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Come!

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The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life
Revelation 22:17

It’s always lovely to receive an invitation to a celebration. It doesn’t matter if it arrives by mail, phone or social media, the important thing is that the invitation was received. We’ve been invited because we’re wanted. We must then decide if we’ll attend or not? If we decide not to go then we will not be part of the celebration.

Today’s verse is the greatest invitation of all time. The Holy Spirit & the Bride [the Church] have issued an invitation to come & celebrate with them. Not only are we wanted there, everyone we know is wanted as well. No one is excluded in this get together. But each individual must decide whether they’re going to be there or not.

There’s a multitude of reasons why people won’t want to attend [Luke 14:15-21]. But the invitation simply states, “Come”. If we hear we should “Come”. If we’re thirsty for life we should “Come”. Even if no one else is going we should still “Come”. Once we’ve accepted the invitation there’s a gift available and it’s free… we receive the water of life. This gift causes this celebration to be the liveliest of all time and it starts the instant we respond to the invitation.

This week let’s respond to our invitation to “Come”. Rather than refusing to partake, let’s jump in and get totally soaked in the water of life. If we’re feeling spiritually thirsty or dry let’s get soaked. Let’s get the free gift offered and drink in the water of life. It’ll replace every dead & dying thing in us. It will cause us to renew our strength, increase our vision and expand our future. Simply respond by saying “Yes Lord” in your prayers and then get ready for the celebration of all time.

Forward Sight…

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Why do you keep looking backward to your past and have second thoughts about following me
Jesus speaking in Luke 9:62

The rear-view mirror in a car is good for a quick glance behind but it’s useless in guiding us forward. This mirror simply displays a tiny part of what’s behind us. In contrast the windscreen is so much larger. It gives us a panorama of where we’re actually heading. It shows us exactly what’s ahead. We can only drive safely looking through the windscreen not staring into the rear-view mirrors.

In today’s verse we discover that Jesus shares a similar detail. He says that our tendency in life is to look backwards to our past. Whenever we do this, we miss out on so much. We only see a small portion of what life has been. We see such a small piece that it causes us to have second thoughts. These thoughts make us see our future in the wrong way.

The future that God has for us is an absolute panorama. 2 Corinthians tells us that it is both wide-open & spacious. It goes onto say that our future is full of all of God’s promises. So why keep looking back to our past? Let’s train ourselves to continuously look forward. Let’s keep looking at the vista before us. Let’s keep pursuing the promises, building His Kingdom, loving His Bride; the Church.

This week is our opportunity to move ahead in life & connect with our future. It’s not that difficult to achieve. We simply stop looking back through the rear-view mirror of life and start looking through the windscreen of promises that God has for our future. As we keep ignoring the temptation to glimpse at our past our thought life will change and we’ll be staring at an absolutely magnificent future. It’s the future God formed specifically for us that was unobtainable in our past.

Much Pain…

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The words of the careless stab like a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing
Proverbs 12:18

Have you ever been a part of a conversation that’s left you winded, hurt & unable to speak? It started nicely enough but rapidly devolved into a vicious personal attack. What they said & how they said it penetrated right in. Their words were wounding, discouraging and hurtful. Then they just walked away like nothing had happened.

Today’s verse lets us know that this is not an uncommon occurrence. It also lets us know that God has a magnificent way to bring healing, health & restoration back to us. People often don’t give thought, consideration or attention to the words they speak. They allow their words to act like stabbing swords. They let them penetrate & damage as they run away ignoring the mayhem they’ve caused. Some will even guise their words with spiritual language but pride is the base cause.

None of this takes God by surprise, He is concerned about our words. God has a way of escape for anyone who is damaged by the careless words of others. We’re told to go to someone who is wise & listen to their words. Their words will bring healing, health & restoration back to us. Their words will help us get up and get on with life again. Their words will put us back into the purpose, plan & future God has for us.

This week let’s allow God to use us to bring healing, health & restoration back to someone. There’s a multitude of hurting people who need help. Don’t try to be wise or have all the answers. Just be a listening ear, speak kind & encouraging words and let Holy Spirit minister through you like only He can. In no time at all they’ll be on their road to healing and they’ll end up being strengthened rather than destroyed.

The Power of Going…

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As they went, they were healed
Luke 17:14

Have you ever missed your train or bus? It can be very frustrating. It left on schedule but you didn’t. It arrived at its destination but you didn’t. It’s impossible for us to reach our destination if we never depart on our journey. We may want or even need to be somewhere but until we go on the journey we’ll never arrive.

