Joy

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 2893 People need to see HIM in us.

/ DVH

Luke 13:10-17 “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing.”

Why were these people so delighted? Here’s my theory … instead of rules and regulations, theories and hypotheses about this or that … God’s Love for ordinary people, those who daily lived in pain and suffering, was being acted out in front of their eyes! Suddenly His Love was no longer a theory — it was on display! Something they could see and experience for themselves. People saw His love in action, through everything Christ did. Sometimes I feel that we have failed the Lord, by talking, talking, talking about this idea or that one, but we haven’t actually moved from theory into practice.

Romans 5:8:“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Jesus is God’s love demonstrated. Let’s just think about that. He was kind to sinners and saints alike and He healed and delivered people who were trapped in terrible situations. He taught everyone around Him what God is like by the way He treated them. You and I meet people who need these demonstrations of His love every single day. They need His touch, whether it is an encouraging word, or a prayer for healing, or even food or shelter.

Our God chose to come here as a vulnerable infant, He lived among us, and … “Jesus Christ set a perfect example of kindness and love. Throughout His earthly ministry, He showed His love for others by blessing and serving the poor, the sick, and the distressed.” (Thank you Google!) Here’s my question for today – how do WE as in … you and I …choose to demonstrate our love for God to others? If we are not distracted, or weighted down by the cares of this life, and we are living vastly unaware of our personal contribution – we can think that simply avoiding sin meets His requirements. Sadly that kind of stuff will turn anyone into a legalist in a heart beat. Instead of peace flowing like a river … judgment will drown anyone who comes near it!

Here’s a revelation — trying to avoid sin is not the answer. Jesus already dealt with sin at Calvary and He expects us to use the power He bequeathed to us to deal with our own sin in our own lives using our OWN faith! There’s no point in sweeping junk under the carpet … that lump in the middle of the carpet is a dead-giveaway. Other people are bound to stumble over it. Luke 8:17: “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” Sooner or later who we really are jumps out under pressure. What we do after that happens, hits everyone around us with a learning curve. Then we can’t continue to pretend that we are AOK, because it eventually becomes obvious we are not.

The people who live around us need God’s love demonstrated toward them – that’s why He has given all of us Grace gifts, now we can deal with this world without hating it, or avoiding it. These Grace gifts change other people’s lives – and awaken faith in His goodness in us. It is consistency that matters – so day by day – we need to choose to  live our lives for His sake. This is how we usher in His kingdom – we follow Him, and we see people through His eyes. Tolerated and/or hidden sin can make us deaf and blind to other people’s needs. However, His love causes our faces to shine the way Jesus’ face shone with the love of the Father. 

Father God knows how to go around other people’s fierce, disinterested faces and attitudes, and bless them with His Love – despite their postures of indifference. We just follow the Holy Spirit and obey His prompts.The glorious thing about God’s loving, fruitful kingdom is that even a little tiny bit of it released into someone else’s life grows. That’s because His kingdom is not of this world – or subject to the junk we tolerate.

Always remember, people need to see Him in us. Every single day we need to use our faith to move beyond this world’s thinking, and start thinking and acting like HE does. My last thought is this, make friends with the Holy Spirit, He knows how to reach people. Bless you. 👋

P 2889 People disagree …

/ DVH

… sometimes very loudly! When you read the gospels you will find different people from all walks of life that are outrageously unkind, plus people who cheat each other, or they hate each other for all kinds of reasons. The thing is, disagreements are not necessarily about who is right and who is wrong – that’s this world’s way of thinking. ‘I think I am much right-er than YOU are,’ is a really common theme. I hate disagreements … everybody loses!

To be perfectly honest with you, difficulties can have a positive side, they can usher in change in us – if we put down our sword of attack, and pick up His Grace, the people around us would feel much safer! God’s Grace needs to be the way we live now. What Jesus did at Calvary, released an incredible, overabundant Grace, and it is ours for the taking. We need to use our faith. Let me clarify that into English – let what you’ve been given by God be your new motivation – it makes it easier to apologise! Do it for the Lord!  He deserves to see the reward of His suffering in our lives.

