​This week’s challenge is based on Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious...”  Can I ask you all to write ‘Do not be anxious’ on a piece of paper and place it somewhere it will be seen regularly.  For example, I have placed it on the steering wheel of my car. It could be placed on a mirror, in your wallet etc.  I want us to consider this Bible verse in relation to our circumstances.  Please feedback:
 
Consider:

• Is our anxiety justified for example are we worrying on things God has already dealt with. 
• Is there an alternative perspective to be sought
• If we still ourselves and take a step back, would it help?

 
Let’s pray:
 
Father God, thank you so much for your goodness and wanting us to be whole and restored. Thank you for your care and attention in wanting us to be freer in our walk with you than ever before.  Guide us Lord and give us all the gift of stillness in this crazy world.  In your precious name we pray, Amen

Happy Monday to everyone, I hope it was a good one!

This week’s challenge is to know that God is good even in hard times and to consider His goodness through your situations.  This is not easy, but it is incredible freeing to look at Gods goodness and seek his counsel as opposed to relying on our past experiences or worse, our own bright ideas!

Think on this: The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (NLT).

We have all faced hard times; no one is exempt from this in life.  If you are a follower of Jesus then you are indeed a target for God’s haters both physically and spiritually.  However, if you know the serpents tricks (aka the haters) then you can learn the strategies they use because they haven’t changed from Adam and Eve’s time. If you understand, as The Bibles tells us, the evil one comes to seek steel and destroy then you could take a step back from your situation and ask yourself, am I believing something false, am I basing my thoughts on factual information or how things seem?

You see the Devils tricks have never changed as in John 10 it says, ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. God is good and He is good all of the time, He says ‘...but I came that they (YOU) may have life and have it abundantly.’

Good news ey!  Have a look at this scripture from Genesis, it shows us how serpents operate.  It’s not just a good story, it’s our lesson too.  You see scripture has life in it, God speaks through it and He helps us to see.
 
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The trick of a serpent has not changed!
 

1. Do we feel that God is not listening to us because we don’t understand the quiet or we don’t understand what seems to be a no?
2. Have we been waiting for a promise to come true?  (I am and its painful)
3. Do you have a longing in your heart that cannot be satisfied until you have it?

So, what should you do when you’re going through difficult times? First, you refuse to be discouraged, then you remember God is with you and finally, you rely on God’s protection and guidance.  You see we all go through difficult times, the difference for those who believe in Jesus is not the absence of the shadow but the presence of the Light.  Take time to talk It over with other people!

What stressful or difficult experiences in your life have you seen God use for good?

How have you learned to rely on God through the difficult times of your life?
 
Let us pray together:
 
Father help us to see through your eyes.  Help us to know when we are believing rubbish.  Speak clearly Lord.  Still us, we pray.  We love you, we worship you and we commit to you Almighty God who is the giver of life.

​Have a great week