WEalth

P 3204 The Star Chasers!

/ DVH

Three very powerful, rich intellectual guys set out once, in their day’s version of a BMW, to investigate a brand new star. These astrologers had noticed that star in the evening sky. Nowadays we would probably just turn the James West Space Telescope onto it. Sigh… I know the Hubble was old, and the JWST can see much further, but I really wish that they had found a much more fun name for itI I liked the name Hubble better than that mouthful! Any-way … these guys had come a very long way because they knew enough to know that the star meant something incredible was about to happen. 

The thing is, this journey for the Wise men took much longer than it takes for us to find a local McDonalds! They had to travel through other countries to get to the great King the star foretold. A lot of time had passed between the star appearing and the Magi travelling to get to Bethlehem. Imagine only being able to travel at night, because you are following a star! I mean, you can’t see stars until it is night! Not to mention those normal obstructive atmospheric things like – snow, rain, fog or cloud-cover!!  This is what I call a long-term devotion to the task ahead of them. These are patient men. 

Do you know what I like about this nativity story? The poor people got to the stable on the night. They were the first to be invited to worship Jesus. However, God did not leave the rich and powerful intellectuals out – He led them there too. They just had to make a bigger effort. Let’s look at something Jesus said when He was teaching His disciples, in Matthew 19:22-24. “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 

It is ‘not easy’ Jesus tells us, for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God – it seems their view is blocked by dollar signs. EG: money and comfort. The shepherds were used to sitting on the ground, the wise men were used to a swisho ride!  I sometimes wonder why the Western world is breaking its neck to get more and more money and things, and why they put all their security in that stuff! Um… money is just bits of printed paper and metal, we are the ones who put a value on it. Meanwhile, there is no U-haul on the back of a hearse. What matters, and will last, is what HE DID FOR US.

Back to the Magi! By the time they arrived, months or years later. They had to do a search for Jesus, and they didn’t have Google Maps or whatever either! So they went to the most logical place to find a new King – Herod’s palace.  And here is what is fascinating … King Herod didn’t have clue what was going on until these men rocked up. He’s the duly appointed King and he doesn’t know what is going on in his own kingdom – he’s out of touch with the people He is ruling. 

The shepherds knew and they probably told everyone what they had seen and heard, but Herod didn’t travel in those circles. He was above that. Securely closeted in his palace with armed guards around him. Herod responds the way many rich people would respond to the news that another big man in town is on the scene. He wants to protect what he has. So he plots to get rid of the opposition and then carries it out with appallingly murderous consequences.  Anybody want to be Herod – when Jesus asks him to ‘please explain,’ in front of the big white throne?

Herod shows me that we think we know about someone, is not all there is. The more you have, the more you have to lose. What we read in the newspapers, or podcasts, or news broadcasts isn’t always truth. It is often doctored, and distorted because the people producing these things have an agenda. There may be elements of truth in what is said, but it is mainly coloured by what I call the rich powerful man’s doctrine.

A rich powerful person always wants more money than yesterday, and they perceive things through the kind of filter that says – what was enough last year, won’t be enough this year. I think that the line for ‘having enough’ always moves away from us. What we sometimes hear on the news is the hyped-up panicky report of people who are scared to lose their income. Moving on …

We all know the conclusion of this story about the Wise men, Jesus is eventually located in a house in Bethleham, and He is given expensive prophetic gifts. Those gifts may well have funded all the moving this little family had to do to get away from a jealous King who didn’t bother to understand what was actually going on! Jesus didn’t ever threaten Rome, He didn’t come to threaten anyone! He came to explain there is a far bigger reality than anyone understands. Our God is not a God Who is far away – He is THE GOD who came near, and lived like we do.

Jesus came to give, not take. He came to include everyone, rich, poor. Whoever they are, wherever they were born – God is not partisan! He loves us all. That baby born in a cowshed was His Way of communicating with the world mankind lives in. This time He didn’t send a messenger – He came Himself, to tell everyone there are no barriers anymore. Just like those shepherds came from the fields and those foreign astronomers came from afar — we too can come to Him just as we are. 

