The day with dianne Louise

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We become excited about many ideas and feel they are God inspired but they fail. The test of them are: were they from the Lord? No! Excitement and feeling good about an idea is not God’s approval. Our role, then, is to seek Him , diligently, to find His ways and purposes. His yoke is easy, His burden is light. Today I embark on my journey out of Australia. Today I fly back to Sydney. Tomorrow I fly to Dubai and then on to London. The following day to Denmark. I am going to a friends wedding in Denmark. For the longest time I was unsure that the flight through Dubai would take place, but it is. The only notice I’ve received from Emirates is a revision of flight time, by twenty minutes. The Lord assured me it would and that I would go to the wedding. I have not been able to go to Fitzroy Island due to high seas. However, God has a plan! He wanted me at rest. I can trust the Lord’s plans and purpose...

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Yesterday, my new friend Lynne and I travelled by bus to the botanical gardens in Cairns, Australia . What glory! My God is a wonderful creator. We saw natural rainforests with a few introduced species. We climbed mountains to look over the coastlands, dined in a restaurant that out looked on the rainforest and met delightful people along the way. I returned to my digs and did some washing and then sat and painted, listening to Christian radio. My flesh wanted company but I stilled myself and asked the Lord to join me. He whispered, “I am here!” Today I am on my own as my friend has to work. I am praying for directions to people the Lord would have me meet. I plan to walk and find ...

“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. “O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.”  Psalms‬ ‭59‬:‭16, 17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ When I read this, I am reminded of a chorus learned long ago: I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing, I will sing, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing, I will sing. With my mouth will I make known, Your faithfulness, Your faithfulness, With my mouth will I make known, Your faithfulness to all generations. Each morning I make it a practice to sing a worship song before I pray. I just read an article about the effect of worship on the vagus nerve. worship affects the heart and brings a sense of wellbeing. This news encourages me to sing more. Amen!

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Yesterday afternoon I met a lady who has come to Cairns Australia for the winter. She has many health issues. I wanted to pray for her but realised she was stuck in her belief as to where she was. It was sad.  I came away and realised I am stuck in where I am. Sure I might be very  adventurous but when I look at my confession I am not pleased. I want to change it.  How do Indo that? When I consider the pieces of armour that Paul talk about I realise the helmet of salvation must be called that for a reason. Paul also tells us we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). As I examine this I realise I can dwell on Him and what He has done in and for me. Paul also tells us to think about what is good and lovely(Philippians 4:8). Jesus said,  “This is the only work God wants from you: Be...

“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 We, God’s people cannot run in impatience and attempt to bully our way through problems we face. Anxiety causes us to bully others to obtain the outcome we desire. Have we ever stopped to think, ‘perhaps God has a better plan?’ Anxiety causes us to be fearful and bully. If me times are in His hands then surely I can leave them there and not push people around for what I want or what I perceive is the right solution for a problem? Today I must talk with my bank again. I have been trying to obtain statements from a closed credit card for weeks now. My accountant is waiting on them. Yesterday a young man from the bank called whilst I was on a boat cruise. It was very noisy and he offered to call back this morning. I pray we are able to sort this problem out without impatience and aggression. Father I ask for ...

““Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This was written to the church at Laodicia. This church believed it was rich, it was self-content. Yet, Jesus told it it was poor, it lacked spiritual richness. It had lost awareness of Jesus’ presence. Jesus above is calling on the church to listen and hear His knock. We should take this to heart in the west. We can be content with knowing about the Lord and not knowing His presence. We can enjoy good singing and preaching but forgo His vital presence. He warns that the church is lukewarm and that it is in danger of being spewed from His mouth. Lots make me mindful that Your presence is what I seek and need. Not just Your hand. Amen!

“Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ These verses come from a psalm that is indicated to be written when David, in fear for his life, pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech king of the Philistine city of Gath. Daud was running from Saul who is attempting to kill him and finds himself in Gath. If we remember David had killed Goliath the Philistine champion. He was probably none too popular here either. There are times when we must go from a place where we are not welcome, but find ourselves in another dangerous place. What to do? David sought the Lord for safety and freigned insanity so as to escape. He ended up in a cave where others joined him. He was not alone in being unpopular with Saul. David became their leader. David sought peace with Saul and he would have a difficult t...

“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Long ago, God had a plan. He foresaw Lucifer’s fall and the consequent hatred Satan would have for all God’s creation and purpose. The Father loves us and has always wanted to share His life and beauty with His creation. The plan was to send Jesus, the perfect man. Jesus would redeem us all back to the Father. As we trust our lives to Jesus and walk in His ways He unites us once again with the Father. Satan does all he can to separate us from the Father. He cannot win if we keep ourselves in Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There is no real life outside of Him. This world has no life that is eternal in it. It will all pass away. Only Jesus is eternal. As I become His He keeps me from the world and its influences. The world is an artificial entity and I cannot be convinced of its strength to provide for me all God has intended. I ...

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We don’t really understand faithful love. Not too many people operate in faithful love. Rather they operate is selfish love. We love to get. Jesus showed us the faithful love that heaven speaks about. He lived it! Faithful love gives up self for others. Jesus did that! Today I fly to Cairns. I wonder who I will meet? What has the Lord got in store for me? He always has people He wants me to love! May I do it well!

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are many battles we can engage in: a fight for justice, recognition, my rights, my share etc however, Paul is telling Timothy to fight ‘the good fight’. What is the good fight? As opposed to selfish ambitions we are to fight for the faith, fight for God’s kingdom in our own lives. We have battles enough in our flesh. It waged war against our spirit. ‘What about ME!’ It screams. Me, my, mine!!! I want, I want, I want!!! However, Jesus told His disciples, of whom we are, to take up our cross, daily, and follow Him. The self life must be put to death and kept dead! It really only cares about itself. Things of God are foreign to it. Our world is full of ‘self’.  Today I went into Brisbane’s CBD and was overcome with the crowds I found there. I was endeavouring to meet an old work colleague. My ...

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Some how I think we miss the meaning of these verses. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy, Hsi burden is light. I find myself burdened with expectations of others, my own expectations, but none of them are light. Most are heavy! He said, “let me teach you! You will find rest for your souls!” Wow! Those verses are winners! Today, I sit on a mattress on the floor in an empty room. My son and his family are moving. Moving is never fun on one side but can be on the new adventurous side. The cleaning of this house will take a lot of time. My son and his wife work from home. After spending the day packing and cleaning they spend long hours on their computers at night. This m...

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This was Jesus’ response to the disciple’s question: “who in the world can be saved?” Their question was in response to His statement: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is it hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Because they are satisfied with life and can think they have all they need. However, if the Father frustrates their lives and manors them aware of their emptiness, then they can come. This whole senario came about when a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking how he could obtain eternal life. The young man asked, “what’ must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus told him to sell al...

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Through social media we see many poor that need help. However, this can be overwhelming.  I watched a message by Bill Johnson who was telling his people to pray and ask the Lord for a nation who they could become involved with; supporting missionaries and their work and I am sure humanitarian work as well.  I have chosen Nepal. I work there and aid refugees and the poor in Nepal. This helps me narrow my focus and stay ready for a need when it arises.  As I am back in Australia for a visit last night I was involved in a ministry to the homeless. it was fun and very encouraging. we sang worship songs and they really went all out. it was good to give my love and time to people I would not normally see. Who will I see today?

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is the Lord wanting me to give up today? The right to an opinion? The right to honour? The right to place? Jesus was the firstborn to Mary and Joseph, however His siblings rejected His claim that He was the Messiah, in fact most of His home town did. They were so offended they wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Now, that is rejection! Jesus promised that we, His disciples, would be rejected by family, some given up to death by family. We see this a lot in the Muslim world and somewhat in the Hindu world. Around the above passage Jesus was teaching His disciples that they must take up their cross daily and follow Him. A person who is about to be crucified had the cross beam placed on their shoulders to carry. It was not voluntary, but rather compulsory. The people to whom Jesus spoke understood the cross. They knew the shame associated with the cr...

