Saviour

P 2368 So what does saturated look like?

/ DVH

I dunno — yet! But I’m aiming at it. I’m sick to death with living a namby-pamby safe life that is dominated by the things around me that hurt, inconvenience or distract me. More Lord! 🙌  Wherever it takes me! I want to return love for hate, and kindness for carelessness and selfishness, without even thinking about it! I desperately want to leak the Lord’s love wherever I go, no matter how tightly I’m squeezed. That sure sounds like saturation to me!

That word saturate means to permeate until no more can be received, to soak thoroughly. Like a sponge that can’t hold any more fluid, saturated people drip the Lord’s goodness, loving kindness and His precious heart wherever they go, even under pressure. I would love to see the day arrive when His saturated people will leave puddles of His glory behind them. Puddles that heal and transform, just like Peter’s shadow healed the lame man in Acts. Wow, even that thought blows my mind!

I believe Jesus is looking for wild, unbridled men and women like John the Baptist. Passion is meant to motivate them. We are to return HIS passion with OUR PASSION, because our Saviour deserves it. Passion drove Him to the cross. Today, our response needs to match His example. I know a certain SomeOne Who would be de-lig-ht-ed to help us with that! The Holy Spirit.🕊 I think, BTW, that two of the most valuable things we can give the Lord are our time — as well as our obedience. Saturated people are passionate and devoted to His will, by being around Him.

They crave His Presence more than anything else. They love to be near Him, whether that means, prayer, bible study, or helping others etc. All of these things come from a saturated overflow. When you are saturated you don’t have to think about doing what He tells you, YOU DO IT simply because you know He will come with you. And that is the best bit – it’s everything! You enjoy watching Him work, seeing Him reach out to somebody else the same way He did back in those days before His crucifixion. Jesus Christ loved people. He didn’t have agendas – He just loved people. That’s where we are aiming – to be so full of His love it cancels out our own preferences and prejudices.

My testimony is this: I know He saved me, so He definitely can save anybody who wants in! I truly don’t see anyone as being too hard for God — outside the pale, so to speak. If you need a Saviour then Jesus is the One, He cannot let you down because it is in His very nature to be FAITHFUL and TRUE. Read the book. I encourage you to read what He said, for yourself, in the gospels. My premise is —“whosoever will may come …!”

So when hubby and I talk to people, we have that in mind and we just let them be themselves. We have no judgment toward what they say or how they live. It is the Holy Spirit Who convicts, challenges and convinces. It’s our job to “go” and let Him do what He does best, through us. He loves to love on people.  We just tell them what we’ve seen and what we know about the One Who is everything to us. 

I enjoy the example in the bible where Paul and Silas’ jailer falls on his knees in front of them. The bible says this: “In desperation the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Never missing an opportunity to share the good news, Paul and Silas said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” And that night, as Paul and Silas shared “the word of the Lord,” salvation came to that jailer’s house… “ Act 16:3-34.

Now that’s fantastic saturation! I would love to be so kind, so forgiving to those who deliberately hurt me, that that would be my automatic response!  I want them to see Jesus Christ in me. Knowing the Lord personally, has changed all my aims. I used to aim at being loved, feeling accepted – now I aim to give those things away to hungry people around me. 

I believe God wants a passionate people who will do whatever it takes to fulfil His will while they here are on this earth. A saturated people. 👋🏻

P 2359 Psalm 3.

/ DVH

King David’s song when he was forced to flee from Absalom, his own son: “Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me. Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying: “Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!”  Pause in His Presence. But in the depths of my heart I truly know that You, Yahweh, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with Yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head. I have cried out to You, Yahweh, from Your holy presence You send me a Father’s help. Pause in His presence

So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby—then I’ll awake in safety, for You surround me with Your glory. Even though ten thousand dark powers prowl around me. I won’t be afraid. Rise up and help me, Yahweh! Come and save me, God! For You will slap them in the face, breaking the power of their words to harm me. FOR THE LORD ALONE IS MY SAVIOUR. What a feast of favour and bliss He gives His people! Pause in His presence.”

