Family

P 2528 Nothing is permanent – even you!

/ DVH

I saw the above photo on a missionary friend’s site recently and it resounded in my heart immediately.  It seems to me that there really is a whole lotta shaking goin’ on — in the Body of Christ — as well as in this world around us.  

The bible says this in Hebrews 12:27: “So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—He’s told us this quite plainly—He’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.”

I need to make it clear that I am not here to discuss ‘the end times.’ The Lord has told me that is none of my business and when He tells me “None of your business!”… I listen. I don’t want to waste whatever time I have chasing stuff that has nothing whatsoever to do with me. But I do want to say this, we ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ about wars, earthquakes, volcanos, and tsunamis but what we really ought to pay attention to … is what happens … when Almighty God speaks!

I mean, did you get what that scripture in Hebrews? It says His voice at one time shook the earth to its foundations … but the next time … !!! … He is also going to rock the heavenlies! The God of heaven and earth is going to shake this world out of its complacency and chaos, and … we don’t know when!  While we are here, we still have a promise to keep: “Your new life for my old one Lord.” …’The life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God Who died for me.”(Galatians 2:20)

Lately, the thing I have noticed is this, the current earthly disastrous events are often somewhere else. So most of us  are viewing that kind of upheaval and chaos from a distance. But there will come a day when nobody can stand off and wonder what that is like, because it will be our house that is shaking! Now that will really touch us where we are at! It is one thing to have the world shake 10,000 kms away and entirely another to have it shake at your house.

All I feel about the difficult times ahead is that the Lord is deeply grieved about every single one of the people who have already perished, and the ones who will perish, without any knowledge of Him, in the future. Most of them have never ever been told that Jesus loves them and died for their sins. And, this is happening on OUR watch. Now there’s a sobering thought. How can we continue on in our comfortable lives without caring for those among us who have no idea about what could be just around the corner? 

I know we’ve kind of relegated this stuff into “some-day land” … but for the people who have died recently – in the past week, month, or year;  without anyone caring about their eternal destiny — it mattered! We can be so busy making sure we are “safe” and our families are “safe” – we forget our main directive is to GO and tell others! We are all called to be witnesses of what God has done in and through our lives. 

Instead we collect verses that comfort us, like some people collect postage stamps, and we vaguely wonder why we are not growing. Maybe it is because we’ve missed the fact that our primary mission is not about being healed or trained … it’s about going!! Our primary aim is to love the Lord with all of us, plus love and care for the well-being of others, whether they are friends or enemies. It is way too easy to see the current road statistics and think: “Whew! Not my family.”

Jesus Christ spent His entire ministry ministering to the sorrowing, sick, suffering and ignorant – how can we dare to do any less than He did? Let’s remember, that despite our personal inadequacies …WE are the cavalry! Just like that remnant army that Gideon led, I believe the day is coming when the Holy Spirit will lead a remnant army who are empowered by Him, to usher in the greatest revival this world has ever seen.

Right now, we need to start telling the people around us what the Lord has done in our own lives … and remember, the results are always up to Him. The poor and the downtrodden are currently living in this world without God’s demonstrated love, mercy or grace … because His love inside us has not moved our butts to take a risk, and go and visit them!  Jesus took the greatest risk of all – HE TRUSTED US.

There is no point waiting until our kids are raised and our house is paid off to OBEY. None of us have a guaranteed hold over tomorrow, because nothing is permanent. Our enemy is running rampant, killing people off one way or another. Saints, we are looking inward instead of outward. Jesus Christ is WITH US … LET’S GO!👋

Mark 16:15: “He (Jesus) said to them, “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Matthew 28:19&20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

P 2490 Do you pass the litmus test?

/ DVH

‘“So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re My true followers.””John 13:34-35 TPT.

Okey dokey … let’s look at these two verses in some sort of context. Jesus has just deliberately washed His disciples feet to illustrate what ‘love one another’ means. He has an interesting interchange with Peter, who clearly doesn’t get what is going on… and He washed everyone’s feet, including Judas’ feet too. I think, in that moment, the Lord Jesus was loving those who despitefully used Him. That thought is important in this blog today, the next time you want to brain or maim somebody for hurting you – ask yourself … Could I kneel down in front of them and wash their feet? Believe me, that thought sorts stuff out on the spot. Remember, Jesus is always our example!! 

And just in case you think that this stuff doesn’t really apply to you … or me, the Lord actually says this in verses 15 and 16.:“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the One who sent him.” And there’s that sorted! This attitude of humility and love applies to all of us. Never forget, forgiveness is our way of life now. Forgiveness is also the way we pass on Grace from His Kingdom to others … who don’t deserve it any more than we did!  Lacking love means we are stuck somewhere in unforgiveness.

