" And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city" – Joshua 6.16, 20 (AV)

Joshua spoke to all the people in the camp the words that God had commanded, that when the priests blew the trumpets all the people were to shout and praise with all their might. As they had finished marching around the city, the priests sounded the trumpets, the people let out a great shout of praise. That shout of praise caused the walls to come crashing down and Joshua and God's people won a mighty victory that day at Jericho. Notice that the command was to shout before the walls fell down, not after. Too many Christians are waiting for the victory before they give the shout of praise. When we come to God in prayer for a need or a situation that we face, we ask Him to meet that need. Do you remember that in Mark 11.24 Jesus taught when we pray we should believe we receive, then we shall have the things we ask for. What do you do when you receive anything – you say thank you. So if you're believing that you have already received when you pray, don't wait for the physical manifestation go ahead and praise God for it, thank Him for it, give Him that victory shout. I preached a message once called 'praise is the chariot that brings the victory' – your victory is coming on the chariot of praise. When you shout and praise the walls of that need will soon come crashing down.

"But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand" – Isaiah 32.8 (NKJV)

Have you noticed that those who are generous go out of their way to help others. They bend over backwards to help meet some need that another person may have, or they point you in the direction of friend that can help. I know several people that I can call on to come over and help and they will be there, without questioning. Some time ago we needed some work doing on the house and I asked a member of our church to come across and do the work. We paid him the going rate for the job so that he could pay for his time, the materials and make a little profit too. Now it wasn't a great sum that we paid, about £130, but after I handed him the cash, he turned right around and gave it back to me and told me to put it towards a project that we were running in the church ministry. He didn't have a regular 9-5 job with a guaranteed salary, he was self employed and had to generate work by cold calling, so every job was precious to him. A few weeks after that event he came with a testimony of how God had wonderfully blessed him and his family, work was good, everywhere he called he was finding work. The generous man devises generous things, and that generosity causes him to become established. He will stand blessed; we cannot out give God. Jesus said "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6.38). The generous man devises generous things and finds that generosity will come back on him. Open up your heart and be generous today.

"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you" – Hosea 10.12 (NKJV)

Many years ago in our church we had this text on a banner. It was conveniently placed on the back wall underneath the clock so that when folk turned around to see the time, probably hoping that the end of the service was drawing near, they saw these words – It is time to seek the Lord. In this verse the prophet says that we ought to seek God until He rains righteousness on us. At the time of writing we live in a farming community with arable fields all around us. Over the years I have watched the farmers in the fields breaking up the fallow ground, sowing the seeds, and reaping in the harvest. This is the life cycle of the arable farmer but it doesn't happen overnight. They plough the fields, sow the seed and wait for the rains and the sun to produce the harvest. They don't dig up the seed to see how it's doing after couple of weeks, they wait and wait, sometimes it's months before they actually reap in the harvest. Once you have sown your seeds, spend time waiting on the Lord, seeking Him until he sends the rain to swell the grain and bring forth your harvest. He will come through for you, listen to the words of this verse from the Contemporary English Version: "Plow your fields, scatter seeds of justice, and harvest faithfulness. Worship me, the LORD, and I will send my saving power down like rain."

"O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD" – Psalm 117.1-2 (AV)

With just thirty-three words this is the smallest of the Psalms but yet if we rush through and read it's two verses without stopping to give it some thought we will miss out on a really important message. His merciful kindness is great toward us and His truth endureth for ever. His merciful kindness is great towards us; this implies to me that because of His mercy God reveals His kindness to us. If we are sick he shows us His kindness in healing; If we need deliverance in some area He shows His kindness through His salvation. If we are facing one of the storms of life, His kindness and goodness is manifest through peace. The adjective 'great' that is employed here denotes the abundance and generosity of that goodness and kindness that he shows to us. Exodus 34.6 says that He is "...abundant in goodness and truth." I believe the statement 'the truth of the Lord endureth for ever' tells us that He is faithful. He is faithful to show us His mercy and His goodness. Do you need a touch from Him today? God is faithful, He will not leave you where you are but in His mercy will show you His kindness and goodness and will raise you up.

