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The Plan

“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Long ago, God had a plan. He foresaw Lucifer’s fall and the consequent hatred Satan would have for all God’s creation and purpose. The Father loves us and has always wanted to share His life and beauty with His creation. The plan was to send Jesus, the perfect man. Jesus would redeem us all back to the Father. As we trust our lives to Jesus and walk in His ways He unites us once again with the Father. Satan does all he can to separate us from the Father. He cannot win if we keep ourselves in Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There is no real life outside of Him. This world has no life that is eternal in it. It will all pass away. Only Jesus is eternal. As I become His He keeps me from the world and its influences. The world is an artificial entity and I cannot be convinced of its strength to provide for me all God has intended. I ...
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His faithful love

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We don’t really understand faithful love. Not too many people operate in faithful love. Rather they operate is selfish love. We love to get. Jesus showed us the faithful love that heaven speaks about. He lived it! Faithful love gives up self for others. Jesus did that! Today I fly to Cairns. I wonder who I will meet? What has the Lord got in store for me? He always has people He wants me to love! May I do it well!
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Fight the good fight

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are many battles we can engage in: a fight for justice, recognition, my rights, my share etc however, Paul is telling Timothy to fight ‘the good fight’. What is the good fight? As opposed to selfish ambitions we are to fight for the faith, fight for God’s kingdom in our own lives. We have battles enough in our flesh. It waged war against our spirit. ‘What about ME!’ It screams. Me, my, mine!!! I want, I want, I want!!! However, Jesus told His disciples, of whom we are, to take up our cross, daily, and follow Him. The self life must be put to death and kept dead! It really only cares about itself. Things of God are foreign to it. Our world is full of ‘self’.  Today I went into Brisbane’s CBD and was overcome with the crowds I found there. I was endeavouring to meet an old work colleague. My ...
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Walking in rest

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Some how I think we miss the meaning of these verses. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy, Hsi burden is light. I find myself burdened with expectations of others, my own expectations, but none of them are light. Most are heavy! He said, “let me teach you! You will find rest for your souls!” Wow! Those verses are winners! Today, I sit on a mattress on the floor in an empty room. My son and his family are moving. Moving is never fun on one side but can be on the new adventurous side. The cleaning of this house will take a lot of time. My son and his wife work from home. After spending the day packing and cleaning they spend long hours on their computers at night. This m...
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The rich

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This was Jesus’ response to the disciple’s question: “who in the world can be saved?” Their question was in response to His statement: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is it hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Because they are satisfied with life and can think they have all they need. However, if the Father frustrates their lives and manors them aware of their emptiness, then they can come. This whole senario came about when a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking how he could obtain eternal life. The young man asked, “what’ must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus told him to sell al...
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Help the poor

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Through social media we see many poor that need help. However, this can be overwhelming.  I watched a message by Bill Johnson who was telling his people to pray and ask the Lord for a nation who they could become involved with; supporting missionaries and their work and I am sure humanitarian work as well.  I have chosen Nepal. I work there and aid refugees and the poor in Nepal. This helps me narrow my focus and stay ready for a need when it arises.  As I am back in Australia for a visit last night I was involved in a ministry to the homeless. it was fun and very encouraging. we sang worship songs and they really went all out. it was good to give my love and time to people I would not normally see. Who will I see today?
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Hang on or let go?

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is the Lord wanting me to give up today? The right to an opinion? The right to honour? The right to place? Jesus was the firstborn to Mary and Joseph, however His siblings rejected His claim that He was the Messiah, in fact most of His home town did. They were so offended they wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Now, that is rejection! Jesus promised that we, His disciples, would be rejected by family, some given up to death by family. We see this a lot in the Muslim world and somewhat in the Hindu world. Around the above passage Jesus was teaching His disciples that they must take up their cross daily and follow Him. A person who is about to be crucified had the cross beam placed on their shoulders to carry. It was not voluntary, but rather compulsory. The people to whom Jesus spoke understood the cross. They knew the shame associated with the cr...
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