Tag: Bible

~ Outsmarting the devil ~

The devil has been Tricking people for Thousands of years with Lies & Deception to turn people Away from God.

Since the first ever Humans stepped foot on earth, the devil has been Tricking them. It started with Adam & Eve. They where the Purest people that have ever existed. They knew No evil, until the devil Tricked Eve into eating from the 'Tree of the knowledge of Good and evil' (the Only Tree that God asked them Not to eat from).

Ever since then the devil has been Tricking people into going Against God's Loving Guidance, and to Disobey our own Creator ~ God.

The devil has now had Thousands of years of Experience of 'How' to Trick people. He has practiced on Billions & Billions of people over the years and he knows what works and what doesn't. He has fine tuned his Tactics.

The devil has been Allowed to take 'evilness' to such a level that it now goes Unnoticed by the Majority of people in society. People are now Living in Ways that God 'Never' Intended for us to Live. 
Even people who want to Follow God are being Tricked by the devil through 'Wrong' Ways of Living that have got into society 'Undetected'.

Some people are trying to fight back against evil, but unfortunately they're 'Leaving God Out' and trying to solve the problems on their 'Own Understanding'.  It's simply Not working.

The problem is that 'Every' Human being has only been on earth for a Fraction of the time that the devil has been around. He has far More Experience, and he knows how to Trick people.

There is Only 'One' person who has been around as long as the devil.

His name is Jesus Christ.

No other person in History has as much Experience & Knowledge as Jesus.
He knows 'Every' Trick the devil has ever used. He knows 'Every' Lie & Deception that the devil has ever told.

The devil 'Tried' to Trick Jesus when He was in the wilderness for 40 days, but Jesus didn't Fall for it, He saw Straight through the devils Trickery.

It's Time for us All to 'Outsmart' the devil and Stop his evilness from spreading around the world any longer.

The 'Only' way we can do that is by 'Teaming Up' with the One person who has Never been Tricked by the devil ~ that is 'Jesus Christ'.

If You want to make a Positive Difference in the world and Outsmart the devil, then say this short Prayer with a Sincere Heart, and then Follow it through with Action.

“Lord Jesus, I don't want to be Tricked by the devil Ever again,
and I want to Help other people Not be Tricked either.

I want to Outsmart the devil.

I don't have the Experience or Knowledge of How to do it, but
' You Do'.
Jesus You were there at the Beginning.
You have Seen & Heard Everything.
Only You have the answers.
Lord I Choose to 'Team Up' with You to Outsmart the devil.
Together we Can Do It. 
Amen”. 

~ Wobbly World or Solid Support ~

I was watching some pigeons flying around and one landed on a telegraph wire. It's little feet Clung to the Wire as it tried to get its balance, wobbling forwards and backwards.

As it Wobbled forward it flicked its tale up to counter balance, and as it Wobbled backwards it stuck its head up to compensate for the Wobble.

This went on for quite a Long Time. There was a few brief moments when it looked like it had settled, but then a slight gust of wind set it off again.

Every so often it flapped its wings in a Frantic attempt to steady itself, whilst all the time Clinging to the Wire in the Hope that it would Support it.

As the pigeon Wobbled, the Wire Wobbled with it, and it made it Worse for the pigeon trying to get its balance.

A few feet away from the pigeon was a Solid telegraph pole. The pigeon was Wasting a Huge amount of Energy, Effort & Time trying to get its balance on an Unstable Wire, yet there was a Solid Place to Stand right next to it.

After quite a Long Time of Wobbling on the Wire, the pigeon came to its Senses and 'Let Go' of the Wire. It gave a few small flaps of its wings, 
Rose Above the Wire and landed Safely on the Solid Pole.

It Immediately got its balance and Calmly settled down. It looked Relaxed & at Peace, as though it Instinctively knew it was now in the Right Place.

As I watched all this happen, I reflected on how my Life used to be Wobbly before I started my 'Journey with Jesus'.

I used to Cling to 'Worldly Ways' of Living and I Wasted a Big part of my Life trying to Compensate for the 'Imbalance' of the 'Worlds Way' to Live Life.

I Wasted Huge amounts of Energy, Effort & Time trying to 'Please People' and 'Fit In' with society, yet just like the pigeon I was Clinging to the Wrong Thing.

