Grace

P 2431 He will change you.

/ DVH

Do you want to be ready to witness at any time? … As usual, the bible has the best teaching — like ever! “Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.” Colossians 4:6 TPT

The Apostle Paul liked prepared hearts above everything else – he wrote heaps on transformation and the power to live differently. Speaking for myself having everything I say drenched with grace, and tempered with truth and clarity is plenty of incentive for me to go on with!  But I can definitely see that then there will be power in anything I say because of those three God-given things working in me and acting on me. This scripture is another way to to tell us how to walk with the Holy Spirit. I call it the ‘watch your mouth’ scripture. God’s truth must be truth in me.

My hubby said something brilliant this morning – it helped me define the above words, truth and clarity. “My own particular quirks, attitudes, or even some conditions I may have, that need to be treated or attended to, should not define ME. Those things are not part of who God made me to be. WHO I AM.  EG: If I have a broken leg, it is not part of who I am, it is a condition to be treated. If I am fearful, or anxious it is something I need help with. It is not all of me. That bad temper is not who I am, it is who I have become in response to the world around me. I can change – Jesus Christ’s death empowered me to change.”

I call that fantastic clarity about a subject that is often very muddied in today’s world. In today’s world we define most people by their traits. “She’s so pretty. He’s flabby. That family is stupid. That person is brilliant.” Facebook etc etc.. seems to be quite good at reducing very complex ordinary human beings, into simplistic one dimensional ones. People are never just ONE thing.

Part of our preparation for sharing with others is to define ourselves by who God says we are. We cannot afford to let who we are be defined by anything else. So things like: “that person had a difficult childhood, and I had a great one” – will not disqualify either one of us from obedience. We trot this stuff out as excuses to God — reasons why we can’t obey Him — because we think of ourselves as wounded and broken. He died to heal us! We need to let every word we say about each other and ourselves, be drenched in Grace. We are His new creations now.

Clarity says things like this: “My beloved is MINE and I am HIS and His banner over me is love!” “I can do all things through Christ Who gives me His strength…” Nothing can ever separate me from His love…” BTW, that word nothing means no thing — it includes how I feel about myself, or what other people may say about me. There is great healing in agreeing and acting in faith on what God says about us. His Grace is the great equaliser.

In the Christian world, Grace is our AIR. We receive His grace, minute by minute as a normal part of our lives. Grace is a language of the Holy Spirit and Jesus released that eternal quality at Calvary. Now it is a part of human history. We don’t have to feel gracious to know we have grace – no matter what we’ve done. You don’t have to take my word, I don’t have to take yours — we believe in it because Grace is explained thoroughly in the bible. The bible is our road map to a bigger world. One that lasts forever. The problem occurs in our faith … not in what He did. If our faith is in our sinful failure then we will act like everyone else around us and make excuses for our appalling behaviour!

Praise God, we do not have to hold ourselves ransom to the past – even if the past was 5 minutes ago! However, we dare not mis-use His grace either. Repentance is a fruit of Grace. This means we look at whatever we did, through His eyes, not ours. We must stop making a god after our own image – the god we make up for ourselves is weak. That god can’t change us! It allows us to stay the same old pitiable, wishy-washy, nasty grump we always were! Jesus Christ conquered all sin forever. Our failures cannot negate that reality… Ignore what you think you know and start believing His book. 

When I give away Grace to others I am releasing His power into their lives. I received that power when I asked Him to save me. For every word we speak to be drenched in these things we will have to go beyond pretending to be nice, and actually become like Him. We must go past saying we are sorry, into change. Transformation. Grace is a transformative power – it cannot bear fruit without actions. Jesus had to actually DIE to give it to us. Now the Holy Spirit is here to help us with applying what Jesus did, and the bible says.

Like hubby said to me today, believing that … “we are who we are, and we are stuck that way,” … is error. It is denying the power of Grace. Our aim is to walk with the HOLY Spirit.  HE’S NOT SINFUL or SPITEFUL. HE DOESN’T LIE, or HOLD GRUDGES. HE ISN’T POWERLESS EITHER!! Almighty God’s words bear fruit. No fruit means GOD IS NOT IN IT. We need to let His Grace have its way in us, and then when we speak to others, it’s with truth and clarity. Bye 👋🏻.

P 2428 Jesus Christ – Grace and mercy personified.

/ DVH

“So now we draw near freely and boldly to where grace is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.” Hebrews 4:16 TPT Jesus Christ is grace and mercy personified. And every single thing He did and said was God’s incredible mercy toward mankind. But what does all that mean? Right here, right now, to us … where you and I live? Jesus Christ did not just provide us with a new copy-cat way to live – He has real life IN Him — and He paid for and gave that life to us. We gain strength when we are weak because of what He did.

