The day with dianne Louise

Revelation 5:12 (MSG) The slain Lamb is worthy! Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength! Take the honor, the glory, the blessing! Revelation 5:9-10 (MSG) And they sang a new song: Worthy! Take the scroll, open its seals. Slain! Paying in blood, you bought men and women, Bought them back from all over the earth, Bought them back for God. Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God, Priest-kings to rule over the earth. He is worthy! In verse 2 there is a call throughout heaven, 'Is there anyone who can open the scroll?' Other versions say worthy to open the scroll. The scroll was details of things to come, yet was so important, so precious that only one who was worthy could open it. When I read prophesy in the old testament, especially the book of Daniel and see the amount of predictions that did unfold just as predicted and recognise that these were given to a man, a mere mortal. There was not a request for someone who was worthy. As we approach Easter ...

Revelation 4:1 (MSG) Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, "Ascend and enter. I'll show you what happens next." 'Then I looked'. I must be looking, watching, waiting for the Lord, I must believe that he wants me to find Him. 'and oh! -a door open into heaven.' I spend a lot of time knocking on the door, saying 'God give me mine'. Mine takes many different shapes. It can be souls, provision, miracle encounters, but, it is all mine and waiting for me to claim it, all of it. I remember a time when I experienced an opening into the spirit and I could come and go at will, a glorious time when I daily lived a mighty encounter with God. 'Ascend and enter'. To go in I must first go up. I have to lift my vision, get a hungry heart, press in. 'I will show you what will happen next'. Up and in is where vision is found. My God is waiting to show me great and marvelous...

Daniel 10:12 (MSG)" 'Relax, Daniel,' he continued, 'don't be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. Daniel had fasted and prayed, burdened for his nation. The Lord heard his prayer, Daniel was favoured and loved by the Lord. As I read the book of Daniel, I love his character, so I can imagine how the Lord loved Daniel. We don't see Daniel running around seeking his own pleasure, he had a heart for his nation and the Lord, he worked diligently and with integrity and he also had the favour of those he served. Firstly Nebuchadnezzar , then Darius and then Cyrus. These men were men of substance, who could recognise and treasure Daniel heart service. The scripture says,' when you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard.' I am grateful for Daniel and one day will fellowship with him in glory. What awesome men and women the Lord ...

Daniel 4:37 (MSG) And that's why I'm singing—I, Nebuchadnezzar—singing and praising the King of Heaven: "Everything he does is right, and he does it the right way. He knows how to turn a proud person into a humble man or woman." I love how God so loved that he sent. He sent Daniel to Babylon and caused him to be a man of great influence. God used Daniel to impact great leaders. Daniel was steadfast in his integrity before the Lord. He paid a price for his integrity by being thrown in a den of lions and having all the other leaders despise him. Daniel prayed three times a day to the Lord. Because Daniel honoured God, God honoured and protected him. Daniel was a steadfast, sane individual. He seemed to have a steady character. In the book of revelation John delivers prophesy to the churches of the day, in the first few chapters. The Lord found the following problems: Toleration of sin and those who err from the truth Lazy indolence from the rich Overzealous intol...

Revelation 1:9 (MSG) I, John, with you all the way in the trial and the Kingdom and the passion of patience in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God's Word, the witness of Jesus. 'With you all the way in the trial'. We are in the trial of our faith, it is being tested. When it is tested we can stand. We are not alone, we face this together. 'The Kingdom', why am I here? For my own sake? No for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Lord I ask today that you will illuminate my mind with Your Kingdom priorities. Amen! 'The passion of patience'. I like that! I don't know that I am passionate about patience. There is passion, suffering in patience. John was all alone on Patmos , away from his church family, we know he had the vision written down in the book of Revelation but what else did he do? He would have experienced the 'passion of patience'. Jesus himself had 'a passion of patience'. What is mine? Where is God taking me ...