I 'Thought' that the 'Worlds Way' of Living would give me Security, Safety, Peace & Joy. But as I 'Wobbled' the World 'Wobbled' with me. 
There was No Stability in the 'Worlds Way'.

Yet All the time I was Clinging to a 'Wobbly World', the Solid Love of Jesus  was right Next to me.

Just like the pigeon Needed to 'Let Go' of the 'Wobbly Wire', I Needed to 'Let Go' of the 'Wobbly Ways' of the world.

I came to my Senses and 'Let Go' of the world and now I feel Relaxed and at Peace. I Instinctively know I'm now in the Right Place 
~ With Jesus, where I Should have been all along.

If Your Life feels Wobbly, 
then its time to 'Let Go' of 'Worldly Ways of Living', 
it's Not where You're Supposed to Be.

The Solid Love of Jesus is 'Right Next to You'.

~ Bloom ~

(This Writing is based on a short Inspirational Talk that 
my Lovely Wife gave in 2018. Hope you Enjoy it).

We often buy plants that have been reduced in price by the shops because they don't 'Meet Up to The Shops Standards'.

When we first get them they're usually a bit droopy, in need of a Good Water and maybe a bit of pruning, but with just a little bit of Love and Affection they Bloom Beautifully.

We bought 2 'Cyclamen Plants' that had been reduced to 20p each because they looked like they were dying. 
That was about 7 years ago and they are Still Growing Strong. Their Leaves Inspire us with their Beautiful Patterns, and each year they Bloom with Lovely Flowers.

Someone had reduced the 'Value' of these Beautiful plants when there's nothing actually wrong with them, it's just that they don't meet with 'Peoples Expectations' of what plants should look like.

This is the same in our Lives. 
People put our 'Value' down just because we don't meet up to 
'Their Expectations'. 

Well, people might put our Value down and try to make us feel worthless,
but the Truth is, in God's eyes we are 'Priceless'. 

When we simply Accept Gods Wonderful Love and Care 
then We too Can Bloom.

~ Growing Happily & Peacefully Together ~

I'm often 'Inspired by Nature' in many Wonderful ways, especially in the Beautiful Highlands of Scotland.

One of the Inspirations was whilst walking around a Peaceful Forest. 

I noticed Tall Trees that were 'Well Established' and had probably been there for Hundreds of years.

Next to them were 'Younger Trees', and they were Happily Growing with the 'Well Established Trees'.         

There were Many Different Varieties of Trees including Pines, Beech, Spruces, Larch, Yew Trees & many others, all Growing Happily & Peacefully Together.

Every Tree was Different in it's own Unique way, yet they were all Growing Together to Create a 'Beautiful and Peaceful' environment.

There was no arguments about who's been there longer, no jealousy between Trees wanting to be like other Trees, no fighting over who's got the best position in the forest, there was no stealing each others soil, no childish name calling and no lies & manipulation.

All the Trees were living in 'Harmony' with each other.

Every Individual Tree was simply 'Being' what God Created it to 'Be'. 
And because of that, the Forest became a Beautiful, Peaceful and Inspiring place to be.

It's no wonder that Wildlife choose to live in the Forests.

The Trees were living Happily and Peacefully Together, and that's how God Created 'people' to be as well. 

If we all just 'Be' who God Created us to 'Be', then we can all live in Peace and Harmony with each other. 

God Created us All to 'Be' in the 'Image of God'.

There's no Greater Harmony than that.

When we put our Faith in God (and Only God) we can all be like a Beautiful Forest, Growing Happily & Peacefully Together.         

We can Create a Welcoming & Inspiring 'Forest of Faith', just like the Trees. 

When we all simply Live our Lives how God 'Intended' us to live, 
then people will say:

It's no wonder that people choose to Live In 
'The Forest of Faith'

 Live 'Like a Tree' and Help to Create      
   Gods Forest of Faith.

~ New Growth ~ Nature's Inspiration ~

A few years ago I discovered Prayer Walks, which are basically a Peaceful, Quiet Walk with the Intention of being Open to Whatever God would like to Communicate to You whilst you walk.  

I decided to give it a try whilst walking around our Tree Collection in our garden. (My Wife and I collect Tree saplings from Inspiring Places, and we're Growing them with a vision to Plant a Peaceful Pinetum). 

