YOU ARE SOMEBODY

Ephesians 2:9-10 NLT Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I have a sticker on my mirror and it says. “Look who Jesus loves.” I’m reminded that no matter how we feel about ourselves we know Jesus loves us. We need to have the right spectacles on and see ourselves the way God does!😊

Some people have been brought low by bad experiences or negative words spoken over them that have made them see themselves wrongly. Maybe you struggle with low self esteem, with the thought that says you are ‘less than’ in some way, that you always make mistakes or you can never change?

God, however, tells us we are loved, chosen and called by Him, that He sent Jesus to die for us so we could be like Him. When we accepted Jesus as our SaviouHe tells us He has anointed us and that we have a destiny in Jesus to be and do all He has put us on earth to do. 

He has made us somebody because of the price Jesus paid for us. We’re not bragging on us, we’re honouring Jesus and what He did for us.😊

God reminds us that we are His very own child, created in the image of God Himself, and when we go into a room He wants us to remember who we are in Jesus - His ambassadors!

We’re not just a nobody, not just a businessman, or a teacher or a carer or a housewife, not just an older person, not just anything. We are who God says we are - His masterpiece, clothed in His righteousness, washed clean from our past failures and mistakes. He tells us that we are a success going somewhere to succeed because Jesus is living in us.😊

Are we getting the picture? If we struggle, thinking we are less than in any sense of the word, God wants to remind us we are  His special treasure, we are overcomers, more than conquerors when we speak out what God says about us. We are victors not victims. We matter to God because we belong to Him.

So wherever you go, and whatever you do, whoever you are with, remember who you are, because Jesus has made you to be somebody, a child of the Most High God, led by His Holy Spirit. Remember God chose you because He loves you and His Spirit is transforming you every day to be more like Jesus.  Thank You Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x 😊

CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD

Ephesians 4:24 NLT Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy.

Wow! What a thought - created to be like God, transformed into a new creation!😊

Galations 2:20 NLT My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

God wants us to know, if we’re born again, it’s no longer our old selves who live, but it’s Christ who now lives inside us, living out His life through us, but we have to keep remembering it, so we become more and more like Him.😊

The trouble is, we sometimes forget our old self has been crucified with Christ. Indeed, have we ever seen ourselves that way? When our own selfish nature stands up and wants attention, or wants its own way, we need to remind him he’s dead, he was crucified with Christ, and has no say in the proceedings!😊

Colossians 3:10 NLT Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. So whenever you put your clothes on remember you’ve put on your new nature as well. Let’s not forget God is supernatural so it follows that we should experience the supernatural too, because we have His supernatural Holy Spirit inside us.😊

It’s all doable, if we realise our old self is dead, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. We know some things we watch or read will have to go if they’re not holy and righteous and that’s where our choice kicks in. It’s where surrendering to the Holy Spirit and wanting to do what pleases Him becomes more important to us than pleasing our old dead selves!

Lord, give us the grace each day to allow You to change us to be more and more like You. In Jesus name. Amen.

WE ARE BLESSED!

2 Samuel 7:29 NLT …For you have spoken and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing.

David reminds us that God’s blessing is forever and how reassuring that is. He doesn’t give us His blessing and then take it away again! When we’re tempted to think differently, just go back and read this verse again!😊

God does take something away though - He takes away our sins, our guilt and our shame and He gives us His very own righteousness in their place. He also gives us His love and favour. He gives us His own eternal life! What a blessing, we are eternal beings! No one else could do that because there’s no one like our God! 

Ephesians 1:3 reminds us that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings and because they’re stored in the heavenly realms they can’t be stolen from us in the earthly realm. How reassuring!😊

Proverbs 10:27 NLT The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. God doesn’t want us to only have enough just for ourselves but to have more than enough so we’re able to bless others as well, to finance His kingdom and spread the gospel. What a lovely blessing!😊

Proverbs 10:6 NIV Blessings are on the head of the righteous,… Because God has given us His gift of righteousness, we know we now have His blessings poured out on us. Maybe you don’t ‘feel’ very blessed but don’t forget, as with all His promises, we receive them first by faith. Will you join with me as we open ourselves up again to believe for all of God’s blessings, not just some of them, and receive them today.😊

Thank You Lord, I am the righteousness of God in Christ, I am blessed going out and blessed coming in, and your blessing makes me rich to be a blessing to others. I receive it all by faith because I am united with Christ. Praise God I am blessed! Amen.

