144 KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE. Hebrews 6:18.

Hope, as the world sees it, is a maybe, perhaps or even wishful thinking, 0r just wishing for something to come true. But, True Spiritual Hope is Faith filled believing it will happen. Hope combined with faith is...”Having met all the required conditions” expecting something so desperately, that despite all evidence to the contrary, you keep believing God for it. And the remarkable thing about it is that the act of True Spiritual Hoping produces a strength of its own. When Cornell University conducted a study on the effects of hope, Dr Harold G Wolff reported that people with hope can endure incredible burdens. One group comprised of twenty five thousand solders imprisoned during World War11, who were subjected to forced labour, bad food and filth, of which many died, while others showed only slight damage. Subsequent interviews with survivors revealed a far-above-average ability to hope! How were they able to keep their hope alive? It was discovered, By drawing pictures of the girls they planned to marry, designing their future homes and organising business management seminars. Hope not only kept them physically well, but mentally active and alert it kept them alive! This is why Paul describes hope in (Hebrews 6:19) as “A strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God Himself.” John Walker says, “I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I’ve dropped weight and put it back on. I’ve tried every diet and made up some of my own. I maintained a friendly battle with weight until I became extremely ill, and for a year was unable to walk any further than the mailbox. Needless to say I gained more weight than ever and found myself facing a huge challenge. I needed to loose more pounds than there are days in a month. With age nipping at my heels...it wasn’t as easy to drop the pounds as it used to be, and I found myself feeling hopeless – the kind of hopelessness that makes you think ‘what’s the use?’ I may as well not even try.” No doubt you can relate, not necessarily to the weight issue, but to the hopelessness. Maybe your in a stressful marriage, or facing health issues that have you thinking “What’s the use?” or in a frustrating job...or facing a difficult family situation...or wondering if you will ever get good enough grades to graduate...or dealing with the death of the most important person in your life. or struggling through so many failed attempts to have a child. Here’s the truth; We serve a God of Hope, and it’s a Hope that wont disappoint (us). It’s not based on feelings; It’s rooted in a relationship with the ONLY ONE who can be trusted above all others. “We wait together for this unseen hope, knowing the God of hope will not abandon or disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by The Holy Spirit.” We are not talking here about your love for God, but of His love for you. You see ...our relationship with God changes according to our moods and feelings, but not His. His love is always the same; deep, strong, constant and unchangeable in content. That means, when we pray with expectant Hope and trust, He will come through for us, even if it takes a bit of time because He is waiting for other matters or situations to line-up with His Will. Also timing is very important to God, Why? Because a gift given too early or too late is not appreciated and therefore, will not be recognised as such if the timing is wrong and the appropriate acknowledgement and gratitude will not be forthcoming. So pray, with expectant hope and trust, knowing that God will work for you, not for who you are, but for who He is,”The Fountain of Truth and reliability.” I haven’t counted them, but, I understand there are 3,573 promises in the Bible, that’s more than 10 promises for each day of the year. When you know which of those apply to your current circumstances and you fulfil the conditions that go with them, you can (according to John 15:7) literally begin to pray God’s promises into existence in your life. Will your prayer be answered overnight? Some will, others wont. But… as (Hebrews 6:12) tells us,“be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised”. The most powerful prayer you can pray is.. when you remind God of His promises.”Lord You promised in your word that you would… and today I am praying and believing you for it. Here is how to pray, “1. when you need Guidance and direction (Psalm 32:8) “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye. 2. When you need deliverance from a situation or to be set free from a habit. (Psalm 50:15) “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me.” 3. When you need the strength to stand: (Isaiah 41:10) “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will uphold you, with my righteous right hand.” 4. When you don’t have enough to meet your needs. (Philippians 4;19) “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If You spend time every day meditating in God’s Word, each time a need arises, you will know which one of His promises to claim in prayer. Read (2 Peter 1:4). When you begin to pray Scripturally-based prayers, you will get the answers you NEED. And here is Why Because, The Bible is God’s Word, and He always keeps His Word. Here is how to pray, 1. When you don’t have the answer (Jeremiah 33:3) “Oh God hear me as I pray Your Word as you gave it to Jeremiah your Prophet. “Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” 2. When you are worried and under stress, remind God of the promise He gave His beloved apostle John