Some times the people we love dearly, the ones who are our family, can do the most damage. It doesn’t even have to be what they say – neglect and abandonment can devastate us. The first point I want to make today is that this kind of scenario is not a walk in the park. We can’t just click our heels and the bad bits will go away. These things severely test us and often challenge our belief systems.They test our resolve to follow Him no matter what happens. 

Some things are a choice, but when it comes to family, those things are the places where we find we are most vulnerable. Family is about history. They knew you when. You knew them from birth…. That kind of history tears at our hearts like very little else, and betrayal from those who are meant to protect and care for us brings deep wounds. My advice is this;  start this process with healing, not rebuking or blaming your self. Ask the Lord Himself to be your Father and help you with the places that are bleeding inside from all that betrayal you feel. 

Don’t make excuses for them, and don’t make excuses for you either. It is what it is. David’s son was trying to kill him to take the throne. It wasn’t a whoopsie, or an error of judgment, it was a deliberate act of betrayal for Absalom’s gain. If you read the story, (2 Samuel 13-37 -15-12), Absalom went about whispering in other people’s ears, trying to turn the people’s loyalty away from David. That is not a mistake, it is deliberate SIN. In Absalom’s case it was jealousy and pride. He was beautiful and popular and he knew it and then pride took over.

Sometimes our family member/s are not simply making a mistake, they have joined their allegiances with destruction. They may call it correction, or caring for you, but because you are maintaining some degree of freedom or other they do not have, they will try to stop you anyway they can. Jesus Himself said this about families in Matthew 10:36 –“Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over Me, you don’t deserve Me. If you prefer son or daughter over Me, you don’t deserve Me.”

Look, if Jesus Himself talked about it, then difficulties like this aren’t totally unexpected. My only advice is grieve for your loss and ask the Lord to heal your heart with His Grace and Love, and then, immediately go on to choosing forgiveness. Some family members will turn around, and others will see your forgiving heart as something that can be used against you. Then you will need grace, grace and more grace. Don’t leave home without it, because Grace can do the impossible. 

Don’t just content yourself with forgiving out of some kind of familial loyalty – ask and keep on asking for His Grace to truly forgive. INSIST. Meanwhile difficulties like this can take time to heal, so keep on believing God is helping you – and don’t quit. Take your focus off the family member/s that are persecuting you, and deliberately give those people as an act of your will, to Jesus. And then keep on doing that each time they come up in your mind – eventually Jesus in you will win.

At the same time it is good to go on into blessing these folks until you find you really mean it. It’s all a process and an extremely hard one at that. Your job is to watch over your heart and leave the work to the Holy Spirit. Let’s give thanks that we have a Parent Who never stops loving us, and He is totally devoted to the restoration of families. 👋🏻

P 2353 Hope does not disappoint us …

/ DVH

… so if we are disappointed … then guess what? It wasn’t true HOPE. Maybe it was wish-thinking instead. Every now and then I have to stop myself from thinking that… what I think I need is important, so God will approve of it too. It is way too easy to put the Lord into things that are our own wishes and desires. If you are like me you can even come up with really really good reasons why He should like that sort of stuff. HOWZAT working for ya, hunny bun? It doesn’t work too well for me.  

First of all, HOPE IS A PERSON – Jesus Christ. Not just an answer to some prayer or other. Hope is not an attitude, it’s a Person, so we need to ask ourselves: ‘Is Jesus Christ in whatever it is or not?’ Christ is mankind’s only hope. And that’s a great place to yell hallelujah! “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,…” 1 Timothy 1:1. If we think answers to prayer are our hope, then it is no wonder we get disappointed a lot! This type of thinking shows us we are still immature somewhere – we are focussed on our immediate needs and circumstances and not on the eternal. 

1 Peter 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

Our whole purpose for living changed the minute we said ‘yes’ to Jesus. We moved OUT of one kingdom (this world’s way of thinking, being, and doing) and INTO His kingdom using our faith. His kingdom cannot fail because it has no end. We are not doing the Lord some sort of a favour by following Him in this life – we are actually escaping from the snares and traps of a worthless, soon-to-be-forgotten, ordinary LIFE. That’s why HE IS OUR HOPE. He is our hope that our lives can be worthwhile and full of purpose.

