THEY REFUSED TO LISTEN!

Exodus 6:9 NLT So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

Back in my twenties when my life was very off course, I was so depressed it gave me a bad attitude. If something good happened to someone else I’d think, “It’s all right for them!” I was in a sad way and had a lot to learn!😊

It did bring me to my knees and back to the Lord though, for which I’m so truly thankful, but it took quite a while to get my thinking straightened out which is what I needed. God gradually transformed me by the renewing of my mind as I read His Word, and He’s still doing it!😊 How about you? Are you letting Him transform your mind, your thinking?

Sometimes life can be very hard and, like the Israelites, everything around us can look so depressing and discouraging. We forget God has a good plan for our lives and He has promised to work everything out for our good in the end if we’ll trust Him. 

But those people were in a worse state because it says, ‘they refused to listen anymore’. All they could see was their circumstances and it gave them a bad attitude. They became hard hearted towards God and died in the wilderness.

I hope none of us is like the Israelites and not listening to God any more, because He’s the only One who can help us, and we know God is speaking to each one of us today, no matter how discouraging things may seem. God sees the big picture and just like when we do a jigsaw puzzle, we have to persevere with patience till it comes together, so we need to keep listening and keep believing His promises.😊

The more we resist and disagree with His word when we can’t see it happening, the more we drive it away, but the more we come into agreement with what God says in His word the more it’s drawn to us, it releases it. It’s called faith.

So I’m here to stir your faith up today. God had a great plan for the Israelites, they just couldn’t see it at the time, and He has good things prepared to give you a future and a hope too, so don’t despair, God’s plans will happen if we keep listening and obeying, and let Him transform our thinking. In Jesus name. Amen.😊

Photo: Ben White on Unsplash

THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We’ve all probably read how the great explorers, before they set off on their expeditions, would make sure they were well equipped to get to their destination. The men who climbed Everest, or who led expeditions to the Antarctic would have prepared themselves ready to do it.

In the same way God has given us the required equipment for us, so we’re thoroughly equipped for doing whatever He’s calling us to do. He reminds us that it’s His word that is our equipment. When we put His word in our hearts then the Holy Spirit can bring it out when we need it.

Sometimes His word shows us where we have a wrong attitude, or the best way to do things. Other times it teaches us how to walk in faith, or walk in the righteousness that God has given to us. There are times when we know God has rebuked us and we’re wise if we listen to what He’s saying so we don’t make the same mistake over and over again. I’m giving myself a prod here!😊

The thing is God has a ‘work’ for each one of us. It may not be on a platform, but in a classroom or a workplace. It may be in the queue in a shop, or driving in traffic praying as we go along if He brings someone to mind. But whatever it is, God wants us to be well equipped, well trained for it. 

So next time we read the scriptures, even a few verses, we can know it’s our Manufacturer’s Instruction Manual, authored by our Creator Himself, breathed out by Him for us to breathe in. I rather like that thought, don’t you? Any time we spend reading and studying the scriptures is never a waste of time, it’s God training and equipping us for our next expedition!😊

Thank You Lord for Your Instruction Manual. Help us to learn from it and most of all to remember it so we’re ready for every good work You have for us. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash

STUCK IN ANY RUTS?

Romans 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 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.

Been stuck in any ruts lately? Fallen in any spiritual potholes and been taken off the road for repairs? Been down any spiritual cul-de-sacs and hit some dead ends? Had some stale, ‘same old’ thought patterns you’d like to come away from and see what God sees, instead of what you see and have fresh insights?

In my quiet time yesterday the Lord gave me the words of a prayer, and if any of the above resonates with you, then you might like to pray this prayer with me and add your own thoughts to it as well, as the Lord leads. 

It’s for anyone who wants God to transform them, to show them more of Himself, to open the eyes of their understanding to know His deep love, to bring the riches of His grace, His favour Jesus died to give us.

‘Lord open up new avenues in our minds, fill in any ruts of old preconceived ideas and stagnant religious thinking we’ve been stuck in, so we can climb out of them. 

Make new neural pathways in our minds so we can connect with You in a new way. Help us remove the enemy’s road blocks to our faith, show us hidden pathways we’ve not seen before. 

Turn us round Lord when we’re going in the wrong direction and help us walk out of any spiritual cul-de-sacs we’ve wandered into. Where we’ve been hurt by potholes we didn’t even see coming, bring Your healing Lord.

