Repairs

P 3187 The Believer’s Freedom

/ DVH

1 Corinthians 10:23,24: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”

This life can be painful. But here’s an interesting thought – maybe some of that pain is because we’ve been indulging our flesh for years … by doing dumb things like refusing to forgive! I cannot count the people I’ve met who say to me: ‘If I forgive them then it is like I am giving them permission to keep on hurting me,’ OR …“Why should they get away with what they’ve done?”  You escaped punishment – the moment you gave your life to Jesus!

Let’s not go into another new year dragging our past behind us like the tail on a kite. Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, but it can be a total disaster for many people with shattered relationships. And let’s be clear, sometimes these things are not all our fault. But whatever happens tomorrow, my advice is to start living this life, today, the way Jesus Himself told us to do it. We forgive others simply because He told us to do it. The  benefit of this action is we don’t get all those nasty side effects in our own lives from rampant angst.

I am not trying to be light hearted, because I know personally that pain can be legitimate. Rejection, selfishness, spite, manipulation — all those things are real. Those things can produce the wrong flavours in our lives – we have to choose to abstain. There are so many books that have been written to help us spiritually manage pain, but the point is this — while we continue to focus on that pain we are sitting ducks for disappointment. If the pain doesn’t disappear when we are told, or we think it should, then we can begin to doubt that God loves us. 

Then perhaps we will end up saying things like “If God loves me why is this and that so?” Sound familiar? Like the garden of Eden, or the Temptation of Jesus are familiar? I think we have become blissfully unaware that when we live that way, we are reducing Almighty God to our size, with our own unhappy “please explain” attitudes attached. It’s time to remember that the Lord doesn’t have to explain Himself! Yet there are times when He does, simply because of His Grace toward us.

But the sad reality is, sometimes pain and suffering become a great excuse to wander from one expert to another seeking to be healed. Yet under the Lord’s guidance, we could find ourselves like those lepers who were healed on the way to see the High Priest! They simply did what Jesus told them to do. I know people who are still as stuck in the things ‘my Mum and Dad did to me,’ as they were when I first met them. It’s tragic. Here’s some irony for you – when my parents did whatever they did, they scarred me for life … but if I do it myself, then I’m only human!

Life IS hard and true forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. Focus on today. His kids have things to do! Mountains to move – valleys to flood with His love! We cannot afford to pet and provide hankies for the flesh – the flesh is meant to die. Just don’t go there! It’s all a set up and the people you want to teach a lesson to, will drag you under. Forgive and let things go. If we continually go down the road looking for acknowledgement of our pain, or sympathy or even understanding, we will continue to be disappointed. 

Nobody can change the past, and the future couldn’t be in better hands when we walk with Jesus! I want to go on record by saying that Love is not sympathy – Love is compassion. COMPASSION TAKES ACTION. And by action I don’t mean getting stuck in somebody else’s spider web, I mean the kind of action that forgives, repents, and repairs, and simply moves on to do whatever Jesus sent them here to do. Nobody can make us forgive, that’s what makes it so powerful.

1 Corinthians 10:23,24 is about wisdom. The kind of wisdom that divides the profane from the pure. When I give someone else’s actions preference over the Lord’s will, I am accidentally putting them in charge of my life. No wonder more chaos ensues! None of us can afford to give the person who has already devastated us, anymore room to do it again! 

Our idea of love may seem all squishy and sweet—but LOVE is also a weapon. It’s a biblical secret weapon.Our sacrificial attitudes and servant actions sneak past the bad guy’s armoured guards on the door, and that’s when you can speak into the heart of another person. When we choose to act like Jesus did, then we will see what He saw!

