God’s kingdom

P 3513 Eternity minded.  

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James 1:2-4: “Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.”

As you can see for yourself, God’s idea of Kingdom happiness does not look like this world’s idea of happiness. The whole idea of having the ability to be happy when life is full of difficulties and temptations, seems to be utterly ridiculous. But brother James has a different list of priorities than the ones we think we need to hold onto today! He’s following the way Jesus taught him. James’ mind, heart, emotions are all about what God wants, and he is seeking to grow the kind of graces we need everyday – eternal ones.

This is absolutely pure wisdom from above. Trying to maintain two points of view at the same time can unnecessarily complicate things. We can’t easily follow the Lord when one eye is obsessed with what’s going on and why, and the other is still trying to focus on Jesus. So we will need to learn to contend for our faith. Otherwise we’ll end up cross-eyed and bump into things and other people.

What James is saying is we cannot afford to focus our lives, our families, homes, energy, time and finances on anything else but our participation in God’s kingdom. We need to be singleminded. The Lord will take care of those things. James is teaching us how to live victoriously under horrible circumstances. As we obey Jesus’ instructions we will see, for ourselves, His power working in and through us, everywhere we go. Why? Because now we’ve learnt what faith in action looks like! Now we can identify the will of God in the middle of a storm. God’s kingdom is about how we live, not just ticking boxes.

Religion chokes spirituality – it instructs, orders, pats down, distracts and consumes us. Meanwhile, it’s good to remember that satan loves the word IF – he loves to drag in uncertainty. Father God has told us to do everything from faith and love, so we please Him when we make those two things our priority. He delivered us from the kind of slavery that ties us into knots by making the problem the priority, not love.

James is explaining that when our lives are in step with Jesus – and what He is doing – we will find our faith, our character, our inner man is enabled to stand up under trials or difficulties. Faith focusses on Him, not our circumstances. Jesus is in the eternal, He has an eternal POV. Now let’s take a quick look at Peter … Peter sank when his eyes went off Jesus, and onto his current circumstances. Big waves all around you can be a big distraction … ….huge!! But Peter’s adventure teaches us to keep our focus on the Lord.

Pray: “Help Lord, I’ve lost my focus, help me to get my eyes back on You.” When we stagger off and start looking at what is going wrong around us, that stuff will quickly fill our vision. We won’t be able to see anything else. Then our minds start searching about for solutions, because human beings don’t like feeling uncomfortable. Pray: “help!” That’s what Peter did. Actually that’s the perfectly abbreviated version!

It’s easy to lose sight of the Lord when the things around you get so huge it seems like you can’t see anything else. Change your prayer from “Why is this happening?” to “What are You doing here Lord, please help me to see it.” If the enemy can’t stop us from wanting to live our everyday lives for Jesus’ sake, then he will try to drown us with many problems and difficulties. Jesus has an eternal plan for those difficulties – He will use them to transform our lives. We need to be patient with ourselves, and faithfully turn back to our Source. Remember, we have His empowering life IN us.

We’ve chosen to build our house on the Rock. Remember, it’s harder and slower to build on rock, than it is on sand! But we have the Lord’s word that He will help us. Look at what He did with Peter. The Lord lifted him up when the man began to sink under the weight of his own fear. Then together they completed what Peter began on his own. Ask the Lord for His help.

James 1:5-8: “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him;  He will not resent it. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind;  and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don’t ask with faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.”

Don’t second guess yourself. What you begin in the Spirit must be completed in the Spirit. Repent if you need to, and return your focus to Him … His goodness, His love for you, His life in you, and what He willingly did and gave up for your sake. Otherwise we can become double-minded. Transformation is an eternal thing, so we need His help to get up and continue. We let go of the stuff we can see going on, and hold fast to Jesus’ faithfulness to get us through.

The saints of old knew about this concept. They used to sing: “Hold, to God’s unchanging hand. Build your hopes on things eternal … hold to God’s unchanging hand.” Nice place to say, bye for now. 👋.

P 3512 Someone else’s thoughts.

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“Keep turning away from your sins and come back to  God, for heaven’s kingdom realm is now accessible.” Matthew 4:17 TPT. Some words in Scripture don’t merely give us information. They give us a new way of seeing reality.

