Paul

P 2464 A little bit of perspective.

/ DVH

So… who wants to be Alexander the coppersmith when they grow up?? 😂 This scripture in Timothy often makes me laugh … especially as, in the church, we are all so particular about speaking well, or even not speaking at all about other people. Speaking out didn’t’ seem to bother Paul, He wrote it down!… I think that is because Paul knew Who was really in charge. What a spiritual perspective that is!! 

Paul’s theology seems pretty clear – God is going to deal with good old Alexander, and he was not above warning Timothy against this particular man. His reference point was God not the man! This is a great illustration from the bible how to deal with someone who opposes you. Leave them to God to sort out. Don’t hold a grudge, just give them to Him. Now, here’s second point to think on. This one will definitely sort out anyone’s truthfulness and motivation! 

Acts 5:1-10“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened… … About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also…”

Can I hear any Amen about this scripture? I wonder how many people would fall dead at our harvest, pledges  and promises’ services, if the power of God was present now, like it was back then??? 😱 That kind of makes you think eh? It reminds me of the story of the man who wanted the Lord’s favour in a battle, and so he told God he would sacrifice whatever came out first to meet him when he went home. And his little daughter ran out… … tough call!! (Judges 11-12.)

OK. Here we go, let’s lighten the mood with a personal story about how dumb I can be.  A long time ago, hubby and I were really short on funds for one of our trips etc. So we prayed together that God would meet that need, because we could not pay the travel bills. Meanwhile, I’m watching a TV sermon, and the preacher said: “God will give you the money you need, just ask Him for it.” Then he named a sum that would have cleared up our shortfall. So I prayed and asked for that sum we needed, and then I told the Lord, if He provided it … we would give the money back to Him. (What on earth WAS I thinking??)  😳 Actually, I don’t think I thought the money would turn up!

The next day … the money came. Out of the blue. Yeah, it was the exact amount we desperately needed, go figure, it seemed that the Lord called my bluff!! Apparently He plays poker better than I ever could! My dear hubby is jumping about doing a little dance, because this was going to get us out of a big hole … hooray for Jesus! HOWEVER … I had promised God that if the money came, I would give it to Him.  Now, here is my huge mistake … I forgot to tell hubby what I had done. So I had to ‘fess up and tell him that we could not keep these funds because I had promised the Lord we would give them to Him. 

Yikes. That was not the most fun conversation we ever had together. Actually we had a big fight over it and that is the complete truth .. but in the end we fixed it. Obviously. And then we sent off the money. Plus I learnt a lot about what to say, and what not to say to the Lord!  “Let your yes be yes and your no be no…”  so to speak! Off we go travelling using our faith, because we still don’t have that money we need — one of us, not pointing at anyone mind you, gave that away. And low and behold, the exact amount we needed came to us 4 days into our travels. The kindness of Almighty God IRL. Boy was I relieved — to say the least!

This bible story about Ananias and Sapphira taught me something. It showed me that agreements between husband and wife have power in them – whether those agreements are good or bad! So couples had better agree, pray and think about what they are saying and doing together, because God sees them as ONE. Plus, the power of agreement introduces dual responsibility. Secondly, that story also illustrates that God takes us all at our word and we can’t fool Him. Which seems totally fair to me … because we expect Him to honour HIS WORD to us!!  In this story in Acts, fudging the books led to two funerals! 

I think the Lord is saying today – don’t promise what you can’t fulfil. Like I’ve said before, the bible is a book of contrasts, and we need to take what it says seriously … because, quite obviously!! HE does! Spiritual perspective is important, it’s always a good thing to ask for. Bye. 👋🏻

P 2461 The bible is often contradictory.

/ DVH

Much of what His book says, is contradictory, or even contrary to our own instincts. Things like … Gain your life by losing it. Love people who hate you. Seek things that you can’t see or feel, and you’ll get what you need. A-n-d for one guy… get rid of nearly all your army and go fight someone else’s much much bigger army with lights and trumpets!…Or you could become whale chum as a taxi service  I mean … really!!! Moses once talked to a shrub and it changed his known world! Here’s the last one that seems odd …serve to lead.

The bible says: “What happiness comes to you when you feel your spiritual poverty! For yours is the realm of heaven’s kingdom.” Matthew 5:3 TPT. See? This guy thinks being spiritually poor is the best thing ever. Either his brain fell out or he is onto something. I think he’s onto something. God’s WAYS are always about RISK and they include our freely-made choices. Nothing about following Jesus will be easy — we will all have to die-to-self to carry those things out.

