Opportunity

P 3022 God’s faithful family.

/ DVH

God’s faithful servants are always up for change, because they choose to trust Him. They relish the opportunity to see the our world afresh through God-given revelations, and renewed spiritual eyes. These people don’t back away from a fight, instead they know WHO WON and that is enough for them. They know how to stand still until the Lord is the victor.

All these faithful people care about, is glorifying Him, not just escaping from hardship or difficulties, because the Lord promises to be with us in trouble. They don’t go looking for hard things, but they won’t back off if that stuff bangs on their door. These people pray for transformation, as well as patience —believing God will answer them. Their prayers are full of praise. They don’t expect their life to be a perfect because they know it has a purpose, and those two things are not always compatible. 

After praying prayers of commitment or holding fast to a promise  —they know there will be a test. They are alert to anything that could blindside them because they know that they are not perfected, but their trust is in Him. They respond to every situation with gratitude. Even the Lord’s discipline in their lives shows these people He loves them: “…because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.” Hebrews 12:6. 

The Lord needs His family to cultivate a very strong intimate connection to the Vine Himself, because we can’t do anything without Him. His faithful people realise His power is made perfect in weak people. So weakness does not surprise or intimidate us – instead we rely upon Him to get us through whatever happens.

God’s people know the battle they are fighting to win is in their OWN heart and mind —it has nothing to do with the other person in front of them. That is the true stance of an overcomer. Of course there will be times when other people will jump on any, or every nerve, especially when life is already difficult… that’s because  satan has no mercy…  Mercy is a love gift from our Father!

The reality is, those people who annoy us, are not attacking us. They are attracted to, and need the light that is IN each one of us. Even though it seems personal, it isn’t. Difficult people are tools in the hands of an angry enemy who knows he cannot win because he has already lost! satan will keep right on throwing hate at us, trying to cement rage, hatred, despair, disappointment, frustration etc. in all of us. We need to live this life AWAKE, rejoicing in the light of everything that Jesus has done for us. Sleepy, half-hearted people can make bad choices. 

God’s people don’t forgive their enemies because it is a nice idea —- we forgive them because we have been given the power to retain their sins. All that means is that everyone can get stuck if we choose to hold on to whatever someone did to us. Prayer for an enemy is powerful prayer. Forget praying for the sun to stand still! We pray for the guy who lords it over us and treats us badly. We pray blessings over the people in our lives who despitefully use us. This kind of prayer opens our eyes to new, deeper realities.

The bible says:“Owe no man anything but love.” Romans 13:8. God’s faithful family choose to live a life of LOVE despite the cost – because they know Love can never fail. Bye 🥰

P 2970 Religion can kill our faith.

/ DVH

“Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an excuse to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Constantly love each other and be committed to serve one another.”Galatians 5:13. We’ve been set free to love one another and to serve God, of our own volition.  

When we read the Gospels, if we look at the hawk-eyed big brother attitude of the Sadducees, Pharisees, Teachers etc. we can see they pounced on anyone who broke even the smallest of the man-made rules. This included some poor schmuck who was born blind. These religious leaders picked on the guy because he was healed on the Sabbath! Like the man chose that day!? He was offered healing and he said yes … wouldn’t you??

Then there was another man who spent 35 years of his life lying by a pool, and he got into trouble for carrying the bed he had been pop-riveted to for years!  All because he was also healed on the Sabbath. There were others and Jesus healed them all on the Sabbath too. But as soon as these healed people were out in public, some enthusiastic religious enforcer immediately demanded to know why they were breaking this law or that one! Sadly these legalistic men skipped right past the joy of those amazing healings and went straight to the so-called infringement.

The Pharisees etc. lived to point out other people’s sinful actions and attitudes. Their laws consisted of hundreds of add-ons to the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses. Father God paid an incredible price when He gave us the freedom to choose! His aim was REAL reconciliation not lip-service or more laws. Today we are free to choose LOVE. You simply cannot legislate against sin. 

After all, the bible says that sin itself, can give our misdeeds a greater appeal! The religious laws of Jesus’ time, alienated and distanced the people from their God. You simply couldn’t afford to even appear to make any kind of mistake, you would get caught and punished. They even had sacrifices for the things people might have forgotten they did! 

Mercy flew right out of the window, rapidly followed by grace. Healing etc. had to be legislated into a suitable time and place delegated by the religious rulers’ discretion. People had no choice, they either obeyed the law to the letter, or they were punished. Sometimes they had rocks thrown at their heads! Or they were beaten within an inch of their lives. Or they had to fork out money they didn’t have to pay for grain offerings, doves, sheep and cattle. The religious rules had been around for so long, they had slowly been perverted away from loving God and each other, into legalism.

