Understanding others

“You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others.”Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭TPT‬‬

One of our greatest challenges is understanding others: why do they behave like they do; what drives them; why are they so different? I live with two Nepali ladies and you might say we are ‘chalk and cheese’. My constant battle is to understand these ladies and not judge them for their differences, as I am sure they share this problem from their perspective.

Open my eyes Lord and help me grow in grace. Grace will allow me to see, accept and release. 

Last night my housemates invited me to dine with them. They made fresh momos. I discovered the elder had had her birthday whilst I was away in Mugu, I therefore presented her with her gift, praying that she would accept it in good faith. It turns out the Lord knew the best gift to give, and when I bought it back in Australia He was all over it. I bought studs and rings for her nose, as all Nepalis wear them and the girls had lost theirs. The surprising thing was they still went into a hole that had lay dormant for 20 years.

I cannot assume my ways are better, I cannot judge the customs of others, I can only love and reach out in grace. Amen!

Stay true

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, I’d like to give one final word of caution: Watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses among you. When they antagonize you by speaking of things that are contrary to the teachings that you’ve received, don’t be caught in their snare!”Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭17‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Satan uses people to cause division and offence. However, if we have determined in our hearts not to listen to gossip, it is hard to become snared. We become a tool in Satan’s hand when we ourselves are offended and rather than go to the person who offends us we talk about them. Much rather that we obey Jesus’ instructions and speak to the one who offends us.

Pride is another cause for gossip. If we think more highly of ourselves then we boast and demean others. Pride is Satan’s tool. He fell because of pride and would have us fall also. Rather we should hear this scripture:

“God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.”Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Even our faith is a gift from God. Without it we are nothing and doomed to hellfire like all the lost. Let us estimate ourselves wisely and refrain from arrogance and pride. 

Hold true to the full gospel. Do not listen to those who remove the parts that convict or offend them. Amen!

Building up

“We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.”Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭2‬, ‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

  Building each other up requires intentionality, eyes that observes and see, ears that hear. If we are too busy with our own agenda we fail to see and hear and miss opportunities to bless.

Jesus saw and heard. We are His hands and feet now. Accepting others was something He did well. No one was made feel less than anyone else, even the worst sinners. The demoniac was set free for a purpose- to evangelise his area, the woman caught in adultery was forgiven and told to sin no more. However, she was not made to feel a less than, Jesus made a point of disclosing the sinfulness of all who accused her, she was not less than any of them.

Our role is not to judge and condemn, our role is to honour and lift up. Our God is the judge, we are not. What is He saying and doing today? It is liberating to be free to love as He loved! Amen!

Maturity

“Now, those who are mature in their faith can easily be recognized, for they don’t live to please themselves but have learned to patiently embrace others in their immaturity. Our goal must be to empower others to do what is right and good for them, and to bring them into spiritual maturity.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This morning I am challenged to be mature in faith. Before I returned to Nepal from Australia I was compelled to buy health insurance by my children. I believed that I had in place a plan, which was a small savings fund to cover such emergencies, as medical costs in Nepal are much cheaper than in Australia. I was told, “we’ll help you if we can but right now we don’t have funds.” I paid for the insurance on my credit card and am paying it off. Nothing has come from family. Today I find two members of my family wanting help with the cost of going on a boot camp with Cfan. You can imagine my initial reaction. However, reading this passage compels me to go to the Lord for His answer.

Reactions are not a kingdom attribute unless it is a reaction in response to the moving of God. A godly response is a benefit to both myself and others, it brings blessing. A fleshly response is nasty and an act of vengeance. I am determined to live out of life and not death. By living out of life I help others less mature than myself. Amen!

Bought

“No one lives to himself and no one dies to himself. While we live, we must live for our Master, and in death we must bring honor to him. So dead or alive we belong to our Master.”Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Even though we accept Jesus as saviour we may fail to realise we are no longer in charge. Paul explains it here:

“Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!”1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭TPT‬‬

We no longer rule. Why would we want to? Is our way higher than His way? Our thoughts higher than His? No! The opposite is true:

“For my thoughts about mercy are not like your thoughts, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so my ways and my thoughts are higher than yours.”Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Can we not trust Him? Is He not faithful? Yes!!! Surrender today! Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=lCurAnLiwiY&si=PyN77i0bTCY93rRI

Live in the light

“We must live honorably, surrounded by the light of this new day, not in the darkness of drunkenness and debauchery, not in promiscuity and sensuality, not being argumentative or jealous of others.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭13‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Right now Nepal is immersed in worshipping the god of wealth. They have drawn images outside of their homes welcoming in this spirit. We Christians are covered by the blood of the lamb. Some time back, when the locals celebrated the demon snake god I strung a red cloth over our window. It represents the blood of Jesus on our doorpost. We have not been asked what it represents, but I would be willing to testify.

We have the Spirit of Christ in our hearts and the power of the Holy Spirit to live a new life for Him. We are blessed and highly favoured of the Lord.

Yesterday we made our way back to Kathmandu. The flight was delayed and looked like it would not come but I prayed and it arrived. What a blessing to fly over this amazing land. When we arrived in Nepalgunj we had to book our flight to Kathmandu on the spot. Our friend in Gamgadhi organised a man to meet us and he purchase the tickets. He was amazing. We had way too much luggage, courtesy of our friend in Gamgadhi. I was originally annoyed at the amount of luggage we were expected to manage. We were over by 60kg but it still went through. The flight was ready to leave immediately. The plane was packed to the rafters. When we arrived in Kathmandu it was raining and there were no luggage trolleys. My friend went out looking and instead returned to remove the luggage from the conveyor belt. I went out into the rain with prayer and there, right before my eyes, was a trolley. The next hurdle was a taxi. As it was holiday time they wanted a higher, way higher price. We stood in the rain and prayed. Eventually a lovely driver came and blessed us. 

God is good! Always!!! Amen!

A living sacrifice

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This chapter is full of how to live as a Christian. Paul exhorts his readers to live humbly, exercising God-given gifts for all, employing forgiveness and allowing God’s vengeance. His final comment is: don’t be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good deeds.

When unwell we tend towards selfishness, but even here we must watch our steps. If our eyes are on Jesus, we will avoid the pits our enemy digs to trap us. Rejoice always! Amen!