Hell

P 3275 On being an arrow …

/ DVH

“These heroes all died still clinging to their faith, not even receiving all that had been promised them. But they saw beyond the horizon the fulfilment of their promises and gladly embraced it from afar. They all lived their lives on earth as those who belonged to another realm. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13.

The people who are spoken about here in Hebrews … are our illustrations. That is a long list – which could definitely surprise you, if you take the time to read the whole chapter! Those people lived this life, their only life– looking forward to forever … instead of living for here and now! They did not have fun, fun, happy, happy lives. Instead they chose to live using their faith in the God Who said He would save them. They took Him at His Word. Plus these people in Hebrews kept themselves open to correction and they just kept pressing on. Their faith in Him filled their vision. These people saw this life as something they would pass through to something better. 

They were often isolated from their family, or friends because of their beliefs – and they suffered all sorts of hardships along the way. They were misunderstood, some of them almost daily! All of them were Jewish, except for Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute — her obedience and faith saved her and her family. These men and women were identified as God’s own Chosen people. Simply because of their witness.

We should not be surprised when life gets difficult and we think we can’t cope. It can be deadly to our faith if we forget to keep our eyes on eternity. We can become so used to maintaining the here and now, that forever seems like a dream, and today’s worries entangle our feet and root us into the immediate! But that is not the way these folks lived. Eternity was realer to them than this daily grind.

Actually, forever is a part of what we believe. We will have the joy of being with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit endlessly. None of this floating in and out business, like the good and bad times we stagger through  sometimes is in this life – in heaven we will be living totally aware of the Trinity, and the saints who have gone on before us. We will be changed. Oh I feel such gratitude for the fact that we will ALL be changed to be like Jesus I know I need changing. 

At the same time we have not been asked to simply put up with this life, while we wait for the end of it. Father God has asked us to spend the time we have, using our minds and hearts to become a highly interactive and well defined arrow. Day by day, the way we live, and the way we interact with others, needs to point to Jesus. Arrows point to other things! 

We are not undercover brothers and sisters, we are His family. Love is now our primary language. We are purpose-built to enjoy living for Jesus right here. Heaven is not just available for a select few …. anymore than hell was made for people!  It is God’s desire is for ALL to be saved. And we are His chosen arrows pointing the way to salvation. It’s impossible for me to ever choose one of my children, or grandchildren, that I don’t want to see, or be a part of their lives. And Almighty God’s a much better parent than I am!

Meanwhile, do remember to spare a thought for mothers. Children can be difficult, trust me!! Daily there are more and more criticisms of parenting that seem to pile up. And many adults don’t seem to remember that somebody fed us, sheltered us, rocked us to sleep, and made sure we didn’t fall off a cliff! There is so much criticism about, it is far too easy to focus on what parents did wrong. If you are still here then someone did something right! 

Arrows choose to point to the good in things around them, or in the best thoughts about bad situations.They don’t point out other people’s faults, or sins – these ‘arrow’ people know they are here to help others become more acquainted with the Love of God. They have made it their mission to be a source of that Love, while they are still in this world. When you fire an arrow the idea is to hit what you are aiming at! Those long-forgotten saints in Hebrews 10 made it their business to aim at following God and honouring Him with their substance and their lives. 

Those people did not miss the mark. Their faith was firmly fixed on God and what He said, not on this life going on around them and their part in it. Here’s something I have found useful. If I am focussed on what is going around me, then I am probably not giving my faith in His love and kindness toward me, the attention it deserves. The “arrow” of our lives gets turned away from our destiny a little bit at a time, as we allow the imposing confounding things of this world to turn our eyes away from Jesus. We simply can’t look at those two things at the same time, we will end up cross-eyed! 

Which is another word for not seeing anything clearly. When your vision becomes cloudy, stop and ask the Lord to show you what has inserted itself between you and Himself. Following, by its very nature, means we are looking at the Leader. And arrows have a purpose. They give us direction and show us where we move onto next. Bye👋

P 3269 The Spirit of Truth.

/ DVH

My heartfelt apologies if you tried to access my site – firstfloormessages.com. My server has ongoing problems, I recommend WordPress for access until the problem is resolved. The tech team is working on it.

“And I will send you the Divine Encourager from the very Presence of my Father. He will come to you, the Spirit of Truth, emanating from the Father, and He will speak to you about Me. And you will tell everyone the truth about Me, for you have walked with Me from the start.” John 15:26-27 TPT. When I read this scripture today, the first thing that jumped out at me is the fact that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH. It seems to me that our society is in love with ‘grey’ areas, and we don’t live our lives openly and honestly anymore. It means we can easily miss what the Lord wants to say to us, or to lovingly say to others. Purity is about our proximity to the Holy Spirit. We want to create an atmosphere He loves by following His instructions in the Word.

