The day with dianne Louise

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Loving to talk can lead to gossip, unless the purpose is a godly discovery of further truth in the scriptures or an encouragement in the faith. Talk for the sake of talk can be a problem. Therefore, have a goal. What is the purpose ? What is there to learn? There is so much to learn.  Catching up with old friends is good, however being mindful of purpose can guide us. Putting our minds into gear before speaking is helpful! Amen!

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Failure to speak or communicate can also kill a relationship. Speaking can bring both death or life.  Jesus spoke words of life to the sick and even the dead. He raised the widow’s son and Lazarus from the dead; He challenged Peter to walk on the water with the word, “Come!” He commanded healing with the words, “Be healed, your sins are forgiven!” He taught the ways of the kingdom of God. He also sealed His fate with His rebuke to the Pharisees, “You white washed tombs!” We are also able to use our words to create and bring healing or destroy and bring about the death of a relationship or an enterprise. We must be wise with our words. Amen!

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today I am tired and need to keep studying. However, I have purposefully taken time to be creative and also time to manage routine tasks to give my brain space. We have been told that our exam will be on two books that we have studied. Unfortunately I had hoped I could have the two I like, but we have been told about the divide between questions. Therefore I will need to cover one I don’t particularly like. So, my study included two teaching videos by an American guy, which makes it a little interesting. I could easily drown in having to keep going now for 8 days to write two assignments in 5 days, and three to prepare. However, the word to me today encourages me, I will not drown. No matter what comes our way, He is able to make all things ne...

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The dangers expressed here are graphic and scary. I have been through rivers of difficulty, and still go there. I don’t think the life portrayed by the apostle Paul was rosey. He was a man committed to sharing the gospel and for his troubles he was beaten, stoned and imprisoned, cast out, spoken ill of and rejected by his own people. As we do not have stories that follow the other apostles we could assume he was different, but was he? History tells us that John was boiled in oil but did not die, we know that all the other apostles met a fate that caused them to be persecuted and killed for the gospel. Many of God’s modern generals faith we persecuted and rejected. Even in the Jesus movement the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was considered ‘the...

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ If we are seeking to find the greatest form of love we can give to another person, here it is. It deals with selfishness. I give up my wants for you. What does that look like? I may be really hanging out to see a certain movie, however, you ask me, instead, to take you to a medical appointment. I give up my casual desire for your greater need. Jesus gave up His desire to live and not suffer, for us so that we could know the Father like He did. This is a far greater sacrifice. I imagine a missionary might face this level, if instead of escaping the country before the Taliband took over Afghanistan, they stayed to help fellow Christians. This is a realistic act. When Russia invaded the Ukraine, many missionaries left the country, however, many have since returned. The Samaratin’s purse are still there. This is something to ponder! Amen!

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ On the weekend I desperately needed to talk to my friend about a decision I had to make, she was not available, and so I had to pray and ask Fod for the solution. My Lord did not answer until 1am, when I awoke and knew the answer. Wen people are not there for us we can tend to be offended. However, my friend did write me a SMS and explain her dilemma. I could have been annoyed and even offended. However, had I done this it would reveal how selfish I was behaving. Rather, to accept my friends business and move on was another choice. Fortunately I chose this. As it was God’s answer was the best, and then He prompted me to ask my daughter-in- law. Her answer was prompt and very helpful. We think we know the best avenue to meet our needs, but God knows best. Laying down our precious opinions and attitudes, allowing others to be who they are, and God to be in charge is laying down our lives for ...

“After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I just returned from watching The Jesus Revolution - brilliant! It reminded me of when I was birth again and the mighty move of the Holy Spirit. What a joy to be a part of what God is doing! I sense a new thing is coming on Australia. We must be ready! I see the edges turning. This time those who have been trapped in transvestism and homosexuality will be set free. The life that of the unborn will again be holy. This morning I partook in day 2 of the mitochondrial donation seminar and made a stand. Finally they all asked: if you can guarantee that no life will be destroyed will you agree to fund parents who need this procedure?and I said “Yes!” I think they got the message that life is important to God! I pray they did. Everyone of the attendees were important to God.

“After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today is Pentecost Sunday! It celebrates the day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples as they waited and prayed in the upper room. Yesterday I attended a medical seminar about the right of parents seeking Mitochondrial donation to be covered by Australian Medicare. I had prayed for her Lord for His guidance, and had not received it until around 1am this morning. Today I must make a stand. Today is the day we the jury must deliberate, and come to a conclusion about the rights mentioned above. Compassion for the sufferers drew me to the yes vote, however a lone voice yesterday stuck in my subconscious and opened the way for God to speak. ART/IVF is used in the process. During the process four of the mother’s eggs are manipulated by having their nucleus removed and reinserted into donor eggs, these...

