Fellowship

P 2402 Food for thought.

/ DVH

“God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.” Psalms 19:1 MSG. On October the 14th, 2023, there was a full solar eclipse – and just in case you thought you missed it – it was only visible in a few places in the USA. This eclipse is called “the Ring of Fire.” I threw in a picture because it is a stunning event which is not expected again until 2044. 

This scripture from the Psalms brought that event into my mind, as I was praying about today’s blog.  Sometimes we get so enamoured with man’s achievements – voyages to the moon, space stations, manned space flights, passenger space flights, circumnavigating the globe etc. Plus things like the Hubble which was recently partnered with the James Webb space telescope … BTW the Webb can see things the Hubble can’t… That’s when we start to think we are so clever ….

…and we totally forget that SomeOne ELSE put all that stuff we are peering at through our telescopes and binoculars up there — for us to enjoy. Father God decorated this world for us – and everything we see was put there to benefit us. FYI, those billions of stars that fill our clear night sky, some of them sing! You’ll need special equipment to listen to it … but God told Job that information around the 6th century BC … in chapter 38, Verse 7 during a conversation they had together. “When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?” And clever clogs that we are, we’ve finally discovered that it is true.

We all know that our moon affects the tides. But did you know this lesser light in the sky also holds our earth in place? The moon’s gravity stops our little blue marble from teetering about like a child on a teeter-totter. The moon also helps animals and birds with navigation and migration. Plus it regularly lights up the night sky. Every single planet in our solar system benefits our earth. They are the goal keepers of our Universe that run interference between us and asteroids, and other nasty lumps out there that might smash into us.

Meanwhile our sun gives everything light, heat, growth and health. It drives weather, ocean currents, seasons, and climate, and makes plant life possible through photosynthesis. We cannot maintain life, without the sun. We need its light and warmth for our physical health and well-being.

The bible tells us that: “the heavens declare the glory of God” and now I am sure you can see why! Yet despite all those wonderful things that we can visibly see, God made mankind as the pinnacle of His creation. That person you and I see in the mirror every day, is of more worth than the sun, moon and stars. The bible says that like this: “…When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?” Psalm 8:3-5

Father God has used these things around us to display His glory. But we – His people – are destined to be carriers of that glory. We have the ability to manifest His will, His way, for everything around us. We become living, breathing bibles to others. Our God honoured mankind so greatly that He sent His only Son to be one of us. (That will blow your mind until the next millennium!) 🤯 Jesus Christ, a MAN, represents mankind before the throne of God’s Grace for all eternity. 

Christ illustrated to human beings what a relationship with Almighty God can do – what it can look like. Other men before Him tried and failed because their humanity got the better of them, but Jesus overcame the things that could have dragged Him down and He rose above everything that would, or could, drag us down. Jesus Christ gave us true freedom – the freedom not to sin, so we can stay in constant fellowship with God.

This is what Paul meant when he said in Galatians 2:20 AMP: “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  

Jesus Christ totally compensated for all our sin and paid our debt with His own Body, to buy us back from an eternal destiny of darkness. Now, we choose to live this life like He did so that others may see Him and find Him for themselves. The heavens are so inspired by what happened down here they are shouting at us. And that’s about enough to think on, for one day! 😊 👋🏻

P 2396 The best support systems for faith.

/ DVH

Here’s a thought:  let’s all walk this earth, every single day, like we belong to Him. Not like undercover agents, madly hoping that no-one will notice that we are Christians, sliding under the radar. I wonder, do we hide what we believe because we are afraid we are not representing Him well? Or do we have some behaviour that we know isn’t great … and we kinda wanna keep it?? Maybe hiding what we believe gives us some kind of ‘cover’ and ‘plausible deniability?’😱 The church, our primary source of support for our faith, has kind of taken a real bashing. People are leaving it in droves.