This is our highest form of worship. This, in its very essence, is Romans 12:1 ”Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”When we choose His will, His Way, we are choosing to worship Him! Here’s another scripture nobody much likes, Jesus said it: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13. We live this way for people who totally don’t deserve that kind of attitude or action from us! I’ve known people who said: “I would die for you” – but they haven’t considered that dying for the other person might include not liking or loving them very much at the time! 

Jesus chose to die for us, and He loved us while He did it! Good place to praise God for mercy!! Before you throw your hands up in the air in frustration, because we all have difficult people in our lives …think about it. Name somebody in the bible who had a happy, trouble-free, carefree life – you can’t do it can you? Our happiness, our purest joy comes from knowing Him – other people and relationships line up behind that. It often seems to me in those angry moments, that I’ve forgotten that love is a choice not a feeling!! 

Human beings stagger about doing the weirdest stuff, searching for that mythical land that is called “my happiness.” It won’t happen – it can’t happen. If we don’t find our happiness in serving Him, and learning His Ways – we are doomed to keep repeating the same rubbish mistakes over and over again. We will remain stuck in a mire of our own choosing. The answer to other people driving us crazy isn’t them changing – It’s our own personal transformation – we change the way we think and see everyone else, and they don’t bother us anymore!

There really is a place where other people don’t have to get on your nerves – Jesus Christ lived there and He was a man just like us. Every single one of those irritations are giving us an opportunity to die to self. Jesus didn’t have to wrangle His emotions, because He knew what was important – He knew the book from when He was 12! Everything He did He did to further His Father’s Kingdom. That’s now our job.

Christians admire other people’s testimonies. Things like: some dear missionary went to some lost tribe, and the tribe was saved but they chopped the poor missionary into little bits.’ Let’s pause a minute … the thing is, we don’t have rampant indigenous tribes waiting to kill us … instead we have Mrs Kerfoops who is always gossiping about everyone and she comes to church every Sunday … that dear lady needs to know His Grace. Obviously she has none, because she can’t keep her mouth shut. Somebody is going to have to be a source of God’s Grace toward her!

The bible works as a WHOLE. That missionary who died released Grace to the pagan tribe …  they left their comfortable homeland and went to a strange place for the sake of the gospel. That’s GRACE. Today’s Christians don’t value GRACE enough. We expect other people to understand US.. Instead we need to learn to turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile, right in the middle of the time when we feel so provoked we just want to thump the person who is provoking us. 

This means we will need to put His Grace into action to manage our painful circumstances. Think on this — the Grace that we cling to while the world around us continually shifts on its axis, is the same Grace we give away to other people when they don’t deserve it. In those moments I remind myself — “I don’t deserve His Grace either!” It really does help. Right along with my all time favourite prayer. “Help help!” Prayer is so much more than words, it is an attitude of our hearts!

Some of the time people disagree because they don’t know Him well enough yet. So there are no hard and fast rules as to who should be the one to give away Grace. I’ve found if I can actually see what is going on, then that means He will help me to get through it. I step out in faith, and I ask for His help to holster my own opinion. I’ve yet to start cheering when a disagreement comes up, but these things are opportunities for me to practise what I preach. Bye. 👋

P 2881 This is the battle.

/ DVH

“So fight with faith for the winner’s prize! Lay your hands upon eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made the good confession before the multitude of witnesses!” 1 Timothy 6:12 TPT

Entering into eternal life here and now, is not just a one time event. It is an ongoing process that is designed to saturate every single part of our lives, so that we progressively become like Christ, while we are still in this world! It is very important that this thought becomes the way we see everything. Some not good things we choose to do are one off actions, but other things are entrenched in us as part of the way we think and conduct ourselves. The more we become saturated by His life in us, and through us, the easier it is to identify the stuff that is the wrong way to think. God Himself has the best Way to think no matter what we are going through!

