Myfishbites Lockdown Mini Bites by myfishbites

Myﬁshbites

LOCKDOWN MINI BITES 29 DAYS OF BIBLE THOUGHTS AND ENCOURAGEMENT

DAY ONE Genesis 6.22  Noah did everything just as God commanded him In Genesis we ﬁnd the account of Noah and the ark. The ark was a huge boat which God called Noah and his family to build. The Bible says that every thought of man was only evil and wicked. God wanted to make things right and Noah, his family and the ark were part of God’s solution. God’s plan was to make things new. He chose Noah because Noah was a ‘righteous man’ (a Godly man, despite his faults!) So Noah did as God commanded, built the ark and then one day as the rain started to fall, Noah, his family and the animals entered the ark and God closed the door. Noah was now sealed inside the boat. But God hadn’t trapped Noah on the ark or imprisoned him, even though Noah must have felt that way at times! Instead, God put Noah in the ark to protect him. As long as Noah was in the ark, he was safe. There was a storm raging around him and the world around seemed like it was being destroyed but Noah was protected because he was in the boat. When the storm had gone, God brought Noah into a new world and a new day. The story of Noah is a picture of our lives if we believe in Jesus. The ark represents Jesus. As long as we are ‘in Jesus’ (‘in the boat’) then we are ultimately safe. One day the storm will end

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DAY TWO 2 Timothy 3.16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful… On June 6 1944, the Allies launched ‘D-Day’ and landed on the Normandy beaches. Their aim was to re-take Europe from the Nazis. Incredible bravery was shown by thousands. Many thousands gave their lives so people could have the freedoms we have today. In order to land on the beaches, there were hundreds of things that the Allied forces had to do. For one thing they needed the right equipment and they needed to be ‘thoroughly equipped’ to do the job they needed to do - air support, naval support, transport, Mulberry Harbour, the right weapons, fuel etc. In order for D-Day to be eﬀective, there needed to be the right equipment in the right place at the right time. D-Day was the beginning of the end for the Nazis. When we get to know the Bible, we get to know God. We get to think his kinds of thoughts, do his work and be the kinds of people God made us to be. Getting the Bible inside of us and then ‘out’ of us in thought, word and action is essential to be an eﬀective part of what God wants to do to bring his love into people’s lives. The Bible is what helps us be ‘thoroughly equipped’ for every good work. We need to be just like the Allies who did a ‘good work’ on D-Day, went equipped and on to victory against the enemy. The way to do this is by reading and knowing the Bible.

DAY THREE Ephesians 4.16 - From him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Imagine for a moment that you are in a movie. You have a good part, have learned your lines, got yourself into the character and are ready to be filmed. The director of the movie tells you how he wants you to look, where you should walk into the scene from and who will be doing what. But you’ve got a better idea and decide to do what you want instead. You’d quickly find that you were no longer part of the movie! The problem? You were trying to direct instead of the director. Your ideas may be brilliant. But there is only one director! One translation of Ephesians 4.16 says that Jesus directs everything in the church. He is the director of the church in a much bigger and awesome way than any director of any movie. He sees and knows things we will never know. The problem sometimes is that we aren’t always listening to, or obeying the director. Many people want to be their own director but this never works well. Jesus is our director - the one who creates a perfect ‘movie’, helping each part do what it should to make the perfect picture. Think of it this way – you can have electricity cables in your house but if they’re not connected then you won’t get electricity (and the electricity flows from the company to your house not the other way round). If we’re not connected to Jesus then we can’t be and effective part of the church and there will be no ‘power’!.So get and stay connected!

DAY FOUR John 1.46 - Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ … ’Come and see…’ In the time of Jesus, the place of Nazareth was considered to be a nowhere place with nothing good about it. How interesting that Jesus lived there. Jesus was born in a feeding trough for animals with all their mess. He became a refugee, escaping to another country for his own safety. He returned and grew up in Nazareth – a seeming nobody from a nowhere street in a nowhere place. Then when he started his God work on earth, people ignored him, laughed at him, rejected him, tried to kill him and then eventually he was killed, having been charged falsely with something that he was innocent of. And this is also a message about the kinds of people Jesus came to reach out to – the last, the least, the lost and the lonely. And this is something he also calls us to do. But is a ‘nobody’ how you see yourself? A bit unimportant? Someone who feels ignored? Well you’re in good company because that is exactly what happened to Jesus and God says in the Bible that he will do great things through people like you and me, who the world doesn’t consider to be great. But in the kingdom of God, the last will be ﬁrst! But Jesus, this so-called ‘nobody’ from ‘nowhere’ did something really signiﬁcant and changed the world! And he calls us to go and share this life-giving and life-changing message. So don’t ever feel unimportant. If you do, you qualify to be great in God’s eyes and he’s calling you to bring that same truth to others. You are not unimportant. You are valuable, loved and essential in God’s eyes!