Grace and mercy can often just be words to mankind, but to Father God they are a PERSON. “When the extraordinary compassion of God our Saviour and His overpowering love suddenly appeared in Person, as the brightness of a dawning day, He came to save us. Not because of any virtuous deed that we have done but only because of His extravagant mercy.” Titus 3:4-5 TPT.

If we are not careful, we can rush on by the words, and what we’ve been GIVEN. We were given a PERSON. Jesus didn’t simply have grace and mercy, like we might have kids or a house or a car – He IS grace and mercy!  And when mankind tortured and killed Him – grace and mercy came out… His life-giving blood flowed out and covered us all! Grace and mercy are the essence of Jesus Christ.

He is the perfect love of the Father expressed in a Person. Father God deliberately planned for that kind of love to come to earth and walk among us, so we could know, see and experience His love through Christ for ourselves. So now we know that these things are real and they belongs to us! We will not chase after what we do not know we OWN. Grace and mercy belong to us.

Sadly, our-not-so-grateful response to this precious gift was… … we, and people just like us, killed Him! It seems we liked the things we made up for ourselves, better! Jesus’ glorious truth about Who He is, and why He came, threatened our lies, our traditions, our very frame-work of what we chose to think about God Himself. This shows us a great deal about what human beings are really like!! We will make up a god that suits us rather than embrace the reality of Who He is. Does that sound familiar?

We cannot have grace and mercy in our lives, and sustain those things without the Author of those qualities IN us, helping us. They are simply not human qualities. When our long-ago forbearers, Adam and Eve, were caught in their sin, their immediate response was to blame someone or something else. Adam blamed God! He did the whole pathetic: “It’s-not-my-fault-God-You-gave-her-to-me thing.’ One of the hardest opponents we must fight in this life is our own overwhelming arrogance and pride. Sadly, we often think we know better than He does. That’s why we all need a brain transplant … via the bible renewing our minds! 

Lamentations 3:22&23.“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” Our God’s Character is saturated in incredible qualities that are not greatly esteemed by mankind. He gave these qualities to us for free, although His gift cost Him everything! His mercy is the reason we are still here and not roasting in hell. His compassion is so rock-solid we can stand on it. We need to learn to esteem what He esteems, first … then any other stuff will get added unto us along the way – if we actually need it.

The thing is, we can learn from the Holy Spirit how to live this life the way Jesus lived His. He was there with Christ. Jesus Christ was totally and humbly devoted to His Father’s will. Our devotion to God and others matters! God’s Mercy gives us access into the kind of real obedience we need, and His Grace empowers us to make the same choices Jesus would. BTW, FYI, in His Name means Jesus would do whatever it is if He were here. It isn’t just an add-on tag to legalise the prayer! Mercy and grace are not qualities to be used to our own advantage or even glossed over – they are the very essence of His new life IN us. Bye.👋🏻

“Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you. And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with Him! For God has re-created you all over again in His perfect righteousness, and you now belong to Him in the realm of true holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24 TPT

P 2425 We can walk like Christ did – using our faith.

/ DVH

“But the love of God will be perfected within the one who obeys God’s Word. We can be sure that we’ve truly come to live in intimacy with God, not just by saying, “I am intimate with God,” but by walking in the footsteps of Jesus.” 1 John 2:5-6 TPT.

And listen to this verse: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world know(s) us not, because it knew Him not.” 1 John 3:1. This world cannot understand Jesus Christ and His mission because most of them have never ever read the bible! They have no clue there is another way to live. It is up to us to tell them. This is one of our prime objectives – to fill the earth with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea!

Christians have the same problems other people do, but we are no longer alone. However, sometimes our hearts need to be awakened … and in some cases re-awakened, to the incredible power of Love, forgiveness, and transformation that was actually released at Calvary. To access that power we must live this life we’ve been given … His way … instead of living for ourselves. We cannot fit Jesus into the way we were living before we met Him.  Jesus Christ’s death gave us a new way to live this new life, as well as SomeOne to help us do it. Change is always in the air!

We can walk as Jesus did by walking with the same Person He did.The Holy Spirit. Now we’ve been given a brand new heart — the same heart Christ had for His Father’s will to be done. We’ve been remade … from the inside out! The bible says: ’The just shall live by faith…’ That verse means if we are not using our faith to live — we are not fully alive in Christ.

“This new plan I’m making… isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time I’m writing out the plan IN THEM, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be My people.They won’t go to school to learn about Me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know Me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great.They’ll get to know Me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.” Hebrews excerpt 8:6-13. MSG (Read Ezekiel 11:9; 36:26.) 