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus chose His disciples and spent three years imparting into their lives. Paul had his disciples as I am sure the others did even if we do not know their names. I have people in my life that God has given me to share the process God has taken me through in making me His disciple. I spent some time with one this afternoon. She had received a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma on her leg. The word cancer scares her and I told her how it will be fine and that it is not a big issue, she is having it surgically removed. This friend constantly goes to fear. I told her to trust and take one step at a time. She is fighting coming to the Lord in complete trust. Jesus is her only answer, He is her saviour, not me. Jesus taught His disciples to pray and trust God the Father, and also He himself. He is the only answer! He is the only saviour...

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What is a nation ? Westerners would consider where they live-nations. Whether they be USA, Australia, England, France etc The dictionary says it can be an aggregate of people who speak the same language or cognate languages. American Indians and Australian aborigines consider their particular tribe or group to be a nation. Nevertheless, all of these need the gospel. I have a friend who is a missionary in a state in India who is reaching out to a particular tribal group. He trained under YYAM and went to Indian on a student’s visa to learn Hindi and is now using that as a means to evangelise and rewrite a bible in Hindi. He has managed to start over 100 churches. By churches we would call them house churches or centres of evangelism themselves. He asked me to pray for harvesters. I asked if he wants westerners or Indians and he said b...

Pray in thr Spirit at all times, and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  Ephesians 6:18 Never has it been more urgent that we people of God pray. Evil is being poured out in a flood. Praise God the scripture says: when the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a standard against him (Is 59:19). We are the standard, we are the army called to pray and act. Now is not the time to be dull of spirit. It is time to sign the petition, to pray, to spread the word, to act. Our enemy wants us to be silent and inactive.  Rise up saints, strengthen the limbs that hang down and run the race before you! Amen!

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have just woken early from a dream that I had woken late to a house full of people and the knowledge I had missed a time of peace with the Lord. In the dream in was Christmas tomorrow and I had an exam weighing on me and also the problem of organising a house of people for Christmas, most importantly I had to make a Christmas Cake. Fortunately this is not my problem as I live by myself. However, there are homes like this. In the dream some of the younger women, my daughter was one, wanted to go off to the beautician and wanted me to go along. I had to decline as I had more important things to do. However, I did look at my daughter’s face to be sure she was not too disappointed. In the past my home was like this at times. Prayer time with the Lord was fought for. However, praying in the Spirit at all times was a saviour. Knowing...

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” ‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We do not need to worry about the future, the Holy Spirit will lead us and tell us. Mind you He May leave it till we stop pestering and come to peace, I find it is usually when I am otherwise preoccupied. Then He turns up with, “ta da!!” Cape and all! Today I listened to a tutorial on writing exegesis. I actually learned something. It was great. I know know I will be better armed for my last exam assignment. I will have 5 days to write two essays. As the total word count is 2000, it will take a lot of preparation as I won’t have time to rewrite as much as usual. Fortunately my tutor has given us the heads up on what to study. I will be hard at work from Monday through to Friday and then start the exam. Praise God it will soon be over! We are given plenty of resources by the Lord for all obstacle...

When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak of His own but speak what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. Jn 16:13 Courts would call the Holy Spirit a reliable witness. Heaven calls Him this, therefore, we can trust Him.l Last night I listened to an interview of an English Christian author who also travels a lot to Israel. Her news about the lack of truth in England is frightening. She said the higher you go up in society the more foolish people become, the lower down, the more commonsensical they remain. She claims that the universities are churing out misinformed minds.  Whilst universities are peddling falsities, the Holy Spirit remains faithful to the truth. I had my struggles with my own uni and their doctrines of white failures.  One such doctrine is that white man is responsible for slavery. I beg to differ. Slavery has been around since biblical times and still is today and not by white men. Yes we did become involve...

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Isn’t it wonderful to be called ‘the holy people that God loves’? Holy is separated. We are separated from the world into God’s kingdom. Our lives show the difference to the world who longs for Him. Separated people are tender hearted, merciful, kind, humble, gentle and patient. These attributed the Holy Spirit works into our spirits, so that they are revealed to the world. Yesterday I made my own bread wraps, they remind me more of a Naan bread that you have with Indian food. They are tasty and nicer that store bought nan. I liked them so much that I made myself India food for breakfast. Yum! I imagine that anyone who likes Indian food would find them tasty. The Holy Spirit works in us to make us tasty. The right people will come to dine. Amen!

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The verse before the above states: “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In my church we have Fijians, Asians, Nigerians and a mix of various others. In my city we are gathering many Indians, Arabs, Nepalis and the like. My city has gone from white man’s city to a multicultural city. It was not so long ago that the then mayor objected to  Sudanese families being settled here. I was horrified at his elitism. Humility allows us to accept others from nations we have had nothing to do with. Grace enables us to serve these folk. Our Fijian folk are having their own services on a Sunday afternoon starting this week. What a bless...

