Faith

P 3383 Are you a risk taker?  

/ DVH

I listened to a Christian speaker yesterday. She is regarded a ‘mover and shaker’ in Christian circles. She spoke about how, over a period of time, she was challenged by the way her life was going. Even though it seemed that she was always busy, and her time consisted of many Christian, Godly, worth-while activities. She’s also been a good wife and mother, someone who paid a great deal of attention to the bible and prayer, and she spent time balancing her health and wellbeing and caring for her family. A real Proverbs 31 lady, except I don’t think she sold real estate — but she was “up there!’

Outside her home she regularly did things like raising money for the poor, helping the homeless, reaching out into the community, witnessing to people and so forth. Plus she ran every single day, and ate all the right things. She seemed to be the kind of person I am allergic to, mainly because she cheerfully did everything I think I can’t! Eventually this nice lady realised the things she was doing were good, right and profitable, but it wasn’t enough. She felt empty. She wasn’t UN-happy, but she wasn’t fulfilled in her life either. So she began to pray about it.

Then the Lord challenged her with these thoughts. “I am looking for risk takers. My people want to play it safe, and just do and say all the right things. I don’t want your life to be about ‘the appearance of doing good,’— I want all of My people to live their lives to their fullest spiritual potential. That includes taking risks and daring to believe they can do far more than the same things over and over again.” 

A few years ago, there was kind of a buzz word, and it describes the way Christians today often choose to live: Risk averse! “Being risk-averse means having a strong preference for avoiding uncertainty and potential loss, even if it means sacrificing higher potential rewards. Rather than gambling on unpredictable outcomes, a risk-averse person or organisation will consistently choose a safer, more predictable option.”

When I read that description I laughed. It is so easy to look at our lives and justify why we do this and that – or  why we sometimes don’t do that other thing. That’s usually because we think our personal responsibilities outweigh the risk factor … or we are a tad scared it might be a bit dodgy. Sometimes I think we spend so much time learning to be a good Christian – we end up doing nothing. Meanwhile, I’m not quite sure how that kind of mentality is helpful as we follow Jesus!

I look back at His disciples and remember that those 12 men left their way of life behind, instantly. Imagine how their wives, mothers, fathers, kids, friends, rabbits and relations felt about them waltzing off like that! And then they traveled about with the Lord all over the country-side, sleeping by the road, etc., jumping on religious theories. Now there’s some risk taking!

When I asked Google about risk – because as we all know, Google thinks IT knows everything! I realised that many people think being risk-averse is normal and a good way to live. It seems that mankind’s idea of adventure flew out of the window when we headed for the moon. The reality is that precious few people actually DID that!

But when you read the bible, the Old and New Testament, you will find a whole lot of characters who were plodding along enjoying their normal little risk-free lives … And then Almighty God crashed into their lives and interrupted their well made plans with His wishes. Now these people had two choices, comply, or suffer the consequences. Some of the dumb bunnies actually chose the consequences and ended up in all kinds of trouble. Then they had to pray like mad for the Lord to get them out. And because of all that to-ing and fro-ing, and weeping and wailing, they gained a testimony to God’s greatness.

Perhaps today, we don’t have any testimonies because we rarely face those kinds of tests … we kind of wiggle out of them? Maybe we need to revise what we think Christianity is all about. My point today is to challenge everyone – including me -anyone who is living their new life in Christ, risk free. We all do good wherever we can, but when is the last time we prayed for a dead person to come back? Your own answer to that question might surprise you. I’m kind of curious to know, how come all the risk takers died off? 

My risk-averse lady is now utterly engaged in challenging laws-of-the-land-that-need-to-be-changed. She simply loves what she is doing – despite the sometimes nasty opposition. Risky living seems to be like that. It scares the daylights out of you – but you know you are alive alright. It’s time we stopped playing it safe. Bye. 🤪  

P3382 Ours is an Eternal Love story. 

/ DVH

Romans 8:15: “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”                          Psalm 103:13:“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”                                                                                                                                    1 John 3:1:“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”

Our God’s love is eternal, and redemption was always part of His plan. This means His love for us will never change. Most people often have no concept of what real love, the kind of love the Father has for us, looks like. Our ideas of love can easily be limited by our earthly experiences of it. 1 John 3:1 throws some light on that. It says ‘behold what manner of love the Father gives’ … behold means look at that love thoroughly and carefully. When we look carefully at God’s love, we can begin to understand His manner/His kind of love. God’s kind of love holds something special for us all inside it. It is a Love that never goes away, despite the unworthiness of the recipient.

Almighty God’s kind of love has no ending or beginning, it is complete in itself, and it is utterly altruistic. “Altruistic means someone is acting out of pure, unselfish concern for the well-being of others. It describes behaviour driven by empathy and a desire to help, without expecting any reward, recognition, or personal gain.” That’s what our Heavenly Father’s Love is like. The bad things that happen to us aren’t sent by Him, they come from our enemy. This is why we cannot afford to live our lives in the soulish, emotional and reactive realm. This world doesn’t produce that kind of love – it is heavenly, straight from the throne.