There is room for everyone in the stable. It’s like the proverbial Tardis, it has lots more room inside, than it looks like on the outside. Bye. 👋

P 2873 “If you understand this, you need to respond.”

/ DVH

“Speaking to the people, Jesus continued, “Be alert and guard your heart from greed and from always wishing for what you don’t have. For your life can never be measured by the amount of things you possess.” Luke 12:15 TPT. When Jesus tells us to guard our heart He is not just talking to the people who are in front of Him. He’s also talking to us, right here, right now, and we really do need to pay attention. We need to avoid the consumerism trap all around us. 

Money, wealth, excess etc. are funny things – people react to them. You can tell a Christian they shouldn’t sleep with their neighbour’s wife and they are like: “Oh OK, God doesn’t like that. Cool, I will watch out not to put myself into compromising situations.” Nobody is insulted, nobody takes offence and if they have wrong thoughts toward their neighbour they repent. But the minute you mention money …!! 

Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem to matter if the pastor and his family are starving – it boils down to this – we don’t want to be told what to do with OUR money, because we’ve earned it. Christians start leaving churches all over the place when somebody mentions money because they get offended. I’m left wondering if they’ve actually read His book at all. No wonder the prosperity doctrine has its roots dug in so deeply into some churches. 

This verse above in Luke is clear. Instead of guarding our hearts against somebody taking our money, or somebody talking to us about giving, or even if they are saying that we should not prefer money over everything else … Jesus is telling us we need to guard our hearts from greed and coveting — money is a tool, not a god. Ask Him, “Lord do I do this?’

Here’s an interesting example: do you remember what happened to Gideon? We all know how he fought the Midianites and God miraculously delivered him. We also know that Gideon had lots of faith because he sent all those potential soldiers home when God told him to. I mean, that guy obviously had FAITH …But in the end, Gideon was actually seduced away from God by … wait for it …GOLD! 

He made an ephod out of the stuff, and then he and the Israelites turned that ephod into an idol. Eventually Gideon led God’s people back into idolatry. It isn’t money, things, or power – or the lack of them that is the problem – it’s whether this stuff owns US. Actually, poor people can have exactly the same problem. There are times when poor people are afraid to give because they may not have enough left if they do. Then it’s time to remember the widow’s mite. 

We’ve all forgotten how to trust God to take care of us! The Israelites did that in the wilderness.  Unfortunately it seems that today’s Christians want to love Jesus and stay safe. Those two things are incompatible!  Just imagine the risk Father God took sending His pure spotless Son to earth, to save all of US. Our God has promised us that He will be with us in trouble, and He will protect us because He loves us. We need to live, believe and act on what He’s said in His book.

He needs brave men and women who will throw off this society’s ideas and dreams of fame, notoriety and fortune, and live like a people who have much bigger dreams about His kingdom coming into their lives, and the lives of others. People who will esteem what HE says above everything else. People who will run into this crumbling world with His love and help for the lost. How long can we sit in our comfort zones and ignore those who will at any minute tip over the edge of this life into eternity?

You know, Jesus also said this, and I don’t believe He was talking about money, or taxes for that matter, at all! I think He was talking about the way we are to live.  “They said unto Him, Caesar’s. Then said He unto them, Give therefore to Caesar, the things which are Caesar’s, and give unto God, those things which are God’s.”  Matthew 22:21. You and I, you, me! WE belong to God now, so we no longer live for ourselves that’s the deal. His life for ours. So now we go wherever He says to go, and we live however He tells us to live. Jesus Himself said:“if you understand this, you need to RESPOND.” Mark 4:9. Bye 👋

P 2798 Giving generously to our own hurt.

/ DVH

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:38 Amplified bible. Yeah, I know it sounds like I’ve joined the merry band of brothers who live in the land of – ‘I can have whatever I want now, because God wants to bless me all the time.’ This is not what I mean. When Almighty God makes us rich, He expects us to generously share – everything we have comes from Him.