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today began the Visionathon fundraiser. Vision Radio is what I listen to via an app. I wanted to give and gave praying over my seed. Then I discovered that the station wants to interview me tomorrow.  Whilst studying I found I needed to spend $34 to buy a text book, something I had hoped to avoid, however, I prayed for provision. I received an email.  I had opted to attend a two day seminar many weeks ago about Mitochondrial Donation. I was informed that it is on this weekend and I will be paid $200/day to attend. As a scientist and a...

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NLT‬‬ God’s love is like an immovrable post, or a mountain. Our feelings move. Music affects us, beautiful scenes and little babies affect us emotionally. Bad circumstances affect us, illness and death of others affect us. We are emotional being, we were wired that way. God knows this and is constant. Even when I don’t feeling that You’re working, Yiu never stop, never stop working…(song). He is for us, not against us. His desire is towards us. We are covered in His love! Amen!

“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In any house you do not see the front door deciding it does not like the house and consequently leaving, or the kitchen bench becoming angry with the cook who uses it daily and deciding it is moving to the bathroom, or the windows deciding they are not happy with the walls and want new walls. This is crazy. Our need, as the body of Christ, is to come to the realisation of what it means to be a part of God’s temple. God was very specific about how the temple should be built, what the curtains were made of, the basins and candleholders. We cannot fathom the intrigue and depth of what all this means, and probably won’t until we arrive in heaven and discover the similarities. Everything has a purpose, every pattern has a reason for being there. As a house for the Holy Spirit we cannot entertain criticism, shame and guilt, the lusts of the flesh or any u...

““Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you.” Job‬ ‭22‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This principle is a godly one. However, these words were spoken by one of Job’s supposed friends who is now finding fault with Job. Eliphaz had formerly honoured Job  but now his old thinking, that you only suffer because of sin, has arisen. There is a saying ‘Job’s comforters’, indicating that the person you refer to is no comforter at all and is now frustrated that Job continues to be unwell and righteousness has not delivered him. So, none of us want Job’s comforters. Nonetheless submisssion to God can bring peace if we allow Him to handle our fears. Jesus continually told His disciples to fear not. We can recognise that fear is the problem and deal with it scripturally: “if God be for me who can be against me!” (Romans 8:31). A particular scripture will attract us to it and it is our sword against the attack of the enemy. He alone is our peace! Amen!

““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We probably all enjoy receiving gifts. I do. I love God’s surprises. However, His best gift so far is my relationship with Him. Next is the presence of the Holy Spirit assuring me that I am loved and being cared for. Next would be His peace, righteousness, His truth, and His love.  Human gifts are nice but not as good as Him. However, when anything comes from Him, I know it is a good gift. Amen!

““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Peace, beautiful peace. We can be in a buestiful valley or a seaside and still not have peace. The peace the Lord gives frees troubled minds. In this Chapter Jesus is telling His disciples about what will happen to Him, that He is going away. Verse 1, says: “do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also in me”. However we can see they are troubled. Peace of mind is definitely needed today as it always has been. Knowing that Jesus gives us peace we can rebuke the devil and claim our peace. Satan attempts to agitate our minds, we must refuse,  and claim the peace promised. Amen!

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Last night I was studying scriptures around the Rapture of the church, it is real and coming soon. As the current outpouring of the Holy Spirit spreads around the world, hearts and minds are coming alive to Jesus. It is so good to watch. May all people know amd have an opportunity to receive Him! This sceipture follows the description of the Holy City coming down out of heaven, a place where God dwells with His people. In His presence these is no room for sadness, weakness, or disease as in God’s presence there is only room for worship and joy. The above scripture tells us sadness, death, sorrow and pain are gone forever. This is hard to imagine, however, I am sure we will be glad of it and come to trust this fact. There will be no darkness in heaven, just joy, unspeakable joy! Praise God!

““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This text seems to indicate that the hearers would go to be in heaven with Jesus. However, He sent His Holy Spirit so that we would be empowered and enabled to abide with Him, even whilst on earth. Yes we long for heaven, but we can have His presence here on earth. We cannot wait till heaven to be abiding with Him. If this is foreign to us then we will most likely struggle in heaven. I know that sounds like blasphemy, however, how can we assume to suddenly know how to live close when we have never done it. Something is missing here! My dog is always with me in my house, yet when I go to church or out to visit a friend or go to the shops he stays behind....

