Help

P 2536 Giving, whether it is money – or help …

/ DVH

… giving transforms our hearts. I’ve found that opening up my wallet, sharing my time, plus helping people opens up my heart like nothing else does. “We will show mercy to the poor and not miss an opportunity to do acts of kindness for others, for these are the true sacrifices that delight God’s heart.” Hebrews 13:16 TPT. Did ya get that? Giving delights God’s heart—if you want to make Him happy, then act like He does! We are true sons and daughters when we act like He does.

Hubby and I have found we can give our way out of difficulties, simply because any sort of giving has His favour on it.  God loved us so HE GAVE… We have been blessed … to be a blessing!  Hubby and I have noticed that when someone tells us that they are not coping, that is our cue to go to the Lord and ask Him what He would like us to do to help them. Praying for people is great. Do it. But caring enough to engage with them to help them is greater.

The problem, as I see it, is that we all have busy lives that can be fraught with financial difficulties. So let’s just settle in our hearts that giving any sort of help, financial, spiritual, emotional, and physical – means sacrifice. Time, money, energy, emotional input….we will need to give it all. It will absolutely be inconvenient! And all of that means we probably won’t feel like it – most of the time. 

Personally I’d rather go without stuff, than miss an opportunity to give – that’s how much I value the blessing of giving. I  want to esteem Him with everything I have. There can be no price put on His forgiveness – because none of us deserve it! Yet we can easily, in this day and age of self-satisfaction, rationalise ourselves out of one of the greatest blessings God has for us, by not passing on His loving provision to others. Hubby and I love to give, every time the cost of living goes up, we give more! You literally cannot out-give God. Obviously, we pray over it but that’s what we do.

Christians fervently tell Him that they want to know Him, but then we go on to ignore His very nature. A shared experience is a way to discover and know someone else. Giving is plainly written down in His book for everyone to see, so it is not like you have to take some huge retreat to an obscure place on the earth to find Him! We can find Him when we start looking and reading in the bible about how He speaks, and what He did, and why He did it. It is in God’s nature to give. He gave the garden to Adam, then Eve to Adam, and children to bless them! He gave us … even before we had a clue Who He is and what He could literally demand from us (!!) … a Saviour. And because of what Jesus did, now we live by another kingdom’s rules.

Our God loves things that are freely given because that is Who He is! I think we need to be the giving-est people on earth! Because even though we may be materially poor, we know we are already rich because we belong to Him. Now, we can help someone else, Christian or NOT, to feel loved, noticed and cared for. Plus we will share our giving experience with our Heavenly Father, and discover a teeny bit of how He feels as He constantly gives to us. 

People need encouragement – FYI, encouragement is just another way to GIVE. I once wrote to a famous author to tell him that his work was soooo good, it made me laugh over and over again. That man was absolutely delighted. He told me that the only feedback he gets is negative. I guess that people obviously feel free to express their negative emotions, but don’t feel free to share encouragement?!! What kind of world are we living in? Don’t answer that, I won’t even go there.

Giving should be like breathing to us. It is an outward sign of an inward change in our hearts. You cannot follow Jesus Christ and not give. Giving is the essence of WHO HE IS and because of what He freely gave us (Himself!) – it is now part of who we are. That’s what being changed to be like Him is! It means at the other end of this life we will have laid down our lives for other people, just like Christ did. 

Just because His Heavenly Father asked the Lord to die, that didn’t mean Jesus had to do it. He had a choice … and it cost Him to make that choice. Giving is a choice. Giving in any form, transforms our hearts, our lives! My very best advice is this … don’t just think about it, and spend an hour checking your budget. You may never be able to afford more giving on paper – DO IT anyway. God is wa-ay outside this world’s monetary system! 👋

P 2527 It can be hard to change …

/ DVH

“And never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace to help them.”Ephesians 4:29 TPT.

I think I was almost born talking – a born communicator. Evidently I could sing every song on the radio at 12 months old, and I said the usual stuff long before that!. But after I started talking, it was apparently quite difficult to shut me up.  I was labelled a chatterbox, and it seems to me, that I also arrived here somewhat opinionated! 

An-y-way … words are very important to me. I’ve always loved to read and I enjoy writing as well, so my vocabulary is regularly stretched. However, when words are used badly – it irritates the living daylights out of me!  In my generation, good handwriting, spelling and grammar were … everything. I am sure you can imagine how well I have taken to this age of texting and abbreviations! 😳 I have had to make myself to adapt, but there are still days that I don’t like it much…

This penchant for accuracy has been a thorn in my side for years. Back in the ark I can remember saying to my kids: “You can do such and such …but you may not!” It seems that I may have been a bit of a pestilential mother. But the world kept turning, and then everything I knew, or I thought I knew, turned upside down. We entered the Year 2000 and some things that used to matter in our society didn’t matter any more. Colour me somewhat unimpressed!