For a long time, Christianity has been about been acquiring of information. I’m going to start out by saying… I think bible school is great because knowing the bible well is the best tool we can ever have. I urge you to do it – we cannot fight the enemy without faith, and weapons. And the weapons in His book are not carnal they are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds! Actually, I think the bible will save your life if you use it the way it was designed to be used! BUT, the real point is… it was written to show us that without God — man can’t do anything. Yeah, well, that kind of cramps our super-spiritual super-star style. (Try saying that 10 times quickly.)

Hubby read me this bible verse from the Passion Translation, yesterday – “It felt like we had a death sentence written upon our hearts, and we still feel it to this day. It has taught us to lose all faith in ourselves and to place all of our trust in the God Who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9 TPT. That kind of stuff can seem a bit loopy to someone who has studied and worked very hard to realise their full potential. However, this verse suggests that living life according to what human beings know and learn, can be a waste of time. But it seems to me that experience has taught this man something. 

Personally, some of the best stuff I’ve ever learnt has come from experience. Like Paul, I have also despaired of life a number of times. I’ve also wondered if I was really a Christian so many times I can’t count them! The Christian life is not for the faint-hearted- thank God it doesn’t rely on our faith, it relies on Him. Jesus once had a brilliant conversation with a man who knew all the right answers. We probably would have made him into a pastor or a deacon, but that man walked away from following the Lord!

Continually read this book for yourself. I advise each one of us to stop looking for human heroes to follow, or pattern yourself on … and instead …look for people just like you. People who didn’t cope and made mistakes. Some of those mistakes were so huge we are still dealing with the results today. Yet Almighty God had a plan for each of their lives. The thing is — the REAL hero of God’s book is … wait for it … GOD. Funny thing that. Who’d have thunk it?

I have been ill for most of my life and that means that I have had to continually reinvent the way I live with His help. Nearly dying numerous times will do that to you. I’ve learnt that His way not only works – it will blow your mind! His way is difficult, challenging and … life-changing.

I consider myself totally blessed because everything that has happened to me so far has led me to the place where I KNOW I literally can’t do a thing without Him! That’s not just a pretty saying to me, my life depends on it. Yet I have no idea what the Lord is going to do next! Life is one big surprise filled to the brim with more challenges than I can count. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord will deliver them out of them all.”  I can say Amen to that!!

“YOUR mission, should you choose to accept it “ 😂 … will totally blow your mind. Our own human resources are limited, but HIS, are limitless. And He has made His limitless resources available to us! Each one of us will have to rely upon Him in ways we have never ever even dreamed about. My advice is to stop trying to get everything right and start following His instructions in the book. Start with the Be-attitudes and work from there. Paul, Peter, and John also have heaps of great instructions… not to mention my good friend James! 

The bible is filled with people who obeyed, and they got it wrong and … God rescued them.  It is a contradictory book – filled with things that should never work … but they do … Remember, Almighty God planned stuff in advance for each one of us to do – if we don’t do it, then it won’t get done. 👋🏻

P 2446 Jump into joy by enjoying our God!

/ DVH

“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.”1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 TPT. You know, sometimes we can get so busy trying to get this thing called Christianity right — that we forget all the blessings and benefits of belonging to Jesus Christ! We are a blessed people. Our God loves us by choice. Our joy and thanksgiving needs to stay on that fact, rather than anchored in the things of this earth that can be stolen away – by inflation and circumstances.

It says in Psalm 103:2  “Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me!” Incredibly, Father God has done so much for His people to win our hearts and love, and yet we can “spit the dummy” so to speak because He hasn’t answered this or that prayer we deem important! Instead we allow our emotions to rule and keep score on what gets answered and what doesn’t. Whatever we focus on gets bigger. Let’s deal with our souls instead! “Why are you cast down O my soul … hope thou in God!“

Human beings can be so insular that we cannot see the beauty of the ordinary things that are with us every single day. Instead we wander up side-alleys of discontent and despair because we have become fixated on one aspect of our lives. Let. It. Go! Our God never sleeps or slumbers – He’s got whatever it is we need in His hands, let it go and start deliberately counting His benefits. Shifting our focus changes our responses and promotes enjoyment of His grace.

Psalm 16:11, David states: “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your Presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”  David knew all about enjoying God, and how to appreciate Him. Right now, I just want to point out that King David didn’t exactly live a happy happy joy-filled life! Before he became king, his earthly father forgot all about him! Then after David is anointed by Samuel, he was sent right back out to take care of the sheep … again. No celebration there!! 😳

The reigning king, Saul, got jealous of him and repeatedly tried to kill him. And then David lived life on the run from this man for 25 years. He is not permitted to build God’s temple, because he is a warrior. Two of his kids died, one in infancy and the other who grew to be a man, and he did not share God as his priority, like his father did. Ambition killed Absalom. Yet King David wrote some of the most beautiful words of praise and worship in the bible. He enjoyed God … even when he was running for his life! (Read the Psalms.)