Today’s verse tells us about 10 lepers who came to Jesus. They wanted Jesus to heal them. He sent them to a destination they hadn’t considered. He sent them to the temple. When the 10 heard what Jesus said they obediently embarked on their journey. As they went, they received their answer, they were healed. They received their answer long before they reached their destination, the temple.

There’s power in the “going” when Jesus speaks. When we hear Jesus and go in obedience, we receive everything we need long before our journey is completed. We are rewarded with joy & healing through our obedience. We are rewarded as we move towards the destination Jesus has set for us.

This week let’s not miss our spiritual bus or train. When we see a promise in God’s Word let’s start moving forward on a journey to reach it. We don’t have to move far but we do need to move away from our problem and towards our promise. As we do this, God’s answer moves towards us. Long before we arrive at our destination, we’ll receive what we need so we’ll be able to enjoy the remainder of our journey.

Fan The Flame…

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…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God
2 Timothy 1:6

In summer we use a fan to cool things down. In winter we use it to get a few flameless embers to transform into a raging fire that produce lots of heat. This transformation from ember to fire takes only a few short minutes. The fan does its work quickly. It causes something hidden & insignificant to become something that can’t be ignored. It causes a dying fire to become a raging inferno.

In today’s verse Paul reminds us that the gifts of God in us aren’t going to look after themselves. He says these gifts are like a fire and they must be tended. When a fire is ignored & neglected it eventually goes out. It’s the same with these gifts from God. When we fan them, they come to life. As we continue fanning them, they transform into an unstoppable inferno.

Paul says we’re to do whatever we can to stir up, fan & rekindle these gifts of God. This means we’re not meant to fan our fleshy & lusty desires that lead to death. We’re to fan God’s gift that will alway produce life. We’re to take God’s gift from something hidden & insignificant to something that simply can’t be ignored.

This week let’s proactively FAN INTO FLAME the GIFT OF GOD in us. Let’s take every opportunity to step out & step up to reignite our spiritual gifts. Pray over them. Speak God’s Word over them. Encourage even the most hidden & insignificant ones to come to life & flourish. Then, in a short while, the gift of God will be fired up. It will flourish & help others just like His Word promises.

Attitude of Gratitude…

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They knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks
Romans 1:21

Have you ever done something for someone and received their thanks in return? Everyone feels appreciated when they’re thanked. Whether it’s for something large or small, a thank you always speaks louder than a selfish silence. When we appreciate others, we foster an attitude of gratitude. This attitude always builds our future and strengthens our relationships.

Today’s verse reminds us how God’s views our thanks. Paul writes that it’s possible for people to know God but never give Him thanks. Some folk offer up excuses & problems to God their whole life; never once giving thanks. These people are on a path of foolishness, darkness & confusion. The thankful on the other hand have a bounty of things to thank God for and they do. Thanks & gratitude always leads us towards wisdom, light & clarity.

Being thankful is a very powerful spiritual force. When we are thankful, we produce gratitude. Gratitude holds our focus on the great & awesome things that God is doing in our lives rather than on worldly problems. Anyone who is unthankful will focus on the oceans of their problems and the mountains of their difficulties. The thankful do not concentrate on these, they’re looking at rivers of blessings and forests of gratitude around them. They give worship & thanks to Gods continually for what they are seeing.This week let’s expand our attitude of gratitude. If we’re seeing oceans of problems and mountains of difficulties let’s change our focus. Begin thanking God for all the small & large things He’s doing. Start to develop the attitude that sees rivers of blessings and forests of gratitude ahead. Continue in this attitude & there will be a greater future with stronger relationships fille with wisdom, light & clarity.

Eternal Investments…

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Don’t hoard treasure down here… Stockpile treasure in heaven
Matthew 6:19-20

It’s easy for people to start stockpiling and storing things that they believe they’ll need in their future. An overwhelming fear of lack & insufficiency can drive people to accumulate vast amounts of belongings, finance & supplies so that they’ll feel secure in the coming years. Hoarder’s often hide, guard & carefully preserve their treasures but ultimately much of it remains unused, decays and is lost.

Today’s verse helps us see God’s reason why we shouldn’t hoard stuff here on earth. We’re told that the hoarder’s stash will be eaten, corrupted & stolen here. It will ultimately become useless & unproductive. In contrast, when we stockpile our treasure in heaven, everything becomes safe, secure & profitable. We are actually building our future rather than protecting our present.

