Distract

P 3287 The past.

/ DVH

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19. Here is another good reason to leave the past behind us, it’s in Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” AND 2 Corinthians 55:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Living in the past robs us of who we are in Christ, now. 

I think the above verses are a catalyst for any of our thoughts about our own personal sin. In the Message bible it says this: “So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

I seem to recall a line from some dumb movie I have watched: “The past is so-o-o ov-er!”  Have you ever been on a merry-go-round? You aren’t actually going anywhere at all. But the sensation of movement, the colour, the music, the excitement make it seem like fun. Unless you suffer from vertigo, then I’d give it a swerve. We need to take the time to escape from the kind of mental merry-go-round that holds us captive to the past and robs us of everything that Jesus died to give us. Human beings can easily get stuck in the land of remorse and regret. That can take us off the playing field, with our head in our hands. Vanquished.  

Let’s get free from the web of our past deeds, even if what happened was only yesterday! Move on with Him into Grace. Count your blessings that you have a Saviour Who loves you. At the same time, presumption is not the answer either. Simply accept responsibility for what you did, and grieve over your sin, then repent and repair things and re-establish relationships where necessary. Then …Let. It. Go. Jesus died for that too. It wasn’t someone else’s fault, it was yours … so do whatever you can to fix it, then put it behind you. 

Peter tells us to be holy. Now there’s a tall order if ever there was one. To start with we would never turn the TV on again, because even the ads are offensive — they are definitely not holy! But one of the ways to live in the peace that holiness produces, is to leave your past behind you. I’ve had to do that, and it is not easy. The past is like a familiar itch that creeps up on you, and pounces when you least expect it. Then you scratch at it to make it go away, and that always makes the stupid itch worse!  It could be a sight, a sound, a feeling, and suddenly you are back down the same old hole, feeling guilty again – as well as hoping the Lord doesn’t remember what you did.  He doesn’t.  Your problem is YOU do. 

This is where the bible is a sword, and remorse and regret are our enemies. Those things distract us from the brand new, bright roads that lead us to know more about Him. Never discount what Almighty God can do in us and through us, simply because we are His. Majoring on the past is a bad plan, it’s flawed. That’s because we are minimising the Lord’s power in us to overcome – sin, the world, the devil. 

Overcoming is not like getting zapped into some super hero’s suit and suddenly having powers! Overcoming happens one step at a time. But it can’t start or go anywhere from what we’ve done, it starts and ends with what Jesus already did!! The real question is this —-is what the Lord Jesus did at calvary complete? Or can what you’ve done somehow cancel that? 

We have God’s Word, which is our sure foundation. That’s the firmest ground this world has ever seen. We can stand confidently on what He did. Accessing our feelings won’t help. They will lie to us and dig up a thousand reasons why our particular sin is the worst one ever. We need to read the bible, then make a list of scriptures that clearly show us that what Christ did. Don’t skip repentance!  Make the time … you’ll thank me later!  Calvary was complete. There are no codicils, no add ons. He died once for all.  

These verses tell us that even more grace is coming toward us when Jesus appears again. Our sin cannot possibly stand in the face of the incredible, momentous GRACE Christ released on our behalf. What God has done is fool-proof, even if you or I are the fools involved! Deal with the past, then leave it alone and let it be. Fight the urge to try and figure out how you could have done stuff better. Make things right, then move on. Bye. 👋

P 3246 Watch the Holy Spirit at work.

/ DVH

For years now, three of my precious granddaughters have taken it in turns to go with their Dad to work for one whole day, every year. It was kind of a “bring your kid to work’ day – supported by his boss. The result was they knew why their Dad was late sometimes, and they understood what traffic did, and what working hard all day really means! Observation is a great way to learn.

I wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit working in us, because I think we are missing the things that He does for us, unseen, every single day. He is so good at working in secret – you have to want to see Him! But our current circumstances can distract or overwhelm us and we shut down, and stop being spiritually aware. That response will rob us of something so valuable. Look for the good! … that’s my catch cry. Find the good and focus on that. He’s IN THAT! We will always see Him at work when we look for the good. 

