Priority

P 2892 God gives us opportunities.

/ DVH

Luke13:6-7. “Then He (Jesus) told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his Gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’“ The Gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilise, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

Obviously Jesus is the Gardener in our lives, and as you can see in this passage – He’s always looking for fruit. In the case of this particular apple tree there was none. So, in theory, this tree needs to be cut down. But because the Lord is motivated by forgiveness and generosity … and — He is also the Gardener Who intercedes for fruitless trees! “ The bible says: “He ever lives to make intercession for US… ”That thought translates to this — Jesus is always praying for US! Thank you Lord!!That ought to give hope to anyone who thinks they’ve used up all their chances with Him! In this story, the apple tree gets another chance, purely because the Gardener intercedes for it.

The Lord has a reason for what we might call ‘slowness to act.’ In 2 Peter 3:9 it says: “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” I can have a party over this verse …Boy am I incredibly grateful He is so generous! Meanwhile, if an answer to prayer is slow coming, my advice is to try asking Him if there is something you need to repent over! God’s book is not just an ordinary book, what is not said is often just as important as what is said.

Here’s another story, this one is quite startling! Matthew 8:21-23:“And another of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead…” Boy this one takes some praying over. In our natural minds, what Jesus says here is almost an unnatural act. How could He say that? Why wouldn’t we owe the dead the dignity of attending their burial, especially a human parent! Meanwhile, did you pick up on the fact that this guy was a disciple?

He was already following the Lord. That shows us the depth of commitment He requires from us. This follower asked to simply go and bury his dead father and Jesus said ‘no!’  Smarter people than me have great lengthy explanations about this one, but I noticed one thing – “suffer me FIRST.” Unless I am very much mistaken this disciple’s problem is the same as the guy I mentioned yesterday – his priority was not his commitment to Christ.The real question is this: what comes first? God’s will or our human obligations?

Meanwhile I don’t like the man’s chances of witnessing to his family etc … they’d all get the stitch with him if he missed his father’s funeral. That would be another no-no in our world – it would probably make it into the news!  Christians would condemn this guy for being a bad witness and deserting his family like that. Actually, Jesus often deals with individuals and targets whatever is holding them back. Following Him is a serious commitment. It is not the “sometimes when it suits me thing” that we seem to favour today. 

You know that makes sense to me? An apple tree does not ask for a time-out for further fruit production. It’s either producing fruit or it ain’t! In my mind this helps me make a bit more sense about that darn fig-tree Jesus cursed. We like to debate and postulate about why, but the simple answer is that we are either fruitfully obeying Him, and following Him or we are not. Christianity doesn’t actually come with an optional opt out, or extra clauses. The wonderful news is that He will not give up on us. We can end up being pruned and uprooted a bit because we are disobedient and unfruitful – but these verses clearly show us why.

The things that Jesus said are not suggestions – which we sort-of kind-of obey if we think we can! They are written in His blood, right there in His book, for our sanctification, and edification. Cherry picking the verses we like is not part of discipleship, it’s called evasion. Now here is the scary bit, He knows exactly when to stop striving with mankind because they’ve gone beyond the point of no return. I’ve seen people just turn around and walk off, without a thought of what they are leaving behind. None of us should treat Almighty God that way – not after all He has done for us. That is holding the Grace of God in contempt – we will quickly grieve the very gentle Holy Spirit, if we live that way.

Obviously none of us should let any kind of ‘fear’ be the motivating force in our decision making either! That’s also not Who He is. “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance…” At the same time we must also never forget that verse 9 is followed by verse 10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…”  2 Peter 3:9.

There is always tension in what we believe, simply because He is God and we are not! Almighty God gives us  opportunities to obey Him. His words are not just suggestions, they are in the book to guide us HOME. Bye. 👋

P 2868 One choice at a time.

/ DVH

You know, if we are not careful we can say yes at an altar, when our passion for Jesus is high, and choose no the very next week, because somebody else is driving us crazy. What do I mean by that? It is much easier to make the choice to serve Him when His peace, love, hope and joy are upon us, and much harder when we are out there in the ups and downs of every day life! The Lord is still there, but our awareness of Him can dim. The Israelites sinned in the absence of Moses’ presence, and Moses was the duly appointed “God” spokesperson!

Let’s remember that choices like these need to be made over and over again. It is a hard choice to say yes to His Ways and no to how I feel at that moment of impact … when someone else is driving me bananas! When we choose to die at that crucial moment, our journey toward transformation flourishes. Actually the meaner the other person is;  and the more wrong they are about your motivation and attitudes;  the bigger the opportunity to die to self!

Being misjudged is probably one of the hardest spiritual tests to face. When you live inside your own skin and you know that another person in that particular moment has no idea who you are and where you are coming from – that’s when the temptation to escalate the angst and confusion grows. Nobody likes to be misunderstood.