DAY FIVE Matthew 5.13 - You are the salt of the earth…. Have you got any salt shakers or pepper pots in your house? They’re there to add flavour to your food. In the past and even today, salt is also added to keep food without it going off. Or have you ever bought a ready made meal that just needed some extra something? I had a spaghetti carbonara once that was so bland it made paper seem tasty… Nothing that some black pepper shaken over it couldn’t fix - and a new recipe from a Dutch friend! Or maybe you’re big into making cakes. I often make various cakes including some small fairy cakes. Sometimes these have some icing on them and onto this is sprinkled things like ‘hundreds and thousands’ or some chocolate bits – all poured onto the cakes from little containers to add flavour, fun and an extra appeal to the cakes! This is our job as Christians. We go into daily life and situations and we go around sprinkling God flavours of love, light, blessing, hope, peace, joy and encouragement. And at times we have to sprinkle some flavours that people may not think they need but that will help them – like honesty, integrity, doing what’s right. So see yourself as God’s shaker – going around adding salt, flavour, taste and goodness - the most rewarding and exciting way to do life!

DAY SIX Philippians 4.8 - Fix your thoughts on what is true, right, pure, lovely, admirable… If you listen to the news, you’ll hear mostly bad news, especially in the time of coronavirus. News media is increasingly desperate for clicks and advertising, so often exaggerates news. The news is mostly bad news, often unhelpful and about every kind of evil. It can be important to be aware of some things. Or news can show us things to pray about. But when we focus on the bad, it can become the main thing we think about and affect us in a horrible way. God provided an answer through Paul who wrote the book of Philippians. He told us to think about things that are good. Why? Because God is good and because what goes into our heads and hearts impacts what we do and what we say. As we think good thoughts and God thoughts, we become transformed and become more like the one who is pure goodness – God. It also protects our minds, lifts us up and makes us the kind of people that others like to be around. Jesus never turned a blind eye to the suffering and the evil in the world. But he overcame evil with good. We shouldn’t be ignorant to some of the things that happen but don’t obsess about bad stuff. Jesus came to bring light, life, salt, hope, goodness. So let’s not think about what’s going wrong – but how we can bring good to something and change what’s bad into what’s good. Think God thoughts to become the kind of person to bring God’s life and hope. It’s needed now more than ever.

DAY SEVEN Mark 4.34 - But when Jesus was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything Jesus reached the point in his ministry where he started using parables (stories with spiritual meanings) to teach. If you ask a person a question, they can answer in different ways. They can give you the answer, they can tell you to go and look for the answer or they can point you in the direction to find the answer. In a way what Jesus did was to get people to look for the answer. This separates those who just want to watch or want knowledge, from those who want to know more and to go deeper. Jesus always calls us to go deeper - there is always more. But how do we go deeper and find more? What happens when the talks we hear don’t touch the deepest places in us? What do we do when we feel like we’ve hit the ceiling but know there’s more above the ceiling? When we feel like we’re in the shallow end of the pool but want to go deeper and swim in the sea? There are many things we could do but Jesus gives us a simple solution – “when Jesus was alone… he explained everything.” To know more about God, we need to get to know God. This comes from walking, talking, believing and obeying God. But most of all we need to know God personally. It’s in that quiet place with just you and God – when you’re alone with him – that you can know him more, hear his voice, go deeper. So get alone with God – ask him what you need, thank him, worship him and then just sit with him in quietness and stillness and wait for him. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46.10) 4