Otherwise we are born, and live lives of quiet frustration and turmoil and then we die. Jesus talked about hope heaps in the Gospels. He used His hope in God to choose to die and save all of mankind – that’s not too shabby!! Jesus Christ proved His way of thinking wasn’t limited when He lived and died to serve His Father’s will. That is eternal gain. Our hope in Him moves us further and further into the purposes of God.

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.  If we want, or need hope then we must cultivate an awareness of Jesus Christ Who is now living in US. If we dull that awareness with our own agendas and wishes we will easily lose our hope! Sometimes our selective deafness is the reason we lose hope in this life. Our hope is never in what HE DOES it is in who HE IS. 

Sadly, I’ve seen this ruin some very special saints – they went off chasing their hopes, their dreams, their answers to prayer …and lost sight of our one true hope. Christ IN us, living and breathing through us, transforming our lives as we live to serve and worship Him. He is our ONLY hope. His ways transcend this world’s ways. This world has plans for the immediate, the gratification of some need or other – good or bad. Christ came to demonstrate and bring alive, here and now, GOD’S ETERNAL PLANS. 

If our hope dims we’ve lost sight of Christ – time to stop and go after our first-love again! We are so blessed, God already had the most wonderful plan. True hope has a huge purpose, it helps us to maintain a life that would otherwise be impossible without His help. And God already provided that help when Jesus’ death opened the way for the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion. 👋🏻

PS It transpires that my lovely Pastor Glen preached on this precise subject yesterday, at exactly the same time I wrote today’s blog! I love it when our Father does that because it means we can have a bigger picture on something that is important. So here’s a link for those who care to check it out:

https://brisbanefire.com/messages/hope-doesnt-disappoint

P 2348 Really?? Have we become this small?😱

/ DVH

Look, I totally get that we cannot, and must not, even by inference, give others permission to live sinfully. Yes, there are people in our society who live what we might call depraved lives. But please !! It’s time for the Lone Ranger and Tonto to climb down off their horses and walk amongst the ordinary people living in this world and start living a life of love – instead of judgment. Some of our finest warriors will be people who have been snatched away from the fires of hell!

Meanwhile what do WE have that was not GIVEN to us? “For who regards you as superior or what sets you apart as special? What do you have that you did not receive [from another]? And if in fact you received it [from God or someone else], why do you boast as if you had not received it [but had gained it by yourself]?” 1 Corinthians 4:7. 

Where do we ‘get off’ looking down our noses at other people – people who may never even have heard of the Saviour – and start judging their lives. We are not here to be permissive but we aren’t here to be judgmental either. Is this really how we think we should introduce people to the One Who loved them before this world began? Like that’s gunna work! Condemnation just drives people further into excuses, and defensiveness. If we want to see people set free, then we need to stay in Love with the Saviour and live a life of sacrificial love toward everyone around us.

“Oh, but they will go to hell if they don’t repent and change their ways.” RIGHT. So our plan is to use FEAR to push them into God’s ways? Fear always leads to faith doesn’t it? NOT!! Hmmm. Aren’t we confusing FEAR with CONVICTION? Have we utterly forgotten who WE were before Jesus saved us? Speaking for myself I was a huge bag of superiority – “I would never do stuff like that!”  says I as I looked down my nose at others. Meanwhile even though I didn’t blatantly lie, but I exaggerated heaps – and of course, that meant I was always the hero of any little story or anecdote I told. 

I was guilty of lust, plus a complete lack of honesty. I couldn’t stand my sole parent and the way I was raised, and I said so to anyone who was dumb enough to ask me about it. I hated some people with a passion — usually people who had the effrontery to not like me! In short I was as ugly inside as most people are, but I had become quite adept at hiding it so I would be accepted. But it is hard to hide yourself from yourself, you gotta be dedicated to do that stuff! That kind of self-deception has to be practised.

You know sometimes I think we have not matured enough to understand that sin is not contagious, it is a choice. I will concede that bad circumstances can, and will often appear to line up against us, and temptation often pops up when we are at our weakest. BUT… people make bad choices for many many reasons. 

Some things are not actual life-style choices, instead people are driven to these dark places because they cannot cope with how they feel, and our common enemy takes advantage of their needs and weaknesses. When we are starved of love and natural human affection we are easily swayed onto darker pathways. Desperate, lonely people do daft things to fit in. And … sometimes these things are also the cumulative result of cultivating rotten attitudes and activities.

