Saul

P3454 Remembering Helps!

/ DVH

“…and when He (Jesus) had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My Body, which is broken 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.”” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 ESV. 

People participate in this scripture in a number of ways – all of them are wonderful and worth doing. From blessing our food and drink daily, to taking communion together, and reminding ourselves that Jesus’ broken body and shed blood makes a way for us to be able to run to the Lord any time we need to, or want to do it! He is here to help us.

Remembering the Holy Spirit is a great daily aim. The thing that stood out to me, in 1 Corinthians were the words … “remember Me.” These verses are a prompt to help us to value our memories of good, moment by moment, during each and every day. I liked that thought. So much crowds in on us during our daily lives, lots of things that demand our attention, it means that Jesus sometimes becomes an after-thought — if He is even a thought at all … and I’m not condemning anyone! Let’s pull our focus off the situations around us, and back onto the One Who is here to help us – the One Jesus relied upon.

Many years go, I had 3 children under 5. Trust me, you are lucky to be able to think at all when you have babies or toddlers. It was over 50 years ago, and yet I still remember the endless  wailing and feeling powerless to help the child! Not to mention the futility of trying to quiet an infant when you have no clue what caused the problem in the first place. New mothers, take this from me, please — these days will pass away and you will look back at them with bitter sweet sadness… especially the part where they hadn’t learned to say “NO!” yet. Whenever you can, enjoy the little ones.

Parenting is not about perfection, it simply requires plenty of  participation. We can’t prevent the lumps and bumps of this life happening to our kids – it’s all prep for adulthood – yours and theirs! One day soon all the intense work that goes into raising an infant will go away, and you are left with raising a brand new human being, with its own will and preferences. Parenting is not as much fun as the magazines pretend it is, and, trust me, we all fail at it – despite our dedicated efforts. Remembering Him helps us keep our cool when we can’t cope with our inadequacies.

I am learning that reflecting on the things that the Lord helps us with — successful times from the past — can often help us get through the things happening right now. David did it in 1 Samuel 17:34-36  “But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.” Please let us remember, David is talking about two really really bad things … a lion and a bear. This is not a kitten or a cuddly toy!

And he took the past, his own personal experiences with God, and used it to do two things. It gave him courage and confidence for now. And then he used it as a weapon so he could carry out the next thing. Remembering is a very valuable tool, when Jesus Himself asks us to do it. When we are hurting, sometimes we need to be our own cheer squad. Some people enjoy writing a journal, my hubby does it periodically, and it blesses him to go back over the things that the Lord has said, and done, in the past.

Jesus asked us to remember Him when we take communion, when we eat, when we sleep, when we wake up — even as we are going about our normal lives. His Presence goes before us, and comes behind us as we walk this walk of faith. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:8. 

Nothing happens to us that the Lord Himself doesn’t know about. “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.  I will consider all Your works and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11,12. It is so beneficial to our faith to remember the things He has done, especially when we feel oppressed,  ill, or even a bit depressed. You know, it is of no use to pretend that Christians don’t struggle with mental disease … that’s what it is …. mental DIS-ease. Something inside our thinking is not helping us, and we are no longer at ease. 

One of the best ways I know to help that, is to phone a friend, or if you pray in tongues do that. And if you are locked in then please don’t beat yourself up. Life may seem to be suffocating you and you do not need “ought to” and “must” sitting on your heart and mind as well. God loves us as we are. If we could perfect ourselves we would not need a Saviour! Maybe we have allowed some squirrelled up ideas about appearances and expectations to put even more pressure on our faith. These things deny our humanity. (2 Corinthians 1:8; Matthew 26:36-46.) 

I urge everyone to cultivate the remembrance of good in your life. Was someone kind? Thank them, and tuck that kindness in your heart, you might need it someday. Remembering helps us to keep on pressing on. Bye. 👋.

P3377 Psalm 54:1-7, and Matthew.   

/ DVH

“Save me, O God, by Your name; And vindicate me by Your [wondrous] power. Hear my prayer, O God; Listen to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me. And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is my helper and ally; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder]. He will pay back the evil to my enemies; In Your faithfulness destroy them. With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has rescued me from every trouble, And my eye has looked with satisfaction (triumph) on my enemies.”

Psalms like this one make me smile. David is saying: “Git ‘em God! Git ‘em good!” Yet his confidence in the Lord’s timing stands out like a beacon. The Heir apparent, God’s anointed, approved and appointed King, David, was constantly on the run from King Saul, the reigning King. It was a long time after this that David prayed this Psalm that God Himself gave David two opportunities to take Saul OUT! He could have killed Saul twice, but… he… didn’t! (1 Samuel 24 – the cave in En Gedi and 1 Samuel 26 – the camp in Ziph.)

