There is a story that in the early 14th century, Robert the Bruce, the King of Scotland, found himself in a dire situation. Defeated in battle and on the run, he took refuge in a cave. As he sat there, feeling hopeless and defeated, he noticed a spider attempting to weave a web. Time and again, the spider tried to attach its web to the cave wall, only to fail repeatedly. Yet, the spider did not give up. It kept trying until it finally succeeded.

This simple yet profound moment inspired Robert the Bruce to persevere. He realised that if a tiny spider could overcome its obstacles, so could he. With renewed determination, he went on to lead his forces to victory and secure Scotland's independence.

As Christians, we can draw a powerful lesson from this story. Just as the spider did not give up, we too must persevere in our faith and trust in God's plan for our lives. The Bible reminds us in Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

When we face challenges and setbacks, it's easy to feel discouraged. But remember, God is with us in every trial. He sees our struggles and is working behind the scenes for our good. Just as the spider's persistence led to success, our steadfast faith and trust in God will lead to His perfect plan unfolding in our lives.

So, when you feel like giving up, think of the spider in the cave. Let it remind you that God is faithful, and He will give you the strength to overcome any obstacle. Keep pressing on, for in due time, you will see the fruits of your perseverance.

If we call ourselves a Christian/follower of Jesus Christ, then our lives are not our own to do as we please but our lives belong to God and Jesus is our Lord/Master/King. In Galatians 5:25 it reads “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

It is the Spirit who gives us life and therefore we should allow the Spirit to direct our steps, or to say it more literally we should allow the Spirit to be the greatest influence in the decisions we make. The result of living this way is that we grow strong and mature in God and fulfill His purposes for us in this life, which brings the greatest, eternal rewards and also true fulfilment in this life!

Jesus is our example and in Mark 1:12-13 we see how Jesus walked by the Spirit, it reads:

“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”

The Holy Spirit directed Jesus to go to a place where he would face temptation & hunger. Jesus submits to this season and does not fight or resist it, but he does resist the Devil’s lies and relies on Gods word and provision to see him through.

We see that God didn’t lead Jesus into a test that he wasn’t ready for. Before being lead into the wilderness to face the testing, Jesus already knew the scriptures, from his upbringing, and God spoke to him to publicly affirm Jesus’ identity as His son who is loved. Jesus faces the test, which he passes with a Distinction, and then God’s angels minister to him and restore his strength.

My prayer for us today is that we would have great discernment to know the leading of the Spirit, humility to submit to the season that God has lead us to, and strength to resist the enemy and flee from temptation, knowing that we have all that we need to pass the test with a distinction!

Some relevant scriptures:

- Mark 1:9-13

- Mathew 3:13-4:11

- James 4:7

- Timothy 2:22

Recently the Lord has been reminding me to Magnify Him.

There is an enemy who loves nothing more than to cause us to focus on troubles, worries, concerns and obstacles in our lives. With our co-operation they can become magnified!

But recently Rob reminded us of the word in Psalm 34:3:

Oh magnify Jehovah with me, And let us exalt his name together. (American Standard)

&

Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. (New Living Translation)

When we choose to magnify the Lord over our situations, it lessens the strength those circumstances have on our lives and our emotions.

It is a choice though!

The apostle Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:8: 'And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Verse 9: Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.'

My encouragement is the Lord is excellent and worthy of our praise! Choose to magnify Him and know His wonderful peace.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10v9.

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege, alongside Marc to pray with a wonderful man as he gave his life to Jesus.

I was stirred during the worship to simply ask him once the meeting finished.

He didn't know the ins and outs of what to do or what his journey ahead would look like. He was simply happy to begin, to pray and make Jesus his Lord.

I had no idea when I woke up that morning that this was part of God's plan for the day. I hadn't prepared for it. There was nothing eloquent and scripted about what we prayed. I didn't draw a picture or pull out a tract. We just stood together as people on a journey with Jesus. I felt a little vulnerable, but I know God loves people and wants to save, so that was enough to make me brave!

I know the Word of God is 100% trustworthy, even if my words were messy and muddled!

Next time I'll be a little more prepared, but my encouragement is this, whether you think you have all the words or not, do it anyway! When the Spirit prompts, ask the question. "Would you like to give your life to Jesus?" God is the one who saves. He's looking for open hearts and faithful servants not professional prayers!

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