The day with dianne Louise

When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. "where have you put him?" He asked. "Lord" they told Him, "come and see." Jesus wept. John 11:33-35 Why was Jesus angry? Was He angry at sickness and the enemy who inflicted it? Was He angry because of the lack of faith that He could raise Lazarus from the dead? Was He angry at the injustice and wrongness of Lazarus's death? In verse 14 Jesus tells His disciples plainly that Lazarus was dead and that He was glad for their sakes that He was not there so that they might believe. At times I find myself upset deeply, especially where dear friends and family good through something dreadful, I can find myself angry at what has happened to them and want to deal a death blow to the inflicter of the calamity. Myself I sometimes am surprised at the anger and go in search of why I feel so angry. The result of Jesus' anger was to ...

"Aren't there 12 hours in a day?" Jesus answered. "If anyone walks during the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of the world. If anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him." John 11:9,10 Jesus had removed Himself as the Jews were seeking to stone Him however Lazarus was ill and He was going to see him, after waiting 4 days. He was referring to walking in daylight being able to see and not being able to see at night. Perhaps He was planning going at night so that the Jews, who would not travel at night would not find Him. However, as Jesus was the 'light of the world', this is also figurative, without Him we stumble in darkness. I have a relative who believes she will be happy if she can just sit and do her craft but instead finds herself running around, unable to rest, with much to do. I am watching her struggle and become quite upset. Jesus said, "he who loses his life ...

Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) So the sisters sent a message to Him: "Lord the one You love is sick." When Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So  that when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. John 11:1-6 Jesus here has friends, friends who He cares deeply for. He had normal relationships, He was able to love and enjoy friends. The picture portrayed of Jesus is that of one removed from the normal mainstream of life. Perhaps this family had been friends with Him for a long while. We think that He probably got to know the family through Mary, who was the prostitute who was brought be...

The works that I do in my Father's name testify about Me. But you don't believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish - ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one. John 10:25-30 Sheep can hear their shepherds voice. As a sheep all I have to do is practice listening. He has a lot to say if I let Him instead of listening to fear, condemnation, deception. Who am I fellowshipping after all? These passages come with a promise. I have been given eternal life because I am His sheep. This means I will live with Him, forever. Wow! What a future! The next promise is 'no one can snatch me out of His hand.' No one is NO one! I am safe, secure in Him. I can have my ear tuned to the wrong voice, voices of intimidation, fea...

I lay down my life for the sheep. This is why the Father loves Me because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. John 10:15,17-19 On Tuesday night at Alpha we discussed the cross. I was surprised at the level of misunderstanding and complete lack of knowledge that there was in the group, it was very good to see a genuine lack of understanding about Christ and what He did, I was in the right group because Alpha was created to reach out to such people. Yesterday in Australia we celebrated Anzac Day. On this day we remember and honour all the men and women who gave their lives so that we could be free of tyranny. They freely lay down their lives for others. In this instance they were walking in the spirit of Christ. At Alpha we talked about a man who was a Polish priest in the 2nd world war....

So Jesus said again, "I assure you; I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the door. If anyone listens to Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. John 10:7-10 All around me I am watching good people deceived by the thief. Women, especially divorced women, by men who say they are godly, but want sex without marriage or shacking without commitment. Having run a DivorceCare course, I know, and they know, what the bible says. Why then compromise? Compromise happens little by little, slowly the victim is seduced into believing a lie. Are divorcees so desperate to be loved that they will take what they can get, even if it involves compromise? Being one myself I know the temptation is there. My saving grace is my grandchildren. I can't teach them sin...

He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. when He has brought all his own outside, He goes ahead of them. The sheep follow Him because they recognise His voice. They never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don't recognise the voice of strangers. John 10:3-5 Do I recognise the voice of the shepherd? I find He speaks so quietly these days. So quietly if fact that I miss hearing or appreciating the importance of His suggestion or guidance. I was speaking to someone on Sunday and said the exact same thing, His voice is almost, barely audible. I then referred to fathers. The woman I spoke to said that she had grown up not respecting her father because he never seemed to stand up to her mother. I said to her, "perhaps he did speak but spoke quietly and she did not listen." This observation caused my friend to marry someone more like her mother, a dominant bully. Of course that decision had repercussions. My friends f...