This is God’s strategy at its best. Loving our enemies opens doors into the other person’s life. They may fight us, but they can’t easily fight Him – He knows the way IN! And God’s grace is the most powerful force on this earth – it saved us. When we let His freely-given grace loose in someone else’s life, under His watchful eye, we open the doors to change. For us and them …

Releasing the Lord’s grace toward the undeserving is the most Christ-like thing we will ever do. Put raising the dead and healing the sick, second on your little bucket list – opening doors for someone else to escape satan’s lies, ushers in a new way to live. Be ‘a restorer of streets to dwell in’ instead. There is no freedom like the freedom of not owing anyone else anything but love. Remember, entitlement is a bad look on any Christian, humility looks so much better. Bye. 🥰

P 2436 Be humble, the Lord loves a humble heart.

/ DVH

“If you readily receive correction, you are walking on the path to life. But if you reject rebuke, you’re guaranteed to go astray.” Proverbs 10:17 TPT. The Lord gave me a key when I was a very young Christian and I’m still learning how to use it. He said this: “If you will hear Me for correction, you will hear Me for direction.” I can personally testify that that word is true. Allowing Him to correct us at any given time, opens eyes that are often blind to the owner’s faults … as well as new possibilities. Being ready to be wrong at any given time is not only a great source of humility … it is a source of amazing God-given strength.

It comes from understanding that we do not know everything. The bible has this great piece of advice in it: “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.” Proverbs 17:28. Personally, I like my son’s translation of that, which is: “Even an idiot looks wise with his mouth shut!” 😂 James 3:13 says this: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”  

Humility is rare in today’s world, and, as a result, the people of this age aren’t always wise – you simply have to read the papers to see that! When is the last time you saw a world leader say: “I was wrong, I’m sorry.” When is the last time YOU said it?  Meanwhile nobody enjoys being wrong…including me! But in this wonderful new world of God’s kingdom coming in our lives — we are rarely right— that’s because we are on a journey. Only God is good – remember? Humility always begins by putting Him first.

Many Christians bumble along, hiding from who they actually are, because they don’t want to change … they don’t think it is necessary. They discount their nasty attitudes behind closed doors, and think public politeness will fool God and others. Sadly I fall down that hole all the time. I was raised to have good manners, and they shoot me in the foot a lot. But true humility owns its faults and then seeks the Holy Spirit’s help to correct them. It loves reparation.

False humility criticises others where the perpetrator can’t be heard. You know good manners is about me looking good to you, humility is about caring how I look to God! Good manners can be hypocritical. We cannot be cleansed from known sin we will not own. Utter honesty and sincerity can be difficult to live by, but owning our faults, humbles us. Sadly we can successfully hide nasty traits from others by calling those traits nice names like — caring, constructive criticism, good manners, and sometimes we even misuse the prophetic…

Paul has that whole idea smashed… “Why not suffer wrong?” He says that in 1 Corinthians 6:7. He’s talking about Christians suing each other, but it is all the same difference! What He means is humbling yourself, and living honestly and truthfully is spiritually beneficial.  Peter says: “Humble yourself, under God’s mighty hand, that in due time He may exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:6. We need to come to the place where what God thinks and what He wants, is far more important to me than my pride, or what you think of me.

When we choose human wisdom we are moving away from the wisdom from above. James 3:17 tells us what this wisdom looks like: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” It isn’t about who is right, and can prove it. Or who is wrong and hasn’t got a leg to stand on! What would GOD Himself have to say about our petty spiteful arguments? What are those things doing to our spiritual lives? 

My 96 year old mother has taught me these things by example. She forgives everyone, and speaks well of people, plus she absolutely respects Almighty God. She has always had the kind of attitude that says: “There is no point in holding a grudge, life is too short for grudges.” I have never heard her criticise anyone. My husband’s mother’s response to gossip or criticism is to stop speaking … full stop! She withdraws and won’t be drawn into the conversation. She respects Jesus more than people. It seems to me that senior generation of women has a lot to teach us!

I think humility starts in our hearts. We get it automatically as we understand we cannot possibly live this life the way Jesus did, without asking for His help… because there is too much of ME in the way. A repentant person is one who repairs things quickly, because their relationship with the Lord is far more important than outward appearances. Living this life dead to self is the very best way to follow Jesus – you get to humble yourself in front of others – all over the place! 👋🏻