The day with dianne Louise

"In that day", declares the Lord, "I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. as for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem". Micah 4:6-8 I love it when the Lord speaks beyond a present circumstance, especially regarding restoration. If you read further down from verse 8 He speaks about captivity in Babylon but goes beyond that to restoration. All times of wilderness come to an end, when they accomplish what they were there for, usually a sharp change in heart and direction. My wilderness time is coming to an end and I am beginning to see a future and a hope. Today I awoke in Mildura Victoria as I have come here on business and today I travel for 7 hours home. I c...

Yahweh, our God, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth. You have covered the heavens with Your majesty. Because of Your adversaries, You have established a stronghold from the mouths of children and nursing infants to silence the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:1,2 Yesterday I looked at this psalm and am again drawn to it, but this time to the simplicity of praise. I have 6 grandchildren and it blesses me to read the above scripture. Little children are so pure in their understanding and appreciation. My youngest grandson Archie is difficult to understand yet in all his babble I know he loves to talk to me and because of that I love to talk to him. My bible commentary says: even the feeblest of humanity, with their sometimes inarticulate speech function as firm testimonies (a stronghold) of God's glory and silence the enemy and the avenger. According to Jesus, children and their simple faith are the best representatives of God's kingdom. (Mt 18:4) Paul also made ...

Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with Your majesty. Because of Your adversaries, You have established a stronghold from the mouths of children and nursing infants to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I observe Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, What is man that You remember Him, the son of man that You look after Him? You made Him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him over the works of Your hands, You put everything under his feet; All the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas. Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth. Psalm 8 How good are You Lord! Thank You for wanting to spend time with us, thank You for Your plans for us. You are so good and I praise You! When we are so low You make...

Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever?  How long will You hide Your face from me?  How long will I store up anxious concerns within me? agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemies dominate me? Consider me and answer me, Lord my God. Restore brightness to my eyes, otherwise, I will sleep in death. My enemies will say, "I have triumphed over him, and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your faithful love; Your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously. David wrote this, long ago. Yet his lament is ours. At times we feel forgotten, neglected, oppressed by our enemies. What I love about David is his 'but' and 'yet'. Although he feels forgotten and rejected he finishes with 'But I have trusted in Your faithful love', and 'I will sing to the Lord'. NO matter what I endure, and it has been long and hard, I have to yield a 'but'. My life is in Him, He is the answer. WHy? Bec...

I love the Lord because He heard my voice, He inclined His ear unto me, I will call unto Him as long as I live. The ropes of death wrapped around me, and the torments of Sheol overcame me; I encountered trouble and sorrow, then I called on the name of Yahweh, "Yahweh, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is compassionate, the Lord guards the inexperienced; I was helpless and He saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For You, Lord, rescued me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:1-9 I was saved when the churches were singing scripture in song. It was a good day for me as I learned the word in a way precious to me, I love to sing. The psalmist is saying it like it is. No matter what comes against me, He is there, He is my deliverer. He is my restorer, my strength, my song and I will praise Him. Amen!

Return to the stronghold of prosperity and security, you prisoners of hope, even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you. Zec 9:12 definition of restore: to bring back into existence or use. All throughout my bible the Lord may take a people into captivity but then he will return them and restore them. I have now come to such a time. The Lord is calling me home to Tamworth. I have been in a wilderness, although I have experienced great churches I have been a foreigner and knew it. The loneliness of being in a land not your own is demoralising, yet to go back to what you established and be restored to the people you love is life giving. As in every deliverance the Lord brought to pass He made a way. I am now looking to Him for His way. I know when it is God He provides and makes a way. When I walk with Him, all things work together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Amen!

Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my saviour and my God. I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls, all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me. The Lord will send His faithful love by day, His song will be with me in the night- a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:5-8 Do you know this psalm starts with: 'As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You God. I thirst for God, the living God'. I do not associate this verse with a depressed person as it sounds so clear and full of desire. In depression blackness occludes the light and yet the writer of this psalm expresses his darkness and need but then answers himself with truth. He obviously has a maturity and a knowing of truth that brings him back to clarity. Why do we get depressed? We are overcome by blackne...

I love the Lord, my strength, The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies. The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me, the ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death contfonted me. I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; they shook because He burned with anger. Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; coals were set ablaze by it. He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet. He rode on the cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place, dark storm clouds His canopy around Him. From...