Unfortunately we can give credit to man, or circumstances, instead of seeing His hands in everything good that happens to us. Let’s stop crediting good things to ‘luck’ (a pagan god) and start looking in our own lives, for the Holy Spirit’s loving touch. This is part of the way we train ourselves in holy things. Sadly, most of the time, any one of us can get through a whole day without even acknowledging His Presence, except for daily bible reading and prayer. He is our heavenly air – we need to take Him with us. It’s good for us to know what He does, and see and appreciate it, so we can participate in it.

The Holy Spirit never takes credit for Himself. He is the silent One—the One Who is most easily overlooked. Maybe that is because a/ we are selfish and self involved and b/ we don’t know what He looks like when He is doing stuff! He looks just like Jesus would if He were here. Can you imagine being among the people who saw the Lord Jesus heal the lepers, feed thousands, and teach – yet they walked away thinking, or even saying: “Well, yeah, I dunno. I liked what that Man said but I can’t live like that. I think I believe what the synagogue teacher does. My Dad did, so did his Dad and they are nice people…“ Logic kills seeing Him stone dead.

Look, I don’t really know how to say this ‘nicely’ so I am just going to spit it out. The devil gets more air-play than the Holy Spirit does! That ought not to be so!! It’s an abomination. The Holy Spirit is the most Creative, Loving Being we will ever know this side of heaven. He is not secondary to our Heavenly Father or the Lord Jesus – He is part of the Trinity. Jesus sent Him back to us to help us, and told us that it was BEST for us that He went away. He’s God-with-us today and every single day we are here. Listening to Him is our new normal!

The problem seems to be that the enemy has snuck into our camp and made praying in tongues, or this or that spiritual gift, more important than HE is!  Big mistake! Huge!! He is a Person, not an activity! (I told you I didn’t know how to say it!) Pray for eyes to continually see Him at work. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if it is Godly, and good, it’s HIM!… Always look for His fruit in any kind of situation… If what happens helps you believe God, or it lovingly challenges your existing belief system… It’s HIM! 

But if it indulges your sense of self-importance, and implies you don’t need to pray, or read the word or repent and repair things … guess what? IT’S NOT HIM! Easy peasy. And if the bible doesn’t say it … it’s not Him. The bible is His reference book, and we have His personally signed copy of that book when we decide to choose to do what it says. The Spirit of God wants to get our attention! This is how we fall in love with our Heavenly Father – we watch and see Him work! Just like my granddaughters watched their earthly Dad. He wants to spend our lifetime with us, opening up new horizons, and new ways to praise God – plus a whole new ME. Bonus buy = transformation from within.

Take a few minutes to reflect, not on the bad things, but on the good ones.  Ask for His help to focus on the things that will last. Otherwise distraction will take away whatever time we have and waste it. Our God first sent the Holy Spirit to each one of us, in the form of a Saviour – His Name is Jesus. Then Jesus Himself sent us the Holy Spirit to be with us, every moment of every day, in any situation, to be our helper, comforter, guide, counsellor, advocate … live and in Person! He can be at your house inspiring you, while He is at my house comforting me. What’s not to love about that? Teach yourself to look at even bad things and find something good in them.

Here are some verses for all of us to chew on: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”  Romans 15:13. He’s the HOPE bringer. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is IN you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own;…” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We are His house! Take the time to put out the welcome mat! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Acts. 1:8. Most of us have no power because we are not co-operating with Him. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 4:26. 

We have an on-the-spot, resident Teacher. Let’s open our spiritual eyes and watch for Him quietly working in our lives – working all things together for our good. If it’s good – it’s Him! Bye. 🕊️

P 3098 Be yourself …

/ DVH

… and don’t climb on the feelings train! That stuff will transport you from one nightmare scenario to another. I actually think there are little demonic ‘scribes’ that follow us around chucking pieces of worrying, fearful, nasty, ghastly info into our brains to distract us from the Lord and His purposes. Please remember that one of His purposes is deliverance from nasty little demon scribes!! It is a lie that “you” are a worry-wart. Jesus wouldn’t have told us not to do it if it didn’t matter.