Let’s just think about that idea for a minute. Have we ever seen anyone more misunderstood than the Lord Himself? The contrast between what He actually came here to do, and what other people thought and said about Him, as well what they did to Him is utterly terrifying. Pilate said it best in Matthew 27:22,23 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!” “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” And Jesus said nothing.

Tunnel vision took over. Crowd think. They went so far down the wrong road, they had no thought about going back. Their bad decisions had blinded them to their own faults and prejudices. Anyone can see that in those moments a wicked spiritual force was put in charge. The Jews were so in the passion of judgment, that they ended up cursing themselves. But even though Pilate knew everything about this situation was wrong, he wriggled out of his responsibility to set an innocent man free … by handing Jesus back over to them. 

Choosing God’s way isn’t a once off. In Pilate’s case his wife had already warned him about Jesus, and told the man to leave Him alone – but fear of man, or uprising, or whatever – meant he abrogated his responsibility and snuck out the back way. And before we waggle our fingers in disdain at that man, do try to remember the time when you snuck out the back door and left the boss, or teacher with the blame, or your spouse, or your sibling … The bible tells us sin is mankind’s common defect. 

“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

So there went all those excuses! The thing is, I know personally what that is like. I’ve done it, I stopped looking for the way out and I’ve given in to temptation instead. I missed God’s opportunity for change. There’s no point in blaming Him for not fishing us out of something we got ourselves into. However!! …I know, personally, that there are times that He rescues us anyway, just because He’s so good and He loves us – He chooses US. The application of the above verse is one of the ways we get endurance – by enduring, by suffering long, by believing for the best in others, when their worst is on display.  Which is not a popular thought really.  

It means we need to pay attention to what we choose all the time. Even in unguarded moments.  Blanket statements about choosing God’s Ways aren’t worth a hill of beans, in the day-to-day muddle of life. What matters is what we choose when we are being misunderstood or provoked. Those choices mean we are valuing our relationship with Him and He is our priority. Things keep getting added unto us when we make Him our priority – stuff like real love, and long-suffering. Bye 👋

P 2817 What are heavenly treasures?

/ DVH

““Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure.”Matthew 6:19-21.

In these verses, we have the answer to my title. Heavenly treasures are the things we pursue while we are here on earth. Some things we pursue could be money, success, fame, a new house, a car, a spouse, a family, a special holiday, going back to your home country etc. The way to figure out what that phrase means to you is to look at whatever occupies most of your thoughts, and time, plus whatever you are living and working for every day. Let’s remember that each one of us has a God-given purpose – a reason we are here.

We can be an active Christian and pursue all these good things, as well as the Lord. So let me be clear, things are not the problem – wanting them above everything else is. Our God is a jealous God. “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. “ Exodus 34:14. Our God wants to be first in our lives. 

Many people today in the work force do everything they can to be successful at what they do, and if they are Christian I am sure these people think they are working for Him. I am not talking about how much time you are at work either – my point today is whether work is a greater priority than anything else. Maybe your priority is money. You don’t feel “safe” unless you have a prescribed amount in the bank, or invested. What holds your heart’s attention? Is it someone who will love you, and help you reach your dreams? 

When I was younger, all I wanted was a family, so I worked toward that.  I met someone, we were married and I began to work hard to be successful, both as a spouse and a parent. I was the mother who mouli-babied all her baby’s solid food … BTW a mouli baby grinds all kinds of food down into a paste, it means the food is fresher. All three of our kids spoke early … because I started reading to 6 week old babies! They could all read and do simple sums long before they went to kindy. 

I was totally invested in making sure they had a good start in life. That’s where my effort went and that’s where my heart was. Anybody who has been a parent can tell you, that you can invest all you like in your kids but, in the end, they are individuals who decide their own destiny!  Meanwhile I thought I was investing in eternity, because my kids would hopefully outlive me, but I had not counted on the fact that eventually those kids would go their own way and have their own aims.

As part of my investment in their lives, I taught them everything I knew about Jesus from when they woke up until they went to sleep again. And two of them follow the Lord and one does not. I did not realise, at the time that my investment was in them, in their future, instead of His kingdom. They were my major priority – not the Lord. And yes, there is a difference!! I was living with a divided mind and I did not know it. I thought being a spouse, and a good parent, and looking after my kids meant I was following Jesus.

I was taught “whatever you do, do it with all your heart as though you were doing it for the Lord.”So I camped on that scripture and thought and hoped it would be enough for Him. I went to church Sunday by Sunday, taught Sunday school, cared for the poor whenever I could, etc. But I forgot the most important thing: “You are not your own, you have been bought with a price … paid for with a Preciousness…” I Corinthians 6:19-20. His kingdom must always come first and we need to remember that God is more invested in our children than we are. Meanwhile, of course being an active parent counts … He’s an active parent!