Some days I think the Lord might be falling off His chair laughing at me, because now words are the very things I can easily forget from day to day! I can forget what I was going to say right in the middle of a sentence. Boy is that humbling for the grammar queen!  Have you ever noticed how the Lord loves to take the things we think we know, and use His Word to puncture that fat little balloon we have inflated inside us — permanently?  Well, some of us probably deserve that shiny little pin-popping exercise, because we were being snobbish fatheads in the first place. 

One of the biggest problems was that I could, most of the time, out-talk my enemies. Now that sounds good … but it is totally unscriptural!  Unfortunately, in those days I kind of knew how to go for the jugular too. Then the Lord began dealing with me on how I was avoiding facing my own mess, but blabbing away about other people’s sins. Matthew 5:29: “Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly…”  I have learnt one thing through this life-time adventure – there IS no out-talking Almighty God! He is the Living Word and He has the last word, and there is no doubt He is always right. 

It has been a huge challenge for me to only let beautiful words come out of my mouth. BUT … here’s the kicker folks … Father God sometimes very graciously lets His power come through my words when I am talking to others. All those years of tormenting myself because I knew I talked too much, and I was way too sharp with other people in some situations … and the Holy Spirit took the very thing I thought I could never change and … CHANGED IT… and now He is using it. 🙌 Please do not misunderstand me, I really did try to keep my mouth shut, because I knew I could do a lot of mischief with it … but most of the time, until He helped me — I failed miserably. 

Eventually I chose to surrender, and I learnt to yield. At the same time, I confessed my faults, even to my enemies, and I went to the altar, where I cried buckets …But the solution was dead simple. I just had to learn to stick my hand over my mouth, repent, and at the same time cry out to the Holy Spirit to help me. I also had to learn to say the words “I was wrong to say that, I am so sorry…” … repeatedly! Of course, I choked on that lot as it was coming out. It was  humbling! You know how it says in the bible that “God gives Grace to the humble and He resists the proud?”  Hmmm. Almighty God knows exactly HOW to humble each of us! He’s great at it!  My advice is take your faults seriously –early!

So today, I want to encourage others to pray over the very thing that they have anguished over, and spent their life feeling like it can’t possibly change … and, instead, give it to God and ask for a practical solution. It can be hard to do, but it could be as easy as taking the your hand and putting it over your mouth. It was for me! 👋🏻

P 2503 What to do when the roof falls in …

/ DVH

First of all, let’s be totally clear … I’ve had way-too-many-roof-fallen-in adventures. The following are a series of helpful hints I have found that are useful. They have helped me, and sometimes they have even stopped me from laying on the floor sobbing. However, there are definitely times to lay on the floor and sob;  so give yourself room to weep over any catastrophe, loss, or injury of any sort! Don’t be so spiritually stoic you bury your feelings.  “There’s a time for every purpose under heaven … … a time to weep.”Ecclesiastes 3:4a.

Pray. Yeah I know, most of the time we start out by trying to minimise whatever the damage is – but we actually need the King of all Glory running disasters – not us. Plus we should call someone else asap, and rally the troops …the praying people we trust. The bible says:“From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee – when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2. Amen.

Basically that verse is saying, no matter where I am, no matter what has happened to me, He is my ever-present help. Call on His Name. Yell, ‘help help Jesus!’  There is a place, right beside our precious Saviour, that is so much higher than whatever it is that has just happened to you. Do take a blanket, you may need to intentionally live there a while! We want to stand right next to Him, right next to His heart, so close we can hear Him breathe. There is peace in the middle of a storm next to Him. This is a good time to not pray once, and then quit – “…pray without ceasing!!”Amen.

And let people pray for you. This means saying yes to anybody who asks you, ‘can I pray for you?’ When we are overwhelmed with trouble, we need all the prayer we can get. This is not the time to avoid Sister Susie who prays two hour-long prayers! Let SS have at it. Also, when the problem is way to big for you to handle, and that includes fielding all the caring, multiple phone calls, I suggest you appoint a ‘point person.’ Someone you trust, who can organise food, help, rides, baby-sitting, give-out limited updates, and whatever else you need. 

Keep saying to yourself, “God loves me. He’s got this, it hasn’t surprised Him…”“For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’”2 Corinthians 4:17. “Please fix my eyes on you Lord!” Amen.

Next I recommend reading the Psalms. Seriously, reading the Psalms and listening to spiritual songs, is like sweet clear water in a desert place. It’s a place where somebody else had words that were spoken out of great pain – as well as worship. In times of trouble we may run out!  At the same time, we need His Word to inspire, revive and refresh us … not instruct us. That’s a big tip for anyone who is trying to help someone else when that person’s life has just imploded. The idea is this: the wounded person is almost drowning, they need someone else to offer them a life-preserver, not a life lesson! And I really don’t care whose fault it is that their ceiling fell in! 

