Holy Spirit

P 2428 Jesus Christ – Grace and mercy personified.

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 2426 I know I need the Holy Spirit desperately.

/ DVH

You may think that I’m always going on about transformation, a-n-d … you would be right! Without transformation we simply cannot build His church above the first floor. People who are not in the process of being transformed can quite easily have the right motivation but the wrong agendas. They can want to do good things for the right reasons … but good things out of His timing have no life in them. We need the Holy Spirit desperately.

That’s because we are following SomeOne, not just making stuff up as we go along!  We cannot move forward unless we follow the Leader, and Jesus sent back the Holy Spirit for us to follow HIM. We need His life, His input, in every single thing we do. Before you throw your hands up in the air because you know you can’t do that at this moment – (me neither!) …I just want to remind you that getting it wrong is never the issue. We can always repent of being wrong! However, being willing to admit we are wrong is definitely an issue, and so is repairing any damage we may have done. Meanwhile, leaving Him out of everything is just plain DUMB. He made this world by speaking – no-one can follow that kind of productivity!

The works of the flesh are also a problem, because our good works stink in God’s sight. We need to use whatever energy we have to learn what the Holy Spirit likes, so we can walk with Him. “How can two walk together unless they be agreed?” That’s just a fancy schmancy way of saying if you can’t walk to-ge-ther as ONE, then two people can’t possibly walk – together! Not rocket science. Here’s a free heads up. Fighting with your spouse is amongst the dumbest things you can do, you are negating your own prayers. Swallow your pride, repent and trust God to help you out of the hole you both dug! Learn to be wrong, even if you think you are right. It doesn’t matter if your spouse joins in or not – you and God are a majority. It may be slower than you’d like but HE will win. Outdo one another in HUMILITY and loving service. The higher ground is always the lower place.

In the church and in marriages, there are way too many pretender un-holy spirits. Christians can forget that we can’t see properly in the first place — mainly because we are all so good at being a pompous ass!  Let’s remember, that in church and in our marriages, we are here to serve one another, not rule the roost. When we choose to rule the roost individually, the Holy Spirit goes right out the door, and the devil rubs his hands in glee and takes over. Meanwhile, if people are afraid of you, or avoid you, you are in the wrong spirit. 

We dare not think we are the only person within any relationship that hears the Lord! God has been known to speak through a donkey – BOY is that a good thing to remember! 1 Corinthians 13 is a great yardstick. We need the art of humbling ourselves. I only know two people, in my whole life, who will always spontaneously apologise when things go topsy turvy! Whether they did anything wrong or not. Personally, I think that is because these two people value the Holy Spirit far more than being right! It is good to check with your kids, spouse, etc. and find out what they think is coming at them from you.

We need to remember that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are two different People. They both have exactly the same agenda, They want to glorify the Father. However, the Holy Spirit is not a man. Jesus Christ understood human beings, because He is one. But the Holy Spirit of God is different, He can be easily grieved. So … what grieves Him? Here are some thoughts: people who are unloving, joyless, they lack peace. They are impatient, unkind, what they think on and do is not good, they are not faithful, or gentle, nor do they have self-control. (This would be a great time to think about yourself in this context.) In other words their fruit of the Spirit tree is BARREN. They are like the fig tree Jesus cursed, lots of leaves and nothing for anyone to eat. Remember, genuine repentance is the immediate answer.

The Holy Spirit knows the benefits of remaining ONE with the Father, and the Son. They all have perfect harmony. He knows everything … and He knows the way through everything …so why would we try to figure stuff out by ourselves? Our marriages, our lives and our churches need the Holy Spirit. We do not have enough wisdom presently to go forward without HIM. Check out how badly the Israelites did in the Old Testament, when they tried to go solo. I need Him desperately. 👋🏻

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

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 2420 A living faith!

/ DVH

Safety and Comfort can be weapons used by the enemy to prevent Christians from moving into their God-given destiny. This is not a thought any of us want to have… but … these two things may well be the biggest deterrent to Christians being totally sold-out to Jesus. Hey, I like having a house to sleep in, and a doctor I can go to when I am sick. I also like knowing my kids live right around the corner and the supermarket is five kms away.

But .. these things that look ‘normal’ are actually a trap. The truth is the best thing for our relationship with the Lord isn’t safety and comfort, because that’s when we kick off our shoes and coast along – and become careless about His plans. Have you noticed that ‘there ain’t nothin’ like trouble’ to improve your prayer life?!  And yes, I am speaking from personal experience. The problem in the Western World is that distraction and busyness are a way of life.

