He makes you beautiful

 “Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits …Who beautifies, dignifies and crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercy” Psalm 103:4b

I wear makeup almost every day. I enjoy the process of selecting the products to suit my complexion and then head out to work with my head held high because I feel I look good!

If my heart is full of unforgiveness, resentment and disappointment then that beauty is only skin deep.  Painted on like a mask.  What I love about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is that they want so much more for us that external beauty.  When we catch God’s grace – His forgiveness, healing and redemptive power – we are transformed from within.

When a couple fall in love they can’t stop smiling at one another, they never want to be apart and each brings out the best in the other.  It’s the same with God but amazingly the sheen of first love never wears off for Him, He adores us and that adoration makes us beautiful.

As you look at yourself in the mirror this morning bless the Lord that you are loved and with a thankful heart step out as the beautiful, dignified child of the Kings of Kings that you truly are.

Lifted out of shame

 “Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits …Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption” Psalm 103:4a

Nothing you can do can make God love you more, and nothing you can do can make Him love you less.

Our flesh and our intellect recoils at that statement – we cannot comprehend that truth because that’s not what we see or practice in our own experience. Maybe you’ve lost a relationship or a job through poor decisions, perhaps you’ve rejected others because of their words or behaviour. Maybe you’re so full of shame for your past actions you feel that you’ll have to spend the rest of your life atoning and paying the price – keeping your head down until you scrape into heaven.

Graham Cooke, a well-known Christian teacher has said, “God is not disillusioned with you, He never had any illusions about you in the first place!”

This Psalm foreshadows the work of Christ who took all our sin to the cross.  No matter what you’ve done until now, when you come to Him and hand over your life – He takes it all.  That’s grace.  We’re able to stand tall, lifted out of shame and despair and move forward into the next phase of our lives confident in the knowledge that our sins are no more.

If you woke up this morning feeling there was no escape from your current mess, know this, no matter the reason for your present circumstances God is reaching out His hand of love and acceptance to draw you in and set you free to start again – no shame, no guilt, no condemnation.

Each one of all your diseases

 “Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits … Who heals (each one of) all your diseases”Psalm 103:3b

God is our Healer – Jesus did it all on the cross; He took all our sickness upon Himself and we can look to Him confident in this fact.

I can speak from personal experience.  Nearly 20 years ago I was diagnosed with a chronic condition that has presented me with some challenges over the years.  I have looked to God over and over again and over and over again He has breathed new life and hope, into my body.  Sadly many people with the same condition have lives that are severely impaired but I can bless God every day that I am able to work full-time in a busy and demanding job and remain active outside it.  I give thanks for God’s healing power at work in my body every day.

I love that the Amplified translation inserts the phrase ‘each one of’ all you diseases.  There’s no condition that cannot be impacted by God’s healing power – depression, cancer, chest infections, the ‘flu’ – Jesus can heal each and every single one. 

Whatever you are facing today, God wants to heal you.  Bless Him that it’s not about what you have to do, and everything about what He’s already done.

You are included!

 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” Titus 2:11

You are included!

I remember the first time I was eligible to be picked for my primary school football team. We all lined up against the wall as the teacher started to read the names of the boys who would represent the school. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would pop put of my chest. Was I in or not? Would I be chosen or left out? It’s an awful feeling.

God’s grace is for all people. The only people who do not take the full benefit of the work of Jesus are those that decide that they do not want to. God has not left you out. His grace has appeared for you and today’s verse tells us that it is for your salvation - that word means welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation & safety. The full benefits of what Jesus did are available for you today - Jesus does not love anyone else more than you. We all get the chance to experience His fullness and His goodness.

Remember today that you are chosen by God - you are not excluded in anyway. His grace covers you and every situation you are in today.

Believing you are righteous is a choice

 “The righteousness from God that depends on faith…” Phil 3:9

Believing you are righteous is a choice

I remember when I became a Dad for the first time. It took it a long while to sink in. We waited a good number of years for our first child and so I had gotten used to living & thinking as a man without kids. In fact, I forgot to book our son a flight for our first family holiday after he was born. That was an awkward moment explaining it to my wife.

