Credit: Holstee
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Each day everything is new
"Faith is not an effort, a striving, a ceaseless seeking,
as in so many earnest souls suppose,
but rather a letting go, an abandonment,
an abiding rest in God that nothing,
not even the soul's shortcomings, can disturb."
- Arthur Benoni Evans
Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.3
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Great is Thy faithfulness
My cousin gave me a promise devotional journal as a Christmas gift, which I've started to use for this year. I've been memorising the daily key verses and also noting the quotes on faith by Christians past and present. It has been a godsend to me because it helps organise my morning devotions. And these devotions calm my mind, my emotions and my spirit before I step in the office.
"Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened." - Charles H. Spurgeon
I asked myself this question: "What does faith in Jesus mean to me?" I thought about it and I felt that for me, it means forsaking all things for God; that if push ever comes to shove, I will choose God in a heartbeat. This conviction, however, does not come out of my own strength but rather from the Holy Spirit's work in me. And I pray to God to increase my faith in Him.
"Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened." - Charles H. Spurgeon
I asked myself this question: "What does faith in Jesus mean to me?" I thought about it and I felt that for me, it means forsaking all things for God; that if push ever comes to shove, I will choose God in a heartbeat. This conviction, however, does not come out of my own strength but rather from the Holy Spirit's work in me. And I pray to God to increase my faith in Him.
A stern reminder
I heard a reading of an Oswald Chambers devotional tonight and it really spoke to my heart. The words from the devotional reading below that grabbed me were these: "We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him."
To me, it served as a stern reminder to persevere and not slacken in being close to God because He is the source of all things. If we focus on what we can do for God rather than our personal relationship with God first, we will slowly lose sight and lose track of what it is all about.
It is all about God, and if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I wish my progress in my walk with God was more than glacial, but the distractions of this world make the discipline of even carving out a regular quiet time with the Lord immensely tough. I have to physically shut myself up in my room so that I am alone and able to have decent time with God.
Lord, help me to draw close to You so that I can minister out of Your power and not my own might, and develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so that I can hear your heartbeat, and not my own needs.
The Sphere of Ministration - Oswald Chambers
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Mark 9:29
"Why could not we cast him out?" The answer lies in a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. This kind can come forth by nothing but by concentration and redoubled concentration on Him. We can ever remain powerless, as were the disciples, by trying to do God's work not in concentration on His power, but by ideas drawn from our own temperament. We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him.
You are brought face to face with a difficult case and nothing happens externally, and yet you know that emancipation will be given because you are concentrated on Jesus Christ. This is your line of service - to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there? If there is, you must get through it, not by ignoring it in irritation, or by mounting up, but by facing it and getting through it into the presence of Jesus Christ, then that very thing, and all you have been through in connection with it, will glorify Jesus Christ in a way you will never know till you see Him face to face.
We must be able to mount up with wings as eagles; but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and the living down. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," said Paul, and the things he referred to were mostly humiliating things. It is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say - "No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountain top with God." Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they are efface altogether my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?
To me, it served as a stern reminder to persevere and not slacken in being close to God because He is the source of all things. If we focus on what we can do for God rather than our personal relationship with God first, we will slowly lose sight and lose track of what it is all about.
It is all about God, and if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I wish my progress in my walk with God was more than glacial, but the distractions of this world make the discipline of even carving out a regular quiet time with the Lord immensely tough. I have to physically shut myself up in my room so that I am alone and able to have decent time with God.
Lord, help me to draw close to You so that I can minister out of Your power and not my own might, and develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so that I can hear your heartbeat, and not my own needs.
The Sphere of Ministration - Oswald Chambers
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Mark 9:29
"Why could not we cast him out?" The answer lies in a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. This kind can come forth by nothing but by concentration and redoubled concentration on Him. We can ever remain powerless, as were the disciples, by trying to do God's work not in concentration on His power, but by ideas drawn from our own temperament. We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him.
You are brought face to face with a difficult case and nothing happens externally, and yet you know that emancipation will be given because you are concentrated on Jesus Christ. This is your line of service - to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there? If there is, you must get through it, not by ignoring it in irritation, or by mounting up, but by facing it and getting through it into the presence of Jesus Christ, then that very thing, and all you have been through in connection with it, will glorify Jesus Christ in a way you will never know till you see Him face to face.
