The adulteress

“She has pierced the souls of multitudes of men— many mighty ones have fallen and have been brought down by her.”Proverbs‬ ‭7‬:‭26‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This proverb deals with promiscuity, adultery and sexual sin. The Passion Translation also connects the proverb will religion, false religion, that steals hearts away from a relationship with Jesus.

Religious observation without a relationship is dead and will lead to eternal separation from God. Beofre coming to Christ, I believed in Him and practised my belief in a Catholic religion which was empty of relationship. The night Jesus brought me to Himself was the most joyous ever. He cleansed me of all my self-efforts, and brought me into a relationship with Him.

I now live free of religious observation. I have a loving relationship with Him. I trust Him to be by righteousness, my life, my standing with the Father. I cannot save myself by being ‘good’, but only by accepting His free gift of salvation. I have been set free of all self-efforts and can now live free in love with Him.

Jesus thank You for setting me free from sin and religious rituals. Thank You for being my saviour. Help me live for You now. Teach me Your ways. Amen!

Finding truth

“But those who love the truth will come into the Light, for the Light will reveal that it was God who produced their fruitful works.”John‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is now not common. Truth is evaluated internally in a person and that person will speak what they think is the truth, and what part of the truth needs to be heard. In court this fact is the cause of long trials as lawyers attempt to uncover the full truth.

Here in Nepal full disclosure is uncommon, you must know what questions to ask to obtain the full truth, and perhaps even then it may evade you. It is therefore very important that the Holy Spirit’s discernment be employed.

We ourselves may not know the full details about a matter in our own hearts. If we do not, then we are constantly amazed when the Holy Spirit reveals our hearts to us. Knowing the full truth allows the light to shine fully; having no hidden doors and compartments allows the full beauty of Jesus to shine through to others. Amen!

Forgiven

“She has been forgiven of all her many sins. This is why she has shown me such extravagant love. But those who assume they have very little to be forgiven will love me very little.”Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭47‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Jesus said these words to a Pharisee named Simeon. When Simeon invited Jesus to dinner he did not offer Him water to wash His feet or  oil to annoint His head. A former prostiture came in with expensive ointment and washed His feet with her many tears and wiped His feet with her hair, she then annointed His feet with her ointment.

Simeon represented those who thought they were sinless, the woman represented those who knew they were sinful. Today we have many who estimate themselves to be righteous, and they are not church attenders, they have made themselves god. They have deemed church-goers as weak and emotionally needy, themselves as self-sufficient and strong. They believe that if there is a God in eternity He should accept them as righteous. They will be very dismayed when they discover Jesus’ sacrifice is the only sacrifice that was acceptable to make mankind righteous enough for heaven.

No matter what we believe about Jesus, He is God, we are not. No matter how good we think we are, we are not the standard He is. Simeon and his colleagues deemed themselves to be righteous, then had been taught that if you follow the law diligently then you are righteous, however, Jesus came and disrupted their precious views.

When Jesus convicted me of my sin, I knew I was not righteous enough and asked Him for forgiveness. He came into my heart and has lived there ever since. I trust Him for my righteousness, my goodness, my acceptance. He is the way, the truth and the life! Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=OS6btlSLS6o&si=vUAmsGZGT6yNJa-T

Repent

“Peter replied, “Repent and return to God, and each one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One, to have your sins removed. Then you may take hold of the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭38‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Here is no soft-peddling here! Peter confronts the question given to him: ‘what then must we do?’ The people who came together at the sound of the Holy Spirit coming heard they were responsible for the death of Jesus. Rather than deny it, they were contrite and asked what to do.

When we have the opportunity to speak for Jesus and the gospel we must be straight with the truth. Repentance is the way to eternal life with Him. Repentance is the only way. Accepting Jesus as saviour and Lord and being baptised in water gives access to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us to live and speak for Him. 

Baptism in water shows the world around us that we have died to our old life and walk into the new. It is not a sprinkling affair, it is a dunking. This represents death of the old and rising to new life in Him.

Salvation opens the door to all God the Father has for us as His children. We then begin a walk of faith, trusting Jesus to be our righteousness, our salvation and strength. He has won the victory and this victory is ours by faith. Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iI81b5y-QgE&si=NR9pz26R20lJASUx

My passion

“I’m obviously not trying to flatter you or water down my message to be popular with men, but my supreme passion is to please God. For if all I attempt to do is please people, I would fail to be a true servant of Christ.”Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭TPT‬‬

When I went to the village of Magri I knew I wanted to return there to conduct my research project that looks at how music affects learning. I plan to bring the music of heaven to them. The village is isolated. To reach the village I must trek. The reception we received when we went there was good, as the guide had lived there for 2 1/2 years as a teacher. I am praying into the project and seeking God for His way. My friend, who initially was willing is now unwilling and rather than cause me to vere away it has caused me to strengthen my purpose. My concern is my ability to communicate. I want to communicate well.

My friend wants to go to another people group. I am not sure how she is being influenced by the man who took us as his passion is elsewhere also. I will have to pray and trust. Just as Barnabas and Paul had to go separate ways we may also. I pray that if I must that God will provide me a Silas as He did for Paul.

I am ready to go back to studying Nepali today. I pray that I will be successful. I do not want to waste a moment of time.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_mjI1axEs98&si=8SuNXY_qveL_x2m3

Renewed mind

“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Being in Nepal, and not having a full grasp on the language, I do not fully know the ideals and customs of the people around me. Whilst I know they live in fear of their many gods, I imagine their ideals are to be as affluent as the west. There are a growing number of motor vehicles on the road and those who drive them are smug and self confident.

The disparity between those who have and the who do not is huge. Outside of Kathmandu, the further one travels, the poorer the inhabitants become. However, there are people in remote western Nepal who are content, without motor cars and fancy houses. This is where I want to go. 

Today I begin my language learning again. I am not waiting for college to begin, my private tutor will teach me. The more Nepali I know and understand the more I enjoy living here. Praise God!

A new thing

““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We have a whole 366 days ahead of us, what will unfold? I am trusting for great things. Last night we celebrated the New Year and gave thanks for the old. At our flat we had a vibrant bunch of neighbours in the welcome in the New Year. We ate daal bhat, roti, tharkari, and finished with cake, on which two fire crackers were lit. After eating we played games, such fun. I saw a funny and beautiful family from upstairs perform together. A smaller family from downstairs was more subdued,  perhaps it was because they were the servants to those upstairs, perhaps it was other reasons. We prayed to Jesus for our food and finished the night with thanks to the Father for a wonderful year and bequests for this New Year.

This was my first cross-cultural, cross-faith celebration. I am grateful to our neighbours for being open to us. One of my flatmates was able to testify about why we celebrate New Year as people of faith. This is the beginning of our street outreach.

I have never enjoyed a New Year’s celebration as much. It was full of love and grace. Oh to have a full year of such blessing!

My Lord I thank You for being my saviour and allowing me to experience Your grace in this foreign land. I honour You, and pray that 2025 will be filled with You. Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iI81b5y-QgE&si=o66dXJf2B_CNyOTU