At the same time I selectively read my bible accenting the verses that supported my POV, instead of looking prayerfully and carefully into His word of truth, looking for places to renew/change the way I was thinking.  In my mind and heart, I hoped God was pleased with me, because I was doing everything for His sake. I considered the blessings that came my way as a kind of ‘payment’ for all my efforts. Yeah, I can see the error OK? Old age has done me a heap of good, butthe overriding factor in all this was that the Lord never ever gave up on me! Praise Him!

He has taught me that when you seek His kingdom first, all these other things get added unto you. I knew that verse, but I did not know its meaning until I started switching my focus from what was in front of me, toward knowing Him above all else. As I have learnt to live this way, with my heart pointed toward Him, and Him alone – my whole focus for living has shifted. I was not just born here to be someone’s mother, or someone’s wife, or a functioning member of my congregation – first of all I am here to know Him, to give Him the first fruits of my time and affection. 

Other things slot in behind that – THE LORD IS OUR HEAVENLY TREASURE – everything else is wood, hay and stubble.. “unless the Lord builds the house … we are labouring in vain …” May God bless us all as we run after Him. 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Bye.

P 2807 Keep your anchor fixed in His Love.

/ DVH

Part of the reason Christians can become inactive is that we have been careless, we have lost our first love. That means we will have no sense of purpose. Here’s what I have learnt … when you watch what the Lord does and is still doing, every single day, you will fall in love with Him over and over again. You know … somebody ought to write a song about that! I believe our love can grow cold, when we are not using our faith … and ‘.. faith without works is dead!’ 

A boat without an anchor drifts about, moved by this current and that storm – tossed around by this theology, or that special event. Our hope is IN Christ, everything He did, everything He said — Who He is, and what He has done for us. Nothing more, nothing less. MY hope is not in my faithfulness it is in HIS.  I must learn to accept that I can get to know Him, no matter what is currently going on. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”Romans 5:3-4. I don’t care two beans for whatever fabulous Christian teaching book is currently flooding the market place … our hope is always IN Christ. Loving Him is our finest priority. 

Then all we need to do is to reflect what we see when we look at Him, and be ready to tell someone else how wonderful the Lord is. I’m absolutely blessed when our Heavenly Father gives someone I know this revelation, or that dream, and this vision, and I love that they want to tell me about it…. YAY! But I want to see Him for myself thank you. We need to know Him, personally. He is our only hope, so we cling to Him like a baby Koala clings to its Mum.

The bible says this: “That I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings; being made conformable to His death,” Philippians 3:10. Over the years I realised that I will have to die to what I want for my life, in order to know Him. I must take personal responsibility for my response to what He’s done for me. Suffering is a part of life and a great leveller. But it is not a happy word.

We all know we will suffer – it’s in the book, but we must still choose to give up this attitude, and put down that expectation and let Him be God. He never sleeps. Now we no longer say this by choice, instead we simply must say that! When we live chasing Him, we will get to know Him. Jesus Christ chose to live His life for our sake. That means we have a shared fellowship with Him as we choose to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily – and live our lives for His sake.

People can go to church week by week and chat to everyone there, but that does not mean we know each other! So, how do we get to know each other? Here’s my little theory … …you knew I’d have one!  …we need to share each other’s joys, sorrows, suffering together and learn to help one another. We must celebrate our victories, and pray for one another in our defeats! Privacy is great, but it can be costly – nasty things hide in the dark. 

Our hope in Christ, is our firm anchor and without that hope it is too easy to drift from this fad to another one. Sadly we can foster and cling to the things that tickle our ears and tell us we can do whatever we like because we belong to God now. We can’t develop our own personal faith, living like that because we are too busy following the way somebody else does it!  The way to develop our own faith is to USE IT. I call that obedience to the Word.. We read what the Lord wrote and find something to do in it. There’s always something to do in that book! But I admit that I do sometimes need the Holy Spirit’s help to find it.

I’ve read about Samson, just like you … and Jonah and Moses and Jeremiah … however, that doesn’t mean I will grow my hair long and avoid whale-watching trips …  Instead, I read the bible looking at the way God interacted with the people who are in it. So I look at how Moses talked to God … and I see how Jeremiah complained a lot because his life was hard. At the same time, I notice our Heavenly Father’s response. I see His patience with Jeremiah and Samson. Our God is so incredibly diverse, He totally loved both of these very different men. I also see that these men had contestable issues with the Lord, they weren’t perfect. But boy!  Was HE LOYAL!

To me that means I can disagree with God and not get zapped by lightning bolts from heaven. He is way more tolerant of my humanity than that –  I just need to live my life honestly, before Him. I’ve learnt if He tells me to do something, I’d better do it, because it did not go well for any of those men I’ve mentioned when they ignored Him! I have learnt through their testimonies, as well as my own life, that trouble cannot be avoided but it can be an opportunity for transformation, it is not something we must hide from. Holding your breath and waiting until it is over doesn’t work so well either!