We must be able to mount up with wings as eagles; but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and the living down. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," said Paul, and the things he referred to were mostly humiliating things. It is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say - "No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountain top with God." Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they are efface altogether my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?
Monday, January 2, 2012
A good start to 2012
I went for service at another church yesterday and felt that the verses in the sermon would be my key verses for this new year.
Joshua 1:1-9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Later on the same day, I had dinner followed by two movies at a friend's place on 1 Jan 2012. The first movie was Higher Ground (a directorial debut by Vera Farmiga which chronicles one woman's lifelong struggle with her faith). My staunchly atheist friend thought he could use the movie to support his stand but it was balanced in the way it viewed the Christian faith. I was able to answer a few of his questions about the faith, the church etc as well as to sound him out about attending a Sunday service in my church.
Lord, thank You for giving me such an opportunity on the very first day of the new year. May this be the first of many more such openings for me this year. Amen.
Joshua 1:1-9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Later on the same day, I had dinner followed by two movies at a friend's place on 1 Jan 2012. The first movie was Higher Ground (a directorial debut by Vera Farmiga which chronicles one woman's lifelong struggle with her faith). My staunchly atheist friend thought he could use the movie to support his stand but it was balanced in the way it viewed the Christian faith. I was able to answer a few of his questions about the faith, the church etc as well as to sound him out about attending a Sunday service in my church.
Lord, thank You for giving me such an opportunity on the very first day of the new year. May this be the first of many more such openings for me this year. Amen.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Reflections on 2011
January
An old Hasidic tale
The rabbi asked his students: "How can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?
One of the rabbi's students suggested: "When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep?"
"No," was the answer of the rabbi.
"Is it when one can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?" asked a second student.
"No," the rabbi said.
"Please tell us the answer then," said the students.
"It is, then," said the wise teacher , "when you can look into the face of another human being and you have enough light in you to recognise your brother or your sister. Until then, it is night, and darkness is still with us."
February
"As I get older, I place less emphasis on what people say and more on what they do."
- Andrew Carnegie
March
Walk with me, walk with me
Lest mine eyes no longer see
All the glory, all the story of Your love
Walk with me, walk with me
As You walked so lovingly
When You walked there and
You talked there by the sea
April
I cannot remember when this conviction in me about the power of words to curse and bless became very very real to me. I reached a point where I was unwilling to or would rather say nothing than say something that will tip the spiritual balance towards Satan. It was as if I could see the spiritual environment around me darken ever so slightly whenever I said something or heard something that was not Godly. I've become increasingly reticent through the years. I firmly believe in the power of words to transform lives - we either bless or curse people through the words we say. I fail, and fail badly sometimes. Thank God that when that happens, I am able to turn to Him and say "Lord, forgive me because I have sinned" and know that I have been forgiven because of His sacrifice at Calvary. Thank God for His grace and love for such a sinner as me.
Lord, sometimes I worry about my heart because I can feel the rocks. Pour out your Spirit into me that I may have a heart of flesh. Grant me that heart for peace-making, which encompasses wisdom, courage, sensitivity, love, devotion to truth and understanding. Amen.
C.S. Lewis:
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong, they need your prayers all the more, and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
May
John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
We need men who can dream of things that never were.
June
Lord, thank You that You know how weak I am and You love me regardless. Enable me to always have that humility and that honesty to come to you with all my weaknesses and not just my strengths; with all my failures and not just my accomplishments; and with all my tears and not just my joy; with all my pain and not just my pleasures; and with all of me and not just a mask, a facade or a front. For Lord, when I am weak, then I am strong in You.
"A minister said.......You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular a pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting." - Jim Cymbala
July
"The church must be equipped to serve in the world precisely because it does not belong to the world. If we start with the world, the church will lose its mission. If we start with God, the church cannot refrain from giving its life for the world."
