Faith: How We See

Seeing With the Eyes of Our Heart
 

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).

This is likely the best known Bible verse describing faith; the different English translations use different words in their effort to be true to the original Greek New Testament. I like the NIV because of its clarity, and also the Amplified because it speaks, then speaks again.
 
In essence, faith can be said to be our ability to truly believe. When a person has faith we say he or she believes.
 
"While all believers exercise faith to some extent, the 'gift of faith', (1 Corinthians 12:9a) is distinct: it is a special empowerment by the Holy Spirit enabling a person to believe that God will act, often in extraordinary ways" (Biblehub.com).
 
Some say that Peter spoke from a "gift of faith" (Acts 3:6) when he told the lame man to "get up and walk"; certainly, we see that a miracle occurred.

 
In my Christian walk I have been hugely blessed with experiences and testimonies. I have seen faith in action, both from my own prayer, and from others'.
 
Trish and I were present when a man was restored to life after he had a heart attack during a Christian conference in our state capital. A doctor, present with us, told us that the man had died. Our conference leader declared how wrong it was that a life should be taken as we were together worshipping our God of all Creation, praying, singing and learning. When we prayed together, the man came back to life. We were thrilled to see God's hand working amongst us.
 
Was this an instance of our combined faith bringing a miracle? Or, was it a "gift of faith" to our conference teacher (or an unknown "other") for the man's life? I do not know. (Neither do I know how to distinguish between Christian’s saving faith and Holy Spirit gifts of faith). Or, did God arrange this as a present-day demonstration of His love, power and might (John 9:3), for us who were asking God by faith (John 14:14; 1 John 5:14)?
 

Jesus' Purposes

Praise Jesus that He leads us to pray as He wills, for His purposes. Faith is complicated, it seems to me. We can "know" faith from time to time, but I find it difficult to understand and explain - another of God's mysteries. God’s fullness is found in Jesus, and through Him, in us. Many times our theology teacher assured us: "the answer to every question is 'Jesus'".

"To the Lord's people, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
 
"And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. [Jesus] is the head over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:10).
 
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness" (2 Peter 1:3). By faith we see our God working this out in our lives
 
My prayer: "Dear Jesus, I pray that what you and I are writing here is clear to others and helps them in their walk of faith with you. Amen"
 
Faith is about belief, our faith shows our ability to believe, it is about what we "know" in our inner person to be true, then we "see" in our heart and in our spirit, and therefore, in our worldview.

 
"We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).
 
We grow trust: "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8)
 

Heart Truths

My heart truths have their foundation in what I know to be true. I can trust our God whom I know as my Savior and Lord Jesus (John 1:16; Colossians 1:16-17) because of what I have seen and learned of Him and of His Creation in which I rejoice every day (1 John 1:1-3).
 
Jesus is always with us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 60:19-20; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). When we are with a brother or sister, or spouse, or dear friend, we tend to communicate more-or-less continuously. It is no different with Jesus and us. Intimacy and friendship with Jesus (John 15:15) are part of our salvation and our "full life" (John 10:10) in Him under the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). Relationships like this grow trust, and from that, faith.
 
(Intimacy with Jesus - see PsalmsOfJohn.com post "Greatest Gift" 

• Permalink https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2010/05/t-01-greatest-gift.html
• Podcast link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vKKkxPKv0you75hmF6zj4 )
 

At Bible college we encountered lots of new words, including "extant" which means "existing or remaining" (Oxford Dictionary). I know God to be eternally "extant". He calls Himself "I AM" (Exodus 3:14).
 

Foundation

For me, this is the very foundation of faith. This God who is there is eternal and without measure, nothing is beyond Him. My Bible College studies included "systematic theology" with lots of big words which, all together, try to describe the love and vastness and kindness and completeness and complexity of our God. Our teachers showed us that even all the big words were insufficient; the concepts are outside our human experience:

Infinite (without any limit). Immutable (never changing). Omnipotent (all powerful). Omniscient (all-knowing). Omnipresent (always everywhere).
Also: loving, wise, creative, faithful, glorious and more.
 
God's bigness is a mystery (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:12) we will only grasp when we go and live with Jesus in Heaven (John 14:2).
 
When I think about faith I ponder the Creation and God's attributes. I completely believe the Bible account of those first seven days, and also the biblical history of all humankind. My eyes can see the work of God's hands, my mind assures me that the world and all life must have been made by an all powerful, loving, purposeful, pre-existing intelligence. It all makes sense.
 
Jesus was all the light that was needed for the first three days (Genesis 1:1-4; John 1:10) - and will be all the light for the new heaven and new earth He will create after this one is "rolled up like an old garment" (Isaiah 51:6; Revelation 21:1).
 
Then, on the fourth day, God created the galaxies, the constellations (Job 9:9), the billions of stars (Isaiah 45:12); He reached out His hand and placed each one where He wanted it (Psalm 8:3), and gave them all names (Psalm 147:4) Then He created our sun and moon, so that they would be there for us (Genesis 1:14-17).
 
Big. Creative. Capable. Forward thinking. Love in action. God made the Creation so we would have a glorious place to live, then He made us. (I'm writing this at a favourite camp-site by the sea in our South-west, I am "close to nature" here, so lovely - with every breath I know that I am in God's Creation).
 
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). I hear His declaration and His proclamation; I know that our God knows all things and can do all things, I can trust Him.
 

God Is Saying And Doing

Because we see and acknowledge what God has done in the past, our spiritual eyes are able to see and our ears are able to hear what God is saying and doing now; we can have "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1 ESV), the "evidence" (KJV) of a certain faith.
 
Jesus asks us to be available (Matthew 16:24). When I was still a "young" Christian we were in a fellowship where one person could begin singing a song and the whole congregation would join in and sing it through - sometimes I would start "Here am I, Send me!" (a hymn from Isaiah 6:8 and Luke 1:38). I was available to Jesus' prompting in my heart, at the same time, obedient (Matthew 7:21) to the passion He had given me. The entire congregation happily joined in; as one in the Spirit.
 
Our obedience comes from Jesus' call: "follow me" (Matthew 4:19; John 21:22). God's great plan includes us, each one: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). (See also Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Corinthians 9:25; Philippians 4:9; Colossians 3:23-24; 2 Timothy 2:15).
 
Jesus acknowledges our works: "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first" (Revelation 2:19). Our hearts can know our Lord's approval. Our faith grows.
 
Seeing With Our Awakened Spirit
 
The new thing I've found in Hebrews 11:1 is "see". The writer is talking about us not seeing. But, truly, faith is seeing - seeing in our spirit what we "do not see" with our physical self.
 