Back to my own thoughts: And so Peter continues on his merry way of somehow saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Man! I identify with that guy! … And so he organises John … who is not quite so subtle about making sure WE all know that Jesus loves him best, in the book he wrote 🙄…  and then John asks the Lord about who it is.  I want to pause here and reflect on how very little we actually know about ourselves. All of these guys are just human, even though they were involved with miracles. They all have their faults. Remember the two disciples who wanted to be sure their position in heaven was fixed so they sent their Mum to ask the Lord about it? 

I often wonder if Peter is scared, at this point, that somehow the betrayer  IS actually him because he seems to make lots of unforced errors! Maybe that is why he prompts John to ask the Lord?  Sadly, eventually he betrays the Lord too. We never can tell what any of us will do under pressure until we are right in the middle of it. Isn’t Jesus wonderful? The Lord speaks to Peter about what he is going to do next and warns him about it. That warning has always fascinated me – was the Lord trying to warn Peter, and prepare him for his biggest mistake? I think that that warning was love in action.

Many of these 12 disciples are subject to public rebuke and learning during their time with Jesus. We should not be surprised when He corrects US too. James and John learnt about rampant ambition from the Lord Himself and Peter shows us all that mistakes aren’t fatal, but cultivated disloyalty to Jesus is a trap that leads to despair. Maybe because we stop thinking about what we are doing to others, and focus on ourselves. Jesus takes our disloyalty to others as if we are disloyal to HIM, because we are His family now.

Judas cultivated his own disloyalty in an ongoing fashion. He kept right on pinching money, and money appears to be the source of his downfall. Eventually the Lord forgives Peter for his personal betrayal of Himself. However, Judas sinned against the group, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he put Jesus into the enemy’s hands. He’d totally missed all the lessons of love that Jesus carefully taught them, day after day for three and a half years.

Truly loving others is the best diagnostic tool I know of – and most of us miss it. Just because we think we can’t love this person or that one, that does not excuse us from participation. It’s a commandment. It’s not a suggestion, or a great idea – Jesus Christ commanded us to love one another. And when we read what the disciples wrote eventually in all of the Epistles … we can see that they are now saying the same thing  too … LOVE MATTERS. Not ‘tolerated’  ‘like,’ or ‘admire’ – but love. When we don’t love others we become preoccupied with ourselves – my feelings, my hurt, what YOU did to me. We lack obedience and humility. That’s a dangerous place to live. To be like Jesus, we must live this life the Way He did – we cannot be our own reference point.

Christianity is for the devoted. People who truly believe that Jesus Christ IS the Son of Almighty God and He came here and died for their sins too. These people actively believe and practice the fact that the new birth transformed their lives, before, during and after it happened. So much so, that they don’t live for themselves anymore. They choose to die to what they know, and feel. Other people will betray us, and … maybe we will also betray them. So when Jesus tells us to love one another, these people fall on their faces and confess their utter lack of love, and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. And when difficult people turn up in their lives they know that God is giving them someone to practice on!

Loving one another is the best litmus test we have. In my own life it shows me I’m not “done” yet! I just might live to be 150 years old at this rate. However along the way, I’ve definitely learnt not to hold grudges and to forgive others when they sin against me. However, there are still some people I simply cannot love without lots of prayer and His help!! So feel free to pray for me and … I will pray for you, too. Bye 👋🏻

P 2488 We need to live by faith.

/ DVH

““So above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.” Matthew 6:33 TPT. “Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith!” Galatians 6:10 TPT “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7.

In this new life that we have been given, we cannot afford to have mixed priorities. Faith is never an optional extra for the people who follow Christ. “The just (that’s us!) shall live by faith”… So Christians don’t give to get, we give to bless. In these turbulent times faith is a necessity. Otherwise we will end up deserting what we think is a sinking ship … but it really is a battleground centred around what we decide to do with our faith!

None of us are living up to our full faith potential. We are all way too busy trying to live a double life with a double standard. That was Ananias and Sapphira’s problem. They rationlised what they gave and wanted to look right without actually doing right. Let’s note that this couple did actually give, but they lied to the Holy Spirit and the brethren, about how much. They fell under a common deception. Giving out of what is left-over, or what we can afford, is not the kind of giving that blesses God. We need to be careful we are not committing the sin Ananias and Sapphira committed, where they liked the appearance of good more than doing good! That means we are lying to ourselves and God, because it is not His kind of giving.

One of the clearest signs of the Holy Spirit’s Presence in someone’s life is generosity. This sort of giver is not interested in appearances or their own gain, they are far more interested in showing others the kind of Love God gave us, in a practical form. Jesus came and lived here and He died to benefit us. We owe Him the same sort of choices. Let’s remember the amount does not matter BUT … the sacrifice does! Jesus talked about a little widow who gave away her last two pennies. (Mark 12:41-44) Her giving was sacrificial. Sacrificial giving is God’s way.