The New Testament has taught me that I am so much more fortunate to have been born on this side of Calvary. I don’t have to be swept along by how I feel – or how you feel – I just need to keep my anchor fixed by staying attached to Him. This means my life will be run by my hope in Who He is. Everything else passes away. My hope is fixed. It is in Who Jesus Christ said He is, and what He did, as well as what He said He did. He did it all those things for us … …including the big guy in the supermarket who is a grump … plus the receptionist in the doctor’s surgery who is totally unhelpful. I don’t have to go digging around to find candidates who are eligible for His love – they are all around me! 

Those thoughts about Him, His goodness, His reliability – keep my little boat from swinging about, and going under in a storm. I honestly don’t believe it is wise to live my life rushing from this port to that one, trying to distract myself from the fact that I am finite. One day I will leave all this behind me. But I am going somewhere when this life is over, and so are you. That’s what hope looks like. We are anchored into Who He is, and How reliable He is. His book tells me, over and over again, that He loves me. It is my all consuming hope that one day I will hear Him say that to me in person. Bye. 👋

P 2803 Choices.

/ DVH

All our lives we have been influenced by our own choices. Even if we choose not to choose – that’s still a choice! Yeah, I know irony central!! We are the people God Himself has chosen to represent Him, so we need to choose to do things the Way He does things. We have come into agreement with what He says and He will not enforce His will upon us. He will not take over, instead, the Holy Spirit has been given to us to lead us.

Jesus made choices while He was here on earth. “I don’t speak on My own authority. The Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. And I know His commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells Me to say.”John 12:49-50. My point is this, we all know SomeOne, personally, Who knows how Jesus would choose if He was in our situation! He wants to help me, so I need to choose to rely upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance and wisdom. Look, you can make a cake with a fork and a whole lot of effort, but if you know you have a mixmaster you will do it far more efficiently and thoroughly!

We can fall into doubt and unbelief when we don’t know what the Lord says about something. And then our choices can get muddied and muddled. That’s where the bible, as well as prayer need to be our first choice. We cannot leave out the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the Person Jesus deliberately chose to send back to His people to help them. After choosing Christ to save us – the Holy Spirit is the BEST CHOICE to help us grow. He can be everywhere, at all times, all at once. We have SomeOne Who now lives within us, and He will help us make the kind of choices Jesus made, and He will give us the strength to carry them out!

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was ON certain individuals to carry out the Father’s wishes. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is now IN us. He flows through us because of our choices! I have a great sadness in my heart when I think about the doctrine that says that the Holy Spirit is all about speaking in tongues. He is so much bigger than a heavenly language, which, BTW, is for an individual’s benefit. I have no opinion either way about whether anyone else should speak in tongues. I refuse to major on this issue because I believe it is a personal choice. The Body of Christ has inadvertently majored on minor things, and it has separated us. Obedience to His Word needs to be our first priority.

However, in my opinion, speaking in tongues is a Holy Spirit aid. Doing this helps me get my own thoughts out of the way. Let us say I have an argument with Mrs Kerfoops down the road. She’s a bit of a nasty old biddy. When I pray for Mrs Kerfoops using my mind, I could easily pray for her attitude toward other people to change – I might even do that with great passion and fervour! But when I pray in tongues the Holy Spirit prays His truth from within me, through me. So I could end up praying for the lady like this: “Ke-yesus se min Abah  etc.etc.”  

If I were to translate that, and translation is part of speaking in tongues, I could be praying like this: “Jesus please help me to love Mrs Kerfoops like the Father does.”  And YES! I can also just pray that in English! Like I said, it’s a choice!  “Then what am I to do? I will pray with the spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me] and I will pray with the mind [using words I understand]; …”1 Corinthians 14:15 AMP. I need to remember that the Holy Spirit knows Mrs Kerfoops better than I do – He knows how to pray for her perfectly. After I’ve prayed as He leads me … that’s when something from His word that I already know, rises up within me, and helps me pray the way He wants me to pray.

So, instead of praying from my mind: ‘change her because she annoys me!’ – I choose to let Him guide me. The Holy Spirit speaks Armenian, Icelandic, Pakistani, and every known language on this earth. He also speaks in the tongues of angels. Sometimes my squirrelled-up thinking gets in the way of what He wants. I have found that speaking in tongues helps me to pray for bigger things than I could possibly think.