Jesus said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand'" (Luke 8:10).
 
Our spirit "wakes up" when Jesus takes hold of us, and makes us "born again" (1 Peter 1:23), and "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We begin to learn to "see" spiritual things (Ephesians 1:18-19).
 
For me, the mystery is: how do I discern God's plans at any time? How do I align with His will? How do I bring my faith into line with God's moving, here and now?

By faith - this is what our Bible is telling us - "Jesus said, 'only believe'" (Mark 5:36). I have known teaching along these lines, it is clear and fully supported in our Bible. But I am able only sometimes to "believe". I struggle, perhaps that is why Jesus has had me pondering "faith". It is good to remember Mark 9:24: "help my unbelief!"
 
It seems to me that we almost never talk in terms of things being spiritual. We mostly talk and behave as though our "reality" is the physical world around us, our health, work, intellectual and physical abilities, social circle, the political situation in our country, what is in the news or on social media. You know, what we all see and experience of life.
 
Truth is, the highest part of us is our spirit; the spiritual is greater than our body, our soul and our mind, always. God is Spirit (John 4:24); He spoke and His Word created the Universe, our world and all life.

Pray - Read Your Bible
 
So many times I have sought God's help in prayer. I look to my faith so that I can stand on the promises of God and can see the truth of His Word, Jesus. Reading my Bible always helps, it affirms that we are God's people. Jesus is always with us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5), and always for us (Romans 8:28). There are so many accounts of Him saving, rescuing, healing and setting free when people are in need (Psalm 107:1-2).
 

When my heart's desire for a person or situation is not met, when my faith seems to be insufficient, Jesus does give me peace when I pray. I love to pray with Trish; we will spend time together, some of it praising our Lord, some in silent prayer, some in conversational prayer and some pouring out our hearts.

We have carried some prayer burdens for years; we continue in faith; we "persevere" (Hebrews 10:36). Always we find a deep sense of shalom; "the kingdom of God has come near" (Mark 1:15).

A miracle is a "supernatural" event, meaning "something greater than natural laws would allow", it will have a spiritual source. I have seen hundreds of miracles; that I am alive today is the result of miracles - praise Jesus. All those miracles were stronger than accident or disease or death.
 
God has a plan, we read about it from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. "God is spirit" (John 4:24); by His Spirit He is ultimately over everything that is, and everything that happens, the precious, the beautiful, even the ugly and hurtful things which come as a result of sin (2 Chronicles 7:13).
 
Paul's words: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know [1] the hope to which he has called you, [2] the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and [3] his incomparably great power for us who believe" (Ephesians 1:18-19). Father God wants us to see who we are in Jesus by His Spirit.
 
When faced with a problem, we men, (I believe this is a very "man" thing), jump right in to find solutions; logic demands and our flesh cries out "show me, I can help". But by Holy Spirit and our spirit, we can see deeper. Then we will have the "assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1 WEB). When we seek the will of God, we align our self with Him - we look to see what He sees, His reality.
 
Gifts to Help People
 
Jesus gives us spiritual gifts to help people: "gifts of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:1-13). These enable us to do more than ever we could by our self with our own strength, thoughts, skills and resources.
 
Jesus told His disciples what to expect: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
 
John Baptist foretold this blessing in Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33. Baptism in Holy Spirit is for all Christians and enables us to do what is explained in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". This is true today, we are "God's handiwork", just as were young Timothy and John Mark in Bible times.
 
My testimony is that spiritual gifts are widespread in Jesus' church today. Trish and I have been blessed by Jesus' spiritual gifts for decades; some givings are long-lasting and others especially for a person or event.
 
The spiritual gifts I see most often are gifts of prophecy, knowledge, and discerning of spirits.
 
Gifts of "speaking in different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:10) are also widespread. Some people feel uncomfortable with this. I have heard people say that the Christian is losing control. "Tongues" are "spiritual languages". My experience and observation is the opposite of loss and confusion; we are able to pray and sing in harmony with our Lord Jesus and the heavenly host. For myself, this gift helps me to "fix my eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2); later I will be aware that things I have been pondering are now clearer; my spiritual conversation in "tongues" will bear much fruit. Please consider this: Would Jesus, in His Word, tell us to seek something which is not of Himself?
 
"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
 

Seeing Through God's Prophetic Word
 
My testimony is that Jesus often gives me a prophetic understanding, (also Trish and others we know). He speaks and I will be able to see something, a Bible phrase, an idea or thought or picture, at other times Jesus will instruct me, simply and clearly in my mind. Sometimes Jesus’ word will be for another; Trish and I have been truly blessed to hear God’s thoughts toward us expressed by a Christian brother or sister.
 
We can be ready for Jesus to give a practical "word" or spiritual "glimpse" of what He is doing or planning to do. This will be His doing; Jesus is "truth" (John 1:17, 14:6, 18:37); He will always reveal truth. We can ask Holy Spirit to help us; He always reveals Jesus (Psalm 19:1; Daniel 2:28; Amos 3:7; Amos 4:13; John 14:17).
 
I have vivid dreams. Sometimes Trish will interpret them; they are clearly Jesus speaking by His Holy Spirit. Her interpretations enrich our life together; they are "seen" by her spirit.
 
After I began work on this piece I awoke one morning and Jesus told me: "Get your hot drink John, pray, then review what we have written. After that, focus on your taxes", (our tax returns were due the next week); Jesus wanted me to work to his priorities. My testimony is that Jesus leads and encourages in all the work of PsalmsOfJohn. Last night I awoke briefly and "saw" a sentence which truly completed a paragraph I had written the previous day.
 
Many times I have been interrupted with His conversation about family and household things, always with love, I know He is smiling as He speaks, He is always gentle, I know I am safe with Him. This grows my faith. Because Jesus is a man and human, just as I am, I can easily relate to Him. I know He is God. I find this very encouraging. Old Testament people like Abraham and Elijah heard Him as a distant and un-seeable Lord.
 
For me, words of knowledge are less frequent; I will be praying and "know" to pray in a certain way, with a particular emphasis. After my prayer I'll experience a deep satisfaction; there will be an answer to that prayer: "the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1 KJV).
 
"Yet Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised" (Romans 4:20-21).
 
Every day I "press on" with what I know to do, with my life and work (Philippians 3:12). Mostly we do not need constant guidance because we have been taught and trained (Hebrews 12:11), other times Jesus' leading is minute-by-minute.
 
A week or two ago I was walking for exercise in our community pool, two women shared my lane. I heard one say "This problem is so big, I'm glad that I can talk every night to God about it. I know that we can't know if God is real but I certainly feel better".
 