He is so incredibly good to us while we are learning to yield every area of our lives to Him, His patience with us is far beyond our imagination. It is far greater than any of our experiences have been with other people! Sometimes people’s attitudes and responses may be harsh, so it is extremely important that we know what the bible says. I can’t stress that enough! This is why we let Him and His Word have the last say on our lives, over our personal responses to hardship and trouble. However, to do that we have to be honest with ourselves, and with others.

We have Christ’s example from the bible that show us what His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control look like! Read the Gospels, follow the Lord Jesus around, you will see that fruit all over His life! God’s kindness etc. is not indulgent or self-serving, it is something steadfast that we can stand on. This means we can identify the things that come to attack us, simply by knowing what real Love looks like. At the same time, we must remember that we are not in a popularity context, and that means that there are times we can end up at odds with someone else – because their learning curves and ours may not match. Grace needs to prevail.

Things like this, are not just tests, or trials. They are opportunities to learn God’s ways. We learn how to hide from the storm, in Him, when there is an actual storm in our lives blasting away. His transformatory ways are often learnt right in the middle of situations we would much rather avoid! As we understand and remember this, it becomes part of our way of looking at this world. Difficult circumstances are not sent by Him, but they are used by the Lord to teach us His Ways of thinking, doing and being. They teach us our limitations. Plus our often unknown weaknesses, and they present us with situations where we can practice relinquishment, by leaving stuff with Him. 

It takes humility to let go of our own solutions, defence mechanisms etc. and trust the Lord to take care of us and the people, or the things that we love. And humility is often learnt, firsthand, when we submit to others – especially people we don’t like! That’s what not leaning on your own understanding means. Experience with His Ways will grow us up in the things that last! We learn trust by trusting Him when everything around us screams “Panic!”

Jesus Christ was man-handled roughly even before those Roman Soldiers beat Him mercilessly. He was verbally abused and He did nothing. He knows what silence in the face of lies looks like and what it costs us when we do it. This was a grown man in His prime – He could easily have fought back! Instead, He humbly submitted to those evil circumstances that battered and beat Him, when He paid for our sins. And now He can identify perfectly with US!

When people come at us with untruths against our character, we have SomeOne who knows how hard these things are and He knows how to get through them without defending ourselves. Jesus was not stoic about what happened to Him — He was GRACE personified. He fought the battle before He ever got into that courtyard, where evil people questioned and beat Him. He knows how to get through things.

This voluntary submission to Him is our daily battle. We choose it. Because of what Jesus has already done for us, we will always have the power to enter into His rest, and lean on His understanding. Bye. 👋

P 2867 Aim higher…!!

/ DVH

One of the biggest problems we have in Christianity today is that we are not living like we are His kids. We’ve fallen prey to the deception that raising the dead, healing the sick, walking on water, multiplying food, or producing miracles is the only way for us to look like His kids. And … at the same time … we all know that only really spiritual people can do that stuff! Wrong! Those things are a side benefit of knowing Him! Knowing Him means that we will see His Grace operating all around us in this natural world. Any miracles will occur as and when we need them – based on the Lord’s directives. 

Let’s look at the Lord Jesus, He operated in miracles whenever, and wherever they were needed — but His focus was always on the greater good — communicating His Heavenly Father’s Ways. It was far more important to Him to usher in God’s Kingdom in all its forms, than it was for Him to produce miracles to order. Listen He’s talking to the Pharisees:“Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” John 6:26. Miracles produce visible results, and they gain attention in the natural world – but a changed life becomes a permanent spiritual sign post. Sacrifice is even more powerful than miracles – a life laid down for His sake, and for the benefit of others, is the best gift we can give Him.