Let’s just get them to the hospital … to Jesus, first! Pray in tongues if you don’t know how to pray, and you are able to do it. The overwhelmed parties are also going to need people to help them, practically. I have seen mighty gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest themselves in my own terrible times. Some of us have no idea that practical help is also spiritual. Stephen and Co in the book of Acts chapter 6, show us that practical help is spiritually beneficial. 

Now to things that don’t help at all. If the wounded saint doesn’t want to talk, then don’t push them. Privacy can become very important when you already feel incredibly vulnerable, because your life just fell on its head. As their friend we need to simply pray as the Lord leads us, and if we get any insight – don’t share it, write it down instead. If they do want to share, just listen. Don’t problem solve unless the person asks you to. 

Sometimes a difficult matter can become much clearer after the event. But blame, or supposed fault, will not help at the point of impact. Love looks like support, not a lecture. If you don’t know what to say, then say nothing, or …“Weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15. Someone’s life, or family disaster is not an appropriate place to be wise … it is a place to be supportive. 

Please note:  these things work inside the church and outside it. I pray the Body of Christ realises our greatest gift to the-people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet is to treat them like we would like to be treated. Pray for anyone who needs it, love on them, help them! Father God does not see two categories — those who are saved and those who are not. He sees His kids! Some of them are lost, and some have come home, but they are all HIS. Bye. 👋 

P 2499 Our yes works in every circumstance.

/ DVH

Fear is one of those ghastly things that tries to batter many of us daily into submission. It starts out for me, by painting pictures of disaster in my mind, and hammers at me from every corner that God does not care. Then it tells me that He is not going to help me because I don’t deserve His help. All of that is a lie! 

God is love! We all need to have complete confidence, no matter how things look, that our GOD IS also GOOD. Plus – it also goes without saying that He is not the author of fear. However, any one of us would be foolish if we underestimated our enemy. satan knows our weaknesses and he plays on them. The safest place to fight that battle is to live this life yielded to Jesus … no matter what else is going on. When we yield to Him we are saying ‘yes.’

The Lord wants to turn those weaknesses of ours into strengths, so this is how we fight our battles … we refuse to entertain the things our enemy insists will be an outcome of some situation or other, and start to concentrate on what the Lord Himself says about Who He is, and what He says about us – IN THE BOOK. The bible is the most fantastic sword ever, it has His wisdom in it, and on it, and this book adapts and becomes appropriate in any kind of situation. 

The thing is – at the same time the Holy Spirit will also use that sword to change our mindset. Using His sword and holding fast to Him to deliver us, actually transforms our minds. It is like this: something happens and we are tempted by those circumstances to think that God does not care about us. So we ask the Holy Spirit for scripture/s, then we aim that scripture at satan – just like Jesus did in Matthew. Lastly, we insist that His word is truer than how we feel, or the things that are coming against us. 

Our King will put a sword in our hands and then that word comforts us, and it tears UP/down the enemy’s lies! We will gain trust as individuals as we see our glorious King acting on our behalf. Our minds need to be infused with the reality that nothing beats King Jesus. Our aim is not about getting some specific outcome – the real answer is no matter what happens – He’s got this. We know that He will WIN whatever happens!! He already won 2,000+ years ago! The wisest course is to surrender every bit of the trouble, and hold onto WHO HE IS.

At the same time, the Holy Spirit is using that sword to separate us away from the thinking patterns we’ve formed in our lives – the things that have convinced us that things are never ever going to change. Our Father is always waiting for our cry of help, no matter how feeble that cry might seem to us. He is always with us to deliver us. If we are not delivered on the spot, then that means one of two things. The first is He knows that by stretching your faith, it will grow.

“Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” James 1:3-4. This stretching of our faith produces the kind of endurance that will stand in any circumstances. No athlete can run a successful race if he does not build up his stamina. We need to learn from the Holy Spirit to use the difficult things as opportunities to build up our spiritual stamina. Meanwhile, inner peace is not too shabby, thank you Lord!

To get a test-i-mony sometimes you have to go through a test! None of us can avoid growing! That is why we need to seize every single opportunity to push through how we feel, then finish off the fight with the circumstances, and our feelings, by quietly waiting to see what He will do in our behalf.  Waiting is part of the Lord’s process. It renews our strength and helps us get a different view of what is going on. 

