Fields

P 3071 Jump on in, the water is fine.

/ DVH

“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralised—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 MSG.

Perhaps the church has been so busy avoiding people who supposedly sin … like we don’t!  … because we are afraid of being contaminated(!)  When we live like this we are walking away from an extremely ripe field of grain. We don’t have to BE them, to talk to them. We simply choose to go with Love Himself, personified in us. Jesus goes before us, and He is with us, and He will remain with those people who need Him, long after we have left!

Speaking as a grey-haired old lady who has approached a bikie gang, plus, on another occasion, a couple of loose bikies strutting around a holiday town … I, too have had some conversations outside my comfort zone. On one occasion I felt like I was tackling two Goliaths!! But God spoke to me and He said: “If not you then WHO?”I’ve repeated the first story in this blog somewhere, in the past 8+ years, but the second one was pretty daunting. 

We pulled up in our car right next to these two huge bikie guys leaning against a lamp post talking to each other. And, joy of joys …the Lord spoke to me and told me to speak to them. My dear hubby immediately knew what I was going to do … so he left the car too. I climbed out of the car and tottered over trying to look casual. Then I said: “Great bikes boys!” Well, they were, their bikes were immaculately kept. Meanwhile I had to look UP to speak to them both – they just kind of nodded and kept talking to each other, probably hoping I would go away. 

I’ve learnt from my hubby that if you are going into the lion’s den you had better be prepared to stand up for Jesus right away or you will just peter out, and look like a goose. So I said: “God told me to tell you that Jesus loves you.” Jesus definitely loves them, but in those few seconds I wasn’t quite so sure how I felt!  – UM … maybe terrified? However THEY both looked at the ground. One of them kept on looking at the ground — it seemed like he was hoping that the ground would open up and swallow me.

Anyway the other guy stared into space but he interacted with me a bit, whilst I explained that I was probably his mother’s age and she might be concerned for his safety. Bikies like to hurt one another where I live. Then I said again that Jesus wanted them to know that He loved them, very much. The guy looking at the ground had a little tear roll down his cheek, and he kind of sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand and nodded at the other one, who was staring anywhere but where I was. And then they started to move away. So did I! I jumped  back into our car so fast – you would have thought I was Gout-Gout!

My point? That was a God-appointment. In that kind of appointment the Lord reminds people He is real, by waving at them, through whatever we do and say. He calls to them, telling them He loves them. People usually react really well – but twice in 20 years we’ve been rejected. That’s pretty good odds wouldn’t you say? One guy nearly climbed over his desk to throw us out … so we left!  Another older lady was quite vocal about what was wrong with Christianity. So again, we quietly left. Of course we prayed for them!

God appointments are like that. They are times when we are set up by the Lord to be ourselves. We are not supposed to be an evangelist, or a prophet —you just be you. The person who loves Jesus. You are a witness – His witness. A witness tells what they know and what they have seen. Plus they answer questions if they are asked some. Half the time some overly enthusiastic people flood the poor schmuck they are talking to, by trying to stuff a life-time’s worth of witnessing Jesus at work in their lives into one encounter. 

Remember, God will send someone after you’ve gone. You are just being salty that’s all. Here’s some don’ts I learnt from a full-time evangelist. After the encounter, don’t jump, laugh, dance, sing, and create a hullabaloo anywhere near the person who was happy to listen to you. They will know you are talking about them, just respectfully leave. Don’t overload them. They don’t need 35 scriptures, or 12 how to come to Jesus brochures. 

Every time we are fake we are separating ourselves from the very people God asked us to speak to. We’ve all been saved by the very same Grace we are now offering them. I can only encourage anyone reading this to “jump on in the water is fine.” And if it goes wrong? “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming …” Easy peasy. Bye. 🤣

P 2826 Anybody can choose to come.

/ DVH

Luke 2:8-20 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Matthew 2:9-12: ”After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the Child with His mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave Him gold, frankincense and myrrh. But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.”

Matthew 2:3-5a “When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied.“

I wanted to give three different examples from the bible today of 3 different types of people that sought out the Christ child shortly after His birth. Let’s look at them one at a time… 

First – the local shepherds going about their normal routine. They were doing what they had always done, day after day. I call this group … the smelly people. Not many bathrooms out in those hills, and no shower stalls either! These men lived their lives outside the camp, providing for those who lived inside the cities. 

“What was life like for shepherds in Jesus’ time? They were in daily contact with dirty, smelly sheep, their manure, their blood from cuts and scrapes, and the insects that buzzed around them. All of this meant that shepherds were almost never clean enough to worship with God’s people in God’s presence. So they were generally treated as outsiders.” (Google) The very first people outside of Mary and Joseph, that were chosen by God to worship His Son were unacceptable by their society’s standards. That makes me think! How about you?

Group number two: the kings! Or astrologers, depending on which interpretation you look up. Personally I think a king can also be an astrologer. These three very rich, brilliant men were most probably Gentiles and unbelievers, they were the intellectuals of their day –  they may have been Persian. Matthew 2:1-2.“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.”

These Magi are powerful, but little-known strangers. They were so important, and so unusual, that King Herod himself heard that they were in his area and he sent for them. Their gifts for the Baby were not just prophetic, but extravagant. And yet these important, learned men were prepared to lower themselves, and go to a little house on an ordinary little street to find Jesus, the newborn King, and worship Him. They came to worship an infant.