Ezekiel 47:9 (MSG) Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. The river represents the Spirit of God, it flows out from the temple. As God's spirit dwells in me then I am a temple. When the spirit of God flows out from me it brings life wherever it goes. It provides a living stream for fish and a job for the fishermen. The fish is for food. Today I had a revelation that only God is good and my pursuit of being good and holy can sometimes be a search for deity. I can relax and know that I know a good God and I should allow Him to be good in me. Rather freeing! I can give up 'trying to be good' and allow Him to be good in me. Makes me want to go fishing, at the beach, my favourite place, and Narrabeen in Sydney at that. I can enjoy being who I was created to be, enjoy being a human who knows a great God. Maybe I'll dance! Amen! (not with a fishing line...

Ezekiel 43:7 (MSG) He said, "Son of man, this is the place for my throne, the place I'll plant my feet. I am grateful that the Lord has now chosen to live in our hearts. In reading these chapters how exact was the measurements God gave Ezekiel. In all the measurement He suddenly stopped at the place when the offerings were stored and said 'this place is holy'. I know that God values my repentance, it is a sacrifice. When it comes from a deep revelation of wrong done He treasures it. I know that he values my praise when it comes from a deep revelation about who He is and what He has done, it is precious to Him, it too is a sacrifice. I know God values my giving when it comes form a deep desire to reach into Him and give back a portion of all He has given me. All of the above can come from compulsion or repetition yet they will be stored in the same place as that that comes from revelation and deemed 'holy' by God. I know that if I was God I would only k...

Ezekiel 39:8 (MSG) "It's coming! Yes, it will happen! This is the day I've been telling you about. What God says will come to pass, even if it tarries it will come. I am watching my future slowly but surely come towards me. Yes the enemy causes all sorts of distractions and sends the vultures to steal but as I stand with my weapons drawn and refuse to give up 'mine' it comes protected. I have to trust the Lord that my faithful submission to His hand, walking diligently with eyes straight ahead, will bear fruit and it is. My future can now see and recognise me, that is exciting. No longer believing alone and having to trust alone. The Holy Spirit is having fun, decorating the way with garlands for a celebration. It is as if I am a runner in a marathon and I hear the crowd, I see the ticker tape , the streamers, yet I cannot stop because I have to complete the race. The prize is at the end of the race, not when I see the finish line or hear the roar. The party is c...

Ezekiel 37:1 (MSG) God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and sat me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. 'God grabbed me'. I love that! this is personal, I am involved in something great. 'His spirit took me up', He is in charge here, totally powerful and in command. I love it when God takes me places to see His glory. He did that for me yesterday. He took me grocery shopping, of all things, and showed me His glory. 'and sat me down in the middle of an open plain'. God causes me to sit, at rest, and watch Him. He is constantly saying to me 'watch me'. 'strewn with bones'. Bones speak of devastation, destruction BUT when He shows up life comes again. Catch His vision, see what He sees. Amen!

1 John 5:4b (MSG) The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. In all that happens to me and around me my response must come out of faith. I cannot receive by manipulation or control, it must be by faith. Fear and cringing cannot rule because a victim mentality will ensue and that is not going to win any prizes, in fact a beating. When we try to convince an establishment through the law they are wrong in the treatment of us, we retain our victimhood . What is the higher way? Where is there life? What is the spirit of God moving on? even if it is only the water, action is about to take place. The Spirit moved, brooded, over the face of the deep, and then, God said 'let there be light'. The deep was a dark place without shape, it would not have been my choice of a place to live or even visit, yet, the Spirit did. Where is the Spirit? where is He about to move and cause life? We have to catch the breath of wind, where is He? Faith steps into the darkness ...

1 John 4:21 (MSG) The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. Recently I have been the subject of intense hatred by someon very close to me. This hatred was fuelled by offense. I had offended by saying 'No'. I discovered that saying 'no' can cause huge problems and yet it was right to say no. I therefore own a word that carries great power. In loving others sometimes we have to stand by our 'no', and honour it and watch the salvation of the Lord. I had recently completed a Boundaries course and knew conflict was coming but little did I know how great that conflict would be. Yet as I stand by my 'no' my God goes to work in me, showing me that even if all hell rages against me I can stand because He did. Sometimes the act of love is perceived as harsh and confrontive but although it is strong medicine it works. There is a God and he is not me. Vengence belongs to the Lord not me. I can trust Hi...