We cannot change our own hearts. Trust me, I’ve tried, and failed … and I’m guessing you have too!! The very minute we think we are getting it right … pride gets us. And if we get it wrong … shame gets us. 😱 This kind of transformation only comes about as we deliberately choose to obey what Jesus said. That stuff in the bible is not a whole lot of suggestions that we can ignore if we find those things too hard! It’s full of instructions to show us what this new way of life looks like – so we can live that way with the Helper in charge. 

The bible is not a magic book, full of spells and incantations that we can quote to make this life easier! It is a description of what the people who know their God and do great exploits look like! That’s why there are also people in it who messed up, big time. The bible has stories about all kinds of people in its pages. By reading it we can see that without Him — without listening to, and deliberately following Jesus — human beings are capable of horrific despicable things.

This new life that we have been given, does not mean we ignore the dumb sinful stuff we have accumulated in our lives over the years. Now we use this time we have been given, to walk out that new way to live – past and present. It means saying NO to some of our favourite things. It will mean repenting in front of people who’ve hurt us – because there are people we’ve barely tolerated. It will mean caring if we have lots, and other people have NONE.

A new heart means a totally different response. It’s not about pretending bad things didn’t happen and hoping that will do – this heart brings with it a Holy Spirit-filled new reaction. It releases HIS GRACE, everywhere. Now our responses to awful circumstances will sometimes even surprise US! Now, we actively remember, Jesus took everyone’s sin away …whether they believe in Him or not. The people who have hurt us have no more power to change than we do unless they follow Him too! After all, we had no power to change before we met Him, and we know we’ve hurt others, then and now.

SomeBody Else paid that debt we owed. He sent us the same Holy Spirit He walked with to help us to walk like He did. He forgave, so we forgive. He prayed for those who hurt Him, and now, we do that too. He was tolerant toward those who lived by religion, and so are we. We have the power to obey Him, because the Holy Spirit will help us.

This means we understand our mission: we are to use the faith God gave us to transform our lives, and enrich the lives of others … by loving, giving and serving. That’s going to mean we will use our faith – all the time! 🥰

P 2422 Understanding choices is a mark of maturity.

/ DVH

“And in love He chose us before He laid the foundation of the universe! Because of His great love, He ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in His eyes with an unstained innocence. For it was always in His perfect plan to adopt us as His delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that His tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify His grace —for the same love He has for the Beloved, Jesus, He has for us. And this unfolding plan brings Him great pleasure!” Ephesians 1:4-6 TPT.

Choice is a funny thing;  when we are teenagers we can end up choosing to do stuff because all our friends are doing it, whether that stuff is good or bad. And unless we happen to be Sam Kerr, David Beckham or Roger Federer, we can end up not chosen for some sporting team etc. at school, because everybody has worked out that we are a liability not an asset. I could never hit the broadside of a barn myself – and I often fell over my own feet. I bench-warmed my way through High School!

However … Jesus Christ chose us first … ‘while we were yet sinners…’  And at the same time maybe we actively hated this parent or that sibling, or this teacher or that boss, and wished them gone or dead – He still chose us. And He did that before we ever even got here. Such is the power of real love. Immaturity, I’ve personally discovered, often leaves all the hard choices to other people. I have a terrible feeling that the sub-text on that kind of decision is about being able to blame someone else if things work out badly. Not choosing is still choosing!

One of the worst enemies of the freedom to choose, is fear of failure. This means that we don’t choose because we don’t want to look stupid or unpopular. We don’t call it that, of course, we call it discernment, or even preferring one another. Speaking for myself, again, I discovered that idea is a bald-faced lie. Most times the only feelings I’m looking after are my own.

Human beings can go to great lengths to cover up their secret defensive agendas. For instance, if I accuse you of something, then you will be so busy defending yourself you will probably forget all about what I did. It is plain to me that the Lord wants me to get rid of all my defensive weapons and let HIM look after me. My problem comes because I can see that thing works both ways. What if He wants to look after you? 😳 PS He’s God… He can do BOTH.

Meanwhile, I’ve spent my lifetime sharpening and honing these implements of defence I’ve designed – and I don’t want to give them up – they are almost automatic now!

Have you ever watched a little kid hesitate between two items because they want both and you’ve told them to choose one?  Yeah, now you’re getting it. That’s what choice is all about. It means deciding in favour of one thing and against another and that’s not a bit popular in the world we live in.

We know that we can only choose well, because He chose us first. The real power of personal choice actually resides in knowing we’ve been empowered by what He did. Even if no-one ever empowered us as children, Jesus Christ, the ever-loving powerful Son of God has empowered us now! We simply have to choose to believe what His book says and act on it. We both know choices are hard because the habits of a lifetime compel us to “look after myself” — because no-one else will. 