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What have I been set free from? Sin! The consequences of it and the bondage to it! As much as sin wants ro entrap me to do its will, I have been set free to walk in the freedom from it, bought for me by my saviour Jesus Christ. Being set free from the trap I must now live for the one who set me free, not selfishly gratifying my fleshly nature. My sinful nature is ever screaming for satisfaction. It is wicked to the core. It would have me live in bitterness, ingratitude, selfishness, pride, arrogance and more. This is the life I must daily crucify. I have new life through Christ. I have His Holy Spirit living within to empower and guide me. I can choose the fruit of the Spirit over that of the flesh! Amen! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=is_ccOVNOgU&si=S1xy5j2t-G7t8Y6g

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬   This is a scary scripture. Without holiness we do not see the Lord. Holiness is separation from the things of the world to things of God. Do we get this? Holiness is not just saying we are Christians, going to church and reading our bibles. If we do not allow the words we read to change us and draw us apart from worldly living we do not see God. Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him. What is our cross? Dying to selfishness, refusing to react, refusing to pay back. It is following Him and learning the ways of a disciple. If people in the world cannot see the difference between us and them, we have a problem. Our first problem is we have deceived ourselves. We are walking in darkness and not the light. Our second problem is we do not get to see God. We will hear, “begone from Me you who practice lawlessness!” (Matt 7:23). T...

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Putting all things in the Lord’s hands is the safest thing to do. When you itch to take revenge, to laah out at those who hurt, don’t! He is able to keep you and take care of you! We see in war Israel and America strike back when Iran strikes them. They do so with such violence the enemy is devastated. I am not judging them for this, just illustrating a point. The opposite is the Arab nations. When Iran attacked them, they did not retaliate. I wonder why? I know war is different, but why did the arabs not strike back? They wanted to avoid all out war with Iran. However, Iran wants to completely destroy Israel and America. They are driven by intense hate. Jesus allowed men driven by intense hate for Himself to crucify Him, because it was part of a plan to redeem all mankind. There is coming a day when He...

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I am staying with family at present, in Brisbane. My son and his family are moving to another house on 7/7. The current house is a mess with packing and painting. I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor in a room that was the rumpus room. I rejoice as it has more light than where I am normally housed, on the floor in the theatre. Yes, this house has a theatre to watch movies. It has no windows and is constantly dark. In this room I have light. I rejoice! My son’s wife will not allow me to help in any way, the best way I can help is be invisible. I know I could do so much but that is not required. So, I sit and knit or read. Tomorrow my son and his wife go to Cairns to visit a friend. Then I can do and care for the grandkids. Meanwhile I must be patient and rejoice! Amen! I rejoice that my name is written in the Lamb’s book of life! I rejoice that I have the Holy Spirit living within! ...

“Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”  Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In this world we have plenty of opportunities to practise this. Yesterday I caught a train that was supposed to go to a certain town and we were all taken off the train and bussed. There was bedlam. Bus drivers had been brought in and the train staff were given the role of sorting us into busses, except the information they were given was not thorough. Two of us had no one to take us and drivers were disputing who had to take us. Finally we arrived at the station. We then had three hours to wait for our next train. I went for a walk and brought food. The other traveller was a young man who had broken up with his partner and had no money. I shared. He was grateful! Once on the train I found myself in a carriage with a crazy electric door. People had to go through our carriage to the cafe. The door banged all night and even opened and banged when going around corners. We were rudely awaken around 1 am an...

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Trusting in the Lord alone is the best strategy. Other can and will fail you. People remember being double booked; a sudden, urgent need etc but with God He is always present and never later than He intends, not as  I demand. David was a warrior and constantly had enemies to fight. In this psalm he addresses God, then his enemies and then himself. He knows only God is faithful! Amen! Today I travel by train to Brisbane. I am looking for people to talk to. I am trusting God to keep me safe. He is good!