Before I started my Prayer Walk, I said a short Prayer to God and asked Him to please 'Open my Eyes' and my 'Whole Being' to take in whatever ' He' would like to Communicate to me. 
Then I 'Cleared my Mind' and Quietly Walked around our Tree Collection with Complete Openness to God.

 As I walked around God gave me this Wonderful & Inspiring message.

~ The Trees in our collection had spent the past few months Absorbing as much Nutrients as they could from the soil ready for their New Growth.
 (It was Springtime as I did the Prayer Walk).

They've been Nourished & Watered through their Amazing Root System, 
'Now it's their Time to Grow'.

Gods message to me was that it's the same with All of us.

We have All been Absorbing Gods Wonderful Nourishment in many different ways throughout our Lives.

We've All been Nourished with Gods Wisdom, Encouragement, Support, Creative Opportunities, Teachings and Lots of His Love and Care. 

  We have All been Absorbing this Wonderful, Life Giving, Powerful and Loving Nourishment through our Amazing Root System of our Minds, Hearts and Souls.
Now its Our Time for 'New Growth'.

Just as the Trees have Stored up their Nourishment ready to Bloom into Action, 'Now' its Our time to put All our Nourishment into Action. 

My Wife and I are always Fascinated at seeing how the Trees in our collection Grow in 'Different Ways' and at 'Different Times' and 'Stages'.

Some of them start as Tiny Buds that get Bigger and Bigger until they Burst out of their protective shell to reveal their Beautiful and Intricate Pines.

Some of them Very Gently send New Growth on the end of their existing foliage, which is not always noticeable, but it's Still New Growth and Very Beautiful.

Some Trees only Grow by a few cm, yet others Grow a lot more.
One of our Trees shot up by 2 foot within a few months. 

Some are Early Growers and some Grow later in the year.

But No matter How they Grow, they are All Beautiful, Unique and 
Very Special to us. We Love them All.

That's how God Sees All of us.

We're All Unique, All at Different Stages,

 but He Loves Each One of us 'Individually',

 and we are All Very Special to Him.

~ Connect with a Creative God through Nature ~

God has Created many Beautiful & Inspiring things in Nature, and they can Help us to Connect with Him.

Think about the many types of Flowers and the Wonderful variety of Colours and Shapes.

Think how Creative God is to Design the Beautiful Patterns of a Butterfly.

There is a Huge variety of Tree's, all with different Shapes, Sizes and Colours, God Created every one of them.
Look at the Beautiful Patterns and Intricate Details of a single leaf.

My Wife and I Believe that God Created Nature in such a Beautiful way so that we can All Enjoy it.
Take time to 'Look Around' and Really 'Experience' the Amazing and Beautiful Nature that God has Blessed us with.

There are Billions of Tree's in the world, yet none of them are identical. Every Tree Grows slightly different so that each one is Unique. 

That's the same with people, God Created us All to be Unique.

God is a Creative God and because He made us in 'His own Image', that means we are Creative as well.
Every one of us has got our own 'Unique Creative Talents' that God has Blessed us with and we can use them 'Creatively' to Help Spread Gods Love.

We feel Closest to God when we're surrounded by Beautiful Nature.
We feel more Peaceful and Relaxed when we're away from all the noise and distraction of modern life.

We can 'Connect Better With God' when we're surrounded by Nature.
We Believe this is because God Created us All to be part of Nature.

God made Adam & Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden Surrounded by Tree's, Flowers and all of His Beautiful Nature.   

God Knew what He was doing when He Surrounded them with Nature, and He did it for a reason.
When you spend time In Nature With God, you Understand why.

A Great way to Grow in your Faith is to 'Get Back To Nature'.

Trees are Very Inspiring and we can all Learn a Lot from them.
How does a tiny Tree Saplings Grow and become so Tall and Strong ?

Well they need to do 3 Very Important things:

1. They need to develop a Good Strong Root System.
 ~ And that's the same for us all. To Grow in our Faith we need to 
develop a Good Strong Root System by forming a Close Relationship with Jesus, Deeply Rooted in Gods Love.

2. The Trees need to Absorb as much Nutrients as they can from the soil.
 ~ We need to Absorb all the Nutrients we can from God. We can do this by Reading the Bible, Praying, and Spending time With God in Nature.
The more Nutrients you Absorb, the more you will Grow.