Following Jesus means we leave that proud judgmental lifestyle behind us. We call our SIN – SIN. Not whoopsies. We don’t blame our parents for our unloving ways, because we have and regularly read HIS BOOK and understand that our parents probably did the best they could based what this life shoved at them! We look at the next guy and think: ‘that could have been me, God have mercy on us both!’

Jesus touched the unclean. He interacted with two thieves – Judas and Zacchaeus – one repented and turned his life around and the other didn’t. He even dealt kindly with promiscuous women, and spoke into their hearts instead of condemning them. The only language we’ve been licensed to speak now, is LOVE. Christians fall down when we use the bible as a club to punish, damage, judge and banish people – when in truth the bible is that glorious balm in Gilead that will save the sin-sick, wounded soul.

We need to remember where we were when He found us and called us. We have been GIVEN the greater portion, so let’s use that for everyone’s good and find His better ways to reach out to the lost – ‘cos they ain’t called that for nothing! 💕

P 2321 I read the bible for MY benefit.

/ DVH

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” James1:22-24 NIV

There is this movie I quite like called ‘Take the Lead.’ In it a retired ballroom dancer decides to start a program for drop-out disinterested kids, and this man teaches them ballroom dancing after school instead of them doing detention. The group of kids he teaches are of diverse cultural backgrounds. 

There is only one white guy and he is a genuine redhead so he is really really white. Another white person, a girl, decides to join this culturally diverse group. There is a brief exchange between the existing red-headed group member, Kurd, and the newbie white female dancer.…Caitlin. He resents her upsetting the balance of the group. 

Kurd : ‘We don’t need any more white bread tourists seeing how the other half lives. We don’t.’ 
Caitlin : ‘White bread?!! Excuse me, do you even OWN a mirror?’ 

I love that line, mainly because I think it needs to be said out loud regularly, in Christian settings. We are wa-ay too enthusiastic and quick to point out to the rest of the world what’s wrong with them. We can draw up a list of things these people simply must not do in a heartbeat, about their sins, actions, and reasons why they will go to hell. My point is that …our mirror is for our own use. We actually OWN a mirror! And we need to use it.ˆThe bible has enough exhortations about change in it to keep all of us busy for the rest of our lives … and then some. BTW, I don’t look in that mirror TO SEE YOU … I look in it …TO SEE the real ME … more clearly!

If I am reading the bible to find ways for you to change, or to learn how to cleverly persuade you to change your behaviour, especially where your behaviour impacts mine – I’ve missed the point. I need to be thoroughly engaged for myself in this process, and that means I’m learning about my faults, not yours. There is no such thing as proxy faith – the only person the bible applies to, is me. 

However I can encourage you, using scriptures. But if we try to sugar coat what we want to say by wrapping up any criticism in nice stuff – then we are only fooling ourselves. And the other person involved will quite quickly S-U-S-P-E-C-T. This is where church division comes from, trying to shove my revelation and my POV off onto others. Even if we think we are helping God get what HE wants! His book is still for my growth. 

Let’s let God open doors for us and stop shoving our shoulder against those doors and blaming someone else for what comes next. We need to learn from the Lord Jesus how to take the lower seat. That’s what ‘the Word become flesh’ means. King David shows us clearly that God has a plan, but He doesn’t always stick to a timetable that suits us.The best thing we can do for others is to pray, and prefer. 

This means we pray and then we continue to prefer the other person in love. Romans 10:12. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.” This life is not about me being righter than you. Any righteousness I have, and any you may have, ALL of that comes from Christ. Here’s something further to chew on:

“All things are legitimate [permissible—and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].’ 1 Corinthians 10:23. 

Until we take verses like these seriously, instead of just holding on tightly to the ones we like – we will not grow UP into the fullness of Christ, our Saviour and Bridegroom. Exercising self-awareness helps us to achieve whatever the Lord wants, so I read the bible to change me.  🙏 Bye.

P 2314 It’s a Redemption story.