Most people work hard, struggle financially, and engage with the media to relax and escape from the pressures of life. That’s actually called evasion. Postponing problems won’t fix them or get us into a fit state to face them either. We have been saturated in what the media says and thinks. It is full of lies, and I am not just talking about the politicians! Every time we watch a fictional movie we are actively embracing being lied to. It is not nothing, it frames our subconscious thinking! Actors are actually extremely good liars! Even things like reality shows are staged strategically to appeal to our baser selves. We have been reduced to spectators, instead of being participators in this life. It seems we are embracing the spirit of this world, not the Spirit of truth, but we want the Lord of All to fit in around all of it!

I’m not against TV – I watch it! However, true reality is not happy ever after – it’s the dirty dishes, going to work, no parking, a screaming baby, the cat throwing up on the carpet, or an unexpected bill. The bible says things like this:

• But seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33

• Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6

• Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. -Romans 12:12

• But those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31

• Whoever DWELLS in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1

What we choose to focus our lives on matters. We can live in fiction, or distraction or in His shelter. Doing both is called double-mindedness. We are blocking our ears to the very Person Who knows what comes next. So let’s just ask the Lord: ‘should I watch this?’  …’What do You think about this show Lord?’ If He doesn’t like it then don’t watch it. Can you honestly see Jesus kicking back in a comfy chair with chips on His lap, and His feet up, watching ‘Bambi’, because He walked a long way and prayed for so many people, and now He needs to chill out? So why didn’t the Lord do pointless things to relax?  

He was busy seeking first the kingdom of God. Jesus knew He was here on assignment. SO ARE WE. Prayer, waiting on Him, and reading the bible, etc. takes time and the benefits of making these things a priority often comes later. It is the Holy Spirit’s great joy to help us find our way through the maze of stuff that goes on daily. Seriously there is no such thing as minutiae to the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper. We need to prayerfully cultivate our relationship with Him, by not grieving Him or ignoring Him, when He speaks to us, then turn His instructions into actions.

If we are still giving into grey areas, perhaps we have not taken the opportunities He has given us to hone our listening skills. If we choose to ignore Him, He will go away! Sadly, this world is going to hell – on our watch! If we feel we need to escape from the life we are living, then we need to fast and pray and ask the Lord why? What is making me so dissatisfied with my life? Just be aware that the Lord won’t blame other people for our decisions and actions — He will simply reveal ME to me. I vote we all stop allowing distraction to ‘dull’ our spiritual senses.

We cannot afford to want to live this life both ways. We have already given up our right to live this life however we want. Ananias and Sapphira decided to cheat on their income tax, so they fudged the books. And yes, I know that’s not what the story is about, I am exaggerating to illustrate – not lying! 🤣… Those guys dropped dead immediately.  A bit severe wouldn’t you say? NO! The Holy Spirit was such a treasure to the Apostles and disciples, that they would not tolerate the lie. Pause and think on that. The Spirit of truth is our Treasure, now too.

Valuing the Lord and His Presence is our assignment. We can’t afford to partake of this current society that paints black white, then calls it OK-grey! We need to know, hear and obey the Spirit of truth. He is our most valuable asset. Jesus thought so much of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, He wouldn’t go anywhere without Him …  … and then He sent Him back to help us. Bye. 👋

P 3213 Gird up yor girdle Gertie.

/ DVH

I try not to be negative on this page because, thanks to the Media – social or otherwise – there is enough negativity floating around. It is like some sort of malodorous stench that can saturate everything we see and hear. The thing I want to talk about today is that we seem to have forgotten that we were saved to serve others, no matter what creed, or religion they belong to.

Here’s a question – if someone else is from another faith, do we automatically limit our exposure to them, or discard their words as error – maybe because we are afraid? Isn’t that making our God too small? The Lord saved us and He can keep us. Are we comforting ourselves that we’ll be OK – after all we are in the ‘right group.’ Yet millions of people are tipping off the edge of this life going straight into hell. They are going there because they don’t know any better.

God is good to both believers and non-believers. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust, and we don’t get to decide who is who! Our job is very clear – we are to love the people around us with His love. We need to remember Jesus is always present to save, and those dear souls that seem to be the furthest way from Him, often turn around at the speed of light!

Hubby and I have had people in our lives that are absolutely not walking with Jesus, and they haven’t got a clue that He came to save them, but these people have blessed us. We have all kinds of friends who support us as we give away bibles, and help the poor, and they do not know the Lord – yet. I believe when this happens these people have been touched by God’s hand, so at the same time, they are not far from His kingdom. Many times someone like this has said or done something lovely, and I know it’s the Lord working in them, and through them.