 A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: 'This is my beloved Son, listen to Him'. Mark 9:7 In the previous chapter Jesus had tried to tell His disciples that He was going to die and when they went down from the mountain again he tried and they debated among themselves what 'rising from the dead' meant. How many types of risings had there been? The disciples saw Lazarus rise from the dead, they had seen the widow's son rise from the dead. They knew both of these men were dead, dead, dead and yet they lived. What was hard to understand? Perhaps they yet did not have ears that could hear? Why? Perhaps they had their heart set on a deliverer and not a saviour.   We often cannot hear or see what God is doing because of our focus. How do we clear our head? First we must recognise we are foggy and then press in for clarity and get help where we can. Talk to that person, read that book, listen to that message. One thing is sure is that we...

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress. I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, The years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired. Psalm 77:1-6 Many times I am awake in the night praying, last night was one of them. Today I went to see a lady who has cancer to asist her in my role as a financial planner, yet I had the joy of giving her a hope and a future. She told me she was awake from about 4am. I am conscious that many times when I am awakened I pray for souls, that they might discover salvation. Before my appointment today my computer crashed, I had a carpet cleaner coming and it is raining and on my way to the appointment the carpet cleaner called saying my dogs had...

My soul praise Yahewh and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget His benefits. He forgives all your sins, He heals all your diseases, He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with goodness; your youth is renewed like the eagles. Psalm 103:1-5 Lord that I might know You more fully, that I might dive into Your greatness, totally immersed in You. Great is the Lord, great is the Lord and worthy to be praised. I know You as provider and now I desire to know you as healer. Your word tells me of Your greatness and the Jesus I see in the gospels is the Jesus I would know. You call me forward to all that You are, nothing is greater than you. No enemy that comes against me can stand before You, they must bow to You. That I would know You as You want me to know You. GOD! Amen!

Awake My Soul by Chris Tomlin In our hearts Lord, in this nation awakening, Holy Spirit we desire awakening, For You & You alone, awake my soul, awake my soul and sing, For the world You love, Your will be done, let Your will be done in me,.... A new day dawns and as I wake I hear this song and realise this is what I long for more than anything else. Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words, their voice is not heard, Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their worlds to the end of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun, It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber, it rejoices like an athelete running a course. it rises from one end of the heavens and circle sto the other end, Nothing is hidden from its heat. The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing on...

For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38 'This evil and adulterous generation' is OT prophetic language. I would imagine the edict remains the same. We currently have a more evil and more sinful generation, but then there always has been evil and sinful behaviour. So no matter what or when God's people are called to behave differently and to use our faith. Tonight I went and saw the movie 'The Grey'. I knew what to expect because of the reviews I had read. For me the saddest part was where the hero is all alone and he calls out to God and challenges him to come to His aid. The man believed in God but did not know God. The movie portrayed God not answering and so the man went off on his own, to a fight to the death with the wolves. The view of the writer of the movie, basically that God is dead, is often port...

For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life? What can a man give in exchange for his life? Mark 8:36,37 Eternity is forever and forever. This life here is so short but it is not all there is. I can live a ripe old age here in this life but it is not a patch on forever. Forever I will live with the God of glory or with the enemy of my soul, which will I choose? Two totally different outcomes, tow horribly different outcomes. To get to the beginning of eternity and know I had made the wrong choice and it was mine forever, oh how devastating would that be, what agony, what eternal grief. It is like being a young lady and been loved by the most spectacular man and not believed and gone off and married someone who beat and abused me to find out in my 60's that I had someone who loved me and who would have treated me good, only this would be worse because I would know that my choice was mine forever and ever without end. Think deeply about eternity! What...

Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. Mark 8:34,35 Priorities, priorities, priorities! Perspective, perspective, perspective! What is important? What is our focus? I know I am in real trouble when I attempt to force something to occur. Just as my computer warns me that if I force it to shut down I will lose information, Christ warns us to yield or we will lose life. This past week has appeared to be a non-event, but has it? I have prayerfully proceeded, at a lot slower pace. My earnest desire to break out into the open sky and fly consumes me but I will put a bit in my mouth, restrain myself and wait for the wind, for without it I will crash and burn. Salvation is from my God, it is He alone that sees the distance clearly, me I see dimly. I ...