in (John 14:27) “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 3. When you need spiritual insight. (John 16: 13) “When He, The Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; And He will tell you things to come.” 4. When you need power for service (John 14:12-14) “He who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; And greater works than these will he do because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do...that The Father might be glorified in the Son. 5. (Ezekiel 34:26) When you need God’s blessing on your endeavours; I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; And I will cause showers to come down in their season; There shall be showers of blessing.” Once you see the results of praying God’s promises, you will never pray any other way. Thank you for reading these words on “Keeping Your Hope Alive”. Spiritual Hope only stays alive if it’s used with Faith, and Faith only stays alive by daily Scripture reading, understanding and meditating. Understand this God is not Santa Clause, or a Magic-man, No! He is God Almighty Who loves you with an everlasting love and wants you to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. And the only way that can be achieved is by you getting to know Him personally through The Bible. Please make a commitment to do that, even if only for a few minutes each day, you will be surprised at the results it produces in all areas of your life. Short prayers of HOPE will make you aware of God’s permanent presence and will give you immediate connection with Him anywhere at anytime. Because my sight is fading in these advancing years of my life I find my trust and faith-filled “Hope” are more necessary than ever, but you know what!!... my Hope filled prayers and blessings are also forthcoming and answered more quickly. So get in there and pray with spirit filled Hope, faith and trust, then watch God reward you for your confidence in Him. God Bless. Phaline. --------------------------------

143 GOD IS INTERESTED IN YOUR FUTURE,NOT YOUR PAST. Colossians 2;14

Paul tells us in the above Scripture “Jesus cancelled the record of the charges against us... by nailing it to the cross.” The word cancel means to remove, to neutralise or offset something. Have you ever got most of the way through a project and wished you could start over again? Just suppose you were painting the lounge in your home, then you stepped back and looked at the colour on the sample chart. On the wall however, it doesn’t look the same. You wish you could redo it. Many people feel that way about life, as one author describes it; I’ve made so many mistakes. I wish I could just wipe them out and start my life over again. Failures, problems, bad decisions, we have all suffered from them. But some of us can’t let go of the past. We are so afraid of repeating the same or similar mistakes that we fall into the same old pit again, then, get disillusioned and throw the baby out with the bathwater. That’s when we let our past ruin our present opportunities, and we start living like frightened rabbits, we live in a constant state of fear, regret and low self confidence; continually lamenting, “If only I hadn’t done this or that, or if only I had just made these changes,” we repeatedly second-guess ourselves and remain tormented by painful memories. “I blew it, and I’m going to be paying for it for the rest of my life. What will people think of me.” Thoughts such as these plague many of us. Don’t despair, Pray the Holy Spirits presence, listen for His advice and promptings to you in your situation. Make a choice to look up, not down. You may choose to carry guilt, but you really don’t have to! The moment you put your trust in Christ, He cancels the record of your past. Actually, you no longer have a past, you only have a future! You can once and for all, lay down your great burden. All that heavy load of guilt and shame, all those hurts, memories and mistakes. Jesus takes them all away, they were nailed to His Cross. In (Isaiah 43:25) God has promised to “Blot out ALL your sins and never think of them again.” And you must do that too. And when they come back to haunt you, repeat a prayer like this:-”Thank you Jesus for taking all my sins, all my shame, all my hurts. Thank you for dying on that cross for me, and allowing me to live the resurrected life you bought for me with your precious blood. Dear God, Please send your Holy Spirit to teach, guide and protect me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.” A sincere prayer spoken to your Saviour will touch God’s heart and remove all your guilt and shame, you will be able to approach God like a child approaching his/her Dad’s arms with the confidence, love and security they know they can find there. Have you ever watched children drawing on a slate, if they make a mess of it, they just wipe it out and start again. This is how God handles the mistakes you and I have made, He wipes the slate clean and says… in (Jeremiah 31:34 “I will remember their sins no more.” This has to be one of the most wonderful statements in all the entire Bible – that God chooses to forget. When you admit your sins and ask God to forgive you, He cancels your past. He chooses to forget your errors, your wrongs, your mismanagements and your failures. If you died tonight, stood before God and asked Him about a sin you committed yesterday, He would say “What sin?” When we deny our sin, we deny God the joy of forgiving us. When we try to excuse our sin, God permits the consequences to become so painful; that we will want to turn from it, but