I wouldn’t dream of following what my friends believe, because I know their beliefs are error, and some of them are from the pit. But how can they know any differently if I do not tell them? Ostracising people alienates them. We can call it respecting someone else’s space – but isn’t that just evasion? Doesn’t it justify our fear of being contaminated, and persuade us to ‘play it safe,’ and do whatever we do, within the boundaries of our own churches? 

This world has so many other faiths. Let’s choose to learn to love people who are of another faith, and not treat them any differently than we would treat our brother or sister at church. “… they will know we are Christians by our love…” That love needs to go outside of the church and reach out to everyone. The Lord Jesus is altogether lovely, and He can and will win anyone over.

At the same time, we are not only required to tell people the truth, we must demonstrate it to them. Sometimes over and over again. We cannot afford to throw people away because they don’t have the same beliefs we do – we are reinforcing false boundaries when we do that. It is time to stop dividing others into categories and deciding who is IN, and who is OUT. Speaking for myself, I have noticed that the Lord is not far away from anyone, so what is needed is prayer, not judgment! There are many people today – no matter what they seem to believe, who are not far away from His kingdom. If they have some other faith, it means they are spiritually minded. Maybe they just haven’t met the Truth yet.

There are two ways to approach life – the easy way and the hard way. Most people like the easy road, whether they are Christians or not! In Matthew 7:13-14 it says: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Only our Shepherd Jesus, is the true gate and at this moment in time, He is out there amongst ALL His sheep, calling to them to walk through that narrow gate, and follow Him. Peter once thought he knew who was what — and then Jesus straightened him out! Acts 10:9-16.

How anybody comes to know Jesus is His business, not mine. No matter what god they have worshipped in the past – we are all still HIS sheep and every single sheep counts. We are commanded to live a life of love, and speaking for myself, that’s plenty to go on with! Let’s jump in and watch His love win all kinds of people that we thought would never come – no matter what idol lives at their house. Many people follow idols because of family, or tradition, or nationality. However, the greater One lives in us. 

Here’s the way God approaches even the people who deliberately sin against Him. Isaiah 57:16-19. “For I will not fight against you forever, nor always show My wrath; if I did, all mankind would perish—the very souls that I have made. I was angry and smote these greedy men. But they went right on sinning, doing everything their evil hearts desired. I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and to confess their sins. Peace, peace to them, both near and far, for I will heal them all.”  Interesting verses eh? We must never forget our God is GOOD and MERCIFUL. 

Like I said, ‘gird up your girdle, Gertie,’ we are in for a bumpy ride. You and I could end up talking to strangers at the shops! Father God has hungry people everywhere, even in the enemy’s camp. Bye. 👋.

P 3137 We all like the ‘nice’ verses.

/ DVH

I have been reading in Acts 5:1-11, and it seems to me that nobody much likes this particular story… they certainly don’t let you teach the whole ‘you-will-drop-dead-if-you-lie-to-God’ story at Sunday School, or even from the pulpit. The thing is, that story is in the bible for a reason, so we need to take it seriously. Let’s just pause and think a minute …I mean, what kind of Christian does stuff like this? Can I just squeeze in a thought here – the one that says: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?” That kind of fear sounds like a good kind of fear. Off we go … to a funeral — well … two actually!

“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.”

I think it was the lack of Godly reverence that ended this man — not just the fact that he lied, or even the money he hid. It was the fact that Ananias thought he could fudge the truth when he was facing God Himself. Let’s be clear. This man knew exactly what He was doing. He wasn’t someone who just happened by, he was part of the group that had seen the Holy Spirit at work in incredible ways. In the bible, right after this particular incident, a whole lotta people suddenly became very respectful, and responded to the Lord, and each other, with much greater reverence. As it should be! Here’s- V’s 7-11. This is called a conspiracy, by the way!

“About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”

Everybody loves the ‘nice’ God pictures. Sweet pictures in our minds about Jesus loving people, healing them, redeeming their lives – but nobody likes this picture very much. Yet having respect for Who He is, and all the blessings we don’t deserve, bestowed upon us,  is essential. We don’t actually deserve anything He has given us. It is all grace! We all deserve hell! And I really don’t care how nice or saved you think you are!  I believe that at this moment in time, Almighty God is dealing with His people, He is calling us to come home and start behaving like HIS kids.“Why do you call me Lord, Lord and you don’t do the things I say?” Luke 6:46.

The fact that He is so loving and generous toward us all, does not mean we can presume upon Him or His Grace. Meanwhile, every word that comes out of God’s mouth is worthy of far more than just our attention —those words require our willing obedience! Not just the ones that say the things we think we want to hear. Acts 5:1-11 shows us why we need to be honest with Him and ourselves. Disobeying what God has told us is a minefield, if we are unsure, then we need to check up on what we’ve heard in the bible. 

