The one

““If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?”Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

On Saturday in our trek we passed around six sheep tethered by the Snake Lake. The sheep were dirty. The keeper lived in a small Tim shack near the lake. There were several new lambs frolicking around the sheep. I had never see sheep tethered as I come from Australia where hundreds, perhaps thousands roam in a paddock eating grass. The sheep by the lake were trying to eat straw. As this year I plan to start a sheep farm I determined not to tie my sheep up with a tether. Mind you, Australian sheep have huge paddocks to roam across and the farmers have sheep dogs to keep the sheep from roaming into wrong pastures.

I am sure the shepherd does not want to lose his sheep in the lake or have them wandering off and being attacked by dogs or stolen by hungry locals.

Jesus was telling the crowds a godly truth; He was the good shepherd and He came to seek and save the lost. I once lost my daughter. She was around 10 and had gone to find her school bag at the train station. It was dark and she did not return. I called the police. I had a small Christian bookshop near the station and was open for night trading. My daughter and son had come from school to have dinner with me at the shop. My daughter was quite confidant around the station but a train had come in and hundreds of passengers had disembarked. 

As a mother I was frantic. Realising I should not have let my daughter go by herself to get her bag and feeling caught at the shop and not able to go with her. We prayed and she returned quite unharmed and bewildered at my concern. Losing my daughter would have been a great hardship for me. However, my gracious God returned her unharmed. 

As my daughter was more precious than a sheep, she was nonetheless my lamb. There was nothing I would have not done to find my daughter. Jesus went on to tell a parable about a woman who had lost a coin and then about a father who had lost his son. God is into retrieving lost people. They are more valuable than coins or sheep. He seeks and saves the lost, this is also our job. Amen!

Good soil

“If you understand this, then you need to respond.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This is the verse of the day in my Bible App. It begs the question: to which must I respond? The answer is found in the preceding verses in the parable of the sower. 

We read the parable and hear there are four different types of soil into which the seed fell: the path, the gravel where there was little topsoil, the next fell into soil mingled with thorns and finally the seed that fell in good soil. The path represents a hardened track where the soil was trodden down, Satan came and took the seed immediately, the second was shallow soil, this Christian has a shallow relationship with Jesus, the next is the thorns, Jesus called them the cares of life, they choked up the seedlings and they failed to grow, finally the good soil is a heart open to receive the word of God. Jesus goes on to explain to His disciples that the good soil will yield a crop of 30,60,100 times what is down. 

We have often relegated the soils to hearts of non-believers, however the verse above implies I need to act to ensure my soil is good. Jesus told the parable to believing Jews. He was calling them to have a heart that would receive the truth He brought.

It si up to us to cultivate good soil, and hearing hearts. Amen!

The light

““You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Over the last two days I have an uneasiness growing inside. Saturday was a beautiful day, my friend Chelle and I went for a trek. I took my ukelele with me and worshiped by the snake lake to the true and living God. Afterwards we went to our favourite markets and had lunch. We saw another church friend there.

Coming home I felt rich and blessed and in fact euphoric. I prayed I would not lose my love for the poor. Yesterday at church we heard a message from James about the rich and poor in verses 9-11. Again I was convicted about the poor. I have a growing number of foreigner friends from church and do not spend my time with the poor refugees at church.

During the week my flatmates and I look for ways to outreach to the ladies in our area. They are poor in that they do not know Jesus, however, they live in houses and not on the streets. It is a comfortable outreach.

What is God doing in me? I pray He guides me to where and what is on His heart. Amen!

Give me more

“Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We measure oursleves by: what we own, our houses, cars, bank accounts etc but Jesus warns against this and living with our eyes on earthly possessions. 

He said the above words in response to a man asking Jesus to tell his brothers to share his father’s estate with him. His first response was: ‘who made Me a judge over you to decide on such things?’ An interesting response. I wonder if that applies today?

