Guiding

P 3049 We are not Headless chickens.

/ DVH

Eons ago, I knew a little boy whose family had chickens. They had them for the free eggs, but they also occasionally ate them as well. The father despatched one of the birds from time to time and the mother prepared them for food. One day when the little fellow was accidentally outside in their yard, his father chopped off a chicken’s head. The chicken ran about minus its head splattering blood everywhere. The little fellow was extremely distressed, he kept shouting at his father: “Put its head back on Daddy, put its head back on.” Poor kid, I bet he didn’t forget that gory scene for a very long while!

Sometimes in the body of Christ we try to go it alone. We work so hard for Jesus we forget to consult with Him (our HEAD) about what He wants us to do. Or even talk to others because we’ve forgotten we are merely a part of His Body not the whole thing! We need to utilise the bible for our growth, not just to prove a point against someone else. If I am working toward doing something and I am not sure of the way ahead, I ask the Lord for at least 3 verses, and then I ask for outside confirmation, PLUS His peace. Remember, He’s GOD He can do anything! And the Holy Spirit does not mind caution.

It is unfortunate that any one of us can twist the bible to say many things that support our POV. Be aware, and be warned against running on ahead or off on a tangent, without your church family. Watch out for gossip or judgment. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”James 3:6. 

The bible clearly says this about consulting with the Lord. He is the Head of His body. Colossians 1:18:“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything HE might be preeminent.” And Ephesians 1:22-23 says: “And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.”

We desperately need His Mind guiding us, teaching us, and convicting us of fleshly attitudes. When we ignore the renewal of our mind, we are just like those chickens, running on instincts, behaving in a mindless fashion! The bible says this in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” In other words if He doesn’t strengthen me I can’t do it!

So if you find yourself running out of strength, or feeling lost, then have a quick spiritual check-up! We are always going to need to know what is on the Lord’s mind. If I don’t know how to proceed, then I stop until the way ahead becomes clear again and I dive into His word until He speaks to me through it. 

“For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But WE have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. 1 Corinthians 2:16. Because of what the Lord did, He is not only our Head. WE can have His mind between us – collectively – that means you AND me. I may have a thought, and you could too, but when we put those thoughts together, prayerfully, we begin to access His mind.  Unfortunately, people like to avoid this bit, because human beings enjoy thinking they alone are right and someone else is wrong. We truly need each other because otherwise, pride – which goes right before a fall – can tip us off His Way. 

There is no room for ambition in the Body of Christ. As a matter of fact, if you need a faith boost or help for something that the Lord has asked you to do for Him, and other members agree with it, I will give you my back to give you a leg up! I don’t care about my reputation, My Saviour made Himself of no reputation for my sake, so it is incredibly easy for me to allow you to flourish, because I am benefitting the Body. And at the same time I am obeying the Head.

I think this attitude is why many wonderful godly men and women have fallen on the rocks of discouragement, and deception. The mind of Christ is a collective noun. Not a singular one. We have the mind of Christ. Not just me, and not just you. And definitely not pastor-everybody-knows-their name! ALL of us together. Obviously taking that world-wide can present major problems! But in our local church setting, I often find it is good to ask somebody else to pray with me. There are times my theology needs challenging. I can be selfish, plus I am not the whole body! Our harmony is under threat when we run about majoring on our differences.

We are not headless chickens.We are His Body and corporately we have the Mind of Christ. He is our Head, loving us, guiding us, and teaching us, leading us.  Hallelujah! 🙌 Bye.

P 3018 The Dove.

/ DVH

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:  if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;  he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:3-8.

It is the Grace of God that gives us the ability to flow with the Holy Spirit – and the best place to stay is in that Grace. Nothing can, or will stay the same in His Presence! Unfortunately, that is also when it becomes easy to believe a LIE. That lie is that someone has somehow become some sort of expert, a special spiritual person. This thought causes us to elevate some people above others.

My point today is this, we are so badly acquainted with the Holy Spirit’s gifts, the person sitting next to us in church may also have gifts — but their faith has not been activated to even begin to try to follow His instructions! Or even worse, they tried and fell on their head … so now they sit silently by. Feeling like a failure.

So, let’s look at the disciples — those guys who walked around with Jesus every day for three and a half years. Boy was that some intensive conference!! There was a time when they started thinking that they were pretty special and they could use the power of God to get rid of people that ignored or annoyed them. Jesus immediately made Himself really clear. “You don’t know what spirit you are in!” 😱These men even fought over who should have the best seat in heaven. The only human being who ever was all that, is Jesus. The rest of us are in boot camp and ignorance is not bliss.

I want to really stress how important it is to know the Holy Spirit, and watch Him at work in our own lives, as well as in the bible. You won’t see Him capitalised or underlined – but you can see where He has been and what He does – if you choose to look carefully. The Holy Spirit is not some sort of lesser Person that Jesus sent back to help us. He is called our Helper, Counsellor, the One Who comes alongside of us etc., but His beauty, truth, and devotion to Almighty God is beyond comparison. He doesn’t appear to care if He is seen or worshipped or adored. Instead He wants to teach US, and help US to learn to worship and adore the Father and the Son with every part of who we are. 

Let us always remember the Holy Spirit is gentle, kind, and easily grieved by our careless behaviour, so we need to treat Him and His Ways with reverence. Because He will not defend Himself – He will simply GO AWAY. Trust me, we don’t want to find out what kind of stuff we are capable of, if He is not guiding and directing us! He is the source of all Wisdom. And here is the best and biggest clue to His seeing Him at work  — He loves to be around loving people. Whenever He comes, He brings with Him peace, joy, long-suffering, self-control etc. BTW, that’s not just a description of what He does — those things are Who He is!! 

If we ignore the supernatural effects of being around such a glorious, often unobtrusive Person, we are ignoring the very essence of Almighty God Himself. The Holy Spirit at work within each one of us, is why Godly people voluntarily choose to die to self. It’s an incredible honour. We cannot afford to put our focus on the gifts He brings, and ignore the Giver of the gifts! He must not be ‘used’ to bring about what we want. Human beings are so innately stupid we will start to think the marvellous things He does are because of us, and these miracles are happening because of the way we behave.

You and I are destined to be God’s gifts to Jesus’ bride – the Church.  While we are here, our task is to build one another up, stimulate each other’s faith and live a life of love. We are to be good bridesmaids, keep our lamps trimmed, and make sure the entire bride is ready for this unimaginable honour God has given us. It is not about “me” having a big ministry – it is about helping you find yours! That cannot happen without the Holy Spirit’s input. He is our “Resident Expert” on what love looks like, and how we, in turn, can be loving. 

Instead of asking Him for stupid worldly stuff like – should we go to Bali for a holiday, or save for a new car, or send our kids to this or that school?  We need to change our prayers from ‘Please fix this or that’ or “please heal this or that’ or ‘please oversee this or that” …OR even ….dare I say it … “please help me to find a car park!” TO this—- “What can I do for the Kingdom of God today, Holy Spirit, as I am going about my everyday life. I want to please my Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus and You. Please lead me into the places You want me to be, and help me to say the things You want me to say.” Amen. 

Jesus thought the Holy Spirit’s Presence was so important, His arrival on the earth was the reason the Lord went away! Let’s remain awake and aware of His enormous role in what God is doing and value the gentle wise Dove for all He is. Bye.🕊️