Sometimes we have lived so long with patterns and thoughts that it becomes a part of us. We fail in an area and therefore it reinforces our belief that we will never be different. Negative thinking leading to negative patterns of behaviour can be a hard cycle to break.

It’s easy to think of ourselves as not good enough but God declares you completely acceptable today. That is what righteous means. Nothing in you or about you is sub-standard. When He saved you he transformed you completely into a person that He loves completely. Your choice is to believe that today. If you do then you will soon find that your behaviour begins to reflect who you truly think you are. Don’t let your failure define you - He says you are totally acceptable to Him!

Don’t always say what you think

 “I believed, and so I spoke”2 Cor 4:13

Don’t always say what you think

I often talk to myself. I used to be embarrassed about it whenever people would catch me on but now I don’t really care. I just tell them that it is the best conversation that I get!  The Word says that we have creative power in our words - they have power over us for good or bad. Often whenever my feelings are leading me to a negative place I find myself speaking out all kinds of negativity and nonsense. When was the last time you played out an argument that you would have with someone?

God has often challenged me that I need to speak what He believes about me, and others, and not to speak what is based on my feelings at the time. If I truly believe that God is good then I need to speak it out. I may not feel like it but the creative power of my truth & faith filled words is enough to lift my mood and focus me back to a place of life & peace.

Resist the power to give into your feelings and say just what you think. That may not be helpful. If you believe that God is good, loving & kind then say so. Say it out loud. Make sure you can hear it. It will change your day

Walk with confidence

 “When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.” Proverbs. 4:12

My mother in law recently had a hip operation. We visited at Christmas and I noticed how carefully she was moving around the house and how careful we were about making sure the kids hadn't left toys lying on the floor that she might trip over.

Obviously we all want a speedy recovery for her and don't want anything to hinder her progress.

Reading these verses made me think about often in life’s journey we can become cautious and afraid. It may be bad experiences in the past or mistakes we’ve made and now we are afraid we might do it again. We hold back and play it safe. Considering every step and all the risks.

However God is bigger than all our mistakes - past, present and future. He wants us to look ahead to the future with expectancy and excitement. He wants us to stride with confidence and boldness assured of the fact that if we stumble he will help us.

Are you running the race God has called you to?

Step out with confidence today!

Seeing through His eyes

 “ I will keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken”. Psalm 16:8

Over the past few months God has been speaking to me about keeping my eyes on Him despite the circumstances of life. Sometimes it’s hard as we can let our mind and emotions run away with us causing us to imagine all sorts.

I’ve been meditating on this verse and during hard times have been just resting and keeping my eyes on Him and am thankful for breakthroughs and opportunities to share testimony of His goodness and faithfulness. When we keep our eyes on Him, we can begin to see situations through His eyes. If we have a sickness in our body, He sees us as healed. If we are under attack from the Enemy, God sees him as defeated.

If you are struggling with sickness, worrying about an unsaved friend or family member, or trouble at work this week, fix your eyes on Him and see your situation through His eyes. He sees you complete, made whole and beautiful, lacking nothing

God's scorecard

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:25-30

Every week my 8 year old has a test in his school to assess his work. While I know this is necessary in school life it made me think how, even at a young age, we are rated on how we are performing. It doesn’t change in adult life either; work appraisals and reviews, income and status all give an account of how well (or not) we are doing.

Popular culture is no different. Some of the most popular television shows are now about rating and judging people’s performance, whether it’s singing, dancing, baking or intelligence.

The push to compete and perform in all walks of life can become tiring and can make us feel like a failure at times when we stumble in our goals. But thank God his ways are not our ways. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Jesus calls us to rest and trust in him. Yes, there is work to do but he is willing us to succeed and is there to help us up when we fall. So if you feel the pressure of life too much this week, turn your eyes to him and rest. If God had a scorecard in heaven with your name on it, he marked it the day you received his gift of salvation and now sees you through the lens of Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

What score did you get?... A+

Heaven's miracles

 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt 6:10 NASB

Have you ever wondered what is God’s will?  God’s will is revealed in God’s Word.  Jesus told us to pray that the Father’s will be done on the earth in the same way that it is done ‘in heaven’.

