Wait

P 3310 The power of Pausing.

/ DVH

There is a word in the bible that means … “stop and think on this.” It appears often in the Psalms — SELAH. We translate that word into ‘pause.’ So we need to do more than agree with what it says, we need to stop and think about it. Selah means ‘I will stop and think about how these words I have just read can impact my life, my concerns, my hopes.’  Pausing and waiting for Him allows us to breathe, instead of anxiously holding our breath.

Pausing is like hitting the refresh button on a computer. It means we’ve been captured by something and we want to stop long enough to go back over it and see what is really being said. Pausing adds clarity.  We can find His Presence far more easily when we stop ‘think-worrying,’ and choose to pause. Then pray. I call it pausing, but Father God calls it by many names. In James 1:12 it says it like this: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”  This is a person who stands still, when everything around him is whirling about. He is pausing to steady himself.  

Steadfastness is the ability to believe God is good even when every circumstance around you says differently. We deliberately choose to hold fast to Him. It means you stop trying to solve the unsolvable and simply look at the One Who is so much bigger than our problem or questions. It’s taking a big breath and taking the time to lay these things aside, then we choose to take hold of Him and His Word, and wait. We want to cultivate the ability to understand that despite how formidable something seems, God has it. Meanwhile we patiently wait to see what He will do next!

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.”  Psalm 130:5. Waiting means I don’t react, so eventually I choose to act as He prescribes. I believe what He said in the bible and so I put my whole thought processes into meditating on that. And I stop ruminating on stuff.  My hope is always in Who He is, not just getting an answer. The secret to being blessed in waiting is not merely waiting til the trial is over — it’s waiting to hear what He says about it in the time you have chosen to pause. That is done deliberately. Pausing is letting go and letting Him do what He wants.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12. These things are unattainable if we do not take the time to pause. Our un-renewed minds can easily run into panic without real, tangible, God-given reassurance. Our assurance is in the bible! Pausing helps us to learn His Ways. We learn first-hand how He handles things. How unhurried He is in a world that is often rushing here and there. Whatever is flattening our well-being slides away in the light of His Word. Standing still, waiting, pausing, remaining steadfast – all these things can help us to unravel the difficulties that land on us. Then we can see them without a whole lot of mind-busyness. Pausing releases and relieves stress. 

Moses literally paused.  He was going about his daily routine and then he saw the burning bush — and the bible says this: “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”  Exodus 3:3. He stopped what he was doing long enough to do more than give the bush a cursory glance. He actually physically engaged his body by using his feet to find out what was happening. He immediately encountered Almighty God when he took the time to pause and wonder.  

Pausing shows the Lord we value Him and His input. It engages His attention. It says: “I am not going to rush past this moment, I will give it to You. I am curious to hear what you want to say to me Lord.” It has a parallel truth present in the Song of Songs. The singer says to His beloved: “You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.” The shepherd has been captivated, He stands still long enough to notice not just her, but her presence. He refuses to move past his beloved’s loveliness quickly. Pausing is about deliberately paying attention to something that captures our hearts.

It may not be about something unusual, it might just be we have seen whatever it is many times before, but this time it grabbed us and other things faded into the background. Then all we can see is Him, His wishes, His Way. Time stops pushing at us because, it becomes irrelevant. Like Moses we turn aside to ‘see.’ Pausing is about those moments, when the busyness of this world fades into the background and we are lost in what we’ve seen, or read, or experienced. Pausing, waiting on Him, adds depth where we might simply live in the shallows.

Pausing is about ceasing from any activity temporarily, whilst listening to and waiting for the Lord. Personally, I think if we practice learning to pause over Godly things, we will learn to live in His rest far more easily. Pausing is like drinking in the Lord’s peace, on purpose. There is such value in simply stopping and choosing to look at Him, to see what He wants to say. I recommend it. Bye. 👋

P 3307 Count the cost.

/ DVH

Since we have come to know Jesus, our aims for this life have to change. We are no longer living to do what we want to do, we live to do what He sent us here to do to: “Since Christ, though innocent, suffered in His flesh for you, now you also must be a prepared soldier, having the same mind-set, for whoever has died in his body is done with sin. So live the rest of your earthly life no longer concerned with human desires but consumed with what brings pleasure to God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2 TPT. 

Heaven’s help in our growth is essential. I am sorry to say, that in years gone by, the church hasn’t always prepared God’s people to participate in dying to self. We’ve talked a great deal about a free ticket to heaven, and God’s love for mankind, and how His power released into our lives will enhance our lives, but unfortunately, we didn’t emphasise the cost. The bible is clear, and Jesus said it — we simply must count the cost! Let’s not avoid the verses that talk about this subject and accidentally allow His word to be watered down in our daily lives. 

