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P3385 Don’t let fear knock you out of the ring.

/ DVH

“So we can confidently say,“The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6. That’s one of those rhetorical questions nobody likes. That’s probably because most of us could give quite a list of stuff man can do to us. But I wonder if we know, just as thoroughly, how much God has done for us, right here, right now? Time for revision. 

This verse tells us, He didn’t just save us, He also enables us. “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8. Notice the predominant word “all.” Now let’s look at 1 John 4:18 it says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.” 

Begin by revising how much God’s perfect love has given you, personally. Yes, He saved you, and yes, He has helped you – thank you Lord! But there’s more … read the bible. Go through your journals. A journal can help you revise what He has already done for you spiritually, physically, and mentally. After all that revision – go and find someone who needs His love and love on them. The action of loving others uses faith, which releases more faith. Faith fights fear, so use yours. Go and spread the love He has already given you around. Start SINGING!! “Sing for joy to God our strength …“

Moving on to Psalm 55:22 MSG bible: “Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders, He’ll carry your load, He’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin. But you, God, will throw the others into a muddy bog, Cut the lifespan of assassins and traitors in half.” And we think video games are blood thirsty! The point is, God’s always with us even though we may not feel it. The bible says it, we believe it, and that settles it.

Actually, it is far more accurate to say: We’re with Him!  Don’t look at the size of the things coming against you, look at the  power of our God to get you through. Read and reread the book! Sometimes we are viewing this life through the wrong lenses. Let’s not borrow someone else’s glasses, let’s ask the Lord for HIS. His eyes see the things we don’t. (Ephesians 1:18)

2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” What a way to identify the Holy Spirit!! Anything short of this verse means we are messing about in the wrong spirit. Never forget we are all in a battle, we live in enemy territory, and we don’t belong here.

Now let’s recap what our truth is: God is with us, and He will help us. We do not need to be afraid of someone else’s face. When I was little, and I did something my parent didn’t like, I would see ‘the unhappy face!’ However, our Father’s face always says: “I love you so much, and I am here for you. Let’s do this thing together.” He’s not just sending you out – He’s going with you!  The same God Who helped Abraham and the Lord Jesus is going with us.

We were not designed to carry burdens in this new life Jesus gave us. Part of that new life is freedom. Freedom means I can refuse to accept the weight of whatever is going on. I still get to fix whatever He tells me to do, but I am obedient, under His instructions, and the weight of what the Lord says I need to do, will not drown me.  I can stand still and see God Himself work on my behalf – I just have to learn to leave my clock behind. Our God doesn’t do timetables, and He does not fit in with ours. Instead, He does PERFECT TIMING. There’s a difference. 

If Father God did not give me a spirit of fear then what the heck am I doing with it? Why am I entertaining these thoughts? Jesus was teaching His disciples God’s Ways, in Luke 11:10, 11.“If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing—you’re at least decent to your own children. And don’t you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask Him?” 

Jesus is using these illustrations to demonstrate the fact that God is wa-a-y more loving than we are. Because our Father is like that, we can, and should, always expect loving help from Him, not trickery. Good outcomes. Trickery comes from the other guy. We will have to fight our feelings; they can come at you roaring, or even in insidious whispers, telling you God has left you and He doesn’t care.  Fear is a shadow on the wall of the reality of Christ IN us.

Let’s fight for what matters – it’s OUR peace, and Jesus paid dearly for us to have it. It’s called ‘renewing your mind.’ We have the Word of God to remind ourselves our side already won! We may live in a war zone – but Jesus already won this war. Don’t let the enemy knock you out of the ring. Bye 👋.                                                                             ”Dear Lord, I thank you that I can come to You always for any reason. I’m grateful that when I pray to You, You answer me. Help me to come to You at the beginning of my fears and anxieties instead of waiting until I can’t stand them anymore. The quicker I come to You the better. You want to free me from ALL my fears. Help me look to You for help all the time so that I can be radiant with Your joy. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.”

P 3128 We need a sure measuring tape.