3. The Trees need to Reach up to the sky and spread out their Branches & Leaves to Absorb as much sunlight as they can.
 ~ We need to Reach up to God with our Arm's Open Wide in Complete Trust, ready to Receive the Warmth of His Amazing and Wonderful Love.

You are One of God's Beautiful Creations.

Connect with God in Nature,
and Grow into the Wonderful Person He Created You to Be.

~ Let Your Gift Glorify God ~

God has given us All a Gift that is Unique & Individual to each one of us.
That Gift might be a Talent, a Skill, an Idea, a Passion for a Good Cause etc.

Some peoples Gifts might seem big while others might seem small, but the Truth is that to God they are All Equally Important.

Over the years my Wife & I have been Very Inspired by different people who have used their Gifts to 'Give Glory' to God.   Here are a few of them:

~ The great artist Bob Ross used his Gift of 'Teaching How To Paint' to Inspire people to See & Enjoy the Beauty that God has Created in Nature. He also used his Gift to Encourage people to Believe in themselves and in what they are capable of Achieving.
His Calming TV Painting program Inspired Millions of people with his Happy & Positive Attitude, which is how God Created us All to Live.

~ Wintley Phipps uses the Gift of his Truly Beautiful Singing voice to Glorify God (and Only God). His Steadfast Faith strengthened him to devote his Entire singing career to songs that Give Glory to God, even when he had Many offers & opportunities to sings in 'worldly' music.
By saying No to the 'world' and Yes to God, Wintley has led Millions of people to God through his singing, and Filled their Ears & Souls with Joy.

~ A Wonderful Lady called Jean that we were Blessed with being friends with used her Gift of 'Love & Care' for people to Glorify God. 
She was part of a Luncheon Club that provided a monthly meal & get together for a Residential Home. Jean would bake Delicious cakes & biscuits for the people to Enjoy and she would give Fun & Inspiring talks and sing songs with the people, all based around God's Wonderful Love & Care.
At the age of 80 Jean had cancer yet she Continued to Give her Love & Care to others. Even when she was in a lot of pain & discomfort she was more concerned about other people.
Jean was a True Inspiration of God's Love & Care and she will be Forever Singing with the Angels in Heaven and giving Glory to God. 

These are just a few of the Many people who have Inspired us by letting their Gifts Glorify God.

We All have Gifts from God. 
These might be ~ Creativity, Singing, Writing, the Gift of Listening, Caring for people, Art, a Passion for Nature, Poetry, it might be a Gift of Baking, Inspiring Talks, Being their for people, Helping people to relax etc, etc.

There are Many different forms of Gifts that God Gives to us.

Whatever ' Your' Gift is, use it in a Positive Way to Give Glory to God. Whether Your Gift is big or small, it's Very Important to God and He will Truly Appreciate it when You use Your Gift for God.

If You use Your Gift to Lead someone to God and help 'Save a Soul',
then You will have Achieved More than All of the 
'accomplishments' of 'worldly' people put together.

God gave ' You'  Your Personal Gift for a reason.

Let Your Gift Glorify God.

~ Blessing ~

May Your Heart, Mind and Soul 

be Blessed with God's

 Peace that Goes Beyond Understanding,

Pure Everlasting Love that Never fails,

And Exceedingly Great Joy

as 'You Journey with Jesus'

~ Breakfast ~

Breakfast literally means the 'First Meal of the Day'.
The  word Breakfast explains itself perfectly – the First thing you eat is 'Breaking' the 'Fast' that your body has been in whilst you sleep.

There are 2 types of Breakfast that we all have.

The most obvious one is 'The Food we Eat'. 
I Enjoy a nice bowl of Porridge with a good handful of Raisins, a spoonful of Peanut Butter and a selection of Seeds such as Sunflower, Flax, Hemp and Sesame, all topped with a drizzle of Honey. All 100% Organic & Natural.

This Breakfast is full of Good Nutrients to set my body up for a Good Day. Because there are No 'Artificial Chemicals' or 'Junk' in it, then my body is Not being Polluted with things God did Not intend to be In our bodies.

By simply eating a Good Nutritious Breakfast I'm giving my body the Best Start to the day, and therefore the Best opportunity to Function how God 'Intended' it to Function. 

The other type of Breakfast that we all have is one that's often overlooked.
That is the 'First' things we 'Feed our Minds' at the Beginning of each day.