““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ After the first two sentences why did Jesus verr off to talking about homes in heaven? In the prior chapter Jesus became troubled about what was about to happen. Judas was going to betray Him and He spoke of being handed over to the ruler of this world (Satan). Jesus tells them where He is going they cannot follow. Peter pipes up and says he is willing to follow Jesus even to death if necessary and then Jesus tells him how he will deny Him three times. When your leader becomes troubled, you become afraid or exhibit bravado, this is exactly what happens. By Jesus talking about homes in heaven to those about to face losing Him, He would have created an aw...

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Boldness brings a powerful testimony. I know the times I have had such boldness, I knew the power of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, my testimony is my own. It is a good testimony, however, the boldness from the Holy Spirit impacts others. We are progressing to an outpouring of the power of God here in Australia. Longingly, I watch what is happening in America and elsewhere and know our turn is coming. I am praying according to that knowledge and desire. We are experiencing touches in our church, but I want the flood. Come Holy Spirit, in power and might! Amen!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We all want and seek power: power to be, power to do, power to impress, power to conquer. There is only one true and clean source of power, God’s Holy Spirit. We also have an enemy who is constantly opposing such power. He lies and accuses without ceasing. He wants us to believe we are powerless and that his power: corrupt, unclean, and brutal power is all there is. He is a lair and has been since the beginning. Jesus told His disciples to ask and it would be given. In the verse above He is telling them about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They did not know about the Holy Spirit, it was new to them. They soon found out, however, that He is indeed a powerful ally. He is our ally as well. May we befriend Him and reach out to Him. Amen!

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Academic writing has all but eluded me all through my uni degree . It is not that I failed in it but was not as excellent at it as I desired. So, I asked for God’s wisdom and mind towards it. This morning I woke knowing a path I must take. I took it and was delighted with the result. Although I believe my assignment is finished, it is not due until the 26th May. Therefore, I will continue to review it and pray over it. My last 2 earned distinctions, but I want to see if I can do better. I know my problem in the past has been impatience and an unwillingness to brood over a problem. Brooding works for birds so perhaps it will work for me. I have been too quick to submit an essay and constantly missed the mark. Let’s see if brooding works better. I know praying for wisdom definitely works. Our God is keen to dispense this, He loves His kids to know how His min...

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I awoke after a troubling dream this morning. My daughter and son in law were in the dream. They were with me in a church service, however, I was not what you would call engaged with either the service or them and ended up being attacked by some wayward youths in the toilet. You might say I could have done with wisdom: to speak to family, to engage them in the service and to be engaged with what God was doing. I was off doing my own thing. This scripture speaks to me. I must ask for wisdom and not just float along in the flesh. All night I was battling a headache and not feeling well. Why I did not rebuke it beats me. I put up with being attacked and had a bad night’s sleep.  There are so many areas where I need to ask for wisdom: study, family, friends, and finance. Bumbling along is not good enough. The Spirit was given to us as a guide, but how many ...

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Knowing the word of God, and listening to what it says helps it be stored in our hearts. Valuing the word of God about earthly affections also ensures it stays there. We sin when we don’t hold onto the truth. Truth is found in the word of God. If we value it and read it to learn it is stored in our hearts. When problems come, and they will, going to the word of God instead to worldly solution saves us and if we make this a habit it ensures we stay in the truth. Store it, treasure it, put it first! Amen!

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I awoke this morning convicted of my language. For a long time I have called myself an ‘old fart’ in jest. Today I know that this is crude and not how God would see me or present myself. Whatever is good, clean and lovely does not cover this. My son posted a clip of Elon Musk decrying the fact that there are too many old leaders in the world today. He implied they are hanging on to life and he said he was not afraid of dying. I pray he understands eternity. I agree with the man. In Paul’s letter to Timothy he urges him to teach old men to impart wisdom to the younger generation, we can do this without being in charge. The older generation can train and release the next generation, being their soaundimg boards. The younger men have a fresh vision and fresh outlook. My church is in the business of training up and using the young to preach. I enjoy their life. The current outpouring of the H...

“asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Spiritual wisdom and natural wisdom are very different. The natural mind cannot understand God or His wisdom. It takes the mind of Christ to do that. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. I can attest to the fact that it takes divine revelation of an aspect of freedom that only God can give to appropriate it. In freedom Christ has set us free! I have walked with the Lord many years and have only stepped into divine freedom in the last few years, this year has been particularly good. I had to close off old ways and relationships to gain the new. As I was brave enought to deal with the old I received the new. I had a revelation: I saw a little bird with glass all through its wings. I was that bird. I could fly with the glass but it hurt me, so God is patiently removing the glass piece by piece, and as He d...

