Costly

P 3237 Always remember WHO He is.

/ DVH

“Look at the splendour of Your skies, Your creative genius glowing in the heavens. When I gaze at Your moon and Your stars, mounted like jewels in their settings, I know You are the fascinating artist who fashioned it all! But I have to ask this question: Why would You bother with puny, mortal man or care about human beings?”  Psalms 8:3-4 TPT. Because HE LOVES US! That’s why.

In John 13:23 we are told this: “One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved (esteemed), was leaning against Jesus’ chest.” I want to say this before I say anything else today … If safety is something that you treasure, then what John said shows us that being right here next to Him, is the safest place in all the world. The Lover of our souls, our Beloved, will keep us safe – in spite of whatever is going on around us. 

Resting in and on, the Lord Jesus, is our great privilege and quest. Forget ministries, or human importance, or platforms, or even other people’s admiration, this particular disciple picked the best place to be — listening to His heartbeat.  We will miss so much of Who He really is when we are too busy to listen to His heartbeat.

It is important that we understand that our God, our Heavenly Father, the Great and Wise Omnipotent, Omnipresent Everlasting God of all the ages – is to be listened to, and revered and obeyed, not just quickly passed over or ignored!  We must learn to put our easily influenced feelings aside, to stop and remember the God – Who made everything we can see – loves me! 

The fact that He loves all of us with a love that will never die, does not mean we can simply flick away our responsibility to pay attention to everything He has said. We can’t ever afford to cherry-pick our responses or use His beyond-our-ability-to-understand, Grace, against Him… by telling ourselves: ’God loves me, He understands, He won’t mind.’ That’s misusing the Grace He has given us. This ever-present, always living and loving Grace has been released into our, lives. Yours and mine, as a gift. It was incredibly costly.

I think that deceit has wrapped the Christian church in its blanket, and we are becoming hard of hearing and blind to what is actually going on around us. I urge us all to pray  —  and then go and do!  Don’t ever let the size of the task discount you from participating. The bigger the test, the greater the victory.  Instead be truthful and sincerely tell the Holy Spirit: “I can’t do this, please help me!”  Amen. 

We need to remember, that we are not dealing with a god made in our own image, we are dealing with the One Who placed the stars in the sky…with His fingers!!! And despite what we tell ourselves, or this world tells us, we are His people.  Whenever we are ill, or infirm in one way or another, we truly find out how frail we are, often helpless against the darkness that presses in against us without Him. The answer is simple —never do anything without Him!

Let’s stop our solitary focus on me, my situation, my health – or lack of it, my family, my poverty – and start gazing at Him. Gazing at Him is another form of worship. Worship is not just singing songs on Sunday—it is the way we live. When we know, from our own personal interaction and experience, that our God is bigger than anything we can think or imagine – we can more easily rest, be at peace, and let Him do the work. BTW, rest does not mean we sit on our hands and do nothing. It means that we know we can do a whole lotta somethings, because we are utterly relying upon Him! 

God can do anything, with anyone, no matter how inadequate they feel. The bible shows us that. It is filled with men and women who would never have made it without God helping them. Instead of wrongly using His Grace to excuse our non-participation in His kingdom, let’s choose to rely, rest and depend on that Grace to help us do the things we are here to do. Everything the Lord asks us to do, we simply cannot do without Him. 

You may not have my difficulties, Some days, I have to ask Him to help me get out of bed or go to the loo! But the reality is I have been blessed so many times because of the Way He loves and helps me. Over and over again the Lord Jesus surprises me with His goodness. Plus He never does the same thing twice. Bonus buy!

The daily opportunities to serve Him and others that the Lord puts before us, will always be bigger than we are. Stretching us is part of His plan. My advice is to start cheering right away!! Take it from me that this means we are going to see the goodness of God operating in a way we’ve never seen before. And that … is simply ev-ery-thing!!

Because our God is so big, and so mighty, plus His creativity is inexhaustible … routines or methods won’t pass this way of thinking on, it is a LIFESTYLE. We choose it, and then we hold fast to it, despite everything else that happens around us. Jesus gets all the glory because what happens is undeniably impossible. He is so much more glorious, caring, kind, creative and wonderful than we can ever imagine! Bye.👋 

“Yahweh, You are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness You’ve done for me?” Psalms 103:2 TPT. Amen. 🥰

P 3053 Look after your joints.

/ DVH

Connection is vital in this new life we have embraced. We dare not try to function in our gifts or personal relationships without the Holy Spirit putting us together, so we can support one another. Hubby was talking to me yesterday about how painful his physical joints have been lately. He has osteoarthritis in a number of joints in his body, and those joints that are now not connecting properly, plus they cause him severe pain. 

The medical profession seems to have two answers for this malady – they either remove the offending joints and replace them with titanium, or throw years and years of pain killers at it. I pray they find a better solution soon, because neither of those ideas work!