Get behind me satan, because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but man's.Mark 8:33 Twice yesterday I spoke to women about letting go. The first called because of a family blow-up about what they deemed to be correct and how they wanted to assist a sick family member but her husband was in the way. Was he? I reminded my friend that first, her sister was married to her husband and had chosen to leave her family and cleave to her husband. Therefore the rest of the family must respect the decisions of the husband. Secondly, God's grace had to be ministered by my friend, she could not be drawn into the emotion of the family, she had to seek God and give His grace because it would bring life. The second woman is leaving the area and having to trust the Lord for all her finances. Things were not going as planned or were they? At times we insist on how things must go and will wear ourselves out to make a thing happen when there is no grace for that thing to happen in ...

And on the road He(Jesus) asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am? "But Who do you say that I am?" Mark 8:27-29   Do we know what those in our world really think about Jesus? Do we know what we really think? It is important that we don't just say what is expected but really examine our hearts and know whether we really believe or not. To be able to influence others we have to know that we know that we know He is who He says He is. Do our opinions agree? Lord, may Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. Amen!

They were extremely astonished and said, "He has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk.!" Mark :37 Remember the demoniac from Decapolis, he had done the job of telling his family and neighbours how Jesus had set him free because the very people who asked Jesus to leave now spoke highly of Him and brought the sick to Him. How good is a good report. What is Jesus doing in You? I am so full of praise of my God for He has indeed set me free from a past that was a path of bondage and is now 'making all things new'. My praise spills over to my face, to my mouth and I cannot but praise Him and say how good He has been for me. As we see from the above scripture the man's good report brought others who believed because of His report. How many people are in your world who could benefit from a good report. If you are not sure you have a good report then find one, press into God for an answer, a miracle. Amen!

Do you have eyes and do not see, and do you have ears and do not hear? Mark 8:18 I constantly face new challenges to my faith. Will I believe this time, will it be different this time? Will the Lord not keep me, this time? Today all my well laid out plans for the week have gone awry. Appointments cancelling and a feeling like I had hit a wall. Perhaps I hit the wall because I presumed that the road went through when in fact it went around. I had been encouraging someone else who is also facing a similar problem, it was easy to say, before the appointments cancelled but now I find myself just where she is, having to trust. Ahhhhh! I am glad my appointment for tonight cancelled because I had a girlfriend call around and I was able to cook her dinner and spend some quality time with her. We went for a drive to the shops and bought a delectable small tub of ice cream to have with our fruit salad, as today is Valentine's day it made it special. I had 3 red roses in the garden and cu...

He got up from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. He entered a house and did not anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. Mark 7:34 There are times when we want to escape notice. I heard a pastor tell of how he and his family had made  a birthday call to his brother only to find out he was having a party, thrown for him by Ms Julia Gillard (at that time acting prime minister). Before he could control what was happening Ms Gillard was on the phone. The preacher said how he wanted to escape talking to someone so important and was so nervous he called her Jullian, to his embarrassment. I am sure there were times when Jesus just wanted space but none was available. I am sure that the now MP Ms Gillard would like to just duck into the shops, unnoticed. I read about great men of God and how when they entered factories people would fall under conviction of sin. If the Holy Spirit wants to be noticed He is noticed for He is great. Today He is coming again int...

Summoning the crowd again, He told them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand; nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defiles him. (if anyone has ears to hear He should listen!) Mark 7:14-16 I know a lot of people who would debate this. There is so much 'argy bargy' about eating right that it becomes quite confusing. Yet Jesus, here, is making  a point. The stuff that makes us unclean is the thoughts turned into words and spewed forth from our mouths. Are we consumed with how we feel and speak constantly how 'others' mess with our heads or upset our days? Stuff will always happen but it is how we handle that stuff thet determines who we become.

He answered them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: These people honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, They worship me in vain teaching as doctrines the commands of men. Disregarding the commands of God, you keep the traditions of men." Mark 7:6-8 Ouch! The Pharisees were being rejected by the Son of God, so in their effort to stay as they were they plotted to kill Him, to silence the truth. How far will we go to protect the status quo? Again and again our God will move on His people to bring freshness and change and there are those who fight it, wanting to stay the same. Why do we fight change? Usually because we are insecure and want to control our world so we gain security. What a sham! Only the bold and brave will find truth and freedom, only those who seek will find, the door is opened to those who knock. Our God is moving! I welcome the fresh wind as I am mightily sick of the stale, insipid present. Our church...

