Look to Me

Isaiah 45:22 - 'Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.'

Sometimes we look in all the wrong places for the help we need.

We cannot look to ourselves for the help that we need.

We need to look beyond ourselves to the One who has the power to save.

He is the One to whom we must look, there is no other.

Prayer: Lord, today I choose not to look to anyone or anything else for the help I need, other than to You, the Lord, who is my hope and salvation. Amen.

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5 - 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.'

The Lord calls us from a place of self-reliance to a place of dependence on Him.
When times are though we must Trust HIM. When times are good we must be grateful to Him.

When we think we are wise we stand in a dangerous place. Wisdom comes only from God not from our own understanding.  Trust is what brings us to His wisdom.

We need to get to that place where we can completely trust Him. This is not easily don't but if we start small we will end big. The thing is to start.

Don't rest on your understanding, seek His. Seek God's will in everything each day it will come.

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for thinking that I know what to do or which way to turn.
I recognise that You know better than I do and I choose to rest in Your wisdom. Amen.

I no longer call you servants

John 15:15 - 'I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends.'

What a joy it is to know our Lord as a friend.

When last did you speak to this great Friend?

Fellowship with God is our privilege and delight.

Take every opportunity to connect with the One who is the lover of your soul.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for the special relationship that I can have with You, my loving Heavenly Father and my friend. Amen.

everlasting arms are under you.

Deuteronomy 33:27 - 'The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.'

Each one of us are being carried in His everlasting arms.

Knowing this allows us to weather any storms that come our way.

He will carry you, today and tomorrow and to the end.

Those same arms will carry us into His presence when we will see Him face to face.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your everlasting arms that carry and undergird me through the storms and challenges I face.
Amen.

You removed my sackcloth

Psalm 30:11 - 'You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.'

The Lord can turn any situation around.
He can turn mourning and sorrow into joyful dancing.

He can take heaviness and depression and replace it with His joy.

Suddenly, in a moment, it can all change!

Prayer: Lord, I pray that You will come and turn the situation I am facing around. May I know what it means to see a miracle in front of my eyes and may I be filled with joy as a result. Amen.

In Your light we see light

Psalm 36:9 - 'For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.'

The Lord should be our source and our fountain of life.

The ultimate source of all life is God.
He should be our fountain of hope and joy.

Find your fulfillment and your peace in Him and Him alone.

Prayer:
Lord, I declare that You are my source and the very fountain of my life.
May I know Your living water flowing in and through me I pray.
Amen.

Your mighty deeds.'

Psalm 77:12 - 'I will consider all Your works and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.'

Each day we should remind ourselves of how great God is.
Each day we should lift up our eyes to the One from whom our help comes.
Each day we should meditate on His word and promises.
Then we will truly live and not be empty or discouraged.
Prayer: Lord, as I focus my attention and hope on You, I know that You will come and fill my life so that I will overflow with expectation and hope! Amen.

Come to Me

Matthew 11:28 - 'Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'

Often we carry around heavy burdens and concerns.

In reality we dishonour our faith when we choose to walk this way.

Our Saviour has invited us to come to Him and to give Him our concerns.

He can carry with ease what is a weight and a burden to us.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that I can bring my issues, my worries and my concerns to You and I can place them in Your hands knowing that You can carry them for me. Amen.

His work of art

Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified Bible) - 'We are His workmanship [His work of art], created in Christ [spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared for us beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].'

What a joy it is to know that God has pre-prepared great things for us.

He is always at work within us just as an artist works on His artwork.

He has already created paths designed just for you to walk in.

The Lord has a plan for every life that is fully submitted to Him.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for the work that You are doing in my life.
I want nothing other than Your perfect and complete plan, will and path for my life. Amen.

Except through Me

John 14:6 - 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'

These are the very words of our Saviour.

He is reminding us that He is the way, truth and life.

In Christ we can find our way, know the truth and enjoy life.

There is no shortcut because He is the only way and the only door.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for another beautiful day. I come to You today, because You are the way, the truth and the life and I recognise that I need You. Amen.

I am the light of the world.

John 8:12 - 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'

Our choice to follow God brings with it glorious consequences. Sometimes the happings don't look to bright but we must follow He will make them bright.

It is a giant leap into the very light that fills us with an eternal hope. We must be prepared to take Leeds in our faith to get where God wants us to go.

The result is that we NEVER need to walk in darkness again. Jesus promised to be with us always and He is the light.

His light comes and changes everything it touches. We have to let God's light guide and lead us.

Prayer: Lord, today I choose afresh to follow You.
Give me the faith I need to step out of the darkness and cause me to live in Your glorious light today, and forever.
Amen.

He saved them

Psalm 106:8 - 'He saved them - to defend the honour of His name and to demonstrate His mighty power.'

The Lord wants to work in your situation as a demonstration of His mighty power.

He wants to intervene and save us simply because He is God.

We may fail Him but He has no intention of failing us.

He will defend the honour of His name and work wonders.

Prayer: Lord, may Your mighty power be demonstrated in my situation so that others will know that You are God and there is no one like You. Amen.

Hang on to GOD

John 16:4-7

But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'

But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Hang on:

Have you ever had shocking news told to you? Perhaps someone in your family has been diagnosed with cancer and they sat you down to break the news. Perhaps you have been working on a sales deal and then get the news that you were unsuccessful in landing the tender. I remember as a youth pastor getting the news that a man I had admired and looked up to in youth ministry had admitted to being in an affair. It was like a tidal wave hit me from nowhere and I felt like I was drowning. Praise God that He has been restored, reunited with his wife and has served in ministry for many years.