The point hubby made yesterday was so pertinent spiritually, that I thought I would write about it here. At the beginning of any arthritic problem it can be easier to ignore the pain and keep on going – but that is extremely damaging to the joint! 

I think this is true when it comes to what the bible says too. Let’s look at it: “For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.” Ephesians 4:16.

Because we are joined to Jesus and what He did, you and I are also joined together. What is true in the natural is also relevant and illustrative for the spiritual. So when Sister Susie and Auntie Maud decide to play “no speakies” then the whole body will feel it! Or if Brother John and Deacon Bob aren’t getting along, everybody knows about that. The Body of Christ is quickly reduced to a puppet state, with others trying to pull the strings to make that puppet look normal and appealing to the outside world. We can have all the best motivation in the world, but until everybody owns up to their own sin and asks for forgiveness – Pinocchio will never be a real boy!

Hubby can tell you how painful his disabilities are, on bad days it almost stops him in his tracks. It shows me that’s how important connectedness is!  It is not a pretty idea, or a nice way to live – it is essential to the health of the rest of the Body. Pain takes over your brain!  And it quickly becomes all you can think about. Unless our spiritual joints start connecting and acting in a relationally sound fashion, we will lack co-ordination.

The bible tells us how much Jesus values His Body – He totally identifies with US to the point that persecution of Christians is persecution of HIM. Acts 9:4-5 “And he (Saul) fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me [harassing, troubling, and molesting Me]? And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.”  A body out of joint is no minor thing!

When we make Jesus our main topic of conversation, and remove judgment and criticism, we can create a safe space for everyone to grow. We need intimacy with Him and each other. We cannot afford to live our spiritual lives constantly being distracted by those joints which are out of place. Removing the offending joint is not the answer – all that happens is that the problem goes somewhere else and causes chaos there!  Even in my hubby’s physical body, removing the offending joint did not completely solve the pain problem. Metal rubbing against bone also has an abrasive effect. 

Our stated aim, as the Body of Christ, is to live in love — and that is costly. It cost Jesus everything He had. He paid that price so that His Body can live in a continuous FLOW OF LOVE to each other, and the rest of the world. When I stand in my place and you stand in yours, and we live a joined together life of love, we are witnessing to other people without saying a word. I think that the-people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet are looking for something real. However, if this course was easy everyone would already be doing it!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”John 13:34. This way of life is not easy, it means death to self! We are to love one another the same WAY He loved us — deliberately, obediently, sacrificially, and completely, without any thought about the cost. We demonstrate we are His disciples when we grow up into going beyond good manners, or outwardly caring … into His idea of love. We need bodily joints that are healthy, so that each one of them helps the other one move without pain! And we must provide a shelter for those who are in pain, not lay them aside until they get better. 

Jesus is speaking here: “This is My command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are My friends when you do the things I command you.” John 15:13,14. I believe the way to live like this, is to live in love – no matter what or who has caused the problem. We need to value each other purely because He has first valued us. 

First of all, let’s pray for our brothers and sisters, wherever they are. “We pray for their well-being and their faith to be strong and obedient in the face of death and danger.” Amen. Let’s look after each other, by caring for each joint, because those joints hold the Body of Christ together, so it can function. Bye. 👋 

P 3034 Reparation.

/ DVH

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”Romans 12:17-21. This means we are doing something – I think of that as releasing Grace..

Jesus Himself warned us that: “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Matthew 10:36. I pray that isn’t so for anyone reading this! However, making reparation or fixing things, has kind of fallen out of fashion within the church. I believe in it. It is not just about the other person, it is about what happens to you when you dismiss someone else’s pain, lightly. It is incredibly valuable to acknowledge our sin. Just because Jesus paid for our sins that does not mean we have nothing more to contribute. 

Because we value love, we need to take action, and He will help us to do it. However, the verse above makes it clear we can only do this when the other party is willing. But in order to know if they are willing, we will actually need to ask the person/s if there is something we can do to restore things! We need to tell them we want restoration. We have become – officially: ” …repairer(s) of broken walls, Restorer(s) of streets to live in.” Isaiah 58:12.

Here’s an example of how that works: “He (Jesus) entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. … … And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today…” So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly.  All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”” …”Luke 19:1-10. 

That’s reparation. It flows out of a genuinely repentant heart. That’s why Jesus said what He said about Zacchaeus. This man clearly shows the turning around and going the other way, that repentance contains. For far too long we have contented ourselves with saying: “I’m sorry”… when perhaps a better response is: “Oh! I can see I hurt you. How can I fix this? How can I help us to re-establish our relationship in a better place?” 

Jesus’ visible love toward this funny little man changed his life. Being included by the Lord opened a door for him to change. This man was practically an outcast because of the way he conducted his business. Yet the Lord accepted him in front of everyone else, and Zacchaeus’ immediate response to the Lord’s undeserved loving acceptance, was to repent and repair. I believe those accusers’ comments against Jesus, on that day, cut Zacchaeus to the heart. Plus at the same time, the Lord’s reputation as a good Man was cast into doubt, simply  because of Zacchaeus’ sin.