We only get to spend a short number of decades here on earth. Our longest time, by far, will be spent in eternity. It makes complete sense to redirect & stockpile our treasure in the eternal Heaven rather than on this temporal Earth. It’s not hard to store our treasure in Heaven. We simply do what God’s Word says with our stuff rather than what we selfishly want to do. Our treasure then builds where we’ll end up rather than where we’re at right now.

This week let’s get real with ourselves. Let’s take a little time to consider what we’re investing in ourselves & what we’re actually stockpiling in Heaven. If we truly believe in Heaven & eternity then we’ll be directing our treasure there. We’ll be making decisions to deal with our stuff the way the Bible says. We’ll be building our eternal future plus we’ll enable ourselves to have a far greater life whilst here on earth.

The Brightest Love…

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None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us
Romans 8:37

Have you ever experienced a solar eclipse? For the shortest time the moon passes in front of the sun totally blocking it’s light. In these moments everything seems dark, cold & indistinguishable. Within a few moments the sun reappears and the eclipse is gone. The returning light makes everything seem bright, brilliant and seeable again.

Today’s verse lets us know about the love Jesus has for us. The Apostle Paul explains that this love is so bright that nothing can overwhelm or eclipse it. A cacophony of things that may try [Romans 8:31-38] but we’re told that none of them should faze us. We have the bright, brilliant & seeable love of Jesus shining on us continually.

The love that Jesus has for us causes an overwhelming & triumphantly victory in our lives. Every time the enemy tries to eclipse and faze us God’s love outshines him. Every time the enemy plans to destroy us God’s love brilliantly exposes him. God wants us to walk in victory every day. That’s why we must walk in the inseparable love that God has for us.

This week let’s take a stand and allow nothing to faze us. Let’s ensure that whatever comes our way is outshone by the love Jesus has for us. Let ensure that every plan of destruction is exposed and every attempt to darken us will cause His brilliance to shine brighter. As we do this God’s love will ensure that darkness cannot overcome us [John 1:5] and our future will be very bright indeed.

Pop-Up Store…

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“Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow”
Proverbs 12:19

The current fad in retailing seems to be the “Pop-up Store”. These shops are small, temporary and plentiful. They pop up in popular locations one day then disappear soon after. They sell highly desirable & popular items that interest & engage the customer. Once they sell their product they disappear never to be seen again.

Today’s verse lets us know that lies are just like Pop-up stores. There are many of them. They appear in popular places. They offer desirable words that engage & interest the listener. But, just like pop-up stores, lies will disappear after a short time. No one will remember who actually said them or what they were actually about.

On the other hand, department stores are like truth. They are establishments that have stood the test of time & aren’t going to disappear quickly. Macy’s, Sears or Myers have each been trading for centuries. They are like truth. They’ve outlasted all their fleeting competitors & pop-ups remaining strong over the longest time. Truth will always outlive any lie so never buy into a lie – stand with the truth.This week let’s make a decision to pursue truth at all cost. Let’s not allow ourselves to enter the pop-up store of lies. Let’s not buy into its desirable words & popular items [2 Timothy 4:3]. Instead let’s stand tall for the truth that will outlast every lie spoken [Ephesians 6:14]. Not only does this cause our lives to flourish, it also causes us to walk in freedom like never before [John 8:32].

Fireflies…

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The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine
Proverbs 4:18

We remember seeing fireflies for the first time visiting precious friends near Columbus, Ohio. As twilight arrived many fireflies started moving around. Their bright blinking lights caught everyone’s attention. Children were running around hoping to catch at least one of these illusive beetles. The darker it became the more brilliant their lights appeared and the easier it was for them to be seen.

Today’s verse lets us know that we, as believers, should be easily seen. When we live life God’s way, rather than our own, our lives will glow. Anyone whose life is immersed in darkness will easily notice the difference. They’ll see our brightness and want it for themselves. The longer we live right the brighter our lives become. The brighter we become the more noticeable we will be.

So how is it possible to live this life that shines brightly? Matthew 22:37-39 sums a brilliant life up in 2 simple but vital ways. Firstly, we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. Secondly, we must love our neighbour as ourselves. When we start doing this we’ll be glowing. As we continue in it, we’ll be shining brightly.

This week let’s make sure our lives are glowing & bright. When we continue to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind we’ll be a brilliant beacon of hope to our friends & neighbours. No matter how dark their lives might seem we’ll shine like a firefly. Our brightness will catch their attention. Then we’ll be able to share God’s amazing love to them. That will set the captives free & allow them to experience a brilliant life just like we have.