"And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband." – 1 Samuel 4.21 (CEV)

What a tragedy for Israel! The spiritual state of the nation was in decline. Here we read a heart wrenching statement – the glory is departed from Israel. The wife of Phinehas went into premature labour upon hearing the news that her husband, brother in law and father in law had all died, and the Ark of God had been captured by the enemy. The Ark was the place where God dwelt and now it had been taken – the glory had left Israel. What was the reason for this sad state? It was a direct result of disobedience, Phinehas did not follow after the Lord and Eli, his father, was held responsible for his actions. These were the priests, there was corruption and immorality at the heart of the nations worship. Had the nation of Israel been in right standing with God then the Philistines would have been defeated according to God's word in Deuteronomy 28.15,25. Unfortunately today there are many churches that have Ichabod written above their doors – there is no power, no glory, just a religious spirit. They are like trees that have shed their leaves – empty and bare. We need to return to the Lord, repent of our sin and disobedience to His Word so that God's presence, power and glory will fill His house once again. Three chapters later in 1 Samuel 7.3 it says "prepare your hearts for the Lord" - we need to be ready for the Lord. Some years ago God spoke to me while I was taking a bath and said 'there will be people who are not prepared or ready for the coming of My Glory, just as there will be those who are not ready for My return; they will miss out on the very best I have for them'. Are you ready?

"After this, I heard the LORD ask, 'Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?' 'I'll go,' I answered. 'Send me!'" – Isaiah 6.8 (CEV)

Isaiah has an encounter with the living God. He has this vision of God enthroned in the heavenly places. Then he perceives that he is not as he ought to be, he is aware of his own shortcomings and uncleanliness. After God dealt with him and purged his sin, he hears God speaking and asking if there is any that He can send on a mission. Isaiah's swift response is 'send me!'. There is one keyword connected to this verse and that is AVAILABILITY. God isn't looking for people with ability, talents, might or anything else that they can do. In our own strength we can do nothing. All our ability comes from God. Paul could write "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me (gives me the ability)" (parentheses mine) Philippians 4.13. God is looking for our availability, He is looking for someone to be like Isaiah – Here am I, send me. There is a world to win for Jesus, thousands are going to a lost eternity every day. There is much to do for the Kingdom of God in these days. Are you available for God to use? Can God rely on you to get the job done? He turns our inabilities into ability, our weaknesses into strength, the impossibility into possibilities. Will you echo those words today, I'm available, send me!.

"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" – 1 Kings 3.9 (AV)

When God asks Solomon what he wants and desires most that He may give it to Him, Solomon responds and asks for wisdom. He says to God 'give me an understanding heart to rule your people'. Proverbs tells us "wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting get understanding" (Proverbs 4.7). This is what Solomon asks for: He knew the value of wisdom. The word understanding employed in this verse is the Hebrew word shama and literally means 'to hear, listen and obey with the intention of proclaiming and publishing'. Solomon asks that his heart would be a hearing and listening heart – hearing the word of God, allowing his kingly rule to make judgements based on what God was saying rather than himself or any other man. That's true wisdom, hearing what God says and obeying it by proclaiming and speaking it forth. If you want to rightly lead in your church, ministry, family or workplace, then you ought to have a listening heart – listening to what the Spirit is saying through the word of God. Then as you act upon what God reveals you will make right judgements to lead those under you. Of course this does not just apply to leaders but to us all; we need wisdom when handling our daily affairs, when going to cast a vote, when making life-changing decisions. May God grant you today a listening and obedient heart to rule righteously in life.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" – 2 Timothy 1.7 (NKJV)

Fear is terrorism, the devil uses it to destroy people and keep them where he wants them. Through fear he moves to bring the things we worry about to pass. Job 3.25 says "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." There is a spiritual law of 'calling those things that be not as though they were'. This law operates the same in the negative as it does in the positive. We teach that we need to have a good confession; we meditate God's Word, so that it comes out of our mouths. But did you know that fear works exactly the same way. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God – fear comes by hearing and hearing by the world. When we worry and rehearse the worldly problems or negative things we are actually meditating on them. They then become words that we speak (calling those things that are not as though they are) and they come to pass. God has not given us the spirit of fear – He has given us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind and good judgement. Use that good judgement to speak forth the answer by faith and do not be moved by fear.