In Matthew we read Jesus saying: ““Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We have watched the LA fires destroy homes, cars, businesses. The people affected lost everything! Now as they stand in the ashes what do they still retain? They have their lives and those of their children. They have a Heavenly Father who comforts them and draws them into a relationship with Him.

If my bank account is in heaven, then nothing and no one can destroy it. Eternity is all that matters. Jesus had made homes for us there. What He gives no one can take away. Amen!

Stay alert

“And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!”Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here in Nepal my flatmates and I rent, our landlord lives above us. Knowing that the landlord sees into our flat as he goes out each day, ( outside our front window is where they keep their shoes ) causes us to be mindful of the state of our flat. A few months ago I heard that the landlord’s wife said my balcony was dirty, knowing that made me clean it. The landlord employs a cleaner for his flat and I often see her dusting the rails of their balcony. Therefore, I knew dust was an issue.

Now, God does not behave like our landlord, however, when Jesus comes we will all face an inspection. The first question will be: ‘what did you do with the free gift of salvation? Is Jesus Lord of your life?’ And the next will be, ‘how have you used what I gave you?’ Jesus gave us parables about a ruler who gives his servants minas (a sum of money) before going on a journey. When he returned he inspected what they had done. Two used what they were given to create more, one didn’t. Two were praised and promoted and one was cast out. The harshness of being cast out lives in this parable. We cannot assume ‘all will be well’. What have we done with what we have been given?

If we fail to answer the first question, then hell is our destination. If we fail to answer the second question it appears hell is also our destination. A lot of Christians think accepting Jesus as saviour is enough, is it? In Luke 19:11-27 what the wicked servant had was taken away only . However, in Matthew 25 the story ends differently:

“Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does that mean the servant retains salvation? Where is outer darkness? A good thought to ponder!

Treasure hunting

““The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.”Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How did the man discover the treasure? Was he searching for it? Or did he stub his toe whilst walking through the field? However he came upon it, he recognised it as treasure. A lump of gold can be covered in dirt and encased in other minerals, how did he recognise it? He must have had eyes to see it. Agates are in the middle of an ordinary looking rock, you can pass them by and never know the beauty within, unless you have trained your eye to see. There is a road in Australia not far from where I lived where these rocks are laying beside the road. People pass them every day and do not see the potential within. Their hearts do not treasure them.

I was searching for an encounter with Jesus all my life until the age of 19. Jesus planted me in a field called nurses training where there where ordinary looking rocks, other nurses who loved Him. I rejected their invitations to youth group as I failed to see the treasure within. It took Jesus coming to me and convicting me of my sin and giving me the gift of repentance for me to see. Then, like the man in the parable I knew joy. I sold everything for the treasure, I gave up my old way of life completely for Jesus.

Today I pray that the Lord would give you eyes to see the treasure within the rocks! Come to Him that you might be healed and set free. Amen!

Future ideas

“A person may have many ideas concerning God’s plan for his life, but only the designs of God’s purpose will succeed in the end.”Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I’ve been here, many times. I am here again, but this time I am not living in the future but the present, and allowing God to unravel the future, trusting Him for the journey along the way.

As I pace myself to enjoy the day I am in and trust my Lord for the journey, I enjoy the present so much more. If I live in the future I push away those in the present I am needed for. The people who inhabit the present with me are precious souls, and I need to do life well with them.

The weather is warming here, even though it should still be winter, spring is beginning. It is six weeks early. Yesterday I saw the Himalayas in all their glory as I rode to an appointment. If I lift my head I see the glory, if I watch my feet I see the filth. It is better to keep my eyes on Jesus each day, instead of the problems.

Today I welcome a friend back to Nepal. Friends and I plan a surprise. We will all dine together before we leave for the airport. Our flat will be the restaurant. Planning to bless others is fun. My flatmates and I are endeavouring to turn our flat into a place of hospitality, we want to invite ladies to knit with us.

Lord make me an instrument of blessing to others today! Amen!