– Think before you SPEAK –
The bible is full of verses that give us advice and warn us to control the words we say.
Proverbs 18:21 says:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Our words have the power to build up, encourage and bring positive change but they also have the power to hurt and destroy. The words we speak not only affect others, but us too!
We are taught in Ephesians 4 v 29 to
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
But how do we control what comes out of our mouths?
A simple 3 step technique is shared with us in James 1:19:
1 – Be QUICK to HEAR
2 – Be SLOW to SPEAK
3 – Be SLOW to ANGER
Let us all follow these simple steps to help us control the power of our words. Life and death really is in our power, so let’s think before we speak.
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
Who am I? Part 3
This is the final part of the ‘Who am I?’ Series. Lets explore more of what God says about you!
You are beautiful – Genesis 1 v 27 “So God created man in His own image…”
One of the hardest things for us to hear can be, “you are beautiful!” God formed you and created you in his image so you must accept that, “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL”!
You are a child of God – John 1 v 12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in Jesus name, he gave them the right to become children of God”
When you come to know Jesus and accept him into your heart, you become a child of God! You are in God’s family!
This series has unraveled many biblical truths about who we are, but there are so many more. The more you discover these, the more you’ll grow in the wonderful things of God.
Speak these things out loud and if there are any that you struggle with, ask God to help change the way you think about yourself.
Let’s walk in our God given identity today!
🎉 Check our page at 2pm today, as we announce the winner of our ‘Get Back To Basics’ t-shirt giveaway!! 🎉
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
Who am I? Part 2 –
Let’s continue exploring our identity in God.
You are a new creation :
2 Corinthians 5 v 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The old has passed away, behold the new has come”
When you accept Jesus as your Lord and saviour, you become a new creation! You have been transformed, the old you is gone and you have a new beginning with Him. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be things that you need to work on, (old mentalities and lifestyle choices) but Jesus will be with you on this journey.
You are forgiven:
1 John 1 v 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins…”
Let it go! When you come to God and admit your mistakes, you are forgiven! You can let go of the past and walk in forgiveness. Don’t let things chain you up and hold you back, give them to God and walk in freedom, not being tempted to pick them back up again.
Let’s walk in our God given identity today as a new creation and forgiven!
👉 Also, keep an eye out for an exciting announcement coming tomorrow! 👈
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
Who am I? Part 1 –
Last week we looked at removing negative labels that don’t serve you anymore. This week we will be looking at who God says we are.
You are known to God:
Jeremiah 1 v 5 says “before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”
The God who created the world, who breathed our stars, knows you! He designed and created you intentionally.
You have a purpose:
Jeremiah 29 v 11 “for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”
Your life is not an accident! Not only has God restored you and made you whole but He has a plan and purpose for you and wants to use your life in a great way. Walk with Him and he’ll show you what steps to take.
You are Loved:
Romans 5 v 8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We have touched on this in an earlier post but it is so important we take hold of this identity. God loves you more than you’ll ever begin to understand.
Start everyday by speaking the truth from the word of God about your identity and remember, you are known, you have a purpose and you are loved.
We will explore more truths next week!
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
Your label is not your identity –
This week we want to take a look at labels. Labels are everywhere! They appear on clothes, food but also, people have labels!
Labels are important as they tell us how much something costs, what they are made of and what something is but not all labels are good and can have the power to influence the way we think and live.
Here are some types of labels:
1 – Worldly labels:
These are societies labels which are normally used to generalise people and put them in a category/box. These can be based on religion, social class, sexuality etc etc.
2 – Labels from the enemy:
These are labels used to chain you up, to weigh you down and hold you back in a place of condemnation and fear. They are dangerous and can be as simple as a negative thought that pops into your mind such as: “They don’t like you!” “Remember that mistake you made?!”.
3 – Labels we give ourselves:
These can be the most powerful ones as they are so easily believed and accepted.
“I can’t do that!”, “I don’t belong.” “I’m not good enough.” Quite often we walk around with these labels, sometimes without even realising which can limit how we live, maybe even stopping us going for a promotion or can make us insecure in our relationships.
Take some time to see if you can identify any labels you might have accepted or placed on yourself.
In Colossians 3:2 it says: ‘Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.’
It’s time to look to God today and how He sees you and work towards removing any labels that aren’t serving you!
Next week we will be looking at Gods labels for us, our identity in Him and His truth for us.
Your label is NOT your identity!
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
It’s never too late –
This week we want to look at the fact that it’s never too late to come back to the Father!
One of the best illustrations in the bible of our relationship with God is in Luke 15 verse 11 to 32 – the story of the Prodigal Son.
A summary: There was a father who had two sons. The youngest of the two sons came to his father and asked for his inheritance. The son then took everything he was given and went away and spent it all on doing whatever he wanted and living recklessly. A famine came and he was left with nothing and ended up hiring himself out to someone else and feeding pigs for a living. He got so desperate he would long to eat the food that he was giving to the pigs.
After sometime he decided to return to his father, to apologise for everything he had done wrong and asked to be treated as a servant as he felt unworthy to be a son. However, as he was travelling home, his father saw him and ran to embrace him. He even planned a party to welcome him home and gave him the best robe and family ring!
This story is a beautiful image of what God is like as our Father. He is a loving Father who is there with arms wide open to embrace us.
