Serve

P 2270 Believe in the God Who saved you – and say so.

/ DVH

One of the ways we can take ourselves out of the flow of God’s Spirit – is by forgetting what He said in the book. It does not matter who we were, or who we even think we are now – giving our lives to Christ is the great equaliser. Christ is now our standard, and what He did, the only criteria. Forget about impressing God and others, the good news is – EVERYBODY FAILED! He gave us all a free pass – now we can breathe the free clean air of undeserved forgiveness.

Talent and merit, ability and appeal are the coins of this earthly realm. They are only supernatural when they are in in His hands. It is good to take our human talents and invest them in His kingdom, always bearing in mind that what you have invested may not come out with the dividend you had in mind! His plans are bigger than ours, His ways are bigger and wiser than ours. We simply need to obey, but the results are up to Him.

The Lord loves to take the people that nobody wants, nobody cares about, and use them to bring about His purposes. Why? Because “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.” This is the best news ever. The bible is living proof that He can take a nobody and use him to lead millions of people across the desert, when the guy was a registered murderer. He can make another adulterous murderer a king, and then tell the world that He loves this man’s heart. He can take deliberate disobedience and save a city, despite his own prophet’s motivation. We must never think we are too hard for God. 

I don’t care what people told you at school or wherever, about any other ability you have or what you think you lack – GOD WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE LAST AND FINAL WORD. Christians have let other people’s opinions and ideas about who they think we are, dictate our role in God’s plans. Our ability to rely upon Him is the only factor worthy of interest because that will increase our ability to serve Him. 

Unfortunately, over the years, we’ve each developed a hypothetical list of things we can and cannot do, plus things we should and shouldn’t do. The pity of this is we’ve learnt to discount whatever Almighty God says about us and what He has put in us, and measured it against the yardstick of consensus. Jesus said “the first will be last, and the last will be first..” That’s just a small example of how extremely different His criteria is! 

There were many potential kings in Israel, men who had the talent or the charisma to motivate and lead people … yet the Lord chose a young shepherd boy who had the mind- numbing task of looking after sheep.The thing was, David did that to the best of his ability. He took the task in front of him and gave it his all for God. And he used his spare time to write some of the most beautiful words in Christendom. 

Jesus Christ laid aside His own reputation for US – it is time for us to do the same for Him and let Him dictate what we can and can’t do. It’s not what we know, it’s Who we know. We each have a part to contribute in His incredible plan. I truly believe nobody can do your bit better than you can. Telling yourself ‘I don’t matter’ is discounting God’s ability to move through you.

When we oppose ourselves, we allow other people’s opinions, and even our own, to challenge what God has said about us. We are not failing because we lack ability, we are failing because we lack belief in HIS ability to hold onto us. Some of the time that is inverted pride. We don’t want to be embarrassed, instead we want to kind of glide along, in the shadows, hoping somebody out there, will ask us a question – rather than directly speaking to people from our hearts about what we know about Jesus, personally. 

We also cannot give somebody else’s witness. Seriously, what pastor Big-Bucks, and Elder Knows-Everything, says is not your witness. What He say is. What you’ve seen is. How do you know Him, what happened to you? Millions of people have gone to hell on our watch because we don’t like the way Brother Motormouth at our church gives his witness or testimony and we don’t want to even sound like that guy! He may just be seeking attention, but that’s not our business. It is the biblical content that matters. Remember, we have the best Helper ever – the Holy Spirit. 

We dare not discount ourselves by our lack of experience or eloquence, or the fact that we are a scaredy-cat. The whole of heaven is behind us, they believe in us. Despite our flaws – which seem like a very large boil on a very small nose … we need to start believing IN God in us, He’s the hope of glory, we are not… Everybody breathe a collective sigh of relief! Get rid of who you are not, and start on focusing on Who He is and who He says you are. 

Sometimes I truly think we have become so good at depreciating and discounting ourselves, and calling that humility … that our enemy stands back and  says to his cohorts: ‘nothing to do here boys, this one doesn’t need any help from us!’  Believe in the God Who saved you … He knows His plans for you! 👋🏻

P 2162 Positionally speaking….

/ DVH

Jesus’ has already given gifts to His Bride. These can be God-gifted people, plus there are also many promises. Things like: “If you remain IN Me and My words remain IN you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:17. Did you get that?  This promise is dependent upon our position … in Christ. There seems to be a bit of confusion floating about in some places, about our position before Almighty God. I would like to give my two cents worth about this subject today… 🤗

God gives us wonderful promises by His Grace, but we can sometimes wander through His Word ‘cherry-picking’ 🍒 what we like, and leaving out what we don’t. Here’s something brilliant I have learnt – read everything. Seriously – don’t even leave out the commas and the full stops. And those little teeny tiny little words have an extra whammy on them! We have to look beyond the human translators to the One Who brought this book into being. The truth is … the Holy Spirit is the real Translator …He helps us hear what the Lord wants us to hear for today. Thank you Jesus for the Precious Holy Spirit! 🙌

There are some precious Christian people who live their lives claiming bible verses right left and centre. Things like “I’m the head not the tail…” etc. Others are galloping about ruling and reigning, proclaiming this, and reclaiming that… etc. etc. Personally, I’ve learnt that I am who HE SAYS I am, so I must learn to read, listening, and then follow HIS instructions. He speaks to me through His word, as well as my brothers and sisters in Christ. No more, no less. However, today I want us to think about this whole, “Jesus and me, we are best buds” thingy … or … as I like to call it – “I’ve got an IN with God.” We ALL  have an in with God, we are all IN CHRIST JESUS! There’s a good place to set up camp BTW.