This response is not just noteworthy, but essential to true reparation. We didn’t just sin against a human being – when we hurt someone else – we’ve sinned against Him! And now we need to: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8. Things need to turn around and change with His help. Now we pray and follow the Lord through His processes for restoration. Our sin is gone – but we dare not leave our neighbour bleeding on the street, and wander away, comforting ourselves with the fact that Jesus has already forgiven us. That’s called presumption, and it is mean-spirited.

We must treat God’s great goodness toward all of us with humility and reverence. Our Father’s heart is right in the centre of His generosity toward mankind – Christ’s death cost Him everything. He turned His back on His beloved Son for our sake. Like I’ve said, many MANY times, Almighty God does not do things the way we do them – He loves unconditionally and that it is eternal.He is not a ‘sometimes’ God- only available on demand to people who know the password! We are privileged, whenever we knock on His door, it is always open to us. 

From the moment of our new birth, the Holy Spirit is watching over our hearts looking for Jesus’ likeness.  We need to whole-heartedly choose to become a people who seek to repair the schisms that occur in this life. It is part of our ministry to allow His love to enter into situations where anger, jealousy, spite etc. have prevailed. This means we go to people who have hurt us, or the ones we have hurt and say: “please forgive me,” and then we ask those people: “how can I help you to move on from what happened?” 

That’s what humbling yourself looks like. We aren’t obliged to do it — it comes right down to His selfless love inhabiting what we do, and inspiring us to be better! God promises to repay that other person for whatever they did to us, so let that be enough. Let the knowledge of His love for us, cover their sin. Reparation is costly —but Jesus did that for us, and we simply pass what we were given on to others. Bye.👋

P 2939 What His kingdom looks like.

/ DVH

Good morning! Imagine my surprise today, when I discovered that there are 92 references to the Kingdom of God found in the Gospels! That’s a lot. Hubby and I had a long conversation about this today. We came to the conclusion that the Kingdom of God is more than just an actual place — it is a way to live. And by living in it ourselves, we are constantly exhibiting His kingdom to others.

I decided I want to write about one of those 92 references, every now and then. It seems to me that in order to live in a particular place you need to know what it looks like, and how to get there! Here’s my first verse: Matthew 4:17 … “From that time on Jesus began to preach,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”Actually the kingdom of heaven was standing right there when the Lord said what He said! That made me wonder how many times in my life the kingdom of God has been right in front of me and I didn’t see it. Not a happy thought. 

When I read this verse today, it reminded me that in God’s kingdom, repentance is part of His processes, and it is the first sign His kingdom is at hand. Human beings sometimes want to skip this bit, and go straight to the benefits! But when we acknowledge our sin, we have immediately put Almighty God in His rightful place and put on heavenly glasses to boot! My best advice is don’t play on the freeway with stuff that will kill you dead!

This is not a place we should avoid, or skip over. Nor should we be ashamed, because the aim of repentance in God’s eyes, is restoration – not condemnation. It seems to me that whenever His kingdom comes near to us, conviction should not be far away. In the presence of His holiness we need to come with a humble attitude. So how do you do that and keep it real? I think we focus on Who He is, and not on ourselves. Self focus, or even introspection is deadly to this process. Our spiritual wheels start spinning in the mud of self-absorption.

However, Father God’s desire is to see each one of us reach our full potential in Christ. The happiest place mankind ever occupied was in that garden walking with Almighty God in the cool of the evening. Sadly pride, false humility and blame can get in the way of that aim. Honesty is the only key. If we are honest about who we really are – we will immediately step into repentance. In the Presence of Holiness nothing else is possible!

Repentance is a place that opens the door into the Kingdom of God for us. It is where we acknowledge our weaknesses and sins, and we receive His forgiveness and strength in return. By the way, I don’t believe it is just an outward action – I think it is also a heart transaction. Jesus told us that we can’t repent unless His kingdom comes near, so we start by praying for the kingdom to be close to us. Then we are enabled by His Spirit to be honest and transparent. “Thy kingdom come …”We need to make room in our lives for His kingdom, by repenting and throwing out the things that don’t honour Him.

Somebody way smarter and more spiritual than I am, once said: “Thy kingdom come, means MY kingdom go!” I think that is a key to true repentance. It makes reparation for what was done against someone else, without any caveats on it! It sees sin for what it is … captivity.Plus part of repentance is vulnerability before the Lord. I’ve found that the more I don’t want to do it, the more I need to do it! I need His power helping me to overcome my previous ways of thinking and living.

We have a wonderful Helper, and we can always take advantage of His wisdom and insight, because He knows what will please our Heavenly Father. Because of what Christ did for every single man, woman and child, none of us have to be ashamed or afraid to repent. But we need sincerity, not just some sort of cursory acknowledgment. 