These two people, Ananias and Sapphira, were Christians! So we can’t hide behind the idea that this story is under the Old Covenant. Meanwhile, it seems to me that they were also serious Christians because they were willing, to a degree, to participate in the whole sharing everything idea that had overtaken the entire body at that time. My point is – there was no need to lie!  There was room for the truth. And “I can’t do this, my faith isn’t big enough” must be said. Almighty God knows we are dust, we don’t have to pretend to be somebody we are not!

Let’s also take note of how protective Peter was of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in their midst. Man, this thought is so important – His Will, His Way!  The Holy Spirit is the gentle, loving, generous, beating Heart of God Himself. Lying to Him for our own benefit, hurts Him. Don’t hurt Him! That’s dumb! He will leave and He’s our Helper! That’s like sending away the fire department, the ambulance, and the police when your house is under siege and on fire, and you can’t get out. This passage is one of the best examples of lying to God and the consequences of doing it, in the whole bible. And the Lord’s response to this situation was to cut it all out, like a surgeon cuts out a cancer…thoroughly. 

Please don’t succumb to the pressure of pretending you are something that you are not. We cannot afford to leave the King of all Glory standing there waiting for us to decide if it is worth our reputation to be truthful with Him and others – or not! I urge everyone reading this to value the Holy Spirit, and His input with everything you have, and everything you do. He wants to be made welcome in our lives, not just by what we say or sing – but by the honourable way we choose to live. Bye. 👋

P 3134 The best response.

/ DVH

Our justification before Almighty God is based entirely on what Jesus did for us. He came to earth, totally identified with mankind, and chose to die in our place. That fact continually amazes me …. What amazing love! What an incredible exchange! 🙌 The Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit have such a passionate love for humanity, wherever we are, no matter what we have done. Always remember, Jesus knows how hard this life can be. Because of what He did for us, now we are DEAD, DEAD, DEAD, DEAD, dead! All dead – so we live like we are DEAD!

The blood of Jesus washes away every single bit of our ugliness, carelessness, spite, anger, rage and wanting what we know we cannot have. Now, because of the freedom from fear of reprisal, and the power of God given to us to live like Jesus did – it’s time to put this AWAY world’s junk and LIVE for Him. God is no longer angry with mankind – all His anger was spent on Jesus. Now let’s ask some questions: what are we doing with what our Saviour DIED to give us? Do we squander it by living this life doing whatever we want to do? Or pay Him lip service on Sundays, while we live for ourselves Monday through to Saturday? What should our response be? Romans 5:1-6,8-11,16b, has the answer: 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us. 

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… … But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation… … The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.”

Have you ever told a lie, thought an unclean thought, or wanted to seriously hurt someone else – even in your head? God calls that, and many many other things, sin. In His kingdom, that which is not LOVE is SIN! Instead of all of us facing punishment, Father God chose to give us the opportunity and power to live this life glorifying the One Who gave us so much. Jesus is with us in Person, day by day. 

Thank God, our ignorance or rebellion, has not cancelled out the magnitude of what was done on our behalf. The Lord Jesus made us right with Almighty God, and it cost Him everything this world had to offer, to do it for us. He paid our outstanding debt! A legal contract that eliminated what we owed forever, washed clean in His blood. Before we knew Him, we had no inkling of need, or even the personal power to gain that kind of incredible favour for ourselves. We’ve been tainted by sin since the moment we were born – even the sin of our forefathers still haunts us. His LOVE toward us, is the reason we are compelled into action.

After Jesus Christ died He went to hell and He defeated death. It had a legal right to claim all of us. He went there for us, as our proxy, the One Who chose to face satan in our place. But hell could not keep Him there because satan could not find one reason to punish the sinless, spotless Lamb of God! He had no legal reason to accuse Jesus. our enemy had to let the Lord go, because Jesus never sinned, in thought, word or deed. Everything He ever did, said, or thought, was done from Love’s motivation..

He took away every legal right satan had to torment mankind forever … and then …Holiness entered the halls of hell! Now satan cannot keep anyone there who has given their life to the Lord because he has no legal ground to stand on. Faith in what was done on our behalf is our only response. We’ve sinned, but SomeOne Else overpaid the bill for us and satan has been legally tied up. he has no recourse – except to deceive us into thinking we don’t qualify …or torture us with past sins … or get us to totally focus on getting what we want in this life. When we call upon the Name of Jesus to save us, we move from this world’s kingdom into God the Father’s kingdom. Our faith in what Christ did justifies us, gives us His peace, and releases God’s grace to live this life the way Jesus Himself would. 

We no longer belong to this world. We have an allegiance, a loyalty to the One Who paid it all to save us from ourselves. So much grace was released by what Christ did, that the power of sin over us has been broken, forever! No matter how we feel, or whatever temptation crosses our path, we don’t have to live that old life anymore. Daily we choose to live, by faith, in His kingdom where LOVE has all the power. We live  voluntarily, giving away that love, for His sake. When we choose to step away from sin, or accepting its premises, we find that now we have the power to defeat it. That’s the very best response! Bye. 👋.

