Whales

He Has Made Everything Beautiful

I'm down in our South West, writing for PsalmsOfJohn.com, for two weeks. Trish was able to come for the linking weekend and has just headed home. We've had the most wonderful three nights and days. 

It’s springtime here and everything is exploding with new life. We've been on three very different bush walks and were completely overwhelmed at the beauty, variety, complexity and symbiosis of the Creation all around us.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We're at a campsite by the sea. A couple of days ago I saw dolphins so close to the shore I could almost reach out and touch them; they were catching little fishes in knee deep water! We often see metre-wide stingrays, they'll come right up and eat the scraps when fisher-folk clean their catch by the shore; every afternoon they come looking for food. Pelicans too.

Then yesterday we walked along the coast to this tiny bay (with a great surfing break), to have a prayer-time. Some trees have survived the wild coastal weather and one tree trunk is so laid down by the winds that we can sit on it, (I call these trees our "prayer cathedral", we come here at least every year). The shore is all boulders which are surrounded with anemones, muscles and sea snails and many seaweeds; a little further along is a sandy beach and great swimming. It is also teaming with birds, spiders, ants, lizards and even snakes; it's alive! Just behind the narrow beach the bush starts and is full of wildflowers and other plants, all shoulder to shoulder in our lovely "sun-burnt country".

Western Australia is world famous for its fantastic display of wildflowers every spring; there are thousands of species known nowhere else in the world. They are from the far north to the deepest south, and from the coast far into the wheat-belt and gold-fields. Some of the plants exist in just a few hundred hectares of all the world's surface! Quite wondrous.

During our prayer-time a pod of humpback whales started breaching not far out to sea; they come to the surface to blow a fountain of air and water, and then breathe in. Our first whales! We were thrilled. For me, being excited by the Creation is an every-day occurrence. But this was extra special!

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made .." (Romans 1:20).

During the best years of my career I developed computer systems to solve complex business problems. The objective was to get a handle on everything which affected that part of the business, map it out as data bases and data flows, and then design the computer applications, (now called "apps"), which would correctly respond to every possible mix of circumstances which may ever possibly arise, and all the mistakes managers, customers and operators may make from time to time.

(I stopped a bank one time because I'd not allowed for an operator error which occurred on my system's first day live!)

My customers liked my systems, so I suppose I was pretty good at it.

I see the Creation as 100,000,000 times more complicated than anything I ever had a hand in developing .. and yet it has worked for thousands of years, even to this day. Many scientists would have us believe that this is all accidental, and that "survival of the fittest" does not mean that the fittest "fittest" will not devour everything else and become the only remaining species!

Today we see this "devouring" happening in the finance industry and in the world since Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher invented "supply side" economics, and "globalisation" gained favour in high places. The theory is that if nations really look after their rich and the big corporations, and help to make them richer, then that prosperity will "trickle down" and lift up the rest of the people .. Well these ideas have not worked. Sure, the rich have got richer, and very quickly they are buying everything of value in the world; (just think about house prices ..) The rest of us struggle on with a smaller and smaller slice of the pie. We saw similar things historically in the days of the aristocratic estates, and during the industrial revolution.

But not so in God's creation; we see such beauty and such a mix of species and lives inter-acting, often sacrificially. Bacteria we cannot see, but I'm told that there are as many bacteria in a cupful of soil as there are people in the world! Bacteria in our gut keep us healthy and give strength to our immune system. Then there are the insects and tiny creatures which break down trash and are dinner for plants and larger creatures, right up the food chain. Only rarely do things run out, and then only in a small part of the world, and only for a short time. All the rest powers on. And the whales ! The flowers ! The birds ! The people ! So lovely .. To me, our Creator God is so represented in the Creation, it all  shows His loveliness and His care ..

In Jesus day there were perhaps 250,000,000 people in the world (an expert estimate), there was enough food for everyone and enough grazing for their herds and flocks. Today we number more than 7,500,000,000 and just about everyone is fed two or three times a day, yet there are still vast tracts of land in a "natural" state, and (often) the very best bits have been permanently set aside as National and State Parks and reserves for waterfowl, wild animals and marine life. God's wonderful biodiversity continues with humankind's stewardship.

