Practice

P 3463 Be really yourself…

/ DVH

…not the you, you wish you were! … Something has shifted in hubby and I as we’ve been travelling all over the country-side giving away bibles and stuff. We started out being traditional, and along the way, a whole lot of formal stuff fell off, and now we simply go to meet people, so we can love on them whenever and wherever we can. Before this adventure, it was like we had two ‘hats,’ one was for church and the other was out there… 

The thing is, what happened the other day with my young friend showed me how easy it can be to miss the main point. Especially when we have a mindset that separates people into categories, saved and unsaved, I think this is part of a mistake I’ve been making. I’ve learnt that my first priority is to love God, then others. So I asked myself what if I took the saved and unsaved categories out of my thinking and just saw people? Perhaps, as Christians, we are more honest and open with the people who love Jesus, than we are with the man in the street. My thought for today is …WHY? Is Christianity meant to be some kind of secret society, where you can’t get in if you don’t know the handshake?

Actually the bible says that Jesus loved the world so much He died for all of us, which actually means we are all in the same boat! Some of us have recognised the One Who saved us, and others haven’t heard about Him, or met Him yet. The difference between committed Christians, and the people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet, is simply a matter of who has received this revelation and who hasn’t.

We are all loved equally by our Heavenly Father. But for years we’ve kind of hidden behind our church doors and played the ‘we-are-the-nice-people’ game. That game had a false finish line, and to join in people had to come to know Jesus in a pre-prescribed packaged fashion. But when I decided to see this world from His point of view, I realised there will always be room for one more … even in the last minutes of His life, Jesus made room for one more! Our lives need to be lived in such a way that we are an invitation, telling everyone Who Jesus is, what we know about Him, without any stress or strain.

The reason we are asked by the Lord to tell everyone, is because we don’t know who will say yes and who will say no … like that rich young man from yesterday. That means I will say the same kind of thing to a murderer, that I would to the little old lady down the road. The good news is, Jesus died to save all of us from everything bad we ever did, and the next step is to ask Him to do that for you. It is not just about memorising a prayer of commitment, it is about living the life. We give up the way we currently think and choose to learn how God thinks – by reading His book, listening to Him and walking with Him.

Until we choose to live by His Grace only, we can never completely understand exactly what Christ did for us. And the plainer and more normal we are when we speak to others, the better it is for those who know nothing. I think choosing to take the time to digest what God says, by obeying Him, is the first step. Then what He said will come out of me, the way I’d say it. It’s not another Gospel, it’s the same Gospel, as it is lived out, from day to day, in my life. My life becomes His witness. I can’t have the whole picture and neither will you – that’s because in the Body, I am an eyebrow and maybe you are an elbow –  so our viewing platform is different.

Paul said “follow me as I follow Christ,” he didn’t say: ‘follow me the way I follow Peter or John.’  Christ was everything to Paul. Whether this man was in jail, out of jail, birthing churches, leading individuals to Jesus, or trying to remember who he had baptised and who he hadn’t! BTW, there is a really cute conversation about that in 1 Corinthians 1:14-16. He couldn’t really remember what he’d done, because for Paul, all that mattered was that he preached the gospel! 

I have an important reason for rattling on about this yesterday, and today. I strongly feel it is urgent that we all stop playing the ‘my church is better than your church’ game. Just because someone has 3,000 people, that does not make them a better minister than the guy who has 20. I like the way Paul says it: ‘I’m following Jesus and you need to follow me the same way I follow Him!’ 1 Corinthians 11:1-15. Paul is talking about his devotion to Christ as well as asking us to take what he wrote seriously.

“Put into practice the example of all that you have heard from me or seen in my life and the God of peace will be with you in all things.” Philippians 4:9 TPT. When I read these two scriptures I realised what a mighty statement Paul was making. It is a great aim to have in our daily lives, and the very essence of what our new life should look like. Father God does not want another Paul, he totally fulfilled his mission in his lifetime. He wants you to be you … and do whatever you do as you simply follow Jesus.

If you follow Jesus where you are, and I do it where I am, then we have doubled our possibilities. Not everyone likes or wants to hear what I have to say, but the person who does not understand me, may understand everything, when you say it. I recommend telling others what Jesus has done in your life and then leave the Holy Spirit to do what He does best – convict and convince people. Tell them how you walk with Him, day by day. Be real! Be the you that loves Jesus and still makes mistakes. People love real. Bye. 👋

P3449 A life laid down.

/ DVH

“If we wait to feel like doing something for God, we will do nothing at all.” “Let your life be proof that Christ is real.” Mary SLESSOR. (1848-1915.) Born in Glasgow, and a missionary to Nigeria, she began her first mission at 27 years of age. She died of Malaria on the mission field. 

In Nigeria, back then, it was a common practice to kill twins, because they were regarded as a curse. Mary took those discarded twins and raised them as her own children, and eventually the native people realised their way of thinking was an error. She did not waiver in her devotion to what she knew the truth was. Mary put what she believed into practice. BTW, she was also the first female magistrate in the area, plus she advocated women’s rights, and she settled tribal disputes. But few people would know her name, today. 