Many Christians are inadvertently living in compromise… while nearly half of this world’s population is in great need. Faith begins and ends with the way we live – not the way things look to others. Our Heavenly Father dearly loves us, and our own faith needs to reflect that unconditional love back out into this world. This new life of ours is not an add-on, our faith is our life. It can be seen, touched, tasted and experienced by others because it is demonstrable. …

This morning I was listening to someone complain that we don’t need any more rain where I live – because everything is saturated and people have lost their homes to floods. We even want RAIN to arrive to suit us! 😱 What about helping those who have suffered great loss because of the rain, instead of seeing what we have been given as a nuisance. That rain will disappear soon enough, then, I suppose we will complain about how dry it is!

Our lackadaisical attitudes to the things that God has asked of us – are not fooling Him. Giving without sacrifice is not the Lord’s way. It is our God-given task to encourage others to experience all they can of the wonder of the Holy Spirit’s help and Presence, and we must use any method, any resource to do it. We can no longer afford to live on the fringes of faith, times are tough, we can easily fall off those edges and fall away. 

The church, like everyone else in the Western world, has been tormented by panic, and ceased being generous givers. We thought we might lose everything we’ve worked so hard to gain. A pandemic happened and the world’s monetary systems started failing, and we all grew afraid and cautious. We’ve stopped being content with having whatever we need to live, and became obsessed with comfort and having extra – just in case. Real human beings, mothers, fathers etc. who love their kids like we love ours, are starving, and they have to face all kinds of diseases too, without help! People who used to live in a house, like 3 months ago, are now living in a borrowed tent.

Convenience reigns everywhere, not generosity. Loving the Lord with our finances is one of the best ways I know to learn how faith works. It takes great faith to give in the middle of hard times.“A dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble.” Proverbs 17:17 TPT. Let’s not neglect the poor and needy now times are tough. If the bible says the Lord loves a cheerful giver then we need to go out of our way to find places to give, and forget about giving out of any supposed excess. Let’s just start giving by faith, and call it sharing. Too much of this world’s wealth is concentrated in the pockets of excess. 👋🏻

“Every time you give to the poor you make a loan to the Lord. Don’t worry—you’ll be repaid in full for all the good you’ve done.” Proverbs 19:17 TPT.

P 2472 Something incredible happened … because of the wonderful goodness of God.

/ DVH

And because of one particular event, Father God has decreed that His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. These things are following us, because God loves all His kids – even the ones who don’t care to know Him! We don’t know the actual date of Jesus Christ’s birth. However, this world has many references to Christ’s Presence, in historical works, apart from the bible itself. He was in fact, a Jewish man, who lived a mostly hidden nondescript life … until He was 30. 

Please note:  Jesus did not have blue eyes and long brown/blonde hair. He was not Caucasian, and I’m pretty sure He did not walk around in some sort of light blue and white oversized nightie! He wore what the men of his time wore. After all, He was born Jewish, so Jesus Christ looked just like all the other Jewish men around Him. Oh, and there was no halo around His head either. We also know He had a beard because the report about His crucifixion says His tormentors pulled that out, bit by bit. His eyes were probably deep dark brown, and personally, I think they were incredibly kind. 

One day, after about 30 years, Jesus Christ’s life exploded into public view. I guess His Heavenly Father, God said: “It’s time.” And so Jesus went to be baptised by his cousin John, to fulfil what was asked of Him. Meanwhile, John the Baptist had a recognised ministry. His job was to tell people they were not right with God, and needed to be baptised and repent from living the way they were living. Which is actually a pretty relevant point to think on even today!!

So why does there seem to be all this fuss about an infant at Christmas? After all  — He’s not an infant anymore! He’s the King of all Kings and Lord of Lords and you would definitely know that in His Presence! Even evil people or self-important people crumble into a foetal position. He is no longer a baby in a barn. Jesus is not just the ‘reason for the season” … He is the reason this life is worth living, for those who follow Him. People all over this world acknowledge His birth for a number of reasons…  but why do we celebrate the birthday of an infant born in a country so far away from most of us? 

I think that Christmas, as we know it today, has been overtaken by commercialism, which is a natty reason to make more money.  Plus we now have Santa Claus… or whatever you happen to call him, wherever you live. A big, jolly, red distraction. I’m of the opinion that poor old Saint Nicholas is probably rolling over in his grave with what we have done with his loving gesture toward the children of the poor! He was following Christ in His own way, but we have managed to transform His selfless deeds into yet another shopping experience. Sigh.

