The day with dianne Louise

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have friends who are dare devil cavers. Recently I heard how they took friends caving and went through a worm hole crawling on their stomachs. They entered a small cave where it was so dark their eyes could not adjust to the darkness and were unable to see anything. Then they turned on their lights to the relief of the friends who went with them. We live in spiritual darkness. The world is a deprived place. However, the light of Christ that the above verse speaks about can overcome it. The write, John the apostle, was writing about Jesus. He was aware of the difference Jesus made to the world. When we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives we have that light resident within us. Our role is to allow that light to shine, not try and compete with it, believing we have our own light. I can trust Jesus to make a difference in this world through me. As I allow Him to lead me and be the driver...

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Coming to the point of realising ‘I am not happy with who I am, or the way I behave’ is a starting point for change. Being aware of sinful behaviour is even better. Sinful behaviour is where I know I am a dreadful in the way I treat others, a am a bad role model, I suck at parenting, I need help! Awareness of wrong leads us to ask, “How can I change?” You can do all manner of mental gymnastics and make all the New Year’s resolutions you like but without a power source to change you will flop around like a wet fish. You can read all the self-help books and try all the gurus but there is only one source of purity, that source is Jesus. I came to the point of knowing that no good thing dwelt in me. This was when I came to Jesus and asked Him to forgive me for thinking I could do this by myself. I invited Him into my life and asked for His Hoky ...

“And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭61‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse is a part of the benediction King Solomon spoke over the people who came to the dedication of the temple he had built. It is an eternal word. Even today, us Christians need to hear it. As we approach 2026, it is my heart’s determination to seek the Lord more fully next year. I want Hisz so presence in all I do. I want to know He goes before me and I want His presence to touch the lives of the people around me. I have Nepali friends who want a New Year’s Eve party and I want to be quiet and seek the Lord. If He does not go before us and with us we will be in trouble. 2026 will be a year of increased trouble in the earth as manind turn away from the Lord. I, therefore, need to be solely focussed on Him. May Your kingdom come Lord , Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Amen!

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ As God provided all I need. The surplus is available to give to others. He ensures there is surplus to give. That surplus is not to waste on rubbish to store in garages, but to use for others. In Nepal there are no garages, there are carports but not locked garages. What appear as locked garages are shops. Inside the houses there is limited storage space. There is not, yet, a mentality of accumulation of stuff that I might use, one day. I am here to be a blessing to others, not sit and play with stuff! I do not have a TV, it is useless stuff to me. I do not need entertainment! My spare time is to study God’s ways and God’s word. Eternity is a long time and I want to have all I need there. Generosity is the kingdom way of living. Generosity to the poor is imperative. My surplus is for them. My greatest concern, living in A...

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The word confession carries overtones. The villains are led to confess their crimes; the sinners are led to confess their sins and receive absolution. Yet, their is a confession of faith that is most powerful. As I confess that I am a follower of Christ it causes things to happen: heaven notices and so does hell. Persecution follows, however, as a Christian I now have access to the arsenal of God. My prayers carry weight, I can command adverse circumstances to change, I can pray for the sick to be healed.  As I speak, I speak either life or death. I must be careful with my mouth to speak life. As I speak life I change the atmosphere around me. I bring life and light into dark places. As I sing I bring the presence of God into dark places. Light needs to shine in the dark places. Use your voice to bring that light into your world. You are...

“But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In the prior verses Paul asked for prayer that the word He preached would go to receptive hearers and that God would protect him from evil people. He here switches to the second person and speaks to the heaers of this letter. It is ever relevant as Jesus taught His disciples to pray: ‘deliver us from evil!’ It is just as relevant today. Yesterday was Christmas Day. There is so much rubbishy nonsense tied around the birth of our saviour, Santa Claus and elves. Chidren grow up to realise they have been told lies. They then question the validity of Jesus. Jesus’ birth was real, Santa was foolishness and a drawing away from truth to evil lies. Christmas Eve our church had the best service, the gospel was preached. Yesterday, Christmas Day, some friends and I went driving in the mountains above Kathmandu. It was a relief to not be trapped in the nonsense of Christmas. To know ...

