suffering

P 2319 Let’s not limit God!

/ DVH

I truly debated over today’s blog and whether I dare be this honest … but … our God is big and He cares about the truth – so here I am, and hopefully someone out there in blog land will be stretched and challenged.

As some of you already know I had an adverse conversation with a set of stairs at our house. I fell up them and then promptly tumbled back down to the bottom. I was very thorough, I did not miss one step! I broke off the head of my humerus in 3 places and fractured my forearm as well. That was not fun. 

Yet I sat at the bottom of the stairs in a cool calm and peaceful fashion for 3 hours, with my hubby and two ambulance people – our house is not easily accessible to gurneys. I had no panic even though it hurt – badly.  Hubby and I both prayed BTW.

Hitting bumps and going around corners in the ambulance later on on the way to hospital was just plain awful – pain doesn’t like bad roads. However, waiting in the queue to be admitted, my whole demeanour changed. Again, I have no idea why!! I ended up cracking jokes and being cheerful when that was truly the last thing on my mind. I am not even going to begin to explain that transformation … I am just going to move on…

All the xrays etc were so not fun … I was crying out loudly in pain. The pain went well beyond the boundaries of sucking it up, and it just went splat everywhere. I was in way too much pain to be embarrassed about how I responded. Suffering happens, it’s an inexplicable subjective reality.

Last night, 8 weeks later … I tripped yet again – no I have not found a new hobby! I was climbing back into bed, missed my step and ended up on the floor … for the second time –  unable to get up. My knees do not like to be knelt on at all – so I was stuck. Again I had the same peace I had experienced the first time. In the end we had to call my son and ask for help at 2.00am. He came immediately and between these two men we managed to get me onto a chair. Once on the chair I was … fine. Today, I had xrays and nothing bad has happened as a result of my second tumble. However I KNEW I WAS OK from the minute it happened to me. 

I do not intend to draw conclusions, the only thing I want to comment on is that obviously the peaceful lucid patches were the Holy Spirit helping me. The rest was me, and my own reaction to suffering. Personally, I would have rather stayed in the peaceful place – I have no idea why I didn’t!! I don’t even know if there was something for me to learn from it all… maybe later …

I am writing about this today because, in my experience, things in this life don’t often make sense. And I think we have developed a whole stream of theology trying to explain the inexplicable! In its own way those kind of  thoughts are still trying to control God, and put Him into a theologically-sound box. That is pointless and quite frankly insulting to Who He is. Some people say: “Take the lid off!” But I say “Let’s blow up the stupid box instead.” 

At this point I want to share what I think are some appropriate scriptures. Psalm 59:8, Psalm 2:4, Psalm 37:13, in these scriptures it tells us that God laughs at mankind’s thoughts and theories etc. It states that our view of Him is way too small. We’ve reduced His Ways – which are past finding out – (Romans 11:33), to something we can manage.

You know, we can analyse, theorise, and explain things until we are purple – we can quote this scripture and that wise person and still stand there as dumb as the dirt we were made from. What gave us life was His breath in us. So let’s not try to add wisdom into His thoughts.  His thoughts are often inexplicable!

Instead, let’s just let Him be our Father Who knows more than we ever could, and accept that our explanations, theories and so-called truths, limit Him like the Israelites did:  “Again and again they turned away and tempted God to kill them, and limited the Holy One of Israel from giving them His blessings.” Psalm 78:41. Let’s skip that mistake … sha-a-ll we?  👋🏻

P 2265 Praise is a heavenly language.

/ DVH

Previously, there was a trend in Christianity to use the word “praise” almost like we would use a comma or a full stop. I don’t mean people weren’t genuine when they said praise the Lord etc., what I mean is the use of that phrase was tacked on the end of everything. as it can be. Praising God is not a punctuation mark. It’s joining in with His already established kingdom, by worshipping Him, and praising God for Who He is.

Praise comes easily when you are living aware of God simply because of Who He is. Who He is literally pulls out a response from us. But what happens when He’s not around and we are not aware of Him. Maybe instead we have had a lousy morning preparing to come to church. How do we praise him then? The Bible says that we can bring a sacrifice of praise into God’s house. This means we take our eyes off our suffering, pain and circumstances and deliberately focus on Who He is.