Holy Spirit direct our paths into the future You have planned and prepared for us. Transform us Lord with fresh revelation, new God given creative ideas that bring life to others as well as ourselves. Open our spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear all You have for us in the days ahead and most of all draw us closer to You, to know how much You love us and give us a passion for Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.’

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FROM THE INSIDE OUT

2 Corinthians 6;1 NCV We are workers together with God, so we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing.

Someone explained to me recently how when God came to Abram and Sarai in Genesis 17, He added the Hebrew letter hei, which stands for grace, to give them their new names of Abraham and Sarah. Apparently the letter hei is pronounced with an exhalation of breath and it’s a lovely picture of how God breathed grace into their lives. As a result of God’s grace they were able to conceive, Abraham became the father of many nations, and Sarah was able to stop struggling to get what she wanted by her own efforts.

God wants us to conceive some things as well and His grace has the ability to transform our lives from the inside out, if we’ll receive it as a gift from Him. Romans 5:17 … much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. He reminds us it is given to us in abundance but sometimes we seem to resist it because we don’t feel like we deserve it, but every single thing we need from God comes by His grace, not by our works or efforts.😊

God’s grace transformed Abraham and Sarah on the inside and overflowed into their whole lives. What’s your dream? God has made that same grace available to each one of us. 

So what do we need grace for today? Do we have anything that needs transforming in our lives? God wants us to let the struggling go and allow Him to breathe His grace into our lives, our health, our finances, our relationships. 

God’s word is God breathed (2 Timothy3:16 AMP) and as we read His word and lay hold of His promises we are putting ourselves in a position for His grace to flow and transform us from the inside out. 

Hebrews 4:16 …come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and help in time of need. So why not come with me and let’s go to the throne today and do some personal receiving.😊

Lord, I come boldly to the throne of grace and ask You to breathe Your grace into my life today. I receive it by faith and thank You for it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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EVEN THERE….

Psalm 139:1 NLT O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

V.2   … even when I’m far away…

V.4   … even before I say it…

V.10 … even there your hand will guide me…

V.12 … even in darkness…

Have you ever been in a shop and you’ve felt invisible as though nobody notices you, or there’s nobody there? It’s almost like they’re deliberately ignoring you and you have to call attention to yourself to be served! Well our Psalmist doesn’t feel like that.

He talks to the Lord and is overwhelmed by the fact that the Lord knows everything about him, where he is, what he’s doing, what he’s going to say. He says how God goes before him and God follows him and He is so kind He puts His hand of blessing on his head. He’s just aware that he’s surrounded by the love of God!😊

We have that same God, that same love and attention from our loving Heavenly Father. David can’t get over it and as we read Psalm 139 he keeps saying ‘even when, even before, even there, even in darkness You are there’.

It makes no difference where we are or what is happening, even there God is in the middle of it with us. Maybe your ‘there’ is a hospital appointment, or an interview, or in a boring job, or a new job, or a stressful situation, or in traffic, or just standing at the kitchen sink? God is even there! Isn’t that a wonderful, reassuring thought? No matter what we go through or where we are, we know God has gone ahead of us, He’s watching our backs and His hand of blessing is on us.

We can go out this week with those words ringing in our spiritual ears ‘Even there, even when….’ 

And as David says, even though it seems too wonderful, too great for us to understand, nevertheless it is true God is there, even there, wherever your ‘there’ is.😊

Thank You Lord, help us to remember we’re never invisible to you, we always have Your attention because You love us, You’re always there for us and we’re so grateful. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Malgorzata Bujalska on Unsplash

ALL GOD IS TO US

13 

Psalm 145:13,14,17,21 NLT

For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps his promises;

he is gracious in all he does.

14 The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

17 The Lord is righteous in everything he does;

he is filled with kindness.

21 I will praise the Lord,

and may everyone on earth bless his holy name

forever and ever.

I think David must have spent hours and hours fellowshipping with the Lord to be able to write so much about Him. He had such a close relationship and it could only have happened by spending time in worshipping His God out in the fields working with the sheep, when he was in hiding, or running for his life. He had proved God to be faithful to him in every circumstance of life, whether he was bringing down giants, in the ordinariness of caring for his animals or ruling a kingdom, and he wanted everyone else to know how good his God was.