The biggest clue to living like Jesus would, is in this verse. It is in the word  – GIVE.  Christ gave to his own hurt – it cost Him everything to come here, and everything to die for us! Giving is an indication of our dedication to Him. We need to learn to give without any thought of getting something back. I exhort you to live your life as a giver, give because you love people and you love giving! See giving, money or otherwise, as a moving stream flowing past you, not a static dam! What Jesus did for you and I cannot be repaid, but we can certainly choose to model our lives on the Way He lived. God is generous and He loves and honours generosity.  

Let’s look at Hannah. Her only hope or help to have a child, had to come from God. He granted the answer to her fervent, passionate, ongoing prayers. Hannah prayed …… and prayed … and prayed some more. She refused to be comforted or dissuaded from her prayers. And Almighty God heard her, and she gave birth to baby Samuel. Her integrity meant she did what she said she would, she gave her cherished child back to God. She gave out of her substance, and God gave Hannah three more sons, and two daughters. Plus the firstborn child Samuel, became a great prophet. We cannot out-give God.

In the Western world, people have learnt over the years, to give out of abundance. So if we do not have an abundance, then we pull back on our giving. We are not used to giving to our own hurt, our substance. We tally up our funds and decide what we can afford to give – after we’ve paid off this, and bought some of that. We have learnt to give out of excess. Where’s the faith in that?

Let’s look at another woman who gave generously, out of her own substance. Luke 7: 37: “A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.”This woman faced man’s disapproval for her act of unbridled generosity. It seems to me, that despite her previous life, her heart recognised Who Christ was, and she literally poured out her life and heart on Him. That’s what giving to God is about. It is not about obligation, or our ‘image’ to others. 

Here’s Jesus said about someone giving to their own hurt in Mark 12:41-44: “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”This widow didn’t have much, yet she gave all she had to God. Although she didn’t know it, that fact was recognised by the Lord Himself. God loves generous givers – despite their station in this life. This widow wasn’t trying to prove anything, and she had absolutely no idea she was being watched by SomeOne Who totally understood sacrificial giving. —The way we give is an indication of the state of our heart.  

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”Giving is not just about feeling cheerful or good about what we are doing. It’s about WHY we are giving in the first place. Do we give because we are grateful for everything He has given us? Giving is an outward sign of an inward state of heart and mind. Hannah prayed, then she received, and she gave. She was not reluctant in her giving even though it was costly. The woman with the alabaster jar shattered her future when she broke that jar, pouring the contents over His head. The little widow gave all she had  … giving is meant to be costly.

All these women gave out of their own substance. They did not give left overs, or excess.  What they gave was costly to each one of them. We need to learn to give generously, extravagantly – the way we give what we give matters. It becomes an outward sign of our unseen hearts. When we honour Him with our own substance, the cost is of no consequence. Bye. 👋

“Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favour.” Proverbs 11:25 TPT.

P 2771 The kingdom of God.

/ DVH

In Isaiah 55:8-9 the Lord said: “My plans aren’t your plans, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My plans than your plans.” That kind of clinches it eh? Because it can’t get any plainer than that! We have not got a clue how God operates, and without the Holy Spirit’s help we never will … He is far too complex for us to understand. Aren’t we blessed that He reaches down to us, and shares how He wants us to participate? The Lord has plans for everyone’s good – not just mine. His plan is to save the world … one person at a time … and He wants to use us to do it.

Sadly, at least half of Christianity, at this moment in time, are not even trying to participate in His plans. We pray for His kingdom to come, and then we go out into the world and try to further our own kingdom instead! It is impossible for someone to live in two kingdoms. We are either living for His, or living for ours. And the sad fact is this – we postpone participation in His kingdom, in favour of organising our own. BTW, age does not factor in this reality, Moses was 80 when he started living the life God planned for Him. 

It seems like Almighty God is looking for “Onward Christian soldiers” but most of us want: “The Happy Song.” So, what do we do with the fact that we seem to like “The Happy Song” better? Here’s what I think — I think we can have the Happy Song AND Onward Christian soldiers, when we have learnt to stop allowing this world be the source of our happiness. And we make Jesus, together with obedience, our source of inspiration and action, instead. How do people know I am an Aussie? When I open my mouth! Kingdom people have a different focus in their conversations.

