Missing Christmas

Verses for Today:

Matthew 2:3-6 (NLT)

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.

Thoughts:

Christmas day just past by and you feel very empty and depressed? Well, think again, were you celebrating Christmas or remembering the essence of Christmas – which is remembering the birth of Jesus Christ? Many people missed the very essence of Christmas miles away. Simply because they were focused on budgeting about gifts and celebrations, hurrying on early bird offers, and a lot more – and not minding on the celebrant who is Jesus Christ.

It happened too on the first Christmas. Many people missed Christmas thousand miles! They knew about the birth of the Messiah – who is Jesus Christ, but they missed the very essence of it! King Herod, his priests, and the religious teachers knew about the birth of the Messiah and yet they had no single thought about it. The innkeeper was very busy going about his business and had no room for a preggy Mary who was about to give birth! Would that define you? Many people today know about Christianity and about Jesus Christ, but the sad thing is, they have no attachment or relationship with Christ or whatsoever.

Don’t be one of those persons, when the time comes for Jesus Christ to rule the heavens and the earth once again, will say “Lord, Lord” (Matthew 7:21) but the Lord would not knew them, because they have no personal relationship with Him. Remember now, that 2000 plus years ago Jesus came to be born as baby on a manger, to come and save the world. Although many movies today tried to hijack that idea, Jesus Christ was the original. Have relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and enjoy Christmas from this time onwards. Invite Him into your life by confessing your sins to Him, and giving Him the steering wheel of your life. For sure you will not regret it for He knows your life better than you do.

In God’s Hand

Proverbs 21:1 (NKJV)

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.

The presidential election is over and many are celebrating the sweetness of victory, while at the other side people are tasting the bitterness of defeat. In God’s economy, it does not matter who wins, after all it is according to His own liking. He can put on nice and good leaders and presidents, and also He puts on wicked and tyrant presidents. In this regard, everything is according to God’s plan and will – which we can understand only when we walk close to the Lord.

His people wanted a king to be like other nations around them – because they do not like being under God’s rule, and He gave them Saul who later on became a tyrant king (1 Sam 8:19). His people was looking for idols instead of seeking God, and so God let them be taken as captive to Idol Central Babylon (modern day Iraq) for 70 years. He let King Nebuchadnezzar conquer and rule over Israel to give hard lesson to His people (2 Kings 17:7). Afterwards, He let King Cyrus, a Persian king to take over Babylon and way beyond the massive Persian Empire (modern day Iran). Cyrus is even called God’s anointed (Isaiah 45:1) – he is the Lord’s man to accomplish His purpose and to free His people back to Israel and rebuild their destroyed city.

The point is, who ever the leaders are, they are God’s appointed – the Lord turns their hearts wherever He wishes, and the Bible warns us to respect them (1 Peter 2:13-17). We may wonder why our choices are not God’s choices, but at the end of the day – we must be worshiping God at any circumstance, whether God’s answer to our prayers is a “yes”,“no”, or “wait”. King David’s fervent prayer to preserve the life of his first son with Bathsheba had a “no” answer, so King David rose up, cleaned himself, ate his meal, and worshiped God – soon the Lord gave him a great son, King Solomon. Every circumstance in our life is governed and directed by God – all we need to do is trust and rely upon God, even after we prayed and fasted. He knows already knows the story, and we don’t.


1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV)
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

The Great I AM

Exodus 3:14 (NKJV)

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Moses was eighty years old, when one time he happened to step up to Mount Horeb. He had been tending sheep for forty years at the back side of the desert after fleeing from Egypt for killing an Egyptian. His Israelite brothers and sisters who were left in Egypt were suffering from maltreatment for the past four hundred years, as God informed Abram long before in Genesis 15:13. And God showed Himself to Moses through a burning bush at Mount Horeb, and appointed him for a rescue task. This is Moses’ ministry under the bush administration.

We see in the story that, all along God was in control. Whatever our current or future situation will be – God is in control. The Name which God claimed – I AM WHO I AM, is an indication that God is sovereign. I AM is the God who is eternal, uncaused, and independent. We maybe suffering from many things – economic collapse and financial hardships, cost of health insurance is sky high, or pain and sorrow is at its peak. But God is still on His throne, He knows everything going on in our lives, and no one can tell Him what to do. God acts according to His will, timing, and character. All we have to do is to know God’s will in our lives, trust God, and wait for His actions.

It maybe hard to understand and reconcile a suffering world to a loving, just, and merciful God – but it is what it is. God knows best and it could be understood through faith, not through human intelligence and logic. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. (1 Cor. 3:19). In their time of hardship, the Israelites prayed and God answered their prayers by sending rescue team in the person of Moses. In our time of hardship and trouble, we can call upon the Lord – the Great I AM – and He can rescue us, only when we trust and have faith in Him.

God-fearing Women

Exodus 1:17 (NKJV)

But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.

As I started on Exodus, I cannot get out my attention on the character of the two Hebrew midwives – Shiphrah and Puah. They were the early representations of the three young Hebrew guys - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who defied King Nebuchadnezzar’s order to worship the Babylonian golden image he had setup (Daniel 3). Shiphrah and Puah did not follow the Pharaoh’s order to kill male babies born of Hebrew women – because they feared God. They basically risked their lives disobeying the Pharaoh who can order summary execution for their quick death. They would rather do the right things for the Lord, than do things right for Pharaoh.

How many people today are willing to sacrifice their lives, much less their career, or reputation because of the fear of God? The fear of God is a holy fear knowing that He alone can let us or deny us into His heaven, therefore as much as we can, we obey God and follow His commandments. Jesus said to His disciples, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28).

Sadly in our culture today, the fear of God is watered down. Even the use of God’s Name had become part of habitual curses and thoughtless expressions. In fact, it seems there is no fear of God anymore, we rather fear people who can sue us, or isolate us, or get mad at us when we tell about God and Jesus Christ in public. Cornelius, a really tough guy, a commander of one-hundred powerful soldiers called the Italian Regiment, stared in fear – probably motionless – when he saw an angel of God and spoke to him (Acts 10:4). It is just hard to imagine how really tough we are, when we come face to face with God or just an angel. Fear God now, it is your fountain of life. (Prov. 14:27).

In Memory of Her

Today's Verse

Mark 14:9 (NIV)

I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.

Read: Mark 14:1-10

Thoughts

Think about yourself being commended by a king because of an extraordinary thing that you did. How would it feel? In our story, we read that Jesus commended a woman who anointed Him with expensive perfume few days before His death. It must have been the greatest commendation of all for it came from the King of kings and Lord of lords – Jesus Christ. That woman was no other than Mary Magdalene. Mary was believed to be a prostitute, with seven demons whom Jesus casted out (Mark 16:9). She was from Bethany, and she was the sister of Martha and Lazarus – the guy whom Jesus raised from the dead. Apparently, Lazarus was the only guy who experienced physical death twice! Nonetheless, Lazarus never complained coming back to life even when he was stinking dead for four days (John 11:39) and was already enjoying heaven. Jesus explicitly called out his name, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43), otherwise all of the dead came out and it would have been the first Halloween.