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today we celebrate Jesus’ coming to earth. He was more than a baby, He was and is the Son of God. What joy His birth brought to our Heavenly Father as well as to Mary and Joseph.  Jesus came to do more than rule and reign in the natural. He came to defeat sin. He chose to die on a cross and pay, once and forever, the penalty of sin. He set free even those yet to be born. As we accept His gift by faith He gifts to us eternal life and His righteousness.  Thank You Father for sending Jesus! Thank You Jesus for coming! Today we celebrate You! Glory in the highest to You oh mighty Son of God! Amen! 

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are so many disasters happening all over the world and there is a desperate need for a saviour. Many expect government or relief agencies to assist. In many countries there is the knowledge that no one will assist. The angels came to lowly shepherds with the good news that ‘the saviour’ had been born. As they sat out in the fields around a camp fire talking about… possibly wondering when the saviour would come, the angels came with the news, “He is born!” Imagine talking among yourselves and wondering if God had gone to sleep or away as He had not spoken for over four hundred years and suddenly His messengers came. The scripture says they were terrified. We experience terror when what we thought was private becomes public, especially when we doubted God. We may doubt that God hears us and is interested in us, but He is and He does. What is He saying to you at this ...

“Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Some things are terrifying for us: jumping out of a plane was terrifying for me but as I came down to land I was filled with joy. This happened on my 45th birthday. I am now 72 and still doing things that terrify me. I am in Nepal serving the Lord. Today, I am transferring all my funds from Australia to a Nepali bank account so that I can enroll in my next unit of study for the next six months. The concern that has arisen is: am I going on the right path? Right up to today I had spoken of it as the right path. Why the concern? When the angels appeared to the lowly shepherds they came to announce the birth of Jesus. This birth was planned from before Adam and Eve sinned. Was there ever any doubt? God does not sec...

“Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭46‬-‭47‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Mary is a single woman and she is pregnant. She is engaged to be married to Joseph but being found pregnant before marriage was not good. However, she is here exalting God and praising Him for the role He has given her. Mary says this verse in response to Elizabeth’s greeting. Mart had gone to visit her elderly cousin in the Judean hills. She stays three months, probably until the birth of John. She then returns home to face her own dilemma. How many of us are willing to praise the Lord in the face of such obstacles? Even though it is Christmas obstacles still arise. I just woke from the second instalment of the dream I had yesterday about a husband wanting a divorce from his wife. In this dream the husband is living in a new place. The wife arrives with some carpet for him. How she knew he needed carpet was not explained. He had an area needing carpet and we about t...

“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ My first child was a daughter. She was precious to me. She remains precious to me! We might disagree on many things but she remains precious to me. My second born was my son. He was precious to me also. He also remains precious to me. When a baby is born you fall in love in a way you never imagine. These beautiful little ones hold your every gaze, you want to keep them close. Mary is no different, except she knew she held the Son of God. What an honour, what a responsibility! Jesus needed Mary to feed Him, clean Him, hold Him in comfort. How amazing it would be for the keeping of God in the flesh. There would be constant amazement and joy. The Father knew Mary was betrothed to Joseph. He trusted Joseph with the role of father to the Son of God. What a responsibility and joyful opportunity to teach Jesus the wa...

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭45‬ ‭NIV‬‬ These are words spoken by Elizabeth to Mary. They apply to all of us. We are blessed when we believe God’s word to us. Many of us would have words spoken over us that are yet to be fulfilled. Yet, we patiently wait. This word comes to me to wait patiently for God to perform His words over my life and keep trusting Him for a good result. I have just awaken from a very vivid dream about a husband and wife who are experiencing trouble and the husband asked for a divorce in front of his daughter. The coups are plagued with volumes of people in the house constantly. They are pastors and have just moved house. The wife struggles with all the people and wants peace. The husband seems oblivious. The wife continues to attempt to unpack and find things put away by the children in odd and random places. A friend comes to visit to help and the wife tells her what her husband has said, he happen...