Here’s a useful tip — rationalising God’s Word leads us to a cliff. We can fall off and think we will be OK because God is good and He will catch us, but His aim is to have functional, mature Christians! The Lord’s death was a serious thing and our response should be just as serious. One of the reasons people struggle with their faith today is that they have not counted the cost by deciding to live their life ‘all in.’ They say things like:‘Well, I’ve prayed about my faults and it’s up to God to fix them.” The Holy Spirit requires our co-operation and interaction in this process – He will help us, correct and direct us and prompt us. 

Jesus Himself mentioned several times: “go and sin no more!” Now does it sound like that skill is going to just fall on us? I think we are either all in … … or not. There is no middle ground. That middle ground we’ve embraced is not supported by scripture. The bible forces us to look at our decision-making processes.  And here are some examples of what compromise can look like.

Chapter 14 in Luke is a really challenging chapter. Let’s look at what Jesus said in verses 25-33:“Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

Giving our lives to Jesus means that we are going to encounter various difficulties and challenges at different times. However, we can’t avoid making the tough choices. What happens when loving Jesus means we will tick off our parents, friends, rabbits and relations? I have found my true devotion shows up under pressure and there’s nothing like family to turn the pressure on! That’s a cost all of us face, explaining our faith to the people we dearly love, and sometimes being ostracised because of it.

Previous to the above scripture in Luke, the Lord also mentioned a number of scenarios we need to pay attention to – maybe we’ve been invited to a feast by somebody important, and praying for a sick person will interrupt the formal proceedings.The Lord wants us to be mindful, about whether we are influenced by our surroundings, or not. Standing up for Jesus in private is one thing – standing up for Him in public is another. There’s a cost.

At another time the Lord explained that certain guests were invited to the wedding party of all wedding parties, by God Himself – but when they were invited, they said they had other more pressing things to do. So the Master of ceremonies sent His servants out to find ANYONE they could find, and compel those people to come in and enjoy the happy time. We simply can’t afford to be careless and casual about His instructions or invitations. Counting the cost means we will have to choose under pressure.

Above in Luke it talks about counting the cost. This time it is about building a house. It says: let’s make sure we can pay for the house, on the spot, or progressively … before we start. The Lord knew the importance of counting the cost before you jumped into something incredibly challenging and life changing. Better to live in a shack and be able to concentrate on your faith, than skipping being with Him and overworking to pay a mortgage. The cost can sometimes be our own comfort.

Living for Jesus means we consult Him first, and we will take the time to wait for His answer. Then we face the cost personally, and do what He asks us to do. In His very last example, the Lord talked about going to war, and how important it is to count the cost and be aware of your ability to win, before you start. War has long term ramifications. Standing up for Him in the midst of conflict, can cost people their lives. All these things are part of counting the cost. Be aware of it first, because bearing the cost makes us His disciples. Bye 👋.

P 3304 Thank God for EASTER SUNDAY!

/ DVH

“We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and Who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews 12:2 TPT.

Isn’t that a lovely version of this beautiful scripture? The hard bit can be looking away from the natural realm —  mainly because it surrounds us, and jumps out at us at every turn! For example, the news of the moment is all about war, and petrol, plus the effect of this war on all of us. We have been almost battered into submission by journalistic or expert opinions to think a certain way. 

Unfortunately, their particular stream of thought seems to include picking bad people and good people. Whereas the Lord simply sees people He loves.← That’s a full stop right there! It is incredibly sad to think God is on OUR nation’s side. Our daily efforts are best expended by permanently living on HIS SIDE. Let’s look for love to guide us, not popular opinion, or even a lack of oil or diesel. We live because of Easter Sunday. The tomb that contained His body was meant to crush Christianity, but instead it ushered in eternity. It is so like Jesus to take what satan meant for evil and turn it to everyone’s good!

I thank God I was born on this side of the cross. That tomb is still empty! Never forget on Good Friday to throw off your burdens at the cross and then… walk past the cross to that empty tomb. It’s a place of thanksgiving and remembrance. Our reality on this day, is far greater than any monument. Today is the day we remember that Jesus didn’t just SAY He conquered sin and death – today is the day He proved it! His Presence in our daily lives defies death, this world, and our enemy. The wolves of this world can ‘huff and puff” and try to tear down our house, but we’ve been built on the Rock that is Christ Jesus.  

We can look through our daily trials and tribulations, and see Jesus Christ and His resurrection through a glorious vista of living faith. I love what Paul writes in the bible. He stays focussed on what Christ has already done, not on what we lack. I pray we too will continually focus on the joy of that long ago Easter day and what it means to us in our own lives, here and now. Because of that day, the blind and deaf, still see and hear, (physically and spiritually). Because of that day we are no longer afraid of Almighty God. He is cherished by us, He is knowable and close to us, always. Now there will always be more than enough love for all!  

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 2:13,14. We don’t have to be important in this world’s eyes to be a part of what Jesus is doing on the earth today. We simply need to stay close to Him. He’s our Friend that sticks closer than a brother, and He knows what is happening in our lives. He has won every victory, despite how it looks.