Here are some reasons that I thought some people might have to continue to celebrate Christmas. Is it an opportunity for your family and mine to get together, and pretend they all like each other? … (but in reality we chew our nails down to the quick hoping no-one will say something abrasive or provocative!) Is it a time to decorate the house within an inch of it’s life? Maybe it is an opportunity in an incredibly busy year, to give a brief thought to what we hope we believe … and then go camping with other families in the bush or by the sea. In other words do we have Christmas for Jesus Christ or for us? It is, after all, HIS BIRTHDAY!!

The thing about Christmas, is that it has gone from celebrating Christ, to being a whole lot of things it wasn’t designed to be. That’s why I think this season hardly ever works out the way we all hope it will. Christmas today nearly sends nice people into bankruptcy, because they can’t afford to buy what their kids want, or what the little darlings think they deserve. And the overworked parents feel guilty if they can’t cough up. It’s become a time when we have to be nice to rellies that we hope will magically disappear from our sight … until next year. If that’s bit close to the bone, maybe you need to think about why you celebrate Christmas.

What does Christmas mean to you? Who do you think Christ is? Is He just a baby Who lived once long long long ago, and did extremely kind things for people and then He died? Do you actually celebrate Him? You take a holiday, and time off work, in His Name … but do you know the One Whose birthday you are celebrating?

I think if we limit ourselves to just looking at a manger with a newly born infant in it, then we have done what we always do. We’ve limited Almighty God again, because we don’t understand Him or His Ways – or don’t care to! Plus we are overlooking the goodness of God toward ALL men. That’s right, nobody has been left out. Everyone. And I don’t care what you’ve done…. neither does He. 

We owe a debt, Jesus Christ paid it for us. What are you planning to do with the gift of time, that He gave you? Spend it wisely, my friend. Merry Christmas. 🎁 👋🏻

P 2400 We are not powerless – we can choose.

/ DVH

We need to accept the reality that as God’s family, we have power. JESUS GAVE IT TO US. Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” 

We have the power to choose to obey and work together with the Holy Spirit. That cannot be taken away from us, but it can be voluntarily surrendered if it is unknown, or under-appreciated.  satan can’t make US do anything – but he can tempt us in any area where we are weak … areas in our hearts and minds that are still unredeemed. 

This is why we need to deliberately pay attention to our spiritual lives. Our physical, emotional and mental lives will take over otherwise. Most of the time we do not fully comprehend that the power we have, means we can actually say NO to the devil, or even to the Lord Himself. I don’t recommend the latter but we can! Our God will not force us, but ,,, He may allow circumstances to persuade us to revise our decision. Remember Jonah??  

When we add the power of God, to the power of choice – human beings become unstoppable. I want to be clear about that. You or I might have prayed a prayer for someone to be saved, and so far that hasn’t happened. Even if we die – that prayer is still out there. Almighty God values our prayers. Jesus showed us that, when He prayed for Christians to be One. That particular prayer is awaiting its tipping point — it hasn’t happened yet, but that does not mean it won’t! “There is a TIME for every purpose under heaven …”  Ecclesiastes 3:1. 

I personally don’t think that our prayers have an expiry date, but sometimes the content needs to be checked with the Lord, first. Our problem is that it is unfortunately too easy to think that when something goes unanswered after a longish period of time, it won’t be answered at all. In the bible, we see people negotiating with the Lord. Maybe some things need negotiation!  When we pray something in agreement with the Holy Spirit, together with God’s Word, it cannot fail – because our voice is joined to His. 

Sadly, for years we’ve applied this scripture or that scripture as leverage to get what we want —for things that were about gain, to make our lives better. I honestly don’t think that things, no matter how important they seem at the time, matter. Because things don’t last. Human beings, however, last forever! We are eternal beings.  Even when I give to benefit others, I am entering into His eternal principles. But if I only want to gain things for my own comfort in this life, then my prayer is simply to satisfying my desire for temporal things. 

The enemy of our souls has hooked us into caring more about temporal things than we do about eternal things. The result has been great disappointment and disillusionment for many. However the transformation of a human heart from selfishness, strife, anger, lying, cheating, and disloyalty etc. IS, in itself, a miracle. What we allow God to change in us, in our lifetime – is a glimpse of eternity to come, here and now. That is how we become carriers of His glory and partakers of His nature. Rom. 6:11-14; Gal. 5:16,25.

We are not powerless in the Lord’s process of redemption in our lives. But change does not come by osmosis either. It happens as a co-operative. We obey His will, His way, and as we do that, He transforms us. We can still wilfully choose to be bad tempered, and sometimes it has nothing whatsoever to do with anyone else!  Although there are some people who delight in creating what I call opportunities for us to fall into! 

