Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart; do not depend on your understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 Have you ever made plans, worked out every detail and none of it happened? You thought it would happen one way and it happens in a way so different to what you thought. We work things out with our small thinking, we figure it all out in our intellect, but God’s ways are so much higher than ours. He has a million ways to get the answer to you, it is never the way you thought he would. Do not waste your time trying to work it out. Trust God that he will get it to you. He has the answers. So, leave the how-to, to him. He will show you the first step, once you have completed that step, then he will show you the next step. He will never show you the whole plan. The first step could take you years to do, like getting your teaching degree. There will be no need to know the second step till you graduate. Our Christian walk takes a lot of patience and trust. So, sit back, relax, and let God take the driver's seat. You will reach your destination and be greatly amazed by how you got there! Scripture Reference: Proverbs 3:5-7 Amp. Isaiah 55:8-9 KEEP THE RIGHT ATTITUDE WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

As a child, you spend most of these years only being able to see people’s knees. You never see the kitchen tops or even the top of people’s heads. It is a limited view. But if your mom or dad picks you up, then what you can see is greatly improved. You can now see everything around you, your vision becomes so much clearer. My friend, it is the same for us, our view is limited if we just look around us. We can sometimes only see problems and obstacles. It feels like the walls are caving in. But if we focus on Jesus, by casting all our cares onto him, our view of life can be so much better and brighter. We can have confidence that our life will improve because God is on our side. He is carrying us and leading us through our problems. Do not limit your view to your little world. Live your life with God by your side, look at it from his viewpoint and not yours. Believe that all things are possible and that your life is getting better every day. Scripture References Matthew 6:31-34 Psalms 86:7 Turn your dreams into goals, and let God help you fulfil them.

When it is the darkest part of your night, which songs are you singing? Are you singing woe is me you have done me a wrong song? Do you keep meditating on your problems and the issues involved around them? Paul and Silas were in prison beaten and punished for delivering a girl from a demon. They were in a dungeon with their feet clamped in stocks. Now Silas could have said to Paul, “You know my life was fine till you came along, but since I’ve met you, I’ve had nothing but trouble coming my way just look where we are now!” Scripture tells us that Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God in their darkest hour! Outside it looked dark and bleak but inside of them the light of Jesus was still shining, and that light brought them out! Scripture tells us that suddenly the chains came off and the jail doors flew open! Read about this account in Acts 16:16-28. Not only were Paul and Silas saved but the jailer also came to know Jesus as Lord too! While you are singing your woe is me you have done me a wrong song, the light of God’s Word cannot lead you out. You have become too focused on the darkness around you. But if you will praise God while in the darkness keep looking to God for the answers, He will lead you out to victory and your prison doors will fly open. God inhabits the praises of His people; He responds to your praise with His presence. As you start to sing, your victory will come quicker, and answers will come faster. So, get singing and praising God. Keep a song of joy in your heart for you are coming out from your troubles in Jesus’ name! If you are tired of starting over, then just stop giving up

How do you view the Bible? Is it a great storybook, about men and women doing amazing things, or is it the wisdom of God written for you to live your life by? View the scriptures as God’s will for your life, principles that you can live by. The Bible will do you no good just sitting on your coffee table. You will only see the promises work in your life once you apply the principles. By consistently reading the Word you will become enlightened on how to live successfully in this world. As you apply the Word’s instructions, you will see your life turn around. Proverbs 4:7-8 “For skilful and godly wisdom is the principal thing, praise wisdom and highly exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you: she will bring you to honour when you embrace her.” This scripture is for those who put the Word of God first place in their life daily. Read your Bible daily, study the scriptures and let God’s wisdom flood your life. The Bible is your life’s handbook. Allow it to lighten your path and give you the wisdom you need. My friend, God wants to help you and talk to you. One word from Him can change your life. Read His love letter to you and let Him speak to you and help you. Scripture References: James 3:17 Isaiah 33:6 Luke 21:15 A MAN WITH GOD ON HIS SIDE IS ALWAYS IN THE MAJORITY

Have you ever had a thought or a situation that just keeps going round and round in your head? Each moment of every day you find yourself thinking about the thing that has happened to you. It starts to change who you are and steals your joy and happiness. You feel discouraged, your emotions become overwhelmed and you want to cry. My friend, this is what we call a virus in your system. Something that has become your default program and is taking over your life. What you need is a computer programmer to destroy that virus and restore the settings to normal. Well, I have great news for you. You have a computer programmer available to you. His name is Jesus and He has an anti-virus program The Bible. You will need to replace these thoughts and actions with God’s Word and His promises. Renew your mind to what God says about that situation. If he says to forgive, then you forgive, and this will cut the virus of strife and unforgiveness in your life. Applying God’s Word to our situations and life events changes us and allows us to become better people. God’s Word brings fresh hope and peace that will change the way you think about your past and help you see a positive future. Find the scriptures that speak to the problems you are facing and apply them to your life. Allow them to destroy that virus of disruption that is holding you captive. Renewing your mind daily to doing life God’s way will keep you free from viruses that want to destroy you. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12: 2