We can spend ages majoring on minor things, worrying if this or that will work out the way we want it to. RELAX! God’s got us – ps it probably won’t work out the way you want it anyway … it will be better!  Let’s remember Who He is! The immortal invisible only wise God! Yeah! HIM!! He only made the world and everything in it. That thing you are worried about probably won’t happen, and if it does then you and the Holy Spirit will tackle it together. “If God be for us who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. Think on that instead. Jesus summed worry up beautifully when He asked this question:“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matthew 6:27. Let’s hope nobody gets stuck on that answer!

You know it seems to me that lately we have all turned into billy goats … “butt,  butt … my life is a mess.” Like God Himself doesn’t know what’s going on. If the answer is hidden from you it is hidden for a reason. He’s got you, you are always on His heart, and He doesn’t take time off for high days and holidays!! Worry etc always seems like it is doing something, but that stuff will give you wrinkles on your face, indigestion, constipation, or the opposite, and mess with your well-being and brain. Treat it like someone is handing you a worm and say: “No, thank you.”

Just recently I gave someone a birthday card and realised the envelope I had for it wasn’t what I thought it was. I had to give the card without any envelope because the one I had was covered in one of those “Where’s Wally” pictures. But it was ultimately a clever piece of marketing that was advertising some plumber or other. I wasted an hour trying to find WALLY! And another one worrying about the lack of an envelope!  How dumb can you get and still breathe? When we worry we are making Father God too small to help us.

Our time is not just valuable because we are some clever business person making business deals, or someone who cares for the sick, elderly and infirm. Or maybe you drive a school bus, or you are home caring for little ones. Your time is valuable because this very second will not come back again. One of satan’s favourite ploys is to get us tied up in knots about the things we cannot change anyway. Pray, then give it all up to the Lord. Walk away. Not from the people, but from the temptation to think you just might come up with a solution. The Lord can interrupt people’s thoughts. He once threw Paul off a donkey – well, it was probably an angel, but you get my point!

This life is like trying to untangle a fine silver or gold chain, the more you tug on it, and wiggle this bit, and slide that one through this hole over here—  the tighter the knot gets. Put it down. Your time is worth far more than losing sleep or feeling mentally weary … God left you here on this earth for a purpose. Sometimes I think our  purpose is to not be worried no matter what is going on around us – what a witness that would be!! 

I know awful things happen to people, they happen to me too. I have to drag myself around feeling beaten up and broken, and I crawl or stagger into His Presence. There are days that I simply have to insist that Jesus is bigger than the problem. That torment means the thief is on the premises – fight the thief. Don’t let him take your peace. Over the last few years Christians seem to have accidentally made experiences with God the criteria for relating to the Lord. No experience means God did not show up. That’s actually in direct contradiction of His Word. 

We all know that verse in Hebrews 13:5: ”Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” When God says NEVER He means NEVER! As in not ever. He’s there, right there, with you, right now, whether you feel Him or not! 

Right now in OUR world, people are living in places where there is no water, no house, no food, and bombs are falling out of the sky. Families have been shattered. Grief has become a way of life. The thing is – trouble bashes on everyone’s door. But in the Western world we can get persnickety if we break a nail or we need to call the plumber. I am ill most days, hubby has all kinds of nasty pain in his joints, so ordinary things are extremely difficult to do. But we’ve found if we obey God when He asks us to do this or that the pain matters less than the joy we feel when we see God reach into someone’s life. 

When we were away we went to a market. There were lots of people. However, I dislike markets because …lots of people go there!! In a wheelchair you get handbags in the face, and people walk so incredibly irrationally you have to swerve or stop, and the footpaths are uneven and … and … most people talk to hubby not me. Apparently your brain falls out when you get into a wheelchair. Hey ho! A-ny-w-ay!! We stopped at a jewellery stall, and we talked to the stall-holders. 

