The day with dianne Louise

““You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ For the longest time I have not understood this scripture fully but last night I saw the meaning more fully. My study Bible gave three cross references to salt in the Old Testament and I followed them. “Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense.” Exodus‬ ‭30‬:‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Salt was used to make incense pure and holy. In the book of revelations we see incense burners full of the prayer of the saints. Incense now is the prayers of God’s people. Why does it need salt? Is it because our prayers must be holy? Purified by salt! Here is a deep thought worth pondering. “Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.” Levitic...

“Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.” Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭TPT‬‬ We all walk though times that feel very black: a loss of a loved one; rejection and isolation; financial devastation; a sickness. David experienced being chased, continually,  by a mad man who happened to be the king, all the while knowing that he had been annointed to be the next king.  Recently I visited what was once the royal palace here in Kathmandu. The royal family had been mowed down by bullets in one day, some survived, one was absent and went on to be the next king. He abdicated in 2008 due to political unrest. There are many countires where the royal families have been slain by revolutionaries. Political conflict is the frequent cause for violence. Iran is facing a revolution as the people are ris...

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Isn’t it interesting that Jesus said, “the Law and the Prophets required you to treat others as you would have them treat you”? It means that murder, theft, false speaking and covetousness would not happen if we treated others as we wanted them to treat us. We would not judge others if we treated them as we wanted to be treated. All judgement and misalignment would cease. Wow! Yesterday, I hand the run around with immigration. I had been investigated as to my purpose for being in Nepal and was approved for a visa by one department and then sent downstairs to another who sent me home for my papers, I returned to be told another document was required. This document I had never needed before, however was assured that it was always needed. It meant I did not get my visa. I have to return today after obtaining this document from my college. I could have ex...

“Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.” Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Last night I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6: ““So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬ ““So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭  I would add another to this list: where you will live. I have a friend who was a full-time inhabitant of Nepal recently was sent back to America for twelve months.  She does not have a...

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Imagine being in a 400m race. The shot sounds and off you all go. Are you excited? Afraid? Indifferent? You hear the crowd shouting, people you don’t know are calling to you to run as fast as you can. What do you do? Do you pick up your pace? Have you forgotten to remove your backpack? Is it full of rubbish you meant to dump? Are you still wearing your tracksuit? Are you wondering why you started?  We Christians are surrounded by those of faith who have gone before us. They want us to win, to conquer our fears, laziness, indifference. Can you hear Joesph? He conquered 13 years in jail to be made a ruler over Egypt. What about David who conquered about the same amount of time in exile, being chased by king Sa...

““Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I love physical exercise, walking and swimming are my favourites. I’ve trained for triathlons in the past and had a life of exercise. However, what is more important to me is spiritual exercise. Daily I spend time reading God’s word, praying in the spirit and singing worship songs. Whilst I have tended to read Bible plans, this year I am using my hardcover study Bible to also study the gospels. I am taking my time and chewing over the scriptures. My time with God is more important than anything else. His thinking, His desires, His power and authority come first. If I live out of Him (abide in Him) then I treat other well. If I abide in Him life is so much better. I am attending a filthy college to learn the Nepali language. The teacher does not speak much English and writes on the board what is written in the text book. As I don’t s...

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance.” ‭‭James (Jacob)‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬ We face many tests: how will I handle the difficult person; how will I handle a hard experience; how will I handle a good experience; how will I handle a wonderful person? Good and bad, they all test me. This past week had been difficult. I struggled from Sunday to Wednesday to obtain a visa to stay in Nepal. Realistically, many others have been through worse. Monday, I began college with a teacher who speaks little English. We are copying text from a book; many new words and in a echoey room, which plays havoc with my ears. Suddenly we had a test on said text and although I felt overwhelmed, I survived, completed and past, with a little help from my teacher. I finished the week exhausted.  Yest...

“Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭MSG‬‬ There is no one like the Lord! He is ever faithful! Other wax and wane, but He is consistent in faithfulness and love. I wax and wane myself, but He is steady beside me. Yesterday I spent the day with friends at church and then lunch together. We retired to my flat for coffee and lemon meringue pie (I had made this for a friends birthday). We played a game called Five Crowns (a card game). We talked about an up coming wedding and enjoyed one another. My flatmates were cooking when we arrived and everyone inspected their fare. My flatmates finished cooking and retired to their room. They give me room to entertain my guests as I do to them. Although my f...

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Being back at college brings trials: I travel by motorbike taxis, I have an App to help find the ride called Pathao. In the morning, sometimes, it is difficult to get a ride. I may wait 15-20 minutes for a rider to pick up my request. We then battle through peak hour traffic for 30-40 minutes. The college is old and filthy, the toilets disgusting. The rooms are cold in winter and boiling in summer, the windows face the sun and the whiteboard reflects the sun making it difficult to see the board. We sit on planks of wood for seats. The room echoes. The lesson is in difficult Nepali describing the geography of Nepal. I return home in bumper to bumper traffic. Why am I there? To learn Nepali and about Nepal, to obtain a visa but most important, there ...