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Him. They observed that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean-that is, unwashed-hands. Mark 7:1,2 Of all the things Jesus did, the miracles and healings were ignored because what had become precious to them was their rituals. God is moving in our worlds again, will we ignore His greatness because it does not come packaged the way we want? Today I visited a local baptist church and was pleasantly surprised, they worshipped just fine (coming from a pentecostal that is a compliment). However, I know they are studying worship at present and their pastor is taking them to a greater connection with the Lord and using worship as the tool. How sad it would be if members of the congregation circled the 'tool' and judged it rather than opening up their hearts to the goal. How sad indeed would be the Lord who longs to be found. I am praying that the Lord pours out His best on t...

God , you are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate and without water. So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory. Ps 63:1,2 Being desperate for God, when we seek Him with all our heart, produces worship. When I am desperate I press into Him and tell Him how good He is, how He is my all. Lord You are my life, my health, my provision, my strength. Lord you are beautiful, Your presence saturates me and my body sings for joy. Lord Your thoughts toward me, thrill me that You think so much of me. Majesty you are, far above all the mundane of life, yet you lived this life, well. 'I give You praise for You are my righteousness, I worship You Almighty God there is none like You.' (song) Worthy, worthy, worthy, are You Lord far above all rule Worthy to receive praise and honour, glory and strength Worthy King of Kings, Worthy Son of God, Worthy Prince of Peace Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, ...

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and beached the boat. As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognised Him. They hurried throughout that vicinity and began to carry the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. Wherever He would go, into the villages, towns, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him that they might touch the tassels of His robe. And everyone who touched it was made well. Mark 6:53-56 Jesus's ministry was flat out, always surrounded by crowds pressing in for healing. Yet it did not faze Him, or weary Him. As Jesus had left His deity behind He was man relying on the power of God to sustain Him. There was no room for football, the movies, dinner out with friends or any of the various leisurely activities we give to ourselves. He was on His knees, teaching His disciples and ministering to the masses. I think we have become a little soft, well yes a lot soft, on ourselves. We are inclined to feel sor...

Then He got in the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:51,52 This scripture amazes us yet it highlights the disciples state. What causes our hearts to be hard? For me it is fatigue and watching too much TV. As I tire I am empty of comprehension. Watching too much TV robs me of believing because I am watching unbelief at it's best, unless of course I watch christian TV, which I do not have. As a christian I have to be aware of the state of my spirit. I am responsible for feeding it good food. There are plenty of faith robbing spiritual messages afloat and I have to acknowledge this and guard my heart. The word of God is the best food I can give my spirit and failing to realise that my spirit needs feeding is foolishness at its best. if I feed my body, many times a day, imagine what my spirit must need? The spirit is where life is. If the spirit is empty t...

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves and rest for a while". Mark 6:30,31 The disciples had been sent out two by two to minister, it had been their turn and now they had returned full of news. Jesus often withdrew to rest and pray and be renewed and this was an important part of His ministry and would be of theirs. He was giving them the complete picture. However the crowd saw them and followed them. So stepping ashore Jesus had compassion on them, for they were 'like sheep without a shepherd.' So He ministered to them. The disciples knew that they were in a wilderness and that the people would need feeding. Jesus challenged them with, "You give them something to eat." He was bringing them into another realm, the realm of miracles. No tired thinking yet, press in one more time. The disciples were in the natural thinking, buying bread, Jesus was in the supernatu...

Now He was going around the villages in a circuit, teaching. He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them...... Mark 6:6b-8a Jesus was ready to release His disciples. They had spent time with Him learning the ropes and now it was their time to go. Jesus was no megalomaniac or control freak, He was happy to release. He came to give, He gave, trained and released. The disciples were ex-fishermen, not scholars, they were tax collectors and ordinary folk. He trusted them with what He gave them, perhaps because He trusted the One who sent Him. He knew why He came and what He was doing, He was secure. He had chosen young men who would be willing to go, to try. He has chosen you. What will you do?