Photo: Ann on Unsplash

GOD’S WINGS

Psalm 61:3-4 NLT for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and it’s so much easier when God gives us a picture to imagine because it stays in our minds much better. 

He is helping us see ourselves in a safe place protected by His wings, by His presence, and our part is to run to Him to be under His wings and not try to struggle on by ourselves!

Psalm 91:4 NLT He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. When we’re under His wings He will remind us of His amazing promises and they will be like a protective shield, no matter what the enemy taunts us with!

Psalm. 57:1 NLT Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by. We have to be close to something for its shadow to fall on us and we’re the same with our loving Father. He doesn’t say the dangers won’t come but when we’re close to Him, His presence will protect us till the threat has come and gone.

Psalm 63:7-8 NLT 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. Look what happens when we cling to God, when we’re under His wings, surrounded by His presence. We will discover ourselves singing for joy because we know we’re safe and secure. What a lovely picture! That’s how we need to see ourselves!😊

Malachi 4:2 NLT But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. There are many more verses about being under His wings but this is a lovely one to finish on today. We’re to see ourselves under His wings being healed of  whatever has come against us and allow His healing to flow into our whole beings, knowing the enemy is under our feet when we’re under His wings.

I hope you’re getting the picture and you’re tucked in enjoying being under God’s wings today and every day.😊 Amen.

Photo by Samuel Ridge on Unsplash

FEELINGS!

Psalm 61:2 NKJV From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

We all love the feel good emotions when we’re on a high, but we all know we don’t live on a high all the time, that we have other feelings which tend to pull us down. Those days when a family member is struggling, or someone was rude or unkind.

Sometimes it’s the feeling of distress or frustration with the way things happen around us that we have no control over, but God knows every detail before we do! So what do we do with our feelings? 

When I was struggling several years ago I was given this little verse which I pinned up where I could constantly see it. It said, “Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the word of God, nought else is worth believing” In other words, I wasn’t to go by my feelings, and speak them out all the time, but I needed to think and speak out what God’s word said over my life instead!

God tells us to say, “Let the weak say I am strong” which to the natural mind doesn’t make sense, but it’s the principle of speaking the end result that you’re wanting to see, which is God’s modus operandi. God’s ways are not our ways and we have to submit to God’s ways if we want God’s results.😊 

God doesn’t say what He sees, He says what He wants to happen, and He speaks it out by faith and we are told to be imitators of God. 😊

So next time your feelings are all over the place remember they can change very rapidly and just because you feel down at this minute doesn’t mean you will stay that way. Let’s remember that the Word of God and His promises never change, regardless of our experiences or our feelings.

His Word will last forever so it’s rock solid to declare over our lives, and it has the power to change our feelings and our circumstances. We can say with the Psalmist, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Brock Wegner on Unsplash

HAVING CONFIDENCE

Psalm 27:13 NLT 13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.

Some people we meet seem to be super confident while others appear to be just the opposite! But in this Psalm we read how David had obviously learned a thing or two along the way and he’d discovered that God was good and He was to be trusted. He’d found he could put all his confidence in his God because He is faithful and His heart is to bless us, but David also found it helped him to speak out his confidence.😊

When we’re tempted to say how useless we are or how we can’t do certain things, the more we lose our confidence, but if we turn it around and say what God says, we draw on His help and positive outcomes are the result. We can say what scripture says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and with God’s help I’m capable of amazing things. I’m blessed going out and coming in, everything I set my hand to do prospers, and God’s favour is all over me.”😊

I lay awake the other night so I turned to the psalms to help me go back to sleep and the above verse stood out for me. I repeated it over and over again in my head till I went back to sleep, and it was still going through my head the next morning!

