Hope For Today

If you would like to listen to this devotional, please click  here Dear Friends, Last year I joined the Facebook group 'COME Together' (Christians Overcoming ME Together) and I have joined their team of writers for their quarterly newsletter. Today's devotional is from my first article in that newsletter. Easter - The Greatest Act of Love The greatest act of love the world has ever known was at Easter. God sent his Son because he loved you and me so much. It was his purpose that Jesus would give his life for us that we might have and know a loving relationship with God.  "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)  Jesus' love for us was so great that he willingly submitted to his Father's will, taking upon himse...

Dear Friends, When my daughter was four years old she was given the book, "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. I've kept that book, because even though it's a children's book, it holds a great message for us all. In brief, it's a story about some small wooden people, Wemmicks, who were made by Eli, the woodworker. The Wemmicks give out gold star stickers or grey dot stickers to each other based on their opinion of a Wemmick's appearance, abilities etc. Punchinello is given lots of grey dots and starts to believe what others are saying about him. He meets Lucia and learns that none of the stickers, neither the gold stars or the grey dots, stick to her. This is because she visits Eli every day and chooses to believe only what Eli thinks about her. She encourages Punchinello to do the same. On his first visit Eli tells him, "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes." Do you have any sticky labels stuck on you becau...

Dear Friends, We recently celebrated my son, Josh's, eighteenth birthday.  We had a night away with extended family, which included a meal out, an amazing birthday cake made by Jason and  watching Josh open his presents.  The following day we all went to Colchester Zoo where Jason and I had arranged a surprise for Josh.  We had organised for him and his girlfriend to have an animal experience with one of the zookeepers.  As meerkats are Josh's favourite animals it obviously had to be a meerkat experience.  He and his girlfriend got to go into the meerkat enclosure.  They weren't allowed to touch them but they could sit and let the meerkats clamber all over them.  They had time to feed the meerkats and talk with the zookeeper about these animals.  The rest of us got to watch them and take photos.  It was a great break away, everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a great opportunity to make some lasting memories.  Jason and I...

Dear Friends, I love my children and will sometimes say to them "You are my favourite son/daughter."  The response I usually get from them is a groan or rolling of the eyes and "Mu-um, I'm your only son/daughter."  I tell them, "Yes, but you're still my favourite!"  It's my way of letting them know how much I love them, how precious, how special they are to me.  For me, it's a picture of how I believe God loves each one of us.  He loves me in such a way that he says to me, "You're my favourite!"  And I believe he loves you in such a way too and says "You're my favourite!". God loves each one of us with an incredible, incomparable, unconditional love.  A love that goes beyond the ordinary.  A love that is pure and selfless.  A genuine love.  A love that is beyond our understanding.  He loves us each individually and considers us all his favourite. I love words and I love the word used to describe how Go...

Dear Friends, As I write this, Valentine's Day is fast approaching.  I'm sure that with that day comes all kinds of mixed emotions for many people.  Some will be eagerly anticipating it, especially if they are in the throes of new love (such as a certain young man I know!), for some it will be a reminder of their singleness when it seems as though everyone else is celebrating, for some there will be sad memories of love lost, others perhaps will be feeling that their relationships fall short of what they had hoped for etc. But today I want us to put aside these things to re-focus on God and his love for each one of us.  So, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, get yourself comfy in your favourite chair, find somewhere you can be alone from others and let's quieten are hearts and minds so we can draw near to God and contemplate on his love for us.  Take your time as you read, stop and meditate over each verse. When thinking about what is real love and wh...

Dear Friends, With Father’s Day this coming Sunday, I find that my thoughts are turning to God as my heavenly Father. I have been so blessed in growing up with a Dad who loved me unconditionally, instructed and guided me, who gave advice and disciplined me when needed.   He isn’t a perfect Dad, no man is, but under God, he is the best Dad he could be and he has provided me with a good example of what God as my heavenly Father is like.   I would not be the woman of faith today without my Dad. God loves us unconditionally and desires us to know him as our Father.   He is always there for us, he instructs, teaches and guides us and disciplines us too.   As our Father he wants the best for us and has a wonderful inheritance waiting for us to claim. “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”   1 John 3:1 (NLT) Growing up, my Dad used a phrase on various occasions with my sister and m...