Faith, Hope, Love…

Psalms 95:6 “Come let us adore and bow down: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker for he is our God.”

As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus many people are busy organising last minute gifts to ensure that everyone is taken care of on the day. Christmas is a special time of outreach and inclusion, a time when we can share the love and goodness of Christ with others.

It is a time to stop and remember the reason for this season. We celebrate the love that God has for this world. His great love sent Jesus into the midst of all that was lost and dying. Jesus’ sacrifice allowed us to be reconciled back to God again as He laid down His life on the cross.

Now that is truly something that we should be thankful for. We should worship God because of it. As we come humbly before our Lord in this way we testify that we are His people and we are surrendered to His leadership.

This Christmas as we celebrate Jesus let’s also remember our maker and our God. Set aside time to adore, worship and bow down before him and express our love and adoration. Not only will this bring honour to God but it will also help to restore faith, hope and love to those around you.

Cheerleaders…

1 Samuel 30:6 “But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord.”

We all love life when it’s going well. As people believe in and encourage us we advance easily. In these seasons we often feel that we could take on anything and win. On the other hand, when life is less encouraging, our progress can be a little more difficult to achieve.

David held a key to making progress through the less encouraging seasons of life. Our verse takes place when David was in distress and about to be stoned by his own people. It says that he “encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord.” In other words David became his own personal cheerleader of God in his life.

In some seasons we need to cheer ourselves on. Others may not notice what God has been doing for us but we do. These are the times when we open up our mouths and declare God’s goodness like David would. “Come on I know I can do it, I can overcome. God helped me slay the lion, slay the bear so now lets go slay this Goliath!”

We become a cheerleader of God in our life. As we cheer, others will start to join in. Before we know it there will be a whole team all cheering God together!

So take up the challenge and become your own personal cheerleader. Start declaring God’s goodness in your life. Keep cheering until a whole team of people surrounds you. You will be helping others as you help yourself. This is what the gospel is all about. Have the greatest week cheerleading yourself to success.

Time for a Change…

Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change”

Everything changes! Change affects things we want it to as well as things we rather it didn’t. It does not matter if it’s a hairdo, car, house, friendship or a season everything changes. We must continually remind ourselves that change is a vital part of life.

Our verse shows us that only one thing exists that will never change, and that is God. He is stable, unchanging and solid. He is the firm foundation for us to anchor our life to. God will not change in any way. If something is going to change it will be us, not Him.

People often find change difficult to navigate but it shouldn’t be. God’s Word tells us how to live and adapt to change. The simplest key to winning is for us to obey God’s Word no matter what! In times of change always remember that God’s Word is His Word is His Word! Stick with it and you will discover that His perfect plan will brilliantly come forth and everything will be OK because of it.

This week don’t let change intimidate you. Instead, open your Bible and anchor yourself to God’s Word. Let it change you. God will be there and before you know it things will be getting better. You will train yourself to like change instead of fearing it. Get ready for a powerful week ahead – we love you!