The short story is this — that beautiful young Turkish woman owner rushed across the stall and gave me the biggest hug like ever! Boy that will put icing on your bun trust me! People are hungry for real – BE YOU! 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. 👋 

P 2955 Don’t be lost – be found!

/ DVH

John 8:42-47: “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father [but He is not], you would love and recognize Me, for I came from God [out of His very Presence] and have arrived here. For I have not even come on My own initiative [as self-appointed], but He [is the One who] sent Me. Why do you misunderstand what I am saying? It is because [your spiritual ears are deaf and] you are unable to hear [the truth of] My word. 

You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. 

But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [and continue in your unbelief]. Which one of you [has proof and] convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever is of God and belongs to Him hears [the truth of] God’s words; for this reason you do not hear them: because you are not of God and you are not in fellowship with Him.”

Man, I love the book of John, I’ve been glued to it for weeks! Let’s just quickly revise what Jesus says in the 1st paragraph above. He came here to us, from the Presence of God. There are times, sadly, when we don’t live like we know this …we just think we do, because we’ve heard the words before. The power in those words comes from acting on them. If we really knew this, then whatever He says to us through His Word would not, and could not, come into question.  It is a waste of time to frame what the bible says by our own denominational bents. This book is God speaking to us, and we need to listen. We simply must stop rationalising the power of God to change lives out of His Word!

Coming from the very Presence of God means that Jesus has Almighty God’s authority to say what He says. And everything He says is covered in and by God’s Presence, and it will be interpreted to us by the Holy Spirit, Who was sent here to help us understand. There are no optional extras in the gospels – if ‘every promise in the book is mine’  — then every obedient response to those promises are mine as well! Ya might want to sit and think on that. Lastly, Jesus was sent here by God Himself– the Lord didn’t just decide to pop down here off His own bat!

Because of what Jesus says here, we know what the devil does;  how he sounds;  and what his aim is, so we don’t have to be ignorant of our enemy’s tricks. Did you get that it is natural for our enemy to lie? This means we need to desperately know the truth, because whatever he says will be really convincing! he’s despicably good at lying – it’s not a habit, it is part of his nature. He hates people. I also think that he loves to distract people with his lies … after all half the planet is chasing the good life, money, great circumstances and the dream of happiness, here and now! But that is not what the bible clearly says we should pursue.

The last paragraph tells us that human beings can’t hear the Lord Jesus because He speaks truth, and we like lies better than truth. Think about it – God says “Go and make disciples” and “Love one another” and we say: “That’s someone else’s job!” “That’s too hard!” Our preferences regarding what we choose to hear, can make us deafer than a post! However, listening to lies leaves us room to do whatever we like, whenever we want to, because we think: “God doesn’t mind” …! But God’s truth is destined to lead us into a totally different lifestyle. Sometimes we are happy enough to believe lies because believing lies leaves us undisturbed in our sin! But practising sin has a bad destination… Jesus came here to change our destination.

The questions every single human being has to answer are quite simple… is Jesus Christ Who He says He is?  Did He really come to do what He said He did?  Did He really rise from the dead? Today, I believe that His greatest plan is unfolding — He’s alive IN His people. You and I can easily make up a god in our own image and take a chance that what we think is right, IS actually right. But remember, our intellect and wisdom are limited, so we are making a limited choice. Sooner or later we will have to take someone else’s word. Why not take GOD’S own WORD? It’s been around for 2,000+ years or so. I know people who set out to disprove what God said and they ended up following Him because they found Him in the book!

Anybody can read the bible for themselves, starting with what Jesus said and did, and talk to God like this: “God if you are there, I am talking to you, if not, then I am talking to myself. Please help me to find You in Your book. ”Amen. All kinds of amazing things happen when you take the time to pray like that. Don’t be lost … be found! May God Himself lead you as you search to find Him. Jesus Christ IS truth. Bye 👋  

P 2762 Who are we listening to?