Ezekiel 30:26 (MSG) 26 b Then they'll realize that I am God." Ezekiel 28:11 (MSG) 11 Because I said so. Ezekiel is full of the judgement of God all because people form various nations became puffed up and proud in themselves and did not regard God as GOD. We have often heard and said ourselves 'because I said so', more often to our children when they are testing us and being rebellious. Isn't it funny that God has the same problem with His kids. As our children must learn that we are unmovable , we have to learn what God will and will not allow in His yard. It is foolish to assume that we can re-write the rule book, to suit ourselves and yet we try. God is God and not to be mocked. I am reading a book called 'Killing Fields, Living fields' by Don Cormack. It is about the horrors in Cambodia specifically between 1975 and 1979. One of the Cambodian Christians believed that what happened was a result of the extreme hardness of heart of the Cambodian pe...

We love Him because He first loved us. 1 Jn 4:19 Love enables love in the recipient, loves gives and releases. An encounter with the love of God changes things, much like fresh rain. The greatness of the gift opens wide the receiver and a river floods the soul cleansing all within. Love instead of judgement amazes us. Love breaks open the bars, love like light floods through the darkness, cleansing all. Trues love is grace. You can't buy it, you can't steal it, you can't control it, you can't manipulate it. Grace is outside cause and effect. It is owned by love and only love has control of it. Grace sets the captives free, it is the key. Amen!

1 John 2:16 (MSG) Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. We can read this and think yes yes but still package our desires in a way that covers our sin. We only deceive ourselves. The modern christian in the push for abundance can be caught up in the sin of self-indulgence, self-gratification. If I am hid, with Christ, in God what does that look like. I can imagine Christ and I hiding under a blanket together, much like we do as children. Secret whispers and fun. Yet Christ is perfect and came to give His life. So, hiding under a blanket with the purest of pure, how can I keep an unclean heart? How can darkness fellowship with light? If I really am a friend of Christ then I would be compelled to pour out my sin and receive His cleanliness otherwise my sin would drive me out. ' if I am in the light, as He is in the light...

Ezekiel 22:30 (MSG) "I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city...... I am challenged again with my core motives. Am I living for myself and the dictates of my flesh or for the Lord and His desires. If I look at my prayers what are they about? Are they 'give me Lord' or show me Your glory? As I 'live in the zone' I hear what is happening in the spirit, my heart beats with a new desire. As I read Your word wash me Lord, cleanse me, show me Your way. I cannot isolate myself from fellowship and then believe I am truly walking His way because He tells me otherwise. I have to live the whole counsel of God not just the bits I like. I have a job to do in this city, I am called to repair the breach, bring healing to the injured. Already this is happening, bring them Lord! Amen!

1 John 1:5 (MSG) This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. I am so grateful that God is pure light. As I live in a world of darkness it is good to know where the light is and that it is a reliable light. I don't need to stumble in the darkness, I shouldn't be stumbling at all, unless my eyes are off the light. His light is an anchor for my soul. I am loved by Him, He is perfect and His intentions are pure towards me. I am blessed to have the light. It is like living in a world where everyone is searching for a light that won't go out, that is utterly dependable and I have it. The light makes clear the unclear, reveals the hidden, makes certain the path And..... this light is mine, all mine. I cherish what is mine and do not want to throw it away, yet I can give it away and like the loaves and fishes it will replicate, I can never lose by giving. Amen!

2 Peter 3:1 (MSG) 1 My dear friends, this is now the second time I've written to you, both letters reminders to hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention. Undistracted attention must be important as Peter mentions it twice. What things distract? Bad stuff, good stuff and anything in between. Therefore we need to have a focus. What is my focus? Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew chapter 6 to seek first the Kingdom. What is the Kingdom? The Lord and His way of doing and being. So therefore seek the Lord first. We can say yeah yeah I know that but we may not do it. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. So gym membership, clothes, cars, TVs or the latest programmes, our worries about tomorrow, are all futile and a chasing after wind. There is only one thing that is important, therefore, keep 'the main thing, the main thing'. Amen!