It was God confirming He wants us to be confident in Him and in His goodness and we can know He’s going to finish what He has started in us. Philippians 1:6 NIV being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. We can take heart because God is actively working in us, equipping and enabling us to do whatever is needed each day. It’s something else we can be confident about.😊

So as we go into our new week let’s start it off right, knowing our confidence is in Him, not ourselves, we are capable of amazing things, and we will see His goodness while we’re still in the land of the living.😊 Thank You Lord. Amen.

GOD OF WONDERS

Psalm 77:11-14 NCV

I remember what the Lord did;

I remember the miracles you did long ago.

I think about all the things you did

and consider your deeds.

God, your ways are holy.

No god is as great as our God.

You are the God who does miracles;

you have shown people your power.

Our God is the God of wonders and this photo has not been altered but is the way my friend sent it to me recently, taken from her garden. What a wonderful colour!

I wonder if you noticed what the psalmist said? - “I remember, I think about, I consider!” That’s a good idea for us each day! Instead of remembering all the bad things that may have happened or thinking about the negative experiences we may have had, or considering all the upsets, let’s take our eyes off them, turn it round and do as the psalmist says.

Remember what good things the Lord has done for us, even when He paints the sky a breathtaking pink!😊 We all have different stories to tell of the goodness of God in our own lives and we need to remember them and tell others how good He has been. Rehearse the blessings, not the bad things!

We need to think about how blessed we are to have God as our Saviour, to know He is merciful and full of loving kindness towards us. How He forgives us when we get it wrong, how He has given us His righteousness when we don’t deserve it. How He miraculously saved us and washed us clean when we asked Jesus into our lives, and didn’t deserve it either!

There is no God as great as our God! He is still working miracles in peoples’ lives because He is the same yesterday, today and forever and I’ve heard recent testimonies of the dead still being raised today which is wonderful.😊

With all the things we may have to think about, let’s take some time today ‘to remember, to think about, and to consider’ our God of Wonders and worship Him for all He has done and is doing for each one of us on a daily basis. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo:Y.Willis

GOD’S LOVE LETTER

Jeremiah 31:3 NLT Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Now you may have, or had someone in your life, who you thought was wonderful, who you couldn’t do enough for because you love, or loved them so much. But no matter how wonderful they are or were, they cannot begin to compare to our God. His name is Wonderful because He is truly wonderful!😊 

There is no one, and never will be anyone like our God, who never makes a mistake, who knows the end from the beginning, who loves us with a love that makes every other love pale by comparison. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that kind of love because no one else loves us like our God does, who loved us to the Cross and back.

So whether or not you give or receive a Valentine card today, never forget we have already received God’s love letter to us which is far more precious because Jesus’ love for us cost Him everything.

When we read His Word we are reading His love letter. We read His love is forever, it’s constant, it’s greater than any other love we shall ever know and it’s not going anywhere. And when everyone else has left, God is still with us, loving us and holding us no matter what. 

He’s the God who rides across the heavens when we call (Deuteronomy 33:26-27), the One who is our refuge in times of trouble and distress, the One who holds us in the palm of His hand. Jesus loved us so much He sacrificed His own life so we could be reconciled to His Father.  

There is no love like the love of God for each one of us and we love Him because He first loved us. If you forget everything else as you go about your day, remember this - ‘God Loves You’ and He is drawing you to Himself.❤️ Praise His wonderful name. 

Thank You Lord for loving us. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

Photo: Marek Studzinsky on Unsplash

GOD KNOWS

Psalm 139:1-2 NLT O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

Sometimes you may think God is only interested in the big stuff, the big events, the big emotions when something dramatic happens, but actually that’s not true. God is interested in everything you do and feel. He knows your thoughts, when you sit down and struggle to get back up. He knows when you feel overlooked, overstretched and don’t think you want to do this anymore (whatever ‘it’ is!).😊

When there’s a load of washing, or paperwork waiting to be done, when you’re just dog tired after a busy day, God knows about it all. He hears your every sigh, He sees when one of the family or your boss has taken you for granted, when you just want to sit down but there are things that you still need to do. He sees when your eyes fill up with tears and you don’t even know why, but you carry on.

