In recent weeks some of us have faced very challenging circumstances, knowing pain and grief which can shake us right to our core. When considering these things I found myself reading Romans 8, from which we often pull out encouraging statements such as ‘If Christ is for me, who can be against me!’ or. ‘Who can separate us from the Love of Christ?’ and ‘In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer!’ Which in themselves are astounding promises to trust God for.

There are many great promises in Romans 8; however when you read the chapter from start to finish, it takes you on a journey of facing the reality of our human predicament, hitting the reality of it head on and then leads us along God’s route of redemption and then through to the actual reality of the promises, which I find are only truly realised when we go on the journey itself with Him.

Romans 8 states that there is a human problem which we cannot fix that leads to death; but He Himself has dealt with it in Himself, in His flesh by His Spirit. Which is why it is only IN Him (not our ability) that there is now no condemnation; and it’s only BY His Spirit (The same Spirit that raised him from the dead – overcoming death) now in us who believe, that our bodily death is not the final outcome; for His indestructible Life resides in us who believe.

It goes on. For those who believe, we have received the Spirit of Sonship; of belonging to a father, giving us a sure and solid identity as His children. As a loving Father, He holds nothing back. This leads us to hope and in the face of suffering, hardship and our own weaknesses, He helps us to endure, and we realise that as his children, there is nothing in all creation that can actually separate us from his love. That love will then work all the various challenges of life ultimately for our good, for it is God himself, our Father, who is for us: Therefore who and what can actually prevail against us?

We are not destined to scrape by…but overwhelmingly conquer: In Him, By Him and Through Him. We are not the source… He Is! We just have to align ourselves with Him.

As the Psalmist says: Be still, cease striving and know that I am God… He will have the final say!

When the challenges of life threaten to sweep through and devastate, read, believe and align with the whole of Romans 8, it takes us from our weakness through to his power and onwards to our ultimate victory!

You've probably heard Rob and I say it a million times over, that 'God gives us grace for the situation not our imagination.'

We can often look on each other's life journeys and think, how are they getting through, how are they coping, they seem to be doing so well? It is at these times we start to imagine ourselves in those situations, and all it does is bring on anxiety and worry and unecessary upset. There is a reason for this.... It is not our journey!

The same applies to thinking too far ahead in our own walk. We can try and work out every scinario that may or may not become a reality, but the Lord is with you in the step you're taking today.

Jesus prayed,' give us today our daily bread'. In other words our amazing father provides all we need for the now realities in 'our' lives. The minute we let our imaginings run riot, peace is lost.

God's grace is always sufficient and we can absolutely trust that He will provide all we need, when we need it.

So when those thoughts and future imaginings come, let us take hold of them, and stop them in there tracks, because God's grace is in the here and now. He is our daily bread!

Thank you Father.

My Encouragement to you is an encouragement God gave me yesterday.

I have been feeling down and fed up with my studying over the past couple of weeks, but God said to me:

“Why did you start studying, what is the reason you prayed about this career you want to do?

God reminded me why I started this, and why I have been praying about this career.

So if you have prayed about something and not seen anything happen yet, God says; “Don't worry, keep praying, I see you, I see what is on your heart!”

I got excited today as I watched a video on brain development (children's) as part of my college course because it talks about pruning. The video was explaining about the connections that are made in our brains through our experiences in early childhood and the more we use them/they are re-enforced they grow strong but if they are not used/reinforced they are pruned and basically do not exist anymore, they disappear. This is how we develop into the person we become as an adult.

It brought to mind the scripture in John 15: 1-3 (NIV). "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you".

Before knowing God we are shaped by our experiences good or bad in this world and the connections in our brains make us behave and relate the way we do. Once we know God however, he gets to work, he is the gardener and he starts to prune us and shape us by the renewing of our minds.

It is so wonderful that God goes to work to renew our mind, to give us new brain connections that replace ones that don't serve us well and to prune away anything not of Him; we become more and more who we were meant to be; full of truth, love, hope as he prunes away those old negative brain connections. (I love that in the scientific world they also call this process pruning, a long time after it was written in the bible!)

In order for the gardener to be able to work in us, this chapter gives us two ways we need to play our part, verse 3 says, you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you and verse 4 says, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

God can prune us and renew our minds if we are in the word, the bible but also if we are close to Him and hear His voice, and obey Him when He speaks. And Jesus tells us not just to do this as a one off or every now and then but to "Remain in Him", stay close to him and keep staying close.