This is one of my favourite verses in the Bible. You often see part of the verse quoted in isolation "Be strong and courageous." But the end of the verse is the reason that we can be strong and courageous, because God is with us. We are right in the middle of a crisis that will go down in history as one of the most significant world events since the Second World War. But despite this, we can be strong and courageous because God is with us. You might be going stir crazy stuck in your house with your family but be strong and courageous because God is with you. You might be stressing about how you're going to pass school exams or uni this year but be strong and courageous because God is with you. You might be stressed about your grandparents catching Covid 19 but be strong and courageous because God is with you. You might be stressed because one or both of your parents have lost their jobs but be strong and courageous because God is with you. You might be feeling sad or lonely but be strong and courageous because God is with you. Write this verse out or print out our free PDF version and stick it somewhere that will remind you during the day.
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This is an awesome promise! If we got what we deserved it would be eternity without God because of our sin. Romans 6:23 says, The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:45 says, But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. Thankfully, because God loves us, he sent Jesus to die in our place so that he could take away our sin. Hebrews 10:17 says, I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done. Did you know that when God looks at you he doesn't see your sin. If you have asked him to forgive you all he sees is the blood of Christ making us clean and pure. CHALLENGE: Sometimes we have trouble forgiving ourselves. If you have asked God to forgive you, it is gone. One of Satan's tricks is to remind us of our sin and make us feel guilty and ashamed. God says that you are loved and forgiven. Who are you going to listen to? See our free printable below. If there's one thing we all need at the moment, it's peace. The great thing about the peace of God is that it doesn't rely on our circumstances. You can enjoy the peace of God, even in the middle of a pandemic. Verse 6 and 7 of Philippians 4 says, Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. So how do we get this peace? 1. Pray about the things you're worried about. 2. Be grateful for what you have. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as required. Our peace is based on the fact that this life is temporary and that we have eternity with God to look forward to - an eternity without viruses or pandemics, without greed and selfishness. Challenge: Write the things down that you're worried about and give them to God. Keep them in your prayer journal, shred them, throw them in the bin, burn them (with adult supervision). Free printable below. God is not some faraway, distant god who thinks of us as tiny insignificant things like ants. He cares about each person. The Bible says he even knows how many hairs on our head. This verse was originally God's message to the Israelites who had been captured and carried off to Babylon as slaves because of their disobedience to him. But God said that even though their circumstances were bad, he still had good plans for them. Sometimes good stuff happens in the middle of your bad situation. Sometimes we have to wait a while though. The Israelites were in captivity for 70 years before God rescued them. I'm sure that God has good plans for us too and the good news is - you probably don't have to wait 70 years for it. Now this promise is pretty epic. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died and rose again, then you get to enjoy eternal life with him. The life that you're living on earth at the moment is just a temporary arrangement - a bit like a caterpillar who is waiting to become a butterfly. You are a spirit and soul in a temporary physical body. Now I don't understand exactly how eternal life will look but according to the Bible it will be pretty awesome. Revelation 21:4 says, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. That sounds pretty cool. You can download a printable version of John 3:36 below. I was wondering what the author of Nahum 1:7 meant when he said that God is a safe place in times of trouble. I’m certain he didn’t mean a physical place. I understand it to be a spiritual or mental state - where we feel peace, even in times of trouble. A state of mind where you are convinced of all of the rest of God’s promises - his unfailing love, peace, goodness, mercy etc. and the hope that everything will work out ok in eternity. In John 16:33 Jesus was talking to his disciples warning them of the troubles that were coming and said, “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” So how do we find that safe place?
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