when we confess our sin, The Bible says in (1 John 1:9) “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous.” Every thing we do has a consequence, The word “consequence” literally means “ to equalise or pay back” Good for good, and bad for bad. and in both cases you will get back more than you’ve put in. This is a natural law, which even Jesus spoke several times about in Scripture. The more you give, the more you will get back. The more good we do, the more good will be done for us...When we withhold doing good for someone or do them harm, or evil, it will certainly come back on us, sometimes twice as badly. This is a natural law like the law of gravity. Think about it!! The Prodigal son broke his Father’s heart, squandered his inheritance and ended up in the pig pens. But his is a comeback story! His turnaround began with these words, (Luke 15;17-18 ‘When he finally came to his senses ...he said to himself “I will go home to my father and say ‘Father I have sinned.” And what his father did for him, God will do for you today. In (John 19:30) we read one of Jesus’ final declarations from the cross before He died. “It is finished.” That phrase comprises just one word in Greek “Tetelestai” meaning ‘Paid in full’ It was a word merchants wrote on an account l when it was paid, similar to a receipt to indicate that the transaction was completed. It was also the word stamped on a document announcing that a prison sentence had been commuted. Jesus paid the price in full for every sin you and I have ever committed! And that’s why (Romans 8:1) tells us “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Your sins and mine are fully paid for by Jesus Christ. The question is, If God forgets your sin the moment you confess it, don’t you think you should forget it too? How long do you think about a bill that’s already been paid? Don’t you forget it the moment you’ve paid it?.Similarly, Since Jesus has paid our bill in full, we don’t need to remember it any more. When Paul, wrote to Timothy (Timothy1:15) he once described himself as chief among sinners. When he wrote (Philippians 3:13-14) he wrote “Forgetting what was behind...I press on towards the goal to win the prise for which God has called me Heavenwards.” We can short-circuit God’s power in our lives by not trusting that He has truly forgiven us, or by deciding not to forgive ourselves. Why? Maybe it was the way we were raised, maybe our parents told us “I forgive you” but they constantly brought it up. The Good News Is, Your Heavenly Father is different from your earthly parents. When He forgives your sin, He expunges your record, cancels your past, can’t remember it, doesn’t talk about it, will never bring it up again. So today accept His forgiveness. And if you need to, forgive yourself and move on. Thank you for reading my thoughts on God’s Interest In Your Future. I hope and pray you trust in His faithfulness to bring us through this crazy world into His everlasting Kingdom. God Bless. Phaline. -------------------------------

142. PRAYER CHANGES EVERYTHING .Exodus 32:13.

If you are not sure prayer can change the situation you are in right now, Read the story of Moses interceding with God not to destroy the Israelites because of their idolatry and the golden calf; Moses tried to get God to change His mind… saying in (Exodus 32:11,13-14 “Remember the solemn promise You made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendents as there are stars in the sky and that You would give them land.” So, even though The Lord had threatened to destroy the people, He changed His mind and let them live. Moses was on his face before god one minute and in God’s face the next, For the lives of his people, he was on his knees, pointing his finger, raising his hands, crying tears, tearing his cloak and wrestling like Jacob at the brook. Notice how Moses prayed. First, he reminded God of His covenant promises. He stood on THE WORD.! If there is one thing that will get God’s attention and cause Him to respond to your needs, it’s standing on HIS WORD. God’s Word in the situation is always God’s Will on any matter. (1John 5:14-15) tells us “ We are confident He hears us whenever we ask Him for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know He will give us what we ask for.” You and I are similar to electric wire through which God’s power and presence can flow into any situation, and by praying we are turning on the switch. So instead of complaining about the mess we find ourself in, we need to start praying about it. Look up the relevant Scriptures and hold them up to God in prayer. The Bible says in (Hebrews11:6) “Without Faith it is impossible to please God.” God’s greatest desire is to be believed. You and I can pray regularly and ritually and even feel closer to God as a result, yet not truly expecting Him to answer our prayer, or for the circumstances to change. I will give an example here: (Hypothetical) We’ll say I have a daughter who is living a life of prostitution, She is doing very well with high level, influential clients, has a beautiful home, car and wardrobe. She Is well paid, and gets taken out to all the finest Restaurants shows etc. Yes, she’s doing very well for herself and can see no reason why she should change her life. Now, what does a parent do? Yes, get down on your knees, beg and plead for your child, and remind God of His promises, acknowledge Him as the only solution to this predicament But, when a house is on fire, there’s no point in just praying that God will put it out, No! YOU have to ring the Fire Brigade and