This shows us that an apparent opportunity, does not mean it is God’s intention for something to happen! King David had a heart toward God and he knew God’s Ways. I think He wanted what God wanted, over and above what he personally wanted or thought he needed. He spent somewhere between 7 to 13 years running and hiding all over the country-side from King Saul. 

Even as a much younger man, David proved himself to be brave, so his refusal to kill Saul was not cowardice. On the contrary his reverential respect for His Heavenly Father, meant David simply refused to touch the Lord’s anointed. The strangers he is talking about in Psalm 54 that want to kill him, could have easily been mercenaries sent by SAUL. 

The Lord always has a better plan than you and I. But His plans can be long-range. Sadly we can often only see to the end of our own noses, and we want instant relief from difficulties, not transformation. Change takes time, and we can grow ‘weary in the well-doing.’ Adjusting how we respond, plus co-operating with the Lord, can give us a brand new perspective. That answer is continually on the cards for our lives. This is why we need His guidance to get us through the time in between.

There are times when it looks like God is not answering our agonised, tearful and despairing prayers. We may feel overlooked – it seems like He has thrown us to the wolves and gone on holidays. This is the best time to hold fast to the FACT that He is always good and He ALWAYS has a bigger plan. Our part in that plan is to hold onto Him and believe He will get us through whatever is going on. That is not easy! Saul went for the immediate answer, kill the guy who is your opponent. But David let God Himself deal with the problem. We have to learn to take the Lord at His Word, grab His hand and hold on.

This brings me to my second scripture – where God is at work in a different way. Our faith in the Lord’s goodness is the only viable life raft in a stormy sea. Let’s look at what happened to Peter after he began to sink into the water, as he was walking on it. This verse shows us God’s goodness in the land of the living … or the-almost-drowning!  In Matthew 14:22,23 – it seems like the Lord is scolding Peter – yet this man’s doubt and fear seem perfectly natural.

In the Living Bible it says this: “Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt ME?” That little word ME is so valuable!! I can almost hear the Lord saying: “Do you think I would let you drown to teach you a lesson?” Then the Lord put Peter safely back in the boat because that is what Jesus is like. We can all act like Peter at one time or another, we too can become suddenly suspicious of Jesus’ motivation toward us, and we look around us to see if there is anything else there that can help us to cope. Sadly, the things around us cannot help us! Let’s press in and show our faith in Who Jesus is and honour His goodness, instead.

Whenever we stop and turn to face the wind and the waves, we are simultaneously taking our eyes off the Answer. Jesus is our Answer. Peter teaches us that crying out when you are afraid you are going under, isn’t dumb, it’s what we need to do. The man’s faith just needed to grow and mature beyond his hope of adventure. And King David teaches us that God always has a plan, but it may not always suit us or line up with our timing.

Sometimes OUR idea of faith is way beyond what we can actually manage to do, and at other times we can stretch further than we think we can. Failure is not an option with the Lord. He will deal with our enemies, and/or save us from our own decisions. He will always get each one of us back to a safe place…because that is what LOVE looks like. Psalm 54 and Matthew teach us that. Bye. 👋

P 3193 Chosen to do His will.

/ DVH

In the Holy Spirit’s processes, there needs to be room allowed for those who have weaker faith than we do. They too have so many valuable things to contribute. Actually their weaknesses often expose to us the reality of our own inner value systems – pomposity anyone? This brother or sister can give us an opportunity to identify faulty thoughts within us. They are helping us. Now there’s a reality rush!! Those things that have remained hidden, and untested in our lives, sometimes come out when we bump into someone else who is not on the same page we are. And if we are not aware of what God Himself says, we can end up in judgment. 

Romans 14:1-4 has a bit to say about these attitudes: “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”

The point Paul is making is that we need to be careful not to judge other people who have weaker faith than ours. Otherwise we are questioning His judgment. It is so easy for us to say: “This person doesn’t do this, and the pastor blah blah blah…” God Himself chooses leaders. The bible says so. Here’s something to think about — sometimes leaders are chosen because they expose what’s wrong in US. King Saul is a great example of that. He was not a good leader, he exposed and personally illustrated cowardice and fear to his armies. But his people liked the way he looked so they chose him for the job. 

On the other hand, David, the King the Lord chose, was a great leader. Two men were given the role, for many different reasons. One of them showed the Israelites their weaknesses, and the other brought out their strengths. Both of those things are relevant when you are marching into battle. And both things were God’s doing. The Lord is not like us! He doesn’t see things the way we do, because we have limited sight and He sees everything. When He says it is not good for us to do such and such … believe Him!