When life’s worries pile up like the ironing basket, sometimes you just need to take five minutes out and come and sit with Jesus so He can minister His peace to you, His perspective, to bring you up higher, to know that He cares and He loves you more than anyone else ever will.😊

When you just don’t know what to do, call out to the Lord to hold you steady, to hold you up when you feel like falling down. When your get up and go, got up and left, remind yourself of the promise that the Lord is your strength, not a pep talk, not a strong cup of coffee, but just to remember who Jesus is in that moment and He will give you the help you need.

Above all remember that it’s not all up to you, that God has promised to finish what He has started in you and it’s not by power, nor by might but by His Spirit. 

So take heart, take a deep breath and offer a sacrifice of praise to the only One who can answer your prayers and turn things around for good. 

Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT 

He gives power to the weak

and strength to the powerless.

30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Things are not hopeless, and you are not hopeless because the God of all hope and comfort is alive on the inside of you and He is all you need.😊 Praise His name. Amen.

Photo by Brian Gouwy on Unsplash

KEEPING MOMENTUM

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

I read this recently, ‘Consistency builds momentum.’ If you’ve ever ridden a bicycle you’ll know that when you build up enough momentum you can free wheel for a little way, but then the bike runs out of steam and you have to start pedalling again.

Now you may have been feeling like you’ve run out of momentum in your Christian walk. Maybe it seems like you’ve come to a standstill and know you need to get going again!😊

Jesus said to come to Him when we’re weighed down by life, when burdens feel unbearable, or we’re weary and have lost our momentum. Why? Because He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He’s the One who strengthens and upholds us, who anoints us and has made us more than conquerors. 

If we don’t keep going back to the source of our power, our momentum is bound to run out! It’s a bit like a battery that runs out of charge. Our charging point is the Word of God and spending time plugged into Jesus and talking with Him because His Words are life and they carry the momentum we need. 

So can I encourage anyone who has lost momentum, to just come back to Jesus and let Him show you how to be consistent. Just take one verse and think about it through the day, pray arrow prayers, take small steps, and soon you will be back in your stride.😊

We can be encouraged today, God wants us all to be consistent to keep our momentum going and if yours has run out He wants to get you up and running again. Praise God, we can do it with His moment by moment help. Amen.

Photo: Rayyu Maldives on Unsplash

TURN THE LIGHT ON

Isaiah 8:20 NLT Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.

If you’ve ever gone into a dark room you know how you have to grope about till you find the light switch!😊 Even if you have someone with you, if you both don’t know where the switch is, it’s like Jesus said  in Matthew 15:14 NIV …If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

If ever there was a day when we need the light of Jesus in our lives, it’s now! Jesus said He is the Light and that He has made us to be lights in a dark world so where do we find His light? It comes when the Holy Spirit lights up God’s word and we spend time with Him. Psalm 36:9 NIV For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light."

We’ll find it hard to have His light if we constantly look at the darkness the world offers through the media, and it’s not surprising if we still feel like we’re groping around in the dark if we don’t take the time to turn the light of His Word on! If we have time to turn a screen on, we have time to turn the Word on.😊

If we ask for advice from people who are not reading God’s word, they’ll only be able to give us human wisdom, but God says He will give us His wisdom if we ask Him for it (James 1:5-6), so let’s ask and believe we receive when we ask. (Mark 11:24)😊

Psalm 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I’m so glad God is not withholding His light but if He has told us to do something and we’re ignoring it then it will be hard to hear any more. No doubt if we obey the last instruction first the rest will surely follow.😊

So the Holy Spirit is encouraging us again to turn on the light of His word in our lives and believe we receive His light and His wisdom, so we can just do whatever He says, and I know He’s speaking to me first!😊 Amen.

Photo by Amyt on Unsplash

NO JUNK MAIL!

Philippians 4:8 NIV …Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

A lady wrote this the other day, "Lord I pray YOU get into my head before I do!” I had to stop and think for a minute!😊 It’s like on those days we wake up and the first thought is sometimes not the best or most positive thought! So she was asking the Lord to get in her head first before she had time to think her own thoughts, because then she would be lifted up, not cast into a fit of the dismals about the coming day. 

God will always come with His truth, that we are who His Word says we are, we can have what His Word says we can have, and we can do what His word says we can do.😊

It’s not just in the morning though, it’s when we hear bad news, or we receive a difficult doctor’s report. It may be when we’ve just been told we didn’t get the job or someone can’t come at the last minute. 

