Inspired by a kindred spirit.
Read my first posting entitled 'Splashes of Grace' in April 2009 and you will know how I was inspired to start this blog.God bless you!
The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure;then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ~ James 3:17
What a great definition of wisdom! My simplified understanding....
First purity ~ the wisdom we use comes from pure good motives and surely one that God approves.
Then peace loving ~ one that promotes peace and not war, resolving bad issues in love.
Considerate, submissive ~ be reasonable and be submitted to the ways of God
Full of mercy and good fruit ~ God has extended His mercy to us more times than we can ever remember therefore we need to extend mercy to others. Wisdom bears nothing but good fruit for it is from God.
Impartial and sincere ~ Like a judge's role is to bring justice, we who are a child of God cannot show impartiality but to be sincere in all dealing of matters.
The rugged worn out blue notebook holds many writings and teachings I learned from reading God's Word, preaching, books, prophecies, my own preparations for sharing and I felt grounded whenever I go through this book. It was like a start of my spiritual journey and though I stopped at three quarter of the notebook, my journey did go on without the notebook Now it seems like one of my new notebook is a virtual one. :)
I decided to write what I shared many years ago when I was in the youth group. I was given an opportunity to give an exhortation of any bible verse. I picked Psalms 119:11 " I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you"
What spoke to me then was the intent of the psalmist that seems so pure. David the psalmist reveals his love for God and not wanting to hurt Him by sinning against Him, he hides His Word. Hidden means to treasure, to conceal. When you treasure something till you want to hide it, it means a lot to you. And you do anything to keep it there, for his case, he wants to keep it in his heart.
This reminded me of the song A Pure Heart which one lines says " A heart that hides Your Word, so that sin may not come in" The Word of God is like a shield, keeping us from sinning and protecting sin from coming in. We all sin and fall short of His glory but Jesus righteousness make us right with God. But as long as we are on this earth, the roaring lion will try to devour us, making us as far away from God as possible. Our part is living the way God wants us to and our guide is His Word, and His Spirit convicts and teaches us.
I went to look for the old song in youtube and I found another version but its great and just as the song has ministered to him, it has also ministered to me then and also now. May it minister to you too and draw you closer to Him.
I am back to my bible reading and I have to give myself a pat on the back for getting back. There are many ways to read or study the bible and one of it is using this guideline to finish the bible in one year. You can print out for yourself through One Year Bible Online.
Sometimes I read the daily bread or other inspirational book to help me know more about the Word of GOd or God Himself but I know the best experience in a relationship with God is to study the Bible itself and asking God to reveal and speak to me. And a study bible would definitely help too.
We have pastors, teachers of the Word and bible studies that might help us in our walk with God but we can never disregard our own personal time with Him. The revelation we receive from God is priceless and an experience like no other. We may share the joy or learn from someone elses experience with God but to encounter God first handedly is profound and joyous. To be able to hear God tell you the things He wants to tell you is something each one of us believers need to achieve. Achieving that level of relationship is also a sign of spiritual maturity. Just as the Bible said when during the end times, we can get easily deceive and swayed and all the more we need to have the Word inside of us.
I hope I will be able to return to that position I once had with the Lord. Now is a start...
A beautiful simple story especially for the young hearts but a gentle reminder to the rest of us of how much God cares for us.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But aseek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Titus 3:5-9 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Nothing that we do can ever match up to what He has done for us. We just have to understand it's all by His grace that He saved us. I felt a sense of His deep mercy upon my life recently and sometimes I wonder why He answered some of my prayers which I thought He wouldn't as I struggled with the thought of my flaws and my weaknesses. I know deep in my spirit, He loves and forgives us but there are just occasions I am not able to brush off the guilt gut when He blesses me unexpectedly.
As the Word says that His mercies are new every morning, I have to literally remind myself out loud that these words are exactly as what they meant. His mercies are not outdated or spilled over but they are new, fresh and revelational. When the light of His glory shines through my soul, I become someone new again, facing the world in His perspective and not mine. How awesome is our God.
Dig into His Word and be fed with meat and no longer suckling on milk and let the Holy Spirit teach you His ways that are unfathomable and lead you to the way that is blessed.
And let's imitate the person Jesus wants us to be, to be more like Him. Living our lives as an example of God's mercy brings glory and honor to His name.
Luke 6:36-10
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
" We can still have a bad attitude and go to heaven but we can't have a bad attitude and glorify God"
I've been evaluating my attitude and sometimes I find how much situations in my life can either make me or break me. We either succumb into a nasty attitude and think ' 'Cos people do that to us so why can't we be nasty too?, Why be good when we don't get treated well?, Why bother?" Or we choose to want to make God proud of us and continue to be the person that He wants us to be.
But God is truly amazing, how patient He is with us and molding us in ways we cannot fathom. As we look back, we realized what God is showing us in different situations. Sometimes He might be showing us how to be slow in anger and quick to listen, to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, and a lot of these attributes are found in the Bible. We just got to go back to The Word to keep us going the right way. However hard it might be to stay humble, the only way is through Him. There is pride is all of us no matter how quiet we might be or how loud we are as i quote Joyce Meyer again "The middle letter in pride is I ".
