Breakfast of Champions - Thursday 30th April

Welcome to another day in the unfolding story of faith which is your life.

 

Have you got letters before your name?

 

·         Living a life of destiny is not about just having letters after your name but according to the hero’s of faith listed in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame it is all about having certain letters before your name.

·         “What letters are they,” you may ask?  Have a read through Hebrews 11 and you will see them for yourself. Before the name of any hero is mentioned first come these letters: BY FAITH.

 

Hebrews 11: 7 – 8 (NIV)

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

 ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

 

·         It was their decision to trust and believe God (have faith) that got each and every one of them into the Hebrews hall of fame. Each of them did or experienced incredible things because they believed the Word of God

·         Today realize afresh that we are dealing with the same God and the same promises and today in the 21^st century we can engage with God and daily encounter the manifestation of His potential by using our faith as they chose to use theirs.

·         “But they had great faith,” you may say. So do you! Think about it. You have already believed for the biggest thing you ever needed to.  At the start of your faith journey you believed God (released your faith) for the total forgiveness of all of your sins and the redemption of your eternal soul.  What can be greater than that?

·         The same faith that you used to get eternally forgiven and saved can now be to shake the world you live in. You only have one suitable direction for your faith walk. Forward!

 

Hebrews 10:38 (NIV)
But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

 

·         We are not those who shrink back to unbelief but push forward to greater things.

 

Have a great day and believe for something totally impossible.

 

Andy

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Wednesday 29th April

Welcome to another new day where anything is possible for those who believe.

 

Hebrews 11: 1 – 3 (The Message Translation)

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. ³ By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.

 

·         I love this translation because this trust we have in God is the firm foundation that we build our lives upon and what makes life worth living. Why? Because faith turns a boring normal life that is limited by worldly restraints into an eternal adventure that is freed from the limitations of that which is possible to the five senses.  Faith is that sixth sense that causes you to live in an unlimited dimension of experience.

·         Today you are living out your story of faith. It is a story that has a beginning and an end but also a middle bit and the middle bit is still being written.

·         Remember your journey with God started by faith.

 

Galatians 2:16 (NKJV)
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

 

·         It ends in faith.  No one has seen Heaven yet we know in our hearts by revelation that when we die we go to be with Him. Why? Because He promised we would and we believed (released our faith).

 

John 14: 1 – 3 (NIV)

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

 

·         So we start by faith and we end in faith but what about the middle bit, the bit we are now in?  That’s the fun bit because it is real time, the answer is of course, “we walk by faith”

 

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

 

You did not see Jesus die when you first believed Him to save you.  You have not seen heaven (most of us anyway) yet you know it is there because you believe the promises of God about the start and the finish of your journey.  In the same way, start to live the bit in the middle trusting His promises about your situations.  His promises are true about your day to day life also.

 

Andy

 

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Tuesday 28th April

Good morning. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life; a life to be lived “By Faith”

 

Hebrews 11: 1 – 3 (NIV)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

 

·         We too will be “commended by God” as we daily choose as Abraham did to walk by faith through the life of purpose and destiny that God has given us to reign in.

 

·         By faith we understand that if you want to fully comprehend anything about God you have to view it through the lens of “faith” (simply believing things are and will be because he said so).

·         His eternal Word and promises to us are the only substance and evidence that we need to be moving  forward  into what we are believing for even if there is no physical evidence apparent.

·         Remember that faith is acting on the promises without needing further evidence. It is believing before you see and no longer living in the carnal world of “seeing is believing.”

·         Think for a moment of how many other things we do each and every day without evidence.

-          Do you check every chair before you sit on it? No, because you believe the claims of the manufacturer that it will hold and support you.

-          Do you check your breaks one by one every time you take the car out on the road?  No, because you trust the mechanics and that they have made your breaks roadworthy and functionally safe.

·         We daily do so many things by faith “without any physical evidence”, so why is it people only get nervous when we speak about placing faith in God?  Is the creator of heaven and earth not more trustworthy and reliable than the chair maker or mechanic?

·         Trust Him today because he can both support you and he can keep you from harm.

 

Let today be another day where you begin to trust His promises for your life without the need for physical evidence.  Remember He makes things that are seen out of things that are not currently visible.

 

Hey, that’s what makes Him God!

 

Bless you.