DAY EIGHT

DAY NINE

Matthew 5.16 - Let your light so shine

1 Samuel 17.17-18 - “One day Jesse said

before men that they may see your good

to David, “Take this basket of roasted

works and glorify your Father in heaven

grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And

In my garden I have a small solar-powered light. It sits in a ﬂower pot and shines its little light every night. How does it shine at night? It spends the day being infused with sunlight that powers it at night. When there isn’t much sun, the light doesn’t shine, shines dimly or doesn’t shine for very long. But after a good Summer’s day, it shines through the night. Even though the light is small, it can be seen in the whole garden during the night.  When Jesus says let your light shine, what he means is put the God-part of you on display in a way that others can see. This isn’t about getting big-headed and saying ‘look at me!’ Instead, we let the goodness, the way and the life of Jesus get out of us so people say ‘look at Jesus!’ Sometimes we can be afraid to let our light shine but letting God’s light shine simply means letting God use you in ways that change things for the better. A couple in Holland felt God tell them to hold up red ﬂags on Friday nights in Amsterdam’s red light district. They were to explain they weren’t against anyone but wanted to bless the area and pray the blood of Jesus for forgiveness. When they prayed, prostitution dropped by 38%; they found that 50-80% of prostitutes were there against their will; they saw the biggest brothel owner quit and the mayor speak out against users. Their light shining changed things for the better and so can yours!

give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” Do you ever feel your life is a bit boring? You may look around at other people on social media and see all they’re doing and think that your life is dull compared to them? It’s not but we all feel that way sometimes! Let’s think about David. His life may have seemed a bit dull. He was stuck in the ﬁelds looking after the sheep. Then his brothers went oﬀ to battle with all their mates but he was still stuck looking after animals. He may have felt a bit ignored and left out. He was there serving faithfully while others seemed to ‘get the call’ and do the exciting things. He may have felt like he was backstage rather than an ‘actor’ on the stage, watching on while others ‘performed’. Then one day his dad asked him to be a delivery boy (like a courier for Deliveroo or Just Eat, except without the bike). Nothing really awesome or life-changing. But David obeyed his Father exactly and went. It was a small, seemingly menial step. But that was the step that unlocked his future as a giant-killer, a fearless man of faith and ultimately a King. The lesson for you is this: keep on being faithful even in small things. You never know what may happen next! And even if your role seems small, nothing you do for God is ever wasted!

DAY TEN John 2.1 - On the third day a wedding took place at Cana… Jesus and his disciples went… Jesus turned the water to wine - his first ever miracle. This was awesome and benefited the people at the wedding who got to drink the fresh wine and enjoy their day. But it was more than this, it was symbolic… The old was made new and Jesus showed this was now the day of miracles. The third day was prophetic of Jesus’ rising from the tomb on the third day, as prophesied (in part about Jesus) in Hosea 6.2, “in the third day he will raise us up’ and pointed to Jonah inside the whale for 3 days – as Jesus himself said in Matthew 12.40. The third day in the Bible is also a day of turning, a day of the new, a day of change and transformation. This was also shown in Acts 9 where we see how God met with Saul (who became called Paul). He was struck by a blinding light and was unable to see or eat for three days, until Ananias obeyed God and prayed for Paul – who could then see and ate food. John 21.4 shows us Jesus on beach, saying it was the third time he was seen by disciples. He got them to get a huge catch by telling them where to throw their nets but when they got to the beach, there was fish on the fire already. Jesus had already provided! This is the truth of the exchange at the Cross – Jesus has already done it. We are living in a new day with Jesus as our miracle worker, provider and transformer from the old covenant to the new way of being right with God, through the blood of Jesus.

DAY ELEVEN 1 Peter 1.6-7 - In all this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while you may suffer… One thing we don’t much like are the trials and tests that life throws at us. We all face different things in life, but as people say, a test can give you a chance for a testimony (rather than just a ‘moany’ as Joyce Meyer says!) In Isaiah 40, God promised Israel that he would be with them through the fire and through the water. The good news is that there is a ‘through’, that things won’t last for ever. The Israelites had a situation where they had a big river in front of them and the Egyptian army coming to kill them behind them. It was then that God moved and the waters parted, enabling the Israelites to get through and escape. But they had to walk across the river. In places like the Boreal Forest in Northern Canada, there are jack pine cones from the jack pine tree. The cones can stay on the tree for 20 years and stay fresh and able to germinate (meaning the seed can become another pine tree). But the way they get opened is by fire. When the fire comes, the cones open up and the seed can be released. In a way, the forest needs fire. I watched the Ray Mears Northern Wilderness series as he explained this. God spoke to me saying sometimes that’s what happens to us. Sometimes it takes a bit of fire (a bit of a ‘push’) for the ‘seed to spill out of the cone’ – for the treasure that God’s put in you to come out and become new growth for you and others. So in this time of lockdown, trust God to bring you through to grow more and bring new life to other people around you – and yourself! 6