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Have you ever contemplated how God chose you? I have. I am the eldest of six from an obscure little town in Australia but God chose me. This is His style. He chose Abraham from all the people on earth to begin His chosen people. He chose the lowest of the low, the obscure and irrelevant to create His miracle. Yet this is our God. In the whole universe there is only one Earth. We are surrounded by a multitude of other galaxies, suns and stars and yet He focuses on us here on tiny Earth. In choosing us He works to bring us to Himself as holy  people. This He does by opening our eyes to all His beautiful plans He has for us. They are good! We are loved!

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Yesterday at the prophetic conference I learned about giving instruction with kindness. I can be brutal and blunt when frustrated and under pressure. However, I learned to wait upon the Holy Spirit for His wordings. It was a good exercise. Today being Mother’s Day I enjoyed the service at church and had made a ginger sponge roll to share . I had my piece last night, it was yum however my body does not like sugar so I gave the rest away. In the church service we were given a few small chocolates, just enough. We do not need huge boxes of chocolates, they are not good for us. For lunch I cooked a piece of rump steak (yum!) and made a salad. This afternoon I have visited my mother’s grave with flowers and watched several episodes of A Small Light. It involves the brave people who hid the Jews d...

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ ‘My strength is in the hope f the Lord’ (song). I know my strength has come from endurance, and choosing Jesus in all situations. No matter how bad the circumstance, He is able to save. He is ‘the glory and the lifter of my head’(song). Today is Mother’s Day. It is not a day for selfishness on our part but a reminder of one woman who selflessly gave her son to die for us. I am also reminded of Hannah who selflessly gave up her longed for son to serve in the temple in thanks to God for His faithfulness. This would have been so hard, giving up a young son to be cared for by a drunk and his two disobedient sons. This is sacrifice indeed! Yet, Samuel turned out to be a great prophet and man of God in Israel. Mary was warned that a sword would pierce her heart. She watched as her Son was whipped ...

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” Psalms‬ ‭143‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today I went to a five hour prophetic training day. I thought I might me tired and not stay the distance or be bored and want to leave. Neither occurred. I stayed, was wide awake and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The best thing that happened was I learned something. We prophesied almost non-stop. It was fantastic. The presence of God was so heavy at times I struggled to stand. I made new friends and changed my perspective. That is always a good things. Before I left for the conference I cooked a ginger sponge roll, never done that before. It was fun and it worked, best of all it tasted great. Learning is good! Amen!

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” Psalms‬ ‭143‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse if from a Psalm of David. He is being chased by his enemies and he is in a dark and desperate place, He knows God is His only hope. Today I am attending a Phrophetic Conference and late yesterday afternoon I received an email from AMP, my previous employer, stating they had found in favour of the client who is making a professional indemnity claim against me for business written in 2017. I knew why it came, to derail me. Seriously?! I went to prayer and prayed that the monster who is my real enemy loses his legs. Darkness must go down! David put His trust in the Lord and so do I! My God is the power to derail darkness, no man can do it. I claim my God’s right hand and His favour. May His kingdom come, His will be done! Amen!

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ When we belong to a club we have rights to enter and expect service that non-members would not receive. This is the same with the kingdom of God. Though here the rights are phenomenal. As a child of God we can enter His throne room and have a personal conversation with Him. We can ask for His guidance, protection, blessing and more. Jesus told about the outcomes for both of these. One is welcome in and given a seat at the table, the other is cast out into darkness. I know which I prefer. A child of God has His ear, whereas a stranger does not, unless they are coming to Him and are asking for forgivenesss and a way into His family. Then our God is all ears. I am grateful for family, how about you ?

“But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God,” (Jhn)‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭CJB‬‬ So many are demanding rights to be their own person and do what they like. This is a very isolating and isolated decision. It is one that welcomes loneliness and suicide. We are made for fellowship and particular fellowship at that, with our living God. Our God has a world to show us full of wonder and beauty, full of realising He is the creator and therefore that makes Him amazing. Apart from God posts on my Facebook page, I follow posts of birds and fish, animals and nature. There are so many beautiful birds alone that take my breath away. My God did that! Yes He did. I love to snorkel because I love our tropical fish on Australia’s Barrier Reef. The glory of my God is beyond words. I love astronomy because here I see the vastness and glory of my God, He constantly amazes, and mankind struggles to discover how He does what He d...

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The Jewish Bible says it like this: “Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in union with the Messiah Yeshua.” Romans (Rom)‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭CJB‬‬ So, ‘in Christ’ is ‘in union with Christ’. That makes sense.  At lot has been going on in the Liberal Party in Victoria, Australia. A woman who is daring to stand up for women’s rights has been attacked by her party colleagues. Although she in ‘in’ the liberal party, they are definitely ‘in union’ with her. They want to expel her. They sound like a bunch of bigots. However, when we are in union with Christ, we do not try to change His teaching, or water down His edicts. Jesus told us to ‘abide in Him and that He would abide in us’. This speaks of a close relationship. A vital relationship. To be in union with Christ means agreeing to His terms. If we are not willing then we are not His and will therefore come under judge...

