Bright

P3445 Hold fast, dear saint of God.

/ DVH

“I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honour and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” Ephesians 1:19-20 Amen.

Paul was given the ability by God, to understand what we have been given when Jesus died for all of us. In this verse he talks about this power being available to each one of us, as well as being released through us. But we have been given even greater opportunities than Paul had. Christians are so blessed, we have the revelations Father God gave to Luke, Matthew, Mark, John, James, Peter and Jude. Thank you Lord!

Paul was given incredible revelations about what Christ’s life, death and resurrection did. He teaches us that one act brought about the possibility of transformation for every human being. He shows us what living this life “In Christ Jesus” means. No exceptions. The problem is we can see these things as theology, (information), but they are not, they are a powerful way to live. We’ve grown used to thinking of God’s power as the power to do miracles, but the greatest use of God’s power is allowing it to transform each one of us, day by day. We are no longer held captive by a yoke of slavery — we’ve been set free to live the way our Saviour lived. Please notice the present tense!

Like Paul says, we can choose to live for Jesus and as we do so, we glorify HIM. That does not mean we are part of some clever marketing campaign, as we try hard to appeal to other people. Instead it means we are to be a showcase of Who He is, and what He has done … for everyone else to see. BTW, the gifts of the Spirit are a separate thing to being transformed. Now it is our choice to reflect Him into this world around us. We don’t set the standard, Jesus Himself does that! Human standards without the Holy Spirit’s input, create chaos.

The Lord Jesus’ action on mankind’s behalf, took every single human being out of the realm of sin and death, and broke it’s power over us. Then He firmly established mankind as the Father’s favoured children. Yes … even the people we don’t like!  Now sin is not compulsory – it is an optional extra – we are not powerless against it anymore! The Lord Jesus and what He did, transformed everything, and we have the Holy Spirit as  our Helper. It doesn’t matter what you think, or what I think – it only matters what He thinks and it is in the book!

We’ve been translated “out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His marvellous light.” And the view is mind-boggling … which is why our minds and hearts need to catch up with what Jesus Christ has already done for us. That’s why we read the bible, we are playing catch-up! What you and I knew before we met Him has been wiped away with His own blood, so now it is natural for us to have His point of view. His point of view is LOVE.

Our relationship has been destined by God Himself to be totally intimate and functional, so we can go back to the place before mankind sinned. Where Father God and human beings were friends who deeply loved each other. He is willing to share His thoughts with us, just like He did when He walked and talked with Adam and Eve. 

I choose to read the bible to find out exactly how His point of view works itself out in my life… by taking what the Lord has said and then I ask Him to show me how, when and where I need to apply it. Then I act on it. I am not a powerless person, a victim of my former circumstances any longer. What Jesus did for me restored me, and my whole life. With my permission, He takes every one of those hard, difficult, and sometimes terrible things in my life — the good, the bad … plus those ones I sadly think of as — “boy I wish I hadn’t done that!” …and He redeems it in ways I cannot possibly imagine. Those ways are so perfect, as I recognise them, they take my breath away. 

Giving my life to Him is not a sacrifice, it is a joy. I can have God’s opinion for free, at any time. If it happens that the Lord is silent, then I don’t have to panic because His Word clearly tells me He will NOT leave me, nor forsake me. The Lord cannot be unfaithful to His Word and that is what I now stand upon. That and the blood that Jesus willingly shed on my behalf that washed me clean. Everything my Heavenly Father does is good. If it looks bad then that means I can’t see the end yet – it isn’t over, I am just observing His processes.

I refuse to reduce my Saviour to mere actions, or answers to prayer. Instead I rely upon what God Himself says in His book, and what Jesus has taught me. God does not have to prove Himself to me, He already did. Once and for all. This life has seasons, seasons of the soul. Some of our seasons are rich and bright like summer, or spring, and others seem destined for death like winter and autumn. But the life of God for us and in us, remains steadfast. Jesus taught us that.

