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Imitate

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There was a time when people wore armbands with WWJD on them.! This basically said, ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ They were a good idea but without conviction useless. Praying without engaging our hearts is also useless.! Intentionality was a buzz word, a few years ago. Even though it has also fallen out of favour it is still important. I must engage heart and mind when praying and acting. Intentionality is not reacting! We are prone to live out of reaction. This is usually fleshly. We cannot trust our reactions to be godly unless they are pruned by righteousness, and even then we need to pray. Last week I got involved it what seemed to be a fruitless argument with a friend texting about a matter. I called a halt and suggested we meet face to face, which we did and there was no problem. We had time, on the way to our meeting to cool and pray. Worse still is entering into someone else’s...
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Take delight

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What does taking delight mean to us? I thought of a small child, or a baby. I remember having my children and how just looking at them caused my heart to blossom. I loved them deeply. If I transfer that delight to the Lord I can understand. Is my relationship one of obligation? One I endure to twist a divine hand? No! My God’s presence is the best! Do I delight in Him jist to receive? No! I delight in Him because He is good! His presence is better than houses and cars, vacations or jewels. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ovkdzcDjxQo&si=03YunZNZQFrnYful
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Praise

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The Lord is not haphazard, although He may be accused of such. Those who accuse do not know Him or His ways. Recently I was accused of being haphazard and I replied, “no! you say this because you do not know me, you need to ask my flatmate and she would say I am orderly”. I then went home and asked her what she thought, just to be sure. She replied “you are orderly but flexible , if you need to make a change you do it”. Well, that is better than haphazard! The Lord plans long before the event, looong before! He knows what will happen, we are predictable. He knows who will be ruled by their flesh and who will walk in the spirit. He knows when we will do things. He is not surprised. Jesus was surprised by faith in those not of the Jewish race but not of His own people, but then He was surprised as a man. God ...
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The kingdom

““The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The kingdom of God is exciting! I become excited when I walk in faith for the reason I exist. I am a light to the nations, I must shine! How do I shine? Love the Lord my God with all my heart and love His ways! Seeking Him first in solving problems, listening to Him first for opinions and living my life to the full by His power. His glory is great and it becomes mine as I obey and yield to Him. He is my success, He is my authority, He is my provision, my strength and my song! He is found in glorious submission! Yield way and find delight! Amen!
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The whole story

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Solomon did not end well, he married many foreign women against the word of the Lord, and they became a snare to him. However, this very last chapter sums things up well. He basically is saying, “remember God and fear Him, don’t go your own way!” Unfortunately Solomon’s son did not heed him, he chose the wrong advisers and destroyed the kingdom. Fearing God is respecting Him. Pride caused Lucifer to fall and he uses the same tool to pull us down. Solomon would have been tempted with pride, we all are. I was pondering men like Moses and David and how they both killed men to deal with a problem they had. Yes, God used them and perhaps the knowledge of their sin humbled them. I do not want to have to be humbled in such a way. I pray that I have ears to hear and eyes to see my sin before the rock falls. Unfortunately, Lucifer did not learn h...
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Seek continually

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬ If we are honest we do not seek  the Lord’s presence continually! I have been made aware of the need to do this and now find His beautiful presence when I seek Him. Why do we not seek His presence? Why are we content with reading our bibles, prayer and worship on Sundays? Why not have a heart of worship, continually! We have accepted a lower level of relationship than is available to us. Pastor Bill Johnson made me aware of seeking God’s presence and love before sleeping and on waking. However, I have looked for Him on more occasions. I now have a mindset to seek Him more. He is waiting to engage and loves our connection. The fact that I turn my heart and mind to Him blesses Him, and me! As I involve Him and trust Him in more and more things I enjoy His presence. I’ve found Him even when I play games with my flatmates. What would He be interested in card games? He’s interested in my trus...
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The way

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus also said: “wide is the road that leads to destruction and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are those who choose it!”(Matt 7:13,14). The easy and glossy way leads to destruction. This way is the way of self-effort and good intentions as well as the way on which murderers walk. Jesus also said: ““Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Attending church and reading the Bible will only benefit us if we do the things we read, if we crucify the flesh and walk in the spiri...
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