Relationship

P 2174 The secret of a life lived in faith…

/ DVH

…is to look away from the natural realm. That BTW, does not mean we ignore the natural realm around us. It simply means we don’t let what is around us – in our faces, so to speak – dominate us. We see it all, but it does not have the final say – the Lord Jesus always has the final say. 

“We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that YOU would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews 12:2TPT.

And there you have it. Our new life in Christ is all about focus. In today’s world, focus on Him takes faith, because there is so much to distract us. For most people, their lives are soooo busy it seems they barely have any time to take the time to focus on spiritual things. Perhaps that’s because we have over-spiritualised stuff. Spirituality needs to be like breathing. Adam and Eve didn’t flap-doodle about every evening when the Lord came into the garden … they expected Him!  This new life needs to be normal, not something we have to ‘work up.’ Faith isn’t what we do, it’s the way we regard Him. What we do comes from knowing Him.

We have become so enamoured with having ‘experiences’ that we have forgotten that this life is a relationship with a Person. Read the Old Testament – the men and women in there expected Almighty God to guide and help them, and that was normal. They complained when they thought He wasn’t helping them – read the Psalms! Stop for a minute. Imagine expecting the Lord to be with you in every single situation that you will face today. That was the way the Israelites lived. Yet they missed it, because they only saw His provision – they did not see Him or His wonderful Heart toward them.

When we get over into the New Testament we find that the Lord is SomeOne that the people in those stories utterly rely upon in every situation, and they know that He will be there for them. He is no longer an add-on – now He is their life! You know, we’ve unintentionally allowed the most precious things in this life to become secondary. Our God is a jealous God. He doesn’t ‘do’ second place. And that’s not because Almighty God is egotistical either – it’s because we were made to be with Him. He knows us. Every single thing He does is for our good. 

Mankind was not designed to walk alone. In Genesis the Lord says: “It is not good for man to be alone …” When Almighty God says something is not good it is NOT GOOD!  He walked and talked with Adam and Eve every single day. And His minute by minute input into our individual lives always refreshes and revives us! We are not good on our own. We can manage some of our time without other people, but we cannot possibly manage without HIM. I was raised without a father and I missed him. How much more should we miss the Presence of the One Who made us!

Jesus Christ lived day by day together with His disciples – He chose to be that close to human beings.  Ordinary people, not just religious scholars, asked God Himself questions and … He explained Himself! Sometimes His answers created even bigger questions (!!)  … but … just imagine that for a second. Those people were in His Presence and most of them didn’t even know it. Maybe we are still doing that today!  The Lord Jesus loved to interact with people. He healed them, fed them, talked to them, in Person! And He didn’t zap sinners into stone either – He is so merciful. When we don’t spend time with Him, we forget how precious His company is. And oh! – how He misses our company.

In this life we live, every single day is filled with pressure and distractions. But our God has enormous compassion toward us, because He knows we are glorified dust, and human beings fold up under pressure. BUT, He is there for us throughout each single nano-second – loving us – encouraging us to press on – into His Presence. We don’t go anywhere without Him knowing where we are. Most of us are just like a little baby who thinks the adult is not there when they play ‘peek-a-boo’ – He’s there. Turn your head. LOVE WALKS WITH YOU. He doesn’t sign in and out on a time clock!

The Holy Spirit is this life’s greatest treasure. Imagine this – the SomeOne Who made everything we see, wants to walk around with you and I through some of the dullest, dumbest days ever. Work isn’t called work because it’s fun! But our God loves us so much He can’t wait to be with us … He knows how to do what you do, much better than you do. You know, AWE is the natural outworking of a greater revelation of Who He is. 

Father God loves to share His secrets with anyone who wants to know them. But to do that we must look away from the natural realm into the things that will last, and pull focus onto His new life within us.  This life we have now is just a blink in eternity’s eyes. Living by faith means we live this life, right here right now – enjoying Him. 24/7. 👋🏻

P 2113 Perspective is extremely important.

/ DVH

“It’s urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in Himself, He has conferred on the Son life in Himself…” John 5:25a. Lazarus heard Jesus’ voice in his tomb, and although he was throughly dead, he came alive. That’s the kind of God we serve, when HE speaks – everything changes, even if it is impossible – we need to learn how to hold fast to what He says to us.

We also need to think about Who He IS – particularly when things in our lives are going badly. Sometimes the Lord allows things in our lives to bring out certain qualities, and to nudge us deeper into Him. Human beings like to live their lives superficially, but the safest place is right next to Him. Otherwise we can fall into the same sin that tempted Adam and Eve. Perspective is about knowing who we are, and to do that we must first know Who HE is, otherwise we can end up in presumption. And presumption will put us onto thin ice, remember, they fell in! If we are to be like Him, we will need His perspective – His way of looking at things.

Despite the many rumours flying about today, we are not equal with God. But Jesus Christ IS and He became a man and stood up in our place. Philippians 2:5-7. “In your relationships with one another, HAVE THE SAME MINDSET as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;  rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Remember, Almighty God already took the initiative on our behalf – HE CAME HERE.

Jesus Himself said this: John 8:55 “Though you do not know Him, I know Him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and obey His word.” Knowing God’s ways means we obey Him. These are key things in the process of being transformed – Jesus chose to live that way and so should we. Here’s a handy helpful hint: When you read the bible ask yourself – ‘What does this teach me about Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit? What can I see here, that shows me about Who They are? What I am reading that I can DO?’ .

The way that Christ thought about His Heavenly Father while He was here on earth was remarkable. Jesus knew He was here on assignment from God and yet He acted with the same humility and authority He died to give us. He limited Himself! Human beings are not all that, we’ve been elevated by the One we keep company with. Giving Him glory is not just about singing worship songs passionately – it is about the way we revere and honour what Jesus told us to do. We are only made great by the Company we keep. 

Father God wants the same kind of relationship with each one of us that He had with Christ. I know we are members of a huge family – but the Lord dearly loves each one of us … specifically. This world may never ever know your name, but God knows it, and He is proud of you. Despite who we are and what we have done, and sometimes keep ON doing … He sees you and I through the blood of Jesus. Perspective means I know to my core, what was done for me. I cannot be arrogant because I know who I really am, and who I would be without Christ.

Now, there is no need to be ashamed in His Presence. Personally, I find that shame is a big red flag in my life. It tells me that I have done something that I am not sure about, and now I am making excuses for it. I need to go and get alone with Him and get His perspective, His POV, on what has happened. And I don’t have to be ashamed or afraid when I do it. When we go into His Presence our AIM is to be washed, changed, actively transformed, by what we are reading and what He says to us. Whether we are reading the bible, or simply praying, the Holy Spirit will remind us of what Christ did, and why He did it. Then gratitude takes over. Gratitude is a great perspective, and true generosity is another one. God has been incredibly generous to us, so, with His help, we need to be incredibly generous to others, no matter what they have done. 

Perspective highlights the way He thinks, as well as showing us how to think. I need to know what He thinks, so I can be transformed by looking at Who He is. That’s what the bible is for, to show us who Father God is, and what He has deliberately planned and done on our behalf before we ever came into this world. Biblical perspective changes our POV. I don’t give two cents about what I think anymore, I want to know what He thinks about it!  And I probably won’t value whatever someone else thinks either, no matter how important it seems, unless they are saying something that is in His book!

The things of this world fade into insignificance when we have His perspective. We need to take on His perspective desperately, because HE HAS THE WORDS THAT LEAD TO ETERNAL LIFE. That starts right here, right now. Christians live their lives eternity minded – that is true perspective. 👋🏻