I apologised for overhearing and asked if I could say something; my spirit believed that Jesus wanted me to speak. I shared the truth that we can know that God is real and that He is approachable in Jesus, the same Jesus who is the centre of Christmas, the One who came to set us free and Who is always ready to help people who look to him. The woman was thrilled and thanked me, grinning, understanding, relieved. Her friend was amazed, her expression said "Really? I did not know". Our God is the God who reveals Himself (Psalm 19:1; Daniel 2:28; Amos 3:7; John 14:17). Our lovely Jesus brings comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) and help (Matthew 11:28). "He is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27).
 
I spoke what I know by faith to be true; I am shy and often stumble over words, but at these times I and am so grateful when Holy Spirit gives me words and puts them into clear sentences. Those words were for the two women. Jesus wanted the praying woman to know that her prayers are being heard in love.  Holy Spirit gave me what Jesus wanted them to hear. Holy Spirit always reveals Jesus (John 15:26; 1 John 4:2).
 

Eyes to See – The Prophetic in Scripture
 
The word "prophesy" describes our being able to hear God's voice, and then to share His thoughts with others, (regardless if it is Father God speaking, or Jesus the Son, Saviour and Lord, or Holy Spirit, our teacher, counselor, comforter and guide).
 
Jesus spoke about "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" (Mark 8:18). In 1st Corinthians 14 Paul tells us about God's prophetic gifting; he says "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy .. the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort ... the one who prophesies edifies the church ... I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1,3,5).
 
Trish and I were blessed to meet a couple who were led to start a school of Christian prophecy, (Holy Spirit's prophetic gifting). Wonderful. At first I found it scary, but soon saw that throughout the Bible, God speaks to people all the time. Then I truly wanted to learn.

 
(The phrase: "the word of the Lord came" is more than 100 times in the Old Testament).
 
"Behold", we are in the family of God, God's children (1 John 3:1), we are able to call our Father "Abba", just as Jesus does; that intimate Hebrew name for a loving father one fully trusts, (Romans 8:15). It is natural that our Father wants to talk to us and guide us.
 
When Jesus told His disciples that they were His friends, He was teaching all of us, all His disciples through all time (John 15:12-17). The Bible is alive, it is Jesus, the living Word of God (John 1:1), in written form. This truth is for us, each one. As Jesus' "friends" (John 15:15) we can expect to communicate freely, just as we do with our family and friends in the world.
 
Like many aspects of Christian life, some find the idea of us receiving, and being empowered by ministry gifts from Holy Spirit easier to accept than others.
 
(Some believe that the giving of spiritual gifts ended when the Holy Bible was completed. Perhaps you have been taught this? I ask that you examine this teaching in the light of what you know of our God, and what you see in your Bible study. I see nothing in Scripture to support this belief, and so much which tells us that Jesus' ministry work in the world is still needed, and we are being equipped and led to participate and continue with Him as He leads us and empowers us by His Holy Spirit from His place in Heaven, and that this will continue until Jesus returns. Hallelujah).
 
My testimony is that I often talk with Jesus and gladly receive His gifts. Others say that they communicate with Holy Spirit. (I believe that such distinction is unimportant and comes from our individual growing knowledge of who God is, and our self in relation to Him, Father, Son and Spirit). At Bible College we learned that where our Father is, there are Jesus and Holy Spirit too, and what Jesus is doing, Father God and Holy Spirit are also doing - the Holy Trinity is always united in all things).
 
I see that many Christian people are conforming into their "born again-ness" (Galatians 5:22-23) and showing more fruit from being "filled with the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), particularly in their ability to hear what God is saying through Jesus and by His Spirit (Matthew 10:20, Mark 13:11, John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:13). This can be called "hearing God's prophetic voice" and, Scripture tells us, is a normal part of the life Jesus wants for us. This is good, it helps us, individually and as the body of Christ, to "stand" (Ephesians 6:11,13,14) and to "do" (James 1:22) "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves".
 
Some years ago when I was a struggling Christian, Jesus gave me a series of visions to show me how sure and "faith filled" He was of how He was growing me. I wrote about it and called the piece "Jesus’ Faith in Me", It seems to me that today I am saying much the same thing with different words:

• Permalink to web page
https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2010/06/jesus-faith-in-me.html
"Jesus’ Faith in Me" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn
• Public link to podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6o9LlqVi6RRzfNtaok0EM5
 

Some Conclusions
 
Jesus is our source: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Let us stay close to Him.

I have come to believe that we can grow our faith only by drawing near to Jesus (Matthew 11:28). He has given us so much teaching on how to grow as Christians, in "devotion" (Matthew 22:37; 1Co 7:35), in "following Him" (John 21:22), in "humility" (Luke 18:14) and "service" (John 12:26), in "caring" (Matthew 10:8), in "generosity" (Luke 12:22-32) and one-anothering "one another" (Romans 12:10).

As we grow in Jesus, so we will grow in "seeing God" (Ephesians 1:17) in all His love, beauty, foresight, justice, wisdom and power. We will also learn to see and hear God, what He is doing and what He is saying. Thus our faith also grows.

We cannot make miracles happen, but it is the glorious grace of God that we can participate with Jesus as He works our Father's will in this very troubled world. Many testimonies show that our Father God often waits until we pray prayers of faith before He implements what He has already planned. So pray often (Ephesians 6:18). We do see miracles. Hallelujah!

I know that I have faith. Jesus leads me, He asks me to participate with Him in His work, and I love to do this. How does my faith compare with that of Abraham, Elijah or Elisha or George Muller or John Lake? There is no comparing - I am uniquely me. You are uniquely you. This is one of the blessings of being human, and especially of being Christian; we are each hand-made by God, intentionally for His purposes and His glory.

I am not perfect in my seeing, my availability or my obedience, but I know that my Lord Jesus loves me completely and is happy with my growing towards "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). This is good!

"Our God who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). I am so grateful.

And grateful too, that Jesus "helps me with my unbelief" (Mark 9:24), and, praise His name, He has enough faith for both of us (Mark 11:22)

God's is the power,
Ours is the prayer,
Without Him we can not,
Without us He will not.
(Quoted by Stuart Robinson in "Prayer Power").
 
And I remember - the answer is always "Jesus".

Amen.

I love to quietly sing this lovely old song:

"I Know Whom I Have Believed"

by Daniel Whittle, 1883 - From 2 Timothy 1:12 and Jude 1:24:

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
 
Refrain:
But "I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day".
 
I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.
 
I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.
 
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
 
I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.
  
"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]" (Hebrews 11:1 Amplified).
 
Praise Jesus. Amen.
 

