Moving from 2011 to 2012

A lot has happened in 2011. Many things have I lost and gained at the same time.

In view of the past year, God has taught me through 2 Timothy 4:1-5, particularly the last verse which states,

keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

This year, I am determined begin again, to live a better and richer life, not to lose who I originally am and continue seeking & pleasing God, aimed to do the right thing and do things right.

Have a blessed new year, everyone!

Lord, You are wonderful! I'm amazed by Your beauty!

Thank You, Father, for always being there for me when I least realize.

Thank You for always being there and the promise that You'll always be with me..

Thank You for supporting me and keep me going on in the pit of life, thank You for the warmth welcoming arms of love.

Thank You for Your sure promises.

I will always trust in You!!

The "best" excuse

"No one is perfect"

Is the lousiest, most ignorant excuse that one can give.

At the end, bad behaviors HAVE TO be accepted just because "no one is perfect".

No one cares to change for the better.

When all it takes is a simple choice to begin with.

Pathetic. Pride. Selfishness.

Not trusting in ANYONE.

Just trusting in God alone.

Wake up please..

When will we start loving people for who they are?

When will we stop judging people without judging our own?

This world is full of gray areas because it is and has always been imperfect, there is no black and white.

The perfect love of Christ has to be in us to love the gray area of this world.

It is only by God's grace that we are saved. We are just like them.

Time to grow up, childish immature Christians before somebody backslide or hates Christ because of your immature, stubborn, non-Christlike behavior and thinking.

Stop polluting my God's holy name.

God's work vs God's will

At times we may be too busy doing God's work that we ignore what actually is God's will for us in life. We say 'yes' to every responsibility given to us without knowing the limits. What God desires is commitment & focus to do what He wants us to do in specific area, without forgetting about margin. We do need rest. Take time to pray and ask what does God wants us to do in our lives rather than trying to manage too much responsibilities (church, studies, family, etc) till the point you lose focus of who you are and why are you doing these things for.

Often times we may also be thinking that doing God's work is a 'responsibility' of a christian that we ignore who are we doing it for. Many would answer that it's for God without even seeking Him, His plans, His will.. unconsciously taking control of everything according to one's selfish ambition & ultimately taking all the glory to themselves. How many times are we actually doing good deeds out of love & humility, not wanting the whole world to know about our 'good' deeds? It's a reminder to change our thoughts and actions, not merely reading this through and nodding our heads. It's time to be a true servant - humble & doing the Master's will. Stop saying 'my efforts' and 'my ideas'.. its time to recognize that it's all God's work, that without God your effort is meaningless and powerless. We are just empty vessels used by God to demonstrate His power & love.

Not my will but Yours be done.

God does His work through us to achieve His ultimate will - that is salvation for all. We need to know the specific work that God wants to do through us.. for His will to be achieved.

Above our problems

One of the pitfalls of living in our troublesome world is that we can become problem-centered rather than God-centered. When this happens, we lose the proper perspective. Gradually, all our problems begin to look huge and the strength of almighty God seems small. Instead of moving mountains by faith, we become constant worriers, creating mountains of needless pressure for ourselves and others.

Isaiah 40 is an effective prescription for those of us whose God seems small. God reminds us that He is much bigger than the world He created. He points out that compared to Him, "the nations are as a drop in a bucket" (v.15) and the inhabitants of earth "are like grasshoppers" (v.22). His words aren't meant to belittle us, but rather to encourage us to look to Him and gain His perspective of life.

Yet, God offers us more than a new perspective. He offers us something that will enable us to live by that view. If we will depend on Him instead of brooding over our problems, He will renew our strength, and wings of faith will lift up our hearts above our difficulties. Some of them may be huge but we can see them as smaller than our great God. And that makes all the differences.

Gentle reminder

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6

One verse that sums up my view of life -

Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.

Life itself is a gift from God. But it is marred by imperfections in this world.. it may be caused by people, by one's own choice, by uncontrollable circumstances, or etc.. but all these are part of God's plan to make us better, wiser people.. like clays, we are in the process of being molded by the Potter..

This world is empty & depressed.. full of problems that keeps accumulating. It is in need of a Savior.. no words can describe the disappointments I'm feeling right now.. but I'm in utter sadness for the lost.. this world needs God's miracle.. but how can the world see God without God's people?

Matthew 9:35-38 - Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field."

What's important in life? to chase after wealth and fame, which one couldn't possibly have enough? or to remain in one's own comfort, and watch the world die day by day? Or to be someone of greatness defined & honored by God, someone used by God to be an agent of change and impact?

Let's all begin to realise the needs around us.. and attend to those needs quickly, ceasing every opportunity. Every soul is precious.. let us who have been saved & healed by God's grace be a blessing to those who needs them..