Take Paul’s advice, remember Jesus’ victory at Easter. And forget what is behind you, press forward toward the goal God has set for you. When we could not possibly reach Him, God reached down and lifted us up — and now we stand with the Lord Jesus, shoulder to shoulder — we are called His brothers and sisters and covered in His Love. Easter is our proof that we do not hope in vain. 

Let’s look at Psalm 27:13,14. “I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.” Psalm 27 reminds us how good God is. That cross is His goodness in the land of the living! Paul in Philippians 4:13 clearly tells us where we get the strength to continue. Christ’s overcoming strength burst out of that tomb, and He has never been contained since. Men and women over the centuries have lived their entire lives based on the One Who did not stay dead! I can have confidence, strength and courage, because He didn’t do what He did for Himself … He did it for all of US.

So, we can face any unpleasant relatives with love, even the ones who have behaved horrendously toward us. They can’t reach us to hurt us, anymore. We are now spectators, no longer participants in their sin. Drop that junk off at the cross and let your heart be permanently hidden in Christ the Risen One. Now it is easy to be forgiving, loving and kind to that friend who stabbed us in the back. We can live this life, the only one we have, differently. 

Even if you are facing the threat of death today, Jesus’ death and resurrection shows us that He trusted the Holy Spirit to bring Him out of that gloomy grave – so we can too. Because of Easter Sunday, we now live in the ever-expanding Grace and Love of God. May He Bless you to be strong and courageous! Happy Easter! Bye. 👋

P 3303 Tongues.

/ DVH

Before you freak out, because people do … I just want to say I think the subject of tongues have been bashed up a bit. Between some denominations who stay well away from this blessing, to others that insist we are not born again Christians without it – tongues have been misunderstood. However, I think about this subject like Paul does – I pray in tongues, and I pray in English. But I’m eternally grateful that when I run out of words, the Holy Spirit always knows exactly how to pray – for me, and through me, and for others. The bible says: tongues edify us, they build us up personally in the Holy Spirit, because speaking in tongues needs us to use our faith.

Today I want to look at what the bible says about it. Paul seems to be the most instructive and vocal person, but I want to start with the book of Acts chapter 2:1-13, where it all began. I think we are emphasising the wrong bit –what happens to us! And we seem to fly right over the fact that the Holy Spirit visibly arrived here on earth! A whole lot of incredibly unusual things happened. The Breath of God became seeable, hearable and people experienced Him. It was awe inspiring and terrifying all at the same time. The power of God was tangible.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Indeed! What DID it mean? I think Almighty God, the Holy Spirit, arrived in Jerusalem, at the Lord’s appointed time, and the same Spirit that helps people speak in tongues —- helped people from so many different places understand what was spoken! No prayer, no urging, no force at all, no stress – God Himself just showed up!And people who could not understand each other suddenly understood what He said. When Father God did that He made it clear what happened was for everyone. The barriers we all carefully erect between each other, were gone. This means Almighty God speaks your language!

This wasn’t a ‘choice’ moment, it was a ‘sovereign’ one. Ordinary fishermen, started to speak languages they had not learned, and God’s message was broadcast aloud through the streets of Jerusalem by nobodies. People physically saw the tongues of fire, they heard the rushing wind, they felt the buildings shake. It was momentous. Jesus Christ came here as a little baby, but the Holy Spirit arrived with a huge blast of glory from heaven! Imagine it. The disciples start speaking words they don’t understand and perfect strangers are convinced and convicted that Jesus is the Messiah. And they repent!

Peter stands up and explains. How does an ordinary fisherman know what happened? Well, he had walked with Jesus for three and a half years, suffered through Christ’s death and burial and resurrection, and at the end of all that, all the disciples had to cling to was the word Jesus gave them. WAIT. Then suddenly the living Word stashed inside Peter’s heart, was ignited with a roar. He and the rest of the disciples had been with Jesus, day after day, listening, learning, making mistakes, seeing things they never thought they would see, and then suddenly the word of God came alive in each one of them. They were so impacted by the Holy Spirit that His Words burst out of their mouths and reached everyone around them. Nobody cared who the preacher was – all the listeners knew was Almighty God was speaking to each one of them personally. 

For me this is the essence of speaking in tongues. The enlivening of the listener’s spirit to the point where they see God Himself, and Jesus Christ His Son, more clearly than they ever have before. This gift is meant to impact our hearts. It goes right past our thinking and bursts straight into our spirits. This is what speaking in tongues is for – it helps us when we are stuck, or dismayed, or bereft or lost. It rescues us with God’s Words spoken through us or someone else, and our spirit jumps up and down and says: “I know that voice!” 

It’s not some sort of fairground party trick. God Himself speaks through us. I have prayed in tongues with tears pouring down my cheeks because the Holy Spirit gave me the interpretation as I was speaking. My ears didn’t understand a word I said, but my heart jumped up and down and said: “That’s it! There’s the answer.” 