The second thing is that these places are where we get to be like David who knew, from experience, that God was going to back Him up. We must ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ – for ourselves! … and stop just taking someone else’s word for it. Our biggest problem right now is this – in the past, this life has loomed larger than our experiences with our God’s Grace and Mercy. We’ve been babies expecting someone to pick us up and soothe us … but right here, right now we are learning to reverse this error. NOTHING IS BIGGER THAN GOD and as we yield to Him, we leave Him room to move. We want His will His way!

Sometimes we pray for deliverance from evil, but Father God is giving us an opportunity to grow, to go deeper. We need to be able to discern the times, even in our own lives. Even if we feel weak and helpless, you and I are on our way to victory!! God promises to renew our strength and … I am sooooo never going to get sick of saying this … “His strength is made PERFECT in our weakness.” WIN-WIN! 

As Christians if we stand still – we stop to fight the good fight in our head… We don’t have to run away… because our side already won. The greatest gift we can give the Lord is our availability, and satan wants to scare us out of standing in our God-given place. Let your yes to Him be continuous. 👋🏻

P 2494 Have you nearly dropped your bundle?

/ DVH

Well, make sure you drop that heavy darn thing in the right place!! ““Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to Me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” Matthew 11:28 TPT.

Hmmm. You know, we don’t need a ‘spa’ day, or new shoes, or some fantastic overseas trip to refresh our lives. King Jesus gives us living water, for free – anywhere, any place, any time. My best advice is to stop and take the time to drink, as well as drop off that bundle on your back. He is the place where PEACE lives. If you or I need peace, then we actually desperately need Him. Never leave home without HIM!

Jesus told us in the scripture above that He is our oasis, and He spent a lot of time outside, sometimes walking though desert places. He knew about people needing somewhere to stop and put down their burden, permanently. The Lord spoke in spiritual metaphors a lot, and I love the way He did that. This way of speaking takes intangible things and brings them into a place where we can begin to understand His truths and absorb them. It is an interesting thing to take note of the imagery presented through what He says in the stories recorded in the bible. When things are weighing us down, we need those tangible insights to help us understand spiritual things and get rid of our burdens. 

Today I would like to briefly talk about the story of Hannah and Samuel, even though it is actually in the Old Testament. Because boy did THAT lady have a burden! She shows us that the Lord deals with each one of us as individuals. Fortunately she knew where to take that thing that weighed on her! Let’s remember in those times, the gods worshipped by other nations were not personal or interested in someone’s life – those gods had to be regularly pacified. But this snippet shows us how personal our God really is – there is simply no detail of each one of our lives that He overlooks. That’s a great trait in our wonderful Burden Bearer, Jesus. 

Hannah’s huge burden was that she was barren … not to mention that there was another wife in the picture, so she had competition too!  After great suffering, loss, persecution and pain, the Lord took pity on her and He gave her a child.. And what a child – an Old Testament prophet! That little boy knew the Lord from when he was tiny. Back to Hannah, who prayed about her barrenness every time she went to the temple. I think she wanted a child to validate her role as a wife and God understood it.

Life has greatly changed from then until now – but our God has not changed – His eye is always on the one fervent, weighed-down sparrow. At one stage the High Priest thought this poor woman was drunk she prayed so deeply. (That’s a good thing to do with a burden, BTW, passionately pray over it.) The other wife in this story lorded it over Hannah because she had given their husband children and Hannah hadn’t. My best guess is those two women were not friends! Meanwhile … what man in his right mind needs TWO wives??  

Moving on … I actually think Hannah’s husband was not switched on to the feminine mindset – he didn’t understand her pain. MEN: here’s a little lesson for you – what you think is not always what she wants!! But he was trying to be sweet to Hannah. Actually, it kind of sounds like he thought the fact that he loved her more than the other wife was enough – the big self-centred dill! This teaches me that other people can try to help us with our burdens, but they don’t always understand how deeply we have been affected by them.

Incredibly, after God answered her prayers, Hannah gave that beautiful God-given little boy right back to Him, even though the child was very young. Giving that little boy she’d prayed so desperately for, and loved so very dearly, back to God, must have cost Hannah so much. But the Lord gave her five more children to comfort her and by doing that, He restored her status. It shows us that He cares about the things that we care about.

Today I want to finish with this thought, our God always has a way to comfort us, but it may not end up looking the way we think we want it too. Part of the wonder of Almighty God is the fact SomeOne so amazing even bothers with us and our little lives!  Even though He has taken great pains to become personally engaged in humanity’s affairs, yet He IS still God! Oh, the wonder of knowing that such a glorious Being cares intimately about every single details of our lives is a an opportunity for reverence, not for carelessness.  

Almighty God is the only place to take our burdens and bundles, but remember, just like Hannah – we don’t just want His advice, WE WANT, and DESPERATELY NEED HIS INPUT! Take your burdens to the burden-bearer, He cares for YOU.👋🏻

P 2493 Are we fruitful?

