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Like Jesus

“This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I have to remind myself, always, to live in God’s love for me. As I abide in Him I love. If I am not abiding I do not love, I tolerate. Toleration comes to an end and then I become nasty. I speak unkindly. I am not representing Jesus but rather my flesh. I, daily read an excerpt from Watchman Née, a Chinese minister who spent most of his life in prison. He had a deep understanding of the scripture and what it meant to be a Christian. He talked about living out of the light inside. I liken this to having the Lord’s compassion and loving from that. The light he talked about was the illumination that the Lord gives. We are called to be lights. However, if we do not abide in Him our flesh is in control and there is not light within us. As I fellowship with the Holy Spirit within He shows me the Way of Jesus, as I allow Him to pray thr...
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Waging war

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”  2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have been presented with a problem. Unknown to me my colleague invited along his father to Sindhulpalchok. His father has a drinking problem. The area we are in has a problem with alcoholism. I am seeking to minister into that problem and have been, it seems, compromised. If that was not bad enough my colleague took his father with him to the school we are running a program on trafficking. When he showed me the vidoe of the classroom and I saw his father sitting in the classroom I was horrified.  It seems I have a decision to make. I spoke to my colleague in private and told him it was never to happen again. He agreed! However...
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Be the blessing!

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Paul is writing this to the Philippians who had given to him generously. They were already givers. He was responding to their generousity.  Imagine someone gives you a generous gift, right out of left field. It is way beyond anything you could imagine. You were in need and they were promoted by God to send it to you. How grateful would you be? This was how Paul was. I want to be the recipients of God’s promptings to give because He then blesses ‘preseed down and shaken together will be poured onto my lap!’ I want to experience His abundance. On Monday I went under prompting from the Lord to a Methodist Seminary School to sponsor a young man from an area called a Mugu, which is in the North West of Nepal. This young man was from a Tibetan tribe here in Nepal called Karmarong. He had never met me before and he wondered...
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Guard your heart

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Do we really take this verse seriously? Are we too easily angered? Are we too easily wasted by popular opinion? Are we more responsive to negative comments from others or do we relish the positive? I am on the bright side of the fence. Even when bad things happen I look for the seed of change. I might be laid out for a short while but pull back and seek my God in what is next. I read a Napoleon Hill book over the past few days and he was much like me in attitude. It was written in the mid 1900’s but is very relevant to attitudes of success. A positive mental attitude is one of the attributes he speaks about. My heart is really the dwelling place of my God and I must see things from His perspective. I cannot allow bitterness, resentment, self-pity etc to dwell there. He is none of those things. As you read the Old Testament and in particular the book of Kings you see the kings who wer...
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Holy Spirit power

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Imagine the great power exerted to raise a man who had been brutalised and drained of blood. Jesus Himself, raised a young man, a young girl and Lazarus from the dead. They died of natural causes. However, Jesus, the Son of God, was whipped, crowned with thorns and crucified. Yet, the Holy Spirit, entered Him and raised Him from the dead. Nothing is beyond our God’s power to reverse! No sickness or disease can destroy what is filled with His power. He is great and there is none like Him! We can take this scripture as medicine. It is full of life! As often as we would take medicine take this verse and speak it over your life (I am talking to me also).
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Listening and understanding

“Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse comes after the parable of the seed and the sower. We have heard it many times but do we fully understand? We can apply this to sharing the gospel with unsaved people, but we can also apply it to ourselves. How many times have we been at church, heard a message and gone out and forgot what it was all about? This testimony indicates the condition of the soil in our hearts. The condition of the soil is our responsibility. How do we keep it receptive to good seed? We keep it fertile by keeping watch over what we allow our hearts to engage with. Do we spend our time watching movies, playing games, or reading novels? Where does the word of God fit in our lives? Are we engaged in the ministry God has given us? Do we know what that is? Sharing the gospel! No you do not need to be an evangelist to share the gospel! What authority do we accept? Is the Lord Lord of our lives or are we? Are we ...
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Armour

“Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬ When Paul wrote this and the passage following I wonder if he was reminded of a passage in Isaiah 59:17 “He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Here Isaiah was speaking about the Lord.  Why would God need to put on a helmet of salvation? He was going to deliver His people. It indicates a determination to save His people. He did not need to remind Himself of salvation through Christ.  Again why would He need a breastplate of righteousness, He is righteousness! Perhaps Paul wanted us to remember we are clothed in Christ, in a newness of life. As we abide in Him He renews our mind, our mind is to be used for a divine purpose. As a Paul exhorts us in Colossians: “Think about the things of h...
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