Do you feel as if you belong?
That might seem a strange question, but for some they never really feel as if they truly belong anywhere. They don’t feel accepted wherever they are or by whoever they are with.
Whether you know it or not, and whether you feel it or not, we all belong to God’s family. God loves each and every one of us, so in His family, we are all equal. God is reaching out to each of us, so let Him reach out to you and help you feel like you belong to His family.
God’s love is amazing isn’t it?
Our God is a God of love. He cannot stop loving us, for His very nature is love itself. He is love personified, and although sometimes it’s hard to comprehend or understand what kind of love is this that He has for us, we all will know that the love of God is all we need.
Here is a bible verse that speaks of God’s amazing love for all of us.
1 John 3:1 – “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”
Yesterday on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we remembered the fallen by taking part in a two minute silence to remember those who have fought and died for their country. Across the country, people young and old, in a wide variety of places and circumstances, paused just for a few minutes, just to remember the men, women and children who have died in wars the UK has participated in. They sacrificed their all so we may have the freedom to live our lives in this country. We should never forget what they gave for us, and we must never forget their sacrifice.
Just as many have given their lives for the freedom of this country, Jesus also paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life for us. The difference with Jesus is that not only did He die so we could be free, but He died so that we would be forgiven of our sins.
I vow today not only to never forget those who have died in conflicts around the world, but also to serve Christ always as way of repaying God for sacrificing His only son, just so I could be forgiven.
Have you given up on God? Or thought God has given up on you?
No matter what you have done in your past, God is ready and waiting to be in your future because He is always willing to give us second, third, fourth chances.
Despite all we do to take ourselves away from God, He still believes in us, so let’s believe in ourselves and believe in God.
Ever felt like your life is a complete disaster? That everything you do goes wrong and everyone you thought was a friend, let you down and disappoint you?
Disaster by Newsboys
I thought that I could fix it on my own
The sickness deep in my heart
I thought that I could find the healing deep inside of me
Underneath all these scars
I had to fall, had to fall apart, to find that You-
Love me even after
I am a disaster
And everything is shattered
On the floor
You pick me up and hold me
God, You are the only
Remedy my heart’s been lookin’ for
You’re the cure
Ah ah ah ah
I had my kingdom here, I had my thrown
Had everything I could need (Oh oh!)
I put my world on empty promises, empty things
It ripped apart at the seams (Oh oh!)
I had to crash, had to crash and burn, to find that You-
Love me even after
I am a disaster
And everything is shattered
On the floor
You pick me up and hold me
God, You are the only
Remedy my heart’s been lookin’ for
You’re the cure, the cure, the cure, You’re the cure
You’re the cure, the cure, the cure, You’re the cure
Since the day that I was born
I was broken and torn
So human, so incomplete
But You never gave up
Never lessened Your love
That’s the way that You’ll always be
I had to fall apart to find You,
Love me even after I am a disaster
And everything is shattered
On the floor
You pick me up and hold me
God, You are the only
Remedy my heart’s been lookin’ for
You’re the cure, the cure, the cure, You’re the cure
You’re the cure, the cure, the cure, You’re the cure
You’re the cure!
(I thought that I could fix it on my own)
You’re the cure!
Sometimes all it takes is for us to completely fall apart before God, to show Him all our weaknesses, so that He can be the one who puts us back together and cures us.
Have you ever felt as if God wasn’t there? That He wasn’t listening when you prayed?
When you’ve most been in need of God, have you ever tried to go it on your own, thinking you don’t need Him?
Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy can’t we – So run to God instead of turning away from Him when you are struggling.
Take away the blindness
Lead me through the dark
Don’t let me fall apart
Save me from my bitterness
Show me who I am
Make me who You want me to be
I know I pushed You away
Lookin’ for someone to blame, yeah
Now I can see, I’ve been my own worst enemy
When we have problems with our laptops/tablets/phones we restart them to try to fix the problem. How about life, what do we do when we face problems in life?
Well, just as when we restart our devices when they fail, we can restart our lives by letting God into our lives and making us new.
There’s a song I’ve used several times in the last few weeks that talks about our beliefs as Christians. The song is called We Believe and it was written and performed by the Newsboys.
I make no apology for using the song again today, as ever since I came across it again a couple of weeks ago, I’ve found the words and the melody of this song going through my mind almost constantly.
On days when I’ve felt down, just listening to the words/melody again have brightened the day. On days when I felt there was no point in doing specific things, listening to the words/melody have given me more energy. On days when I’ve felt alone and missing my Mum and Dad, even then this song has helped as it’s reminded me that Mum believed – and because they brought me up in the Salvation Army, I too believe, and therefore I know I will see them both again someday.
I believe, do you?
When hope is gone, what do you do, or where do you go?
We will all have times in our life when we can feel as if there is no hope for us, or someone we love. It’s at times like these that we are most in need of the reassurance and knowledge of God’s presence in our life. Sadly though, this is often the time when to us, God seems further away.
How wrong we are! God is always with us, and is there to help and support us, we just need to believe in Him!
So when things seem hopeless, you’re struggling with pain and sorrow, remember God is the greatest healer.
When the Tears Fall by Newsboys
I’ve had questions, without answers
I’ve known sorrow, I have known pain
But there’s one thing, that I’ll cling to
You are faithful, Jesus You’re true
When hope is lost, I’ll call You saviour
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You healer
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart
In the lone hour of my sorrow
Through the darkest night of my soul
You surround me and sustain me
My defender, forevermore
When hope is lost, I’ll call You saviour
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You healer
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart
And I will praise You, I will praise You
When the tears fall, still I will sing to You
And I will praise You, Jesus praise You
Through the suffering still I will sing
When hope is lost, I’ll call You saviour
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You healer
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart
Oh yes, You are good to me
You’ve always been good to me
So trustworthy
When hope is lost, I’ll call You saviour
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You healer
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart
And I will praise You, and I will praise You
When the tears fall, still I will sing to You (I will sing to You)
I will praise You, Jesus praise You
Through the suffering still I will sing
How faithful and true
Sustain me through and through
You are hope and truth
You must bring a little water
You must bring a little water
In the lone hour of my sorrow
Who springs never fail
Be faithful and true
Like…
Like a spring it never fails
You’re my spring never fails