We need to stop wasting our energy on petty things and open our eyes to all we have. Then we can let God change us from the inside out!  Here’s some joy-filled news – “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” You and I can’t buy that kind of favour! Joy comes when we know our place in God’s plans for our lives. Joy overcomes us when we can see that we have changed… even if we have no idea how it happened or why! Joy floods us when we realise that we know that we know … we are loved by Him. Warts and all! 

Joy and contentment go together in my mind. Paul says:“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation …” I think His secret for that statement is in Genesis: “In the beginningGOD…” In other words … God was here before I came and He will still be here after I am gone! He can handle whatever comes at me!! We must throw away our desire to have a so-called perfect life, and simply follow and obey Jesus. There is no such thing as a perfect life. It is an illusion. Following Jesus every day. .. into: “joy unspeakable and full of glory!”

As we follow the bible we start to clearly see Jesus… His way of thinking, His priorities, His love for other people … That stuff begins to eclipse everything else that rumbles around us and tries to wrangle with our hearts. Enjoying God means I look for the best in each day as it unfolds before me. I’m actively looking for His hand in my life. 

Hubby and I have found ourselves recently laughing like loons for no real reason. And just like the scripture says: “The joy of the Lord has become our strength.” I think the Lord is helping us to enjoy Him in this life even though moment by moment it can be fraught with difficulties. It’s been a tough year. I wonder what He has for you? “Ask and you shall receive …” OR … Maybe we have not because we ask not because we are asking to support our own passions! Bye. 😂

P 2435 You don’t have to be clever to serve Jesus.

/ DVH

1 Corinthians 2:4&5, 9&10TPT “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power… … However, as it is written:“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— these are things God has prepared for those who love Him—these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.”

Some people say that the Apostle Paul had a really big brain — they say that about Einstein too. Apparently Einstein’s brain was 15% bigger in some areas than ours is. But in these scriptures above, Paul carefully explains that it is NOT his brain that comes up with the stuff he wrote! Those words came from the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and wisdom. And then Paul said something truly amazing – his words were a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit’s words are extraordinarily powerful. They heal, release, and open spiritually blind eyes, instantly.

The bible is not just there to comfort our soul when we are sad, mad or under the weather – the bible is a spiritual thermometer and diagnostician. The next time you read it, highlight the bits that really annoy you or puzzle you … The comforting stuff is great, but if we read just to gain comfort we will not grow.

There are often times when the way to get past something awful that you feel stuck in, is to persevere, and keep on reading the bible. Then go find something you don’t like, and you don’t want to do, and then go and do what it says. If you want a breakthrough this will give you one. This book can teach us about our real selves … if we let it. Human beings don’t just hide from others, we hide from God — and ourselves. Sometimes, WE don’t want to know what we don’t know!

The bible shows us our errors and missteps, as well as comforting us with God’s everlasting eternal unshakeable love – not just NICE thoughts that tickle our ears. Our God’s love is passionately fierce – He will not turn a blind eye to something that damages or is destroying His children … … even if they choose it.

We must be careful about what we let our faith REST ON. Seriously, keep that thought in the forefront of your mind as you read His book. We cannot rest our faith on what someone else said. We need to rest it on what the Lord says to us, personally. This is why it is good to read until the Lord speaks to your heart. Anybody can take 3 different scriptures and make them say 200 different things. Just read this blog every day, I take a stab at that with what I write all the time! 😂 

You and I need the Holy Spirit’s personal attention in our own personal lives, hearts and minds, so He can apply what we read into our own situations. Principles are great, but principles are an overriding umbrella, an impersonal thought, that can and will shelter you and I. But we need our own little Holy Spirit-given raincoat and wellies when we are struggling along against the wind and rain. We need to hear from Him, for ourselves. 

Remember what Jesus said: “Man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” The bible is our daily bread – our daily bread is not toast, coffee or weeties! It’s His word. Every single day we need a personal glimpse into His glory, to keep our faith alive and vibrant. We cannot do that without the Holy Spirit’s input. What we read when we read what Paul, or Peter, or John wrote, is the insight and wisdom they got from day to day as they too studied and thought about the bible as they knew it. 

We can only read the Epistles etc. with the Holy Spirit’s help – otherwise some concepts seem old-fashioned and irrelevant. The Holy Spirit knows what will settle our hearts when we are disturbed or afraid. We cannot possibly imagine what God will say … yet, when He speaks, that changes everything. He even speaks to little children who are not apparently, fully developed yet! But little children can come up with the most profound things. I think that’s because their childish faith doesn’t put what they know up against what He said!

