SIMPLY ME- SIMPLY YOU

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Sometimes we can get all knotted up about who we’re meant to be, who God wants us to be. The thing is, we know we’re all a work in progress and God tells us He gives us a completely new identity in Christ when we get saved and ask Jesus to be the Lord of our lives.

Scripture tells us the old ‘me’ was crucified with Christ, buried with Christ and the new creation ‘me’ rose again with Jesus from the dead. The same goes for you if Jesus is your Saviour, but the trouble is we forget and still have the mentality of the ‘old’ me. That is why Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. If we don’t take the trouble to renew our minds according to what God says about us we will be trying to live the Christian life with the ‘old’ identity which doesn’t work, which accounts for why we feel frustrated sometimes!😊

God has written all the days of our lives in His book and nowhere does He ask us to be like someone else, or to compare ourselves to anyone else. He calls us to run our own race and not try to run in someone else’s lane!  He hasn’t called us to compete, but to be complete. He says we are complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10 NKJV and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.)

In other words He calls me to be simply me; the complete ‘me’ He has already created me to be in my spirit, the me He is continually making me to be in my soul, and the complete you He has made you and is making you to be.😊 The new me, the new you, is anointed by God, seated in heavenly places in Christ at the right hand of God far above principalities and powers. We are filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. We are joint heirs with Christ and He won’t withhold any good thing from us. He has given us His authority, the same authority Jesus had when He walked on the earth.

We are all of the above and so much more, if we’ll study and find out what God says we have and are, because that’s who we simply are! Simply ‘me’ is all of the above. Simply you is all of the above! 😊

Father, please give us revelation of our new identity in Christ, of who we really are and help us to simply be who You have already created us to be in Christ. Amen.

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BEARING LOVELY FRUIT

Proverbs 12:14 NIV From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward.

It’s the season of fruitfulness with blackberries, plums and apples on the local trees and bushes all for free, so we’ve been busy bees and now have a cupboard full of plum jam, blackberry jelly and apple and pear chutney! Lovely treats to come.😊

Our verse though is talking about the fruit of our lips and the things we are saying will produce a harvest one way or another. If our words are negative, complaining and grumbling we will draw more of the same things to ourselves and we really don’t want that! 

But if our words are positive, full of faith in our God, full of praise and thanks, prophesying good into our futures we will have the fruit of our lips, we will have the things we say.😊 Mark 11:24 NKJV …but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. What a promise!

I’ve heard it said that where we are now is a result of words we have spoken in the past. In other words if our words have been doom and gloom, declaring things never work out for us, that things always go wrong, I’ve had this illness for ever, I always worry, and nothing good ever happens to me, then we will reap what we sow. Those kinds of words are not what God says about us!

Instead we can be declaring by faith that the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter so our future is going to be bright. We can say that no weapon formed against us will prosper, that the Lord is watching over us to protect us so we have no need to worry. We can declare that everything we put our hand to is going to succeed, that we are anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to rise to whatever He calls us to do. That we are above the circumstances, not beneath them, that we have the joy of the Lord and His peace in our hearts so we will go out with a smile on our faces and bring joy to those we meet. All of that is in scripture and we will have the fruit of what we say! That inspires me to say the right thing! It’s called walking by faith, not by what we see and feel.😊

Next time you want to say something negative, zip it up because you don’t want to have a bad harvest!  

Let’s deliberately think of something to be thankful for, declare that God says Jesus came to give us an abundant life, full of health, all our needs met, and we believe and receive it by faith, and say it’s what our lives are going to be like.😊 

Proverbs 13:3 NIV Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. 

Lord help us to guard our mouths, so we only bring forth lovely fruit. In Jesus name. Amen.

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GOD’S RECIPE FOR THE ABUNDANT LIFE

Proverbs 3:1-2 NKJV My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.

Long life and peace sounds like Spock on Star Trek saying, ‘Live long and prosper.’ I guess the author had been reading Proverbs 3 verses and had the idea from there!😊

They’re really simple instructions to follow though: Don’t forget God’s word, in other words keep His promises in our hearts and in the forefront of our minds, and do as His word says. As James 1:22 says, “Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only.”  It promises long life, and length of days. There is a difference. A long life in scripture means a full, satisfying life worth living, whereas length of days can mean the amount of time being extended.