I think the very worst part of all this is that God Himself became even more estranged from His very precious children – why wouldn’t you avoid a god who appeared to require punishment for every single misstep? We know that sin starts with an inward attitude, which can result in an outward action against what God has said, but I think the complete truth is when we sin, we sin against LOVE, not rules. When what we do is not from love we’ve sinned. Which makes categorising sin a waste of time. Instead of focussing on outward actions, our hearts need to be changed. They need to have an attitude transplant and God has given us the perfect opportunity to have one!

Jesus did it for us – He is God’s love in action. He is the perfect example for us — unfettered by profit, agendas, prejudices, judgment, appetites and selfishness,. Meanwhile those snarky I’ve-got-a-right-to-do-what-I-want attitudes we cherish so much in this modern age, can go from choice to entitlement in a heart-beat. Sin is a heart condition. We were born with it but Jesus took the huge burden of personal responsibility for mankind’s sin, past, present and future, upon Himself and He met every legal single requirement. He overpaid!

Almighty God sent Jesus to save everyone, even the guys who killed Him. God chose to sacrifice His own Son willingly—to give US back our freedom, and give US the opportunity to walk with Him. Religion takes our choices away, it sets our minds on an impossible task … remaining sin free. And it totally ignores what Jesus already did for us. It also removes Love from our midst. Loving one another is our only hope of thriving instead of just surviving. “Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others].’Colossians 3:14. (AMP)

Unless we choose to live in Love, like Jesus did, the law will continue to haunt the church.  We need to do what the bible says, and put aside gossip, resentment, criticism etc. etc. and pay far more attention to our own hearts, than we do toward other people’s sin. Religion chokes the life out of faith. Bye. 👋

P 2962 What ARE you wearing?

/ DVH

When my kids were little I can remember uttering the above words to them many times. One of them insisted on going out with a jumper inside out and backwards. 🙄

We’ve all heard these words from Colossians 3:12, but applying them has become a priority. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” I think it is appropriate for us to ask ourselves daily — what does compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience look like? Personally I do that with prayer and a whole lot of help from the Holy Spirit, with great truckloads of His Grace. Unfortunately, I have an awful feeling that these things that we are meant to wear, every single day, are the absolute antithesis of what the world all around us says we should wear daily to survive.

So let’s remember first of all, that survival by this world’s standard, is no longer our aim. Our Saviour set the example for us. Jesus led the way. He had so little personal stuff that the soldiers played ‘two up’ underneath His cross to own it!  At the same time, no matter what kind of a fancy slant we put on the way we live, we cannot disguise a lack of compassion, or kindness, humility etc. This means we will go out into this world naked unless we choose to wear the clothes that Jesus Christ bought for us. Ya might want to pause and think on that one. 🤔

Romans 13:14 talks about the origin of our brand new faith clothes. “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” The secret to wearing His clothes is stop worrying about what we wear, or how our life will go – or even what we can do to cheer ourselves up, because we’ve had a bad day. We just leave everything with Him.“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? … Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”Matthew 6:25-27… well, sort of … I left bits out OK?

Worry steals our God-given clothing. So does anxiety, or anything else you care to call that stuff we all do at 3.00am — when we can’t sleep and we are trying to figure out what to do about something that seems insurmountable! We are exhorted by Paul to put on Christ. Put on His attitude to this life. That’s the answer! After all, Jesus never worried about anything. By the way, let’s remember that the Lord Himself had a great deal on His shoulders – He only came to save the world! Plus there’s Isaiah 9:6 … Talk about expectations!! 

You can check what He did out for yourself in the Gospels. Jesus knew the value in trusting God in all things. He walked on the same dirt you and I walk on, probably a great deal further every single day than we do! He needed to eat etc, just like us, but He did not worry about those things – not even about where His next meal was coming from – He quite simply gave thanks for the meal in front of Him!

“… put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbour, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,…”Ephesians 4:22-26. There are a whole lot of clues about our new clothing in these verses, and nodding our heads and agreeing with it will not make it happen! Restraint is invaluable. These things aren’t suggestions, they’ve been given to us to help us become an overcomer. Please note the big clue that we can be corrupted by our own lusts.