There is nothing more important than giving our best to Jesus Christ, like Mary did. She broke the alabaster jar and poured out the very costly spikenard oil on the head of Jesus – as expression of anointing. The oil perfume was priced around three hundred dinarii or more than a year’s wage. More likely, it must have been her earnings being a prostitute. And she did not regret throwing it away for she had been freed from the bondage of sin and Satan – and anything about her past have been surrendered to Jesus. She cannot just express her gratefulness enough when Jesus delivered her from the seven demons, and gave her a fresh new start. Now she committed her very life to following Jesus all the way to the cross and beyond. So much so, that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene on the resurrection day before anyone else (John 20:14).

True enough, every time the gospel is preached, the story of Mary Magdalene is also being told. To show us that no matter how broken and unacceptable we are, whatever our past was, Jesus died for all our sin and freed us from the bondage of Satan. All we need to do is give Him back our praise and worship, and tell the whole world about our freedom and new life in Jesus Christ. What have you been doing for Jesus lately? Was it worth commending?

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Mary Magdalene, who lived a life that was totally committed to serving You. Oh Lord, bring us back to fellowship with You for we have been burdened and overwhelmed by the cares and problems on this earth. Help us to lay them all at the feet of Jesus – for You care about us. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.

Glory in the Lord

Jeremiah 9:23 (NKJV)

Thus says the Lord:
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

In this world we live in, people learn how to be wise, to be mighty and most importantly to be rich. From the beginning of civilization until now, these things have been the goal of men. People wanted to be independent, to be self-reliant, and self-sustaining. So much so that we started to keep glory in ourselves and forget about the Author of life and the Giver of our strength, ability, and might to accomplish the things we do.

In our economy, we elevate and promote people who are good and capable, and we admire them. Yet many times, it is not always the case, people who really are not good enough for the position are promoted and elevated. The lousy guys take the break! Simply because of relationship, friendship, or mere acquaintances. I had hard time accepting that kind of fact happening right before me. But when I turned on the Bible, it should be the case! In God’s economy, it is all about relationship and fellowship. No matter how lousy we are, God accepts and promotes us. And God hates people who rely and glory in themselves, and forget about God.

The Lord said that if we have to glory, we glory in knowing and understanding who God is – that He exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth (v. 24). Why? Because people are just the opposite – we normally hate each other, we don’t apply and practice justice, and we are crooks who hate doing the right things. And without God, everything becomes chaotic. Find a nation or place where God is not acknowledged and honored, a place of atheists and anarchists, and see what is in there. If you find peace, harmony, and development, then forget about God.

The Peril of Guilt

Genesis 50:15 (NKJV)

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.

Joseph’s brothers have been harboring guilt in themselves for the past thirty-nine years! They did their sin against Joseph when he was seventeen, Joseph is now fifty six and being the prime minister of Egypt. Joseph sleeps, wakes up, and works peacefully in God’s presence without any thought of hate while his brothers are thinking the unthinkable!

Many times we too are victims of our own guilt. We still think about our pasts even when we know that Jesus Christ has forgiven us with all our sin when we accepted Him as our Savior and Lord. He made us new, and we become new creation in Christ, the old has gone – the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17). Yet our guilt still haunts us, we cannot forgive ourselves as much as Joseph’s brothers cannot forgive themselves on what they did. Much more, they are facing the one whom they sinned to.

The good news for us is, when Jesus forgave us, He called us his friends (John 15:15), we are co-heirs with Him in heaven. We will see Him face to face and have fellowship with Him. He will be our bridegroom and we are His bride, which speaks of uniting with Him in the future.

If you are a new creation in Christ, put out all the past guilt, Jesus has washed your sins away with His blood. Put out all your burden of unforgiveness that drags you down so heavy, for when you cannot forgive your fellow men or even yourself, how can the Father forgive you? You cannot pray, “Forgive us, as we forgive those who sinned against us”. Don’t be a fool like Joseph’s brothers, take out your guilt, forgive others, and live in peace with God and other people.

Prayer of Hope

Lord God Heavenly Father,
Creator of the heavens and the earth,
How long will we keep sinning against You?
How long will we drop down our guards
and enjoy the pleasures of this world?

We know that it is just for a moment but with
eternal consequences, yet we do it.
Forgive us Lord and cleanse us by the
blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Thank You that You have promised us with
Your grace like fountain of fresh water that never runs out.

Help us to obey You according to Your Word
Help us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of promise
Who sealed us until the Day of Redemption
Help us to be more like Jesus Christ that we may appear
with Him like as He is when that time comes.

Oh Lord, we are so unworthy even after being saved though Jesus Christ
Yet, we thank You that You don't see us as we are
But You see the perfect holiness of Jesus Christ covering us
We praise You for Your faithfulness
You are the God who never changes
There is no shifting shadow in You Lord
You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Who is like You, Oh Lord?
There is none, no one can fathom Your thoughts
They are always higher than our thoughts
Your ways are higher than our ways
You are the Sovereign Lord
And no one dictates what You do.

Even if we go through economic crisis and turmoil
You are always with us, for You promised
You will never leave us nor forsake us
Help us not to focus on problems surrounding us
But to focus on what You have in store for us in the heavens.

We cannot wait to see Your presence and glory
But help us to do Your will here on earth
This is not our residency, our residency is with You forever
Thank You for adopting us as Your sons and daughters
Only through the blood of Jesus alone.

Right now, help us to practice doing the things we'll do in heaven
Glorifying and worshipping Your Holy Name
For when we see those who never trusted You in the lake of fire
We cannot imagine how grateful we are that we are with You forever
Hallelujah to Your Name, Oh Jesus.

The Sin Of Doing Nothing

Numbers 32:23 (NKJV)

But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.

More often, Christians sin against the Lord by “omit-ment”. Doing nothing about the salvation Jesus Christ paid for us with His own blood on the wooden cross. Paul urged the Philippians to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), and those same words are for us Christians of today. Much like taking care of your baby, or your pet, or whatever you value so much that you don’t want them to die or fade away. We must value our salvation knowing that it cost the blood of Jesus to pay for it.

Beware that we might be doing what the Reubenites, Gadites, and half of Manassehites planned to do when they were about to enter the Promised Land. They would rather want to stay and settle at the east side of Jordan river. God commanded them to cross over to the west side of the river and occupy the land of Canaan. They were in fact disobeying the Lord! Fortunately, our hero – Moses gave them some heavy sermon, and they decided to send their men to join the Canaan invasion, only then they can go back to their families on the east side of the Jordan river.

Yet it did not stop there, we know later that those who stayed behind on the east side – the 2 ½ tribes – who did not get into the Promised Land became indulged into all sorts of idolatry with the Gentiles. Raised hogs for business which is against the Jewish practice, and Jesus at one time sent the demons from the possessed guy to those hogs down the river.

What are you doing with the salvation you have in Jesus? Are you staying behind? Are you joining the invasion to take the world for Christ? Take heed Christian, doing nothing is the same sin as the 2 ½ tribes of old, and their sin have found them out. Don’t wait till Jesus will send your hogs down the river.