If I baked you a lovely cake, but I added a quarter of a teaspoon of dog poop to the mixture, would you still want a piece? Just a little slice? I mean it's only a quarter of a teaspoon of dog poop. You might not even get the poop mixture in your slice. Do you still want a piece? Of course not! I will just have to throw the cake away. No one would want to eat it. You may not eat my cake, but are you listening to the little lies the devil is telling you? Are you allowing the “poop” from the enemy to affect your life? Song of Solomon 2:15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Are you allowing the little lies, the little foxes to destroy your life, your hope, your marriage and your family? Are you believing the lies that you are not good enough, that you will never be enough? That no one loves you or cares about you? If you keep listening to these lies the devil will keep you in bondage. You may not eat my cake, but listening to the devil’s lies is just as bad. The enemy wants to rob you of your future with his poop - lies. Now I know I’m talking a lot about poop but it gets your attention poop is nasty and so is what the devil is trying to do to you. He wants to destroy you. My friend, stop believing what he says and know that God loves you and is always there for you. Cast all your cares onto God and let him help you with the things that concern you. Allow Him to heal you of any doubt and discouragement you may be facing today. God has you in the palm of His hands. Don’t let the devil destroy your future with his lies and accusations. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him Psalm 62:5

Proverbs 4:23 GN “Be careful how you think; for your life is shaped by your thoughts”. Everyone has self-talk, that long-running conversation you have in your head. You are constantly talking to yourself, whether you are aware of it or not. So, what kind of self-talk are you having? Are you running yourself down all the time, saying that you are bad, stupid, or dumb? Or do you speak kindly to yourself with encouraging words and thoughts? God wants us to stop pulling ourselves down. When you say “I’m fat, I’m worthless, I have no talent", you are really pointing to the Creator and saying, “you made a flaw when you made me”. We all know God does not make mistakes. We are always our own worst critic. Isn’t it time to stop this and start becoming our own best cheerleader? God loves you and you should learn to love yourself too. You are in control of your life, so you can change what you can, and what is not in your power to change, you must trust God with. Be kind to yourself, if you do not love yourself and treat yourself with respect, why would others? You are valuable to God and He loves you so much. Start to see yourself as valuable and worthy enough because you are! Replace your negative self-talk with words of positive affirmations. This will change how you feel and the direction of your life. The more positive and grateful you are the better your world will become. Scripture References Philippians 4:8 Proverbs 4:23 Job 9:20 Hebrews 10:22-23 TAKE THE LIMITS OFF GOD AND TRUST HIM

Are you tired and weary? Just getting up and going through the motions each day? Before you know it, you are back in bed again? Are you having no progress or results with your Christian life? Are the lights on, but no one is at home? My friend, what has happened to your passion and purpose for life? God does not want you to live like this. He came so that you could have an abundant life – See John10:10. He has created a blessed life for you to have. So how do you find your passion and purpose? By spending time in His presence, listening for His voice and doing what He instructs you to do. One small step at a time. Each step will draw you closer and closer to your passion and purpose. God knows you better than anybody, and He knows what will make you, “Rise and Shine”. Set aside a time daily where you can just listen to what God wants to say to you. Get quiet in His presence. Let your spirit communicate with His Spirit and let Him lead you in the direction you should go. I am not saying that you will hear a loud booming voice, but a soft voice, a knowing, a nudge about what to do. Words and ideas will come up, thoughts about direction and people to talk to. How do you know it is God speaking to you? It will make you happy, you will get excited about the ideas. Yes, they may seem so “out there,” but that is why you will not be able to do it in your strength. You will have to rely on Him all the way. As you follow the steps God gives you, He will lead you to your passion and purpose. Now that is something you can get excited about! In quietness and in trusting confidence I find strength. Isaiah 30:15