Many media people, scientists and educators talk about evolution as though it were an established fact of all life, but there is still not one shred of evidence showing that any more-complex life form ever evolved from another, less-complex, life form! Not one clearly proven truth!

All the talk and scholarly "evolution" writing is based on hypotheses, (wild guesses), and none of it is based on truth established by scientific method. Another thing, these people all gloss over how the first life form began; they have no believable explanation for the coming of life. They do not even have a good definition for life (or for gravity either). And there is a complete denial of the spiritual world, though often in their conversation it is clear that they are discussing things of the spirit! At least two thirds (67%) of all the people in the world know that the spiritual world is real.

If evolution were true, then we would need no Creator God, everything would have developed by accident, nothing could have any value and there could be no spiritual life at all. Neither could there be love or empathy or grief! These are things we all experience and know to be an essential part of life.

But happily we do have a Creator God who gives life and light. His name is Jesus! The universe was established as a fully operational ecosystem and is still working!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of humanity" (John 1:1-4).

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  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.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:15-16).

Every day I rejoice in the Creation. I'm sure that one needs much more faith to believe in evolution than to know Jesus Christ as one's God and Saviour!

Human ingenuity has vastly expanded our ability to grow wheat, rice and other foods; crops are produced on a scale which can feed our vast urban populations. We have a responsibility to steward those parts of the Creation where we have influence; we humans have the reasoning ability and the practical skills to help maintain a sound and productive world-wide ecosystem.

"So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground'.  Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food'. And it was so.  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day" (Genesis 1:27-31).

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2).

"Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands" (Psalm 119:73).

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).

Thank you dear Jesus for the whales and for our opportunity to see them! So glorious! Amen.

(I began writing this post on 26th October whilst still down South, editing and getting the photos together was a big thing .. now I can post). 

Hallelujah!

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Amen. 

The Wrong Sword

When Peter cut off the servant's ear Jesus rebuked Him, and then healed the servant by restoring the ear (Luke 22:49-52). For many years I've not been quite sure why Jesus rebuked His disciple if He had already allowed him to carry a sword in the first place. But now I see that Jesus was saying that Peter was using the wrong sword, that it was time to put aside his worldly weapon because Jesus was about to equip all His people with His spiritual sword, "the sword of the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17).

I believe that Jesus is showing me to put down my sword of political activity and take up His sword which He gave to me many years ago, and which He has so carefully trained me to use! This is His sword of prayer.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,  we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Amplified).

"Strongholds" are simply lies presented as truth; just the same as "political correctness" which we see so wide-spread in our present age.

In Peter's case Jesus was saying that the times were about to change; that the time of the established order was finishing and a new paradigm for living and for the exercise of power was soon coming. The old order, (which we might think of as the Old Covenant), included the power of God, but this was mostly effected from the outside; the Spirit of God would come upon people and enable them.

Under the New Covenant God's Spirit fills the believer; this filling is continuous and on-going. It is not just a once-off, or occasional, event.

"I baptize you with water for repentance" [said John the Baptist].  "But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

Jesus was saying that Peter needed to put down his sword of steel so that he could go through the time of Jesus' Passion and all that transpired when Our Lord was wrongly condemned, was killed on the cross, was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended into Heaven where He sits at the Father's right hand in glory. 

This was a very difficult journey for Peter who was starkly aware that he had betrayed Jesus three times. It was much later that he learned that Jesus still loved him and had forgiven him. I've been spending some time in the last four chapters of John's Gospel and the first two of the Book of Acts; Jesus is so gentle, and so beautiful too. This is a truly awesome historical account of world changing events (which only about one third of the people in the world ever hear).

After Jesus died and rose again, His believers all stuck together; they were demoralised and frightened. What had happened? They had become convinced that they would see victory with Jesus; a glorious restoration of the nation of Israel and her position in the world. Instead Jesus had been killed in the most brutal and humiliating way. He had risen from the dead (and "He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time" (1 Corinthians 15:6)). Then Jesus ascended into Heaven and left them leaderless! Rome was still all powerful and had its heel firmly on the necks of the Jewish people. 

