A full house

“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What evil must I conquer? Offense is probably the biggest; retaliation would come next; bitterness and resentment; selfishness and pride; arrogance and self-righteousness; the lusts of the flesh and more.

How do I conquer all of these? By the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony(Rev 12:11).

I live with the awareness of the Father, Son and Hily Spirit residing with me. Jesus promised this in John:

“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”John‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I am so blessed to have the Godhead living with me. I have the font of all wisdom living with me, I have my saviour who conquered sin and desth living with me, I have the promised Holy Spirit living with me. How blessed am I! I must live out of that relationship! The house is full! Amen!

Words

“What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭GNT‬‬

I would like all my words to bring life, instead of desth. Oh how I must be constantly aware of the force behind my words. With David I pray:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So many opportunities are given us to create with our words. They are constant. 

Father forgive us for our foolish, uncontrolled words, grant us that we might have awareness of them and grant us awareness of our thoughts before we speak. Insight and understanding we need! Amen!

Lord I ask for opportunities today to speak life, the grace to speak it and bless others. There are so many others in my world today: my flatmates, my friends, the guests we will have today, the children who live in our apartment block and their parents, the people in our street.

I am a life bringer! Amen!

Stay strong

“But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”2 Chronicles‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This verse was given to King Asa of Judah, he did what was right in the Lord’s eyes for 36 years then he relied on his own thinking and made a covenant with a king and his people who were helping his enemy in Israel. The prophet came to him and rebuked him and he became angry and threw the prophet in jail. The rest of his life did not go well, he ended with a foot disease and still did not seek the Lord.

Asa destroyed the idols but failed to remove the shrines. I must ensure that idols are removed in my life, but also the secret shrines. I cannot believe I will only be healed by prayer from one individual, I cannot believe that I will be blessed by a particular act of giving and make that a habit, this becomes a shrine of worship. I cannot tailor my God to suit my purposes. He is God and way above and earthy habit or attitude.

Yesterday was not a good start to the day for me, a headache dogged me but the faithful prayer and love from my flatmates brought me through, I was able to go to Bible study last night and was blessed. I met a lady who has served in Nepal for 36 years and she stayed with me until a taxi came after the meeting. She is indeed a humble servant.

Thank you Lord for Your goodness to me, may I stay strong to the end. Amen!

Walk by the Spirit

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

This is the challenge! Will I rather walk by how I feel or by what God is doing in a circumstance? Right now my environment is unsettled and disturbed. My flatmates are busy cooking every day attempting to make products to sell. Our flat is no longer peaceful, but rather industrious. I am not enjoying the change.

However, every afternoon a young girl from a downstairs flat comes to knit, play games and do Bible study. Since she has begun coming three little boys from upstairs are coming for the games section. They may progress to the full experience. This, for me, is the fun part. They want to do relationship in our flat, they are playing together with me. 

I must trust God for all changes and that His will will be done. I value His presence and peace, His plans and ways. Amen!

Payback

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.”1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There will always be people who insult us. Insults can make us angry and desire justice. A desire for justice causes us to take people to court and allow the judge to decide if the insult warrants payment. Yesterday, the Family First Party leader in Australia, Lyle Shelton, was in court as two deaf queens had been offended with comments he made about them reading Trans story books to small children in a public library. Whilst Mr Shelton did not vilify them, they felt unjustly treated. Their first attempt at attacking Mr Shelton failed and this was a second attempt.

Whilst people may choose how they identify themselves, they are not necessarily free to impose their views on impressionable, young minds. Mr Shelton is aiming to protect young minds.

Courts are expensive. Using them as a means to settle disputes can bankrupt a person. In this case Mr Shelton had tried mediation and failed. Whilst the offended are using government funded solicitors Mr Shelton has to pay for his defence, fortunately he is assisted by gracious solicitors who cover most of his costs themselves.

Jesus dealt a lot with relationships and settlement of disputes. He advocated settling disputes outside of courts, forgiveness of offences and praying for those who hurt us. This is a totally different approach that what is playing out in Mr Shelton’s case. The offended want blood and do not understand forgiveness or prayer.

May the Lord’s blessing be upon Mr Shelton and may God’s way be revealed. May the trans activists find peace and forgiveness. Amen!

Every perfect gift

“Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

I am grateful for all God has given me: His salvation; my family at home and friends abroad; the ability to keep moving; the visions He fills me with; His word, His presence; His voice the encourages and consists me.

Last night our little girl from downstairs came as I arrived home. Within a short space of time the boys from upstairs came along with another friend. The young girl Anusha and I were paying a game and the boys watched carefully. Suddenly we were all playing a games and grandma from upstairs was in the house and so was the boys mother. What fun!!

My flatmates have become very busy as they are trying to sell goods they make as well as do the teaching. The flat is becoming a bit messy as a result. I am finding having grace for the mess a challenge, however as I seek God He will provide.

Thank You Lord, Your grace is sufficient for me! Amen!

Enough

“Give us this day our daily bread,”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Each day we have need of enough for food, clothing and shelter. Each day we can approach our Father for these needs, and trust Him for provision. We can, at times, assume we need way more than we really do. However, He will give us what we need, and that He does lovingly.

Today is Sunday. Yesterday I had another motorbike accident. I had been out with my friend Chelle and we decided to visit Warren, an Aussie friend, at his home, Chelle had never been there. When we were leaving Chelle looked across the valley and spied a concrete road and asked ‘can we go that way it looks shorter?’ Warren replied, ‘you can if you are careful as there are dirt sections.’ Me, being wised up to what he meant chose to ride behind Warren as he had a dirt bike. All was good until we reached the last ascent and I saw it had at least two inches of fine powdery dust on it. I was more concerned for my friend as she only had a motor scooter. Warren did not engage a low enough gear, therefore when we almost reached the top his bike stalled and we began to slide down backwards. As a result we hit Chelle’s bike and I fell off onto my backside, I scraped my left arm again (it was injured last Sunday in an accident coming from church). I lay on the ground crying in pain and reached out to the Lord. ‘No broken bones! Jesus Jesus Jesus!’ People came from nowhere and wanted to lift me up, I allowed them and said to the Lord, ‘I am going to walk and claim Your healing!’ I did walk and as I walked I praised my God. He is indeed good! 

What I needed yesterday was healing and protection and I received it. Today I a tad sore but fine. I am going to church as I have a role to play, I am responsible for the greeters and I am reading the scriptures before the pastor preaches. I will take a taxi today as lifting my leg over a bike will be a little difficult.

Saturday moring I had been singing worship songs by another lake dedicated to a snake demon. I wanted the spirit to hear the good news, people gathered to listen. I may have upset some one.

Thank You Lord for your goodness to me! Amen!