" Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." ( Phil 4:6; NKJV) It is so important to pray but in all the asking do we remember to thank God? We don't need to think long to recall all the blessings of God; His love, mercy and forgiveness, salvation, protection and provision, to mention just a few. Our thanksgiving is to be a sacrifice (Ps 116:17), and we are to offer thanks to God in all circumstances good or bad (1 Thess 5:18). "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise."

(Ps100:4; NKJV) Just as Israel entered into God's temple and presence with thanksgiving and praise so our thanks and praise will draw us close to God. Lord God, help us always to have thankful hearts.

Rejoice Christians, Jesus lives on the inside of us (Gal 2:20), we have been made new (2 Cor 5:17), our spirits born again (John 3:1-7). God's desire for us is to grow in our knowledge of Him, to walk in all He has for us (John 10:10) and to be His ambassadors to the world around us (2 Cor 5:20).

We should desire to be more like Jesus each day (Rom 8:29). We need to renew our minds with God's Word (Rom 12:2) and discipline our bodies to be obedient to Him (1 Cor 9:27). How do we do this? Well, as the apostle Paul taught, we need to press in to God: "I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me" (Phil 3:12; NKJV). Lets humble ourselves, pray and ask God to work in our lives. We need to immerse ourselves in the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us (John 14:26). All of us need to be open to allow the Holy Spirit to change, mold and mature us (2 Cor 3:18); He will if we allow and the walk will be amazing, fulfilling, truly meaningful!

“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges Him— the word that I have spoken will judge Him in the last day” John 12:48; NKJV. I love God’s Word and we need to be saturating in the Word so that we can understand all God has for us and walk in it. In God’s Word He makes it clear that His Word is truth and life (John 17:17; John 6:63) and that His word will make us free (John 8:32). Free from what? Free from all the evil that sin brought into our lives, freedom to enjoy all of the blessings of God and to be His ambassadors on this earth (2 Cor 5:20). God tells us that if we truly love Him, we will keep His Word (John 14:21). God wants to do amazing things through all of our lives. We are not waiting on Him but He is waiting on us! As I was studying recently the verse above in John 12:48, struck me. Jesus was addressing many who would not receive His Words but as Christians this verse can still speak to us. At the end of our race God won’t ask us how it was with our plans and programs but simply judge our lives against His Word! Were we open to His whole Word or just our favorite parts, did we embrace it all or skirt around the challenging bits, did we have some convenient blind spots, were we His sold-out ambassadors? Praise God for His unconditional love and forgiveness. Let our lives be truly focused on being all He wants us to be, a truly amazing and fulfilling life. Wow, I preached myself happy.

As Christians we are called to live by faith (Gal 3:11). In other words salvation and all God's promises for us are received by faith. There is a wonderful definition of faith in the Amplified Bible translation of 2 Timothy 3:16; "the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness". My definition is knowing that you know, that you know, that you know that all God's promises are ours! How do we get faith? God has given all of us a measure of faith (Rom 12:3). To receive all God has for us and walk in all He wants us to do we need to strengthen or grow our faith. How do we do that? In Romans 10:17 (NKJV), we are told: "so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". As we hear God's Word preached and read it for ourselves, our faith will grow. Need healing for example? then search your bible for scriptures on healing and meditate on them. I promise you it works.

In the New Testament we see several references to: “the mystery” (E.g., Col 2:1-3). The apostle Paul showed us that “the mystery” is the revelation of the ministry of God’s Son Jesus on this earth, culminating in His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven and all the impact this can have on our lives (1 Tim 3:16). Through his death and resurrection Jesus defeated satan, stripped him of all his evil power and authority (Col 2:15) and won forgiveness of all of our sins. Our sins separated us from God and left us open to all of the works of the devil (John 10:10). When we believe in Jesus and ask Him into and give Him control of our lives, we can experience God’s forgiveness, restored fellowship with Him, victory over satan and the wonderful new life God has for us (John 10:10). We call this salvation.

As a boy I was taught scripture in school; I loved the Old Testament battles and heroes and the things Jesus did, but as a non-Christian, I had no understanding of the powerful, life changing spiritual significance of the Bible. No one ever told me I could be saved and have an amazing personal relationship with Jesus. You see as a non-Christian, natural human being, the Bible was a mystery to me, simply a book of stories, no more (1 Cor 2:14).

When we are saved, Jesus comes and lives in us in the form of the Holy Spirit (), the third part of the trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). We are all spirit beings; we live in a body and have a soul (1 Thess 5:23). As Christians, the Holy Spirit interacts with our spirit and brings the scriptures alive to us (1 Cor 2:9-10), and as a result we can see the full spiritual truth, meaning and power of God’s Word and how it can change our lives; the mystery is revealed to us! It’s wonderful, life changing! Get in the Bible, pray, ask God through His Spirit, to give you revelation of all He has for you and how He wants to use you to share Him with others.