“The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬ In the beginning the Holy Spirit hovered over the face of the deep, waiting for the command, “let there be!” Here we find the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary and when the word was spoken, “let there be!” A child was conceived. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove at His baptism and He drove Jesus out into the wilderness for 40 days and nights, so that Jesus could receive preparation for His earthy ministry. The Holy Spirit is God’s power source, He is a person and He comforts and counsels us. Right now I am praying for His counsel about a relationship conflict. Rather than running with upset feelings I want Him to talk to me. I am aware that certain things anger me easily, I don’t like that and want to change. His power is here for me to make changes. He is good! Amen!

“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬ The Passion Translations says this: “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭TPT‬‬ Jesus taught us where to focus. He kept His eyes on the Father. He had 30 years to learn this and He did it well during the three years of His revelation to His people, and His ultimate death on the cross. Right now, all my plans to celebrate Christmas seem to have fallen through. I was planning a trip to the snow with friends. Howeve...

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Making allowances is something we do only for those we really love. However, as Christians we are called to love all. Paul in the above verse is talking to the church, so we assume just believers. Yet, there are believers who test our patience. We struggle more when we are unwell or tired, or they are unwell or tired. As we approach Christmas we can fall into a ‘have to’ mentality and fail to enjoy and love the season of ‘goodwill to all mankind’. May we pull back and gear down a cog and enjoy. I was planning to take my flatmates to the snow. However, it is reluctant to snow within a few hours of Kathmandu before New Year. Whilst that will be fun, it will also be a trial as snow can cause you to be bogged, snow melts and you become wet. I must maintain the joy of seeing my flatmates experience snow for the first time. Remembering why Christ...

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”  John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus came to a world that did not recognise Him, the demons did, however, the people expected a king and were looking at a man who would save them from their sins. They did not understand their plight and need of a saviour. They did not comprehend His offer, until the Holy Spirit came upon them and revealed the truth of what Jesus came to give, eternal life.   For us who do believe and have received His gift, we are grateful. He is the eternal One, the beautiful saviour, the door opener. There is no eternal life but His. I am currently living in Nepal which has many gods and can easily see Jesus as just another God. However, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me!” John 14:6. There is no other God ...

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Hearing about Jesus is a beautiful gift we can give to the people of the world. If they do not hear, faith cannot arise. We must look for ways to share the good news. I like good news! I believe everybody likes good news. We don’t like to hear about the people that are killed because they are Jews or Christians, or just because they are children. Yesterday, in Australia 12 people were killed, 11 were of the Jewish faith, one was the gunman. However, last night a group of us gathered to sing Christmas carols and celebrate Christmas here in Nepal. It was a joyous occasion. In Africa many are killed because they are Christians. The enemy of our souls is hatefully seeking to main, kill and destroy. Praise God Jesus came to bring life and it is the news about Him that brings change. We are blessed to know Him! Let’s tell others about Him! Amen!

“You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.!  James‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ To the many persecuted Christians the cry of, “how long Lord!” Will be frequent. We see this in the book of Revelation.  “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.” Revelation‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The cost of the outpouring of the Spirit of God is the relentless attacks on the saints of God. Satan is angry and he is attacking Gods people, but all his attacks do is purify t...

“We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭TPT‬‬ This verse is speaking to people who have accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Those who have not done so do not experience His love, because it comes in relationship. It is likened to a marriage. The love between two married people is different and more intimate than between casual friends. I have the best times when I am immersed in God’s love. I then enjoy loving others and life to the full. It is a wonderful experience. The opposite is not a pleasant place to be at all. Selfishness is a horrible and unlovely place. Today I have successfully passed through a week of trial. I endured four exams in the Nepali language. They were hard but my God was with me all the way. He lifted me. He told me what text to study and carried me through the difficult patches.  Today I look f...