2 Peter 2:22 (MSG) They prove the point of the proverbs, "A dog goes back to its own vomit," and, "A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud." I particularly like the one 'a scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud'. A pig is a pig is a pig is a pig. Just as a sinner is a sinner is a sinner is a sinner. Just when we become proud or self-righteous out comes the pig and it heads for the mud. When does this happen? Pretty much as soon as we start spruiking and climbing on the backs of those around us. I am so grateful that my God lets me fall in the mud so I can see my sin. Just because my flesh can do something the next person can't does not make me better. I am blessed with what God gives me. after all the pig is blessed because the master washed it and gave it a new home, but it is unable to change what it is, a pig. Thank you Lord that You alone are good, You alone are righteous, You alone are saviour. Amen!

Ezekiel 11:19-20 (MSG) I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit in you. I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you'll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You'll be my people! I'll be your God! It is again interesting that this promise comes in the middle of God telling off His people for their idolatry. Idolatry really gets up God's nose, He sees it as unfaithfulness. Let's face it without Christ's power this is where we go. We may not collect Buddhas , but we give power to many other things in our lives. Have you ever heard someone say 'my arthritis won't let me walk', 'I can only go if my Asthma lets me', 'my finances won't allow me to go', and so on. These people have empowered spirits of darkness that suck the life out of their hosts. These are given power by the confession of the host, they have all authority in the host, they are lik...

2 Peter 1:5-7 (MSG) So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, (complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.) When I am given a gift and use that gift, then I build on the love that gave that gift. I build experience, a rapport with that gift. I have been given the greatest gift of all, freedom from sin, eternal life and best of all the doorway to an intimate relationship with the giver. As I lovingly open my gift and discover it's beginning and end, of which there is no end, I discover something that changes me. The love that is packed in that gift changes me, as I get to know that gift and I constantly amazed. Conversely I have been given gifts that I have thrown away, put away, given away. They do not benefit me in the slightest. Many treat salvation the same way. T...

1 Peter 5:6 (MSG) So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Peter was able to speak this with confidence. This man had to learn to wait for the Lord as he found out the hard way what it was like to run on before the Lord, to run off at the mouth. Not only did Peter get rebuked for trying to counsel Christ because hey! didn't Jesus tell him he had a new name and that he would be given the keys to the Kingdom. Peter's biggest problem was his mouth and his impetuosity . He seemed to be driven by strong emotion, But God had a plan. He pruned him, chiseled away at his character and lo we eventually see a man who preached Christ with authority. I love the bit 'God's strong hand is upon you'. If anything I need to know His hand is upon me, I can cope with anything as long as His strong hand is upon me. When God gives us His word we are challenged by all that is around us to see ...

Ezekiel 3:22(MSG) God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you." It is interesting that God is so personal. I love the humanness of God's actions. Ezekiel was shown God's glory but also asked to do difficult things. He had to lie on his left side for over 1 year, existing on bread and water, and only a small amount of that. Initially God wanted Ezekiel to cook his bread over a fire made with human dung but when Ezekiel protested God relented. I love the way the Lord respected Ezekiel's protest, yet I love the way Ezekiel honoured the Lord by doing the hard things. For all the hard things Ezekiel had to do he experienced an inordinate amount of God's glory. The Lord knew He had a man who was up for the task. The Lord knows each of us very well and the task He has for us, is made, just for us. That task will bring us close to Him in a way that delights the Lord, and us, should we choose to follow. Have ...

1 Peter 4:1 (MSG) Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Learn to think like Him! There is a challenge! Jesus learned to wait, to seek the father. As I wait in His presence I am made clean, refined. Waiting in His presence is like osmosis, His strength passes through to my emptiness. After waiting, when I get up, I know I have His blueprint inside, His heart beats within. My fleshly ways are subdued. Today Lord I ask for Your vision, Your thoughts, Your mind. May I see what You see and hear what You hear. Amen!