                                                                            

Then came Pentecost. Those present in that upper room became the first Christians. They had an undeniable experience of God in Jesus, and they were all filled, in the most spectacular and undeniable way, with the promised Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of God Himself! Peter and all those present were given their new swords, they were filled with fire and power (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:38)!

All these generations later, (about 80 generations since Jesus walked the earth), we are still being equipped, in the same way, with mighty spiritual weapons. Hallelujah!

So that's it for me; much less political activity, and much more prayer, pressing into God for my family, for all my fellow Christians, for all governments everywhere, indeed for every one of the seven-and-a-half billion people on our lovely planet. It's an old sword but a good one; over the past few years it has not been used as much as perhaps it should have been. I'll be busy with the sharpening stone and metal polish, getting ready for a long battle ..

Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"Now concerning gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.  Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.  

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;  to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.  

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:1-12).

'“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord' (Isaiah 54:17).

'Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust".  Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,  nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you' (Psalm 91:1-7).

'He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus' (Revelation 22:20).

Praise Jesus.

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Amen.

And Not Look Back

Testimony Of My Life Journey

Sometimes we take a path which looks right; we've thought about things, reached conclusions in which we strongly believe, and decide to go a certain way.

It's all part of our life journey.

But life has a way of showing me when I have made a wrong turn. This may be the right thing for others to do, it's not right for me, just at this time.

The hard thing is to acknowledge my mistake and turn away from it, and in this present case, to take up again what I have been doing for most of my life with Jesus; and that is to focus on prayer.

I am reminded of one of my favourite Bible passages, Ephesians 6:10-18, which concludes: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people" (Ephesians 6:18).

In Christian terms moving on from an error always involves forgiveness and repentance, (often forgiveness of oneself). For this to work for me I need to make some tough decisions, about letting go and pushing ahead, and then stick to them, "and not look back" (Genesis 19:17; Jeremiah 47:3; Nahun 2:8).

Experience shows that this is not easy. Often there are times of moving forward and then sliding back. I've heard many testimonies of other people struggling a long time to get beyond their earlier mistakes, they'll say things like: "I recognised where I was, I'd been there before, I realised that I was going around the same mountain again"!

Forgiving someone is often hard, we think "why should I forgive him, he was such a rat to me". But until we forgive the other person we cannot become free, unforgiveness cramps our heart and grows into bitterness; this hurts us badly. The other person, the one who caused the pain, is usually unaware of our continuing anguish, they carry happily on with their life.

I will remember the Lord's Prayer where Jesus tells us that forgiveness requires forgiving: "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us" (Matthew 6:12), and that once forgiven our sins are gone from our Father's memory "you have put all my sins behind your back" (Isaiah 38:17), a liberating realisation.

This is where "and not look back" comes in. In my human weakness I like to pretend that my mistakes were not mistakes; that they were things I did which would have worked out fabulously had circumstances been a little different or I had more resources, or people had helped more, or maybe if I just spend more time thinking it through it will work out when I try it again. Mostly this is just wishful thinking. So taking the focus off me, and off the old, and really pressing into what I'm now doing is the best way; it also means that I do not become a butterfly, touching on this thing, then dashing over there and trying that, then having a try with someone else's idea ..

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have fully taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

The important thing is to find "the goal .. for which God has called me". Jesus is always clear in what He wants us to be involved in. When we seek His will for our life, He will say "follow me" and show a way forward. He does this all the time for all His people, though sometimes it is difficult, today, to know what He wants.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).

Once I have acknowledged my mistake, healing can begin. Yes, healing. We get damaged when we fall off our bike or get a splash of hot fat while cooking. We also get damaged by events and circumstances in our lives, particularly those involving other people and our relationships with them. In my present case, acting on strongly held beliefs, thinking that I could do some good, when in fact, I had very little connectedness or authority to influence others or to help steer policy or decisions.