When we have problems, difficulties or burdens, we need to go to the foot of God’s mountain and give all our ‘stuff‘ to Jesus. Then we begin to climb that mountain, by reading His word, giving thanks and worshipping Him. As we climb, we start chewing over the things we’ve read, and/or the things we’ve been singing. Jesus walks with us, He will tell us where to put our feet. The thing is, when we no longer have to have those burdens tied about our necks, our hands are free to worship and climb. Christians are not betraying anyone by climbing up above our difficult situations with prayer, praise and His word. Instead, we are looking for a clearer view – HIS VIEW.

We must stop focussing on the mountains of fear, sin, unbelief, and sadness, the things that are in our way and instead we make a quality choice to focus on the Answer – Who Jesus is, what He already did for us. We need to refuse to be overwhelmed or become …“weary in the well doing.” Instead we are deliberately climbing with the Lord. Sometimes we can find, that there are things that have become so established within us, they seem like they ARE us! They can’t be! We’ve moved kingdoms!! Jesus told us what to do with mountains like those … speak to it. Name it. And fight the good fight against our own yet-to-be-redeemed-flesh. Those mountains are no longer substantial, because now we are a new Creation, made in His image. 

Every single thing Jesus ever said had a spiritual application. We need to continually uncover those hidden mysteries that have been waiting for those who want to press in and move on. So we turn our backs on the things of this world, with all its troubles and cares. It was on the Mount of Transfiguration Christ’s true identity was revealed. Christians are not meant to be static – we are in a process of ongoing transformation. It is not enough to fight for peace, we are His peace carriers. It is not enough to wrangle with our own spiritual hard times … because we’ve been commissioned to be His joy bringers.The way to find real joy is right in the middle of a hardship or sorrow.

Hubby and I’ve just been looking at some scenic views of Lake Louise in Canada, on Youtube. We once saw that place from the ground level. Here comes my point… the people who took the videos I saw today, were climbing the mountain. The view below always changes as we climb His mountain! To start with we can see more and   get a different perspective.“The further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside”  (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle.) … Aim higher and bless you! 👋

P 2866 Priorities.

/ DVH

In the Beatitudes, Jesus may as well have said this: When your life is less than this world’s idea of successful, and filled up with the sort of things other people avoid — (don’t panic) — blessings from our Heavenly Father will still be coming toward you. He indicated that there are much bigger, more important things to look at – God’s kingdom.

Luke 6:20-23 “Looking at His disciples, He said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”

The Lord is teaching us that some of the things we try desperately to avoid can spiritually be a good place;  because poverty or difficulties of any sort makes us aware of and desperate for His riches, the things that last.  His provisions, His Way of life. Now in the natural, we all avoid poverty. Maybe some of us actually think we are poor, but we have so much more than we have realised. Here’s that question thing I like to do. Do you have a bed to sleep on? Have you  food to eat? When it rains do you have a place you can shelter?Jesus is explaining that LACK is not the worst thing that can happen to us because it can open the door to His provisions, His kind of blessings.

For years and years my thoughts were more about what I didn’t have – and that definitely included the concept of being a “good Christian.” I was focussed on the negative. I didn’t think I was a very good parent. I fretted about whether I was making attractive, tasty nutritious meals for my family. Or making sure my washing, and my home, were clean because someone was bound to notice. I totally missed the main point! I had a home, I had washing, I had food, I had a bed etc. I had a family! I was already rich and I didn’t see it. I let the enemy steal away my blessings by letting him inflate the importance of other things.

It is obvious that many people all over this world don’t have the things we have — but let’s not stop there, because if we stop there we will be giving into guilt… Let’s move on and see that not having stuff is the very best place to be. Jesus just said that! He said LACK makes us eligible for greater things. No, I am not talking about a bigger better bed, or fancier food, or a fantastic car etc. I’m talking about every day lack as an opportunity to prioritise what is really important – spiritual fullness.

The quest for more can overwhelm what we already have. Knowing God personally, intimately, is the most important thing any of us will ever do in this life. It is what we are here for. I’m just going to let those remarks sit there so we can all think about them! 