get them there. You and I have to DO something and sometimes that something means sacrificing your own relationship with that child (That’s what Moses was asked to do) to get them back to God. And that’s a very hard thing to do. But, rather than do that, many parents will turn a blind eye to their children’s elicit relationships without confronting the situation with God’s Word; Thinking they will loose their child if they challenge him/her. How much faith did Moses have? How much faith do we really have? That, is measured by how much we trust God?..We read, ”Without Faith it is impossible to please God.” and James tells us “Faith without works is dead” So, Is your faith Dead 0r Alive? To keep anything alive and growing, (from relationships, plants tools etc) we have to maintain, feed and use them regularly, the spiritual world is no different, ‘if you don’t use it you loose it.’ I have discovered the more one uses God’s gifts the more He enhances them. I’m not bragging, but take a look at some of my earlier writings, and compare them with these later ones, I believed God and trusted Him that He could use someone who was then 87 years of age and almost blind to write these teachings, use a computer, get them on a blog and send them round the world. No, that hasn’t been my doing, but, that’s what God can do with the little measure of faith I’ve been given, so what can He do with you younger ones who are fully sighted and much better equipped than I. Pray for Faith. “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” show me how to trust you more, show me how to put you first in ALL things even with my family. Remember this: We cannot receive God’s best until we are willing to give Him our most valued. Yes, it’s hard, very hard, but God is never outdone with His generosity, love and peace. So to experience God’s best, trust Him with your best. Peter had been put in prison and sentenced to death, and his execution was scheduled for the next day. So the church prayed all night for his release. And miraculously it happened. God put the guards to sleep, opened the cell doors and prison gates and sent an angel to guide him out of the prison. He set Peter free. He answered the prayer of the church. Yet when he (Peter) appeared on the doorstep of the believers house where they were praying, they couldn’t believe it; A servant girl told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”They told her she was out of her mind, but when she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel” Even the early disciples struggled to believe that God would hear their prayers. Yes, even when the answer to their request was knocking on their door, they still hesitated and we do that too. We all struggle with prayer. We forget to pray, and when we do remember, we rush through prayer with quick, insincere words and our thoughts disperse like a flock of birds, are you wondering why this happen?, Well, you can pray and connect with God anywhere at any time using your own words, and God has promised to answer you, so what is the problem? I believe, we often take God for granted, or treat Him as an automatic switchboard, press button 1.for urgent, press 2 For express delivery, press 3 for your preferred colour etc!! we wouldn’t admit it, but that’s what many of us do, and then wonder why our prayers are not answered. We need to realise the incredible power and potential of the seriously praying believer, (2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us) “our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places.” Do you believe that? do you realise and understand that when your prayer truly touches God’s Heart, You are a Satan evicting “Atom Bomb”? and things happen!. God puts up His “hands off” sign and that’s when Satan has to leave the area of your prayer. So don’t just pray, believe God for the answer then talk and act like you believe Him!! by doing what needs to be done. If we believe God is worthy and anxious to answer our prayer, then surely we should be prepared to give Him the time, perseverance and uninterrupted concentration of our sincere prayers, When Jesus said “Go to your room and shut the Door” , this is exactly what He was talking about. Practise being alone with God, take nothing but your Bible, God will often speak through Biblical stories, parables, Scriptural events, visions or even words in your head. If you only have 10 minutes or 30 tell Him so, but sit there and ask Him to speak to you. The mere fact that you are prepared to spend time with Him alone will speak volumes to God. Don’t worry if nothing happens the first few times you try this, keep doing it once a day or once a week, God may be testing your faith, and sometimes, God waits before He answers you because He is working on both ends of the line. At the same time; He is working on the thing you prayed about, and He is also working on getting you ready for it. And often the second thing takes longer than the first. As the old Hymn says”Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” So don’t get down hearted, one day you will hear God’s voice I promise you. Just take the time effort and the measure of faith you have been given and offer them to God and see what He does with it.! Remember these 2 things, 1. Practise makes perfect, 2. Satan will try to stop you from spending time alone with God. Don’t let him do that. Thank you for reading my thoughts on how “Prayer Changes Everything” It really does! But only if we are prepared to do our part. May God Bless His praying people. Phaline -----------------------