Our wonderful heavenly Father has so much more He wants to give us. We must never leave His table, the one He has prepared for us in the presence of our enemies, feeling hungry or in despair. Stay there until you are full! Those times are the exact time to put aside what this world has said about our own ability to study or think, and go on to pick up the love, advice, comfort and wisdom of the One Who was here before this world began. It takes listening obedience to serve Jesus, not just a clever mind. Bye. 👋🏻

P 2434 Different food for thought!

/ DVH

“A parable is a tale about a simple, common subject to illustrate a more profound, valuable moral lesson. The source definition of the word “parable” means a placement side by side for the purpose of comparison.” (Dictionary)

Jesus’ teaching is fascinating. He told everyday stories to those listening, to help them understand God’s Ways. And at the same time, every single thing He said was profound. He gave us fantastic life-lessons. Up until this morning, I had never really thought about the kind of teaching He did, when He taught people, using parables. There are over 30 parables in the Gospels …some of them are repeated.

Today, the Lord Jesus spoke into me and said this: “How many of My parables are about the miraculous? In which one do I teach people how to heal the sick and raise the dead?” You know, when I looked, I discovered that Jesus’ parables are about ordinary things and ordinary people and their behaviour toward God and others. They are simply ‘life lessons.’ They are not about ‘how to excel in the miraculous’ – but instead they are about ‘how to live this life we have in a Godly fashion.’ How to love each other, and how to love, revere and respect God first. However, if we don’t live IN the kingdom, how can we expect to bring it with us?? Maybe that’s why Paul told us to seek it first!

We have become greatly enamoured with the miraculous – or the lack of it, in the church today. I think we are in danger of exalting those things above His Kingdom coming in our everyday lives. Yet we will always need a heart that says – God can do anything … nothing is too difficult for Him!  But I think we have put more of the accent on revving up our ability to believe, instead of putting it in HIM – Who He is. Miracles will follow US as we love others the way He loves us …we don’t have to chase them.  Miracles and the ever-present power of God are an expected part of walking with Him in our daily lives. 

In the Epistles, a large amount of emphasis is also put upon growing and transforming our character, plus, how to walk with the Holy Spirit. The Apostles simply repeated what they have seen, heard and learnt as they performed great signs and wonders. They didn’t elevate people who walked in their God-given gifts, or even ask them to come and minister in the miraculous for the purpose of gaining attention to spread the gospel! Instead the main thrust of their individual messages are to encourage and emphasise loving God, loving others well, plus growth, connection and correction.

Jesus Himself took ordinary things that His listeners could easily understand to illustrate Kingdom purposes. As we read the gospels we can see that anyone can walk in demonstrating the power of God, even sometimes those devoid of character. Judas did! But the parables and epistles indicate that our character needs our personal application. The Holy Spirit wants our motivation to be pure Love – and we all need help with that! Jesus made the miraculous an ordinary part of being His disciple.  He sent His disciples out and they simply used His name.

However, Christ Himself gave us the most brilliant synopsis of God’s requirements when He was talking to a lawyer in Matthew 22:35-40 “One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” I am gobsmacked every single time I read that. It so perfectly illustrates what life with the Holy Spirit looks like.

So here is my thought for today’s blog  – I am personally aware that we all need the miraculous! … But instead of chasing after the miraculous etc. to validate any ministry, I believe the Holy Spirit wants us to foster a relationship with Him – first. Then we simply do whatever He says, and we will see miracles as we go along. Sometimes there will be a miracle, and sometimes someone else gets a revelation of the goodness of God .. a glimpse into His bigger world. Our job is to love God and love others, and out of that wonderful things will happen.

Please do not misunderstand me, I totally believe in all the active gifts of God. And I believe we need to pray believing that they are present at any time! We need them. I am simply saying that these things should not be the preoccupation of the Church. We are to be pre-occupied with Him! These other things will get added unto us as we seek Him first! Like one of the parables says: “We are the light of the world” – let’s just BE THAT and see what happens! Bye.👋🏻

P 2432 In order to understand some things …

/ DVH

… we will need to look at them, standing on our head!!!.… Most Christians go to church to receive, and there’s nothing wrong with that! They go to worship God, receive fresh revelation, get prayers for help and transformation, and maybe a special experience. When we are all together, we have a collective faith. I know this is probably a new thought to some … BUT … despite the fact that I dearly love going to church – I don’t particularly want to borrow YOUR faith all the time, I want my own fully-functional faith!

