Pressing in

P 3308 Living for Jesus, daily.

/ DVH

Colossians 3:12-17: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

These few verses give a comprehensive overview of what our new life in Christ looks like, every single day. To be honest, we can’t say Almighty God hasn’t told us what He expects – He has told us right here! If you like memorising verses, I’d like to suggest that these five verses are worthy of any effort you might make. This new life must be embraced personally —using our individual faith. By engaging with the Holy Spirit. 

He will help us to follow the Lord’s instructions, and at the same time He will expose all the damaging, misleading, useless things we have embraced. None of us in the Body of Christ can do these things alone! Let’s thank the good Lord He has given us SomeOne Who is so personal – He lives inside us. Learning to listen and obey Him is essential. We need to learn how to host Him, in our lives. That means somebody will have to change. He’s holy, and we aren’t — so you do the math! I know I can easily be polluted and distracted by the things of this world and arrogantly dismiss the Holy Spirit’s promptings as “something I made up.” 

So my responsibility is to check the thing I think I have heard from Him, as I am reading the bible. I read carefully, and then I jump in and obey. Some things are obvious. We know what God thinks about generosity, or forgiveness, or helping others. We ask for Him for a scripture and then go and do those things. I have many times when I need to pray and ask Him to redeem any mess I made. Then I choose to embrace the bible’s idea of what faith is, and how it works. I’m personally grateful that Jonah ended up in the bible. He shows me my ideas and thoughts are much too small. He ended up whale mail. In the end he still did what the Lord told him to do – grumbling all the way. Haven’t we all been there?

In the course of writing this blog I have written many pages that I have subsequently deleted because the Holy Spirit didn’t like them. I wrote them in faith and He told me to throw it out. Plus I cannot remember how much re-writing I have had to do along the way! I’ve given groceries to ungrateful people who didn’t need them, spoken to people about Jesus who promptly showed me the door — but the amount of individuals impacted by God Himself far outweighed the risk of me looking like an idiot! I will be a fool for Christ, even though I probably won’t much like it! But I will do it, because for me, taking risks is part of the cost. If I already know that something will turn out alright at the beginning, then I am not exercising my faith.

The bible clearly tells us that we need to change. (Malachi 3:6) Almighty God won’t ever change because He is already perfectly holy and wise. Jesus said this to help us:“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in Me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in Me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”” John 16:33 TPT. 

God’s peace inside us, is our pathway into confidence in Him and His Ways. If the Holy Spirit says ‘repent’ and we don’t – then our peace will slowly disappear. We will get caught up in the very thing we can’t seem to let go of.  The Holy Spirit Himself IS our peace, and because He is perfect love, He and fear can’t occupy the same space.  So fear has to go, as we make room for more of His perfect love to be shed abroad into our hearts. It isn’t about getting this stuff right, it is about being willing to enter His processes, and co-operating with Him. To do that we   believe what He has already said, in the book. We show Him we are willing to change by operating in things like repentance— not by what we say … but by what we do! “You must prove your repentance by a changed life.” Matthew 3:8.

All this teaching and preaching we have today, isn’t about gaining more knowledge —it is about the speaker prayerfully allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to the listeners. Boredom is irrelevant. Just because a speaker may be boring, that does not mean we cannot be changed. We need to listen to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to ME. Pressing in despite how we feel about things, shows God we are serious about change, we are willing to pay the cost. Not everything that is said from a book, pulpit, podcast etc. is a pearl from God for you. But we can enter God’s processes by voluntarily co-operating with what we hear and read, and then applying it into our lives, daily. If something seems hard to do, then it is probably right! 

BTW, I am as prone to panic as anybody else is, and if the ceiling falls in I can easily fall apart without His Grace helping me. The great part about that, is that over time, I have learnt to recognise His Grace in action. Walking with Jesus daily, is allowing Him to lead and guide me. This means I am prepared to step into the unknown when it is convenient, and when it is not. We can’t fail, He’s holding us tightly. Bye. 👋

P 2883 Don’t stop pressing in.

/ DVH

This scripture appears right after the Lord’s prayer. It is so important to read things in context – it really does matter. These verses aren’t taken from the next day, it is the same day and the Lord is continuing to expound His thoughts about prayer to the disciples. He goes straight from the Lord’s prayer into this little story. 

Luke 11:5-13 “Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.“

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

The Lord is teaching us that perseverance in prayer matters. It would be a mistake to think what we have heard is all there is! I’ve heard a lot of sermons about this passage, so, today I got down to business and started asking the Holy Spirit questions about it. I can see, on the surface of what is said, that Jesus is telling us our Heavenly Father is not against audacity – He actually commends it. Lemme put that another way – we can be pushy and we won’t send Him away. We won’t offend Him, He might even surprise us. 

Fortunately, with His help, I began to see something about this passage I hadn’t seen before. This is not about me, or you, or even the guy who needs bread! It is an example Jesus gave us to illustrate God’s goodness, His loving kindness, His provision… and an acceptable response is unashamed perseverance. The Lord is explaining to us that His Father’s Ways are impartial. He will help anyone. Including annoying people … now there’s a BIG thought.

In the previous verses, Jesus has been talking about Father God giving us our daily bread … and these verses continue the theme of bread. Whether it’s spiritual bread or not, it doesn’t seem to matter.  He is saying we need to be like this man, and keep on banging on God’s door insisting that we want to know what He has to say to us. We must not take NO! for an answer because a bigger prize awaits us.