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I just read a report that people in Israel are turning to Jesus like never before. I have been praying for this every day. Praise God!  Now God’s people will discover the freedom from condemnation. This is a blessed place to be indeed! I pray more will find Him. He is richness and beauty! Pour out Your Spirit Lord! Bring souls to salvation, may they find freedom in You and Your safety! Amen

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today I had an opportunity to talk to the grandmother of my great neices and nephews. She is raising them. I admire what she does and the effort she puts in. She had discovered her eldest grandchild was being secretive and defensive about her behaviour. She accused her Nan of invading her privacy.  This is painful to watch as I have seen how well the child has been cared for.  I have noticed that when we try to defend our sinful habits we forget about those who sacrifice the most for us. When we insist on defending sin we are making room for strongholds. Repentance breaks the strongholds. It is the only way we can become free. I am praying for such a breakthrough. I hugged the Nanna and encouraged her that she was indeed doing a fine job. She constantly gives opportunity to repent and does not bear grudges. I pr...

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We must be aware that there are faults and then downright sinful behaviours that affect others. I have a girlfriend who does not like to cut people off, she is more tolerant than I of sin. Mind you it took me a very long while to be able to do that anyway. We have taken the admonishment to love to extremes, when Paul also dealt with sin in the church, standards of men in ministry etc. We must be careful to understand what we should forgive and what we should remove from our lives. We know we have not forgiven often if bitterness is agitating our hearts towards people. If someone asks us about a person and we are bitter towards them a steam of horrible blackness pours forth. However, if we have forgiven but removed them from our lives, we pray for them to see them restored. Bitterness refuses to forgive. It will take the ...

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ God is faithful and just to forgive, if we confess our sins. Ignoring them, pretending they are not there, or worse covering them with gloss are foolishness. A clean heart with God is dependent on our belief He will forgive us once we confess. He knows what is there, we may fool ourselves and others but not God. Today I received my mark for an English assignment, a distinction. However, the marker lay out where I went wrong. My next and last English assignment will happen 2-7 June. This markers comments must be incorporated into next assignment to show I have read the report. Imagine if God did this to us? Whilst He doesn’t now it will happen on that final day. When all we have done will be made known. I am sure we all have things we would rather keep private. We need to keep a short account. Keep it clean! Amen!

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We all have experience is washing, most in washing clothes. If we have particularly filthy clothes we use pre-wash detergent and well as washing detergent to cleanse the clothes. When I was a small child I helped my Nan washing white bedsheets at her boarding house . There was no coloured sheets, just white. They were boiled in a copper, rinsed and rinsed again in Bluo, a blue additive to water to enhance the whiteness of fabric. They were then starched  and ironed. I am grateful that my cleansing from sin is not so rigorous on me each time I sin. However, Jesus paid a huge penalty for me. His body was destroyed, He was nailed to a cross and died to be risen from the dead victorious. He was unable to escape such brutality, He tried, three times. Nonetheless, He obeyed the Father and went through this ritual for us. Because Jesus was sinle...

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What’s are the issues of life? One would be how we feel towards a friend who has taken their time to respond to you SMS. We forget others have lives and we are not the centre of their lives, we might be of ours, but not theirs, they are. It could be worse, the way a loved one responded to our enquire; the way our kids thoughtlessly organised their own activities on a special day. With Mother’s Day coming up this would be a big one. Then guarding our hearts against offence would be important.  Offence is a biggie! We are counselled to guard our hearts against it. We would also be bedding to watch out for lusts and affections where they don’t belong. The Lord coverts our hearts. He wants our love and trust through all things. So, think on these things! Amen!

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why guard our heart above all else? Why not our children? Our homes? Our friends? Our heart is the seat of our emotions. Paul tells us to be renewed in our minds for the very reason that if we don’t, we risk our hearts becoming infected with evil and destructive thought about ourselves, others and Him. If we are careless we become numb. We are in a war folks! I watch the war in Ukraine as I have been committed to pray for the people of Ukraine. What Putin is doing is evil. He represents what our enemy the Devil wants to do to us. Everywhere Putin wins ground he is unloving and merciless to the people, he treated them as pawns, much as he does his own people. He does not care for people he wants territory. Satan wants territory. He will deceive, abuse, crush, kill , and destroy to get that territory. The Lord is pouring out His Spirit all over the world right now. Satan is beside hims...