The bible says in Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Seek His kingdom first. That’s not hard to understand! There are apparently 46 scriptures that point out a facet of what God’s kingdom is like. Obviously I can’t list them here, but looking those verses up is worthwhile. If we are going to aim at something it will help us to know what it looks like! We are told to seek His Kingdom first, after that comes the righteousness that only Christ’s death and resurrection can give us. And after that we use our faith and believe what His book says … and …we step out using our faith. Participation in that process means we will get our needs met. 

Most of the time, I have observed when we pray, we feature our own needs. That’s backward. Start with the Kingdom. Seek the kingdom first. Pray like this: ‘Your kingdom come in me,’ OR… ‘I‘present my body as a living sacrifice.’ OR …’Your will, Your way, Lord.’ When we start with His kingdom, a whole lot of unnecessary stuff falls off instantly. It means we’ve put down our little list of needs and wants, and started to focus on Him and what He wants. We need to remember Christ’s position before His Father is now our position. So we live this life, the only one we have, like His kingdom is more important than ours … because it is. Our needs are temporal, His kingdom is eternal.

Here are a few examples of what His kingdom looks like in action: a/ righteousness, peace and joy. We can have these 3 things in the here and now, because they are part of living our new life IN Christ. b/ Being spiritually helpless and ignorant doesn’t cancel His kingdom – it gives us access to it. c/ His kingdom is activated by faith, not knowledge or wealth. d/ It’s a treasure and it’s often hidden. e/ The kingdom of God starts out small but then it grows. f/ It blossoms in us as we embrace it. g/ In His kingdom HE is the ruler. h/ This kingdom is not just a place per se, like heaven! His kingdom comes in a ‘people’ wrapping. You and I, we are kingdom carriers. i/ Final one for me, the kingdom of God is a treasure – it must be sought, dug for, paid for by surrendering every bit of our lives to the King.

Remember, His kingdom is now within us but it needs to be released through us by our obedience to His word. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, He will teach us which way we should go, and how to serve the King. So if we go to school, or work, or to the shops, etc. He goes there with us.  We carry the kingdom of God – what a privilege! Jesus wants to be wherever we are, because He loves us and…He wants to reach the people all around us.. Seeking His kingdom is like seeking the King – the rewards are out of this world. They are priceless. Bye. 👑

P 2520 Where’s your storage unit?

/ DVH

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.” Romans 2:5. Yeah, this is one of those verses we rush over hoping it doesn’t apply to us, right? 😳 Personally, I think it is important to get the Lord to search our hearts regularly, and make sure we are storing up good stuff, not just clinging to the bad by default. That includes hoarding grudges, other people’s mistakes, plus the things that have been deliberately, even maliciously, done against you. 

Life is too short to live like that. Things can change in a heartbeat —- nothing is certain. Right now, on the other side of the world in Iceland, people’s homes and contents are being incinerated by a rogue volcanic display. They are powerless to do anything about it. My question today is this: what have we saved in our personal heart-storage unit, that is actually being carelessly facilitated by our day-to-day behaviour? Moving on …

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

1 Timothy 6:17-19.

I get why some people aren’t thrilled with the bible, it is so totally chock full of absolutes! Things like these verses for instance! However in comparison to a lot of the world we live in today, in our country we are rich. We have somewhere to sleep, food in the fridge or cupboard, and our kids can go to school. God hasn’t asked us to go without these things, however … I believe the scripture shows us that He IS asking us to think about others and SHARE. He calls that, “good deeds.” I am not saying that we shouldn’t own anything, but what I can hear the Lord saying is that NoBody, as in no thing … but Jesus Himself … should OWN US!If we can’t live without it – it owns us!

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19,20. And right here is the reason why it is not good for our things to own us!  This world has many ways of siphoning off our things and finances. Giving to Jesus is storing wealth up in heaven. Plus it is also a fantastic kind of pest control … that way we will eliminate rats and moths – stuff that winkles away our money without us realising it.  We just give everything we have to the Lord and leave it there. Let Him be in charge of our stuff. When we begin to understand that we actually own nothing, then nobody can steal from us.