The thing is, we can’t fit into our new clothes, if we feel we must lie to protect ourselves, or make ourselves look good. Plus there are no good reasons why we should be angry with others. God turned His anger away from us and now it is our turn to do that for those people who live around us! Instead we are to live our lives grateful for the gifts of His righteousness and holiness  – these are the clothes Jesus personally paid for us to have. And we use our faith in what He said, to choose to live like that.

At the same time we must deliberately choose to stop revising and reviewing someone else’s faults and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. We don’t give up until it comes. It’s called perseverance, and it’s in the book! When somebody or something annoys us — we choose to see that as an opportunity to cultivate the spirit of self-control by remaining silent in the face of provocation.That takes practice. In the meantime we can be grateful to God that the perpetrator has given us an opportunity to practice a skill we don’t have… yet. 

Maybe we think it is too hard to change. Here’s a verse: “You have not yet struggled to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;..” Hebrews 12:4. So … I look around me and at my clothes and say to myself —If the answer is negative then I conclude that someone has hurt my feelings but … I’ll live! Ask yourself, what are YOU wearing? Bye 👋

P 2952 The heart of God is restoration … not condemnation.

/ DVH

John 8 …“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came back into the temple [court], and all the people were coming to Him. He sat down and began teaching them. Now the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the centre of the court, and they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women [to death]. So what do You say [to do with her—what is Your sentence]?” They said this to test Him, hoping that they would have grounds for accusing Him. 

But Jesus stooped down and began writing on the ground with His finger. However, when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said, “He who is without [any] sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stooped down again and started writing on the ground. They listened [to His reply], and they began to go out one by one, starting with the oldest ones, until He was left alone, with the woman [standing there before Him] in the centre of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She answered, “No one, Lord!” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]”

The Lord Jesus Himself disposed of this woman’s accusers. Praise God, this shows us we can trust Him to dispose of ours, too. She was a nobody – yet God saw somebody! The Lord did not condemn her for her sin, He FORGAVE HER. Our job after acknowledging His Grace gift to us, is to release to other captives what we were freely given – because we are filled with the knowledge that we don’t deserve His GRACE either. 

In this passage there is Love, Grace, Wisdom, Faith and Freedom, all over the Lord’s actions! Jesus knew they did not bring that woman to Him just to humiliate her – these scribes and Pharisees brought her to Him to accuse HIM! This incident was about Jesus, not just about that woman. It was a set-up, a sting!  But all Jesus had for her was compassion and forgiveness, plus the freely given opportunity to start a new life and live right before God. The greater sin was in the hearts of her accusers. Sometimes we ignore our sin because we choose not to see ourselves. We think of our actions as ‘good’ and condemn someone else because their actions are ‘bad.’

“However, when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said, “He who is without [any] sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” When absolute truth is in front of us, we dare not refute it, nor should we try to – the best response is to own what we’ve done. Lies, bitterness, resentment, hatred, all these things produce shame and guilt and they thrive in darkness. That’s why we cannot tolerate them, and confession brings us into the light. We are His —  so now we are officially living in the Light, HIS light. 

I often wonder if these religious men had stayed longer to press the issue, what might have come out about their lives? Some versions of this passage indicate the Lord wrote stuff about the woman’s accusers in the dirt at their feet. They were so quick to try and catch the Lord breaking the law, but then they slunk off when confronted with the power and love of God for forgiveness, present in the Person of Christ.

Right after the paragraph about this woman in John 8, Jesus proclaims that “He …is the light of the world”“”…He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” We cannot tell ourselves that we are following Jesus if we choose to tolerate darkness in ourselves. I’m not talking about what we watch on TV or even how we talk … I’m talking about our hearts – the attitude of our hearts toward others matters. Our hearts need to continually be filled with His light. His Presence loves the light. (James 1:17)

There are two points in this story, it is not just a story about Jesus forgiving an adulterous woman! In the church we can push the truth of what He said here away from us, and not take it in, by making this story about something we think we would never do!  Adultery. Jesus wasn’t trying to hurt these deeply religious men – He was exposing the darkness inside them that kept them captive. He came to save them too! Maybe they left because they didn’t want to confront the reality of who they had become. 

Religion counts outward actions more important than the state of our hearts, but Jesus clearly said elsewhere, it is what comes out of our hearts that shows us what is inside! God does not expose our sin to shame us. He wants to set us free, and we need to be able to see our sin in order to come out of harmony with it. The attitude in the Pharisees that accosted this woman, and then tried to trap Jesus with what she was doing, is the same one that will drag us all under if we let it. We can easily see someone else’s sin as worse than ours!! 