/ DVH

The Lord God told Adam and Eve in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply, and I do not believe that  He has taken that directive back. We have sometimes translated that phrase into meaning we should have children. Here’s what I want to talk about today, what if that was also a spiritual directive as well as a physical one? Ya might want to think about that! 🧐 BTW, fruit-ful means full of fruit!

Jesus once cursed a fig-tree for not being fruitful. What that shows me is that fruit is extremely important to Him! The Lord also talked at length about remaining in the Vine, so WE can produce fruit. His fruit in our lives is an exhibition of His life in us, it shows us, and others, that we are abiding – we are living in Him; His ways; His life-giving light – by choice.

The Lord Jesus has a different way for you and I to live, but I think sometimes we would rather fit that new life in and around all the things we like to do, or maybe even feel we have to do. We sing and say that ‘He is our comfort, and joy,’ but do we take away that comfort and joy from being with Him, when we have a quiet time? Being close to, and attached to Him, produces fruit – stuff we have for ourselves and stuff that prompts us to think of others.

It cost Father God everything He cherished to buy us back. Our response is to live this life by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. A sacrifice actually involves loss – of time, control, people, or things. We own NOTHING. Owning stuff is an illusion. Sadly I think we are often missing our true mandate — the opportunity to use our time to be fruitful for His kingdom, by sharing material things with others.

Jesus didn’t play racquet ball or golf, or have a boat, and I’m pretty sure the only book He studied was the bible. He liked to spend His downtime with people. He knew how to live this life here on earth and be fruitful while He was doing it. Meanwhile, if He was in a boat then somebody else owned it and He was using it to reach out to … other people! 

Pursuing the growth of real fruit in our lives, by learning His Ways, and living the way He would – transforms us. We need to remember the King of all glory, is lowly and gentle in His heart. He demonstrated those traits by caring for those who were suffering for any reason. Many times at the bottom of our pitiful, less-than generous response to the poor all over this world, is entitlement, greed, and laziness. If we are not careful we will end up constantly exhibiting a distinct lack of love for our fellow man. No demonstrated love = no fruit! The sap of the Lord’s vine is LOVE.

FYI, nobody likes suffering or pain – no matter where we were born! It seems as if we Christians have laid aside our responsibility to care for our fellow man. Jesus warns us about that stuff in the book of Revelation 3:17.“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” People who do not give freely lack love! That’s why the Lord said we need to be cheerful givers. That cheer is the sap!

Those of us who can work, need to find ways to provide for those who can’t work, or have nothing. It’s simple. Help people who need help. Deciding whether people deserve it or not is a sign of entitlement. We simply must stop thinking that the privilege of wealth is a right and if we earn stuff then it is ours.  We have been blessed with material things to be a blessing. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,”Matthew 6:21. In my opinion, the line indicating that we have enough, which means maybe now we can share,  is always moving away from us. We need to be chasing His fruit – it lasts!

Paul said in Acts 20:32-35 “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”The Apostle Paul worked hard to supply his own needs, as well as for the needs of those who went with Him. That sharing is a sign of living this life being fruitful!  He was showing all of us that it is NORMAL to think about, and supply the needs of others. It is not an optional extra, sharing and giving are signs of the life of the Kingdom within. 👋🏻

P 2473 Leaky inner tyre.

/ DVH

In 1946 some bright spark invented a rubber tubeless tyre, which was a big blessing for dedicated cyclists. If you were riding along on a bike  … there were times that you could hear this noise … thunk thunk thunk! That meant that the cyclist had a flat tyre. Even Blind Freddy could tell when a bicycle tyre was flat because the metal rim started to scrape along the ground. What an awful noise that was!

If the cyclist was wise, then they carried a tyre patch kit with them. And if they were really really dedicated, they carried a spare inner tube. The new tubeless system was a huge blessing. But if the cyclist didn’t have either one, then they’d have to wheel their bike home with it going thunk thunk thunk, all the way! Upon arriving home, then they went to the bath, or the laundry troughs, and fill either one with water. The water was for diagnosing the leak in that pesky inner tube!

I can remember seeing my stepbrother standing over the laundry trough rotating the inner tube of a tyre and squeezing it gently. What was he looking for? BUBBLES. Bubbles were a sure sign that you had finally found the hole. Then he would X mark the spot, and fish the tube out of the water and dry it carefully. Sometimes he would even lay it on the ground for the sun to dry it out thoroughly. Then he’d bring out his trusty repair kit and patch the hole. 