Proverbs 3:3-4 goes on to say to make sure we’re kind and loyal and show people mercy. Then it says to write God’s words deep in our hearts, or you could say memorise them, and if we do that God promises we will find favour with God and men and have a good reputation.

The benefits go on and on, and as we read further in Proverbs 3 we find out how to let God guide us, how to have healthy bodies and strong bones and how to have more than enough! Proverbs 3:9-10 NLT Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. 

Talk about being given good instructions for an abundant life, this is it! Long satisfying life, favour with God and men, a good reputation, God’s direction, how to have healthy bodies and strong bones and how to prosper financially! 

Why not have a read of Proverbs 3 again and let the Lord bless your heart as He reveals His method for an abundant life, and may we ask Him to help us follow His instructions.😊 Amen.

AUTOMATIC REPLENISHMENT

Romans 12:2 NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

‘If we do not fill our mind with prayer, it will fill itself with anxieties, worries, temptations, resentments, and unwelcome memories.’ (Scott Hahn) I read that quote the other day and it made me stop and think about automatic replenishment.😊

What are our minds automatically refilling with? What are we watering them with? Are we positively minded and we fill up on God’s promises, on giving Him praise, on thankfulness for all our blessings, on being grateful for what we have? Or are we dwelling on the what might have been, on what we don’t have, how sick we feel, etc.

I heard someone say that where our attention goes, is where our energy flows. If our attention is on the size of our problem then we need to remind our inner selves of how big and powerful our God is, and He will re-energise us. If we focus on what we’re missing, we’re missing what we have, and our energy will drain away. We might not have all we want, but if God is all we have, then we have all we need.

All of that to say we would do well to be mindful of what we’re allowing to automatically replenish our minds. God gave us the authority to choose life, to choose to dwell on the promises of God, not the threats of the enemy. He advised us to choose life, to choose to think about our blessings, about what is working, what we can do, not about what’s wrong.

Let’s change our focus if we need to, and automatically replenish our thinking with God’s thoughts that we find in His word and speak them out over our lives. Words like ‘I can do whatever I have to do today through Christ who strengthens me. I can overcome through Jesus. God has put His peace in my heart, Jesus said He overcame so I can smile, my God will supply all of my needs, the Holy Spirit is helping me, and so on.😊 

Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to water our thinking with His word, and transform us by renewing our minds today.😊 in Jesus name. Amen.

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GOD SEES OUR POTENTIAL

Philippians 1:6 NKJV being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

When I was beach-coming on a Somerset beach some time ago I brought home a lumpy bit of driftwood which looked really boring but I thought I could do something with it. I eventually painted big daisies growing up it’s sides and now it’s used as a door stop. At least it looks more interesting and is more useful than it was!😊

On another level altogether Michelangelo looked at a piece of marble and thought he could do something with it too and ended up producing the world famous sculpture called ‘David’. He looked at a ceiling and with his God given genius he painted the Sistine Chapel. He saw the amazing potential within them!😊

I just felt the Lord saying He looked at you and me and thought to Himself, I can do something with them. No matter how unimpressive we feel we are, with His own genius God can make something wonderful with our lives if we offer them to Him to work with.

As we look back, we can see how God has been chipping a bit off us here, a bit off there, just like Michelangelo when he took a piece of marble, because he could see the treasure hidden inside. God looks at us and sees the treasure He has hidden in us too. So don’t let’s complain when He puts us on the potter’s wheel to reshape us. Let’s be glad He wants to, and that He has something wonderful in mind.😊

After all, God says we are His masterpiece, His special treasure, that we are precious to Him. In fact, you may not feel like it, but you are a work of art in God’s studio and you will be absolutely priceless when He’s finished. What a happy thought to go into our new week and all for the glory of God!😊 Amen.

WE HAVE HOPE

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NIV Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

Psalm 34:18 NIV The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

When a loved one passes away, God knows the right thing to say and He speaks into our lives through these verses and many others. 

I’m so thankful for them because they let us know He understands and how very close He is to those who are broken hearted, which we all experience at some point when a loved one leaves us.