One of those words is basileia – the Greek word usually translated “kingdom.” But basileia isn’t primarily about geography—a territory with borders, a palace, or a throne. When Jesus announced that the Kingdom of heaven had come near, He wasn’t simply telling people where they could go after they die. He was announcing something far more radical: The unseen realm of heaven is constantly breaking into the visible world of earth.

Jesus was introducing a fresh worldview—a way of understanding reality that says the physical world we see isn’t the whole story. There is another dimension of reality. And Jesus was showing us, in His main point in the heart of the Lord’s Prayer and most of the parables, how the two realities overlap.

A new way of seeing the world: Israel had been waiting for God’s Kingdom for centuries. The prophets envisioned a day when God would reign, justice would be established, evil would be defeated, and creation would be restored. Daniel saw a kingdom that would outlast every human empire: “His dominion is everlasting and will never pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14 TPT.

Then Jesus appeared and made an astonishing announcement at the launch of his ministry: “At last the fulfilment of the age has come! It is time for God’s kingdom to be experienced in its fullness! Turn your lives back to God and put your trust in the hope-filled gospel!” Mark 1:15 TPT. The Greek ēngiken means “has come near” or “has drawn close.” Something from God’s realm has moved toward ours. The Kingdom has come near, and King Jesus came to announce it! Jesus wasn’t merely teaching people about a future Kingdom, although it is eternal, He was revealing that God’s reign was already breaking into the present.

And suddenly, people could see it. The blind saw. The lame walked. The oppressed were set free. Sinners were forgiven. Outcasts were welcomed. The dead were raised. These weren’t isolated displays of supernatural power. They were signs of another reality invading this one. Jesus was showing people what happens when heaven’s rule touches earth.

The Kingdom is a world view: This is why basileia is more than a theological word. It gives us a potent way to perceive our world. We tend to divide reality into two categories: What we can see—and what we can’t. The physical world feels real because we can touch it, measure it, photograph it, and analyse it. The spiritual world can seem distant, mysterious, abstract, or even absent. But Jesus presents a radically different picture. The invisible realm of God is not less real because we cannot see it. And the physical world isn’t disconnected from it. Heaven and earth intersect.

That’s the worldview Jesus introduces. The Kingdom is where God’s rule becomes present in the world we inhabit. Think of it as an intersection. Heaven isn’t merely somewhere far away. God’s Kingdom is the very source of our physical reality. And Jesus teaches us, through His miracles and through His parables how to look for it.

“Your Kingdom come:” This is why Jesus taught His followers to pray:“Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 TPT. Notice the direction of the prayer. We’re not simply praying, “Help us get to heaven.” We’re praying: “Let heaven come here.” Let what is true in God’s realm become true in our realm. Let God’s peace enter our anxiety, relationships, and communities. Let God’s healing enter our brokenness. Let God’s generosity break the grip of our fear. Let God’s truth penetrate our confusion. Let Your Kingdom come. This changes the way we walk through ordinary life. The Kingdom means that the kitchen, workplace, hospital room, campsite, classroom, church, and difficult conversation can all become places where heaven touches earth.

We have access to the Kingdom’s power: Here’s the astonishing part. Jesus doesn’t merely tell us that the Kingdom exists. He gives us access to it. He teaches us to pray for it. He invites us to seek it. He sends His followers to announce it. And He gives His followers authority to participate in its work. When Jesus sends out the disciples, He tells them:

“As you go, preach this message: ‘Heaven’s kingdom is accessible, close enough to touch.’ You must continually bring healing to lepers and to those who are sick, and make it your habit to break off the demonic presence from people, and raise the dead back to life.” Matthew 10:7–8 TPT. Notice the connection: Announce the Kingdom. Demonstrate the Kingdom. Words and works. Proclamation and participation. The disciples weren’t merely supposed to tell people that God reigns. They were supposed to show evidence of God’s reign. Power evangelism. And that invitation extends to us. We don’t create the Kingdom. We don’t manufacture God’s power. But we can recognize it, receive it, pray for it, and participate in it.

Learning to see what’s already happening: Perhaps one of the great challenges of Christian spirituality is learning to perceive the Kingdom. Jesus said:“The kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you.” Luke 17:21 TPT. The Kingdom isn’t always spectacular. Sometimes it looks like forgiveness. Sometimes courage. Sometimes unexpected peace. The Kingdom is God’s reign becoming visible in human lives and in the physical world. Once you begin looking for it, you start seeing the world differently. The question changes from: “What is happening to me?” to: “What is God doing here?” That’s basileia.

