Be Repositioned

 Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. When going through a tough time, it may feel as though you are alone,  and nobody understands,  and nobody cares. But there is someone who truly cares and who is always there, that is our Heavenly Father. He is so close to us that He sees and feels what we go through. It doesn't mean that because  He allowed you to go through a rough situation then it means He doesn't care or that He is not there. The verse today shows us a picture that is actually the opposite, that He is close to the brokenhearted. Remember,  He already said He will never leave nor forsake us, this even in the difficult times, He is there. Just reach out to Him and receive your comfort. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, He is there to help. When you look at bible stories, we see that indeed God does allow good people to  go through a tough time, whilst He is there with ...

 John 15:12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. This is a commandment that we are given, to love one another. This applies to everyone, people you know and those you don't. People you like and those you don't. This is because God is love (1 John 4) and it is in His character that He loves so much. Hence, as His children, He needs us to display the same love He extends to us, to others, so that they may know that we belong to Him and are His children. It may not be easy to love strangers, people that are mean and rude, but only through the Holy Spirit who lives in us (1 John 4:4), who is able to help us with this task. Like Matthew 7:7 says, ask and it shall be given to you. If loving those that are difficult in your life is a problem, then ask God to help you to do so, so that from your side, you do as God says and not return evil with evil.

 Romans 10:9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation is all so important, as it is something we need to seek and find whilst we are still here on earth. It will be too late to consider that once the Lord has taken us from the earth, as by then we will then have to account. Hence, we all need to confess and declare, and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, that He died on the cross and was raised again. This as an act to save us from the sin we inherited from the garden of Eden. It is therefore, important that we welcome Him into our hearts, to rule and reign, as our Lord. That we surrender our lives to Him, to partner with Him for the sake of the kingdom of God. May we never take this for granted and may we ensure that we are in right standing with the Lord, when it comes to this, whilst there's still time. The Lord will welcome you with open arms, forgive you of all your sins and cleans...

 Ephesians 3:16 I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. What we need to realize is that God is unlimited, He has unlimited resources as He owns everything. The earth belongs to Him. With this in mind, when  we ask Him, we don't ask with a mindset of possibly being too much for Him, or causing frustration  for Him, infact, He wants us to ask for big things so that He can show His power and  get the glory. This verse shows us that even when it comes to our needs, our shortfalls , we are to ask Him to help us, empower us and fill us with His Holy Spirit who is able to do all things. Philippians  4:13 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens  us. Therefore, we should never look down on ourselves and our abilities, instead, we must tap into  the strength  that God wants to give us. Let us change our mindsets, and see God as a Father that is capable of ever...

 Psalm 105:1 Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Let the whole world know what He has done, a beautiful instruction! This is the least we can do, for all the things that the Lord has done for us, to show our gratitude, to give thanks to Him, to proclaim His name and let others know, so that they may be saved as well and enjoy the lovely relationship we have with our Father. One thing I'm scared of, is to take the glory for myself on things the Lord has done for me. This is quite common for those who don't have the relationship and revelation of the Lord as yet. They think the things they are able to do and achieve, is because of their own strength, ability and power. When actually, at times, it is the grace of God. However, what they do, tends to be short-lived , and then they get surprised on what went wrong. Personally, I could never live without the presence, love and mercy of our Heavenly Father. I'm too weak, t...

 Ephesians 5:1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. We are encouraged to reflect characters of our Heavenly Father in our daily walk. And this is precisely why God sent Jesus to earth, in a human form, so that we may relate to Him and learn from Him, so that we can follow on His footsteps. Jesus came to be our model, our example of how we should live and approach life. He came to feel the same things we do, experience the same things we do, and despite all of that, still remain grounded and humbled. This is possible for us too, to find ourselves in a chaotic and stormy world, but still remain true to ourselves and still value doing the right thing, even when everyone else is doing the wrong thing.  There are a lot of things we can learn from Jesus that we can aspire and work towards implementing in our daily life. The approach of kindness, despite people being rude to you. Being generous, even when you don't have much yourself. Being...

