem impossible to you, maybe it would be good to have another read of this chapter and allow the Holy Spirit to let you know we can trust our God to not only sort it out and never miss a beat, but He’ll lift us up on wings like eagles while He does it.😊 What a mighty God is our God! Let’s praise Him today. Amen.

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WHAT’S IN YOUR SUITCASE?

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

We can be happily going along when out of the blue we find something suddenly blows up which tries to blow us off course. It seem to come from nowhere but they’re like volcanoes that erupt and have to be dealt with.

But God doesn’t want us to allow things to blow up out of all proportion, when He is well able to turn things around for our good if we keep our eyes on Him.  Even when they are life changing our God is the Life Restorer, the Healer, the Miracle Worker, the Way Maker and we’ve not to lose sight of that in the middle of whatever has erupted. We have a never ending supply of grace and fresh mercy every morning we wake up.😊

Volcanoes throw up hard rocks and lava that try to smother everything, and we can feel smothered when things get on top of us, but we need to bring those hard things to God to help us. We can drag them round with us if we want to, and even throw some at other people, but God wants us to bring them to Him and leave them with Him. 

You may have some hard rocks of unforgiveness, or of feeling hard done by, of resentment or guilt, rocks of discouragement or anxiety, or just feeling sorry for yourself. Those things all weigh us down and God doesn’t want us to carry them around any longer. 

Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” It says in 1 Peter 5:7 NLT “Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.” We have a burden bearer, so why do we insist on carrying them ourselves? 

Are you carrying any rocks around with you? Maybe you have a suitcase full of them, weighing a ton. Maybe you’re carrying some other old suitcases as well, full of old rocks? 

If so, don’t carry them any longer but bring them to our loving Heavenly Father and take the rocks out and give them to Him one by one and leave them there, and let Him minister His peace and restoration to you, and come away with your suitcase filled with His joy and blessings instead, ready for the journey ahead. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x

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DEEPER INTO GOD’S LOVE

Ephesians 3:17-18 NLT 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.

I was given some Allium bulbs in January but haven’t been able to plant them as the ground has been too hard, but some of them have started putting out green shoots all on their own in the packet! So in the meantime I’ve put them in pots where they can get rooted.

God tells us to be rooted and grounded, not in the world, not in our worries, but in His great love for us because when we are, then we’ll be able to love others as He tells us to.😊 We’re going to need His love when we meet someone who rubs us up the wrong way, or betrays us, or is unkind - our love won’t cope but His will!

When we plant those bulbs we’ll have to dig out some weeds and loosen the soil so they can go deep enough to flourish. In the same way, there are some things in our lives we may need to dig up, like fears and doubts, and loosen the soil of our hearts, so we’re ready for the seed of the Word of God to grow and get deeply rooted in God’s love.

Paul reminds us that as we learn to trust Christ more, so He makes Himself at home in our hearts. What a lovely thought.😊 As we trust more, then our roots will grow deeper in His love and he says it’s His love that keeps us strong. The more we trust Him, the more we receive His love, the stronger we will be.

We see God’s love for us everyday of our lives, how He cares for us, provides and protects us because He loves us. He has made us the love of His life, the apple of His eye. How amazing that is and the more we understand God’s love for us, the more we will fall in love with Him. It becomes a circle of love.😊

So, on this Valentines Day and every day, God is drawing us to Himself with cords of love, and His love is from everlasting to everlasting. He wants us to know we are deeply loved, greatly blessed and highly favoured by Him today.❤️❤️ In Jesus name. Amen.

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