Set My People Free

This song is amazing!!

I once was a captive heart
Crying out like a fire alarm
Then grace rescued me
You never stopped ‘til I was found
You never tire of calling out
This love is everything

After all You’ve done in me
I will be Your hands and feet
Follow where You will lead
As You say

Set My people free
Go into the world, every boy and girl
Deserves to know a life far beyond the fight
And reach where there’s no light or hope
So the captives know
And My enemies can see that I will
Set My people free
Set My people free

Who will listen if I can’t speak
I’ll never move a mountain with arms so weak
With one word You can make them fall
You go before me now
Your faithfulness destroys the doubt
Your strength is fire to my soul

After all You’ve done in me
I will be Your hands and feet
Follow where You will lead
As You say

Set My people free
Go into the world, every boy and girl
Deserves to know a life far beyond the fight
And reach where there’s no light or hope
So the captives know
And My enemies can see that I will
Set My people free
Set My people free

There’s no weapon that will stand against the power I have given You
No army that can stand between the prisoner and the truth when You say
Set My people free, set My people free

Set My people free
Go into the world, every boy and girl
Deserves to know a life far beyond the fight
And reach where there’s no light or hope
So the captives know
And My enemies can see that I will
Set My people free
Set My people free

God Bless. ❤

Don’t just preach it.

It is so vital in our walk with Christ to remember to practice what we preach. People will often watch us in the way we behave, speak, act, react, love and live our lives before they even give what we have to say a chance. Be a light in this world, and let it shine bright.

Judgement Day.

I read this the other day, and it has such incredible words and gives a powerful image. I hope it makes a difference in the way you see your relationships and the conversations you have with your friends and family. God Bless.

Love..

Corinthians 13:13 ‘Three things will last forever -faith, hope and love- and the greatest of these is love.

Love comes in many different forms throughout our lives. Love for family, for friends, for pets, for beloveds and there’s one more, one
many people probably find the hardest- self love.

What does it mean to self love? Self love is to love yourself for who you are- the great, the wonderful, the good and the not so good parts of you. It’s about looking after yourself and loving yourself- respecting yourself. 

It sounds so simple doesn’t it? It’s probably the hardest thing for me to do right. Every day I look in the mirror and point out my imperfections, all the things I would change about myself. I put these unrealistic expectations on myself about how I should look and how I should act, only setting myself up for failure which makes loving myself so much harder.

I put myself down, I criticise myself and it not only affects myself- it affects those around me and the relationships I have, especially with those close to me. When I fail to love myself- I lose sight of how anybody else could love me. I don’t let them in, I’m a closed book, most chapters unread, untold and untouched. It’s difficult for me to let people in because I’m afraid they won’t accept me for who I am.

Some days are easier to change my direction of thoughts than others. It’s important to remember that the devil attacks us when we are weak and vulnerable. As hard as it can be and as hard as I find it, I make myself stop and pray, asking God to strengthen me to turn off from the devil. We were made perfect in God’s image, He is the Potter and we are the clay. Psalm 139:13 ‘For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.’ Never forget it, I remind myself everyday. Yes I stumble, I’m not perfect, I don’t look perfect, my life isn’t perfect, but it certainly isn’t going to get any better with me just complaining about myself and that I wish I were different. Nothings going to change if I don’t make the change myself- no one else can do it for you. But don’t think you have to do it alone because ‘Through Christ, all things are possible!’ You are never alone, no matter what situation or circumstance you’ve found yourself in. God is always far bigger and far greater than any problem we are facing.

God is Love… and Love is real. You were fearfully & oh so wonderfully made.  (Psalm 139:14) 

God’s love for us is even stronger than death, and nothing can separate us from God’s love.
God’s love is sacrificial. (John 3:16)
God’s love lasts forever. (Psalm 136:1)
Love is priceless. Song of Solomon 8:7 ‘Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.

Love
…is patient
…is kind
…it does not envy
…it does not boast
…it is not proud
…it is not rude
…it is not self-seeking
…it is not easily angered
…keeps no record of wrongs
…does not delight in evil
…rejoices with the truth
…always protects
…always trusts
…always hopes
…always perseveres
…never fails
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Yesterday, He loved you.
Today, He loves you.
Tomorrow, He will love you.
Nothing will change.
Hebrews 13:8

Love yourself, love others, but most importantly Love God. Matthew 22:37-39 ‘Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it : “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’

If you find it difficult to love yourself, or those around you, pray to God, talk to Him and meditate on His word. Learn to love in a Godly way. Accept yourself and those who surround you, despite all their differences. For you were all created by God, in God’s image.

Have a blessed day. ❤ 

New Years Resolution, 2014.

I want to be healthier, I want to do more exercise, I want to read my Bible more, I want to grow in a relationship with God. Aren’t these the typical New Years Resolution people make for themselves each year? How many people succeed? How many people fail? Do you wait for someone else to make it happen for you, or do you do it yourself?

I went to a church service in Port Augusta while on holidays visiting family. The pastor spoke about New Years Resolution. He spoke about that if we are to set a New Years Resolution, it must be us to change our attitudes and our ways if we want to achieve that goal. We can get all inspirational and motivational at the beginning of the year and set goals for ourselves and write up a plan on how we’re going to achieve those goals, but unless you decide you’re going to do something about it, you’ll set yourself up for failure.

While driving another 400km and looking over the land, my New Years Resolution is, ‘to be more thankful’. I often take things for granted, and travelling over 1000km’s across Australia, I still missed it. But looking now going down the long stretch of highway, running along both sides is such beauty. Untouched and created in His perfect image. How I missed it I’ll never know. The colours, the shapes, the blues and the greens, it’s beautiful.