We can all probably relate to the younger son, making bad decisions, feeling unworthy, doing things our way and maybe ending up in situations we regret. However, nothing changes the fact that we are a child of God and a part of His family, regardless of what we may have done. He is just glad that we come home to Him.
The older brother in the story however, was not happy with how the younger brother was welcomed home. All he could see was his brothers mistakes, the bad decisions and was not quick to forgive. This is a good reminder to us to not focus on the mistakes of others and to be like Jesus, forgiving and helping those who wander.
You might be reading this today as the younger brother, feeling lost and ashamed. If you’re feeling ‘too far gone’, just simply reach out to the loving God and let him welcome you home as His child. He wants to dress you in the finest clothes and embrace you.
Its never too late to come back to the Father!
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
You are loved –
This week we want to look at the most important truth of the bible; YOU ARE LOVED!
Gods love is an agape kind of love, which simply means, unconditional. You do not need to earn His love and no matter what you do, God still loves you. He loves you on your good days and even on your bad days.
This biblical truth is evident throughout the bible, in Romans 5 v 8 it says:
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God gave his one and only son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us, so that we are set free, can have a relationship with Him and have eternal life. This was the ultimate sacrifice and really shows the immense love that God has towards us!
Accepting His love and knowing that you are loved unconditionally is really important but it’s also very important to show this love to those around you.
Jesus says:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””
John13:34-35ESV
God wants us to show His love to others and treat them the way that He treats us.
If others see His love through our words and our actions, then they too may come to know the unconditional love for themselves. I’m sure we can all agree that love changes things for the better.
Who can you show the love of God to today?
You are LOVED! Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!
Love God, Love People
To start the series of getting back to basics off, let’s look at what Jesus tells us is the most important commandment.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus is approached by a Pharisee who tests him on what the greatest commandment in the law is, and Jesus replies:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39 ESV
Loving God and Loving People is a clear yet simple instruction to us and should be the foundation of everything we do as believers.
How is it so simple but often we get it so wrong?
Often people get the loving God part right but struggle with loving others. We need to love people through how we act, not just by saying it as it’s often not what we say but what we do that matters. People won’t always see things the way we do but we need to love them anyways. It should never be a ‘strings attached’ kind of love, it should be a genuine, unconditional kind of love to our neighbours, the same love that God shows us.
Let us Love God, with all our heart, soul and mind but let us also Love People.
Remember: Dream Big, Don’t settle for second best, you are Called To More!!
Don’t judge people –
Last week we looked at ‘Loving God, Loving People’ and continuing the theme of ‘getting back to basics’, we will be looking at another key Christian principle this week – ‘Not Judging People’.
Jesus in Matthew 7 v 3 – 5 says:
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
It’s so easy to notice the wrong in others and make judgements on their lives instead of turning the arrow in and dealing with our own issues and flaws.
The above scripture reminds us that each of us are not perfect and should focus on ourselves and how we live instead of holding other people to a high standard and judging their imperfections (which is an unattractive quality).
John 3:16 is a foundational verse in our belief but many don’t know the following verse (John 3:17):
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Our job is not to condemn and judge people or to highlight the specks in their eyes but to show people who Jesus is by loving people unconditionally, showing compassion and giving grace to people, just as Jesus does.
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, you are Called To More!
Time ⏰
Time is a very precious thing and we can often feel that there’s not enough of it!
Lots of things demand our time; work, family, friends, Netflix, social media and church, to name a few!
I often hear believers say that they struggle to spend quality time with God and beat themselves up when they don’t spend 10 minutes in the morning praying and reading their bible.
I want to challenge this way of thinking today, as God doesn’t want your focus for just 10 minutes in the morning.
Our walk with God is meant to be a relationship! If you gave your spouse or partner 10 minutes in the morning but didn’t touch base at any other point during the day, I wonder how quickly that relationship would become unhealthy? Could you even call it a relationship? Everyday is not supposed to be the same with relationships, otherwise, it would become stale and boring – you could even say religious!
Now, I’m not saying that it’s not important to read your bible, to pray and spend time with God, as thats what builds our faith and understanding of Him, but we need to stop limiting our thinking and realise that this is a 24/7 relationship.
1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV says:
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
God is always with you, so let’s be intentional with Him and involve Him throughout your day.
Is it time to reset the way you spend your time with God?
There’s more to church than church –
Last week we looked at how we spend our time with God. This week we want to highlight the difference between GOING to church and BEING the church!
You may be thinking, “What’s the difference?”
Well, a church is a building or location where people meet together. These meetings may look different based on the theology or type of church.
But, ‘the Church’ means an ‘assembly’ or a ‘gathering of people’. We, as the church, are all brothers and sisters in Christ and all work together for one purpose: to see those around us come to be in relationship with Jesus.
Interestingly, the bible never tells us to go to a church, the way that we see them today. However, the bible does encourage us to gather together with other believers and to encourage one another and pray together:
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.””
Matthew 18:20 ESV
The book of Ephesians tells us that in the body of Christ, we have prophets, shepherds and teachers whose role it is to build up the body of Christ.
Spending time with other believers encourages us and helps us grow in our faith, but it is important to remember that our relationship with God is not limited to a church building, as we are THE church.
Remember, it’s not just about going to a building on a Sunday but living each day as part of the body of Christ. Growing with God, being a light in your community, making a difference to others where you can and encouraging other believers. We are THE church.
Dream Big, Don’t Settle for Second Best, You are Called To More!