So here some final questions to ask yourself: who taught either of us to be suspicious of other people? If you or I happen to think of someone when we ask that question, we should start by forgiving them. And remember, forgiveness, is not a feeling – it’s a choice! Of course you’ve never heard me say that before have you? 😂

And it helps to deliberately remind ourselves that Jesus chose us. Not because we have a sterling character, or we are aesthetically pleasing, or we are gifted one way or another. His choices were made the same way ours need to be. It involved sacrifice. Understanding the power of personal choice is a huge key while we are learning personal maturity with His help. It’s part of following Him. He chose – so now we choose … despite how we feel. 👋🏻

P 2421 The saga of the queue.

/ DVH

“For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served by everyone, but to serve everyone, and to give His life as the ransom price for the salvation of many.”” Mark 10:45 TPT. BTW, we would be wise to remember that just because lightning doesn’t strike us from heaven – that does not mean that the Lord approves of what we are doing!! It’s not called MERCY for nothing.

It’s verses like this one that convict my heart. You see, I was caught in our car recently, waiting for a half an hour, in 33 degree heat. It happened twice. There were very complicated road works and we were waiting to be given a green light so we could move on. Sadly my response was best not repeated here! I got my crank on. I was hot, hungry and not feeling well … I totally forgot I was not my own, and it was Jesus’ time that was being wasted not mine. 🙄

Let’s just think about the above verse for a minute as it applies to me in that situation. In reflection I realised I was expecting to be treated differently by a bunch of hard-working roadwork guys  … just because I wasn’t well etc. Yeah, I totally lost any kind of realism in those thoughts eh?!? Like they would know what was happening to me while they were digging ditches! 

The thing is – if I want to follow Jesus I’m probably going to go down a whole lot of difficult uncomfortable roads … that may have endless troubles — plus road-works!  However, instead of getting cranky I actually had plenty of time to pray for the poor boiling hot road workers digging away in 33 degree heat!  Rats! I definitely missed that opportunity. 😶 So today I wanted to include something in my blog that cut me to the heart – because it needed to. I urge you to read this like Jesus is speaking to you personally, I did!

I Hear His Whisper … hold nothing back from Me…

“I want to be Lord over every part of your life—over your joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, goals and disappointments. I don’t want you to hold anything back. Beloved, come face-to-face with Me. Stand in My Presence and ask for my Spirit to reveal the areas that you haven’t fully surrendered to Me. It’s time for you to release control of those parts of your life that you’ve held on to.

Let the searching gaze of My Spirit into the secret caverns of your heart. There are situations and people that I will gently bring to your remembrance. It’s important that you don’t push such a thought back down but acknowledge it and bring it to me. 

Any pain, fear, trust issues, bad habits, wrong attitudes, or areas that you’re still holding tightly to must be given to Me. They are not yours to control. I love you, and I will lovingly correct you and draw you into the place of safety, where you can lay these things at My feet, once and for all. It’s time for you to rise to a new level of freedom.” Written by Brian Simmons and Gretchen Rodreguiz

Sometimes stuff simply ‘gets’ at us. And before we know it, we are reacting – without asking for any help, or Grace. And then we end up wondering where our peace went! That’s a good time to remember Jesus’ OCEAN OF GRACE and His MERCY FOUNTAIN.  We get there by way of repentance but we don’t have to go either place via the road of shame! I can’t apologise to those particular road workers, who had no clue I was cranky at them. But I can repent and ask for the Lord’s help to change. After praying I found a whole lot of stuff inside that I had no idea existed. Including pride and resentment, plus entitlement … because I’m often ill… poor me! I was reminded again, that my time is His time and He can spend it how He likes. 

Secondly my comfort – or not, is now in His hands. I repented and spoke a blessing over the men working so hard to make the roads safer for everyone, and revised my attitudes. Being ill and tired is no excuse. Actually I’m doing my best to give up excusing myself, it’s a waste of time. I want to go straight to: “What’s the problem here Lord please?” 

The thing I’ve noticed is that if I am being truly honest, I also must leave behind that sickly sweet little voice – that comes from inside ME. It’s definitely not the Lord! That voice is soooo sympathetic and it says things like: “That’s OK, you can’t help it, you have a lot to deal with.” You know, not every voice we hear is the devil. Sometimes it’s just OUR FLESH! Yikes! 

Like I’ve said before, deception comes from careless choices, and there is no other place for that junk but the cross! I want to close by saying it is worth reflecting on the fact that Jesus came to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many and He always had time for everybody – even when He was dying! So it’s no big deal if I’m asked to give a half an hour of my time, for a few hardworking road makers. 👋🏻

P 2418 His Grace is an Ocean.