God’s kingdom is ours when we are poor in spirit: EG. when we are hungry for the things that last, or reduced to tears about how pathetic our lives are, or saddened by our many attempts to somehow please God and gain His favour. It’s definitely sad – but we’ve missed the real reason – because in those moments we have forgotten we are rich! We already have His favour. We are kingdom dwellers, even we lack material things or when other people hate us – we are rich in the things that last.

Here’s my end thought today, Jesus repeated this theme again in Luke 10:41,42.: “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”The most important thing we will ever have, or participate in is His kingdom. We cannot be poor when we have Jesus in our lives. Our God is with us, and we are forever rich. Let’s check our priorities – Him first, last and always! Bye. 👋

P 2845 This is what love looks like.

/ DVH

Grace, hope, peace, joy, mercy, patience, kindness, these things are the love of God freebies we are to give away to other people every single day! The bible tells us that giving away this stuff is not even illegal. Galatians 5:22-23:“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Well, yay!! It’s great to find things that are legal! Sneezing on your kid is now called child abuse, so there isn’t much around us that isn’t illegal. The thing is legal systems can’t change hearts, but He can!

Regarding Love, Father God’s barns are always bulging full – there is no trouble with OUR SUPPLIER! I keep hearing from the Lord, it’s time to feed the poor in spirit! You and I have an all access-pass to that bulging barn of love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness etc. we simply need to use our faith to grow the fruit, and then we can give away what He has grown in us. You get patience, kindness etc. as you lean on Him and ask Him to give it to you. Then you go out and act like you have it… Does that actually work? It has so far … !!! 

The spreading of any sort of excess is a very current subject in our household over the past few weeks. Our mango tree had stacks of fruit on it this year, so we have given away lots of huge mangoes, the largest was nearly 1kg in weight! We gave them away everywhere, to everyone around us. That’s what happens when you have an abundance of something, it means you have plenty to give away. I urge all of us to daily let the Lord overflow your spirit with loads of … lots of … an abundance of … as well as a huge excess of … all these things!! So you can give them all away! But make sure you take in some yourself OK?

The only thing that can take away our knowledge of His incredible excess is our focus. If we focus on our lack, of  patience, kindness, goodness etc. we will always see and feel that lack. That’s a good time to remember that Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fishes and fed thousands. He can multiply and create anything, even intangible things. He once gave me love for a spoiled brat… strangely — after I began loving this child, I found it was a sweet kid after all! That’s what I mean when I say, most problems are both sides! The Lord has also multiplied bibles in the boot of our car. We counted them about 20 times, and sure enough, there was more than we put in! 

The poor in spirit, the unlovely, the forgotten, will never be hard for us to find because they are all around us. I’ve decided to just love everyone I meet the way He would. I figure that covers it, and makes it easy for a bird brain like mine. That’s not modesty BTW, as you get older things fall out of your ears far more easily than you would like!  I forget words all the time, always in the middle of a sentence. My poor hubby gets to be my memory bank, concordance, and dictionary all at once. And you thought your spouse was a pest! Meanwhile, hubby just shared these thoughts with me regarding God’s love:

“The expression of God’s love toward others is the fruit of HIS Spirit in us and through us. So His fruit is simply an expression of Who He is flowing outward. When we display His fruit of love, through us, it will produce life, simply because it flows from Him. But when we try to mimic the behaviour of the fruit of Spirit, without His help, those things without His love as our source – eventually produce judgment, intolerance, guilt, obligation and religion.” “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”John 3:6. 

The sap of God’s love in and through His chosen vine is constantly flowing … we will receive its benefits as we choose to remain in that vine. Remaining “in Christ” is the secret to living a life of love. Jesus simply can’t help loving people, despite their personal proclivities – He simply wants what is best for them without using force or manipulation.  Remaining in Him means that we learn to want what He wants, instead of living a life that makes us feel comfortable.