"I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD" – Psalm 118.17 (AV)

Whose report will you believe today? Some of you may have been given a negative report which says you are terminally ill, they told you there is no cure, you only have a little while to live. If that's you then I have good news for you today. The report of the Lord for you today is found in this verse. You need to take this verse and receive it as God's rhema word for you today. Then confess it daily, several times a day, as and when is necessary. We take medication 3-4 times a day as per the doctors prescription, treat this verse as medication, repeat it many times a day out loud. Allow this word to become more real to you than the sickness or disease that is afflicting your body. Say it out loud right now – I will not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord! The Word of God has power to bring itself to pass. Have you noticed that little verse in John 1.14 "and the Word became flesh.." Mary received and believed the word that she would conceive and bear a Son – that Word, without the need of the seed of man, became flesh inside her and she brought forth Jesus. That same Word will produce life in you and cause you to live and have a testimony to God's goodness and power. So receive it and believe it today "I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord".

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." – Matthew 4.4 (AV)

IT IS WRITTEN – these are three tremendous words that we would do well to remember as they will give us victory over temptation. In the passage that we are looking at today we see Jesus being confronted and tempted by the devil. Jesus did not argue or debate with the devil, He did not need time to think about whether or not to turn the stone to bread. When the devil came at Him to tempt Him, He responded IT IS WRITTEN. In other words He was saying GOD HAS SAID. Do you remember in the Garden of Eden when the serpent first addressed Eve, he begins by undermining and questioning the Word of God, 'Has God said?'. The devil is a master at twisting the Word of God to say something different. Jesus re-addresses this by saying 'God Has Said'. The devil comes at us with all sorts of lies, questioning the Word of God in order to get us to sin. When he does just let him know what the Word says. When you speak what God has said in His Word you are wielding that mighty sword of the Spirit, and you'll soon find that he won't stay around long.

"But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions" – Obadiah 1.17 (NKJV)

The message of this little book may be viewed like a catalogue of disasters. The rivalry and antagonism between Jacob and Esau becomes very clear. Esau's primary sin was that of pride which became manifest as violence and the nation was running headlong to a major catastrophe - judgement. Pride is probably the premier of all sin – it says that I'm all right on my own I can do without God. This sounds very much like society today that says we can do without God. This is none other than foolishness; the Bible declares that the fool has said in his heart 'there is no God'. A foolish man or society builds a life without God, remember it was the foolish man that built his house on the sand and that house fell crashing to the ground. But I want to encourage you today; although we may be living in a society that thinks nothing of God, cares little of others and lives for self-gratification, and is on a headlong collision course with catastrophe, yet those who trust in and remain loyal to the Lord shall be saved. The message of this little book culminates with these words "but on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness..". We have come to Mount Zion and we have been saved and delivered from the wrath and curse of sin, death and hell; but this doesn’t mean we can just live how we please. We can't live like the world, we need to live sanctified and holy lives to enter into that fullness which God has for us.

"Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds" – Psalm 36.5 (Amplified)

God is big in mercy, you don't have to look too far into the Scriptures to find that this is true. This is just one of those verses that tells us so - "Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies". I am reminded today of the Psalmist who asks God 'Where can I go from your presence.. if I ascend to the heavens you are there. If I descend to the depths you are there'. Like God's presence there's no escaping the mercy of God. If we ascend to the heights we can find mercy; likewise if we find ourselves down in the depths of despair, discouragement or frustration we can still find His mercy and loving-kindness. It extends to the skies, it reaches to the heavens and his mercy will lift us up to the heights out of the depths. A couple of verses later David expresses that his loving-kindness is precious and makes reference to the wings of refuge. This may be an allusion to the eagle who lifts her young and mounts up high to a place of refuge in the rock. Mercy will lift you up out of the depth of the pit to a place where you can ride in the heights of the earth.

"Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.." And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" " – Mark 10.35-36 (NKJV)

You might think that this is a bit pretentious of James & John to approach Jesus and ask Him to do for them whatever they wish. Notice Jesus doesn't turn them away but asks them to go ahead and make their request, 'what do you want Me to do for you?'. They then proceeded to make a request which was not for Jesus to grant. How could they have the audacity to ask such a request – through fellowship and relationship. Have you ever been in the position to ask a friend or family member to help you out with something which normally would be considered beyond the normal course of action? Why did you ask them? Because you knew them and felt that they might be in the position to help, it was because of fellowship and relationship. One of those two brothers later on wrote these words: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (1 John 5.14-15). That confidence comes out of knowing Jesus, fellowship and relationship, spending time with Him and knowing His will. We then can ask whatever we want, but unlike James and John our petition will be granted.

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would offer all the goods of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned and despised" – Song of Solomon 8.7 (Amplified)

In 1964 the Beatles had a hit with a song called 'Can't Buy Me Love', when asked why they wrote it Paul McCartney said "material possessions are all very well, but they won't buy me what I really want". Money cannot buy love, this wasn't a revelation that Lennon & McCartney had, these wise words were recorded by King Solomon, the wisest of all men. He says here that if a man would offer everything he has and owns, he still wouldn't be able to buy love. Love is one of, if not the greatest force in the entire universe – it cannot be quenched by floods and it will not wear out, love conquers all. Another songwriter captured the essence of real love, Claudia Lehman Mays wrote "The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.. O love of God, how rich and pure, How measureless and strong. It shall for evermore endure.." God's love for you today is unconditional, you cannot quench it with many waters and you cannot buy it with all the wealth in the world – God loves you today, right where you're at; it cannot be bought or earned, all you need to do is receive it.

"Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies" – Psalm 108.13 (NKJV)

Are you finding it tough at this moment? Does it appear that everything is against you? Have you made quality decisions based on the Word of God but no sooner have you done that then something comes up to try and scupper your plans? If that's you today then let this word sink deep into your spirit to revive and encourage you. Through God we shall be valiant, He will tread down our enemies – He does that through His Word. If we stick to the Word of God we will be valiant and triumph over those enemies that rise against us. Isaiah could say that when the enemy comes in the Lord raises the standard against him (Isaiah 59.19). They overcame the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony (Revelation 12.11) – that is the Word of God on their lips. In my daily readings this last week or so from the book of 1Kings, I have been amazed just how many times the phrase "according to the Word of the Lord" is used. This is not just peculiar to that book, it runs through the whole Bible. Enemies were defeated, righteousness was established, things happened miraculously, out of the blue according to what God had said. Not one of His words falls the ground empty. Stick with the Word when things get tough, when it looks like it might all fall apart – through God we will do valiantly, it is He that will tread down our enemies.

"Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you." – Proverbs 20.22 (NKJV)

When we've been wronged the natural man wants to retaliate. We hear things on the news daily where people have been victims of crime and assault; the natural response is to fight back and get yourself justice. May be someone says something against you or spreads false rumours about you, the natural man will want to give them 'a piece of your mind' . God says to us through Solomon, "do not say 'I will recompense evil'". Don't seek revenge or retaliation – as I write, there have been some incidents this very week in the UK, a man attacked and killed on the streets of London in retaliation for those killed in the conflicts in what has become known as 'the war on terror'. The next day we heard of another incident, in a different town, as revenge for the attack on the man. This is not the way it should be, yes there is a time for justice but that needs to be done through the courts. As Christians we are not to retaliate for evil done to us but rather as this verse says, we should wait on the Lord. God is the God of vengeance, He will right the wrongs – our job is to let Him do His job. Have you been wronged? Are you holding out a grudge for somebody? Let it go, forgive and wait on the Lord, He will save you.