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https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2025/12/faith-how-we-see.html

Free Gift

People all over the world are celebrating Christmas. We Christians know that the "Christ" of "Christmas" is Jesus, who came as a baby to a world mired in sin so that He could save us and set us free. He is alive and working still. Hallelujah!

On Christmas eve Trish and I and others were singing "O Holy Night" - I was struck by the words: "Until He appeared and the soul felt it's worth".

Until we meet Jesus we do not know our value, or even why we are here - now we can know our very great "worth", we are precious because of what our Father God has given us through His Son Jesus.
 
On the last page of the Bible Jesus invites every person to "Come!" and "take the 'free gift' of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
 
In Romans 5:15-17 and 6:23 the apostle Paul writes about a "free gift" from God.
 
What is God's "free gift"?
Since it is free, is it valuable?
Why is it free?
Why is it given?
Was this all planned?
What has God's "free gift" to do with every person? With you? With me? With our purpose, our life and our destiny?
 
Big questions.
 
When we believe in Jesus and repent of our sins, we receive forgiveness (Acts 10:43); Jesus shed His blood and died to "redeem us" (Titus 2:14), that is, He paid the price of the twin curses of "death and sin" (Romans 6:23; 8:2). Jesus atoning death sets us free. This is the essence of the gospel (the good news) we Christians love and share.

 
"We are justified through our faith and find peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Jesus paid the price; for us it is a "free gift".

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).

 
Our justification leads to our being righteous. We our-self may be soiled by sin, but Jesus' righteousness covers us, we too become righteous. We have received our salvation (Romans 5:10; 5:15-16). This sets us free; we become "free to be free" (Galatians 5:1). 

There is another "free gift", the "promised gift of the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13). Perhaps the Bible uses the same "free gift" words because our Lord wants us to regard all His gifts to us as being one complete package, a fullness of Him who "fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:23). Holy Spirit is the "free gift" in Revelation 22:17, "the water of life".
 
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).
 
Holy Spirit becomes our "teacher" (1 Corinthians 2:13), our "counselor", our "comforter" (John 14:26 Amplified). He is the power who raised Jesus from the dead. "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11).
 
In Acts 1:4-5 Jesus explains that Holy Spirit would come soon after He was crucified, rose from death and ascended to Heaven. Acts tells of Holy Spirit coming and filling Jesus' people, those who would be the first Christians (Acts 2:17,19).
 
The "working" of Holy Spirit can be seen in Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells His twelve disciples to "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8). The promise from Jesus is in all four Gospels and the Book of Acts, and on the last page of the Bible (where its presence shows its great importance). Holy Spirit baptism is a "free gift" for every Christian.
 
Jesus tells us that He came so that we may have "life to the full" (John 10:10). It is my testimony that the "free gift" of God, and the "full life" Jesus offers are linked and truly are what completes us as humans. We were designed to be relational and intimately connected to the God of all Creation who gives every person life. He sustains us, and the entire Universe, by His mighty foresight and power. God's relational design is also seen in our universal desire to be close with family members and with others; we make friends, many friendships last a lifetime. This is another strong theme throughout the Bible.
 

Trouble
We live in a world with much trouble. Our own wrongdoing (what our Bible calls "sin") is part of this. We know we have hurt others, broken laws and rules of our society, however careful we are.
 
Often we develop strategies to avoid or minimize the pain and injury done to us, and also from our conscience. These strategies diminish both our self and our life. "But", we say, "this is better than trying to deal with my past, my pain, my sin, my troubles".
 
Sin has affected every person in the world since Adam and Eve.
 
"But you know that Jesus appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin" (1 John 3:5).
 
When Jesus' "hour" had come for Him to go to the Cross (John 17:1), He told His disciples that they would always face trouble, and assured them "I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He is the only one who can do this. Jesus is ready to give us a share in this overcoming. All this is beyond our natural strength; God's power comes to us through His "free gift".
 
The "free gift" of God is given to people one at a time. The giving is not random, but planned.  The plan began before "the beginning" of the Creation (Genesis 1) and continues to this day (Revelation 22:20-21). 

My testimony, and that of hundreds of people I have heard, tells me that God's "free gift" is immensely precious as it makes us complete as a person.
 
In 1670, Blaise Pascal, a brilliant mathematician and physicist, said that there is a "God sized hole in the heart of every person", an emptiness which cannot be satisfied by any created thing.
 
By the time I met Trish, (now my wife of many years and the mother and grandmother of our big lovely family), I had learned that the world was not enough to satisfy me; I often felt "empty". Jesus came to us, Trish first and then me, and "fills our life with good things" (Psalm 103:5), and "our youth is renewed like the eagle's". I became aware that the "filling" was of something essential in me; Pascal's words rang true the minute I heard them. I thought: "So true, thank you Pascal for drawing such a clear word picture".
 
At the same time, the world is altogether too big. Do you remember your first airline flight? Hours go by and you are still over land and more land, or over ocean with no features, yet every minute you travel about 15 kilometres, (10 miles), half a day's walk, but just a spec on Earth's surface. No matter how we try, how we succeed, we become important to a tiny part of the world population, and most things will still be beyond our reach.
 
And too, our "success" does not take us beyond trouble and strife: "humankind is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7).
 
Happily, the God I have come to know and love is truly big, He fills my world and my worldview; He has my past, my present and my future securely in his hands (John 3:35).
 
Being Filled
The bible says we are "filled" by Jesus Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31; Ephesians 1:23). This "free gift" of filling brings with it spiritual gifts which empower us to live and minister as Jesus did, (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
 
Spiritual gifts enable us to help others and include:
• Words of wisdom
• Words of knowledge
• Acts of faith
• Gifts of healing
• Gifts of miracles, miraculous powers
• Gifts of prophecy, (the ability to hear God's voice)
• Speaking and interpreting of different kinds of tongues, (spiritual languages)
• Discerning of spirits, (having an understanding of spiritual activity, of which spirit is which, and which spirits are of our God of all Creation, and which are not).
 
Other spiritual gifts are:
• Gifts of service
• Helps, (simply being helpful)
• Generosity (in all things)
• Love, (a "doing" word, intensely personal, beyond our own strength, skills or wisdom)
• Abilities to teach, evangelise, minister and lead. 

All this is "to equip [Jesus'] people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12-13). 
 
Spiritual gifts are practical, they enable us to help others beyond our natural abilities or strength. We do not bring just words, but God manifests His wisdom and power to the world in us through Jesus by Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).
 
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them" (John 7:38).
 