Churches in the past, were seen. They were active and present in their communities. They used to be the glue that tied communities together. And caring fellowship was an important part of that togetherness. A church is not a club, meeting around a topic – a church is a community of believers getting together to worship Jesus and love others. I know there are some people who come and join our churches and I’m pretty sure they were sent by God to annoy the living daylights out of us. I think that’s because most Christians are stuck in the mud of self-complacency! However, a true body of believers is a witness to everyone around them, they are not just a bunch of people who sorta kinda believe the same thing.

Years ago, the church made itself responsible to bring about social justice, by caring for the poor and widows and orphans. Let’s keep doing that!! But I don’t believe caring for the poor should outweigh my devotion to Christ.  Right now, I’m hoping that the people who love Jesus are on the cusp of realising we are dodging the reality of what we believe, because we have no accompanying actions. The bible says we were saved to serve others – we are not here to have a happy life and then go home to God! Christianity began with a death and that’s the way it continues – with all of us deciding to die to self and live for Him … and others.

However, most of the time, instead of dealing with our internal attitudes, it has become much too easy to wander about, sometimes from one church to another, ‘shopping’ for someone in charge who believes my particular brand of theology. The real truth is, Christians actually hate change more than whatever it is that we are doing that isn’t in the book… and we want to keep right on doing it!

Postponing transformation in our lives of faith is deadly. Lemme tell you how I know that. One thing leads to another, and another, and before you know it – you aren’t going to ANY church anymore because you don’t like it, it’s boring, it goes for too long etc. etc.… you found better things to do!  Besides: ‘our pastor is dumb;  he preaches badly; he doesn’t really care about me and that’s supposed to be his job.’ That list goes on and on and ON.

Here’s a revelation: … we don’t go to church to be amused, we go there to meet with God as well as each other. To be challenged and comforted, as well as being led or shoved, out of our comfort zones. Having a church of ONE that meets in your garage is definitely not the same thing. BTW, our pastors have a duty of care to lead us into the Ways of God, they are not there to scratch our itchy backs, or pat us when we feel bad. They are not there to tell us things to help us feel good. That’s because the Christian life is one of progression – not stagnation. Pastors are part of the God-given support system sent to help us hone our faith into purity and devotion. 

A truly Godly pastor assumes you love the Lord enough to follow Him for yourself! He thinks you are coming to church because you want to know God better… Hmmm … maybe he’s deluded? Our leaders have stepped up into these roles to lead us into a greater maturity, so God can have what He wants. Whether you like your pastor’s style or not! We’ve become very used to critiquing how some poor guy does a job we don’t want to do, mainly because we like the freedom inactivity gives us!

Think on this: “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NIV.

Most pastors are overworked and undervalued.They too are a part of the support system the Lord has put in place to grow our faith in Him. Along with fellowshipping together, praying for each other, studying the bible and doing good to everyone around us! Going to church is not a chore – it is the centre of our devotion and activity for Jesus. It is a support system for faith. 👋🏻

P 2376 Living a transparent life.

/ DVH

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

Transparency in our lives frees us to walk with each other … not to mention the cleansing effect it has as we walk along! However, our current society loves to expose people simply for the shock value. But that is not the same as choosing to live a transparent life for Jesus’ sake. Exposure in today’s world often equals intrusion. 

Unfortunately it is very easy to hide the reality of who we actually are at our house, and present a better picture to others on the outside. But choosing to live honestly frees all of us to openly trust the Lord more, and to present our faith in its true light. We are the people who live in, and value, forgiveness. It is way too easy to hide who we are and simply claim we are being positive. Lots of nasty stuff hides in there! We need total honesty when we are coming before the One ‘to whom all hearts are open’  – and if I lie to you about who I really am, I will hurt the BODY – I will stunt its growth.

Transparency is a hallmark of belonging to Jesus, because we are the people who have nothing to HIDE, so we don’t live in fear of exposure. Instead we live in reality. We know we are sinners saved entirely by His Grace. It is dumb and a waste of our time here on earth to be saved by grace, and then go on to try do our best to LIVE hiding in external works and nice attitudes. Paul talks about that in Romans and Galatians. 

