Rebecca Brand
"God is within her, she will not fail." Psalm 46:5
Stepping with God
Sometimes, we can be in such a hopeless situation that when we let go and trust God, He can bring good out of our despair.
Joseph’s success, came from him putting his faith in God and stepping into action. In other words, he trusted God to do the divine part, and Joseph completed everything he could control, to the best of his ability.
We must remember to try our best within the circumstances we are facing because our faithfulness can affect our entire family, and just like Joseph, God honours our faithfulness, when we step out.
Joseph could never have known what was to come but he literally stepped each day, into his destiny
The New You
I love it when Scripture gets stuck in my mind. It’s like I can’t think of anything else, and I begin to think about what it is that God is trying to show.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were cast out of Eden in order for them to be kept away from the Tree of Life.
I had never really contemplated this before because I was too caught up in the devastation of Adam and Eve being outside of God’s presence in Eden.
However, if they had eaten from the other tree in the middle of Eden, sin would be present for eternity, and this is why it’s guarded until Jesus returns.
God’s plan is beautiful with His redemptive love because we see this in Revelation 22, when the Tree of Life becomes available to us again, as sin is no more in the new Jerusalem.
One day we will all be back with the Messiah, and there will be a “new you”. No more will God use sinners to reflect His goodness in this world because we will all be in our purest form…perfection…how it was intended all along.
6 Things to Believe in This Christmas
Sometimes, we just need a little reminder, just how good, God truly is.
Jesus really is the reason for this season, and so, no matter how we celebrate this time of year, let’s not forget to come and truly adore Him – for who He is – but to also celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, which fulfilled words spoken long before that day
And remember, if He’s done it before, He’s going to do it again 🙌🏼
Are We Pushy Parents?
For most of us, we don’t want what we have been given in life, and we want what others have received
Desire, lust, and even to covet, are talked about in the Bible because God knew that our soul would want what it didn’t have
I have realised that this can be so true, regarding parents and their children
I am guilty of trying to push Sarai into her God-given calling (that I know is to come) rather than let her walk that path on her own
Yet, why do I/We try to play God? (I assume I’m not on my own here!)
I was reading the passage about Esau and Jacob today, where Isaac is tricked into giving Jacob what was rightfully Esau’s blessing
Rebekah saw an opportunity for God’s plan to come to pass, and she ran with it. No regard for ”in God’s timing” or that she was deceiving not only her Husband, but herself
Rebekah in that moment became a ”pushy parent” and Jacob allowed her to be
Rebekah pushed a way, into God blessing Jacob, through Isaac, at that precise time
Real love gives others freedom
I’m not talking about allowing a 2-year-old to do what they want, but at some point a parent will see an opportunity that they know would benefit their adult child, and we can manipulate, not only our child/ren but others too, in order to get it
Today, we need to realise that it is easy to say that we love someone, but so much harder to give them the freedom, they need, to make those choices on their own.
Are you Kicking and Screaming through Life?
The Israelites went through the wilderness for 40 years, in what could have been, a week-long journey, but when things are taking longer than we initially expected, we need to seek God.
Is there something that He is wanting to teach us?
Maybe there is an area in our lives that are yet to be dealt with, or we have refused to surrender to God?
Although we may think differently at the time, know that one day, we will look back at this period in our lives, and thank God, that He encouraged and equipped us for what was to come.
The wilderness need not be a place where we kick and scream, to try and get our own way, but more, it can become a time of exponential growth, because we are being obedient to the call of God
Talking to God
Imagine talking to God about everything…every little detail in our lives…always, because ultimately that’s what God desires…to have that intimacy with us, and for each of us to desire Him, and to know Him, for who He truly is
Yet, we still seem to choose different distractions in life, rather than having quality time with God. We become rebellious without even giving it a second thought.
Days go by, maybe weeks, or dare I say it, months, of not seeking the One who saves our soul
In the Scripture found in Isaiah, I love the conversationalist dialogue from God. He’s talking about His children going against Him but ultimately He will make their sins “white as snow” if only they’d come back to Him
“Come now, let’s settle this,” is an invitation, that, no matter where you are on the journey, you need only cry out to your Heavenly Father, and He will be there for you
It is a way back…
A simple conversation that need not be complicated, but more, He is waiting with open arms…not as the authoritarian that we sometimes, wrongly, imagine Him to be, but as a loving Father, waiting for His child to return
We have become “prodigals” and we don’t even realise it…
It’s time to come back, and start talking to God, daily
Be a Barnabas
Barnabas’ name means “Son of Encouragement” and he most certainly stayed true to his given nickname!
Barnabas and Paul fell out in the Book of Acts because Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on the second Missionary journey with them, but John Mark had let down Paul during the first journey, that Paul firmly said no.
I find it interesting that both Paul and Barnabas stayed true to their callings, even though it meant not journeying together any longer.
How many of us forgo our callings to maybe be with friends or loved ones?
Or that we assume we are always supposed to stay on the same path as once before?
