Invested

P 3268 Yesterday I learnt a lot.

/ DVH

I was in and out of tech land for the whole day yesterday, and I rapidly came to the conclusion that what was happening inside me, was even more important as anything else going on around me. I was not a happy camper! I can see the irony in the fact that the last picture I struggled so hard to post said:… ‘Sorry!’  … 🤣

My take-away-lesson from the Lord was, no matter how much control we think we have, the reality is, we have none … “unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain.” Psalm 127:1. My technical problems yesterday  showed me that I must learn to let things go. Now there is something I’ve written about here for a long time now! But it was extremely difficult to do. You have my sincere apology for oversimplifying stuff that is hard. Please forgive me. 

Meanwhile, I learnt that PRIDE can hide itself in the sneakiest places!  I just found some … I found it in the last place I thought it would be – writing this blog! Because I haven’t missed a day in over 8 years and I didn’t want to break my own record, I had built some sort of significance for myself through doing it. So I had a melt-down. The tech guys were doing their best to fix the problem, and at the same time, I also had to interact with AI.  I have to say, I don’t like AI very much! It can’t be reasoned with, my brain and its logic don’t mind-meld! What a frustrating thing that was! 

The realisation finally dawned on me that the Lord needs to be my only significance – not what I do, or don’t accomplish in a day. I have found He is always so kind and patient with me, He waited for me to wake up to myself and repent, and it took a while too! You know, many daily things can be taken for granted and when they misfire, it seems like you were standing on something that looked secure – and then suddenly it slides out from under you – because you aren’t standing on the Lord’s Grace anymore! 

With that in mind, I figured pride and learning curves are good things to talk about today. When stuff becomes clear, and you realise that you have fallen into pride, it is far too easy to try to drag yourself back up again … without learning anything. I think we can do that on the premise that everything worked OK before the drama, so why not now? But that thought means we will miss out on what the Lord wants to reveal to us and teach us, and I personally don’t recommend it!

That’s when I finally realised that I need to stay more open to change. Often the Lord has to literally peel back layer after layer that we have cleverly wrapped around our hearts to feel safe, wanted, stable and useful. BUT …“GOD  (Himself) is my refuge and my strength, my ever present help in times of need.” Psalm 46:1. The reality is I will always need His help! My self-effort, no matter how good the cause seems to be, doesn’t cut it. The Lord has always helped me write this blog, so I need to trust Him to look after it … whether I can post it or not! Meanwhile, I don’t want to miss the lesson of yielding to the circumstances, and putting Him in charge.

In my recently revised opinion… like yesterday… how’s that for current? Ev-er-y-th-ing is an opportunity for growth. And if it is frustrating, then it is going to end up being a really great opportunity to see what’s actually going on inside. Because of my own situation, suddenly I could see how easily someone can get caught up in book sales, favourable opinions and conferences, as well as numbers. That stuff is a lot more easy to buy into when you have invested your heart and your time. The point is not – are we being successful? It’s actually – are we pleasing Him? And that is not always the same thing!! “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9.(Hebrews 11:6)

At the same time, I had stopped using my faith, and instead I was doing it so I wouldn’t let other people down. And I took up the heavy burden to make the blog work. Plus it had become so important for me to keep building the numbers than I ever realised. The reality is, I am not solely responsible for the outcome – a tech team in Denmark is also silently contributing by keeping the site running smoothly. When that didn’t happen the way I thought it should, I got so angry and what came out was: ‘I will lose my readers.’  Not my finest moment. Sigh.

I have now come to the decision that we can hide ourselves from ourselves in order to make us feel better about ourselves. And yes, I know I have overused the word ourselves! Teehee. I also know that one of the things that has stabbed Christians in the foot in the past, is that many people with influence aren’t always honest. And after a while, the normal pile of junk that leaders feel they must maintain, piles up to the roof and it becomes insurmountable …no wonder so many leaders in the body of Christ do dumb things!  When we begin to evaluate what the Lord is doing through us — we’ve missed the entire point! 