/ DVH

When I think about the ocean I think about its vastness, wave upon wave, large and small, finding its way to the shore. Consistent. Inevitable. Endless and constant. Plus great POWER!! God’s Grace is like that ocean. Today I want to look at the parallels between an ocean and what freedom from our sin means. In my illustration WE are the shore. We are the recipients of this incredible ocean of Grace that just won’t quit  … it just keeps flowing and flowing toward us.

Wave after wave, after wave. Endlessly flowing toward, and into, and through … our little insignificant lives. It does not pause, falter or cease. Sometimes His Grace even pounds upon our lives like the ocean on a stormy night, and sometimes it is barely the tiniest ripple. In and out, in and out. God’s Grace is like that. Have you ever sat and watched the little waves creeping their way to their tide-appointed spot? Mesmerising isn’t it? Maybe you’ve watched the land take a thorough thumping from bigger waves. They can be so powerful and seem so tall. Grace is like that too. Powerful and always there. Big or small – always available. 

Those waves we’ve both watched, take the most minute pause as they reach their zenith, then they start to drain away through the soft sand. For us, in those vulnerable moments before we decide to let our deceitful desires overcome us – Grace is available to us, so we can resist whatever it is that is trying to distract us from our purpose. OUR PURPOSE IS TO LOVE AND BLESS OTHERS WITH HIS LOVE. In and out, like the waves hitting the sand.

Everything we need is there for us in Him, as we use our faith, step out and change our destiny. One shaky step at a time. The Holy Spirit says to you or I: ”Look at Me. I’m here for you. Don’t say that mean thing you want to say right now. Take a breath, wait.” And just like that, His little Grace-wave kisses us. The Holy Spirit waits for us to accept it, like the sand receives the sea water, and suddenly we taste freedom from the sin that can so easily catch us. 

We can pray “help help” if we are overcome with intense emotions, or we can plant our feet and say to ourselves: “I have nothing to prove, God loves me.”  And then we say no to temptation, whatever it is. Just like the waves that relentlessly wash up on the shore, His Grace knocks at the door of our hearts and says: “Let Me help you.” Then the choice becomes ours. Suddenly we are confronted with what we really want – we need and want Him! I want to exhort everyone to treat God’s Grace, respectfully, not carelessly or dismissively. It is the power of God that brought Jesus Christ out of the GRAVE. It ain’t feeble and it ain’t nothin’! And you and I can never be too hard for it to deliver us.

Jesus Christ did not intend for us to live this life alone, because He knows, first-hand, how hard it is to be human. He overcame the enemy by placing His faith on the Rock of God’s Word in His time of trial. Let’s not kid ourselves, resisting some temptations is difficult. Some of the dumb stuff we fight daily we have been actively cultivating, or inwardly ignoring for years. But instead of focussing on the sin – which can easily overcome us – focus on that ocean of Grace. Every wave of Grace coming toward us is Jesus shouting: “I love you! I won!” 

What did He win? OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE. The power to choose was loosed by God’s Grace, when it was released toward us, at Calvary. And it is so wide, so deep, so vast that our enemy can only win if we let him. Our choices matter. The enemy can make things seem trivial and petty, but the truth is, our battles to stay with Jesus, in His Presence, are won in the everyday skirmishes we face. However, even if we fail, there is redemption in His ocean of Grace.

The secret to living an overcoming life is to focus on the One Who overcame everything … not the problem. Jesus said in ‘2 Corinthians 12:9–10. … “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” We need to admit our weakness to Him, and ask for His strength. Then we take that faith step, whether we feel like it or not. Pause, and remind yourself about the amount of power there is in the ocean – that is what is coming toward you and I, to help us.

If we want to, we can swim and live out our lives in His ocean, where there is no right or wrong there is only GRACE. Grace doesn’t hold a grudge .. it pays no attention to a suffered wrong. You can’t easily live this way AND I can’t do either. But the power to overcome whatever it is that shoves in on you and grabs your attention away from Him – is in that endless ocean of Grace. Give up. Give in, and give it all to Him and let it float away on that ocean. Don’t let anything take your gaze away from the Saviour. Bye. 👋🏻

P 2415 Applying the Holy Spirit’s lessons …

/ DVH

His lessons in our lives, lead to a stronger faith and spiritual growth. Strong faith means we take the Word of God seriously, DAILY, and act on it. Faith is like a muscle, it grows when we use it. We need to use our faith to lovingly care about others. The best place to start exercising our faith muscle is to use it to change the things in our lives that we totally know should not be there.

Here are some thoughts for you to chew on because you belong to Jesus and we all need to use our faith. Bad tempers are an option … not an inheritance. I don’t care how many people in your family have had a bad temper – we are in the family of God now, He is our history, our present and our future. Let’s leave that junk behind us. It’s the same as doubt. We must actively cultivate doubt, in order to keep it. Who on earth wants doubt?  Doubt is unbelief in the written word of God and in His Character! Look, we will all need help with our faith in our day to day lives, so we need to ask for it and then use it when opportunities come up. Christians are not meant to be storm-tossed all the time. Swinging back and forth like a pendulum in a clock. “Our faith is in His goodness in the land of the living” – that means now, today!

