“So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows” Focusing on the word ‘vow’, we often make vows when we are in the most desperate or happiest for example; in marriage, taking an ought for citizenship and for Christians accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.  Even with all these vows, we sometimes backslide when we get comfortable. However, it is so important to have practices in place to ensure you fulfil the vow as David mentioned in the psalm. Waking up with a prayer, and going to bed reading the bible is a simple way to practice good discipline and give glory to God. Making these small changes will make a big difference to your day and draw you closer to God.  Sometimes we find it hard to praise God due to the questions and challenges we face. But reflecting on the song ‘Praise’ we should “praise at the mountain, praise in the valley…as long as I am breathing I got a reason to praise” God looks forward to hearing all your little things and spending time with you! So let’s spend our time with him!  God bless – Romey

The verse serves as a reminder that we should always seek God. Just as our body requires and needs food and water to function, we need God in our lives to live a spiritual life. Seeking God should not just be when we need help or when we are in difficult situations but all the time. Even though God will always be there in times of trouble, we are called upon to always seek God, even when we have no problems in our lives. For example, some people might start seeking God when they are going through difficult times, however, as soon as God delivers them through those times, they start to forget about God and only start seeking God again when they are in another bad situation. When the Israelites traveled through the desert, they constantly asked God for things, and God always provided for them, but soon they forgot the great miracles God had done for them and started to walk according to their own ways, which led to God rejecting them. This should be a reminder to us all that our relationship with God is not just for us to reap the benefits but instead, it is a relationship with a father who we turn to at any point in our lives. It doesn’t matter how high or low we are in our lives, our want to seek God should never waver. We should always try to strengthen our relationships with God. This can be done by prayer or meditating on the word of God.

There are several blessings promised in this verse. However, the key point to be noted isthat, only one who has HOPE (ie, willing to wait on the Lord) is eligible to get these blessings.Having hope (waiting on the Lord) does not come easy, especially when facing difficultcircumstances. The ‘wait’ can be quite trying. It could lead us to question everything. As such,one element that is critical to enable us to hope in the lord is FAITH. They are, in a sense,interrelated. Blindly having faith is essential to continue to keep up our hope. Blind faith meansto trust in God, without an ounce of doubt completely. Once our hope dies, slowly (over time) itbecomes an attack on faith and vice versa. Therefore, before all else, we should work towards building up our faith. There might besituations where we might make mistakes or question our choices and sometimes even ourfaith. But in the end, it is vital to repent, build your faith, keep your hope. Then, and only then,will one see the wonders of God.

“And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Miguel I came across this verse 2 weeks ago, and instantly I was able to understand what the verse means. When we are in difficult situations, God will be there with us and in our life, he will be a mentor in our life. He’ll open ways in our hearts that may be different to others but the important fact is God knows what he’s doing. This verse came from when Jesus was risen, and he told his disciples to spread the word of God and we should have the ability to spread the news as that is the good news in life.

Dawn 17th December 2023 I came across the verse 2-3 months ago and the way I see it is that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask God for material blessings. Most of the time we are taught that we shouldn’t be asking for material things and whilst that is true (we should be mostly asking for ways to develop our spiritual selves) the only person who won’t tire of us asking for the things that we truly want is God. God isn’t going to get angry or exhausted from you asking for things other people might consider silly, because whilst we live here, we need those material things to survive.But to make our ‘plans succeed’ we need to prove ourselves worthy to God and I believe that is through actions of faith such as prayer and dedicating your time to God.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We often forget how great our God is, the creator of the universe who spoke everything into being. The one who gave us the breath we breathe, who can split the sea so that his people can walk through the Red Sea. Who shut the mouth of lions to protect Daniel. Gave people who couldn’t speak a voice. Gave people who were blind, sight. God allowed us to come into this country and establish a family good friends, the opportunity to study in well-established universities among other people from various countries. To be in this church where we can learn the word of God. He has done incredible things in our life. We should be confident like David who went against the giant Goliath, he went in confidence that his God will deliver him! (1 Samuel 17:37). We should have faith whenever we are going through hardship that God will deliver! Have faith like Abraham who took his to sacrifice, has believed that his God is powerful enough to bring his son back to life! He has delivered in the pasy when we faced turbulance and we will deliver us again this time with whatever we are facing currently. God is Good!