The thing is, when repentance, which is a GIFT —is given to us, we need to respond because it means His kingdom is right there with us. Sadly, in those moments, we are often far happier to be singing worship songs, or laughing, crying, dancing and falling on the floor … indulging our feelings … than we are to fall on our faces and acknowledge our deliberate sins against Him and others!  After all repentance is not just godly sorrow. It is changing your mind, walking away from the very thing that has held you captive.

Repentance IS costly. It is like the perfume the woman poured over Jesus head when she washed His feet. You are literally pouring out your heart before the Lord. He loves that smell! God is so faithful – He will fill us yet again with His love and passion. However, just like this incredible lady, it will probably cost us our dignified appearance. I guarantee you won’t have a hanky or a tissue on you, when you respond to His kingdom coming near! 

However all of it will be wasted, … unless we are prepared to make reparation and change the behaviour that caused us to to need to repent in the first place. If we want His kingdom to come near and stay with us… then we need to follow up the water-works, with actions. Deliberate, life-changing, humbling actions. That’s what His kingdom looks like. Bye.👋

P 2917 A peek behind the curtain – OR – trouble is part of the process …

/ DVH

I am no longer what I would call a small person. I was, before I had 35 years worth of steroids etc. but now, not-so-much. It can be difficult for people of my size, because this world is not actually designed for bigger people. We often have to hire Barnum and Bailey tents if we want to go out and still be decently covered! Those ridiculous things are often covered in very large, bright red hibiscus flowers to make sure bigger people don’t get lost in the crowd. Ho-hum!

When we go into caravan parks to deliver bibles etc. if I go with hubby he has to get the wheelchair out, help me into it, and then drag me across the many stones that often inhabit country car parks … all that makes for a great massage, and a few bruises! We do this kind of thing a few times a day and so now I’m the designated prayer warrior in the car. This means I don’t actually meet many people.

The places we stay in are not always advantageous to the disabled either. When we travel — chairs, toilets, even beds are all too low. I can get INTO them, but then I can’t get OUT again — not unless I want to break hubby’s back, and that seems a bit extreme. So he packs a heap of extension lifts for the “I’m almost sitting on the floor furniture.” Even disabled units don’t seem to have been designed by disabled people. There are toilets where your knees almost touch the opposite wall – it can be a bit squishy.

In a home shower you may notice there is quite a nice space for one person, or even for a couple of little people. But, it is a whole other ball game to fit in a quite chubby person, plus a carer to help them, plus a shower chair … it’s a bit like trying to shower in a thimble! The taps in the shower are always in the wrong place, and someone’s back will eventually end up bumping into the hot and cold controls.😳 Bathrooms are always much too small and then there is that dratted slippery shower floor… sigh…

I don’t much like slippery floors because I am not a fan of falling down. I did that last year and it was an abysmal failure. Getting up again is a whole other tragic long-winded story, that very nearly involved a crane! Meanwhile the car we’ve hired to tour about in, is like … ten centimetres off the ground, but it does have wheels and an engine … a-n-d  — did I mention that the seats are almost on the ground?!? Yes really. Another inch, Mr Manufacturer, would have really helped! I think I could have managed if the car was a Lamborghini.. but… alas!! Anyway a low-slung car makes getting in and out quite a laugh-riot for the disabled and their knees.

The other day we needed to use a McDonald’s toilet – they are always clean and tidy. We had to wait five minutes, with me propped up against a wall, because an able-bodied person had decided it wouldn’t matter if they used the disabled toilet. Hmmm… ! Meanwhile, it looked like this toilet had suffered from an internal explosion. It seemed to have had a fit, flinging toilet paper etc. everywhere. Fortunately we managed to find some that wasn’t floor decoration. 

One town looked rather like its primary industry was producing angry and aggressive youth. And their fav hang-out was … that very same McDonalds – lucky us! We smiled, and-moved-on-very-quickly.There were about 50 young people hanging around. So I’m prayer-thinking to myself: “I’m gunna have to run, but I can’t run, so please protect us Lord. Dear God please help these kids to find jobs and end up responsible citizens!” Amen! By the way, the disabled park was light years away from the actual building. Not quite sure how that one works.

However, the place we have been staying at for a couple of days, is very scenic. I don’t remember when we have seen so many cockatoos, mobs of kangaroos, deer, ducks, and all sorts and varieties of other birds. Even though there has been a bushfire through here recently the scenery is pretty. Apparently visitors don’t enjoy burnt  Aussie bush for their surroundings on their holidays so this park is almost empty in peak season. Sad for the owners, who want to make living. It is also very, very quiet. We have little WiFi or TV service so you get to sit about in silence a lot! 

Stuff happens to us all the time — and it prompts us to live by the scripture:”I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”  But depending on the day and how we got out of bed …we can choose to whine and whinge!  Thank you Jesus for helping us all! May God truly bless all the lovely people who are praying for us. My point is simply sometimes you will learn to suffer long. Remember – Jesus slept by the roadside and went without food… He was so tired once … He slept in a violently rocking boat!

