Fads

P 2857 Fads, and fancies.

/ DVH

Some clever person has decided, for whatever reason … pick one … WHO knows? … that if the Lord wakes you up at 3.00am, He wants to talk to you. O-k-ay. Maybe the Lord wakes them up at 3.00am to talk to them – I can’t speak to their experience, nor yours for that matter. But trust me … when I wake up at 3.00am I am not thrilled. All I wanna do is go back to sleep! I love to talk to Jesus, but not-quite-so-much at 3.00am. 3.00am means I’ve probably had just enough sleep to stay awake until I have to get out of bed. When I wake up at that hour, I quite often can’t go back to sleep again.

Meanwhile, imagine what an idea like that does to a young working mother, or a mum who has her hands full? Maybe she just got her baby/toddler back to sleep? Many a night I’ve sat in a rocking chair, soothing a cranky child, rocking away, praying for people. That’s why I can see these women at 3.00am, with toothpicks holding their bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes open, saying … “Who the what now?? This kid is going to wake up again in a few hours… Go away … tell your nice theory to someone who gets plenty of sleep!” Sometimes human beings say the dumbest most thoughtless things. Never let anyone but Jesus write on your relationship with Him. You are you, and those other people who do things differently are not-you.

Meanwhile at 3.00am I have noticed that every single idea that pops into my sleep-addled brain is fantastic! I immediately know how to change my life, or save the world. I think I have a reason for that phenomenon – I am sleep deprived! Sleep deprivation does weird things to the brain. We all think we are a genius at that hour. Actually I woke up at 3.00am this morning and I wrote this blog. Yes, I talked to the Lord, and prayed for everyone I could think of, and I ended up even more awake trying to solve problems that weren’t mine in the first place! 

That’s when I remembered Samuel was once awake in the middle of the night because the Lord wanted to talk to him. He was a kid at the time and he woke up confused too – he didn’t know it was God talking to him. (See 1 Samuel 3.)  Eli had to straighten him out. You know, that nice man didn’t even ask the wide-awake kid to go and fetch him a glass of water … you always need one when you wake up early … he just gave the boy wise advice, and then he rolled over and went back to sleep. Smart guy Eli, grossly underestimated in the realm of wisdom. 

Sometimes, Christians can have FADS. In my lifetime I have seen lots of them, they come, they go, because eventually somebody throws more light on this theory or that revelation. The bible says: ”I will arise right early, I will awaken the dawn…” Psalm 57:8. But I’m left wondering if that is the same thing as making yourself wake up at 3.00am! If the Lord wants you, He will call you. It is my hope that this fad is short-lived. And yes, I know that we all need a quiet time with Him, but that’s for you and Him to work out. Just talk to Him. He’s always there.

It’s like fasting: the bible says that the Lord chooses the fast we are to participate in. (Isaiah 58:6-11.) I can still remember when fasting was a fad, people fasted to make God do things. Fasting is a supernatural event, we are led into it by the Holy Spirit – it is not a dietary or problem solving aid! Our Father loves us so very much, and we don’t have to make Him do anything. Sometimes I think people fast because they don’t like NO!

Just recently a doctor discovered that my bones are showing the effects of age, which doesn’t surprise me because I have had them for a while. He had three wonderful remedies to cure this problem, and they all had ghastly side-effects. The first one caused oesophageal spasms, the second gave flu-like symptoms because it is used in chemo-therapy and the third one causes necrosis of your jaw bone. Strangely …I said no thank-you to His interesting options. He was a bit miffed, BUT … not every suggestion or revelation  you hear about or receive, no matter how insightful, is actually helpful to your life.

Now, if the Lord happens to wake you at 3.00am to pray … DO IT. Please!! Some saints gladly give up their sleep time to intercede for the rest of this planet – they pray for His kingdom to come, and I personally praise the Lord for their diligence. But please do not join in this jamboree just because someone said it and it sounds like a deeply spiritual thing to do. Something that just might get you what or where you want to be.. Use your faith to believe that He loves you and loves to talk to you …at any time, instead. 

I know, there are people who are in desperate situations and they need the Lord and His input — but we must remember that He actually wants to talk to us. He is not a sadist thinking up ways for us to torment ourselves just so we can hear from Him! He does not require us to jump through hoops to impress Him. We need to use our faith, not performance. Let’s not blithely subscribe to every fad and fancy that floats on by. 

BTW the book also says this: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves.”Psalm 127:2. Amen. Bye. 👋

P 2526 Some thoughts on what maturity looks like.

/ DVH

To begin, I need to say that I do not think the things I have mentioned here indicate a place of arrival, rather they are personal sign posts. I wrangle every single day with all of these things… but I refuse to lower my aim just because these things are hard! Becoming like Jesus to other people means everything to me.Today, I have added in my own thoughts as well, but I think that this is one of those times that I need to let God’s word speak for itself. 

It is also good to look carefully at Jesus in the Gospels to see how God’s Grace operated. How HE took it in and breathed it out. Maturity sees Grace as the coin of the realm, they freely give Grace away and they also receive it in. Romans 8:29: “For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Mature Christians have walked way past being dead to sin, that’s a no-brainer! Instead they are so alive they challenge you by the way they live.

Galatians 2:20 TPT “My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives His life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God Who loves me so much that He gave Himself for me, dispensing His life into mine!”

I think we all have a need to mature in the Western World, because, sadly, immature people follow fads as well as people — not Christ Himself. Ephesians 4:14 ”…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”  The Body of Christ will grow in spiritual maturity, by learning to persevere through the trials and challenges of our life. Mature people are humble because life itself and the Word of God has taught them, who they really are, without the Holy Spirit’s help. 

James 1:2-5 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  Trials are an opportunity to stretch and grow our faith!

Mature believers seek to live a life that is Spirit-filled — that is, they learn to be aware of and listen to God’s Spirit, who lives within all Jesus’ followers. Romans 6:11-14 says: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” 

These people Paul talks about understand that sin is a choice and the more anyone gives in to it, the harder it becomes to resist! So they “…present their bodies as a living sacrifice …” instead. They want what the Lord wants. They may not always know what that is … but they will take the time to wait on Him to find out! These people are a generous people. They not only share, but they make sure that their love is demonstrated not just talked about. Their only desire is to please the Lord above everything and everyone else. 

Mature people will quickly admit their faults and their lack, but they also know exactly where to go to repent and be filled again. Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you.” Forgiveness is never an optional extra to these people, it is a way of life. This means they do not judge others either. They know how to repent and admit that they were wrong, because their aim is Christ’s likeness not vindication. So they always repent quickly, then usher in real restoration, and go back into relationship again. Psalm 15:4:“They keep their promises to their neighbours, even when it hurts.” 

Philippians 4:11&12. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”  These saints have found their contentment in knowing God Himself, and the Lord and His Presence in their lives is all they want. They never have to pray – they simply want to talk to the Lord because they love to be with Him. Maturity will refuse to define what other people’s love should look like, it accepts what the other person gives them with His Grace.

Lastly, in order to grow spiritually and mature in our faith, we must draw near to God, because we cannot mature on our own. Without His personal input into our lives – our works and efforts are worthless.

Bless you and bye for today! 👋