We would all agree that we desperately want and need the Holy Spirit, more than we need anything or anyone else. Walking with Him means we must be motivated by this kind of FAITH and perseverance. We are to go after Him – and not give up! I wonder how many people have prayed to receive His precious Presence and they thought they did not get an answer because they didn’t end up speaking in tongues!  

Jesus is telling us His Father is a good God Who wants to answer this kind of prayer. We have simply made speaking in tongues our point of faith instead of His reliability. Every single day, I urge us all to ask and keep on asking to be filled. Ask for that every single day. Then we need to go on to walk with the Holy Spirit, obediently.  God will give Him to us simply because He is a good, good Father, who doesn’t want to frustrate anybody. .

Jesus is teaching us that His Father will definitely answer this kind of prayer. Tongues are purely a sign, not the answer. His Presence is the Answer. Pressing into God will always leave US with a benefit. I pray you will take the time to press in for yourself. Bye for now. 👋

P 2875 Take the time to clarify things.

/ DVH

Asking for clarification is one of the best ways I know to give us greater understanding of His ways. It helps us thwart satan’s campaign of mis-information against us. The bible itself builds clarification, layer upon layer. It peels back the half-truths we tell ourselves, as well as the ones we have heard all our lives, and it changes our minds and our expectations of what God will do. When we absorb His word, by doing what the bible says, then we can see through those lies when they occur. 

Reading the bible and acting on it, means we will need to clarify what’s there. We take what it says and walk on it, living it out. That transformation can come through any verse between Genesis and Revelation, because one portion of this book explains another. Yet because God is WISE … and we are … like … NOT!! … … Christians rarely see or completely comprehend what He is saying to US. We end up relying upon other people. Leaders, prophetic people or famous people who tell us what it is ‘safe’ to think. Big mistake, huge. Leaders lead. But as followers it is our birthright and responsibility to understand our own spiritual life and fight for it. We need to chase down every thought, everything that stands out to us while we are reading — never be too busy to learn.

There are times when I am praying over what I should say in the blog and the Holy Spirit interrupts my thinking and He says – “Didn’t I say it like this in Genesis?” Suddenly, I am plunged into a whole new way of thinking. In my mind I would never have put that one scripture with another. But relying upon Him is like a giant jigsaw – the pieces suddenly drop into the right place and I can see a tiny portion of His overall picture that I never saw before. Without His revelation it would just be another verse – but when HE kisses it, well, I gotta say, I’m a bit addicted to those moments! If you want to clarify something, you need to press in and go after it. 

I cannot stress how important it is to ask the Holy Spirit questions. HE DOESN’T MIND. He’s not thrilled if we just make assumptions or blaze away without Him – but He never minds helping us to understand Kingdom Ways. Remember, Jonah? He was petulant, disobedient and very grumpy – God Himself came and sat down with him, in his carefully cultivated grumpiness – and then the Lord explained His purposes and His sovereignty to this man. He even gave him a visual aid! Read the book. God loves to explain His ways.The book of Jonah is a terrific example of God and His purposes – it is not just a story about a man being swallowed by a whale! When Jesus Himself said:”Consider the lilies…” He wasn’t talking about gardening you know!

The very best thing about the Holy Spirit’s guidance is that He is always ON, and He is always UP and awake, no matter what time it is. Our own biggest danger, at the same time, is to fall back on, or settle for answers that seem right to us. That road leads into a ditch. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”Proverbs 14:12. I’ve personally fallen into that aforementioned ditch many many times!! Praise God, Jesus is the good Shepherd that fishes His dumb sheep out of ditches! Amen.

At the same time, we need to be prayerfully aware and careful to avoid participating in works. It is called works when we feel we have to do it ourselves … it’s when we think we must push and shove and prod things to make them happen. Stepping out of Grace, even for a supposedly good reason, is a fatal flaw. Spiritually speaking that looks a bit like the old hokey pokey dance, one foot in God’s leading, the other in trying desperately to make it work. Living like that jerks and bumps us about all over the place. You cannot learn to stand like Ephesians says, if you are bumping about all over the place.

Our obedience to what He has said in the book, means we step into a continuous flow, because it is HIS GRACE holding us up. If we run out of Grace, and have to start pushing ourselves to do things – STOP!  Ask Him to help you get out of the hole you landed in, and claim His Grace over your life and thoughts …and, ps, don’t forget to repent. We can’t afford to run on what we think, the difference between what we think, and what He thinks – is the difference between looking at the stars — and knowing He has counted every single one and put them there in the first place!

Let’s look at this well-worn verse. We can, and we should …”ask and keep on asking” … we can … “seek and we will find’… we can “knock and keep on knocking” … be-ca-use …!!! Everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks will find, and if we knock that door will open. Unfortunately many Christians have relegated that whole precious scripture to asking for material things. Ask for spiritual graces instead. Meanwhile, you can also ask for a loaf of bread if you need one! We need to keep pressing in to get clarification, EG: “What does that verse mean to me, Lord, please?” What prayers do I need to keep persevering over, in my life?

We must remember that  Almighty God’s aim is to glorify Jesus, not give us a cushy care-free life. You know, if we ever even begin to personally comprehend and act on what Father God has said in the book, the Body of Christ will become unstoppable. So ask to the Holy Spirit to help you understand HOW what you are reading applies to you. Clarification from His heart to ours is essential, it builds our faith.  Bye 👋

“Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”Luke 8:18.