Back to the point. So one man feels OK about eating meat, he does not feel condemned, but the next guy can’t. The point isn’t who is right …the point is, what are WE going to do about the difference? And the answer is we must not to leap into judgment! Bits of Romans 13:1-5 say this:“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. … … Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”

It’s not about whoever gleefully eats up all their veggies and who doesn’t – these two scriptures are about an attitude that we can easily allow to flourish within our hearts. And yes, I too have had people in charge of my life who seemed to be complete numpties. The amazing thing was they actually taught me more about myself and who I really am, than the nice guys who loved my ideas and supported them. Ya might want to think on that one!

Some people have weaker faith than others – they can’t do the kind of things someone else thinks is easy. This is not an opportunity to lord it over the person who can’t, and be superior. They are the Lord’s servants — He gets to choose who does what – and He chooses His heroes differently than we do. Who else would choose to make His only Son, the Darling of heaven …into a carpenter? And give His precious Only child into the inept hands of ordinary people? God would that’s Who! Telling the Lord what I think you should do or be, is an impertinence. I’m His servant. If He wants my life for His glory that’s enough for me. And what He chooses to do in your life is none of my business.

We have been given a singular task, and that is to love each other. This has nothing to do with judgment. Our assignment is to love the person whose lack of faith seems to be holding me back from where I think we should go. Here’s a red hot tip:  we can’t do that without the Holy Spirit’s help, most of us are not wired that way! I need rewiring!! Everything in this life is a set-up, heavenly-crafted to convince us that we need Him! If we put our faith alongside the faith that Jesus demonstrated, we are all duds.

So when someone — your spouse, your boss, or your pastor does some knuckle-headed thing, and you knew it wouldn’t work before they did it, but they just plain wouldn’t listen to you – that’s when we have a giant opportunity to learn to bear with those who have lesser faith than we do. And at the same time we need to support them, not criticise them, so that their faith has a chance to develop. So let them eat mushrooms, broccoli and tomatoes, while you knock off a juicy steak! Why would what someone else wants to eat have anything to do with you and I?

To finish – here’s what I’ve learned: One day you are the smart guy and the next day you are the numptie, and what matters has nothing to do with either one. The joy we share is that we have all been chosen by God to do His will. End of story. Bye. 👋

P 3070 The person who knows they cannot lose is not afraid to die.

/ DVH

We need to stop thinking that using our faith only means moving mountains, healing the sick, raising the dead, or talking to someone else about Jesus. Of course those things matter. But actually, controlling my temper also takes faith. I need faith Jesus’ ability to help me close my mouth and quieten my heart! My internal default position needs to learn from Him how to live in love. Otherwise my faith will fade away and I will wonder why it is weak. Romans, Galatians and Hebrews all say: “The just shall LIVE by faith.”

As I said yesterday, we learn faith incrementally. What I mean by that is, faith grows, it hardly ever just falls on you! When it falls on you it is the gift that 1 Corinthians 12:9 talks about. But we have been given spiritual equipment and we must use it daily. And at the same time, we are learning to walk in faith and die to self. You may have a job, or a family, but you are permanently His kid, His representative in this world. This new life Jesus died to give us, takes dedication and time. We actually begin by taking daily faith steps, so that if we need to fight Goliath we will run at him!

Chasing off devils is great, do it – as He leads you. But allowing His Grace to flow through each one of us in these chaotic, difficult times, is about daily walking with Him. Very few people receive the gift of faith, it simply rises up within them. Most of us need the fruit of self-control far more than we realise. BTW, self-control is a fruit, not a discipline. Jesus wants to grow His kind of fruit. David ran at Goliath. That guy was huge, but David’s faith was bigger! He had already experienced what God could do through his life. Later on he was able to maintain a good attitude toward Saul, because he kept continually building the faith he already had, by his daily choices.

We are growing fruit at the same time as we learn to use the gifts. Otherwise we will lurch along like Frankenstein – in the Spirit one minute, and in the flesh the next.  All Frankenstein had was dead flesh, and electrical input! But we have the glorious Holy Spirit Who made us in our mother’s womb!! He was Jesus’ Personal Helper and the Lord sent Him back to help us. The Holy Spirit knows our weaknesses and flaws, and He wants to help us walk us through this life filled with His power and grace for others. 

Over to God’s equipment in Ephesians 6:10-19. 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests …”

We usually start out talking about God’s armour by naming the bits. Great! Do it. But Paul’s actual exhortation begins with verse 10!“BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN HIS MIGHTY POWER.” Can you see how much that verse changes every other verse in this scripture? Paul goes on to explain why it is essential to begin with verse 10 … we are going to come up against demonic authorities and they have power and authority in this world etc. We train for the bigger fights by dealing with our own flaws and foibles – the ungodly stuff that is holding us back. That happens one faith step at a time. It is just plain stupid to fight with the guy who has your back in the battle!