““I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.” John‬ ‭10‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭MSG‬‬ Here, Jesus is teaching the listeners about good leaders. The Pharisees and Sadducees loved position and recognition, but did not care for the people.! Jesus often referred to the people as lost sheep without a shepherd. He then tells them He is the good shepherd as He lays down His life for them, unlike the hireling who runs away when trouble comes. In this day of ‘me first’ do we find many good shepherds? Or do we find hirelings. We ourselves must consider our role and know what it means to lay down our lives for the sheep. The sheep are the people God has given us to care for.  Laying down our lives can be a matter of denyi...

“You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.” Psalms‬ ‭85‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬ This verse is from a Psalm written by the sons of Korah. The sons of Korah had the task of being the gatekeepers in the temple of God. They also had the task of standing up in the people and singing praises to God. One of their beautiful psalms is psalm 42: ‘As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God!’ The psalmist is deeply depressed and seeking God. ‘Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls, all the breakers of Your billows have swept over me’. The psalmist answers himself: ‘Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope to God, for I will still praise Him, my saviour and my God’. (HCSB)   The writer had a revelation that salvation only comes from God. We need to be mindful of this! Yesterday I did the second lots of exams. I did fine. Today I have an unknown text to listen to in Nepali and questions to answer in Nepali. I have an inkling wh...

““ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’” Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬ This is a prophesy about Jesus’ coming. It was given hundreds of years before the event of His birth. Yet, this prophesy is still to be fulfilled when Jesus returns to rule and reign. All the Old Testament predictions about Jesus either have come to fruition or will come to fruition. God is faithful to His promises. We can then know He is faithful to the promises He has given us. Yesterday, I had my first exam, it was grammar. The Lord promised me I would pass, I will pass. I answered all the questions and know some were easy to complete. Today we have...

““The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. “In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’” Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jeremiah lived in the time when kings refused to listen to word of God. Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern, jailed and abused for the words he brought. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The people looked for prophets that would tell them otherwise, but they did go into captivity for seventy years. Nonetheless, God also gave Jeremiah words of hope. The above scripture is speaking of Jesus. However, this then caused them to look for a future king who would deliver them from their enemies. Jesus didn’t come as a k...

“So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬ I want to focus on the last sentence here, because it is explains why the first. I have an old friend who used to say to me, “Di let peace be your governor”. It was easier said than done. I was going through some very difficult times when he told me that. However, he was right. Yesterday was a difficult day in part. I had determined to give my body a day of rest. I walked several kilometres to church and attended the prayer meeting. Unfortunately, after the prayer meeting I was best by refugees wanting my help. It became very frustrating and by the time the service started my insides were a mess. Afterwards I knew I should have waited until after church to talk to them and I should have places boundaries in place. Even though I do not represent all the refugees they see me and c...

“Now may God, the source of great endurance and comfort, grace you with unity among yourselves, which flows from your relationship with Jesus, the Anointed One.” Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ ‭TPT‬‬ God gives us, through the Holy Spirit endurance, comfort and grace. We can be unified in faith as we refuse the thoughts from the enemy of our souls and run to our God. He is our rock, our safe place, our strong tower over all our fears and anxieties. As I prepare for my exams the enemy is determined to disrupt. I see him coming and refuse his advances. I am equipped for battle. This battle is for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. As I take ground in this small way now, I make room for miracles. I am praying for miracles this week as I need to remember difficult texts, hear the teacher in dictation and read with clarity. This week is the last week of term. In one week I am free. However, this week is integral, this proves God is the God of miracles. Yesterday my friend Chelle took me for a walk t...

“The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain, and he is always ready to restore the repentant one.” Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ ‭TPT‬‬ It is interesting that sometimes we need the Lord to be close in a trial because it hurts us, another time we need Him to guide our response, another time He uses us to heal the bringer of the pain. Yesterday I realised things that broke me last year do not this year. My heart has been healed. Offence was caused by me yesterday and when the offended one attacked me I spoke to her heart. “Do not be offended by me or my behaviour!” I was not attempting to act in pride, but rather reconciliation. However, waking at 3am the Lord showed me I had let that spirit in by a conversation I had with an American friend. I had been cross about the behaviour and policies of a support group I am in. I was critical about the groups policies and behaviour. Well, criticism walked in then and it attacked my innocent friend who did not need it. She then found fault with...

