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Time to make room!

First up, Happy New Year and thank you to all of you who’ve checked in on me since I stopped writing some 4 months ago. Last year, I had some life admin to get through. I’ve not met many people who enjoy life admin...it can be boring- even tedious at times, but as we all know, it’s necessary. Apart from ensuring you keep on top of things, once done, it frees you up to get on with actually living! It wasn't particularly exciting stuff, but it was necessary so that I could clear out things that were taking up room in my life, and preventing me from getting on with things that actually needed my attention.

Isaiah 54:2 says "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes". This scripture is an instruction to enlarge our tents, or place of habitation. The definition of enlarge is to “increase the capacity or scope of, to expand, to make something bigger”. Why was God telling them to increase the capacity of what they could accommodate?

When God wants to bless you, He'll require you to make room for that blessing, so that you can accommodate it. If God were to give you what you've been praying for right now, would you have room for it? Would you have time for it? Have you enlarged your tent to accommodate it? God always wants to do more in your life, but for that to take place you must enlarge your capacity for God. 

How did the people enlarge their tent? Well, there they created physical room, but thanks to IKEA, most of us know there’s more than one way to make room nowadays. Sometimes you are able to move to somewhere more spacious, and sometimes you’ll need to make room by clearing out things that were taking up space in the first place. Perhaps for you it’s dealing with the things that are occupying your heart and distracting you from God. Maybe it’s cutting loose some old ties or habits that have taken up residence. Whatever it is, the question God is really asking you is “Will you Grow?”.

Old wineskins dry up and lose their elasticity, and their ability to stretch and grow. To expand your influence for God you’re going to have to expand your capacity.

Obviously, I won’t be able to tell you how you’ll need to enlarge your tent, or what you’ll need to clear out in order to make room- you have Holy Spirit for that. Chances are though, if God has asked you to ‘enlarge the place of thy tent’, then it’s more than likely because He wants to fill it with more of Him and what He wants for you. Trust that if He’s asked you to enlarge it, then He’s also able to fill it. Will you enlarge your tent and grow with Him this year?

Suggested reading- Matthew 9:17, 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Corinthians 13:11

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James Hudson Taylor

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If we’re feeling a little lost in our journey, it’s not because God has lost sight of us, but because somewhere along the way, we’ve lost sight of God.

Ije.E (via hisearpiece)

still true

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👌🏾☺

Stay encouraged.

You’re doing a good thing.

Don’t let anyone get you down.

Most especially you.

– J.S.

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Stay encouraged.

You’re doing a good thing.

Don’t let anyone get you down.

Most especially you.

– J.S.

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If we’re feeling a little lost in our journey, it’s not because God has lost sight of us, but because somewhere along the way, we’ve lost sight of God.

Ije.E (via hisearpiece)

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New blog post out! Have I got News for you!

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Have I got News for you!

He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to the whole human race. Mark 16:15 (Good News Bible) If you've been watching the news recently, you'll have seen there's been a lot happening. Unfortunately, it hasn't always been very good. In fact, a lot of it has actually been quite devastating. As Christians, we are called to be Christ's ambassadors on the earth. Where hope is lost, we are called to let people know they can put their hope in God. When people are in need, we are called to meet those needs, and where there is darkness, we are called to be the light. In an era where love is so misunderstood, we are commanded to spread the love of Christ, and His message of salvation with others, so that they might be saved. When it seems like all you're hearing is bad news, it's important to remind yourself that in the midst of the bad, God is still good. Not only is He still good, but He's still doing good things- in your life and in the lives of others. He's still answering prayers. He's still saving souls. He's still changing lives and His message of salvation, the Gospel, is still The Good News. One of my favourite songs is 'Good Father', by Chris Tomlin. Some of the lyrics go: "You're a good good Father. It's who You are. It's who You are. It's who You are, and I'm loved by you. You are perfect in all of your ways". We may not always understand His ways- but He is still perfect in all of them. The well known Psalm 23:4 reads "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (KJV). This psalm let's us know that 1) there will be days that are tough, 2) we don't have to fear 3) He is with us and 4) He comforts us. The truth is we can't always stop the bad days from happening, but we can trust Him through them, because we have the Gospel! We have a good good Father and we are loved by Him! Let's not keep this Good News to ourselves. Suggested reading- Psalm 96:2, Matthew 11:5, Titus 3:14 Good Father by Chris Tomlin- https://youtu.be/CqybaIesbuA