As i pause to ponder on Jesus's attitude while He was on earth, there is this indescribable feeling towards the revelation of who He is. I don't feel ashamed of my shortcomings but I'm in awe with His love and grace over me. His grace abounds and soften our hearts to lean towards His strength to be a better person, not run away from Him and be condemned. As my pastor said, "His grace doesn't mean He is giving us the license to sin but compels us to want to please Him more for all that He has done for us". God does not condone our wrongdoings but His grace shows us the way to victory and the choice is ours.
Share with you an email that I received. Be Bless!
Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up.He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'
He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy --when I see my image in it.'
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
'Life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.
This morning I was reminded once again of this very common verse in Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Last night I saw that verse on a cover of Our Daily Journey and also this morning when I opened this email from Kenneth Copeland Higher Fitness Monthly Prayer which I had received two days ago. These words seems to stand out to me for a few days and I have ignored it so today I resubmit all my desires, worries and burdens unto God. The scariest part about trusting God is when you can't hear Him clearly and confusion starts to creep in. There are just so many voices that become noises to our mind. At the same time I know I should be dwelling in God's Word more to clear my mind of things that are not right. So today I would like to encourage you to let go of your worries and let God take His rightful place in your decision making. So STOP, LOOK to HIM and LISTEN to His voice that will lead us in the right path. And then obedience is the last choice we have to make.
Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,’ says the Lord. - Haggai 1:3-8. Read this verse for my devotion and it made me paused to ponder on the relationship I have with God and the priority that I should have in living my life for His glory and pleasure. A nudge from the Holy Spirit awakens my spirit man. Empty words filled my mouth but a circling storyboard of my walk with My Father fills my mind. Nothing more that I can express in writing at this moment, till then....... God Bless!
I read this verse this morning and I pray as you read this, you too will continue to pursue Him and take your rest in Him. Lie down in the green pasture that He has provided for you and me and be restored. Job 11:13, 15, 18
" If you devote your heart to Him and stretch out your hands to him... then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear... You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 (NAS)
A well drawn picture of Jesus with the children. How nice to be in His presence.
Just as David says "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." Psalms 84:10
This expression speaks of the depth and experiential love that David has for God. 'Rather be a doorkeeper'- though thats the lowest place in the house of God based on this picture spoken but it is compared to be better than the highest position among the godless. Almost like saying it is God's wrath is better than the devil's temptations. Sometimes words alone just cannot explain the meaning of it. The close relationship and proximity births out the longing for His presence. And a desire to please God above all else. David has the greatest poetic expressions, songs and proclaimations of his love towards His loving Father. That is the kind of love we should strive for in our relationship with our Father God.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (Amplified Bible) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].
Paul spurs us to move forward with God's work no matter what mountains we have to climb.Last Sunday, the preaching was on sense of 'Taste' and it was expounded that there are many times a lot of bad experiences leaves us a bitter taste and it curbs us from doing what we should for God. That is true and reality often stings, probably to make us aware that we should not stay in that bitter past forever, for God made us more than conquerors through Christ who loves us.
Paul in 1 Corinthian speaks on steadfast - fixing on Jesus and trusting in Him. And then 'immovable' - that our faith will not be shaken at all cost and not wavering in our commitment to God. The word 'abounding' in Greek is 'perisseuo' means 'abundantly furnished'.In other words "exceeding a fixed number or measure," "over-and- above.". We are actually asked to do more exceedingly if not most likely we will stagnate in our service for God. Work for the Lord is not only confined to just serving as a usher and worship leader in church, it also includes work of giving to the poor, encouraging a weary brother, visiting the sick and etcetera.
Let us not forget what we do for God is never in vain, although others might not see the number of dishes you wash after cell group each Friday or vacuuming the floor to make the house clean for your family. Cleanliness need to be maintained, same goes for our work for the Lord so that dirts of laziness and complacency will not remained for long.
Be blessed and know there is a God who heals all sicknesses. Nothing is impossible for Him if we believe. He is our Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. Jesus bore the stripes for us that we could overcome sicknesses. The song is based on the story of a woman who had that faith in Jesus to heal her 12 years of disease. This woman with the issue of blood was spoken in three books in the bible which I have placed the extracts below.
43And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years [a]and had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed by anyone,44Came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased.45And Jesus said, Who is it who touched Me? When all were denying it, Peter [b]and those who were with him said, Master, the multitudes surround You and press You on every side!46But Jesus said, Someone did touch Me; for I perceived that [healing] power has gone forth from Me.47And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling, and, falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people for what reason she had touched Him and how she had been instantly cured. (LUKE 8:43-47(Amplified Bible)).
25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned and saw her, ‘Take heart, daughter,’ He said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed from that moment”(MAR 5:25-34(NLT).
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." 22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.(MATT 9:20-22 (NIV)).
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
It's hard trying to be strong when we don't hear from God. Many times we need answers to bring us security. When signs are not showing and everything is blurred with too many 'noises' and 'voices' be it our own, the devil, others, what do we do? We need to run to our Author and Finisher of our faith, He alone knows what the future holds, He is the one who knows us better than we know ourselves. There is absolutely no point in worrying, it adds more frown and lines to our face not to mention maybe gray hairs.
God will answer or show the way when the time is right. Waiting teaches patience, patience begets humility, humility is a character of Jesus. When God make us wait, it's always for a good reason. The sheep knows his Shepherd's voice. I'm talking aloud to myself "Don't let the noises drown the most pertinent voice in our life, His Voice"