Nobody means to be dishonest, because we all love Jesus. However, we can get caught up trying to protect our reputation under the guise of protecting His reputation … like He needs our help! I learnt a lot yesterday! Please pray for me that I can successfully avoid pride and stop fussing over numbers!  Bye. 👋

P 3229 YOU are His House.

/ DVH

“Here’s the one thing I crave from Yahweh, the one thing I seek above all else: I want to live with Him every moment in His house, beholding the marvellous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in His glory and grace. I want to contemplate in His temple.” Psalm 27:4 TPT.

It is so easy to read lovely scriptures like this one and think of God’s house as being somewhere else. Like in  heaven, or at church, or bible study, or in our worship times. Let’s look carefully at this next scripture, which I’m sure we all know very well, however, I’m not positive we are actually applying ourselves to live it out. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is IN you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” I Corinthians 6:20.

Yeah! Sobering thought. We, you and I … are now HIS house! If we want Jesus to ‘hang with’ us, we need to make His house a place He would like to inhabit. And we’ve gone about doing this the wrong way in the past. God loves the things that last. “Faith, hope and love,’ that’s what we are aiming at. His temple is not just some hypothetical glorious ideal, far, far away from us. This verse clearly shows us we are individually responsible for the state of His house. Knowing this is the beginning of change, but it won’t actually change the way we think, until we digest it and grab hold of it and act on it. Holy-Spirit guided action can, and it will. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20.

I can’t tell you what that will mean to you, but I can tell you a few of the kind of things that have affected me, and none of them are about what I eat, or what I watch on TV, or read etc! The first one is something that I call: “feeding the doubt.” FAITH! Doubt happens when I start ruminating over anything that isn’t working out the way I thought. The thing is, God’s temple is dedicated to Him and what He wants, so what I think I need or want, pales into insignificance. His Will His Way needs to be my permanent motto. And our God loves faith. So I repent. 

I may not think I have done anything wrong, but I choose to actively trust the Holy Spirit to know what HE likes. It’s His house, so I want His desires. I need to stir up my faith and talk to the Lord about His goodness to me. Then I ask for His help to remember those times when I have trusted Him, and I’ve seen Him graciously do the miraculous in my life. All those little things that don’t matter to anyone else, but they have impacted me greatly. Remembering His goodness is a great active sword. Whenever my faith falters, I need to stop, and reestablish the fact that He is good.

The next is to actively keep my HOPE in His goodness alive, in a primary place in my heart. Because without that hope, I will start trying to solve my problems by myself. His hope is my anchor. Hope anchors me into the bedrock solidity of His never-ending-always-present love. Otherwise I can float about being affected by the wash of someone else carelessly speeding past me. Now I keep on doing whatever my day brings up, I go over everything good in my life that He has given me, and thank Him for those things. I can also thank Him for saving me, and continually washing me with His Word.

This last thing that affects me is equally important – loving other people extravagantly. This bit is where we counteract what other people do. If I do good things for a return, I am expecting a benefit from this world. My hope will be shattered. When I do the things, He asks me to, as He leads me, especially for people who don’t deserve it – It becomes extravagant LOVE. This can sound impossible, especially if the person/s involved aren’t super-duper sweet guys. In other words, we aren’t exaggerating when we say we can’t love them, because they are, humanly speaking, not nice folks.  

Actually, loving not-so-nice people extravagantly is actually easier than loving the people that you deeply love, who have treated you badly. The more invested we are in the person, the harder it gets to be obedient. We can think up lots of excuses to opt out of obedience, when someone we love mistreats us. Things like thinking they should know us better, or give us their best behaviour all the time.  How realistic is that?? 

The reality is, people are human beings. Some things – even if they seem easy to you – can be hard for others. This is the time we need to remember that people will let us down, but the Lord never ever will. We have to switch our focus off them, onto Him. They can’t do everything we need – but Jesus already did!  Loving extravagantly means we lavish love on others, even when it is undeserved. This is the kind of love that blows people away. It’s not just nice, or kind, it is over-the-top love, the kind Jesus gave away all the time. 