Almighty God gave us all a portion of faith, and I want to use mine for His glory, under His direction. Along the way, I’ve learnt that using my own faith helps me grow, spiritually. Your faith is great and it holds me up — but YOU live far away, or you have a habit of going on holidays when I might need you! I love it when my Church family pray for me, and I have seen wonderful things happen because others have used their faith to believe for a change in my life. I will not ever stop doing that because we are all designed to be a part of each other. I have also seen incredible things in terrible situations when just one person has added their faith to mine. 

However… I will stay a baby in my faith if I never learn to use that God-given faith for myself. I realized a number of years ago, that I need to stop being a passenger, and begin to use my own faith under the help and supervision of the Holy Spirit. It’s my job to develop what I’ve been given. ““Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge: “God authorised and commanded Me to commission YOU: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then  instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 MSG.

Well, that’s pretty clear! I’ve been saved to serve Him. And His special love is people, so if I want to live out this life as a Christian, I’m going to have to change. Obedience to His Word is not an optional extra that depends on the day of the week, and how I am feeling. satan can throw enough icky situations and feelings at all of us to keep us busy until the Lord comes back! While I am in this world MY time is HIS. My own faith needs to be used, because I will go places you will never go. Everybody who has been born again was given this command by the Lord. This means that we are going to have to stretch, and do things we don’t much want to do, because our new life has new responsibilities.

Many years ago. I had to have some major surgery. Directly across from me in another hospital bed, was a young girl who was sobbing, clearly terrified. I had already been given my pre-meds for this op, so my task was to lie still and let the meds do their work. But this girl is over there, crying her eyes out. So … I hopped out of bed and trundled over to ask her if she is OK? She is clearly NOT OK! She had stepped on a needle and it went right through her toe and she was there to have it taken out.

I had a choice. I could go back to my own bed, shut my eyes and go into sleepy-time or … pray for her. I opted to pray for her. As a result when the doctors came for me for my op, I was bright eyed and bushy-tailed and …awake. The doctors had to over-medicate me to anaesthetise me, and under that anaesthetic I had a terrible hallucination. Let’s skip that part. That young girl, however went home unafraid, with her toe fixed. My point? Obeying Christ is costly. We don’t always end up with sunshine and roses and somebody singing “nearer my God to thee” sweetly in the background!

We must stop thinking this life is a party that culminates in heaven. We are living in enemy territory. Stuff happens. Phillip had to strap on his Nikes and run after a chariot! Peter and John were off to a prayer meeting when they met someone who needed their help … and the authorities were not thrilled with them. Paul and Silas were severely beaten up and thrown in the clink. But that meant that they got to talk to a Philippian jailer. Now let’s put this in a full context for these men – Jesus had already died and He was resurrected … plus the Holy Spirit had come … BUT … they suffered anyway. We’ve been erroneously taught that if we have trouble, we are doing it wrong – what if trouble means … we are doing it right!

It is our job to tell others what we know. Not speaking is like walking past a house on fire and not trying to help the inhabitants to get out of danger!  Even a brand new Christian can give away what they know of God through their experience of Him – whether they know exegesis or not! We have as a group of people, spent so much time getting ready to do evangelism, or practising praying for healing, or giving prophetic words, or going to conferences etc. that we’ve become INSULAR. Christianity is not an insular faith – we simply give away what we have — and what we have didn’t happen 50 years ago. God and I did stuff yesterday.

Christians aren’t designed to fit in, they are meant to stand out!  And sometimes you quite literally have to stand on your head to understand what happened and why it happened like that… but you can’t always explain the eternal! 👋🏻

P 2431 He will change you.

/ DVH

Do you want to be ready to witness at any time? … As usual, the bible has the best teaching — like ever! “Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.” Colossians 4:6 TPT

The Apostle Paul liked prepared hearts above everything else – he wrote heaps on transformation and the power to live differently. Speaking for myself having everything I say drenched with grace, and tempered with truth and clarity is plenty of incentive for me to go on with!  But I can definitely see that then there will be power in anything I say because of those three God-given things working in me and acting on me. This scripture is another way to to tell us how to walk with the Holy Spirit. I call it the ‘watch your mouth’ scripture. God’s truth must be truth in me.

My hubby said something brilliant this morning – it helped me define the above words, truth and clarity. “My own particular quirks, attitudes, or even some conditions I may have, that need to be treated or attended to, should not define ME. Those things are not part of who God made me to be. WHO I AM.  EG: If I have a broken leg, it is not part of who I am, it is a condition to be treated. If I am fearful, or anxious it is something I need help with. It is not all of me. That bad temper is not who I am, it is who I have become in response to the world around me. I can change – Jesus Christ’s death empowered me to change.”