This life is not a cake walk. It is an eternal struggle between the forces that control this world and the Kingdom of God. We all know Who won …but wisdom exhorts us to be prepared for the battle. All we need to do is stand our ground, and the enemy will fall to Jesus’ power. This is why we need to be daily concentrating on how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We can learn to overcome the Goliaths that occur, by participating in our day to day battles and dealing with our own flesh.

The verses that follow verse 10 explain HOW! Know God’s truth – inside out, upside down, backwards and frontwards. Read it, sing it, say it, study it, refer to it, obey it, and defer to it. God’s sovereign act of Grace is our only righteousness. Always be prepared to be the one who ushers in peace. This means we are at peace with God and our fellow man on the inside of our hearts. “Owe no man anything but LOVE.” And always keep the cross ever-present in our minds and heart. The cross is our sign of ultimate victory!

Our faith needs to be strong – we have to know that no matter how things look – God has not run off and left us at the mercy of some evil thing or other. Bad things happen, even to God’s kids:  but the person who knows he cannot lose is not afraid to die. This is why we give our faith a daily work out. So when temptation, or a challenge comes, we will have Godly skills, stamina and strength. Bye 🗡️. 

P 3062 The Eternally Grateful are coming …

/ DVH

There is an army of people who will be coming into our churches any day now. In my heart, I can see them. They are broken-down by this life and the way they have chosen to live it. These are the people that you and I might reject because of their outward appearance, or bad life choices. However, these people have discovered that the Saviour is not interested in their past misdeeds, or their backgrounds, and as a result, they are overwhelmingly grateful. These people know they need saving.

They’ve done all the dumb, monstrous things mankind is capable of, and they’ve seen through the tissue of lies our enemy has been feeding society that says: “people are just expressing themselves.” They know, if Jesus is not Who He says He is, or He doesn’t save them, then they are utterly lost. Everything depends upon how we treat these lost broken souls when they begin to join us – will we tolerate them, or make them feel so uncomfortable they leave – or receive them gladly with humility?

One of the difficulties we face today in our churches is that we do not comprehend the depth of our own personal sin against the Lord, and His holiness. Sadly, we can even become totally pre-occupied with someone else’s sin against us! But …we are living our lives, from day to day, totally unaware that we are disobedient to our heavenly calling. Repentance is part of our ongoing salvation. ps. we all need saving from ourselves, daily! We need to be aware, pride and complacency have entered the church. Jesus taught us this about that subject:

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore I tell you, her sins, many [as they are], are forgiven her—because she has loved much. But He who is forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:41-47. Our omissions, our refusal to obey Him, can harden our hearts.

I just love this lady! She interrupts a meeting between some bigwigs from the synagogue and Jesus, because of her desperate need for reconciliation with Almighty God. She knew how wrong her life was, and she did something about it!  Many believers today have become complacent about their faith. We can learn something from this unnamed woman. We need to take notice. She displayed her gratefulness all over Jesus’ feet, publicly. She did not care for herself or her dignity.

Everybody knows we are all sinners in theory. However, there are people who know, for sure, that they don’t deserve any of the costly Grace Jesus has poured out for them. They’ve learnt, the hard way, they are only capable of selfishness and chaos. Sadly it is too easy to think about repentance as an add-on, instead of a life-line. That’s when we end up excusing sin, instead of facing it.

I think the Apostle Paul is a wonderful illustration of how easy it is to think we are right, and that we are living our lives well serving God. This man was being obedient to what he knew, to the letter — and then God Himself went and knocked him off his (high) horse! Immediately Paul’s life was transformed.  “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Acts 9:3-5.

These verses show me that it is possible to think you are right, and still be wrong. Paul was. He thought he was doing God a favour by persecuting those radicals who followed Jesus. He saw himself as an avenger, getting rid of someone stealing God’s own glory. I particularly like the point inferred in these scriptures, where Jesus says persecuting believers is the same as persecuting Him. He takes our persecution, personally! No wonder we should pray for our enemies!!

Grateful people know that without Him they can do nothing. They’ve had their ability to resist sin and temptation tested, and they failed … or they came up empty. That’s when they realised that they simply did not have the power inside themselves to change themselves. These people now live their lives gratefully and they have an attitude that says: “I will serve You Lord, any time, any place, anywhere. My life is Yours now.“ Their desire is to see Him get all the glory, because heaven-sent gratitude has overtaken their sense of self-aggrandisement or need for approval.

These greatly anticipated newcomers, who are covered in the filth of this world, will have so much to teach us all, because their humility and devotion will be stunning. They won’t know what to say or wear, but they will be crazy about the One Who saved them! The Apostle Paul gave away his life, his position and his reputation to serve Jesus. He demonstrated what being saved means – it means we are a people who will always be eternally grateful for what we have been given. Have a good day! Bless you. 🙏

P 3059 Up close and personal!