Let’s hold fast to Him. In season and out. “Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, He remains faithful to us and will help us, for He cannot disown us who are part of Himself, and He will always carry out His promises to us.” 2 Timothy 2:13. Bye. 👋

P 3364 Living aware of His care.

/ DVH

“We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making Him proud of you as you work hard in His orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father Who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us.” Colossians 1:11,12.

I’ve talked previously about pruning and the results, so today I’d like to mention that we don’t have to learn this stuff in a vacuum. Our God is always with us wherever we go, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. I’m His biggest fan! I love to watch Him at work, even in the little things. When we look for His input in our everyday lives, we can find Him, quietly working away behind the scenes.

Above today’s text there’s a picture of something that reminds me of Him in action. I enjoy watching sheep dogs working, protecting and rounding up sheep. Those clever dogs go this way and that, and sometimes it seems like the dumb sheep have no clue what is good for them. But the sheepdogs persevere, darting about with boundless energy. They are always on the look-out for danger to the sheep to keep them safe.

In the same way, we may not aways understand why the Holy Spirit is doing whatever He is doing in our lives. But we can be sure of one thing – His mission is to keep every single sheep safe and lead them to where they are meant to be. We may not ‘feel like ‘ He is there, but He promised to be with us, so let’s choose to believe Him. The more we learn His ways, the more we can recognise when He is at work for His will and pleasure in our own lives, and the lives of others around us. Ask Him to help you see through His eyes.  

The secret is in our own stickability, and the precious Holy Spirit will even help us with that! “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” Galatians 6:9. “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16. “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” Ephesians 3:16.

Jesus did not leave us alone to work out this life by ourselves. Thank you Lord! So we have every reason to keep on going. Even if we sometimes give up on ourselves, the Holy Spirit is there, whispering to us: “Keep going, we’ve got this, I’m here to help you.” He is not an inactive observer. He abounds in Grace toward us and He doesn’t count our missteps or mistakes—He’s the One Who continually reminds us that Jesus died for all our sins. Hubby and I have found that when we go on the road, we simply become His hands and feet. You don’t have to raise the dead to witness, you simply have to walk in Love and leave the rest to Him.

You will never find a more willing participant in your ministry, than the Holy Spirit. It is His joy and pleasure to help us. The biggest clue is in His Name. HOLY Spirit. To walk with Him we cannot live to please ourselves anymore. Instead we need to proactively remind ourselves that Jesus died to give us His holiness, His right standing with our Father, and His Grace to finish whatever Father God has asked us to do. So we must lay aside ours. Our inheritance is vast, and often remains unclaimed. Sometimes that is because we focus on what we can’t do, instead of what Jesus has already done.

“The heavens declare the glory of God;  the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Psalm 19:1,2. I try to look UP, as well as look carefully, and prayerfully in the mirror of His Word. Looking at ourselves will just intimidate us because without Him we can do nothing. The One Who put those stars, those planets, the moon, and the sun there with His fingertips, is inside you! He wants to work with us: “[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energising and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.” Philippians 2:13. 

There have been times in my life when it felt like He was not with me, but we cannot afford to go by our feelings. The One Who put the desire to please Him, or the sadness for letting Him down is the One Who is reminding us He’s still there! He promises in the book, to work “…all things together for our good.” Including the spirit of stupid that sometimes falls on all of us!  He is far, far more generous, than we are able to understand. Whisper His Name, ask for His help. He’s always the Answer, not people.

Living well isn’t about getting stuff right, it is about pressing in, even if you don’t feel like getting out of bed. Let’s take our focus off us and how we feel and continue to praise Him for His consistency while we are doing it. Praise and thank the Lord that His motivation is love, not performance, and live aware of His care for you.  “In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” Proverbs 3:6. Amen and Amen! Bye 👋

P 3072 Make yours a life well lived.

/ DVH

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 MSG.