The Kingdom changes everything:  Jesus didn’t come merely to give us better religious information. He came announcing that another King is already ruling. And if Jesus is King, then reality is bigger than what our eyes can see. The Kingdom means that your circumstances are not necessarily the final interpretation of your life. The physical world is real—but it isn’t all there is. There is a greater reality pressing into this one. Heaven is touching earth, all the time, right now and forever.

And Jesus invites us to live with our spiritual eyes open. So today: when you walk into an ordinary day, try this simple prayer: “Jesus, help me see Your Kingdom here and now.” Amen. Look around. Where is God bringing life? Where is love overcoming fear? Where is forgiveness breaking through resentment? Where is truth defeating deception? Where is generosity overcoming scarcity? Where is healing beginning? Where is the Spirit prompting you to act?

Then ask the second question: “How can I participate?” Because the Kingdom isn’t merely something we wait for. It is something Jesus has brought near to you. It is the reality we learn to perceive. It is the power we learn to receive. And it is the reign we are invited to embody. The King has come. Heaven has touched earth. And because of Jesus, you live at that intersection. And until earth looks like heaven, we have work to do.”

My guest author is David Housholder, Fulbright scholar, writer, broadcaster and senior pastor at Robinwood church, Southern California. As an aside the Passion paraphrase itself has caused some controversy and it is not a recognised translation. Personally I found this overview of the Kingdom of God helpful and insightful. However, it is certainly not every point of view available to us… and no substitute for legitimate recognised translations of the bible! Bye 👋.🙏.

P3502 “Train up a child …”

/ DVH

After yesterday’s blog I thought I was done with this subject, but the words — “train up a child…” kept rolling about in my heart and mind. I already had something I had planned to write on but when the Lord gets insistent, it is up to me to listen — so here goes …

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.”  It seems to me that those two words, should go, are a key for good parenting. I have three adult children who are now very different people. There are still a few things they have in common, and praise God for His Grace, their faith is one of those things! However they all express that faith differently. Now they have embraced personally, for themselves, the same values that they were taught as babies..

I noticed these two words – “should go” – many many years ago, and I realized that because each child is an individual, a precious gift from our Heavenly Father, so there is a way He wants them to go. And a parent’s job is to prayerfully discern what that way looks like and guide the child accordingly. Parents have been given the often unrecognised job of teaching children to respect Him, them, and others, and to live this life aware that their life has meaning – simply because Jesus gave it to them.

Parenting is not just about having children, it is also about raising them to respect the Lord’s will. We are responsible to teach them about these things toward Almighty God and others. They don’t just need to know you pray — they need to see and hear you pray. And it is the same with reading the bible. They need to see parents pour over God’s Word, struggle with it, and write things down. Parents cannot afford to give away their responsibility to teach them. That generic grey world that many of us have embraced regarding faith, is not FAITH.

People need to train to be a rocket scientist or a marine biologist, because realistically speaking, they will need help to achieve those goals. Parents need to actively and interactively teach their kids as they go about their normal lives. As we embrace His guidance, to the extent that His teaching is completely and honestly visible in our lives – we will have something solid to stand on. Children need to see as well as hear.

Meanwhile, there are no expert parents because nobody else has a child like yours! And it is your task to ask the Lord to show you the way you need to specifically teach that child, His ways. God’s ways give us a comprehensive overview on how to approach this life. His Love needs to be experienced as well as spoken about. The Lord taught me that each child has a destiny in Him, and its parents have a huge influence on the way this child regards itself, even when it becomes an adult.

Sin is a part of everyone’s DNA until Jesus transforms us. However, when His sacrifice is applied into our lives, that takes us out of this world’s kingdom and introduces us into God’s kingdom. We are then spiritually reborn. Children can do this from an early age, one of mine was four, and even as an adult they have never faltered in their faith.

Parents need to pray together and pray with their children allowing everyone to participate. One of the best things we can teach our children is to relate to, and rely upon God’s guidance. The other is to be honest with them, and tell them you also struggle with the things that happen. We are not looking to give them perfect faith – we want to give them living faith. If kids don’t understand we are in a war, they will be swamped by what this world spews all over them. As parents we hope to become the home plate they can always gladly return to, no matter what happens.