The way to be strong in the Lord, is to learn to resist temptation. The bible calls it ‘overcoming’ and it tells us to “…flee from temptation…”  Unfortunately if we walk too slowly away, then we can also sort of kind of stroll back again! And in those moments we start assessing how bad could those things really be? And then at other times we dive in where angels fear to tread. These temptations are things that we already know will bring only a temporary thrill or satisfaction. Our aim is to walk with Him – so that’s where our focus needs to be.

We are not powerless – we can choose, because we are a powerful people.“(God’s) divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 NIV. 👋🏻 

P 2387 God calls us His riches.

/ DVH

“I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know Him through your deepening intimacy with Him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of His calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that He finds IN US,His holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honour and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” Ephesians 1:17-20.

Did you know that because the Lord has all of us in His family, He considers Himself wealthy? He doesn’t care if you and I are fat, skinny, short, tall, good looking, extremely spiritual, or not. The bible says He counts US as His wealth. Now that’s something worth thinking on isn’t it? It shows us His heart toward us. I’ve prayed that God would illuminate the eyes of my heart for myself for years, because I know how easy it is to be distracted by this world and become as thick as a plank to the deep things of God. But everything we have ever needed or wanted we will find in Him.

We human beings concentrate on what we will gain from Him loving us, but we need to pause and look hard at what He says HE has gained, because that information is a sliver of insight into His Ways – Who He is. His incredible generosity. Before we were ever His adopted children, He looked at us with love and saw every single bit of our true potential in Him and He claimed US as His inheritance. Father God sees Himself as rich simply because we are His family. I find that astonishing! Especially because I know many people have been rejected and reviled by their earthly family. 

Today, the things we think make us as human beings rich, are mostly material things. In the Western world we accumulate ‘stuff’ a lot – it makes us look quite wealthy. Perhaps we are monetarily rich, but spiritually poor because our worth is measured by accumulation and achievements. But our God has chosen to love us simply because we are His family. If you and I are looking for acceptance, incredible acceptance flows freely from His throne.🙌

Paul is praying here in Ephesians for all of us, that we would understand what we have that was freely given to us. Sad to say, human beings can get so stuck in the things we are not – that we forget the most important thing of all. We are His and, it is only by His Grace that we know it. He chose us. Our worth is not in money, but in the fact that SomeOne so incredible – dearly and tenderly loves us. We have His love, and grace upon us … that very fact will take us into eternity. We’re loved and cherished by the One Who made the world, then He went further than that and saved us … then He went even further than that and He owned us … He claims us as His relatives. His kids. How amazing is that?

I think that realising and appreciating what we have already been given helps keep us content in a discontented world. Discontent rumbles around this world daily … my team won, your team lost. That guy got a promotion, I didn’t. That kid got great marks, I didn’t. Maybe this is why so many people have gotten into huge debt. Discontentment with the norm grabbed them and they want to escape it and prove to themselves they are special.

We are special because we are special in His eyes and that doesn’t change. Father God hates sin, not the man He made. We are made valuable by the fact that the God of all the Universe loves us. The value of the price He paid, is an indication of the depth of the love He has for us. When Jesus Christ died as a MAN, He gave us all worth.  

My point is this: fancy all of us working so hard to get something we already have! All of mankind is made in His image. You and I were His idea! I believe this is why the eyes of our hearts need to be DAILY enlightened. When we get saved, we are incredibly grateful for it … but then, for some reason, we do not park there. We move on. All I want to say today is – go back to the place where you first understood His salvation and stay there. We must have an appreciation for His sacrifice, not with our heads but with our hearts.

There is a part of us that needs to continually gaze at God’s love hanging on that cross for the world to see – and not stop doing it. It is a good thing to relive our gratitude for what He has given us, every single day, and enjoy our new found love in Him as it grows. It is in the light of the cross, where our real place in this world and the next is made clear. We don’t have to be special to this world’s eyes, we are God’s riches because we are the saved ones. “Oh, what manner of love the Father gives that we may be called the sons of God!”  We are His chosen riches and I pray we all know how very rich we are because of all He did for us.. Bye 👋🏻. 

P 2386 Headlines from today are in the book. “Children will lead.”

/ DVH

Isaiah 3:1-7 “The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, is emptying Jerusalem and Judah Of all the basic necessities, plain bread and water to begin with.He’s withdrawing police and protection, judges and courts, pastors and teachers, captains and generals, doctors and nurses, and, yes, even the repairmen and jacks-of-all-trades. He says, “I’ll put little kids in charge of the city. Schoolboys and schoolgirls will order everyone around. People will be at each other’s throats, stabbing one another in the back: Neighbour against neighbour, young against old, the no-account against the well-respected. One brother will grab another and say, ‘You look like you’ve got a head on your shoulders. Do something! Get us out of this mess. And he’ll say, ‘Me? Not me! I don’t have a clue. Don’t put me in charge of anything.’”