I found Mary by reading the quote I’ve put at the top of this blog and I was so interested in her life, I did a bit of research. I wanted to use her as an example of what living for Jesus’ sake looks like. Here’s another quote about the cost of living this way from Wikipedia:.. “During this third mission to Calabar, Slessor received news that her mother and sister (her only living relatives) had died. She was overcome with loneliness, writing, “There is no one to write and tell my stories and nonsense to.” She had also found a sense of independence, writing, “Heaven is now nearer to me than Britain, and no one will worry about me if I go up country.” (No-one will miss me now.)

She seemed to me to be an excellent example of an ordinary Christian person who gave up her life to follow the Lord. She had had a pretty ghastly life before she became a missionary, yet she chose to obey Jesus’ call to be a witness. Obviously we won’t all end up on the mission field in a foreign land – but her singleness of purpose really challenged me. Mary became sick from Malaria early in her life in Nigeria, and had to go back to Scotland to recover, then she returned to the mission field again. This wrestling match happened many times in her forty years on the mission field. 

You know, I found what Mary did so powerful, especially in the light of this world’s penchant for self-indulgence. She is probably rarely mentioned except in Presbyterian literature. She didn’t go to Africa for fame – she went to be obedient. The little blurbs I read did not say she was a passionate person, actually she comes across as quite an ordinary, quiet heroine, who simply did what the Lord asked her to do. She bloomed where she was planted. … Boy did she!!

She wrote this in her diary: “I am trembling for the meetings,” she once wrote. “But surely God will help me. It is His own cause. I am suffering tortures of fear, and yet why is it that I cannot rest in Him? If He sends me work, surely He will help me deliver His message and do it for His glory. He never failed me before. If He be glorified that is all, whether I be considered able or not.” This piece was not written in Nigeria where she confronted drunken tribesmen with spears and shield, time and time again — this was written right before she went to speak at a meeting in her homeland, Scotland!

She said this about her calling: “God has been good to me, letting me serve Him in this humble way,” … ”I cannot thank Him enough for the honour He conferred upon me when He sent me to the Dark Continent.” By now I was crying as I am reading, because her devotion to Jesus and His sacrifice was so precious. She gave up everything to serve our King. Some of my info came from an article MARY AND THE BEAN STALK c.2005 by John W. Cowart. From the book,  People Whose Faith Got Them Into Trouble (IVP, 1990). I love that title!!  If you have time to read, she makes great reading. “One lone woman and Christ against an army” of angry natives, whose lives were changed by Jesus.

Mary helped me remember that obedience is better than sacrifice. So many great men and women have served Jesus in far off places, and history has forgotten all about them. But they gave all they had, so that others might live forever with Him. That kind of makes our reluctance to talk to strangers about Jesus seem pretty pitiful eh? Especially the sad things we hide behind – I’m too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too scared, too noisy, too quiet, too poor, too rich, too something-or-other … So I can’t do it!

I distinctly remember Moses saying something like this …  ”Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10. Thank God, after a bit of wrangling, Moses did it anyway! And Jonah saying: “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”  Jonah 4:2. Jonah knew that God is good, and it annoyed him because people he didn’t like were saved. Human beings are weird!

Who said witnessing is an optional extra? I think a life laid down is a beautiful thing. Bye. 👋. “But we are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life!” Hebrews 10:39 TPT.

P3446 Let’s talk about Psalm 23.

/ DVH

“Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need! He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honours Him the most. Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as Your guest; blessings overflow! Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with You forever in Your home.”

This Psalm was written by David, who was a shepherd – so he knew what he was talking about! I sometimes wonder how a plumber or a taxi driver would write it? Moo-ving on … I enjoy watching a Scottish shepherd and his dogs at work on Youtube. The thing that hits me every single time I watch it, is that those dogs never take their eyes off their Master, and he never takes his eyes off the sheep, or the dogs.

David knew all about sheep, that was his job. His part in his large family was pretty minor compared to his big deal brothers who were allowed to join the army and help their Dad run the family property. The blessing of doing unnoticed things well, is a huge asset. It helps form character in us, when we are prepared to leave acknowledgement from others, behind us. It teaches me regularly how needy I am regarding praise!

David did what he did well. He knew how to care for his sheep, protecting them from harm, and when they needed a rest, he took them to a green, well-watered safe place. Jesus makes sure we are rested and ready for hard parts of our journey. Some tasks may look very small and insignificant but they teach us to rest. The Lord knows what comes next, and He will provide us with a safe place, right near Him. Jesus Himself taught us about faithfulness – it matters! “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much.” Luke 16:10.

Psalm 23 tells us we can learn about fear, whether real or imagined, WHILE we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death! Our Heavenly Father often ‘trains our hands for war and our fingers to fight,’ in difficult, dark places, where we want to curl up into a ball and hope we die. Why would He do that? Theory in the Body of Christ doesn’t benefit anyone … but using our faith changes our view of things. The bigger the resistance, the stronger the muscles. Faith is a spiritual muscle – it needs to be resilient, because bad things happen unexpectedly.