However, every single time we go into FEAR we will go back into slavery. This what Romans 8:15 is telling us. If we have fear, we are misunderstanding His love. Eventually, under duress, we can begin to be captivated by, and start serving the feelings of fear, instead of serving Him. Fear paralyses us. Fear likes to be protected and kept hidden. It demands to be fed lies and half-truths to keep all of us captive in it. Praise God, that our experiential knowledge of the love of God, personally, and through His word, chucks fear out of the window!

The fear of God which is mentioned in Psalm 103:13 is not the same as this world’s fear, which only bears the fruit of destruction. The fear of the Lord opens the door to further wisdom. Fearing God is not about being afraid, it is about being respectful and compliant in the things He has told us to do, because we acknowledge His Wisdom, His Ways and authority over our lives.  

God has provided for us to live in, and from, wisdom. The Lord’s wisdom is available to us at any time. Because of His incredible loving generosity, He will give us His wisdom whenever we ask for it. The Bible talks about wisdom like this: “For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom…” This is why our living, breathing, thriving relationship with the Lord matters … as we walk with Him we become aware of Who He is, and how much we need Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5.

When I read scriptures like the ones above, I am reminded of how generous the Lord is toward us – how remarkably rich He is in love. Being rich in love is almost incomprehensible to us – we are used to all kinds of poverty in this life, including spiritually – even though it has never been God’s will for us to be poor. Understanding the Lord’s love means we will develop a quiet confidence in HIM, not our circumstances.

He is reliable, faithful, good – so if I don’t see what I am asking Him for – I remember that James told me that I can ask amiss. Then I ask the Lord where I’ve missed it.  Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;…” Making His Word our plumb line changes our perspectives, because we begin to understand real truth from His perspective.

Before we were even brought into this world, Father God’s Love was complete in itself. The Trinity worked in perfect harmony, They had such a precious bond of love and unity we can’t even begin imagine it. They did not need mankind … the love They have for each Other is already perfect and complete. Instead, They chose to create us from that love. The bible says: “Let us make man in Our image.” Genesis 1:26. We’ve been created to look like Them – we were born out of Their love.

The Father has given us the freedom to choose to love and obey Him … or not. Sadly, those “no”  choices have released death, destruction and decay, loose in a world that had never even seen an electron or proton out of place. You and I are designed to be like God, like His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in this life to others. We have the opportunity to know His kind of love, and give it away to others while we are still in this life. Our disobedience, ignorance, and disrespect can short-circuit this process.

The Holy Spirit chooses to reside within us, when we give our lives to Jesus. Now we have the capacity to share the same kind of complete and powerful love that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit share. Let’s thank God for His salvation plan incredibly implemented by Jesus Christ His beloved Son. Because of Jesus we are now part of His wonderful Eternal love story. Bye. 👋

P3381 The Needy ones!   

/ DVH

“Jesus told them, “Go back and tell John what’s going on: The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed, The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. “Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!” Matthew 11:4-6. In the Good News version the last verse reads like this: ‘How happy are those who have no doubts about Me!”

I found this verse yesterday, when I was reading in Matthew. Jesus is reassuring John, who is nearly at the end of his ministry, that GOD HIMSELF IS NOW IN THE HOUSE!! Wow! You gotta love the sweetness of that. John can now go on into glory because his job is done. SomeOne else has come to totally fulfil and complete the foundation of repentance and transformation John laid. This man John had lived a solitary, straightened life and at the end of it, he pointed out and spoke about Jesus. Our Saviour has appeared, and He is preaching healing, deliverance, freedom and salvation for all. Even the most miserable among us. 

Jesus shows great compassion when He talks about the healing and restoration work that has already begun. Then He adds this wonderful sentence: “The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.”  That means so much to me. I love that the sick are healed, that is fantastic. Me too, please! But I’ve felt wretched, cast away, talked about behind my back, passed over, despised and ignored … even by members of my own family. It took me years to realise that I didn’t have to live with shame anymore. This verse reminds me that God is on the side of those people that the rest of the world would like to pretend don’t exist. 

I imagine that there are a lot of people reading this that have experienced incredibly difficult things, and for many of you it has been far worse than I can bear thinking about. But right now, let’s stop to look at John, who had been so brave, so heroic, so dedicated to God’s purpose that it affected the way he lived his life. Now, at the end of his time, he needed reassurance. It illustrates this man’s humanity, and God’s Grace toward him.

It is an interesting fact that no matter how spiritual someone looks, life can savagely kick them, and they don’t always deserve what they get. Some people have been severely persecuted for speaking truth, just like John! Some have called out sin where and when they saw it. What a blessing this little conversation is for all of us! Our Loving Heavenly Father overlooks no-one, even at the end of our earthly lives.