Religion imprisons us, it does not set us free. It excuses our behaviour and accuses someone else. That’s called deflection. Jesus did not approve of this woman’s lifestyle, instead He lovingly gave her an opportunity to change, that’s what He does! He gave the religious leaders that opportunity as well. They turned Him down. Walking away may not seem like a big deal, but postponement hardens our hearts. The heart of God is restoration not condemnation – HE loves to forgive…. He did not come here to condemn sinners – He came to SAVE them. Bye.🩸

May God bless you today, as you choose to take the time to remember what was freely done for you.

P 2947 Who are you really … ??

/ DVH

Matthew 21:33-46: “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.  At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him. “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?” The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

This parable reminds me that without active, visible, accountability and supervision what are WE, you and I, actually like? As in, who are we when we are at our house? The nice people at church can’t see us there! Don’t be two different people:“Admit your faults to one another so that you may be healed…” This is a good time to ask your family if you are the same person wherever you are. If not – why not?? The bible says:“I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength …”

This is one of the parables I like to call, ‘the very-scary-better-think-carefully-about-them” parables. Not a cheery story. Not a happy ending either! However, I love that Jesus is a realist. He understood mankind, including the best and the worst of us and He knew what we could do to each other. Some of our biggest spiritual problems can come from thinking:“Oh, I would NEVER do that!” Can anybody smell the Pharisee in the room? Like somehow we have become exempt from our own humanity. That’s called P.R.I.D.E. OK, so now there’s another 27 people who have gone right off me! Ho-hum.

None of us know what we are capable of, until we are pushed hard enough by circumstances, or maybe we see an opportunity for gain. I’ve met a lot of the “Oh, I would never do that,” type of Christians in my life. Good luck with that one! If that really IS you, then you need to thank the Lord for delivering you from temptation! Nobody knows our hearts but the Lord, and boy does HE know what’s nattily hidden away in there. Stuff that can be disguised quickly with a change of our facial expression. I’m not keen on dishonesty. I think deceit is a deadly poison, it eventually floods the body and becomes a way of life. Self-deception is the biggest thief of all!

The only thing that can actively transform every single one of us is the blood of Jesus, and the truth is, if you don’t think you need it – then you won’t see the need to apply it into your life! Really, REALLY dumb move, Basil! You can lie to me, your mother, your family, the pastor, your friends, but … when life squeezes you hard enough you never know what is going to come out. The biggest danger we face is what I call the ‘who will know?’- opportunities.

So let’s get real, and hang onto your bonnet sister, it’s about to blow off —  there can be no redemption without acknowledgment of sin. Now breathe… and listen to what the book says … you could always read it out loud: 1 John 1:9 says:“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Hmm … maybe you need to read that again, it’s possible you missed a word in your clever speed reading. IF… if… if… if!!!! 

If’n ya don’t own your sins, you won’t see any need to confess them… and if we make excuses for our behaviour … we won’t own that either! I have heard about every excuse under the sun, from people who want to hide their real attitudes and self-centred ways from everyone. What a waste of a life! It is a waste of time letting fear and deceit run the show … we know that Jesus died to pay for all of it – but the prerequisite to qualification involves confessing our faults. We all have them. Presumption shot Peter in the foot, he was caught by a chook!

SomeBody already knows each one of us, who we really are!! He’s the Person we should all have holy fear about!We have made a god in our own image, and He’s very permissive and understanding … He understands I can’t help it, I had a hard childhood! Forget the gossip club at church, GOD knows! And our excuses just won’t hold water in front of His precious Holiness.

Forgiveness comes from His compassion, faithfulness, and that is only IN CHRIST. Our sin is no longer the problem, when we’ve given our lives to Him. However, when we try to hide from Him, and hide the things we still do from other people, then we are denying the power of the cross to cancel that sin. That’s the problem. 

Out of sight out of mind, doesn’t work in the kingdom of God. Honesty does. Confession does. Purity of heart does. The sacrifice Jesus willingly made for us does not give us permission to ignore the prompting of the Spirit of God. Just because we can’t see Him, that doesn’t mean He isn’t here, with us, right now. His Presence is all over His book … so quit skipping the bits you don’t like! The question for today is: who are we when no-one will know? Bye. 👋

P 2946 Learn to trust Him, no matter what happens.

/ DVH

“I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.” Philippians 4:13 TPT.