“We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:2b.

P 3087 Mercy.

/ DVH

“How blessed you are when you demonstrate tender mercy! For tender mercy will be demonstrated to you.” Matthew 5:7 TPT.  Oh, let us thank the Lord for that!! This is the kind of verse that can slide by our understanding, yet most of us have needed mercy from someone else at some stage or another in our lives. The Holy Spirit has mercy on us simply because He is merciful by nature. He is not winking at sin – He will convict us the minute we give Him a chance! But His loving kindness immediately welcomes us back into true fellowship when we turn around, face our faults, confess and repair things. 

At times, anyone can quite easily excuse their behaviour like this: ’They did this evil thing and that awful one and it was unforgivable.’ There are times when we seek and search for a short-cut to get us through the things we think we cannot bear, and we forget God has given us the power to overcome sin and the devil. That’s why it is essential to remember that Godly attitudes and actions have nothing whatsoever to do with our feelings – they run on our choices.

However, when we demonstrate mercy to someone else who does not deserve it — we are deliberately stepping out of darkness into His light. In His light we can see what is really going on. We will remain blinded by darkness when we choose to not forgive or hold a grudge. If I stay in unforgiveness, or I refuse to extend mercy to someone else, my emotional reactions or responses have blocked my ears and eyes to that other person’s need, because my own judgment got in the way. 

The dictionary explains that mercy is: “compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.“  It says this about grace: “this word is commonly translated as “favour,” which means acceptance and goodwill regardless of whether we’ve earned it.” Those two things are not the same! Mercy goes beyond grace. It loves the unlovely. To do that we must recognise who WE really are, without Jesus.

And that particular point is the reason why a lot of Christians have been shot in the foot and they keep going round and round. Because we forget who we are without Him, and we leave Him behind when we step into unforgiveness and refuse to extend mercy. We start to think: ‘God saved us, but I wasn’t all that bad in the first place, after I don’t deliberately hurt anybody.’  Come again??

We have been saved from sin, and it’s power, because we needed it .God does not have gradients for sin. Ever since the garden of Eden human beings were born in sin, and we dare not trust our own un-renewed hearts.. Eventually, what’s really in our heart will find its way out! We cannot afford to make our own assessments about who anyone is … until we’ve lived this life squashed so tightly into a corner and we feel we cannot escape from it, we will have no idea how we will react. I dunno about you, but I’ve wished people DEAD! I know I’m a sinner, but mercy came to me and drew me back to God, when I had no excuse! And if He ever His took grace to change me and His undeserved mercy back… well … bye bye me!! 

However, when you have a hole shot through your middle by someone else’s sin, those kinds of God-honouring thoughts rarely come up. Some people just won’t quit being mean!  So we are going to need the Holy Spirit’s supernatural power, grace, mercy, plus His strength to continue to give them what He has given us for free. Outright undeserved mercy opens doors that appear to be nailed shut. 

In reality what we think is happening, is probably not what was actually happening. That other person who hurt me was not acting against me – they were simply acting FOR themselves. In other words, there was no intention to do harm. It did not come into their decision making, instead they were self-absorbed. If you do not know you have a Guardian Who is on your side — you will probably mount your own guard and fire away!!

Maybe we think someone like a wife basher or paedophile, a rapist, or a murderer, or a thief is beyond our help. So we choose to withhold grace and shut up our heart of mercy. We think they deserve to get whatever they get, for the way they have acted and the choices they made. I am not making excuses for anybody’s actions — all I want to say is that the person with the greater sin needs the greater mercy. In that moment, I can choose to give it to them. Good place to remember we didn’t deserve what Jesus gave us either.

I like this verse: “But whoever has the world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?”  I John 3:17. People can be needy because they are spiritually poor! We must continue to sow grace and mercy everywhere and remind ourselves that judgment belongs to the Lord, He is the One Who knows all things and sees all things – not us. He will have mercy and compassion on whoever He chooses. We all deserve hell! Mercy is grace that goes beyond forgiveness, instead of punishment, it ushers in the power of God. Bye. 👋

P 2974 Wake-up!

/ DVH

Sometimes I think the body of Christ in the West no longer has a song of deliverance, because we have our lives so busy and organised, there is no time to find out what’s really going on around us. It seems to me that a lot of the difficulties we face are seen as an interruption to our own personal definition of how this life should go! We pray ‘deliver us from evil’ and hope that will cover it. What a luxury we have!

We all live somewhere:  maybe we have a job and kids, their school stuff — this thing and that to do. We are so busy that we simply must continue to do things to maintain the rhythm of our lives.  Unlike our brothers and sisters in conflict areas all over this world… today more than ever, Christians are living their lives like a people who have forgotten Who He is, and what He has done, and what we OWE Him! Instead we sing “Live for Jesus” then go home and live for ourselves. We spend our  precious time here maintaining the things of this world.. 