Our God will never take our choices away, He wants us to surrender them, willingly. You only have to read the Old Testament to see how patient He is with all sorts of people. He dealt with them as individuals. He let them grow INTO whatever He had for them to do. It is sad when pride, plus fear of judgment, along with a fatal saving-face attitude, can get in the way of owning our own frailties – we can’t reach our full spiritual potential that way! 

Sadly, some things we choose to hide because we are ashamed about them, and other things we hide because of the way we want to appear to others. We can unfortunately, easily acquaint hiding with privacy or safety, but trying to remain safe and secure without Him being in charge, hinders our growth. Growth comes from acknowledgment, not sweeping stuff under the carpet and hoping nobody else notices the lump! Jesus is gentle and lowly in His heart – that’s our reality. Isn’t that an amazing thing to be able to say about our Saviour? No wonder we love Him!

And He loves for us to be our true selves, freely and willingly, because there is a great deal of healing in being honest and open. I am not talking about being nasty or letting your nasty feelings attack others. The idea is to be CHANGED – not just released to be a pain! This kind of life means we will learn how to accept ourselves and others, and their flaws. However, self is definitely going to die in the process of changing the way we live, because all pretence has to go out of the window. Polite and nice simply get in the way of real Spirit-given love. We use so much energy trying to look right, that in the end, we have nothing left to give away.

Owning our own frailties is so important. To live like this we have to deal with fear, which can snarl at us from the corners of our minds and emotions and tell us that those ‘other people are not safe.’ Let’s be absolutely clear. Other people are definitely not safe! They need saving too!! That’s why we don’t put our trust in them, we put our trust in Jesus, to get us through anything and everything that comes at us. We are doomed to disappointment if we misplace our trust. We may need to give other people the benefit of the doubt as to their motives, but we trust HIM, not them. Others will fail us, accidentally, or on purpose. Human beings are frail, they have faults and foibles and they can easily stomp on us without even knowing it, or thinking about it.

That’s why we need to trust the One Who knows us better than we know ourselves. I’ve found that all kinds of nasty little things hide in corners when we are not honest with ourselves or one another. It is good to forgive and forget when people let us down, but the best way to deal with others is by living in His love with His help. That Love looks like 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. This is what the Lord Jesus already looks like, and that’s WHY we can trust HIM.

I found it is helpful when dealing with difficult people, to go straight to forgiveness and not pass “go!” until I’ve done it.  At the same time I continue to cultivate the company of the One Who will never ever fail me. The Holy Spirit. Transparency and honesty help us to relate to Him, and He helps us to become who we wish we were. 👋🏻

P 2363 Nothing can separate us ….

/ DVH

“So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are His lovers who have been called to fulfil His designed purpose.” Romans 8:28 TPT

While reading the above scripture it is worth our while to take into account the phrase “EVERY detail.” Jesus is so incredible, His redemptive work is so perfect and complete, that He can take all that rotten awful stuff we’ve done and work all that out for our good, and everyone else’s good as well! Well. What’s not to love about that? I am glad He took all that ghastly stuff I’ve done and bailed me out – He always has a wa-ay better plan!  

And as my mind is renewed I pray that I will see those things in you too!! This verse shows me that I cannot compare myself to you, because He is also working what is in YOUR life, together for YOUR good. So what’s happening to you may not remotely resemble what’s happening to me – even if it sometimes seems we share similar circumstances. 

Man, I’ve so learnt to hold on tightly to that phrase “continually woven together for good…!” That is so reassuring when it seems I’ve dug myself another dumb hole and can’t get out. What I can see when I read this scripture is that whatever shape I am being changed into, by His applied Grace, this means these things will fit exactly into whatever destiny and purpose He has in His heart for me. PLUS I will fit with whatever He is doing in you. 

At the same time this is where our fellowship will spring from – that weaving. Otherwise we simply talk to one another from our hopefully, renewed minds and emotions, and we are not building one another up in our most holy faith. Our shared passion for Him and His ways springboards us higher and higher and knits us together. Here’s a red hot tip for you  – a lack of real fellowship can easily mean one, or both of us are not truly walking in the light. The thing is, I can’t afford to think there is something wrong with you – it’s me that needs changing – what you do about your faults and weaknesses is not my business – you are here for Jesus – not my convenience. 