Whenever we read the Old Testament we can see that peace and ease sent the Israelites down the plug-hole very quickly. That is a warning to us! We are told in the bible that our lives are not our own, yet most times, for the past 50+ years or so, Christians in the Western World live happily settled lives in their own communities and very few take the Lord’s command to “Go and preach the gospel to all creatures …” seriously.  Actually, I’d like to paraphrase the way modern Christianity, it seems to me, has responded to the Lord’s command …. “Let’s send somebody else out into the world to preach the gospel …not me …I already have a life!” 

Yeah! I know, that statement is not going to make me popular. But the truth is — we are all missionaries … sent ones. I can’t find an exemption clause in anything Jesus said. Yet it seems — apparently — you don’t have to go if you have a family. Peter had a family. BUT … you don’t have to go if you have a job. Paul had a job. BUT… you don’t have to go if you are rich, giving is OK instead. And why don’t we want to go? Safety and comfort! That’s why. Hey, I have no rocks in my hands, I’ve just slept in 15 different hard and uncomfortable beds recently, I’m totally delighted to kick off my shoes and sleep in my own bed again!! 

Speaking personally, I wouldn’t care if I didn’t go outside the door at all, this world is pretty rough on the elderly and disabled. But then I remember… I have courageous brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. They are in places that are not safe or comfortable … Places where people point machine guns or send missiles, or they wave nasty cleavers and machetes at you with the intention of removing body parts. Those people definitely don’t appear to be gospel friendly! Yes, we can send money  to help others go… and we should. But “GO” still applies to me, uncomfortable and unsafe, or not.

Here’s a question for you … is Australia an atheist country? “According to NORC … 20.6% of Australians don’t believe in God and never have, while 9.7% are “strong atheists”. Of those aged under 28, 26.8% have never believed in God and just 14.7% are certain God exists.”  39% of people in this country have no religion at all!  Well, those figures don’t bode well do they? Even more disturbingly …48,000 people call themselves Jedi and worship the Force!  😱 The very least we could do is to tell these dear souls that ‘the force’ has a NAME and He’s the Holy Spirit Who is a gift from Jesus! Paul once used a god with no name on it, to preach Jesus.

The truth is, we all actually like our comfortable lives. We don’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere, where crows or magpies have to bring us food! Or maybe travel miles to talk to strangers. It doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. But, here’s a thought:  those people-who-don’t -know-Jesus-yet are walking about in our local supermarket. They are at the school gate, they work in the next cubicle at our office. 

And the good news is – we don’t have to convert them. We just need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us LOVE them. We  act like the good Samaritan, and make everyone our neighbour. Reaching out to others, is and will always be, paramount to maintaining a living faith. 👋🏻

P 2419 Deception can come from careless choices.

/ DVH

There is an interesting verse in Joshua, Chapter 9, V14, and in it we can see that as soon as we revert to type and start making our own decisions, without consulting the Lord, we are more easily deceived by our enemy.  At the same time we have effectively blocked out the Lord’s wisdom. Let’s look at this OT story.

Joshua 9:3-6 “However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

The Gibeonites wanted to trick the Israelites into thinking that they had come from far away. They had heard how powerful the Jews were so they wanted to make peace with them using deception. And the Israelites fell for it – they used their eyes, plus their taste buds and decided what they could see was true. “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” Joshua 9:14. Bad move!

Our beloved Father is not bothered by us if we ask Him into situations, at any time. He dearly wants to be an integral part of our lives. That is why He gave us the Holy Spirit to be our potential constant Companion. Here’s a heads-up. the Holy Spirit is way smarter than we could ever be, and the best Advisor ever!  We need to learn from the things He has chosen to be included in the Old Testament.   

The bible tells us that: “… whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.” (Romans 15:4.) In other words the Old Testament is not just background info for our ‘real’ learning in the New! The Old is an important part of what God wants to teach us. In it the Holy Spirit gives insight into Who Father God is, What He likes, What He will do if we obey, and …what can happen if we don’t! 

As you can see from the above story, we can easily expose ourselves to deception when we lean on our own understanding. The Holy Spirit is ever-present and constantly standing by us to enriching our lives. It is not like we have to walk 19 kms to a phone to make a long distance phone call at 3.00am in the morning to talk to Him! He is always with us!! Friendship with Him is to be cherished, sought after and valued, because He enriches our lives and our thinking. He protects us from our own stupidity, as He walks with us. This truth is the most essential part of living the Christian life. We are not alone!