The person we need to be is the one Almighty God planned for us to be when He created us. Did you know there’s a big difference between the person you’ve become – because life’s bashed you up a bit – and the person God intended when He created you? That difference is our learning curve. I’m older, I’ve bumped into a lot of learning curves. 

You know, old age is not always the drag everybody thinks it is. Old people are way less threatening to young ones when their hair gets white and they kind of hobble about. Old people don’t constitute a threat. If you are really fortunate and your family is kind, now you can tell the same stories over and over again, and not realise you are doing it. While they all listen politely. Now there’s a perk! Meanwhile you might look a bit addlepated. Oh well. 

However! The bible has a whole other idea about who we ALL are! You and I, we are the light. When we walk into a room, that whole room is flooded with His light, because He goes with us. This means that we can tell the difference between this life’s fake stuff and the real. God’s light bulb inside us, is so bright, all the hollow useless stuff shows up instantly. We can waste the time He gave us striving to look cool, or clever, or wise … or we can enjoy Him. You can’t do both. What a great pity it is when God’s people stumble around in the dark when we were made to shine, and give Him glory by doing it.

That verse above tells us the very best and only way to keep our faith alive. We must use it. I can guarantee using it will be extremely inconvenient, and pride will probably fall on its head as we learn to do what the Lord wants. For so many years, I tried hard to be kind and caring – but – people would annoy me and then I’d have to avoid them. In that process I picked up awful attitudes toward other people! Trying is out – doing it anyway is in. 

Hubby and I have been doing peculiar things for years, as the Lord guides us – we don’t think of them as outrageous, we think of them adventures with the Holy Spirit and Jesus. The bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that we have been chosen to be ‘a peculiar people.’  We try to live up to that. So we’ve done things that people said would never work, and sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t – but every single time we had to use our faith. I keep telling you, eleven good Godly men sat in that boat watching Peter walk on the water. They were safe, but they didn’t stretch their faith!

I walked around for 2 years, about 45 years ago, claiming God had healed my eyesight. I was taught that I could have whatever I wanted, and I wanted to see without glasses. A-n-d … He didn’t heal my eyes. Instead I became stuck down the hole of my own proclamation of healing when I was actually as blind as a bat. Sadly I was far stupider than bats are – they have radar! I crossed busy roads, went on trains, did all the usual stuff, claiming I was healed. Would you like to know the miracle in all that dumb? I was never in danger for a second, not one. Isn’t He amazing??!! My Heavenly Father took care of me in all my stupidity. I repented and went and got glasses again, but I learnt you can huff and puff, but you cannot twist God’s arm.

However, I did learn something else that is very important – God is wa-ay bigger than our mistakes.The smart thing is to jump into His river and let Him steer your little boat. My life, thus far, has not been boring — and neither is the Lord! Bringing out ‘the God-colours’ in this world involves innovation and creativity and a positive attitude. We are the most blessed people on earth – we can’t DIE. When we leave here, we go to heaven. Win, win! Many times we are clinging to the things that cannot last, and ignoring the things that DO. Desperately trying to distract ourselves from who we’ve become in the meantime.

We say stupid things like: “IF God heals me, I will serve Him. Or if God fixes my kid, my marriage, my relationships, my job, then I will serve Him.” Who said we have that option? We serve Him because He is Almighty God! The bible is not an either/or book. Have you read the Old Testament lately? God is incredibly good, but it’s HIS way or the highway. The people who are alive in these times need hope. HOPE is Jesus’ middle Name! Well, it’s one of them, the Lord has a lot of middle Names. (Prince of peace, Mighty God…) !!

“Sing God a brand-new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing! Sing to God—worship God! Shout the news of His victory from sea to sea, Take the news of His glory to the lost, News of His wonders to one and all!” Psalm 96:3 MSG. The God of all the Universe made you to shine. Make a decision to make your life a life that is well-lived, and not just a safe one! Bye. 👋