When I read this verse In Philippians, I can see that good or bad experiences can teach us things that we cannot learn any other way. Paul had learnt from the Lord Himself, that everything that happened to him, the good and the bad, the ugly, and everything in between – was an opportunity to be trained in God’s Ways. He learnt to accept His Heavenly Father’s help in every situation. He found that he could overcome whatever came at him, I believe he used the circumstances to train his faith in God’s goodness. 

Faith is not just memorising what God likes in this circumstance or that situation, and doing that to please Him. Faith is knowing that whatever situation we find ourselves in, Almighty God will always do what is right and best for us – despite how it looks from our end. If it isn’t good yet, then we are not at the end. And sometimes the very best end result is that you have come to know the Lord better than you did before the difficulties started! Our society is so geared to fixing things so ‘life works for me,’ and that can creep over into our way of thinking about the things of God.

No matter where we find ourselves, or what kind of day we’ve walked into, the Lord’s is always there with us to help us to overcome whatever comes our way. His strength is eternal. I think that thought needs to be steeped in a bit. OK, you can see that I read that word ‘infused’ in the verse in Philippians, and I thought about tea! Just like some people enjoy a cuppa, and they let the tea bag sit in the boiling water for a while, we need to voluntarily soak in Jesus’ power, His Presence, His Word, and let it soak into us and through us by acting on it. When we let the Word of God penetrate further than our brain, it automatically saturates the rest of our behaviour and attitudes, and, at the same time, it releases more faith in Him and His ability to transform us.

Many people travel long distances to go to places where they think God might turn up. It seems to me that they’ve forgotten, or maybe they didn’t know in the first place, that God actually goes wherever it is they are going – with them! We don’t have to go somewhere to “get” God – He has already “gotten” us! We are, after all, His temple! However, when a whole lot of people get together, we have something that I call a collective agreement to worship and learn about Jesus, and that’s just lovely.

That’s a place the Lord likes to inhabit because it is something He told His disciples: “Wherever two or more gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.” That same thought is also said in the Old Testament. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1. We are in unity when we deliberately gather together to worship Him and learn more about His Ways. We have a common purpose. But this is not the only way to learn about Him.

Anybody who chooses to use to use their faith to overcome hard things in their lives can learn more about the Way God does things. Those kinds of choices change our perception and our experience of Him. Please be aware, that in any and every circumstance we experience, the Holy Spirit wants to grow His fruit. And never ever forget that one of His fruits is JOY! Our walk with Jesus is meant to produce JOY, actually … ‘joy unspeakable and full of glory!’

So what does that mean? It means if all we do is follow rules and regulations we are not growing fruit. We have to follow our Heavenly GARDENER around to learn how to produce fruit – so we need to submit to the difficulties in our lives with our faith in His goodness, intact. We are not destined to live straightened joyless lives, we are destined to walk, daily, minute by minute with the One Who knows how to grow joy in the midst of suffering and trials.

We can walk with Him far more easily when we actively practice living in His love toward others, through our actions as well as our words. We don’t have to have a list of rules five miles long, we simply need to remind ourselves “Is what I just said or did, LOVE?” It is extremely important to remember that I can’t define LOVE. HE already did that, in the book. If I can define it then I am in charge of it, and I can make up the actions to suit myself.

For instance, patience isn’t just about saying nothing in the face difficulties, it means we are actively supportive and loving toward the one who is learning!  And faithfulness cannot ‘run out of patience’ either!  Its aim is to be true to the One Who oversees every life, not just mine. And self control is the result of loving God more than I love my own opinion or my own way! 

Paul trusted God’s ways over his own. He let the bad things in this life become opportunities to face those things God’s Way. This meant that He was trained to recognise God’s actions by the results in his own life. He saw and learnt what was flesh, what was not, and what was actually real fruit from the Holy Spirit!  And he actively allowed God to infuse every cell in his body with His power and purposes. Bless you, bye. 👋

P 2943 Signs of spiritual death

/ DVH

1. Lack of breathing –

We can easily ‘run out of breath’ as we walk with the Lord, especially when we do things in our own strength. Genesis 2:7:“And the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Without the Holy Spirit’s breath on and in us – we will die. He is the breath of life and He is our new best Friend. John 15:5 says:“We can do NOTHING without Him.”