Some people struggle with an issue of control. That often grows from a deep-seated fear of letting someone else be in charge. Deal with the fear. Ask the Lord who you should forgive, because control can be handed down from one generation to the next. Then repent of doubt, anger and fear and from trying to control everything. The bible tells us “to submit to one another” – that means active participation, not just agreeing with the idea in principle. Control will not leave us unless we deliberately oppose it with humility and grace. Yes, other people will, and do let us down – that’s why you are scared in the first place. Put your faith in the Lord. He can take a stone and fell a giant!

We need inner transformation flowing onto outer transformation, that is the very best place to grow faith. To start with, the Holy Spirit is utterly, unquestionably reliable. He will start working on anything we give Him, immediately. BUT! Simply praying, and doing nothing, is fruitless – we still have to ACT. That’s what faith is all about – action. Doing something! If your problem is temper, try shutting your mouth next time you want to let fly. Refuse to participate in satan’s nasty little games. Remember we are no longer weak and helpless – Christ is now in us, He is our hope of glory! The fruit of self-control grows together with using our faith. 

Make the Holy Spirit welcome in your life. Cultivate His Presence and His holiness will also transform you. Eventually His Presence becomes more valuable that any stupid thing we think we have to have, or do, or SAY. The Holy Spirit is kind and gentle … He won’t hang around with an explosive temper, or carefully cultivated control, or doubt – He will leave. Confess your faults to someone else and ask the Lord to help you. Now use your faith to respond differently. My experience is this, if you move an inch toward Him – He will run miles for you.

Faith does not fall on us. To grow faith we need to start stepping out and using it daily. Doing that changes the way we live. The bonus in that decision is that we will stop driving our spouse, parents, teachers, and kids balmy! Plus we make ourselves available for greater things. Very few of us will walk on water without practising the skill of listening to Him and obeying, first! These things have to stop being a theory, or something that somebody else does because they are nicer than you are. The disciples after Pentecost focussed on the Lord and other people – they were single-minded.

The bible says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  This is purely my response to that verse, but I think of it like this: What will people get if they take a bite out of me? Would they get an explosion? Or a polite, barely-held-together-through-the-teeth response, OR …would they get what God Himself wants them to have … a Holy Spirit inspired portion of the Grace He has already given me.

There is no right time to change. In my experience change starts to occur right at the time you want to thump somebody. That’s when the Holy Spirit nudges you in the ribs and says: “NOW!” Then we have to clap our hand over our mouth and resist the temptation to do or say whatever it is. Now take a breath, and thank Him for helping you. Ventilating our emotions all over someone else is destructive – releasing the Holy Spirit in those moments will bless both parties. 

We need to devote ourselves to applying His lessons into our lives – the result will be stronger faith. 🕊

P 2412 People need help to understand.

/ DVH

I often really struggle with the concept that the people-who-don’t-know-Jesus-yet, are somehow our enemies or they are in the wrong team. The Bible describes these people as lost  …to me that means they can be found – at any minute, of any hour, of any day, any time at all! Even if people are supposedly our enemies, we are to love them! Now there’s a directive that changes stuff.  Christianity is not an exclusive club, with passwords and incomprehensible language – it’s a whosever-will-may-come-club!

Jesus told us parables about things that have been lost, and then they get found. However, we both know that He’s talking about people, not coins or sheep … ! It is a tragedy when we treat the people-who-don’t-know-Jesus yet like they are somehow inferior to us. No wonder they avoid us like the plague. We need to learn to love who HE loves, and He loves ALL OF THEM. Let’s stop trying to get them saved, so we will feel more comfortable, and share the love of God instead. There ain’t nothing more powerful than His love.

The difference between us and most non-Christians, or non-believers, is simply … His Grace. We know about what He did for all of us, and they don’t!  Grace can totally transform a human heart. “What do we have that we were not GIVEN?!’ (I Corinthians 4:7) In other words, somebody else told us there was another way to live. You or I could be the first person to ever tell another person the salvation story. What a privilege we have – we get to invite people into eternity with Jesus. His GRACE IS WHAT MATTERS – Grace works fine when you use your faith.