We can theorise all we want, but the truth is – when the stuff is going down, and all hell breaks loose, that is THE very best time to practice what we believe. When we feel paralysed by our circumstances, then we can choose to lean on Him. HE becomes our  hope – not our changed circumstances. Our God is training warriors, not Tinkerbell! Later on, David himself became a mighty warrior, but when he was a youth caring for sheep, he had already learnt to fight with God on his side. That’s why he ran at Goliath.

The Holy Spirit, daily walks with us, guiding us, teaching us … He does not leave us. Instead He says: ‘put your foot here, put your hand there … stand on this scripture … do that other thing now.’ Our Shepherd doesn’t only lead us, the goodness of God in Jesus and His Word, glows right in front of us, lighting up the way ahead of us. Today’s Word, from the bible is our light for this day. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105.

The Lord releases His word to show us HIS pathway through our trials. When this happens, He is not punishing us, nor has He forgotten us. He took our punishment, once and for all. We can’t ever be forgotten because He carved us on the palms of His hands! This Psalm also tells us that the Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.

So let’s look at 1 Corinthians 11:24,25 it says: “… and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”” This is the Lord’s table! His broken body and His blood willingly poured out for our sake, made a way for us to survive everything that comes at us. In Jesus’ mind what we need is already done, and we have been given His mind. 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf made a way for us to be certain that no matter how things look – God will not fail us. And then the Holy Spirit assures us that God’s goodness and mercy runs after us. He follows up our times of difficulties, to the point where we are so blessed we run out of words to thank Him! We won’t always feel it, instead we choose to believe what Jesus said, and live our lives depending on it. We are His people, and He knows when we need to lie down. Plus He knows the way through anything that comes against us to make us afraid and He will lead us through it.

Psalm 23 is an example of the Lord’s purposes in our lives, it is not just for funerals. It teaches us that He leads, guides, and travels with us every step of the way, every single day. He feeds us with Himself, and blesses us. His all-consuming desire is to walk with us, forever. Bye 👋.

P 3420 Let’s imitate Christ. 

/ DVH

We won’t all walk with God at the same pace, at the same time. But I believe we will one day, and I hope I’m still here to see it, because it will be a glorious sight! Spiritual harmony is a beautiful thing. The more life throws bitter lemons at us the more we chase after Jesus, we want to respond the way that He would. That’s what imitation looks like. Our primary goal is this: “Whatever it takes for that other person to see Our Heavenly Father loves them, I will give.” Very ordinary, normal, but truly extraordinary people have died for that cause.

It is extremely damaging to our faith to follow Jesus and avoid the saints, simply because we happen to think they are poor examples of Christ. We are all in differing stages of our spiritual development and we need to remember that our choices control our actions. However, there is a huge difference between gently pointing out someone’s error, OR, choosing to pontificate over their weakness.  Next time it could be our turn to fall over!

Learning to love those people who really really irritate us is a lifelong lesson. In the natural it is much easier to fight with them, and then keep our distance afterwards. Let’s make it our great quest to learn His Kingdom Ways of loving the unloveable – imitating the Way our Father loves us. He doesn’t love us because we are so special, or so appealing, He loves us because it is in His very nature to love. Therefore we need His nature to become our nature, and that’s often a process. It’s a process we are all IN!

“Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as His beloved sons and daughters. And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for He surrendered His life as a sacrifice for us. His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of adoration—a sweet healing fragrance.” Ephesians 5:1-2 TPT. Paul said that. Personally, I have learnt to see there is great value in paying attention to my choices, they can lead me away from following the Lord.

It seems to me that human beings can’t easily live this way, unless we choose the lowest road of surrender and devotion to the Lord Himself. Jesus has already done all the work necessary for each one of us to live a changed life. He looked through the cross and saw all of us dying in our sins, and had compassion on us. He did what He did on behalf of His Father’s great love, to glorify, honour, and fulfil His Father’s plans. It was for our good. Real love involves correction not simply harsh confrontation. And petting and patting down the things that will ever-so-slowly turn us away from Him – is fruitless.

Paul tells us this:“ …  just as I please everyone in all things [as much as possible adapting myself to the interests of others], not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, so that they [will be open to the message of salvation and] may be saved.” That’s 1 Corinthians 10:33. Immediately following on from that comes 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” Sometimes, those Chapter divisions can be more of an interruption to a whole thought, so it is good to keep reading a little further!

We are to be imitators of good…. “Imitation involves a careful observation, and a precise study of the act or action of the mentor…” (Wisdom Hunters). I translate that like this —   follow Jesus, and do what He did! The conformity to Christ’s Ways is what matters, not the methodology. I know some saints who have learnt from their own experiences, that whatever they do in their own strength, pales into insignificance to what God Himself can do through their willing surrender. So they seek His Ways above anything else. I call that wisdom!

Paul also says: “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” Philippians 3:17.“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you…” He writes that in Philippians 4:9. Paul believes in this kind of imitation – look, learn, and practice.

This kind of imitation is not like the knock-off handbags you find on a street stall – that’s called forgery! But if we were to take the right kind of the best leather, and treat it the same way that famous manufacturer does, then that becomes an imitation. An imitation becomes a fake when it deliberately misleads and lies to you, and tries to trick you into believing it is something it is not. Our imitation of Jesus must not be fake. It needs to come from our hearts, containing a sincere desire to please HIM.