2.Pupils fixed and dilated –

I don’t know about you but nothing ‘fixes my pupils’ like watching TV or playing a video game! You can stare at it for hours and lose half your life doing absolutely nothing! Matthew 13:13:“This is the reason I speak to the crowds in parables: because while [having the power of] seeing they do not see, and while [having the power of] hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand and grasp [spiritual things].” We need new eyes to see and new ears to hear. Ephesians 1:18 says: “… the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, …”

3. No heart beat –

Hearts grow cold and stop functioning when we hold onto grudges, or bitterness toward others, we short-circuit the new life blossoming within. Ezekiel 36:26-27: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” When we are born again we are given a brand new heart – we need to watch over our hearts. Proverbs 23:26 states: “My child, give Me your heart and let your eyes delight in My ways,…”

4. Rigor mortis – stiff and cold –

Boy this one is far too easy, we can become so accustomed to other people’s hardships we don’t see them anymore. The passion of God thrives in a ‘red hot heart.’ Jesus said in John 10:10b:” I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”We cease to really live this new life when we stop following Him. Matthew 24:12 says: “And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, …”

5. No response when shouted at and shaken – 

Some people once heard God Himself speak, but they only heard His voice as thunder because their hearts were far from Him. Romans 13:11 states:“And this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for NOW is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”The repeated, every day rhythms mean we are often lulled off to sleep. We need to be awake at all times, because temptation can sneak up on us. Ephesians 5:14-16: “This is why it is said:“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

6. Cells and organs start to die –

Our relationships with other Christians get weaker and weaker. Church becomes a chore to be performed, instead of a meeting place of refreshment. Psalm 118:17 says: “I will not die, but live, And declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the LORD.” Our destiny is not to live ‘dead’ lives, but to be living testaments to the goodness of our God. John 15:1&2. “I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.”

7. The blood has ceased to flow –

We stop even thinking about the state of our spirit and just keep right on doing the same old same old, every day —one thing following another. Hebrews 9:14 explains, the blood of Christ, shed for our sake, cleanses  “… our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”1 John 1:7 states: “but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].” 

I urge us all to live this life, the only one we have, in the cleansing flow of His blood, filled with His Spirit.  Our new life in Christ transforms everything that would make us into ‘zombie’ Christians, as we leave our old dead life behind us. Wherever we go – His glory follows us instead. Don’t be caught DEAD with these spiritual ‘signs.’ 🤣 Bye for today. 

P 2941 Ready or not.

/ DVH

You know, I think we need to scale back on preaching at people, and go out there and just be the bible. When I write this kind of stuff, I’m pretty sure a whole lot of people probably get mad at me! Boy, I hope so — mad is wa-a-a-y better than apathetic. Our faith is not meant to be private … real faith is going out into this world deliberately, on purpose, loving others, caring about their lives, while we are introducing them to His kingdom. Our challenge is to live that way – all the time. Laying down our lives so other people can learn how to find a new life with Jesus. 

Here’s one of my optional ‘make you think’ questions: what part of your new life in Christ makes your life look different than it did before you met Him? I know all the pat answers — we go to church. We pray. We read the bible. However, the reality is, because we choose to remain inactive, unfortunately sometimes guilt drags each one of us around by the nose — we know there is more, but we can’t seem to find it. To do that we need to give up our undercover, ordinary people disguises, and lay down this life we’ve planned for ourselves. Let’s stop running about looking for healing for us, and introduce others to the Healer of mankind. 

The body of Christ has unfortunately become engaged with what this world says we need. People who are DEAD don’t care what they need — actually, they don’t care about anything at all! But the people who know their God want to spend their life for Jesus’ sake. Will it hurt? PROBABLY!! But pain is an opportunity to wait on Him, and press in deeper. I have a theory, I believe that many people lead mediocre lives because they think this life is the only chance they will get to have what they want. But man was made for eternity.

We’ve been born again to do what He brought us here to do. That includes what the bible says …and then, after we do it, we leave the results to Him. We throw our miserable human excuses into the bin where they belong! Man has been making excuses for centuries. Many of those excuses some people made right to God’s face!! That thought makes me shake my head. I know I have been incredibly disobedient, and if God is not Who He says He is, then I’m sunk. I cling to His promises like a barnacle clings to the bottom of a ship.

Let’s just pause, and think about God’s patience with us. He has put up with mankind’s junk for centuries. Not in a mean, stand-offish unloving, uninvolved way, but in a proactive creative winsome way that calls us all up HIGHER. You can’t get more involved in humanity than He did, by coming here, living amongst us, and then letting people kill Him! The people in today’s world need to experience, personally, what the bible says:“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” We are meant to be someone else’s first taste of God in human form, and we are the only Christians some people are ever going to meet! If that doesn’t serve you up a big dollop of “Oh, my gosh!” I don’t know what will!