Praise is a way to enter the throne room. The bible says,  “enter His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise.” Thanksgiving and praise are key to preparing our hearts for worship. Thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He has already done, including saving us, and praise focuses on Who He is. I think we’ve become tangled up about the way thanksgiving, praise and worship work. I don’t want to speak about worship today and thanksgiving is fairly self explanatory.  Today I want to focus on praise. I think praise is essential. It shifts our focus away from ourselves and onto the Lord and His kingdom.

The point of praise is to make ourselves aware of Who He is. If my husband only loved me for what I did, I’d be sunk right now. I’m in bed with a broken shoulder and I can’t even pull my own pants up. Praise is ‘other’ person centred. And in this case, it is God-centred.

Praise is about proximity and focus. We move away from our earthly circumstances toward Him. Many of the Psalms were written as prompts for praise. I truly believe in reading out loud the bible so your own ears can hear it. We need to come out of our minds and thoughts into our spirits and shift our focus onto Who He is. I’m reminded of an old Wesleyan hymn – “And can it be that I should gain? An int’rest in the Saviour’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me?”

I am also aware that praise is not just singing, although we do have some lovely songs nowadays that open our hearts toward Him. However, I personally think there are way too many modern songs with ‘I, Me and Mine’ in them. Praise is where I choose to shift my focus away from ‘I, Me and Mine’ onto Him and Who He is. To do that we need to study the bible with a deliberate awareness of Who He is. Praise is also a faith statement – it tells our enemy that no matter what he threw at us before we arrived at church – our God is on His throne!

Father God does not need our praise, we praise Him to prepare our hearts to focus heavenward. I switch my focus from my needs onto Him. There is an often unseen benefit in doing this, my problems get smaller ‘and the things of earth shall grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.’ For a short while we stop being earthbound people having this battle and this difficulty and become children of the King and His greatness and grace enfolds. We must remember the Holy Spirit loves to praise God. So did Jesus!

Praise puts me on a journey that takes me outside of the influence and attack of the enemy.  The ‘hooks’ of despair, discouragement and fear weaken their hold on me because I have deliberately turned away from them and am walking towards the Greater One. Praise is a heavenly language. It bursts forth from hearts that know this life is not just about all the humdrum, awkward, difficult and unpleasant things we have to endure, our praise comes from a people who have fixed their eyes upon a goal, and that goal is to give Him what He deserves.

BTW for Spirit-filled people, praise is our new residential address. Our greatest power lies in our ability to focus on His kingdom more than the earthly one around us. 👋🏻

P 2193 Stand with Him. The view is different where the Lord is.

/ DVH

In today’s politically adverse climates, we dare not think that God is on my side, or, maybe He is on that other person’s side. I just want to state here and now, that the Lord God, Maker of Heaven and Earth is on HIS OWN SIDE (Joshua 5:14) … And the best thing we can do when things get difficult, is to take the time to step away from what’s happening to us, or even what we think we need, and ask Him to help us to stand with Him … ON.HIS.SIDE! Almighty God’s view of this world is different from ours – there is another reality – His. This is a key to coping when things are tough.

Some of you reading this blog today are suffering. It can be extremely hard to maintain your faith when everything around you seems to be so anti-God, or even anti-you and your personal POV! But these turbulent times are precisely the moments that we need to remember that we believe in God because of WHO HE IS – not just for what He might or might not do for us. “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. 

Christians have sometimes interpreted this verse from Hebrews from our own needs. We think that the word ‘reward’ means that we will get what we want, and when that doesn’t happen then we get extremely disappointed instead! I don’t believe that this is the only way to interpret this verse.  I think our Father’s idea of a reward is His increased Presence in our lives. He wants us to ask Him, when things are tough, for His POV.

Sadly we have strayed so far away from looking at this life through His eyes … His plans for us – which are “to give us a hope and a future” – that we can’t quite remember what being in His Presence does for us! His Presence clarifies things. More of HIM and His kingdom in our lives, is the reward we need more than anything else. He doesn’t see this life the way we do. Human beings often want pain to go away, but maybe that pain is doing something somewhere that we simply can’t see.