The dividing line between “them” and “us” is imaginary and quite useless. It puts a space where there is no need to put one! Personally, I was “them” not that many years ago. Then somebody took the time to tell me Jesus loves me. That sentence changed my life utterly. I don’t know your story, but I know I believed in a God Who was out there, somewhere, for many many years, before I met Jesus Christ personally. Up until that day I had no clue that He was available to be MET. I had never heard the gospel even once. The news that Jesus loved me, before I was even born, and He had a plan for my life, was astonishing. Before that point my own plans were kind of haphazard, and they were not working out all that well! 

I think somehow, we are afraid that if we tell people the cost of Christianity, they won’t ‘sign up!’ We’ve forgotten the whole point is for them to meet a Person, not join a church group. When they meet Him, He’s worth the cost! Prior to meeting the Lord myself, my life was a revolving door with people coming in and going out on their own whims. Then I met SomeOne Who came IN to stay. When you have suffered rejection all of your life God’s acceptance blows your mind.

As I speak to other people about the Lord, I often think of my previous life and I talk to other people with it in mind. Funnily enough, I witnessed to all my family and friends until I was no longer welcome with some of my rellies.. teehee..  Hah! Truth be told I still do that actually – giggle.😂 That’s because some of those people are now closer to the shoving-off point than they were back then, and I figure what the heck? They definitely need to know!! That’s called LOVE.

At this very moment hubby has gone off to share the gospel with a lady who knows nothing about Jesus, and she is part of a small group of people who meet to talk about the Gideon bible. Talk about dedicated! She barely speaks English!! She came here from mainland China. We have given her heaps of stuff to help her on her journey toward knowing Jesus. Her words to my hubby about the Gideon bible were: ‘This is a very hard book to understand.’ I’ll say! That’s why we give away modern versions of His book..

Finally, I want to leave everyone reading this today, with one last thought – “Where are the Phillips who will come alongside others to help them understand what they are reading?” …Just like Philip did with the Ethiopian eunuch. That godly man ran alongside this man’s carriage to help him understand the gospel. Hubby and I will, of course, pray for this lady… but we are not leaving her alone – now the Holy Spirit has her. The most important point hubby gave her today was JESUS LOVES YOU – He wants to be a part of your life. 👋🏻

PS It ain’t rocket science. A child can do it! And our children and grandchildren might have to if we keep dodging out of our own responsibility. It wouldn’t be the first time God has gone right ’round one generation to the next!

P 2403 Step away from religious ritual.

/ DVH

“I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is somethingfar more interior: faith expressed in love.” Galatians 5:4-6 MSG

I like this version of those verses, because most people don’t intentionally set out to become religious. We are initially attracted to the welcoming, living, breathing,  redeeming Saviour — and then time, and a lack of inspiration wears us down. Pretty soon, unless we address the idea that church is meant to be there for me, to help me, and teach me… religious duty will take over. We can’t blame the pastor! Our own expectations when we go to church matter. I exhort you, go to church to be with Him and the Body of Christ.

Perhaps at times we are speaking for the Lord, but not listening to Him. The Holy Spirit knows how to have church, the early church waited for Him because Jesus’ instructed them to wait, but the good news is this — we don’t have to wait for Him, He’s already here!! He never left. We simply need to constrain Him to come and stay with us, collectively. Our desire to be with Him will attract Him. Instead of blaming the leaders, let’s you and I go to church hungry for Him, more of Him.

I don’t think this means we need to put on a better show than Radio City Music Hall, or a some sort of Rock concert – that’s just window dressing. I think we resort to window dressing because a lot of the church is addicted to feelings. The real truth is, we want Him to come and be with us all… Like the men on the road to Emmaus we need to urge the Lord to come further with us, eat with us, and be with us. We need to change our expectations of why we go to church.

What we need to know, more than anything, is how to make Him our priority.  If wooing the bridegroom is not paramount in our thoughts and actions … then there is a chance we are being religious. When He comes to our gatherings people are convicted, healed, transformed, built up and encouraged into action – because He is present. The bible totally proves that our God loves to be around mankind – He created opportunities to interact with us. However, we have become so addicted to having our own needs met, we’ve left behind the thought that church is about Him.

I am also not talking about prophetic utterances or words from the Lord. Prophetic utterances are often for US. We spend so much time trying to build us up that we’ve forgotten to make the One person Who can do it in a heartbeat – welcome! The Holy Spirit needs to be our new Best Friend. You and I meet with Him daily, in our own homes, and circumstances, but when we get together that is our opportunity to become part of a collective longing.That longing is not about knowing about Him – we want to be with Him because He loves to be with us.

A good sailor will tell you that they watch to see what the wind is doing because they know they need the wind to fill the sail so they can progress. We need to watch and see what the Holy Spirit (the Wind) is doing and then do that. Following Jesus is not some sort of chore. It only seems to be a chore when we get stuck on ritual. Religion is not what we are aiming at, unless it is pure religion. James talked about that … looking after widows and orphans, plus keeping a watch over our tongues.