/ DVH

“There are… times when I spend so much time listening to the voice of reason, I’ve forgotten to listen to the voice of LOVE.” (A line from ‘Call the Midwives.’) What a great thought-filled thing to say! I think it sums up an attitude that easily prevails in our society today. Our logic, our reasoning, can overcome our devotion to living a life of love – if we are not paying attention. We have received God’s love and His blessings freely. He commands us to give to others – freely.

We can easily talk ourselves out of doing whatever God says, when reason takes over. God says: ‘Go and see your neighbour they need help.” Reason says:  ‘I just saw my neighbour the other day and they looked fine to me!” Well now, would you look at that?! Everything is all sorted and I didn’t have to embarrass myself, or move an inch. I can still keep on watching the footie or tennis!  I might even pray for my neighbour, which is a good thing, but are we letting good, take the place of best? Or maybe, our reasoning has diminished our love for the Lord and others.

People call loving the unlovely or giving as the Spirit leads us – risk taking. Yes. There’s no doubt about that – it certainly is! But there is a far worse risk we take when we choose to wholeheartedly live this life, the only one we have, ignoring the needs of others. Love looks like something! It is concrete. To a starving person it looks like a bowl of rice. Sometimes we would rather distract ourselves with something else – something we think of as more fun, rather than choose to live this life, the only one we have, loving others. And it actually doesn’t matter what kind of person that other person is, because otherwise we are using our reason to stand in judgment.

Here’s a way to show love that we can sometimes try to avoid. Jesus showed us how love and generosity works. 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.”

Giving from what we have left-over, or what we think we can afford, probably won’t stretch our faith – love, on the other hand, gives sacrificially. If we are not prayerful about our own inner attitudes, we can end up limiting our love and subsequently our giving, because … reason says our need must come first. ‘We need money to pay bills, and school fees, plus we need a bigger car etc. God understands that we can’t afford to give any more than this.” 

This little widow woman in Mark 12 had learnt a great secret. She wasn’t selective in her devotion and she wasn’t just giving to the treasury, she was giving to God Himself. I think that’s why she gave all she had!  Colossians 3:23&24: “Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all He owns. He is the one you are really working for.” Your boss does not pay you, now you and I are living this life for Christ, and He gives us our daily bread. Our choice is what are we going to do with it?

In this bible story, God Himself, Jesus Christ, sat on a seat and commented on the way people approached giving. Galatians 5:25 TPT.“If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.” That’s a very big word at the beginning of that scripture. IF!! If God Himself is our source, then money – or the lack of it, or even plenty of it – is not the issue. REASON IS. We can end up thinking very hard when we are trying to figure out what is reasonable for us. I think the god of reason is greatly underestimated in the church today. That sneaky little devil knows how to stop us from doing many things by comparing what we do, with others, or using the words ‘fair and reasonable’ all over the place.

We desperately need to live in a place where His LOVE prevails, not reason. If I invest in something or someone else, I just sowed my heart into it.“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,…”Matthew 6:21. Christ invested His whole heart in us, unreservedly. To the point where our own questionable priorities broke His heart … and then He died. If we are not attentively prayerful, we can easily let reason drown out love’s still quiet voice. Bye.👋

““The one who faithfully manages the little he has been given will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more.”Luke 16:10.

P 2709 We need Boldness.

/ DVH

We all encounter trials and difficulties. On this trip we have discovered that our health can sap our energy and distract us from the task the Lord laid before us. Plus when you are on a mission trip you can find a reason to argue with each other at the drop of a hat! We have been praying about these things, and asking the Lord what to do, and this morning hubby mentioned this story from the book of Acts. 

I love reading about other people’s faith, especially the faith of people like Peter and John who ended up in jail overnight for preaching the gospel – it’s in Acts 4.  Actually, they were in jail for using the Name of Jesus and healing someone (!), and for causing a public disturbance. Go figure! However, the Apostles merely used the opportunity they were given to preach to the crowd about Jesus. They drew 5,000 souls into the kingdom on the spot.