Meanwhile, for your information: wretched means … deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind: extremely or deplorably bad or distressing; in exile, a despised person. That sounds a bit like John’s life. Today, that’s what I briefly want to talk about. There are precious people all around us that this world wants to throw away. Plus the ones who have fallen so far down a hole they can no longer look up and see the light — they are too bowed down, and full of rejection and despair. Jesus dearly loves them, and God is on their side.

We are blessed to live on this side of Calvary and know that our sins were all thrashed into and onto Jesus’ body, soul and spirit, as He died a despised sinner’s death for us. He was our totally pure and innocent Saviour, Who practiced love wherever He went. Jesus didn’t deserve that punishment that was meted out on Him. But let’s never forget that Calvary was also a heavenly transaction. Everything Jesus did had an effect upon this world, and the next.

He didn’t just come to die for our sins … … thank God that He did that! He came to show us, in Person, what God’s Kingdom is supposed to look like. What it looks like right now where He is. We are His people. The people who re-present Him. A representative generally refers to something, or someone that acts on behalf of others, or serves as a typical example of a larger group. We are His people and we know our Saviour – we are here to do great exploits for His sake. That means we will see miracles, but it can also mean loving those who don’t, won’t, or can’t love us back!

You and I have been appointed by Jesus to be His hands and feet, and we have the honour of bringing our Father’s incredible love to one person at a time, as He leads us. We carry that love with us to the desperate, the lonely, the forsaken, the wretched ones of this world. Personally, I think we could find these people in the most peculiar places! In palaces, governments, offices, digging ditches, in prison, begging for food and water, stealing from others … many are in our schools. The people who have no hope. Some are quite obviously wretched, others have their pain and suffering well-hidden by bright fake smiles. Many people hide because otherwise their shame, or even their heartache can be seen.

Yet, like John, they are not only loved by our God, they are to be commended for surviving things we can’t even bear to think about. This world thinks it is terrible to be called wretched — but today I realised it is a beautiful thing. God dearly loves the wretched, the sick, the sinners, the lost, the unlovely, the silently suffering ones, THE NEEDY ONES … and He is on everyone’s side. Man is that a great sentence! Bye. 👋

P3380 Trials and difficulties. 

/ DVH

Because I have been around a while, I have experienced grief and different kinds of losses. And there are times when I’ve gotten lost in those things, and then I can’t find my way out! Something that helps me is to pray like this … ‘Please help me Holy Spirit.’  Complicated prayers are hard to remember when your head is spinning. The thing I’ve learnt is it is best just to be myself and own what’s really going on in my heart.

Sadly, I have also learnt there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to trials and difficulties. There are times when you just go in one end and stagger out tired at the other, wondering how you ended up IN there in the first place! You can also get extra tired expending your energy by trying to escape from the hard times. I am slowly learning to stop doing a ‘coroner’s report’ on my own actions, by analysing and second guessing my thoughts, when the trouble doesn’t melt away – like it is supposed to. I repent and repair stuff, give it all to Jesus, and run and hide in the secret place. Psalm 91.

Often we can lack in faith because we have let other people and their experiences become our own personal criteria. Christianity is experienced firsthand. It is a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Praise God that we also have a Personal Tutor to help us through those trials and difficulties …but, there can also be long times of waiting to see what comes next!

I think we’ve almost beaten to death the verse in Acts 10:34  where Peter said: “…God is no respecter of persons.” Many of us have used this verse to assume that if God did that for you, then He will do it for me too. In Acts 10, Peter is talking about God not leaving out the Gentiles, when they had sovereignly received the Holy Spirit. He was not speaking about escaping from some difficulty or other. The context of a scripture matters.

I have come to understand that sometimes there are no shortcuts, we simply need to take the time alone with the Lord to seek our own answers. And we can’t afford to get sidetracked by someone else’s experiences. It’s a bit like taking someone else’s medicine. It could work … but it may not, and you could end up with a stomach ache.

Here are some quick illustrations that show us there are at least two ways out of trouble – sovereign intervention … and slogging on! Twice, an angel opened prison doors for Peter. And Paul and Silas were also delivered by an earthquake. But after that happened, Paul was imprisoned in Rome twice, once for two years and another final time for one year, he had to live through his incarceration. God will do what God will do, our part is to stay close to Him and co-operate. However, let’s also stay alert that we are not being tricked by the enemy into giving up our God-given inheritance.

When it comes to growing through our difficulties we have so much to gain along the way. We can grow in steadfastness. James talks about it in 1:2-4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  Meanwhile, if I falter or fall over when my faith is being stretched, then I’ve learnt to ask others to pray. It is also a good thing to practice repenting, as I have found that I am often, metaphorically speaking, already on the floor anyway!

We may feel like we are slipping and our faith is no longer solid, when we go through hardships. One man who felt flattened by life said this in Psalm 73:2: “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” That line is followed by a clue as to why the man had nearly slipped over in his faith. He began to look at the prosperity of the wicked, and the fact that it seems like they live a care-free life. The thing is, comparing ourselves with anyone else, is the first step onto a banana-peel that can cause injury to our faith.