It is a common thing for human beings to excuse their own behaviour, and accuse other people about theirs. The fact that it is common, doesn’t make it Godly! I know this from personal experience. When hubby and I argue, it is often because I have lost my Peace somewhere, and I’ve just plain run out of Grace. As peace is like a RIVER and Grace was released by what Christ did at Calvary. What I need is already within me – IN HIM. I just need to access it through my choices. There are times, sadly, I don’t want to let go of my own opinion, I want to make my point instead! Yeah, I know … awful ain’t I?

The Holy Spirit is a Person Who is activated in and through our lives by our choices. Let’s look at using our faith. The bible says: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen.” (Hebrews 11) I will give my own personal faith substance when I choose to act on what I’ve read in the bible, or whatever I feel the Holy Spirit within me is saying to me. That prayer takes whatever I am praying and turns it into an action. That’s what gives my faith substance – ACTING ON IT.  Christianity is not a faith of theories, it is a faith of choices. It is up to us whether we make those choices or not, but many people will judge what we believe, by the way we live. 

We are not powerless. We are now citizens of His kingdom. Some things in our lives are more stubborn than burnt-on grease on the bottom of a frying pan! So it will take perseverance and choice to shift them. It will also take devotion to the stated end game;  and the end game is transformation. At the same time, as we concentrate on working out our salvation day by day – we need to be helped by the Holy Spirit. His input helps us see, understand, and appreciate truth, and He inspires us to go after it. He helps me to make the kind of choices that lead me after God’s ways. Our choices matter. Bye. 🕊️

P 2742 Stand firmly on the Rock.

/ DVH

Our God is our ever-present Rock and foundation.”He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defence and my Fortress, I shall not be moved. With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God!” Psalm 62:6-8. “Yahweh, You’re the bedrock beneath my feet, my faith-fortress, my wonderful deliverer, my God, my rock of rescue where none can reach me. You’re the shield around me, the mighty power that saves me, and my high place.” Psalms 18:2 TPT.  “He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just, a faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4.

What does it mean when the bible says that Almighty God is our Rock? It means because we are His, and we have learnt, through experience that HE cannot be moved, so we cannot be moved because we are standing on Him and all He has done for us! We need to continually practice the skill of not being moved, even if an adverse wind is taking our breath away. Our knowledge of the goodness and purposes of Almighty God need to be far greater than the intellectual knowledge we’ve collected about the force of any kind of wind. Otherwise fear will take control and fear makes a terrible driver. Almighty God, His goodness, His faithfulness are the firm foundation we stand on.

The winds of change are blowing all over this world, and I think that they sometimes seem like gale force winds. At the same time, I sometimes wonder how any of us will cope if we move on into hurricane winds? The kind of wind that brings total destruction in its wake. Like: what if war comes to where we live? What if hunger or thirst comes? What if the people we love, or our families are no longer safe wherever they go? What if our families do not love God with a greater passion than we have – what will become of them? Are we equipped to do what we can … and then go on to stand! That wind blows inside our minds, as well as outside and around us. God becomes an untested theory.

There is something that exists today, that I’d call ‘distance trouble’ — bad things happening to people like us, but they are happening far, far away. This means we can enjoy relative peace because those bad things occur elsewhere. Instead we live with a low distant rumble of what might come next. Because these things are not happening now, right where we live, we are still free to view them dispassionately. We can have sympathy, tears, or be shocked, but my question today is – what happens when those bad things invade our safe carefully cultivated personal worlds?

How will we manage to love our enemies, when right now, our enemies are mainly in our minds? One day we could have real actual enemies, facing us, who physically want to kill us. People all round this world are facing that reality right now. We have the luxury of viewing change as an optional  extra because we are positionally secure … However, even here, where I live, there are gangs of children roaming the streets, stealing things that don’t belong to them. The opinions about what to do about this reality are many and varied, but ineffective at best. 

There are people in this world who are daily too busy running for cover – to save their lives or their families – they don’t have time for opinions. What would we do if what is there, comes here? How will we cope? I want to propose that if we have not made the Lord our God our firm anchor – our ROCK, and have that reality established in our lives, we cannot possibly know what WE are capable of, under extreme pressure. Now is the time to learn to trust Him, and surrender to Him and His Ways. We need to give up our right (?) to determine our own destiny.

Human beings do not respond well under extreme pressure. Yet it seems that we are still not wise enough to make the Ways of God our first priority. Many people I know are selective about what they will and won’t obey. They dismiss someone else’s dedication as over-zealousness and extremism. “That’s not that important,” they say, “God understands I can’t live like that. I have other priorities.” Do we have to almost drown in our own sorrows, before we learn in the depth of our hearts that this life is brief? We need to do good while the sun is shining … because things may not always stay that way! Personally, I need the ever-expanding many-sided wisdom of God constantly instructing and helping me or I will lose my way. He is my Rock.