Anyway, the next morning, after spending the entire night in jail, they were hauled up before the oversight – the elders, the teachers, the Sanhedrin, Pharisees and Sadducees – and they were given an opportunity to explain. Hilariously, God short-circuited the leaders religious intention to silence His men, because the guy who got healed turned up at the hearing! So the powers-that-be mumbled amongst themselves, then they realised they had living proof of the power of God standing there and everybody could see it. That man was quite obviously healed – after all he used to sit in a very public place, crippled and begging! 

Then the leaders warned the Apostles not to speak about the Name of Jesus again. Those leaders were really stuck – what could they do about these two men, with all that evidence standing in front of them? So they let Peter and John go. The Apostles went straight back to the church and told them what had happened. And instead of skipping church that week, after their traumatic experience (!), these guys decided to make the whole thing a prayer point and that gathering ended up a huge prayer meeting. 

The people of God prayed an incredible prayer:“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”Acts 4:23&24

Hubby’s first thought today was, we need to pray that prayer! So we did. Then I went back looked at the story again, and realised that the Apostles were already in constant danger of falling into the wrong hands … and then they went and poked the bear!! Which means they could easily have ended up in the land of worse! Why would you do that? TO OBEY GOD! So what did they do in the light of those threats? They prayed to be bolder! And then they asked the Lord to help them all to do more stuff in His Name. Think about it. They didn’t run, they didn’t hide, they did not stand down, they quite literally, asked for MORE. We need some of Your boldness Lord Jesus, every single day! Amen.

This whole story really impacted me. Mainly because I can’t ever remember doing that! I ask for His help all the time, but I don’t ever remember asking to be bolder. I figured out ‘why not,’ immediately! I’m scared of jail. Over the years the enemy has heaped ‘worse’ upon our heads quite a bit, and I am not at all keen on more worse stuff falling on us. I’ve quite literally been intimidated by circumstances, and fear has grabbed me. I started repenting right away!! And I praised God for the courage of His servants in His book and their witness. 

The church is barely in the shallow water of what our God will do in us and through us, in Jesus’ Name. And I think we have wandered back into a safer place through our own choices, probably because we saw sharks on the horizon and decided going out there into the deep, was not all that important … and not my job! Now, Thalassophobia is running rampant – we are ALL afraid of the deep!  So we tell ourselves that ‘somebody else can do it – this is too hard for me – God understands.’ 😳

What we actually need to do now is think about it the situation rationally, and realise this — we won’t see any sharks if we aren’t bothering our enemy! A lack of sharks does not mean we are safe, it means we are hiding. What should we do – hide or stand up?! Instead of standing down – we need to stand up! Wow. Food for thought.  Bye 👋

P 2331 Hard times do not mean that God has left us.

/ DVH

Boy, is that sometimes a faith statement!! Hard times however, do st-re-t-ch us, and that is definitely no fun. Growth of any kind is hard work. I remind myself that His Grace is enough. It is astonishing what you can see if you stop focussing on the difficulty and focus on His Grace instead. After my recent accident, my broken humerus has had to grow enough bone to reattach itself to the head of the bone. Imagine that. What an amazing thing, I am literally growing new bone as I type this! At my age!!

I have not been given any medicine or specific treatment to help this healing. Rather I’ve been engaged in physical therapy to teach my muscles they may not lie down and hope for the best. Instead (!) they have to get stronger and support these broken bones. The human body is a miraculous thing, our God gave it all sorts of healing skills. My body, is currently working on healing itself in secret places. Thank you for your prayers, we are so grateful.

Now to my point today, we can become so used to, and adept at, hiding from and avoiding any sort of pain… that we do it without thinking and it eventually that becomes an unconscious lifestyle. There is much more to this life than a defensive posture.Do yourself a favour – take risks – really LIVE! We have His book, filled with stories about other people just like us — how they coped … and how they didn’t. That helps us change our mind and think like Jesus does, and boy, do we need to keep reading it. 

There are also some kinds of pain that are totally unavoidable.  Sigh. These things crash into our lives without our permission, and then they explode. Some things are sent to sidetrack us from our God-given mission and distract us from His purposes. Human beings have very limited energy when they are suffering, but we can use that limited energy to distract ourselves away from the pain. Then we are avoiding transformation, in favour of hiding.