What The Devil Does Not Want You To Do

As I observed day by day my life on this earth, trying to live a life for Christ, there are few things that seemed to become patterns and I consider some of them as the Enemy's work trying to trip us off in moments we are most prone and off guard.

So, I call this blog - "What the Devil does not want you to do".

1. The Devil does not want you to sing, praise, or glorify the Name of Jesus. Your praise and worship in Jesus, is painful to his ears. He will do anything to distract you, or put you in a situation to turn your joy into sadness, worry, or even anger. He can ring your phone while you're praying, create commotion or any emergency while you're reading your Bible, and anything he can manipulate to wade you off from your fellowship with Jesus. And then your response will be, to stop singing for Jesus, stop praying, stop going to fellowships, or even stop going to church!

2. The Devil does not want you to trust God. He will keep you busy watching and reading all the bad news on the TV, on the newspapers, and other things - such that you will be filled with worry and anxiety. Instead of you, talking to God, thanking Him that He has given you yet another day to live, given you new mercies and grace every morning, given you health, given you air to breath, given you food and sustained you. Your response will be now to start scampering around trying to find solutions to secure yourself, your family, and your future. You will forget that God is the One who should be in control of your life.

3. The Devil does not want you to mature and grow in your Christian life. He will deceive you, that once you get your life and hell-fire insurance from Jesus, you can go back and live your stinking, old lifestyle. Instead of keeping yourself near to the watering hole of the Word of God, the Devil will keep you dry and lifeless, without nourishment, and never growing. He can also let you go to church, but still keeping your old, bad attitudes with you to stumble other Christians, instead of building them up and encouraging other believers.

4. The Devil does not want you to realize that Christian life is active, fun, and exciting. He will present you seemingly much more interesting things of the world. He will give you the notion that being a Christian is boring and lifeless, when in fact just the opposite of what he is offering you. He will get you deep down into the pit of worldly entertainment, get you addicted, get you stoned that it would be very heavy for you to lift and get out. Then, when you're hooked into it, he will take it out and find yourself in desperation, emptiness, and disillusioned. He will let you opt for any type of disorder you like, and much worse to become suicidal. That way, he can take your soul to the pit of hell.

If Joseph Is With The Feds

Genesis 47:20 (NKJV)

Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

With all the "learned" people in America, educated by premier universities, well-known doctorates of so-and-so, the American economy is in great trouble. When well-known universities said, “We don’t need God in our schools and universities!” God turned His face away and let the people be granted what they wished for.

On the contrary, Joseph trusted in God – he acknowledged that everything he knows came from God, and God added more to his wisdom, position, and power. God showed him how to go about the 7-year worldwide famine, such that only Egypt had enough food and supply to stand the test of economy and famine. He did not “steal” the glory that is due for the Lord, he gave it back every time he is in a situation.

When will the educated people of America really learn, that it is not because of human knowledge alone, but reliance in God that this country became so rich and powerful? If Joseph is with the Feds today, he can manage to buy the wealth of the world and bail out the American economy, probably even the world’s economy. All upon reliance in God's guidance and wisdom. Sadly, it is just a matter of time that America will fall to its face on the ground, until she acknowledges that God is the One who made America rich and powerful.

Real Christians Suffer

Today's Verse

Genesis 45:7-8 (NKJV)

And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Read Genesis 45

Thoughts

We often do not understand when bad things happen to us. We freak out, we complain, we blame God, we backslide, and we never want to live a Christian life again. In our story, despite of what happened to Joseph, when everything seemed to be going down the drain, Joseph floated in the midst of adversity and kept trusting God. Joseph never complained, never murmured, and never blamed his brothers about his situation for he knew that the Lord was with him. And so, he can say at the end, “It was God who sent me here, and not you”.

This story can be paralleled in the story of Jesus. It wasn’t the Jews who killed Him, nor the Roman soldiers, nor Judas Iscariot – it was the Father God who sent Jesus to the cross (1 John 4:10), to save us from eternal damnation in the lake of fire, by paying the death penalty Himself – all because of His love for us. And now, Jesus sits on the throne in heaven as the ruler and judge of all.

Have you been walking in the Lord really faithfully, and still experiencing the hardships and trials in your life? Be joyful, it is according to God’s plan that He is preparing you for better things yet to come (1 Peter 5:10). God is preparing you to be a great blessing to other people – you may not know it, but it is in the hands of the Almighty God. Joseph was rewarded the position of Egypt’s prime minister, because of his faithfulness to God. You may not have that kind of reward on earth, but God prepared better rewards for you in heaven.

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, help us when trials come along our way for Your sake, as we journey towards our destiny with You. Forgive us when we fall, restore to us the joy of salvation we have in you. Use us for Your glory and as blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How To Be Happy

Psalm 1:1 (NKJV)

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful

Let us not fool our emotions, real happiness is clearly defined in our text today. If we bring this up to our modern understanding, happiness is simply getting away ourselves from the ways of the wicked - that’s it! Very simple yet very effective. No messing around, and you’ll be happy.

However, happiness is pretty much distorted in our world today. It is being defined of “what we have” – such as, we will be happy if we have a big house, nice car, beautiful partner, obedient kids, good job, good salary, nice toys, and anything we think we should have. External things impacting our internal emotions.

Yet, happiness as defined in our text should be rooted into holiness. It should come out from the joy that we have inside, and the joy comes from knowing that we are safe and secure in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Such that, even if we don’t have the external material things – we will still be joyful and happy. But the Devil wants us to believe that happiness is a result of the external material things that we “must have”. And so, materialism is being marketed very effectively is all sorts of media – which makes many people superficially happy. If you don’t have the material things you wanted, would you still be happy?

Bitterness

Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLT)

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Have you ever encountered a person who is always irritated, always angry, with uncontrollable tongue, and always burning with fury? It is easy when you are driving during rush hours. But even then, you can always meet a person with a negative attitude and they are very, very contagious. Smiling is contagious but negativity infects to a large degree. Quite frankly, I am a very vulnerable person for contamination, and I easily become angry too.

As I read our text today (vv. 17-32), the Lord showed me that bitterness is one of the enemy’s strongest arsenals of fire power against Christians in the emotional realm. If we don’t let go of the negative attitudes listed above, we are actually grieving the Holy Spirit who is living in us (v. 30), and we can blast off and destroy a whole lot of relationships – in the family, in the church, in circle of friends, in our workplace, wherever. Simply because, they are things of the Devil and they should not co-exist with the Holy Spirit in us! So, we are commanded to “get rid of all bitterness”, tied with it rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and “all” types of evil behavior. We need to wipe them out with kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness – only three things, but can clean out all sorts of dirt in our attitudes and emotions.

Short Meditations: The Power of Prayer

James 5:17-18 (NLT)

“Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

Elijah is a dude with awesome power in prayer. He can pray for drought of three and a half years, and he can pray for rain after that. When he prays, he prays earnestly bending to the ground with his face between his knees (1 Kings 18:42). This is a picture of a woman in birthing position. Elijah was basically praying in labor! Even so, Jesus prayed before his arrest with sweat like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

Prayer is not just wishful thinking, it is a serious conversation with the Lord to ask about His will, not our will – which is mostly selfish in nature. Elijah apparently prayed seven times, and God answered his prayers (1 Kings 18:43-44). There is something in doing it seven times, for it is the number of completion or perfection. So when we pray, we do it earnestly and completely. It is not because we want to twist God’s arm, or that the Lord doesn’t hear, or because it is His requirement, but simply – it is a God thing to commune with Him and fellowship with Him in our prayers, and then God answers our prayers in His perfect time. Are you laboring in prayer yet? Be joyful, God will not tire you waiting.

