I need Jesus more

P 2096 Our hope is in Him

/ DVH

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, …” Hebrews 6:19 

Sometimes, Christians put their hope in things, or situations, or even other people  As nicely as I can put this, that’s a dumb idea!  Don’t do it. You will end up disappointed. Other people are bound to disappoint us. Let me put that another way – everybody has choices because God Himself allows us all to choose. Unless we all walk minute by minute with Jesus, then our selfish self will pop up and have its selfish way. The only place for our hope to be is IN Christ.  In what He did for us.

I want to address just one of the above verses, the one in Hebrews 6: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul …” Our soul, mind, will and emotions need an anchor. Otherwise we will be tossed and stretched by circumstances and difficulties. Our feelings can easily betray us and sometimes we can’t even figure out why or where we went off the track. We need a strong anchor! The Lord Jesus Christ is that anchor. What He did and Who He is. We must stop analysing other people’s, or even our own behaviour, and hold fast to the Saviour’s sacrifice for them and US – instead.

We need to let the Holy Spirit – Who is our resident expert about ALL things in this life – help us. He does all things well. Don’t just sit looking at your disappointments and sorrow, stick your head out of a window and look around – look at His work! The Holy Spirit will always point us back to Jesus.

What this scripture in Hebrews means is that Christ Himself is our hope, and the Holy Spirit confirms this truth to us in our hearts. HOPE IS A PERSON not a doctrine. Jesus is an historically proven Person. We do not hold fast to our POV, or someone else’s theory or doctrine – we hold fast to Christ. If He is not Who the bible says He is, we are all sunk, because we are now simply that committed to following Him. He is our sure foundation and the Saviour of this world. 

Christ is our anchor. We can’t limit or hold to ransom the awesomeness of our God by trying to appraise His answers to our prayers. Our faith has to be in the fact the Lord is doing something … at all times… even when we can’t see what it is! The Lord Jesus Himself put His own faith in His Father’s plans. Please don’t hold fast to an idea that Jesus will get you a nicer house, 10 cars and a Lear Jet! We are here in this world as messengers to speak His eternal hope to the nations. This life is not about our comfort. It is about allowing HIS incredible eternal life down here, to flow through our own little lives. The best bit is that we get to live in a taste of eternity down here! 🙌

Now – this day – we have been given His Spirit, His life flowing through us … we are carriers of His joy, His love, His hope, His goodness, into this world filled with sorrow, heartache, atrocities and despair. We are now His witnesses. Because we are being changed, now we can tell others they too can live a life of love and transformation. And all these wonderful outcomes are IN Christ. It’s all in the bible, read the book!

God’s goodness sent Jesus here at exactly the right time – so we could see a living example of His goodness and His good will toward mankind. Jesus Christ died and rose again. That is our hope.We must never forget all God’s benefits, BUT … His benefits aren’t the reason why we follow Him.. Brothers and sisters, do not stop short of the goal. Remind yourself constantly, that Jesus’ Name is above every other name and He completed His earthly mission so –  HE IS OUR HOPE – today, right now. Who HE is and what He did, is our anchor. Bless you and bye. 👋🏻

P 2092 Remain teachable. 

/ DVH

Teachability is not just agreeing what whatever is said, it is taking the time to find out how it will work in your own life and then – doing it. Saying that another way – teachability is about growth. Not just in knowledge, but in outwardly visible changed attitudes and actions. The people who really know us can see that we are different, especially those who are close to us. And our love for Him overflows toward others. We are not meant to be a people who are ‘all talk and no action.’ Action is our middle name!

A teachable person is humble. They don’t assume they know everything, instead they remain open to change – even if they already know about what is being said – their cry is always “more Lord, deeper still – change my heart even more.” They don’t see saying “Amen” as saying: “I already knew that, I agree with you.” They see it as saying: “Lord, I need that. Do that in me. Open my heart to new possibilities. I need MORE of You.” They understand that repentance means making room in their hearts for more of His love to transform them. 

Week by week this type of believer goes to church hoping with all their hearts to learn more about Him. Their hearts are open because they want to know how to please HIM. When the pastor says: “do this and don’t that,” their immediate response is: “Oh Lord! I haven’t done this and I didn’t do that, please forgive me!” They are incredibly humble and don’t mind being overlooked.

Their response to conviction is not presumption – it’s a deep appreciation and repentance. Yes Jesus paid for it all, but the freedom He died to give us is the free choice we now have to serve Him. To love Him with all our hearts. These people’s lives are lived laid down, they want to live according to His purposes.When things get tough they know that God is strengthening them, hardening them to difficulties. 

If they see that their neighbour has a need, they are there helping with no agenda … because love doesn’t need an agenda! They wouldn’t dream of cheating anyone, at the shops, or on their income tax. They can’t see loop-holes, because their eyes are so full of love for others and the Lord Jesus! These people are the redeemed of the Lord. They weren’t just redeemed once, long ago. His people are sincere to the core. So if someone comes to their house, they will see exactly the same person who sings happily in church Sunday by Sunday. His people don’t do fake – they value His Presence too much.

Teachable people are sweet people, they want HIM more than a good image because they lost their pride years ago! Their pride was nothing in comparison to knowing Him. None of us can be the people who do great exploits when we live out our lives differently behind closed doors, hiding from the public gaze. What we believe inside needs to show up outside.

Christians are not meant to be schizophrenics – behaving one way one day and another when nobody else is around.We are the ones who deliver mentally tormented people- we are not destined to be one. And, FYI, I am not criticising those poor sods who are tormented in their minds because of their circumstances etc.

If we have no power, and our prayers are not being answered, we need to take that personally and ask the Lord: “Why not? what am I doing wrong?”Years ago now I belonged to a smallish church and the pastor’s sermons were rather intellectual. It drove me crazy! I got so frustrated – I wanted to leave the church. FYI the problem was me, not the pastor!

One day I was praying and complaining about the poor man, yet again … and the Lord interrupted me: “I fed the Israelites in the wilderness,” He said, “I gave them the bread of angels. I can feed you here, in this place. Use your faith, listen for My voice inside the pastor’s voice..”  That dryness never ever happened again because I realised my source was the Lord Himself not just the pastor. I became this man’s biggest fan, because the Lord gave me so much through what He said that challenged me. Angel food is challenging!

So is remaining teachable.  If there is something hindering our walk with Him, we can always ask Him for help, and He will help us. Pray to be teachable – read Psalm 1 – it will help you grow. 👋🏻