This includes a number of things such as what we 'Watch', 'Listen To', 'Read', what we 'Say' and 'Who' we talk with, and very Importantly what we 'Think'. All these are what we 'Feed our Minds' with at the Start of each day.

Many people turn the TV on to Watch 'The News'. Their Minds are Bombarded with Negative stories and 'doom & gloom' that the news reporters Dramatise to make it sound even worse than it is.

Many people Feed their Minds a Breakfast of 'Social Media', and their Minds are Polluted with 'Gossip', 'Childish Name Calling', 'Fakeness', 'Deceit',
'Lies and Manipulation'.

The Radio Pollutes peoples Minds with a concoction of sounds that our ears were Not designed to listen to, along with Strategically planed cunning Adverts to trick people into buying things they don't even want. 

Some people 'Check their emails' for Breakfast and Overload their Minds with 'Things To Do' before their Minds have even had chance to warm up.

And one of the most Dangerous types of Breakfast that people Pollute their Minds with is 'Their Own Negative Thoughts'. Dwelling on the past, Holding grudges, Plotting revenge, Worrying, Assuming the worst and Not Believing in themselves as the Wonderful Person God Created them to be. 

All of the above Artificial Worldly Rubbish will 'Pollute Your Mind' before your day has even Started. It will 'Set You Up' for a bad day. You'll be more prone to making mistakes, Your Mind will be less receptive to Helpful Advice, and it will make you more likely to lack in concentration. 

Non of this is how God Created You to be.

I prefer to spend Quiet Time with God saying a Prayer of Thankfulness when I wake up. 
The TV, Radio, Internet, Emails, Phone etc are Not a Priority for me, and they're often not even second, third, forth etc in my Priorities. There's Much Better and more Interesting things I prefer to 'Think' about and 'Do'.
I Read God's Wonderful and Nourishing Word in the Bible whilst eating my Breakfast. Then I sit Quietly and Relax for a while to give my body chance to Adsorb my 'Food Breakfast' and my Mind a chance to Adsorb the Breakfast I've just 'Fed my Mind'. 
By spending Quality Quiet Time with God when I First wake up and the First things I Do & Think about, then it 'Sets me up' for a Day with my Body & Mind Ready & Prepared to Function in the Best Possible Way ~ God's Way.

Feed 'Your Mind' with a Positive Breakfast. 

You Don't Need to know the 'TV News'. 
~ You 'Do' Need to know the 'Good News' of Jesus.

You Don't Need 'Social Media Gossip'. 
~ You 'Do' Need a Loving Relationship with God's Wonderful Son.

If you like listening to Music, then Treat Your Ears & Mind to a Breakfast of Inspiring & Uplifting music by Godly people.

Let Your smart Phone have a 'lie in', so Your Mind is Not Overloaded with a Polluted Breakfast of emails, texts and internet Junk.

And the Best Way to Stop your Own 'negative thoughts' from entering Your Mind, is to keep Your Mind 'Focused' on the Most Important thought of all, that is that 'God Loves You'.

God wants You to Enjoy a Wonderful Relationship in Your Mind with His Loving Son Jesus Christ.

Feed Your Mind a Healthy Positive Breakfast of God's Truth & Love. 

It will 'Set you up' for a Great Day where Your Mind can 
'Function at it's Best', just how God Intended it to.

The Greatest Breakfast of all is 'God's Love for You'. 

~ Preparing Your Time ~

Time management is not something that I'm good at , I usually end up running late for things.

Something I have learned that helps me with timing is to 'Prepare' my time. 

This involves a simple bit of planning ahead.

If you think about a chef making a top class meal in a restaurant. 
They prepare in advance the ingredients to go into the meal so that when the customer orders something, the chef has everything ready that they need so they can put it all together in an efficient way. 

If the chef waited until the order came in before they started even peeling the veg etc, then it would take a lot longer and would probably be a rushed job to get the meal made, resulting in the end product not being as good as what it could have been.

When you 'Prepare' your time in advance, you usually end up with more time to do whatever it is you are doing and you can be more relaxed. 
This helps reduce your stress levels and become more efficient. 
And then the end result of whatever you are doing will be a Lot Better.

By just taking a little time to plan ahead you can 
improve your lifestyle and also Enjoy your time a lot more. 

Prepare Your Time, so You can Enjoy Your Time.