In moments of sudden bad news, it is very hard to get perspective. I have probably written before of being in a bad car accident as a kid and not being able to see beyond the moment, worried that the dogs at home would starve. In the shock of the trauma, as your mind tries to cope and the irrational thoughts struggle to take over and drown you in the sea of confused emotions, you hang onto any signs of hope. Small kind acts, comforting words, the reassurance of someone saying that they will personally see to the dogs getting food…in those moments, small factual bits of information help you take little steps of recovery.

Y’shua is breaking some harsh news or a coming reality to His followers. He can see they are visibly upset at the news. The trauma of not having Him around any longer is too much to comprehend. Sorrow has filled their hearts and the Lord is quite aware. What He says next brings hope and comfort, a life-line as they start to sink in despair. “Nevertheless…” Don’t you love that. This word implies that however true it is what has been said, in sharp contrast to this, there is something else that must happen and will happen. He follows this up by saying that what He is about to say is the truth. A double life-line!

He is going away and there are coming terrible times where they will be hated, rejected, ejected from their people and even killed. He is being taken from them, but this is all to their advantage because there is Someone on the way…He is called the Helper, the Comforter, the Consoler…He is the One who will be sent to come alongside and to guide them through each and every step of the journey no matter how tough. How amazing is our Messiah that He takes care of our every need and we do not need fear because He gives of Himself, His own Spirit to be with us.

How is your life? Are you experiencing trauma and feeling overwhelmed. Listen to the facts of hope – there is One on the way, sent specifically to stand alongside and bring comfort, advice, assistance, and to lead the way out. Receive Him and lean on Him. He is the ever-present help in times of trouble, the joy in the morning, the anchor to our hope.

Father, when the waves threaten to drown me, let me grab hold of the life-lines you offer. Thank-You for the constant hope. Amen

Praise the Lord Isiash 12

And in that day you will say I will give praise to you, O Lord; for though you were angry with me, your wrath is turned away, and I am comforted. See, God is my salvation; I will have faith in the Lord, without fear: for the Lord Jah is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation. So with joy will you get water out of the springs of salvation. And in that day you will say, Give praise to the Lord, let his name be honoured, give word of his doings among the peoples, say that his name is lifted up. Make a song to the Lord; for he has done noble things: give news of them through all the earth. Let your voice be sounding in a cry of joy, O daughter of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.

He called you

1 Peter 2:9 '....for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.'

The Lord is the One who calls out to us in our darkness.

He comes to exchange darkness with His wonderful light.

He has called us out of the darkness of ignorance and sin.

Those who walk in His light experience something of His wonder and glory.

Prayer: Lord, today I step away from the darkness. I hear Your call and I respond, and I step into Your wonderful light. Amen

The Lord is God

Psalm 118:27 - 'The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine on us.'

- The Lord has caused His face to shine upon you.
- His desire is that you would know His light in your heart and life.
- His light shines bright even in the darkest night.
- His light will guide, comfort and sustain you.

PRAYER: Lord, let Your light, the light of Your face shine on me. May I walk in Your light and in the process may I know the assurance that You have saved me and You have given me life. Amen.

Whoever hates me

John 15:23-24

Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

No common ground:

There is one thing that you can’t call the Messiah and that is subtle. He didn’t hide His light and He didn’t mince His words. Two things that the Church is excellent at, but not called to! In our pluralistic world we certainly have to learn to navigate through the intricacies of political correctness, but subtlety can often be an excuse for compromise.

Today there is a desire to find the common ground with other religions. Islam has come into the midst of our communities and called for equal opportunity – something the West only meets with open arms. The rise and spread of militant Islam has certainly thrown a spanner in the wheel and Europe and the USA are reeling under the pressure of how to handle the situations of terrorist attacks.

In this confusion, the desire to embrace other cultures in order to understand them can also lead to a softening of the stance of orthodoxy. Why can’t we believe that all roads lead to the mountain? Shouldn’t we just leave and let be and trust that there is enough truth within other religions to lead them to God? But even within God’s covenant people, there was enough waywardness that seemed to warrant YaHWeH sending His Son in order to be the Great Shepherd to gather the scattered sheep and bring them – and others – into His flock. If YaHWeH practised tolerance, He would have simply left us to our own devices.

But love doesn’t leave things to chance. Love intervenes. Love comes to expose sin and error and to convict guilty hearts. Love judges and holds the truth to make it plain. And Unconditional Love was hated because He would not let go until He was nailed to the cross to keep His hands from reaching out. He did more miracles than Moses, Elijah and all the prophets put together. He also did all His works by His own power and authority. This was to show the extent of the Father’s love, but He was hated for it. And so the most unpolitical statement of all – if they hate me, they hate YaHWeH.

I am sorry but you cannot converse with a Moslem and find the common ground on God. You cannot expect an easy meeting place on divinity with a Hindu. You can talk about YaHWeH with a Jew, but we are not representing our King if He remains out the picture. We are not called to tolerate the world, but to reach it with the truth of the Gospel. We who love the Father, as we witness about the Son, find a world who hates both no matter what they call Him. They are alienated from God in their minds. Love will judge that belief, but also show them the Way.

Father, what a mess the world is in because of their rejection of Y’shua. They have also rejected You. Please pour out Your grace for the nations to find mercy. Amen

Have faith in God

Mark 11:22'Have faith in God,' He answered.

•    There are many things in life that rattle anddisturb us.

•    But through it all we should continue to have faith in God.

•    What seems difficult to you is easy with God.

•    The things which are impossible with menare possible with Him.

Prayer: Lord, I choose to trust and have faith in You. You are omnipotent and all-powerful. There is nothing that is too hard for You. Amen.