141. WHEN GOD SPEAKS. FINDING GOD IN YOUR BIBLE. Proverbs 2:4.

Studying your Bible is a bit like prospecting for gold or silver, it involves two things. (1) You must look for it. Solomon writes in (Proverbs 2:4-5) “If you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand...and find the knowledge of God.” Simply stepping into a mine and glancing all around it, just wont cut it, If you want to get the gold or silver that you know is there, you have to search for it. Any gold miner will tell you that ..“gold doesn’t strike you - you strike gold. “ The purpose I have in doing these writings each week is to whet your apatite for scripture, You know there are truths in there which will lead you to God’s wisdom, commands and promises; which will encourage you to read your bible everyday. According to the Barna Research Group, only 9 per cent of Christians read their bibles on a daily bases. The question is are you one of them? Or, do you only read God’s Word when there’s nothing else around worth reading or listening to, or your phone is on charge!! You must dig into it. Worry it, tease it Prayerfully to get the right answers to questions that will inevitably arise. The Spirit of God will speak to you, Why? Because you are doing exactly what God told you to do, you are “Searching for Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength” and obedience to God will ALWAYS bring results. The story is told of a man who loved to study the Bible. Every time he found something he didn’t understand, His friend Jack would pop into his mind, Jack was a great student of Scripture, who seemed to ooze Biblical wisdom. So whenever our friend would encounter something he didn’t quite get, off he’d go to Jack. Until one day, when he actually heard the Holy Spirit speak to him saying, “Why don’t you just ask me, after all I’m the one who teaches Jack.”!! ‘ For my part, I know this... God isn’t playing “Hide and seek” with us, or crouching somewhere in the pages of Scripture to make it difficult for us to find Him in the Bible, No! His Word is plain, positive and progressive, and as you intensify your searching He will grow your understanding and knowledge of Himself. Then you will get to a point, (as I did) where you’ve had enough of knowing about God and are now getting to love Him and want to have a personal, intimate relationship with this God that you know so well. Anyone we love, we first had to get to know them. Why? To see if they were worthy of our confidence, our personal thoughts, our trust and our love. And God fulfils all those categories and more. When you feel let down, misunderstood, unable to express yourself adequately and completely lost; God is your only refuge, He understands, your loneliness, your fears, your inability to cope, your need to be loved, by someone; and He provides all that. For you, when you need it most. But this can only be achieved by having a deep, trusting personal relationship with God. Which comes about only through Daily, Communication with Him. I hear you say, “But I pray everyday, sometimes several times a day” Answer:- Yes but when do you listen to God? One of the main ways God speaks to us is through His Word. If we don’t Hear it, see it, or speak it, we will never know what His Will is for us because we are so busy talking, that we don’t have time to listen and take in what He is trying to make known to us. or i get through to us. Expect God to reveal Himself to you, Look for and dig into His Word and He will show Himself to you in several ways. Like many other Christians I regularly have this intimate experience with God, because we have taken the time, put in the effort and sought God with all our Minds, all our Hearts, all our Souls and all our Strength. This is what He told us to do to find Him. and God is true and faithful to His Word. We found Him and you can too . President Woodrow Wilson once said, “I am sorry for men who do not read the Bible each day; I wonder why they deprive themselves of that strength and pleasure? it is one of the most singular books in the world, for every time you open it, some old text which you have read several times before suddenly beams with a brand new meaning and significance. There is no other book that I know of, which is true of that, there is no other book that yields its meaning so personally that it seems to fit itself so intimately to the very Spirit that’s seeking it’s guidance.” Yes, God’s Spirit speaks personally to the spirit of the person who seriously searches His Word. If you want to get the most out of your Bible, take a note of these 7 questions, keep them inside the front cover of your Bible and refer to them prior to your readings.;- 1. Is there a warning here for me to heed? 2. Is there a promise here for me to claim? 3. Is there a particular or potential sin that I need to deal with? 4. is there a command here I need to obey? 5. Is there a lesson to be learned here? 6. Is there a principle here to be applied ? 7 Is there an example I can follow. Before completing your study time, refer to your list again. As you ask yourself these seven questions, Keep a journal to write down the answers God gives you, and you will be amazed at the wisdom you glean. And thrilled at the success of principles you learn. Your anxieties will begin to lift, your mind will clear and you will experience peace. In (John 1:1) we read:-”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God” The more you read your Bible, the more of God’s presence and power you will experience. You may even adopt this old advertising slogan. “Don’t leave home without it.” (Your Bible). Whether you are an old Christian or a young one or just investigating, don’t make a decision without referring to your Bible. Get the whole truth before you commit. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “Finding God in your Bible” Without asking you wont get, without seeking you wont find without knocking, the door wont be opened. To you. But when you do ask, seek and knock, everything else will be added to you as well. That’s a promise from Almighty God Himself. So read your Bible everyday, and hear what God has to say to you personally. May God Bless us all with His Word “The Bible.” Phaline. ----------------------------