1 Peter 3:10-12 (MSG) Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. Do we really believe this? If so why all the potions, elixirs that promise new life? Keeping a clean heart is work, guarding our heart is work, curbing our tongue is impossible without help. So what are the steps? : Say nothing evil or hurtful snub evil cultivate good run after peace Say nothing evil. Let's stop there! easier said than done, oh how we react at times. I praise God for Christ, if we ask for His power then we have it and our hearts become a beautiful garden instead of a den of snakes. Say nothing hurtful. There are times we will have to hurt by our words if we confront but this is talking about careless words. Words that flow out in a party spirit. Snub evil. This is easy to do after we have done the above otherwise we are on the enemy's side and are ...

1 Peter 2:25 (MSG)You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls. In the Old testament we see a people who needed a good shepherd and when they had one they flourished, when they had leaders who walked in sinful ways and did not lead or correct their people then the people followed. Time and again we see the mindlessness of the majority, the sheep mentality. There are very few individuals who can get it right, if we do it is because we submit to the Lord being our shepherd. A man or woman might get 90% of their life right but without Christ they deify self achievement, discipline, strong ethics but at the end of the day if Christ isn't first then it is all futile. Jesus always got it right, therefore He is the good shepherd. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. If I am not living out of grace then I miss the Truth. His grace enables me to live, be and do. Every time I think I have got th...

Jeremiah 50:6 (MSG) "My people were lost sheep. Their shepherds led them astray. They abandoned them in the mountains where they wandered aimless through the hills. They lost track of home, couldn't remember where they came from. Today we have many lost sheep, sheep without shepherds. They wander looking for a shepherd and follow every noise that sounds like a shepherd. As they have never known a shepherd they don't know what one smells like, sounds like. These sheep are lovely but lost, empty for direction. Someone has to love enough to win their hearts and gently lead them. They are skittish as they have become cautious. Last night I met with a mother and her two daughters, not long separated from marriage and lost, looking for direction. The daughters have been invited to come to DivorceCare 4Kids and they are willing. They are beautiful but lost. Their mum did DivorceCare last year and is now enrolled to do Boundaries. May we prove to be good shepherds and love these...

1 Peter 1:2 (MSG) God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours! I had never seen that before, 'keep me obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus'. It is only logical because without Christ I would be just like the people Jeremiah had to deal with. God the father looks at me through Christ and therefore I am perfect to Him. As I daily say 'yes' to Christ and seek Him and long for His ways then I walk in obedience. I am also grateful that His eye is on me. Of all the billions of people on the earth His eye is on me. Thank You Lord! I am so grateful for grace, thank You for forgiveness, the power of the cross to totally deal with all I do and say now and in the future. Thank You Lord! It is awesome to know that I am 'kept obedient', thank You!!! Amen!

James 5:16 (MSG) The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Living right with God is so important because then our prayers are heard and not only that our prayers are powerful. The very next verse talks about Elijah who prayed that the rain would not fall and it didn't for 31/2 years. The keys we need to take are: He was right before God He prayed fervently James encourages us to be right before God but also to pray fervently. Fervent prayer does not give up, it also recognises when it has been answered. We see in 1 Kings 18 how Elijah conducted himself and how he prayed. He did not pray once and then the rain fell. He prayed and checked for an answer, prayed then checked, prayed then checked, he did it seven times. Because of his walk with God Elijah did great exploits and yet was human at the same time. I like Elijah, his humanity makes room for me and his dedication encourages me to press in, his boldness calls to me. My God colle...

James 5:7-8 (MSG) Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. When we do not see fruit of our labours we can uproot ourselves and rush off to a place that is not good for us. Patience, waiting on the Lord's rain to do it's work is so important, especially, especially when we do not see the inkling of a result. God is for me, who can be against me? I cannot be against myself I must trust the Lord and allow His full time to elapse. The men of Judah came to Jeremiah and said 'tell us what the Lord is saying we should do and we will do it'. Yet when the word came to Jeremiah, 10 days later, they refused to listen and went their own way and into destruction. The process of patience is painful, yet vital, it strengthens my trust in t...