The day with dianne Louise

He is  so rich in His kindness and grace that He purchases our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. Ephesians 1:7 Adama and Eve were created free from sin, however they were trapped by their adversary and chained into sin's dominion. We their progeny were born into that existence. The Father finally had enough of the lack of spiritual children, and sent His Son to buy us back. The price was expensive, the life of a perfect sinless man would stop the needless slaughter of animals for sacrifice that only brought a temporary payment. Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus died for us, otherwise we were doomed to a lost eternity without Him. The futility of sin was broken in His supreme sacrifice. It was not easy for Him, His humanity suffer greatly in the process. He steeled Himself to obey the Father and fulfill the contract for our freedom. We are free from sin and the penalty of it! Praise Him!!!

“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Have you ever paid someone else’s bill, a complete stranger even? I have often seen a post in the local city Facebook group saying how grateful that person was. Imagine giving you son for a stranger’s life! This is unthinkable to us, yet that is what God did. How could God live mankind so much that He made a way for them to be in fellowship with Him. For teh only way we can be in fellowship with Him is a perfect sacrifice had to be made to cover our sins. Because we have been ransomed by the blood sacrifice of Jesus, we should live for Him in gratitude, surely? How do we live for Him? By living in faith that He has overcome all sin for us, to live a life of service to mankind, to spread the word of salvation. Amen!

“There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ How do friends destroy you? They can gossip, incite you to partake in sexual sin, violence, corrupt practices and more.  Have you heard the saying, ‘choose your poison!’ This is perhaps what many do. Do we assess friends and the damage they can do to us? Are we tolerant of sinful ways, failing to confront the sin? Scriptures tells us that those who fail to confront their brother’s sin is guilty of their damnation (my paraphrase).Ezekiel 33:7-12. We are responsible to confront sin, but if we are not heard, Jesus tells us to take along another person, if then he fails to listen tell it to the church, if he refuses to listen to the church let him be as a tax collector or gentile to you (Matt 18:17,18). The hard part is following this protocol as we are reticent to confront. Do not be compromised by the sins of another! Amen!

“Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.” Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭MSG‬‬ The New Living translation sys: “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I am convicted by this version as I have a friend who I could strangle and who refuses to explain his behaviour. Because he has done something abhorrent to me, I am apt to walk away. My concern is: is this what God wants or should I, rather, persevere in prayer and let God be God? This is always the question unless I myself am in danger or someone else is in danger. Always God’s point of view is important. If all mothers of rotten scoundrels gave up their prayers we would not have the song Amazing Grace. John Newton, the author, was a slave trader. He was a wicked man, but God changed him. Sometimes we forget what Godlikeness is like. Our God is mighty to save. Amen!

“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ When friends do what is abhorrent to us, we may struggle to understand or give grace. I had this happen yesterday. A friend has done what I consider unconscionable, however, I need to find the full truth and make sure the problem is not me and my perfectionism. Therefore , I have contacted another friend to ask advice. This friend has been faithful and on the money in the past, and so I will trust her again. When we are perfectionists we can miss grace for that person or situation. We need to discover the full matter and God’s way of dealing with it. We cannot do this alone. If we have a godly friend who knows the full situation and has an outside perspective, then we can trust them. Then we must prayerfully listen. Grace and truth! Amen!

“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Evil is ever present and wanting our souls and spirits. Satan’s traps come in disguise. He is the master of deception. We need spiritual eyes to discern his traps and avoid them. The enemy looks for chinks in our armour to use against us. Once he gains a toe hold he woke to gain a hoot hold , when he has that he sets up a stronghold in our lives and prepares for our destruction . Don’t let him in! Amen!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”  Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Strip off the weight that slows you down. What is that weight? This scripture intimates it is sin. However, what is your weight? I don’t mean scalar  weight, I mean troubling condition, sin or problem. I have been at bush fire training today. One of the segments dealt with fitness. Fitness can be soul, flesh and spirit. We often deal with our flesh and it’s appetites . How about our souls and their appetitives. What do we meditate on, read, think about and even talk about? ...