Jesus gave us some examples in the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:40,41: “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.  If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” So we are to be overgenerous when people get narky at us. Otherwise we can be dragged into some sort of court, not only letting the bad guy win — we will also end up really really cold, with sore feet!

It is costly to follow Jesus and it is about time we stopped pretending it isn’t. But the benefits far outweigh the cost. Following Him means we are daily choosing to walk with Him, His Way.  To imitate that Way of living, we choose to live this life not holding onto things. Let’s purpose in our hearts to care more about other people, than stuff. Bye. 👋

P 3361 Stay connected.

/ DVH

Our connection with Jesus is not about some sort of posture or even a pre-set programme. It is not a performance, or merely a very nice idea. It is our daily quest, our bread to eat, our light for the coming day, our very personal breath of God from heaven.  We are aiming to do everything we do, with Him, and that requires connection. That’s what the disciples did! They lived with Jesus. They asked questions when things  came up, but there was nothing formal about it. They simply  lived their lives with Him. They didn’t need a special interview with the Lord — He was right there! Let’s aim at that!

Jesus went back to heaven, but we know that He did not leave us alone. He sent back the Holy Spirit Who is as close as our breath. Our aim now is to stay connected to Him, even if we feel like a mess. Hmmm…change that to especially when we feel like a mess! However, coming to the Lord without any pretence is never an invitation to stay the same — it is always an invitation for growth. As human beings, we can sometimes suffer from what I call, the Adam and Eve tendency … we like to hide! 

So, I urge all of us to talk to the Lord as if He were present in the flesh with us. PS He is! Jesus will not push His way into our lives, but He loves to be included. We can’t even overcome sin on our own, but He has promised to give us His strength, right in the middle of our weaknesses; His directions when we get lost; and an exit when we feel trapped.

Hearing Jesus, first and foremost, consists of knowing what He sounds like — and the very best way to know what He sounds like is to listen to His Words in the bible. Then we put what you read into practice. Take what you read as Him speaking today to you. We need to note the way He talks to other people – His disciples, the people He prayed for, and the people who were in charge. Plus the people their society rejected!

I recommend that people who want to learn how to hear the Lord should read a version of the bible that is easier to comprehend. The Message bible, The Good News, The Living bible, any translation that is in ordinary everyday language. Otherwise we can get hung up on the sometimes inexplicable, very old fashioned style of biblical writing. We need familiarity, so we don’t stumble over the words. By all means still read your favourite older or more complicated versions as you learn His Ways, but learning to hear His voice can be greatly improved by using the simplicity of a modern version of the bible.

When we study His word, let’s remember that Jesus doesn’t ‘do’ ambiguity – although He really does love to tell one parable after another to make a point! Yet everything He says is full of pertinent meaning for each one of us. He wants us to engage with what He is saying, not to passively listen, but to actively ask Him where our reading applies to US. Whether it is about repentance, which involves more than “I’m sorry”- repentance has fruit!  Or He showers us with praise which warms our hearts and lifts our spirits.

When we read to get to know Him, we are not looking to prove a point, we are looking to become familiar with the Way He thinks and acts — His Ways aren’t our Ways so we need to learn His Ways. So we know His attitudes toward normal things, and that invades our own daily way of life. Next, if you are reading to hear His voice and what He wants to say to you – it’s good to take note of what He has said to you. How would you apply what you have just read into your own life?

The more we know Him and the way He thinks, the easier it is to talk about Jesus to others. There is no need to ‘set out’ or ‘try’ to talk about Him with others. When Jesus has first place in our lives, it becomes natural. So we will speak easily and naturally about Jesus our Best Friend, like we would tell a happy story about our earthly family and friends, simply because we are as familiar with His thinking as we are with our own.

The next step is to rely upon the Holy Spirit to help us. We don’t have to find our own way, we have a Helper, Who counselled Christ in His earthly walk. He knows Jesus, and He knows us! This is the beauty of walking with the Lord. We have our own Personal Advisor Who can guide us through what we are reading, to the Lord Himself, and His truth. The Holy Spirit is utterly reliable. Our own ideas pale into insignificance beside the treasures the Holy Spirit shares with those who take the time to listen, obey and cherish what He says.

My rule of thumb is this: ‘If it glorifies me, or anybody else other than Jesus, then what I am hearing, is not from Him.’  “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” John 16:13,14. 

We can trust the Holy Spirit because He does not have any agendas. He simply lives, and loves, to glorify the Father and the Son. I would advise anyone who wants to hear His Words to them, to do whatever it takes to get connected, and stay connected. Bye. 👋

P 3358 More of Jesus.    

/ DVH

Colossians 1:3-8.“Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more.”

Have you eaten too much of something you like, but you kind of still kept on going? Yeah me too. Maybe you’ve binge-watched something on Streaming? Yeah me too. Well today have I got news for you! I found something you can indulge yourself in that isn’t fattening or mind numbing – the quest for more of Jesus! 