It’s when disappointment or discouragement come knocking on the door and we’re tempted to have the wrong reaction but instead we ask the Lord to get in our heads first, to give us His perspective, before we say something negative, or give vent to our frustrations!

If we imagine having a door on our minds and we’re standing behind it, we need to keep it closed when doubt and fear or negative emotions come knocking, but we need to throw it wide open when God is bringing His truth.  Sometimes we get it round the wrong way!😊

God’s word is truth and when the enemy tries to post his junk mail through our letterbox we can praise God we have the authority and ability to block him off and say, “No junk mail here”!😊

James 4:7 NIV Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Thank You Lord for giving us the ability to think Your thoughts and we ask You to get into our heads before we, or anything else, does! In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Pau Casals on Unsplash

FIRST AND LAST

Isaiah 48:12-13 NLT “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.”

Don’t you just get a sense of God’s power from these verses? Our God is the First and the Last! He is the Alpha and Omega but I felt the Lord was asking if He is the First and Last in our lives? 

Is He first in the morning? Is He the last at the end of the day before we go to sleep? Or do we rush into the morning and become so distracted and busy we forget to include Him in all we do, in the bits in between, so that by night time we suddenly realise we might have left Him out of some things?

When we read how He is so powerful He laid the very foundations of the world, how He calls out the stars at night, we are being reassured that we don’t need to try to run our own lives because He’s more than able to deal with all our issues! Nothing is too hard for our God!

If God can set stars into space, how much more can He can also set things into place in our lives!😊 (Psalm 8:3-4) There is no mistake He can’t forgive, no mountain so high He can’t help us conquer it, no giant so huge He can’t equip us to bring it crashing down.

v.17 …I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. God is saying if we’ll give Him the first and the last word in all our decisions then He can protect us from wrong choices and show us what to do.😊 

So let’s be encouraged to remember to make God First and Last and include Him in everything we do this coming week.😊 Amen.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

GREATNESS BEYOND MEASURE

Psalm 145:1-33 NLT

 I will exalt you, my God and King,

and praise your name forever and ever.

2 I will praise you every day;

yes, I will praise you forever.

3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

No one can measure his greatness.

7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;

they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9 The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation.

Have you ever had a hero figure that you wanted to shout about? Some people make much of celebrities but there has never been anyone who can be remotely compared to our great God! None of us can fully realise how wonderful He is towards us, because it says we can’t even measure His greatness!😊

David had learned to spend a lot of time praising God and reminds us there will come a day when everybody will want to share the story of how good God is! 

Just for a moment, if we allow ourselves to imagine our lives as if we had never received Jesus as our Saviour how different it would be, how hopeless our future would look. But praise God, He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and translated us into His kingdom of light. He has given us a future and a hope, and washed all our guilt away when we repented and trusted in Jesus. How precious those truths are, and how merciful our God is. 

So let’s join with all those who have gone before us, who have also experienced the faithfulness and greatness of our God, and give Him our heartfelt praise. Allow His joy to bubble up and out for all Jesus has done and is doing for each one of us every day.😊 In His precious name. Amen.

Photo: Fleur on Unsplash

LIVING IN THIS WORLD

Micah 6:8 NLT … the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 

I wonder if you ever feel overwhelmed with all the changes that are happening around us in the world? The things we considered normal are no longer normal and the things God says are wrong the world tries to tell us are right! If you have a minute read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and we realise God knew what our world would be like right now!

Yet God has placed each one of us on planet earth in 2026 for such a time as this and He has given us His Word, which has never changed all down through the ages, to know how to navigate it.😊 He wants us to live according to what He has said in it - to trust and obey what He has written and not try to change it to make it fit our culture!

Micah made it clear - do what is right (not according to the world’s ways, but according to God’s ways found in His Word). To love mercy because we need mercy ourselves everyday, and to walk humbly with our God and not think we know better than He does, or argue with His word.😊

Jesus told us to do for others what we would like them to do for us, to not judge, to forgive those who have wronged us, to be givers, to be kind and compassionate, to love.

God will never change what He has said and He expects each one of us, who own the name of Jesus, to stand by His word because it reflects who He Himself is.