The Lord gave me one sentence this morning, and that’s the title of today’s blog. I looked up the phrase and found about a billion verses about how to be nice to kids, but I couldn’t find this particular one He put on my heart. However, I have learnt to persevere, plus hubby prayed for me, so I found it. Yay Isaiah! And if, per chance you think that I picked this version on purpose you would be right … but it says the same thing in all the versions. You would do well to go back and read it again because it reads like the newspaper and TV headlines.

I was gobsmacked. I tried to highlight any bits that spoke to me, and I simply couldn’t … all of it was relevant in today’s world. Scary huh?? This is what the Lord said to me: “My heart is grieving and bleeding for your kids.” BTW that’s not just your kids or my kids or even our grandkids – He means the kids that are out there right now, on our streets terrorising our neighbourhoods. We helped put them into those greedy grasping authority-defying attitudes when we refused to discipline them. We got “enlightened” … and decided our kids didn’t need smacking because the little darlings were basically good.

Maybe because you and I went to church and we drew our own kids in a little closer and hid them under the umbrella of ‘God’s kids’ and prayed and prayed for them, scared silly of what might happen to them. You know we can get so busy trying to protect our kids – that we forget about all the other kids who are now running riot in our streets!  BUT … “There is no fear in love …!!!”  Ya might want to think about that one.

Then Big Brother came along and threatened us with child abuse and told us he would throw us in jail if we didn’t stop smacking them. So we let fear rule – and these kids … who don’t know how to control themselves, were loose – doing what comes naturally all over the place. We’ve forgotten who the ruler of this world is! he grabbed them and dragged them down. Those kids are our future. Think on this, satan could not have offered Jesus any kingdom if the other guy did not already own them. We live in enemy territory – that’s why it is a bad idea to make ourselves at home here!

The bible has many helpful hints on parenting. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)“Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.” Proverbs 23:13-14 “Parents, don’t provoke your children in a way that ends up discouraging them.”’ (Colossians 3:21)

BTW, disciplining in anger is a really bad idea. Both the child and the parent need a time out – the parent needs to work on patience and the child needs boundaries. A child needs to learn that it cannot allow self-expression to rule the family. Being part of something bigger and Godly, is protection not oppression, it is Grace. How you and the Lord work that out for each child is between you and Him.

I don’t think I will be part of the generation who will solve this serious problem with angry children raging about doing others great harm. But we can pray, because we know our Heavenly Father loves those kids. He put judgment on Jesus, and just because they don’t know that fact, that does not change the reality. We need to treat them like kids who need guidance and instruction and teach them His kind of love. And pray that He will save them from themselves.

We must pray for God to raise up people who will personally pray and love them in spite of their anger and selfishness as well as reach out to them. We must not cede our responsibilities to the state, because the state’s answers are not Godly. The state does the immediate, it rarely thinks long-term – they neither ask for, nor walk in His wisdom. God has a way for these kids to go so they won’t depart from it.  We simply need His wisdom, His way and the saints need to pray.

Let’s start asking the Holy Spirit how He wants us to reach out to other people’s kids in our area. We need God-given strategies. The Holy Spirit knows the way through anything! GOD LOVES THOSE KIDS, and, right now, in this world, WE are His hands and feet. Bye.  👋🏻 🦶🏻

P 2359 Psalm 3.

/ DVH

King David’s song when he was forced to flee from Absalom, his own son: “Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me. Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying: “Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!”  Pause in His Presence. But in the depths of my heart I truly know that You, Yahweh, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with Yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head. I have cried out to You, Yahweh, from Your holy presence You send me a Father’s help. Pause in His presence

So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby—then I’ll awake in safety, for You surround me with Your glory. Even though ten thousand dark powers prowl around me. I won’t be afraid. Rise up and help me, Yahweh! Come and save me, God! For You will slap them in the face, breaking the power of their words to harm me. FOR THE LORD ALONE IS MY SAVIOUR. What a feast of favour and bliss He gives His people! Pause in His presence.”

Some times the people we love dearly, the ones who are our family, can do the most damage. It doesn’t even have to be what they say – neglect and abandonment can devastate us. The first point I want to make today is that this kind of scenario is not a walk in the park. We can’t just click our heels and the bad bits will go away. These things severely test us and often challenge our belief systems.They test our resolve to follow Him no matter what happens. 