I call that fantastic clarity about a subject that is often very muddied in today’s world. In today’s world we define most people by their traits. “She’s so pretty. He’s flabby. That family is stupid. That person is brilliant.” Facebook etc etc.. seems to be quite good at reducing very complex ordinary human beings, into simplistic one dimensional ones. People are never just ONE thing.

Part of our preparation for sharing with others is to define ourselves by who God says we are. We cannot afford to let who we are be defined by anything else. So things like: “that person had a difficult childhood, and I had a great one” – will not disqualify either one of us from obedience. We trot this stuff out as excuses to God — reasons why we can’t obey Him — because we think of ourselves as wounded and broken. He died to heal us! We need to let every word we say about each other and ourselves, be drenched in Grace. We are His new creations now.

Clarity says things like this: “My beloved is MINE and I am HIS and His banner over me is love!” “I can do all things through Christ Who gives me His strength…” Nothing can ever separate me from His love…” BTW, that word nothing means no thing — it includes how I feel about myself, or what other people may say about me. There is great healing in agreeing and acting in faith on what God says about us. His Grace is the great equaliser.

In the Christian world, Grace is our AIR. We receive His grace, minute by minute as a normal part of our lives. Grace is a language of the Holy Spirit and Jesus released that eternal quality at Calvary. Now it is a part of human history. We don’t have to feel gracious to know we have grace – no matter what we’ve done. You don’t have to take my word, I don’t have to take yours — we believe in it because Grace is explained thoroughly in the bible. The bible is our road map to a bigger world. One that lasts forever. The problem occurs in our faith … not in what He did. If our faith is in our sinful failure then we will act like everyone else around us and make excuses for our appalling behaviour!

Praise God, we do not have to hold ourselves ransom to the past – even if the past was 5 minutes ago! However, we dare not mis-use His grace either. Repentance is a fruit of Grace. This means we look at whatever we did, through His eyes, not ours. We must stop making a god after our own image – the god we make up for ourselves is weak. That god can’t change us! It allows us to stay the same old pitiable, wishy-washy, nasty grump we always were! Jesus Christ conquered all sin forever. Our failures cannot negate that reality… Ignore what you think you know and start believing His book. 

When I give away Grace to others I am releasing His power into their lives. I received that power when I asked Him to save me. For every word we speak to be drenched in these things we will have to go beyond pretending to be nice, and actually become like Him. We must go past saying we are sorry, into change. Transformation. Grace is a transformative power – it cannot bear fruit without actions. Jesus had to actually DIE to give it to us. Now the Holy Spirit is here to help us with applying what Jesus did, and the bible says.

Like hubby said to me today, believing that … “we are who we are, and we are stuck that way,” … is error. It is denying the power of Grace. Our aim is to walk with the HOLY Spirit.  HE’S NOT SINFUL or SPITEFUL. HE DOESN’T LIE, or HOLD GRUDGES. HE ISN’T POWERLESS EITHER!! Almighty God’s words bear fruit. No fruit means GOD IS NOT IN IT. We need to let His Grace have its way in us, and then when we speak to others, it’s with truth and clarity. Bye 👋🏻.

P 2420 A living faith!

/ DVH

Safety and Comfort can be weapons used by the enemy to prevent Christians from moving into their God-given destiny. This is not a thought any of us want to have… but … these two things may well be the biggest deterrent to Christians being totally sold-out to Jesus. Hey, I like having a house to sleep in, and a doctor I can go to when I am sick. I also like knowing my kids live right around the corner and the supermarket is five kms away.

But .. these things that look ‘normal’ are actually a trap. The truth is the best thing for our relationship with the Lord isn’t safety and comfort, because that’s when we kick off our shoes and coast along – and become careless about His plans. Have you noticed that ‘there ain’t nothin’ like trouble’ to improve your prayer life?!  And yes, I am speaking from personal experience. The problem in the Western World is that distraction and busyness are a way of life.

Whenever we read the Old Testament we can see that peace and ease sent the Israelites down the plug-hole very quickly. That is a warning to us! We are told in the bible that our lives are not our own, yet most times, for the past 50+ years or so, Christians in the Western World live happily settled lives in their own communities and very few take the Lord’s command to “Go and preach the gospel to all creatures …” seriously.  Actually, I’d like to paraphrase the way modern Christianity, it seems to me, has responded to the Lord’s command …. “Let’s send somebody else out into the world to preach the gospel …not me …I already have a life!” 