 James 1:12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. Wow, there is a crown of life waiting for us, on the other end of the trials we go through! This message seeks to strengthen  us in the Lord, so that we don't give-in and give-up, but to embrace the process that is full of trials and  tribulations. It seeks to remind us that life is not meant to just be smooth sailing, but to have some hiccups that are meant to teach and strengthen us. What I've learned, is that with God, He teaches and strengthens  us by practice. Not only by word, but by also going through something in order to benefit on the other end. Like for example, if you need strength, He'll put you through a challenging situation, where the resultant will be you having renewed  strength after having gone through a difficulty. This verse tells us that these trials are giving us endurance. F...

 1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. The bible shows us how much God loves us, such that He sent His Beloved Son to go to the cross on our behalf. This signifying the great love He has for us. Thus, b ecause  of His great love for us, we feel compelled to love Him back. This is where He points us to the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us, that sum-up the 10 commandments that were written by Moses. This is found in Matthew 22:37-38 that says: " Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Which is why today's verse, we are urged to love one another, as God has loved us. This will be a natural flow, through us; as in our strength, we could not do it. Romans 13:10 says: " Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements ...

 Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. This is awesome! God has the ability to place desires in our hearts, that would put us in alignment with His plans for our lives! It is a great relief, especially if your desire is to please Him and to do that which He has called you to do. This means, what you feel strongly about, that  you feel passionate about and want to do something about it, it could be God guiding you on the path He is leading you. With this in mind, it means we must be open to the Holy Spirit to work in us, to guide us according to His plans; thus,  not to be fixated on our initial plans for our lives, but to be flexible to change and embrace the new. This, remembering Jeremiah 29:11 that His plans are for our good (not evil); thus, it's ok to have our initial plan changed towards the new desire that we may feel in our hearts! Also, to be careful not to allow the external forces to keep us stub...

 Psalm 68:19 Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior! For each day He carries us in His arms.  Indeed, let us praise His name, He deserves the honour and the glory! He carries us each and every day. We may not see it sometimes, but He is there carrying us, making a way and protecting us. A lot is happening  in the spirit, and as His children, we are the main target for the enemy and thus, the plots and schemes do form and we see them manifest in the physical, in different forms including sickness, things going wrong, financial drain etc. All these starts in the  spirit, which is why we need to connect   ourselves to  the Lord, who sees all and knows all. He is able to shield  us from trouble. Psalm 91 gives us that picture of protection from the Lord, from all these things that manifest in the physical . But we shall not fear, because in verse 11 and 12, God tells us that He has discharged His angels to encamp around us, which gives us a clear picture o...

 Romans 8:6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. This is one of the harsh truths, where God is showing us the cause of the end results. That when we let our flesh, our sinful nature to control our minds, we will be led astray which will end up in death (the second death); but when we allow the Spirit of God to control our minds, we will have life in eternity and peace. This is critical  as our actions follows what our minds say, if they are not aligned with the word of the Lord, we will be walking in darkness. Thus, we need to train our minds to think things that are proper and pleasing to the  Lord. We are guided on this by the book of Philippians 4:8 that says: " And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." This is...

 Psalm 23:3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name. Hallelujah, glory to God! We praise His name for our great Shepherd, who laid down His life for us, who continues to guide us and strengthens us. The life we live, is so busy, on top of that, we know  that the enemy is working  hard to wear us out so that we are not about our Father's business, but through Christ Jesus, who is our Shepherd, we are strengthened! Believe and receive this truth. I'm grateful that we are guided on which path we should take, every  step of the way  in this journey . That is comforting as it is easy to make a mistake, but with God on our side, we are sure to walk on the right path. Should we fall and take a wrong one, He will work it out, so that in the end, that mistake will work in our favour. It is the same as the GPS, if you take the wrong turn, it recalculates from where you are, and get you back on the right path. It is the same with u...

 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. Our Heavenly  Father deserves all the praise we can give, because of who He is.  He is so loving, merciful, faithful , protective, forgiving and so much more. This verse even reminds us that He comforts us when we are in trouble, He comes and bring comfort in time of need. He has been teaching me not to despise the trials and troubles, as not only are they strengthening  me and shaping my character, but to give me a taste  of what He would like me to comfort others  with. Whatever difficulty you may go through, don't be hard on yourself , it's not you or about you, but it's about those that God would want to touch their lives through you. He's allowing you to experien...

 Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Jesus understands the challenges we face in life, all of them, because God sent Him in a form of human being,  and He lived the life we live. So,  He knows that at times we will be weary, that the life  activities and challenges, will wear us out. For this, He calls us to bring those burdens, those worries and anxious thoughts to Him, so that He can give us rest. I personally need His rest and I'm drawing nearer to Him to do that for me. Should you be in the same boat, don't act tough, but be vulnerable with our Lord and surrender all to Him, in exchange for His rest.  This won't mean you are ignorant to the problem or the issues that are burdening you, but you recognize that you cannot  do it on your own. That you do need help, supernatural help! You will then see the peace that surpasses all understanding ( according  to the book o...

 Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. This is such a wonderful revelation that we are God's masterpieces! Just as we are! When you think about it, when God created each one of us, there was no way He created one of us and recognized it as a below-average job. This is confirmed in the book of Genesis 1 that after every creation that God made, in each day, He would commend Himself that "it was good". With every creation, God made it to perfection and that includes us. Thus, we are masterpieces and that's exactly how we are supposed to see ourselves.  Furthermore, we have a purpose. This verse reminds us that He created us to do GOOD THINGS that He planned for us long ago. It is a matter of waking up to that reality and aligning ourselves with His plans of us achieving great things. It is a reminder that we are not here by mistake but by His grace and as per His plans...

 John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. We can be comforted that the light that we receive from our Heavenly Father, can never be extinguished by the dark forces . God has blessed us with His light, wherever we go, we can never  stumble but are clear and can be secured in His presence and protection. The moment you receive Christ Jesus as your Lord, that was when you entered the kingdom of light, the kingdom of life. This was also when the Lord shared His light with you so that you may be Hs light in the areas that you find yourself in. Matthew 5:14 says: " You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. " The light on the hilltop  indicates that the light is put on display, to ensure that everyone has light. May we recognize that as the children of God, we have been made to be light in the world, so that we can help those that are in darkness. God's will is for all His children to have light in ...

 James 5:13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. God is calling on us not to be passive, but to recognize that there's always something we can do on our side, every time . Whether in bad times or good, there is something we can do to connect with God. When going through hardships , we are called to call on Him (Jeremiah 33:3, Philippians 4:6), let our requests and troubles be known to Him and ask for His deliverance and mercy. He hears us and He sure will provide assistance. Also, when things are going well, must we never distance ourselves from Him, thinking that we are alright and don't need Him, because that would be a big mistake. This is when we can fall into the  temptation  of the enemy and mess up, thinking that we know better. We need to realize that those happy times, are as a result of His grace. Which is why we ought to celebrate with our Father by singing praises to Him. We need to acknowledge Him...

 Hebrews 13:16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. When you have been on the receiving end, where you were in serious need and a neighbour, friend, family member or even a stranger came to your rescue, you will never underestimate this request from the Lord, to do good to others and share with those in need. I was exposed to this notion in my childhood and that has shaped my frame of mind when it comes to giving. Many people contributed to my upbringing, directly and indirectly,  which was a huge blessing to me. The joy it brought, is priceless. Hence this verse makes me realize the importance of also playing the similar role to others, only God knows the needs of the recipient  and at times, He may be using you to be an answered prayer to that recipient. Which is why, we must never dismiss, reason out that urge to give someone, that is the Holy Spirit guiding you the person that He would like to bless thr...

 Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. We need to realize that our thoughts matter , they influence how we show-up. We are encouraged not to think of negativity, things that are worrying us and what we don't like, but we are told to focus on the good things. Things that have value and that are encouraging and pushing  us forward. Things of excellence, things that are pure, that are  praiseworthy . Things that are lovely and right. This should be our position, what we allow in our minds. It is important that we decide not to allow  the enemy to have a playground in our minds, which can lead us to depression and stagnation, but to be deliberate to allow our minds to be used by the Lord to create wonderful things here on earth. He is the One behind the wonderful ideas that we come up ...

 Psalm 133:1 How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! God desires for us to live in peace and harmony, with everyone. This links with one of the two important  commandments that Jesus gave us, which is to love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). If we follow this command, it might be slightly easier to live in harmony with one another. We must realize that quarrels  and constant strife in relations, are not coming from the kingdom of God, but certainly from the kingdom of darkness which seeks to destroy peace  in people's lives. John 10:10 clearly tells us that the enemy came to steal, destroy and kill. All these are negative and destructive, which is why disagreements , fights, anger, exchange of words, are as a result of the seed planted by the enemy do destroy harmony and peace. It is up to us to recognize this and start rebuking it in the name of Jesus. Jesus has already given us the  authority;  we have the ...

 Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. This is a powerful truth, that we ought to know and never forget. This is actually a game-changer, that we have the Spirit that is so powerful, that was able to raise Jesus from the dead, imagine! This means, in our lives the areas that we feel needs to be resurrected, can be resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit that  is already in us! Which is why this verse says, the Holy Spirit will give us life in our mortal bodies. This reminds me that the bible says in Matthew 7:7 that we should ask,  and it will be given to us. Therefore, where we have areas that are not aligned with the life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10), then we need to ask the Lord to resurrect it by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us! This saddens me that many people, live and p...

 Philippians 2:3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. This is very important. We have learnt from Jesus that we ought to be selfless  and considering  others and their needs, in order to help where we possibly can. This links up with the verse that tells us to do good for others, for in due season, we will reap a harvest (Galatians 6:9). Also,  a verse that tells us that blessed is the hand that gives than the one that receives (Acts 20:35). These shows us that we need not be selfish, but to be considerate of others. On a personal note, I have learned that the  moment I step out of my own worries and think of ways to be a blessing to others, I find my problems resolved. This showing that when I'm busy with kingdom work, that which pleases God, He in turn helps me  with the issues I had been facing. Secondly, we are told not to impress others but to be humble. This helps us from staying away ...

 Amos 5:24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. We must  never forget that God is the judge, of everyone, both the unrighteous and the righteous. For us is to make sure that we are found  to be faultless or blameless. We may get worried that we may have done something that was not pleasing to the Lord, without knowing, but we must remember that the Lord looks at the heart, to determine the intentions. The unrighteous do bad things to innocent  people on purpose, to cause harm or pain, God does not take this lightly. However, should you have wronged someone about something that  you didn't mean to, or didn't realize that it was going to cause harm, God is merciful and is able to forgive. Also, He gives a second chance when we repent, when we go to Him and recognize our fault and ask for forgiveness, have a change of heart to do better the next time. He is full of mercy that He would understand. May we try by all ...

 Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. It is comforting to know that in the end, what will happen, is the will of God. We may have our plans, strategize  and set plans in motion, but if it's not aligned with the will of God, it will not be. It may be disappointing  when that happens, however, what we know for sure, is that God loves us,  and He has our best interest at heart. Hence, His plans are for our good, not to harm us, or for evil, but they are for our good (Jeremiah 29:11). This tells us that God will lead us to His plans, which we can be sure that they are excellent and that they are not short-sighted but  have a  long-term  positive effect as well. May we never be despondent , but to trust Him with what happens, that He has given it the green light. The bible tells us that He closes and opens doors; so should He close a door that you were banking on, know that there's a bigger, bett...

 Psalm 59:16 But as for me, I will sing about Your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about Your unfailing love. For You have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. We don't have to wait until all is smooth and we don't have problems anymore. Where we are, there's a lot to be grateful for, that we can  give God praise for. His never-ending, unfailing love is a good start that should always be in our minds always. Where we have what we prayed for or not yet, the fact that He is God, sitting on His throne , above all other kingdoms, is a reason to have hope and rejoice that He is in control. Him being in control gives us peace, as He's already told us that He loves us, He will never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). We are alive because He is our refuge, our hiding place. He is our protector that we can always run to, when the storm rages on. Psalm 91 tells us that we shall not be afraid when there's problems everywhere. Let us hold on t...

 Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. This is the word of the Lord, His instructions to His children. I think I get it now. It's like, when you have children of your own, and you want them to do good and excel  in everything they do, you will obviously help them set goals that would stretch them a bit, so that when they achieve those, they'll be on a league of their own. Marvelous . It's the same with God, He wants His children to stand out, to be different from the rest, to do better and shine their light. In order for this to be visible, He says as His children, we must love our enemies, do good  to those who hate us and bless those who curse us. The total opposite of how the world views this. And that is the difference. If you are wondering why, there's an answer in Luke 6:32 which says: “If you love only those who love you, why should y...