Amazing grace~

Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was.. by the grace of God I am what I am.

John Newton

An answer for everything

When we think we are too tired to go on, Jesus says, "I will give you rest".

Matthew 11:28 - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

When we think no one cares, Jesus says He loves us.

John 15:12-13 - My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

When we can't figure things out, God says He will guide us.

Psalms 48:14 - For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

When we need forgiveness, God says He will forgive us if we confess our sins.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Faith & Deed

Taken from James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Good works always follow true faith. If you stand strong in what you believe, if you believe that Christ is your Saviour, if you've tasted and seen His goodness, if you have that true faith.. I believe good works will naturally flow from within you because you have the God of love in you.

One thing that caught my attention was the illustration of Rahab. It's common for people to use Abraham as an example of faith but for Rahab? why would James use Rahab.. a prostitute?

Well, my view is that even a person who may be or may 'seem' unrighteous, or someone whom we consider not a true believer (christian by name), deserves a chance to experience God. Because everyone have their own personal struggle in their faith, those who have known the Lord should not look down and judge but to help those who are struggling in faith... for those who have known the Lord once struggled in the past too..

Because every individual is imperfect, the best approach is always for change to begin in ourselves first. Being a good testimony is a must to reflect the faith that we have. Be a good living testimony and love others because God deserve the best from us. He deserves the best & the most glorious name and we as His child have a great responsibility in fulfilling that!

Bitter reality can be better

These past 2 months of reality had unfold way too many ugly truths about life, that this world is made up of all sorts of people, wolves in sheep's clothing. Regardless of how good one may appear to be, it's always best to take that friendship slower & get to know that someone better, lest you get disappointed.

But this is what life is made up of.. you go through it, you experience it, you get bitten, and you learn.

I thank God for bringing me through this phase of life. Although it's not a pleasing experience, yet it taught me not to lay in my innocence to trust someone so easily. It made me careful in choosing the friends that I should mix with & knowing who my true friends are. Also, it taught me to be a stronger person, braver to voice out my own opinion and not follow unrighteous judgments.

Thank God for good friends that encouraged me during this time and of course His word that had never failed me. I learnt that it's difficult to change people, even though your intentions may be pure. Rather than harboring anger, the best way is to try to change yourself. We can not control what people do, but we can control what we do.

There was a quote that caught my attention recently - Life is God's gift to us. What we do is our gift to God.

Made me question my actions. Is my anger my gift to God? I wouldn't want to give my anger & unforgiveness to God.

It really requires a lot of God's strength to go through this. Because I know His strength is perfect & that it is possible to get rid of all bitterness and anger as the Bible says so.. I trust that I can break free from it.

People won't get better.. we'll meet the same kind of people or worse kind of people. This kind of circumstances won't change over time, only we can choose to change ourselves.

I am reminded that God loves them just as much as He loves me. If He's got plans in our lives to change us to be more like Him, then surely He has plans in their lives to change them too... that the measure of our relationship with God is by our relationship with people He put in our lives.

We can not say that we are close to God but we don't love the people around us.

So I'll force myself to do the right thing regardless of how much I hate to do it.. at the end it's for good.

The truth of Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We all have a key called 'Promise' that can unlock doors by faith in our hands. It describes God's guidance & care as a doctrine of divine providence that brings believers hope.

based on the Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Truth #1: It is consistent & in harmony to God's nature to love, who cares for & watch over His own.

Truth #2: It is consistent & in harmony with the rest of the Bible that tells us that He is a God who cares & is at work in our lives. (Illustrated in the example of Joseph in Genesis 50:20)

Truth #3: This verse is a comfort & help to all believers.

Thought #1: It did not mean "all things are good". It includes both good and bad.

Thought #2: It did not mean "all things we do well" work together for good. It includes our mistakes and shortcomings.

Thought #3: It did not mean "all major important things" work together for good. It includes the little, insignificant things too.

Most of us would agree that every believer's life is not smooth-sailing. It is full of temptations, struggles and trials that may make us question all the why's in life. But Romans 8:28 is a promise that God made to us.. that despite what we go through, how big & uncertain the present suffering is.. always give praise, count our blessings & be thankful.. and have hope in our God that everything works according to His will, that He has a greater purpose for everything that happened.. and we will see at the end the reason why He put us through this...

Stay strong and persevere! I've been through it & I know you can.. have child-like faith! :)

For existing Christians, commit all our brothers & sisters in prayer & encourage one another, for you do not know the personal struggles that they are going through. Do not pass unwise judgment.. for God's desire is that His Body would teach, rebuke, correct and train one another up in righteousness..