The day with dianne Louise

Jeremiah 39:18 (MSG) Yes, I'll most certainly save you. You won't be killed. You'll walk out of there safe and sound because you trusted me.' " This promise was given to a heathen, and Ethiopian who feared God. Jeremiah was in chains, Nebuchadnezzar was destroying Jerusalem and God speaks to Jeremiah, 'give Ebed - melek a message'. God wants His people to be His hands and feet, even when it is uncomfortable to do so. There is always a Ebed - melek who needs a message. God's reward for Jeremiah's faithfulness was to set him free, feed him and allow him to remain in the land. Yesterday the Lord brought a Ebed - melek's into my life. I have new boarders, two lovely young Chinese boys. One knows the Lord yet God's love is poured out to the one who doesn't know Him. God's love toward him is so strong it troubled my sleep. God's love for the lost is so powerful, like a lover longing for a maid who does not even see the one w...

James 3:13 (MSG) Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Humility releases wisdom and wisdom causes us to live well. Humility knows it's strength but refrains from boasting or preening. What are the characteristics of humility? The humble know their need of God. Moses was the humblest man who ever lived and he craved the presence of God. The presence of God hold the flesh in check, cleanses the heart, directs the purposes and intentions of the heart. The presence of God corrects striving and brings peace. Perspective lives in the presence of God. The presence of God is wisdom, truth and strength. The more successful we are the more time we need to spend in His presence. Yet we tend to run to Him in our weakness. The funny thing is that living in our strength is our greatest weakness and knowing to yield it again and again and again is humility and wisdom. My strength bathed in His presence is humility. The blood of...

Jeremiah 33:1-3 (MSG) While Jeremiah was still locked up in jail, a second Message from God was given to him: "This is God's Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.' Again we hear the last part of this scripture encouraging us to call out to the Lord but fail to realise that Jeremiah was in jail, Nebuchadnezzar was laying siege to the city of Jerusalem, no one was accepting Jeremiah's words from God, in other words, it was a bad day. The happenings around us can be so bad that we are unable to quieten ourselves to touch God, yet He bids us to so that He can speak into our lack. The Lord was telling Jeremiah that although this place is going to be wasted I have plans for a better future, for a time when my people will be clean before me. God looks forward, even in desolation, how much ...

James 2:1 (MSG) My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. It is interesting that I had a friend challenged me about being too religious in a dream last night and here my reading embraces that same fact. My friend had said the way I spoke was over the top and spooky but was asking me to be more natural and relatable . I thought I related pretty well. In the dream it was as if I discovered where I had been going wrong in all my life. Although I have endeavoured to reach out to the lowly I have been bitten many times and struggle with the 'highways and byways' understanding that Jesus spoke about. I find it easy to reach out to lost broken divorcees that I do to lost broken drunks or drug addicts. Why do I draw a line? Is it because I have a market that I touch? Or is it snobbery? Today I pray for eyes to sees what God sees and not miss what He is doing.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 (MSG) I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." I have heard the above scripture preached many times but failed to compute that is was given to a nation who had rebelled and been sent into exile for 70 years. The Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, had told the people who went into exile 'settle down, get married you're going to be there a good while'. The false prophets were running around telling the people 'we going to get out of here real soon', but they were failing to grasp the heart of God, they were preaching out of their own flesh and to a people who wanted to hear that m...

Hebrews 13:9 (MSG) Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them. Idolatry is something us humans are attracted to quite easily. I grew up in the catholic faith and Catholicism is full of 'sacred images'. As a child I loved to buy Holy Cards, they had a magical significance to me, yet they did not save me. I dedicated my young life to the pursuit of things of God, but did not find Him until 19 away from the catholic environment. I used to gaze up into the faces of the statues of Mary and Christ and wonder, I preferred Jesus. The lighting of candles, the carrying of Rosary Beads, the constant attendance, often daily, at mass did not save me. Praise God my Jesus came to me in His way. I had left the family home to begin a nursing career and went a long way away from home. It was here that the Lord gave me two 'born a...

