theotherjc Walking with God

Walk With God: Get The Word In

I am currently reading through the Bible and journalling thoughts, comments and notable verses as I read. It’s an interesting journey. Today included Psalm 86. Here is my paraphrase…

Preserve my life

Be gracious to me

Gladden my soul

You (God) are good and forgiving

You (God) abound in love

Give ear to my prayer

No works are like Yours

You (God) are great and do marvellous things

Teach me Your way

I give thanks to You

You (God) have delivered me

You (God) are slow to anger and abounding in love

Show me a sign

Show me Your favour

In my walk with God, as I take time to pause I have always been amazed and reassured how the perfectness of Gods word can bring encouragement to me every day. The simpleness of these statements make them even more powerful and when I speak them over my life I am giving them permission to change me.

Why not take these 4 words and use them to bring the word of God alive in your own reading.

PAUSE and wait on God. Reflect on the PERFECTNESS of His word for you right where you are. Acknowledge how POWERFUL those words are. Give them PERMISSION to work in you and through you throughout your day.

theotherjc Walking with God

Be Encouraged Today

favour-001

Haven’t posted for quite a while. Lots going on. More about the book stuff later.

Today I was encouraged by the simple power of the Word of God. It’s ability to speak straight to the heart. To remind us of the greatness of God and how much He is for us and not against us.

Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! [Psalm 90:17]

Favour. An act of kindness beyond what is due or usual. Yet it’s more than just the favour of a friend, this is the favour of God. The grace, mercy, kindness, goodness and unfailing love of God kind of favour.

Establish. To set up on a firm or permanent basis. Speaks of strength and being unmovable.

I took time to pray this verse over my day, my family, my future, my church, and my friends. Why wouldn’t you. To experience the favour of God over all aspects of life and to know that the work of my hands would be established.

What verse has spoken to you today?

theotherjc Christian, Devotional, God, Thoughts, Trust

What if God is For You, Not Against You

Yesterday at church I asked the congregation some questions, one of which could just change our life. After all, how we view God will either drive us ‘to’ Him or ‘away’ from Him.

Having spent the end of last year talking about the Kingdom – what it is, how it impacts us as believers – a bunch of what if questions have come to mind. What if the Kingdom stuff is actually true? What if Gods Word is really real? What if I lived as if I believed it?

What if God is for us and not against us? If we think God is against us then we may believe God is unjust, is waiting to judge us and that there is nothing we can do to improve the relationship. Because of this we can become driven by guilt, fear, resentment, anger, materialism and the need for approval.

If we can accept that what we know about God isn’t necessarily true then it opens up the possibility that God is for us. Then life gains new meaning, motivation and energy. We can know that God loves us, believes in us and has made the move Himself to restore the relationship.

The acceptance of this truth, according to Gods word, it can completely transform our life. It will shift us living just for the here and now, setting our minds on eternity instead.

theotherjc Attitude, Christian, Devotional, Faith, God

6 Ways to Speak to 2017

c333d6yehi0-aaron-burden“Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”” [Ezekiel‬ ‭37:4-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬]

2017 will bring all kinds of experiences and situations to our door. We cannot control what comes but we can control how we react to them and how we approach them.

We can make great decisions. We can remove distractions. We can build better friendships. But one thing has greater power. The power of life and death is in the words we speak. Don’t throw away phrases without a care. They make an difference.

So, let’s prophesy over it. Speak to those ‘dry bones’, those barren and dusty parts of your life. The power of life and death is in the words we speak. God created when he spoke. Don’t throw phrases out without a care. Speak carefully and thoughtfully over the next 12 months.

Speak love. 

Speak encouragement. 

Speak faith. 

Speak life. 

Speak the promises of God. 

Speak hope. 

Prophesy into the future. Speak the good things of God over you, your family and your future. When we do this I believe we set ourselves up for a God-filled, faith-filled, miracle-filled future.

theotherjc Bible Reading, Christian, Devotional, Faith, Trust

Going With It

The word for the day can sometimes be very apt…

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭ESV

Not that my day has been overly challenging but maybe for you it has been. You know, some days you just find yourself having to go with it.

A quiet, simple, normal day gets filled with noise, complication and the peculiar.

Which ever way your day went the important things is to remember those words of Jesus and not be anxious. It’s not easy but it is the best thing to do. Each day brings its own endeavours, best just trust God for what’s happening today.

I pray that in the midst of ‘whatever’ came your way today your walk with God stay strong.

theotherjc Attitude, Character, Christian, Focus, God, Maturity, Responsibility

Dig That Funk

You know, when you can’t quite put your finger on it but you just don’t seem your usual self. A few weeks ago you were flying and now you feel grounded. Nothing has really happened yet it kind of feels like something big has actually happened.

Here’s something you need to remember. We’ve all been there. We are either before pain, in pain or after pain.

It may not come naturally but at times like these this is what we have to do…

Take a hold of the Word of the God and get digging.

Grab on to the verses of truth that can become your guide through seemingly weird and wonderful days.

Remind yourself how Jesus told us that ‘He would never leave us or forsake us’.

Pin those words up so you see them every day.

Speak those verses over you and your household every day and take that small step of faith.

God has given us everything we need to navigate all the different avenues life may take us down. We just have to remember. It probably won’t be with angelic voices that we hear from God, I doubt it will be through writing on the wall or a prophet turning up at your door. From experience it comes from His word, full of all its power, light, wisdom and truth. Sometimes comforting, other times challenging, yet all the time it is what we need.

Go dig the funk.

Let the word of God be ‘a lamp to your feet and a light to your path’. In faith let God lead you and allow God to handle whatever it is.

theotherjc Bible Reading, God, Inspiration, Thoughts

How Was It For You?

So we have just completed 90 days of reading the Bible. How was it for you? Did you manage to stay the course?

One thing I have learnt from reading the Bible is that as well as ticking off the days worth of scriptures, I MUST give some time to reflecting on what I have read. Maybe these questions will help…

Which scriptures have jumped out at me?
What questions do I have after all that I have read?
Where do I want to spend more time digging a little deeper?
How have I been challenged & how will I respond?

Tell us your story. What has God been saying to you…

theotherjc Bible Reading, God, Inspiration, Thoughts

A Lifetime Guarantee

No matter how good we are on our best day, we will probably still let someone down at some point.
No matter how hard careful we are our reputation may still waver & change.

Here’s the incredible truth:

‘God’s reputation is twenty-four carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree’ [Psalm 19:9]

Knowing that builds confidence.
Knowing that gives me encouragement.
It tells me that God is on my side.
It tells me that even when I mess up, break down or just don’t work in the way that I should…the guarantee still stands. God’s thoughts toward me don’t change.

In fact if you read the next verses the value of God’s word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds…it’s better than strawberries…it warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.

Not sure about you but I’ll hold onto that lifetime guarantee and live thankful that God never changes.