Ephesians 6:13

P 2865 Changing our thinking is deliberate.

/ DVH

I wanted to write about one of the ways I’ve learnt I can keep continually walking with the Holy Spirit…“Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honourable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always.”  Philippians 4:8. 

The question we need to ask ourselves today is this — what actually occupies our thoughts? Often we are fixated on our day, focussing on what comes next … but if we choose to, we can turn that way of thinking into … “What are You going to do with all this stuff today Lord?”  It’s about focus. Giving the Holy Spirit our day, reminding ourselves of why we are here, means letting Him into our thoughts, and when or if we forget, and worry or leave Him out, we take the time to repent. Wonder of wonders, He always does it!! He is so amazing!! Thank you Jesus.

Father God sometimes whispers this to me: “Are you sure you want to keep that attitude?” I’ve had to pull up, and grab my thoughts back, many MANY times. Honesty with God and yourself, is really important. Dismissing any niggly thoughts, or giving yourself permission to say stuff that is best not said – is a slippery slide. Sometimes the Lord puts His finger on something very gently, and says something like: “Are you sure you want to go down that road?” Now it becomes my choice. It can’t be an accident that I went the wrong way – because He’s just warned me about that road! 

If I get cranky about my difficulties and circumstances, then sometimes my answer might be: “Can I just be here for five minutes?” Of course we both know that I won’t be there for five minutes … I’ll get stuck in my cranky or fear for three days and then wonder where the Holy Spirit went!! It has taken me a long time to see that at that moment if I ask Him to help me to choose the right way, He will. That’s because His strength is made perfect at that exact moment of my weakness!

If something disastrous or unforeseen happens, sometimes I panic, and  I will probably blame myself or someone else … even if I don’t do it out loud, I’ll do it in my head. Bad move – one thought leads to another!! That’s when the Holy Spirit reminds me that I don’t have to go through ANY valley alone – my choice in those moments is essential. I need His Ways not mine.

The secret to getting through the hard times is to continually handover the situation to the Him and leave it with Him, by letting go of worry and problem-solving. Why not put the One Who knows everything, in charge? I turn away from problem solving and anxiety and deliberately turn my focus to Him. And every time those thoughts come up again, I compare them to the Bible and check that stuff out with what it says. If it doesn’t line up, then I throw it away. That’s what taking thoughts captive means.

After that I always ask Jesus what He thinks. That answer can take a while, because I’ve learnt the Lord is constantly stretching our faith in His goodness. It is a huge mistake to pay attention to the dreadful pictures that the other guy paints in your mind of what the eventual outcome will be. This is when fear raises its nasty head. It is good to name the fear, because it helps to know what you are fighting. Tell the Lord you know it is fear and ask Him how to deal with it – He guides me through things one step at a time. 

Here’s an interesting thought — the Person who needs to know the answers to our difficulties is the Lord – and He already knows. Look through the Bible and find one time when He said: ”I don’t know what to do about that!” … It didn’t happen! After doing everything I’ve mentioned above, I do whatever He tells me to do, then like Ephesians 6:13 says — I STAND. I commit to standing until I see what He wants me to see. I might learn something about me or about Him. Like I said, changing our thinking is deliberate – it’s about focus. Bye. 👋

P 2761 When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

/ DVH

In Nehemiah 4:7-9 it says:  “When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious.They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them….

13-14 So I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes… V15 “Our enemies learned that we knew all about their plan and that God had frustrated it. And we went back to the wall and went to work.”

Having done all they could, that’s when these guys STOOD! Just like it says in Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, put on the complete armour of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].”  

We don’t just need to learn to how to tear up the hypothetical ceilings in our lives, and in the lives of others;  we also need to know HOW, AND WHEN, TO STAND STILL. We simply must learn when to do what. And at the same time, when it is good to ignore the yammering threats of our enemies, so we can keep on going with the work God has given us to do for as long as we can.

I dunno about what is going on with you, but lately I have been reflecting on how soft I have become since I fell down the stairs. My arm and legs weren’t the only thing I injured! I think I bumped my faith badly as well! However, I praise the Lord that my dear hubby has taken us both out into the field, to talk to people about Jesus, anyway. Because otherwise I think I might have packed up my little travelling bag and quit. Physical disability can be very discouraging, and the older you get, the harder it is to pick yourself up and go again!

The point of today’s blog is this:  when you are fighting the enemy don’t cede your ground. Just stand still and wait for God. Even if you have to have your sword in one hand and a trowel in the other to help you rebuild your life. Are you physically dead yet? No?? Then it’s not too late to get up after your rest, and run again.Refusing to quit is the way forward. It leads to perseverance, and that makes us stronger spiritually. Let the weak say:‘I am strong in the Presence of the Lord.’ Even if I hit a wall, or in this case the floor! I am learning to shake myself, get up and go again!

I found this great little song by a group called One Republic, it’s not new (2021) I think one of the guys is a Christian but who cares?  The rocks cry out all the time! Meanwhile the words are so catchy, that they repeat themselves over and over again in my head. Here’s the chorus: “They tell you that the sky might fall. They’ll say that you might lose it all. So, I run until I hit that wall. Yeah, I learned my lesson, count my blessings. Look to the rising SON and run, run, run.”  Yeah, I changed one letter, because WE always look to Jesus – Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We are all in this race.

Some days, I’m not physically up to running again, or even maybe rebuilding huge walls in the face of satan’s jeering  — but I’ve learnt that I can still stand …  even if I have to lean on something!!  (Proverbs 3:5,6.) I’m going to lean on Him because the bible says I can! I also love the bit in this song that says ‘I run until I hit that wall’ ‘cos I kinda did, and that’s when I found out that I can count my blessings from any position. The fact that some things still cause us pain proves that we are alive and present on planet earth! 

‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.‘ … But they just might need a cuppa tea and a bit of a lie down first!  Meanwhile music helps me with motivation. Sadly, sometimes Christian music can be a little bit too drippy and wordy for me. I feel like I am singing a saga, not a song. Some Christian songs have a million words, and every platitude ever written – whatever happened to catchy?? Back to the point … rebuilding the walls of your life can be tough. It takes guts – sorry, internal fortitude 🤪 – but God isn’t scared of old, decrepit, or even broken people. He promises to be their strength instead!

Our God is the Ancient of days. Nuthin’ scares Him!  Some of His best friends were OLD. Think about it. The thing that’s good about getting older is this – if you choose to let go of your pride, you can learn stuff. Good stuff, stuff worth learning. And you get it by bumping your head a lot, or some times you get it by falling down the stairs. It’s time for everyone to toughen up, and get going!  We will need every single saint for what lies ahead of us. Bye 👋