Yet, because Barnabas spent time discipling and encouraging John Mark – we read later on that Paul then specifically asks for John Mark to come to where Paul was, because of whom John Mark had become (2 Timothy 4:11)
Like Barnabas, as Christian’s, we need to encourage others to remain faithful, because eventually, they may walk into their God-given calling, because someone never gave up on them.
I have seen people assume that the gift of encouragement is a “lesser gift,” yet here, Barnabas shows just how effective we can be, when we rise others up to greater future opportunities, than even ourselves, may be given
Walking with Jesus
This morning, I was thinking about the song from Mercy Me, again, and how I will react when I am actually in God’s presence
I can only Imagine…
Surrounded by You glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all…
I can only imagine
Have you thought about what will happen?
When we are surrounded by His love that we cannot actually fathom here on Earth
To see God’s true glory – His light – shining all around us, in us, and through us
That brilliance of white, which we can never see with our human eye, because it’s brighter than the sun, and yet, we will be able to walk with God…by His side
Have you imagined that moment?
I love this Psalm because it puts into context what happens when we find Jesus, in this lifetime…
When we know Him, we realise that there is actually no darkness in this world, because circumstances, situations, and people, simply have the absence of light.
The light that Jesus gives, makes us realise how much we need Him, every day, and ultimately, how much the world needs, His life-giving light
My prayer is for the day when we have all found Jesus, and are walking in His glorious light
Standing out from the Crowd
The Vatican is one of my most favourite places in the world, I could stand in its corridors for hours, and look at the Masterpieces’ all over the walls, and the ceilings.
I remember walking down this corridor and my breath was literally taken away.
The intricacies and the detail in every millimetre of this painting were stunning. It’s crafted by hand, one stroke at a time, it is so complex and unique that I have never seen anything like it before and I doubt again, that I ever will.
Then I look at myself in the mirror and pick apart everything that I see. Every fibre handcrafted by God, to be beautifully unique – a masterpiece – in His creation.
If only my soul would realise that I was born to stand out from the crowd. That I am fearfully and wonderfully made. No wrinkle is a mistake, no grey hair, no varicose vein, no freckle, no extra pound of flesh, a mistake.
I am one of a kind…
…but, if I can realise this in a painting, from a person created by God, how much more does God think that, of myself, or of you?
The Year of Trusting
This year has been one for the books…
I have been asked, by God, to do things out of my comfort zone, but to also step out and trust Him in the journey He wanted me to go on
He has been my hope, and anchor, in times of need
He has given me a joy that has overflowed into different areas of life, and people have noticed this
But ultimately, in the year of craziness, I have had a peace like never before, and I honestly believe it’s because we trusted, as a family, in God’s goodness and faithfulness to provide, to come through in our circumstances, and any situation we were faced with
Friends said to us recently, that they are believing for more in their lives, after watching our journey unfold, because if God did it for us, He’ll do it again
Never underestimate the power of your testimony
What are you trusting God for?
We Thank You, God
Life is BUSY and everywhere I go, or no matter whom I speak with, I hear the same thing…
I’m busy… Life is just busy…
We are all busy!
I was thinking this morning that I really dislike the word “busy”.
Not because the word or meaning is a bad thing, as such, but because our circumstances mean, that, in life, we have a lot going on, especially in this Festive Season.
Yet, the action of busyness brings distractions, which more than likely, means we forget to spend time with God.
We need to be reminded that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Don’t forget to thank God for the people in your life. Or the good day that you have had. The fresh air you breathe. Or even that you get to speak to Him because you found your Saviour!
It need only take a minute…
But, in that minute, thanking God that He is with you brings more thankfulness in our hearts, that the minute may turn into five, or ten, or more
My favourite thing is to speak to God about anything but especially thankfulness and gratitude, but then watch my Spirit take over, as I run out of words…
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words (Romans‬ â€8:26‬)
If you don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit does
Are We a ”Know it All”?
I love this verse – it literally makes me laugh out loud
There was a time in my life, that I was proud (and not in a good way) but I would want to be the “big fish in the little pond,” so to speak. That meant that I wanted to be seen to be the best, no matter what.
It wasn’t the best time in my life because I was harsh in the way I conducted myself, and I definitely didn’t put others feelings or needs in front of my own! Looking back, striving had become a default, because I was looking for approval of those around me and I now realise that I didn’t understand my true identity.
God will put many different people in our lives and each one has the ability to shape us more into the person we were created to be.
These people might push us to our limits with patience or frustration, but on the other hand, we may enjoy every second as they enrich our lives.
Yet, whatever other people can give us – good or bad – they were created by God for a purpose, and therefore, the verses in Romans 12 summarise the core of Christian living.
We don’t know it all – no matter what we initially think…we cannot see another person’s journey, choices, or circumstances and therefore, my prayer for today, is that regardless of whether we are in a room with the influential, rich, and famous; or a homeless person, criminal, or maybe even a bully – we recognise them as a person loved by God. That we remember that He died for them, just as He did for us, at Calvary, and therefore, we show everyone the love, grace, and forgiveness – just as God freely shows us
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