DAY TWELVE Mark 2.12 - Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” When I became a Christian, I went to a great church that gave lots of opportunities. But it began to feel that there was a ceiling and I had to break out. In time God did this. J John talks about a ﬁsh that grows to the size of the water that it’s in. If it’s in a small tank, it stays small. If it’s in a large tank, it grows bigger. If it’s put in a big pond or mini lake, it grows to its full size. Sometimes, we have to break through the ceiling and do something new in order to be all that God has made us to be. You may have to take a step of faith which can be scary. In Mark 5 we ﬁnd a group of friends who brought their paralyzed mate to Jesus. They didn’t just politely knock on the door. They were so determined to bring him to Jesus that when there was no room in the house, they they went onto the roof, dug an opening in the roof (despite what people may have shouted and done) and then lowered the man to Jesus. They broke the ceiling, broke out of the mould and did what it took. As a result of what they did, Jesus saw their faith and forgave the man his sins, then completely healed him. Nothing else had worked for this guy, but with his friends, he came to Jesus and Jesus released him into a new level of work – just imagine his testimony! Is it time for something new, time to break through the ‘roof(s)’ in your life? Some things won’t come to you – you have to get your hands dirty (just don’t start making holes in people’s roof…)

DAY THIRTEEN Acts 16.25-26 - Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.. Suddenly there was a great earthquake.. the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed Paul and Silas had done nothing more than pray for the deliverance of a slave girl who had been possessed by a demon of fortune telling. But they were thrown into prison. We know the end of the story. We know that as they praised God, everyone’s chains came loose (those on Paul and Silas and on all the other prisoners!) and all the doors were ﬂung open! But Paul and Silas didn’t know this was going to happen. They were praising God because they loved God, period! They likely weren’t praising to get something to happen but simply because they were overjoyed with God in their lives. Sometimes we hear messages about ‘praising God’ in order to get something. There’s no doubt that praise is powerful as we see here. But we praise God because of who he is and our love for him, not because of what we can get!! That isn’t true love! But look at the result of their supernatural praise that God gave them in the middle of terrible circumstances… The chains of all the prisoners came oﬀ. That’s what worship can do – transform your situation and the situation of all those around you! The doors also opened. Praise that truly honours and is for God can open doors for you and others! But none of the prisoners escaped or even ran away which is amazing. So there was something quite awesome about what happened and could only have been God. Finally, the jailer and his entire family came to know Jesus. Praise can lead to changed lives for you and others! 7

DAY FOURTEEN

DAY FIFTEEN

John 11.38-39 - Jesus.. came to the tomb.

1 Samuel 17.17-18 - “One day Jesse said

It was a cave with a stone laid across the

to David, “Take this basket of roasted

entrance. ‘Take away the stone’ he said

grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And

Today we’re looking at rolling stones. Not the Rolling Stones but stones that were rolled away… Joyce Meyer says that God asks us to do what we can do and then he does what we cannot do. She points out that when Jesus raised a man called Lazarus from the dead, he asked the people to roll the stone away and he raised Lazarus from the dead. He asked the people to do what they could do (roll the stone away) and Jesus did what the people couldn’t do without him (raising Lazarus from the dead). Time and time again, Jesus does miracles through our actions. We do something and then God shows up. When Jesus fed the 5000 men (plus women and children) this pattern was demonstrated. The boy brought his food to Jesus and then Jesus thanked God and multiplied the small amount of food and fed thousands. Another time, someone wanted to be healed and Jesus asked him to go a pool, which he did and was healed. It doesn’t always happen this way but it often does – God uses people like you and me to do the practical action or the stepping out to pray or say or do. Then God steps in. In John 11, the people did their bit by rolling the stone. But in Mark 16, we see that it was the power of God that meant the stone was rolled away from the tomb that the Pharisees had tried to seal up to contain Jesus. Two rolled stones – one showed an example of us doing what we can. The other shows how God then does what only he can do. So step out in faith and see what God will do through you.