We were made by the Holy Spirit in our mother’s womb, we know His voice. When He comes and breathes upon us, we recognise His breath. Tongues are a sign and a wonder, but they are a supernatural sign and a God initiated wonder. It is not just babbling. It’s the Lord!  The power of God, His wisdom, His authority and His never-ending passion for mankind, speaking into and kissing someone’s heart, spirit and soul. Impacting them with pure unadulterated love! Not man’s thoughts, HIS!  Bye. 👋

P 3255 We can easily miss what He is doing.

/ DVH

“…but just as it is written [in Scripture], “Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].” 1 Corinthians 2:9                                                                       

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, Who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, I who remember Your ways.” Isaiah 64:4,5.

The above two scriptures are such a comfort. They tell us how much Almighty God loves us and how He has plans for our lives. He’s so much more generous than we can ever hope or imagine. Somehow it seems kind of sad that He would need to tell us, via the scriptures, to remember to think about Him with loving affection and deep respect! The second part of the verse in Corinthians explains why. We don’t recognise what He does for us every single day. 

For instance, I woke up today. Lots of other people didn’t, but, by the Grace of God, here I sit typing away, doing something I love doing. This is one of many benefits, I can see that the Lord has given to me. I sometimes drive my family nuts because I am very vocal about what I believe! I’ve been loving Jesus and following Him for 53 years, and some of those times have been so very very difficult – but He has helped me through them.

Years ago, when I had a liver transplant, it all happened very suddenly. It was at a time of great massive turmoil, I had just been through a divorce. That morning seemed an ordinary day, the family was off doing their thing and I could barely drag myself about, so I ate a few jelly beans and an apple. Then the phone rang… I had to go into hospital immediately… Somebody else’s life had ended with the same suddenness that my new life was about to begin. I rang my husband, worried because I had just eaten something so maybe they couldn’t do the op! The things you think of at times like that – what I had eaten was the least of my concerns.

That was thirty five years ago. And so began a huge awful, scary adventure. I am typing this by the Grace of God plus a stranger’s unimaginable generosity, at probably one of the worst moments in their lives. Someone they dearly loved had died, and in those devastating moments, they had chosen to help somebody they would never meet.  

Eventually, I woke up in ICU with more tubes and bags of stuff hanging off me than I could have ever managed. I felt like a Christmas tree! Another incredible blessing that God had given me at that time was – I had the three finest liver transplant surgeons in the world operate on me that day. Many doctors came from other countries to learn from these three men. These doctors had travelled all over the world teaching a method founded in the very hospital, that was just 3 minutes down the road from where we were living, I could have walked to it. 

I won’t pretend any of it was fun. But I can remember, in the middle of the flowers on the curtains around my bed talking to me, I told the Lord I didn’t want to go on without Him. And He came!  Jesus stood right by my bed. I didn’t see Him, but I sure did feel His loving Presence. I felt Him there so strongly, that when my poor hubby turned up with his worried face, I kept telling him to not speak because the Lord might go away! I asked Jesus why He had come for someone like me, and He said:“You told me you wouldn’t go on without Me, so I came.”  God’s incredible kindness at one of my most vulnerable moments overwhelmed me – it still does. 

The Lord acted on my behalf in so many things regarding the transplant – the experienced surgeons, plus the nurses  So here I sit, typing this. I’ve lived long enough to see my three children married, plus I now have five grown grandchildren. All of this life we have now, has been an unforeseen benefit of God’s Grace. We had only been married for two years, when I had the transplant, we have now been together for 39 years in July. 

It is incredibly important to our overall health to remember all His benefits. It’s good to write things down, do it! But it is even better to sit with Him and remember.  At the time of that terrible illness I didn’t even dream about having a future. I had no clue about the places I would go to, what I would see, who I would meet – until after all this happened. We’ve travelled over 250,000 miles in this country, meeting ordinary people, giving away bibles, for nearly 21 years.

We can easily miss what the Lord is doing, and has already done, because this life can be one giant distraction. You have your own story of His grace, I hope I have helped you to remember it. Bye. 👋

P 3130 The beginning of Wisdom.

/ DVH

“If you consider yourself to be wise and one who understands the ways of God, advertise it with a beautiful, fruitful life guided by wisdom’s gentleness. Never brag or boast about what you’ve done and you’ll prove that you’re truly wise.” James 3:13 TPT. “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,…”1 Corinthians 12:8. “Those who are wise will shine radiantly as the sky at midday. And those who turn many to the way of righteousness will shine brightly as stars for all eternity.” Daniel 12:3 TPT.“The beginning of wisdom is: Get [skilful and godly] wisdom [it is preeminent]! And with all your acquiring, get understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation].” Proverbs 4:7.”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10.

Proverbs shows us the importance of having the Lord’s wisdom, and when it says “fear’ it means reverence and awe. A deep respect for Our Holy righteous Father, puts us on the road to understanding His ways. Proverbs also states to get His wisdom you need to make it your first priority and realise you need it. Human resources and information feature a lot in this world we live in, accumulated knowledge is the big deal thing today. And of course, now we have the internet and Google! Not to mention Wikipedia. Ho hum.  