Just FYI, I think it is important to protect and treat the things God has given us carefully and responsibly. However, this verse is actually talking about storage, where to put stuff … and … where not to put it!  Almighty God is not against us having things — remember He gave the Israelites land they did not plow and houses they did not build! He’s a generous God! BUT …“Speaking to the people, Jesus continued, “Be alert and guard your heart from greed and from always wishing for what you don’t have. For your life can never be measured by the amount of things you possess.”” Luke 12:15 TPT.

Coveting and greed will distract us so fast we can easily forget our calling! Again, the Lord’s focus is talking about the state of our hearts, not our stuff. So many people in this world do not have their basic needs met. EG: fresh water, food, somewhere to safely sleep etc. Just because these terrible things haven’t happened to us, that does not mean we can hide ourselves, or insulate ourselves against other people’s needs … the bible even tells us clearly in Isaiah not ‘to hide ourselves from the needs of our own families.’ Isaiah 58:7.

It is not in our mandate to assess whether people deserve help or not, our place is to simply help those in need. In particular, widows and orphans. Our God is very protective over widows and orphans and the homeless poor. Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:14-18;  – there are heaps of verses in Deuteronomy! Psalm 68:5-6; Jeremiah  22:1-3;  1 Timothy 5:3-8; 9-11; 16;  James 1:27; and Acts 6:1-4. 

BTW, a widow in the biblical sense is not necessarily someone whose husband has died, she can be a married woman whose husband has deserted her. An orphan can be someone who has an absent father, not just parents who died. Our wonderful God has a heart for the lonely, the downtrodden, and the supposed rejects in our societies. When we care for people like these, we are using the right storage unit. We are storing things up in heaven. God sees what we do and He takes note of these things. Ya might want to Selah that for the rest of your life and let it become a Way of life. Bye. 👋

P 2488 We need to live by faith.

/ DVH

““So above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.” Matthew 6:33 TPT. “Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith!” Galatians 6:10 TPT “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7.

In this new life that we have been given, we cannot afford to have mixed priorities. Faith is never an optional extra for the people who follow Christ. “The just (that’s us!) shall live by faith”… So Christians don’t give to get, we give to bless. In these turbulent times faith is a necessity. Otherwise we will end up deserting what we think is a sinking ship … but it really is a battleground centred around what we decide to do with our faith!

None of us are living up to our full faith potential. We are all way too busy trying to live a double life with a double standard. That was Ananias and Sapphira’s problem. They rationlised what they gave and wanted to look right without actually doing right. Let’s note that this couple did actually give, but they lied to the Holy Spirit and the brethren, about how much. They fell under a common deception. Giving out of what is left-over, or what we can afford, is not the kind of giving that blesses God. We need to be careful we are not committing the sin Ananias and Sapphira committed, where they liked the appearance of good more than doing good! That means we are lying to ourselves and God, because it is not His kind of giving.

One of the clearest signs of the Holy Spirit’s Presence in someone’s life is generosity. This sort of giver is not interested in appearances or their own gain, they are far more interested in showing others the kind of Love God gave us, in a practical form. Jesus came and lived here and He died to benefit us. We owe Him the same sort of choices. Let’s remember the amount does not matter BUT … the sacrifice does! Jesus talked about a little widow who gave away her last two pennies. (Mark 12:41-44) Her giving was sacrificial. Sacrificial giving is God’s way.

Many Christians are inadvertently living in compromise… while nearly half of this world’s population is in great need. Faith begins and ends with the way we live – not the way things look to others. Our Heavenly Father dearly loves us, and our own faith needs to reflect that unconditional love back out into this world. This new life of ours is not an add-on, our faith is our life. It can be seen, touched, tasted and experienced by others because it is demonstrable. …

This morning I was listening to someone complain that we don’t need any more rain where I live – because everything is saturated and people have lost their homes to floods. We even want RAIN to arrive to suit us! 😱 What about helping those who have suffered great loss because of the rain, instead of seeing what we have been given as a nuisance. That rain will disappear soon enough, then, I suppose we will complain about how dry it is!