So any time we’re feeling overwhelmed by too may changes around us, we can go back to the incorruptible, unchanging word of God and let the Lord give us His peace and His reassurance that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and His Word, He will always hold us steady until He comes back for us. As long as we remember that, we shall be standing on solid rock and not on shifting sand.😊Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

UP AND OUT

Exodus 3:7-8 NIV The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…

Did your parents ever say to you as a child, “I’ve got eyes in the back of my head!”? They were letting you know they knew all that was going on whether it looked like it or not!😊 

When the Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt they were treated so harshly they called out to God but they thought He wasn’t listening or didn’t care, but He did! Look what the Lord said in our verse above, “I have seen…I have heard them crying out…I am concerned… So I have come to rescue them, to bring them up out…”

Whenever we’re tempted to think God’s not listening, read these verses because they remind us that He knows exactly what is going on! Other translations say He is concerned, He understands, He cares and our God is the same God who doesn’t change, so He knows all about our lives too.😊

Exodus 2:25 NLT He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. I just find that so reassuring because God knows when it’s time to act in our lives as well. He’s never late and His timing will be just right. Our part is to stay in expectant faith, believing God’s grace for each day to be sufficient and that when the time is right He will bring us up and out into an experience flowing with milk and honey. 

It’s a picture of blessing, of more than enough, a picture to put a smile on our faces. Ultimately it’s a picture of what heaven will be like, but I believe God wants to bring us into an experience of it here and now - the abundance of life Jesus spoke about.

It’s what rescue looks like and if you need rescuing, be encouraged because God sees, God hears, God is concerned, and He will come to bring you up and out when the time is right.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Chittima Stanmore on Unsplash

GOD’S GOODNESS AND KINDNESS

Genesis 50:21 AMP So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and support you and your little ones.” So he comforted them [giving them encouragement and hope] and spoke [with kindness] to their hearts.

When Jacob had died Joseph’s brothers were now worried that Joseph would take his revenge on them for treating him so badly all those years before. We can see how their minds worked and it’s probably what they themselves would have done!

So they once again asked him to forgive them and to be merciful. Joseph’s response reminded me of God’s goodness to us and how great His loving kindness and mercy is towards us.

Joseph goes on and says that what the brothers had meant for harm, God had meant for good, which encourages us to know that whatever has happened to us in the past, God will turn it round for good eventually.😊

As you take the time to read our verse again, can you hear the Father's heart as He says to each one of us, “So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and support you...” God is still speaking kindly to our hearts today when we turn to Him, and whatever is troubling us He wants to reassure and encourage our faith, and give us hope. 

1 Peter 5:7 NLT Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Our God has mercy for every mistake, and grace for every circumstance, so we don’t need to be afraid. Our God is for us, His love is forever and He invites us into His very throne room to fellowship with Him and receive all His goodness, His kindness and His mercy, because of His love. Doesn’t that make your heart grateful and glad today? I pray it does.😊 Amen.

Photo: Mark Harpur on Unsplash

GOD IS ON MY SIDE

Psalm 56:9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!

I wonder if you wake up as fresh as a daisy, or do you sometimes wake up and find yourself saying what the world says which tends to be a bit grumpy and negative? Or do we choose to speak life and say something positive and uplifting and allow the Holy Spirit to start our day off right by being thankful?😊  

Yesterday was one of those bleary-eyed wake up mornings for me and I had this choice to make! So as I got out of bed, I grabbed myself by the ear metaphorically and said to myself,  “Thank You Lord for a new day. I am the head and not the tail, I am above only and not beneath, I am an overcomer, the Lord is helping me, and the devil is beneath my feet.”  The more I confessed those and other truths of scripture over my own life, the more uplifted I became. I was still bleary eyed but my feelings were beginning to follow my thinking and my confession!😊

Can I encourage us all, however we feel at the minute, instead of muttering our complaints, let’s start talking faith to ourselves, saying what God says about us, how He approves and accepts us because of Jesus, how He goes ahead of us into your day, that healing is coming, and how blessed we really are.😊 

I know things don’t change in an instant but if our thinking is right, then our emotions will follow. When we think the thoughts of God, then He can direct our paths and the way our day goes. 

