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.

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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.

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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