Our lackadaisical attitudes to the things that God has asked of us – are not fooling Him. Giving without sacrifice is not the Lord’s way. It is our God-given task to encourage others to experience all they can of the wonder of the Holy Spirit’s help and Presence, and we must use any method, any resource to do it. We can no longer afford to live on the fringes of faith, times are tough, we can easily fall off those edges and fall away. 

The church, like everyone else in the Western world, has been tormented by panic, and ceased being generous givers. We thought we might lose everything we’ve worked so hard to gain. A pandemic happened and the world’s monetary systems started failing, and we all grew afraid and cautious. We’ve stopped being content with having whatever we need to live, and became obsessed with comfort and having extra – just in case. Real human beings, mothers, fathers etc. who love their kids like we love ours, are starving, and they have to face all kinds of diseases too, without help! People who used to live in a house, like 3 months ago, are now living in a borrowed tent.

Convenience reigns everywhere, not generosity. Loving the Lord with our finances is one of the best ways I know to learn how faith works. It takes great faith to give in the middle of hard times.“A dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble.” Proverbs 17:17 TPT. Let’s not neglect the poor and needy now times are tough. If the bible says the Lord loves a cheerful giver then we need to go out of our way to find places to give, and forget about giving out of any supposed excess. Let’s just start giving by faith, and call it sharing. Too much of this world’s wealth is concentrated in the pockets of excess. 👋🏻

“Every time you give to the poor you make a loan to the Lord. Don’t worry—you’ll be repaid in full for all the good you’ve done.” Proverbs 19:17 TPT.

P 2416 Mercy is a fountain.

/ DVH

“Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has shown us His extravagant mercy. For His fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 TPT

In everything we do and say, we must never forget God’s mercy, because of what Jesus Christ did for us. This mercy is not a small pool of water – it is not even a large body of water like the pool at Siloam – it is a fountain. A fountain has life in it. It is not static;  it flows, dances, bounces and beams light in every direction. A fountain is a symbol of His joy dancing over each one of us – all the time. We spend our lives in that fountain! Bathing in it, praising God for it, allowing God’s mercy to impact the way we think and act.

Our Heavenly Father’s mercy is like that. His mercy transforms everything it touches. We do not have to instruct people into the kingdom of God. We simply need to bring them into the proximity of that fountain. Our relationship with Him provides the proximity. So how do we do that? We extend mercy and grace to everyone – whether we like them or not! Then we stir up that fountain within us, and act on everything He says to do to keep it alive and bubbling. 

This includes showing mercy to people who don’t deserve it. PS neither did we!  That fountain resides in us now, the minute we said yes to Him. Everything Jesus Christ did on our behalf contributes to that living fountain. We stepped under/into that fountain and it began to bubble and grow inside us. Christ’s mercy is always so incredibly extravagant beyond our wildest dreams, because that flow always exceeds our demand upon it. Why would we abuse such Grace?

Our God knows everything, but that is no threat to us. Not to His kids. It is a promise that the fountain of His life is more than adequate for everything that has happened to us in our lives so far … and it will carry us in its sweet waters right on to the end. The thing is – when we appreciate that fountain and the cost that was paid – we would not dream of skating on by doing the minimum we can, hoping we can somehow fool Him into thinking it is enough. We would never dare take advantage of such a glorious gift that was given so freely for all of us. 

Christ is always our example, and the men and women who followed Him after His death and resurrection illustrate the sort of devotion we need to cultivate and protect in our ordinary everyday lives. It means whenever I talk to my neighbour, that mercy fountain within me reaches out to them, it embraces them. There is no pressure needed, because that fountain is so appealing, so incredible, so sweet, it draws everyone in. Are they grumpy neighbours? Then this fountain is more than adequate. Ask for His help! He made His help for us available through that fountain.