If you think you might want to be a missionary, and let’s face it, it is not the most popular job ever — then you need to be aware that heaps of untimely, inconvenient, annoying stuff is guaranteed to get your old self rumbling away. But, bonus buy, those things will help you to learn how to rely upon Jesus! Finally, I wanted to make it clear that living for Him is always costly, no matter where you are. So, if things are hard at your house, that does not mean you are doing it wrong —trouble is often part of the process… Bye for now 👋

P 2885 Grace is our teacher.

/ DVH

“God’s marvellous grace has manifested in Person, bringing salvation for everyone. This same grace teaches us how to live each day as we turn our backs on ungodliness and indulgent lifestyles, and it equips us to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age.” Titus 2:11-12 TPT.

I don’t know about you, but I was almost glad to leave school behind me. I never did seem to fit in there. I certainly wasn’t clever enough for the smart people, plus I was born with two left feet, and two vastly uncoordinated arms …so that eliminated the sporty ones. And I wasn’t creative enough for the arty ones. Not to mention the fact that our resident Queen Bee thought I was some kind of a joke, and she laughed every time I walked by.

Then, in my early twenties, Jesus saved me. It was unexpected, and totally undeserved. And a whole new way of life opened up in front of me. He accepted who I was. My life to this point, has had its ups and downs, like yours, but I can say with total assurance that our God has used everything, good and bad, and He worked every single bit of it together for my good according to His purposes  … and I ain’t just whistling ‘Dixie.’ (Cos I can’t whistle either!) 

In Romans 8:28 it says:“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” This is a reality in my life, I’ve experienced it over and over again…  God really does know how to take our muddled-up lives, deliberate sins, errors in judgment, stinky rotten attitudes and weave them all together, and then somehow(?) He uses those things to reveal His incredible love toward us. All because Jesus perfectly pleased our Father, then our Lord picked up our sins which were bigger-than-any-nation’s national debt — an enormous bill, and stamped PAID IN FULL on it – just before He left.

God’s love for us is so much greater than we can imagine. Which is why I ramble on so much about being honest about our sins – we need to be reminded, and alerted to the benefits of His Grace. Grace not only teaches us how utterly broken we are, it shows us how much we need Him. If we were to ask our Heavenly Father to show us the results of our sin, I think He would point to Jesus’ broken, bloodied body on that tree, and then … Jesus will smile at us, and say these incredible words:  “You. Were. Worth. It. All.” That thought cracks me up every single time.

This is what repentance is for – we need to be constantly restored into the realisation that Grace was free but it was also costly. Grace is not a rule or a formality, it is an acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is God’s standard and we’ve failed. We need His help, all the time. The above verse from Titus explains His Grace doesn’t just save us, His Grace is now our teacher. Grace teaches us about the enormity of God’s totally undeserved Love for us. Let’s not let those lessons fly over the top of our heads, because we are too busy to learn, or too proud to change our ways.

The Lord has asked us to forgive others, whether they deserve it or not. That kind of unilateral, unconditional forgiveness, has a personal cost, so it reminds us how much it cost Jesus to forgive US!  The payment Christ chose to make for us, was far far more than we can ever understand this side of heaven — it totally outweighed our debts, their debts, anyone’s debts! Grace teaches us, firsthand, that we owe Him our lives.

As we live this life acknowledging what we’ve been given, we will be reminded how incredible the gift is! It is no small thing. What Jesus did for us, can make our lives into a wonderful testimony to His Grace. Let’s surrender and yield to His will and learn to be obedient. Our refusal to change, slows up this process. Like many parents say to their teenagers as they go out of the door every day — we need to “Make good choices!”

Human beings can see love as rampant permissiveness – God’s love is not like that! His Love wants the very best for the one it loves, and if that involves sacrifice or even hardship, then so be it. If it involves difficult circumstances, that is OK too. He won’t cause those things, but He will use them. The trouble is we do our best to avoid, or pray our way out of hard things, rather than face them with Him. I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray, by the way, I am saying that the very best response is not to head for the nearest exit, but to ask the Lord: “What would You like me to learn here?” We need to let His Grace teach us.

His Grace defines ungodliness to us, just like a strong  microscope reveals hidden germs. Most people like to go for the obvious, but the Lord focuses on far more than that. He will show us why we do what we do — and then He will heal that why! And while His Grace is teaching us, He provides us with a safe place to stand, right next to Him.  When we understand the power of Grace, then we can begin to comprehend what we’ve received for free. We benefit when we let His Grace in our lives teach us gratefulness. Bye. 👋

P 2838 Our God is extraordinary in His devotion to us.

/ DVH

Around 2,000 years ago something incredible happened… Almighty God, did something astonishing – He came here personally, and lived among us. The One Who had walked and talked in the garden with Adam and Eve and led Abram to a new land; and talked to Moses from a burning bush – chose to live here, with people. Murderous ones, thieving ones, mean ones, nice ones, lost ones, promiscuous ones, as well as special…people!  Even way back then, the list of people who followed Him — or sadly, ignored Him — started to grow.