DAY SIXTEEN Mark 11.22 - Have faith in God Faith and trust are very similar words. We can say that we trust God but often we don’t show that trust in the way we act. We can be fearful, worry about things, not let the past go or hold on to things that God says we can give to him to sort out. I know some people who want to tell others how to do things. They mean well but it’s like they don’t trust the other person. God is not like that with us and we should never be like this with God! We can trust God. So how do we live by faith and trust God? What does it look like? Christmas Evans, a great Welsh preacher said, “Faith… is simply taking God at his word.” George Mueller who ran a children’s home in Bristol simply by faith trusting God to provide all their needs said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” So we know we’re trusting God when we have peace inside and we feel ‘at rest’. Hebrews 4.10-11 tells us to make every eﬀort to enter God’s rest. Jesus oﬀers us his rest but we have to decide to enter that rest. What is that rest? It is trusting God is who he says he is and will do what he says he will do. Romans 4 talks about being fully persuaded that God has power to do what he says. This is what faith looks like. It’s simply believing God. If we really understand how great, powerful and good that God really is then we will know that we can trust him.

DAY SEVENTEEN Psalm 126.4-6 - Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. Psalm 126 is an amazing picture of just how good God is. The person writing the Psalm prays to God and asks God to restore their fortunes after misfortune. When 9/11 happened, Christian ministries reported that giving to them went down as people started watching TV about what was happening. With the coronavirus, many people’s focus shifted from life to obsessing about the virus. Businesses that were successful start to be not as successful or even fail. The Psalm writer was asking this same thing to God – the very best person to go to when you need things to change and get better!! So what’s the promise of the Psalm? The promise is for double. It talks about a person who goes out and plants some seed. When they go out, they have to take the seed with them (probably having to buy it too). They have to do the work of planting and they go out when they’re feeling down and upset. But God turns it around so much that they return with a harvest of what they have planted and they come back singing as they’re so happy. We see this elsewhere in the Bible where God turns bad to good; turns sorrow to joy and sadness into dancing! This is the kind of thing that God does in our life – he turns things round and makes them better. He gives us good things because he is good. Why not ask him today to take what you have and what you are – and bring a harvest and give you a song to sing! 9

DAY EIGHTEEN John 14.6 - Jesus answered ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me Have you ever thought about what your final destination is? Yes, heaven. But our final destination is God the Father. Jesus came to give us the way to the Father. It is quite amazing how many people are damaged because of a broken relationship with their dad. A survey was done among prisoners about who they would most like to meet. The results were shocking because 90% of the prisoners said they would most like to meet their dad. It shows the price that is paid for guys not having their father around, or not even knowing him. OK, it doesn’t always turn out that way and many people have great lives despite know knowing their father or mother and have an amazing mum. God is the perfect father. He will never leave us or forget about us (Hebrews 13.5); he will be close to you if your mother or father aren’t there (Psalm 27.10); he will not abandon us like orphans but will come to us (John 14.18). In Genesis 28 we find Jacob’s servant off to find a wife for Isaac. Isaac tells him to find a wife from his own people. Isaac’s brother, Esau then takes (another) wife from his own people because he wants to please his father. God loves it when we want to please Him. We should want to please those we love and God is worth our love. But what can you give to the perfect Father and the Creator of the world?! Give

DAY NINETEEN Esther 10.1-2 - Mordecai the Jew became the Prime Minister and was very great among the Jew… because he continued to work for the good of his people… The book of Esther is about God’s perfect and incredible timing. God’s people were obedient, faithful, committed and God had them in place at the right time. There is a famous phrase in Esther when Mordecai speaks to her being appointed to the Royal Court of King Xerxes “for such a time as this” (Esther 4.14). And she was – as she helped to save the Jewish people. She was in the King’s court because of her beauty and character. If you are looking for favour in different ways, then develop your Godly character – that means the fruit of the Spirit that’s in Galatians 5.22-23. Esther gained favour because of her obedience and character and so will you, in every area of life. But we mustn’t forget about Mordecai. There are 2 classic Bible characters often mentioned when we think about being raised up to positions of responsibility – Daniel and Joseph. But we have to add Mordecai in too. He was loyal, faithful and obedient to both God and Esther – just as we all should be to the people in our life. We all need to develop our character. Mordecai ultimately gained great favour, being second only to the King himself. Like the incredible woman of God, Esther, he was also in place for such a time as this and also played a major part in rescuing the Jews. But this was built on a foundation of faith, faithfulness and obedience to God. Throughout the Bible we find these characteristics essential in the ways of God. So build them now and God will be faithful to you and what you do, both in this life and most definitely in heaven with God.