Scripture reminds us that our God is never distant from us, that He is right there in the thick of our experience, our emotions and our grief but He doesn’t leave us there. He reminds us He is the God of all comfort and hope because Jesus rose from the dead and He will come again one day for us all to be with Him together. Thank You Lord.😊

Psalm 116:15 NCV The death of one that belongs to the Lord is precious in his sight.

The Holy Spirit helps us know that God understands and knows us so intimately as individuals, that He meets us at our deepest need, at our lowest point, to remind us that He cares deeply too, that His love is steadfast and He will never leave us alone, not for one second. Even in our sorrow He promises joy to come so we’re never left without hope.

Lord, thank You for always being our Strong Tower, our hiding place, our refuge and our strength in all circumstances, and we can always turn to You knowing You will help us and lift us up. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

WHATEVER YOU DO!

Colossians 3:17 NLT And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Whatever you do! Wow! That covers everything!😊 We all have ‘things’ to do each day, busy bees, some days being busier than others. But what if we stopped for a moment and just remembered we’re Christ’s ambassadors wherever we go, or even if we’re at home alone where no one might see us, but God does! It’s quite a thought and it might just help us to not say what we were going to say, or do what we had planned because we know it’s not the best idea!😊

For instance, when we want to have our 12th cup of coffee, or yet more cake, or another hour screen watching, if we stopped and remembered that whatever we do it should bring glory to God, would we carry on, or would we recognise that we need to put the brakes on? I know I exaggerate but you see what I mean! That warning, still small voice in your head is not your mother, it’s the Holy Spirit telling you and me to stop!😊

The Holy Spirit is our Helper and our Counsellor, but if we don’t listen to the nudges He gives us to hold our tongues, to not watch this or that, to contact someone, or to spend some more time listening to Him, then we’re not going to bring glory to God, we’re going to go our own, not so sweet way! We can sometimes forget that we are not our own, that we have been bought at a great price and we belong to God now.

But when we do listen, and we do as the Holy Spirit is telling us we’ll walk in the light of God, we’ll bring honour to His name, we’ll have a lightness in our spirit that fills us with His joy and peace that nothing else can do. God says, ‘When you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land.’ (Isaiah 1:19) Notice the ‘willing’ part. We can all do things begrudgingly but the reward comes when we obey willingly.😊

It’s good to stop and ask ourselves sometimes if we’re doing things because God asked us to, or just because we want to!

So Lord help us to listen to Your nudges and to be willing to obey, to be so grateful to You and so thankful for all Your blessings that we just naturally want to do everything we do to bring glory to Your name, to be good ambassadors for You. In Jesus name. Amen.

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EXAMPLES FOR US

Exodus 17: 7 NLT because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

1 Corinthians 10:9-11 9 NLT Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

One of the reasons why it’s good to read scripture is because it gives us advice and warnings about how to behave and how not to behave and to know what not to say!😊

Paul reminds us that the Old Testament records are there to be examples for us to avoid or to follow. If we don’t pay attention then we can’t really complain if we suffer the natural consequences. It’s a bit like telling a child not to touch a hot oven and then they wonder why they hurt if they do!

Have we ever thought, “Where is God in all of this? Is the Lord here with us or not?” That’s exactly the mistake the Israelites made and we have even more reason than they did not to doubt God’s presence with us because He tells us in Hebrews 13:5 AMP “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”

Now we have a choice to make. Will we believe our feelings, our circumstances, or our God who cannot lie! Maybe we forget how deeply God loves us, and the lengths He went to in giving us Jesus to die for us. How could He possibly leave us or forget us and or be the cause of our suffering? 

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit for fresh revelation of just how much God loves and cares for us and ask for forgiveness when we doubt His presence. Rather, let’s declare by faith, 

“God is with me every second of my day and night. He’s with me right now in this moment and He’s supporting and strengthening me. He is my Helper, the lifter of my head, the restorer of my soul. 

Thank You Lord for promising to never leave me, abandon me or leave me without support. In Jesus name. Amen.”