Jeremiah 24:3 (MSG) God said to me, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" Just had a busy weekend of meetings as well as training a new recruit for my team. My insides want to be still. If I answer the above question out of what has just happened I would be partially right but there is more. My deepest longing is to connect with the Lord, in His garden and be refreshed. Something new is coming and I don't want to run on in my mind hypothesising but I want to receive fresh revelation from God. I am blessed with the best team we have the same note, the same heart and it is good. We can have fun together but there is more. I cannot settle down and live just out of that. My insides long for the Lord, what is He saying? What is His heart? Where is he going? I want to see what He sees, I want what He thinks is important to be important. Amen!

Hebrews 12:29 (MSG) He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire! I am so grateful for God! He sees what my flesh hides and gets out His blow torch. Thank you Lord that You are more interested in me being free from sin than I am. Over the last two days I have listened to a preacher who also loves fire, but with devastating results. He told us of how he simplistically thought he could solve problems with fire and both times got more than he bargained for. My God knows fire, He created it. He knows it's limits, He knows it's best uses. He comes to us and uses fire to cleanse. I have watched several reports about the need to use fire in Victoria to clean up debris in the bush because leaving it alone, as some conservationists would want, has causes whole townships to burn to the ground. If I allow fire, God's fire, into my life then I am constantly kept clean so that when the bu...

Hebrews 11:1 (MSG) The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. We are seeing a lot in the media lately about homes that have been built with wrong foundations in earthquake zones, they kill their inhabitants. We see homes that have been built in fire prone areas out of wrong material, devastation results. A house built on sand falls. A life built on fuzzy feelings, mystical goosebumps, sentiment, mistaken ideals all crash and burn. The greater the danger the greater the need for good foundations. Men and women going into war torn areas in the military need to know that they have good solid backup, training, facilities. History is replete with the tragedies of war. We are in a war, moment by moment we are in peril for our lives. If we dismiss the enemy for a moment he takes ground. We must be aware, prepared, tooled up, trained, empower...

Hebrews 10:16 (MSG) This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; This time "I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts." Part of my reading is old testament and when I see how the Lord struggled with His people and how they found it impossible to stay true to Him I am so grateful that He sent Christ. Without Christ I would be under God's wrath. I could not escape. His wrath is horrible and to be avoided. Why would I avoid Christ? Why walk away from a chance to know the father without wrath. I grew up with a wrathful father and it was horrible. Christ paid the price for all the penalty of anything I have done, will do or could do wrong. He is the perfect sacrifice. More than that He invites me to sit with Him in heavenly places so that I can see things from a victor's perspective. I have been set free, totally free to live in His strength, to take the ...

Jeremiah 15:19 (MSG) Use words truly and well. Don't stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then, you'll speak for me. Let your words change them. Don't change your words to suit them. Our perspective colours our speech. If it is God filtered and God trained it will speak the word of truth. If it is not trained it will spew forth garbage. When calamity comes we are tested to see what is in our heart. If the word of God is hid in our heart so that 'I might not sin against You' as David penned in the Psalms then when we are tipped peace and truth will flow. Being built steady on 'The Rock' who is Christ helps. If our foundations are Him and not us then we will stand. When trouble comes to those around us we need to discover what the Lord is saying, pray for discernment and not be caught up emotionally in their plight. I want to feel what the Lord feels and say what the Lord says. If I do it this way life will flow. My God is the God of miracles, the God...

Hebrews 9:15 (MSG) Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. It is by His grace we are saved because otherwise we would boast about our own efforts. There is nothing I can do to add to what Jesus has done apart from faith in what he has done. He was the perfect sacrifice, I don't have another. He alone is good, better than good, complete, free from sin. Anything I do or make is not free from sin apart from faith. My faith in Him is all I can give. I must live out of my faith in Him. My faith is pure because He gave it to me. As I look to Him and say 'I believe' and walk in that belief then I am truly free. Because of You Lord I am great, I am free, I am whole, I am blessed, abundantly blessed. You are good! I am safe in You, You do not change, You are my centre. Because of You all things work together for my good. Amen!