I gave you that semi-interesting walk down memory lane to say this …Christmas can be like that inner tube – we can get flattened like a tack by our lack of Spiritual Air. Picture this, we are sailing along, managing our own lives pr-et-ty well, following Jesus, being kind to little old ladies, living contentedly in love joy and peace. As well as buying nice presents for people hoping they will like them … and wham! Dear old Auntie Lillian, who apparently loves everything you give her — gives your own gift back to you this year with these words: “Somebody gave me that but I didn’t like it, and I can’t use it, so I thought you could use it.” … Glurg, glurg glurg  … sigh …you can just feel the love, joy and peace draining out of your feet!

So you take a big breath, paste on a smile at Auntie and say thank-you, and eventually you send the stupid thing off to St Vinnie’s – where it can do no more harm!! Or there is Uncle Martin, who always gets drunk as a skunk and thinks he is funny. Or Cousin Bob who tells endless risque jokes – because he collects them!  Of course, he expects everyone to laugh at them. Right in the middle of all that, the kids start screaming at each other and you end up with a roaring headache.

Suddenly, just like the unexpected puncture above, there is a big fat hole in your goodwill toward men! You can see the bubbles from that leak from outer space. It is all very well to add self-control to your list of the fruits of the Spirit, but if that isn’t accompanied by the Holy Spirit helping you when you are under pressure … like my proverbial puncture… eventually, you will start leaking out Grace all over the place. And soon you’ll be riding along on the metal rim. That’s the place where everything everyone says grates on you. And you end up trying to say nice things through gritted teeth.

At the same time, you keep hoping somehow you will be able to find all that wonderful Grace you had before – where did it go?? Here’s a revelation … Grace comes from God, so we can’t manufacture it. Most of the time we can’t even find out where it leaked it out from … BUT now, here’s the good news, we can repent. I highly recommend repentance toward the LORD first. Then, go to other people after talking to Him.  HE is the source of Grace and it always comes freely toward us when we repent. BTW, try not to turn your repentance into a complaint’s office – it doesn’t help! The more irritated we get, the more we will leak out His Grace and find extra anger.

My advice is head straight for His living water, it will diagnose where the problem is! Ask Him for His help to find the hole … IE …repent from all the stuff you know you did, plus present your body back to Him. Then begin again, brand new and sparkly clean. That is the way to turn things around. Don’t patch your life with promises you know you can’t keep, they won’t fix the problem. Go to the source of all Grace and repent. Then ask for more Grace and more living water.  Just like that leaky inner tyre, a new start works better than a patch. Bye 👋🏻

Hebrews 4:16: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Amen!

P 2466 Get soaked, and stay soaking wet!

/ DVH

“Now may God, the fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in Him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with His super-abundance until you RADIATE with hope!” Romans 15:13. Do you know how you get drenched by a fountain? You stand under it. Not just stand beside it playing with the water — you jump on in and enjoy it!

When things are difficult, no matter how awful they seem to be, we need to continue to choose to trust, and look for God’s unfailing goodness and love, even as we read the bible. More than anything else, we all need to know how much we are loved. Plus we can always ask the Holy Spirit for His help and encouragement. He is incredibly generous. He loves to be with people who want to be with Him. The Holy Spirit is God’s fountain of love here on earth. He needs to be cherished, appreciated and sought after.

This life is never going to make seeking God a convenient thing to do. Unexpected bad things happen all the time and they are a huge distraction. The main thing needs to be the main thing in our lives. Jesus loves mankind so deeply – that is the main thing! He is not just an add-on so we can have eternity afterwards! This life now is not about making money, or finding a mate, or earning a living, or having a job or house. As we follow the Lord the things we need will be added unto us. This life is about learning to love others, and spreading the acceptance and love we have been given, around. We have the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts.

Humanity is slowly but surely stepping away from engaging in caring human interaction – we’ve reduced most things to sex. We’ve even got fancy, or sad-sounding names for the way we behave. It seems our enemy has taken our focus off enjoying the Lord, and walking with Him, and onto excuses about why we are not perfect. There are doctors with more degrees than a thermometer telling us we are OK when we behave badly, because sadly we can’t help the way we think or react to things … because we have this or that complaint. Or our past or parents did stuff to us that messed us up… Instead let’s call sin, sin – and forgive it and repent, then personally leave it behind us. Jesus died to make us perfect, we don’t need psychological  excuses for being broken! Sin will break anyone.

Did you ever once hear Jesus say to others that this or that person needed inner healing? Did He tell the Romans or the religious leaders that they were narcissists? Did He ever talk about sadness as being normal? No! He provided what people around Him needed when He demonstrated the love of God through what He said and did. That’s our mandate too. He knew His purpose and He did what He came here for. You and I are here for a purpose, to spread His love around to His needy hungry children around us, who don’t know how much He loves them.