#goodmorning #goodfather #gospel #salvation #good news

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New blog post up- no more distractions

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Keep your eye on the ball

And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NKJV) So my brother plays football- his position is full-back. He's pretty dedicated. God willing, we'll see him on the big screen one day. This week after an intense training session, he came home looking more tired than usual. 'Today was tough' he said. Thinking he meant physically tough, I said 'ahhh you must be tired', but he replied 'Nah, it was because of the other players- they were shouting things out to try and distract me to make me loose focus!' Now I'm not a footballer, but I can definitely attest to having days like these! Perhaps you can identify? Days where it seems like everything is working against you to take you off course and bring you to a place of defeat. It's not always something huge that happens, sometimes it's the subtle voice of doubt telling you 'it will never be your turn' as you celebrate victories with friends; and sometimes it's the not so subtle opinions of those who don't believe in your dream. Whatever it is, the enemy wants you off track, de-railed and as far away from your purpose as possible, and one of his tools to achieve this is distraction. If my brother paid attention to the comments from his opposition, eventually he'd have taken his eye off the ball, and been distracted from the position he had been assigned to play in. If God has placed you in a particular position, then it's because that's where He wants you in that season. Don't spend your time trying to fill the positions of other people- there's a reason you've been placed in yours. Some distractions, like the comments from the opposing football team can be ignored, but some are going to need to be tackled head on and 'put away'. It will take you having to identify what those distractions are- perhaps it's- money, social media, a partner or an old habit. Distractions are an inevitable part of life. In the midst of all of this distraction, the cure is to refocus our attention on what matters most. So, whether it's the negative voice that rises up at the end of a long day or the urge to compare yourself with snapshots of 'perfection' you see on social media, you're going to need to focus on God's Word in order to drown out the distractions, so you can run your own race well. Suggested reading- 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 12:2, Proverbs 4:25

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Hide and Seek

“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall my covenant of peace be removed” says the Lord who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NKJV)

If you’ve ever played hide and seek with a toddler, you’ll know it’s exhausting! I sometimes play hide and seek with one of the toddlers in my church, and for some reason he always hides in the exact same spot but pokes his head out from where he’s hiding to see if I’m still there. It’s been about 3 months since I last posted anything on His Earpiece. In that time, I’d say I’ve basically been playing hide and seek with God- hiding from Him, but checking in every so often to see if He was still there.

Looking back, it seems ridiculous to try and hide from the One who made you and who knows when you lie down and when you get up (Psalm 139:2), but like Adam and Eve, I tried to hide anyway. I’ll be honest- it both frustrated and comforted me that wherever I went, God was there, just like He said He’d be.

I eventually wore myself out playing hide and seek. It’s exhausting because you cannot hide from God…or yourself. In all my times of hiding though, God never stopped seeking me out- out of my mess, out of my sin, and out of the cycle of hopelessness I had fallen into. He never stopped seeking me out- and though there were a lot of things I was (and still am) unsure about- I am sure that His love for me is relentless.

Along with hiding from God, I also hid from social pressures telling me where I should have been by now. I hid from family members telling me who I should have been by now, and I hid from God because I really didn’t like who I had become now. Perhaps you’ve been hiding too- behind a person, food, drink or an old addiction? If at all, any of the above resonates with you or you’re in this place, you don’t have to keep hiding- God sees where you are and He loves you still.

Maybe you’re not where, or who you thought you’d be by now and maybe you’re feeling ashamed or inadequate because of that. Perhaps you feel undeserving of God’s love? The Hebrew word translated as ‘love’ in the Bible is 'hesed’. It’s a difficult word to define, but Theologian John Oswalt says hesed is “… a completely undeserved kindness and generosity …”.

The Easter period has been a sobering one because it’s a bold reminder of God’s relentless love for us- a love so deep and so wide, that whilst we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ didn’t die for us so we could hide away in shame or fear- He died for us so that we could live in freedom.

If the pressures of life are making you feel like hiding away- I absolutely advocate taking a little time out, but rather than hiding from God- I’d really encourage you to make Him your Hiding Place so that you can rest in Him. Where you choose to hide can determine whether you have victory or defeat.