We still benefit from his writings and as we read his psalms he draws us into close fellowship with the Lord through them, all these centuries later. The years and cultures may change but our God never changes and he says His kingdom is everlasting - it will still exist thousands of years from now and we will be part of it!😊

He reminds us our God is a promise keeper, He is gracious, He helps the fallen, and lifts those bent over with their cares and responsibilities. Didn’t Jesus say the same thing? Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

So if you need lifting up, if you need rest for your soul, if you need God to be gracious and show you His favour today, why not come and praise the Lord and bless His holy name and let Him be to you all that you need Him to be. In Jesus name. Amen.😊

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TOTALLY REASSURING

Every Day 

God thinks of you

Psalm 139:17

Every Hour

God looks after you

2 Thessalonians 3:3

Every minute

God cares for you

1 Peter 5:7

Because Every Second

He loves you.

Jeremiah 31:3

The above is a photo of a heart coaster given to me by a lovely friend for Christmas, so I thought I’d share it. I’ve written the words out so they’re easy to read and I hope it lifts your spirits like it does mine every time I look at it, because they’re constant reminders of the goodness of God to us.😊

Although they’re not actual quotes of the verses they’re based on what they say, and they are all true for each one of us. We’re always on God’s mind, always watched over and cared for because He truly loves us. How totally reassuring that is. 

Why not just spend a few minutes thinking about each one of the statements above, better still look up the whole verses, and let them sink in to your spirit and let His Holy Spirit minister to your heart wherever you are.

I felt the Lord saying to write the whole verses out and pin them up round the house where they’ll constantly speak to me, so maybe it would help you to do it too?😊

To start us off, here is Jeremiah 31:3 NLT …I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

I pray you have a blessed, enjoyable weekend, but if you do have some struggles keep reminding yourself of all of the above and allow His words to comfort and bless you.😊x

BY THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY

Revelation 12:10-11 NKJV  Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

If you’ve ever felt beaten up by the enemy or as though you couldn’t do anything about it, God has good news for us because He has declared we have the power within us to defeat Satan! So how do we do it? 

He says the power of His Christ has come and because Jesus now has all authority, our accuser Satan has been thrown down. That is how we need to see Satan in our minds eye - thrown down, under our feet, defeated. Jesus won the ultimate battle at the Cross, rose from the grave and He gave us His victory.😊 

God’s kingdom has come as well, and whatever is not of God, including sickness, disease and lack, has been thrown down with Satan, defeated by the precious blood of the Lamb. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and He went about healing and delivering.

When Satan comes and accuses us or tries to put things on us we need to stand our ground and remind ourselves and him, he lost his power over us at the Cross when Jesus took all our punishment, took all the wrath of God into Himself so we would never experience it. No matter what Satan accuses us of, Jesus has already paid the penalty for it and has wiped our slate clean!

We know death and life are in the power of the tongue, so we can overcome by the power of our tongue too! Our verses say ‘they overcame by the word of their testimony’. They spoke! Their words were powerful in overcoming Satan.

What is coming out of your mouth, my mouth? Are we testifying moans and complaints, or praise to our God for what Jesus has done and given to us? Are we testifying victory or defeat? We shall overcome with our testimony when the truth of the Word of God, the victory of the Cross is coming out of our mouths. We can do this! 

Thank You Lord for stirring us up today to be overcomers. Holy Spirit help us to do it, to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We praise You Jesus for all You have done for us.😊Amen.

Photo: Junior Reis on Unsplash

GOING OVER NOT UNDER

Hosea 4:6 NKJV My people are destroyed through lack of knowledge….

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that’s important’, and there is some truth in that statement.

The wonderful thing for us as Christians, is that we know the King of Kings, the Creator of all things and we also know that He loves us. We know that He is for us and not against us, that He goes ahead of us and is our rearguard and that His hand of blessing is on our heads.

There are times when we need to remember Who we know and what we know because when we do that it will take us over and stop us from going under.😊 It will stop us from being destroyed.

Scripture says in 1 John 5:4 NKJV For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. God has given us all a measure of faith or we couldn’t have been saved in the first place, it’s the God kind of faith. But we also know we can increase our faith muscle by hearing more of God’s word and putting it into action. We have to be doers of the word not hearers only.😊

So if you want to be someone who is determined to go over and not under, then keep reminding yourself of Who you know - that God is your loving Father; of who you are - that you are a child of the Most High and Living God; that the name of Jesus is above every name and He gave you power of attorney to use His name to bring down strongholds and cause the enemy to flee.