Yeah! I know, that statement is not going to make me popular. But the truth is — we are all missionaries … sent ones. I can’t find an exemption clause in anything Jesus said. Yet it seems — apparently — you don’t have to go if you have a family. Peter had a family. BUT … you don’t have to go if you have a job. Paul had a job. BUT… you don’t have to go if you are rich, giving is OK instead. And why don’t we want to go? Safety and comfort! That’s why. Hey, I have no rocks in my hands, I’ve just slept in 15 different hard and uncomfortable beds recently, I’m totally delighted to kick off my shoes and sleep in my own bed again!! 

Speaking personally, I wouldn’t care if I didn’t go outside the door at all, this world is pretty rough on the elderly and disabled. But then I remember… I have courageous brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. They are in places that are not safe or comfortable … Places where people point machine guns or send missiles, or they wave nasty cleavers and machetes at you with the intention of removing body parts. Those people definitely don’t appear to be gospel friendly! Yes, we can send money  to help others go… and we should. But “GO” still applies to me, uncomfortable and unsafe, or not.

Here’s a question for you … is Australia an atheist country? “According to NORC … 20.6% of Australians don’t believe in God and never have, while 9.7% are “strong atheists”. Of those aged under 28, 26.8% have never believed in God and just 14.7% are certain God exists.”  39% of people in this country have no religion at all!  Well, those figures don’t bode well do they? Even more disturbingly …48,000 people call themselves Jedi and worship the Force!  😱 The very least we could do is to tell these dear souls that ‘the force’ has a NAME and He’s the Holy Spirit Who is a gift from Jesus! Paul once used a god with no name on it, to preach Jesus.

The truth is, we all actually like our comfortable lives. We don’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere, where crows or magpies have to bring us food! Or maybe travel miles to talk to strangers. It doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. But, here’s a thought:  those people-who-don’t -know-Jesus-yet are walking about in our local supermarket. They are at the school gate, they work in the next cubicle at our office. 

And the good news is – we don’t have to convert them. We just need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us LOVE them. We  act like the good Samaritan, and make everyone our neighbour. Reaching out to others, is and will always be, paramount to maintaining a living faith. 👋🏻

P 2410 Forgiveness means living creatively.

/ DVH

“Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.” Galatians 6:1-3 MSG.

Isn’t it astonishing that living a forgiving, humble, generous life full of redemption – is called living creatively? I must have skipped that aspect of this verse about a zillion times over the years – it simply didn’t register. Does Paul mean we are meant to make-up attitudes and actions? No, I don’t think so. I think he is saying that living a forgiving life is introducing opportunities to create new scenarios, new possibilities … change. Unfortunately, sadly …I think all forms of judgment will close that down! Ya might want to think on that one. 

Did you get that when somebody you know falls into sin we have the opportunity and the power to release change and forgiveness? Yeah. US. We can often think of ourselves as powerless in this life, there are so many other people out there who appear to have way more influence than we have. Yet here Paul talks about our God-given inherent ability to restore someone else by our attitudes and actions, by using the redemptive transformative tools of compassion, mercy and grace. If you truly desire to be like Jesus, this is the way. This is what He did.

Thinkaboudit. That’s real power. Not the fakey-fake stuff, that is here today and gone tomorrow. That’s the rubbish stuff this world admires. We have the power to change forever, for someone else. At that moment of forgiving and helping we are reaching out into eternity – releasing someone else’s destiny. That’s not real shabby is it? Think of the people who are trying to love those difficult people.  Unseen and unheralded, many, many people choose to live in pain – because they are holding on tightly to the promise of breakthrough in someone else’s life. They are using their faith to hold fast to new possibilities. I call that creative thinking as well as creative living!

I think this verse is at the heart of the problems many of us have in our interpersonal relationships. I’ve done it myself … I forgive and forgive and forgive … and then suddenly … ‘Now that’s it! I’m angry. You’ve gone too far!! I’ve forgiven you heaps of times and yet you are still being horrible toward me. How many chances do you want?? I’ve had enough!’ Tragically, self-talk can make or break us at this point. People talk all the time about positive self-talk, yet this particular aspect is ignored. We can self-talk ourselves into hatred and bitterness – not just a poor self-image.

Paul presents another unique thought right here – next time it could be my turn. It’s funny how the things that someone else does are deeply wounding and offensive, but when I do the same thing, or worse … then I didn’t mean any harm! That thought makes me quite nauseous in its accuracy. I like the realism of Paul’s phrasing …I might be needing forgiveness by the end of the day. Ya got that right!  As soon as I enter into judging you and wondering if I really do have to forgive someone who continually hurts me – I’ve fallen into a worse hole than they are in!