Suggested reading- Genesis 3, Psalm 32:7, John 3:16

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New blog post below 😊 #money #Godprovides

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Daily provision

Give us this day our daily bread- Matt 6:11 (NIV).

Bread is by far one of my favourite things to eat, but I know that if I tried to eat just bread for the rest of my life, I’d probably get sick of it!

In Exodus 16, we see the Israelites murmuring for food in the desert, so God promises them that they will be filled with bread. I guess it wasn’t like any other bread they’d seen before as they didn’t know what it was when they first saw it. They called it ‘Manna’, which meant “What is this?” “It is a portion; it is that which our God has allotted us, and we will take it, and be thankful”. They were able to live on Manna for 40 years without going hungry (or growing sick of it), because God had given them His Word that they would be filled with bread. By providing for them daily, God was teaching them to trust His providence. They were literally living on God’s Word to them!

After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, Jesus was hungry and was tempted by the devil with bread, but He answered ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God’. Was Jesus saying that bread was bad? No- there’s nothing wrong with bread, but unlike the Word of God, it can only satisfy our appetites temporarily. In John 6:35, Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life- and lets us know that if we seek after Him to give us our daily bread, we will never go hungry.

Perhaps you’ve been worrying about your finances, or having enough? Trust God’s Word for you. He says He will supply all of your needs, according to His riches in glory. You may make money, but God provides for you. He provides for you when you’re making money, and when you’re not, because provision comes from Him.

Suggested reading- Exodus 16, Matthew 6:26, Philippians 4:19

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#newyear #newyou #newblogpost

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The Good News!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  1 Corinthians 5:17” (NIV) Someone asked me recently whether I had any regrets. There are definitely things I would have done differently if I could rewind time- whether I call these regrets or lessons is a matter of perspective. As 2016 draws to a close, you may be looking back on the year and feeling overwhelmed with thoughts of things you could have done differently if you had another chance, or how things may have turned out if you’d only stuck to plan. What’s important isn’t how perfectly our plans for 2016 have worked out, but whether we have still allowed Christ to perfect the good work He has begun in us, through every situation. Satan is an accuser of the brethren, and like me, I’m sure he’s accused you of a number of things this year. Guilt is a terrible thing- that’s why Christ came to free us from it. Contrary to what satan will tell you, you are not a failure and God still has an amazing plan for your life, so don't believe his lies. We're going to make mistakes, but we can purpose to learn from them and not allow them to keep us in a place of bondage, constantly looking back. Paul puts it beautifully in Philippians 3:14 where he says “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”. Our shortcomings are a reminder to us, that even on our best days; we are at our worst without Christ. Every minute of every day that God gives us, is another chance to submit our will to His and to get right with Him. As we’re rounding up the year, remember, a new year won’t necessarily mean a new you if you choose to dwell on your issues instead of dwelling in Christ. The new you began when you accepted Christ into your life and He made you a new creation. At that point, all old things passed away, which means His mercies have been new every morning for you since then, and will continue to be in 2017. Suggested reading- Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 1:6, Jeremiah 29:11 Happy New Year from His Earpiece

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More water please!

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. John 7:37 (KJV) Dehydration is a condition that occurs when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of our body's cells than what we are taking in through drinking. Sometimes people get dehydrated, even though they're still drinking, so although they're not running on empty, the amount leaving the body exceeds what's going in. Some of the effects of dehydration can be fatigue, confusion and even dizziness. Most people only think about drinking water when they're thirsty, but by then it's too late, as the effects of dehydration have already begun to kick in. Professionals also advise us to drink more fluids in hot weather because of the risk of becoming dehydrated. Psalm 63:1 says "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water". (Bible version). Sometimes life will look and feel dry, but as the heat and pressure increases, does your desire to seek Him increase too, or do you wilt in the heat? Maybe you have given a lot of yourself this year, or you've had to fight some really tough battles, and now it's the end of the year and you're feeling exhausted. If you can relate to feeling very tired or even confused about the plan and purpose God has for you, you're probably in need of a refreshing. Jeremiah 31:25 says that God will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Keep yourself refreshed in Christ. Don't wait till you're dehydrated before you realise you're thirsty. Suggested reading- John 4, Psalm 23, Revelation 21:6, John 7:38.