Remind yourself He says He has given you His victory, that He has made you an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and His strength and ability are available to you through the power of His Holy Spirit living in you.

1 John 5:4 NLT For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You can win this battle!

Wherever you go today keep declaring “I’m going over, I’m not going under. I am an overcomer because I have the Greater One living in me. I am a victor not a victim. In Jesus mighty name.” Amen. Glory to God.😊

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NO DISTRACTIONS

Proverbs 4:26-27 NLT Mark out a straight path for your feet stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

When we’re trying to find somewhere we look for signs to tell us the way to go as we’re driving. Then we have that happy moment when someone says, “This is the sign you’ve been looking for” and we know which way to go.😊

I believe God is giving us signs, instructions, along the way to guide and lead us to where He wants us to go, or what He wants us to do. Many years ago we felt the Lord was telling us to do something but we weren’t sure it was the right thing to do. As we were driving round a roundabout, a lorry drove past and it had a big sign painted on the side which said “Just do it!” As you’ve guessed, we took that as confirmation from the Lord and we did it!😊

Now life isn’t always that straight forward but if our heart is seeking after the Lord to please Him and not ourselves, then we’ll often find our answer in God’s word. The other day I had a sudden health issue and I knew to go straight to the Lord first, not anybody else. I asked Him what was going on, should I be concerned? I opened my bible, because I know that’s how He often speaks to me, and I read these words, “Do not be disturbed!”

You see God is speaking to us all the time, but are we listening and expecting an answer? I was challenged this weekend to not allow distractions to interrupt my quiet time. The enemy will use every trick in the book to get us sidetracked, to stop us listening to God, whether it’s your phone pinging, your favourite programme coming on, weariness, or whatever!

John 16:13 NLT When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

The instruction we’re looking for is often in front of us in scripture, or when we hear the Word preached, or when God gives us a strong impression inside to do something. We can ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us and show us what we need to know when we need to know it and our verse says He will. 

The key is to keep seeking Him, remind Him of His promises, and we just need to give ourselves time to listen and not allow ourselves to be distracted or sidetracked. Amen.😊

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GOD IS WORKING IT OUT

Genesis 42:36 NLT Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”

I wonder if you’ve ever felt like that? Everything is going against me! Well take heart because things are not always what they seem.😊 Joseph had felt like it several years before when he was sold into slavery, and later thrown in prison. Everything seemed to be going against him and yet here we are seeing him ruling over an entire nation with everyone bowing down to him because God is faithful.

Now his father is feeling the same way. His sons were lost to him and he felt hopeless and helpless against his circumstances. What he didn’t know was that it was part of God’s ultimate plan where he would have his long lost son restored to him and he would live out the rest of his days in peace and prosperity. He couldn’t see the end from the beginning, but God did!

There are times when we feel like everything is going against us, but behind the scenes our God is at work turning it all around for our good if we’ll keep trusting Him. The Holy Spirit is right here with us, helping us deal with each day but we have to turn to Him in faith, not in moans and complaints. So it’s our job to build up our faith by hearing the word of God because it says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.(Romans 10:17 NKJV).

Next time we feel like everything is against us, we can run to God and thank Him He is in control, thank Him He is turning it round for our good, even when we can’t see it. Stand our ground against the enemy’s attacks, be a doer of the word and resist him, tell him to take his hands off us because we belong to God. Plead the blood of Jesus over our lives and speak the life giving promises in the word of God over our circumstances. Stay faithful to God and watch Him unfold His good plans for us.

Whether it happens overnight or whether it takes years, don’t quit and don’t despair - God is working it out because He loves you.

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DREAMS ARE NOT LOST

Genesis 37:38 NLT When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognised him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him….v.39 “Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

We know the story of Joseph’s special many coloured coat which his dad had made for him, and the dreams he had of his brothers all bowing down to him. They recognised him because of his coat and they hated him because he was their dad’s favourite son.

In the same way the devil sees us coming and he recognises right away who we are because we’re wearing the robe of righteousness our Heavenly Father has given us to wear, and he knows we’re all God’s favourites, so he hates us too. He also tries to stop our dreams happening.