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GOING AFTER WHAT HAS BEEN LOST

2 Kings 8:5-6 NKJV Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”

Going after what has been lost! Have you lost anything at any time? Your hearing? Clarity of sight? Money? Relationships? Peace of mind? Strength? Health? Memory? Confidence? Maybe you’re losing your hair? We’ve probably all lost something!😊

In Luke 15 we read about a lady who lost a valuable silver coin - she lost money. We read of a shepherd who lost one of his sheep - loss of earnings and loss of peace of mind till he found it. We read on and find the prodigal son lost his self respect, he lost his brother’s love, his fortune, he lost his position and authority as a son of the house. All gone but the good news is they weren’t lost forever. Jesus tells us they were all restored!

I hope that encourages us all to know that whatever we have lost or had stolen from us, we can ask God to either restore it or replace it with something better. He can even restore lost time. He can restore all.

This lady in 2 Kings 8:6 was in the palace to ask for the return of her lands after being away for years. At the exact moment she arrived Gehazi was telling the King about her. The king not only restored her lands but all the income she would have had if she hadn’t gone away! Over the top blessing! Isn’t God’s timing and restoration wonderful?😊

So, whatever you have lost, name it, and keep declaring this promise, “God is restoring all to me”, as I am doing in my own life. Ask and believe the Lord is restoring it all to you, and giving you something even more than you lost! Start ‘seeing’ it restored in your mind’s eye. Write what you’re believing for in your vision book. Go after what has been lost!😊 Amen.

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‘SEE’ IT BEFORE YOU HAVE IT

Psalm 81:10 NKJV I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

I wonder if you took God seriously yesterday when He reminded us to write our vision down? If not, let me encourage you some more to do it because He promises to fill our mouths if we open them wide! In other words to have big dreams and believe God to fulfil them.😊

God knows that what we keep in front of our eyes is important because it sends a message to our inner man, to our spirit. Speakers know that if they give you a visual picture of something you will remember it better than only hearing it! So as we write things down, as we pin a picture of what we’re believing for to the page or on a board, we will keep ‘seeing’ it on the inside. If we ‘see’ nothing, we’re more likely to receive nothing! Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Supposing your dream is to be healthy and well, then you write down “By Jesus’ wounds I am healed. The Lord is restoring my health to me”. When I was very ill, I pinned up a photo of when I was healthy, to remind myself what it looked like😊! That was my vision - to be healthy again.

Maybe you have a dream of a new job opportunity, then write, “Psalm 32:8 The Lord is guiding me to where He wants me to be, and the Lord blesses the work of my hands.” 

Maybe you see yourself writing a book or a song, then be prepared and write the book ready, show God you’re serious, and write down that God is providing you with a publisher. Write down how many thousands of copies you’d like to sell! Dream big!😊

Maybe you’d like to be debt or mortgage free. Take your bank statement and write paid all across it and stick it in your notebook with the verse, “My God will provide all my needs.” 

Maybe your dream is to see all your family saved. Then write it on your vision board or notebook, with ‘Saved’ written across a photo of them. ‘See’ them saved every day and put the verse, “As for me and my family we will serve the Lord.”

Psalm 81:13 Oh, that my people would listen to Me, that they would walk in My ways. V.16 He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied them.

God wants us to have the finest, the honey, the abundant life, but there are instructions for us to obey so let me encourage you again, to ask the Lord for His vision for your life, dream big, write it down, pin it to your fridge or to a cork board, keep it before your eyes every day, and ‘see’ it come to pass even before you have it, and thank God for it in advance.😊 Amen.

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DON’T SHRINK YOUR DREAM!

Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

I heard this the other day and it resonated with me, “Don’t shrink your dream, enlarge your faith.” 

Whatever age we are we should all have a dream, a vision for our lives of some kind. You may have a dream for the impossible and God likes them the best!😊 But have you ever started out with a big dream and then time goes by, nothing seems to be happening, and you become a bit discouraged? Then you wonder if your dream is too big, so you think you won’t believe for so much, you’ll believe for less! It’s just a tactic of the enemy to undermine what you were given originally by God! 

Then there are the times when other people hear about your dream and they think it’s not possible, or not the right thing for you, and so they plant doubts in your mind. Another tactic of the enemy!

If God gave us the dream, God will provide whatever we need to fulfil it but we do need to be prepared and ready.  God blesses what we are prepared for! When a guest comes to stay at the house we don’t wait till five minutes before they arrive to prepare for it. We make the bedroom ready, we buy the food in anticipation.😊

Whatever our dreams are, we need to prepare for when the opportunity comes. We need to be ready! When we do that we’re showing God we’re serious about it, we’re exercising our faith which pleases God. It may seem impossible but with God it is doable!