Short Meditations: You're a WIP!

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

I used to be a project manager myself and I understand the importance and joy of finishing and completing a project – setting a timeline, following through all the critical tasks that need to be accomplished according to schedule, striking the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness, setting the right amount of manpower, man-hours, logistics, and many other things. There is that sense of fulfillment deep inside that lifts up your spirit to achieve even furthermore, when everything is said and done. However, that experience is nothing compared to God’s working in Christians – those who trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Christians are all “work in progress, or WIP”, as far as the Lord is concerned. When He called us to be His followers and we accepted God’s calling, the Lord started grinding and molding us into the persons He wanted us to be. Christian life is not a walk in the park, it is a constant battle against our enemy, the Devil. Yet, in the midst of all our struggles, God is there before us caring and guiding us. Apostle Paul, while penning the words in our text today was in a lower dungeon in prison chained to Roman soldiers guarding him. Despite of his situation, he had the joy and treasures of encouragement to tell about the church in Philippi which he had established.

We may not be persecuted like the early Christians, yet we fail at times in our Christian walk. But God’s work is based on His faithfulness and not on our failures. And so, we have that confidence that one day, when we are done and completed, we will reflect God’s glory and honor.

When Sin Catches Up With You

Today's Verse

Genesis 42:21 (NLT)
Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”

Read Genesis 42

Thoughts

It is just a fact of life. Our sin always requires pay back time. Anything we do, from simple disobedience from our parents, telling lies, hurting someone, infidelity, to homicide or murder – it always comes back to charge for the penalty. It is not a question of if, but when. In our text today, we see that it was pay back time for the brothers of Joseph to face the consequence of their sin against Joseph. However, we see here a very important principle of the Scriptures – the mercy of God reflected in the Old Testament.

The ten brothers of Joseph could have been summarily executed when they came from Canaan to Egypt to buy food during the worldwide famine, for Joseph have all the power in his hands to do as he wishes. Yet, Joseph was overwhelmed with compassion and love for his brothers, that he had to cry out secretly. While his brothers were trembling in fear, Joseph was weeping down in compassion.

Joseph reflects the compassion and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus feels the same way for us sinners – we deserve punishment and death because we offended the Creator of the heavens and the earth. We all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), and we deserve nothing but death (Rom. 6:23). But like Joseph, Jesus broke down and wept because of our foolishness, He had compassion and love for us, that He was willing to die on the cross just to rescue us from the penalty of our sin, which is eternal damnation in the lake of fire. It was reserved for the Devil and his demons, but many people choose to go there too.

Sooner or later, your sin will catch up with you. But right now, Jesus is offering you His forgiveness and salvation. There is one of two things you can do: acknowledge that you are a helpless offender and sinner, just like Joseph’s brothers who are at the mercy of Joseph’s hand, and receive forgiveness and salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ – OR – remain proud and seemingly can work things out by yourself, but then the end is death and damnation (Prov. 14:12).

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, we humbly bow down and acknowledge that we are all sinners, and nothing we can do to save ourselves. Have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may find mercy and salvation in the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Knowing and Caring

I heard this on podcast and I like it .....

"People do not care how much we know, until they know how much we care"

It’s not in me, but God

Today's Verse

Genesis 41:38 (NKJV)

And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Read Genesis 41

Thoughts

Talking about a person with total package solution, Joseph has it. All because, the Spirit of God was with him. Fresh from the dungeon of the prison, he finally got his break, and then catapulted into Prime Minister of Egypt. How cool was that? You may say, yet it happened to Joseph. But it was not an easy process. Because before that, Joseph was grinding into the valleys of trial at the dungeon. God was preparing him to be a “fool” proof minister of God’s work and of Egypt.

Early on at the prison cell, Joseph interpreted the dreams of the two servants of Pharaoh, the butler and the baker – both apparently offended the Pharaoh. The interpretation of their dreams by Joseph came into fruition during Pharaoh’s birthday, the butler was restored to office, and the baker was executed. Once the butler was restored to office, he forgot about Joseph. Only after two years past that he remembered Joseph, when Pharaoh was the one who got dreams that no one can interpret. Not even Pharaoh’s best fortune tellers, wise men, magicians, sorcerers, or astrologers can interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Only a person with close encounter with the Lord, that the Lord will reveal dreams to whom He pleases, such as Joseph.

In our text today, we see that God is the author of our dreams, and He is also the Revealer. “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” Joseph said in verse 16. “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do”, again he said in verse 25. Joseph was just an instrument of God to reveal His purpose. The good thing about Joseph was, he did not take credit of the things he had done, he fully understood that everything came from God and he was giving back all credit to God. And so, the Lord was delighted with Joseph that he was elevated as Prime Minister of Egypt.

Joseph did not just interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and he could have lied about the reality that was about to take place – seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, after all, he was at the enemy’s territory. Rather he relayed the message from God totally and completely, and even came with solutions on what to do. We see that Joseph had the personality of being plain-old, flat-out, truthful person. He does not withhold the truth, probably even if people cannot handle the truth. That made him in trouble with his step brothers, but now he is elevated by God because of his truthfulness.

When God uses you, do you take the credit? Or give it back to God with thanksgiving? It is not us, it is all about Jesus.

Prayer

Dear Lord Heavenly Father, it is not because of us that we can do wonderful and incredible feats, it is all because of You. You alone made things possible beyond our knowledge and abilities. We give You back the honor and glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I Blog For God

I blog for the Lord
My precious Audience
People blog about many things
To attract and please people

I blog for the Creator
Of the heavens and of the earth
To whom I put my pleasure
And His pleasure is my desire

Praise the Name of the Lord
Praise His holy Name

iBlog4God

Do You Really Trust God?

Today's Verse

Psalm 20:7 (NKJV)

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Thoughts

We live in a world where we are trained to plan everything, check all the details, cover all our bases, leave nothing to chance, failure is not an option, and do whatever we can to secure our future. These are fine, after all the Bible teaches us not to slacken, not to be complacent, but to be prepared, and to be forward looking. Yet many times, we are caught up in all these rush and find ourselves relying in our own abilities, and leaving behind the God-factor - trusting in the Lord.

Having chariots and horses in the ancient world is like having the firepower and domination in today’s modern warfare. The enemies of Israel have the firepower, but here King David relies in the name of the Lord, as he always did even when he killed and triumphed over Goliath. We read over and over again in the Bible how God reminded His people to rely on Him, and not on human capabilities. Yes, we need to be prepared and be ready, but let us give God the room for Him to work in us and for us. After all, it is God who provides for all our talents, abilities, opportunities, health, and even our capacity to work.