People say this all the time, and we might easily feel like an inferior Christian, because that thought never even crossed our minds. My question today is: what does it actually mean?  We can say a whole lot of Christian-ese words sometimes, without any bible verses or experiences to back them up. So what does wanting more of Him look like? 

I can remember being so in love with my hubby that I would go long distances to spend five minutes in his company. Hmm. I would still do that, but I might need some personal assistance nowadays! He’s still the nicest person I know …  well, most of the time. I think more of Jesus means, at the very least, that I will want to spend more time with Him getting to know Him. I actively ask and look for the Lord in my day. When I see Him, I thank Him!

I’m just going to let that sit there while we both think about it. That’s because spending more time with Him means we need less time for us to do the things we have cultivated in our lives to relieve stress, and fear, and help us to cope. Yeah. I’m just going to leave that one there too …

I think more of Jesus is like falling in love. Ad when life gets difficult, we approach those things with Him as our Saviour, Lord and Friend. Then we choose to appropriate what He said He has given us, using our faith. That means WE DO SOMETHING. It’s an exercise of our will, and we accept whatever comes at us, because the bible tells us He filters that stuff.  If I need something, He will provide it – if we don’t, then He won’t. We live to make love our aim, because Love is His language, and that means we are looking at life through His eyes.

More of Jesus also means our value systems will become  like His, and our hearts will break for the things that break His heart. Because Jesus lived to please His Father, and we like being around Him, so we will choose to live that way too. Our needs and wants become secondary; we pray, ask, then we leave it with Him. He’s God He can do anything. If someone provokes us or pokes us in the ego – what will come out of us automatically is a help prayer.

All of those things are great aims!! But like the Psalmist says: “Such knowledge is too lofty for me to attain…” Psalm139:6. My translation to that bit of this Psalm is — we can’t possibly do this stuff and not exercise our faith. We need His help, because change happens one step at a time, but we begin with the firm knowledge that what Jesus did is already complete.

We no longer have to live like other people, the Lord has given us His word that He won’t leave us. He will also provide us with a way to get out of whatever dumb thing we’ve gotten into. Our minds and emotions, become secondary to His Word, because they can fool us into thinking that reacting the same way we always did, means we have not been changed. It’s a lie. Jesus did everything that ever needed doing on the cross. So we choose to use our faith to apply what He did, once and for all, into our own lives, now. 

There are times we can get stuck because our convenience wins over what Jesus said, but we know that repentance restores our relationship with Him. There can also be times we haven’t done the things we know He asked us to do. How can we learn to trust in Jesus, and want Him and His ways more, when we choose to be a slave to convenience and time?

This is the real point of today’s blog. I think we fail because we live in a fast-paced society where time is a thing to be used … … not savoured. So let’s look briefly at the consequences of not using our time well. We will probably stay in the same place spiritually, going up and down, always waiting for God to make the difference, when He already did! We allow His truth to be merely a reminder, instead of a prompt for change.

According to Colossians Chapter one, more of Him also contains a whole lot of thanksgiving! Actually, the bible says we shouldn’t stop giving thanks, no matter how we feel. So we need to practice thanking Him that He is in charge, even when it looks like He’s not! Now there’s something to go on with. Remember that’s not lying, it is lining ourselves up with His Word, instead of being led around by circumstances.

Paul thanks God for the growth of the faith of the Church in Colossae. He can see it because it is seeable. We go on and on about answered prayer, but what about Jesus’ prayers?? Paul himself has heard about the things that are happening in that church. God’s Word grows spiritual fruits, and that fruit is visible, not a euphemism. Wanting more of Jesus means we recognise the difference between what God says, and what is seeable and actually true in our lives. Visible fruit is proof of more of Jesus in our lives.

The believers in Colossae used their faith that what Jesus said He did, He did. They staked their lives on it. We need a whole lot less of ‘spooky filter’ Christianity and more fruit! More of Jesus signifies that we choose to obey what He asked us to do, and we get to see the results and so do other people. Bye.  👋

P 3285 Practical stuff.

/ DVH

I want to be practical today because I have spent a number of days talking about living in the new life that Christ died to give us. So today I want to talk about how I am learning to live that way. First of all, I refuse to allow things I’ve done, or things other people have done, to remain hidden and unacknowledged. I treasure my relationship with the precious Holy Spirit above everything, so whatever He wants, I do. Pretence shoots honesty in the foot.

Theories cannot change our lives unless we actively decide to participate in them. Most people want to practice the things we are taught, so they nod and smile and go home … and try harder to meet the impossible standard Jesus set for all of us. Over the years I’ve learnt I am not capable of anything but the appearance of good. However, Christianity is not just practical, it is possible. Here’s the good news. Jesus died to give us His power to overcome our enemy, our own faults, as well as this world! And here is the bad …truth, humility and honesty are the highways we need to travel on.

We cannot expect to serve Jesus and maintain the life we already have. The whole point is for US to be changed. This point is the place where so many Christians part company with the Holy Spirit’s Ways. However, we simply cannot live with a foot in each camp, eventually we will slide back into the camp that looks after “me, mine, myself and I!’ “Mankind heads for sin and misery as predictably as flames shoot upwards from a fire.” Job 5:7.