/ DVH

In the bible we have the clearest picture of our God and His desires for mankind. I can see redemption spelled out so clearly – over and over again. Destruction can and will overwhelm us, without our constant awareness of His glorious redemption. To women like Ruth and Naomi His redemption looked like Boaz. To the 2nd thief on the cross next to Christ, it looked like paradise was knocking on his door.  

In Exodus 35:4-9 there is another redemption story: “Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded:  From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze;  blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;  ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood;  olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;  and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breast-piece.”

So what are these verses in Exodus about? Are they about the local desert and wilderness ‘Stitches and Craft Show??’ 😳 These guys were formerly slaves – they were beaten, starved, and owned by somebody. So where did they get such incredibly rich and costly items? They were given to them by their captors the Egyptians, before they left Egypt. God gave the Israelites favour, so they were able to collect all these riches. 

The point is not the riches, it is what the Lord did with them! Let’s just think about this, those precious materials were used to build a temporary house for God and man to meet… now that’s redemption! They were booty. The spoils of their captivity. God took the fruit of their captivity and turned it into a place of worship. 🧐 Think about it. He will do that for you and I. He will take the places of our greatest pain and loss, and make something so incredibly beautiful out of them – we will fall on our faces in worship.

I have two more illustrations. When Abraham went up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac, at that place of potential sacrifice, there was already provision. God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his precious son. On yet another occasion God provided a whale to preserve Jonah’s life – even though it was Jonah’s sin and disobedience that put him in that position in the first place! 

My point today is this – do not let past failures, or circumstances, or even captivities, rob you of TODAY’S DELIVERANCE. Our God ALWAYS has a bigger plan. And don’t be surprised when the Lord takes whatever you give Him, no matter how decadent, destroyed or even wrecked it seems, and makes something glorious out of it! Just like the tent of meeting the Jewish people crafted, under the Holy Spirit’s tutelage and guidance. God had a purpose for it all – a place where He and mankind could meet.

He will take our failures, or exhibits of our captivity and destruction etc. and use those things we are ashamed of … TO BRING GLORY TO HIMSELF. Just follow the Holy Spirit’s prompts. JESUS IS A ‘BEAUTY FOR ASHES’ SAVIOUR! Those seemingly disastrous things become the places where our faith leads us on into further, deeper trust.

“For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And He is famous for His faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for He keeps His promises to every generation!” Psalms 100:5 TPT

Those scars that are still on Jesus’ body are not marks of shame —they are marks of redemption. Our whole bible is a redemption story. The whale in Jonah, and the ram provided for Abraham, show us He will do whatever it takes to bring about His purposes. Naomi and Ruth show us nothing is irredeemable. That tent of meeting shows us He will give us favour, but He has a kingdom purpose for that favour. 

All these things reveal His character to us. Our job in the face of defeat, despair and suffering is to not faint but to use any and all opportunities to learn TRUST. Love the bible – in its pages are incredible redemption stories. 👋🏻

P 2306 Authenticity verses His plans.

/ DVH

Our society insists on authenticity, even when that particular state of mind bumps into someone else’s life. Somehow then my authenticity can and often seems to override or negate yours. OR it wants to!  People can always build a great case for themselves and I can definitely build a better case for me! 

I believe with all my heart that the Lord wants us all to be authentic. BUT, He wants the real us, not just the person we think we are – or even what we want or hope to be … The person we try so desperately to hide – who is actually sinful, careless, self-centred one. Or maybe even a demanding twerp who is stuck somewhere between two and five years of age … and never wants to grow and change – they just want power!  

Growing up, or maturing, is a part of authentic Christian development. It’s the moment I stop blaming you for my own short-comings and responses, and begin to understand that not only am I not perfected yet – I ain’t ever gunna get there unless I start acting like God is real and He can do exactly what He says He can! 

Meanwhile, I am responsible for any ugliness inside me, and you can’t make me do anything. You might just give me appealing opportunities and choices, but Jesus actually died to give me a free choice. I have a Saviour Who is daily constantly imparting and infilling me with His new life. To get that new life – I will have to give up my own perceived right to live MY life MY way, and stop trying to manipulate your life to make ME comfortable. Wouldn’t all that be loverly? 😳 

I have a great diagnostic tool that will clarify these issues. When you read the bible or Christian books or articles etc. and they talk about people’s faults – do you know people who fit these descriptions given, and they instantly flood your mind? Or – do you fall on your face crying out to God that you know what you just read fits you and you need His help to repent? Maybe then another sort of list pops into your mind … a list of people you have sinned against. None of that will kill us!