I wonder what happened in Lazarus’ life after he came out of that tomb? You see this man knew, first hand, what it was to die … and then be given a new chance at this life. Are you sure your ‘new life’ is making a whole lot of difference? Maybe we need to become more acquainted with other people’s suffering and sorrow, instead of wallowing around in our own disappointment… all because we missed out on the brand-new bargain TV on sale! Our wonderful God is so much BIGGER than the Person we’ve made Him out to be. We see Him as SomeOne Who is supposedly hanging about waiting for bad things to happen to us  – so He can bail us out of them!  We serve HIM, it says so in the book.

After all, this is Almighty God we are talking about, and I don’t think it is appropriate to fit Him in around the edges of our already well-established lives, do you? I know, we have plans, things we aim at … but what about His plans? Did He just save us so we can go to heaven in the sweet bye and bye? Or does He have something for us to do with this new life He has given us?

How can we ever know the sweetness of His deliverance from hell and death, when we are often too busy, or scared, to be obedient and take a risk?  The Lord needs a people who are prepared to take risks all over the place just to bring glory to His Name. We cannot have our cake and eat it too – we must DENY ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. That kind of life is never going to be convenient, the time is never going to be right, and … obedience is not an optional extra!

Here’s something to rattle everyone’s cages: “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easy going formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.”  Matthew 7:13. MSG. I wish someone would tell me why we all work so hard to be on the wide road of ease, when the bible is quite clear, that road is the wrong road. This life is not meant to be easy!

Jesus Himself also said this, through Peter in I Peter 4:12.“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you.” They are a big part of this new life we’ve been called to embrace. They are not interruptions to the routine of our household, even though they sometimes seem like that! They are opportunities to stretch and strengthen our faith.

Hardly any of us are interested in being missionaries to Africa, or an Asian country, or our local suburb! Most of the time we can barely manage the day to day difficulties that pop up regularly — those things that keep us distracted from our main purpose. Our main purpose now is to live for Him not just survive! Did Jesus settle down in a little flat somewhere in Jerusalem and hold bible study meetings every third Wednesday? He did not! He fought for us and died and then He left us in charge. Boy does HE know the meaning of faith!!

If this world is a mess then it is because the church has been silent for far too long, because we are afraid of the consequences of speaking out. We need to faithfully pray for those dear brothers and sisters who are living in conflict areas all over this world. Those people who are still faithful to their heavenly calling. These people face horrors beyond imagining, simply because they have chosen to follow Him! These are the real heroes of the faith today. They live by faith daily. And they are not just victims of geography either … Unlike us, they are unable to think ‘ aren’t we lucky because we live somewhere safe?’  

The Bride of Christ in the West is enjoying an enormous indulgence – we are asleep in the light. Sadly we’ve sometimes been known to pitch a fit if we can’t get eggs at the supermarket this week. It’s time to wake up and do the things God previously planned for all of us to do.“My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives His life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God Who loves me so much that He gave Himself for me, dispensing His life into mine!”Galatians 2:20 TPT. Bye. 👋

P 2971 You can find Jesus anywhere and everywhere!

/ DVH

“My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory! Even My body will rest confident and secure. For You will not abandon Me to the realm of death, nor will You allow Your Faithful One to experience corruption.” The Lord Jesus is all over the bible! Right here, for instance in Psalm 16:9-10, hundreds of years before the Lord arrived – there is a wonderful statement where we can clearly see His hope in God’s faithfulness. Obedience, hope and faith took our Lord to the cross. And faith in His Father’s Word kept Him there, until God’s plan was completed. Imagine that!

Our Lord has not ever asked us to do anything He has not already done Himself, and He did everything fully co-operating with the Holy Spirit, in obedience to His Father’s wishes… Jesus cultivated and lived in Love, and He didn’t move away from there…He had the Grace of total obedience. I pray for that a lot!. Some of the things that the Lord Jesus did are beyond words. Like this one:

John 13:3-5“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God;  so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”

This scripture sets a precedent for each one of us — Jesus showed us two ways to cultivate humility. The first is this …we can deliberately choose the lowest place. I don’t think there is a more beautiful action than this one. The God of the Universe sent His Son to serve mankind and redeem us all, and yet right before his crucifixion occurred, Jesus humbled Himself even further, by washing His disciples’ feet. Astonishing!

The King of all Kings, and Lord of all Lords was kneeling on the floor washing those grubby, travel-worn feet. (22 of them!) I prayed about this brief episode, and it occurred to me that in the bible it says that the ones who take the gospel of good news everywhere —have beautiful feet. The disciples went on to take the gospel everywhere. I think this was a prophetic action – a statement of things to come. He is everywhere, in the lowest position – except for the last book, then watch out!