In those early days the Lord told me what to do and how. This was back in the days when children were smacked. I literally had to teach myself to raise my kids from the scriptures, because my own parent’s style had been oppressive, aggressive, and my view of parenting had been drastically skewed by those experiences. It was tempting to simply do my best to avoid the very clear mistakes my own parent had made. The Lord kindly straightened me out, by explaining that if I did that, I was actually living in judgment of what they had done. So I repented.

It has always been astonishing to me that the very words I hated as a kid could come out of my own mouth … sigh … but they did. So I voluntarily entered a phase of forgiveness toward my parent, as I learnt that a child’s hatred can be powerful. I was not outwardly disobedient on purpose, but back then I was a seething mess of anger, hurt, resentment and rebellion inside. Eventually I withdrew from the offending parent to punish them, because they hadn’t treated me the way I thought I needed to be treated. I had to turn around and go back, under His instructions.

As a child, I thought that parents automatically knew how to be parents, they always seemed so sure of their actions, as well as strong and powerful. But when I became a parent I quickly found out that they don’t! Deliberately avoiding previous hurtful mistakes simply leads to new and different ones. Instead that stance becomes a judgment on your own parents and their parenting style. Our best choice is to live in a place of giving away Grace.

Ask the Lord to reveal to you and your spouse which way He wants each and every child you have in your care, to go. And let’s always focus on the fact that Jesus provided for everyone’s sins once and for all. No matter what happens, praise God, there is always redemption. Thank you Jesus! Bye. 👋.

P 3494 Start from the right place — His Grace.

/ DVH

“Even if the mountains were to crumble and the hills disappear, My heart of steadfast, faithful love will never leave you, and My covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,” says YAHWEH, Whose love and compassion will never give up on you.” Isaiah 54:10 TPT. God’s love is not limited … but our time here is.

“Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from Me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with My strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with My victorious right hand.’” Isaiah 41:10 TPT. He will help us to flow in His Grace.

“Don’t be obsessed with money but live content with what you have, for you always have God’s Presence. For hasn’t He promised you, “I will never leave you, never! And I will not loosen my grip on your life!” So we can say with great confidence: “I know the Lord is for me and I will never be afraid of what people may do to me!”” Hebrews 13:5-6 TPT.

Aren’t these scriptures great? If we choose to read the Word of God like a love letter, which has been made complete with loving personal instructions, we can be utterly blessed by it. Loving eyes see far more than scared, nervous ones … … or even constantly distracted ones! Distraction is a big deal today. It is no longer strange to see people flick flick flicking their phones trying to find something that interests them. If we take that attitude over into reading the bible, we will get bored quickly. Even the language used in it will defeat us.  

Let’s choose to start from His Grace, and never lose the kind of gratitude that acknowledges we are nothing without Him, because He is everything to us. Religion can often be part-time — but GRACE cannot. Grace is a living thing that accomplishes far more than we can ever imagine. Let’s choose to see His Grace like the tide, flowing in and out. It flows in to us, and with our permission, back out toward others. That tide is lovingly relentless in it’s quest to saturate human beings with the kind of loving Grace that bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

There are times when I can get pretty snarkey if someone pinches a parking spot, or pushes ahead in a queue! That kind of response started in the garden and flowed out onto Cain and Able. It’s sin. The truth is, my negative response to someone else’s thoughtlessness is sin. It shows that I still don’t understand that God’s Grace goes where it wants to go — it is not hindered, or restricted by my prejudices. No matter how many verses of scripture we can find to prove our point! Walking in Grace is facilitated by walking in His love, and we can have it all! 

Let’s daily, minute by minute, buy up the days, because our time on earth is finite and precious. And let’s choose to be obedient, pushing aside our reluctance to engage with strangers, or even family members. Grace flows beautifully when we make God choices. We can stop up that God-given flow with revenge, indifference, anger and unbelief … not to mention guilt. Entering into it is so simple – we simply stop thinking about our lives as our own, and start living them for Him. That is not just for the few keen ‘spiritual’ people who seem to find it easier than we do.. It’s for all of us. 

Father God will never give up on us, but we can short-circuit our progress in our life of faith by believing our sin is greater than His sacrifice. Or we can tell ourselves that we simply must say thus and thus, otherwise that other person will never get the point. That kind of vigilante attitude is not the way the Lord wants us to operate. That person who irritates us, is the vehicle we step into and discover how far short we are from Jesus, God’s glorious ideal. That person is our friend because they show us what is truly inside us. Let their attitudes be their problem. We just need to keep following Jesus, listening to Him, obeying Him.