Hebrews 8:13 (MSG) By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust . We may give head knowledge assent to the above statement but continue to slave in fear. God has a better way. His way brings life. His yoke is easy His burden is light. We do not have to earn anything. Yes we have to work but slave no. I know dear ones who eat the bread of futile toil for mammon. Mammon is a cruel task-master. He makes his slaves believe that only through hard work will God bless them. Christ did it all. He paid the price for our freedom. If we are to succeed we will according to His timetable, no amount of striving will make it happen sooner. There is only one God and His name is 'I am', not I strive for, I slave for. He is rest, contentment, joy. My hope is in You Lord, my strength is in You Lord, in You, in You. (very old song) He gives grace to the humble, He lifts up and casts down. I am...

Jeremiah 8:21-22 (MSG) For my dear broken people, I'm heartbroken. I weep, seized by grief. Are there no healing ointments in Gilead? Isn't there a doctor in the house? So why can't something be done to heal and save my dear, dear people? If we look at the whole of Jeremiah we see a loving God totally frustrated by a people who will not hear or see the truth. They are rushing headlong into disaster . We His people can run the risk of the same fate if we continue to believe 'if it is to be it is up to me'. The only thing 'me' has to do is find a relationship of faith and trust with the Lord. While ever we continue in our own understanding we lose. Jeremiah 6:14 (MSG) 14 My people are broken—shattered!— and they put on band-aids, Saying, 'It's not so bad. You'll be just fine.' But things are not 'just fine'! If we think pursuing our own understanding of the Lord and His word is enough then again we are wrong. We can spruke with t...

Jeremiah 4:3 (MSG) "Plow your unploughed fields, but then don't plant weeds in the soil! Hebrews 6:1 (MSG) The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on "salvation by self-help" and turning in trust toward God; The field is our heart. Once plowed and open to the Lord we are challenged to not again enter into works of self but depend totally in faith on Christ. Salvation belongs to our God. That word BELONGS is often overlooked. Salvation comes from nowhere else but the Lord. I cannot pepper my life with works, just to spice things up. Inadequacy, lack of a revelation of the finished work of the cross, guilt, a need to be seen, approved etc will drive us to distraction and a lack of peace. Isn't it interesting when you see it in someone else you have a revelation about your own behaviour, past and present? Truth comes and with it an opportunity to change, repent and allow grace to flow. I cannot be saved by anyone else but Christ. I cann...

Jeremiah 1:10 (MSG) See what I've done? I've given you a job to do among nations and governments—a red-letter day! Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish, And then start over, building and planting." Our society has lost truth and has built upon it's own ideas and ideals. Yet the foundations, because they are wrong, are crumbling. We, God's people have to speak to the nation, the community, the government and speak truth, not our own ideas. Truth will clear away the rubble, dig out the foundations and pour the concrete. This time a foundation that will never, ever yield to the storm is coming. Funnily this truth is couched in grace. Jesus said He did not come to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him. He came in grace and truth. The only people who received condemnation from Christ were those who called themselves leaders and spoke evil. The trick is to not get all worked up into a self-righteous frenzy but to w...

Isaiah 66:2 (MSG) "But there is something I'm looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say. Isn't it great when you actually have someone who sits and listens to you and shows an interest, doesn't your heart go out to that person, aren't you more kindly disposed toward that person. Listening is a part of a good relationship, to be heard is so important. The Lord desires a good relationship with us. He is not impressed by our bells and whistles, He wants a simple, plain relationship. God does not desire our dainties . He would be happy with a glass of water and an apple. (He made both of these and we cannot glory in either) He loves honesty, reality, truth inside and out. God wants us to want Him. He is able to provide everything else. It is like Him saying 'you pick the venue and just show up I will bring the picnic, because that is what I do.' Not hard is it? We like to impress. 'Look what I can do!' we say, ...