Another example I want to mention is at the cross, He submitted to His tormentors without a word.  Speaking for myself I’ve always got plenty of words … sigh! Jesus suffered the incredible pain of utter separation from both of His constant companions, the Holy Spirit, and the beyond words loss of His Father’s Presence for us too. “He Who knew no sin, was made sin for us…”

During His time on earth, the Lord Jesus walked in complete intimacy with both The Holy Spirit and His Father … minute by minute, day by day. I believe this means we can walk with Them like that too. We simply need to put the Holy Spirit’s needs, and ways, above our own. As each one of us eventually approaches death, we can do so with great confidence, because we remember that Jesus has already walked through death’s door on our behalf. He’s waiting for us and we will not die alone, our Saviour went there for us too.

He flung that door open for every human being that has ever lived on this planet. Death cannot hold any of us captive.. I used to explain it to my kids like this – death is simply somewhere else where we can’t see people for a while — like another room. People are not gone. Some will sleep and some are already dancing through the streets of heaven.

The enemy has no right to hold any of us captive to the fear of death because of what Jesus did for us. It goes without saying that we should be spreading this info around to anyone who will listen while we still have the chance! Death is a door not a destination. Even if we have spiritual unhealthy thoughts about hell, let’s remember that Jesus also went there too, and He held a parade when He came OUT!  

And my last example is this:  Jesus’ glory knocked Saul His persecutor to the ground.“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.He fell to the ground and heard a voice say tohim,“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. …” Acts 9:3-8. There is no place we can go that He will not be there with us… He’s the Good Good Shepherd, remember?  Bye 👋

P 2956 A little tiny glimpse into history.

/ DVH

Today I want to briefly talk about what life was like for me as a child. Mainly because there have been huge changes to the world since I was born. As a small child, in an inner city suburb, bread came in a van, and the iceman came in his horse-drawn waggon. NO! Not the one in that awful movie —the actual iceman who brought very real ice for our very real icebox! Milk, by the way, also arrived on our doorstep, every morning, from a little car that chugged up and down the street. 

At my house there were things that were expected from me. I could cook by the time I was 7 or 8, it was my job to get the dinner veggies on. They were always peeled and boiled veggies – even the memory of those still makes me shudder! Plus I had to set and clear the table, make my bed and tidy my own room – I was a total DUD at that last one. For fun I was allowed to listen to the radio, but only if my behaviour was acceptable! My very favourite things were reading, drawing, or knitting. I knitted my mother a whole jumper around the age of 12 or 13. TV eventually arrived on the scene, but we couldn’t afford one.

I walked about a kilometre to school and back home again, by myself, every day from Grade 2. It was obviously much safer for children back then! Kids were very strongly governed, they were to be seen and not heard!  Adults were respected or you got a clip ‘round the ear-hole or the strap. When I listen to kids today having an opinion on everything under the sun, interrupting adults when they are speaking, I feel like Alice walking through the Looking Glass. I can’t help it – it’s culture shock! 

Back in the ark, everybody in my blended family worked, so it was tough luck for me … I had to get myself to school, make my own lunch, and come home to an empty house, the door key was hidden carefully outside the house. I was alone every week day for at least two hours – I had no help with homework that was my responsibility. Note to our dear friends in Canada … I had Vegemite sandwiches for lunch every day, whether I liked it or not – I did not … but Vegemite on a bit of buttered toast is pretty good! There was no cling wrap or foil so it was pretty festy by lunchtime!

I had no morning tea or play-lunch, instead we had a free small bottle of milk. And there wasn’t the incredible variety of food, fruit, vegetable choices that we have today — only people from other countries ate that stuff! The average Aussie worked hard, and drank him or herself under the table for leisure – their kids watched and pinched beer when the adults weren’t looking. I wasn’t one of them by the way.

You were’t anybody if you didn’t barrack for a footie team and follow the cricket. The news came in a newspaper. The only fast food was fish and chips and they were wrapped up in … yesterday’s newspaper. We weren’t very multi-cultural back then. Our home phone was black and it sat on a little shelf in the hallway. I still remember the number. 😆 The changes over those 70 years are totally huge … 

Now I have a phone that I carry on me, and I can use it wherever I am, even in a lift or the loo … ‘nice polite’ girls would never do that in the past. I can find out what is happening all over the world at the press of a button. I can also tell my house what to do! Today, I don’t even have to vacuum. In the ark, we had a carpet sweeper, until electrolux cleaners came on the market. Rich people had those.