 

Andy

 

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - April 27th

Good morning champion.  Welcome to a brand new week.

BY FAITH!

Hebrews 11: 1-3 (NKJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ³ By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

·         What a great way to start this new week with the opening statement from the classic faith chapter Hebrews 11.

·         As Christians we should recognize that faith is an important everyday non negotiable to our lives, we are called by God to be people of faith.  By using faith, the elders (people who lived before us), obtained a great testimony (life story) and by daily choosing to walk this faith walk with God so shall we.

·         Remember that faith pleases God!

Hebrews 11: 6 (NKJV)

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

·         Faith is simple. It’s making the choice to believe and trust God and  to believe that He is both willing and able to fulfill the promises He has made concerning our lives.

·         God is not a liar!  He has given us so many great and precious promises because He has the intention of honoring them. As with Abraham, we need to make the choice to engage with God and His promises. How?  By Faith (simply believing that He who promises is faithful).

·         The Word says that by Faith we can understand the mystery of Creation and how the worlds were formed and let’s face it, to understand Creation you have to make the choice to believe that it was formed according to how God says it was, simply believe He is telling you the truth.

·         Faith is needed not only to understand our origins, but also to understand other seemingly impossible situations in your life. In these seemingly impossible situations you  need to apply the same rule which is to hear what God says about it and then choose to believe even when there is no visible evidence.  Faith is the substance and the evidence to the things God promises.

·         Begin to release your faith again today and begin to find the promises in God’s Word that are fitting for the situation you are in and even without the physical evidence, make the decision to believe the promise of God.  Make His promise all the evidence you need.

You were saved by faith to live by faith and faith puts the zing back into Christianity. It delivers your walk with God from being a lifeless ceremony to being a fun packed ever-unfolding adventure where you look forward to the next day and the next mountain you are destined to conquer. How? BY FAITH!

 

Have a great day and believe for something!

 

Andy

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Friday April 24th

Welcome to your Friday fry-up.

 

Let’s look again at the verse we finished with yesterday.

 

Philemon 6 (NKJV)

That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

 

The sharing of your faith is dramatically affected by the acknowledgment of every good thing that is in you in Christ Jesus. As we discover His divine potential and life now resident within the temple of our life the realization of this is what certainly makes you think differently about things.

In fact, it is the acknowledging  of “every good thing” that God has put in you through Jesus that causes effectiveness in every single part of who we are. What did we get placed in us through Christ?  It’s a long list! Here are but a few of the many things that we can be so grateful for:

 

-          Abundance of Grace – has come to us through Jesus

-          The gift of righteousness – is ours because of Jesus

-          Forgiveness, healing & divine health

-          Faith and hope

-          New life and freedom from condemnation

-          Restored innocence

-          Love, power and a sound mind.

 

The list could go on and on.

 

Oh that we may all fully understand all that we have already received in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Start today to release more of what He has deposited in you. How?  Acknowledge what He has given by thanking Him for it. By faith you believe and faith is the divine phone call that activates whatever God gives.

 

Let’s stop begging Him for more and take a moment to realize and acknowledge what we already have.

 

Have a fantastic weekend.

 

Andy

 

 

www.synergy-network.org

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Thursday April 23rd

Good morning and breakfast is served

 

More than a Song

 

Romans 8:11 (NIV)

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

 

Hillsong captured this awesome thought in one of their recent songs, and as they are always so good at, made it very catchy and easy to sing. I often find myself driving around singing, “The same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me”.

 

Great sing along but it needs to be more than that in our lives. It needs to be an ever life-defining revelation and it needs to drop two foot from our mouths to our hearts because this is the powerful truth that determines our potential and capacity.

 

‘The same Spirit’,

Think about that for a moment, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you.  Wow, suddenly the previously set dimensions of what causes things to be possible and impossible begin to change and realign before you.

That is why Paul could confidently say, “I can do all things,” but let him finish and here is why, “through Christ who gives me strength”. It was Paul’s revelation of the indwelling Spirit of the resurrection life of Christ that brought him to this absolute. That same revelation is ours to own.

 

His Spirit causes things to live!

 

It says if He lives in you He causes life in your mortal body the truth is that if His life-giving Spirit is resident in your life He makes everything come alive such as visions, dreams, health. Everywhere the river of His presence is allowed to flow it brings life and raises things from a dead state!