I urge anyone reading this to deliberately ask the Holy Spirit for His help, healing, protection, wisdom and strength when trouble and suffering overtakes you. We don’t have to fix these things, after all they ‘happened’ to us — we just need to deliberately turn our faces to the One Who made us — and stay in that place of need and surrender. For ordinary suffering human beings that is not a fun place to sit! We want action, we want the pain to stop or go away. 

In these times it is incredibly tempting to think that: ‘God doesn’t care about me, or the the stuff that is important to me, and the people I care about,’  simply because things don’t always instantly turn around. Doubt about His love for us can cling to the walls of our heart like a climbing rampant weed and it tries to strangle our faith that He is ALWAYS good and He ALWAYS loves us.These times are opportunities to stand steady, and hold fast to God’s incredible goodness, whether we can see it… or not.

1 Peter 4:12-19 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed…

… If you suffer, it should not be as a not murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. … …” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

Suffering is not a sign of God’s disfavour, it is simply the result of living in a fallen world, surrounded by imperfect, susceptible human beings and their sometimes corrupt systems. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  He hasn’t left us alone to suffer with our anguished thoughts. It’s simply time to do what it the book says.

In times of trial, sorrow and suffering we need to immerse ourselves in His Grace. Let His Grace be your hiding place. at the same time, be forgiving and generous with each other, sharing that Grace that God has given us. Always remembering that hard times are never convenient — they often turn up when we are already worn down by life. If our response utterly depended on us, then we may not be able to come up with the exact desirable attitude … but we know the One Who understands human suffering. The Lord Jesus will not condemn us for being weary in the fight. Cling to Him like a limpet on a rock. 

Hold fast to whatever you can see that is good – you will come through this. Almighty God is totally committed to your victory. He has not left us alone because He promised He would never do that. Keep watching out for what HE IS DOING. Feed your heart on that. 🙏

P 2271 Our God does not say ‘WHOOPS.’

/ DVH

He doesn’t even think it. Let’s look in the book shall we? “He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace near the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me the right path and leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honour to His name. 

Even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight.

You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of You until my cup overflows. So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious Presence to be forever with You!” Psalms 23:2-6 TPT 

I suggest that we put aside whether the Passion Translation is a proper translation or not… and just jump into these words, and sit in them like it’s a nice hot bath tub full of bubbles. 🛁 We dare not look at the Bible just for instructions or correction – there are times when we need to soak in the meaning of His words.  So here’s what I think, jump on in today and enjoy. 

Our Heavenly Father’s words toward mankind are thoughts and plans to give us hope and a future. The most important thing we can do is to remember, God has a purpose in everything. However every time we see a negative purpose in what the Lord is doing, we are taking a club and battering our faith all around the edges. Our Heavenly Father is where all goodness comes from, He doesn’t do bad. Right now, this particular plump chicken is in a meadow of His choosing, sitting down. He led me here via my recent staircase accident. Sometimes I get so busy trying to make my life have meaning, I forgot my life already has meaning … I AM HIS! 

It is important that some facts about our Heavenly Father’s personage and character are clearly established in our minds. God is good and He is for us. There is no ‘but’ in that sentence! Jesus Christ came and died to give us a place in His Father’s heart, His love is toward mankind – there is no race, colour, creed, or age, or state of health that will exempt us from the blessing of enjoying His love – only our own choices nullify that.            

“He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love…. That’s where He restores and revives my life…” When we forget how kind the Lord, we end up doing the next thing, one foot after the other, and we can easily lose our focus on His everlasting goodness. If our enemy cannot get us to sin, and focus on that, creating distance from God – then he will do his best to distract us with circumstances. The thing to do is to hold fast to His goodness – it is almost like a central pole in a giant marquee that holds everything up.