/ DVH

“Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage.” Ephesians 6:12 TPT. 

Ignoring our enemy may well be one of Christianity’s biggest mistakes so far. But I totally believe in the Lord’s great all-encompassing goodness. I know He is raising up a generation of believers who will face all of our enemies, unashamed, and fearless. The way we can enter this brave band of brothers, is to practice fighting the good fight in our own little lives, every single day. Up close and personal! I pray all the time for His Grace to be abundant upon me because I’ve lived long enough to know that I need it!

Lately it seems the Lord is stretching my patience, while He is perfecting me and transforming me …Sigh. So there is a big l-o-n-g space between whatever bad event just happened in my life – to finally being able to see the Lord’s outcome. I will always need a big dollop of His hope daily to cope. Here’s a freebie …put your hope in Jesus, not in the Answer. Sometimes we don’t actually know what is good for us. My faith can be feeble and self-serving, and without His help, impatience will jump up and down on the inside of me – demanding my attention.

I battle with a sense of overall tiredness daily. It’s the kind of tiredness that makes you want to sleep for a week and hope that everything will be fixed when you wake up! I sort of understand the whole deal with the Israelites when they left Egypt and wandered around in the wilderness. I don’t like to live my life feeling uncomfortable either! The solution is easy – instead of waiting for my circumstances to change I need to give the whole thing to Jesus and walk away, leaving it with Him. And refuse to pick it up again..

God is good ALL the time. I simply need to cultivate my spiritual eyes and ears and make what He wants my priority. The problem is not with Him. It’s me!! There are days when I realise there is much more of the world inside me than I’ve comprehended so far. You know some days I also understand the Israelites longing for the leeks and garlic of Egypt, even when Manna fell out of the sky every day. It seems to me that there’s not that many ways you can cook Manna over an open fire! Boiled? Scrambled? toasted? I have a limited diet but manna porridge every day for forty years seems hard to bear. That problem is not with what I am eating – it is with what I am thinking!

The bible says in Galatians 2:20:“I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” I love the bible so much,.it shows me clearly there is no way forward without sticking to, leaning on, and totally surrendering to Jesus. ‘By faith’ means He is now my reference point, not the awful circumstances, or my feelings, but Jesus.

I love the bit in Galatians that says: “in the body.” My ability to conquer what’s going on in my head is already inside me – it came in when He came in! Salvation is not just something that happens only once. I am saved from all kinds of sin every single blooming minute of every day! Especially when icky thoughts float through my educated-idiot-box if I am irritable. That thing says stuff inside my head to the person who is annoying me: “If I give in to you, I am letting you win and there is no way you should win … because I don’t trust you!” Look at me, thoughts of reconciliation flowing about like a river! Hah! Fighting with YOU will not help ME overcome!!

That’s what this verse from Ephesians 6:12 is about. It is reminding us …“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4. The war we fight daily, sometimes minute by minute, has nothing whatsoever to do with guns, spears, swords, or nuclear weapons – but it has everything to do with my own private thoughts … by the time that junk comes out of my mouth, I’m sunk!

If I let irritation with you pull up a chair in my private thoughts … then … all by myself, I can personally conjure up why you said what you said, and what you meant by it!   You did get the whole “conjure up” vibe right? I mean that junk floating about is not valid. It shows me that somebody else has been whispering to me:  “They said that because of this – and they mean this because of that!” That’s like one step away from necromancy and that stuff is bad news according to the bible. Saul lost his kingdom and his life to that sort of Chinese whispers because God did not answer the man according to his timetable. 

All of this fight is internal, and most definitely up close and personal! However, yielding my will to His, when I am in the middle of it, changes everything. When I choose to daily learn to give up quickly, and lay my life down for His sake, not yours …then He can make whatever He wants to make, out of it – and it is always good! Bye 🤗 

P 3057 This is what obedience looks like.

/ DVH

Acts 9:10-15:“Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered, Here am I, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there]. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people tell about this man, especially how much evil and what great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem; Now he is here and has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call upon Your name. But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the descendants of Israel; …”

My first thought when I read this verse this morning was this: ‘Oy vey… there are times I baulk at the Lord asking me to do something simple!’ Ananias was a brave and extremely honest man. I love that he told the Lord Himself about his objections. I particularly love the bit where he said:“I could get dead Lord! He’s been killing people like me everywhere.” Ya gotta love an honest man. He was scared and he said so … then he did it anyway.