Some things are a choice, but when it comes to family, those things are the places where we find we are most vulnerable. Family is about history. They knew you when. You knew them from birth…. That kind of history tears at our hearts like very little else, and betrayal from those who are meant to protect and care for us brings deep wounds. My advice is this;  start this process with healing, not rebuking or blaming your self. Ask the Lord Himself to be your Father and help you with the places that are bleeding inside from all that betrayal you feel. 

Don’t make excuses for them, and don’t make excuses for you either. It is what it is. David’s son was trying to kill him to take the throne. It wasn’t a whoopsie, or an error of judgment, it was a deliberate act of betrayal for Absalom’s gain. If you read the story, (2 Samuel 13-37 -15-12), Absalom went about whispering in other people’s ears, trying to turn the people’s loyalty away from David. That is not a mistake, it is deliberate SIN. In Absalom’s case it was jealousy and pride. He was beautiful and popular and he knew it and then pride took over.

Sometimes our family member/s are not simply making a mistake, they have joined their allegiances with destruction. They may call it correction, or caring for you, but because you are maintaining some degree of freedom or other they do not have, they will try to stop you anyway they can. Jesus Himself said this about families in Matthew 10:36 –“Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over Me, you don’t deserve Me. If you prefer son or daughter over Me, you don’t deserve Me.”

Look, if Jesus Himself talked about it, then difficulties like this aren’t totally unexpected. My only advice is grieve for your loss and ask the Lord to heal your heart with His Grace and Love, and then, immediately go on to choosing forgiveness. Some family members will turn around, and others will see your forgiving heart as something that can be used against you. Then you will need grace, grace and more grace. Don’t leave home without it, because Grace can do the impossible. 

Don’t just content yourself with forgiving out of some kind of familial loyalty – ask and keep on asking for His Grace to truly forgive. INSIST. Meanwhile difficulties like this can take time to heal, so keep on believing God is helping you – and don’t quit. Take your focus off the family member/s that are persecuting you, and deliberately give those people as an act of your will, to Jesus. And then keep on doing that each time they come up in your mind – eventually Jesus in you will win.

At the same time it is good to go on into blessing these folks until you find you really mean it. It’s all a process and an extremely hard one at that. Your job is to watch over your heart and leave the work to the Holy Spirit. Let’s give thanks that we have a Parent Who never stops loving us, and He is totally devoted to the restoration of families. 👋🏻

P 2247 Our generosity needs to abound.

/ DVH

In the Lord’s family, as His kids we need to be hallmarked by our generosity to others. Both those who deserve it and, yes … even to those who don’t! Judgment is not part of our new creation in Christ make-up – we left that on the cross. We need to be givers in the way we think, and what we give is not as important as our attitude toward giving. Our first response needs to be: “How can I pray? How can I help? What do they need?”

If we want to be like our Heavenly Father, our elder Brother Jesus, and the Precious Holy Spirit we must be sincere, generous givers. “God so loved HE GAVE …” Giving is Love’s expression! And if you don’t find it easy to give sincerely, then please don’t just give up and excuse yourself by saying … “God didn’t make me that way (!)…” And please don’t say that’s your personality type! “Ask and keep on asking …”  for it. Pray to give with an open hand and an open heart. I think we can so-oo misuse that asking prayer Jesus gave us. 

You know that particular verse is not just about asking for things … it’s also for the Godly traits we can see we lack! Ya might wanna selah that for a minute or two!  🤔 Jesus Himself gave humanity every minute of His spare time. When He was not talking to His Heavenly Father. He gave Himself to US.  Others – that’s our theme. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to help us with the practicalities. Like I said, this stuff is worth thinking about and acting on. 

Givers don’t have to think … how much? They ask the Holy Spirit … ‘how can I help, what do these people need?’ They are not worried about their own supply, because walking with the Lord has taught them that everything they need will come from Him. This life we live as Christians is about faith. Giving generously to others teaches us about faith in ways we cannot imagine. We will never live in lack when we realise that God really does supply all our needs.

And if we don’t have it, then we don’t need it!  I am not BTW talking about giving away everything you own and sitting on the curb! Although Heidi and Rolland Baker did that and found out firsthand that God has an endless supply. Now they live in His house not theirs – rice and beans may not seem like a meal fit for a king but it is nutritionally sound and they feed thousands daily. God Himself supplies that need – miraculously. 

Many Christians want to see miracles, and here’s what I’ve learnt personally – start out by being a giver. God loves givers because giving is a reflection of His nature. Be someone who actively looks for ways to bless other people. It doesn’t have to be always about money, it can be time, or service, or words of encouragement. Just actively find ways to be a blessing. Meanwhile, a free bit of advice, take the time to choose your words carefully – we can all give people the benefit of the doubt when they do something dumb. 