Here is a verse that impacted me in Psalm 46. “Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God.” TPT Psalm 46:9. Here is the Message version:“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at Me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” 

That line ‘step out of the traffic’ is brilliant!  I love it. When we are stuck in traffic we can’t think about anything else except how to escape from the stress and noise!  The Holy Spirit is saying here that we need to step away from those things that are putting pressure on us. In the Passion translation it tells us to “be still.” Stand still, breathe, and wait for whatever He will say or do next. Don’t be tempted to rush on to solve the problem by yourself. God is in charge of our time here on earth, let Him order your life.

At first glance, it can seem that if the Lord would only make the problem go away, then that’s the best answer! However, when this life overwhelms us, finding the Lord in the middle of our problems reassures us that we can make it through. Simply because there can be no worry in His Presence!  We need to see our lives through His eyes, that’s the key to standing on His side. When we let go of our agendas and let the Holy Spirit open our eyes to what is really going on, that’s when we are standing with Him. The right key in the right place can reveal His will. 

In the bible, Elisha prayed for his servant when they were totally surrounded by their enemies in 2 Kings 6. He prayed for this man to see the kingdom reality around them, because the other man’s fear had blinded him. Then Elisha did an amazing thing – he also prayed for their enemies to be BLIND – so the only people who could see that huge angel army were Elisha and His servant! Ya might want to think on that for a month or two – I know I will! 🧐 We have the power to see what is going on from the Lord’s view – He doesn’t hide Himself from us.

There is another reality around us that is often hidden from our sight. But the more we live in His Presence, the more this world has no hold over us and our eyes become attuned to what is actually going on in the Kingdom of God – instead of simply staring helplessly at the works of satan.  When we live like this, we see this life through faith’s eyes. Our job is to pray His Kingdom down here into this earth. Not for revenge, or justification, but for His will to be done. Step out of the noisy traffic of this life and be still. There is another reality. Bless you. 🤗

P 2172 Beauty for Ashes.

/ DVH

The bible says that God wants to give us something incredible through all the discomfort, sorrow, pain, suffering and difficulties in our lives. Here’s a question for you. How can God give us beauty for ashes … without us having ASHES first?  Bad things happen to all of us. The problem is, especially in the Western world, we think of hard and difficult things as something to be avoided – or perhaps that the Lord is punishing us for something or other. Almighty God does not see suffering etc like that – He sees suffering as a doorway to something new – as an opportunity to trust Him more deeply,

Isaiah 53:10 says:“But it was the LORD’s GOOD PLAN…” (in some versions it actually says good pleasure) “… to crush Him (Jesus) and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in His hands.”  It is very easy to think, how can a loving Father be pleased to hurt His precious Son so badly? Because something far greater was going to come from what happened to the Lord Jesus…WE WERE. Father God went froman ONLY Son to MANY sons and daughters.  And it was all part of His very GOOD plan. 🤔

Sometimes what Almighty God says in the bible seems tough and it can hurt us, but He hurts us to heal us. There is such a thing as good pain. Like the pain you get when exercising something that has been damaged – it hurts initially, but done correctly, it will help the injury heal. “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal. …” Job 5:17&18. “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.” Hosea 11:3. 

I am not saying that if something terrible happens to us we should rush about cheering. Although… the Apostle Paul DID actually say that in Romans 5:3-5: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  

Remember, we always need the Holy Spirit to help us read His book, because …… THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS OUR GOD’S LANGUAGE! He knows Father God’s Ways and He speaks the Father’s language. And, most of the time, human beings don’t. We speak man. And mankind can only see what is of benefit to itself – our Heavenly Father sees what benefits the WORLD – even the people we don’t like!

Despite how things may look outwardly, our Heavenly Father loves us all very dearly.  We need to regularly pause, and deliberately reinforce the truth when life gets dark. Living using our faith can be difficult when this world presses in on us. It takes courage to get up again, and face this life and the stuff it throws at people. It’s a “coming ready or not” kind of world at this moment, and most of the time none of us feel ready for what turns up next! 

It may seem like you are carefully trying to build something worthwhile, and then someone else walks past and kicks everything over! And now you have to forgive that person who hurt you. Personally, at times like that, my biggest problem is that my feelings are jumping up and down. But our God doesn’t love us because you or I feel like it. He loves us because it is His nature to love and His nature does not change … EVER. This life is about HIM. His good plans, not just us. It can help to remember how much He loves us. This life is about us learning to trust in His reliability, His Word, His promises, and that can be tough in the middle of terrible hardship. But that is what faith does – faith stands up, when it really wants to fall down.