Now we have a little bot that trundles out of its hidey-hole and does all the vacuuming. Plus all our washing, and dishes, go into machines. The refrigerator talks to its owner and tells them what they will run out of in the near future. My bible is on my phone! If I want to take a walk I have a walking machine. If I want to go rowing, I have a rowing machine … I don’t, by the way, have a rowing machine, or one of those groovy bots and my refrigerator is quite silent, I must have I offended it!

Back then, Almighty God was SomeOne Who would not be bothered with the likes of me. I was expected to be a good girl and do what I was told or the wrath of somebody or other, would fall on my head — and probably on my backside as well! God was a silent ever-present threat Who was always watching me, waiting for me to make a mistake, then someone else would punish me on His behalf. I was terrified of Him.

He was good and holy and I knew I was not. I’d heard about Jesus but it seemed He didn’t like little girls much either. My religious life was filled with bells and smells and fear of hell and very little love. If God loved me He sure had a funny way of showing it. Being whacked with something hard and nasty was punctuated with: “This is for your own good.” 

Despite today’s theories about giving our kids a wonderful childhood — most people have a wonky past! Many of them have been treated badly one way or another, and, sadly, they have no idea of Who God is and how much He loves each one of us. That’s why we’ve been called to be witnesses. Today we can go wherever we want to go, to tell others what we have seen, heard and learnt, personally. To let them know that human love may let you down … but God will not.

There is no perfection in this life, because they are no perfect people! Can we please … as the Body of Christ … get over ourselves and get on with fulfilling our very real mission? Nobody needs to go to hell unless they choose to – that’s the message. Bye. 👋

P 2766 Contentment.

/ DVH

God is so good. He’s a good, good Father. He loves it when we sing songs, and preach sermons that talk about Him, and Who He is. … but He loves it even more when we go out from church, and live this life – the only one we have(!) – like we belong to a good good Father!  A Father we trust. A Father who has plans for us. Hope-filled plans for a future that we can embrace because He is in it. Those plans include our total transformation – we end up being the “ME” I was designed to be. Paul says this in Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak from [any personal] need, for I have learned to be content [and self-sufficient through Christ, satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or uneasy] regardless of my circumstances.”

The essence of who we are now, is IN CHRIST JESUS. God did that for us. His love was squeezed so tightly, that even when the world chose to reject Christ  – all that came out at that moment was even MORE LOVE. That’s our  hope and our aim too. ‘No matter how tightly we are squeezed, dear Jesus, let pure love come out!’ Amen. God loves us because it is His nature – He IS pure Love. But pure love is not permissive, nor is it wishy washy – read the book!

I know one place where anyone from any circumstance, crime, or foul attitude can go, where they will always be welcome to live.  His door is always open, and the lights are always on, and there is love and acceptance in our Father’s house! Even for the vilest sinner. They can exchange their old life for His new life. He died and took my place, my punishment – so now I choose to die and take HIS PLACE. Our FATHER did everything He could to snatch each one us from the fires of hell — and it cost Him dearly. He had to watch His beautiful, godly, pure and holy Son die, covered in our filthy sin.

Contentment in God is acquired as we voluntarily choose to learn, for ourselves, that He is enough. It is not second-hand knowledge. True contentment is about trust. Trust is built into our lives by taking faith risks, and watching Almighty God redeem things that we thought were unredeemable. He doesn’t actually need our help – He simply enjoys our company in those adventures!  That’s because nobody thinks like you, nobody loves like you do. Your uniqueness is His treasure. We can wander along through this life thinking only we know what is good for us, and what will make us happy and produce contentment. BUT true contentment is found by living in Christ’s transforming Grace.

Learning to love like He does is our destiny. There is a higher love than human love. It is the kind of love that sees everything that you and I can become. That kind of love wants to work everything that happens in our lives for our own good. Which is why I pray, all the time, that the Lord will redeem stuff that crosses my path. I pray:’Change me please.” OR … “Please give me the Grace to live through this like You would Jesus.’ I never know which answer I’m going to get — sometimes it’s both. PS — He’s God, HE can do that! I have learnt over time that I like His way better than my way. My way means I might get what I want … but His way everybody benefits.

1 Timothy 6:2c -8. “These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

Paul is talking to a young pastor, Timothy, he pastors the church at Ephesus. Paul’s teaching him that contentment can be learnt, and it is a sign of God within us. Those awful things Paul describes in these scriptures we hear about every single day in the news!  However, we understand that Godliness can’t be bought, or sold, because SomeBody Else, Jesus Christ, already bought it for all of us. Our response to this truth, makes all the difference to our ability to live in contentment. Hallelujah! You and I can both learn to be content – Paul says so.

Almighty God is our ‘enough.” He cannot disappoint us. Deuteronomy 31:8 says:“And the LORD, He it is that goes before you; He will be with you, He will not fail you, nor walk away from you: don’t be afraid or dismayed.” And that’s what true contentment looks like. (That’s my version BTW). Bye 😌