“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭TPT‬‬ When I give my tithe I ask the Lord to stretch my finances and He does. I am able to pay my way, support two translators and now enough to support a work in Sindhulpalchok. I am constantly amazed at God’s provision. I live well and am able to bless the house I live in with good things. I do not think lack but allow God to bring the stretch. We can think lack and we will have lack, we can think abundance and we will have it, overflowing with good measure. More than enough to give. While back in Australia what I had was mostly taken with rent. However, I paid my tithe and trusted the Lord for the stretch. What was left I bought groceries frugally, but was generous with what I had and still had plenty. I did not talk lack and I had plen...

“I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭TPT‬‬ The ability to hold steady the sail in all weather is a skill that is learned. A good sailor has been taught to sail into the wind and use it to advantage. He has also been taught to maintain security when calm appears because there is always danger only meters away. In abundance the danger is self/importance, greed and selfishness. In poverty it is the same, from a different direction. Self-importance becomes selfishness, the same thing with a different tag. Self-pity is just another manifestation of the same beast, self, or the flesh as scripture would label it. I cannot afford either, for both exalt themselves above Christ. As a Christian, I am called to ‘seek first the kingdom...

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?”  1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ It is very interesting that Peter concludes this thought about suffering with a statement about judgement. Where did judgemen...

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Loving others is stretched when they are difficult. When the enemy is at work in a home, office, church or community he sows seeds of discord. We need to be aware of what he is up to and refuse to play his games. When others fall for the enemy’s schemes and become his tools then there is a challenge not to fight the person but rather the spirit. Evict him! Show love and mercy to his victim but if necessary speak, but always with grace. Last night I was attacked again for something I had said in the past and repented of. It came out of left field. My friend believed the enemy’s lies and attacked me. I told her to drop it. She went to her room. I had to battle becoming offended and chose to fight the spirit. Now I must pray for my friend and allow God to work, in both of us. O...

“The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭23‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬ When a father has a wise son he is filled with joy, when a son becomes wayward a father is sad and humiliated.  Wise men make good choices, foolish men bad choices. Always when sons succeed father are proud and think they did something right. When a son does foolish things a father laments and wonders what wrong he has done. Great men can have foolish sons: David did, Samuel did, and the wisest man ever Solomon did. Other gret kings who followed after also produced foolish sons. Some sons will go through a rebellious time and turn again to the right path laid out by parents. I am sure praying dads get to see their sons right themselves. We must do our best to train our children in the way they should go and pray for them all their lives, they will find the right path. Amen!

“Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.” 2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ How do we love? If we are unsure, read the gospels and epistles. Paul gives us a good summary in 1 Cor 13.  “  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”  1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ If we evaluate how we want to respond to people by this passage we will find it blows holes in every selfish argument we may propose.  Remember, we have an enemy prowling around attempting to divide and conquer us...

““Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice! Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Habakkuk is one of the minor prophets, called one of the twelve. His prophesy deals with God’s judgement but from a perspective of an intercessor.  The above passage warns that greed and arrogance in the heart of man makes him feel invincible, but the coming days will show that it was all in vain, God gets the last word, because He is God. Mammon, money, can lure people into a net. Making them believe they are invincible, when they are not. Money is a false god, although it is loud and noisy, it is a shell, created to trap people into believing they are invincible, when they are not. Choosing to follow money is choosing to follow gree...

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬ The challenge for each Christian is to finish the race well. Because the track is long, in most cases, finishing becomes more a challenge as routine and ease sets in. Yesterday, I was confronted by a friend who thought I dropped the ball in something I had been involved in. Her view was skewed by her own experience and opinion. The task the Lord gave me was to fight for a particular outcome for refugees in my church. I had done that and knew the task was finished. Turning up mindlessly forever was not my task. I am grateful the Lord uses me to pioneer and then moves in my replacements. He knows the best use of the skills He has given me. I am now moving on to a new project. However, my walk with the Lord is non-negotiable. He must always be first.  Lately, the Lord has blessed me with frequent contact with one of my grandsons. I love it!! I am able to speak strong relations wi...

“That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ As a woman of 72 I sense my weaknesses physically, I know my mental weaknesses and limitations but I know, by God’s grace, my unlimited strength in the spirit. I am aware of a mighty strength inside of me. As I give the Holy Spirit room in my life He is strong and strengthens me. In boldness of faith I can step out in that strength and refuse to give physical weakness authority. Today I begin my third term of college. My ears fight against me but I refuse deafness and tinnitus authority. I claim hearing and go to class. By God’s grace I will hear my teacher and by His power I will continue on. Classes force me to open my mind to learn and learn I do. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Amen! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaT8Jl2zpI&si=6RAiiGxSxLn5DWAx