Temptation

“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.”1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I have found that investigation of solutions and seeking God in prayer works. However, sitting in the problem and wailing does not provide an escape. Neither is, ‘I’m going to beat this thing!’ Sometimes I must seek to understand the source of the temptation before I can solve it.

Not feeding on certain movies or books can keep you from the cliff, as in sexual temptation. Refusing to entertain fantasies about potential mates is another. I cannot give my mind to fantasies. I can only focus on what God has before me.

Food and drink can be a temptation to gluttony and greed. Not going there or having friends who go there is important. Get new friends! If you are strong enough set the pace for change with friends, if not, leave.

Lust for clothes, shoes, houses, cars can be managed by seeking God for His spending plan. If we think it is all ours, we have a problem. Seek God for what is seed and what is for food. Seed is for sowing, food for eating.

Temptation to lash out in anger is fleshly. Paul tells us in Romans ‘walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh’. God has a solution, seek Him! Mercy triumphs over justice. Think on that! Amen!

The rest

“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God rested on the seventh day of creation and all He had made was good! It sure was, it was perfect! When I gaze into the heart of an orchid and see a bird, I wonder at my God who created it. When I see very small birds I wonder at their structure, when I see small sea dragons I am amazed that God created the male to birth hundreds of young, very tiny creatures, all able to swim and live.

What a mind that designed all creatures great and small. So many intriguing creatures! What a work. We are worn out after designing one thing let alone thousands.

This past week I had to design an 18 day holiday in China, booking hotels, trains, planes, tours. It was exhausting! There were difficulties in Tibet as we had to leave on the last day of the tour, no looking around. I had to reschedule our train trip back to Beijing. As I had two spare days I slotted in Xian and the Terracotta Warriors. It meant cancelling one leg of a train trip and adding another. Fortunately my initial deposit was refunded. My brain was frazzled and the next day I took off to walk to the pool and swim. I could not apply my mind to any more planning, it refused, it needed a rest.

We need a day to rest our minds and bodies from work. In Nepal all things are considered work apart from sitting, sleeping, and resting. We westerners do not call planning and speaking to people about those plans work. We only count the actual going to a place of work ‘work’. However, God planned and created and it was work. 

I love Saturday and Sunday for on these days I do indeed rest. Today my friend Chelle and I will do a long walk, and later bake a cake for a friend’s birthday tomorrow. Tomorrow I walk to church and enjoy God’s people. Friends and I will lunch together at our favourite restaurant and later we will attend the birthday party.

Rest is to be enjoyed. It is a time of refreshment, fellowship and fun. Daily I rest in fellowship with my God. I desist from anxious toil and planning. Early morning works best.

Worship is a good form of rest! It is refreshing and enjoyable. It is not work. Today I will sing Jesus over all creation!

My favourite Nepali worship song:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=G76jhOigXIY&si=Ht6EPwcbwIWae1SI

Iron on iron

“It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭17‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I have a strong personality when it comes to defending the defensless and making a way for them out of poverty. In my work with the Pakistani refugees I am fighting for their good. However, my opinion on a matter is not the only one. I see the situation close to the refugee, I feel their pain, but God sees where they have been, how they have managed what He has given them. 

I am an advocate in a group called EDC (empowering displaced communities). I have to bang on doors for the refugees. I am good at banging on doors, however, not all doors open with provision, some with a question, some with advice. I am allowing this process to mould me into the person God wants me to be. He has a future task for me which requires me to learn my lessons well in this phase. It is not easy when a family has no food but what is the best solution?

Nepal has many professional beggars. They are not necessarily on the street, they are in flats with meagre possessions but they are safe from the rains that are about to fall. I was caught with a man who was providing a home for children who needed an education. At first I thought the children were orphans but most were not. There was one girl and boy who belonged to the man’s wife’s sister, who actually lived near to them. This woman had seen an opportunity to be free to earn money apart from her children. As a mother I found this baffling as I could not give up my children like this. 

Each day when the children needed breakfast this man would supervise and then he would retire to his bedroom and spend the day on his bed with his phone. This is not what I imagined I was funding. I turned off the tap.