We must learn to trust in God’s never-ending, always-present glorious and deeply engaged LOVE. He loves us and that love is a never-ending fountain. He hasn’t gone away just because some bad thing or other has happened in our lives …His love is powerful, and Jesus Christ Himself, is proof of how much God loves us. We all have a calling – even if we are rich, or poor, or fat, or thin, or clever, or not clever, or talented or not talented … our calling is to be His love to other people. Step up into the higher calling. Jesus is there. His love in us and for us is that fountain.

All of the Lord’s disciples had horrible lives in the natural. They suffered persecution for righteousness sake. Dreadful things happened to them. But their strength did not come from their circumstances. They held their hope in Who He is and what He did – fast. “Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8. These brave souls lived this life as dead men and women walking. They didn’t have any agenda except to see His kingdom come. Almighty God was not just an alternate source of help … He was their ONLY source of help. That’s what faith is … faith does not have one foot in this world and its resources;  faith stands firmly, joyfully under the fountain of His love knowing that He is for us no matter what is going on around us. 

Christians have become apathetic and indifferent to the very things that are meant to sustain us. We think we don’t have this stuff because we don’tfeel it. But His love will sustain us. At the same time we are minimising the amount of heavenly water supply we have available. We do that to ourselves by withdrawing from Him… He will never withdraw from us. Jesus said, ‘love God FIRST, with all your hearts and souls, minds and strength.’ That’s how we stand under His fountain. Living this way is not just for a few people  who have special spiritual abilities. It’s for all of us, right here right now. Splash others who don’t know Him, with that living water from the fountain of life. 💦 👋🏻 

P 2460 Never underestimate the power of choice.

/ DVH

Yeah, I know I rabbit on about choice all the time. However, I have a good reason to do that. Our minute by minute choices determine the intimacy of our walk with the Lord as well as others. I want to highlight the power of choice today, because many people are under the impression that if they just pray about something – that is all they need to do. I disagree. First we choose, then we carry whatever it is out.

I totally believe that Father God always hears our prayers. I think that He hears the prayers we never even say out loud.  His love is so incredible, He cares about the unspoken things that tear at our hearts, but they are unseen by other people’s eyes. In that place human heartache has no words – the bible calls that ‘sighs and groans too deep for words…’

It seems to me that this is why He says:“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you …” Seeking His will above everything and everyone else in our lives, positions us to be under His Government. And boy, is HE a fantastic governor! His government is far more than just provision – there is shelter from the storms of this life when we choose His will, His way. He sent us the Holy Spirit to help us carry out Godly choices. The Holy Spirit is poised, ready and waiting and longing to help us … because He loves each one of us dearly and He wants us to win! Jesus relied upon the Holy Spirit, and so should we, if we want to follow Him. 

The Holy Spirit IS Jesus Christ Himself, with us – He is literally standing right at our elbows, waiting for us to ask Him to help us out of our learnt patterns of disobedience, and fear, as well as the stupid messes we make. And all that takes is the humility to choose to ASK. Jesus told us that He left this world so the Spirit could come to be with us, and convict us of sin. We know that He will help, guide, comfort, counsel, instruct, and support us. However, the Holy Spirit in us, is also the Lord’s deposit upon us for our eternal future – His Presence in our lives assures us we belong to Jesus now. We need to treasure Him, and obey Him, plus walk with HIM – that is also a choice. 

Because we long to be His obedient people, we cannot afford to rely upon our own choices, no matter how small they seem. We daily need the Holy Spirit’s help to make kingdom choices. Yesterday our kitchen sink tap started leaking into the cupboard under the sink. What a mess! We could have thrown up our hands and cried: ‘Oh no, more bills!” But we chose to ask the Lord what He wanted us to do about it. Because of that choice hubby was able to witness to a young plumber. Our choices can hinder our growth or encourage it. They invite us into our destiny or close the door.

Right at the beginning of mankind’s interactions with God, and the wondrous world He made … the one Adam and Eve lived in… Everything was lost by that one bad choice. Genesis 2:16–17: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Death came into that garden. God gave Adam a reason not to eat from that particular tree, but they both went ahead and made the wrong choice. They were tempted to doubt God’s truthfulness and they fell into sin! They thought what they could see was all there was, because that fruit looked and smelt good!

The devil wants us all to think that our choices do not count. he whispers: ‘You are no-one, what you do doesn’t matter.’ Or he says: ’Who will know? After all this or that need is so great, God will understand.’ I know about that particular rabbit-hole, I’ve fallen down it myself … sadly, many times. I ended up in Alice’s wonderland, where nothing made sense – until I chose to acknowledge my sin and repented. 

We cannot afford to put aside the kind of faith-filled obedience that demonstrates that God knows better than we do. In reality without faith, nothing can actually make sense. Let’s face it, it made no sense humanly speaking, that Adam and Eve could eat from any tree but that particular one! But immediate gain overtook caution … and they fell in. In our own lives that is also true.