He sent out His disciples to heal the sick and raise the dead and preach the good news that God’s kingdom had arrived. It was good news — not a list of everyone else’s sins. I suggest we use the energy that is needed to maintain anger and disappointment to propel us forward into giving away God’s Grace. It’s our job. We take that Grace in and then we pass on all the forgiveness, acceptance and love we’ve received from Him, to others. Please be encouraged, this is a learned skill!

We don’t have to love someone’s behaviour to love them. God loves us, and our behaviour stinks sometimes! Jesus saw beyond the sin to the trapped person who needed an opportunity to get free from it. Sin is a prison. It won’t let you think about anything else, whether it is your sin or their sin, it just rumbles about inside like concrete in a concrete truck. However, the Holy Spirit can soften our hard hearts when we ask for His help. That other person’s heart isn’t our business.

Other people’s sins can trap us into a cycle that seems never-ending. That’s why Grace is needed. Grace, by it’s nature is not earned or deserved. But it blossoms and creates new life when it is given to someone who doesn’t deserve it, as we use our faith. However, if WE keep reacting the same way, we are continually going to get the same annoying response! Grace changes ME first, and it opens the door to God’s Way of thinking. Grace keeps silent when it has a LOT to say.

I urge you, don’t keep what you have been freely given bottled up inside, give it away. Let’s start from the right place, releasing His Grace to those who don’t deserve it anymore than we did. Bye. 👋

P 3479 Fix your eyes.

/ DVH

““Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t even remember these former things. I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19. This is one of those keys we need to pay attention to, because the past should not affect our future. When Jesus made a way when there seemed to be no way, He died to give us His power to overcome those things that can trip us up or weigh us down.

I have been caught up in eddies from the past — those  things that go round and round and get nowhere. We can’t afford to define ourselves by stuff like that. It will grab hold of here and now, and destructively head toward the future! We need to remember that God does new things all the time. Just because something was fruitful last time, that doesn’t mean it will always be that way. Relationships are moving things, to last they need to grow, change, continue to become new and fresh.

The Lord wants a relationship, not a system. He gave us a system. That system, the Ten Commandments, only failed because we weren’t up to our end. Thank GOD our God is a God of generosity, grace and mercy! There is nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments, they are all about Loving God and loving others! That’s why Jesus said what He said in Matthew 22:38&39. “Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Jesus adds, “And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.” It’s a synopsis, not just a new commandment!

Transformation flourishes when we read what He says and live it out, day by day. God made it easy to obey Him, because He took punishment and fear out of the way. Now we do not need to wade through desperate times alone, the Lord has already provided the most wonderful Person we will ever need — the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper. Living this life, with His help ushers in the kingdom of God, right here where we are. And remember Jesus died to change our past – even if it was only yesterday, ten years ago, or ten seconds ago! 

The past will hold us down if we keep clinging to its ways. We must lay aside those things that go after our peace and freedom so we can love others from a pure heart — and keep walking on. Some of us might end up limping. That’s not a bad thing! Jacob encountered God’s Kingdom and he limped after it happened. That limp reminded him of his encounter with heaven. It’s our chosen participation in the kingdom of God among us that will transform this world around us. Thousands of wonderful people have made all sorts of incredible efforts, and sacrificed everything, to change whatever is going on where they live – they left the past behind, and followed Jesus.

However, if the Spirit of God Himself is not doing it, whatever we do cannot last or produce fruit. Only God Himself does the things that last. In the Western World we like to think that God is on our side. But the reality is … the Lord wants to know …. ‘Who is on the Lord’s side?’  ‘Unless the Lord builds the house we are labouring in vain.’ (Psalm 127) Father God cares about what is in our hearts. He wants our hearts perfect toward Him and each other. (2 Chronicles 16:9; John 13:35.) That means we keep short accounts with Him and other people.

We simply can’t afford to let our past, affect our future, no matter how awful that past may be. My advice about former sorrows, is this — prop open the door to the past, clean out everything in that cupboard of guilt, pain, shame, revenge and hate, and deal with it bit by bit, including exercising reconciliation, forgiveness and repentance, then close the door! Write: do not enter! … on it. And give the key to the Holy Spirit. Walk away. Go out from that place and live your new life in Jesus. Do not be tormented by the things you can’t fix, give them to God and leave them there.