"A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." – Proverbs 18.20-21 (AV)

Jesus taught that a man speaks words that come out of the overflow of the heart (Matthew 12.34). What is in your heart will be evidenced by what you say with your mouth. We are filled and satisfied by the words we speak. Faith clothes our words and brings them to pass. God spoke into nothingness and created everything we see, handle and feel. We were created to have dominion and rule, and God ordained it that we were in His likeness, to operate and function as He did. He spoke therefore we speak – that's the way it is; there is great power in the words of our lips, they have the same effect. The choices between death and life are in the power of the tongue, our words determine our way, chart our course in this life. The man who continually confesses death, sickness, poverty, confusion or destruction will bring those things on by the words he speaks. Likewise the man that speaks forth words of health and healing, life and blessing, prosperity and victory will see those things come to pass in his life. This is not about just being positive but rather speaking what God says in His Word. God takes the words we speak as the conclusion of our expectation, in other words God takes what we say as that which we are believing for. Out of the heart proceed all the issues of life, so what's in your heart will be evidenced in your mouth to produce the issues of life.

"The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge!" – Ruth 2.12 (Amplified)

Tucked away in the heart of the Old Testament is this wonderful little book of Ruth, just eighty-five verses in length. This book tells of the young woman Ruth, who after she is widowed leaves her home land, her father and mother to follow and serve her mother in law. She embraces God as her own and His people as her people. She eventually meets up with Boaz who has heard of what she had done for Naomi in following her to their land. But what had she done? She had humbled herself under the mighty hand of God. She had left all to serve Naomi and she had gone to glean with the other servant girls to provide food for herself and Naomi. That humility took her straight into the place of providence and blessing. God honours and raises those that humble themselves. The Lord will recompense them and a full reward will be given them. They will be exalted to inherit all the land. What happened to this young woman? – God exalted her, God raised her up, God honoured her. She became wife to Boaz, great grand-mother to King David and found a place in the genealogy of Jesus. What an honour – the Lord recompensed her and gave her a full reward.

"Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." – Isaiah 51.11 (AV)

I've said it before and I will say it again, there is something unique about those who have been born again in that they have an inexpressible joy that cannot be taken from them – it's one of the hallmarks of a spirit filled life. The redeemed have a song of joy on their lips, a song of sins forgiven, a song of deliverance. This prophetic word was given to let His people know that God would bring them out of captivity – the redeemed of the Lord would return to Zion. The sorrows and mourning of a time in Babylon would be turned into joy and gladness, praise and dancing. Are you in captivity today? Are you captive to some addiction, a habit, to depression, poverty, sickness or some other physical infirmity? Then let the word of God strengthen and encourage you today – the sorrow of that captivity will be turned into joy, the times of mourning will be replaced by dancing. Are you the redeemed of the Lord? Then begin to declare His praise. The psalmist said 'Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy' (Psalm 107.2). Go ahead and say so, let your mouth be filled with laughter and joy and see those chains of sorrow and captivity be broken in Jesus' name.

"Overhearing but ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing." – Mark 5.36 (Amplified)

I like this passage of Scripture, we see Jairus coming to Jesus in faith for His daughter who is very sick and at the point of death. Yet he believes that Jesus can turn this situation around. On the way to his house they are delayed by a woman who is also sick and has faith in Jesus. While Jesus ministers to her, messengers from Jairus' house meet them on the road with bad news – the little girl has died. Do you like the Amplified translation: Jesus overheard and chose to ignore what they said and urged Jairus to do the same – don't give in to fear but keep on believing. It's too easy to just roll over and accept bad news about a situation when it presents itself. If you have a word then you must keep on believing if you're to see the expected result. Choose to ignore the bad report and fix your focus completely on the promises of the Word of God. Jairus had just witnessed a great miracle on the way down to his house. He could have blamed his daughters death on the woman for delaying Jesus, but rather than focus on that all he had to do was keep on believing and not lose heart, give up or accept the bad news as truth. The Bible says, 'Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart' (Galatians 6.9)

"In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good" – Ecclesiastes 11.6 (NKJV)

I finished yesterday quoting the verse in Galatians 6.9, 'Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart'. The text verse from Ecclesiastes says something very similar. Don't stop sowing your seed for you do not know which will grow, whether one, the other or both. Whenever we give of our money, time, love, the gospel or whatever we must do it continually and cheerfully. Did you receive the gospel first time? or did you continue to have people drop small seeds of the word into your life from time to time until it grew and produced salvation in you? What would have happened if someone had given up on you after the first time? Let us not grow weary in doing good, giving, loving, encouraging, sharing the gospel. There will be a harvest in due season – the key words there are due season. The seeds will produce in their season, our responsibility is to keep on sowing and not give up.