140 DEALING WITH S.T.R.E.S.S GOD’S WAY. Luke 12;25

King Jehoshaphat heard that he was to be attacked by three different armies. Talk about stress! You need to read his story which you will find in (2 Chronicles 20) and follow his example. When life gets overwhelming; just take a look at his response. By using the word STRESS we can learn the following lessons.-:-- S = is to SEEK God’s guidance, (2 Chronicles 20:3) “Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the Lord” years prior to this, when his father King Asa faced a similar threat, He had responded by collecting all the silver and gold from the temple and his palace then used it to bribe one of the raiding kings to defect to his side. That only solved the immediate problem - but not without negative consequences. Although the invasion endeavour was abandoned God became very angry at king Asa’s reliance on another king to help him conquer his enemies. See (2 Chronicles 16:1-9) So He pronounced Asa’s punishment for the rest of his reign. “In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” there are always consequences to the decisions we make, (good or bad) He would live with the stress of constantly being at war Because he had not sought God’s council So for this reason, his son decided he wasn’t going down the same road as his father!! Do you stress out attempting to figure out a solution instead of finding out how God wants you to handle it? Think of the last major problem you faced. Did you rely on the opinion of other people or, your own ideas or’ was your first thought to seek God on the matter and see how He wants you to deal with it. (Jeremiah 29:13) reads God’s promise this way”You will seek me and find me, WHEN you search for me with all your heart” So first talk to God about it. SEARCH,SEEK and then FIND. T = TRUST what God tells you. (2 Chronicles 20:17) “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves and stand still and see the salvation of the Lord… Do not fear or be dismayed; Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” God’s way of resolving our problems can frequently go against our logic, maybe that’s why we are hesitant to approach Him in certain matters. Why would God instruct Jehoshaphat’s army, (which was clearly no match for three armies,) to show up prepared for a battle they were not intended to fight? It didn’t make any sense at all. Many times God will tell us to position ourselves to deal with a demanding task or problem which we feel quite inadequate to handle. But our challenge is to obey Him and position ourselves to win. How do we do that? (1) You position yourself when you choose to go to university, even though you haven’t been a top achiever at high school (2) You position yourself when you resign from your job at God’s urging and start a new business, even though a long line of clients or customers are not waiting in the wings. (3) You position yourself when you sit at your computor each day to write a book you have always desired to write without a head full of knowledge, but with a heart full of faith that God will join you there with His word His , understanding and His knowledge. God’s instruction is to position ourselves for victory. He wants us to show up, so that He can show himself strong on our behalf. See (2Chronicles 16:9). R= REMEMBER: Past victories, notice how King Jehoshaphat prayed, (2 chronicles 3:4) “Are you not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of the land before your people Israel, and gave it to the descendents of Abraham your friend forever.” If God has ever performed a miracle for you or someone you know, He can do it again. So read His Word which will strengthen your faith by recalling His great deeds and achievements (E) =EXALT: God above the problem. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4) “O Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in Heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.” In his anguish Jehoshaphat asked rhetorical questions, that exposed how big his God was when compared to his problem. Sometimes it’s difficult to look past the problem, especially when the reality of it is so close and clear. You need to try and blind yourself to the problem itself, and put God in its place with all His Magnificence, Glory and Power. Do you get the idea? S =SOLICIT: The prayers and support of others, in (2 Chronicles 3-4) we also get that Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast throughout all Judea… They came to seek the Lord. The King didn’t ask the people for their opinion but for their prayers, because sincere prayer is what moves the heart of God. (S) =STAND: on the promises of God, When you do, you can say like the Psalmist in (Psalm 119;143) “As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.” I believe that’s God’s formula for reducing and eliminating STRESS all we have to do is use it. Yes, there are many other ways. But I recommend you try God’s way, first if for no other reason but that it’s free. And you might even benefit in more ways than the one!! Thank you for reading these words on dealing with Stress “God’s way”.I truly hope they help. God Bless Phaline. -----------------------