Loving others extravagantly reaps a harvest. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9. I call this kind of verse, the kind of verse we try not to memorise because it seems too difficult to practice! The bible has loads of those. The ones we skip and hope God isn’t looking. Because we are His house – we actually don’t have that luxury. Remember, right here, right now – you are His house. Bye. 👋

P 3154 Understanding is important.

/ DVH

We all know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. But man’s worldly idea of happiness is transitory. That stuff disappears like a badly needed pay check. Plus happiness can also be postponed. People do that all the time. They say things like: “I will be happy when I’ve paid off my mortgage. I will be happy when we finally get the kids married off. I will be happy when my baby starts to walk and talk. I will be happy when I find a job/home/spouse!” This is what I mean about when I talk about postponing happiness.

There is such a benefit to be gained by learning to enjoy every moment we’ve been given. Life is short – let’s not postpone enjoying it, by holding our lives hostage for something we may not get! Living for the future is a futile pursuit – nothing ever works out the way we plan it anyway! In the Lord’s kingdom His joy and peace can, and will, fill and sustain us. It will gently lead us into believing in Him no matter what our circumstances are. 

Knowing this can put a smile on your face – even if you do have to blow your nose, and wipe your eyes for bit! Father God wants us to know His Ways, because He has plans for each one of us. And when He talks to us through His book, He talks to us to usher in His joy and peace. Simply because He loves us. Those miserable, terrible things that seem endlessly to hang around in our lives will eventually come to an end. Especially if we stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, and just enjoy any joy-filled moments that He sends us – no matter how briefly they appear to last. This is how we can learn to prevail over adverse circumstances, by accepting joy in those moments.

Psalm 16:11…”You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”John 15:11…”These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Psalm 30:5…”For His anger is but for a moment, and His favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Finding joy can take practice but we must learn to grasp hold of it, even in the smallest moments. Those things are honey to our aching souls. Let’s look closely at Psalm 30, verse 5. On the surface this does not seem to be a fun verse. We need to remember Who our Father is when the ceiling falls in! IF and WHEN we take the time to remind ourselves that Almighty God spent all His anger on Jesus, then even in the darkest times that should start up a joy bubble. “Weeping may endure for a night — BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!”Joy needs to be recognised or it will pass us by. 

When we are in the middle of hardship and suffering, let’s remind ourselves that our God is no longer mad at humanity. He has reconciliation toward every single one of us in the centre of His heart. When He says He loves us, it is not just some casual, quickly-passing, uninvolved affection. No! Jesus Christ dived straight into this life, giving His ALL. Our God’s love involves great passion. It took incredible passion and great sustaining grace and purpose for our Father to allow His precious Son to die in our place! Now… joy is our portion. The bible says: ‘He will turn our mourning into dancing …’

The world around us lives with a deep level of despair, because the bad guys seem to be winning. There are people who have the things we think we want or need. But money can’t save anyone from hell ‘cos ya can’t take it with you when you go! This is what God says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14;12. There is a worse kind of death than no longer breathing! It’s waking up in the next life, with all the possibilities gone. Eternal life without God Himself in it. The Lord invested Himself in everything that surrounds us – we need to take the time to soak these things in and let them do us good.

Let’s deliberately choose to stop dipping our toes in this world’s way of thinking, being and acting, and learn to think like Jesus did. John 15:11: “I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing.”  Do you want to live a joy-filled life? I do! Joy comes when we choose to listen to what He said. Jesus never focused on Himself, and His needs – He focused on His Heavenly Father’s will – as He spread God’s love to everyone around Him. We will find joy when we stop grabbing and scrambling for our own happiness, and accept the biblical premise that our delight is to do His will! 