The bible tells us in James1:3-4: “Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].  And LET endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” We gain endurance, maturity and inner peace as we yield to what the Lord wants to do. Almighty God is good, kind, gracious, and loving. That’s a fact! And if He allows a trial or test to come into our lives, because He is so good, we know we can get through it. But we don’t put our faith in our own willpower – we believe in His goodness. 

“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.” I Corinthians 10:13. I can sometimes be heard walking around my house muttering: “God’s got a way through this”… over and over again. I try to say it out loud because my ears need to hear what my heart believes, even when my heart has the wobbles.

Sometimes we need to go through the trials and difficulties, because we are growing the same sort of qualities in our lives that Jesus had. We can’t afford to be influenced by other people’s experiences simply because we are being stretched and we desperately want the EXIT sign. Bless you! Bye. 🙏

P3379 What have we learnt?  

/ DVH

Let’s take a look at what happened at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:3-9:

“They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let Us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that We may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”                                     But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.                                                                      So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

This is a difficult passage of scripture to look at. It presents what I would call, an interesting situation. Almighty God interfered with man’s plans — by wrecking their communication with each other. Hmmm… Smart phone anyone? It is fascinating how in today’s world, satan has come up with a similar way to bring about the same result. If human beings are dangerous and clever enough to do all that stuff on our own … and history proves this to be true … then …

…let’s pause and imagine what a people who choose to be connected to each other, and worship and serve Almighty God can do!

The temptation in the Garden wasn’t just about being disobedient, that couple wanted to be like God. It’s just like the stuff that went down at Babel. Human beings think we can do anything! We’ve walked on the moon, see how clever we are! Almighty God made the moon … and He put it where it is with His fingers! Humanity needs to get over itself … We can’t even feed the poor that live in our neighbourhood, because making ourselves feel more important has taken precedence. 

The knowledge of good and evil is a dangerous thing in the hands of unredeemed people. They can end up making plans to rule the world! Let’s not even mention that they think that they are so smart they don’t need God anymore. And, even today, we are still busy trying to make a name for ourselves.

Right now, it seems that we talk at each other, and use abbreviations and trite phrases to communicate our feelings — with likes and dislikes. Thumbs up, or thumbs down.  What makes me sad, is that people are buying into this stuff – even our children! It seems we are doomed to continually make the same mistakes. Yet we still think we are smarter than God. 

Right here and now in this world, human relationships have again been scattered and made null and void. If we don’t like someone else, we either kill them, blow them up, maim them, divorce them or avoid them. Co-operation has gone right out of the window, and we’ve traded in true human engagement for convenience … and loneliness. Pretty soon we will all be using AI to talk to each other. When will we learn we are not in charge here? What have we learnt from the Tower of Babel?

Even in our churches, holy things have been so twisted that we don’t feel free to actually be real with each other anymore. We can’t seem to tell others what is really going on in our hearts. We are afraid that a whole lot of judgment will rush toward us, roaring down the turnpike! 

Just like it was at the Tower of Babel WE must decide – is there anything we can’t do?  … YES! … We can’t save ourselves!! And despite our very best efforts to live forever, we can’t do that either. Many people are trying so hard to preserve their lives, yet they end up looking like the Crypt Keeper whose face has been carefully ironed instead! Yikes! Meanwhile, praise the Lord, eternal life is safely in the hands of our Heavenly Father, who cannot be corrupted or make mistakes.

My point is that we are not as smart as we like to think we are. Yes, we can build the tallest buildings on the earth, and search the deepest trenches in the ocean – but we cannot save ourselves. We will continue to be a hard-headed, hard hearted, wicked, pitiless, miserly, miserable people who torment and torture each other — without Christ Himself showing us another way to live. Humanity was made to live in God’s Presence! Father God visited Adam and Eve every single evening to talk with them. Look at what we have given up! Oh, thank God, His mercy endures forever …!!

Jesus took EVERYTHING to the cross with Him. Like the bible says: “It’s finished!” God has done something so extraordinary, because of what Jesus did for us. He has given us the opportunity to walk with Him again. Right here, right now, today. We can use our faith in what Christ did for us, to rise above our past and have a truthful, fruitful relationship with Him, and each other. Jesus Christ freely chose to represent us before God’s wrath. It was the greatest work of restoration of relationships this world has ever, or will ever, see. And Father God’s goodness sent Jesus after us.

“…When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26. There will always be lessons for human beings to learn. Humility is a great starting place. Bye 👋

P3378 Wise like a serpent, gentle as a dove.