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today our church service at 10am went off. Our pastor preached after one song and talked about the fire and wind of God. An excellent message. She then invited any who were hungry to come forward, I was the second out. God’s power hit me and I had a revelation about the fear of God. I rightly fear fire. I know it’s power to maim and therefore treat it with respect. It warms me, cooks for me, and it days gone by warmed washing water for bodies, clothes and dishes. However, I never take it for granted as I have been burned by it and it hurts.God is the same. Next I had a revelation about the scripture to put on the helmet of salvation. Now, what is visual about salvation relating to our heads? The crown of thorns, and the blood of Christ. I can no longer treat my mind casually. I understand the seriousness of what has been given me. When thought ...

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The dictionary explains ‘kind’ as benevolent, affectionate, loving. However, earlier in this chapter Paul exhorts the believers to speak the truth in love.  Speaking truth is often avoided, so that offence is not given. However, if I am in error I need to know truth. There is an Old Testament scripture in Ezekiel in which God says: “If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.” Ezekiel‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭ God had lifted up Ezekiel and taken him to where the people of Israel were in exile. He stayed there for seven days. The Lord spoke this scripture to him. Verse 17 told Ezekiel that he was a watchman for the house of Israel. A watchman’s role was to report when danger was coming so the people could see and prep...

“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I was not disappointed this morning. The hot air balloons were spectacular. Hundreds came to watch the inflation and then the departure of the Sky Whales. I have seen some beautiful balloons but these won the prize. I met several people from church, the more adventurous ones. I find those willing to go on an adventure are usually those willing to face their fears and go for it. I remember the first time I used a scooter(push variety) down my street, which has a reasonably high grade, I prayed and then went. I knew I was risking at lot as a woman in her 60s and with a history of breaking bones. However, my God sustained me and the ride was exceptional. What a thrill. I did it several times. Unfortunately once on the flat with a dog attached. He ran in front of my wheels, I went up into the air and landed heavily breaking two ribs. As I lay on the ground in agony I desired to get up and push through. The nurse ...

“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This morning I am up early to go and watch some unusual hot air balloons take off from in the centre of the city. It is unusual to have them take off from such a place, having ridden in one before in an open field. These particular hot air balloons are called skywhales. This should be interesting. Whilst hof sir balloons have less deaths in a flying sport a few have exploded killing all on board. Also landing can be difficult, if a wind picks up you are in trouble. I have flown in many things, I think my favourite was paragliding. However, to parashute was least. The free fall is fast and it is hard to breathe and the whole thing is over within minutes where with paragliding you have longer. We have a site near here where flyers can take off and continue for many miles over farmland. I have done this three times and would do it again. I have been in a glider and did not like the containment from the outside. ...

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This morning I determined to do a bible study on God’s power and glory. I had a revelation of what the was. His glory came to visit. God’s glory is pure power. It is so heavy everything else is squashed. All fleshly things, thoughts and desires are wiped out. God is huge, He encompasses all things, not questions remain in His presence, He is enough, more than enough. His presence stayed for a long time, came for walk up my hill and as I sat on top and looked out, there were no questions, just Him. I love this place! I had a good friend over for coffee. She had just lost her mum and we talked about God, glory and grief. It was good. As I walked her to her car I saw a letter in my mailbox. It was an envelope with a beautiful gift, a bracelet in it and a message of love from the Lord. I cried. He is so good! Amen! .

“Throw all your anxieties upon him, because he cares about you.” 1 Kefa (1 Pe)‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭CJB‬‬ Fishermen cast their nets. They thrown them out with vigour so that they spread and catch a good amount of fish. Jesus tells us to use such vigour and cast our cares on Him. He is the sea. He is able to drown our cares and bring us His catch of peace, faith and hope. The Jesus factor changes our fears. He knows they are mirages put upon us by our enemy. As they are thrown onto Him they dissolve as they have no power. He has all the power!  While we are at casting fears, it would be prudent to cast our shame, our failures, our humanity. He returns us righteousness, peace and joy. We are clean because of Him, not because we are ‘good’. We might like to put out there we are good, but Paul tells us, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. He also tells us in 2 Co 5:21 ‘He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we could share His righteousness.’ We are right with God through...

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why I it we are so willing to grumble and complain? As Christians we have a glorious salvation and a loving God, He cares for us, watches over us, has good plans for us and yet when someone asks: “how are you going?” We tell them all the rubbish. I saw several people do this last night. I can be guilty of it when particularly troubled. The Lord wakes me every morning to His beautiful pink sky, small birds fill my garden and I know I am blessed. He hears my prayers teaches me through His word, goes with me throughout my day, and one small thing happens and it is all undone, it seems. However, gratitude and praise soon fix the attitude and lift the atmosphere. We see this again and again in the Psalms. We should learn from it. I must admit I have had a great day , though nothing exceptional happened, but I had joy deep down in my soul. I listened to my Christian radio as I studied (more back...