Last weekend our immediate family came around to our house to help hubby with the garden because at the moment, he only has one active hand – the other one is still in recovery mode. They worked like busy little bunnies making sure some very hard jobs were done. This is how you show other people that they matter, to God and you. Most people can say ‘I love you’ fairly easily – it’s doing ‘I love you’ that’s hard!

Everywhere we go, when we are on the road, people say to us: ‘We didn’t know God cared this much about us.’  Giving is His way to live this life we’ve been given. Unfortunately, dismissing other people’s needs, and their hopeless situations will harden our hearts. When that happens it get’s easy to think: ‘Someone else better equipped than I am will get that ‘- then you think: ‘I don’t have enough for my own needs’ … and then you think: … ‘well it’s really not my business anyway – those people should live more carefully.’ Aren’t there agencies to help them or something? Then finally you think: “I have my own family to look after.” Tada! One hard heart coming up. 

None of those excuses are illegitimate by themselves, but they are what I called them …excuses. Ask yourself, why do I have to make excuses about stuff like that?  Who do I really trust when it comes to money?  God, or my own ability to earn or save. Jesus reminded us that our Heavenly Father feeds the birds. Here is my final thought: the poor do not want our mangey old cast-offs anymore than we do! Please be a generous giver. Bless people. I promise you, it’s all over the bible. 👋🏻  

P 2194 What is God aiming at?

/ DVH

I Thessalonians 4: 23-24 “May God Himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One Who called you is completely dependable. If He said it, He’ll do it!” Amen. The Person Who can teach us Holiness is the One Who has HOLY in His Name. We need to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, from the bible as He leads us.

There are times when we think we know what the Lord wants from His kids, and so we get nit-picky about superficial things. What people wear – what people say – but the Lord looks at hearts. Think about this – the woman that was taken whilst she was committing adultery was thrown down at the Lord’s feet. She did not look pure and holy – she looked guilty! Jesus went around the visible things and her actions and He taught her accusers a lesson, plus He spoke to her heart, all at the same time. His love released her from fear and guilt …

Human beings look at attitudes and actions for proof of sin – but the Lord looks at our hearts. Ask yourself, am I amenable and open to change? Do I listen to what other people say about me or am I suspicious of others and their motivations? Our hearts can be changed easily when they are soft toward Him and others. Unfortunately we don’t always know what is IN there. So we need to take note of what we do, feel and say, and how we respond to others.

Our circumstances will uncover the real US. We are who we really are when we are damaged, provoked, or passed over, or treated badly. Our responses to those things reveal our actual heart attitudes. My best advice is don’t make excuses for yourself. Repent anyway. Make His pleasure in who you are, more important than saving face, or pretending to be someone you aren’t. Don’t be afraid to be your real self – Jesus paid for all our sinful attitudes. However, let’s keep working on those attitudes while it is still day, because night is coming.

We are not here to uncover other people’s sins! Instead, His kids are always looking for a way to love, connect and help each other – we choose to see the good in each other. Sin starts in our minds and if it is unattended to, it will drop into our hearts. Sin needs justification. “I do this because they did that!” But Jesus’ death and resurrection empowered us to a higher place where the greater law prevails.

Our God is not content with lip-service, He works from the inside out, but we must overcome our fear of change and embrace the fact that because what Christ did – He totally and utterly loves us. He loved us all before we were ever born. Sadly, for too long our aim has been our own comfort, but the bible makes it very clear – we are His kingdom people – we are here to usher His kingdom here on earth the way it is in heaven so our comfort is non-existent or secondary.

This is why verses like this one in Thessalonians are important. They show us the Lord’s AIM. His aim is not to fluff our pillows and make sure our beds are all comfy cosy – His aim is to have a people – a family. And Jesus Christ is our example of what that family will look like! You will, however, still be you, and I will still be me – but we will both be changed, praise the Lord … because we both need it. Maybe me more than you!

The thing this verse shows us is that God Himself will do this work in us, as we step out in faith and use the bible as our guideline. As we continually use our faith, we step into His kingdom and then even our own transformation adds weight to His kingdom growing around us. The more we change, the more the world around is influenced by our new way of thinking, doing and being. 

Almighty God will make us holy the same way He is holy. And the Person Who totally understands and knows how to implement it into our lives, is the Holy Spirit.  But we need to continually learn to co-operate with Him. One of the most important revelations to grasp, is our utter helplessness without Him. We cannot do this work of transformation ourselves. We can read about it, agree with it, and eventually we will realise that we come up short. Paul talks about this in Romans. 

When we discover it is beyond our reach to change ourselves, that is the time that the Lord has begun His work in us. Poverty of spirit is a good thing. That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” Our Spirit-led responses to life’s difficulties are the building blocks of our new life. We need to learn to rely upon the Holy Spirit to show us how to be holy the way He is holy. 👋🏻