/ DVH

Jesus is gentle, humble and lowly in His heart and He wants to lead us into His rest. That’s the kind of rest where I do what He says, how He says to do it, and He does the rest! We don’t have to work at it, we just follow Him. That’s wisdom. Here is the Message version in Matthew:

V28-30:“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” … 

Jesus was talking to the people, gently, tenderly — telling His audience that what He is saying is what the Father wants to say to them. There’s also a big clue and a great promise in Matthew 11:30b. Jesus is speaking: “But I’m not keeping it (God’s Ways) to Myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.” Godly assurance is available, we just need to be willing to listen. That’s the key, and it’s even more wisdom! It’s an equal playing field.

Living like this is not a once-off thing. It happens over and over again. Walking in His Grace flows along, dipping up and down, but it is a continuous theme that we go back to. The continuous theme of our lives is now UNFORCED GRACE – we choose to be saturated in His LOVE for people. It has already been given to us, so now we receive it by faith, and we are commanded to give it away to people who don’t deserve it any more than we do! The fact that we know we cannot possibly live that way by ourselves, shows us how much we need the Holy Spirit! We are learning His wisdom.

Unforced Grace is a series of love choices – it’s not the ‘grit-your-teeth-and-put-up-with-it-kind. We simply use every opportunity to practise loving those who are unloving to us. If a harsh word comes up in our mouths, we take a breath, pray(!) and then respond with His Grace. He’s the same Spirit Who was in Christ Jesus – and if we want Him and His guidance, we can have Him. He’s gentle and He will lovingly teach us.

In Acts 2:1-4 the Holy Spirit’s Presence was a sovereign foretold act from heaven. It was announced a number of times. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

This happened TO those obedient, waiting people – they could not, and did not make it happen by themselves. Their part was to obey the last thing Jesus told them to do, which was … you guessed it … WAIT! We can’t make the Lord do anything. But we can position ourselves by our willing obedience, however the minute we make something a rule, the Holy Spirit will leave. He goes wherever He wants to go. We just get to watch — and what a privilege that is!

There are precious sincere souls who have frightened other people into believing that if they don’t pray in tongues they are not born again. That is error. It is not wisdom, and a lot of the time, it isn’t gentle either. If we are going to be pedantic about things, then everyone who has been filled with the Holy Spirit, should have what looked like a tongue of fire over their heads and come away from that experience fearlessly preaching the gospel in the streets!!

“I fell down,” is also not listed as a criteria for receiving the Holy Spirit and His guidance into our lives. That experience is amazing, but it is not mentioned as a criteria. And if the sound of a strong wind was needed, then many enthusiastic churches would probably hire a wind machine for special effects! Even staggering about after we are filled with the Spirit, is not proof we were filled. We receive and walk with Him BY FAITH! That means we believe He is with us – feelings, experiences or not. We obey because Jesus said so.

The Christian life is not a fruit market, we cannot pick and choose what we want to believe. That’s what the book is for – to teach us His ways — ALL His ways. Not just the exciting bits. We are filled with His Spirit because the bible says so.  “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—“ John 14:16. Jesus asked His Father to send us the Holy Spirit and the Father sent Him… end of story. The Holy Spirit never went away – we simply stopped living a life that will make Him welcome by the way we choose to live.

We will always need the Holy Spirit, and being excluded because of tongues is a tragedy. Tongues are like the fire that appeared, or spontaneous preaching, or the power of God let loose. A SIGN and a WONDER. Let’s use our faith to ask for His help, and then believe He will help us. I’ve personally found that obedience sharpens my hearing. Now we live this life the way He chooses for US. The Holy Spirit is unseen and often underestimated, and He loves it when we recognise His gentle, wise kindness quietly operating in and through our lives. 

Taking up Jesus’ yoke simply means we choose to do things His Way. It doesn’t mean we can never have an idea of our own — it simply means we yield and submit everything to Him, plus those who have the responsibility of caring for our souls. This is protection, not restriction! There’s a lion out there that wants to eat us for lunch. However, we don’t have to be afraid, because the Holy Spirit knows God’s Ways and He will teach us to be be wise and gentle. ‘Wise and shrewd like a serpent, gentle and innocent as a dove.’ Bye. 🕊️

P3377 Psalm 54:1-7, and Matthew.   

/ DVH

“Save me, O God, by Your name; And vindicate me by Your [wondrous] power. Hear my prayer, O God; Listen to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me. And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is my helper and ally; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder]. He will pay back the evil to my enemies; In Your faithfulness destroy them. With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has rescued me from every trouble, And my eye has looked with satisfaction (triumph) on my enemies.”

Psalms like this one make me smile. David is saying: “Git ‘em God! Git ‘em good!” Yet his confidence in the Lord’s timing stands out like a beacon. The Heir apparent, God’s anointed, approved and appointed King, David, was constantly on the run from King Saul, the reigning King. It was a long time after this that David prayed this Psalm that God Himself gave David two opportunities to take Saul OUT! He could have killed Saul twice, but… he… didn’t! (1 Samuel 24 – the cave in En Gedi and 1 Samuel 26 – the camp in Ziph.)