Do you listen carefully to your pastor’s sermons, mentally wishing your mother, brother, cousin, neighbour was here today to hear this … ? Ah-huh! Oh yeah, you gotta a case of extreme religious-itus. The only cure, is genuine I-gotta-fix-this-now repentance. 

That kind of revelation always opens the door to real transformation. Unfortunately, I can choose to put my own shoulder against this revolutionary door to try to shut it again! Or even try to board it up, a little, just to keep it ajar, to let in a little light… and no more. People stuck in these thoughts can also get fixated on ‘its not fair’ …PLUS …we can all drift off into …’what’s blatantly obviously wrong with YOU.’

It is just so much easier to see how someone else can and should change, instead of me personally choosing change with His guidance and help! To gain real God-given authenticity I will have to lay down my plans for me and my life… and pick up the plans clearly laid out in the bible. However it is way too easy to use God’s book, selectively, to prove our own POV. What takes actual courage is to let His book read us, feed us, and correct us. The Lord is so tired of the ‘where is that thing You promised in Your book’ prayers. He is looking for saints who will lay down everything – simply because they want to see His kingdom come, and His will be done – so HE might be glorified. 

Here’s a really big thought – if I choose to change, then the way I see you will begin to change too. Instead, I will get His POV – and Jesus doesn’t see you negatively. Lastly, if being authentically ME means I am stomping on you then I missed the part where I need change and prayer more than you do. 

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” 👋🏻

P 2300 True freedom pays the price of ongoing forgiveness.

/ DVH

“Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an excuse to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Constantly love each other and be committed to serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 TPT.

Some versions of the Bible have a huge contribution to make when it comes to reviewing our own attitudes and actions. It seems to me that the Passion Translation hones right in on behaviour and motivation. It quickly diagnoses the sort of self protective attitudes we can easily take on in order to avoid scrutiny and transparency, as well as avoiding facing our true selves.

At the same time, this version creates such a grateful spontaneous love for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for all we’ve been given. People who KNOW they are redeemed and understand what that means, are not afraid to face even their darkest thoughts, actions and attitudes. This knowledge makes them overflow with gratitude for our beloved Saviour, and marvel at the Father’s great plan in the face of our deliberate disobedience and sin.

Our actual desire to learn how to truly love one another as a reality is a great diagnostic tool. They won’t know we are Christians by our ‘nice’, or even ‘friendly’, or ‘welcoming’ attitudes, they will know we are Christians by the way we love one another. You can’t fake that kind of love. Especially when brother ‘Always-in-trouble’ phones you in the wee hours of the morning and burbles out that he is as drunk  as a skunk and probably shouldn’t drive home and : ‘Could you come and get me please?’ Or when brother ‘Gee-I’m-smug-and-I-know-everything’s’ belief system is challenged publicly and he decides it’s your fault and targets you to straighten out your theology.

This is when love gets tested. Even when dear Sister ‘I-always-have-to-bring-a-cake-but-I-can’t-cook-for-toffee’ demands a glowing review in front of everyone. You can’t fake that either! The wonderful thing about these difficult people is that they are actually our new best friends. Without these little darlings’ help, we would never know what kind of monster lies beneath the smooth surface of the ‘I-am-always-coping’ lake we all carefully polish. In other words, people who drive us crazy are exposing the very things we don’t want to see about ourselves.

We build such beautifully designed castles, constructing smooth shiny walls hundreds of feet in the air to prevent anybody from getting even a teensy tiny glimpse of the angry, bitter and just plain nasty little person hidden within. I’ve met many of these people in my travels. I’ve also met the ‘I-will-tell-you-to-your-face’ people, who live outside the enormous castle walls and pride themselves on being honest. They make your fists get itchy, and are equally as annoying – but both parties expose us for who we really are. I have been on either side of those walls and found out that we cannot hide from the gaze of God. 