Over to an illustration … I have been at odds with someone in my immediate family, all of my life. We both just saw things differently – we simply didn’t get each other. I tried to avoid dealing with this person by staying in their presence for the shortest time possible. Then the Lord began to challenge me about how I was treating them. The truth was, I treated them like a bad smell! I was polite … and distant. The Holy Spirit can lead us into distancing ourselves from someone for a purpose and a time, but in this case, I just plain disliked everything that person said and did, so I stayed away. I didn’t like being around them – they uncovered who I really was! 

Then He began to challenge me and I saw that underneath my hurt and pain, was resentment, hatred and bitterness. I wanted THEM to change who they were to make ME more comfortable! Anyhoo, they weren’t changing, and as time went on, things got worse. OH, how I hate the land of worse!! So I gathered up my courage and asked Him how HE wanted me to treat them, and His perfect answer sent me into self-pity, tears, and petulance. After all, everybody I knew agreed that I was much safer far away from this person. But HE didn’t. I just need to say, that if you have a problem like this one, then you need to ask the Holy Spirit what He wants YOU to do, and do it – but be guided by what the Bible says!

At that time, Jesus told me to treat that person like I would treat HIM. Sigh. I would have rather swum through shark-infested giant seas to South America, than do that. It seemed to me like I was giving them permission to continue to treat me badly. Then the Lord said this from Psalm 91:15&16 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. …I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress…” So I crawled up into that Psalm, and clung on to it like a Rhesus monkey and prayed ‘help help!’ At the same time, I banged on my hat of salvation, picked up my breast-plate of righteousness and the sword of truth, and off I went. FYI the sword of the Spirit is not for slicing and dicing the other person – the Holy Spirit guides and teaches us how to use this sword His way.

I recommend tackling this kind of relationship difficulty, with at least 3 Holy Spirit inspired scriptures, that you’ve prayed over – as well as asking Him for His wisdom. After a while of loving on this person the way I love Him, I noticed that they hadn’t changed at all … … but I had! That sore place inside me had become inaccessible because I had stepped into FAITH. Then I realised that so much of what happened when I was with them, I had taken personally – but those things were the result of this person’s mal-formed personality. What I thought was personal viciousness, was their way of getting what they thought they needed. Their humanity was on display, and they didn’t know Jesus so it was the only course of action they had.

As I stuck with the Holy Spirit’s plan, I gradually saw a brand new person I had never met before. I still didn’t much like the way that they did things, but that stuff is not actually my business. I found we could laugh together, and genuinely express love for each other. At this point I want to stress that only someone very close to you can hurt you so badly.  Other people can come along and poke you in the scars you bear from your previous injuries. Don’t maltreat them for jumping on your hurt places.

We call it protecting ourselves, and God says “He is our protection and with Him we will be safe!” I found practicing loving my enemy – in this case a family member – worked best, when I started with the person who hurt me the most! That person could be a spouse, or a parent or a sibling, but the transformation that we personally experience, gives us the impetus to continue living this way. We get to see His power at work in our lives.

Here is a final question: “Have you ever noticed when you are with someone who hurts you, it never occurs to you that you might be hurting them at the same time, because you are way too busy firing arrows at them?” Yeah, I know… bring that up! We can become so entrenched in our own attitudes we can’t see anything, or anyone else. Let’s remember that God’s word is practical, you can stand on it.  Fixing relationships is essential! Bye. 👋

P 3227 Choosing to live in the good.

/ DVH

“For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love motivates you to serve others, and how unrelenting is your hope-filled patience in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1:3 TPT.

Deliberately taking the time to remind ourselves to take to heart the good things, can help us to walk through  difficulties. Especially when the bad stuff just keeps on coming! Even if the bad seems to outweigh the good, when we turn our heads to see the blessings of God, our vision of His life in us expands. We start to see that what seems bad, can actually ‘work together for our good.’ That verse stops being theory and becomes real.

It is also useful to give the Lord permission to poke us in the heart when we are cranky with someone, and ask Him to remind us of the lovely things this person may have done for us. We also need to ask Him to show us what He sees as good. If He calls it good, it’s good, remember?? There are times when I get angry at someone and I can’t remember a good thing they ever did. But that’s because I’m angry with them! It’s about me not them! 

On the other hand, if we do love someone just because we are commanded to – sheer obedience – then we may miss out on the greater good. The greater good comes from loving others because we can see God’s goodness in them. That’s called spiritual sight! With people we don’t particularly like, that can take practice and spiritual eyes! Remember, we want to speak God’s language – He came here to learn ours. Even though in some people, this kind of goodness may be like the stuff that gets hidden way, wa-a-y back … at the back of the fridge, where it’s easily forgotten. My advice is to clean out the fridge regularly, you never know what you might find back there that’s good.