He went in and said to them, "why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child's father and mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. Then he took the child by the hand and said, "Talitha Koum! " (which means "Little girl I say to you get up!") Immediately the girl got up and began walking. Mark 5:39-42 Jesus knew who He was and was establishing his authority. The community laughed at Him because they had only known death to be final. Jesus knew different and He boldly went and faced off the crowd, casting the negative out and taking the faithful with Him. Each one of us have been given authority and it sits waiting for us to obey and believe. Each of us are called into different realms of authority. I am watching my God establish me in the authority He wants me to walk in and I am watching others, as they d...

While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and said, "Your daughter is dead, why bother the Teacher anymore?' But Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only Believe." Mark 5:35,36 What powerful words! 'Don't be afraid, only believe!' My Jesus is in complete control I just have to control my emotions and watch and wait for him. My God is going before me, locks out the negatives and commands life and death. Praise Him! No weapon formed against me shall prosper! NO weapon, no WEAPON. Nothing can anywise harm me. If God be for me who can be against me. I love You Lord! Amen! I see the heart of my Jesus here, His compassion, yet firm love. Only Believe! Only Believe! Amen!

He went away from there and came to His hometown, and his disciples followed Him. He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these things?" they said." What is this wisdom given to Him and how are these miracles performed by His hands? Isn't this the carpenter, son of Mary, and brother of James, Jose, Judas, and Simon? And aren't his sisters here with us? So they were offended with him. Mark 6:1-3 Have you heard the saying, 'familiarity breeds contempt'? Jesus had grown up in their midst and obviously not shone before this date. He had not taught the word of God, or trained in the scriptures beyond that any other boy would have been, he worked as a carpenter. He had brothers and sisters and lived in community with all these people. Now, suddenly, He is the Son of God! The locals would find the transition very difficult, his family would find it difficult. The question would be, 'so why did we ...

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius by name, and seeing Him, he fell at his feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live." And He went with him. Mark 5:21-24  Jesus was flowing in the Holy Spirit. He crossed to one side of the sea and set a demoniac free so that he could evangelise the Decapolis region then He crosses to the other side and raises a little girl, daughter of a well known leader, from the dead. Jesus told us greater things would we do, all we have to do is believe in our mandate and move in the realm of the spirit. What are we missing out on? What greater things are there for us to do if we would turn off the TV, stop reading that junk, get into our bibles and begin to believe the word of God? The Spirit of Go...

As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. But He would not let him: instead, He told him, "go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done  for you and how He has had mercy on you. " So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed. Mark 5:18-20 The first evangelist, a man who's life was radically changed. The gospel he had to tell was his deliverance, 'how much the Lord had done for him and how God had had mercy on him.' Sounds like a good testimony. Jesus did not say he needed disciplining, indoctrination, coaching. He let him loose with a testimony, risky stuff! The Decapolis refers to a league of 10 Greek cities spread throughout Syria, Jordan and Palestine. They were predominately Gentile and were largely independent from Rome. (HCSB Study Bible Notes) The gospel had come to the Gentiles. This man's...

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and He met Him. He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him anymore- even with chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. And always night and day, he was crying out and cutting himself with stones. Mark 5: 1-5 Everything with Jesus, according to Mark, is immediate. The man with the unclean spirit came running to Jesus, he did not run from Jesus. He confessed Him as 'Jesus, Son of the Most High God.' even a demon knew Him for who He was. There was no pride here. The pride of the Pharisees kept them from seeing but this man had nothing at all to be proud of, he was in a piteous state. The demons wanted to stay in the 'region'. They had tormented the man and now asked Jesus not to torment them, what a horrible cauldron of demented and dis...

On that day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let's cross over to the other side of the sea." So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. A fierce windstorm arose, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, sleeping, on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, "Teacher! Don't you care that we are going to die?" He got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "silence!" "Be Still ". The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Then He said to them, "Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:35-41 Jesus put out an invitation to change location, He was in the boat asleep, at rest, and a storm came up. Why was Jesus asleep, probably tired and at peace. Storms did not bother Him, He knew who He was and His authority. The apostles were used to storms and would have a his...

"The Kingdom of God is like this", He said. "A man scatters seed on the ground; he sleeps and rises-night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows-he doesn't know how. The soil produces a crop by itself -first the blade, the the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. But as soon as the crop is ready he sends the sickle, because the harvest has come."Mark 4:26-29 Like seed, God's kingdom contains within itself the power to grow. The only human role is planting. Once planted, seed grows and becomes a harvest. (HCSB Study notes) All I have to do is sow the seed, be that friend, run that group, have that dinner and be a blessing, speak what He gives me to speak. Today I talked to a neighbour who I have known for the last 3 years and she told me of what happened in her family for the first time last Christmas, they are beginning to care, to see. She is changing. I have been there, shared Christ, loved, forgiven, cared and now the harvest is coming. A chang...

