The day with dianne Louise

When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. "where have you put him?" He asked. "Lord" they told Him, "come and see." Jesus wept. John 11:33-35 Why was Jesus angry? Was He angry at sickness and the enemy who inflicted it? Was He angry because of the lack of faith that He could raise Lazarus from the dead? Was He angry at the injustice and wrongness of Lazarus's death? In verse 14 Jesus tells His disciples plainly that Lazarus was dead and that He was glad for their sakes that He was not there so that they might believe. At times I find myself upset deeply, especially where dear friends and family good through something dreadful, I can find myself angry at what has happened to them and want to deal a death blow to the inflicter of the calamity. Myself I sometimes am surprised at the anger and go in search of why I feel so angry. The result of Jesus' anger was to ...

"Aren't there 12 hours in a day?" Jesus answered. "If anyone walks during the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of the world. If anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him." John 11:9,10 Jesus had removed Himself as the Jews were seeking to stone Him however Lazarus was ill and He was going to see him, after waiting 4 days. He was referring to walking in daylight being able to see and not being able to see at night. Perhaps He was planning going at night so that the Jews, who would not travel at night would not find Him. However, as Jesus was the 'light of the world', this is also figurative, without Him we stumble in darkness. I have a relative who believes she will be happy if she can just sit and do her craft but instead finds herself running around, unable to rest, with much to do. I am watching her struggle and become quite upset. Jesus said, "he who loses his life ...

Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) So the sisters sent a message to Him: "Lord the one You love is sick." When Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So  that when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. John 11:1-6 Jesus here has friends, friends who He cares deeply for. He had normal relationships, He was able to love and enjoy friends. The picture portrayed of Jesus is that of one removed from the normal mainstream of life. Perhaps this family had been friends with Him for a long while. We think that He probably got to know the family through Mary, who was the prostitute who was brought be...

The works that I do in my Father's name testify about Me. But you don't believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish - ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one. John 10:25-30 Sheep can hear their shepherds voice. As a sheep all I have to do is practice listening. He has a lot to say if I let Him instead of listening to fear, condemnation, deception. Who am I fellowshipping after all? These passages come with a promise. I have been given eternal life because I am His sheep. This means I will live with Him, forever. Wow! What a future! The next promise is 'no one can snatch me out of His hand.' No one is NO one! I am safe, secure in Him. I can have my ear tuned to the wrong voice, voices of intimidation, fea...

I lay down my life for the sheep. This is why the Father loves Me because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. John 10:15,17-19 On Tuesday night at Alpha we discussed the cross. I was surprised at the level of misunderstanding and complete lack of knowledge that there was in the group, it was very good to see a genuine lack of understanding about Christ and what He did, I was in the right group because Alpha was created to reach out to such people. Yesterday in Australia we celebrated Anzac Day. On this day we remember and honour all the men and women who gave their lives so that we could be free of tyranny. They freely lay down their lives for others. In this instance they were walking in the spirit of Christ. At Alpha we talked about a man who was a Polish priest in the 2nd world war....

So Jesus said again, "I assure you; I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the door. If anyone listens to Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. John 10:7-10 All around me I am watching good people deceived by the thief. Women, especially divorced women, by men who say they are godly, but want sex without marriage or shacking without commitment. Having run a DivorceCare course, I know, and they know, what the bible says. Why then compromise? Compromise happens little by little, slowly the victim is seduced into believing a lie. Are divorcees so desperate to be loved that they will take what they can get, even if it involves compromise? Being one myself I know the temptation is there. My saving grace is my grandchildren. I can't teach them sin...

He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. when He has brought all his own outside, He goes ahead of them. The sheep follow Him because they recognise His voice. They never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don't recognise the voice of strangers. John 10:3-5 Do I recognise the voice of the shepherd? I find He speaks so quietly these days. So quietly if fact that I miss hearing or appreciating the importance of His suggestion or guidance. I was speaking to someone on Sunday and said the exact same thing, His voice is almost, barely audible. I then referred to fathers. The woman I spoke to said that she had grown up not respecting her father because he never seemed to stand up to her mother. I said to her, "perhaps he did speak but spoke quietly and she did not listen." This observation caused my friend to marry someone more like her mother, a dominant bully. Of course that decision had repercussions. My friends f...