Some people freak out about Christians who claim stuff etc. and declare it is not scriptural, and yet other people lose their minds trying to prove it is … Meh! There’s a divisive device I don’t want to touch with a forty foot pole! I don’t care to go down that rabbit hole … too many tunnels!! However, Jesus said in John 15:15&16 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have CALLED YOU friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My Name the Father will give you.”  

There you go! The Lord chose us first, so now we have His power of attorney – we can act on His behalf. Now wait for it !! – To do the things He wants US to do for His kingdom’s sake. We’ve been deputised … called up higher … not for our benefit … but for His kingdom’s benefit and His purposes. This is not a blank never-ending platinum Visa card for us to use like we are shopping. We are on the Lord’s dime, not ours. You and I can tell a tree or mountain to move into the sea, when it serves God’s purposes, but we need Him first to tell us ‘move that thing out of the way.’  We don’t get to make up the agenda. Jesus came to serve, and now we serve Him – because “a servant is not greater than His Master.” 

However!  The Greater One can ask the lesser one up – but that is simply a testimony to the Greater One’s generosity and favour – it is not a deserved position. Instead it has been bestowed or given. Moses and Abraham were both called God’s friends, not because those two men were so fabulous but because Almighty God – the Greater One – loved their hearts and obedience. 

Hebrews 7:7 says: “And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.”  So if the King of England decides he wants to be my friend, that may give me privileges, and perhaps, the King’s ear .. but it doesn’t make ME the King. “The one who wants to be greatest must be the servant of all.” Matthew 20:26. Jesus is talking about ruling and reigning from a place of servanthood – for other people’s good. Finally, let’s remember John 3:29: “The bride belongs to the Bridegroom…”  Positionally speaking we serve Him, but we know we have His favour. 👋🏻

P 2154 Time to step up our training.

/ DVH

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18). When the bible says we are being transformed, that means right here, right now. However, more responsibility in this new life of ours, can mean we will face even more opposition … that’s also something that we need remember as we go along. BUT the Lord is way too kind to let us move from one glory into the next without Him personally preparing us. HE WANTS US TO WIN. Our God is really great at resistance training! 🤣

If you feel you have been called to do this or that, or whatever;  then you need to know that there will be opposition facing you. The upside is that the Lord knows you can go through whatever it is. Jesus will walk us each step of the way, just like He did for Peter when he was walking on the water. Christianity is not for the faint-hearted. However, we must remember, that it is always filled to overflowing with His kindness, mercy, love and grace for the timid, inept and weak. Keep praying for eyes to see these things! Our God is so incredible. Stretching our faith means developing spiritual muscles. If you read the book carefully, you will see that happening in so many lives in the bible.

Philippians 2: 3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”Now there is a great verse to remember. I urge anyone to exercise great caution when talking about the things the Lord has said about your future. Our opponent knows very little about us, unless we open our big mouths and tell him – he’s not omniscient or omnipresent like our Father. You and I must learn to strengthen our feeble knees and wobbly hands by fighting his opposition daily – through the immediate situations we face, and how we decide to face them. God trains us for this war through these day to day seemingly ordinary difficult situations.

He allows these things every day, so we can willingly learn to choose His ways – for His sake. For things like humility, preferring others, speaking well of others as well as living our lives for His Body’s sake. Our God will not let us move on to what comes next, without learning these lessons. So, sadly, some people go round and round like an eddy in a little pool, because they have not yet learnt what they need to know so they are unprepared for what comes next. That would be me with my hand up BTW. I’ve gone round and round so many times I got giddy. 😵‍💫 Then I asked Him why I was stuck … and He told me!  We prepare for WAR by fighting our daily battles.

It took me a while to understand that I actually was hobbling myself by refusing to learn His ways. We have such a good good Father. Remember He will never send us out unprepared. He also does not make a private strategise the next move on the battlefield – that task belongs to a general – that’s why we need leaders. My advice? Learn to be happy where you are … let Him arrange what comes next. Do what you can, and then turn it all over to Him and leave it there. We cannot afford to ignore any tests He sends us. Each one is building a muscle we will need when we step into what He has for us NEXT.  

Jesus came here to serve us, and when we follow Him we will always lovingly serve others. The most fun you will ever have, trust me, is when you are led to serve someone who hates you – and go and you do whatever the Lord tells you to do, and it messes with their mind. I’ve seen people ‘lost at sea,’  literally, because they do not have a pocket to put my kindness toward them in. It’s hilarious. BTW you don’t do these things as revenge, you are just following the Leader. But it still can be a tad funny!

Our God loves oxymorons. These are the things in the bible that are put together in a harmonious way, but they are actually in direct opposition to one another. So he sends a coward to fight without number, and a hater to save a particularly hated city. Plus He brings His Only precious pure Son through the lineage of a couple of prostitutes. He tells us clearly in the book, that when we are weak then the potential exists for Him to be strong IN us etc. Jesus even told us we are blessed when we mourn! So when God tells us to rejoice always you can be pretty darn sure that this life is going to give us opportunities to have that particular mindset challenged. Nothing is wasted. Opportunities will only be wasted if we don’t rely upon His word.

The bible is a road map to His heart, and His Ways. We cannot afford to lean on our own understanding, instead we need to faithfully, and progressively learn to know and lean on HIS. But, because His Ways are higher than ours, they won’t always seem fantastic, instantly, to us! There is so much more ahead of us, if we don’t waste the life we have feathering our own nests! Instead we need to progressively learn how to live for His kingdom and put that first. Training is hard. It means putting down what I want, and doing something I don’t want to do – especially not repeatedly! The benefit of this, is that as we learn His ways, we are changed, and then His Ways not only make sense, they become extremely beautiful to us.  Praise the Lord! 😂