This shows us that an apparent opportunity, does not mean it is God’s intention for something to happen! King David had a heart toward God and he knew God’s Ways. I think He wanted what God wanted, over and above what he personally wanted or thought he needed. He spent somewhere between 7 to 13 years running and hiding all over the country-side from King Saul. 

Even as a much younger man, David proved himself to be brave, so his refusal to kill Saul was not cowardice. On the contrary his reverential respect for His Heavenly Father, meant David simply refused to touch the Lord’s anointed. The strangers he is talking about in Psalm 54 that want to kill him, could have easily been mercenaries sent by SAUL. 

The Lord always has a better plan than you and I. But His plans can be long-range. Sadly we can often only see to the end of our own noses, and we want instant relief from difficulties, not transformation. Change takes time, and we can grow ‘weary in the well-doing.’ Adjusting how we respond, plus co-operating with the Lord, can give us a brand new perspective. That answer is continually on the cards for our lives. This is why we need His guidance to get us through the time in between.

There are times when it looks like God is not answering our agonised, tearful and despairing prayers. We may feel overlooked – it seems like He has thrown us to the wolves and gone on holidays. This is the best time to hold fast to the FACT that He is always good and He ALWAYS has a bigger plan. Our part in that plan is to hold onto Him and believe He will get us through whatever is going on. That is not easy! Saul went for the immediate answer, kill the guy who is your opponent. But David let God Himself deal with the problem. We have to learn to take the Lord at His Word, grab His hand and hold on.

This brings me to my second scripture – where God is at work in a different way. Our faith in the Lord’s goodness is the only viable life raft in a stormy sea. Let’s look at what happened to Peter after he began to sink into the water, as he was walking on it. This verse shows us God’s goodness in the land of the living … or the-almost-drowning!  In Matthew 14:22,23 – it seems like the Lord is scolding Peter – yet this man’s doubt and fear seem perfectly natural.

In the Living Bible it says this: “Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt ME?” That little word ME is so valuable!! I can almost hear the Lord saying: “Do you think I would let you drown to teach you a lesson?” Then the Lord put Peter safely back in the boat because that is what Jesus is like. We can all act like Peter at one time or another, we too can become suddenly suspicious of Jesus’ motivation toward us, and we look around us to see if there is anything else there that can help us to cope. Sadly, the things around us cannot help us! Let’s press in and show our faith in Who Jesus is and honour His goodness, instead.

Whenever we stop and turn to face the wind and the waves, we are simultaneously taking our eyes off the Answer. Jesus is our Answer. Peter teaches us that crying out when you are afraid you are going under, isn’t dumb, it’s what we need to do. The man’s faith just needed to grow and mature beyond his hope of adventure. And King David teaches us that God always has a plan, but it may not always suit us or line up with our timing.

Sometimes OUR idea of faith is way beyond what we can actually manage to do, and at other times we can stretch further than we think we can. Failure is not an option with the Lord. He will deal with our enemies, and/or save us from our own decisions. He will always get each one of us back to a safe place…because that is what LOVE looks like. Psalm 54 and Matthew teach us that. Bye. 👋

P3376 He takes us seriously- let’s take Him seriously too!  

/ DVH

Colossians 3:1-4:“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, ACT LIKE IT. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

I love it when the bible gives us such clear instructions – don’t you? Do this, don’t do that … be this, don’t be that. The best response is: Let Jesus preside over every little thing! When I decided to choose what I should bother the Lord about, I ended up not being able to figure out what was important and what was not – so, in the end, I just gave everything to Him! I recommend dragging your eyes, ears and heart away from the demands, the yammering and hammering that invades everything, day after day. The enemy wants to use those things: the problems, the trials, the time wasting stuff, to exhaust us. he wants to make us too tired to give Jesus our all. 

I decided today was a good day to take a few minutes to notice and remember the things that Jesus Himself found important. Strangely enough — buying things we don’t need, focussing on the things we can’t change, even stuff like being entertained — isn’t on that list. Yet, in the middle of what we might call “ministry” the Lord Jesus still managed to enjoy other people’s company, plus He was not against people enjoying themselves either. I think He loves to be around US. 

From around the time when I was born, mankind seems to have gone rapidly downhill … I do hope that wasn’t me! 😂 Nah! I’m not that important or powerful – I can barely put my shoes on! Sadly, mankind seems to be treasuring transitory things, or situations, far above other people. Let’s face it, even money – no matter how much you have or don’t have – comes and goes very quickly! And other things like applause or acclaim can change on a whim. Almighty God put Himself into an obscure little Jewish family, in a tiny little town. He was  known by His parent’s names, and where He currently lived or where He was born. 

The bible tells us the Lord knew He had been sent here by His Heavenly Father — but that fact was never used to create notoriety or generate success. Especially the kind of stuff this world thinks of as success. Jesus always had the ability to do the things we call miraculous, but He valued His Father’s opinion and timing far above His own. For the last 40 months of His life, our Lord was far too busy demonstrating God’s love to others, to be at all concerned about what this world thought of Him. He knew what was really in mankind’s heart was unstable.