If we want to see His beauty in the midst of this life’s ashes we must reconcile within ourselves that it will be costly. To start with, it will cost us the right to wallow in hate, self-pity and complaining. It will cost us the effort it takes to discipline ourselves to look at trouble through His eyes. Plus, we will have to pray when we definitely don’t feel like it – and believe in Him when everything inside says: you are wasting your time – God has given up on you and your situation! Trust me – He hasn’t! He just has a bigger plan than we can see. This world needs our faith in His wonderful character. Our faith is in the One Who deliberately came and died to reconcile us back to our Father.

The Lord Jesus wants to give us His incredible beauty in the middle of the overwhelming ashes that threaten to swallow each one of us up. The physical, mental and emotional stuff that the enemy uses to torment us. Remember, the beauty we find, is IN WHO HE is – it is not our circumstances. May the Lord grant you the courage to find Him in the hardships you are experiencing today, may you experience His love and kindness when your world keeps throwing ashes at you. Amen. 👋🏻

P 2147 We trust in God Who raises the dead!

/ DVH

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death.”

As you will see below, I have split these four scriptures into three smaller sections to make my point.The first section, from verses 8 to 9a, is about what happened to Paul and Timothy. Things in Asia went pear-shaped in their travels while they were spreading the gospel. So much so, that they thought they would not get through the experience. Paul actually says that he thought it was time for them to die. It was not simply that they had missed their train or the washing machine repair man failed to turn up. No, Paul would never treat normal opposition so seriously. Plus despair is a pretty grim word!

Personally I think he means exactly what he says. The truth is something that is incredibly valuable to Paul,  he lives that way. He talks like this in these verses, because in his heart and mind, this whole scene was played out before the Lord Himself, not men. Meanwhile, I don’t think he is exaggerating to illustrate his point! A scholar could tell you about whatever it was that happened to both of these men, all I know is that whatever it was, it was so fierce it literally took these two committed brave men’s hope of continuing to serve Jesus in this life – AWAY.

I’m want to move on to verses 9b – 10a.“But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us,…” 

The intensity of Paul’s passion to see the Lord get what He wants jumps off the page. I want to illustrate the fact that even in the midst of such extreme, severe trouble, Paul’s faith is still in GOD, not in the resolution of their circumstances. What I mean is that this man is not put off by suffering, or even fear for his life. The problem we have today, when we read the bible is that this kind of language is foreign to us. It was normal back then, but today we would call what Paul wrote: “the introduction.” Which means we can skim over these things not realising the intensity of the situation both of those men faced. In other words our attitude to what it says, and where it is, can remove any meaning unless we are looking for meaning!

What he is saying here is that even if God had to raise them both from the dead, he knew that Almighty God will deliver them. Can you see the power and strength of this man’s faith?  He is speaking about something that is happening to them as a place for learning. Paul understood that God was stretching them for a purpose, and that fact didn’t flatten his faith. But when we first read this scripture it fades into the incidental background, it seems to us, today, that the real teaching comes later.  Everything Paul writes has A POINT. We’ve become very used to preaching over the years and I don’t think that’s a good thing – it can mean we tune important stuff out.

However, Paul’s mind is so renewed that he can’t imagine, even for a second, that the Lord will let them down! When I saw this today, it totally blew me away. My faith wobbles badly when ordinary every day stuff doesn’t turn out the way I hope it will, and yet Paul and Timothy are in total fear of their lives but they figure if the opposition kills them then the Lord will resurrect them if that is His purpose! 

You see when we read stuff like this, it is easy to think: ‘oh that’s just an exaggeration he’s just laying it on a bit thick to make his point.’ Except that he isn’t. When this man speaks, or when he writes one of his many letters, he is doing that from the Presence of the Holy Spirit – God Himself. You don’t fiddle about with exaggeration there. Almighty God is not an add-on in this man’s life – living for Jesus IS his life! So much so, that Timothy is living that way as well. This young man has been so influenced by God Himself – he risks his own life alongside Paul.

When I look at this kind of faith and then I look at mine … there is a big gap. Sigh. However, one of the things I can remember from when I was a much younger Christian was people of all ages telling me: “You don’t have to be that serious about it all!” Apparently no-one ever told Paul that! This book has been written for our correction and reproof – which probably means we are going to bump our heads on what it says, often!  And we also may find a glass ceiling over us when we want to press in and know the Lord better. But that can provide us with fresh insight into ourselves and God’s Ways. It becomes a new beginning place, not a place to give up.  