Repentance is the only answer for this junk. I once knew a person of the ‘I-will-tell-you-to-your-face’ variety who bounced up to me and announced, “I have always hated you”, and then walked away relieved of her great burden, and I stood there having been sucker punched … She may have felt better, but I started making fists all over the place! All I can tell you is, my own creature from the black lagoon has tried very hard to hide her unpleasant little self at the bottom of my nice, shiny blue lake. It took a whole lot of reality living and soul searching to fix THAT one.

I’d ask why we hide from ourselves and others but it seems like the answer is pretty clear. We’ve forgotten the light of the Saviour’s love and we want their approval more than we want to be free. Forgiving them also means forgiving me for wanting to thump them. We dare not live our lives only visiting the cross when dire necessity requires it. I’ve worn a path there myself over the years, because it was the safest place to be totally honest with myself and the Lord, and learn how to receive and exercise forgiveness. I just sat there and learnt the little I know from the Expert. 

Freedom comes when we understand not only what was done for us, but who we are now because of Christ. For me the cross is not a place of sadness but a place of rejoicing. When I look at how much He forgave me, it gets a whole lot easier to forgive you. And that’s real freedom.👋🏻

P 2277 The value of silence.

/ DVH

“I stand silently to listen for the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for the Lord to rescue me. For God alone has become my Saviour. He alone is my safe place; His wraparound presence always protects me. For He is my champion defender; there’s no risk of failure with God. So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? 

But look at these who want me dead, shouting their vicious threats at me! The moment they discover my weakness, they all begin plotting to take me down. Liars, hypocrites, with nothing good to say— all their energies are spent on moving me from this exalted place. Pause in His presence. 

I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for Him to rescue me. Only God is my Savior, and He will not fail me. For He alone is my safe place. His wraparound presence always protects me as my champion defender. 

There’s no risk of failure with God! So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? God’s glory is all around me! His wraparound presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my Hero, and my life-giving strength. Trust only in God every moment! Tell Him all your troubles and pour out your heart-longings to Him. Believe me when I tell you—He will help you! Pause in His presence” Psalm 62:1-9.

Sometimes the very best response to troubles or difficulties, is silence. There are times when talking about ‘whatever it is’ is the very worst thing we can do. Talking about our problems and trials can magnify them – plus other similar forgotten events can end up tumbling out adding to everyone’s ire. You can end up quite literally talking yourself out of your faith! Plus, why would we want to exalt the works of our enemy? Silence helps us pull focus back into trusting HIM, rather than focussing on the thing that is causing pain.

At one time, Elijah had just completed a major outworking of God’s power through him, right after that, somebody with authority threatened him, so he ran away. Eventually, Elijah ended up standing at the mouth of a cave, wrapped in His prophet’s mantle, waiting for God in silence. Whether you decide to fast, and/ or remove yourself from other people, some spiritual things become much clearer without this world’s distractions. Simply by quieting your thoughts and waiting, clarification comes. 

Psalm 62 has that interesting little word in it, Selah. It means ‘pause and think on this’. Pausing and silence are two of the least mentioned expected attributes of a Christian but they are greatly needed. I’ve found that the Holy Spirit is rarely loud, so if you want to hear Him, you will definitely need to take time to quiet yourself and simply listen. 

At those times it is good to try to soak yourself in His word. I’ve read all the way through an Epistle in one go, often pausing, or quietly thinking. I’m waiting for Him to speak. In times like this, what we are saying, without words, is… ‘I bow before You, Lord.’ Waiting and resting are signs of respect and reverence, as well as acknowledging Him. They help us remember He is God and … we are not! 

I have even been known to fall asleep whilst waiting – I don’t think that matters, my spirit is always on and so is His! There are other times when my mind is way too busy because I am overwhelmed by the enemy’s threats, distractions, and lies. Silence has helped me become more familiar with the Lord’s peace. In the Psalms it says ‘..I have stilled and quietened myself like a weaned child at its mother’s breast..’ BTW, I’m not waiting to get an answer as much as I am preparing myself to hear His answer by clearing away external noise.  

I believe that waiting and remaining in silence is good for us, particularly in today’s busy world. Our world demands that we keep active, busy or distracted most of the time. Sound washes around us everywhere we go until we are saturated in it. This means we could feel overwhelmed when there is complete silence. Silence is not only great for hearing the Lord’s thoughts on a matter – it’s terrific for keeping track of your own! Being silent before Him is like taking a cool shower on a boiling hot day – I always feel refreshed afterwards. 