For a number of years I've been a volunteer for politicians. They are on the conservative side. We believe: "Hey, our country is great, over centuries we grew out of some fundamentally good ideas and structures, we have a balance of fairness for everyone, including our minorities who belong, with us, in this nation. We are each able to live the kind of lifestyle we want, do the kind of work that interests us, mix with the types of people we like or admire, worship as we wish and live a life of faith if we want. Certain established and proven attributes of government, law and social structure have been put in place over centuries which ensure that our hard won freedoms are maintained (see NOTE 1).

Over the past year or two I have been getting more and more frustrated by the way our Federal government is abandoning these widely held and long established core attributes. Our freedoms are being eroded, mostly by political correctness (which is always a lie being presented as a universal truth). Trish tells me that my frustrations show when I talk to people, instead of being gracious and peaceful, I sometimes sound angry and unbending. This is not at all intended. I'm trying to speak gently and with much common sense, but this is not always how it comes out.

Fortunately, when Trish and I were very new Christians, we mixed with others who all prayed. Our prayer meetings were among the most important and exciting events of the week. They were so significant because we saw Jesus at work in the world in response to our prayers. Talk about a boost for your faith! To witness someone healed of an illness, or to see seemingly impossible changes of heart or of circumstances is incredible. Testimonies of miracles abound. In our family and my own life there have been many miracles. Prayer is a part of our sharing with Jesus in His work on the earth. It is us speaking into the spiritual world with power given by God Himself.

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Corinthians 4:20).

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

"For the Spirit God gives us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).

"Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God" (Romans 15:17-18).

Jesus often taught His people to pray, and to pray "always, and not give up" (Luke 18:1-4). Sometimes we don't see an immediate response to our prayers, but I find that knowing that I am sharing my burdens and all my issues with God is extraordinarily reassuring. Also, frequently seeking Jesus' will for me is an essential part of my prayer life.

"Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence" (2 Chronicles 6:19).

Whilst living in New Jersey many years ago we attended prayer meetings based on "ACTS": "Adoration (singing and worship), Contrition (repentance and forgiveness), Thanksgiving (being grateful), Supplication (prayer and intercession)". I found this to be a great way to be balanced and to not simply come to my Lord Jesus with a big shopping list and perhaps sound like a whinger. "ACTS" has stayed with me even if we now live in Western Australia. Often now I'm less formal in my prayers. That group also used to journal all the prayer requests and record when that need was met. It was so very encouraging to see how many needs were met, and in many cases, how quickly.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Now on a Saturday evening, before dinner, Trish and I will often take an hour or so and simply soak in prayer with Jesus and our Father. As we are each unique, this soaking prayer is probably different for everybody. My time is spent remembering lovely encounters I've had with Jesus and things that I'm grateful for. I ponder recent national or family events, not to find solutions, but rather to bring all my concerns before the King of kings and Lord of lords. These times are very rich. We conclude with communion together, and a time of sharing. Both Trish and I feel that these are some of the most productive times of our week!

"And not look back" takes on a real importance when seen like this, pressing forward is a discipline which helps us to be balanced and peaceful in our place in the world, and to live out "faith, hope and love" in our life (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Amen

Favourite Bible Verses

'Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God"' (Luke 9:62).

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people" (Ephesians 6:10-18).

NOTE 1 - The Core Of Democracy - Freedoms hard won by our ancestors, most of which are based on Christian principles from the Ten Commandments of God and from Jesus' teaching:

·         Freedom of speech

·         Freedom of conscience, and by extension, freedom of thought

·         Freedom of association, and by extension, freedom of religion, worship and faith

·         Everyone being equal under the law, even the Queen and Prime Minister, and by extension, giving everyone else, and expecting for oneself, a "fair go" - a very Australian concept, broadly and deeply felt

·         Democratic governments where every adult person contributes to the selection of governments, and can influence how laws are enacted and repealed

·         Being protected in our nation, internally by our laws and police, and externally by well trained and well equipped military forces

·         Enjoying universal health care

·         Taxation for all, together with support and welfare systems ensuring that the rich don't eventually own all the assets, and the poor or disabled or unable-to-cope can live, with food and shelter and can still send their kids to school ..