Let’s begin to see the Lord at work, for our own spiritual well-being. Pressing in helps! Critical, unhappy hearts misinterpret what they see. I’m talking about taking the time to notice, even if that good is infinitesimal in our eyes. It can still transform the way we look at the things that happen around us. It is easy to move on too quickly from appreciating someone’s else’s effort when they make it. It is a mistake to see kindness as something we deserve. We will always get kindness from the Lord, but other people don’t have to give it to us, no matter who the heck they are, or who WE are. Allowing cynicism to guide us is deadly. 

Christians expect so much from our leaders, without understanding that they are just human beings like us and they can make mistakes. The way we treat our companions when they have made a mistake or sinned, is an indication of our attitude toward redemption. It also shows us our level of kindness. Our job is to help people get rid of their earthly burdens, not find extra ones to tie on their backs just because they did something we don’t like! Here’s an interesting ‘heads up’ – the things we excuse in our own lives can really annoy us when someone else does it. Hmm, I think I’ve heard that before: “logs and specks’ wasn’t it??”

The subtext to this particular subject, kind of goes like this: “If I can make all this effort then why can’t you do it?”This kind of thinking is one of the best diagnosis of “running on works” I’ve seen. The next step from there is to make what you think a law in your own mind and then, bingo bongo, you suddenly have religion. That stuff is particularly poisonous to the things of the Spirit. One of the most useful things I have learnt, is that everyone else is not on the same learning curve I’m on. They serve God first, not me. Thank the Lord I am not in charge … imagine the mess!! 

Here’s a pretty obvious fact – we actually need to see and acknowledge the good, in order to remember it. There’s those spiritual eyes again. In my opinion we cannot afford to live this new life in Christ without them. Ask Him! But be prepared for your new eyes to work on you first when you look into the mirror of His Word! Meanwhile, let’s give the Lord permission to reveal ourselves to ourselves, otherwise we will just keep running around and around, with lots of hot angry air, but accomplishing nothing and going nowhere. 

The Lord has something that you can be, or do, that I can’t, and it will be memorable. You may have noticed when Jesus speaks to some people, He sees them through spiritual eyes, right into their character, even though He has never met them before. “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit…” John 1:47. We all need this kind of sight! In this modern age, we have worked much too hard on reading the bad in people – it’s a form of self-protection. It almost goes without saying that ‘our God is our protection and with HIM we are safe.’

Remembering, and noticing the good in others becomes a skill. We all need it. Have you ever heard someone prophesy over someone else and say things like: ‘You are a mighty man/woman of God.’ Really?? I wonder what their family thinks? At that moment God is speaking to what’s good right and profitable, and our minds need to dwell on those things too for our own spiritual health! Bye.👋

P 3222 Consider …

/ DVH

Over the years God has taught me that focussing on what I don’t have —or what I can’t do, or even who I am not— isn’t helpful. We can be tricked into thinking that we have good reasons for believing bad things, including the times when life came and sat on us and we were too tired to get up. In those moments it is imperative that we keep our eyes fixed on Him. Not just because He can change our situations, but because as we choose to focus on Him, we are lifting our eyes out of the immediate, into the eternal. 

Maybe one of your kids seems to have gone off the rails;  or your marriage isn’t all you would like it to be;  or you live your life alone. Or perhaps your job makes you dread getting out of bed every single morning. If we concentrate on our problems, that can make them seem bigger than everything else, and the difficulties can quickly become the centre of our focus. Particularly if whatever it is, is not resolved right away. The Lord told us to ‘Come to Him’ …because He wants us to live in His rest, and peace is part of our birthright.

When life turns into a dystopian fair ground ride, and it whirls and lurches from one bad thing to another – my personal answer goes like this. Go outside and look around you, or go and watch the ocean. Just SIT. Leave your worry beads behind, and let this world and its beauty minister to your heart. All that other junk will probably still be there, after you give yourself a time out, but doing that will help you see things differently. After a while I begin to notice everything else is still going on. The world is still turning, the bees are doing their thing, the ants theirs. This world hasn’t stopped just because something has stopped me in my tracks. Acceptance is a gift available to anyone – it just takes practice.

Father God and the Lord Jesus Himself said this many times in different ways: ‘consider the lilies…consider the great things the Lord has done for you … consider what He says … consider how short this life is … consider the generations that have gone before you.’ Father God spoke to Abraham and asked this man to consider the stars, because Abraham’s view was too small. Almighty God needed a man who would look beyond his own lifetime and believe in His goodness even in the future. Abraham became that man … God taught him, experientially, that His plans are perfect.

This kind of expanded viewpoint is our birthright. At Pentecost this kind of vision was planted in the heart of the disciples by the Holy Spirit Himself. Their expanded view of God’s plans drove those men out into the streets … and beyond. Yet, here and now, we seem to be living our lives looking down all the time, concentrating on our own little patch of this life. We must stop, and consider the world around us. Particularly in times of trouble. And then we need to look up. You and I are part of a greater thing than any religion – we are part of His heart and He is ALL of ours. 

The kingdom of God is the main thing. And if we allow ourselves to be distracted and dejected by the stuff that comes at us daily, we will lose our vision. We are not here to build our own little kingdoms, complete with house, car, happy kids and extended families. That’s called advertising. It’s a dream manufacturers sell us so we will spend our money… so they can have even bigger houses, fabulous holidays, cars and boats and fulfil their own dreams! They are selling us empty, useless dreams prompted by greed. I urge everyone reading this to step out of that filthy hedonistic self-absorbed stream, and head straight for the river of God and jump in.