It took me quite a while to wean myself off noise … I had to deliberately practice it, but eventually I fell in love with this skill. I have started to think noise and busyness can be a place we choose to hide in – instead of confronting our own feelings and facing this life’s dramas. Pausing and being silent is valuable and a great skill to cultivate, I heartily endorse it, because it helps us pull focus. 👋🏻

P 2241 Now where did I leave my peace again?

/ DVH

Losing our peace is a bad thing. To be honest with you, in the Western world, I am not sure we value inner peace from the Lord enough! Losing it is like opening the door to the bad guys and saying: “Come on in, and bother me with heaps of stuff that is not always true, because I want to live in anxiety, bitterness, turbulence and agitation!” Meanwhile if you turn that coin over you will suddenly discover if you actually have any of those greeblies I mentioned above – guess what? YOU LOST YOUR PEACE. Time to go and find it again!

Let’s start with what the bible says. Peace comes from and through Jesus Christ – however it is not a cessation of hostilities or trouble. Peace comes from the inside of our heart – out. Because we now have peace with Him – nothing else can disturb us. John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that IN ME you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”Yeah, not so much with me liking the tribulation part of that verse(!) 😳 – But we can definitely have peace in the middle of any kind of terrible situation that can plague us in this world – because His peace is spiritual peace. Spiritual peace can be lost – by embracing the problem, and not the Saviour. (Help help!)

Jesus explains to us that the peace He brings doesn’t look like this world’s idea of peace. Anyone who has lived in a country where there is war, the threat of war, or even internal ructions of any sort, knows that this world’s kind of PEACE is not permanent. It often depends on the actions of others. But in John 14:27 it says: “Peace I leave with you; MY peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. LET not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”We can refuse to be drawn into all the guff going on around us – because we know the end of the story! This kind of peace needs to be embraced, appreciated and allowed to flourish. Treat peace as a priority, because a lack of peace is a slippery slide that often leads into doubt and unbelief.

Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep us in perfect peace, when our mind is fixed on You: because we trust in You.” The biggest snare that leads to losing our peace is that our mind is not fixed. Renewing our minds daily help fix that problem! 😂 We are probably not trusting in Jesus, ALONE.  If we lose sight of our Saviour, and focus on our troubles instead – peace starts to become a vague idea, instead of the place we live in, internally. We might even blame other people for stealing it from us.

In those moments we need to drag our minds away from blame or trying to fix things ourselves. Or even going from one person to another, trying to find a solution. Peace came from Jesus and He can restore it for us. It gets reestablished inside us, first. Then the peace that is established inside us, affects everything outside us. So we do whatever we can, and then turn everything over to the Lord. Christians need to value their relationships with others above everything else but the Lord Jesus Himself, because anger etc. will rob us of our peace. 

In order to wrangle our emotions in desperate or difficult situations we will need His strength. ‘His strength is made perfect in weak people.So – admit your weakness! Pray – “I can’t, but You can.” In 1 Peter 3:11 it says: “They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” Peace does not fall on us – we will have to treat it like a lost treasure and go after it. When we lose our peace, the first place to go is the cross – then PRAISE GOD! We go to the tomb!!

We need to value His peace. It’s a gift as well as a fruit. Romans 12:18 says: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Sometimes it is just not possible to facilitate real reconciliation with someone else. Our job is to manage our end, not try to micromanage everyone else. This means all we can do is to restore our end of the relationship, and make sure we have arrived back at LOVE. Love is not about feelings, it is about being prepared to die for the other person!

Lastly, other people cannot steal our peace – but really motivated ones can give us loads of opportunities…!! 😂 God bless them! However, the reality is – we actually have to give up or relinquish our peace in order to lose it. It’s a choice. My advice is that we need to go back through the day in prayer, and revise what happened where, and with whom. Then repent for not valuing something so precious. Admit you lost it.

To sum up: if you are mad… you’ve lost your peace. If you are scared … you’ve lost your peace. If you’ve mislaid your hope that God is with you, helping you … you’ve lost your peace. That which is lost can be found again. 👋🏻