Hallelujah!

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Amen.

Renovations

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Jesus Has Our Back

Most of this year we've been renovating our house, we're nearly finished now and just tidying up the last few hundred details. We did five rooms this time, our bedroom and ensuite bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen and laundry.

It's been really exciting, but also very hard work for me as I've been the key player while Trish continues to teach. She and I made the big decisions together, then I did the detailed planning and much of the shopping, also the project management and much of the work. I got really, really stressed! So many balls had to be gotten into the air, then kept there! Too often I worked a 12 or 14 hour day (and I turned 74 right in the middle of it all).

Throughout I've been so aware: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

We went for a Mexican hacienda look, (I'm told that it's really called "Santa Fe"). We found these lovely terra-cotta-like ceramic floor tiles, with just the slightest red blush; they are now laid in our bedroom and right through the living room too, we're delighted; when friends or family see them for the first time they all smile and say: "O, yes". Ceilings are white and the walls slightly off-white. We now have wooden venetian blinds, lots of timber, blues and greens, dozens of plants, even bamboos, and all our many paintings, photos and books.

It's those many times when I've come completely to the end of my rope that I want to share about here. Jesus had my back the whole time; when my hands became so tired that I couldn't grip things properly I would become aware that He had changed some aspect of the task and it was now easier. Or a simple, clear idea would come into my mind, right out of left field, and an impossible or very worrying problem would suddenly have a solution.

We wanted to be able to completely empty rooms as we progressed. I thought we could put the furniture and all the other stuff out on the patio and cover it with tarpaulins, but concluded that there would be weather damage no matter how careful we were, (it was coming up to mid-winter here). There is a storage facility near our house but this would be expensive and we would have to rent trucks to carry everything back and forth and would need heaps of man-power. A few days before we were to start work I was doing our laundry when the word "container" popped into my head. Within hours our Shire engineer gave me copies of the local laws about using sea containers for domestic building projects; then after a quick search I found Huska, on the other side of the country, who for a modest cost arranged for a 20 foot (6 metre) container to be dropped (gently) onto our driveway in two days time. I mention Huska by name, not only was his quote the best, he responded instantly to all my requests and was just the greatest guy to work with. So lovely. The container was weather-proof, clean, very secure, a perfect size, right where it was needed, just in time! This was Jesus speaking a word, by His Spirit, into my worried heart and solving such a big problem! A miracle. Many times I felt that Jesus helped in my Internet searches, I found such great suppliers!

God does speak to His people, "To .. another is given a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:8), after all, we have been brought into His family as His children (John 1:12, Romans 8:14) and our loving, generous Father knows everything and wants to help and to participate in our lives!

Trish and I have six grown children and were delighted and grateful that they helped us so much, but their availability did not always match our needs, particularly on weekdays. So we were more than blessed to have some men along from a half-way house our church has set up. These guys are amazing, they are all in recovery from drugs or alcohol and some quite recently in from "the life", mostly they have workmanlike skills, they are very keen and worked for a modest hourly rate, cash, and were very thankful to be given the work (partly, I think, because time can pass slowly in the half-way-house when there are no planned activities or teaching). They were such a God-send when we were humping furniture, getting wall after wall of so-very-stuck-on wallpaper off, and prepping for the painting! We fed these guys like princes and gave them the very best coffee. There was a real sense that Jesus was there with us, and not just in our conversations and singing; everyone was being blessed by this shared work.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord .." (Colossians 3:23).

"God .. will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people .." (Hebrews 6:10).

Tradesmen we had built relationships with over many years were unavailable for different reasons. I found this pretty scary; you hear stories of people being stranded with a job half done or getting poor quality work or even being ripped off financially by trades people they don't know well. Once again Jesus went before us. The people who were recommended to us were all available when we were ready for them, they were sweet people and straight shooters who did truly excellent work at reasonable prices. Our house shines ..

We are told that the Bible is the "living word" of God (1 Peter 1:23). This huge project is another demonstration of the truth of this: Jesus' nearness and guidance and influence and His light make a massive difference in all the every-day workings of our lives!