God’s book gives us the very things we need to hold onto and take seriously. However, this world will continue to bombard us with all kinds of motivation to be distracted from the very reason we are all still here. To serve Him!! Philippians 4:8 tells us: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

To live like that we may have to drag ourselves away from the 91st episode of some soapie, series, or some fabulous sport or other. Meanwhile – the church is chasing rainbows and trying to remain politically correct – and too many human beings are falling off the edge into hell! Jesus wasn’t rich. The only things Jesus left behind Him were the clothes He was wearing. And people still managed to fight over His tunic! Here’s something to chew on from Luke 12:27-31:

“Consider the lilies and wildflowers, how they grow [in the open field]. They neither labor nor spin [wool to make clothing]; yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory and splendour dressed himself like one of these.  But if this is how God clothes the grass which is in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! So as for you, do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink; nor have an anxious and unsettled mind. For all the [pagan] nations of the world greedily seek these things; and your [heavenly] Father [already] knows that you need them. But [strive for and actively] seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

Yeah, I know! Bring that up! However, it’s great advice, and it can be necessary for calming an unsettled, distracted mind, as the world around us descends into ME first. It is time to ask yourself: “What am I chasing after today?” Sometimes we fume and fret, and waste our God-given time running after the very things we cannot change. The bible instructs us about how we can fight this trend, we need to chase His kingdom … Let’s think about how incredibly expensive our lives are to God and spend them chasing Him instead. Let’s take His Way of life seriously. Bye.👋

P3375 Indiscriminate seed sowing!  

/ DVH

When hubby and I are on the road, we release the Lord’s seeds, everywhere! Things like bibles, books, prophetic paintings, prophetic words, Gospels and kids DVDs, bookmarks – with bible verses on the back, blankets, baby wraps, toiletries with a pass-it-on card inside … (We make our own). Compasses (we all get lost!), keychains, even a pair binoculars! We also pray for people.

The best thing is that we give away the good news, in person, one on one. The Lord knows what, where and how to get these things to give away. Meanwhile Father God is into bargains! He always knows the best place to buy stuff. He blows my mind – often! … Speaking of blowing, think of living like this as blowing on a dandelion clock – the seeds go everywhere.

Here’s why we choose to do it: “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And others fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:5-8.

This sower sowed his seed anywhere, without any thought of the topography, the situation or location. If that seed ended up feeding the birds, so be it! If it ended up growing in a ditch, or on a rock, or amongst thorns … that man did not care. HIS AIM WAS TO GET THE SEED OUT THERE! That’s what we do, when we go on bible trips. I’ve never once seen anyone put whatever we give them into a bin, and very, very few have refused to take the bible. Funnily enough, whenever they’ve said no to the bible, they will often still take a bookmark. I think the Holy Spirit definitely has a cool stealth mode. There is a scripture on the back of all those bookmarks! 

We totally believe our Heavenly Father loves every single human being with the same undeserved generosity. He gives His love away for free, and He expects us to do the same. Look at the world we live in. It has been gloriously decorated with His love and creativity, and it is here for all of us to enjoy. Our world has all sorts of people in it. Some of them notice His handiwork, some don’t – but He is undaunted! He has left all this beauty out everywhere around us, as a sign that SomeOne bigger than we are, loves us. “If I go up to the heavens YOU are there, … If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, You are there.” Psalm 139. 

Anyone who has snorkelled, or swum in the ocean, or watched a National Geographic documentary, or seen any of the wonders of the deep, has been awestruck by what they’ve found, hidden in that water. Some people study the stars, others have become aware of the complexity of the world around us and study that. These things are God Himself waving at the world. He’s everywhere. In the gentle movement of a butterfly or the swaying of tall grasses. He even notices and counts all those little birds when they drop out of the sky. He can see YOU, because He sees everything!

The Lord once told hubby and I that whenever we meet someone, if they have a friend with them, then we are to give them both something. We are not to leave anyone out – that’s what God is like! Nobody gets left out. We give away stuff so that when we leave, that person has a love gift, a seed, from Jesus Christ Himself in their hands. That gift  is living proof that He knows them individually and cares about their lives. Jesus is still doing what He has always done, loving the person in front of Him.

Meanwhile, you would be amazed at how many people no longer read the bible. We’ve had people ask us: “What’s a bible?”  Boy do we love those questions!! Anybody can do what we do. It’s scary, but so worthwhile. Instead of leaving this stuff to the evangelist, go out and witness! Focus on the fact that our precious Lord Jesus wants to touch somebody and He wants to use you to do it. He’s like that. He loves interacting with people. Jesus often went off alone to pray and talk with His Father, but most of the time He lovingly shared Himself with everyone around Him.