We know that God is for us and the NLT says, “God is on my side” which is so reassuring as we go about our day. It means no matter whatever else happens in the next 24 hours, we know God is rooting for us and has made us to be overcomers through Jesus.

So let’s go out into our day with that mindset - ‘God is on my side, the Holy Spirit is helping and upholding me, Jesus is interceding for me and I’m safe in His hands because my Heavenly Father loves me.’ 

Thank You Lord. Amen.

Photo: Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

ENEMIES DEFEATED

Genesis 14:20 NLT And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to fit a large cushion into a tight cover after it’s been washed? It’s like a full scale wresting match! Or trying to fit a duvet into its cover and you nearly stand on your head trying to fit it inside! 

They are physical things we sometimes wrestle with, but Paul talks to us about wrestling with spiritual things, with beings that we can’t even see but that are real.  (Ephesians 6:12)

The thing is we’ve not to wrestle with them in our own strength but through Christ who strengthens us, from the standpoint of victory already won.😊

Whether it’s physical ailments, relational upsets, financial lack, whatever tries to steal our peace, whatever comes against us and tries to bring us down, those enemies have already been disarmed because God has defeated them for us through Jesus’ victory at the Cross.

Now our part is to enforce the victory which has already been won, to use our God given authority over those spiritual forces and remind them they are already defeated by Jesus, they’re beneath our feet and we have total victory over them. 

Be encouraged today to enter into the full benefits of our covenant. They’re already bought and paid for by Jesus so let’s resist our enemy and remind him he has nothing on us any more because we’re clothed in the righteousness of God, and we’re actively receiving the wonderful abundance of His grace and mercy each and every day. In Jesus name. Amen.

JUST DO IT

2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John R. Wooden.

When God told Moses to go and rescue His people from Pharaoh’s tyranny, Moses found every excuse under the sun not to do it and asked that someone else would go instead! So God told him to take Aaron with him and to tell him what to say and do.

We read how Aaron was the mouth piece to begin with and he told Pharaoh what Moses told him to, but by the end of the plagues we see Moses was doing it himself in a face to face encounter with Pharaoh because Moses was so angry with him. Moses discovered he could do far more than he thought he could, that he could do what God told him to do in the first place!😊

We can feel like that ourselves sometimes. God asks us to do something and we back off because we think we can’t do it. But our quote at the beginning reminds us that we should carry on and do what we can do and not let what we can’t do interfere with our progress!

The truth is, we’re not doing it in our own strength anyway! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and where we’re weak it doesn’t matter because Jesus will show up all the more to do it with His strength through us.😊

I hope that makes sense and encourages us to go out into our new week and just do whatever it is we can do, and let God’s grace take care of the rest. Just do it! God’s grace is sufficient! Amen.😊

THE LORD IS A WARRIOR

Exodus 15:2-3 NLT 

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.

This is my God, and I will praise him—

my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

3 The Lord is a warrior;

Yahweh is his name!

Moses and the Israelites had just come through the Red Sea on dry land and seen all their Egyptian enemies drowned in the sea behind them, never to bother them again! No wonder they were singing their victory song! What an experience!

Pharaoh and 600 of his chariots and the best of his soldiers had been in hot pursuit and you can almost hear the thunder of the hooves and the rumbling roar of the chariot wheels intimidating the Israelites as they charged up. It looked hopeless and they were defenceless in themselves but praise God they had Yahweh, the great I AM, protecting them and fighting for them. When we have God on our side we are never hopeless, and we’re always in the majority!😊

God wants to remind us we too have been given the victory over all the principalities and powers of darkness when Jesus destroyed the enemy on our behalf at the Cross. 

Jesus is a mighty warrior, He is Yahweh, the great I AM. Jesus is The Victor and we can shout His victory from the housetops no matter how intimidating the enemy tries to be - he is already defeated!

So let’s praise God with all we’ve got within us and give Him all the glory He deserves, because He is also our strength and our song today and everyday, because He has given us His victory. Hallelujah!  I hope you’ve got a ‘Woohoo’ going on at your house! Amen.😊

Photo:Nghia-le on Unsplash