Change

When we let God take our messes and turn them into miracles, the Father has the ability to use our mistakes for our good if we will only trust Him. 

Isaiah 61:3 says He will give us "beauty instead of ashes," but I find that many people want to hold on to their ashes, the cinders of the past, as reminders of their shortcomings and failures. 

I encourage you to let go of your ashes and reach for something new. 

Too many people live in the past, feeling like they'll never have another chance. Do you need a second chance? Ask God for a second chance or a third, fourth or fifth, whatever you need. God is full of mercy and long-suffering. His loving-kindness never fails or comes to an end. 

The Bible says that He has removed your transgressions from you, so you don't have to hang on to them anymore. Jesus came to lift burdens, but you must be willing to let them go and believe He is greater than your mistakes. Give Him your ashes today.

Experience a New Beginning. The Bible is filled with stories about people who experienced new beginnings. Moses became a leader after being a shepherd for 40 years. Paul hated Christ until God renewed him and made him the greatest apostle of all time.

When we receive Jesus as our Savior, it is the ultimate new beginning. We become new creatures with an opportunity to learn a new way of living. But the first step to experiencing that new life is believing that it's available to you.

Ephesians 4:23 says we must be constantly renewed in our minds and attitudes.

It's easy to read about great people in the Bible and think that you are nothing like them, but when you start to think that, you need to renew your mind right away. Choose to think according to God's Word, not how you feel. Receive His love and experience a new beginning. Life will become so much sweeter if you live with an attitude that says "God is completely changing me from the inside out. He's giving me a new beginning and there are greater things ahead."

Be generous and Cheerful

Be Generous and Cheerful As Christians, we should be generous people, giving whatever we can whenever we can. And that doesn't just mean money, we can give help, encouragement, time, talents and forgiveness.

This means we can't let selfishness get in the way.

A lot of people are stingy, clinging to what they have and afraid to give it up. Others aren't stingy in their actions, but they are stingy in their hearts, giving because they feel obligated, not because they really want to.

But this isn't the way God calls us to give. Second Corinthians 9:7 tells us, "God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, 'prompt to do it') giver whose heart is in his giving."

If you think about it, when we give our lives to God, everything we have is His anyway, it no longer belongs to us.

 We should be givers, using our resources the way He wants us to. Give cheerfully today. It pleases God, and those who give cheerfully are happy, fulfilled, and highly effective.

We often think of trusting God for things we need or want, but a true relationship of trust in God extends beyond trusting Him just to get something. We need to learn to trust Him through the process of attaining those things we desire.

 There was a time in my life when I focused intensely on trusting God for things, saying, 'I want this, God,' and 'I need such-and-such, God.' He began to show me that getting all those things was not the most important issue in my life. He wanted to teach me how to trust Him enough to walk through situations with stability and with a good attitude on a consistent basis.

He needed me to learn that He may not always rescue us when we want to get out of circumstances, but He is always with us as we walk through them. God does not always deliver us from everything when we think He should, but He is always with us. Today, instead of focusing on just the end result, realize that God is with you now. He is near to you, so trust Him to walk with you.

I believe that trusting in Him will free our hearts of so many things,  allowing us to truly be cheerful. And in doing so with a generous heart we can wholeheartedly be generous and cheerful as God intended.

A pheasant in the garden

This morning we were very lucky to have a pair of pheasants in the garden. The strange thing here is that the male was calling out, almost with distress, whilst jumping back and forth between ours and next doors garden.

Many years ago (around 5) we lost our friend Dick to cancer. Dick was a great man and a great friend. Living next door to him was fantastic, he was great at woodwork, gardening and general maintenance.  One thing he loved though was nature.

Every so often, but mainly winter, he would see a mating pair of pheasants walking up and down the garden.  His response was to feed them.

With this in mind it made me wonder about the pheasants we saw. Are they the same ones, come back to feeding especially in this horrid weather we've been having?  Or their descendants?

I'm aware of genetic memory amongst animals as well as within humans. Could this be what brought them back? I can only assume; if they are the same animal they've come back for more and their call was a call for food and help. Or that the genetic memory has kicked in to also suggest that this location will find a good food supply in troubled times.

This got me thinking about homecomings and where you feel safe within yourself.  Somewhere you feel comfortable.

The last few months I have found going to church difficult for one reason or another.
 The two main reasons are:
Some churches I find difficult worshipping in due to a style that feels right.
AND
I get the boys at 10 so getting to a service on time is extremely difficult.

Watching these pheasants reminded me of a church I use to attend to. Loved it and only started at 11 which fitted with the boys. But it but was only open fortnightly and I felt I needed a lore consistent home. I thought about going there so prayed on it and found these verses

Genesis 28:15

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Mark 5:19

And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.

On these verses I decided to take a leaf out of the pheasants book and head home for some feeding.  I messaged a friend there who said its now on weekly......this made my day.

Sometimes we need to go to a place of comfort, return and be fed. I'll let you know how I get on.