That will happen without us even thinking about it. This is what His Love looks like…. letting the Holy Spirit have His Way … and … loving every bit of it!  🥰

P 2820 Christmas is coming …

/ DVH

and the older I get, the quicker it comes! I like to think about Christmas as a time when I can love on my family, friends and neighbours etc. You know, if you can’t eat the yummy food, then there ought to be something you can enjoy! I love giving gifts … it’s my happy place.

My dear hubby is like the star of Bethlehem – he points the way to Jesus all over the place. Literally! Well, he doesn’t shine like he’s swallowed a light bulb, but we have plenty of those shining away on our front lawn. We have lights that look like bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, deer, mushrooms, flowers etc. … we go for the ‘nature’ look. And in our windows there are three exhortations for the world around us: “Peace” “Hope” and “Joy.” Christmas is not just a holiday at our house – it’s an annual event. 

Our family comes around to our house, year by year, and helps him … I’m the cheer squad, OK? They weed this, and string lights around that. We can’t be seen from the stratosphere or anything … But I have a feeling hubby wouldn’t mind that much. I just go along for the wild ride and enjoy every minute. I also commiserate with him, over every dead string of solar lights from last year – thank you Jesus for cheap shops!

Honestly, I think hubby would put strings of lights on every blade of grass if he could! At the same time he has written  out a Christmas card for all of our immediate neighbours and invited them to pop in and bring their kids to look at … … even more lights inside! I think my husband’s new name from the Lord might be: “sparkle happy little star.” At this moment I am looking at a giant Christmas tree, and every bit of furniture in the room has something that lights up, or plays a tune, or looks like a glitter bomb. 

You know there’s an old song that goes like this: “Jesus bids us shine like a pure clear light, like a little candle burning in the night, in this world of darkness,so we must shine … you in your small corner, and I in mine.” Ya gotta love those old hymns. Those guys way back when knew how to exhort people. Right now, hubby is shining away, loving every minute of it, even though it hurts his bad back. In 2020 he was sick but he still put up the lights on that Christmas when Co-vid sent everyone inside. There is something so neighbourly about Christmas lights.

And my hubby knows how to celebrate. That’s my message for today. Do you know how to celebrate? Or has life ground you down to a shadow of your former self and your happy little star brightness has dimmed? (Talk about mixing my metaphors … hooley dooley! Sor-ry!!) Meh! Meanwhile, I want to ask you to think about who or what turned your lights off? … Sad and annoying things happen to all of us. Somebody dies, somebody gets ill, someone else loses a job, or a house – bad things happen to good people all the time.

Bad things happening to you does not make you a bad person, and it does not mean the Lord has given up on you either. Stuff happens, it’s life. I knew someone whose favourite saying was: “Stuff happens and then you die.”  It’s a great summation but a very bad premise. We need to deliberately focus on what’s good, what’s right, what’s profitable  and let our minds park on those things. Otherwise those bad things can blow up like a balloon and eclipse everything else around us. I feel like this year has been full of those lousy balloons for many people. Let Christmas remind you that He’s still, and always, the perfect Saviour.

Now here’s something that cheered everyone up who was present back in that day. “To the paralytic man lying helpless on a bed, Jesus proclaimed,“Be of good cheer”Matthew 9:2. To the frightened Apostles battling the tempestuous sea, Jesus appeared on the water, declaring, “Be of good cheer”Matthew 14:27. (C. Fronke.) Either Jesus is heartless – and that’s not possible – OR He knows something we don’t know … yet. Jesus was not exhorting these people because they weren’t coping – He’s the Answer! The Answer came on the scene. Today our Knight in shining armour isn’t miles away – Jesus walks with us and talks with us and He will help us saddle up and ride on. 

You and I must choose to cheer up, no matter what is currently going on, because right now, we are in such great company – the Lord Himself is WITH us!  Many of the people who have gone on before us lost their cheerfulness temporarily too … let’s not let the bad things eclipse the good ones. Let’s think on things like this: “And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you;  He is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11. Bye 🌟

P 2777 Conquering the storm of worry.