I heard a true story of a lady who had been bedridden for many years. Someone took her to a healing meeting and she told her carer to bring her outdoor shoes so she could walk back to the car after she was healed. She was expectant and she was prepared and she was healed!

Are we ready for the dream opportunity when it comes? Have we written the vision down? Are  we thanking God for it in advance, before we have it? Do we need to learn a new skill or put things in place to make room for it when it arrives? Are there seeds we could be sowing towards it? 

Whether our dream is for restored health, a new career, or to write a book, whatever it is, let’s put feet on our faith and show God we’re serious about the dream He’s put in our hearts, that we won’t shrink the dream, but instead, with His help, we’ll enlarge our faith! Amen.😊

Proverbs 16:3 AMPC Roll your works upon the Lord (commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and) so shall your plans be established and succeed.

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SUNDAYS

Back in 2020, during Covid, the Lord directed me to begin writing this Blog regularly and as time went by I started doing them seven days a week. 

The Lord has told me this past week that He wants me to have a rest one day a week, so after today I’ll not be sending it out on a Sunday anymore, but you can always find my other blogs on the website https://myberrythoughts.blogspot.com if you would like to have a read any time.😊

I will be back as normal tomorrow on Mondays-Saturdays, God willing, and hope you can keep joining me then, but I leave you with this encouraging verse for today…😊

Psalm 100:5 NIV 

For the Lord is good 

and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues 

through all generations.

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ADVANCING!

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT … but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Nobody likes going backwards because there is an instinctive need within us to go forward in life - to advance and that’s what Paul was doing. He recognised he was running a race, he was advancing and we’re called to do the same in our Christian life.😊

God loves babies but He wants to see us all grow up in the faith. He wants us to press on, press through because God is helping us become who He made us to be. It makes no difference what age we are, God wants our relationship with Him to deepen, to know about His love, about walking in faith and victory; to go from the milk of the Word to the meat.

Sometimes it’s tough, but God is on the inside of us and He is growing us up to endure, to remember we stand on a firm foundation, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) 

Paul tells us how to run a race successfully in Hebrews 12:1  …let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. God tells us to let go of the baggage, the worries or regrets, the guilt or shame we may have carried for decades, to allow Jesus to take it all, including our sin, so we can win our race.😊

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. God has plans for us all to advance into and even when we may feel stuck, the Holy Spirit will help us move forward one step at a time and we will fulfil whatever God has for each one of us. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.😊x

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TIME FOR A WASH

Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV …just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Yesterday I cleaned our upstairs windows which is difficult as I had to hang right out the window, almost upside down to reach the sills! Talk about being a contortionist! Whoever designed them didn’t have someone my small size in mind!😊 When I’d finished though I felt so pleased with myself and it made me think sometimes our inner windows could do with a wash as well!

We can become all muzzied up, like my windows were, by the things that happen and by listening to the world’s thoughts and ways. We need to have a wash in God’s word to remind ourselves of who we really are and allow God’s thoughts and ways, which we know are far higher, to wash us clean and lift us up to remember we’re above only and not beneath, we’re seated in heavenly places (Eph.2:6).

Isaiah 49:31 NIV but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

It reminded me of the story of the farmer who hatched an egg which turned out to be an eagle but kept it with his turkeys in a coup where it learned to scratch around and gobble all day because it didn’t know it was an eagle and could fly! Someone came by, realised what it was and took it up into the mountains but it didn’t know what to do at first because it still thought like a turkey! After several wing flappings it suddenly caught the wind and up it flew into the thermals to enjoy the life it was designed for.😊

That’s what God wants for each one of us; to let His word wash us clean on the inside so we remember we weren’t designed to scratch around with the world but we’re a child of God who can learn to soar like eagles. 

So let’s wash ourselves with God’s word and let the light of God remind us of who we really are, seated in heavenly places with Him, filled with the resurrection life that raised Jesus from the dead, and allow Him to lift us up above the things that try to pull us down, out of the turkey coup, to soar in God’s thermal overcoming atmosphere, with a cleansed window of perspective. In Jesus name. Amen.

