PRESS THE JOYFUL BUTTON!

Matthew 15:10-11 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "Listen," he said, "and try to understand. It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." 

The other day I mentioned having a grumpy button, but we also have what I call a 'joyful' button, an 'I choose to feel good today' button!

I met a lady this week struggling to unlock her trolley at the supermarket, so I helped her, then she crashed it and all the while she was grumbling saying "It's not my day, typical, everything goes wrong!" etc. She was like a cat with its fur rubbed up the wrong way!😊 Someone had pressed her grumpy button! So how do we make sure we have our right buttons working? Good question!😊

Part of the answer lies just below our noses because it has a lot to do with what is coming out of our mouths. What we say, is what is going through our thoughts. Logically then, if we choose to think the right thoughts, God thoughts, we'll have good things coming out of our mouths and our emotions will follow. Have you noticed our mood follows our thoughts and words?!😊

In James 3:4-6 James says the tongue is like the rudder of a ship, that our words will help guide our ship of life into grumpy, bad mood waters, or into contented, joyful waters. We have control of the rudder!

Jesus said we're defiled, or messed up, by what comes out of our mouths not what goes in. He was reminding us that what is in our hearts will come out in what we say.

Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses told the Israelites they were being given a choice to choose the right way or the wrong way and we have exactly the same choice every day. You know those days when we wake up and feel a bit grumpy and sort of heavy, we can choose to go with that flow or we can choose God's way.

We can guide our rudder and say "I'm a child of God and He loves me. He's given me His joy and peace and I choose to let them show. I choose to think His uplifting thoughts. It’s going to be a good day because He's with me and He's promised His favour will surround me wherever I go. I'm blessed going out and in and I'm going to be a blessing. Thank You Lord for making me happy on the inside even when it's not happy on the outside."

We choose which button is pressed, so let's choose to press the joyful one, and have a good day.😊

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

How often we read of the Israelites coming to God asking Him to restore them again! And how often we read how God did forgive and restore them wonderfully no matter how awful they had been. He was and is always merciful.

We can come to God again and again no matter what our problem is even if it’s every five minutes when we're having a tough time.The good news is God really wants us to know we can come over and over again no matter how often we need to, or how far or how little we've wandered off.

He wants to forgive us however many times we come to ask for forgiveness again! 

He wants to pour out His mercy on us again!

He wants to pour out His love on us again!

Things happen and He wants to restore the joy of our salvation to us again!

God wants us to know His supply of whatever we need is endless and limitless. His mercy endures forever and He wants us to come to Him again and again.

So whether we're coming to the Lord for rebuilding our relationship with Him, restoring our peace or our joy, whether it's healing for our mental or physical health or rescuing our finances, God not only wants us to ask Him to put those things right but believe He wants and is able to do it for us.

He is our again and again God, our again and again Saviour, Deliverer, Provider and Protector. So when you wake up again each morning remember you’re going through your day again with Jesus inside you, and you’re inside Him and His resurrection life is flowing in your veins.😊

Hallelujah to our merciful Again and Again God. Thank You Lord Jesus for making it all possible.

Hebrews 10:19-23 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him…… Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promises.