Food, water, air, clothes, a roof over our head, money, love, a friend?
Some of those things are necessities for us to live, but some are not essential they are just things that would make life a little easier or happier for us.
This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing—everything your body needs. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t your body more than clothing?
What do you focus on in your life? Is your life centred around possessions and goods, or is there more to your life than that?
There is definitely more to life than our possessions – possessions may provide short term happiness, but they don’t provide the peace and contentment that I’m sure we all desire.
The peace and contentment we all desire can only be found in God. God is more than everything we need. He offers us really peace, contentment and happiness, if we simply trust Him.
Have you got a favourite piece of clothing that is your ‘go to’ thing to wear? I have a few things which I always wear much more than other things, so as a result they get washed much more frequently than other items of clothing that I only wear occasionally.
I noticed earlier this week, when I was hanging one of my ‘go to’ tops on the clothes line, that some of the colours in the top were beginning to fade a bit because the top has been washed so much.
As items of clothing are washed more and more, the colours fade and the material can become stretched or thin as it wears out.
One of the phrases you may hear a lot of is the ‘God can wash away your sin’. God loves us and will wash away our sins, time after time. He won’t put a limit on the number of times he will forgive us, as he loves us too much not to forgive us!
Hebrews 10:10-12 (NLV)
Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time.
Unlike our clothes, the quality of our life does not deteriorate the more times God washes our sins away. In fact, each time God washes us, the our lives are renewed as he cleanses our hearts and minds.
So next time you wash your ‘go to’ clothes remember that although they may begin to fade and wear, God’s love for us will never fade, and therefore he will continue to wash our sins away.
I’ve done a few Word Associations with you over the last while, and today it’s time for another one – This time with a theme, Music!
So as usual I’m going to throw some words at you, and I want you to note down the first word that comes into your mind when you read each word.
So here goes…
Plastic bag
Chicken
Sunglasses
Quote
Thermometer
Coach
Gas
Tablet
Magnify
Speaker
So how did you get on with those words? Did you find it easy? Did your answerssurprise you or were they just as you expected?
Well here’s my responses to my questions:
5p
Chinese
Red
Insurance
Different
Travel
Condemned
Mum
Sight
Loud
I still believe that when we respond with the first words that come into our minds, our answers tell us a lot about our emotional state, and what’s important to us at that particular point in time.
Bearing all this in mind, review your answers, does my theory hold true?
By the way, if you want me to explain any of my answers, just ask!
Do you ever feel as if you life is chaotic, as you spend what seems like all your ‘free’ time rushing from one place/activity to another, simply stopping occasionally to eat and sleep.
Even in this chaos, God can change us so we can be what he wants us to be. He can help us help others and show them what God can do for them.
We’re reminded of this in Psalm 51:7-15 where we firstly read about what we would like God to do for us. It then goes on to remind us what the outcome will be when we let God give us what we need to do His work:
Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.
It’s all quite descriptive language isn’t it, but because of that it really is clear what we can achieve for God when we give Him our all.
Let’s not be silent about our faith and our relationship with God, instead let God give us the words and the desire to tell others about God’s love for them.
I’ve done a few Word Associations with you over the last while, and today it’s time for another one. So as usual I’m going to throw some words at you, and I want you to note down the first word that comes into your mind when you read each word.
So here goes…
Bottle
Bacon
Peg
Smart watch
Soup
Lyrics
Basket
Ripple
Wheel
Frame
So how did you get on with those words? Did you find it easy? Did your answerssurprise you or were they just as you expected?
Well here’s my responses to my questions:
Cough
Eggs
Clothes
Blue
Tomato
Song
Shopping
Chocolate
Car
Crime
I still believe that when we respond with the first words that come into our minds, our answers tell us a lot about our emotional state, and what’s important to us at that particular point in time.
Bearing all this in mind, review your answers, does my theory hold true?
By the way, if you want me to explain any of my answers, just ask!
I’ve done a few Word Associations with you over the last while, and today it’s time for another one. So as usual I’m going to throw some words at you, and I want you to note down the first word that comes into your mind when you read each word.
So here goes…
Mug
Hospital
School
Music
Rose
Paper
Milk
Jump
Smart
Bag
So how did you get on with those words? Did you find it easy? Did your answerssurprise you or were they just as you expected?
Well here’s my responses to my questions:
Coffee
Sick
Exam
Emotion
Love
Book
Shake
Blue
Watch
Laptop
I still believe that when we respond with the first words that come into our minds, our answers tell us a lot about our emotional state, and what’s important to us at that particular point in time.
Bearing all this in mind, review your answers, does my theory hold true?
By the way, if you want me to explain any of my answers, just ask!
I’m sure many of us have said at some point, “This is hopeless”, many when we’ve trying to do something for while but despite your best attempts you haven’t succeeded and you’re getting frustrated. Our use of the word “hopeless” in those types of situations isn’t really what I want us to think about today.
Sadly there are many people in the world for whom life itself seems hopeless – maybe because they have no money, no food, limited clothing, no job, maybe they are seriously ill, suffered a bereavement, a broken relationship, maybe they are lonely…the possibilities are endless.
When someone else looks at the lives of someone who feels hopeless, the chances are they won’t see someone without hope, but instead they will see someone who’s maybe down on their luck just now, and simply needs a break.
Jesus sees hope in every situation, and in every life. So if you feel life is hopeless, remember Jesus, because He alone can bring hope to broken lives.
We all have things which annoy us, some trivial, some quite serious. So today I want to share with you some of the trivial things that annoy me…they’re listed in no particular order:
Not being able to get a doctor’s appointment when you need one
People who make out that they are you best friend in public, but in private are the first to ‘stab you in the back’
Delivery drivers who, after delivering something to your house, don’t bother to shut your gate
People who leave dirty dishes in the sink
People who are always late
Do any of these annoyances sound familiar to you?
Yes, all the above things annoy me, but most of time I manage to stay quiet when they happen and just observe and say or do nothing as I know it’s just me being me!
Today is all about options again – I’m going to give you two items at a time, and you have to choose either the option that best describes you or which you prefer:
Curtains or blinds
Fitbit or smartwatch
Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
Straight hair or curls
Visa or Mastercard
Fleece or sweatshirt
Yellow, rose or white gold
First name or nickname
Windows or iOS
Hairdresser or barber
A variety of questions, some about your personality, some about your preferences. Whatever your answers, together they define who you are.