The day with dianne Louise

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬ First things first!!What is God doing today? What does He require me to do today? Today is my first full day back in Australia. Last night I had dinner at a restaurant next door to my motel. While I waited for dinner I felt led to sing quietly. Close beside me was a man all by himself. I thought to myself, ‘ Fod only knows this man’s situation’. However, I sensed he needed to hear from the Lord. He drank no alcohol, onky water. Which was unusual in the environment as most drank alcohol. He could have been a son of God needing encouragement. So I sang. He turned quickly to look at who was singing. Today I want to go and sing for the homeless at Central Station while I wait for my train. I did this last year and several came to talk. I am praying for an opening to share Jesus. While on the train I will do the same. Jesus has people He wants to touch. 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 In Nepali the word for sin is ‘pap’. It is interesting that of all words I can remember that word. In fact I can remember what Jesus did for me in Nepali: Yeshu, mero papko laagi marnu bhayo. Jesus died for my sins. Jesus gave us liberty from sins, all we have to do is confess our sins and receive His forgiveness. He wants us in a right relationahip with Him so that we can be together for all eternity. I cannot save myself! That is His role! He was the perfect lamb of God who was slain for all sin for all mankind. However, it is not ours until we humbly accept His sacrifice as being the only way. He changed my life as I allowed Him to be Lord. It meant a constant dethroning of self. Self wanted to rule, but there can only be one Lord! Amen!.

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬   In this chapter Paul is comparing the glory of the Old Testament to that of the New. He speaks of those Jews who have the veil removed from their eyes and see Jesus as Saviour and Lord. As believers in Christ we have a veil removed when we have the revelation of Jesus being all that we need. He gave us eternal life and delivered us from the dominion of darkness. He forgave our sins and empowered us to live for Him. The Holy Spirit fills us and guides us. He directs us. He is ever present and closer than anybody. We have a constant friend and ally.  Tomorrow I leave for Australia. As I prepare to go He directs my steps. Yesterday I planned on being out most of the ...

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”  1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The previous verse adds clarity: “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.” 1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus did not hold grudges, He obeyed His Father, He gave Himself for us, He healed the sick and delivered those oppressed by Satan. This is our act to follow! Total submission, total surrender. We can do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. I come to do Your will O Lord! Amen!

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This is the bottom line! We need to love as Jesus loved. To understand how Jesus lived we need to read the gospels. If we want to know how much we love, the next verse tells us: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What are you willing to give up for your friends in Christ? Opinions? Attitudes? Determinations? This world tells us to be individualistic. This is not what Jesus taught. We must love each other and look out for the needs of each other, being prepared to make changes for our friends and family. There is more to every story than our own part. What is or has happened in the lives of others?

“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ How do I know what is right to do? I read my Bible. Jesus taught a lot about relationships and more so did Paul. What does ‘to Love mercy’ actually mean? God is a God of mercy. It was His mercy towards me that drew me into a relationship with Him. As I confessed my sin and asked forgiveness, I received His cleansing flow of grace. How do I walk ‘humbly’? Think of others as better than myself.  This life is not all about me! Meism has flooded the world. It has made us very selfish and myopic. We look at the world through a ‘me’ lense. What will others do for me? Why don’t others bless me? Why is God not doing all I ask? Jesus told us, ‘take up your cross and follow Me!’ He is not a gennie whose tummy we rub and ask for three wishes. He is God who wants us to be changed into His image. He was God on the ea...

“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Peter thought the end would come in his lifetime, perhaps in my lifetime, God only knows! Like Peter I see the wisckedness around us in this world and know it must be soon. However, the Father knows who He wants brought into the kingsom, then the end will come. Meanwhile, I am exhorted to continue to show deep love for other Christians. I am to be hospitable and use my gifts to bless God’s people. The Lord has a plan, I am part of it! I must do my part! Amen!

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What are the wonderful things Paul is talking about? “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We know we have an enemy, Satan, and he works against us. However, as Paul says, “if God be for us who can be against us?” In other words Satan’s efforts are paltry. He may kill the flesh but cannot take the soul and spirit. If we cling to our God, He will be our eternal reward. Today, Sunday, is a good day to worship the Lord and put Him first. As we yield to Him He is able to display His glory through us. Our world needs to see Jesus, we can be hi...