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
 
So much of our life is spiritual; this can be experienced but is difficult to explain. People may say that there is no scientific evidence that anything spiritual exists. It cannot be weighed on a scale, or measured for length and breadth, or classified for texture or colour. This is true. But neither can love, or fear, greed or compassion, pride or arrogance, these are all intangible (not having physical presence). What motivates us? Encourages us? What produces loyalty or trust in us? (The "scientific method" expressly excludes the possibility of anything spiritual existing, yet, worldwide, most people know that it is real). I do not know the "scientific" position regarding love, desire, joy or grief.

 
Testimony
I have come to love Christian testimony. When our children were still at school our local church would travel 1600 kilometres (1000 miles) inland into the desert to mind the children in an Australian Aboriginal Community while the grown-ups had their annual Christian convention. People would come from all over South, Central, North and West Australia to share this time together. A great many people gave testimony of the good things Jesus had been doing in their lives over the past year; this was a feature of the weekend. God's people would share His glory with one another, testifying of His presence in the world, and of tangible blessings received.
 
In Perth city an oil company executive was asked by Jesus to establish a mid-week prayer meeting for city workers; the focus would be singing praises to our God, sharing testimony of Jesus' work in our day, and prayer. Wesley Church is in the centre of our CBD; the man asked: "Could the meetings be held there?" The answer: "Yes". Years later we still meet, sing and praise our Lord Jesus, hear testimony of Him coming to people and changing lives. And we pray, including prayer for the people who work in the city and those who have influence throughout the city, our state and the nation. We've rejoiced in years of testimonies of the (intangible and "non-scientific") wondrous works of our Jesus in people's lives, people from a hundred countries around the world. Glorious. Our God reigns (Revelation 19:6).
 
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6).
 
"He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:53).
 
Thank you, Jesus, for myself who was lost, and for the many who know you, and have been blessed and saved and filled by your grace. Thank you for your love and your "free gift".
 
Amen.

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Bless you, Jesus. Bless us all. Amen.

Silence

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). 
 

When Jesus began His earthly ministry He told the people, "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). Our participation with our Lord Jesus, however small our rôle may be in our eyes, is truly a part of that same Kingdom and the whole plan of God.

 
Every one of the Bible prophets added something unique and essential to our understanding of God's Kingdom, and of our relationship with Him, the God of all Creation, and of the whole history of humankind. Those prophets, their work and their hearts, speak to us still, even to today.
 
Nothing any person does is small when is in the will of God. Like the prophets of old, we hear from God, Father, Son and Spirit, and move forward with Him. We are part of all the purposes of God.
 
If you were to take your mobile phone and punch a hole right through it, as small as your little finger nail, your phone would no longer work; whatever parts you had cut out would prove to be vital to the working of all the many functions needed for your phone to be a phone.
 
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ .. As it is, there are many parts, but one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12, 20).
 
So also with our work in Jesus. We are needed, each one, our availability and our obedience is needed because our lovely God is working out His plan.
 
And we cannot obey unless we hear.
 
Perhaps the most famous Bible passage about God speaking into silence is when God told Elijah that He had something to say to him. Soon a mighty wind came, it was so strong it tore rocks apart. Surely this would carry the words of the Lord? God is big and He is mighty, isn't this how He would naturally come to us?
 
Then an earthquake came. I grew up in New Zealand and remember the terrible Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Earthquakes can tear chasms into the ground and destroy buildings and bridges. Is this how God spoke to Elijah? Then came a fire; we see news stories of vast forest fires. Movie makers love to show us heroic firefighters and terrible blazes. When Trish and I lived on our little farm I was a volunteer firefighter; the fires we fought and extinguished were fearsome, compared to our human size, they were big and dangerous.
 
Elijah heard God speak in none of these big things. We love big things, 60,000 seat stadiums will fill to see a rock group or a famous singer. We love a big family dinner or a "big night out".
 
And how does God speak? ".. after the fire a sound of gentle stillness and a still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12).
 
The Hebrew of the Old Testament says "qō-wl də-mā-māh ḏaq-qāh" which translates as "a voice still small" (Biblehub).    
 
Often it is in the silence that God speaks. Let us stop, rest, quiet our life, be available to Jesus, listen. 

My testimony is that it is when I am quiet that I hear Jesus speak to me; I receive His guidance. Other times I may see Him, I will become aware that Jesus is standing nearby, watching, always with a soft and loving smile. A couple of weeks ago Trish and I were at a healing seminar. After one session a woman was chatting with me, she said "you see things, right?". I responded that I do have a prophetic gifting and then laughed, remembering, "O", I said, "did you see Jesus this morning, when we were singing? He was over there, in the aisle, near that woman in blue". Our friend Jesus was with us, enjoying us being His church.
 
Jesus began to visit and to talk with me after I asked Him. I would pray, "please Jesus, I have some time, please come and be with me". It took a few times of asking before I was able to see Him. Jesus is with us all the time (Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 60:19-20; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5), and sometimes we can hear His voice, feel His touch or see Him, it is spiritual.

Trish and I became enthusiastic students of a couple who had studied the spiritual gift of the prophetic (1 Corinthians 14:1,3). We, and a great many others, have been blessed since then. The gifting continues. I am sure that many others experience Him in ways I do not; He treats each of us uniquely, (just as we respond differently to each of our siblings or friends).
 
We are called Christian because we are "of Christ", (just as an Italian person is "of Italy"); we belong to Christ. It is the person of Jesus Christ who is the centre of God's attention and His love, the centre of history, (history - "His story"). Also Jesus is "the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), this is manifestly personal to every Christian.
 
(Colossians 1:16, 19-20) "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross".
 
All this fullness is available to us. See John 15 where Jesus tells His disciples that already they are clean (because they had been "washed by Jesus' word"); then He commands them: "Abide in me, and I in you [live, dwell, remain in me]. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me" (John 15:4). 1st John 2:20 makes it clear that these words, calls and commands were not just for the people who saw Jesus in Bible times, but are to all believers everywhere: "But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge". We have this anointing, by Holy Spirit, and this possibility of understanding, since we are saved, it is an essential part of us being a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15) in Jesus, under His "new covenant" (2 Corinthians 3:6).

 
There are so many ways that I am aware that God is, and that I am with God; a part of everything that is. This is a very big thought but also a great comfort to me. It means that I am on the "inside, with" and not on the outside or opposed. So lovely. I am a child in the family of Father God (1 John 3:1). My awareness is of Jesus being present, often I see him, just for a second or two, near, close, always loving - He will be at rest, He is never in a hurry. Three Bible verses fill my heart and assure me that this is real:
 
(Matthew 28:20 Jesus' words) "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age".
(Colossians 1:15) "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation".
(Colossians 1:19) "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him".
 
