His courts

P 3474 We follow the thread.

/ DVH

This is something hubby and I have learnt to do over the last 20+ years. Personally, and together, we walk with the Holy Spirit, daily. He tells us “Go here” and we do, then we follow the thread. We feel so blessed when we do it. This is how He stretches  and strengthens our faith. It is the way we live. There is nothing like working with the Spirit of God!

The first thing I want to say is that — the Lord loves it outside our comfort zone, because that means we are using our faith. Just tell Him:  “I am going for You, and You are utterly in charge. Please help me to pay attention to everything You say!” No matter how unusual stuff seems, as He brings it up, hubby and I simply go and do what He tells us. This has led to growth in the area of our own faith — and bucket loads of Grace for others, plus something I call automatic praise. 

That’s not like the loving cheerful songs we sing to enter His courts. Automatic praise is startling in it’s power and accuracy. It happens when we get so overwhelmed by His goodness, and we are so happy – praise just pops out, unbidden. When you get to see the Lord at work, it’s not hard! The Holy Spirit loves it when God’s people do what He asked them to do – and one of the things He has asked us to do is: “GO!” As far as I know the Lord Jesus has never taken back that directive. Simply tell Him you are available and then you obey.

When I read the Epistles I can see a whole lot of very different people who spent their lives “going!” Even those people who didn’t travel. The ones that stayed home reached out to their neighbours, and the church functioned together as a unit to bless anyone and everyone around them. You don’t read much about them buying this and that, or going on holidays – their plan was to follow HIS PLAN. 

There are times when the people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet can be difficult … but just when we want to quit, we pray: “help help” and He helps us. If He says: “Go down that road and talk to someone at the other end,” we do it. There is always somebody who needs to hear what we have to say, at the other end of that road! It never ceases to amaze me. Someone needs to know that God loves them so much that He sent His Son to bring them into a relationship with Him. We have driven miles out of our way to go and talk to just one person. 

Let’s be real, there have also been times when we were both exhausted from driving for hours, and the Holy Spirit said: “Turn off here” … and … we didn’t. That is hilarious. Have you ever watched something that isn’t aligned properly as it tries to continue with the task it performs? It kind of clicks, and clunks and stops, and slowly clicks and clunks some more. That’s what it is like when we don’t turn around. We both look at each other, and then turn the car around and go down the road we tried to avoid. That quiet feeling of being ‘out of step’ just gets to you. 

Nobody taught us to do this kind of reaching out, it simply happened as we obeyed Him and followed His thread. It has never been our intention to make a big deal about it. I’ve only written about it here, in case someone wants to know how you reach out to complete strangers. It’s actually easier than reaching out to the people you know! The Lord gave me this helpful thought on one of our trips — “You are never going to see these people again. Do you care about what they think of you?” After I finished laughing …because boy is that true … I realised I actually was scared of other people’s faces and dealt with that. 

The Lord is so gracious about helping us when we are trying to obey Him. Do we get it right all the time? I dunno ask Him! That part actually doesn’t really matter. We’ve personally seen that God cherishes anyone’s baby steps into His much larger world. At the same time, we’ve learnt so much about humanity in the past 20+ years. The people we think won’t respond, usually bawl their eyes out.

Please understand that we are not evangelists. We simply take the command of Jesus to be witnesses seriously, that is all. “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.” Acts 1:8. It is not hard to be a witness. They simply tell others what they know, and what they’ve seen, and invite those people to come and meet Him too.

Here’s what I’ve noticed … when you make yourself available to Jesus, He will take you up on it, because He is looking for witnesses. Ordinary people who will probably never stand out in a crowd, but they know that they have a story about Who He is and what He has done in their lives. My advice is, just tell your little story. We call things like that a testimony, but to be honest … it really is just you, telling your story! People have said to us: “Why don’t you write a book?” I said… “Because we are too busy doing it!“

The Holy Spirit will have people lined up for you to talk to. Half the time we don’t look for them, now they talk to us first!  We’ve seen miracles. We didn’t set out to see them, they just happened along the way. I encourage you reader to follow the Lord’s thread, His leading. The Holy Spirit has been sent to lead you and He will lay what He wants out in front of you. Then you follow it as far as it goes. He lives inside you, please, let Him out! Bye. 👋. 

