Shine

P 2367 Our experiences with trouble are a cue to revise the way we live.

/ DVH

“We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours. Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out. We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.”

Boy, these verses seem like my life story neatly expressed and typed out! Sometimes it seems like we lurch from one problem to the next. It’s like someone has been following me around and writing down what goes on. Can I be honest with you? Expecting this life to be like a Disney classic movie is more than optimistic, it is down-right idiotic. Life is full of sinful people, (I are one!), who seem to be getting more selfish by the minute. 

Meanwhile did you notice what it said in the above part of the scripture in 2 Corinthians 4? I bolded it to make it stand out. This life is destined to kill us …UM …Christians! … OFF, bit by bit. One heartache and/or pain after another. The Lord allows it so that people can see Jesus Christ through us. Trouble doesn’t mean we are out of God’s will, trouble means He is giving us an opportunity to let Him shine through us. The deader to self we are, the more He can shine. Now there’s an AIM! Let’s read on …

“We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you. We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says, “First I believed, then I spoke in faith.” So we also first believe then speak in faith. We do this because we are convinced that He who raised Jesus will raise us up with Him, and together we will all be brought into His Presence.”

Did you get the bit that says living in Christ is actually MEANT to look like this? This suffering, this sorrow, this tide of disappointment and grief has a point. It is not random or just bad luck! Instead it is a gift to us to disentangle ourselves from striving and straining to make this life work! This means that now we have embraced Christ so thoroughly that His agenda is ours, and what He wants isn’t tacked onto a list of things we already have to do, or things we are supposed to do – in order to maintain our happy little lives. Instead it is the REASON we are all still here.

Have we forgotten that we are the people who have a HOPE? Our job is to spread that hope around. Our greatest sin just might be our SILENCE. We are not still here to have a happy little Disney-fied life and go off happily singing into the sunset. We are here to be His hands and feet in a world that doesn’t know Him yet. We have been given the privilege of showing forth His marvellous light in the midst of this world’s darkness. Ask Him to help you to talk to others about the hope within you, and then SPEAK. Find somebody to help and comfort. Our troubles don’t disqualify us, our trust in Christ qualifies us..

As an example of well carried-out-all-to-common selfishness, I recently watched a person in their 15 minutes of fame, telling a TV crew that they were fine after a 6.8 earthquake devastated Morocco all around them. They had not had one thought that maybe they could go and help those still trapped, because they are there on the spot! Heaven forbid that a catastrophe should spoil their holiday! What about the two thousand people who can’t say the same thing … because they died! Can it possibly be true that the Western world thinks these people in other countries exist for our holiday experiences and amusement? Boy at that moment I sure needed changing – my smacking hand got itchy! We watch disasters on TV,  feel sad, and then go about our own lives like we are not all living on the same planet. We are here to serve others, the bible makes it clear that we are to live this life with eternity in mind.

“….We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 TPT. Focussing on the unseen does not mean we just pray and walk away – that’s when we ask Him: “What would you like me to do about this?”

Where are the mighty ones of God Who see those who are suffering as a personal responsibility? If we are still breathing, then there is still time to change the way we think. It is a choice to let His glory shine through your little life, even if it means sharing someone else’s suffering. 👋🏻

P 2201 Don’t leave the fun stuff to the so-called experts!

/ DVH

Instead, ask yourself – what am I here on this planet to do? And here is your answer!! Matthew 5:14-16. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” You and I are here to shine.

So what do I mean – don’t leave all the fun stuff to the so-called experts? I mean doing stuff with the Holy Spirit is FUN, AN ADVENTURE. Take my advice and get over the idea that you can’t possibly talk about your faith to a total stranger. A total stranger is like the easiest person E-V-E-R. You are never gunna see those folks again! Win, win! It’s the easiest way to talk to people. I exhort you to take Jesus with you on holidays. On purpose!

Seriously, buy some bibles/New Testaments/or tracts/ pass-it-on cards and stick them in the car with the kids’ ball games, stuffed toys, and the blow-up floaties for the pool at the caravan park. Yes I know you also have everybody’s clothes, and your food, and a first aid kit … BUT, those book type things really don’t take up all that much room if you think about it. When you do this you are telling the Lord you want Him to come with you …. and you never know what HE will do! … But IT IS guaranteed to blow your mind! 

OK, right – you are busy – you wanna rest. And when you go on holidays you already have a parent in the way-back seat who is deaf, but they won’t admit it. Plus they have a cane, and they grumble a lot.  And they probably want to do sudoko in the car, but the blamed pen won’t work! You also have 2-4 kids and a dopey dog and they all think that your car is a boxing ring. So they repeatedly say: “Are we there yet?” “How much longer is this going to take?” “I want an icecream! You promised!” “He’s sitting on my side of the seat, tell him to move Dad!” Blah blah blah. You know the drill – you’ve bin there already a thousand times. Plus the road is busy, and you and your spouse are wishing you had stayed home … and here I am saying: “take Jesus with you … in your car?? Lady, HE WON’T FIT!” 😱

Aha! I hear ya. But the Lord Jesus is fantastic, He brings peace with Him. “Great! Fabulous, you say! Now, according to YOU, I have to do all this stuff and you want me to be spiritual as well? Have you lost your mind?” Nope. You are right. I don’t have 2+ kids, a dog, and a grandma with a broken pen up the back. But … I have a husband with one hand, cos the other one was operated on, and I can’t drive. And we both suffer from chronic fatigue. And we have to take our own food because we can’t eat out.

Plus hubby has to get out of the car, talk to strangers, then get back in the car again, drive some more, then talk to more people, give away stuff, and still find the caravan park. Me?? I’m praying. Meanwhile I can’t travel 10kms without getting exhausted – let alone 400 kms per day. Then, when we get there, hubby has to cook our dinner – we don’t eat the same food – as well as unpack the car, and strip and remake the bed with bed-stuff so I can sleep. Then he goes off to talk to our hosts and give them whatever God says, to bless them too! Would you believe this still is his most fav thing to do? Mine too!

I soooo get that you are busy and this is the only holiday you are going to have this year… BUT you have never ever lived until you’ve told a perfect stranger that Jesus loves them so much He sent you to their caravan park to tell them that He loves them and cares about THEIR lives. You see, they also have kids, grandkids, daily visitors, beds to make, rooms to clean, a park to look after, plus the expectation that you and everyone else has that they will make your holiday a happy one. Their lives are busy too. And when we tell them the Lord Jesus loves them and smile at them, we may be the first person in a week who didn’t have a complaint about this, that or the other!  

These people don’t know the Lord. When they are desperate, overwrought, tired and fed-up they go down to the back of the park and sit under a tree. Maybe they have a beer (or ten!) and smoke a pack of cigarettes instead. They do not know that IF they pray, God will listen to them, because their prayers for help do not seem to be answered. But HE did listen … HE.SENT.YOU!

Look, people are not going to grab you by the front of your shirt and demand that you tell them about Jesus. They have no idea where their help is! And we get to tell them that the God Who made heaven and earth sent us to tell them that He has not forgotten them – He loves them. You probably won’t even need the 12 spiritual laws. LOVE WILL DO THE JOB BEAUTIFULLY. Send the kids off to buy that icecream, and park grandma or grandpa under a tree and go and introduce yourself to the people who run the park. 

Nothing is more refreshing or fun than refreshing someone else. Why should our pastors have all the fun?  Most people-who-don’t-know-Jesus think pastors have to talk like that – but YOU … you will surprise them! 👋🏻