Those words from Jesus close Matthew's gospel. One day I suddenly saw how important they are, they show us "always". Long ago our family attended a church in New Jersey where a preacher had a profound impact on me, a young Christian. When he used a big word from the Bible he would pause, look all round the church to be sure he had our attention, then state the obvious, so that we would register its significance. Were he to read these words, he would have paused and declared: "'always' means 'always". That preacher wanted us to know in our hearts how very big God is, there is no time and no place where Jesus is not with us, each one. Always! 

I am blessed to have opportunity to be quiet, truly quiet, and to be surrounded by silence.
 
After my big "accident" four months ago, I suddenly became a "home body", almost a "shut in". Previously I would go to three, four or five prayer meetings every week and other Christian events too. They were of great importance to me; I consider prayer my "work" (Ephesians 2:10); prayer, intercession, standing in the gap - often for others who do not know to seek Jesus for themselves. Now I mostly stay home.
 
I have changed on my inside. I surprised myself while sharing about the accident with a friend, I said "it is as though I aged three years in a day", and saw that this is true. I am suddenly "older", less strong, and slower; less able to "do".
 
Now, day after day, I have time to read, pray and ponder. (I have medical appointments and family and household duties, but on other days I have many hours alone). Quiet.
 
I am at peace, I am learning more about "shalom", that very big Hebrew word which Jewish people seem to know from childhood. Matthew 28:20 is fully real to me, I am aware that Jesus is present "with" me. We share peace together, shalom, in the silence. This is like being married for so long to Trish, Jesus and I can be like this too.
 
Praise Jesus. Amen.
 
Favourite Bible Verses
 
(Psalm 62:5) "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him".
 
(2 Corinthians 12:9) "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me".
 
(Zechariah 4:6) "So he said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit", says the Lord Almighty'".
 
(1 Samuel 16:7) ".. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'".
 
(Ephesians 1:18-21) ".. having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come".
 
(Isaiah 42:14) "For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant".
 
Amen.
 
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Joseph and Mary

Christians delight to remember how the God of all Creation came to Earth and lived among us, He was given the name "Jesus" and grew up in a family just like us. One of His names is Emmanuel; this means "God with us". It is so lovely that, at Christmas time, we celebrate Jesus' birth; I have great memories from childhood until now.

 
This last December, during her quiet time, Trish spoke to me: "How hard it must have been for Joseph and Mary", she said, "they had to face one hugely impossible event after another, yet they pressed on, they believed God, and they knew that there was no need for fear". Trish is my wife, life companion and mother of our children.
 
In the weeks since then I have been pondering Joseph's and Mary's adventures from that time, and marveling in my heart.
 
Jesus' birth story is told in two of the four Bible Gospels, Matthew and Luke, each one with its own emphasis. As I read and re-read the accounts I am surprised at the focus on God's presence, again and again, as events unfolded.
 
Ancient prophecies came to their fulfillment. God spoke to many different people through dreams and through angels. Holy Spirit was present to them and impacted their lives, first in Zechariah and Elizabeth, (by miraculously giving them a baby late in her life), and then by "overshadowing" Mary in what will have been a sudden and shocking way.
 
I am amazed that in every case, the people responded so gracefully. Zechariah seems to have accepted that God would make him speechless because of his unbelief. Mary "knew" in her heart that she was "highly favoured" by God Himself that she would bear His Son, the promised Messiah for all of Israel. We can understand Joseph’s sense of betrayal at Mary’s pregnancy, then how beautiful was his acceptance and agreement when the angel spoke to him. Such unexpected upheavals of lives, yet the people found peace in their hearts, such extraordinary faith!
 
This profound God activity was after a period we know as "the 400 years of silence" when God said nothing, prophesied nothing, and was not present to Israel for about fifteen generations; they knew themselves to be God's chosen people yet He had left them to themselves since the time of Malachi.
 

Then Caesar declared a census. This meant that Joseph would have to take his new family to Bethlehem to be counted. Joseph was a carpenter, a low income person, such a journey would have been hard financially, and the timing could not have been worse because Mary was well along in her pregnancy. They found no accommodation in Bethlehem except a stall in a barn with the cows, chickens, dogs and donkeys! Then Mary gave birth there. Imagine, Mary's first baby (who God had said would be King and Saviour to His people) being born like this, we do not even know if any family were there to help.
 
Yet the peace of God was with the young couple and with everyone involved.
 
Near by, some shepherds were "overjoyed" to see Jesus’ special star in the sky and to hear the angel tell them of His birth; the Bible accounts suggest to me that the shepherds were expectant and I ask: How? Why at that time? And why did God use lowly shepherds, another of the "ordinary" people He chose, (and not the priestly people or Jewish or Roman leaders)? The three Magi too were miraculously told about the birth and were thrilled to be involved; they were foreigners, not Israelites whose King had been born, foreigners. Then Joseph was told to escape with his wife and baby to Egypt; not a favoured destination for Jewish people in those days, but they went.
 
We see  radical yet willing obedience. To me it as an example of God's people pressing on with life because they know that they are inside God's will for them.
 
Joseph and Mary experienced one shock after another after another. God was always clearly present, He was the key factor in all of this. God Himself was working out His plan, a plan He had had in mind since before time began. This is what I find so thrilling about these Bible events with so many (mostly) very ordinary people.
 
In recent years and throughout the world we are all seeing frightening / negative / shocking changes and events involving all of us. Yet we know from Scripture, and so many testimonies, that Jesus is with us, even as He was with Joseph and Mary so long ago.
 
Praise Jesus that His work never ceases: "Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I am working'" (John 5:17).
 
These Bible accounts are all about people, about relationships and how God reveals Himself and brings our lives into His great eternal plan. I treasure my time with my Bible as I see how we can relate in our lives and relationships today.  
 

More Than A Lifestyle
Christianity is more than a lifestyle, it encompasses all of life. Jesus gives us new life and comes to us as our Lord and Saviour .. I see that both "Lord" and "Saviour" are very big words.
 
I now see things with new eyes and new heart:
 
Love is an essential for a full life. My testimony is that I knew love from when I was a boy, and more so when I met and married Trish, then again when Jesus came to me, and again with my being able to call Father God Abba. My knowing of love grew and grows still. It adds to all my earthly relationships and how I see life.
 
When we have love we need little else. At this campground by the sea where I am writing, there are two families tenting, they have three generations there and perhaps eight little children, one just a few months old. The families are close, all the grownups love all the children. Anyone can see that the children are free and safe; they know they are always loved and cared for. The children may tumble and hurt them-self, but this doesn't matter, they are immediately cuddled and reassured, the love surrounding them is unconditional. Camping is living close, in this closeness the children see the grownups love for and acceptance of one another. This is another form of assurance to them. (The seagulls love these families’ meal times, they feast off the children’s scraps!)
 