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" (John 8:12), my experiences over many years testify to the truth of these words.

Trish and I are as different as chalk and cheese yet we worked hard together for months, planning and making dozens and dozens of decisions. It's been wonderfully peaceful! These renovations have been a long time coming and it is such a joy for me to know that she will have a lovely, (and solid), house to live in after I'm gone home to be with Jesus.

"The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121:8).

So, thank you Jesus, and Father, and Holy Spirit, and family, and brothers and sisters, for all your help.

Hallelujah!

Favourite Bible Verses

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  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.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:15-17).

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-4).

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code" (Romans 7:6).

"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).

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22).

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies" (Proverbs 31:10).

"Enjoy life with the wife you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift" (Ecclesiastes 9:9).

Yes! Amen.

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"Renovations [Jesus goes before]" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn

• Public link to podcast

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Praise Jesus. Amen.

Generous

Generous: Beyond Money and Tithing   

Time after time Jesus has impressed on me His desire that I become more generous; He shows me that generosity is a big part of who He is, and therefore, of what we are, seeing as every human is created in the image and likeness of God, and we Christians have Jesus inside of us; we are also in Jesus as He sits at the right hand of our Father God, ruling and reigning in Heaven (John 14:20). 

Jesus is steadily and uniquely growing each one of us "until we all attain unity in the faith and a full understanding and knowledge of the Son of God, that we might reach a thorough maturity to the height of Jesus' own perfection; the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and the completeness found in Him" (Ephesians 4:13 Amplified).

There is much teaching in the Church about the attributes of God, those aspects of who He is which help define Him and contribute to how the Universe is, and how we humans really are. (To me, thinking about God's attributes also reinforces the inadequacy of all the other gods).

The attributes I most remember being taught are that:

God is eternal, (God dwells in eternity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit always were, time is part of the so-very-beautiful Creation, God is Lord of time, and for ever will be);

God is holy (He is set apart from all Creation, He cannot say something which is not true or do anything sinful or against love, that is, against Himself).

God is omnipresent (He is always everywhere);

God is omnipotent (there is no limit to His power and ability to do things, in the natural and even beyond, in the supernatural);

God is immutable (He does not change, He is always the "same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8));

Amazingly, all these attributes (and the many others which I've not listed) flow to us, "aim at and pursue righteousness, Christ likeness, faith, love, perseverance, patience, and gentleness of heart" (1 Timothy 6:11). 

Paul would never have asked his spiritual son and beloved friend Timothy to seek these qualities if they would not be possible to acquire. They are, in Jesus!

As I've been pondering this idea of "generosity" I've come to see that it's a constant theme throughout Scripture, that is, through the whole history of humankind. Indeed, I now believe that generosity is another of God's attributes. I've also found that "kindness" is a huge theme from Genesis, when God created the Universe (Genesis 1:31, Hebrews 1:2), to Revelation, where He assures us of our eternal glorious future with Him (Revelation 22:17).

In the Old Covenant these lifestyle qualities came before and went beyond the keeping of the law, which defined so much, including tithing, but were encouraged as a way to live because one was grateful to God and loved Him.

Now, in the New Covenant, we follow Jesus whose whole earthly life was filled with compassion and kindness and giving in extreme generosity: salvation to all who believed, healing to all who asked or came to Him, deliverance from demons, sometimes from a lifetime of terrible spiritual oppression. My family has seen and experienced all of these lovely gifts from our Saviour.

I am still learning to live like this, Trish is too. In times past we've had very little money but we did have six children. We were not able to respond with big gifts to requests for money. But we found it a joy to open our house and offer hospitality, to give meals or food, to give our time and lend our skills to help people out, to be compassionate and to pray and to minister. We do not let our economic circumstances get in the way of our ability, or our desire, to be kind. 

We've learned to give of ourselves, in and through Jesus "for out of His fullness and abundance we have all received grace upon grace and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favour upon favour and gift heaped upon gift" (John 1:16).

When I was a very new Christian I became excited when I was reading Luke chapter 12 "Jesus said to His disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear .. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds .. '" (Luke 12:22-32). How kind and generous God is .. Jesus assures us that He will meet all our needs.