/ DVH

“But as for me, Your strength shall be my song of joy. At each and every sunrise, my lyrics of Your love will fill the air! For You have been my glory-fortress, a stronghold in my day of distress.”Psalms 59:16 TPT. Sheep follow their Shepherd, they don’t have a care in the world – they just jumble along eating and sleeping. Our God is so strong! Let His strength be the place you choose to hide in. We need to remind ourselves, as we read His book, that He will never change. What was true yesterday, in the bible, will be true today and tomorrow! Wake yourself up with the knowledge that you are loved so dearly. Despite the fact that a lot of people in this world don’t always understand you – Almighty God does. His Love is all-encompassing and perfect. He’s the perfect Shepherd.

Verses like this one from Psalm 59 are in the bible to be an exclamation, exhortation and proclamation into every single day we are given. Reminding us that:  🎼 “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! 🎶” Some of those wonderful old songs keep me going when trouble tries to crush me. That and the knowledge that even though it feels like I have no strength – He is always my strength. Teehee! Now that old children’s song is going to play over and over in your head. Gotcha! 

The bible is an enormous help to me, it stops me from flailing about when I feel like I am drowning from worry or sorrow or fear. Flailing about makes you sink…! … No matter how many thousands of words we inwardly throw at our difficulties, worry does not accomplish anything. I have had to learn and practise handing things over to Him: ’Our times are in His hands.’ It’s a learnt skill. In my natural mind, giving stuff to the Holy Spirit makes perfect sense … because absolutely nothing can be changed by worrying.

Yet my emotions often jump up and down and insist … “if you can just think of an answer …!!!” Round and round I go getting dizzy. Then fear kicks in. That’s why we need to read the bible every single day, we need an arsenal of bible verses to chuck at difficulties and problems. It has taken me years to admit that: “I can’t actually fix most things, by myself.” Many of my grand problem-solving ideas, involve somebody else’s co-operation or actions! Good luck with that!! People will do what they will do. That particular thought just flows naturally into getting frustrated with them. 

The best course is to step back in behind the Shepherd and give everything to Him … and leave it there. Then I amble on, walking behind Him like a dumb sheep. If those worrying thoughts continue to niggle at me, then I keep right on handing things back to Him. Even if I accidentally start trying to figure stuff out, I repent and … repeat … “There’s that thing I gave You Lord, please forgive me for worrying over it again.” Amen. Worry can’t change anything but your mood!  It can take you from a good place to a bad one in a heartbeat. 

God’s answers to problems are not the same as ours – praise HIM!… They are way better, for everybody involved!! Plus when we are worried, we can become more self-centred. But when we hand things to Him and leave them there, we become God-centred. We must keep our eyes on our Shepherd. Even a nasty thing like worry can be used to remind us that God has us in the palm of His wonderful hands. It isn’t lazy to give things to Jesus, it’s sensible. Some things in this life are totally outside of our control. I got tired of trying to figure out which was which, so now I just hand everything over.   

One day I asked myself: “How much of my life have I wasted worrying about things I had no hope of changing?” Now there’s a survey nobody wants to do! Sadly, worry always feels like you are doing something – when you actually aren’t. It feels that way because it is WORK. It’s the kind of work that exhausts you mentally and emotionally. You can get so tired from trying to figure out an answer, that you become impatient with everyone else around you. That’s not good!

“Let this hope BURST forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.”Romans 12:12 TPT. Tell the Lord what’s going on, talk to Him! Prayer is simply stepping into His rhythm and walking with Him. At the same time ask Him for His opinion. Then listen for the bible verse that will suddenly appear into your heart. He speaks ‘bible’ to me often. There are times when I cannot remember even reading a particular verse but it pops up anyway. He’s a fantastic Shepherd.

Here’s a last thought —- let’s use the phone for more than texting or social media. Let’s get a bible app that helps you look up words or phrases. I don’t know about you but I can’t always find what I’m looking for, the net helps me all the time! That storm of worrying will pass – we just don’t want to be one of its casualties.  Baa! 🐑