But the bible tells us that even though Godly wisdom is the thing to have, without understanding and mature comprehension we won’t know what to do with it. Boy, I could have saved myself a heap of angst if I had taken that concept seriously! I kept trying to teach my kids wisdom when they didn’t understand a thing I was saying, and most of the time they didn’t care to either. Wisdom has to be sought, and earthly knowledge is not the same as God’s wisdom.

God’s wisdom is prompted by the Holy Spirit. Kids learn to parrot off all kinds of stuff at school, but they have no idea what to do with it. They need spiritual application to make use of their knowledge. That’s why they need parents to help them to put theory into transformative actions. Knowledge without application looks great on a resume, but it won’t help you balance your budget!

Wisdom identifies what to do and a word of knowledge shows us how to do it. They are both God-given GIFTS—Proverbs makes this clear, so that means we can, and should ask for these gifts. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:43. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.” Proverbs 25:11-13. Wisdom corrects our course and reveals the Holy Spirit within us to others.

Wisdom will give us ears to hear what Jesus is saying, when others can’t even hear Him. It is like a spiritual hearing aid – it takes the unclear and makes it clear. In Matthew, did you get the subtle reference to choice? If you have spiritual hearing …then make sure you use it! These spiritual gifts diagnose an anticipated outcome and wisdom knows the right way to go about it. Remember, Almighty God knows the beginning right through to the end. Knowledge identifies and wisdom applies.

We ALL need His wisdom. This world is too dark and too tricky to live our lives without it. Wisdom can see the lie hidden between two truths. At the same time, knowledge and insight will often know where God’s truth applies. When I need it, the Holy Spirit gives me part of a verse, but it is up to me to look it up and follow that thread. ‘Knowledge is about knowing facts, whereas wisdom is about having the insight and discernment to apply that knowledge correctly, often revealing what action to take or how to respond.’  Google.

I have found that wisdom means you know something that you cannot possibly know with your intellect. It is not cleverness that figures things out—this God-given gift is something that drops into our heart or mind, often unbidden. Before it happens you may not even be concentrating on the problem. Suddenly the answer is in front of you, and then His wisdom says: ‘Do it like this.” It helps us avoid error. 

Many times we were about to go somewhere and the Lord said to us: “Wait!” When it came to the time when we would have been elsewhere, much too far away to help — a text came through and we were asked to help someone, because an emergency situation had come up. The word of Wisdom was ‘wait.’ I have also found wisdom can help me discern when things are a bit ‘off.’ I’m pretty naive in my personality and so the Holy Spirit often kindly protects me with His Wisdom.

Recently somebody called us and used the conversation to  clone our voice. They asked for this and that, but my spirit rose up and said – quite violently – “Hang up and phone the bank.”  The person on my end of the phone was not thrilled, but they trust the Lord, so they politely hung up. And lo and behold, somebody had tried to access our funds. Because the Holy Spirit helped us, we were recompensed immediately. We changed our passwords on the same day! I found reading the bible asking the Holy Spirit to help me, led me to these three gifts. I began to know His voice. I went out and obeyed what He taught me at that time.

Don’t rush – wait for your Teacher. Learn to listen and you’ll grow patience along the way, and then do your best to obey – because Christians need HIS WISDOM. ‘Ask and keep on asking, go after it, you will find it!’ Bye. 👋

P 3099 Make room – clear away the debris!

/ DVH

Today I want to look at a few verses in Isaiah. “Thunder in the desert! “Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God. Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks. Then God’s bright glory will shine and everyone will see it. Yes. Just as God has said.” Isaiah 40:3-5. Does this sound like action to you? It does to me! I truly don’t think that prayer is the only activity required when you are working with Him to build a highway in your heart for Him to walk on. Part of our job description is to clear away any debris, as well as let the Holy Spirit guide us into making the roads in our lives clear for Him – we must personally choose to engage and …participate.

Hubby and I have had the opportunity to learn a little bit about highway repairs etc. It is a careful, clearing away of what has been left that does not belong there, then the old road itself can be removed, or repaired. Like the scripture says highways work better when they are obstacle free and smooth! My hubby loves these unexpected stops — he happily talks to the workers. We’ve even given away lemonade on hot days. It seems that road building is hot, boring, and repetitive but necessary work – like the work we need to do in our own lives so the King can use OUR LIVES as His highway! We are not demolition crews, we are restorers of the breach. We build streets for others to live in!

I think this world is standing, on tippy-toes at the very edge of something that is so important, so necessary to what comes next, we cannot imagine it. Almighty God is about to do something extraordinary … but I believe He is waiting for US to voluntarily engage with Him. He’s a good good Father, He won’t make us participate but He needs us to be battle-ready. Sadly, it seems to me that many of us look more like couch-potatoes, while others are so engaged with their own business, they haven’t got any time for His. The Lord has His own timing, and it is an error to think OUR timing takes priority over His. However, if we happen to be spiritually sleeping it is so much easier for the enemy to take us out. We need to be ever-ready, standing with our armour on, ready to ‘GO’ when He says ‘GO!’ 