We can experience some of our greatest moments when Almighty God paints His love in great glorious colourful strokes across the backdrop of our own personal cyclone. Look for Him in the storms. The Holy Spirit loves to do this — He loves to colour our lives with peace, joy, His faithfulness, gentleness and self control, and He is generous with His paintbrush. Ask Him to reveal Himself right in the middle of the next difficulty that plops on you unexpectedly. 

Understanding God’s Ways will help us to discover new ways to praise and worship Him. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7. Bye. 👋

P 2906 Humility is essential.

/ DVH

Luke 19:3-10:“He wanted to see Who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly. 

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus gave up his former life at warp speed, no questions asked! Here’s a little thought about this man. He had invested his energy in being able to see Jesus properly when he ran and climbed that tree. I’ve heard people debate what the tree means … I could care less. What I see is a man who wanted to see Jesus. We pray for those kind of people when we go on the road, that we would find the ones searching for Him. Something was happening in that man’s heart that prompted him to get a better view. 

First he climbed the tree, then Zacchaeus came down when Jesus called him. Immediately afterward, his validity to have Jesus come to his house for dinner, was questioned. So he started cleaning up his sins on the spot. After all, his sins were calling Jesus’ wisdom into account. Then he went one step further than simply fixing his sins, he became outrageously generous.

After that this man repaid four times over what he had cheated out of others. You can see his faith progressing as Zacchaeus began to understand the honour he had been given. Jesus was honouring this man with His Presence, owning him, in front of everyone. And this guy shows what true repentance looks like! Repentance requires turning around not just sorrow – Judas was sorrowful.

OH! That we would understand the honour we have been given when Jesus chose to save us! It is not something to be pushed aside and treated lightly. It needs to be the focus of everything we do. Pharisees etc. expected to be treated well, have the best seats, and have their thoughts and lifestyles admired by everyone. But we must remember, we serve a God Who SEES. He sees through our uppity attitudes, into whatever is in our hearts and half the time even we don’t know what has crept into it!!

Some times we feel bad because what we did was bad – that’s called conviction. I’ve learnt to pray this prayer from Psalm 51:10-13 often, because I want the best attitude. I need to spring-clean myself from sin, selfishness, ambition, and the need for recognition. I don’t have to do anything else but confess my sin, repair things with other people, and then I rely upon His faithfulness!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your Presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.“

The thing is, we cannot even have a clean heart without His help! This Psalmist’s reverence for God comes through his words, and so does his heart. He has a desperate need for God to help him achieve what his heart desires. And He values God’s Presence more than anything else, and wants to always remember, that he has been saved from who he was and God has restored him. There is no value we can put on being able to respond with such humility. And we see this in Zacchaeus and a woman who washed Jesus’ feet. She is perfect example of repentance and humility in action.

You know we can have this opinion and that thought, but the way God thinks about people often escapes us. Jesus was incredibly loving and supportive to this woman. She washed His feet with her tears and dried it with her hair and she did it to honour Him.  She broke the most valuable thing she owned and poured it over Him. Right in the middle of a dinner party where she stuck out like a sore thumb! She did not care, she was testifying to His Sovereignty, His God-honoured total right to be glorified. And she had gone there to be forgiven and worship Him – then she humbled herself because He was worth it. That’s called having an open heart!

Spiritual eyes and ears are incredibly valuable. Any one of us, at any time can be in His Presence, at home, in church, in the car — and yet we can’t hear His voice, because our hearts have hardened — maybe we think we’ve heard it all before — the thing is — we aren’t listening. Maybe we are too busy critiquing the message!! Big mistake. It’s one I have made more times than I care to remember. The Lord is looking for humble hearts, a people who will put His needs above everything else. These people won’t care if whatever they do is ever seen by anyone by Him. Here’s a big thought: … if HE is the only One Who can see it, then it is true worship.

Humility is essential, otherwise we wander along, never changing, and blaming others. Instead we lay ourselves at His feet and wait to hear what He will say. Bye. 👋

P 2900 We pray from a kingdom perspective.