Did you also get the bit where Paul says… stoop down? This poor sinful schmuck is so convicted at this time, he’s on the floor. People living real raw lives often end up there. Life just kind of knocks them down and they can’t get up. Now that is something that I can identify with. Being flat on the floor, unable to stand with sorrow and conviction weighing me down;  because the realisation that I have sinned, by disobeying and hurting somebody else, has flattened me.

I also think many people are often oppressed by the enemy … however they are deceived into thinking his attitudes are really theirs … all that is far more common than we know. Just because it pops up in your brain that doesn’t mean it’s your thought! Take it captive. Sadly, at the same time, attributing mean, spiteful and unkind behaviour to someone who dearly wants to be an obedient child of God, is a total tragedy. That’s your brother or sister down there on that floor. Meanwhile I’ve learnt that holding a grudge or gloating won’t just hurt them … it hurts me. 

Christ’s law is the law of Love and there is no timetable for the law of Love. It doesn’t have an expiry date either. Praise God! Boy am I glad about that!! You know, sometimes we can concentrate on other people’s sins so intently, we put blinders on. We can’t see anything else … including our own attitudes. But Paul sorts that out right here, in Galatians. This is the best remedy for a wrong attitude – help them and hold onto the thought that any minute it might be your turn! Forgiveness means living creatively. 👋🏻

P 2393 Those who have gone on before us.

/ DVH

“And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let His mindset become your motivation.” Philippians 2:5 TPT. Isn’t it marvellous that we have incredible, recorded, Godly examples to follow? Praise God we have what Christ did and said, in this book we read every day. Jesus made God’s will very clear! 

We have all of the New Testament to explain how the things of God unfold and transform, and how they worked for someone else. Whether it was Paul or Peter or Jude – they all lived this way… HIS WAY. All we need to do is to take what it says seriously and apply these things we read about into our lives! The sky is the limit when somebody starts living their life doing what God’s book says for Jesus’ sake.

Here’s something that Peter said: “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.” 2 Peter 1:3 MSG. Peter knew that what he was given was also for others who would come after him – that’s you and I. 👏 We have been left an enormous inheritance by these great men and women of faith. 

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that getting to know Jesus is a series of endless spiritual experiences. It is so much more than that – we get to live the way He lived and do what He did – we get to be like Him, in this world. His loving heart, His Character, His devotion to the Father. Jesus Christ shows us how to live a transformed life of devotion to God and He actively taught us what God wants from His kids.

Let’s look at His disciples, who totally relied upon the Holy Spirit for Christ’s guidance, and they too lived overcoming lives. They lived that way in a world that used Christians for target practice, lion chum and barbecue lights! Nothing much has changed today, many Christians are still paying for their faith with their well-being, lives and health. However  I can be inspired into action, when I read about the saints’ of old’s adventures, missteps, and godly actions in His book — and from there I get the courage to have some adventures with God myself. 

Both the Old and the New Testament tell us about people who gave up this life to gain the next. They watched Almighty God work on their behalf. I’ve written down some examples from the New. Let’s look at Ananias who got a word from God and was used to restore Paul’s sight. That man was scared to bits about his God-given assignment, but he did it in spite of his fear. He teaches me that fear does not have to win! Plus, I can simply go and do whatever God tells me, I don’t have to feel like it.

There was another Ananias – Ananias and Sapphira. That couple taught me that lying to God and others has a really really bad ending! Or Timothy, who listened carefully to his mother and his grandmother, and ended up as a companion to Paul. He had two whole books in the bible written for his personal edification. Timothy has taught me that godly mothers with faith are powerful people. 

Or Simon Magus the magician. He taught me the Holy Spirit cannot be bought. Grace can embrace the Holy Spirit but a lack of Grace, together with greed, sends Him away. Or there was Stephen, who waited tables and witnessed to the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s supreme rabbinic court. He recited the whole Jewish history from Abraham to Christ! I believe Stephen’s pure faith, together with everything the Holy Spirit gave him to say, had an effect on Saul as he stood and watched that stoning, and heard Stephen pardon his murderers as he died. This shows me that the word of God is a SEED – it has the power to change a life. Stephen died, but Paul eventually converted!

We have these witnesses in God’s book to help us to enrich our own faith. We don’t have to stay within the status quo, living our lives in dull little always-acquiring-new-things lives. We can be led by God Himself, the Holy Spirit, to “go into all the world and preach the gospel…” Acts 1:8. Hubby and I are about to go out again into Samaria, even though we preach the gospel where we live, to anyone who will listen. 

We go out there where the people are and to our amazement – Jesus is out there too!  Listen to what Jesus said about the Samaritan woman and her village in Samaria: “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”John 4:34&35. What more do we need than… ‘GO?’ That was enough for the people in the book.👋🏻