The failures we experience on the earth today are linked to the fall of man after sin entered God’s perfect earth.  Jesus came to restore that which was lost through sin so that we could experience heaven on earth.

Heaven has a miracle for all of earth’s failures!

For doubt there is faith, for fear there is courage, for despair there is hope, for mourning there is comfort, for sadness there is joy, for hate there is love, for distress there is peace, for weariness there is rest, for defeat there is victory, for timidity there is boldness, for lack there is provision, for sickness there is healing and for failure, sin and death there is grace, mercy, forgiveness and life.

As the Father’s children, let us pray for heaven’s miracles to address earth’s failures.

He commands a blessing

 “The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Deut 28:8 NASB

God’s blessing is both intentional and all encompassing.

God commands His blessing on us, blessing is no accident, it doesn’t depend on how you feel or what you’ve done; it’s not ON one day and OFF the next.  Gods blessing is on us everyday because he loves us and wants to bless us abundantly.

God’s blessing covers every part of our lives – past, present and future.  Our barns are what we have stored up from past labour, our hands are what we are doing today and our land is the future that God is giving us.

Today, when we look at what we have, what we are doing and where we are going, let’s not get discouraged if we see lack or uncertainty. Let’s thank God for His ‘Commanded Blessing’ and expect to see that blessing increased everyday in every area of our lives.

Our first pursuit

"In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Matthew 26 v 12-13

How many people are going through life trying to make their lives count? Some are in pursuit of success in business; others are seeking after knowledge and gaining more and more qualifications, others are pouring their lives into social justice. None of these things are wrong.

God wants us to be successful but none of the above should ever take the place of our first pursuit - Worshipping the Father. Being prepared to surrender all to Him and his son.

The act of worship that we read about in these verses was criticised by others because it offended people's sense of logic. It was extravagant. But it revealed a heart overflowing with love and adoration. This lady was not concerned with what those around her thought of her. Her eyes were on Jesus and Jesus only.

Jesus saw this devotion and made her work famous for all eternity. What a legacy! Think today about what and who gets your time and affection. Where is your heart drawn? Only when you pursue the King of all kings will you ever truly find what you are looking for.

Wide open spaces

 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor. 3:18

We were born for freedom. You only have to look at any toddler wearing reigns to be reminded of that. We don't take kindly to restraints especially if we don't understand why they are there and what purpose they are serving.

God didn't plan for us to go through life constantly bumping into restrictions and limitations. He didn't create us to be held back. We were built for wide open spaces where we are free to explore, discover, dream...

He wants to take us to those places but like the verse tells us, it's where His Spirit is that freedom is found. Many people are on a quest to find themselves. They know there is more to life than the everyday monotony, their soul longs for more but it can only be found when we surrender ourselves to the voice of His Spirit, His leading and His guiding.

We weren't designed to be on reigns we were created to be like sheep choosing to follow the voice of the shepherd, submitting to the lover of our souls. If we journey with him each day we will realise we are on the most amazing adventure life has to offer. Our hearts will possess a freedom that cannot be bought and we will radiate a peace and rest that the world is desperately searching for.

Spur each other on

 “Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16 v 9-11

I trained as a teacher and part of my training was something called “teaching practise,” which was exactly how it sounded. You were assigned to a class and you worked along side a teacher and gradually practised lessons. Overtime you gained confidence and the skills required for the job. You learnt as you watched it being modelled out in front of you. Now I am a parent. Sometimes I wish there were parent practise where you get to try it out first with someone showing you the ropes. What to do and what not to do!

As Christians that's why these verses are so important. God hasn't left us on our own to fend for ourselves. He has put us in a community of believers. We are called to love and spur each other on. When we declare what God has done in our lives it helps others believe for a breakthrough. When our lips speak life and praise, when we rejoice regardless of our circumstances we shine His light and love into people's lives.

