The day with dianne Louise

““Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ When we set up the flat in Jalkeni for use when we are here to do school presentations about trafficking I asked a local carpenter to make us some furniture, thus it was all new. When we arrived back in Jalkeni after an absenteeism of, for me, some months i saw deterioration.  The furniture was marked and affected by water damage. The carpet we put down had rust and water stains from roof leakage and from a drunk vomiting all over the entrance carpet. I was not happy. However, after being here a few days and mingling with the people who live in huts with dirt floor it mattered little. The people are why I come, they are lovely. I went on a bus trip with one of the relatives of my colleague yesterday. The amount of buses we took was not funny. It was hot and humid, the buses noisy with music and loud horns, there was various items blo...

“Everywhere—from east to west— praise the name of the Lord.”  Psalms‬ ‭113‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ An ungrateful and selfish heart would question why we should praise the Lord. I recommend reading the whole psalm, however, the following verses give a good reason: “He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people! He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!” Psalms‬ ‭113‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Yesterday ai meet some such people. While waiting for a bus I stood beside a young mother holding her precious baby. I commented on her new baby. She lit up. She was waiting for her young husband to return. When he did they departed. I arrived in Jalkeni around 11am desperate for a bathroom. I was grateful I found one soon enough. Later in the day I went down to the tea shop below. A little lady was there, along with the proprietors daughter who was splendidly dressed in her outfit she wears ...

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I just awoke from a dream in which I was going camping with church friends. I had made a last minute decision and asked the two men if I might travel with them and share their accomodation. This had caused another friend to be bumped from the same arrangement. That friend was visibly upset, but I was going to do what I planned because I needed it.  Selfishness and compromise won out in my heart. Awareness that I was not considering her or my parents lingered in the background. Obviously this dream is not about me, I am 72 and my parents are long dead. However, the girl in the dream I recognise. She has a lot of this sort of behaviour thrown on her plate. On Sunday she had been rejected from the worship team. She was very upset because she was told she sang flat. She did not believe that was the case. However, in any church we have a mix that ‘get...

“Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What Paul is describing here is the truth about the Christian life. When we come to Jesus we are set free from the bondage of sin. Baptism is the symbol of us putting to death the flesh. Now we can live, by faith, in the work Jesus wrought for us, in resurrected, new life. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so are we. There is power in the blood of Jesus. His death was not an empty act, the power that raised Him from the dead is ours. The same Holy Spirit raises us up to new life. We can walk in that power.  The daily challenge is to walk in that power, stay in the zone (as Pastor Phil...

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.”  Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I find myself awake in the wee hours aware of my ‘casual conversation’ with friends at lunch and afternoon coffee. Why did I need to talk about people? Why not be aware of our roles to build one another up? At one point I sensed the Holy Spirit cautioning me, ‘be very careful!’ I heeded His instruction. However, in hindsight I needed it way before He gave it. Why discuss people? Casual conversation is so dangerous, it can be so destructive. Casual conversation very easily becomes proud and judgemental. What m...

“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭126‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This psalm was one of the psalms of ascent, written for the return of the children of Israel from captivity. They had been 70 years in Babylon, a foreign land. Daniel had read the scripture and knew it was time for them to return. He went to prayer and after three weeks and angel came to tell him his prayers were answered. He did not go back with those who returned, by this time he was an old man and had served in the kings court. Imagine returning home after 70 years. I am 72 and to have spent all that time in a foreign land and knowing I was returning to a land God gave to His people and where He resided would have been special. I would have grown up hearing the stories from afar. Yet I would return to a land that had been descimated by the same enemy who took me captive. Going out to once again sow grain, ...