You know in all my years with the Lord I have never ever had one person come to me about an Ananias-type vision? I’ve never even read a book, or heard a sermon preached about what that man did. It was based on sheer obedience. I’ve had loads of saints come to me, telling me that God said to them: ‘I am going to be a big-wig, an important prophet or a blah blah blah.’ One dear lady once said: ‘God has sent me as a missionary to the rich.’ I managed to restrain my hysterical laughter, and I didn’t even say: “How convenient!”  I was polite, until after she left. Then I prayed for her…. but I was still giggling. I’m a bad bad lady! 🤣

I am also a big fan of this ordinary man, Ananias. I call him the guy who didn’t want to…I like him because that happens to me a lot. Father God tells us we should go on another trip to the back of Burke and … I don’t want to! Nasty things sometimes happen to both of us – before, during and after. Plus I don’t like the inconvenience and the effort, and of course, the discomfort. I really like my own bed, a-n-d I also like to know where the toilet is … especially at 2.00am when I really don’t want to wake up yet! Trying to find the toilet and not wake up doing it, can be quite a feat at my age.

Back to my brother Ananias – meanwhile I have never seen a flannel graph about him! But nowadays, I think he is vastly under-rated. Because he is an excellent example for us. He shows us how to having active faith in God. This man had a truly great reason to not-want-to-do what God told him to do. After all, if you think about it, he could have started a petition. Gathering up signatures under two headings …The first heading being:‘I think God really did say that’… and the other one says: ’Don’t be ridiculous why would He say that?’  Now there’s an  interesting little exercise. But Ananias didn’t do that. He had his chat with the Lord and then he went and did what he was told. That’s obedience. Here’s a big revelation – God did not say FEEL LIKE doing it.

We have most of the New Testament, because Ananias obeyed, despite the looming consequences to his own life. The thing is, blind people can’t write so good… they can’t see what they are writing!! Plus there was no Braille! Paul might have remained blind if Ananias hadn’t obeyed. And so that’s the question I put to myself whenever I am faced with making the same decision to go travelling again. Who will we miss if we don’t go? I know the Lord has back-up, because HE is the back-up for all of us …  but it’s lovely to be there when the Holy Spirit does His thing, and you get to watch Him at work.

I think that’s my favourite part of obedience. Watching Jesus at work in someone else’s life and heart. That’s a private and sacred place, and so you kind of want to tippy-toe around, and not spoil what He is doing. However, the personal result of this course of action means that hubby and I will go somewhere where the toilets and sofas are ten centimetres off the floor, and the beds feel like a rock, plus hubby has to haul me up and down, in and out of chairs. We do all that in the hope that we will get to see the Holy Spirit do something incredible in someone else’s heart. It is a privilege… but it isn’t always fun. Then again — fun can be over-rated.

Doing what the Holy Spirit tells you to do, when you don’t want to do it, is hardly ever fun. Particularly at those times when you are wound up tighter than a grandfather clock;  complaining at someone else and suddenly He gently suggests you take a breath and step down. Or He nudges you when you see someone struggling to carry their groceries. Or perhaps He suggest you help the person who is stuck at the check-out scrabbling for coins, to pay for their groceries. But when He says: “Help them” …it can be hard. Especially when you were counting on that saved money to buy yourself those really cool sneakers!

Obedience looks like that. Hard decisions at difficult moments, when you aren’t even feeling spiritual!  Bye. 👋

P 3053 Look after your joints.

/ DVH

Connection is vital in this new life we have embraced. We dare not try to function in our gifts or personal relationships without the Holy Spirit putting us together, so we can support one another. Hubby was talking to me yesterday about how painful his physical joints have been lately. He has osteoarthritis in a number of joints in his body, and those joints that are now not connecting properly, plus they cause him severe pain. 

The medical profession seems to have two answers for this malady – they either remove the offending joints and replace them with titanium, or throw years and years of pain killers at it. I pray they find a better solution soon, because neither of those ideas work!

The point hubby made yesterday was so pertinent spiritually, that I thought I would write about it here. At the beginning of any arthritic problem it can be easier to ignore the pain and keep on going – but that is extremely damaging to the joint! 

I think this is true when it comes to what the bible says too. Let’s look at it: “For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.” Ephesians 4:16.

Because we are joined to Jesus and what He did, you and I are also joined together. What is true in the natural is also relevant and illustrative for the spiritual. So when Sister Susie and Auntie Maud decide to play “no speakies” then the whole body will feel it! Or if Brother John and Deacon Bob aren’t getting along, everybody knows about that. The Body of Christ is quickly reduced to a puppet state, with others trying to pull the strings to make that puppet look normal and appealing to the outside world. We can have all the best motivation in the world, but until everybody owns up to their own sin and asks for forgiveness – Pinocchio will never be a real boy!

Hubby can tell you how painful his disabilities are, on bad days it almost stops him in his tracks. It shows me that’s how important connectedness is!  It is not a pretty idea, or a nice way to live – it is essential to the health of the rest of the Body. Pain takes over your brain!  And it quickly becomes all you can think about. Unless our spiritual joints start connecting and acting in a relationally sound fashion, we will lack co-ordination.