We have found as we talk to people all over this country that religion glazes their eyes and stops conversation. But mercy and grace opens unseen doors within them and you cannot shut them up. The person in front of us who seemed business-like and together, is suddenly transformed into a person with needs and hopes and dreams. They cannot believe that God is interested in them. They are drawn to His fountain – inside us  – they know they need Him. Both hubby and I would say we are totally inadequate to do this work, but daily He rises up within us, like a fountain springs into the air alive and working. He does whatever is needed! 

Mercy and joy go together. They transform lives by their very presence in us and through us. We will get so blessed by blessing others! Believe me this world has nothing to offer that competes with the reality of seeing His Presence touch someone. His little hidden ones, out there in every nook and cranny of this grumpy old world, know His voice. They may not know His Name, but something inside of them knows His voice. 

You and I carry that glorious wealth inside us everywhere we go. I exhort us all to bathe in that fountain, take it in with every single breath, and then allow it flow through us. Enjoy what Christ died to give us. Don’t spend so much time feeling guilty – use your time to be grateful.  Like Jesus said to His Father in the Lord’s prayer:“Manifest Your kingdom realm, and cause Your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 TPT.

“Use me Lord. Let your joy-mercy flow out of me.” Bye.👋🏻

P 2387 God calls us His riches.

/ DVH

“I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know Him through your deepening intimacy with Him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of His calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that He finds IN US,His holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honour and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” Ephesians 1:17-20.

Did you know that because the Lord has all of us in His family, He considers Himself wealthy? He doesn’t care if you and I are fat, skinny, short, tall, good looking, extremely spiritual, or not. The bible says He counts US as His wealth. Now that’s something worth thinking on isn’t it? It shows us His heart toward us. I’ve prayed that God would illuminate the eyes of my heart for myself for years, because I know how easy it is to be distracted by this world and become as thick as a plank to the deep things of God. But everything we have ever needed or wanted we will find in Him.

We human beings concentrate on what we will gain from Him loving us, but we need to pause and look hard at what He says HE has gained, because that information is a sliver of insight into His Ways – Who He is. His incredible generosity. Before we were ever His adopted children, He looked at us with love and saw every single bit of our true potential in Him and He claimed US as His inheritance. Father God sees Himself as rich simply because we are His family. I find that astonishing! Especially because I know many people have been rejected and reviled by their earthly family. 

Today, the things we think make us as human beings rich, are mostly material things. In the Western world we accumulate ‘stuff’ a lot – it makes us look quite wealthy. Perhaps we are monetarily rich, but spiritually poor because our worth is measured by accumulation and achievements. But our God has chosen to love us simply because we are His family. If you and I are looking for acceptance, incredible acceptance flows freely from His throne.🙌

Paul is praying here in Ephesians for all of us, that we would understand what we have that was freely given to us. Sad to say, human beings can get so stuck in the things we are not – that we forget the most important thing of all. We are His and, it is only by His Grace that we know it. He chose us. Our worth is not in money, but in the fact that SomeOne so incredible – dearly and tenderly loves us. We have His love, and grace upon us … that very fact will take us into eternity. We’re loved and cherished by the One Who made the world, then He went further than that and saved us … then He went even further than that and He owned us … He claims us as His relatives. His kids. How amazing is that?

I think that realising and appreciating what we have already been given helps keep us content in a discontented world. Discontent rumbles around this world daily … my team won, your team lost. That guy got a promotion, I didn’t. That kid got great marks, I didn’t. Maybe this is why so many people have gotten into huge debt. Discontentment with the norm grabbed them and they want to escape it and prove to themselves they are special.

We are special because we are special in His eyes and that doesn’t change. Father God hates sin, not the man He made. We are made valuable by the fact that the God of all the Universe loves us. The value of the price He paid, is an indication of the depth of the love He has for us. When Jesus Christ died as a MAN, He gave us all worth.  

My point is this: fancy all of us working so hard to get something we already have! All of mankind is made in His image. You and I were His idea! I believe this is why the eyes of our hearts need to be DAILY enlightened. When we get saved, we are incredibly grateful for it … but then, for some reason, we do not park there. We move on. All I want to say today is – go back to the place where you first understood His salvation and stay there. We must have an appreciation for His sacrifice, not with our heads but with our hearts.