Christian life is not a walk in the park, it is a constant battle against the forces of darkness (Eph. 6:12). And so, we can either be a combatant or a captive. We are captives if we are no different from other people living in constant sin and have no regard of the things of God. We are combatants if we live by faith, spreading His Word, trusting God, and following His will and commands in our lives.

I love the story of Pastor Chuck Smith regarding a small woman in her nineties, with big Cadillac car moving around the country to different churches just to exhort people how worthy it is to trust in God. One day, a man was touched by her testimony and offered the woman a kind of help that is available anytime, anywhere, at any condition, at any case her Cadillac breaks down – for he owns a large trucking company. So he handed his personal business card, with his private telephone number. She took the card and looked at it, smiled and handed it back and said, “For seventy years I’ve been trusting the Lord to take care of me, and He has never failed me. Though I appreciate your offer and I hope you’re not offended, I would rather continue to trust in the Lord than to trust in you to help me out of a jam.”

How often do we trust in our own securities? In our finances? In our capabilities? In our armies, tanks, and warplanes? If we trust God, we have that peace of mind that cannot be found anywhere else. Trust God, for He cares.

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for the promise that You will never leave us, nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5) – when we put our trust in You. Help us not to panic when problems come our way, but to look upon You, for You are faithful and true. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Seeing God Through Us

Today's Verse

Genesis 39:3 (NKJV)

And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.

Read: Genesis Chapter 39

Thoughts

Joseph’s story covers more than 25 percent of the last chapters of Genesis, summarizing more than nine decades of his life. Here, we see that the Lord had been working in the life of Joseph. Joseph had a roller-coaster ride in his life; he started from up being his dad’s favorite, went down to the pit and then sold as slave, went up to Potiphar’s house, went down to prison for a crime he did not commit, and finally went up to Pharaoh’s palace. Yet, with all those successes and trials, we never saw Joseph complaining about anything, except one when he said “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” What was his secret? God was with him, and he stayed in the Lord.

It is interesting to know, how Joseph handled everything in his life, much more when he smelled success and slowly getting elevated despite of the downsides that happened in his life. He could have grabbed all the opportunity that he can have, bragged about how good and how handsome he was, taken Potiphar’s wife under his control, taken Potiphar’s position under Pharaoh, and did every successful person can do – got into power and destroyed everyone who wronged him and were against him, just as the world teaches.

Yet Joseph was not looking for his own agenda, he was looking at God’s agenda for his life. He knows that God had much better things ahead, even if God was not holding down the punches of trials in his life that definitely can bring him down. His eyes were fixed on what God had in store for him. At the end, God rewarded him, put him in a position where God can use him more effectively – next to the Pharaoh. Literally, he became the savior and hero of the ancient world, for God used him and blessed him in ways he never expected.

You may be in a situation where everything seems to be going against you. You may feel like throwing down the towel, and say “I quit, I’m done”. And you pondered, you can just go through the currents of life instead. Look at God’s agenda for your life again, and be still and know that God is in the midst of your trials and hardships. Only then, people will see God through you because you reflect His image in your life whatever the situation maybe. Joseph kept his calm in the Lord, until one day, the Lord lifted him up and elevated him where he should be. You can keep your calm, and wait upon the Lord. God is not forgetful in His promises, He blesses those who trust in Him.

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, forgive us for not abiding in You when trials come. Help us to be still and know that You are God, that You are in control of everything. Make us like gold purified in fire, only then Your reflection can be seen through us, when the impurities are burned away and separated. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

My Psalm of Praise

Dear God Heavenly Father
Help me to remember Your goodness and loving kindness
In the midst of trial and temptation
Make me strong to stay in You.

Give me the strength to hold on to Your promises
When people surround me to turn me away
Shield me with Your love and mercy
Keep my path straight and righteous before You.

When I drop and fall along the way
You lift me up with Your wings
You keep me under Your shadow
You are my shield and my fortress.

Hallelujah to Your Name
Thank You for the blood that saved us
Glory to Your Holy Name
You alone are God Almighty.

In the Name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord
The Creator of the heavens and the earth.

When I sin against You
Forgive me with Your mercy and grace
When I transgress before You
Cleanse me by the blood of Jesus.

Make me walk in Your ways
How righteous are Your ways Oh Lord
How righteous are Your ways
They are life to our spirit.

When darkness comes around us
You are my Light and my Guide
You show me Your righteous path
The hard and narrow path that brings life.

Glory to Your Name
Your Name be exalted on high
On earth as it is in heaven
The Name above all names.

Evil may be all around us
But one with You Oh Lord is a majority
The Devil may be in control
But You are the ultimate Authority.

Oh how comforting the peace we have in You
Oh how assuring to know You are my God
There is none like You Oh Lord
The God of the heavens and the earth.

You are from everlasting to everlasting
You are the author of life
You know me even before I was born
For you appointed my life in You.

Who can know Your ways Oh Lord
Who can fathom Your wisdom
There is no one for Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts
Your ways are higher than our ways.

The Devil will tremble
Evil will fall
You appointed them in Your wrath
They know they will end.

They hook up people in their death beds
They gather people to unrighteousness
People follow through the broad way
The way that leads to death.

They make their followers flourish
And give them false security
At the end of the road
Death is waiting for them.

How foolish to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin
The Devil makes sin look pleasurable
And attaches the hook of death
The penalty of sin is death.

Keep us in You Oh Lord
Make us remain in the Vine
Do not make us dry out
But water us with Your Spirit.

Make us light and salt of this earth
To show people Your love and salvation
Take away our idleness Oh God
Use us in Your holy purpose.

Many people are suffering
Many people are bound for hell
Yet You love them enough
And You take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

How lovely is Your dwelling place
You desire us to be with You
You have given us victory in Your Name
You alone are the Holy God.

The Enemy is defeated
You are victorious
Who is like You Oh Lord
There is none for You alone are God.

From Bad Deal To Blessing

Today's Verse

Genesis 38:11 (NKJV)

Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

Read: Genesis Chapter 38

Thoughts

Jacob’s sons were slowly breaking up: Simeon and Levi’s killing spree in Shechem, Reuben’s abuse of Bilhah (his father’s wife), Joseph was sold into slavery, and now Judah associated himself with the Canaanites, basically he was sleeping with the enemy. He befriended a Canaanite guy, married a Canaanite woman, and found a Canaanite woman for his son – the woman’s name was Tamar.

Judah’s two sons (Er and Onan) became wicked that God took their lives away. And so Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law was left hanging in the balance. Judah had a third son named Shelah, and promised Tamar that when he will reach adulthood, Tamar could marry him also. It was a tradition that succeeding younger brothers must marry their older brother’s wife when he dies, to continue the legacy of the oldest brother (Deut. 25:7). So more likely, younger brothers must have an approval of whom the oldest brother should marry.

Judah sent Tamar back to his dad, probably having the thought that she will marry some Canaanite man and he can get rid of her eventually from wreaking havoc to his family. Shelah is the only son left to continue the family clan, and no way he’s gonna be dead too. In reality, Tamar was just one woman caught up in the mess of Judah’s family. Later, because of a broken promise, Tamar did what any woman would do; she made a way to get justice for herself by disguising as a harlot to be impregnated by Judah, since Judah did not give Shelah to Tamar when he was at the right age. As the story goes, Tamar was proven to be more righteous than Judah because of the instances that transpired. Tamar became pregnant with twins (Perez and Zerah) and was the first of the four non-Jewish women to be included in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba).