"I assure you: Anyone who doesn't enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and robber." John 10:1 Here Jesus is admonishing the Jewish leaders for their style of spiritual guidance, or lack thereof. He goes on the describe a good shepherd who enters by the door and who's sheep know His voice. In our own lives it shows us who to listen to. Are the supposed shepherds 'good' or are they wolves dressed as sheep? Are they merely paid workers or are they diligently caring for the sheep? We are told to listen to our shepherds, in Hebrews, for they give an account for our soul. Jesus in this chapter in John is telling us what a good shepherd is like. He is one to be trusted. We can trust the Lord to be our ultimate shepherd, we are known by name. Jesus is not the far, removed God but one who is ever present and involved in our lives, He can definitely be trusted. A 'good' shepherd knows how to protect a...

God id light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10 We can be not aware of our sin and it takes the Lord to bring us to a knowledge of the truth but we can also choose a path that His word say is wrong but we can say, "my need is greater than the truth of the word and so therefore I know best." My concern with this thinking is one day you have to stand before the one who is the word. Will He say, "begone from me, you who practice lawlessness....

Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgement, in order that those who do not see will see and those who see will become blind." Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, "We aren't blind too are we?" "If you were blind," Jesus told them, "you wouldn't have sin, but now that you say, 'we see' - your sin remains." John 9:29-41 Jesus had to contend with self-righteousness in those who said they were without sin - the Pharisees. They believed that by doing and being a certain way that they would escape judgement. Today, nothing has changed. If I live as if I am blind yet say I see I have a problem. This is a matter of the heart. The humble know they need God, the arrogant ignore their need and walk into judgement. Repentance is such a beautiful, freeing attribute that is given us by God. He gives grace to the humble. I can personally attest that He enables me to be humble. I c...

Jesus said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Who is He sir? the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in Him." Jesus said, "You have now seen Him, in fact, He is the one speaking to you." John 9:35-37 The man born blind had something within him that responded to Christ in a way that was different to many of those who followed Jesus, there was faith, hunger, a desire for truth. When he knew who Jesus was he bowed down and worshiped Him. He had no issue with things that bothered the Pharisees. And in fact perhaps his life had been changed so radically he was ready. I love this story because I see in the man the ingredients of a leader, a man who was not afraid of the Pharisees. He spoke his mind, and had no problem with truth. Truth, when he found it, he embraced wholeheartedly. The fact that Jesus supported this, because he sought the man out when he had been thrown out by the Pharisees, makes me like Jesus all the more. He h...

"One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see." John 9:25 The man healed from blindness was hauled before the Pharisees and questioned severely about his healing. They hated Jesus fro He meddled with their trivial laws about when and how things should be done. As He said Himself, "the meatier things of the law you neglect." As a Christian I am often called to account for why I believe and usually by someone who is desperate to prove He does not exist so that they can stay as they are. This was happening here but also the Pharisees were so desperate to maintain the status quo that they were plotting to kill Jesus. Down through the centuries various religions did kill those who had a fresh revelation of Jesus in the scripture and was offering a freedom that had been lost. A simple example is the Anabaptists who brought in believer's baptism instead of infantile baptism as the Roman Catholic church had instituted. The Anabaptists who actuall...

"This is an amazing thing," the man told them. "You don't know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is God fearning and does His will, He listens to Him. Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He wouldn't be able to do anything."John 9:30-32 Last night I was privileged to see a friend go to the Alpha course. This man has a son who is on fire for God and his father marvels. I can see his father being on fire and reaching out to lost friends and family. In the course Nicky Gumble gave conclusive evidence for the reality of Christ. It was irrefutable. Today life will be different for my friend. His wife, who also is a believer came and she will be able to see the process this man goes through as he discovers Christ. Today I go in search of more lost sheep. I am off to Mildura where I know one very lost sheep ...

His neighbours and those who formerly had seen him as a beggar said, "Isn't this the man who sat begging?" Some said, "He's the one." "no", others were saying, "but he looks like him." He kept saying, "I am the one!" " Therefore they asked him, "then how was your eyes opened?" He answered, "the man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, 'go to Siloam and wash'. So when I went and washed I received my sight." John 9:8-12 The man who was an outcast, because he was judged to have sinned, now has his neighbours up in arms about his healing. His healing, miraculous indeed, is not received well. It is almost, 'how dare you', coming from his neighbours. They cart him off to the Pharisees who grill him about his healing. Jesus did two things forbidden on the Sabbath, healing a man and sending him on a journey and making mud. You and I would find these trivial and very petty b...