“The Magi recognized God’s special presence in the baby Jesus. Astrologers like the Magi believed that a special or unique star (like a comet or meteor shower) in the sky was a sign that a Special Person with special significance in history was being born.”. (Google… again!) These men didn’t smell bad, their clothes were refined and beautiful, instead they smelled of spices and perfumes, and they rode everywhere. Most people in those days had to walk. 

Last of all came King Herod. He obviously believed the prophecies the Magi gave him, he knew what he was doing , otherwise why would he have ordered the death of so many tiny male children? Matthew 2:16: “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” 

This man was powerful, but he was threatened byan infant, yet he already had everything that most people would have dreamt about! He was chosen to be in that powerful position by Rome, and that meant he had whatever he wanted, when he wanted it. A palace with servants, fine clothes, perfumes, baths, great food and wine … Plus he had a powerful place in the community. But his response to Jesus, was to kill Him, because he saw the little baby as a challenger to his authority under Rome. Herod could have chosen to protect this child, instead he chose to try to destroy Him. I think that this was his opportunity to bend his knee, and he chose to oppose God. 

Three different groups of people, three different responses.  Right from the beginning, at the birth of Jesus – anybody could come to worship Him. Some travelled a few miles, others travelled for days, and one never left his throne but he was told too! Here we have three different responses to the King of heaven and we see what Jesus Himself taught us:  the poor are welcome, the rich must bow their knee … and the proud are doomed … unless they repent.

God has room for everyone at the cross – the choice is always ours. Everybody deserves to hear, no matter how they choose to respond.“The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.” Revelation 22:17. 👋

P 2618 Waiting to move is a trap.

/ DVH

“But I promise you this—the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be seized with power. You will be My messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces —even to the remotest places on earth!”” Acts 1:8 TPT. Instead of waiting for a sign, obey the book. This is what we have found – HE COMES WHEN WE GO! It ain’t rocket science. And yes, I am on about that today, again.

I learnt twenty years ago, that waiting to be well enough to do what Jesus told me to do was a trap! Yeah I know that’s a tough thing to say. However, I live out that kind of tough every single day. I hardly ever feel well enough to even get out of bed, let alone type this blog! I will not bore you with a list of things that have stolen away my health and well- being, but I totally want to say this: since hubby and I have been travelling on the road for Jesus – I’M HAPPY and He’s over the moon. Neither of us are nuts either. Oh, well, maybe! Maybe you should ask our kids! 

Actually, I wouldn’t live any other way. But … being well would be nice! I remind the Lord about that daily too. I live expecting my circumstances to change, and … I utterly do my best and refuse to live in disappointment, when they haven’t … so far! Hubby too has his share of aches, pains and trials, and between us it takes a while to get going in the mornings, so we get up early, and we go to bed at a ridiculously early hour. Some nights one of us is battling for sleep. (Which is why I wrote the blog a couple of days ago about not sleeping!) It happens here quite often – it sure improves your prayer life!!

I try not to be negative, but in this life trouble needs to be normalised – not accepted, but normalised. This world is not heaven! Things happen. Awful earth-shattering things a-n-d… petty insignificant things that make you mad. Paul had to escape trouble by being stuffed inside a basket and lowered down the outside of a city wall! These men we read about daily, were beaten within an inch of their lives on a regular basis. However, getting beaten up was regarded as an honour for His sake! It meant they were doing something right.

We have to stop hiding in our religious wish-thinking and start to live in the real world. The bible says ‘in this world we will have trials’…Sigh… You know, I am a tiny bit tired of hearing testimonies about “how God made someone’s life better” … but …I hear absolutely no testimonies about how wonderful it is to serve Him! Watching Jesus come into the picture – however He chooses to do it ….is the most amazing thing like E-V-ER. It is such a privilege.

I was giggling this morning, remembering when hubby presented the gospel in Nyngan to a whole family, and then the father said something that every pastor wished his people would say!! ”Could you tell me that story again please?” This man was asking hubby to repeat the sermon!! And there they were, the four of them, their eager shiny little faces waiting to hear the good news, again. The only trouble was — hubby couldn’t remember a word he said! He looked at me, and I looked at him, and then the dear man started prompting him. Hubby had the good sense to ask him which bit he meant. Let me tell you – that man was listening – he could repeat what he heard. Me? Not-so-much. 

Is everyone we meet going to be like that? Nope. We’ve met a few who were not even remotely interested. Here’s a thought — maybe they are waiting for you to turn up in their neighbourhood! It is a glorious thing to be part of someone else’s journey toward Jesus. However, we simply cannot have a harvest if no-one will go out into the fields and sow seeds. Some starving people might stagger through our church doors. That’s great! Yay Jesus. But most people have no idea that what we believe is any different from any other religion.

Many people choose what to believe by default, not a spiritual encounter with a real Person. It’s a bit like choosing a political party to vote for. Some people even choose a religion because the statues that belong to it make great decorating items!! 😱 They don’t know Jesus is alive —- and … hot tip … you and I can show them that just by turning up! There’s this first aid thing we are meant to do if we find an unconscious person — it’s called shake and shout! And this is me … shouting and shaking … wake up Sleepy Bride of Christ!

We cannot afford to wait to move, that’s a trap. Jesus had this problem with His disciples. They had no spiritual clue about what was going on around them … He had to tell them ..”Do you not say, It is still four months until harvest time comes? Look! I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields and see how they are already white for harvesting.”John 4:35. The Lord’s harvest is ready for planting all over the country – let’s all grab some seeds and go!  Everybody has holidays!

Here’s my advice, don’t sit about waiting for inspiration to fall on you, go because He said GO! Show Him that you mean business, that the people that are on HIS heart are on your heart… Insist. 👋