The bible tells us how much Jesus values His Body – He totally identifies with US to the point that persecution of Christians is persecution of HIM. Acts 9:4-5 “And he (Saul) fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me [harassing, troubling, and molesting Me]? And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.”  A body out of joint is no minor thing!

When we make Jesus our main topic of conversation, and remove judgment and criticism, we can create a safe space for everyone to grow. We need intimacy with Him and each other. We cannot afford to live our spiritual lives constantly being distracted by those joints which are out of place. Removing the offending joint is not the answer – all that happens is that the problem goes somewhere else and causes chaos there!  Even in my hubby’s physical body, removing the offending joint did not completely solve the pain problem. Metal rubbing against bone also has an abrasive effect. 

Our stated aim, as the Body of Christ, is to live in love — and that is costly. It cost Jesus everything He had. He paid that price so that His Body can live in a continuous FLOW OF LOVE to each other, and the rest of the world. When I stand in my place and you stand in yours, and we live a joined together life of love, we are witnessing to other people without saying a word. I think that the-people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet are looking for something real. However, if this course was easy everyone would already be doing it!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”John 13:34. This way of life is not easy, it means death to self! We are to love one another the same WAY He loved us — deliberately, obediently, sacrificially, and completely, without any thought about the cost. We demonstrate we are His disciples when we grow up into going beyond good manners, or outwardly caring … into His idea of love. We need bodily joints that are healthy, so that each one of them helps the other one move without pain! And we must provide a shelter for those who are in pain, not lay them aside until they get better. 

Jesus is speaking here: “This is My command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are My friends when you do the things I command you.” John 15:13,14. I believe the way to live like this, is to live in love – no matter what or who has caused the problem. We need to value each other purely because He has first valued us. 

First of all, let’s pray for our brothers and sisters, wherever they are. “We pray for their well-being and their faith to be strong and obedient in the face of death and danger.” Amen. Let’s look after each other, by caring for each joint, because those joints hold the Body of Christ together, so it can function. Bye. 👋 

P 3048 Immaturity is not a bad word.

/ DVH

“Now, those who are mature in their faith can easily be recognized, for they don’t live to please themselves but have learned to patiently embrace others in their immaturity. Our goal must be to empower others to do what is right and good for them, and to bring them into spiritual maturity. For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.””“Whatever was written beforehand is meant to instruct us in how to live. The Scriptures impart to us encouragement and inspiration so that we can live in hope and endure all things. May the God Who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:1-6TPT.

Encouragement is not just saying: “gee you are a great guy” no matter whatever a brother or sister-in-Christ is doing. It may make you popular but that’s called lying!. We must not deny the truth to save someone else’s feelings. We are not here to build up anyone’s ego, etc., rather we hold up the truth so we can all see our mistakes and adjust our course. Love demands that we persists for as long as the Lord says. 

Biblical encouragement consists of verbal, physical and emotional help others to walk away from whatever is holding them captive — without becoming their entire support system. We want Jesus holding them up – not you or I. We fall down too, remember? Keep pointing them toward Him, and stay humble! Love does not look down upon others.

Sometimes people have daft beliefs and they can’t see that there was anything wrong with what they just did. Simple stuff that slips by someone, but we can’t afford to put our stamp of approval on it. Situations like this one: “It’s OK, God understands that you’ve decided to keep the $10 extra change you were overpaid in that shop. We need to go back and return it.”

Meanwhile, if you are like me, then you might say something like: “What on earth are you thinking? That’s called stealing!” OK, I’m blunt, but nevertheless hinting around is not encouragement. But lovingly holding up what God says, IS. We dare not continue to try to weasel out of our personal responsibility to take ownership for our own actions. After all, Saul stood by and approved of people killing Stephen, and God held him accountable.

Biblical encouragement always has a point! It is a sign of love, and it can also be a correction for someone else’s course of action when they are going the wrong way. The truth is that there will be times we need to say the same thing 487 times before the other person gets a revelation. Initially, they may not even hear us clearly! However, if my family member-in-Christ needs spiritual hearing aids, that does not mean I am licensed to shout at them. But it could mean we will do a little bible study together, asap!  

Human beings can be proud because they don’t like to be wrong – and this sometimes means that people may not take course-correction well. This is a good place to pray without ceasing! There will be many times when you get to the maximum input with someone, and the Lord Himself will say to us: “stand back, this is not your assignment any longer – I will deal with this.” However, if what we do isn’t coming from love, then we need to go after love for ourselves and self-correct! Impatience isn’t love. Sigh. It has taken me a while to figure that one out! 