As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, His disciples questioned Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "neither this man or his parents sinned", Jesus answered. "This came about so that God's work might be displayed in Him." John 9:1-3 This passage brings up so many questions, and so many observations. Jesus was passing by. 'Passing by' shows intention to another destination, this man was not where Jesus was going. However, he stopped and healed the man in an unusual way, he made a paste of mud with spittle and dirt and put it on the mans eyes, commanding him to go and wash in a nearby pool. If I were the blind man I would wonder why this method. doesn't Jesus know the hardship He is placing on the man? Stumbling around in the dark with mud caked on his eyes. yet Jesus was working on the man's faith. Yet I can strangely identify. Why? We are all born spiritually blind, myself I knew ...

Jesus said, "I do not seek My glory, the One who seeks it also judges. I assure you: if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death ever! John 8:50.51 I know I cannot, always, say, "I do not seek my glory." A part of me wants to boast about headway made in life. However, I must say, the more distance I go the less I need to boast, as I know who really holds me on this road, it is Him, because in myself I am a scared little rabbit holding on to My Lord's hand and He is making a way for me. The Lord is showering me with His glory and it is Him who is making me into a vessel of honour. It is good to also know He is the judge. I am too emotional and would judge according to my feelings at times, but He sees past all of that to the core of the matter. I have especially learned that when people don't get back to me straight away it is not because they don't want to talk to me but often they have stuff going on in their own lives to sort through first. I have ...

Jesus said to them, "if God were your Father you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I did not come on my own but He sent Me. Why don't you understand what I say?  Because you cannot listen to My word. You are of your father the devil and want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I speak the truth you do not believe Me." John 8:42-45 This is a hard truth. Why am I sharing it? Perhaps because we need to be tougher and accept the truth. I heard a good message from John Bevere two nights ago. He said that many Christians have filters on when they read the word of God. I believe this is true. We have a vanilla flavoured version when wanting to do things our way and a 'Epicac' (stuff that makes you vomit) version when we wish to compl...

"therefore if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. John 8:36 Jesus said this verse while debating with the Jews. They believed they were free and He knew they were bound. Jesus in a previous verse said, "everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin." v 34 I look at my own life and know the sins that endeavour to put me in a cage. I therefore have to submit that area of my life to the Lord because I know in Him is freedom. He alone is liberty and freedom. Over the years I have notice the words of my mouth and the resultant bondage they can produce and conversely the freedom they can bring. David knew this principle when he penned the psalm, 'let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord.' I have also noticed that it is important I do not give room to disease in my life by confessing something into being. For example if I am in pain in a particular area of my body my mind will create a disease and want to...

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "if you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." "Therefore if the Son sets you free, you are really free." John 8: 31,36 We all seek freedom. If we look around at our world we see people endeavouring to express freedom in all sorts of ways they think are free; drinking to excess, illicit sex, partying, drugs, gambling etc. Yet just because they cannot see the chains of bondage does not mean they do not exist. Within the church we like to think we are free, Jesus set us free. Yet what did Jesus say was the pivotal ingredient to freedom? Was it keep the 10 commandments? No! He said, "if you continue in my word." How do you continue in His word? Reading it for a start would be good, listening to it, believing it, living it, walking it out would also be good. if I live in my house, I say firstly, "this is my house." I take owners...

If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone. John 8:7b The teachers and Pharisees had just brought a woman 'caught in the act of adultery' to Jesus for judgement, they wanted to catch Him out and therefore condemn Him to death. Jesus knew their hearts and when the woman was brought before Him He bent and wrote in the dirt. Some believe He was writing out their sins, which is highly probable. This morning as I read this scripture I am challenged in my heart. Last night I was talking to an old friend about a mutual acquaintance who was a leader and he, in our eyes, committed adultery. Our human nature has within it a need to lay blame, perhaps to highlight our 'righteousness' (choke! choke!). As I accept truth if is freeing. I have no grounds to accuse others as I am human just like them. I may not do what they do but I sure have my own sins. Set the captives free folks, release others from your judgement and watch yourself flourish. Amen...

On the last day and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39 We have just experienced Easter. For those who believe in more than just bunnies delivering eggs this is a significant time. It represents the fact that Jesus did in fact pay the price for our sins by dying on the cross but then God raised Him from the dead, triumphantly, so that we who believe do not place our faith in a dead prophet but a risen Lord. What does it mean? It means there is power to change, power to overcome, power to walk as sons and daughters of the living God. In the above scripture Jesus talked about living water, which represented the wo...