I urge all of us to start seeing faith as a commodity stored in heaven and when we prayerfully use it to live, we are bringing that faith into this life. There is a portion we have each been given, and as we give it to Him and start using it, I believe our faith grows, incrementally. “… faith comes from listening to this Good News ….” Faith comes from reading the book and doing what it says, because doing what it says takes FAITH. 

So today, I want to urge you to put the past behind you. Getting rid of any past sins we have done, as well as the ones against us … lines us up with heaven. We are so blessed, the Kingdom of God is a storehouse of every Grace we will ever need on this earth. We simply access it, using our faith, and we must discontinue using it to greedily grab the things we know that can’t last.

Let’s study the bible to find out what He says about this day – today. As we comfort ourselves with the fact that we can rely upon the Lord to hand us the right tool at the right time. The sad thing is, the past is our enemy’s favourite tool of distraction – he drags our eyes off the Lord and distracts them with the things that have hurt us. Instead, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and ask ourselves, what is the Lord doing today? Bye. 👋.

P3477 Moving house.

/ DVH

“We cross the threshold of true knowledge when we live in obedient devotion to God. Stubborn know-it-alls will never stop to do this, for they scorn true wisdom and knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7 TPT. The bible says all kinds of incredible things that we can barely take in, let alone remember day by day. That’s cause for a pause, right there! Many people like to focus on the negative – sadly the daily news proves that point. Even the words used by the people writing these articles are evocative and negative, all at the same time. However, God’s kingdom is always GOOD NEWS.

The thing is, we were born again to WALK with God – not just sit down comfortably inside the door! The bible was not written as a list of the things we are no longer allowed to do or participate in – it is about how dear we are to Him, and how important it is to Him that we choose to live like His kids. Father God does not have subtexts like we do – His aim is LOVE. When He asks us to obey Him, it is so that we can live in that love and freely give it away. That place is the safest place on this earth. 

Stuff will still happen, but we need to remember, a yielded soul is a catalyst. That soul changes everything around it.  When I choose to cling to what God Himself says, I am not denying reality — I am yielding to SomeOne, greater than I am. He is a far far greater reality. Almighty God made this world, so He knows our place in it. Let’s trust what He says over what I think, or you think, or even what Brother-I-know-everything thinks. We need to forgive him … and move on.

In years gone by, we used to sing a song called “Come and go with me to my Father’s house.” I loved the idea of living in my Father’s house … but sadly, after I went home, it seemed to me that I was leaving behind the loving fellowship, and prayers, plus power of the Word preached. It seemed like I was leaving that behind until next week. Then one day, it dawned on me that I could go to my Father’s house and STAY. What’s more I could choose to live FROM that Kingdom, not the one all around  me. Jesus came here to usher in the Father’s kingdom. Now I follow Him along the narrow way, and I live by faith, in His kingdom, here and now.  

When God told us to seek His kingdom first, it’s because the things we do are meant to come from our place in His kingdom. We live there now – we never have to leave. What’s more, we take His kingdom with US wherever we go! It all depends on the way we look at what was said, and our personal decisions to obey Him. And the Holy Spirit helps us with that too! I think we’ve been looking at many scriptures from a negative reinforcement point of view – instead of seeing these things as a glorious statement of our new position. 

120 people were transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit came upon them, then they went on to live IN and FROM, God’s Kingdom. Their lives were now framed by it, and it occupied their thoughts, their actions. Everything they did was with God’s kingdom in mind. “Silver and gold have I none but such as I HAVE give I Thee.” (Acts 3:6) Peter was already living in that kingdom – so he could give the things of God’s kingdom away! All disciples now had it, and they took His kingdom wherever they went. Jesus Himself said: ‘…the Kingdom of God is among you.’ His kingdom is motivated and supervised by the Holy Spirit. 

What I want to say today is that we need to move away from the kind of thinking that God’s Kingdom is unavailable to us, unless we meet certain requirements. Jesus did that for us. So now we use our faith to live in the reality that God’s Kingdom is already here. It’s already IN you, and me. When we were born again, we left the kingdoms of this world behind, now we are in His kingdom seeking more and more of it. We’ve been taken out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred  into the Kingdom of His marvellous light. 

However a negative bias on any number of verses can change the way we apply them. What I’m talking about means we choose to walk away from vague possibilities into reality – we need to do whatever we can to use our faith. This is why using our power in His kingdom to try to get what WE want is a travesty! Aim at living in His kingdom where love prevails.