This very same incredible God then sent an angel to an ordinary girl who was about to be married. Almighty God sowed His eternal seed into the obedient heart of an honest, ordinary young woman. And that’s when the very first In Vitro-fertilisation occurred! (And WE think WE are so clever!)

The first point I want to make today is that when Mary was asked by God to give birth to His Son .. She said ‘YES’ — immediately. She said… “….I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever He wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared.” Luke 1:38. Right there, in her declaration, we can see something that was perfectly illustrated by Mary’s obedience and humility — the Wonders of God’s Love found a vehicle He could inhabit, for nine months, so He could be with humanity in PERSON. Jesus Christ walked, talked, slept, ate and was vulnerable in our midst.

He did that so humanity could become His people, back then – and now He with US – day by day. You know, God is still looking for a people who will say what Mary said: “Yes. Do with me whatever You want.” I would like to pray that He will be given free reign in all our lives. Amen! Imagine what that would look like! A people totally devoted to Him. But, back then in history, His own people progressively drove Him away. Well, not you and me exactly … but I think we would have if we had been there! 

Man’s greatest sin has always been rejecting the God Who created us in the first place! The people in the bible were just as human as we are, and most of them wanted nothing whatsoever to do with a God of such passion and purpose. They wanted a god they could manage – a god they could tell what to do. Humanity wanted a token god, someone who would judge between other people’s wrong and right actions, and approve of the one who was right – EG:… ME! And severely punish the other person who is quite obviously wrong: YOU! Especially if we don’t like each other, and we have a list of good reasons that have been carefully cultivated. 

We wanted SomeOne who would bestow lavish gifts on us, and make us feel good about ourselves. So eventually, we thought hard, and came up with a god that we made up, to worship at Christmas. He looks a lot like that overly rotund guy who appears everywhere, and he has a long white beard, and a bright red fur-laden suit, and a red hat. He was invented by clever men to steal away real faith from our kids – and cleverly introduce disappointment at the same time. As well as successfully sell stuff!

Unfortunately, the truth is that somebody manufactured this apple-cheeked person for marketing purposes! This jolly permissive person doesn’t intrude on the way we live at all. He conveniently only appears once a year – and big plus! -he  doesn’t want anything from us … except that we worship mammon, wherever and whenever we can! The god of this world disguised in bright red, who wants to buy our affection by giving us everything we want. Yeah, that one! I’m not a santa fan if you didn’t guess it already.

My second point is this: we rejected Almighty God and eventually killed Him … but because He is the only wise God, our Saviour, He made His death a vehicle that we can personally choose to embrace. We can be totally restored, back into fellowship with Him.  Just like Mary, we too can have – God on the inside. You know, It would have been so easy for this innocent girl to think that huge angel was a dream or the result of a fish pizza! She stood to lose a lot of credibility by her obedience – that answer changed her whole life. Who says obedience isn’t costly?! But the very Presence of God Himself inside her womb, overtook her fears and she obeyed – despite the personal cost. 

Our God also loves to give His people gifts. He gave us the greatest gift of all time when He sent His Son here, to earth to die for us.  But He knows that anybody can be robbed and ruined by indulging their appetites – so the gifts He gives us are not just for the person who receives them– they are for others. Our Heavenly Father is, and always has been, EXTRAORDINARY in His devotion to us all. Praise Him! 🙌

P 2836 Live under the canopy.

/ DVH

“Above all, constantly echo God’s intense love for one another, for love will be a canopy over a multitude of sins.”1 Peter 4:8 TPT. Let’s get down to business – love, the love of God that we give away … that reality that is described in the bible… is NOT a feeling. Feelings don’t come into it, except sometimes, later on.  Love is an action. Jesus Christ took that action on our behalf. That’s why 1 Corinthians 13 lists qualities we can expect to see in our lives when we walk with Him and exhibit His love. The truth is, I already have this love for you, it is mine, and it is just as real as this computer I am typing on.

Those verses mentioned above are also a promise from HIM toward us. He will be patient, kind, etc. etc. with us. That’s how we will know that whatever we receive, is from Him! If what we have been given doesn’t produce joy – it ain’t Him because God’s love has clothes that it wears! (Colossians 3:12) … Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience etc. If what you choose to wear for yourself – your behaviour, or what you hear or read does not sound like those things – it is not HIM! Christ is kindness and compassion etc. personified. 

Read the book. Then watch Him, in your mind’s eye, walk about amongst those large, never-ending unruly crowds … He never got impatient with them pressing in on Him, or getting in His way, or even when they interrupted Him as He was about to do something else. Kindness and compassion are the very scent of the Father that Jesus carried with Him.

Those people who truly hate God, don’t want to read His book. They don’t want to know Him. We give the bible away a lot, and some people refuse it. However, not all of those people actually hate Him, some are afraid of the book. They are afraid of conviction etc. that’s why they don’t want to read it. They think they can’t change their behaviour to suit Him.  Isn’t it tragic that some Christians think that way too? We have a powerful ally – a HELPER!!