DAY TWENTY Matthew 4.19-20 - “Come follow me” Jesus said “and I will make you fishers of men” The call that God has put on your life is unique and amazing. Across the globe and through time, God has used his people in diverse ways. We can see this today from Matthew 4 where Jesus calls his disciples and promises to make them fishers of men… 1. There are different kinds of fishermen – your call is unique, though others may do something similar. But there are many ways to help people escape the kingdom of darkness into God’s Kingdom. 2. Fishermen catch different kinds of fish – the ‘fish’ (people) that God calls you to work with may be different to others, though there will likely be some overlap. 3. Fishermen will fish in different places according to the kinds of fish – there’s no point standing on the shore to catch deep sea fish, you need to go out into the ocean. Some people will go to a local river to go fishing, others will have a longer rod and cast it out from the pier into the sea. Different calls. 4. Fishermen use different kinds of bait to attract fish – unlike fishermen, we’re not out to kill and eat the fish (!) but there are many different ways God will use his people to shine their light and attract others to that light of Christ. 5. Fishermen are prepared – so should we be. Many have a separate net to place the fish that they’ve caught. Be ready to help people, support people, disciple people, get them

DAY TWENTY ONE Isaiah 53.3 - We turned our backs on him and looked the other way Isaiah lived around 700 years before the birth of Jesus yet he makes an accurate prophecy about Jesus. The Bible is absolutely unique in many ways and it’s unique among ‘holy books’ because it dares to tell us about creation, about the end of time and makes around 1000 prophecies. One scholar found that around 500 of these have already happened. We can be absolutely sure that the other 500 will happen! Isaiah 53 tells us that despite of and because of - our sin, Jesus lived a sinless life then carried our sin and sicknesses and paid for them at the Cross. It’s like we were in debt and couldn’t pay so Jesus came along and paid the debt and paid for any debt we’d get into in the future! That’s why Jesus is the only way to God – because only Jesus paid the price to cancel the debt. But we live in a world that often wants to reject God and even write him out of life, despite the evidence. Some people are like Isaiah 53.3 predicts – Jesus has become one from whom people hide their faces, despising him and disrespecting him. They don’t want God because they want to be god. This is so true of many people who deliberately reject God. Despite this, Jesus still loves them (so must we) and still died to bring them life and freedom from themselves. Our role is to love God and love people as Jesus said – two things that are linked together. This is the counter-cultural message of God and it’s the only worldview that is perfectly true and perfectly makes sense. 11

DAY TWENTY TWO John 1.32 - “Then John (the Baptist) gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him (Jesus).” John tells us that that he saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and then remain (abide, continue) on Jesus. What an incredible testimony. Jesus was the perfect Son of God, fully man and fully God - so we’d expect the Spirit of God to remain with him, but this is a challenge to us. How we respond can be illustrated by a true story. A couple moved into a new house and found that a dove was living in the rafters of the roof. The couple found that when they argued, the dove would fly off but when they were in agreement the dove would stay. What a picture for us. Across the Bible, the Holy Spirit is often described or pictured as a dove. In Matthew 10.16, Jesus sends out his disciples into the world and tells them to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Then back into the Old Testament and the story of Noah, it was the dove who was sent out from the ark and returned to the boat (possibly a representation of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us). The dove is a peaceful bird and one easily scared away. Yet the ‘dove’ remained on Jesus. If we are right with God, then the ‘dove’ of the Holy Spirit remains with us. If we sin or walk away from God, it’s a bit like the dove flies away and we can lose some of our peace and power. The lesson is don’t frighten away the dove of the Holy Spirit.