Church is about meeting with Him and not simply about making us feel good. We go there to learn how to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength – and our neighbour as ourselves. But God comes first, because … “without HIM we can do nothing!” So, I go to church … not just for my needs, but for HIS and yours. Church should never just be a weekly activity. But please don’t quit going there–just change the reason you go!

I don’t think Christians are being religious on purpose. But His Grace is not prevalent or present, when we leave Him and His wishes out. The key to this passage is at the end of it – faith expressed in love. I love Him and that means I love you. No matter what you wear or how you sound, I am more concerned about you than me. If love is not present, the Lord is not present – because LOVE is a hallmark of His Presence. Bye. 🤗 

P 2399 Forgiveness and obedience are our best weapons of choice.

/ DVH

Forgiving others and obeying the Lord’s wishes has become our life’s work. Those two things go together. So much so, that when He shows us something as we read the bible we need to immediately ask Him: “What would You like me to do about that Lord?” And then we go and do it – using our choice not our feelings.

Initially, when the Holy Spirit checked me about stuff I was doing that wasn’t good, I didn’t like it very much. He said things like: “You have resented this person’s influence in your life, you need to start appreciating them.” That meant I had to practice taking my stray thoughts captive, and at the same time I had to stick my hand over my mouth instead of bad-mouthing someone I was mad at. Sadly, I am still not always successful at that… 

But the first thing I learnt about myself because of His instruction – was this: I had been using my thoughts and my words as a pressure valve! Anger and resentment built up inward pressure that I needed to deal with. After all your mouth is right there and it works and everything (!) and so I often used my words to cope with bad things that happened, or perceived slights and injuries caused by someone else. After a while I realised I had a really big lists of stuff (aughts) against other people (any). Bad plan BTW, keep your forgiveness lists short. “And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25 ASV.

This is how it plays out:  let’s say you can’t stand your Uncle B. Maybe Uncle B was kind of not nice to be around. Every time you saw him as a kid you wanted to run away, or you hoped your parents would rescue you, but they were too busy socialising instead. Now, because you are an adult, when you see Uncle B. you can run for the hills, or you can even avoid family gatherings, because he is going to be there. Maybe you want to protect your kids. You don’t want them to feel like you did around him.

Here is what I have learnt. Forgiveness is harder to find for old wounds – you are going to need lots of God’s GRACE to do it. Perhaps you are also angry with your parents for not protecting you, a-n-d … you probably wouldn’t pass Uncle B. a fire extinguisher if he was on fire 🔥 … so that would be something else you need to work on. You are stuck with not only your need to forgive others, but your own past childish judgment. 

Unless you make a start by forgiving your parents for their neglect, you can easily slip into assessing what they did. It is unfortunately easy to judge our parents retrospectively and vow that we will never do that stuff to our kids! It’s a no-brainer that you will also need to forgive Uncle Bob, BTW. And you are definitely going to need help with that!! Here’s my first point. We cannot do lasting spiritual transactions, without the Holy Spirit – He knows every single detail and how to get us free. We have to start with God’s Grace and guidance to navigate past any mine-fields. (Mind-fields.)

I can’t tell you exactly what to do because every situation needing forgiveness is different … but I urge you not to postpone or avoid forgiving someone as a way to defend yourself. Neither should you avoid repentance just because it seems the other person won’t change. We cannot hinge our transformation on someone else’s behaviour! That supposed knowledge of their sin is a snare sent to trip you up. Ask for His Grace, and keep right on asking while you continue to follow Jesus. Keep praying: “I want to do what You said Lord, and I need help.” 

Unconfessed sin and a lack of repentance is a place for satan to stand in our lives. satan is a legalist, and he will use it against us – he will distract us with things that are of no consequence – while we are ignoring the thing that is tripping us up! Instead we need the Lord’s Grace and His way through. We cannot live the Christian life and experience victory if we don’t make the practice of obeying the bible a living breathing part of our lives – instead of just a using it as reference book.  

Forgiving someone does not mean we are giving them permission to continue to abuse us. Rather forgiveness is a statement, an intentional declaration, that we know that God has a bigger plan. Romans 8:28 says: “And we know [with great confidence] that God [Who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”

His plan and His purpose is to lovingly transform us. Sometimes He will rescue us, and sometimes He wants us to act in faith, like Jesus did. I have observed as I have followed Him and embraced His purposes, that His plans for my good blow my mind. I would never have understood those plans, if I hadn’t decided to die to the way I think, obey what He said, and let Him be Lord.  

Here is my last thought for today – our God does not speak to us contrary to His word – His word is immutable – it will not change over time. Choosing to forgive, plus knowing the Word of God and choosing to obey it, is our best defence weapon. 👋🏻