The Lord does not ever say, “Whoops”, because unlike you or I, He doesn’t make mistakes. People are God’s crowning achievement … you are not a mistake. Every single aspect of our lives is under His gaze. If we sin, He knows the way out. If we get lost we just have to yell ‘help’ and He will come and find us. Remember that story about the lost sheep? He only means us good. So we can say with confidence, no matter how it ‘looks’ – His love, His patience and all those other wonderful things described in 1 Corinthians 13 are always coming toward us like waves on a seashore. 

Sometimes the very best thing we can do is to rest in those words. Nothing in our lives is meaningless. If we continually keep ourselves too busy, then we will miss out on the little wells of silence and comfort that are given to us so we can face the next barrage that comes at us. He does not say ‘Whoops’ because everything about us is under His jurisdiction, protection and gaze. Bye 👋🏻.

P 2246 The Lord gives great advice.

/ DVH

When everything goes wrong – stop! And give yourself some breathing space. Seriously. Unless somebody is drowning or bleeding to death, it is good to just take a chill pill and send up a help help prayer. He knows everything, so He is our greatest asset!

I asked the Lord recently when I was very sick, what can I do about this illness? Now what I actually meant was – ‘What can I do about this interruption to my life… so I can keep on doing what I always do?’ The Lord said this to me: “You are not respecting your body. When it says stop, LISTEN. I got tired and sat down – read the book! You need to take a step back and let yourself recover, before you charge on pushing yourself to do something you can’t do without hurting yourself.”

That sounded like really good advice to me. It is not that I am crazy about work or whatever, because my life hasn’t allowed me to do much of anything, anymore. To be honest with you, I think what really happens is that I’m hoping that if I distract myself enough, I will feel better faster. That’s when I saw that I was actually relying on distraction as the answer, instead of Jesus.  After that ghastly thought, I repented, and then I asked the Holy Spirit what He thinks the answer is, instead. 

“My strength is made perfect in your weaknesses…” He said. “Which do you want more? A solution or My perfection?” I was speechless. 😳 Then I went and looked up the scripture, and lo and behold, it says…“My grace is sufficient for you, for …” – are you ready for this(?)  –  “… My power is made perfect in weakness.” His Grace is all I will ever need, so why try harder, when what I need, at the very beginning of anything I do, is His Grace? Look, I know this scripture. OK? I know it because I need His strength a lot!! But I had not seen it in this light before. By keeping on going when I really should lie down and rest, I was interfering with receiving His perfect strength.

If we want a perfect solution then we need His Grace. It’s funny how we can read the scripture and understand what it says – and sometimes even lean on what we think it is saying … and still miss the point. What the Holy Spirit was actually asking me, is this: “what will you SETTLE FOR?” I realised that I was settling for the lesser blessing. I took that verse to mean that when my strength ran out, I could ask Him and then He would take over.

I had a daring thought! What if I just started OUT by telling Him I’m weak and then give everything over to Him? Instead of bursting my boiler trying until I couldn’t try anymore … What if I gave up… right away? Why not start everything I do with Him? Right at the beginning! By that time I really did need to sit down and rest and reflect for a while. New thoughts do that to me. 

Then I told the Lord immediately, that I really can’t do anything, anymore! I mean why give God the big things when the little things are the stuff that steal your peace? My list of stuff I really can’t do, is endless. And just in case you are thinking to yourself that you are able-bodied and you can do practically everything by yourself … think again. Do you want to be “strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might?” Or do it yourself and get exhausted and frustrated. Do you only give up when it gets too hard, and then ask Him to take over? Why not ask for His help all the time. Trying is exhausting, and we all need the Holy Spirit like AIR.

Here’s the really big thought He left me with. I still haven’t got my spirit around this one yet! Jesus knows how to suffer, He did it perfectly, for us. Now I’m really bad at it. I just try to ‘suck it up buttercup’, for His sake, as a good witness. I wonder what would happen if I exchange my weakness for His Grace and strength in that suffering? The Holy Spirit’s advice was so timely, today. I saw that I need His help because He can help me do all things! Maybe I’ve been reading this stuff upside down and He just turned it right-side up. I’ll let you know about that. 🤗