If money comes in too easily we make the recipients lazy and unwilling to find work that would provide for the family and earn the man a good reputation. God knows who these people are, we westerners do not always know. Driven by guilt we part with funds too easily without becoming involved in the big picture.

It is good to give money but better to be a breathing part of the solution. This is where others come in, especially if those others have had experience we do not have. I prefer to employ or to find employment for refugees. This requires me to become very active and involved. This is a real solution! Amen!

Doing good

“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I am in a team of people who advocate for displaced refugees in my church. Last night we had a meeting. I have a refugee family who has asked for money for food and for two weeks now I have been unable to secure them food because they must answer what have they done in the past seven months to feed the family. This is a valid question and one I must ask them. I secured an employment for the father on Tuesday, however in Nepal, where people are hungry they are paid once a month.

As a woman this is difficult. I am being trained to in turn train my refugees that there is no easy ask. We want them to be able to stand independent and not become beggars. We are teaching them to think and search for how best to school and house their children. How to find stable employment when you do not speak Nepali but rather Urdu, is a challenge. In Nepal refugees cannot be employed in big companies that must give an account for their activities. The government makes things hard but day labour is always available.

I have employed a refugee to do translation, however not all are proficient in English either, which they need to be to do the work I have. I am not allowed to solicit for funds to buy sewing machines etc but rather go to UNHCR for grants, even though I have a friend willing to help. I have never done this but it will be a good experience. Being harnessed as I am I am learning lessons that will stand me in good stead for what is to come. My team leader is willing to assist in all emergencies, but first needs to be sure the need for food is that, my role is to clarify the matter. 

Emotionally this is difficult! However, by God’s grace I will stand! Amen!

As John Wesley said, ‘*Do all the good you can*, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’

Dinner anyone?

“Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

When I go to visit anyone I take with me a gift. It may be food, drink or something I know will bless. Jesus is standing outside the door, knocking and bringing gifts. You do not know what they are, there is an element of surprise here, and for me, joyful anticipation.

When God created Adam and Eve He met with them daily in the garden to talk over their day. He brought His glory and majesty with Him, perhaps choice fruit. I am only imagining what it would be like.

Each day I have my Jesus comes for fellowship. Jesus said, ‘I will come in and eat a meal with you’. This indicates He is bringing something to eat. Have you ever had a friend turn up at your door with a cooked meal? Wasn’t it a delightful surprise? What joy you had eating together!

Now for a difficult verse: “The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭56‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The hearers of these words found them difficult and turned away. Was Jesus inviting cannibalism? No! He was saying that accepting all of Him is our food and drink. If we take all of Him and not just salvation, we are nourished with all that He is. As He comes daily to fellowship with us, do we take a crumb, a sip or sit down with Him and feast on all that He is?

He is good indeed! Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=mSDaNmZsFlc&si=8jJGLllwFqbUA7RM

The word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Our Jesus is described as the Word of God by John. The introduction passage in John 1 makes for intriguing reading. I am still intrigued as to how Jesus was described as ‘The Word of God’. We read in Genesis how ‘God said, and it was so!’ Therefore, It infers that Jesus spoke, and it was so. This ensured God’s word as very effective. What was spoken came to being in a mighty way.

Jesus said of Himself: ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father but through Me!’ If we study the words of Jesus we see them full of power and life.

We can trust ourselves totally to this powerful God. He also called Himself the Son of Man. Jesus was the second Adam, He came to redeem all that was lost in the garden of Eden. When He said, ‘it is finished’ on the cross, He knew what He had won. He paid the price for our return back into a garden relationship with Him.

Praise You Jesus!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-XroRBMrE&si=vgfggb0TZbdc60Y0

Have mercy

“Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Mercy triumphs over judgement! (James 2:13) this is how our God behaves, and this is how we must behave. It does not mean we dismiss sin, or correction but our hearts must lean towards mercy.

If we need help to be merciful, remembering the times God has not judged us for our behaviour helps. The times we fail to keep our mouths from criticism, the times we speak negatively, the times we fall into fleshly indulgence and sin. Our God did not rush in with judgement, but rather waited for us to see and repent.

In giving mercy we must not embrace the sin and think it a trivial matter. Sin is abhorrent but grace towards the sinner loves, and gently leads to repentance. Amen!