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RESTORATION

Psalm 23:1-3 NKJV The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul;

This is a lovely path in a nearby park where you can wander under the shade of the towering trees. Sometimes our souls need places like that to unwind and sense the presence of God walking beside us.

Psalm 23 talks about the Lord leading us in paths of righteousness and goes on to say He restores our souls which we all need whether we acknowledge it or not.😊

Maybe you can’t get out to walk in soothing places, but perhaps your soul restoring spot is a favourite arm chair, but wherever it is God is giving us all an invitation to His Soul Restoration Workshop whenever we need it.

Psalm 51:12 talks about God restoring the joy of His salvation to us and granting us a willing spirit to sustain us. How much we need those restoring as well!

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus talks about giving us rest for our souls when we simply come to Him. He doesn’t ask us to come and try to pray when we’re exhausted, or put on a brave face, or to wear a mask of pretending to be something we’re not. He just says come and let Him do the rest. 

God is in the restoring business, whether it’s our health, our minds, our relationships, our finances, our emotions, our strength - you name it - God wants to restore it. He says He will restore the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25–26 ESV), in other words He even restores our wasted years.

God is so generous He even promises double restoration! Zechariah 9:12 ESV Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd the Restorer of our souls and we probably all need something restoring in our lives so maybe it’s time to book ourselves into God’s restoration workshop today. I know we won’t regret it.😊 Amen.

TURN ON YOUR PEACE ALARM!

Proverbs 4:23 NIV Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

A lot of houses today have smoke alarms and when there’s a hint of smoke they start wailing and the peace of the house is shattered till we stop the cause of the smoke and turn it off!

I wonder if you ever watch or hear things that set off your inner peace alarm? Just listening to the news can disturb our peace and God knows that, which is why He warns us to guard our hearts more than anything else! We have to do the guarding, we have to choose what we allow in, to block the fear or the offence.

When we lose our peace it affects the way we think, which then affects our words and actions. When we’ve heard or seen something that activates fear in us then we need to stand against it with our faith in God’s promises in His word. If we don’t do that, then fear will rule instead of faith. We need to spread faith in our hearts, and in those around us, not fear!😊

God gives us very specific instructions for guarding our hearts and if we actively follow His commands then we shall experience His peace. All we have to do is follow the Maker’s instructions. And here is phase one…

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

Now phase two is this…
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

If we’re not at peace about something, we need to go back and check to see if our heart’s peace alarm is turned on and if it isn’t then we need to reread the above instructions and change some things because we’ll be glad we did, if we do!😊 

As God says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Amen.

NO LONGER TIED DOWN

Galations 5:1 NLT So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Spiders and their webs give me the heebee-jeebies and as I looked out my window the other morning I saw a little beetle caught by one leg in a spider’s web on the window sill. He was tied down and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t free himself. I felt so sorry for it I went out and set him free as there was no spider there anymore!

It made me think how we can be caught by just one thing, maybe by one weakness, one bad habit and it has us tied down and we feel like we can’t get free. But the good news is Jesus came to set us free from everything that the enemy has tried to hold us down with.😊

It might just be a wrong thought which keeps recurring, a worry that won’t leave us alone, or a bad attitude that pops out our mouths when we least expect it, but shows what is really in our hearts! Maybe it’s a physical addiction you’ve tried and tried to break free from but with no success. The wonderful truth is Jesus has already set us free if we’ll recognise what He has already done at the cross.

I heard of a man who had unsuccessfully tried for years to give up smoking and the pastor told him to keep thanking the Lord all through the day that he was already free from it and that he didn’t need to do it anymore, even though he was still lighting up cigarettes all day! It made no sense to him but he obeyed and after several weeks of confessing Jesus had already set him free, the revelation of it hit him one day, and he suddenly realised he really was free and he didn’t want to smoke any more! He was completely delivered.😊

Jesus is our Deliverer, the only One who redeemed us from the curse of the law and all it tied us to, which means He has set us free as well. So let’s ask for greater revelation of our freedom, and lay hold of it for ourselves. 

Holy Spirit give us a breakthrough of understanding of all we already have in Jesus, so we can enjoy the freedom He died to give us. Thank You Lord. Amen.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Ephesians 2:10 NLT 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.

