The day with dianne Louise

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. James 1:22‭-‬24 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/jas.1.22-24.HCSB Have you ever met a very observant person? They notice your hair cuts, new clothes, sad faces, happy faces. Are you surprised by this? Do you know where all the moles amd freckles are on your face? You lovers face? Your children's faces? Do you know all the quirks of the personality of those in your world, or do they just annoy you? James is likening being a doer of the word to an observant person. When you hear the word of God applied to a concern you have, do you grab it and use it in your life or move past it without recognizing its importance? The word of God has power to set us free. We need to recognise this and keep it close. Amen!

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. James 1:22‭-‬24 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/jas.1.22-24.HCSB Jesus told a parable about two sons. Their father went to each of them and asked them to do a task. The first said: "No I will not go!" But he later repented his ststement and went, whereas the second said: " I will go", but did not go. Then Jesus asked His hearers: "which one did the will of his father?" They replied, as you would: "The first!" (Matt 21: 28-32) In light of this scripture we can have deeper understanding of the text from James. Hearer who do not act on the word of God, Solomon would call fools. They deceive themselves. It is better to not rush in with a yes than say it and not act on it. Eternity will be ...

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/pro.9.10.HCSB Do we want wisdom? Many do, not all, some don"t even consider it necessary. However, most turn to education, libraries or Google for even diagnosis of symptoms. However, this scripture belies all human efforts with the truth: true wisdom is found in God alone. Amen!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/pro.9.10.HCSB Fear here means reverence and respect. If I have these then I honour His word, and His ways. My father kept us 6 children in line with fear of the strap. If he said he would do something, he did, especially when it came to discipline. I watch my son as he fathers his 5 children. He has the same control, yet with more visible affection and love. My dad never explained why, Jarrod does. My son plays games with his children, my dad rarely did. Our Father loves us, maintains faithfulness and controls Himself. He warns us of consequences of sin, but leaves the choice us to us. His world is undergirded with principles of sowing and reaping. What we sow, we reap. The principle works for good as well as evil.

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/2th.3.3.NLT  Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look away to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We must look away from the things of this world to Him. His view of us and our surrounding is more important, more faith infused, hope infused and totally more positive than anything we can watch, read or listen to. Amen!

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.  2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/2th.3.3.NLT The Lord's prayer prays: deliver us from evil, and here Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians that He will do just that, deliver them from evil. As he had asked for prayer for deliverance from evil men, we can assume he is also praying for these people. It os interesting that the Lord's prayer has that line in it. If Jesus told his disciples to pray for deliverance from evil, then so should we. We should also expect to be delivered from evil, in all its forms. Amen!

You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 MSG https://bible.com/bible/97/pro.27.17.MSG Relationships challenge us. Friends provide good metal to sharpen against. I belong to an astronomy group, and we are recovering 100 chairs. Everybody has their own ideas as to how to proceed, this provides conflict, and an opportunity to sharpen each other. When a good idea presented itself, we ran with it. When a bad idea was presented, the group generally agreed that it was untenable. However, we managed to work with what did work and leave the rest. Things don't always go so smoothly. With a group of different personalities, conflict, and arguments can arise. Fortunately, this did not happen, praise God. I am grateful for mercy. I started to sing a chorus and it helped me keep my cool. Noone complained and all went well. God is good!