“We love each other because he loved us first.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ John had a handle on love, especially the love of God. He knew Jesus loved him. He even said in his gospel, he was ‘the disciple who Jesus loved’. Therefore, anything that John writes about love is worth noting, and in fact breathing in. John wrote one gospel, three epistles and the Book of Revelation. Why did Jesus reveal the end times to John? Perhaps He loved him and trusted him. We can think we wal in love but later discover how fleshly our love has been. I had that experience this morning. I awoke around 5 and lay snuggled in my warm bed being aware that God was wanting to clean house. I began to see the past with the eyes of truth, and came to repent for my previous understanding of love. As someone who functioned as a pastor for 13 years I saw my selfishness in the mix. At the time I thought my heart was pure, however in hindsight I see the mistakes. It led me to repentance. I want to be trusted by my God ...

“You draw near to those who call out to you, listening closely, especially when their hearts are true.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭18‬ ‭TPT‬‬ Half-hearted prayer are a waste of space. If we are going to pray we need to be engaged with our heart. As I have prayed for the same 27 things for several years I have to find this engagement with the prayer or they fall flat. When I am struggling praying in the Spirit (praying in tongues) is essential. The gift of tongues is for every believer. I received this gift when I was 19 on a youth camp. No one prayed for me to receive it.  The worship was powerful and each song ended in singing in the spirit. When we returned home on Sunday I was asked if I had been baptised in the Spirit. I replied, “I think so!” I asked what the baptism in the Holy Spirit was and when told I said yes that has been what I’ve been doing. I was prayed for but had already received it. My hungry heart stepped into what it had longed for, communion with my saviour, for the longe...

“Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people.” Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭GNT‬‬ Prayer is so vital! I make a habit of praying for 27 people or groups of people every day, plus as my Lord prompts me. Each of those 27 needs are inportant to the Lord. They cover family, friends, the persecuted, the unborn, the oppressed, the government, the church, Nepal, Muslims, Buddhist’s, Israel and dying and more. I long to see souls in heaven.  Today is my birthday. Being an Aussie I awoke to birthday blessings from friends and family there. One in particular was from my autistic grandson Ryan. He is a loving young man. He wanted to inform me he had a job and a girlfriend. Both of these I have prayed for him. I regularly ask the Lord to show me answers to prayers, and He does. This encourages me to keep praying.   Get on the Lord’s payroll today! It is the best place to be...

“Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬ ‭TPT‬‬ Being generous with your time, favour, money, your smile, your voice pays dividends. As you live as a fountain of love you will be loved. Withholding what you have in fear of running out causes you to lose even what you have. I find the more I give the greater the stretch is available with my finance. I have given and given some more. Yesterday, as my flatmates and I were at table I looked out our front window and a man came carrying two large mats. One was the exact colour I loved. I had planned, for a long time, to buy a large mat for the lounge room as the floor has a thin vinyl cover on it and winter here is cold. We have Bible study here often and I wanted my guests to be warm, and us also. I asked one of the girls to run out and ask the man ‘kati ho?’ (How much). I went out to see the man unravel...

““Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Some versions say: ‘stay awake’. In the Old Testament we read about watchmen. Watchmen had the role of watching out for enemies, but also for runners who were the postmen of the day. They would bring news of the wars being fought and other important pieces of news. Watchmen could not fall asleep. I suspect this is where we derive the word ‘night watchmen’. Night watchmen keep an eye on the property they are employed to protect. Here in Nepal you may walk past large properties such as schools, factories, government buildings where watchmen or guards are employed. I walk by a factory where there are several watchmen in raised boxes with guns to protect their employers property. We are the Lord’s watchmen. We must keep watch over our souls and the souls of our community of believers. We must protect them and make them aware when the enemy is prowling around to destroy them. Paul reg...