My hope is not necessarily in the removal of any of my difficulties, but rather it is about Him using my difficulties to shape me into His Kingdom plan for my life. Although in all honesty there are times I wish He’d tone that shaping down – a tad!! But it kind of changes the shape of everything that happens doesn’t it? It puts trials and tribulations in a different light. I need to practice looking at what is happening to me, and around me from that POV. Things like a grumpy in-law who has never really liked me. Or my boss who seems to actively seek out ways to make my life miserable. 

OR my teenager who WAS the most delightful child, so easy to manage and so compliant!!  But now, it seems like they have turned into devil spawn. 🙄 And now, this wonderful kid exists to pick holes in every area of my life. Now I can’t laugh right, or cook right, or drive right. Everything that happens between me and the kid is accompanied by grumbles, sighs and eye-rolling. Together with the kid’s dismissal of all the normal rules of well-mannered human conduct.  All the books say you are meant to love them with His love but you’re looking at them and … … 😱 !! Actually if it wasn’t your kid you might consider drowning it!

Be of good cheer, God will work all of this together for your good as well!  Just hit the “forgiveness” button and don’t take your finger off of it. Seriously.  We totally undervalue the value of forgiveness. We need to seek it when we are hurting someone, and give it when they hurt us. Forgiveness is powerful – IT SAVED THE WORLD. Billions of people were saved by one supreme act of forgiveness and unconditional love. Praise the Lord!

Our lives are His now. Now, other people cannot take away our ability to act like the Lord Himself did. It is always a choice. Choosing to live our lives His way is our demonstrated love toward Him. We live to love for Jesus’s sake and nothing we do, nothing others do, nothing that is thrown at us … can ever take His love away from us. 👋🏻

P 2361 What’s next?

/ DVH

“You can pass through His open gates with the password of praise. Come right into His Presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to Him and affectionately bless His beautiful name!”Psalms 100:4 TPT.

I believe we need to take verses like this one literally, instead of simply reading it and nodding our heads in agreement …  we actually need to do what it says. We must get into the habit of seeing the bible as a book of instructions, and not just a book of nice thoughts, interesting stories and stuff that God said to other people! I use His own words to form my prayers as He reminds me of an appropriate verse for my current situation.

The verse above is filled with instruction. It is a road map into the throne room for a personal interview with our Father!  A bunch of people can participate together, or one person can apply it just for themselves … it doesn’t matter. This means we stop what we are doing and use the password! I never thank Him for the problem … instead I thank Him that He is going to get me out of it!  “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them ALL, …” Psalm 34:19… Man, how I love those little words!!! Learn to insist no matter how long it takes.

At the same time I truly believe our fantastic Father can use any verse in His book to bring somebody to Himself! Sadly, I think we have limited our own comprehension by making exceptions. “Oh, that’s just for the Jewish people. Oh that’s just for sinners. Oh that’s just for people who never met Him.” And we miss the blessing and the deeper knowledge of His ways. 

Praising God means we will get blessed too, it’s just an automatic flow-on effect. So when it says, bring your thank offering to Him, do it. And if you find it hard to think of something to be thankful for, ask the Holy Spirit for His help… and then thank Him! And then … repent, because you obviously have not been paying attention to what God is doing in your life! No I am not joking. 

Almighty God uses His book to tell us how we can have fellowship with Him, so we’d better be more concerned about His thoughts than someone else’s! You might wonder: ‘will my fear of failing God ever go away?’ Here’s my answer –  does satan ever fall asleep? 😳 That war inside our heads is normal, it wouldn’t be FAITH if we didn’t get stretched in the process! 

“Whatever He says to you, do it.” Mary said that to some servants at a wedding once. She had a right to ask them to do that – she knew Father God’s ways first hand! She put her body on the line. I’ve practiced doing that scripture for 50 years, ever since I first read it. Boy, I’ve done some monumentally stupid stuff, trust me – I’ve mentioned that on this site … but I’d rather try than excuse myself, and miss the blessing of seeing God do what He does best – He loves to surprise people!  Including me.