“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 This is part of a prophesy given to Israel by the prophet Isaiah. They were about to face more disasters but God would be with them. What can I learn from it? As a child of God I still go through things, however, they do not consume me.  This past week at college had been hard. I was troubled with a blocked head and yesterday my back started to act up. Seriously?? Nepali language classes are difficult when you are expected to learn by rote and not with understanding. My mind thinks with formulae’s and logic. ‘Just because’ is not a good answer for why something exists. However, I do believe in my God because He is personal to me. I have to hold tight to Him and trust Him for every move I make. Next Saturday I travel back to Australia for a...

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud”  1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Paul the apostle wrote these word. He was dealing with a problem in the church at Corinth. There were factions in the church. This chapter sums up his address with the attributes of divine love. This verse begins his list of what love is and is not. Love is patient and kind. When tempted to act impatiently we measure it against this word. God is not impatient. He is well able to avenge, but holds back so that people can come to repentance and salvation. In doing so He shows His kindness, mercy and grace. Love is not jealous causing the owner of this love to act out of jealousy. Jealousy is when you want what someone else has and begin to denigrate them or look for a way to steal their glory. Love is not arrogant or boastful. It does not need to strut the flesh around. The flesh loves to boast and crush others with’look at me, I am the greatest!’ Yesterday I had a divine miracle. I h...

“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 It is so simple! Just ask! What happens when you ask is not a type written answer or a loud ‘this is the way’ voice. Sometimes it is a quiet knowing. I have need of wisdom for a flight I have booked in July that travels through Dubai. So far there has been no cancellations or changes, apart from a 30 minute earlier flight time. I want the opportunity to go to Dubai. In fact I am praying into this space. I will fly onto London and them Denmark for a friends wedding. I see every time in the public space as an opportunity to share Jesus. Flying is a very good opportunity. Saturday week I fly to Australia for a month. It will be good to visit my hometown and seek opportunities to speak to those who do not yet know Jesus. I will then train it to Brisbane and then fly to Cairns and then back to Sydney for a flight to Singapore and then to London, via Dubai. I nee...

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This is the last verse of psalm 27, written by David. In it he speaks of being surrounded by his enemies but kept by the Lord. One of the most lovely aspects of Thai psalm is the following verses: “My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In the midst of conflict and turmoil David’s heart is in the Lord’s presence. This is where I must be!  Yesterday I started my term final exam. The formulae’s for each examinable grammatical topic were crowded together in my brain. Before I left for my exam I was trying to memorise five types of भनन् . My brain did not want to compute. I trusted the Lord and went into the exam and sure enough there was a question on this. I had to write five sentences using each of the words. I remembered something a friend had told me. She said, “often the examiner w...

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are many who are persecuted for being a Christian. Many die in Africa and many are imprisoned in other countries for daring to leave the Muslim faith or the Hindu faith. In North Korea you are imprisoned for becoming a Christian when the leader expects worship himself. However, the west is seeing people who are Christian persecuted for speaking truth. Christianity is following Judaism as the second most persecuted religion in the world.   Satan really wants the absence of Christ in the world. His minions are glorying in being released to crush truth. Unfortunately for him, Jesus is God, always was God and always will be God. Without Christ in the world it will fast become a brutal place to live. I just finished Amit Tsarfati’s latest book, The Next War.Although fiction, it paints a picture of that last war. In it the people of Israel realise they are far out...

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ To be able to truely make peace we must be humble in spirit, for sometimes the peacemaking requires an apology. We cannot apologise if we are full of arrogance and pride. We may not realise we are proud in a matter. I was recently made aware of my own pride by the Holy Spirit. I was able to repent and apologise. This then led me to an outstanding silencer between a loved one and myself. I needed to apologise. I did and felt freer than I have for a long while. As a child of God I aslo have the ministry of reconciliation, that is sharing the good news with others. Bringing those far from God into a relationship with Him is the best experience we can have. What joy is found in repentance and opening up to the love of God! True peace so only found in God alone! Amen!

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Pure here indicates focused devotion. The more we long for God alone the more focussed we are, the more inclined we are to sense God’s presence. There are times when I see Him everywhere. His presence is real and tangible. He is my everything! When I become anxious and fretful about my circumstances I struggle to see Him, and my peace is gone. However, if I restrain myself from attempting to organise my life and allow Him to do that, I am at peace. His goodness, grace and mercy are my food. He is enough! Amen!