The moral of the story, we often disregard other people that seem to be irrelevant, someone who is outside of our group, we focus on our Christianese comfort zones, and don’t mind about others. But in God’s eyes, He can make use of anyone He wants to use, even a Canaanite woman who was non-Jewish. It shows that God’s grace was already at work in the lives of non-Jewish people very early on. Even until now, many people like us who are outside the chosen nation of Israel can be included in God’s heavenly family because of His own work through the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not because of our own doing or qualifications, it is by God’s grace. God can turn bad deals in our lives to blessings we never imagined.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, we cannot thank You enough that we have the opportunity to be called sons and daughters of God because of You (John 1:12). You brought us out of the miry clay, and continue sanctifying us until one day - we will live with You in heaven. Praise You Lord Jesus. Amen.

Every Knee Shall Bow

Today's Verse

Genesis 37:7 (NKJV)

There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

Thoughts

Here is Joseph, 17 years old, very young, careless, and carefree. We do not know if he was just insensitive to his surroundings, unaware of the envious eyes of his brothers planting evil in their hearts day by day. Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob through Rachel, who died giving birth to her second son Benjamin – Jacob’s 12th son. Remember that Jacob had four wives, whom Rachel was his favorite wife and her son Joseph was Jacob’s favorite too! Jacob made Joseph a tunic of many colors - or we may call today a Gucci designer coat! Jesus later emphasized about man and wife, not man and wives, meaning a man should only have one wife (Matt. 19:5).

Joseph had dreams and was interpreted by his brothers and parents as them bowing down to him one day, and Joseph reigning over them. This made his brothers even more furious about Joseph. We will know later that Joseph became the one who interpret dreams, for God had given him the ability. Many Bible teachers believe that Joseph is a type of Christ in the Old Testament, meaning there were instances in the life of Joseph and Jesus Christ that were similar. Joseph is one of the early representations of Jesus Christ. They were both hated by their brothers, they were put to death categorically and rose back up to life, Jesus was sinless and no fault was mentioned about Joseph, they saved their brothers who hated them, they were both loved by their fathers.

Joseph went through many trials and testings through the years, and then God elevated him to the highest position before the Pharaoh, and was given all authority over the land. His brothers and father eventually paid respect and bowed to him when the great famine came. Even all people who came bowed down to him, so they can get food supply.

Someday, Jesus who was tested, tempted, crucified, died for our sins, then rose again from the dead – will be reigning over all people and creation. God elevated Him and given Him all the authority and “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11).

No matter who we are, whether we believe in Jesus Christ or not, we will all bow down before Jesus and there is no exception – only the final destination will make the difference, whether heaven or hell. If the demons trembled and submitted to Jesus’ authority, and paid respect (Matt. 8:31), could we be more stubborn and powerful not to submit to Jesus?

Prayer

You, Oh Lord, are the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Who could stand in pride before You? We are just like wax melting and bowing before Your holy presence. We worship and lift up Your holy Name. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Weight Loss Tips - Absolutely Inexpensive

I want to share the following tips which are really effective in weight loss. I have done it myself and lost 15 pounds in 8 weeks - without joining or paying expensive weight loss programs. These steps are "live normally" procedures without inflicting sorrow and regret to yourself as you lose weight. Eat the things you used to eat, do the things you used to do. The only things you need to add to yourself are self-control and discipline.

Here are the steps to a healthy life:

1. PRAY - The first thing you need to do is to pray. You need the will and discipline to reduce your weight and live a healthy lifestyle. The God of all creation lacks nothing to give when you pray. He can give you the will to go on. You always need to go back to this step as you go along with your program.

2. DETOXIFY - One of the best secrets to weight loss is to detoxify your body. You need to take out something that will make your body "cry" for food, or something that makes you hungry. You need to reduce on alcohol, caffeine, and other chemicals that will make you feel very hungry, even medicines! While doing that, you can take your favorite “antioxidant” green tea while at work for as many times as you can, when you go home, or even when at the restaurant – order a green tea. The most important thing is, do not put sugar or sweetener. If you really cannot live without the taste of sugar, buy flavored green tea like honey or lemon. If you are not a tea fan, try unsweetened juices (which are still sweet) like raspberry, wild berry, pomegranate, and the like – pick the organic products if possible. After a week, you will notice that you feel a bit lighter and healthier, and less bad breathe when you wake up in the morning. You will also experience less rumbling in your tummy, and so you can extend your time before you eat. That is, because the toxins that rotten your body and mouth become less and less.

3. NO SUGAR – Of course this will never happen because any food that you eat most often has sugar content. So, if you wage war against sugar or sweetener, in your drinks – then your only source of sugar will be from the food you eat which could still be 60 to 70% of your total sugar intake. Another way to reduce sugar is to read labels on the grocery products, select the ones with lowest sugar content. Takes time but it pays. If you are a fan of coffee shops like Starbucks, get a latte instead of the fancy sweetened drinks. The latte will also help your tummy spit out the toxins broken down by your green teas during the day. Yet, you need to be home by then so you can visit the restroom as often as you need.

4. FOOD INTAKE REDUCTION – If you are successful with Steps 1 to 3, you may not feel like eating too much because you get full quite easily. Basically, your tummy had become more efficient that it needs less food to run it. Even if this is not the case, you still need to measure your food intake and start taking lesser portion gradually as your tummy adjusts. Do not force your stomach to go empty, otherwise you are inviting problem which could develop to a medicinal ailment like ulcer. This process is always progressive and results do not come overnight, so do not try to rush. After two weeks, you may begin to notice that you need to adjust your belt by one hole tighter. Your 33 size pant will start to become loose. As you see developments, you feel the urge to be more aggressive, relax – this is a long distance race, no need to sprint your way down and eventually lose your momentum.

For a normal built person like me (170 pounds or more), weight loss happens quickly within 4 weeks period. After that, the drop in weight becomes less and less as the time prolongs. It may mean that I am now reaching my normal body mass index, that even how hard I will do my dieting, the effects are not as much as before. It will come to a point that you are just maintaining your supposed body mass index. When that happens, and you want to achieve more, then do the next step.

5. EXERCISE - Now that you feel lighter and healthier probably after 4 or 6 weeks, this step will now be easier for you. Although, you can exercise even from the beginning, you may not have that endurance to go on because you are heavier and less healthy. In such case, you may feel discouraged and not proceed. I think it is better to exercise once you have reached the point where you want to lose more, because you are now lighter and you will not tire easily as when you were heavy. It is now easier to do your exercise. It is also safer, because you do not stress your bones and joints as when you were heavy. You will now burn the excess fats and convert them to muscles during this time, while losing more weight.

6. TREAT YOURSELF – Your simple dieting may have saved you a bit of expense. You can treat yourself from time to time so as not to feel deprived. You may buy yourself a real good ice cream, or dine with your family, or have lunch with friends at least twice a month. But of course, the discipline should remain intact, that you need to do this weight loss for your own good and cause.