How can we affectionately bless His holy Name if we are standing way off in the distance, too scared to be seen??Maybe we are scared He will bring up something we hope He doesn’t know we’ve been doing, or something we have already done?! Get over yourself, and fix the things that need fixing. I know other people are difficult, I have a bunch of those people in my life. He knows how to handle them. We need to just follow the prompts and watch what He will do with our obedience.

Personally, I have a bunch of awkward messed-up things in my life that look like a cat got at my knitting! Stuff is tangled up so badly I have no confidence it can ever be untangled, unless He does it. But I know my God, and I’m not taking my faith back, because I know, that I know that – HE IS GOOD and His mercy endures forever. (That’s another Psalm BTW.) I learnt that stuff by using my faith – especially at times when things didn’t work out and I could see no solution. Our God loves the impossible. I loathe the impossible, I get so stretched by stuff I feel like I am going to break – but so far … He just keeps bailing me out. However, you probably won’t ever hear me say: ‘Oh goodie! Another terrible test for me to trust God with.’ 

But those moments are the time to enter His gates with thanksgiving and go right on into His courts with praise. Why? Well, first of all, praise and thanksgiving won’t change God’s mind –  He is always for us. Praise and thanksgiving changes ME! We all need to stop paying lip-service to what He says and act on it instead. The bible is a book filled with instructions, plus stories about other people who followed instructions! It ain’t rocket science. 👋🏻

P 2356 We are filled with fresh oil, to burn.

/ DVH

Exodus 40:9-15 “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.

“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.  Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.’

Christians worship and serve our King in various ways, it is part of who we are now. Some of us have less seen roles —and others, just like Aaron’s oil-saturated garments, are more visible. It makes no difference – whether we are a utensil or a High priest’s tunic – like it was in the days of the Tabernacle – everything and everyone who serves Him needs His anointing. 

In the same way as the altar, the furnishings, utensils, Aaron, his clothes, and his sons;  WE need to learn how to live our lives in co-operation with His anointing. The oil mentioned here is a type or illustration of the Precious Holy Spirit – how He facilitates life and worship, repentance and celebration. We cannot possibly expect to live this new life God has given us, for free — without the Holy Spirit. 

The secret to living in His anointing is to live a life of totally yielded and surrendered love. There is no law against LOVE. You may need to read that last two sentences again – I know I did! That sounds and looks like this – ‘Wherever You want me to go, I will go, whatever You want me to do, Lord,  I WILL DO IT.’ But I won’t just accept every circumstance I find myself in, instead the Holy Spirit and I talk about everything together. Personally, I find that comforting not intrusive.

In Matthew 25:1-13 – in the parable of the Ten Virgins – we can see what happens when we treat the Holy Spirit carelessly. Some of those women did not value Him enough to be able to have continuous supply/fellowship with Him. What Jesus is highlighting here is our need to be ready whenever the Bridegroom calls us. – this parable is not just for the end times – we need to be ready day or night. That’s what it is saying. And to do that … we need to value Him more than our own convenience or comfort. 

The oil of the Spirit … how incredible is the fact that we can partake of such a wonderful Person! The same oil that flowed over Aaron and Co. plus all the utensils etc. in the tabernacle, is to be a part of our lives. And what a privilege we have to be able to know personally such a wonderful treasure. Because the Holy Spirit IS our ever-present treasure, He must not be taken for granted. That’s the point of that parable, the Bridegroom was so important to these five wise women they did whatever they could to be ready for Him.

Yet still every single one of those virgins also fell asleep. Where the foolish virgins fell down was that they did not allow for unforeseen circumstances. They had a shelf-life to their devotion. The wise virgins had the sense to understand that the Bridegroom will come whenever He comes! It was simply their responsibility to stay prepared.