/ DVH

“Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” Colossians 3:2 TPT. There are so many instructional verses in the bible, just like this one, that we could apply one of them every single day and still not get through the book even once in this lifetime! So how do we feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm while we are still on earth? We live like heaven is our home, not this world.

It’s all about focus. Most people today are focussed on me, myself, and I. My family, and my relatives, and my goods and possessions, my country, and my job or lack of one! In order to have a heavenly point of view we need to focus on what God wants – and fortunately He has told us what He wants – in writing! 

Jesus came here and He actively taught us what a heavenly perspective looks like. Our Father always has a greater plan than we can imagine — praise Him! Jesus was a walking, talking, teaching, healing illustration of God’s plan and His love for each one of us. Then He died to seal the deal, to give us our opportunity to live the way He did. Sacrificially. He didn’t just die to get us into heaven – He died to get heaven into, and flowing out of, US!

Jesus Christ is Father God’s faith in action be-ca-u-se … ‘faith without works is dead!’ Faith has substance – Jesus Christ is the substance of His Father’s faith. This is why without faith we cannot please God – our God is faith-filled! He has invested His Son’s life in each one of us. His kingdom is not just a place, somewhere ‘up there’ — it is a new way to live. The miracles Jesus did were secondary to the carrying out of His Father’s plan.

People could say: “Well being a Christian doesn’t sound like much fun, if God gave me a life  I want to live it, my own way.” And so the Lord steps back and says: “Have at it!” This means right here, right now, surprise, surprise, we are living in a world filled with people who want their own way. Even if what they actually want is a peaceful life, that is still what that person chooses for themselves! We should never be surprised at the mess this world is in, because human beings are in charge. And human beings, without Christ, are susceptible to demonic influences!

I think we all do our best to pray for good things, Godly things, things inspired by the Holy Spirit … but many times we pray for change or healing of things on this earth. Please Lord, heal this. Please Lord, change that. Please Lord, help those people etc. We are praying for the things that will one day pass away. Jesus Himself told us what to pray for: “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; THY KINGDOM COME; THY WILL BE DONE; on EARTH as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

In this new reality, we pray for His kingdom, His will to be done, first.. In this prayer that Jesus gave us as an example – God is the centre. Yes we can pray to be delivered from sickness, sin and evil, let’s do it! We sure need it!! But the point of being born again is to live in His new kingdom with His oversight. He tells us how to do that in the book. He even tells us what the fruit of that kingdom looks like … in the book! No fruit – no kingdom!  

Our new life means we have chosen to live in His kingdom, and we are to manifest that kingdom in this life down here …in the middle of wars, trouble, strife, evil, compromise, hatred, murder, lust, lies. That’s why Jesus said “don’t be surprised when bad things happen.” Those things are the fruit of this world!  We are to walk within this world’s worst nightmares, shining with the light of Jesus’ love for every single human being, always praying people will be saved by the truth of what we believe, as it is acted out right in front of them! 

“God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.” 1 John 4:17.

Now we pray from our new heavenly position within Christ. ‘Lord I want what You want.” I’ve learnt, from experience, that what HE wants is so much better than anything I can think of or dream about! We have given our lives to Him so He can live through us – we are blessed to be able to release His point of view, His healing, His love, peace, joy, into the darkness. That is not a part-time job, it is a kingdom lifestyle.  We need to learn to pray from a kingdom perspective.Bye. 👋 

P 2817 What are heavenly treasures?

/ DVH

““Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure.”Matthew 6:19-21.

In these verses, we have the answer to my title. Heavenly treasures are the things we pursue while we are here on earth. Some things we pursue could be money, success, fame, a new house, a car, a spouse, a family, a special holiday, going back to your home country etc. The way to figure out what that phrase means to you is to look at whatever occupies most of your thoughts, and time, plus whatever you are living and working for every day. Let’s remember that each one of us has a God-given purpose – a reason we are here.