The angels asked her, "why are you crying?" John 20:13 Mary Magdalene was standing outside the empty tomb crying because she could not find the Lord. In her mind He was dead, it was over and nothing could be done but to honour Him in death. The disciples still did not understand. Jesus appears to her and still she does not recognise him, until he speaks her name. Today is Easter Sunday and all over the world little children are waking to treats of different sorts. I have a grandson who believes he will not receive any chocolate because it affects him in a not so good way. This morning he discovered that he has a gift of little plastic eggs with some chocolate in them. This is special chocolate, sought out for the occasion. His instant reaction was to say, 'nan you can have this chocolate.' He was going to be content with the plastic egg, this boy is almost 5. This touches my heart. I had grieved for him because today he will meet with his cousins on a Easter egg ...

After this, Jesus went around Galilee purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus's brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in Him. John 7:1-5 Jesus grew up in His family without them noticing He was the Son of God. They were, perhaps, offended by His behaviour. He, their brother, was now claiming to be the Son of God, and they knew Him as brother, a carpenter. In Australia we all know of the 'tall poppy syndrome'. Basically it means, 'if you raise your head above the crowd the crowd will do it's best to pull you down.' However, these were Jews. Perhaps, just as Joseph, in the Old Testament, was sold by his brother...

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" asked Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord , to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." Then Jesus replied, "have I not chosen you the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil". (he meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him). John 6:67-71 Previously Jesus had been teaching about the fact that we must eat his body and drink his blood (really appropriate Him into our lives). Many had left Him and now Jesus asks His disciples if they also want to leave. Simon has taken on the role of spokesman. His reply is my reply. No matter what happens in my Christian life I could not leave the Lord. Offense could not take me away, no one else could entice me away, for I know Him and He is good. He is very good! Judas would betray because of offense. He did not really know Jesus, he wanted Him to p...

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. John 6:53-58 It is now coming to a time when we are entering the Easter period. In some parts of the world people re-enact the crucifixion seeking eternal life. To many the scenes are gross. The picture Jesus presents above, to the undiscerning eye, is likewise gross and appears to be a scene from a satanic movie. What is He really saying? Does He want us to again and again crucify him or ourselves? Does He want His hearers to cut him up and literally eat him and drink ...

(Jesus said) "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." In John chapter 1 we are told that Jesus is the word of God, now He is saying He is the bread of life. Now I know He did not literally mean we should eat His flesh yet I do know that I must take ALL of Him, not just the bits that suit. Jesus was giving His very flesh up to be treated shamefully, for you and me. I cannot deny that He died for my sin or I again crucify Him. I cannot live as if His sacrifice was not enough or I spit in His face. The price of sin was death, yet the killing of thousands of animals could not purge away sin, but the sinless sacrifice did it all. In Jesus was and is life, all of Him represents God i...

Jesus answered, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day......Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me" John 6 44,45 How does the father draw us? Just like a good father draws a little child to himself. Do you feel like a wounded little dog that has been shamefully treated and abused? There is now one who wants to bathe your wounds, give you a home and rest. He is drawing you out of your filthy existence to Himself. Just as a little child learns to trust so will you. God is not a man that he should lie. He does not behave like earthly fathers. His love is unconditional, there are no strings. The Father draws us but then He gives us His best, His prize, His Son. Jesus paid the price and made a way. He also does not demand, strut, abuse, but He loves unconditionally as well and gave His life for you. In verse 47 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting li...

Then Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 What a promise? If we, genuinely come to Christ we will not go away hungry. In another place Jesus said, "it you seek Me you will find me". This passage indicates hunger. We all know what it is like to be hungry for food but we often fail to properly diagnose spiritual hunger. What does that look like? It is like a deep ache for life, being loved, belonging, a huge emptiness inside, a hole in the centre of our being. We can try and fill this hole with sexual pursuits, career pursuits, stuff. However only one thing satisfies, and that is Christ. I searched for 15 years and when I found my ' pearl of great price' I gave all that I had, and ever will have for it. Finding Christ has been worth more than gold or diamonds to me. Knowing Him is better than the air I breathe, and we all know how much we need that. In the passa...

All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. John 6:37-39 Have you concerns about being 'lost'? Have you concerns about being rejected? Many of us grow up with some form of rejection in our lives and assume that it is part of our lives and that we will be rejected continually, we then transfer that onto our understanding of Christ. The above scripture tells us He is not like that. Experientially I can say He is not like that. He loves with an everlasting loves but the script we have deep inside is what drives us away. I, still, expect God to say, "that's enough! You are too bad and I am leaving." Yet He stays and proves to me again and again He loves me and is faithful. Now the reason for this doubt is u...