Jesus is telling us here that we cannot make a last minute trip or effort to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, fellowship with HIM has to be our purpose. Staying ready and filled is our responsibility. Our hearts are meant to be looking for Him – no matter what time of the day or night. We need to do whatever it takes to keep our lamps burning with His fire and passion for Christ. Remember living in love with Him and others is the key to walking with Holy Spirit.

It is simplistic to say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love each other with kind of a lovey-dovey hearts and flowers kind of love. Their love for each other is an overwhelming life-changing FIRE! And we’ve been asked to participate in that kind of relationship with all three of Them. Why would we ignore that kind of invitation? Don’t wait for tomorrow – our heart’s cry daily needs to be ‘fill me now, I need more! I need to burn!’ 👋🏻

P 2338 Live willing.

/ DVH

We’ve been isolated at home for 11 weeks so far … and the saddest part is that we love being on the road for Jesus. We like to go where He says to go, and talk to anyone we meet along the way. It is the most fun you can ever have, and we have been doing this over and over again for the past 18 years.

But the Lord has decided we need to be home, laid aside while we are waiting for this bone in my upper arm to heal. Hilariously, since then, hubby too has fallen UP the stupid stairs – TWICE. But fortunately he skipped the bouncing all the way to the bottom part. Our dog has also nearly had the same accident as well. Someone is coming to check out those stairs next week. Yay! Now our back stairs are against us!

What might be a holiday could easily feel like a prison. It’s Covid all over again. Now here’s some fun facts for you. We’ve interacted with so many people since we have been stuck in this Cul-de-sac of injury, even though we are, hypothetically, marooned. OT’s, administrators, PTs, doctors, radiologists, specialists, hospital clinics, government provided home assistance etc. These people, and the things we literally have to do as part of the healing process, have been thrust into our isolation. 

Of course there has been a whole lotta pain, no continuous sleep, and HEAPS of waiting waiting waiting in those very appropriately named waiting rooms! But let’s just skip over that part. With home help alone we have met a total of five different helpers, with three more government assist persons coming this week.These are all strangers that we’ve never met before, and each time we have had opportunities to talk to them about the Lord. 

Hubby asked one young man to open up his heart to Jesus last week, and invite the Lord in. He did. This particular young man talked non-stop all the time. The first time he came, I got so mad at him. He was completely non-compliant about the work he was supposed to do, and he argued with everything that normally happens. It was a total nightmare. I was so incensed by his lack of sensitivity in a hurting household. So … tada! JESUS SENT HIM BACK AGAIN! 😂 Goodie. Now we are praying for him and his life and having fellowship together. And only God can organise that …!

One young lady helper came from Burundi – which, BTW, is the poorest country in the world. Horrendous things happen there. We blessed her and her family with all sorts of stuff and had fellowship together. And another lady covered in tattoos is about to get married, so we had books and a bible for her. Everybody has been delighted to listen and take stuff, and our front door is like a revolving door. We’ve never seen so many people come into our house in such a short time before. 

I said all that stuff to paint a picture. First of all life never goes the way you plan it. Almighty God has His own ideas and He probably won’t consult you – or me either! It has been fascinating to see how something so painfully awful can be worked together for everyone’s good!  And I mean everyone. It seems to me that hubby and I are currently stuck in Jerusalem, and we haven’t been able to get to Judea, or Samaria, let alone the uttermost parts of this world! Anybody can live like this – we simply have to stop seeing other people as a service industry for our lives, and see them as people Christ died for. We need KINGDOM EYES.

All this has caused me to be more reflective, if our Christian lives remain undisturbed and we continue to live our life routinely, we can easily think that we are doing sort of, kind of, OK.  (See Luke 17:27) The same old same old is dangerous. When trouble comes and we are no longer ‘on top’ of anything, rather we struggle to be pleasant in unpleasant circumstances … and fail. That is when we start to understand just how deeply we’ve been lulled off to sleep. Business as usual is deadly for Christians.

Personally I found all sorts of bad stuff in me that I didn’t know was there – until somebody pushed the right button. I have also found I must constantly revisit my desire and intention to remain willing, in spite of my circumstances. Life is about moving – people who don’t move are often DEAD, and not the good kind of dead either! 👋🏻

Acts 1:8 “You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

2 Corinthians 11: 30 ‘If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am.’ 

P 2197 Sometimes my biggest enemy is ME!