We can be an active Christian and pursue all these good things, as well as the Lord. So let me be clear, things are not the problem – wanting them above everything else is. Our God is a jealous God. “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. “ Exodus 34:14. Our God wants to be first in our lives. 

Many people today in the work force do everything they can to be successful at what they do, and if they are Christian I am sure these people think they are working for Him. I am not talking about how much time you are at work either – my point today is whether work is a greater priority than anything else. Maybe your priority is money. You don’t feel “safe” unless you have a prescribed amount in the bank, or invested. What holds your heart’s attention? Is it someone who will love you, and help you reach your dreams? 

When I was younger, all I wanted was a family, so I worked toward that.  I met someone, we were married and I began to work hard to be successful, both as a spouse and a parent. I was the mother who mouli-babied all her baby’s solid food … BTW a mouli baby grinds all kinds of food down into a paste, it means the food is fresher. All three of our kids spoke early … because I started reading to 6 week old babies! They could all read and do simple sums long before they went to kindy. 

I was totally invested in making sure they had a good start in life. That’s where my effort went and that’s where my heart was. Anybody who has been a parent can tell you, that you can invest all you like in your kids but, in the end, they are individuals who decide their own destiny!  Meanwhile I thought I was investing in eternity, because my kids would hopefully outlive me, but I had not counted on the fact that eventually those kids would go their own way and have their own aims.

As part of my investment in their lives, I taught them everything I knew about Jesus from when they woke up until they went to sleep again. And two of them follow the Lord and one does not. I did not realise, at the time that my investment was in them, in their future, instead of His kingdom. They were my major priority – not the Lord. And yes, there is a difference!! I was living with a divided mind and I did not know it. I thought being a spouse, and a good parent, and looking after my kids meant I was following Jesus.

I was taught “whatever you do, do it with all your heart as though you were doing it for the Lord.”So I camped on that scripture and thought and hoped it would be enough for Him. I went to church Sunday by Sunday, taught Sunday school, cared for the poor whenever I could, etc. But I forgot the most important thing: “You are not your own, you have been bought with a price … paid for with a Preciousness…” I Corinthians 6:19-20. His kingdom must always come first and we need to remember that God is more invested in our children than we are. Meanwhile, of course being an active parent counts … He’s an active parent!

At the same time I selectively read my bible accenting the verses that supported my POV, instead of looking prayerfully and carefully into His word of truth, looking for places to renew/change the way I was thinking.  In my mind and heart, I hoped God was pleased with me, because I was doing everything for His sake. I considered the blessings that came my way as a kind of ‘payment’ for all my efforts. Yeah, I can see the error OK? Old age has done me a heap of good, butthe overriding factor in all this was that the Lord never ever gave up on me! Praise Him!

He has taught me that when you seek His kingdom first, all these other things get added unto you. I knew that verse, but I did not know its meaning until I started switching my focus from what was in front of me, toward knowing Him above all else. As I have learnt to live this way, with my heart pointed toward Him, and Him alone – my whole focus for living has shifted. I was not just born here to be someone’s mother, or someone’s wife, or a functioning member of my congregation – first of all I am here to know Him, to give Him the first fruits of my time and affection. 

Other things slot in behind that – THE LORD IS OUR HEAVENLY TREASURE – everything else is wood, hay and stubble.. “unless the Lord builds the house … we are labouring in vain …” May God bless us all as we run after Him. 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Bye.

P 2599 Under construction.

/ DVH

I often feel like I should have a sign with that saying written on it hung around my neck – in a number of languages! It sure would clear up any misunderstandings. From the moment I wake up, ’til my head hits the pillow every night, my aim is to walk with Jesus, living this life He has given me with His grace going in and out of me, toward others.

But, no matter where we live today, this life seems to have become so much harder than it was before Co-vid showed the world WE aren’t in charge, after all. I remember when the pandemic started, people were rushing about trying to prove that it came from this country or that country, or this lab or that lab. I still can’t figure out why knowing that was so important! That blasted genie was already out of the bottle, what the heck did it matter where it came from? I have found it is neither good or helpful to make lists of reasons why I dislike some people or what they do.