"And for this cause we still give praise to God, that, when the word came to your ears through us, you took it, not as the word of man, but, as it truly is, the word of God, which has living power in you who have faith." – 1 Thessalonians 2.13 (Bible in Basic English)

Whenever we hear the word preached, sung or even as we read it from our Bibles we are to receive it as the word of God and believe it. Now what is meant by believing is not just mental assent of it - we can all do that. What is meant is that we believe it, I mean really believe it, take it to heart and act upon it. That's when it becomes effective in our lives, it effectively works in us producing the intended requirement. Listen to what the Bible in Basic English says: '... which has living power in you who have faith'. When we receive the word as God's word and believe it (act as though it's true) it has living power in us. There is another verse at the end of this book in 1 Thessalonians 5.24 which reads 'He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it'. When we trust in God's word we find that He is faithful and He will do it, He will perform it and bring it to pass. That's the word working effectively in us producing the results that we need.

"And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink" – Luke 5.7 (AV)

The work of God is not just a one man operation. God may raise up a single person to start and lead a project but ultimately it is God's work and not man's. One person cannot do or fulfil all that God intends for the work and needs others to come alongside to support with prayer, finance and work. This is clear from the verse in Luke 5.7, Peter under instruction from Jesus launched his fishing boat to let down the nets, even though he had been out all night fishing, he went out again at Jesus' command. As he was obedient to the Lord, the net began to fill up with fish until there were more than he could handle in his little boat. So he beckons to others around, his partners, to come over and help them land the fish that were now causing his net to break. Together they brought the catch ashore and marvelled at the miracle that had just happened. We need each other, I need you, you need me – the work of God is not just one man. We see another perfect example of this Nehemiah. God puts the work on the heart of Nehemiah but it took many partners to come alongside to get the work done. Partnership is a God-ordained union that enables us to pool resources, talents, time and effort to get the work of God done. There are people today working for God at home and overseas that need your partnership, your prayerful support, your faithful giving and your valued input. Can you hear the call 'come and help us'? Pray today to see who you should come alongside and help in the work of the Kingdom.

"And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" – Philippians 4.7 (Amplified)

I particularly like this verse as it reads in the Amplified Bible. It is connected to the previous verse by the word 'and' which is all about prayer. It says how we should bring our requests and petitions to God, asking Him without worry or fear. When we throw all the concern of our needs onto Him and take no thought for them like it tells us to, then something happens to our hearts. Where it could be filled with worry or fear it is now filled with peace. That peace has a special job to do – it guards and garrisons your heart and mind so that no evil thought can penetrate. The word garrison means to build a fortification or place of defence from an enemy. That's what peace does it fortifies your heart and mind and defends them from the enemy while you're in faith for the answer to your prayer. Yes the devil may fire a few arrows of doubt and unbelief but the peace of God will protect you as you raise your shield of faith. Do you have a need today, then don't worry about it or fret over it, pass it on to Jesus by prayer and allow God's peace, a peace that transcends all human understanding, to set up a garrison around your heart and mind until the answer comes.

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" – 1 John 4.16 (AV)

God is love; All that God is can be wrapped up in that one small word, love. If you want to live in God and have God live in you, you too must live in love. That's what the essence of this verse is about, live in love. Now the love which is being spoke about in this verse is not eros, that sexual erotic love that the world craves and understands. This is agape, the highest form of love there is, this is the God-kind of love, love without any conditions. The world does not understand this love but we do because God is love, and He lives in and through us expressing His love in us and through us. Even though, we still have to walk in it, loving others as God loves us. We cannot hate our brother, we may not like or agree with him, he might be a right thorn in our side but we must still love him. I preached a series of teaching once called 'Love: The Most Excellent Way' this was taken from the great love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13 and it showed that love is the most excellent way to live. Why not take time today to re-read that chapter in Corinthians and allow the love of God to manifest itself in and through you.

"Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you]" – Deuteronomy 28.47 (Amplified)

A few days ago I wrote that joy is one of the hallmarks in the life of the Christian and it marks us out above all others. But here is a verse that connects joy and gladness with obedience. In the early verses of this chapter there is a list of a number of blessings that were promised to the obedient. But this verse and those following it state that their enemies would come against them, and curses come upon them if they did not serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness for what He had done and how He had blessed them. There is a connection with joyfulness and obedience. The obedient live joyfully, the joyful are obedient to Him. Being thankful is God's will for us who are in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5.18). If in the natural we do not thank people for what they do or give us we will soon find that those blessings will dry up. People will not want to help us, they will cease giving us gifts, why?, because we are not thankful. The psalmist says four times in Psalm 107, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men". So let us serve the Lord with joy and gladness, not just for all that He has done but also for who He is and we will continue to enjoy the goodness and abundance of the Lord in this life.

"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ" – 2 Thessalonians 3.5 (NKJV)

One of our prayers should be that God would direct and lead us into the love of God and the patience of Christ. Loving God is the first and great commandment – we should love the Lord with all our heart. The concept of patience is that we remain steadfast and consistent. What does this mean for us? We are asking God to lead us into Him, His love, that we remain and abide in it. Jesus speaking to His disciples in John 15 said that if we remain in Him we abide in His love. Our fruitfulness is dependent on abiding in Him, remaining in Him or staying steadfast and consistent in the Lord. When we stay and remain in that love, not only will we be fruitful but Jesus promised that we could ask whatever we desire and it would be done for us.
Prayer: ‘So Lord keep our hearts and direct them into your love, and direct us to be steadfast and remain in your love, that we might be fruitful and glorify You’

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." – Acts 4.33 (NKJV)

Grace, which is the love and favour of God, was upon all the disciples. The context of the Scripture from where this verse is taken comes after the apostles were threatened and forbidden to speak any more in the name of Jesus. After they had prayed and committed this situation to the Lord, the Bible says that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and the boldness and confidence that comes from God enabled them to speak the word. As they moved under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit and continued preaching and teaching giving witness to the resurrection of the dead, the grace of God came upon them. The favour of God came upon them and gave them everything they needed. As we begin to minister for the Lord, whether we are in the pulpit or on the shop floor, we can be assured of all that we need both spiritually, physically and materially. As we preach, teach and witness, God’s grace comes upon His children to enable us to be effective ministers. So pray, preach and know His power and provision.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil." – Proverbs 3.5-7 (NKJV)

Do not be wise in your own eyes! Those who want to appear wise to the world lean to their own understanding, they try and give others benefits from their past experiences or offer advice based on what they have done or would do. True wisdom is trusting in the Lord with all our heart. It is acknowledging, recognising and knowing the Lord. He is wisdom, He knows the path we need to take. He goes before us preparing the way so He can direct our paths. If we trust in Him and follow His leading we will find true wisdom. Wisdom will lead us so that we have health and strength in our bodies. There will be blessing in our material sphere, provision and prosperity. We will enjoy fullness of days and longevity of life. The wise king that penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says ‘Happy is the man who finds wisdom’ (v13). Do not be wise in your own eyes but rather find wisdom by leaning and trusting in God.

"Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?" – Haggai 2.3 (NKJV)

The House of God was glorious, it was filled with the glory – the awesome power and presence of God. We see in the time of Solomon that the glory was so great, it prevented the priests from continuing to minister. However, in this chapter we read that the temple was now run down and in ruins, yet the people themselves were living in paneled houses. They had forsaken the House of God, they considered it as nothing (they couldn’t be bothered) and their own lives were being affected. The attitude of many Christians needs to change in this respect. So many consider the house of God as nothing, some don’t even turn up, others are regularly late, and some are only there because they feel obliged – they don’t really want to be there or join in. This is one of the reasons why the church (on the whole) does not see the miraculous like the early church in Acts. They don’t see the moving of the glory of the Lord. We need to honour the house of God - be on time, joining in, sacrificing, praying, giving our faith to the service, don’t just follow a pattern but move with the leading of the Holy Spirit. When we honour God and respect Him, God will honour that with manifestations of His glory.