139. THE FEAR OF THE LORD. Proverbs 14:26.

Yes, you might say, But what is it? How do I get it? And when I do, What do I do with it? Well I will try,... with God’s help... to explain and answer these question as much for my own clarification as yours. In the book of Proverbs (1:7. it tells us,”The fear of The Lord is the foundation of true knowledge”. So that’s what it is, and that’s where we’ll start. We all know, that God is the perfection of all things, there is nothing in all creation that He doesn’t fully know and fully understand, from lightness to darkness, from hot to cold, from the height to the depth of any sea, river or ocean. He knows the answer to all questions and mysteries. He is perfection itself in every area and aspect of creation; physical, natural, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Why? Because He existed eternally; That is before creation, and in fact He is The Only Creator, maker and sustainer of all that exists and and ever has existed. And He will not tolerate any revels. As we can see by looking at Biblical history which is daily becoming more and more the only true source of history which we can trust. We need to understand, this world is God’s story “HIS STORY,” not ours and it will work out HIS WAY. We all have to play our part, as William Shakespeare says,”All the world’s a stage...” and hold our creator in awe and reverence. Not in fear as we know it, but in the knowledge of who He is, how much He loves us and the power of His mercy, grace and justice which is His alone to distribute to whom and where he chooses. No one else can get you to heaven or condemn you to hell. He has done His part by giving His Son to pay our debt, now it’s up to us to accept or reject that offer of payment (Salvation) for our sins. Don’t allow Satan to convince you otherwise, you know he is a liar, in fact the father of lies. Now is the time to turn your back on him and face our Creator, Our Loving Father of Truth an integrity. This is done by a simple act of Faith and submission to Jesus Christ the Son of God. `When you submit to God you don’t have to be afraid of anything. In (Psalm 46:1) we read He becomes your ‘refuge and strength’ Fearing God doesn’t mean being afraid that He is going to hurt or be angry or reprimand you in any way. No He is a good God who will gently show and guide you along the right path as you yield to His leading. The fear of The Lord just means that you follow His directions and recognise His authority in all things. You have probably noticed, there is not a lot of respect for authority these days. We have developed the kind of mentality that says ’Nobody’s going to tell me what to do.” But the Bible says in (Proverbs 14;26) “In the fear of The Lord there is strong confidence “ Why does it say that? Because a reverent and worshipful fear means to be respectful and obedient, It means you will do what God says to do... Only when you do that; will your confidence and trust in Him begin to grow. Remember this... every time you put you own Mind, Ideas and Will aside to do what God asks you to do, you are growing and moving one step closer and deeper towards your confidence and trust in Him. Think about it.!! And you will notice something else that will happen. The more reverential fear and awe you have for God, the more careful, courteous and thankful you will be in your dealings with others,That is because you know that you are accountable to God for your actions and you recognise that other people are just as valuable to Him as you are. Solomon writes in (Ecclesiastes 12;13) Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the duty of all mankind.” also, in (Deuteronomy 10:12) Moses told the children of Israel “What does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the Lord your God. To walk in obedience to Him. Love Him. serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” It’s not complicated unless we make it that way by trying to split straws and manipulate God’s Word. That’s what some people do. Don’t let that be you. God says exactly what He means and means exactly what He says. There are no shortcuts or loopholes in God’s Word. There’s only one way to get to Our Father in Heaven and that is through Jesus.”Nobody comes to The Father except through Me “ said Jesus He has made a way narrow though the gate might be, it’s well lit by the Holy Spirit who also directs and straightens it for us. So, “taste and see that The Lord is Good.” Thank you for reading my thoughts on the “Fear of the Lord” I truly hope you accept and understand what I have attempted to bring to you this week. The full significance of this mystery is in the hands of our Creator, no one here on earth has all the answers, but God will give you more enlightment as you grow in faith trust and obedience to Him. God bless us all in Jesus name. Phaline. ------------------------

138. THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX. Matthew 9-13

Author Nicole Unice says the suspicions some people have about Christians are: “they judge me. They portray that they are better than I am. They don’t approve or accept me for who I am. They don’t appear to think I would fit into their religion. They are too serious and no fun to be with..” Jesus hung around enough parties for the Pharisees to accuse him of being a drunkard. He befriended forbidden women. He interacted with people so that He could introduce them to His Father. He broke through stereotypes and communicated God as He truly is – Approachable, Merciful and Graceful. The people who were most upset with Him… were the ones who preferred...the rules of the religion. .. The concept of a free and joyful life with Jesus may sound basic for you, but is that what your neighbours think? It feels as comfortable as sweatpants to hang out with people who believe and feel as we do, But there’s a job to be done! Fellowship among believers is a wonderful gift. But if we are truly to follow Jesus’ example, we need to look for opportunities to engage those around us. In the above Scripture Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do...Instead of offering sacrifices to me… be merciful to others.” Some Christians are so insulated from non believers that they have no meaningful interaction with them. And the more time passes, the more comfortable they become in that nice, cosy place where everyone thinks, acts and speaks the same way; Until eventually they lose touch with the very people Jesus came to save. So find common ground with (non believers) Gardening, fishing, running, keep fit classes etc. Look for an opportunity to tell them about Christ and what He has done for you. You don’t have to push it, just tell them, and allow God to do the rest. If they come back to you about your relationship with Jesus, that’s an indication that God is asking you to talk more about Him to them. Don’t rush it, be soft and gentle; pray privately for their conversation asking the Holy Spirit for more opportunities and guidance. You won’t have all the answers, but, with a gentle spirit, you can put them in touch with someone who can explain things more fully. To them. It’s called “Thinking outside the religious box.” There is a difference in loving non-believers and loving their ways. Paul says, in (1 Corinthians 9-22) “Find common ground with everyone, doing everything you can to save some.” So (1) be courteous Everything (you) say should be kind and well thought out. (Colossians 4-6) (2) Be genuine. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.” (Romans 12-9) Jesus found common ground (water) with the women at the well, and she made peace with God, See (John 4) Then she brought her family and friends to meet Jesus You have to spend time around Non-believers to tell them about Jesus. When Levi invited Jesus and His Disciples to his home as dinner guests along with Tax Collectors and other disreputable sinners, the Pharisees asked why. And Jesus said to them in (Mark 2-16-17) ”Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but those who are sick do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they have God’s approval.” Author Mark Robertson observes; At that time and even today in that part of the world, table fellowship signifies deep intimacy. To eat with someone is to share in their life and to allow them to share in yours. The Pharisees who were committed to the highest standards of ritual purity… expected Jesus to do as they did, keeping plenty of distance between themselves and these questionable types who might compromise Jesus’ holiness. But, Jesus never saw people as ‘less than’ He always treated people with dignity, regardless of how they treated Him. And He was never concerned with maintaining a religious facade. He ate with sinners, because they needed His help and were open to ask for and receive it How about you? Are you more concerned about what people think about you than you are about those who need Jesus. Think about this question, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you not just the ability, but the eagerness of spirit to talk about Jesus in your normal conversation. I do it this way, when I’m talking to a non-believer, I tell them about my very good friend who picks me up for church because I don’t drive. Then I drop into the conversation one of my aspects of faith, starting with something like “Oh my faith has helped so much when making decisions about my children’s education, or financial options, or with my teenagers. Look for opportunities, God will send them, and help you if you are sincere. Thank you for reading these few words on thinking outside the box. God bless, Phaline ​