‘The peace of God…will guard your hearts and minds.’ Philippians 4:7 NIV When you feel anxious and afraid, here are two things that can help: 1) Find a ‘faith friend’. When anxiety grabs your mind, one of the most powerful ways to break the worry spiral is to talk to a ‘faith friend’. When Israel went out to occupy the promised land, here’s what God said to them: ‘Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too’ (Deuteronomy 20:8...

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.’ Revelation 2:11 NKJV You can read the same Scripture at different times, and it’ll speak to you in totally different ways. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with saying, ‘You never step into the same river twice.’ And you never read the same Bible verse the same way twice. That’s a testament to its heavenly author. And His illumination and revelation of Scripture to you is based on His intimate and unlimited knowledge of your...

‘Let us hold fast…without wavering…He who promised is faithful.’ Hebrews 10:23 NKJV During the creation process, God counted days based on the previous nights. The Bible doesn’t say, ‘The morning and evening were the first day.’ It says, ‘God called…the evening and the morning…the first day’ (Genesis 1:5 KJV). That means God specialises in bringing light out of darkness – you just have to get through one to get to the other! God told Moses that the angel of death would come at night, and...

‘Make sure you understand what the Master wants.’ Ephesians 5:17 MSG To fulfil God’s plan for your life, you need to do these: 1) Map out your day. Plan your time and stick to your plan. Only one out of three people do that. One leadership expert says, ‘It’s…rare…that I get up in the morning wondering what I’ll be doing that day.’ He uses his time in the most efficient and effective way he can. That’s one reason why he’s ended up a leader, and an expert! 2) Keep first things first. Goethe...

‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ 1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV There’s a story about a boy who comes home and doesn’t know the pastor is paying a visit to his mum at that moment. He runs into the house, carrying a dead rat, and shouts, ‘Mum, you’ll never guess what. There was a rat running around in the garage. I saw it, threw a stone, and hit it. It just lay there, so I went over and stamped on it. Then I picked it up and hurled it against the wall.’ Then he sees the pastor, and the look on...

‘They loved human praise more than the praise of God.’ John 12:43 NLT The Bible says: ‘Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God’ (vv. 42-43 NLT). How secure are you when you have to take the lead? When someone else has a great idea, do you support it or suppress it? Do you celebrate other people’s successes,...

‘Do not neglect the gift that is in you.’ 1 Timothy 4:14 NKJV The only way to keep improving is to keep practising. Nancy Dornan says, ‘The longest distance between two points is a shortcut.’ That’s really true. If you really want to grow in a particular area, you’ll need to work out what it will really take, including the price, and then determine to pay it. David didn’t suddenly discover his talent as a harpist when he arrived at King Saul’s palace. He developed it through years of...

‘Hear Me, everyone, and understand.’ Mark 7:14 NKJV Jesus said, ‘Hear Me, everyone, and understand.’ He spoke life-changing words, but He understood that preoccupied minds don’t always listen too well. Are you a good listener? 1) If you’re a leader in some way, do you listen to your followers? The kind of leaders people want to follow do more than just deal with the task at hand when they interact with you; they take the time to get a feel for who you are as a person. Philip Stanhope, the...

‘We all stumble in many ways.’ James 3:2 NIV When we make a mistake, we can end up fixating on it and punishing ourselves about it for ages. We overthink it, worry about it, think we’ve failed, and anticipate that we’ll just fail again. Once we’re in this mindset, it’s dangerous. Our self-esteem evaporates and we can label ourselves as failures. But this isn’t our identity. It’s true that we’ll make mistakes. James wrote: ‘We all stumble in many ways’ and Solomon said: ‘There’s not one...

‘A man who has friends must himself be friendly.’ Proverbs 18:24 NKJV    Jonathan and David had a very strong friendship. The Bible says: ‘By the time David had finished reporting to Saul, Jonathan was deeply impressed with David – an immediate bond was forged between them. He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David’s number-one advocate and friend’ (1 Samuel 18:1 MSG). Jonathan was heir to the throne, but he voluntarily gave it up because he knew his friend...

‘Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.’ Psalm 62:10 NIV If God can trust you with something small, He’ll trust you with more (see Luke 16:10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11). But His blessings come with certain conditions, and here are four you need to honour. 1) Don’t try to claim credit for yourself. God told the Israelites, ‘You may say to yourself…“My hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord…for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…If you...

‘It is…by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.’ Zechariah 4:6 NLT Sometimes it can feel like we’re having to face things on our own, that nobody is willing to walk alongside us or support us in what God’s calling us to do. People can often assume we’re strong and don’t need anything. It’s easy to become discouraged and give up when we feel we’re not being supported. But God never leaves us to face anything on our own. Zerubbabel was called to rebuild the temple. It was a huge task, so God told him,...