Joseph went through many upsets, betrayals and hardship and there must have been times when he thought his dreams were lost. But as we know his dreams did come to pass at the appointed time because he remained faithful to his God and God gave him favour wherever he went, even when he was a slave in prison. Bad breaks didn’t stop his dreams from happening!

God has placed dreams in each one of us and we may have let them go for various reasons, but God doesn’t let the dreams go and if we’ll ask Him once again to rekindle them and help us fulfil them, then He will. 

You may have had some bad breaks, but God has more for you than you could ever think possible. He has promised to bring to completion what He has started in you, which includes the dreams and visions He has given you. So get your dreams back out, dust them off, believe again, dream big at the beginning of this new year and ask the Lord to help you fulfil all He has planned for you to do. In Jesus name. Amen.😊

Philippians 1:6 NLT And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

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JOYFUL LIPS

Psalm 63:1-5 NKJV 

O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You; 

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You 

In a dry and thirsty land 

Where there is no water.

2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

4 Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Joyful lips! Our lips aren’t always joyful are they? Sometimes it’s a sacrifice to praise when all around us is not as it should be, but it’s all the more precious to God when we do. 

Our Psalmist encourages us first of all to seek and thirst after our God, to see His power and glory. He realises there’s nothing better than God’s lovingkindness in his life and it just makes him want to burst out in praise.😊

He was writing this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah so it’s not surprising he talks about a dry and thirsty land. Even when we may feel as though we’re in a bit of a dry wilderness situation we can learn from David because he still blesses his God and lifts his hands to praise Him. 

So today, no matter whether it feels like we’re stuck in a wilderness, or all is tickety boo, let’s give our God first place and seek Him above all else. Let’s give Him all the praise He’s so worthy of and all the glory, with joyful lips, because our God is for us and not against us and He loves us with an everlasting love. That’s something to be joyful about!😊

Lord we bless Your wonderful name and seek Your face because You have given us today and we praise You for Your loving kindness to us with joyful, thankful lips. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo: Clay Banks on Unsplash

WHAT’S ON YOUR HEAD?

Proverbs 10:6 NIV Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

Have you ever heard the expression “On your head be it!”, which means any trouble that comes because of your decision you’ll have to bear the consequences!? 

Well God is not saying that to us. If we’ve given our lives to Jesus then He has given us His wonderful gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17) and the ‘consequence’ of that is we have been crowned with blessings! Isn’t that wonderful?😊

You may think “well I don’t feel very righteous today, you don’t know what I did five minutes ago, or twenty years ago”, but our actions don’t remove our righteousness. It’s not what we’ve done but what Jesus has done for us at the Cross which matters. He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west, past, present and future, and exchanged them for His righteousness. 

He doesn’t give us His righteousness one minute and then take it away again when we sin. We all make mistakes sometimes but the blood of Jesus is greater than them all and He has cleansed us of all unrighteousness. 

Everyday we can stand at the kitchen sink, or drive the car or stand at the bus stop and say over and over again, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Even though I don’t always feel like it, You said I am Lord, so I must be, and I thank You for Your gift of righteousness.” The more we do that and agree with God, the more we will find ourselves acting righteously.

When you have a minute this weekend you might like to look up Psalm 112 and Ephesians 1 to see some of the amazing blessings that belong to us because Jesus has made us righteous. There are too many for me to list but I pray we’ll bask in His blessings as we take time to realise what we have and thank God for each and every one of them. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.😊x

STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP!

Matthew 22:39 NIV And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Things happen in our everyday lives and we act or react sometimes according to how we feel at the time. We know we have the Holy Spirit’s help to deal with things, but there are times when we don’t always act the way we’re supposed to!

So what do we do about it? If we’ve said or done something that wasn’t helpful or even harmful, then we know we can ask the Lord to forgive us.(1 John 1:9) But what about forgiving ourselves? I know people who are still beating themselves up for something they did years ago and they haven’t been able to move forward because of it.

Recently I was feeling disgruntled and couldn’t figure out what was the matter when the Lord showed me I wasn’t forgiving myself for something I’d already asked and received His forgiveness for. God is not condemning us, and He doesn’t want us condemning ourselves or beating ourselves up all the time either, because if we do, we won’t like ourselves and we’ll have no peace inside!