How can we personally participate in what comes next, if we rely on other people to hear Him and wait for them to tell us what to do? All our enemy has to do then, is to take the leaders out. We must engage in the road building process — individually and corporately. It is time for the Body of Christ to realise we are not on some jolly little outing Sunday by Sunday — we live in a spiritual war zone. War zones need road repairs, so help can get to those who need it. At this point in time other people are being killed off all over the place, while we merrily just go about our own personal daily business. My bible says — HIS business IS my business.

Bear with me please, I am not actually changing the subject  – I simply want to further illustrate my point. Our dog is a labradoodle. She’s a totally loveable, good-natured, over-excitable, 13 year old air-head who wouldn’t bite a soul. She still thinks she’s a puppy! She doesn’t walk, she bounces. If you wave her favourite toy about she will jump up and down to play. Her tail constantly goes like a helicopter blade.

Our pooch just burst into the room where I am typing and she was doing her usual morning routine … with the brain … without the brain. Galloping about trying to jump up and down to get hubby’s attention. Hubby quietly put his hand on her head and then he said one word: “Heel!” She jumped up in the air nearly did a somersault, switched sides and sat down looking up at him. What happened? HER MASTER SPOKE. 

Right now, I am not sure the Body of Christ could hear the Lord if He thundered at us – we are so distracted by the cares and worries of this life. If we wait for all those things to disappear first, then the next sound we will hear will be a trumpet from heaven! I know what it is like to be incapacitated, and weak – however, I’d rather focus on what Jesus wants from me, today. It’s about our focus, not the tasks. We can still get ordinary things done and get to know and trust Him … all at the same time. We simply need to make everything Jesus’ business! He wants to build highways through the desert and wildernesses in us, and around us.

Don’t worry about qualifying, the Lord doesn’t need expertise, He has heavenly armies that stand ready at any given moment. Instead He needs our willingness to engage. We all need to choose to be activated. If Jesus needed human expertise I could name heaps of people who qualify for that kind of work because they are smarter than me. Nowadays practically everyone I know is smarter than me! We must turn to the Lord automatically, like my pooch. Let.Him.Lead.You.

Father God will always have our back. And even if we have to do a somersault in mid-air to come down on the Lord’s side – we both know that is the right place! With our eyes lifted UP waiting for His next command. Let us choose to obey Him, and let the Holy Spirit build a highway for the King in our hearts. He will clear away any debris. Once before, long ago, there was no room for Jesus – He ended up in an outdoor building. Let’s not do that again! Bye.👋

P 3095 Trust can be cultivated.

/ DVH

Proverbs 16:3:“BEFORE you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed.”TPT. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” NIV.“Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place.” MSG. This is one of the very best ways I know that shows us how ‘to taste and see that the Lord is good.’

Please note the ‘before’ aspect of the first scripture! It makes it clear that the first place we need to go to is to Him. His ways are above ours, and He knows the future, so trusting Him is pure wisdom. We can tie ourselves in knots over something big like: ‘who should I marry? OR where shall I live?’ — But those things are not necessarily the best place to learn trust. A day-to-day experience of the Lord’s personal guidance, with His eye upon you and your life, is far better. Plus taking the time to notice what He has already done!

Trust is learnt through daily application, not just life-changing decisions! Our thirst to know what comes next can lead us astray. Our daily lives flow better as we learn to live guided by Him. Plus allowing the Lord to correct us and then deliberately acting on His correction, transforms our hearts and minds, because that too involves trust. It softens any hardness that may have calloused over our hearts in our relationship with Him, and others. Plus it introduces opportunities for humility. It’s hard to be proud when you know you need to  go to someone else and confess your faults!

My advice is this – start out the way you mean to finish. God can redeem anything, even our missteps, and He will — but, unfortunately, whatever we carelessly end up doing, can hurt other innocent people and their faith. There is so much wisdom in learning to trust Him and WAIT for what He wants. Let’s forget about taking a survey! By taking a survey, I mean asking six people to give you their feedback on something that totally affects the direction of your life. You could quite easily get six different answers! Or 3 for and 3 against! Neither of those options will grow anything but uncertainty. Trust is like a plant, it needs to be deliberately cultivated and nurtured and cared for, from day to day. 

We can misplace our trust, because we are not first honouring the One Who is always trustworthy with our actions. In order to cast all our cares upon Him so He can make our paths straight, we need to know Him, and His ways first! Regular prayer and reading the bible is a reliable way to expose us to the way the Lord thinks. Otherwise presumption will lure us away from the purposes of God Himself. The best way to cultivate trust is to be more prepared to hear ‘NO!’ or ‘wait,’ than ‘yes.’  Uncertainty is not postponement, it can be God saying wait. 