Most of us already have so much information about His kingdom, but just like the sensational headlines in the news, we are limited by another agenda. That agenda says, “I can’t change.” The question I want to ask today is: ‘Then why do we have the Epistles in our bible, if we can’t be changed, here and now. Why did Jesus preach change if it was unavailable until we die?’ Like Paul I want to say, “Not that I have l already attained this, but I press on toward the mark..” (Philippians 3:12) Our aims matter. When we surrender them to despair, or destruction we will be the losers.

Some things may seem to be difficult to us, but they are definitely not unattainable. “…Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) Let’s learn to live from God’s kingdom. What does He say? What does He want from you and I right here, right now? We need to choose to move house and live our lives, from His kingdom, and see for ourselves what that looks like in real life. It’s all in the book. Bye. 👋

P3456 Fix your eyes on Jesus, not on the results.

/ DVH

“Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger]…” John 6:29. Father God sent His Son here to us to save us. We believe that. The bible was not given to us to be nice stories and sentiments — it has been given to us to be a life-line, so we can negotiate the good times, bad times, pitfalls and difficulties of this life, still holding onto the GRACE God has given us. That Grace was released by His Son, Jesus Christ, and what He did.  

So when we start foundering on the sea of our sometimes difficult lives, that’s when we actively choose to hang on to our belief in the One Who God has given us. We need Him to save us from the things that could drown us and ruin our faith. The Lord Jesus doesn’t care how many times we need saving from our own misbeliefs, He will just keep doing what He does best, loving us, leading us and saving us.

Our part is to believe that He wants to help us be all we can be … that’s the key. Please don’t let the enemy throw up any disappointing times on the screen of your mind, when things appear to get worse. Instead, believe and focus on the ever-present Presence of God Himself, right here, right now. Standing there with you. That’s WHY Jesus came to be with us, and it is why He gave us the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit Who was IN Him.

Ask Him to help you get through whatever is going on.  It is human to ask for our difficulties to go away — do it! In the bible there were people Jesus fed, just because they needed food. But at the same time we need to plant our feet and make a quality choice that Jesus Himself will see us through whatever is going on, and we will come out the other side with our faith still intact, plus a testimony to the goodness of God. 

Many Christians set false finishing lines. Their aim is about their comfort here and now. We need to learn to remain steadfast, in the good times and bad, just like Jesus did. His eyes were fixed on the prize, His faith in God was steadfast. Jesus did not come just to do miracles. He came to manifest and glorify our Father in Heaven and fulfil His Father’s Word… and He came to save us. Let’s keep our faith steady in the knowledge that we are to stay fixed in what Jesus has already done. This life is not about whether we win or lose, it is about the One we choose to believe in, no matter what happens.

Almighty God Himself has asked us to believe in Jesus, and He told us that this is the way we serve Him. I would like to read the above verse in another version: “Then they ( asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” (V28 & 29) Believing in Jesus means we live our lives faithfully guided by what He said and did. The disciples wanted a method, but God gave them a PERSON to follow. We can still make that mistake today, we seek methods because methods are easier to follow. There is no method, we simply follow the Spirit of God, like Jesus did.

Following Jesus means we will give up anything in order to keep up with whatever He wants to do next. In order for the Head to help the Body, the head and the body have to be co-ordinated in their purpose. The Lord Jesus gave us signs – the purpose of a sign is it is like an arrow … it points somewhere. Now we are to live our lives pointing at God’s Love with the Holy Spirit’s help.

The verses right before V28,29 show us why Jesus said what He said: “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

At that moment in time the disciples were taken up by the miraculous free food, but Jesus didn’t focus on that, He used it as an example of our real target … eternity. “On earth, as it is in heaven.” Many people have used that scripture to say that nobody is sick in heaven, so that should be true down here. But the truest thing in Heaven, is that our God is forever glorious and He is still sitting upon His throne!! It is not about whether we have enough buns for our dinner! Our focus needs to rest on Oneness with Him, not just the stuff this life is made of.

Jesus is the best bread, He is everlasting! “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35. Let’s stop labouring for the wrong food!  What happens here and now will pass away … our food needs to be like His, doing the will of the Father. Our eyes need to be fixed on Him, He started our faith and He will finish it. When we ‘seek His kingdom first, all those other things we need will be added unto us.’ Bye, blessings! 👋.

P3381 The Needy ones!   