Sadly, other people are probably going to take a big chunk out of you and I, regularly. It’s a TEST. It is up to us to decide how we will respond to their actions. Jesus has left us in this world to be a people who not only know their God, we are now His interactive advertising. Just tell others the kingdom of God is near, because He lives in you! Like me, you may have been dreadful advertising even ten seconds ago  … so … REPENT. Pick yourself up, fix what you can, use your faith and keep on going. God is not finished with any of us yet. 

Get over the idea that this life is meant to be easy for us – ‘because we are so special’ – and realise that “a disciple when he is fully trained, will be just like His master.’ They treated Jesus disrespectfully and badly and then they viciously killed Him … so-oo-oo-oo … You do the sum.

Sometimes we become so obsessed with being comfortable and comforted, because this life is difficult, we forget what we are here for. If we want to know Him intimately, we will need to live our lives like He lived His. Unselfishly, altruistically! We are assured that His faithfulness under all kinds of circumstances, is out of this world! Nothing can, or will separate you and I from His love … because Almighty God promised.

It’s time for all of us to step up to the plate and take a swing at the ball! Never lower the standard just because you can’t meet it – Jesus Christ met it for us. Pick up your faith and go again. Our only job on this planet, is to RE-present Jesus Christ to the world around us … by living like He did. Let’s hope the next time someone takes a bite out of you or I, they bite into something sweet!

Jesus once told a parable about a rich man, who kept walking past a beggar at his gate. What that rich man did in this life eventually caught up with him. I implore you … don’t postpone change. We need to be ready for anything and He is always our ever-present help in time of need… whether we are ready or not. Bye. 🙏

P 2938 The benefits of walking with God

/ DVH

“God will continually revitalise you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases Him.”Philippians 2:13 TPT.

“Above all, constantly echo God’s intense love for one another, for love will be a canopy over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 TPT. “You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood …” 1 Corinthians 6:20a.

The bible itself urges us ‘to forget not all His benefits.’ in Psalm 103:2. Anyone can see what’s wrong with this world, but the people with real vision, His vision, can see the potential to do good in the midst of the chaos. What a benefit that is! We’ve personally discovered in our travels, that all this trouble and strife has opened up other people’s hearts to a point where they are happy to share their sorrows, suffering and disappointment with complete strangers. So we get to pray with them … what a benefit!

Our God is so precious, as we go along through this life choosing to walk with Him, living His Way instead of our own  — our wrong way of thinking, even our superficial thoughts, fall off. It is as if we switch focus, and we start to become singular in our devotion to Him. That does not mean we exclude others, like we are in some sort of exclusive club — it means our hearts are stretched and pummelled by the Word of God into a bigness we never even dreamt about! His servants don’t have to try to be better, kinder, nicer – they just are! Now we look for the good in others because it delights us to find it. That kind of observational skill benefits everyone!

People who live like this wouldn’t dream of wasting their time on pettiness, or hiding their faults from others to save face. Imagine the energy someone wastes trying impress others, when we all know full well, WE aren’t all that. Self realisation is a huge benefit! Yet another benefit of walking with Jesus every day, is humility. I stop being afraid to tell you I’ve failed, or I can’t do it, or I have no idea what to do next … instead I ask you to pray for me! Sometimes I pray:  “I can’t wait to see what You are going to do with this mess I’ve made Lord! Because I know You make all thing new.” Sadly, sometimes our level of pretence is preventing us from going deeper with Him. But we have the incredible benefit of His ongoing forgiveness covering us, because Love Himself adopted each one of us. The benefits abound!

Often human beings are the sum of their choices and history. But, we aren’t stuck there. Instead we daily benefit from walking with Jesus. And that means we become more and more honest – because we are living in proximity to honesty Himself, and His goodness rubs off on us. So if someone corrects us, or points out a fault, we have the inner freedom to be grateful because they have given us the opportunity to look at ourselves through their eyes. But what if what they say is not true? My advice is to let God fight for you. Our King cares about what we care about, let Him take care of you. Now there’s a great benefit to thank Him for!