/ DVH

Imagine that you want to measure out the parameters of a house. You could use a dressmaker’s measuring tape, but it has limitations – to start with it isn’t big enough! It would be an arduous task that required strict concentration and somebody to help you hold that waxed cloth tape tightly at the other end. A dressmaker’s tape does not have enough substance to it to be really useful. You need special equipment, and at the very least a builder’s stiff zippy metal measuring tape. 

Reading God’s word using only your mind, or emotions is a little like that inadequate measuring tool. You may arrive at some form of understanding, but it will lack pin point accuracy. I cannot successfully and accurately hit a nail in by bashing at with a fork! I will need a hammer to complete the task. (The truth is I can’t bash a nail in with a hammer either, but that’s another revelation for another day!) You will do so much better as you walk with Him, if you ask the Holy Spirit to help you to read His book – and then wait for Him to speak to you. 

Expect Him to answer. Not necessarily out loud! We have been taught to pray by the Lord’s prayer, “give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus is talking about the food that God provides for us every single morning. It’s like His mercy, that is also new every morning! I don’t care what bone-head thing you did yesterday, today, when you woke up – God’s mercy was brand new toward you. Mercy doesn’t just give us a fresh start, it also helps us to deal with yesterday’s junk today! I urge you to quit carrying a load that doesn’t belong to you anymore – repent, repair and move on!

I know, I have mentioned this topic before, but without God’s Word dividing what is good,  right and pure, from what is pizza, bad temper, and our imagination – we will go precisely nowhere.  Instead of skipping over the harder bits, I’ve learnt to dig my heels in and ask Him to explain it to me. It is FAR more important to hear from Him than it is to add to my own personal knowledge, or fill up my daily bible quota. I could care less if He highlights something ten pages later, or it happens on the first line – I’m looking for“every word that proceeds out of His mouth.” Not just clarification or human understanding. I covet His Word to ME … God’s Word has power in it. The Word that comes out of His mouth has the power in it to accomplish whatever HE wants.

We are told to live by that kind of daily bread. And every single day, we deliberately go to Him, and ask for fresh bread. Otherwise we can end up with excuses, logic, or digging up previous knowledge – or someone else’s findings – and that stuff really IS stale bread. It can get maggots in it just like it did for the Israelites when they were chasing butterflies around in a desert that should have taken them just a few days to cross! Pretty soon a whole lotta doubt will start banging on our door, because we just went off the reservation chasing tumbleweed! 

We need God’s measuring stick. His Word, in us and on us. Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” We can sing, shout and quote psalms fit to beat the band, but if it does not come inside us and do us good then we are just spouting HOT AIR. Did you get the very first word in verse 16: LET!  Allow God’s word to be a part of you. Don’t just jump head first into teaching or leading worship or quoting Psalms – let God’s Word do what only IT can do! His word will change us, and others as we obey it.

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.” James 1:21. Good old James, he let the word of God dwell richly within him! And he didn’t mince words either. If’n ya didn’t like what this disciple said – bad luck! WEEDING is part of soul and spirit care. Let’s do it. We need to stop and look at that nasty stuff growing in sneaky places in our hearts, and identify the bits that are choking out the good seed, and then pull those weeds out. After that we replace all of it with what God says.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);..” Romans 10:8. The Word of God is not just meant to be inactive in the pages of an old book – it is meant to be alive and well, and inside us. No matter what version you or I read, the primary task and motivation of His book is for it to be written on our hearts, minds, and spirits – so that other people can see His Word in action. We can’t just proclaim it, we must live it out. The bible is full of verbs!! A very old friend of mine used to call it the Manufacturer’s hand book – the thing you use to keep your life on track and help walk with the Lord.

“And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, …” 2 Corinthians 4:13.  The bible increases our faith and enables us to speak. What I think isn’t worth anything, sadly what I think often depends on what happens to me on the day! I need a secure, specific, tried and tested measuring tape, that will go to any length to give me an accurate report and measurement. Something that is strong, durable, and in my heart while I go about whatever I want to do. The bible meets that need. Bye. 👋

P 3067 Rules don’t reign here – Love does.