Now is the time to stretch and prepare ourselves and our children, for the things that could come and bang upon the door of our safe little havens. Now is the time to learn to love, give, share, and care — and make that loving caring concrete, as well as the aim of our lives. We need to learn to stand firmly on the Rock that is God Himself, and learn to remain stable and not falter, no matter what comes next. That takes training and perseverance.  Bye. 👋

P 2710 ‘Have good day, make good choices!’

/ DVH

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.”Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Luke 6:38.

Did you get that? If you want MORE of God – then give MORE to God! Our generosity or lack thereof, can limit the blessings God has flowing toward us like a river. They will float on by us and we won’t notice them. Meanwhile, He says we will have everything we need – not necessarily everything we WANT! But we can always ask – He’s a very generous Father.  At first glance these scriptures appear to be about monetary giving – but I also associate these verses with the way we live. Let me explain:  our LIVES are also our tithes and offerings. This means that we choose to serve others, 24/7. All day every day. Are you cheered up yet? 

If you are a parent you will know that there is no such thing as a part-time carer for your brand new infant. New parents walk about looking like zombies for months and months, and sometimes years! They accept that no sleep etc is part of the deal. Now if you are a nurse, bus driver, IT specialist, accountant, father, sales assistant, then your employment – the way you use your days – are not bigger than your primary calling as His child. EG You are not a nurse and a Christian … you are a nurse who IS a Christian.

Belonging to HIM is our first priority. Not our families, not our friends, not work-mates, not even our own relaxation. We have chosen Him, so we have chosen to serve Him! Yay! And we do that by serving Him and others, every single day. We give our love, our time, our efforts, our insights, our kindness, our patience AWAY, all the time. There is no such thing as a part-time Christian because there is no off button. We live this life sowing blessings and being one!

Meanwhile, burn-out is a symptom of not yet knowing all we can about how to REST in Him. I am not condemning anyone for it, I am just saying that this condition is a diagnostic tool of how much self-effort we are putting into doing what the Lord wants. We need to continually remember that ‘His yoke is EASY … His burden is …LIGHT.’ That’s not just a pretty word picture — it is a way to live! We simply must progressively let Him inhabit every single area of our lives or we will not be living this life, our only life, in His Presence. That’s where the power of God resides, IN HIS PRESENCE. That’s how Jesus lived!! Yes, it is costly, just like giving away money you need is costly, but the results have results in other people’s lives.

The verse from 2 Corinthians above, shows us we cannot live this way by force. We must choose and we choose over and over again. Otherwise we will either become incredibly angry and extremely rebellious — or we will quit Christianity and wander off into the wilderness, complaining our heads off and eating quails until they make us sick to our stomach. The Lord knows we are all weak – that’s why He promised to be our strength! Because we are HIS we have access to His perfection, which is what that verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 says:“His strength is made perfect in our weakness…” or we can settle for little, instead of much. My premise today is this we cannot lose when we give! “God is no man’s debtor…”

We all love Jesus. But it’s probably pretty clear to everyone around us one way or another that we are not perfected yet, However we’ve chosen to follow Him and now we are straining to reach the goal. Are we always cheerful about it? Not always. But that lack of cheerfulness is a sign that we are in a process.  We don’t have to get it right, we just have to stay on the path – using our choices! (Repent and repair, remember?) And then we ask for His help to take every single opportunity He sends our way to choose Him all over again. When we choose Him and His ways – we are doing everything for HIM! ‘Whatsoever you do, do it with all your heart as though you were doing it for the Lord.’

We totally give Him our lives because He totally gave us HIS, first. He will guide, help, comfort, lead and teach us. If we sow sparingly into His kingdom and Jesus is not the centre of everything we do, then we will miss the blessing of provision He has for His kids. Only eyes of faith can see some blessings, because wrong attitudes block our eyes and ears. I once heard a mother say to her child: “Have a good day, make good choices.’ Amen! Bye. 👋

P 2622 Though none go with me …

/ DVH

Here’s a fun(?) fact no-one will like. Even in good relationships or bad ones – eventually, we all die alone. That’s a spiritual truth, as well as a natural one. When someone else we dearly love is not interested in walking in the Way with us, it is very disappointing. We can start to feel like changing stuff is too difficult, because of those other people who are deeply involved in our lives. For example, living this new life of ours exhibiting a spirit of generosity, could threaten someone else’s security levels.

First of all, I want to say that God’s expectations of each one of us is always good. He has the last word, we don’t. We must remember at all times, that HE DELIGHTS IN DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE. He can change anyone’s focus in a split second. Hallelujah!! But what He seems to prefer is that we work together with the Holy Spirit in order to change. (Read the book!) We choose to change the way we live today, because we want to please the Lord Jesus, not necessarily anybody else. We want to live differently because of our own convictions, for His sake, not theirs.