I think that knowing the origin of the disease is a waste of time unless blame and shame happen to be incredibly important! But the media chose to stir up its usual frenzy seeking to prove its case, always looking to blame someone. We have to have a hero and a bad guy it seems!! They even took the time to seek out people who were pro-inoculation as well as those against.

Sometimes I think the media is more interested in starting fights between people, than producing real news – mainly because doing that will create even more angry messes to report on!  I call that stuff fake news.  It seems we prefer cultivating that, so we can maintain a level of anger in our lives toward everyone and anyone in general – perhaps it feels like protection?

Personally, the pandemic has limited my whole life so I have a lot to be angry about!!  I can’t go anywhere without using a mask. My dear hubby chooses to wear one too. Members of my own immediate family also wear a mask whenever they are out amongst the general population, for my sake. Now I call that love! Nobody is making them do this, they are doing it because they want to support and protect me. They don’t make a fuss, or over-explain, they just do it. Those actions have illustrated yet another aspect of what love looks like to me. 

It seems to me that this kind of grass roots, always considerate love, is the kind of love that is no longer common today. Sometimes we think that the best way to express love is to move away from an irritating person, and we can produce a list of reasons why we should! Instead of seeking to find common ground. Or perhaps taking the time to prayerfully ask the Lord for ways to reach out and then continue to persevere. We collect and collate info to prove why we shouldn’t even try. I wonder where I would be if my family thought my needing a mask made me too difficult!  

Like the verse that I’ve used as a header to this blog says: ‘not that I have always reached THAT goal … but on we go!’ (That’s my translation.) So that’s what I want to rabbit on about today:  instead of finding places where we don’t agree, why don’t we find places that we do, and use our energy to work on them?! I had a difficult childhood and it has taken me a long time to be able to truly love the person who hurt me. But now, by God’s grace, I know the joy of finding that the discomfort, and anger, and even the pernickety nit-picking attitude that prevailed in my heart, is slowly subsiding. It has been worth all the prayer and choosing to go after His Grace. 

I will not say my stinky attitude is gone – I am, after all, still under construction, and I can still get irritated with this person – but because of the Holy Spirit’s help … I have INVESTED MORE in finding a way through my irritation — than I have in stoking my anger to keep me safe, and the other person at arm’s length. The result is I now deeply, truthfully care about somebody that I was actively avoiding. I think this is how love works. Right down at ground level zero.  God’s love doesn’t tackle the seemingly justifiable anger, head on, or force the very real feelings down — instead it uses its energy to find a place where we can agree – and it starts there. 

I freely admit it took me a while to find some places where this person and I could agree. But with His help we’ve both found some, I have learnt to laugh and enjoy that other person’s company. Really living in this life consists of maintaining and cultivating relationships and it is up to us to choose to let other people in. Even when they too have signs around their necks that say …”highly toxic, limit exposure!”

So far, I’ve learnt to walk quietly down new pathways, reminding myself that this new life of agreement we have found together, can be a blessing to both of us. Jesus showed me how to make those pathways. It has been a great relief to find that I no longer have to throw myself onto the incredibly sharp spears this person wears for self-protection. Being willing to change even though in my mind – the other person should … because they are “wronger’  than me! Judgment is a huge trap we can all easily fall into. Whether it involves a difficult relative, or the media, everything around us is prompting us to make judgment calls. We will be pushing against the flow of this life if we decide to stop.

However, we could leave behind pain and anguish and give up resentment, when we understand that the reward is a different slant on someone else – and a new, ever-so-slightly improved ME. Being under construction is a great way to live. 👋

P 2430 How to live in HIS freedom!

