"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph 3:17; KJV). If we had any doubt of God's love for us this verse should dispel it. As we know it is by no means the only verse in the Bible that talks about this. In Psalm 18:19, king David wrote that God is pleased with us and delights in us, this is repeated in Isaiah. 62:4.

It seems quite amazing that the omnipotent God should take delight in us mere mortals but that is what it says so we must believe it. According to Isaiah 43:4 we are precious in God’s sight. And the prophet Malachi records that we are God's jewels (Mal 3:17).

You might ask well, did God have anything written like that in the New Testament? I am glad you asked that question! “For we are his workmanship” (Eph 2:10). The Greek word for workmanship can also be translated as his poem or work of art. God also loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins (John 3:16).

If you have low self-esteem or are feeling unloved meditate on these verses until you get a revelation of God's great love for you. You will then be confident enough to reach out to others with the love of God.

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In any conversation the word discipline doesn’t always receive the most enthusiastic reception, but how critical it is if we are to grow in our Christian walk. When we are born again as Christians it is our spirit that is made new not our bodies or souls (1 Thess 5:23; John 3:5-6). We have to renew our minds (Rom 12:2) and discipline our bodies (1 Cor 9:27) so that the life of God grows in us and flows from us.

In Hebrews we are it is written that if we cooperate with God, he will discipline us (Heb 12:5-11). This word discipline is often translated as chastening or instructing. God disciplines us or instructs us primarily with his word. God loves us so much as his sons and daughters that he disciplines us (Prov 3:11-12; Heb 12:8) so we can grow to experience all he has for us and to do his will. Love without discipline is not love (1 Cor 13:6). In fact, it says in Hebrews (12:8) that if we do not receive Godly chastening, we are illegitimate children.

As we grow as Christians our spirit, heart and conscience, become sensitive to God’s Spirit and will either chasten or approve us for our thoughts, words and actions (1 John 3:20-21). Praise God, he is always there to keep us on track if we let him. Search your heart today, do you allow God, his Spirit and his word, to correct and guide you? The results are amazing.

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2 Tim. 1:7 (KJV) "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." The word “fear” there means “timidity”; the kind of fear that we often experience when it comes to witnessing. However, according to this verse timidity does not come from God. Proverbs 28:1 says that the: “righteous are bold as a lion” If you are born again then you are righteous and therefore you are BOLD.

 Let’s see what God has given us instead of fear. 1. Power; the Greek word used here is dunamis; the power of God that is like dynamite. 2. Love; the Greek word used here is agape, the unconditional, selfless love. 3.A sound mind; the Greek word is sophronismus, which means a well-balanced or self-controlled mind. Next time you are feeling fearful confess this verse and focus on the 3 things God has given you, not what the devil is lying to you about.

There is a beautiful verse in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father” (Rom 8:15). Fear is not from our loving father. God’s perfect love drives out all fear from our lives (1 John 4:18) and that love has been poured into our lives by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). Press into God, dwell on his love, cast your cares on him and refuse to receive the devil’s fear.

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In that wonderful story in John’s Gospel Chapter 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Notice that Lazarus was still bound with grave clothes when he came out of the tomb and so Jesus had to say: “loose him and let him go” (KJV). We as Christians are born again to new life in Christ but are often bound by grave clothes; these are the trappings, habits and behaviors of our old life. The word tells us we need to put off the old man and put on the new (Col 3:9). This means to allow God to change us so we no longer live like we did but walk in the new nature of Christ that lives in us (Gal 2:20).

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:1-2a). We are in a race, going on with God, allowing him to change us by his word and power day by day.

So, what do we have to do? We need to cooperate with God, spend time in his word and yield to the Holy Spirit as he gently convicts, encourages and changes us through our spirit (1 John 3:20). The journey is amazing, the results wonderful.

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"If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be the measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath" (Mark 4:23-25; NKJ).

These 3 verses tell us that the amount of time and effort we put into reading, meditating and studying the word is equal to how much we get out of it; a sobering thought. Let’s have ears and eyes that truly hear and see what God is teaching us. Be encouraged by our passage above, we are shown that what we receive from the word will continually increase and time invested in God is never wasted; it always benefits us. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). I like the sound of that!

Time spent in God's word is always beneficial because God is watching over his word to perform it (Jer 1:12).

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