Isaiah 62:10 (MSG) Walk out of the gates. Get going! Get the road ready for the people. Build the highway. Get at it! Clear the debris, hoist high a flag, a signal to all peoples! Are you ready? Is the road ready? How have you built it? Is it's foundation deep and strong or built on fluffy emotions? Did you use the very best materials? Clear the debris, get rid of the rubbish. Don't let offense, laziness and self-pity hang around. Tell them to go. James tells us, 'submit to God, then resist the devil and he will flee.' That goes for all his henchmen as well. They are but rabble. Tell infirmity to leave as well, it hangs around with whining self-pity. Now that the road is ready beat the plough shares into weapons. You have to guard and keep watch over those who come. Come on get going! Laziness and self-pity hang out together as well. They have a pact to convince you, 'you can't do it.' No matter what 'it' is. As I train my body is constantly tr...

Hebrews 4:9-10 (MSG) The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. Ever heard yourself say 'I am so looking forward to a holiday, so I can get some rest.' The concept of rest in today is a strange but real one. You mean I can have rest while I am busy? Yes! Rest is the state of our spirit not our body. I have been reading a very interesting rendition of the 23rd Psalm my Max Lucado called Travelling Light, funny man. When we truly grasp the concept of the sheep and the shepherd it sets us free. We are likened to sheep throughout scripture. Sheep cannot clean themselves, they are anxious animals and cannot sleep unless they feel secure, they cannot provide for themselves, they are dependant creatures. We have a shepherd who goes before us, provides for us, guards us, protects us from our enemies, if we let Him. The Lord wants us to share Hi...

Hebrews 3:11 (MSG) "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." Ever stopped and thought 'what am I doing? I have. I have been spun around in activity and forgotten my purpose because I had lost focus. The New Testament is full of direction. How do I make it to the end of the road? By staying focused . Focused on what? We may focus on earning enough to pay the bills, finding a mate, buying a car, having a child but continually find that this eludes us. Why? Perhaps we haven't go the message yet. Perhaps we have forgotten the message. What message? 'Keep your eyes on Jesus, the beginner and finisher of our faith.' What has that got to do with the price of eggs? everything. Frustration awaits the self-sufficient, the willful. Grace awaits the humble. Lord these are my plans I give them to you, now I will walk down Your road. I will seek You, I will follow as You lead. I want to be close to You. You are my life! My...

Isaiah 56:1 (MSG) God's Message: "Guard my common good: Do what's right and do it in the right way, For salvation is just around the corner, my setting-things-right is about to go into action. Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking to a woman who had been away from the Lord and came to church to meet me about DivorceCare . Funny thing is that she thought she was meeting me but got more than she bargained for, she found the lover of her soul waiting for her. It was good for her to come, it was good for her to seek answers she believed I had, I had Christ. She had fallen into the right way by coming and now knows salvation is just a breath away. The Lord gave me the right words, His anointing was on me and I asked direct questions but because she believed I loved her and had no plans other than loving her she responded. I had woken asking the Lord for salvation and He gave it. I said to the lady the reason that you keep coming and going is that you don't know h...

Isaiah 53:12 (MSG) He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep. Hebrews 2:13 (MSG) 13 Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me. Jesus embraced life as we know it. He became an ordinary guy doing life with those God had given Him. In Hebrews we see that He had to live by placing His trust in God. Isaiah tells us he wasn't anything special to look at, he didn't attract attention because of His looks. However, His obedience and love for the Lord caused Him to do great things. Religion has done a lot to create a divide between the truth about Christ's life and the romanticised, glossed image of this spooky guy who knew it all. Christ grew up learning to love and obey, His parents did an excellent job, his heart longed for the father and His kingdom. His love for the father caused Him to have love for th...