Moving on … finally in verses 10b to 11 “as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” Suddenly when people tell us that they are praying for us, life can take on a whole new dimension. Prayer is powerful. I know we all know this, but most of our lives today are fraught with overwhelming difficulties – like Paul and Timothy were. You and I may or may not die because we love Jesus – but our faith can easily perish when it does not become passion and devotion – like Paul’s faith was.

We cannot afford to read the bible like a book of suggestions, or discard bits when they don’t seem relevant or  they seem to be setting the scene for what comes next. Everything written in this book has the power to change our lives and the way we relate to God. We do not want to water down the power of God to save us from ourselves. In today’s world, where anything goes, we need this kind of passionate commitment more than anything else. Bye. 👋🏻

P 2141 Mercy and compassion

/ DVH

You and I know all about mercy, it’s that thing we sometimes want from the Lord  when we need Him to be compassionate toward us! Even though there are times when we actually don’t want to give those things to other people. One of the hardest things about being human is that we think we have very good reasons to be hurt, angry, bitter and resentful. And, sadly, if you were to ask us, we can tell you all about what happened to us because we have a list. Hmmm. What part of that sentence sounds biblical? 😶

Today, I want to talk about two important Godly Graces. They are personal expressions of the Love of God in action. Please feel free to pray that God enlarges the boundaries of my own tent in these things because I will always be grateful for more. My own heart desperately needs this kind of stretching and exercise. When you are older and ill – you can easily get wrapped up in your own needs. However, mercy and compassion are God-qualities – they are His Grace in action for those who are undeserving, and those who are trapped. They have nothing to do with the health and well-being of the one called to minister to others. The body of Christ today needs these qualities because they are so powerful – they can heal other people’s hearts quicker than we can say: “Be healed in Jesus’ Name.” 

There are even times when the-people-who-do-not-know-Jesus-yet, can display them. We must stop thinking that God only speaks to this world through the church. Ordinary human beings who don’t know Jesus, leap into the ocean to save a stranger, sometimes they die trying, or they run into burning buildings and save other people’s lives, every single day! The bible says that the Lord once used a donkey, and a whale to save people! Our God loves human beings so much even dogs and dolphins have miraculously saved lives. That is how important these Graces are!  

Mercy and compassion aren’t just about feeling sad for someone else’s suffering, or even trying our best to help them. Those feelings can occur when we have distanced ourselves from the people we know who are suffering. Instead mercy participates in situations, not caring about its own welfare – it runs into danger or difficulty for the benefit of others – even the people who hurt us. ‘Mercy is forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.’ (Dictionary definition.) Hate kills, mercy and compassion bring life.

Compassion isn’t just about thinking: ’oh you poor thing,’  Actually that’s called pity. Compassion has feet on it! “Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering…” (Dictionary) The bible says that Jesus Himself always had compassion for the suffering people around Him and He showed them mercy. IF we allow our bad circumstances to teach us, over and over again, that we need His Grace, then we will receive something that is real to give away.

The Lord wants these qualities to flow out of our lives like an endless river of His Love  expressed through us. Meanwhile this also means that whatever He does for any of us, is done through His endless mercy and compassion. That love is not forced or coerced – it is given freely to us – and we have been reborn so we can give those things freely to other people. We are no longer of this world – we have qualities they often don’t have! Mercy and compassion voluntarily run toward suffering. These two things in the church are often represented by giving money, or time, but Christ came to us in Person. 

Sometimes I think we would rather pray at a distance than go to the bedside of someone who is desperate and suffering. We can get so obsessed about using His miraculous power to show others how spiritual we are, we forget that we have been given this power to bring healing, reconciliation, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to others. Those things are not mutually exclusive they are inter-reliant upon each other. Helping someone else who doesn’t deserve help, as He leads us, marks US as His people. Taking other people’s pain personally is part of flowing in His love.  

Mercy and compassion are incredibly powerful – those qualities led to feeding thousands of hungry people, on two occasions. Mercy even forgave a sinful man hanging next to Jesus – while Christ Himself was suffering incredible pain! Any Christians who represent Him have eyes to see, and ears to hear – they always see or hear the one with a need. And in the Lord’s personal earthly ministry – those qualities in Him, also responded to the suffering of the friends and family around the patient, or the one tormented.