“But we are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life!” Hebrews 10:39.

P 3471 God’s welcome sign is always OUT.

/ DVH

“You can pass through His open gates with the password of praise. Come right into His Presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to Him and affectionately bless His beautiful Name! For YAHWEH is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And He is famous for His faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for He keeps His promises to every generation!” Psalm 100:4-5 TPT.

Version 2: “Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey Him gladly; come before Him, singing with joy. Try to realize what this means—the Lord is God! He made us—we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Go through His open gates with great thanksgiving; enter His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name. For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and His faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation.” Psalm 100: 4-5 TLB.

I’ve put two versions of this Psalm up today because it is  helpful to read verses in different versions. It helps clarify the Lord’s meaning. Meanwhile, I think the language in the Passion Translation is so welcoming and positive, who wouldn’t want to be that person? Our biggest mistake when we read the bible is to be swamped by the words the writer used. That can lead to skimming over any old-fashioned terminology that we don’t quite understand. In both versions of this Psalm, the theme is the same – as we praise and give thanks, the Lord’s gates open wide!

However, let’s not also deify the words, I think that would be a mistake. The point of the words is the Subject — Almighty God Himself! Words are simply the vehicles that open our eyes to Who He is and how much He loves us. The Holy Spirit is the One Who takes those words and makes them pertinent to each one of us, day by day. He gives us the Lord’s Grace to act on them, and uses them to challenge, and encourage us. We have access to the glory of God Himself as we meditate on and chew over what He says to us from day by day.

The encouragement and confidence we get in return for our spontaneously joyful attitudes, can become the very thing that sustains us during our mostly ordinary days. Especially as we pause in His Presence, and allow His words to sink in. This is what is meant to happen every single time we pick up the bible. Reading His Word is like going to our Father’s house to thank, praise and worship Him for all He has done for us. Studying the bible is not a chore when you see it from the point of view of messages from the Lord’s heart to ours. “God wants to see ME, His doors fly open when He hears MY praise.” Forget the worship leader with the great voice and skills – He loves your singing, gratitude and love toward Him. He is, when all is said and done — a loving FATHER, proud of His kids.

As I read this Psalm today, the thing that blessed my heart was the realisation that when I spend time with Him, I am never an interruption, or an afterthought or even unknown. He won’t ever say to the Holy Spirit … what’s-her-name again? 😊 The thing about any kind of praise and thanksgiving is that it aligns my heart with what is already going on in heaven. I am joining in with something far bigger than myself! These words may have been written by a man, but it is the Holy Spirit speaking, that’s why this person chose to remain anonymous. The Speaker wants us to see Almighty God, not just their words. 

All of us can tune into our Father’s heartbeat immediately, especially when we make those two things – thanksgiving and praise – our starting place. No matter what else is going on in our lives or how affected by circumstances we may be, those gates and our own personal love and reverence for the Lord, opens our heart when we praise and thank Him for loving us. We know that we are always welcome at His house because the bible tells us so, over and over again. He loves to see us! It is easy to praise and thank the Lord as we discover how He feels about His children. Here’s a word of advice, don’t just read to find information or instruction, ask the Holy Spirit to help you find His heart!

Heaven is the most important place in this world or any other, and when you and I remember His goodness to us and enter His courts to enjoy His Grace, Mercy and love – we are transformed by what we receive there. Praise and thanksgiving are incredibly easy when you get rid of entitlement. Suddenly everything the Lord does for us, becomes an undeserved gift. A heart of gratitude can sustain us through so many difficult circumstances. Like the Psalmist says: “We need to be prepared to be amazed by His responses.” 

Our God is not removed from humanity, that’s why Jesus came here, to illustrate by His life and death the lengths our Heavenly Father went to, so He could have all of mankind for His own people. This is yet another place to pause and give praise and thanks. The good news today is:  “YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AT MY HOUSE. You can give your praise and thanksgiving to Me, in person, in My Presence! You will find I am always so happy to see you.” Amen. Bye.👋.