Jesus said, ‘Love others as you love yourself’. Now if we’re not loving ourselves, the implication is that we won’t be able to love others as we should.😊

Jesus wasn’t saying to have an egotistical love, but because we’re loved and accepted by God even with our failings, so we can love and accept ourselves where we’re at right now. We need to remember we are still a work in progress and He’s changing us on the inside all the time.😊 

He wants us to be encouraged by how far we’ve come, to focus on the truth that He has made us righteous. We can focus on Jesus’ perfection not on our imperfections.

So I hope that helps somebody today, to know God wants you to forgive yourself and be at peace on the inside, because God has already forgiven you - to love yourself so you can love others. He wants you to get your joy back and rejoice in His forgiveness and love for you today. Amen.😊

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OUR FATHER KNOWS

Matthew 10:29-31 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

The little birds have been coming to the bird table every morning for their take away meals and just recently we’ve had snow, ice, freezing fog, and below freezing temperatures. It amazes me how the little birds survive the extreme cold at all!

It reminded me of Jesus saying how His Heavenly Father knows when even a sparrow falls to the ground and how He cares about each one of them. He goes on to say how much more His Father knows and cares about us, how valuable we are to Him, and how reassuring that is.

Have you ever been tempted to think God has gone off somewhere and forgotten about you? Well be assured if He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and how many hairs you have on your head, there’s never a moment when our Father doesn’t know what’s going on in your life too.😊

So when life gets upset and we’re distressed and troubled we can remember Jesus said, “So don’t be afraid”. We can remember the sparrows and remind ourselves of these verses: 

Psalm 107:19-20 NKJV Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word and healed them. And delivered them from their destructions.

Psalm 63:7-8 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.

God is delivering us and just like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings, God does the same for us - we’re sheltering under His wings today, held securely by His love. So no matter what our distress or trouble is, we have our Father to cling to and those reassuring truths to take us through our day.😊 Amen.

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GOD IS MY REFUGE

Psalm 5:11-12 NIV But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

I expect we’ve all experienced walking round town and a deluge of rain has suddenly come down. Even if we have an umbrella the first thing we look for is a shop doorway or an awning of some kind to give us a refuge.😊

Psalmist David had learned to make God his refuge because when he did he was able to sing for joy, and he reminds us our refuge is in the Lord our God as well.

In Psalm 91 he makes this declaration about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. Because he really believed that declaration, he knew His God would send His angels to watch over him and it released all the blessings of protection he would ever need.

Our God doesn’t want us to be anxious and worried about our safety. He just wants us to put our trust in Him to be our Protector, to look to Him to keep us safe. 

I read this week about a lady who was driving a hired car when suddenly there was a loud bang and the engine caught fire. She tried to escape but her seat belt wouldn’t release and she was trapped with the fire threatening to come inside the vehicle. She cried out to the Lord for His protection as she knew He was the only One who could save her. Suddenly the seat belt clicked and she managed to escape the burning car. 

She knew who to turn to for protection, she put her trust in God and He delivered her and I should think she was singing for joy, don’t you?😊

Psalm 121:7-8 NKJV The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.

Thank You Lord I can make it personal and I declare You are my God, my refuge and my strong tower wherever I am, I love Your name and I put my trust in You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by masahiro miyagi on Unsplash

THANK YOU LORD

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

When we’ve seen the devastating fires this past week in America and how some people have lost their homes and belongings we realise how thankful we should be for every blessing we have right now. 

One lady who was caught up in the fires commented “It reminds me of the value of what is not tangible”, and it makes us really appreciate what we have.😊

I pray none of us experiences anything of that kind but it does make us take stock of all the things in our lives which can’t be taken away from us. We can’t put a value on the love of family and friends, of the skills God has given us, of our relationship with our loving Father God, to know our sins are forgiven, to know he is Jehovah Jireh, God our Provider, and countless more.

At the times when we’re tempted to live in the past, or worrying about what will happen in our future, it’s good to bring ourselves up short and recognise all the goodness God has poured out on us right now and to remember He has new blessings, new mercies for us every morning of our lives.😊 

So next time we find ourselves dwelling on all the things we may have lost or the things we don’t have, which we think we ‘must have’ to be happy in the future, we can choose to have a grateful heart, to be overwhelmingly thankful for all the blessings we already enjoy each and every day. 

Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV …Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Thank You Lord, we are so grateful for all Your blessings. In Jesus name, Amen.

Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash

RIGHT NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NLT As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvellous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

I wonder what you’re doing right now? Are you trying to wake up on a Monday morning, or at work, or preparing a meal, or just at a loose end? Whatever it is, you are in the ‘now’ and it’s always good to appreciate the ‘now’ we have.😊

But God talks about now as being the right time. The right time for what? It’s the right time to receive His salvation. Now if you’ve already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then you’re probably thinking “Well, I’ve already received my salvation”. But what about right now, are you enjoying the fullness of your salvation in your now?

You see, God wants to remind us today that the original Greek word for salvation is ‘Soteria’ which includes so much more than our sins forgiven. It includes our total well being, our health being restored if we’re sick, our wholeness, our prosperity in every area of life including our finances, and our peace of mind. That’s what His salvation means which is wonderful.😊

So today is the right time, the now time, to receive your ‘soteria’, your salvation, in whatever area you have a need. Maybe you’ve had a bad report from the doctor, or the bills are pouring in with not enough to pay them. Well, God’s salvation, His grace, is available to us all, if we receive it just like we did the forgiveness of our sins. 

Our verse starts off by imploring us not to ignore God’s kindness. Other translations call it God’s grace, His favour, so let’s grasp it with both hands.😊

Heavenly Father we ask You to help us receive all of Your salvation in whatever situation we find ourselves right now, and in the coming week. In Jesus name. Amen.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

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THERE IS NO OTHER GOD

Isaiah 43:10-11 NLT 

But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” Says the Lord. 

“You are my servant. 

You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, 

and understand that I alone am God. 

There is no other God - 

there never has been, 

and there never will be. 

I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior.

Wow! What a statement to make! There is no other God, no other Saviour, and it’s great to know God made it so clear we need never have any doubt about it.😊 The world will tell us very differently but that’s when we have to know that the Bible is the infallible word of God. 

1 Peter 1:23/25 NKJV having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, v.25 But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Jesus said in John 17:17 NLT Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

So we can put our complete confidence in the Word of God. What a privilege to know it says we have been chosen to know Him, to believe in Him and to know that He alone is God. 

Sometimes the Lord challenges us to see if  we’re really believing His Word is true or not, to believe 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

Lord we thank You for the scriptures, for Your Word which reminds us You are the only true God and we have no other Saviour but You. Thank You for choosing us to belong to You. What a hallelujah that is.😊 We have so much to praise and thank You for today because of Jesus. Amen.

Photo: Aaron Burden on Unsplash

WHEN GOD DOES THE SUPERNATURAL

John 6:20-21 NLT But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

You may be one of those people who likes things in a hurry and find it hard to wait for the kettle to boil. You like instant everything, whether it’s instant coffee or microwave everything. I think we all like the immediatelys!😊 

The disciples were in the middle of a huge storm and  there was a gale blowing. They had already been straining at the oars for 3 or 4 miles when Jesus appeared on the scene and they took Him into the boat with them. It says ‘immediately’ they arrived at the shore. He could see they were exhausted from trying to row in the stormy waves and were at the end of their tether so He gave them an ‘immediately’! They found they were transported several miles in an instant of time to safety. It was supernatural!

John 2: 1-12 Jesus was at the wedding in Cana when the host ran out of wine which would have been a embarrassing so Jesus’ mum intervenes and tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. As soon as they did what He said, the water was immediately turned into wine. In an instant the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary. What should have taken years to accomplish in the natural process of making wine took seconds! It was supernatural!

Jesus was showing us that He can change what should take a long time in the natural into something that can happen very quickly because our God is supernatural. The disciples would have been fearing for their lives, the wedding host would have been worrying about losing face when Jesus kindly intervened and rescued them all. 

One situation was life threatening, while the other one wasn’t at all, which encourages us to know Jesus cares about all our situations in life.  God not only does suddenly, but He also does immediately, instantly, if we need it!

We can invite Jesus into our boat today and trust Him to do whatever it is He needs to do and turn our ordinary into His extraordinary whether it’s suddenly, immediately or however long it takes. He knows best.😊 Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

Photo: Damnikia on Unsplash

SUDDENLY!