There is peace, joy, love, and … yes …answers, solutions, resolution in His purposes. Consider what Jesus said in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Our God loves us, He does not want us to live unhappy lives, or miserable existences, He knows that true joy in this life is IN JESUS … not people, situations or things. Somewhere, somehow, somebody(!?) looked at verses like this one and saw what the Lord said as gaining “ things“. It is not about things, it is about a new way to live. There is a different kind of life to be lived where Jesus is everything and this world is just the scenery.

Our abundant life begins when we stop considering this world from our POV, and start looking at it from HIS. Jesus had no material possessions, they divided up the few clothes He had at the foot of the cross. But Paul said this about our faith, and how it is designed to function: “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2. 

Jesus looked through His cross and saw you and I, and billions like us, perishing in our sin. We were all going to hell because of the way we were living. But He said: ‘Not on My watch you aren’t,’ and headed straight for the cross. Stop. Think about it. You and I are that JOY that was before Him. Imagine that! The Co-Creator of this world has that much love for us. This life is a blink, it’s nothing. It comes and goes in the daily drudgery of making it work. But we can live in His Kingdom, right here, right now. Consider that. Bye. 👋

P 3195 Respond.

/ DVH

“Faith, then, is birthed in a heart that responds to God’s anointed utterance of the Anointed One.” Romans 10:17 TPT. 

The important word in the above scripture is respond. This is how we grow our faith, by actively responding to what Jesus says. The meaning of respond is — “do something as a reaction to someone or something.” Hebrews 11:1 says:“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  The thing is we want evidence to help us believe, but the lack of evidence is the very thing that stimulates and grows faith. So if our faith lacks substance it means we are not doing anything about what we believe!

Our response is always optional because Jesus won’t make us do anything! However, it is imperative and essential that our faith produces something more substantial than words. Let’s look at this a bit more deeply. In Isaiah 29:13 the Lord has been angry with Israel and He talks about His anger, because His people say one thing, but do another. He calls that lip service, and that is not a good look for His people. “And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honour Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men,…”  

In the New Testament in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” These  scriptures are not just for our information. They are written to teach us how to live. Training in righteousness is about acceptance, repetition and practice, it is not just about learning the language so we can fit in or have an opinion. Training implies effort, and that effort is to help us take what we hear, and act on it. We are to do more than just agree with the sentiment or the language. Our task is to make the faith He has given us real in our everyday lives. 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and do many mighty works in Your Name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23. 

Chunky stuff eh? Not to be trifled with, and yet it seems so harsh. It is amazing that Jesus would say something so direct and severe. It seems to me that there are two kinds of Lordship, the one that it is in name only, and someone who chooses to live like Jesus would – if He were here with us today, in Person. Whether we are at home, alone, at school, or in the middle of our work environment. Lordship is not something to be trifled with. It is clear Jesus takes it extremely seriously! So we need to take it seriously too. 

The next issue is how? How do we live in His Lordship, day after day and night after night? The only way I know  is to choose to make quality decisions, minute by minute, and stick by them. Well meaning, sincere declarations at an altar made in a moment of time, don’t always work! They must be followed up by training.  Eventually we will begin to exchange the habits of a lifetime through prayer and practice. I’ve found some habits, some ways of thinking, are harder to shift than others. I think the secret is in what David did. He took his reference point for using his faith, from his experiences of God’s Grace in the past. 

Living in and giving away Grace is essential to the Lord’s kind of inward transformation. We cannot maintain grudges etc. and keep moving. Think of your internal heartache as mountains that will not stand a chance, because Jesus is on the scene. Remind yourself and the enemy, that the Lord Jesus once cursed a tree and it was dead as a dodo the next day! Everything in the bible has a practical application. We will just have to look for, and seek those applications out for ourselves and then live them out.

Second-hand information can seem to profit our emotions temporarily, and even stir us – but it is our commitment to find out for ourselves that causes transformation. Daily the Lord says: ‘Will you walk with Me today?’ That’s when we will have to file all our past failures and disappointments away into His hands — under: “things I will understand one day in the future.’ Or …’maybe I won’t understand but I won’t give a darn by then.’

Job’s response to all kinds of pressure was this: “Even though He kills me, I’ll continue to hope in Him. At least I’ll be able to argue my case to His face!” Job 13:15. Letting go is the only way forward that will lead us into living in His peace. Remember, it’s His peace, so we must do it His way! The bible is crystal clear that our God’s ways are not our ways, so our lack of mental or emotional understanding is irrelevant. Unfortunately, the person who needs to make this kind of decision is always ME – you can’t do it for me, I can’t do it for you. 

Our responses matter. We have entered into a time where our training often happens under duress. That stretching and buffeting could cause us to doubt He will help us, but the way to learn that the Lord is utterly good and reliable, is to live like He is utterly reliable! Talking about it doesn’t make it real – acting on what He has said makes it real and gives it substance.. Our responses count. Bye 👋