The point I want to make is that the closer we get to the Lord, the more mercy and compassion will leak out of us onto everybody around us. They are HIS qualities, not ours. Hang around the cross! We will find loads of mercy and compassion when we hang around it. Jesus loved, and died for the people who killed Him. That’s pure mercy. Forgiving people who do not know they need to be forgiven is not about obligation – it is a quality that flows from a heart filled with love – that heart treasures what it has been given so much, it can’t wait to give it away.. And it is the same with compassion. Compassion stooped down to write in the dust for a woman who had no hope of a reprieve, and Compassion walked across the city, to the mat of a man who had lain ill for 35 years. 

These qualities are part of the activities of love in action, and they are seeable. They are not just a passing sad feeling, or hoping someone feels better – they are love in action. Mercy and compassion engage in the disease ridden soil of mankind’s sin and the results of it – with the aim of bringing healing. With no strings attached. 👋🏻

P 2105 Merry Christmas – and yeah, I know it’s early!

/ DVH

In the past, I have spoken with some highly intelligent people, who told me that I came from a kind of an amoebic bird-fish that crawled out of some sort of primordial mud. Meanwhile, if you think about it, the scientists who think they have proved their point, actually agree with God Himself! The bible says we came from mud they have just missed seeing God Himself in the process.

Here’s an FYI, Genesis says that man was made from mud, but then God breathed HIS LIFE into that pile of dirt!  (Genesis 2:7) And Adam became a living breathing being – filled with the same life that IS in God Himself! It took 930 years for Adam to die, he had so much eternal life in Him, even though he gave it up when he disobeyed. Some other clever people have devoted their lives trying to create Artificial Intelligence, but the truth is that God put more intelligence and potential inside a little baby’s brain than we can ever duplicate!  Even I can sculpt a passable frog out of clay but I cannot make it LIVE. Jesus Christ has life in HIM – He came to give that life that we threw away, back to us.Here’s a fun thing – Jesus once gave a blind guy a brand new eyeball by spitting into the dirty and He made it from… wait for it … MUD! (John 9:6) Ya might want to read that and think on it! 🤔

Our God came here to earth, in Person – this is what Christmas is about. It is about heaven touching earth in such an incredible way that every single thing changed. And for some people, all around the world, this the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus Christ is our living hope. He came to earth for all of us, but we really do need to remember, that we all inhabit the same planet. However, we can’t possibly share the good news in the way it was written, when we are so utterly determined to keep our lives separate from the other people world-wide who are suffering! Christ identified with us deliberately. Why do you think God chose a cowshed as a shelter to bring His precious Son into this world? He wants everyone to know that they matter to Him. Poverty, sin, and sickness are not some sort of punishment from the Lord, instead this stuff is an opportunity for those who have plenty – to share.

People matter so much to our Heavenly Father – not our own comfort, or even our expensive Christmas gifts. We’ve become so obsessed with our OWN personal happiness, we’ve forgotten Who we are here for! Jesus included everyone – refugees, poor people, smart people, people who didn’t believe in Him  …plus … the people who knew they were sinful and … the ones who didn’t like Him at all. Christ didn’t see any human barriers, because they only exist because we’ve let them be there.Sadly we’ve even managed to take something God did that was so incredible, so profound, and we made it ALL ABOUT US. Yeah. Merry Christmas! 

I can’t help wondering about what the Lord would like for HIS birthday? Any thoughts?? Like maybe we can eat less and use the money to share with those who have NONE? Ask yourself, who did the Lord spend the most time with? If these people are His priority then they should be ours as well. When we tell people that Jesus loves them so much, they may or may not hear us –  but that bit is not our responsibility. Our bit is to demonstrate His word in our actions, prompted by His love, and His power. God is looking for empty vessels to fill. Vessels that will overflow with concern and compassion for those to whom Christmas is just another dreadful day spent looking for food, shelter, and warmth – for them and for their families. There are times when I think the Western world is so FULL we’ve become utterly side-tracked. Riches and comfort are like an opiate, they lull us off to sleep. 

Jesus said: ’GO! And tell them I love them – help them…” Merry Christmas… early.