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What we sow, we reap. If we are impatient with others we reap impatience from those we desire patience. If we are kind to others we will reap kindness; if we are generous to others we will reap generosity. Finally if we sow mercy to others, we receive mercy. Mercy is not being hard on the weaknesses of others. Mercy is kindness in failure, mercy is a godly trait. We pray for mercy and receive grace.  I have been learning to be merciful. I am the type that plans and gets things done. I have been working with Nepali people who don’t plan and take a long time to get things done. It has been a lesson in mercy for me. When I was involved in church leadership in Australia I expected things to be done when required. When I was in business the Lord started to work on my attitude. I had a young man who did not believe in his ability to sell. I worked hard of showing him the way. He became quite good,...

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse is not about ‘poor me’, it is a deep hunger for justice for others. It is a driving hunger for God’s righteousness, for God’s kingdom to come here on earth. I am in a country where justice for all was not practised. The youth rose up and fought for that justice and many died. A new government was formed and now attempts to give justice for all. I see many changes taking place and will pray continually for the government to remember they are here for all Nepal. There are so many poor and marginalised in the world and many suffer because of brutal, greedy men and women who seek to exploit them. Human Trafficking is evidence of that greed. Our babies are aborted because of our inhumanity, our children are sacrificed for food. Have mercy Lord! I hunger for justice that only God can give. His justice is right and fair to all. He is good, He alone is good! His ways are best f...

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We in the west do not understand the full meaning of humility (meekness). The original meaning is full and not shallow. It has ‘ the idea of the proper balance between anger and indifference, of a powerful personality properly controlled, and of humility’ (Enduring Word commentary). Moses was considered the most humble man on the earth. How did the hothead who killed an Egyptian overlord become this person. By the hand of God. Moses spent forty years in the backside of the desert, tending sheep. When God called him from the burning bush he was reluctant to be the man God would use to set His people free from the Egyptian system that had them bound as slaves. How does a strong personality become humble? By submitting to God’s hand. He is the only one who can teach humility. Yet, walking humbly before our God has benefits, the whole world is ours, as it belongs to our God. Allowing God to m...

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ As I write this there are many in our world who mourn the needless deaths of friends and family. There are wars and terrorise attacks constantly. Nigeria has suffered greatly as have the people in Ukraine. There are 70-80,000 Christian’s in prisons in North Korea, theri children sent to retraining camps. These are typical of the onslaught of Satan and his troops. Here in Nepal there are families still mourning the death of their young people who dared to protest agains the last wicked government. Mourning does not go away because the news headlines change, or the focus of the media changes. Mourning is a process. It is painful but a necessary part of loss. I’ve been there several times now, and am sure I will be there in the future. Jesus is telling the disciples and the crowds that those who mourn will be comforted. I lost my mum during the beginning of COVID and had to mourn alone, but He was there. Hi...

““God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What does poor in spirit mean? It means I am aware of how spiritually I am bankrupt and in need of salvation. This was the first beatitude from Jesus’ sermon on the mount. It was His introduction to the Kingdom of God. The realisation of sinfulness is the first step. It was for me and would be for many. It caused me to cry out to God for mercy and salvation. It brought me to Him. The beauty of this verse is the promise. Upon recognition of sinfulness I am given eternal life and the knowledge that the Kingdom of Heaven is mine. What a promise! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=is_ccOVNOgU&si=q6ZDrthbwBbnvZQC

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!” Psalms‬ ‭42‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This psalm was written by the sons of Korah. Korah was a clan of God’s people who rebelled against Moses. The earth opened up under them and swallowed them up. However, a remnant were left, the sons. These were Levites and they served in the house of God. This psalm depicts a separation from the house of God. It starts with: ‘as a deer pants for water so my soul longs after thee’. It is a beautiful phrase. For some reason the sons of Korah were unable to be in the house of God. They may have gone with David when his son was attempting to usurp the throne. In their day they believed God’s presence was in His temple. We who have accepted Jesus as saviour have His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are now God’s temple. He never leaves. Yet, there are times when we long to feel His presence. He places that hunger there. The psalmist reminds himself, af...