Hope these tips will help you as it helped me lose weight and feel healthier. As you do these, you will have frequent visits to your weighing scale. This is your ultimate feedback system – get an accurate scale. Better yet, get an analog scale, you cannot fool it and it will not fool you.

Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands

Today's Verse

Genesis 34:30 (NKJV)

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

Read: Genesis 34-35

Thoughts

Chapter 34 tells a story of rape, deception, and mass murder. The sons of Jacob had taken matters into their own hands by taking vengeance against the people of Shechem for the rape of their sister Dinah. Jacob, now a godly man, is reaping the fruits of his past works. His sons have learned the art of deceit and used it for mass murder. Although, it may have been the correct course of action – but when it is not consulted before the Lord, then it is not the right action. And now again, Jacob and his family is on the run to avoid escalation of trouble among the people of the land.

It happens many times in our lives too. We simply take matters into our own hands, without first asking the Lord for guidance. It seems that having ADD (attention deficit disorder) is more of a normal trait for many people, rather than a disorder – even for Christians. We people can’t just wait! Many relationships have been broken, churches breaking up, opportunities getting lost, and many missed blessings – simply because we take matters into our own hands. We can’t wait what the Lord has to say by reading His word, much less ask the Lord for guidance. As a result, we end up putting ourselves and others in jeopardy. Simeon and Levi were not the only ones affected by their actions, but for the whole family and tribes of Israel. Yes, when we foul up, it affects other people too and not just us.

Nevertheless, God’s mercy and grace is never swayed by the wrong actions of man. The word “oops!” is not just in God’s vocabulary. He knows and understands our frailty. The Lord spoke to Jacob to meet the Lord in Bethel and worship Him there, the place where he once took refuge while fleeing from his bro Esau (Gen 35:1). The Lord is bringing him back to the same place while running for their lives again.

That’s what we need to do when we fail, and keep failing. Go back to where we met the Lord, back to our own Bethels and worship the Lord there. But like Jacob, we need to take down our idols and gods first – basically confessing our sins and leaving behind all that binds us in this world (Gen 35:2). Only then, we can have God’s protection and blessing. Only then we can have peace in our lives, and not worry about the enemies and problems that chase us.

Prayer

Dear God Heavenly Father, forgive us for taking wrong actions and sinning against You. Forgive us for our frailty and lack of faith. Help us not to go before You, but to wait on Your leading and guidance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

All We Like Sheep

Today's Verse

Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Thoughts

Many times we people think that we are smart, talented, and genius. Intellectually, there’s no doubt about it, because God has given talent to each one of us. We can do a lot of things, invent powerful machines, create wonderful arts, and many others that make our world a better place to live.

Yet for many times, the Bible describes “all” of us as sheep. Sheep is one of the dumbest animals on the planet, if not the dumbest. When unguided, sheep can plunge to their death in a cliff, and then followed by other sheep. Sheep are extremely social animal where in most cases congregate and following each other, thus a shepherd can just lead one sheep and others will follow. However, in the absence of a shepherd, when a sheep is separated from a herd, the sheep becomes highly stressed and easily panics and its action can cause self-inflicted damages. Sheep have no defense mechanism, and they are easy target for predators like wolves, lions, bears, and coyotes.

In our own folly, we tend to follow our own instinct and knowledge; we put aside God in our lives and live the way we wanted to be. We say to ourselves, we don’t need the Shepherd – and in many cases, we are inviting trouble to ourselves. Prestigious universities in North America which were founded to promote Christ are now secularized and have nothing to do about the Lord who made them successful. Any thought about God and the Bible are now being taken out of the classrooms, from hotel rooms, from the court houses, from offices, parks, and other public areas. Atheism is promoted, other religions are welcomed, paganism is practiced, and that’s what America embraces. Sooner or later, the United States is no different than Saudi Arabia where Islam becomes the only allowed religion.

We are like sheep and we are not as wise as we think we are. Left alone to ourselves, we easily plunge to our death. We may know a lot of things, but the wisdom that comes from the Lord through Jesus Christ – our Good Shepherd - is our only guiding light to life. King David who was a shepherd himself acknowledges the need of the Lord as his Shepherd, when he said in Psalm 23:1 (NLT) – “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need”. There is a need of dependence on the Lord, we need a Shepherd - Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls. Only in the Lord, we can have peaceful rest for He leads us to streams of living water, He guides us with his staff, and all the goodness in this life and life to come is always before us.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to this earth to save us and guide us to everlasting life. You are our Good Shepherd, help us to trust and follow You, for we are as sheep that gone astray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

De God is ons toevluchtsoord!
(God is our refuge! In Dutch)

Are You Facing Danger?

Today's Verse

Genesis 32: 9-11 (NKJV)

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

Read: Genesis 32

Thoughts

Are you in a situation where you are facing real danger that is inevitable? That is what Jacob is facing after following God’s order to go back to his own country – the place that God is giving to him. Jacob and his caravan had just passed across Jordan River, which could mean – no way of turning back easily. And now, report is saying that the one he fears – his brother Esau whom he deceived, is coming their way! Esau was with four hundred men, the best archers during that time. A threat that could easily annihilate Jacob and all who were with him - servants, mothers, and their children.

Many times, we are placed in a situation like Jacob does. When we really decide to follow the Lord, suddenly things start going against our way. Hardships start to burden us, fear is having grip on us, suddenly we are facing rejection – at work, with friends, and with relatives. Suddenly relationships start to go sour. And then we find ourselves feel like retreating, but it is hardly possible when we have crossed the river of commitment. In such cases, the only way possible is too look up. To look upon God whom we followed.

Jacob started with fear, did his best solutions – to split up the troop, to assemble barriers of “gifts and appeasements” hoping to cool down Esau’s anger and revenge, once he gets into Jacob. But then, Jacob did the even better solution – to call upon the Lord, to take refuge on God, and claim God’s command and promise. That is the best thing to do when we face real danger in following the Lord, give the situation over to God – and He will deliver us. After all, only the Lord can give us protection and comfort in times of troubles, for He is our God of refuge. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).

And God did protect Jacob and delivered him from his fears (Gen 33:10). We know that if we give our fears over to God, then we will get same kind of protection and refuge from the Lord.

Prayer

Dear Lord Heavenly Father, You are our refuge and comfort. We find peace when focus our eyes and trust in You, in times of troubles. Thank you Lord for helping and protecting us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Rethinking Life

Today's Verse

Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NLT)

We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.

Read: Ecclesiastes 5

Thoughts

I woke up this morning feeling kind of dry and empty, I don’t know if the heat wave in the area has something to do with it. But sometimes, I guess each person will somehow come to that kind of feeling where you wake up one morning and begin to feel like life is empty. And then, you start questioning yourself what life is for. I thought this could be one instance when the enemy will attack because I am vulnerable and ruin my day, so I bowed and pray to the Lord, then read my Bible. For some reason I came across Ecclesiastes 5, and read King Solomon’s emotions and regrets, and joys in life.

