Sunday, December 26, 2010

Reflections on 2010


January
"Your abilities and interests are an important part of the will of God for your life... Be yourself - your best self - and God will use you in a special way."

"It's not how much we have to start with that really counts but what we have to show for it at the end."
- Warren Wiersbe


February
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.”

Hear the other side.” 
- St Augustine



March
Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so


April
April 12: I went to hospital yesterday morning to pray for a friend's mom who's dying of nose cancer. I had to put on a mask, put antibacterial foam on my hands before entering the ICU room. My friend's mum reached for my hand and I held hers and started to pray for her while trying very hard not to cry. Later that same night, I received an sms from the friend saying that her mom had died.

For myself, I don't think it will be the last time that I will be praying for people in such difficult times so I guess there's always a first time.

Still, at such times like this, 99% of whatever I consider important in my life recedes and I am left with God and God alone. That is life-changing.


May
As we walk with God, we soon fall in step with Him - meaning we align ourselves with His purpose and His heart. And because we're walking with Him, we are both heading in the same direction - with a destination in mind. And because we're right next to Him, we increasingly grow more and more sensitive to Him and what is on His heart. This will then guide us in what we say and what we do.

June
I walked a mile with Pleasure, She chatted all the way, But left me none the wiser For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow, And ne'er word said she But, oh, the things I learned from her When Sorrow walked with me!” 
- Robert Browning Hamilton



July
Job and his wife became Christians the same way most Chinese do: A friend who was visiting the couple in their home simply shared the gospel. "She came for 24 hours, and she preached the gospel for 20," Job says of an evening five years ago.


August
I will fall at Your feet
I will fall at Your feet
And I will worship You here

Your presence in me
Jesus light the way
By the power of Your word
I am restored
I am redeemed
By Your Spirit I am free

Isaiah 43: 1-2 (ESV)
Israel’s Only Savior
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.


September

1 Thessalonians 5:18
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.


October

Boldness in prayer comes when I am assured that the spirit of asking and the thing I've asked for are both according to the will of God.
- Andrew Murray


November

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

December
"Faith is to the soul what life is to the body.
Prayer is to faith what breath is to the body.
How a person can live and not breathe
is past my comprehension,
and how a person can believe and not pray
is past my comprehension too."
- J.C.Ryle

Lord, thank you for reminding me that spending time with you is the most necessary and important step towards strengthening my personal relationship with you. Lord, forgive me for the mornings and the nights when I thought prayer burdensome and superfluous. Only when I commune with you, Lord, will I be able to break my heart for what breaks Yours and be increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting, so that I can love and serve others as You did when You were on earth. Lord, place in my heart this deep insatiable yearning for You and Your Word, so that I may know Your purpose for my life.

Amen.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What are your five loaves and two fishes?

Five loaves and two fishes - Corrinne May 
So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
...You can use it all
No gift is too small
Whatever you have, offer it to Jesus who will use it way beyond what you can ever imagine. No gift is too small.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Despite all my faults

A friend was troubled about the direction in her life. I asked her if I could pray for her and what she would want me to pray about. She requested that I pray for wisdom so that she could be more clear about what she wanted to do with her life. Then she asked me what she could do for me because it seemed to her that I was always praying for others but surely I myself would also need some support. I was very touched by what she said because it was nice to be asked what your own need was, by the person you're praying for. I told her that I, too, have issues; I, too, are not perfect; and that I, too, hope that friends, like herself, would accept me despite all my faults. She said okay.

Every breath we take

 

"Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. 
Prayer is to faith what breath is to the body.
How a person can live and not breathe
is past my comprehension,
and how a person can believe and not pray
is past my comprehension too."
- J.C.Ryle

Lord, thank you for reminding me that spending time with you is the most necessary and important step towards strengthening my personal relationship with you. Lord, forgive me for the mornings and the nights when I thought prayer burdensome and superfluous. Only when I commune with you, Lord, will I be able to break my heart for what breaks Yours and be increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting, so that I can love and serve others as You did when You were on earth. Lord, place in my heart this deep insatiable yearning for You and Your Word, so that I may know Your purpose for my life. Amen.