This new way to live becomes firmly established outside of our own normal ‘personal comfort zone.’ That comfort zone is the place where we live every day, and react almost without thinking … because we are not used to being governed by holiness. In every day life we can have good or bad attitudes, so we either expect praise, or we expect to be excused, using our ‘humanity’ as an excuse. But in reality, that’s the way to become lukewarm, and spiritually ineffective. 

It is easy in this life with its many pressures to formulate an image of who we think we are, and think walking with the Holy Spirit is ‘not really for me.’  But as I tackle being changed by Grace, there needs to be a conscious turning away from my old way to live, together with active repentance. I will need to seek the Holy Spirit’s prompting to help me remember that now my priority is walking with Him … not just getting along with you. After all I can easily get along with you if I know you well, and I choose not to bother you! We can all grow very used to letting sleeping dogs lie.

For some people walking that extra mile with a headstrong loved one, can turn out to be a difficult thing, fraught with angst and missteps at ever single turn. However, this is a lifelong way to live and die daily, and we can’t do it hoping the people we care about will get His point quickly. The reality is in order to achieve our new aim of living for Jesus, no matter what happens, one of the biggest costs will definitely be our comfort. Read the book. Comfort was always the first thing to go!!

Sadly, some people we care about may never get the point of transformation because they aren’t even looking at these areas. Why not? I dunno. Not a clue. They just don’t seem to think they are doing anything wrong. Walking in the Spirit seems to be for other, more spiritual people, not them! I have noticed that by the time people reach some age, or milestone, or other life circumstance, they start to think that they cannot change – this is now who they really are. Their perceived personhood has become established. That’s not what the bible says, BTW! Moses started his new life at eighty!

In some other instances, I know that people pray sincerely and constantly about change, but then they just leave it at prayer — and when nothing happens, they assume that God does not have a problem with them about such things and so they just settle back into … being comfortable. We simply must move past agreeing with God’s Word into actively living it out! This is where choosing to deliberately live a life of love facilitates transformation. 

Actually I’d say changing our way of life, from trying harder, to following the Holy Spirit while living a life dedicated to loving others — no matter how they behave — go hand in hand! One thing does not work without the other. When His love starts to flow out through us it is attractive to other people. One of the best things we can do when we decide to live a love-filled transformed life is to ask for His help and fix every single bad relationship we can, and then leave our past behind. If stuff comes up, then we repent, repair and … move on. “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”Romans 12:18.

Even if I were on a desert island, all by myself, my walk with Jesus would still be my own responsibility. I don’t have to be tripped up by what you do or don’t do, or what you say or don’t say. My aim is to please Him, and decide to live a life worthy of my own calling. That’s what following Him looks like. Bye. 👋

P 2582 More on a heart like David.

/ DVH

The Lord said of His servant David, that “this is a man after My own heart”. (1 Samuel 13:14) It seems to me it is comparatively easy to pray:“Oh Lord please give me a heart like David had!”…in a moment of love and passion toward God Himself … with no understanding of what that means!  Will we blame God for not answering that prayer – when we ignore the opportunities He sends our way?

Think on this: if you and I really want a heart like David had, then God Himself will need to send us the kind of opportunities DAVID had! Hearts are formed, they do not fall on us. Here’s quick revision of David’s life — this young man was overlooked in his family. His earthly father forgot he had him and obviously thought the boy was not as promising as his six brothers were!  Did David moan about that? No! Instead he learnt about God in the middle of a pasture doing a job that was beneath his stature. This was where he learnt about soaking in God’s ways. That’s where he learnt to make the Lord his priority. He wrote beautiful Psalms… instead of complaining about his lowly position and the weather.

David chose God’s ways over his own human desires, many times. We all know about his failure and the subsequent consequences, but there were so many other times that David chose to honour the Lord despite his circumstances. His responses to his life were way above most men’s natural tendencies. He did not do that to curry favour with God, BTW, he did it because that was who he was! Soaking in God’s beauty had shaped his heart, and his responses came from that heart of love toward the Father. 

So if WE want a heart like David, then maybe we will have to fight our own Goliath and WIN. We all have Goliaths in our lives, and we often feel ill-equipped to fight them. But David took what he had – which was belief in Who Almighty God is – and defeated his enemy. There may also be a possibility that we will have to honour somebody in our lives just like King Saul, David’s persecutor of 20 years. Simply because that person is God’s choice to shape US… by handing out constant oppression! Maybe our tormentor has been tormenting us for years too!!

Let’s look at David’s response when his little baby boy died… “After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. On the seventh day the child died …” 2 Samuel 12:15-18. 

After his baby’s death, David’s servants were reluctant to tell him the little one was gone, but he figured it out. Then he does an extraordinary thing — it seems almost totally incomprehensible. He gets up, washes himself, and asks for food. Why on earth would he do that? You know when I think about his response it blows me away. This man is so concerned about doing God’s will, God’s way, once the Lord’s plan is revealed – He leaves the whole thing alone and goes back into ordinary life, immediately. Boy is that living this life surrendered!  

