Growing In Faith

What does it mean to grow in faith? Does it magically happen or does it take time and a multitude of trials for your faith to truly grow? Are you still trusting God fr the same things or have you stretched your faith and begun to trust him for the bigger things, even the things we see as impossible.

If what you are trusting God for lines up with His promises in the Holy Scriptures then there is no reason that God won't honour your needs, but be careful what you ask for, if you ask for more faith, expect to be tested and go through some difficult circumstances as faith does not come easily, it is not something we can go out and buy more of. It is a gift from God.

As is often said and very true, 'God won't give you more than you can handle' - providing you trust Him completely to bring you through every circumstance.

God allows the good and the bad to build our faith, it is often in the good times that we forget to thank God for his mercy ad grace, however we all to often come running when something bad happens.

God wants all of me and you, he wants us to spend just as much time with Him when things are going well and when things are not going our way.

Are you prepared to trust God during the seasons of drought in your life as well as the seasons of plenty?

What is Devotion?

'But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word' Acts 6:4 'And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful' Titus 3:14

The meaning of 'devotion' is - 'great love and loyalty, profound dedication and prayer'. Wow, does that stir you as much as it stirs me. When we think in terms of devoting our lives to God it's an awe inspiring definition, however when you think of it in terms of the amount of time we devote to time wasters it can become a rather scary thought.

You're life reflects your devotion regardless of what you are devoted to it will always shine through. We become like the people we spend the most time with, are we spending enough time with Jesus to reflect His love for us or do we look more like our earthly surroundings? We need to ensure that our devotion is regular, but we must strive to ensure that our devotion time with Jesus doesn't become "just" routine.

Our devotion time should be first thing in the morning that way we are prepared for anything the day may send our way. Our devotion times should also be quiet and alone, this can be hard for mothers of young children who wake early, however it still needs to be a priority to ensure we are godly role models for our children. God requires that we spend time in solitude reading His word and seeking His face by spending time in prayer daily.

I'll Pray For You

I'll pray for you or I'm praying for you are very common statements from many professing Christians. What I would like to know is what does it really mean? What does it mean to you when you say it to someone who is struggling with a situation in their life? What do you expect it to mean when someone says it to you when you are the one struggling with a situation in your life?

Do we really mean it, do we go home and get on our knees so to speak before God and honestly pray for Him to work in their life in their situation in a way only He can, or do we more often than not say it as a passing comment to avoid doing anything to really try and help.

I'm not saying that prayer is not important, as I believe it is a crucial aspect of a relationship with God. I think it is the attitude in which the statements “I'll pray for you” and “I'm praying for you” are said that is important. If it is said sincerely and acted upon accordingly then there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact I believe prayer is very important and having fellow believers who can pray with you and is very beneficial.

What will you do today?

Glorify God

Does the thought of living a life that is glorifying to God, fill you with so much joy and excitement that you are overflowing and about to burst with happiness? Or does it feel you with so much fear and trembling that you are too afraid to continue?

Colossians 3:16-17

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We have all been created with one purpose and that is to glorify God in all that we do. That means always giving our task at hand our full attention whether we like the task we are doing or not. It can be as simple as washing dishes, making our beds, doing some laundry, even going to work and church can become tasks that we just do because they are there to be done. But God requires more, He expects us to have a cheerful heart and to be glad that we are able to do such tasks.

Church however should not be a task, it should be somewhere we go to minster to others and to receive ministry. It is a very important part of life and without fellowship with other believers I believe that every other part of our lives begin to suffer.

We only get a very short amount of time here on earth to complete all that God has required of us. We therefore need to be focused on the things he has placed in our hearts and lives and not try to fill them with meaningless things.

Some people are called to be business people, others doctors, accountants, lawyers, teachers and Ministers, the list can go on and on. Some are called to be writers and speakers, or musicians. And then there are some who often feel that they are missing out or not giving there all, these are often the stay at home parents, who often don't have the latest and greatest things, often cannot afford fancy clothes or to buy a house.

However these people just like all the other people mentioned and those that haven't been mentioned, are just as important to and valued by God. Raising the future generation of this world is a very big task and not one to be taken lightly.

So as long as you are doing what God has called you to do and you know within your spirit and your heart that you are at the place He currently wants you, whether or not the sun is shining or the clouds are our, you can rest in the security of knowing your Lord and Saviour is in complete control and you have nothing to fear.

My quest for today is to make sure I stop and take time to confirm with God that I am where he wants me to be and then to thank him for all he has given me and all that is to come.

There is no season He hasn't planed and no circumstance He is not in control of.

Don't be afraid to dream big, as long as they are Gods dreams for your life here on earth!

Faith, Hope & Love

Where does our hope come from? Does it come from within oneself or is there someone or something bigger than us who we depend upon for all our needs? I believe this someone or something is our Heavenly Father and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is only by his grace that we can even have hope. But we need more than just hope, we need faith in the things unseen. Its not always easy to have faith in things that we cannot see, hear or touch, but that is why it is called faith!

Would life really be easier if you could talk and walk with God like you can with your friends here on earth? Would it make the heartache and the pain any more easy? Would it take away the joy of knowing that your Heavenly Father is looking down upon you? I believe it is easier knowing that when you leave this earth for eternity that you will finally meet the one who has taken care of you from before birth.

Family is such an important dynamic of our time here on earth and I think too often we take those people who are closest to us for granted. The reality is that we won't always have all our family here on earth, things happen, people pass away, time expires.

My challenge for today is to show someone you care, that they mean the world to you and that you love having them in your world.

God shows us everyday how much He loves us, all we have to do is open our eyes first thing in the morning and we can see a beautiful sunrise, hear birds chirping and feel the warmth of the sun as it shines brightly.

Hebrews 11:1,3

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen...By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ."

Proverbs 3-5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. "

Life Goes On

Apparently life is still continuing all around me...Well of course it is. For the past month my life has been in severe turmoil, as my mother has been in hospital and is now extremely ill. She went in to have some relatively routine tests that haven't happened due to her condition deteriorating so rapidly.

Despite all of this going on, life must continue as I have a 3 and a half month old and a husband to look after, not to mention the housework that needs doing an apparently as I have recently found out, you need to eat to keep functioning.

We have wonderful friends who have been only a phone call away, who have helped to keep us sane by cooking us meals, helping to clean our house and babysit our beautiful little boy.

There are days I wonder where God is in all of this as if you know my family it seems to be one drama after another, just when we seem to be getting over something another crises lands in our lives.

But God is a God of love, peace and mercy right, He wouldn't wish a bad thing to happen to one of his children, so it must be Satan causing all the bad things in life right? Wrong, we live in a fallen world, one with sin and sickness, hurt and pain. Sure there are times where I look at my life and I want to blame Satan for all that goes wrong but that would be immature of me to do so.

We all need God, we all need His love and grace and never ending mercy and thats just to get through the day let alone eternity. I know I wont and don't always understand why things happen the way they do and yes I can and do keep praying for miracles in my life and the lives of those I love, but sometimes God works in mysterious and wonderful ways that we don't always understand or like at the time of the events happening in our lives but does it mean that if we don't get the miracle or our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be that we will give up on God? I hope not, I know I won't.

God is bigger than any circumstance in our lives and he is the author and creator of the world and everything in it! He requires us to love him and serve him with all that we have.

I am willing and ready are you?