There have been times when I felt that Jesus was not keeping up! But now that I'm getting old I can see that He was never mean to me or my family; I was often thinking of things as needs which were not. We were blessed, we had each other, how few families today have the joy of six children! We never missed a meal, happily we learned to be very good and creative cooks and were able to thrive on what we had. Whenever we urgently needed something, the means became available for us to do the repair or replace the broken thing. Sure, our living standard was below many others economically, (our whole society is a mix of incomes and levels of wealth), but as a family we knew joy, and we grew! 

Our desire is to participate with Jesus in His work on the Earth; Jesus goes before and we follow. Our kids all love us and we know that we are kept in Father God's hand and that Jesus is always right here with us .. Our lovely generous and kind God!

Praise Jesus ..

Favourite Bible Verses

"Yes, I've settled on Abraham as the one to train his children and future family to observe God's way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him" (Genesis 18:19 Message).

"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share" (1 Timothy 6:18).

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).

".. the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness .." (Matthew 23:23 Jesus' words).

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you man [or woman] of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Timothy 6:6-14).

"Out of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:16).

NOTE: Words

I find it interesting that the words "generous", "generosity" and "generously" appear more often in the contemporary Bible translations like the NIV (24 times) and, even more so, the Message (which is more recent) (125 times). Perhaps this is because we use words differently than in previous generations; or perhaps it is because we see the New Covenant in a less legalistic and more inclusive light than did our parents and grandparents.

Whatever the reason, it is a delight to now know our Heavenly Father as a kind and generous God. So much better that other people's gods who seem so critical and angry, demanding and exclusive and misogynistic ..

NOTE: Repayment

It's not hard to find Bible verses which assure us that God will repay us for everything we give. Indeed many of us have heard these verses quoted time and again during "giving" sermons at church or on TV. To emphasize these verses seems to me to reflect the World more than the Kingdom of God.

My God gives to me all the time, even when I am foolish or selfish or mean and sinful. We know that our Lord Jesus hates sin and lived a sinless life. I emulate Him as best I can (and am happy to say I'm still growing in this), but still I sin. God never even slows down His grace and blessing towards me because of this! I believe that we never need look for repayment when we show kindness and generosity; God will always be who He is and show His love for us, even when we cannot see it ..

NOTE: Sin

When we talk about sin, many people say that they're not really bad because they "don't rob banks or murder people". I agree that these are pretty bad sins, but to me, the really bad ones are those hurtful things we can do to people close to us; meanness and betrayal would be among the worst that I've experienced; I feel so totally gutted when a person betrays me, or is mean or bullying towards me .. these are the opposite of love and kindness and generosity ..

Hallelujah !!

• Permalink to web page

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"Generous" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn

• Public link to podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yO3kg1ocuf3EZhBo8bEcU

Amen. Praise Jesus.

In Their Image: Revelation

Faith Shows What Jesus Reveals To The Spiritual Person Through Hope

A couple of weeks ago I was almost hysterical because I had become so stressed.. Bless Jesus though, He had already had me plan to come South to this lovely seaside campsite to spend lots of time with Him and to write. 

We've been planning to do some serious renovations to our house and now those plans have gained substance. Trish and I make the big decisions together and then I do the project planning for which I need to get many balls into the air, and then keep them there, all totally coordinating with one another, while we still live our lives and be family with our big lovely brood. Also Australia is having an election early in July and I will want to participate in the campaign for our outstanding candidate, this, for me, is an unfortunate complication ..

Now is a critical time; we have begun several processes and a number of expensive things need to be accomplished, not just by Trish and I, but also by professionals who will do their parts of the work, and with our children who we need to do most of the heavy lifting. It's all pretty scary for me because, now that I'm older, I'm less strong and can get much less done in a day than I could in my 40s and 50s.

Happily, I belong to Jesus who, not only always has an ear ready to listen to my burdens, but is always there to give comfort, and bring peace; He is, even more than usual, my Rock. (Trish too is a rock .. she is so lovely!)