DAY TWENTY THREE Genesis 1.1 - Genesis 2.1 - In the beginning… The Holy Spirit was at work in the beginning of time, hovering over the waters of a formless, empty and dark earth. Then God started his work building the earth and all its elements, firstly saying, ‘let there be light..” Just as God created light from a dark world, the same is true of God’s work towards us as people. Let’s think about this further.. In the beginning of time, there was nothing. We know that the world was 3 things: dark, formless and empty. So what did God do? First of all, he said, ‘let there be light’. We know that light cancels out darkness – so now there was no darkness. But that wasn’t enough. Just having light is great, but there is so much more to life. So, God started to form the earth and shape its foundations, using great wisdom, skill and knowledge (Proverbs 4.19-20). The earth now had a form. So there was light – and a formed earth. But again, more was needed. So thirdly, God filled the earth – with plants, creatures, and mankind. So what was once dark, formless and empty – was now light, formed and filled. This is exactly the kind of thing that Jesus does in our lives. In John 1, we find out that Jesus is the light of the world. Through God’s Holy Spirit, we are brought into the light by Jesus, where God forms us and fills us with his Spirit and all that he is, as we are transformed more and more into his likeness. The Bible is full of this kind of symbolism. God’s Word isn’t dull and lifeless, in fact it is the only thing that brings light and life. Are you feeling dark, lifeless and empty? If you are, then ask God’s Spirit today to bring you light, life and to fill you completely. 12

DAY TWENTY FOUR

DAY TWENTY FIVE

Psalm 23.5-6 - “You anoint my head with

Colossians 3.16 - Let the word of God

oil; my cup overflows. Your goodness and

have its home within you (dwelling in your

love will follow me all the days of my life”

heart and mind, permeating every aspect of your being) as you teach (spiritual

In early 2020, a dog was found in Argentina covered in tar. The other dogs in the pack barked and attracted the attention of some children who quickly phoned for help. The dog was rescued and after 9 hours was completely back to normal. Yey! In Psalm 23 we read that God will ‘anoint our head with oil’. So God will pour ‘oil’ over our heads – a bit weird? Not really. It’s an example of what God does for us when we become a Christian. God covers us with his ‘oil’ (which represents the Holy Spirit). He changes our mind to think in the right way by covering us with his goodness. He literally pours his life into our life so we can go around pouring out God’s life into the lives of others. It’s like someone giving you some water which you drink and then go and share with others who need water. If you imagine someone pouring some water over your head, it would make you wet but would also splash around you and impact others near you and your whole body. If you walked oﬀ, you’d be dripping water everywhere. This is an example of the kind of life God calls us to live. Now imagine the water that you were covered with didn’t run out, so you could pour it out whenever and wherever you were. That’s the kind of Psalm 23 life where God covers you with his Holy Spirit and then you become someone who carries this goodness and love all the days of your life – for when you need it and for when others need it. Don’t be a polluter of oil like evil people do. Instead, be someone who pours out God’s Holy Spirit and brings life wherever you go.

things) and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God I’ve travelled to America and Canada. I have stayed with friends, in the houses of local people, in hotels and even in a tent. These places weren’t where I really lived. I was just there temporarily. The Bible says that we should let God’s word have its home within us. We don’t want the Bible to be like a visitor or like a tourist that stays a while but is just passing through! It’s good to visit but it’s not God’s best. Sometimes we can even approach God or the Bible like we’re just visiting or like we’re a tourist! Instead, God’s best is that the Word of God actually dwells in your heart and mind. If you make a cup of filter coffee and just put the coffee in, then add some water and immediately chuck away the coffee, you will get a cup of coffee. But it won’t have really blended and released its full flavour. The coffee and the water have ‘met’ but they haven’t really ‘connected.’ When we really become friends with God and with the Bible, we allow it to filter into every part of us. That way the Word of God can take up residence on the inside of us. Your potential and the potential of God in you will only happen when you let God live on the inside of you and let God’s Word do the same. 13