2014 is the year for thankfulness and to be grateful for everything my Lord has blessed me with. I will thank Him through my victories, and thank Him in my trials, no matter the cost.

May I always be thankful for:
•The clothes on my back, for there are so many people out there who don’t have the privilege of putting on a warm jumper on a cold winters day.
•The family and friends around me, although there are some days they might drive me crazy, there are some people who have no one and long to be able to talk to someone, find comfort and strength and a friend.
•The food in my house. I may not like what food’s been put infront of me, but some people have no choice but to go without.
•The education I receive. There are many out there who would long to be able to buy a school uniform and attend school like many other children. Even though it can be a drag, I pray that I continuously remind myself of just how lucky I am to have education, which allows me to have a strong career for the years ahead of me.
•The roof over my head. Although it will mean money will be tight for a few years, I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to buy a new house with my partner and to be able to make it a home and make it our own. Some days may be hard, but we are extremely blessed to have a roof over our head.

No matter what the situation may be, I pray that I am thankful. For through every triumph or failure or trial, God is my strength and He is mine forever.

Although I am a failure, He is my forgiver.
Although I am a sinner, He is my Saviour.
Although I am broken, He is my healer.
I am His child, and He is my God.

May your New Years Resolution be true to who you are, and may it be realistic. Remember, it’s yours, no one else’s, only you can make it happen.

God Bless. ♥

Trusting God.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. -Proverbs 3:5 

It really is simple, just like the psalmist, we can say, “Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law; yes, I will observe it with my whole heart (Psalm 119:34). However, we must ask God to show us what to do, and then we must not question it when He reveals it to us.

 -trusting God through the hard times.
Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear or dread no evil, for You are with me. -Psalm 23:4

A true relationship of trust in God extends beyond trusting Him for something and includes trusting Him through a situation. God wants us to know that He may not always rescue us when we want out of circumstances, but He is always with us as we walk through them. Because we are blessed by knowing that God is with us, we can have confidence that we can go through trials in our lives with stable, positive attitudes, trusting God whole-heartedly, even through trials which seem impossible to overcome. We must trust Him through all circumstances; financial situations, relationships, education, and the future ahead of us which is full of the unknowns. Unknown trials the enemy will try and defeat us through, unknown financial struggles and even unknown joyful moments and experiences. But no matter what unknown it is we must trust in God whole-heartedly.

-trusting when we don’t understand
[…though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him…] -Job 13:15 

If we always understand, we would have no need to trust Him. It really opened my eyes when I read that- it’s so true! Trust is having a firm reliance on the strength, integrity and ability. We have to become comfortable in our lives with unanswered questions- we can’t always know everything. Job was a man in the Bible who had every reason to question God, but he made the decision to trust God anyway. When I first started reading the book of Job it inspired me to look at the situations in my life- the loss of loved ones, the trials society throws at you and the standards and expectations people place ahead of you. It showed me that even when I’m at my lowest, there’s still hope. There’s always hope.

Losing loved ones is the hardest thing to go through- and even harder to trust God through. For months I questioned God, I was angry and I refused to allow Him into my life. Slowly I started to understand that without God, I couldn’t even truly experience the joy of His love and presence in my life. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.’ When we call upon God through the situations we find the hardest to step out and trust Him, it’s those times that we are witnesses to people around us of the strength and comfort we receive from God. There’s no doubt I still don’t struggle with the loss and miss them terribly. But when I stop to take the time to have quiet time alone with God, I grow stronger in our relationship as I learn that it’s through Him and His grace that I can depend on for my strength and growth. 

Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future.

God Bless.

You are good enough. ♥

Rock bottom wasn’t actually rock bottom. That trial, that challenge you struggled with last week. You realised it was only the beginning. The exhaustion you feel everyday- you’re tired because it’s hard trying to reach others standards they have for you. You’re tired of feeling like you can’t seem to get it right. That habit you conquered last week, you caved in yesterday. That thought, that attack of the mind, you can’t seem to get it out of your head- it sits there in the back of your mind, tricking you, and lying to you and making you believe less of yourself.

You’re not alone.

Many people- even Christians, throughout their walk, don’t seem to realise that they can refuse to listen to that voice. That voice that puts them down, that voice that makes them feel weak, that voice that continues to put doubt in their mind. It’s important to remember though; that Satan comes against everyone, you are not alone.

Everyone knows that life is a struggle. The devil is determined to defeat and destroy us (John 10:10). We don’t ever reach the place when we never have to fight, although sometimes I’m sure we all wish we could. But, Jesus is not only with us, but He is for us!! He’s at our side to strengthen us and to urge us onwards, forever and always! (Philippians 4:13). Always be seeking out for more in your relationship with Him.

It’s easy to forget when we’re going through a rough time, but God has a wonderful plan for each of us, but it never comes with just one major victory, so that we never struggle again. It frightens some people and can put people off a relationship with God, but when we give our lives over to God, putting at His feet all our cares and worries, we have to remember that it’s an ongoing warfare, and we must remain vigilant and be aware of the attacks of the enemy.

Remember that you don’t have to win the battle; because Jesus has already gained victory over Satan. Satan has no power over us or God, the God of peace will soon crush him under your feet! (Romans 16:20). You are God’s child, born of Him, Satan cannot touch you! (1 John 5:8). When you feel as though it is all too hard, and everything feels like its breaking, remember that it’s through those cracks and breaks that allows the almighty God to shine through. His strength is made perfect in your weakness! And whenever you feel like you’re not good enough, remember; His goodness makes you good enough!!

God Bless. ♥