Do you ever feel like there’s a long road ahead and it seems a bit daunting? Well be encouraged today because however long the road is, God is with us every step of the way and God specialises in the suddenly moments which can turn things around in a moment of time. Did you know we can prepare the ground ready to receive them? How do we do that? I’m glad you asked 😊…

Acts 2:2 NLT Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. The disciples were all gathered together in the Upper Room obeying Jesus’ instruction to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come. They were expectant and they obeyed, and suddenly the Holy Spirit arrived!

Another time we read Acts 16:26 NLT ‘Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!’ Paul and Silas had been whipped, they were trapped in difficult circumstances in prison and they could have been feeling sorry for themselves. Instead they were worshipping and they had their suddenly.

Now look at Peter’s experience. Acts 12:7 NLT Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Peter was awaiting execution fast asleep but fellow believers outside were praying and he had a suddenly moment. 

So don’t despair, what may look like a long slogging road up ahead may well be shortened by one of God’s merciful ‘suddenlies’ if we have an attitude of expectancy, obey whatever He tells us to do, pray in faith and worship Him. If we need a suddenly I think the Lord is nudging us to do our part, don’t you?😊

Isaiah 48:3 NIV I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

Thank You Lord for Your ‘suddenlies’!😊Amen.

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THE STORY OF A FROG

Isaiah 41:18 NLT 18 I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.

Have you heard the story of the frog who lived at the bottom of a well? He looked up one day and saw a light shining at the top and climbed up to have a look to see what it was. He was happy with his little bit of water in the well and thought it was all there was, until he looked over the top and saw a lovely big pond. Then he hopped further and found a beautiful lake with a fountain, hopped much further and discovered the vast ocean. He realised how limited he had been in the well and that God had created so much more for him to enjoy.😊

I wonder if we are sitting in a well of sorts thinking it’s all there is? Maybe we’re contented with what we have not realising God not only has pools and fountains, but a whole ocean of His goodness waiting for us to experience and enjoy.

God has things stored up for us that will surprise us this year if we’ll just look up and put our heads over the edge of where we’re at. God is wanting us to believe for greater and go further than before, no matter what age or stage in life we are.

Caleb didn’t go and conquer his mountain till he was 85 years old and he brought down five giants while he was about it. Sarah didn’t discover her destiny till she was 90 years old when she had Isaac. David was just a shepherd boy when he was anointed to be king. Lydia sold expensive clothes and led a church in her home. What might God want you to do?😊

Let’s have a mindset that reaches for all that God has for us, that knows if God is for us no one can be against us, that He wants us to prosper and succeed in all He gives us to do. 

Lord help us to be willing to expand our horizons in our thinking and to go beyond where we are in every sphere of life, to believe we can overcome our limitations and do what we’ve never done before with the help of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name. Amen.

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GOD WHO HEARS US AND SEES US

Genesis 16:13 NLT Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”

When we read the story of Hagar we realise how God cares about the least of us, even a slave girl who no one had ever heard of before this event. Sarah hadn’t been able to conceive so she’d given Hagar to Abram to give him a son but became jealous when Hagar had then flaunted her pregnancy before Sarai. Big mistake!

Sarai had then made Hagar’s life miserable so she ran away and the Lord found her near a spring of water with nowhere to go, pregnant with no money and no hope. He asked her two questions. “Where have you come from and where are you going?” He made her examine what she was doing!  The Lord then told her to name her baby Ishmael which means ‘God hears’.

I take heart from this story because no matter where or what we have come from or where we think we are going, the Lord finds us and comes to us where we’re at. Hagar discovers in the middle of her distress that the Lord hears her and sees her. The One who seemed so high and unreachable in her eyes had actually come and sought her out because He cared about her.

God wants us all to know He’ll do the same for us even if we’ve had a bad attitude. God not only hears and sees us but He comes to us.😊 In Hagar’s case she was told to go back and submit to her mistress which can’t have been easy but she obeyed.

God has specific instructions for each one of us, no matter how insignificant we think our lives might be, and He has good plans for us all, but we have to do our part and obey His instructions.  

Sarai and Abram thought God was taking too long, and tried to make God’s plans work out in their own way but they learned, like we do if we’re wise, to wait for God’s appointed and proper time!😊

Lord we’re so grateful You hear and see us and come to our rescue. Help us to obey Your instructions and wait for Your plans to unfold at the right time. In Jesus name. Amen.