Here is some advice: ‘choose God’s way from His Word, quickly, and stick with it despite any opposition.’ And there will be opposition, from our flesh as well as our enemy! I think we can easily blame the devil when the real point is, we either don’t want to, OR our flesh is weak and it is crying out for whatever it wants. That means our flesh has become used to being indulged.

When we are not walking with the Holy Spirit we can make really bad choices that affect tomorrow… and tomorrow … and … tomorrow. That’s how our eyes are blinded by our needs, and the overwhelming desire to sort out our own lives. We start to focus on the immediate, instead of the eternal. The power of choice is huge, and we cannot miss God if we are guided by His Word, as well as the good advice of mature saints … plus the desire to obey … above everything else. Never underestimate the power of choice!  Choose life.👋🏻

P 2452 Further to yesterday … another important key.

/ DVH

Here is a very interesting picture from the prophet Joel: “The invaders charge. They climb barricades. Nothing stops them. Each soldier does what he’s told, so disciplined, so determined. They don’t get in each other’s way. Each one knows his job and does it. Undaunted and fearless, unswerving, unstoppable. ……”God Himself bellows in thunder as He commands His forces.” … …Look at the size of that army! And the strength of those who obey Him! God’s Judgment Day—great and terrible. Who can possibly survive this?

But there’s also this, it’s not too late— God’s personal Message!— “Come back to Me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!” Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, your God. And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. Who knows? Maybe He’ll do it now, maybe He’ll turn around and show pity. Maybe, when all’s said and done, there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God!…” Joel 2:7-14 MSG (parts of it.)

Yesterday, I talked about the blessing of actually knowing, standing, and operating in your own place in God’s plans. And lo and behold, that morning, hubby read me this great descriptive scripture from Joel. You can almost hear the clashing of swords! I understand, BTW, that these verses are an illustration of something else, but I think the coming reality is going to be way beyond anyone’s imagination… … And I also know the Lord needs an obedient people to do whatever comes next!

The soldiers described here are not only ready for battle, they know exactly what is required from them and how to go about it. This is what true submission accomplishes, it brings about harmony within the troops. There is no competition because each mature soldier already knows everyone else relies upon him doing his designated job. These people cannot be intimidated out of their tasks or position. They can’t be stopped because they are not just a ragtag well-armed army busy doing their own thing — they are an unstoppable God-disciplined force. So they understand the strength, both individual and corporate, that gives them a spiritual unification and purpose and they protect it.

Right in the middle of this battle in Joel … because there is faith present in those who make up this army, there is a God-given opportunity for those who are being attacked to repent. The kind of faith these soldiers of the Lord need to have in this spiritual army, releases Grace. And Grace draws people to the Lord Himself. This kind of army serves the King’s real purpose. They show the world who He is, and who we are to Him, and what is possible when you and I, and anyone else who wants to come, serves Him! There is no competition, because there is no need for competition. Nobody has anything to prove. They just want other people to know Him the way they do.

Sometimes I think we are too busy trying to show the world that WE — our little church or big denomination — have all the answers. “We’ve got it right you can follow us.” But our job is to showcase the glory of our King not to point to ourselves or our churches. Our doctrine isn’t worth bupkis unless the Holy Spirit kisses it, and that kiss is not authentication  – it is a further display of HIS GRACE. Otherwise our churches will become yet another man-made institution that actually serves and produces nothing … except maybe loads of hot air. Plus four million helpful handy books that sit on shelves after the new fad has passed. It seems that so many authors have a short-cut to maturity – there is no short-cut. Dying is hard.. Did I say that out loud?? 😶

I am not saying there is anything wrong with Christian books, fiction or non-fiction, but my heart’s cry is that we need to read and esteem His book above any other. We are to be a living example of His book to other people. Meanwhile, I am pretty sure we still don’t get what He is saying, by the way the people outside the church regard us! We’ve put doctrine over Spirit and life, because I suspect Spirit and life seem harder to discern and walk in. The disciples did not put any kind of organisation over obeying His command to “Go!” They just went. Sometimes LIFE itself pressed them into moving on, but they trusted God, used their faith and took the gospel all over the known world by following the Leader – the Holy Spirit. 

It is incredibly important to find our own place and stand in it. Rather than creating some grandiose ministries that have an enormous buzz, but they raise rebellious believers who think that being right is more necessary than dying to self, or serving one another! God does not need our help. Our partnership with Him comes from His Grace toward us and His Love, not expertise. We need more Holy Spirit balance, and balance readily comes when we love and serve Him and others, no matter what the cost. This is a key we desperately need. Bye. 👋🏻