Previously to this incident with the Gibeonites, in Deuteronomy, we see that God’s man Joshua made knowing God His priority. Let’s be honest here. Most of us make a job, our family, our favourite hobby … our priority. We pray in the morning, and maybe again in the evening, and perhaps even during the day as we need His help, but He is not our constant Companion. We need to value the Holy Spirit’s company more than we value anything else. Joshua went into the tent of meeting with Moses, and yet Moses came out before He did! Think about it, it shows us Joshua’s commitment.

I think that this man teaches us that our desire toward the Lord, plus our obedience, matters. Careless choices, or an independent spirit, or unthinking attitudes, can rob us of victory. Father God can trust someone who wants His will more than their own, and our friend Joshua was such a man, despite his humanity. Our biggest choice is not whether we want to be saved or not – our biggest choice is whether we want to follow Jesus all the way to the end – living this life His way. 

Giving up the only life you have is no small thing. That’s why people struggle with it. But being independently-minded or even double-minded, robs us of the blessing of His Presence. Our biggest choice is simply “…choosing this day Who we will serve …” (Joshua said that – and he knew how to make great choices.)  We are more susceptible to being deceived when we make up our own minds, and then hope God will bless THAT!  As Christians we are subject to a Theocracy which means – He’s in charge and we ain’t! 👋🏻

P 2418 His Grace is an Ocean.

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 2415 Applying the Holy Spirit’s lessons …

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 2414 Our own private Tutor.

/ DVH

“But when the Father sends the Spirit of Holiness, the One like Me Who sets you free, He will teach you all things in My name. And He will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told you.” John 14:26 TPT

Just look at Who is always waiting for you and I when we read His book! I have a really bad short term memory, that appears to have turned up with age. It has required a lot of adjustment, for me as well as my family. It effects my family because I can be in the middle of a sentence and forget where I was going with my thoughts… 😂 … hilarious and humbling … all at the same time. Bonus buy! 

Moving on … I love the above verse because it directly deals with that malady in my life. The Holy Spirit is so faithful, He stands by me patiently and hands me verses when I type this blog daily. And sometimes He says: “look that up” Plus He says  … “read around it.”  Context always matters! So I can personally testify that He is an excellent Teacher. I can be reading away in the bible and He says: “Go back, you missed it.”  OR… “pause and think about this!” 

People make a really big deal out of encounters with the Holy Spirit or prophecies they have been given. It’s like they memorialise them or something. They build a statue, put a label on it and they live the rest of their lives camped at the bottom — hoping for more. 😳 To be strictly honest, perhaps I don’t value encounters that much because I have had hardly any! We must stop camping around a word, and start camping around the Teacher.

The one thing I do value mightily is this — I have this incredible Tutor Who shows up, day after day, time after time after time, and He guides me through the Word of God. He corrects me when I am ‘off-line’  and patiently repeats Himself when I am in thick-as-a-brick mode. He’s my Friend Who knows what I need, and He hands it to me. The bible is like a jigsaw puzzle to me – there are bits that make no sense until I have put together a part of the puzzle. And at other times I start with one piece and all the other pieces fall into place. And I do all that with Him guiding me, so patiently!

At exactly the same time, He shows me how what I am reading is relevant to me. He says things like: “you need to pay attention now!”  I often feel like I am watching a Master at work, creating something incredibly beautiful … because the Holy Spirit can’t help Himself! He’s always doing beautiful things. It is like His nature is always on display, particularly when I read the Word, or when I step out in obedience. I love this book! 

Today I was reading in Joshua, and the Holy Spirit pointed out that He told Joshua four times in the first chapter “to be strong and courageous.”  That repetition kind of got at me, so I wondered what it was about… four times is a lot of times! Then I saw that Joshua was the new leader and Moses had been a truly great leader, so Joshua was stepping into very big shoes … leading very disobedient people!  

God was instructing this young man about how to step into that role and how to apply whatever he was told to do. It takes courage to step out in faith and send a whole lot of Israelites marching around a walled city with no weapons, just musical instruments! Plus they did that seven days in a row!  It also took great courage for that young man to tell that army that’s what God said to do. Those men in the Jewish army were reliant upon Joshua’s ability to hear the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes when the Holy Spirit tells me to do something, it is easy to obey. But sometimes He tells me to tell my husband this or that for the person he’s going to speak to – and that takes faith! Because of my lack of physicality hubby often interacts with the people on the road more than I do, and he is more experienced than I am with dealing with strangers. 