 

Power of acknowledgment

Activation of this internal potential and force is simply the result of acknowledgement which is a coming into agreement with what the Word says is a reality concerning you.  Let me leave you with a great verse from Philemon:

 

Philemon 6 (NKJV)

That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

 

The effective outworking of your faith is the result of you acknowledging what is already in you in Christ Jesus. What is in you?  The same power that conquered the grave, that’s what.

 

I pray you have a powerful day.

Andy

 

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Wednesday April 22nd

Good morning you Champion.  Here is something for you to chew on.

 

Acts 17: 6 (NKJV)

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

 

What a great reputation,  I believe that this is the reputation of the Spirit filled God lover, we are not called to fit in to everything that society and life expects us too or deems normal, but rather to be people who turn worlds upside down.

 

Poor old Jason got into mega trouble for housing some” followers of Jesus”,  would we get someone into trouble if we went to stay with them?  Would Christ in us turn something upside down when we “passed through”?  What a great challenge.

 

Whatever realm of life that God has called you to function in, make sure that when you look in the mirror before leaving your house you see someone called of God to turn things upside down.

 

How? Simple make the decision where ever you find yourself too:

 

1.       Stand up for Jesus and His kingdom.

2.       Live for the truth of God’s word, let it be what determines  your absolutes not that which comes from an ever changing confused society.

3.       Remember you are only on this planet once.  Live in such a way that your life has a unique flavor, stand out have definition to don’t settle for bland!

 

What we believe (Gods truth) should make us stick out in the crowd, it should be turning wrong thinking and behavior upside down, it is destined to cause trouble in peoples messed up lives (good trouble).

 

Acts 17: 6 (NIV)

These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,

 

The gospel is not a sedative meant to quiet you down it is a stimulant, an empowering  license to live passionately for a cause that changes people lives and lasts for eternity.

 

Come on let’s get our world changing reputation back, realize that Jesus the revolutionary lives in you and have a world shaking day, how?  Let Him out!

 

God Bless

 

Andy

 

www.synergy-network.org

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Tuesday 21st April

Good morning.  Here’s breakfast. I hope you’re hungry.

Acts 2:17-18 (NKJV)

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

·         Here is the classic promise concerning the Spirit that was spoken by Peter just after the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. He was referring to the prophecy of Joel  (Joel 2: 28 – 32) from the Old Testament.

·         Jesus had risen from the dead and as promised, had poured out His Spirit on the Church and the good news is that He never called Him back which means the same Spirit that filled those early believers still fills our lives today-- the same Spirit!

·         It says that when the Spirit is present (poured out) people would begin to dream and have vision and they will prophesy, men and women will begin to prophesy (speak out God’s plans and Word and proclaim things that are to come).

·         Are you a manservant or maidservant of the Lord? If so, then start to prophecy more in your life and begin to listen to what the Spirit of God is saying deep within you concerning the situation you are in and against what seems physically possible. Begin to speak the Word of the Lord.

·         People have made prophesy weird and spooky and seemingly un-doable by normal everyday folk and that is not how God designed it. Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy and He resides within your life.  This means in any given situation He has something better to say about the outcome. Oh that we would have ears to hear, faith to believe and confidence to proclaim the intentions of God over the things we face.

·         It is written, “AND THEY WILL PROPHECY…,”  so you do not have to be a prophet to prophecy just a servant of the Lord and a son or daughter of His kingdom.  Today, if there is something in your world that needs to turn around then don’t stay silent but begin to prophesy and find God’s Word for the situation from the Bible and speak the Word and the plans of God over it.

·         Remember that spoken words of faith can still move mountains.

 

Bless you and don’t stay silent.  The Spirit has been poured out and never withdrawn so listen to Him today and the speak out with confidence what you hear.

 

Bless you and have a naturally prophetic day

 

Andy

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Monday 20th April

Good morning Champion.  Welcome to another week, here is breakfast.

 

Psalm 91: 1-2 (NKJV)

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

 

Though your life needs to have a public Christian expression (your evangelistic lifestyle, living out what you believe) you cannot survive with just a public expression, it is vital that we all have a secret garden or secret place with the Lord.

 

In my message the secret garden I refer to how Jesus in the last moments of His life, those moments before all hell would be let loose on Him choose not a revival meeting or public place but rather a quiet corner of a garden called Gethsemane.  It was in that secret place that he found the strength and courage he needed for what lay ahead that night. 