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Prayer is essential, the more you do it the more you know you and others need you to pray. Paul knew the power of prayer, he goes on to ask the Colossians to pray for his ministry , that it would be effective. Praying for our leaders is important as it makes them effective and focused. Complaining or criticising does nothing but tear us away from our churches . My pastors have been on a holiday and I am glad they did. Last Sunday saw us waiting on God more, allowing time for singing in the Spirit. Whilst they and I hunger for more the congregation has to be brought along gently. I have been praying for our church and that we would make room for the Holy Spirit. Complaining would not have brought this. Last night as part of the music team we learned a new song, the presence of God is in that song, Firm Foundstion.  As we introduce the song this Sunday we will see the Holy Spirit move . ...

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today is windy. This morning I climbed my hill and enjoyed God’s creation. He is good! It always reminds me of Nepal when I see clouds clustered close to the tops of our hills in the distance.   I love the view across our valley in which Tamworth is established. In the early 1800’s settlers fought their way here across mountains and rivers without roads to guide them. There is a river, the Peel River that flows through the city. It does not look much, however, this is because it has a major dam on it some 30km upstream. I am grateful my forebears came. My family kept travelling up the high hills out of the city to another place on the plateau called Bundarra. If you spit you miss it. It is farming country. My family moved down from there to another slightly larger town called Barraba and then on to Bingara where I grew up. When I went to Wollongong to begin nursin...

“Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians (1 Th)‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬ ‭CJB‬‬ Last night I had to write a critique of another person’s writing. We had two columns: what worked and what needed more work. Criticising the work of others has to be mindful of them as humans with feelings. I remember when I had created a game idea which I was going to give my grandchildren for Christmas. I asked my games friends to give me a critical appraisal. They did and I put the game away. I was devastated. Along with my fellow writer I also will be criticised. As I was the first to do the critique I have put myself out there to be decimated. When we are called to encourage each other we must be mindful that what we sow we reap. If we are feeling neglected, perhaps there is a good reason. I am sure I will be told if I am too harsh. The teacher is moderating us. This is also a learning process. Paul writes to the Thessalonians to build each other up, as the...

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Honour and praise of God is not dependant on how I feel, or my judgement of God in how I expect Him to help me. Today has been a busy day, usual household stuff and a uni lecture, grocery shopping and back to study. As today’s subject is murder mystery novels, I say: Woop Woop!, I sit here tired and almost brain dead from lack of interest. The fact that 6 weeks will see all this end gratifies me immensely.  Already I am planning a trip to visit my grandchildren, oh joy!! I therefore need to connect with my spirit and the joy of having the Holy Spirit in my life. He is a refreshing stream, a dip in a cool pool on a hot day, sparkling clear water and peace. There is no answer better than His,  no company better than His and no companion better than He. I am blessed, abundantly blessed! Thank you Lord...

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The good thing Isaiah prophesied was Jesus. It was the best thing He has ever done. He had planned the coming of Christ way back before Adam and Eve sinned. Isaiah survived four kings of Judah and is reported to have been martyred in the early reign of Manasseh, the fifth king by being sawn in two. Isaiah foresaw the rise of Assyria. King Hezekiah the last king before Manasseh sought the Lord and He delivered the people from Sennacherib from Assyria. Isaiah was a faithful servant of God and yet he was martyred. God foresaw this and did not save Isaiah. Why? We do not know. Scripture does not tells us, it is a traditional belief. Today there are many of God’s people dying for their faith, from Nigeria right up to North Korea. The book of Revelation talks of the saints crying out to the Lord saying, ‘how long...

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ How much thinking is taken up with us thinking about ourselves? 90-100%? A lot! Mostly! We are inspired to consider others occasionally. However, we see others through the lense of how they impact us. Usually we consider others unjust when wronged and beneficial when righted. As I mowed the lawn this afternnon I thought about what others would say about me at my funeral. Going by what people generally do, they would  wax eloquently about some good thing and rarely about the wrong. Suddenly at death we have a lot of well speakers and no critics. We are just not that good! I am not and neither are you. So… how do we love others like we love ourselves? Think about them more as we would think about ourselves, a good start. If we spoil ourselves, how about spoiling others? Why there is an original thought! Try it!!

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Paul is teaching the Galatians a few lessons regarding keeping the Law. They had started in freedom in Christ but had been seduced by travelling preachers who convinced them that circumcision was right to do. Paul strips away such fallacy and has a go at the way they treat one another. The verse after 14 says: ‘if you bite and devour one another, watch out, you will be consumed by one another’. Pretty fierce words.  However, if we love one another as we love ourselves we can’t do wrong. Jesus Himself taught this. I love verse 13: ‘for you were called to freedom, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love’. The flesh loves to strut around under law keeping: “look at me, aren’t I good!” No! Because we discredit Jesus and His sacrifice! It is not about us, but Him!  Learning to live in grace by fait...