Are you feeling pressure around you? Are you overwhelmed and discouraged? My friend, I have the answer for you! It is not you; it is your battery that is flat! When a torch does not work, you do not throw it away. You change the batteries. The batteries are flat, not the torch. Put in new batteries, and the torchlight will work again. You are just like the torch, there is nothing wrong with you, you need to recharge your batteries. You are not too fat or too thin, not smart enough, not the right colour, not rich enough. You do have the right talents; you do have unique gifts. No, my friend, there is nothing wrong with you! In God’s eyes, you are perfect. All that is wrong is that your battery is flat. You need to recharge by connecting with God. Spending time in His presence, reading His Word and listening to faith-inspired messages will keep your battery charged. Do not neglect your time with God. It is the most important thing you can do. Prioritize this time and do it daily, then your battery will never go flat, you will stay charged up and ready to go. The pressure of this world starts to take hold of you when your battery goes flat. You get short-tempered and stress takes over. Staying connected to God will help you cope with the pressures you face daily. Challenge Set aside a daily quiet time with God, where you read His Word, pray, and get quiet before Him. James 4:8  Come near to God and He will come near to you.

The pressure of this season we are in can cause us to unravel. The devil is roaming around trying to destroy us. He is trying to hinder us by applying pressure at us from all sides. When the pressure comes, we need to draw closer to God. We cannot collapse from the pressure. We need to stay inside our submarine of protection. (See earlier blog post from 15.02.20). Presently there is a pressure around us that we have never experienced before. It seems to be coming at us from all sides shouting, “let me in, let me in”. We need to remain strong, focused, and unmoved. Staying calm and keeping our wits about us when everything around us seems unstable and uncertain. Do not forget that your Father, God is your place of safety that you can run to, a place where you can get wisdom, direction, and guidance. During these times, press closer into His presence, allowing His anointing to sustain you more deeply. Apply the truths from God’s Word more fervently to your life. My friend, God has not changed, His Word is as strong and as powerful as ever. None of these things has taken Him by surprise. We must rise to this occasion stronger and more focus than ever. You can do this; you can come out the other side not even smelling of smoke. You can be strong, victorious and testify about the goodness of God. Press into all that God has for you. Fill your spirit with His Word and truth. Abide under the shadow of the Almighty, even closer than before. Let His goodness and mercy surround you and protect you. You are an overcomer - yes you are. Challenge - Steps to staying strong during this season 1. Read the Word more 2. Pray more 3. Stay quiet in His presence more 4. Watch your thoughts 5. Watch your words Cast all your cares, anxiety onto Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

God’s grace is sufficient for you. Yes, it is sufficient to help you with whatever need you are facing today. His grace is enough to help you to get through the problem and safely to the other side with the solution. Tapping into God’s grace allows you to come out the other end not even smelling of smoke, like the three Hebrew men in the Old Testament. They were thrown into the furnace because they refused to renounce their faith in God. They trusted in God to help them, knowing that He would see them through, allowing God’s grace for that moment to be sufficient for them. There is no need to panic and become overwhelmed with the problem, lean on God’s grace. Stay close to the Father, remain in His presence, then you will become filled with His grace and be peaceful; instead of worried and overwhelmed. If you are not peaceful, then you have not been leaning into God’s grace enough. Take the time you need to get the peace of God back into your heart again. Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on your problems. When we make the right choices, God’s grace is always available to help us. And here is more good news, His grace is new every morning, so if you used all of it up yesterday, no need to worry you get a fresh dose again today! God is so good; He has supplied you with everything you will need in your life. Keep trusting in Him, believing in Him. He will help you overcome. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES Psalm 84:11 Luke 2:40 Acts 13:43 Romans 5:15 YOUR LIFE CANNOT GO FORWARD IF YOUR MIND IS GOING BACKWARDS.

Luke 10: 38-42: Tells us about the situation between Jesus and Martha. Jesus and his entourage had been invited to Martha and Mary's house. Martha at once went about preparing a meal and serving her guest. As the day went on, she became extremely flustered at having to do everything herself, she eventually exploded to Jesus, why? Because her sister Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to The Word, instead of helping with the preparations. Has this happened to you? I bet it has, when you get so busy, trying to make ends meet, trying to get things done until eventually, we blame God when it seems nothing is working. But notice Jesus never said, "Oops, sorry Martha, I will deal with it right away." He at once points out to her (see vs. 41) that she is "worried and troubled" with many things but that Mary has chosen the right way. Which way is that? To be in the presence of the Lord and His Word. The Word of God has the answers to every situation in life. If you need healing, do not worry and stress about it, get into the Word, find the answers there. (1 Peter 2:24) If you need finances, get in the Word, find the answers there. (Philippians 4:19) Instead of speaking the problem speak the Word. "My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus". When we do life God’s way, we enter His rest. (Hebrews 3:3). Doing it His way guarantees results. As Jesus said, "Mary has chosen the RIGHT way". Your activity is not the solution to a problem, the solution is standing on God’s Word and resting in it.