 

We must remember that we too find our strength and ability in the secret place we have with God not in the public arena of Christianity, it is in the secret place of the most high where there is the audience of one that we are as Jesus was made strong.  Let’s make sure that our Christianity is not just a public thing but that it has a very special secret place.

 

Here’s some question to provoke you to thought today.

 

·         Do you have a secret place in your relationship with God?

·         Do you go there as much as you need to?

·         What do you need to do to make sure that you get from the secret place everything God has for you in it?

Lets finish today by reading the next part of the Psalm to see what happens for us and to us when we chose to abide “ make our home” the secret place of the most high, as we do ask yourself “why would I not abide there”?

 

 ³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
 ⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
 ⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
 ⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
 ⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

 ⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
 ¹⁰ No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
 ¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
 ¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,  Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

 

Bless you have a great week, live out of a secret place that you have with the most High.

 

Andy

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Friday 17th April

Good morning.  Welcome to your Friday fry-up

 

Mark 7:37 (NKJV)
And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

 

What a great testimony that is of Jesus that He has done all things well.  That is the sort of God He is, He does not do good in one area and average in another, but He does all things well. With everything He does He has one standard, to do it well.

 

Let us remember we have that same Jesus living in us and our lives are temples of His residence.  Having His life and influence in us, I believe, will cause the same attitude in life to what we do. We also begin to desire more to do “all things well”.

 

It is a great thing to do something well but God wants to empower us to more than that.  God’s best is not that we have a great church and a below average marriage but rather that we do all things well.  For example, God not only wants that we do well in business, but that our health would be good also and not poor due to lack of much needed exercise and terrible eating habits.

 

God does not watch one segment of our life but He watches the whole orange and His desire is not that we do well in one or two segments only but that by His help we do well in all the segments. He wants   every section of what makes us who we are in a place of prosperity and health.

Consider the orange of your life. Take a birds eye (Gods eye) view of all the sections of the pizza that is your life and ask some honest questions such as, “What areas am I doing well in and what sections do I need to let God help me to bring into better health?”.

 

Let our prayer be, “Jesus, by your life now living in me, help me to ‘do all things well’.”

 

Have a great weekend and never stop pressing in for more of God.

 

Andy

 

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk

 

 

Breakfast of Champions - Thursday 16th April

Good morning Champion.  Here’s breakfast.

 

Realization is not enough to change a situation!

 

Luke 15: 17 – 18 (NKJV)

But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

 

This is from the account of the wayward Son found in Luke 15 where Jesus teaches a 3 fold parable concerning lost things.  It is a great story of a young man who made some stupid mistakes but then has the sense and courage to turn it all around.

 

The NIV uses different wording.  It says, “when He came to His senses,” and that is something that we all do every now and then right?  We can all lose the way sometimes in one way or another but then a faithful God taps us on the shoulder with His finger of goodness and lets us see that what we have is not what we really want and we have a realization (encounter with truth or reality).  What is important is what we do next?

 

A realization on its own will not achieve the changes that we need.  We need to add other things to it like the wayward son did.  The next thing we read is that he determined, “I will arise and return”, and it was at this point the situation began to change for the better. Things only improved when He made a resolution.

Whenever you have a realization about something make sure you quickly add a resolution to it or things will most likely not change.

 

Like the wayward son, we all ever need to be having realizations by the prompting of God, then resolving what we will do about those realizations, and then have the courage to take the first step towards what needs to happen to produce change. As you do, your realizations will become realities.  If the son would have settled for realizations alone he would have died eating pig food when he could have been eating beef at a homecoming dinner!

 

Goals are dreams with a date or moment of movement attached to them.  If you just dream, little happens, but if you attach deadlines and dates to them they begin to live!

 

Remember good intentions really do not profit anyone, but lived- out ones do!

 

Have a great day

 

Andy

 

 

A devotional by Pastor Andy Elmes to inspire you with a godly thought to start your day well. God’s word is indeed the breakfast of champions.

 

Great Big Life

Empowering People

 

Andy Elmes

Pastor & Leadership Coach

 

UK Office:

PO BOX 240

Southsea

PO2 7YE.

 

+ 44 (0) 2392 342592

andy@greatbiglife.co.uk

www.greatbiglife.co.uk