DAY TWENTY SIX Galatians 2.20 - “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. I once had a pair of jeans that I loved but they had really faded and were looking a bit unhappy and sorry. What was the answer? I could have thrown or given them away. But instead I went into the city centre and bought some blue jeans dye. Within 24 hours I had a pair of jeans that were looking dark-washed. What dye does is that it bonds with the fibre it’s being added to so that the fibres change colour. Jesus told his disciples that the way to follow him was to ‘deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him.’ Paul writes that his life has been so changed by Jesus that it’s not him living but it’s Christ living in and through him. When we become a Christian, God puts his Holy Spirit in us and makes all things new there. Over time, God changes us to be more and more like him so that what he’s done in our spirits will be more and more of a reality in our minds, emotions and body. When I put the packet of dye into the water to dye my jeans, the blue colour gradually filled the water – bit by bit. Then I had to put the jeans into that water. Over a period of time, the dye in the water bonded with my jeans. The old washed out colour went and a new colour full of life was the result. And this is what God wants to do and is doing in your life. So relax and let God do his thing while you play your part, dying to self and letting God change your ‘washed out jeans’ to a new vibrant pair of jeans. Dye to self…

DAY TWENTY SEVEN Psalm 150.1 - Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens In recent years, God has raised up an international prayer and worship movement as one of the things he’s been doing in the earth. In 2010, four of us went to London during the 2012 Summer Olympics with guitars. The reaction was amazing with the chords of guitars and no words drawing people, soothing hearts, bringing healing and more! This was in response to the call of God and is found right there in Psalm 150. We should praise God in his sanctuary (the church) and outside! During the Great West Run, we used to have a worship band on the steps of a church in Exeter - runners loved it! Dr. Leanna Cinquanta is a missionary in India. One of the true stories she recalls was when she felt God lead her to go to the Ganges River with her guitar and do spiritual warfare through worship. As she played her guitar, people were drawn towards her to find out about Jesus. She also worshipped in her heart inside a temple (Joshua 1.3) after God made a way for her. One day she was playing and no-one was gathering but watching on. She realised a chief priest from a local temple was walking towards her and chanting. She was a bit worried but she started singing songs about the blood of Jesus. Suddenly the priest ran back into the temple as if having seen a guardian angel. The people then flocked around her because they had been waiting for a demonstration of whose ‘god’ would win out. Of course, there is no contest with God and as a result she was able to hand out many leaflets about Jesus! This same power is in all of God’s people so ask Jesus to use you! 14

DAY TWENTY EIGHT A Passover Thought Father Kolbe was a Polish Catholic Priest in Auschwitz Concentration Camp in World War 2. To try and stop people escaping, there was a rule that if anyone escaped, 10 others would be killed. In July 1941 a man from Kolbe’s bunker escaped. The commandant Karl Fritsch screamed. ‘You will all pay for this. Ten of you will be locked in the starvation bunker without food or water until they die.’  The ten were selected, including Franciszek Gajowniczek. He couldn’t help a cry of anguish. ‘My poor wife!’ he sobbed. ‘My poor children! What will they do?’ When he uttered this cry, Maximilian stepped forward, took off his cap, and stood before the commandant and said, ‘I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.’ The commandant remained silent for a moment then agreed. Franciszek Gajowniczek was returned to the ranks, and the priest took his place. It is reported that Kolbe led the other 9 men in singing as they gradually starved to death. Kolbe was the last of the men to die.  Every year on August 14 he went back to Auschwitz. He spent five decades telling of what Kolbe had done, honouring the man who died for him. “So long as I have breath in his lung I consider it my duty to tell people about the heroic act of love by Maximilian Kolbe.”   Father Kolbe stood in the place of another man and died. But Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could all be made right with God. Romans 6.8: “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus was a lamb without defect. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 1 Peter 2:22 says, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Jesus was slaughtered on the cross for us. In Acts 8.32 we read, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Colossians 1.19-20 says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Third, the blood has to be applied. 1 Corinthians 5.7: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” says, “..without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Ephesians 2.13: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Leviticus 17.11 says the life of the flesh is in the blood. It is not enough to know about the blood of Jesus, we have to apply the blood. The Egyptians had to apply the blood with ‘hyssop’ on the doors of their dwelling for protection. For us, we don’t need hyssop. We apply the blood of Jesus when we speak of what the blood of Jesus does for us - that it covers us, forgives us, sets us free from satan, we’re made right with God, we’re set apart and covered. Our life really is in Jesus’ blood. 15