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P3375 Indiscriminate seed sowing!  

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 3363 Forget material blessings.

/ DVH

Colossians 2:2,3,6,7,9. AMP. “[For my concern is] that their hearts may be] braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love, that they may come to have all the abounding wealth and blessings of assured conviction of understanding, and that they may become progressively more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, [which is] Christ (the Anointed One). In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden. …   … As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him…. … Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving…  …  For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].”

Paul is carefully explaining that there are much better things to aim at than a ‘happy life with everything I want in it.’ That’s what this world is busy doing right now, scrabbling around trying to save money for the future, or simply make what they have go around. I’ve discovered that sometimes when we pray, we won’t always see the answer right away. Jesus is ‘drawing us after Himself so we can run together.’ He loves us! We are His joy... who you are gives our Heavenly Father great joy. He doesn’t see a failure, He just sees His family.

When our lives are rooted and grounded in what Jesus did, then material things become irrelevant. Personally, I’m grateful to have somewhere to live, a bed to sleep in, a chair to sit on, and a car to take bibles to far away places — but I wouldn’t give you tuppence for the extras that seem to occupy most of this world’s time. Those things get old or disappear or become obsolete. My greatest joy is to see God’s children prosper in their relationship with Him. And I love seeing my immediate family put the Lord first despite the difficulties they face. Who could possibly be richer than that?

Paul calls this kind of life, full of wealth and blessings. It can be our daily choice. We’ve been taught previously that once you choose to follow Jesus we will have a better life down here. Rhubarb. This isn’t heaven, we are living in enemy territory! The blessings Paul talks about are hidden inside his relationship with Christ. I’m not there yet, but I’m not giving up either! We need to choose to walk with Him, and let Him help us live our lives according to His Ways. God’s blessings are definite realities, but they will seem inconsequential to the people around us … until they need them.

Paul makes it clear that once we are saved, we need to pay even more attention to Jesus than we have ever done before. Why? God’s deep mysteries are hidden in Christ. Hidden means we gotta go look for them, it doesn’t mean they will automatically fall upon us. Investing in Christ is investing in eternity, and that’s way better than superannuation! Our inheritance comes from Him. We need to stop waiting for the pastor to give us a word and go and look for one in the bible for ourselves, plus find one for someone else! The Lord Jesus cares for each one of us, and He will provide whatever we need. But what if He doesn’t? Well, we really don’t need it then! God’s kingdom is about faith, not the stuff this world admires.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”  We can get daily caught up in wanting things, blessings — the so-called ‘good bits,’ but we can’t afford to skip over the prerequisite conditions. First we must seek His kingdom! Everything we will ever need is hidden in Christ – spiritual knowledge, life, healing, our daily bread, and we become His companions. Jesus is visible to us in the book and He walked the earth like we do! He didn’t have to pray down healing — He was healing. He didn’t have to pray down deliverance—demons couldn’t wait to get away from Him. If we aim at walking with Him day by day, then when we need it, wisdom will come. Why? Because we are walking with the Wisdom of God personified, that’s why.

We can’t afford to allow ourselves to be shallow-rooted plants, who are affected by our outward circumstances. Abiding means He is now our reference point, our life, our hope, our future, our everything. If He isn’t Who He says He is then we are sunk! That’s the kind of abiding that doesn’t have emergency contingencies. Of course we will make mistakes, but we have chosen to be honest about them. We own them, we repent and repair and move on again. The lumps and bumps are normal! This life is a journey, if you aren’t DEAD, you haven’t arrived at the destination yet. 

Our faith is designed to grow – it’s like a tree – it is meant to get bigger. Jesus’ kind of faith is more than the emergency exit button, that we try to press when thing get hard. While we are learning to walk with the Lord, our faith will expand. But it isn’t knowledge that expands it, it is living it out day by day, and making choices to trust Him. If we forget and wander off … well, you get the idea. Don’t let fruitlessness, or seeming  lack of wisdom scare you off. We can learn to depend upon Him, not our circumstances. Jesus is FOR each one of us and because He is FOR us who can be against us? He told us things would get difficult sometimes, it’s normal.

Our reactions can be changed by His Grace and His point of view. Forget material, physical blessings, our real riches are in Christ, go after them. He will blow your mind and enrich your life in ways you never even thought about. BTW, seeking doesn’t mean a mild curiosity – it took those three kings years to reach that stable! Bye. 👋