We Westerners have been taught, over the past two or three generations, to be almost entirely materialistic. Love is better. God's love for us, from Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, is endless and without limit. It flows by grace. It flows and is the mortar, the glue which cements relationships. For me, this is a treasure which came from my lovely Jesus.
 
Newness of Life – Christians are made new, we are born again. Many people live with guilt, shame, lack - they feel lost. A part of becoming Christian is that Jesus' Father becomes our Father and we are "born again" (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) and set free from the condemnation our sins deserved (Romans 8:1-4), we come into a refreshing "newness of life" (Romans 6:4). This changes our whole perspective, our worldview. We come to identify with Jesus, rather than with the world. Re-reading Ephesians Chapter 1 and Colossians 1:1-20 reminds me of all this. I turn to these chapters often.
 
Spiritual Awareness: Trish and I became Christians during a great time of renewal. We were thrilled to see the spiritual world impacting on "our" world, our physical world where there was much trouble, sickness and pain, and where so much was transient or temporary. We saw that Christians were different, also that they would pray and people would be healed. This was Jesus' spiritual gift of healing (1 Corinthians 12:9). We saw all of Jesus’ spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) at work among us. This became clear to us. True.
 
Sometimes someone would share a word with me, or with Trish; they spoke about things they could not know in the natural, true and important things which helped us and encouraged us. This was the spiritual gift of "word of knowledge" (1 Corinthians 12:9), or of "prophecy" (1 Corinthians 14:1,3-4). These gifts do not make us a prophet, an Isaiah or a Haggai, but they do enable us to hear what God has to say for us, or for another. God loves everybody and wants to communicate and lift us up, to encourage and help us, and to show people that He loves them, each one (Psalm 139:17; Daniel 2:22; Amos 4:13).
 
"But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'" (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).
 

Joy is a fruit of God's Holy Spirit. The different fruits grow in us as we grow in Jesus. Our Western culture teaches us to seek happiness. Happiness is different from joy, it is often fleeting, it comes and goes. Joy can live in our heart even when circumstances are tough for us.
 
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
 
These fruit add to us and make us more human and more Christ-like. We become able to get along in all the busyness and troubles of life. This may explain why Christians are keen to testify to others about the lovely changes they experience as their healing and understanding grows.
 
Working with Jesus is another treasure for me. I had been a believer for years when I began to see that Jesus expects me to work with and for Him, here on the Earth. While He was here Jesus ministered with great compassion, generosity, power and grace, all coming from love. Now He is with our Father in Heaven and He wants us carry on His work in this very needy and hurting world.
 
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
 
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12).
 
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
 
Prayer is a constant with Jesus, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25 - note the present continuous tense). As I have grown in Jesus I have learned to love prayer. I am still not sure I know how to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18), but I pray many times each day and regard prayer as a vital and satisfying part of my life work, praise Jesus.
 
Prayer works. We see results, sometimes spectacular and always thrilling. Prayer is part of our Christian adventure. Payer is integral: "So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15). See also Matthew 6:9; Matthew 21:13; Luke 6:28; Luke 18:1; Romans 8:26; Romans 12:12 (and more).
 
The Way
Early Christians called their new kind of life "the Way"; they testified as to how their lives changed once they had come to Jesus. He previously said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
 
I believe that Joseph and Mary understood that this was so; they, and Zechariah, Elizabeth, Anna and Simeon had a foretaste of the new life of faith, of being available to Jesus, and being ready to be obedient. We see this in committed Christians throughout history, and we saw it first in them.
 
When I have doubts or am confused at the state of the things, I am encouraged and remember that I too am on "the Way", pressing onward with Jesus and the people He has put me amongst. I love to remember the belief and faithfulness we see in God, in His Son Jesus and the angels and in the people He chose to share in His wonderful incarnation. So also the story we read every year where Joseph and Mary shine and reflect our Lord (Matthew 5:16). Such a lovely demonstration of His love, power and grace to us, even all these generations later.
 
Praise Jesus, Amen. 
 

 

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
 
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
 
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

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God Has Thoughts For You

Growing in Jesus is awesome. I find that I am often encouraged because I have been given a new and brighter view of life by Holy Spirit. The newness and brightness comes because I see that view in the light of Jesus.

Lately I have been pondering the reality that God thinks about me, about each one of us. The Bible makes it plain, over and over again, that God, who we know as Father, who has the whole Universe and billions of people to manage, thinks about me (and you) so often that David said His thoughts "would outnumber the grains of sand" (Psalm 139:18). I am able to share in King David's delight as he wrote his psalms, in knowing how God was thinking about him.
 
"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count" (Psalm 40:5 NASB).
 
"How precious concerning me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand .." (Psalm 139:17-18).
 
I am writing this at our favourite camp site by the sea in our Southwest. Soon I will walk along the shore as the sun goes down, I will come away with sand all over my feet and will be thinking about God's thoughts. Just on my feet will he hundreds and hundreds of grains; how many are there on this one shore? O Lord Jesus, how wonderful!
 
This is inspiring to me, very affirming. Somehow I am assured that I belong, that I should be here, right where I am. And also that I am heading in Jesus' right direction for me, towards the ".. knowledge of the Son of God, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
 
God Himself has thoughts about me, about you. Many English Bible translations use the word "plans", and the Amplified who want to be truly clear, says "thoughts and plans". God's thoughts are continuous since before we were born (Galatians 1:15). I am only just recognising this. His thoughts concerning me are not angry or judgmental thoughts about the rotten things I have done. No, He has forgiven those and they are now "behind His back" and "as far as the East is from the West away from Him".
 

"'For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (Jeremiah 29:11).
 
This is very good news. This means that all the other "not good" thoughts which come to my mind are being placed there by someone who is not God; that "someone" can only be Satan so I can immediately cast them off (2 Corinthians 10:5).
 
All this helps me to understand how God is .. He throws His shadow over us, each one, His covering, His tent, His care and thoughts and plans.
 
God is For Everybody: Even as we pray for and care for one another we are sharing in the thoughts God has for those people. We may think of the people of Israel at this time as they are being attacked by Hamas. But even more, God's thoughts are for all the billions of people in the world, each one separately. His thoughts may be for every Israeli but at the same time God has thoughts and plans for us, and for each of the Hamas militants and those supporting them, morally, spiritually or financially.
 