On a happier note about giving away the bibles, we sometimes return to the same places on our many journeys, and we find we need to give out more bibles, even though we already gave away plenty the first time we passed by!  People have pinched them. It’s probably the only time I approve of thievery, because true conviction lies within that book. Over to You, Lord.

Living under His canopy means living this life the way Jesus would, as a fit Bride for the Lord Himself.  My Saviour had to leave this earth to validate His vow to me, and He poured His own blood all over the heavenly mercy seat. I needed that mercy so badly!!!  Praise God, that Christ’s blood was complete and final. No bull, sheep, dove would need to be sacrificed ever again. Almighty God has provided the perfect, finalised agreement between Him and mankind forever. In effect, when we stand under that canopy of what Jesus did for us, we are reminded of our pledge to marry Him. 

A canopy is a place of agreement. Two people vow to be true to each other, before God, under an object that covers them both. How fortunate are we to have the blood of Jesus Christ, as our canopy. His blood not only washes us, it covers us. When God looks at us He sees His dear Son’s blood. Now, we can stand firmly in our place under that costly canopy. I will not be excused from the practicalities of living a life on earth, instead now I can embrace them, knowing the One I love best, lived for God every second, of every minute, of every day. He did it  and now I know it can be done with the Holy Spirit’s constant help! 

If I hurt you, then part of my agreement with Jesus is that I will repair the damage, by asking for your forgiveness and changing my behaviour. I will probably need to spend my lifetime, changing my behaviour one way or another, but only with His active guidance and help. To do that I must choose to live in constant fellowship with Him, and obey whatever He tells me to do. I have found that sheer obedience has opened doors in my life and heart that were forever nailed shut in my eyes. I can take no credit for those things, He did it all. I just followed His prompts and along the way of obedience, my heart was changed. Boy was I surprised!

All the gold, precious jewels, and metals this world has ever seen cannot provide a better, more beautiful place to stand with our Beloved Saviour... than under that canopy of His sacrificial love. Jesus died to make us all like Him, so we can love God the way He loved His Father – by being obedient. The Lord was incredibly obedient …unto His death. All of the joyous, enthusiastic singing, praising, worship, and dancing we can do, does not substitute for the sheer gritted teeth “YES” of obedience that flows voluntarily from our hearts.

You and I now live under that canopy. Bye.👋 “He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much He loves me.”Song of Songs 2:4.

P 2798 Giving generously to our own hurt.

/ DVH

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:38 Amplified bible. Yeah, I know it sounds like I’ve joined the merry band of brothers who live in the land of – ‘I can have whatever I want now, because God wants to bless me all the time.’ This is not what I mean. When Almighty God makes us rich, He expects us to generously share – everything we have comes from Him.

The biggest clue to living like Jesus would, is in this verse. It is in the word  – GIVE.  Christ gave to his own hurt – it cost Him everything to come here, and everything to die for us! Giving is an indication of our dedication to Him. We need to learn to give without any thought of getting something back. I exhort you to live your life as a giver, give because you love people and you love giving! See giving, money or otherwise, as a moving stream flowing past you, not a static dam! What Jesus did for you and I cannot be repaid, but we can certainly choose to model our lives on the Way He lived. God is generous and He loves and honours generosity.  

Let’s look at Hannah. Her only hope or help to have a child, had to come from God. He granted the answer to her fervent, passionate, ongoing prayers. Hannah prayed …… and prayed … and prayed some more. She refused to be comforted or dissuaded from her prayers. And Almighty God heard her, and she gave birth to baby Samuel. Her integrity meant she did what she said she would, she gave her cherished child back to God. She gave out of her substance, and God gave Hannah three more sons, and two daughters. Plus the firstborn child Samuel, became a great prophet. We cannot out-give God.

In the Western world, people have learnt over the years, to give out of abundance. So if we do not have an abundance, then we pull back on our giving. We are not used to giving to our own hurt, our substance. We tally up our funds and decide what we can afford to give – after we’ve paid off this, and bought some of that. We have learnt to give out of excess. Where’s the faith in that?

Let’s look at another woman who gave generously, out of her own substance. Luke 7: 37: “A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.”This woman faced man’s disapproval for her act of unbridled generosity. It seems to me, that despite her previous life, her heart recognised Who Christ was, and she literally poured out her life and heart on Him. That’s what giving to God is about. It is not about obligation, or our ‘image’ to others. 

Here’s Jesus said about someone giving to their own hurt in Mark 12:41-44: “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”This widow didn’t have much, yet she gave all she had to God. Although she didn’t know it, that fact was recognised by the Lord Himself. God loves generous givers – despite their station in this life. This widow wasn’t trying to prove anything, and she had absolutely no idea she was being watched by SomeOne Who totally understood sacrificial giving. —The way we give is an indication of the state of our heart.  