“There’s a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. King Solomon learnt this lesson the hard way. With so many wives etc., not to mention all the children who called the king ‘Dad’ – it’s a wonder he could cope at all! But God Himself personally told this king not to marry or take foreign wives who worshipped other gods. Unfortunately, He did not trust God’s judgment over his own needs and wants.The result was catastrophic. He let his appetites rule his obedience and he treated women like sweeties in a sweet shop – “I’ll have one of those, and one of those etc. …”  Many people today are searching, and searching for the kind of permanent, idealised love from others, that only God Himself can provide. 

Trusting the Lord when everything seems to get harder and harder can be exhausting. This is when we discover how much of our lives the Lord really has under His supervision. I’ve learnt, in those harassing times, to simply lay it all down and let everything go. Let Him be God, and you just be you – that sad little exhausted puddle in the corner. “I can’t do this” is a useful prayer. Just like “help, help.” My premise is this, if we want to follow Him all day every day, then we need to live yielded lives – all day every day! And don’t forget repentance, it clears away any cobwebs. 

Trusting God means I WILL choose to take His Word over mine and that means what I want will die a little. It means I learn to shut my mouth whenever my insides are shouting – “vindicate yourself, you are being misunderstood again!” Another way to learn trust is by letting Him vindicate you. The bible clearly tells me He will vindicate me in Psalm 37:6-8. “He will vindicate you in broad daylight, and publicly defend your just cause. Wait patiently for the Lord! Wait confidently for Him! Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, a man who carries out wicked schemes. Do not be angry and frustrated. Do not fret. That only leads to trouble.” 

It is far better to trust the Lord to vindicate you in any circumstance. Anything that tries to push or prod us along is not God. HE leads. If we misplace trust by trying to work things out, or we chase after someone else’s opinions, or we are guided by our own appetites, that will lead to further distrust and confusion. Trusting God is like stepping out of our little boat onto the sea – it is essential that we keep our eyes on Jesus — not on whatever is going on around us! Our Heavenly Father is utterly trustworthy, and learning trust is a hands-on experience. Bye. 👋

P 3055 Don’t wait – move!

/ DVH

“This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine — these are the many things God has in store for all His lovers. But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Yes, He has revealed to us His inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things. For we did not receive the spirit of this world system but the Spirit of God, so that we might come to understand and experience all that grace has lavished upon us. 

And we articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words. Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to Him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit. For Who has ever intimately known the mind of the Lord Yahweh well enough to become His counsellor? Christ has, and we possess Christ’s perceptions.”1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 12-14, 16 TPT.

I wish I had understood some of these wonderful truths sooner – so I could have jumped joyfully into the ever on-going journey of full and total surrender – earlier! Instead of merely standing on the edge of it, dipping my toe in and out, hoping that would do. The only thing I got from dipping my toe in, was a truck load of reasons why total surrender was not for me. I became too engaged with the things of this world. My bad!

Sometimes I think the Body of Christ has been so disillusioned by the previous whole blab it and grab it theological movement, our disappointment has led to us standing afar off from the Lord. We are a bit like the Israelites. When Almighty God appeared to be unmanageable and scary, that’s when they told Moses: “You go up the mountain, we’ll stay down here.” Yet, we know darn well it is still our choice to stand so far away. Every now and then, some brave soul makes a bold stand to trust God for this and that, … and when, or if what they pray over doesn’t happen, disillusionment sets in … again!

We’ve seem to have forgotten it’s the thief who comes to steal kill and destroy. And even worse! —- We have forgotten that God is good ALL THE TIME. Let’s learn to look for the good no matter how bad things seem. Instead of wagging the Spirit’s school of learning about God Himself, we all need to sit up front and learn. Just because you or I feel let down or deserted by Him, that does not make what we feel the truth. Let’s stop, read and reread what He has said, and reinforce the wonderful things we know about Him and His Ways. I’m praying for brave souls to step up, and step out, and go on to live in and love on unsaved countries. Our country is an unsaved country! Here I am God send me!

Today I want to lay down a challenge to everyone reading this. There are glorious things about our God that we know nothing about. Those things exist now, and they are there for us, if we just ask. Instead of feathering our own nests, let’s be about His kingdom! Those strategies and secret things are needed right here, right now. I’m not talking about the kind of prayers that will make me more comfortable, because something bad has happened. I’m talking about the kind of lay-your-life down praying that turns the world on its head. These things are not only glorious, they are there to be taken – merely for the price we are prepared to pay to go and get them!

(Isaiah 55:1-6) 

Oh, where are our heroes of the faith? I have known some precious people of God in the past 52 years, and over those years I have seen some of these people persevere and press in, despite their circumstances. Praise God for their faith! But I’m so tired of the same old, same old, slog we participate in daily, week by week, paddling our broken canoes up the fantastic, enormous wild river of God’s love and provision. We need to step up, stand up, and ACT, by participating in what He is doing — instead of hiding away in our little hidey holes of supposed safety and security. 