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.’ Colossians 4:2 NIV The word ‘watchful’ is a throwback to the Old Testament-era routine of sitting on a city wall and keeping watch. Watchmen were the first to see attacking armed forces or travelling merchants. They had the best vantage point. They saw what nobody else saw, and they saw things sooner than others saw them. That’s exactly what happens when we pray. We see what nobody else sees, and we see them sooner than others see...

‘But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.’ 1 Corinthians 2:10 NKJV The Bible says, ‘“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit’ (vv. 9-10 NKJV). Our five senses are limited, so the Holy Spirit compensates for them by enabling us to realise things we can’t perceive with our five senses. Think of Him as a sixth sense. That sense must be...

‘Give your servant a discerning heart.’ 1 Kings 3:9 NIV When God asked Solomon what he wanted, Solomon gave what we might think of as a surprising answer. Out of everything he could have wanted, he asked for the gift of wisdom. He prayed: ‘Give your servant a discerning heart…to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ Solomon recognised the value of wisdom. We all need wisdom. From decision-making to solving conflicts, we need to be able to...

‘The Spirit of truth…will lead you…and …tell you what is to come.’ John 16:13 NCV Making decisions without getting God’s guidance first is like trying to fly a plane without radar and a compass. You can do what makes sense based on your past knowledge and experience, but what ‘looks right’ can end up destroying what’s most important to you if it’s actually the wrong course to take. The Bible says even the most profound and complex human thinking looks simple to God (see 1 Corinthians...

‘Let us have…no envy of one another.’ Galatians 5:26 RSV Paul warned the early church about envy, and it’s still a problem. A friend gets better exam results, a co-worker gets promoted, a neighbour gets a new car. Do you rejoice with them, or force a tight smile? We’re human; an occasional flicker of envy is normal. But beware of harbouring a lingering sense of being cheated. The Roman historian Tacitus said, ‘When men are full of envy, they disparage everything…good or bad.’ When somebody...

‘If you accept correction, you will be honoured.’ Proverbs 13:18 NLT Solomon said, ‘If you accept correction, you will be honoured.’ Pastor Charlie Shedd gives us ten ways to grow through criticism: 1) Criticism is often a compliment. The barbs in daily life only strike people who are prepared to raise their heads above ground level. Jesus said, ‘Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down…it means…that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable’...

‘They shall still bear fruit in old age.’ Psalm 92:14 NKJV Does the thought of getting older depress you, make you anxious, or make you fatalistic in your outlook? If so, read this: ‘Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing’ (vv. 13-14 NKJV). Even thinking about how we’ll be ten years from now can fill us with anxious thoughts. Here are some ideas of how to stay ‘fresh...

‘My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.’ Isaiah 65:22 NIV We live in a society where showing signs of getting older can devastate our self-worth. But you don’t have to be a victim of that value system. ‘As the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands’ (v. 22 NIV). Someone said, ‘Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter!’ So, if you’re worrying about getting older and how it could...

‘As we live in God, our love grows more perfect.’ 1 John 4:17 NLT In today’s culture, the word ‘love’ means different things to different people. You can love your family, your country, your dog, your new mobile phone, and your car. But you don’t love your family the same way you love your mobile phone or your car. The kind of love we see in films and books where you fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat isn’t real love, it’s selfishness and immaturity. The Bible word agape (God’s...

‘The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.’ Proverbs 24:16 NLT When it comes to handling relationships, we all have our pluses and minuses, strengths and weaknesses. So to flourish in a relationship, we must learn to persevere. Even when we’ve done the best we can to reduce our potential for failure, we must still be ready for it. If we stay stuck in self-defeat, guilt, and shame over missed chances and incorrect choices in one particular relationship, we’ll never...

‘Walk in love as Christ also has loved us.’ Ephesians 5:2 NKJV Spiritual healing takes place when you’re able to confess your problem to someone mature enough to handle it and committed enough to not give up on you. What does it mean to ‘walk in love’? a) To be confident of God’s unfailing love towards you. b) To show His love to others. c) To be able to accept their love in return. Only then can you become spiritually whole. You can only be loved to the extent that you’re known. When you...

‘He…shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’ Psalm 91:1 NKJV What is ‘the shadow of the Almighty’? In the wilderness where Israel wandered for forty years, temperatures could reach over 54 degrees. (To put that into perspective, the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was 40.3 degrees in 2022.) There was no shade, except what was provided by the tents in which the people lived. So they understood this powerful metaphor, ‘under the shadow of the Almighty’. If you were lost in...