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”Giving is not just about feeling cheerful or good about what we are doing. It’s about WHY we are giving in the first place. Do we give because we are grateful for everything He has given us? Giving is an outward sign of an inward state of heart and mind. Hannah prayed, then she received, and she gave. She was not reluctant in her giving even though it was costly. The woman with the alabaster jar shattered her future when she broke that jar, pouring the contents over His head. The little widow gave all she had  … giving is meant to be costly.

All these women gave out of their own substance. They did not give left overs, or excess.  What they gave was costly to each one of them. We need to learn to give generously, extravagantly – the way we give what we give matters. It becomes an outward sign of our unseen hearts. When we honour Him with our own substance, the cost is of no consequence. Bye. 👋

“Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favour.” Proverbs 11:25 TPT.

P 2697 Half-heartedness. (Matthew 6:24)

/ DVH

“Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31.

“Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord Himself and not merely for others. For we know that we will receive a reward, an inheritance from the Lord, as we serve the Lord Yahweh, the Anointed One!” Colossians 3:23-24 TPT.

It is easy to see why we might want to avoid confronting ourselves with verses like these, because they cut us to the core. Some verses are clearly directional, challenging and costly. Here’s free advice from me — don’t ask yourself IF these verses apply to you. ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT – He’s our personal Resident Expert. In my experience we can excuse ourselves from the hard bits in the bible much too quickly. That is when we will totally miss the greater blessing that is contained in HIS ANSWER. Obedience brings its own reward.

On a good day I can kind of wrangle up loving support for my neighbour, but loving God with all of me often defeats me. When I’m worshipping God in church maybe I have feelings like that, but living this out, all day, every day —  I know, for sure, in my own strength I can’t do that. I believe with all my heart that half-heartedness flourishes simply because we do not know the Lord intimately. We need to know His Ways. Time after time the Lord accused the Israelites of not knowing His ways. That happened when they stopped obeying Him and did what was right in their own eyes.

We know that what Christ said in Mark 12 above, was in the context of some sort of open forum. Jesus was engaging with the leaders who were the religious experts of His day. In a previous verse, V24, the Lord says this: “Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?“  These Jewish leaders had lost the power of God because they kept choosing to define Who He is to suit themselves. The result was that they had a spiritual veil over their eyes. They kept the letter of the law but missed His Spiritual direction behind it. Meanwhile the scriptures and the power of God are meant to go together. They are an arrow pointing us to a new way to live — IN CHRIST. He is God’s Answer to salvation, transformation and our sin.

You and I cannot raise this kind of passion for God, all by ourselves. But we were given it! … Christ died to give me His passion for His Father, as well as a love for His Father’s Ways. This was clearly demonstrated by Jesus’ hard fought victory on the cross. Christ not only loved this world, HE LOVED HIS FATHER so much that He died to bring about His Father’s dearest desire – mankind’s restitution and reconciliation with Him. This means I can see Almighty God through new eyes – His! Christ died to give this to me. I use those new eyes when I read the bible, I hear it like it is God Himself speaking to me.

So I let go of my old life, including who I think I am, as well as any religious formulas, and I choose to lean on and follow the Holy Spirit instead. I allow the bible to renew/change my mind/thinking by co-operating with what it says. To live in the new I simply have to let go of the old. We cannot love God with all our hearts when our hearts have a divided loyalty. Christ gave us all of Him, so now we live this life giving Him ALL of us! Our whole heart needs to commit to this new way to live. Because of what Jesus did for me, now I am free to do it. To love God with all I am, and serve Him in everything I do. I show God this, by being obedient. 

“I have been crucified with Christ. it’s no longer I that lives, but Christ Who lives in me. And the life I now lead, I lead by faith in the Son of God Who died for me.” Galatians 2:20. This verse means I leave my old manipulative, self-seeking way of life behind and I minute by minute, choosing to follow Jesus. Christ died to save me and give me the same power He had to overcome when He walked the earth. Now I choose to live my life the way He lived His.

If I temporarily lose focus, then I need to repent, repair and move on. Father God has good plans for my life. Things I could never imagine or dream about. However, my new choices may sometimes seem costly, simply because I am not a zombie! Instead I am a wilful human being, who is voluntarily laying down my own plans. But I have been given His power to obey and follow Jesus, and I use my FAITH in His goodness, His faithfulness to do it. I read what it says and I do it. Living like Jesus did is not a mystery! I simply read, listen to the Holy Spirit, and obey however He tells me to do it. Jesus died to give us His connection with the Holy Spirit. John 16:7.

When I daily see and discover our heavenly Father – and His loving help and concern for me – through the Holy Spirit’s eyes — my desire to love God with all of me, becomes a process of ongoing surrender. However, I don’t have to carry the weight of getting things right any more. I simply follow the Holy Spirit’s prompts and OBEY Him. I leave half-heartedness behind me and now I’m learning obedience – God’s love language.👋

Ref: Matthew 6:24; Revelation 3:16&17;  Deuteronomy 28:1-14;  1 John 2:3-6; and Romans 8:1-39.