Here are three verses which have been coming into my mind (and my heart) over these days:

"For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?"  (Psalm 18:31)

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever, the Spirit of Truth .. for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you" (John 14:16-17 Amplified)

"For out of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace" (John 1:16).

When I really  pause and take a breath I am aware of who I am in Jesus, and  remember that He knows all my pressures, and that I can rely on Him to talk to Trish and me, and to help out, then it all becomes "possible", rather than seeming totally beyond our resources. We are receiving "grace upon grace"!

We know that God speaks (Genesis 1:3), and He particularly speaks to His people (Revelation 1:1). When we hear Him speak to us, whether it's just for us, or for another, or for a number of people, this is revelation from the God who reveals Himself (Psalm 19:1; Daniel 2:28; Amos 3:7; John 14:17). We know this as the prophetic gifting. Prophecy is simply hearing God speak and then speaking out, or responding, to His thoughts (1 Corinthians 14:1-4).

"He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to humankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord God of Hosts is his name" (Amos 4:13).

"However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries .. " (Daniel 2:28).

Paul wrote about the prophetic very clearly:

"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 [and] edifies the church"  (1 Corinthians 14:1,3,4).

From Paul's words I understand that prophecy is a normal part of the life of every Christian and of the Church, Jesus' gathered people.

An example of my hearing Jesus speaking to me: 

We're going to remove wallpaper and then paint the walls, we’ll replace flooring, curtains and light fittings. These are big changes in the first three rooms we're working on. There is a need to store whole rooms-full of stuff, (we have so many books and bookshelves!) and I'd planned to put everything out in the patio (maybe with a tarpaulin over). 

Well, my spirit caught the word "container". I would never have made this "lateral" thought, even though I have two brothers-in-law who make their living with sea container freight lines. There is now a shipping container in our driveway and it will safely hold all that's needed, and be in easy reach for our sons to carry everything. Economical. Safe. Easy. Just the other night we had a big storm and winds reached 104 km per hour (63 mph) .. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus! Our things were warm and dry!

Because every Christian has been made a child of God, just as Jesus is a child of God, and we all share in Jesus' inheritance, we can communicate freely with God:

•  with our Heavenly Father,

•  with our lovely Lord, Saviour, Rock and Brother, Jesus, and

•  with our Counsellor and Comforter, Holy Spirit.

Scripture makes it plain that our talk and chatter and prayer and sharing and receiving can be just as we see in the closest Earthly families we know!

Adam and Eve knew free and open conversation with God, much as we experience with those we love. Then they sinned by believing Satan, that he would make them "like God, knowing good and evil"  (Genesis 3:3-5). They ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and sin was in the world. After that their conversations were not the same; they were afraid of God, and would hide from Him. 

As Christians today we feel the weight of our sin but it no longer cripples us, we can confess and ask God's forgiveness. Jesus paid for all our wrongdoing and meanness, and will forgive us again and again and again (Matthew 18:22). He is always ready to talk and to hear from us; we are His "friends", not His "servants" (John 15:15).

Now this trip. I'm here because I felt Jesus' call to come at this time. It's real work to write these PsalmsOfJohn posts; I think that Jesus wants them to sound as if they just wrote themselves, fell off my fingers. But first I pray; what will be our idea Lord? And from the idea, our theme? Jesus always responds. Sometimes He doesn't even wait for the questions! Then I make lots of drafts, write down heaps of thoughts, remember many Scripture verses and write them, and then Jesus comes and helps me edit. His are the thoughts you see here, it's just me who types.

Bless you .. give Jesus your attention .. give Him some quality time .. listen, He will reveal Himself .. and follow Him ..

Favourite Bible Verses

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1).

"[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him" (Ephesians 1:17 Amplified).

"Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God's favour and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!" (Matthew 5:4 Amplified).

"[Blessed] Happy are those who know what sorrow means, for they will be given courage and comfort" (Matthew 5:4 J.B. Phillips).

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me" (John 12:26).

Amen.

• Permalink to web page

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"In Their Image Revelation" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn

• Public link to podcast

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Praise Jesus.