There are times I feel to give a specific bookmark, or say this or that, and hubby goes and does it and the results are miraculous and extraordinary. We have over fifty instances of that on this last mission trip alone. This verse spoke to me today, because we both need to be strong and courageous, plus I need to speak up, otherwise I could simply take a backseat and let hubby do all the work and say nothing. We need each other just like that army needed Joshua’s leadership, plus their commitment.

My dear husband listens to me, and follows the Lord’s leading through me, and most of the time it makes very little sense to either of us – until the person in front of us starts crying their eyes out! That’s when we simply stand back and watch Him work. The best thing Christians can learn to do in this life is to learn to trust our precious Tutor. He knows stuff we do not know — about people we’ve never met. It’s AWESOME! 🕊 🙌

P 2412 People need help to understand.

/ DVH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P 2411 We are all seed sowers.

/ DVH

Today I just want to share one small story from our current trip – and I have a point for sharing it. We’ve been to a whole lot of places in the last 17 days and we’ve been travelling about like this for 18 years. We’ve literally been almost everywhere! Some places twice or three times. We regularly give away one of the more modern versions of the Gospels. Last night we stayed in a little seaside town. Now, on with my story… 

We’ve previously stayed here before, and on a past trip we went to a much smaller caravan park. Back then it was run by an older man. About 10 years ago, hubby went into this park clutching a bundle of bibles. The older man in reception was delighted to take bibles and they chatted about the Lord for a while. Hubby promised we would come back, in the future, when we could with more bibles. People pinch them – ya-ay! Yay Jesus – You get them anyway!

In the middle of the night, yesterday, the Lord spoke to hubby and told him that he was going to meet someone that day who needed one of his paintings. He gave him a message for that person. We ended up at that same caravan park we’d visited so many years before, again. This time there were only 5 caravans, but hubby faithfully went off with bibles under his arm. There was a different older man behind the reception desk. He told this man that we had been there before, and that, at that time there was another much older man in reception. 

The man behind the desk indicated that the older man was his father, and sadly he had died 5 years ago. He pointed to a photo of his Dad and hubby indicated he was the man he had met years ago. The current caravan park guy said his father had owned and run this little park, all of his life, and he inherited it after his father’s death. At that point, hubby brought out his painting, and said he felt it was for the owner. The older man teared up immediately when he saw it and hubby explained that it is called: “Take the plunge.”  Then he delivered the message God gave him the night before.

It transpired that the current owner badly wanted to retire, but he was hesitant because of filial obligation. The sad thing was, running this park was not something that he wanted to do. He was simply trying to honour his father and his inheritance. He felt trapped there. However after receiving the painting and the word from God hubby gave him, he strongly felt he could sell the business and retire. Father God wanted to set him free to live his own life. This man doesn’t go to church, and has no Christian affiliations. The Lord’s timing is amazing… I don’t want to comment any further on this story, because I wrote about it for another purpose, entirely. 

This is what hubby and I do. We take what God says, and what He tells us to do, out there to ordinary everyday people who have no idea God speaks to ANYONE personally. Most of them have never even been in a church. We say what He says to say, and give things away freely. We don’t push church at anyone. Sometimes we pray for them, then we walk away and leave the results up to the Holy Spirit. These gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you and I are for everyone’s benefit, to encourage, to heal, to guide, to bless. It seems to me things like this are the Lord waving at people saying: “Yoo-hoo I’m real!”  He touches them in ways that have nothing whatsoever to do with us. Our spiritual gifts are not just available to the people who go to church … after all … Jesus healed everyone! He didn’t check out their church credentials. 

Anybody can do this – you just take the gift He has given you and use it wherever He says to do it. We bless these strangers however the Holy Spirit tells us to bless them, and then we are done. We have faith that the Lord will send people after us. They have their job and we have ours. However, we are all, collectively, seed sowers, or witnesses. To have a harvest, the Body of Christ needs to sow seeds in obedience to the Lord’s leading. Actually to even have a testimony, we will all have to face our fears and move way outside our comfort zones!! Jesus moved wa-ay outside His comfort zone for us – it is the least we can do for Him. Bye. 👋🏻