Because we chuck seeds out everywhere, we often do not know anything about where they land and what happens next. It’s like we’ve chucked them in the air and left the landing bit with the Lord. We are just ordinary people. Some days things go well for us, and on others they don’t! My point today is don’t be stingy with the seed of His Word, spread it about. Love everyone around you. Please don’t pick and choose who to love, love everyone. It’s easier on your memory, trust me. 

It is a huge blessing to us to indiscriminately love others. It means we have made a choice to treat the person in front of us like they are the only person in the world, and we do and say whatever the Lord says to do and say. Leave behind any fake smiles, go outside, look around you, or read something in God’s Word that makes you happy and share that! That’s what we do. We spread around seeds from God’s kingdom, indiscriminately. After a while, it becomes who you are. Bye. 💕

P3374 Let’s learn to ask: “how?” 

/ DVH

Sometimes we can be so afraid of being misled, that fear itself imprisons and freezes us in a bad place. The antidote to this is accessed by allowing His Word to remain in us, and letting it comfort and challenge us. If the bible says God loves you, don’t waste your time reminding yourself of the dumb things you did yesterday – repent! Say Thank YOU! And move on. You could end up with a testimony! Jesus said: “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7. 

Today’s scripture is not just about asking for what we want. Our focus needs to be on: “IF you remain in Me and My words remain in you …”  This promise is conditional … and our personal choices actually set those conditions. When we remain in His word, and His word becomes part of us – self-centred, sin-laden prayers evaporate. His word throws light on our motivation and things just …POOF! Disappear in His light. This is part of HOW we live the new life Jesus died to give us.

Our new way of looking at others who have deliberately injured us, will change us and our point of view, but it won’t necessarily change them. Particularly as we allow His Word to actively penetrate our lives. Otherwise what is in the book is theory. It’s a wonderful theory, but it won’t become real until we take a risk and obey Him. Taking the word out of head knowledge and practically applying it, is part of ‘How’ to use your faith to access the reality of God. EG: Don’t just read about forgiveness, or tithing, and then smile and nod. Forgive and tithe!!

The bible does not have sub-texts or escape clauses. Other people may say things like: ”Well, of course that doesn’t mean you have to forgive those peope, we understand they have behaved despicably toward you.” That’s just dumb – repent, forgive. It isn’t rocket science, it’s not even a suggestion! Very few of us are utterly accurate about what has actually happened, we all embellish stuff to make US look better! The point is to use our faith, not just our intellect. Faith becomes active when we stretch it … even just a little bit. Stretching our faith means we believe what God said, especially when life gets bumpy or nasty. Allowing no exceptions, is part of “How!”

God’s Word, as we regularly read it, washes our minds clean of all the detritus this world throws at us, and through that process, we get a renewed mind that thinks like Jesus does. However, a renewed mind won’t be  accessed by just replacing what we already know, with something that He said. The actions digest the thought and make it part of us — then Word of God washes our minds clean of impurity  and selfishness. “So that He (Jesus) might sanctify her, (His bride) having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,…” Ephesians 5:26. 

Let His Word wash over you and highlight the places you can’t easily see. You may be an excellent driver, but every car has a blind spot, and so do Christians!  I’ve learnt to never presume innocence, always ask and follow through with action. This is another part of HOW.  Remember that Judas asked: “Is it me Lord?” After Jesus mentioned someone would betray Him. That question wasn’t enough he needed a heart that would apply itself to change and repent!

Any study of God’s word is fruitful. But I believe our major accent, our very own point of faith, is found by digesting the word of God itself. So how do we take those difficult  verses – and make them a part of our lives in such a way that they become part of us? Step one – use your faith. Step two – is ask Him to show you how it applies to you. Step three – don’t assume innocence. Repentance isn’t cutting off your head, it’s humbling yourself! Read the same verse in a number of versions, to clarify it. Look carefully at it to see if there is another way to look at it. Attack the bible with expectancy. Our God loves to speak to us.

We don’t have to be afraid of what it says, SomeBody paid for our sin. As we let His Words remain in us, reading God’s Word becomes like pulling on a spiritual string. The more you pull on it, the more we discover His help with whatever we need to do next. This makes His Presence in our lives more tangible. After all that – we stand still, and we rest and wait for what He says and does next. That’s another HOW. Christianity runs on faith. And if what we are doing is not using our faith, then we are missing out on all the good bits! 

Asking ‘how’ is an important part of our spiritual walk. The Holy Spirit knows everything, and He’s always with us, and for us. Let’s start from that place. A healthy child knows that they belong, and our God has never been an absent Father. He is present and willing to interact with us over everything going on in our lives. Asking “how” is not rude, it is deferring to His wisdom.

Ask Him: “How do You want me to do this?” He won’t just give us instructions and walk away. The Lord will walk beside us in our journey. The bible tells us: “He will guide us with His eye on us.” I’ve had Him say to me – “Do this. Now do that. Now wait. Wait for Me to show you what comes next.”  How the Lord does stuff is the best part of learning faith. Bye. 👋