/ DVH

It’s really easy to blame satan for this and that thing that happened to us, he makes a great scapegoat when I’m too lazy to do stuff for myself or I want to make excuses. I’m not talking about feeling sorry for the devil – forget that! What a waste of time. So what do I mean by what I said? There is an old saying; ‘the devil made me do it’ – well that excuse is wearing a bit thin when it comes to Christianity. 

The reality is that human beings make poor choices – read the book. What the bible teaches us is the reality! You and I are who we are in our worst moments … so let’s thank God for Calvary. The devil can’t MAKE US DO anything anymore – now we have a choice. SomeOne died to give us the victorious power to make those choices. Because of Jesus Christ and what He did, we have another option, we can live in another kingdom now. So, LET’S LIVE THERE.

The problem seems to me to be that we wanna live in that kingdom AFTER we die – but for here and now, we just wanna paddle about in the mud and play in the stuff that the enemy has spread around here on earth. Pigs play in mud, not people – especially not our King’s Kids! And compromise is a deadly enemy of the truth. Compromise takes our eyes away from what we can do here and now – and renders us useless in this world spiritually speaking. satan is overjoyed to distract us from our real purpose until we are dead. And getting DEAD is something human beings have very little control over.

It is also incredibly useful to remember that participating in sin makes us deaf, and it takes our God-given sight away. So-o-o-o … when we can’t hear or see … then our personal obedience guidance system is broken, and we did it to ourselves. It means we need a spiritual check-up. My advice is to pick up the bible and start reading – God Himself will speak to us as we read – we need our faith-bank in Him built up to full. Personally I think if we do not esteem and decide to participate in what we have been given by Him, we will end up living in the shadows of this life. Always striving for something we can’t find, and never being satisfied and content with what we actually have. We’ll eventually become pale replicas of the person-we-could-have-been. Imagine how much bigger we can be, when we simply walk with Him, minute by minute, day by day. 

Let’s look at something that I think illustrates my point. There are over 2.13 million species on this planet. Now how do you think they got their names? They didn’t come with name tags! The bible says Adam did it … ‘so God created all the animals and the birds and He brought them to Adam to see what he will call them and “whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”’(Gen. 2.19) I’ll bet that was a long, day, week, month, year! Maybe Adam actually had the use of 100% of his brain … instead of our mingy little 11%. We’ve been restored to a place higher than Adam’s place. We live in total fellowship with the God of the universe. He doesn’t have to visit us, anymore. We are now His temple!

However, that happened to Adam before he and Eve chose control and a snack, over God’s will. Humanity lost more than living in a fabulous garden! We lost the beginnings of a relationship that was normal, natural and part of Adam’s daily life. However, mankind’s total restoration from sin was incredibly expensive. Because of Christ and what He did for us, now, we have the privilege of spreading love, life and joy around everywhere we go instead of doing the everyday humdrum stuff that drives us all crazy. Hey! Your shadow just might heal the sick!! 

Human beings can contribute to this world in ways we have never even thought about. Forget going into space. We know the Maker of heaven and earth – the One Who made those stars.  And we’ve been chosen to carry His Presence into a world that has no purpose … except for a self-aggrandising one. We can introduce others to the meaning of life. What an honour. Count me in Lord!

My bones creak some days, and my ankles swell up from time to time, plus I lack energy, and I don’t always sleep well at night … BUT – I know that I carry Jesus’ Presence with me everywhere I go! So do you. It’s a choice. Unlike the old Testament, we don’t have to ‘blow smoke’ to hide ourselves so we can talk to God, and hopefully He will talk to us. Those days are gone! He wants to be in every part of our daily lives.

Sin is no longer a problem because now, we have an Advocate … a King’s Counsel, for the plaintiff, standing right beside the throne. Jesus Christ speaks PEOPLE. All He has to do is to point to His scars and we are completely restored. Ask yourself today, are you your own worst enemy? Nothing can keep us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus … nothing but our own choices. 👋🏻

P 2189 Fellowship.

