The day with dianne Louise

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”” Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This is our future. We will stand with people from all over the world, people from different tongues and yet we are all saying: ‘salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb’. I wonder what language we will speak because John understood them all? In Nepal there are refugees from other nations; their are foreign missionaries from many nations all speaking a different language in their homes. The common language seems to be English, yet Nepali is spoken all around us. Our commonality is Jesus, we are present because of our relationship with Him. The love of Jesus makes its own language. Yeste...

““You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, and power, for you created all things, and for your pleasure they were created and exist.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬ Last night in Bible study we read Romans 1:18-32. Basically it deals with the fact that we have no excuse for not acknowledging our God as creator because His work is so well displayed in nature, the skies and in our own bodies. However, many do deny Him and live as if He does not exist. Romans tells us that the wrath of God is poured out on unbelief.  Today I live in a flat in Nepal where sickness has been poured out, yet we believe. It is winter and viruses are swirling. One of my flatmates has been badly affected. She had a cold and almost recovered and was slammed with a worse virus. She has a brain tumor diagnosis and we pray against this constantly. It has not grown but the threat of it is ever present. M flatmates rely on teaching for their income. However, as they cannot teach when sick their in...

“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.” Psalms‬ ‭59‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This scripture reminds me of a chorus we sang a long time ago, it fills my heart with song on this chill morning in Nepal. Yesterday I visited a refugee family and heard their griefs and concerns. This morning I know that the Lord has an answer for them, I am not able to solve all their problems. However, as I sing over the problems I know nothing is too hard for my God. My flatmate has been told she has a brain tumor that needs removing. The expense is huge. The alternative is radiation. The cost of that is expensive to her body as well as her pocket. We must come to Jesus and say to ourselves: what would Jesus do? He would command healing. I sit and sing: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever, I will sing, I will sing. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever I will s...

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Today I go to meet a refugee family in their home and see how I can advocate for them. Our church hosts refugees and gives them support. The support is limited to that available and has to be handled carefully so that abuse may not occur. Nepal has refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Siri Lanka, China and sometimes India. They are all different. Some retain financial support from their mother country, some do not. Some have papers some do not. Those without papers fare the worst. We see tent cities in African countries where refugees congregate. Fortunately, it is not the case here. Nonetheless, our refugees still struggle for finances and without finance they cannot afford housing, food and clothing. They then must beg for help. Begging is demeaning for them. I remind myself this could happen to me. As the persecution of Christianity rises I know anything is possible. Lord let me see...

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We bite and devour when we are walking in the flesh. If we think our opinion is greater than our neighbours opinion about a matter we turn on them. Why? What does it matter if church starts at 9:30 or 10? What does it matter if one group of people seem to get all the opportunities to sing? Perhaps they prepare and are eager to sing, why are you critical? These are a few examples of the pettiness that transpires in churches. I have seen people I considered friends tear down a preacher on social media. Why? Who is the judge? What does He say about the matter? Jesu was our example. He ha...

““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬ My Jesus gave me this gift of peace, I can look storms and troubles in the face and say, ‘I am not buying into your drama, go away!’ I can choose to believe He has won the victory, that He has given me the victory and that He is keeping me in all my ways. I am watching my flatmates suffer with terrible colds and flu and know I cannot go there. I’ve been there before and know how once the spirit of infirmity gets hold of you it is reluctant to let you go. I don’t want to go there again. A sneeze will come upon me or a cough and I say, ‘I am not buying!!!’  Yesterday my friend Chelle and I went for. Trek and stopped at Snake Lake to worship the Lord. There were army soldiers there doing some work on the lake and so Chelle asked that we did not sing until they had gone, we hummed along to the tunes. When they left we sang...

“Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭12‬-‭14 NLT A simple remedy, but one that is difficult to maintain. All it takes is someone to be unfair and unjust and the shackles go up. May we remember the Lord’s Prayer, especially: ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive others’. We are forgiven by the measure we forgive. I am tested here regularly, my flatmates tell it like they see it. The individualism of westerners is seen as selfish. It is not nice to be called selfish, but that is what it is. Nepali households are community. When offended we want to retaliate. However, the Lord said: ‘vengeance is mine!’(Romans 12:19) as we leave our issues in the Lord’s hands He sorts them better than we do. I have a friend who for the longest time transferred money from Australia by a means I would consider illegal. Last...