Hi all

 

There was a song that used to be sung in my house as a child – my mother had picked it up from somewhere (we lived on a farm in an isolated area) and it became a favourite as the daily chores were done.   

 

I did manage to locate a similar song via the Internet – but not the same as my one (author unknown).

 

The song went like this:

 

In the house and out of doors

Shaking mats and scrubbing floors

Washing, darning and ironing too

All the work you have to do

 

Do it all for Jesus

Do it all for Jesus

Do it all for Jesus

He’s done so much for you

 

In the school and out of doors

Reading books and studying laws

Printing, writing, arithmetic too

All the work you have to do

 

There is a lesson in this song that we need to apply throughout our entire lives.  Whatever we do – in every instance – we need to do unto Jesus.  This, of course, includes communication on Five Doves. 

 

If we do it all for Jesus, we will do what we believe we need to do – and what happens from there is in the hands of the One in whose name we do it.   Where Jesus reigns, self has to die.  Being hurt or offended is a perfect opportunity for part of that dying process.   Every time we feel these emotions, we need first to thank God for recognising them – and then give them to Him, to keep!  A wonderful release!  There is no substitute!

 

Therefore we need not be concerned whether we get just one response, several responses, or none at all.  Similarly, undesired responses are His concern.

 

It is so refreshing to read a short, to-the-point, and gracious response to a post – when the temptation could have prompted a longer, defensive and self-preserving one.   In the former, Jesus is kept as the focus.

 

To conclude, here is a paragraph from Lord of the Valleys by Florence Bull (Logos International  1972) from the chapter Being Understood or Understanding Him.

 

You have longed for understanding, but it is far more important to realize that my heart yearns for you to understand Me!

 

“This is what I really want, that you understand My motives, My mercy, My purposes, My joy, My peace, My grace, My holiness, My righteousness, My position, My manifold wisdom, My heart of Love, My Promise in the Person of the Holy Spirit, My provision, My desires – and the understanding must come through the dealings of God in valleys far deeper than any you have known before.”

 

.  .  .  He doesn’t want you or me to be the hub of the wheel where we are the centre and we are always relating everything – people and events – to how they affect us.  Rather, we are to be a spoke which reaches out from the center, or even the rim which gets scrunched in the gravel, as the Kingdom of God moves on with Christ at the centre.

 

In His Kingdom, everything relates to Jesus.  We must understand this.  We will never know anything but confusion, turmoil, a completely disoriented life, and a woefully distorted view – looking from the center out.  But if Jesus, the conquering Christ, is at the center – looking from the outside in to Him makes all the difference in physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, and in our spiritual perception.

 

_______________________

 

In Christ

Abigail, NZ