/ DVH

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

Hubby is Singaporean Chinese, a chosen-Aussie, but he doesn’t speak a whole lot of Chinese any more. Meanwhile, his mother speaks 5 Chinese languages as well as English – she was matron of a hospital! I adore her, she is the sweetest, dearest lady. There are plenty of highly-motivated people in my hubby’s family. His father was a nursing educator before he retired, as well as a lay preacher – his family is filled up with over-achievers. There were no Christians at all in my family, but several generations of Christians on my husband’s side. What a contrast! Meanwhile, because I am a multi-generational Aussie, I can have trouble with this world’s idea of English … forget Chinese!

Years ago now, my dear hubby’s beloved mama, his precious grandmother was still with us, here in this world. When she died, we both cried and cried for days. I still have tears in my eyes while I am typing this. What a truly wonderful little lady she was – from the minute she met me I was instantly family – and hubby was a favoured grandson. She didn’t speak a great deal of English and her main fellowship came from her church family. 

The Holy Spirit pointed out to us one day that whenever we saw her, she always had her dear little nose in her bible. He reminded us that we could talk to her … using the bible. So we did. Her bible was written in Chinese, and ours was in English. We just made sure we had the same version and … away we went! Oh, we had such a glorious time together. It was truly God-kissed.

We laughed, we cried – with joy – and we shared our love for Him together as well. Other people couldn’t work out how we were managing to talk to her because she only spoke Teo-Chew. But that didn’t matter one bit, the Holy Spirit’s system worked splendidly! And every time we went to where she lived, we’d go down to the room where she sat, and fellowship with her, we never wanted to leave her. It was just such a blessing and  something we looked forward to doing.

Because of Mama, I learnt to say ‘praise the Lord’ in Chinese, pretty quickly. And hallelujah is the same in any language. Mama prayed for us, and we prayed for her – and nobody understood a word anybody else said but it didn’t matter! There are no barriers in the Spirit. Hubby’s grandma went to a Chinese Church of Christ, and we went to a Pentecostal one and that did not matter either! Theology never came up – but Jesus came up a whole lot. You know this dear elderly lady merrily gave out words of knowledge to other people? Even though she didn’t actually have a label for it – she just told them whatever God told her to say! And those words were accurate, every time. 

At 85 she used to catch the bus to go across town to visit the ‘old’ people in her church. Some people are just pure gold! … And she was one of them. I learnt so much from our too-short time together. I plan on hugging her to bits when I get to heaven I can tell you. Because Mama taught me so much about the unity we can have in the Spirit – the unity that has nothing whatsoever to do with theology.

I was not exactly a prized granddaughter-in-law in this world’s eyes, but that did not matter at all to her. She loved me on sight and I loved her right back. You know, older people still have a lot to give if we don’t park them in the snoozing bay up the back of the church. 😂 The bible tells us not to despise wisdom, and growing old teaches you a lot – if you let it, and your brain doesn’t periodically go on strike!  Age teaches us all about what is important … and what is not. 

It seems today, that I am bragging on family, so I’m just going to continue. As you know, hubby just had a nasty operation on his right hand recently. His dominant hand. He is sitting two feet from me painting some things to give away on our next trip. My dear man likes to paint prophetic paintings for other-people-who-don’t-know-Jesus-yet. Right now he is painting with his LEFT non-dominant hand. And it looks no different to the lovely work he does with the right one. I told you we have really talented people in our family! See above.↑

My point today is obvious, there are no barriers that can keep the Holy Spirit out. Not language, race, creed, or attitude … if you see a barrier ask the Lord how to bring it down. He comes up with the most amazing things. We can spend so much time trying to figure stuff out, trying to be the people we think we are meant to be – and heaven’s vast resources are left dormant.  We need to learn to access those heavenly things … and throw our supposed skills out of the window, by cultivating Holy Spirit’s Presence. He will do amazing things in our ordinary everyday lives. Let Him. 👋🏻