Then He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use it will be measured and added to you. For the one who has , it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." Mark 4:24,25 Listening is so important! Romans 10:17-21 explains why. So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. But I ask "Did they not hear?" Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. But I ask, "Did Israel not understand?" First Moses said: I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation, I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding. And Isaiah says boldly: I was found by those who were not looking for Me; I revealed Myself to those who were not asking for Me. But to Israel he says: All day long I have spread out My hands to a disobedient and defiant people. In the book of Revelation the...

He also said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn't it to be put on a lampstand? For nothing is concealed except to be revealed and nothing is hidden except to come to the light. If anyone has ears to hear he should listen!" Mark 4:21-23 'And I stand handing out torches, a light that's a lamp to their feet'.... (song by Brooke Shields)  The lamp represents Jesus and to us Christ within. If I have something new and great in my life then I tell everyone about it. I have something precious within and I want the world to know about Him. Jesus said of Himself, 'I am the light of the world.' He is the power that overcame the darkness and set the captives free. Again we are admonished to listen. what is He saying? His word is more important that all the other noises in our heads. He is not a mean stingy God who witholds but a generous God who gives liberally. We need to read our bibles and get to know the One it spe...

The scribes that had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub in Him!" and "He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!" So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables. "How can satan drive out satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand....................... I assure you: "people will be forgiven for all sins ..but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never is forgiven but is guilty of an eternal sin", because they were saying "He has an unclean spirit." Mark 3:22-30 when Jesus was baptised He received the Holy Spirit and it was the Holy Spirit that made Him different, and gave Him power. The religious leaders were calling the Holy Spirit a demon and Jesus said to them that be so doing they would not be forgiven. This is a heavy truth! Down through the ages the Holy Spirit has moved in many different ways and each time challenged the status quo. The people who responded to Him and worke...

Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him because they said, "He's out of His mind." Mark 3:20,21 Jesus was creating an uproar, crowds pushing and shoving, moving en mass creating chaos. Jesus' family would see this disturbance and the inability to control it and reason 'He is out of His mind.' Have you ever had anyone say that about you? Has family judged your Christianity as insane? For me leaving the catholic Church and going into Charismata was seen as insane by my family. When I began to speak about the wonders of God and the new relationship I had with Him, how He was calling me to step out, 'insane' as the verdict. Jesus was shaking the way things were and had been for a long time, He was tipping it all on it's head. God had come to dwell with mankind. What did Jesus' family expect Him to do? How did they imagine He would behave? Th...

Then He went up the mountain and summoned those He wanted, and they came to Him. Mark 3:13 There are times when God moves on and in a direction that we don't particularly want to travel. Here Jesus goes up a a mountain. This afternoon I went for a walk up a mountain with a friend and our dogs. It was very steep and the path was covered with gravel which makes it very slippery. It had rained a few days ago and the path had mud puddles in the process of drying out. We met various people on the track and many dogs. My girlfriend's dog was attacked by a Labrador and looked like it would be injured. Going down the hill I slipped and had to walk down the remainder sideways to avoid a catastrophe, the path down was very steep. Jesus called who He wanted to take along to go with Him and they went. I am grateful they went. I have to keep myself mindful to go when called. The following verses we find that Jesus chose His team on the mountain. Imagine if they had passed up the mounta...

Jesus departed with His disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed him from Galilee, Judea,  Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him because they heard about everything He was doing......since He had healed many, all who had diseases were pressing towards Him to touch Him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, those possessed fell down before Him and cried out. "you are the son of God!" Mark 3: 7-11 Jesus went in obedience and the power upon Him smashed through the status quo, demons were running, people were excited, there was a shift in the heavenlies, the power of God was unleashed on earth like never before. If Jesus walked in His destiny through obedience and believed that what was written about Him was truth where are we? Jesus said 'greater things will you do'. Where is the greater? Jesus knew He has come to do His father's will, He delighted in the Father's will, He sought the Father's w...