What is wrong with me? Do you ever struggle with thoughts like that? Or maybe you find yourself second guessing yourself? It’s one of the enemy’s favourite tactics for undermining us. I was feeling a bit like that yesterday and asked the Lord what was causing it, and He helped me see it’s when our eyes are on ourselves and our own shortcomings, instead of on Jesus Himself!

When we surrender to His Lordship, and see ourselves ‘in Christ’, forgiven and given right standing with God, then we see ourselves through the right lens. Yes, we have failings and we make mistakes, but God is still transforming us, thank God!

God calls us His masterpiece, His special treasure. He says we are made in His image and we’re precious to Him, made holy and righteous because we are in Jesus, wonderfully put together, and we need to see ourselves the way God sees us!😊

We know being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong walk and it means learning to do what He does with His heart of compassion and love, to be like Him, and that is God’s business - making us like His Son. 

We all have different areas in our lives where we need to change. Some people find loving others comes naturally, while others find it harder. Some find walking by faith, or trusting God easier than others. Some people just know what to say at the right time and others can’t think of anything to say. But we are all being changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of God.

So this week, if we find ourselves thinking “what’s wrong with me?”, let’s take our eyes off ourselves, repent if necessary, and look at Jesus and His perfection. Remember we are in Him and start thinking instead, “what’s right with me?” and see ourselves the way God sees us.😊

Be encouraged, God will bring you and me to completion in His time and in the process we’ll do the things He has planned for us to do as we surrender all of ourselves to Him. Amen.

Photo by Shivam Kumar on Unsplash

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT!

Psalm 89:1-2/5-8 NLT

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!

Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.

2 Your unfailing love will last forever.

Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord;

myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.

6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?

What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?

7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.

He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.

I wonder what you find to sing about? Our Psalmist kept singing about the Lord’s unfailing love lasting forever and how good to be reminded! If a little bird can sing his heart out, so can we!😊

And I wonder when the last time was, like the Psalmist, you imagined the heavenly throne room of God and all the myriad of angelic beings that are coming and going praising God all the time? I expect we’d all think it would be pretty amazing if we were privileged to meet an angel face to face and we’d be a bit mind boggled if one appeared at the end of the bed, but even the mightiest angels are in awe of God Himself!

There really is no one to compare to our God. He is in a class of His own, way beyond our comprehension and yet His love for each one of us will truly last forever. Not only that, He wants us to know Him personally! (John 17:3) What a thought!😊

Whatever else we find to do this week, remember today’s verses and be strengthened and encouraged by them because they will hold us steady no matter what goes on. There is no one as mighty as our God and He is inside us if we know Jesus as Lord and Saviour! He is our Protector, our Provider and the One who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings. 

8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!

Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?

You are entirely faithful.

What a wonderful thought as we give Him all our praises today. We truly can sing with the Psalmist about the faithfulness and the love of our God today. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Yomex Owo on Unsplash

GLORIES STILL TO COME

Haggai 2:9 NKJV The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

My lovely pot of pansies was now looking bedraggled, and although there was a bit of life in them, they needed replacing. As I pulled them out I noticed the seed heads had popped and now some time later, lo and behold, tiny plants have popped up in amongst the new red geraniums! Hurray! Free pansies to come.😊

Sometimes our lives can feel a bit like those bedraggled pansies were, but we hang on to the familiar and don’t like to dig it up because there’s still a bit of life in it! But God has new seeds coming up and we need to give them room to grow, to recognise the new season when it presents itself and not just make room for it, but to welcome it, because it will be beautiful in its own way too. 

The best years of our lives can still be ahead of us if we’ll believe for it. Jesus said all things are possible to those who believe. Let’s be believers!😊

The old days may have been glorious but God says the glory and peace of the days still to come, our latter days, will exceed the glory of the former days. How encouraging that is!

Philippians 1:6 NKJV being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Even if your life is looking a bit bedraggled right now, God wants you to take heart, it’s not the end of your story! He still has glories to unfold in all our lives and the seeds God has planted in us in days gone by are about to spring up and bear new growth, new fruit, new harvests, as long as we water them with the water of faith and have expectant hearts.😊

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

There are new glories still to come! Believe it and receive it today. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x😊

Photo: Shelley Johnson on Unsplash.