- R.Paul Stevens, professor at Regent College Vancouver
August
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW4AMgaUjJ4
I want to sing
Until I am lost in Your love
Till I'm found in Your presence
Worshipping before your throne
Moved by Your Spirit
Entering into Your flow
How precious this moment
Lord I want you to know
It's You
You who have won my heart
Taken me into Your arms
Comforted me like a friend
Your love
Surrounded me from the start
I never want to be apart
From You ever again
September
True grace comes to us by costly sacrifice. Costly grace changes us from the inside out. Neither law nor cheap grace can do that.
- Timothy J.Keller
October
Love that seeks no recompense. It is an affront to materialism and naturalism. And it is the sweetest joy that one can experience, according to C.S.Lewis.
November
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Luke 9:23, NKJV)
December
Emmanuel, Emmanuel,
His name is called Emmanuel,
God with us,
Revealed in us,
His name is called Emmanuel
Truly, God came and dwelt among us and is still with us through the Holy Spirit which is present in every believer and follower of Christ.
An old Hasidic tale
The rabbi asked his students: "How can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?
One of the rabbi's students suggested: "When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep?"
"No," was the answer of the rabbi.
"Is it when one can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?" asked a second student.
"No," the rabbi said.
"Please tell us the answer then," said the students.
"It is, then," said the wise teacher , "when you can look into the face of another human being and you have enough light in you to recognise your brother or your sister. Until then, it is night, and darkness is still with us."
February
"As I get older, I place less emphasis on what people say and more on what they do."
- Andrew Carnegie
March
Walk with me, walk with me
Lest mine eyes no longer see
All the glory, all the story of Your love
Walk with me, walk with me
As You walked so lovingly
When You walked there and
You talked there by the sea
April
I cannot remember when this conviction in me about the power of words to curse and bless became very very real to me. I reached a point where I was unwilling to or would rather say nothing than say something that will tip the spiritual balance towards Satan. It was as if I could see the spiritual environment around me darken ever so slightly whenever I said something or heard something that was not Godly. I've become increasingly reticent through the years. I firmly believe in the power of words to transform lives - we either bless or curse people through the words we say. I fail, and fail badly sometimes. Thank God that when that happens, I am able to turn to Him and say "Lord, forgive me because I have sinned" and know that I have been forgiven because of His sacrifice at Calvary. Thank God for His grace and love for such a sinner as me.
Lord, sometimes I worry about my heart because I can feel the rocks. Pour out your Spirit into me that I may have a heart of flesh. Grant me that heart for peace-making, which encompasses wisdom, courage, sensitivity, love, devotion to truth and understanding. Amen.
C.S. Lewis:
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong, they need your prayers all the more, and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
May
John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
We need men who can dream of things that never were.
June
Lord, thank You that You know how weak I am and You love me regardless. Enable me to always have that humility and that honesty to come to you with all my weaknesses and not just my strengths; with all my failures and not just my accomplishments; and with all my tears and not just my joy; with all my pain and not just my pleasures; and with all of me and not just a mask, a facade or a front. For Lord, when I am weak, then I am strong in You.
"A minister said.......You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular a pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting." - Jim Cymbala
July
"The church must be equipped to serve in the world precisely because it does not belong to the world. If we start with the world, the church will lose its mission. If we start with God, the church cannot refrain from giving its life for the world."
- R.Paul Stevens, professor at Regent College Vancouver
August
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW4AMgaUjJ4
I want to sing
Until I am lost in Your love
Till I'm found in Your presence
Worshipping before your throne
Moved by Your Spirit
Entering into Your flow
How precious this moment
Lord I want you to know
It's You
You who have won my heart
Taken me into Your arms
Comforted me like a friend
Your love
Surrounded me from the start
I never want to be apart
From You ever again
September
True grace comes to us by costly sacrifice. Costly grace changes us from the inside out. Neither law nor cheap grace can do that.
- Timothy J.Keller
October
Love that seeks no recompense. It is an affront to materialism and naturalism. And it is the sweetest joy that one can experience, according to C.S.Lewis.
November
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Luke 9:23, NKJV)
December
Emmanuel, Emmanuel,
His name is called Emmanuel,
God with us,
Revealed in us,
His name is called Emmanuel
Truly, God came and dwelt among us and is still with us through the Holy Spirit which is present in every believer and follower of Christ.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Living water
John 4:13-14 (ESV)
13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him l will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)