I also know many dear saints who have been broken by their circumstances, and yet they bravely limp on. But there is a much harder step forward than even maintaining what we have, and it comes from the men and women who know His heart and pray and act on it. No matter what the consequences are.The best things, the most glorious things, are still in front of us, but we will have to put down our ideas of a normal life, and step into the unknown. He’s there, waiting for us. Let’s remember that 11 other men remained in that boat when Peter stepped out of safety into the impossible!

Many generations today chase youth in their attitudes and activities – everybody wants to keep fit. What about spiritual fitness? His ways are so much better than the ways of this world. It’s time to stop hoping somebody else will answer His call, and go ourselves! We need to move. Whether we take our faith to the office, our schools, or some foreign country – if we do not use that faith for more than our own personal gain – we will lose it. Bye 👋

“Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.”  Ecclesiastes 12:6.

P 3030 Put Him in charge.

/ DVH

Father God’s primary interest is our good, and we need to continually develop our faith in His goodness by exercising our faith in Him. He wrote down everything we need in His book. There are people who don’t want to try out what the bible says, because they are scared of going the wrong way. And there are others who don’t want to live with uncertainty, because living by faith is hard … and their question often is: “isn’t this meant to be easy?”  

Show me a scripture for that! I know that the bible says:“His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” What that means is this – when you walk with Jesus the total weight is supposed to fall on Him – He’s the Leader. I have checked out an ox-yoke in a museum, they don’t look too light to me!  Meanwhile it’s a yoke not a scarf! You might like to sit and chew on that for a minute or two, and try not to choke. I pray on the spot a lot!

The media tells us that this life is so terrific, it is meant to be fun fun fun fun fun! “You can win this, be this, go here, go there, do this and that. Just believe in yourself. And beautiful looking people are just going to love you and want to join in with you as you have fun. Even old people can have loads of fun in old people homes.’ 🙄 If you want that kind of reality go to Disneyland, it has a whole kingdom devoted to it. It’s called Fantasyland.

Here’s something I’ve learnt as the Lord and I’ve walked together…His kind of fun, His kind of Joy, His kind of laughter is way more fun than anything this world can provide. And it won’t cost you a fortune to go places with Him either!  Just make sure where you want to go is where HE wants to go and then you are off, having some sort of adventure.

We once had morning tea at a coffee shop, and a young lady who served us had so many tattoos she looked like she had been painted with black paint. Jesus said: “Ask her to tell you about those tattoos.” 20 minutes later, the kitchen staff came out to see ‘those nice people who have been talking to me’ and the waitress paid our bill. THAT was fun… trust me! The Lord is the best kind of fun!

The Holy Spirit has done an ACE job of describing what our Heavenly Father loves in the book. You can start with the Beatitudes and go on from there. Don’t just read it. Remember reading without doing, can make us confused, or it could give us a fat head. Instead ask Him what you can do about what you’ve read. That’s how relationships work, BTW, conversations go both ways.  

An well-known author who wrote great books many years ago was one of my favourites. He has since gone on to glory but he sure knew how to have fun! I found out much later that he had an incredibly grouchy wife who didn’t understand his Christianity or his attitude. Yet this man found joy in everything. I used to get so happy reading his books before bed, that I couldn’t sleep! He’s out of print now, but Amazon has some books of his. 

Here’s my version of something brother Harold Hill once said – “At first, when I started my walk with Jesus I decided it would be OK if He sat in the back seat of my car. Then He could talk to me and advise me if I needed it. The thing was, sometimes I couldn’t hear Him very well. So then I decided it might be better if He sat in the front seat with me whilst I drove. But that didn’t work out so well either, I kept having to take my eyes off the road to talk to Him, and well … I couldn’t concentrate or drive properly. I stopped the car and asked Him what I could do about it. Jesus smiled, one of those lovely big smiles, and He said: ‘Come with Me.” He opened the boot and said: “Get in. You’ll be much safer in here. I’ll drive.” 

The only safe driver of our individual ‘cars’ is the Lord. There are times that He will park us under a tree and wait with us while we rest. At other times He will give us a huge hug, a-n-d then we will probably need a very large box of tissues! The secret is to let Him do what He wants.

Just don’t get stuck anywhere, keep moving along as He leads you. We follow Him because He knows the road ahead much better than we do. Jesus walked many roads while He was here, the kind of things we walk through. He faced bad things happening and being misunderstood. He knows every single detail of where we are going and how to get there. We can trust Him to take us where we need to go and look after us.

“What if I mess up?” Well … what if you don’t? Both scenarios are an option. But if you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, then that’s the time to remember our wonderful Saviour is also our very great Redeemer. He can take the worst sinner and transform them into a glorious saint and worshipper of God. He can redirect you in the middle of life’s turbulent traffic!

Always remember that: “God doesn’t break bruised reeds” Isaiah 42:3 & Matthew 12:20. When we get stuck in the mud of our own messes, Jesus will always come and get us out. Many dumb sheep wander off the pathway, but He’s the Good Shepherd. He knows how to rescue dumb sheep. Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that what you’ve done is so bad He won’t love you anymore. That’s a lie from the pit.  Let Him be in charge and He will amaze you. Bye 👋