Our feelings make a very poor, inaccurate guide – the benefit of reading His book is that it diagnoses our inaccurate world view every time we read it. He gives us His wisdom so we know how to avoid pitfalls. Wisdom is an incredible benefit. Over the years, I’ve met so many people who underestimate who they are IN God. Anyone who is prepared to live acknowledging their lack, can have wisdom. Just ask Him! Wisdom is a benefit with eternal ramifications. I don’t have to try to give God glory for what He does in my life, because I spend my time watching Him snatching me out of this trap and that stupidity! I am eternally grateful that He continually saves me from myself. 

Before I met Him I had nothing worthwhile to give to others. This is another benefit I’ve learnt – God gives us gifts to use to benefit other people. We are living beneath our heavenly calling when we verbally pull other people apart like wild dogs snarling over their breakfast. God’s gifts to men are to benefit others not to pull them down so we look equal to, or even taller than they do. We dare not use His gifts to benefit ourselves. What do we have that He didn’t give us? And when you have Him you have everything you will ever need. Maximum benefit right there!

God’s Word has also been given to us to diagnose what’s wrong in our hearts and lives, and His Word pulsates with the power to heal. It has not been given to us to accuse ourselves, or others. That’s how the other guy operates. We are to build one another up, and we exist now, to live this life for their benefit, like Jesus did. To do that we will have to see them through His eyes. Because our eyes and ears have been trained by trouble, strife and sorrow in this world – we can do so many unnecessary things to protect ourselves. However, when Jesus came and died, He threw His living body/blanket over each one of us, just like Boaz protected Ruth when she was vulnerable. I can’t afford to take my eyes off everything He has done for me. He sustains me in difficult times.

Our cup is full of His benefits, pressed down and running over.Psalm 103:1-2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:…”  Bye. 👋

P 2909 Into the storm.

/ DVH

I think I wrote about the following verses just the other day … but here we go again … and this time, we have an actual storm. On the horizon, locally, looming… Mark 4:37-39: “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” As I was thinking about that snippet from the bible  early this morning, some things jumped out at me. I’ve been reading this stuff for 50+ years and I’m still seeing stuff I didn’t see before!

Back to my storm story: Jesus is sound asleep but the disciples are not, they have been kept awake because they are furiously fighting with a storm, trying to obey Him. Now they are caught up in a panic, looking at the physical evidence of watery chaos all around them. They were trying to go to the other side, because that is what Jesus told them to do. But at this moment these men are going up and down, tossed about by big waves in a little boat, soaking wet and scared of drowning. The sky was filled with dark clouds, maybe even lightning and they are rowing like mad and getting nowhere. 

It ain’t peaceful! We all like peaceful. We all like life to go the way we want it to. So how come Jesus can sleep? Well, He said they were going to the other side and when the God of the Universe and beyond says we are going to the other side – then that ride is on Him! I just made an important point for someone out there … ‘You are on His dime – this ride is ON HIM – stop trying to organise Him and sit back and enjoy the ride.’ Moo-ving on …

Panic overtakes the disciples, and so they wake Him up with an accusation – ‘Don’t you care???’ Why should the Lord sleep when they are so-oo-oo scared. Isn’t it His job to protect them? After all, He put them in that boat! He’s in charge, and the people who are in charge need to fix things. Boy were they in for a surprise! I have no idea what they thought Jesus would do… um maybe if they woke Him up He could join them in their panic? 😳 Human beings can be so irrational when they throw their faith out of the window, just to see if it will survive the fall! 

Here’s my point for today: first Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, then He rebuked the disciples! There were two storms that night, one IN the boat and one OUTSIDE it. You know, we can get so carried away trying to control our external circumstances, that we forget that our internal state needs help too! We cannot afford to let the external rule the internal … we will start sinking.

After that, Jesus explained to these men that their faith was far bigger than that storm. Sometimes when we face difficulties and terrifying things, our real task isn’t to fix the problem – it is about learning to rest in the face of whatever is going on. We can rest in the fact that JESUS IS ALWAYS IN OUR BOAT.  

If you don’t believe me, then let’s have a look at what the book says. Jesus is speaking here: “And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the world.“ Matthew 28:20. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before Me.” Isaiah 49:15&16. “The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8. The last two verses are our Heavenly Father speaking. 

When we look at our circumstances, or our inner state of panic, we can easily feel deserted – left to fight whatever it is by ourselves. But this is our opportunity to believe what the bible says, above how we feel. Inclement circumstances are where we learn to REST in Him. Jesus Christ has paid for and given us HIS rest, nobody else can steal it away. We can only choose to lose it, by choosing fear, dismay and anger above rest.

As we descend into this storm, we are not alone – Jesus is in this boat with us. Bye and bless you. 🕊️