/ DVH

We are not in the Old Testament, under the Old Will – now we live in His kingdom. So rules don’t reign here — LOVE DOES. It is a very limiting thing to live by rules, because there is no freedom to change or explore other possibilities! In the past few weeks I have discovered that the loss of a loved one sharpens your awareness of who you really are. The pressure and sadness bring up things that might remain undisturbed, or even unseen.

People make choices that separate us from one another. So much more of this life can be explored together, if relationships were valued more than privacy. Sadly, my whole culture values privacy! Have you ever experienced getting angry with people who do some dumb thing you advised them not to do, and when it doesn’t work out — they want you to fix it for them?  Boy do I have a word for you today. It starts with RE and it ends with PENT! We are told to bear one another’s burdens so we can carry them to the Lord for that other person, not collapse under the load!!

Recently I found piles of anger, stuffed into previously unknown corners, all over the place in my heart. Apparently, I also have a postponing habit! I see something in my heart, and think, ‘I’ll fix that with the Lord, later!’ Well, later finally came, for me, and it wasn’t a bit like Christmas! I discovered I was sick to death with being asked what I thought, only to find, lo and behold – the other person didn’t like that answer and threw it away. It wasn’t that I wanted things to be done right – I just thought they could have been done better. 

I’m an external processor. I find out what I’m thinking by what comes out of my mouth and sometimes that is a bigger surprise to me than it would be to you! It’s dangerous stuff, trust me. It is amazing how easily my foot gets into my mouth. Especially as in the natural – I can’t even put my own socks on! Stuff started coming out of my mouth that definitely wasn’t true, and so the Lord began to deal with me about my own attitude toward myself. 

I had developed a habit of thinking that if I had said what the Lord told me to say in a better way, maybe things would have turned out differently. In other words I had picked up false responsibility, which meant that everything that went wrong was most probably my fault. It’s taken a crisis for me to see that I am definitely not that clever!! Other factors have come into play.

Individual people that I care about and respect, gently began to suggest that the way I was thinking about myself was not a great way to deal with things. And then another one came along… before you knew it — I had a queue of them, that nearly went around the block! And they were all saying the same thing. They didn’t all use the same words – but what was said had the same theme. The theme was —- “punishing yourself for other people’s poorly made decisions, is unscriptural and a bad idea.”

That’s the problem with honesty … it’s great but it can be brutal when you swing it like a sledge hammer… at yourself.I had developed an ungodly attitude that was disguised as humility. It seemed to be easier to me to be self-effacing, than it was to say to someone else: “But God said.” The Lord explained to me that attitude was not humility, it was negating the gift He had given me. Then I explained to Him that if I didn’t self-efface stuff, people would not only get mad at me, they would find, and use, that big hammer on me, frequently.! He very gently said: “Isn’t that called fear?” I sure didn’t have any answer for that one. Unless you count … UM! 

But that conversation led me to one question – how often does fear stop any of us from obeying Him? I mean, think about it. We live in a world where there are no rules – because we think rules restrict other people’s freedoms. So now we’ve made rules that say that you can’t stop others from being themselves! Does anyone see the irony in that?

In God’s kingdom, wherever we have had rules — He is actively helping us replace them with His LOVE — because Love is the perfect bond of unity. We can’t get to unity with rules because all of us are rebellious – even the nice people! I can’t get to the place where I am not afraid of you, simply because the bible says “don’t be afraid.” Instead I need a revelation of how great His love and acceptance is toward me. Those rules have not been discarded, they have been gloriously upgraded in one life-changing event! Jesus died in our place.

Sadly, I can keep on doing the very things that are preventing me from growing up into God’s plan for my life – by undermining myself. The Lord wants to tell each one of us today, that there are always areas in our hearts that He is working on. At the same time, He is preparing each one of us to be ready for what comes next, because He knows when those even more difficult things will land on us. 

We can miss the opportunities He brings to prepare us, by not replenishing the oil in our lamps. So don’t tell yourself: ‘I’m just broken.’ Our God can mend anything. The rules have been replaced by LOVE and love cannot, and will not ever fail. 👋