/ DVH

“Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever HE IS LORD, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 TPT. Great verse eh? Everybody say AMEN!! Now, what are we all going to do about it? Did we comprehend what that verse says? … It says if we truly want freedom then HE’S IN CHARGE NOW.  Ask yourself – is the Holy Spirit in charge of what you think, do and say? If not, that’s why there is confusion or angst. 

Let me be clear: even when we have chosen to go the wrong way — this is the same Spirit that was in Christ Jesus. He can redeem any dumb thing we do, intentional or not. Ask Him to redeem your mistakes. However, that is not my point for today, this is: — We can’t have a part-time Holy Spirit any more than we can have a part-time Saviour! You might need a minute to digest that bit of info, I know I did.🧐

Never get tied into the panic of ‘I don’t know what to do and the Holy Spirit hasn’t told me anything!’ That will paralyse you. Let’s listen to Luke, he wrote the consensus of the prayerful Apostles down – how they did it in Acts 15:28-30 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:…”And Luke goes on to talk about dietary stuff. The point I am making is that they consulted the Holy Spirit … even about food and practical things… like … dare I say it ?…sex.

Moving on 😳 rapidly … because we will all turn into pumpkins if I hang around that word.😱 …  That simply means we ask Him for His input into everything. However, we also don’t sit about on a fence interminably waiting. Instead, we ask, then we wait for our spirits to become clear about the issue, then we proceed. I want to pause and explain the phrase ‘my spirit becoming clear.’ Sometimes when something difficult or unusual comes up I get confused, irritated, upset, fearful etc.… you get the idea. Inside I feel agitated and out of sorts. BUT, when my spirit seems clear, I feel quietly sure of going ahead in a certain way. The white noise in my heart and thoughts, disappears. I have peace.

But, if I continue to toss around thoughts, like: ‘will I?’ or ‘won’t I?’ I will quickly get muddled up again. That’s because a double- minded man doesn’t receive anything from the Lord. (Thank you James!) Instead, I hold fast to the place in my heart that remains un-conflicted about whatever it is and I give the whole issue back to Him again and leave it there. I have learnt that going over and over stuff, trying to figure out the right answer adds to confusion. And that double-minded gig James goes on about.

I pray about stuff as He leads me, while I am reading the bible. If nothing stands out to me, then I do nothing. Eventually a relevant verse, will just float through my brain and I accept it. He’s God, He’s bigger than me. I trust Him, so that’s where my faith is. My faith is in… His-never-ceasing-love-and-attention-to-even-the-smallest-details-in-my-life! Sometimes the situation that has had me in a flap-doodle just’ melts away like snow in the sunshine. 

The real issue is:  Who is Lord – you or Him?  This wrestling we do about the things in our lives, the “should I – or not” thought pattern — is not half as important as our loyalty to Him and wanting what He wants. Conflict looms in our lives when we are praying about something we think we need — that means I have an agenda. To deal with the Holy Spirit we must lay our agendas down, and tell Him we don’t care one way or the other, we want what He wants.

Then we need to give whatever it is to Him and leave it there, permanently. Move on and let His answer become Your answer. Thank Him for it – even if it doesn’t look the way you wanted it to, thank Him.  It’s WHO we have invested our faith IN that matters … not the answer to our prayer. Because… ‘we know that He works all things together for our good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.’  So we can’t lose when we trust Him to make our paths straight. That’s called freedom.

Meanwhile, what is His purpose? To be Lord! He’s good at it!! Let’s be clear. The Holy Spirit does things per-fect-ly.  There is no whoops in Him! And that’s because nothing… nothing … NOTHING!!! gets by HIM. So there is no point in hoping He won’t notice stuff, because He will! “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to Whom we are accountable.” Hebrew 4:13. Check everything out with Him first, because He knows anyway. 😂 

There is no true freedom in trying to organise or control Almighty God, there is only truck loads of frustration. The result of our prayers, consultations, and yielding to the Holy Spirit is that we will get to know Him better. It is never about getting what I want … it is about getting to know Him and what He wants. Bye 👋🏻