Sadly there are also times when we can lose our own hope, because we have misunderstood the meaning of the word encouragement and the other person failed to listen. We are not meant to be a generic cheer squad turning a blind eye, no matter what is going on. Encouragement means we will give someone else courage to keep going – His way. It also means ‘I will stand with you while you learn.’ 

Personally, when I can see someone is headed down the wrong path because of their own deliberate choices – I go away and pray for them. Next time it will probably be me down that hole. “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,…” Hebrews 12:12a. Maturity and encouragement mean that we stand in the gap until that person can stand with Him, by themselves. Love always looks for the good in others.

There have been many times I’ve suffered because I took someone else’s rejection and response to what I said, personally. There are things most of us don’t want to hear – and it is not personal at all, because the truth cuts right across our wrong theology. If someone else gets snippy at you because you held up His mirror, the Word of God – then that is their problem. It really isn’t personal. Even if it seems pretty personal when they tell you off!

Despite the fact that this whole area seems fraught with danger, true encouragement is actually His love-in-action, whether we like it or not. Immaturity is not a bad word, it is a place we all occupy from time to time as we follow Him. He is the Perfect One, we are His disciples, and some of us are on a giant learning curve. Let’s encourage one another with love and support in our hearts no matter what we need to say. Bye. 👋. 

For those of you who have been praying for me and the family about my mother’s illness, thank you. 🕊️I am so grateful. Your prayers were so powerful, they were tangible. My mother was finally released from this life last night, to go to be with the Lord. May God bless you for your loving intercession. 😢

P 2971 You can find Jesus anywhere and everywhere!

/ DVH

“My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory! Even My body will rest confident and secure. For You will not abandon Me to the realm of death, nor will You allow Your Faithful One to experience corruption.” The Lord Jesus is all over the bible! Right here, for instance in Psalm 16:9-10, hundreds of years before the Lord arrived – there is a wonderful statement where we can clearly see His hope in God’s faithfulness. Obedience, hope and faith took our Lord to the cross. And faith in His Father’s Word kept Him there, until God’s plan was completed. Imagine that!

Our Lord has not ever asked us to do anything He has not already done Himself, and He did everything fully co-operating with the Holy Spirit, in obedience to His Father’s wishes… Jesus cultivated and lived in Love, and He didn’t move away from there…He had the Grace of total obedience. I pray for that a lot!. Some of the things that the Lord Jesus did are beyond words. Like this one:

John 13:3-5“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God;  so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”

This scripture sets a precedent for each one of us — Jesus showed us two ways to cultivate humility. The first is this …we can deliberately choose the lowest place. I don’t think there is a more beautiful action than this one. The God of the Universe sent His Son to serve mankind and redeem us all, and yet right before his crucifixion occurred, Jesus humbled Himself even further, by washing His disciples’ feet. Astonishing!

The King of all Kings, and Lord of all Lords was kneeling on the floor washing those grubby, travel-worn feet. (22 of them!) I prayed about this brief episode, and it occurred to me that in the bible it says that the ones who take the gospel of good news everywhere —have beautiful feet. The disciples went on to take the gospel everywhere. I think this was a prophetic action – a statement of things to come. He is everywhere, in the lowest position – except for the last book, then watch out!

Another example I want to mention is at the cross, He submitted to His tormentors without a word.  Speaking for myself I’ve always got plenty of words … sigh! Jesus suffered the incredible pain of utter separation from both of His constant companions, the Holy Spirit, and the beyond words loss of His Father’s Presence for us too. “He Who knew no sin, was made sin for us…”

During His time on earth, the Lord Jesus walked in complete intimacy with both The Holy Spirit and His Father … minute by minute, day by day. I believe this means we can walk with Them like that too. We simply need to put the Holy Spirit’s needs, and ways, above our own. As each one of us eventually approaches death, we can do so with great confidence, because we remember that Jesus has already walked through death’s door on our behalf. He’s waiting for us and we will not die alone, our Saviour went there for us too.

He flung that door open for every human being that has ever lived on this planet. Death cannot hold any of us captive.. I used to explain it to my kids like this – death is simply somewhere else where we can’t see people for a while — like another room. People are not gone. Some will sleep and some are already dancing through the streets of heaven.

The enemy has no right to hold any of us captive to the fear of death because of what Jesus did for us. It goes without saying that we should be spreading this info around to anyone who will listen while we still have the chance! Death is a door not a destination. Even if we have spiritual unhealthy thoughts about hell, let’s remember that Jesus also went there too, and He held a parade when He came OUT!  

And my last example is this:  Jesus’ glory knocked Saul His persecutor to the ground.“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.He fell to the ground and heard a voice say tohim,“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. …” Acts 9:3-8. There is no place we can go that He will not be there with us… He’s the Good Good Shepherd, remember?  Bye 👋