God's Bigness: For months I have been pondering how big God is; times like this help me see that His bigness is beyond imagining and is simply awesome, (also, they help me to know "fear of the Lord"). When we get a touch from God, when something supernatural happens which we know can only have come from Him, we know that at that very moment He is especially thinking of us. Then we realise that He will have had many thoughts for us leading up to this moment; he hasn't just helicoptered in to help now and then will fly off to help someone else. No, Jesus assures His people that He is "with you always" (Matthew 28:20), with everyone, all the time, awesome!
 
The Lord's Prayer: Now is a time when people are remembering the Lord's Prayer, I am encountering this everywhere I go. This is a collective prayer, and also Jesus teaching each one of us to pray to "Our Father". We call out to our Abba Daddy to "give us this day our daily bread", asking Him to think of us and everything we need to sustain us, "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23) as He has covenanted to do (Luke 12:22-34). The Lord's Prayer is for everybody on Planet Earth, because Father God is Father to us all, even unbelievers; He created us, each one, for His own purposes, even when we are wandering in a wilderness away from His path (Luke 1:79).
 
God's Spiritual Gifts To Help Us: Jesus wants us to share in His work on the Earth. This is spiritual work; He gives us spiritual gifts.
 
Note: You may have been taught that the spiritual gifts described in the Bible are not for today but were only for the apostolic age while the church was being formed. I have studied this teaching and find it wanting. What I find clearly stated in Scripture is this: Jesus helped many during His three ministry years on the Earth. He performed all kinds of miracles for all kinds of people as He saw our Father leading. After being crucified and rising from death Jesus told His people, (not just the disciples and later Paul), that He would soon leave them to be with our Father in Heaven and that He would send another "helper", "advocate", "comforter", God's Holy Spirit (John 14:15), to empower the believers so that they could carry on His work here and even do "greater works" than He had done (John 14:12). We are to "go into all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20) and do this, having "rivers of living water" (John 7:38) flowing from us to bring "salt" and "light" to others (Matthew 5:13-14). My understanding is that the "greater works" are possible because we are many millions in number and can minister in countless places to vast numbers of people at the same time; Jesus, in His humanity, was only at one place at any time. (See 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14, Hebrews 2:4 and more).
 

Here is a lovely testimony:
 
For a long time, my wife Trish and I studied under a couple who taught Jesus' spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:1,3). We were taught to listen with our spiritual ears (and an open heart), and to hear God speaking, sometimes for ourselves and more often to "strengthen, encourage and comfort" other people (1 Corinthians 14:3). The teaching couple had seen that the prophetic gifting is a theme in the Bible, but not often seen among Jesus' people in our city in our time. They sought out teaching for themselves, being careful to choose teachers whose theology and lives were clearly Bible based and centred on Jesus. The prophetic is a Holy Spirit gift, and Holy Spirit always reveals Jesus.
 
We were called the Eagle School Of The Prophetic and we all grew over those years; we saw miracles as Jesus' love and life were imparted to a great many people.
 
For several years one lively local church would hold a week of tent meetings by the river in the centre of our city. Besides the big marquee tent there were smaller ministry tents, one was for prayer for healing, another for tea, coffee and cool drinks, (we would bring home-made muffins and scones to go with people's cuppa), another may hold helpful Christian resources, mostly to be given away. Our tent was for people to come and hear what God had to say to them, their own personal word from Jesus. Trish and I were part of this ministry. We saw miracles, we saw Paul's words come to life: ".. our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
 
One man came to us who was a surprise; he was clearly very well off, his bike would have cost thousands and his Lycra and sunglasses hundreds more. He was not Christian and told us that he did not know why he had come to our tent. We were in small teams. Sometimes the person coming to us would share their story but often they would not know what to say or to ask. This man was quiet. We all sat for a few minutes then the person whose turn it was to pray prayed a simple prayer asking Jesus to let this man know His word for him. After a brief silence one of us spoke and drew a clear word picture, then the next spoke a different picture, then the last of our trio, once again, spoke a third different picture. Immediately I saw that all three pictures for this man contained the same message: the man was much admired and had great worldly success but his personal life and his relationships were empty; all the precious things of life seemed to have passed him by; Jesus knows and understands isolation and loneliness and was ready to come alongside this man and bring him into His life and His family of believers.
 
The man cried, great deep sobs. It was so good to hug him, here was new life. This man now knew that he was in God's thoughts and His love. We passed him on to another person who was gifted in presenting Jesus' gospel and suggesting ways that people can find a suitable local church. That man left our tent with a much lighter step than when he arrived. Jesus had been love and salt and light to him by using us (Matthew 5:13-14; John 7:38).
 

That man had told us that he did not know why he had come to our tent. I believe that our Father sent him there so that He could "reveal His thoughts" to Him (Amos 4:13), and begin to give him a "full life" (John 10:10).
 
We often saw tears it that tent, and in the many other times we ministered Jesus in this way, we also saw great joy as people heard the thoughts God had for them; God was waiting until the person inclined their ear and was ready to hear. We were simply Jesus' servants. Every Christian can see Jesus at work in this way: ".. with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction". We were, and still are, available, we have learned from the Bible and the vast Christian literature, we listen and obey. This is very satisfying work (Ephesians 2:10), bringing God's thoughts to our neighbours and our brothers and sisters (John 13:34; Romans 13:8; Galatians 6:2).
 
Recently I was in a devotion with friends. One of us began by saying "God is truly relational", (she is a very relational person, thoughtful, kind and a great mixer). We all nodded our heads, "yes, we see the same thing" we seemed to be saying, "we all see this in our Jesus". I find it hard to make friends, even to mix in a crowd of strangers is so difficult; I see myself as being shy but also as trying to be helpful and to show Jesus' generous heart that He has given me. So I am excited about the "thoughts" verses I have been finding in my Bible; God's thoughts for us are completely part of who He is and who we are in relationship with Him. God created the Creation so that He could be relational towards something "other" and share His glory (Jude 1:24). That "other" is us, people, humankind.
 
All this encourages me to keep going, to keep walking in Jesus and continue in fellowship with His people. "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7 ).
 
Eternally God "is", He calls Himself "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally loving, giving, sharing. This relationship within the Godhead is so special it has its own name, "perichoresis". Now God includes us in His love and thoughts. We are "born again" (1 Peter 1:23) into Jesus and His church where we learn to get along together, to "one another" one another, "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
 
Amen.
 
Favourite Bible Verses
 

"He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord God of Hosts is his name" (Amos 4:13).
 
"May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

 
"See to it that no one takes you captive by hollow philosophy and vain deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8).
 
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
 
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body - whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (1 Corinthians 12:4-13).
 
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.  For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort" (1 Corinthians 14:1-3).
 
Hallelujah! Praise Jesus!
 
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