If we make it our goal to seek His face not only will we live blessed and victorious lives, we will impact those around us. Choose this as your goal today. Remember there will be days you may not feel like rejoicing but that’s when you can trust God to send someone your way to help you lift your eyes back up to Him.

Source of joy

 “You will fill me with joy in your presence” Psalm 16:11

Joy is one of those commodities that the world can't really understand as it doesn't depend on our outward circumstances.
We read in scripture how Paul, when he was in prison, wrote about rejoicing. I used to imagine he was doing it through gritted teeth, trying to maintain a positive attitude in the face of a horrendous situation. I have now come to belief that his joy was effortless.

Remember joy is a fruit of the Spirit - we can't make fruit grow no matter how hard we try. Fruit grows as a natural consequence of a healthy tree. Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches; as we remain in Him, His love floods our hearts causing all the attributes of His Spirit to flow into our lives.
That's why I love to be in His presence. I love to worship Him; I love to allow Him to become my focus. As the Creator of love, joy and peace is made bigger in my life I experience more of Him in everything. I am joyful on the inside and that shapes my outside world! It's so simple and yet life changing

Carefree

 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16 verse 6

I love to make plans that can often drive my husband crazy. I used to have his Saturday planned before he even opened his eyes! As you can imagine that no longer happens! What I love about the Lord is that He is a planner too. He is into detail. The incredible thing is that God is so good at paying attention to the details in our lives, getting us in the right place at the right time with the right people that we don't need to be. That’s not saying we are to be careless but rather care free - there’s a difference.
When I look at my life so far I see many times when I had ideas about how to work things out myself, I see all the things I've tried and either failed or never really seen great fruit from. Then I look at the times I let go, surrendered and trusted my loving heavenly Father. Where do I find success? Whenever He orders my steps.

Learning to rest and trust is the easiest advice to give and the hardest to do. It makes no sense to the carnal mind. It actually offends us and yet when we step back and allow God to do his work we can truly say… “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Grounded in grace

 “I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 MSG

There is such a sense of triumph in this passage. This verse particularly stood out to me after a year of hardships, relationship breakdown and having been gripped by fear following our son’s diagnosis of a rare disease.

This experience reminded me of how vital the early years of our faith had been in setting a foundation of who God was and becoming grounded in an understanding of the Grace of God. Without that foundation, I believe we would have continued on as other people must when they haven't experienced Grace. Searching for meaning and fulfilment in other ways will inevitably leave you feeling bitter and empty, and questioning God's unshakable character.

Here we are reminded that we are pure gold to God. When we remain connected to Him and hand over to Him all of life's burdens, He redeems and brings it all to good.

In this journey, what happens in our spirit and how we resonate with God is so much more important than anything else

Custom made to praise Him

 “... Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’ —the coyotes and the buzzards— Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, Drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.”

Isaiah 43:16-21 MSG

God sustains us; He is a living Father. When we are faced with an "impossible" circumstance, He provides.

Interestingly this passage refers to "wild animals"...animals that don't have a sense of identity or belonging - who don't have a place of grounding and security in their Father. Even they will recognise His provision and be thankful.

The passage goes on to explain that God chose us, including the "wild," He made us for His own enjoyment, to bring Him praise.

He created us differently- "custom/made to praise me" therefore we ought not to be afraid of difference. There is something about us all that brings our Father pleasure. Religion has made praise performance when in fact our very being and our uniqueness in itself brings praise to Him.

Imitators of God...

 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1 ESV

The Bible can be daunting at the best of times, but a call like this on your life can make it even more so! How do we imitate God? Have you read the gospels? Saw what Jesus did? Surely this is a translation error… Nope!

If we skip back to Ephesians 4:32 we see what Paul is referencing here - “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Signs, wonders and miracles are important to God, but what's even more important is this: love.

Above all else in our lives, God has called us to be lovers of the people around us, no questions asked. Why, you ask? Simple – Romans 2:4 “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

Kindness, gentleness, mercy, compassion and love are what Gods knows will truly change the hearts of those around you! The pure and simple truth of love wins!