Much later, David actively sets out to find someone left in Saul’s house … even after Saul and Jonathan had died. He wants to do his enemy’s family good. (Now there’s a grand illustration of doing good to your enemies!) Despite his warrior life, this man of God had such integrity before the Lord. It all sprang from his deep love for God, not obligation, or religious duty. Those Psalms he wrote came right out of his own experiences! Instead of cultivating despair, anger and jealousy – David cultivated a sweet heart.

It may be that we too have lost else someone so dear to us, like David did, when his older son Absalom died. But David was not able to mourn Absalom … imagine that! He’s a leader, his sheep come first! He puts his grief aside, in order to be a good leader and king to his subjects. Funny how God picks ordinary people like that quite often. Think about it.

These are just some ?highlights? After all David’s life was filled with war and betrayal! If we truly want a heart like he had, maybe we are going to need some panel-beating first! That, and a sweet, spontaneous heart-response under pressure. God Himself forges men and women in the furnaces of trouble, pestilence, war, sorrow and strife. We must simply choose to learn His ways, they won’t fall on us.

Here’s my last thought – right after the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost, persecution for the gospel’s sake broke out. But Father God had a purpose, He wanted the disciples to disperse to spread the gospel further. So, instead of becoming a jolly, happy, worshipping group, who enjoyed their new life together teaching the same things over and over again … persecution and bad experiences are now their teacher.

 We will have troubles and strife in this life, and this means God is working on our hearts. To have a heart like David we will need to be changed. 👋 “Create in me a clean heart O, Lord, and renew a right spirit within me.” Amen!

P 2419 Deception can come from careless choices.

/ DVH

There is an interesting verse in Joshua, Chapter 9, V14, and in it we can see that as soon as we revert to type and start making our own decisions, without consulting the Lord, we are more easily deceived by our enemy.  At the same time we have effectively blocked out the Lord’s wisdom. Let’s look at this OT story.

Joshua 9:3-6 “However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

The Gibeonites wanted to trick the Israelites into thinking that they had come from far away. They had heard how powerful the Jews were so they wanted to make peace with them using deception. And the Israelites fell for it – they used their eyes, plus their taste buds and decided what they could see was true. “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” Joshua 9:14. Bad move!

Our beloved Father is not bothered by us if we ask Him into situations, at any time. He dearly wants to be an integral part of our lives. That is why He gave us the Holy Spirit to be our potential constant Companion. Here’s a heads-up. the Holy Spirit is way smarter than we could ever be, and the best Advisor ever!  We need to learn from the things He has chosen to be included in the Old Testament.   

The bible tells us that: “… whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.” (Romans 15:4.) In other words the Old Testament is not just background info for our ‘real’ learning in the New! The Old is an important part of what God wants to teach us. In it the Holy Spirit gives insight into Who Father God is, What He likes, What He will do if we obey, and …what can happen if we don’t! 

As you can see from the above story, we can easily expose ourselves to deception when we lean on our own understanding. The Holy Spirit is ever-present and constantly standing by us to enriching our lives. It is not like we have to walk 19 kms to a phone to make a long distance phone call at 3.00am in the morning to talk to Him! He is always with us!! Friendship with Him is to be cherished, sought after and valued, because He enriches our lives and our thinking. He protects us from our own stupidity, as He walks with us. This truth is the most essential part of living the Christian life. We are not alone!

Previously to this incident with the Gibeonites, in Deuteronomy, we see that God’s man Joshua made knowing God His priority. Let’s be honest here. Most of us make a job, our family, our favourite hobby … our priority. We pray in the morning, and maybe again in the evening, and perhaps even during the day as we need His help, but He is not our constant Companion. We need to value the Holy Spirit’s company more than we value anything else. Joshua went into the tent of meeting with Moses, and yet Moses came out before He did! Think about it, it shows us Joshua’s commitment.

I think that this man teaches us that our desire toward the Lord, plus our obedience, matters. Careless choices, or an independent spirit, or unthinking attitudes, can rob us of victory. Father God can trust someone who wants His will more than their own, and our friend Joshua was such a man, despite his humanity. Our biggest choice is not whether we want to be saved or not – our biggest choice is whether we want to follow Jesus all the way to the end – living this life His way. 

Giving up the only life you have is no small thing. That’s why people struggle with it. But being independently-minded or even double-minded, robs us of the blessing of His Presence. Our biggest choice is simply “…choosing this day Who we will serve …” (Joshua said that – and he knew how to make great choices.)  We are more susceptible to being deceived when we make up our own minds, and then hope God will bless THAT!  As Christians we are subject to a Theocracy which means – He’s in charge and we ain’t! 👋🏻