Isaiah 49: (AMP) And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid me and made me a polished arrow; in His quiver has He kept me close and concealed me. Although this scripture talks about Jesus At time I feel the Lord's hand on me. Right now is one of those times. If I compromise the gospel with self contentment, sitting down and saying 'I am alright now' and fail to seek God because of a relationship then I am deceived. Some seek the Lord when they are in pain, in fact most do. Yet it is sad to see them discard the Lord when healed. The Lord is more than my healer, His beauty is more than a saviour. Jesus said 'I am the way'. The way is life. There is no other way. If we pursue the flesh it will lead to destruction. Jesus has eyes for those who yet don't know Him. We are restored for His sake not ours. We are healed so we can reach out to others. Our mandate is souls not self. We cannot bring salvation to anyone in our own self...

Do you believe I am able to do this? and they said to Him 'Yes Lord'. Matthew 9:28b As we come to God we have to believe that He is, firstly before we believe that he can. If God is real when our faith is tested then He is really real to us. We can grow up in church but never know Him for ourselves unless we have that meeting with him. The people asked if they believed Jesus could heal then were blind, totally. They had pursued Jesus calling out to Him. They followed Him to where He was staying calling out. They had met Him and believed. When we meet Him for ourselves we are changed. He no longer is out there, a nice story. He becomes the one who loves us as a friend. When we meet someone and really like them then they enter our heart and we become open to them. When we really meet Jesus we find something precious that we will never discard. when you really know someone and they are your friend then you know what they will do for you. You know their love for you will cause ...

Isaiah 44:3 (AMP) For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. There is something about being able to quench our thirst. Firstly we need to know how thirsty we are. We in Australia , and especially north eastern Victoria are in a hot dry period of the year. The earth cries out for rain and when a little comes it gobbles up the precious moisture. We know when we are physically thirsty, however do not always know the state of our soul and spirit. A thirsty soul causes us to read, study communicate. A thirsty spirit causes us to consider the meaning to life, to search for answers. As in the health industry where there are many so called answers to physical wellness, so in the spirit there is an abundance of answers yet only one gives life, only one sets captives free, only one gives us a loving relationship with a loving God. Searching for spiritual fulfillment causes us to want to feel good inside. Unfortunately many so called answers, eg 'T...

Isaiah 42:22 (AMP) But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them, a spoil, with no one to say, Restore them! Isaiah 42:16 (AMP) And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven places into a plain. These things I have determined to do [for them]; and I will not leave them forsaken. The eyes of the Lord are on the lost, His ears are open to their cry, He waits for them. We can be so consumed with us and our needs we don't see or hear and walk by the lost day in day out. I had a blind girl live with me for several months. She would often ask me 'can I use your eyes?' This girl amazed me, she loved the Lord but confessed she was quite happy being blind. It was the first time I had heard such a statement. Two days ago I was visited by a friend...

Isaiah 40:29 (AMP) He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. In an age when remedies for strength and release of energy abound our God says He gives power to the faint and weary. Twice yesterday I was told of a miracle elixir that would increase my strength and aid me in exercise. Both had the allure of mystery and promise of outperforming all others. My God makes a claim that He gives power and to him who has no might He increases strength. What the above verse fails to relate is that He is not only offering life and strength but also relationship. He is the source of all things, He create all things. Men take what He has made and package it for a high premium and boast loud claims about their discovery. Those who package the elixir of life do not want relationship just cash. I am sure some benefit can be obtained however I have seen so many and checked out so many that I can be ass...

Isaiah 61:4 (MSG) They'll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage. They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new. I believe my God has chosen at this time to speak to marriage, the broken vows, the lost love. He has a plan to raise up a banner against the enemy of our souls and we are to show the way. Marriage will be built on firm foundations, it will be fortified by His wisdom. He will take the rubble that is left and create something new. I believe I am called to stand against the devastation and to thrust the stake into the ground and say 'enough'. I believe God has given me a team to stand with me. The new that is coming will not be a statistic for failure but will be a message of hope in our God, for He is good. God has sent me to announce the year of His grace, this is that year, now is the time. Amen! The Lord has a plan to restore manhood, men are being healed and are beginning to stand, strong i...