The Lord knows those who trust Him!

"...you asked God for help and He gave you the victory. GOD is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 (Mssge)
This story is about a prophet coming to King Asa and rebuking him for turning to men for help instead of to God, and pointing out how God had helped him in the past in an impossible situation. 


Here is the same verse in the New King James:
"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."


How amazing is that? God is on the lookout for people for Whom He can be strong! And how strong is the Lord? He is the One who can roll back the sea or bring gushing water flowing from a rock in the desert! He is the One who has promised to feed and clothe us. He is the One who can heal the sick and raise the dead to life! 


AND "He knows those Who trust in HIM" Nahum 1:7


When we put our trust in the Lord, He connects with us and His power is there for us. On Sunday, Ellie, an 18 year old girl in our church, was sharing how God had helped her in her music exam when she had to play several piano pieces - and then she said, "If you don't involve God, He can't help you!" 


That short sentence there is so challenging, so true - Ellie was encouraging us to be diligent in prayer, in listening to God and paying attention to His Word. Over the next few posts, I am going to outline different important ways of putting our trust in Jesus, lining ourselves up to be in the way when He is looking for someone for whom He can be STRONG!

Casting your Care

Have you ever experienced the "4am worry syndrome"? Most of us have at some time woken up in the early hours and every problem or care in our lives becomes magnified many times. Problems and impossibilities go round in our minds.  What we perceive to be shortcomings and failures in our personal lives will also trouble us in these hours.  I always feel there is a fine line between worry and prayer! If you are trying to sort out the whole world at 3 or 4 am, it would be much more restful to let God sort it out!  Sometimes He wants to use you in this quiet hour to pray into a particular situation. If it concerns relationships, or your children, the health of a loved one, your work, your financial situation, then bring it to God. He is your Father. Roll your burdens on Him and He will carry you through. One practical help is to get out of bed, make a hot drink, and read your Bible for a bit.  Try a Psalm and start thanking the Lord for the promises you find. God can totally change our perspective and bring us peace again and sleep!

1 Peter 5:7 (Amp)

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on HIM, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”

I have been thinking about a verse which is amazing in that it is translated with 2 differing meanings. Have a look at this:  

Ps 68:19 (NASV)

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,

The God who is our salvation!  Selah.

God is to us a God of deliverances ...”


The Amplified version puts it like this:

^19”Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God is to us a God of deliverances and salvation …" 


In both the above verses, it is talking about God bearing our burdens, and even carrying us! The wonderful thing is that it is daily. Every single day the Lord is caring and carrying! His mercies are new every morning (even at 4am!). (Lam 3:22)


Maybe you know of the poem, "Footsteps"? The author tells of looking back over his life and seeing 2 sets of footprints through the sand - the Lord's and his own alongside one another. However, at the most difficult and troubled times, there is only one set of footsteps.  He asks the Lord, "Why did you leave me Lord, when things got tough?" And the Lord replies, "I never left you. Where you see only one set of footprints, it is there that I was carrying you!" 


Now look at the New King James version of the same verse, Psalm 68:19,


“Blessed be the Lord,Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation!   Selah

Our God is the God of salvation….”


Wow, here He is loading us! What does He load us with? His benefits, His goodness, His blessings! So He takes all our burdens, worries, failures, impossibilities etc and He exchanges it for HIS load! His load of blessing - joy, health, provision, guidance, peace, power to live and to love and to overcome in our daily living. I believe that the Lord intended for the Hebrew original text to be slightly ambiguous in its meaning about whether it is HIS load or ours! God is telling us that He is always waiting to exchange loads with us! Our burdens for HIS blessing! He loves us, cares for us and sets us free!


Psalm 37:5 (Amp)

 ⁵Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

Start rolling your load over onto Jesus right now. When you can take some time, just share your problems or heartaches with Him. He longs to exchange all that weighs you down, to give you instead His load of blessings and, with it, direction for moving forward with joy and gladness, knowing His amazing love for you.

PS: Please see my notes on the sidebar about the different versions of the Bible that I use and the link to BibleGateway.

Knowing Jesus!

Becoming a Christian is not about joining a sort of religious club, or about obeying a set of rules and regulations. It is not even about going to church, and certainly not about you doing good works and trying to be perfect!

No, to be a true Christian is all about relationship! Relationship with God as our Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not about "doing" – it is about "being".

Being forgiven and cleansed

    Being adopted into God's own family

           Being renewed by God's love

                Becoming a brand new creation

Knowing His love for you. Knowing His joy over your life! Knowing that God has a purpose for your life. God your Father wants you to walk with Him and talk with Him. He knows you and He loves you just as you are.

When Jesus died on the cross, He took all your sins and griefs. You can come to Him today very simply by receiving Jesus into your heart and life. Tell him you are sorry for all the wrong things you have done and for turning your back on Him and just come to HIM! Ask Him to forgive you and come into your life.

Here are some verses to read from the Gospel of John:

John 1:12 New Living Translation:  " But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God."

Then in John ch3, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, and tells him he needs to be born again: 
^{7  "}Marvel not [do not be surprised, astonished] at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above).......                                                                

  

 ¹⁶For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

    ¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him."   (Amplified version)

Read these verses, and put your own name in where it is appropriate, and where it says 'the world' make it personal for you! God loves YOU so much that He gave His Son to die for you that you may have eternal life - with freedom, joy, peace and hope in your life from this day on! It is truly like being born afresh - it is a totally new start with Jesus. Quiet you heart before God now, let His love wash over you and ask Him to come in.
Jesus says "Come to ME ..."

Matthew 11:28

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”