There is a part of us that needs to continually gaze at God’s love hanging on that cross for the world to see – and not stop doing it. It is a good thing to relive our gratitude for what He has given us, every single day, and enjoy our new found love in Him as it grows. It is in the light of the cross, where our real place in this world and the next is made clear. We don’t have to be special to this world’s eyes, we are God’s riches because we are the saved ones. “Oh, what manner of love the Father gives that we may be called the sons of God!”  We are His chosen riches and I pray we all know how very rich we are because of all He did for us.. Bye 👋🏻. 

P 2326 God always has a plan.

/ DVH

Exodus 36:3-7 “They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.”

When I read this my first thought was this – when is the last time we heard in church, on the tele, on Facebook, on some Go-fund-me page etc. ‘Don’t give anymore, we have enough?” Yeah, me neither. It proves my favourite theory… the line for ENOUGH always moves away from us. You know in the light of extra funds, Almighty God did not suddenly decide on an alternate plan, like maybe He needed to build a two storey tent/sanctuary just because those excess funds became available. He also didn’t decide to put gold-plated taps in the bathroom either! 

This shows us the Lord already had a plan, and that plan was to build a tabernacle that foreshadowed the one in heaven. (Hebrews 8:5) Remember? “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth,as it is in heaven?”

I think this story teaches us something about our Heavenly Father’s Character. Money, riches, excesses, are not an issue for our God. He is not greedy and He does not take advantage of people. Money is a very real issue for human beings however. We work hard for it so we think it is ours. In my opinion that is a big mistake – it says in Deuteronomy 8:18: “But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

This story in Exodus also shows us that Almighty God is extremely happy to re-distribute wealth as He sees fit! It is also interesting to ponder the thought that what the Israelites were actually giving to create that tabernacle … was not originally theirs. It seems to me that it is much easier to be generous with someone else’s loot! This stuff was the plunder they had taken from their Egyptian taskmasters when they left Egypt behind.

I love stories like this one. Mainly because it creates a whole lot of ‘why’ questions. Asking why is one of the best ways to get further revelation and go deeper. into Who He is. Why would God want Egyptian gold etc to be used to build a tabernacle to Him? Yeah. I dunno. My only thought is that God provided that wealth so He’s entitled to use it however He wants to. 

On a side note, sad to say, down the road it appears that the left-overs, the bit the Lord allowed them to keep, was involved in the golden calf debacle. (Exodus 32.) Aaron called for earrings, rings, whatever … to be given to him, because the Israelites wanted a God they could see, of their own design, and control! Meanwhile, I dunno how anybody could have possibly missed the reality of the Presence of  Almighty God, when there was a thick black cloud, with lightning and thunder on top of the mountain they were camped right next to … 🙄 …

Later on, they complain that: ‘God scares us too much – you go Moses.…!!’😶  Like, would you, could you, please make up your minds??! A-n-y-w-a-y!!! … Aaron then claims he threw all that left-over gold into the fire and a golden calf ‘jumped out.’ Sounds like a Pinocchio moment to me. And then the Israelites had a very decadent nasty time worshipping that thing. However it made pretty awful snack food later when Moses ground the calf up and made them eat it. Exodus 32:20.

It seems to me that the Israelites did not know how to manage what they were given. None of that gold was theirs and the portion God gave back to them was mismanaged into sin. He had a plan, a purpose, to build a place for Him and His chosen people to meet. But they valued immediate gratification and their own ways over His. They virtually said:  “We want a god we can see and we can manage all that by ourselves thanks.” 

Boy I was convicted by that particular thought alrighty! I have had it myself, when the road ahead of me seemed dark, filled with lightning, extremely thunderous and scary. And at the same time, I was so-o-o over whatever situation I am stuck in. This is the time when we need to cling to the sanctuary we have already made in our hearts, with the gold and precious stones He has given us along the way. In those moments we need to remember HE’S GOT A PLAN. 👋🏻