Have you ever thought what is good, bad, and best in this life is? Take it from King Solomon, the guy who basically has gone through “all” what life could offer: wisdom, wealth, wives, wretchedness, wickedness, wildness, and anything you can think of. He did not merely thought about what things in life would be, but he tried them himself, even in many instances disobeying God!

Talking about worldly experiences, King Solomon tried it all – not once, not twice, but hundreds until he finds them they never satisfy at all! He was the richest man who ever lived (1 Kings 10:23): he ruled kingdoms, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, his music is the real orchestra – no iPods or MP3 players, no home theater systems, he always wants the real thing. He doesn’t watch in 70” plasma, he watched games right before his eyes – no 3D please, just real! His circles of friends were kings and conquerors and they gave their daughters to him for wives. Silver was greatly devalued during Solomon’s time (1 Kings 10:21), and possibly just like pieces of rocks that you can put in the foundation of your house. He was crazy about wheels and horsepower (1 Kings 10:26)! Yet, because of all these things and his wives, his heart was drawn away from the Lord, and he greatly transgressed and did evil in the eyes of God (1 Kings 11:9).

And when he grew old, he realized that life is not found in the things he acquired, or the successes he achieved – he calls them “vanity”, meaningless, worthless (Ecc 12:8)! But rather, life and joy and happiness is only found in the “fear” of the true and living God – not afraid, but holy reverence. After all, God judges everything we have done in this life whether good or bad (Ecc 12:14). Solomon said it is good to have things in life and enjoy what you have for these are God’s blessings (Ecc 5:18-20), but don’t set your heart on them for they are nothing. Set your heart on the living God.

You may be young and vibrant, and you think you have life – think again. If you are wiser than Solomon who wrote wise books of Proverbs (31 chapters) and Ecclesiastes (12 chapters), and you think you can beat that, then don’t believe when he said, “Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, ‘Life is not pleasant anymore.’ ” (Ecc 12:1- NLT). The word is “now”, not later when it is too late.

Prayer

Lord God, forgive us if we focus our life on the things of this world. Open and guide our minds to remember You in the days of our lives, that we may honor and glorify Your holy Name. Amen.

Are You A Blessing To Others?

Today's Verse

Genesis 31:42 (NKJV)

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

Read: Genesis 31

Thoughts

It is often confusing what principles we cling to as we live in this world. Popular belief says: you are the priority, get as much as you can, stay at the top of the pack, be popular, and never mind the others. The Bible says otherwise, and it is hard to follow. It is just against the tide. In our passage, we saw that Jacob had learned to trust God after many failures. He had learned how to be a servant, to be humbled, and be taken advantage of - in a foreign country, contrary to what he used to be – a supplanter, and “All I can have” mama’s boy. After many years of hardship and trials, and no one to turn to, he turned and trusted the God of his fathers.

And now, Jacob is the source of blessings for his uncle Laban, for the Lord has blessed all his works. When we learn to give all our failures to the Lord and trust in Him, it is then that God will turn it around into blessings. There is nothing more rewarding than humbling ourselves to be used by God, and in turn be a blessing to others as Jacob did. And even when it seemed Jacob was ripping off Laban before their departure going back to his country, God’s blessing and allowing was there – for He is the avenger of the humble and the lowly.

Are you striving to compete and be at the top, not minding who’s gonna hurt, and who’s gonna be trampled down? The Lord is teaching the other way around. In God’s economy, the way up is down, and the way down is up. When we humble down ourselves and trust God for our future, then He will lift us up. But if we seek to be the top dog, be self-sufficient, and have the “I can do it” mentality, then it becomes the work of the flesh, instead of the Spirit of God. Jacob could have turned the situation upside down, make himself rich and make Laban poor, and let Laban serve him, but he did not for he learned the joy and blessings of humility and godliness.

Learn to be blessed and be a blessing from the person who learned it the hard way, Jacob - the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, many times we are tempted to do things our way, to strive to the top no matter what. We forgot to rely on You, and so we missed Your blessings. Help us Lord to be humble and lowly, knowing that You care more than enough for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Honor Your Parents

Today's Verse

Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Thoughts

This is the fifth commandment of the Ten Commandments, God had given the Israelites through Moses. But this is the “first” commandment with promise (Eph 6:2). In fact it is the “only” commandment with promise! Why is it so important that the Lord had to attach such promise, and not to all the commandments? When you have the words “so that”, then something follows afterwards – and it is good, it spells long life. In fact, this is the secret to long life! It is not some magic fountain, some freezing machine, or by any invention and medicine.

In the United States, there is growing problem of juvenile delinquencies and increasing at sharp rate. If not controlled, then this country will become a country of anarchy. No rules, no standards, no peace, everything is chaos, no long life – everyone will die at youth because of violence, drugs and vices, suicides, and others. Even aggravated by some self-righteous civil rights movements, where they promote that disciplining children is inhuman and against the law. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law” (Psalm 94:12).

The Lord instituted or established the family as the primary environment for training children into obedience, character building, and values forming. According to studies, the greatest influence to children largely comes from the environment of the family which is 93%, 5% comes from school, and 2% from others including church. Therefore, the family is where kids must learn to practice submission and obedience to authorities placed by God – which are the parents. Then, when children are grown up, they learn how to submit to authorities – the law, the police, their bosses, their spouse, and any authority. No matter how good or bad parents are, it is not an excuse - it is God’s commandment, and it is God who rewards or punishes.

The Lord is the Lord of order and peace, and He knows best that obedience when practiced - however small - brings forth long life and lasting rewards. Jews rebelling against Moses were swallowed in a pit, Satan rebelled against God will be kept in a pit forever, left-wing or right-wing groups rebelling against nations were buried in a pit, a disobedient young and beautiful girl was found in a pit in Florida – raped and murdered. How shall we learn obedience and not rebellion? The Lord established the rules and authorities, follow and obey – and live long.

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, there is life and fulfillment in obedience. When You commanded us to obey, it is for our own good. Forgive us Lord when we fail, guide us that we may follow. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Vertrauen im Lord!
(Trust in the Lord! In German)

Today's Motto

In Essentials - Unity
In Non-essentials - Liberty
In All Things - Charity

(motto claimed by Restoration Movement)

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

(also titled as "America")

I stumbled along this song which I used to sing as a 5-year old boy back in Baguio, PH. With the eroding American culture, and with the lack of historical knowledge by many young people, this may remind how American fathers used to love their country.
______________________________________________________________

by Samuel Francis Smith

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father's God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

(added to celebrate Washington's Centennial)

Our joyful hearts today,
Their grateful tribute pay,
Happy and free,
After our toils and fears,
After our blood and tears,
Strong with our hundred years,
O God, to Thee.

Additional Verses by Henry Van Dyke

We love thine inland seas,
Thy groves and giant trees,
Thy rolling plains;
Thy rivers' mighty sweep,
Thy mystic canyons deep,
Thy mountains wild and steep,
All thy domains.

Thy silver Eastern strands,
Thy Golden Gate that stands
Fronting the West;
Thy flowery Southland fair,
Thy North's sweet, crystal air:
O Land beyond compare,
We love thee best!

If I Were The Devil

By Paul Harvey
(ABC Radio Commentator)

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the minds of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movies screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the Bible is for the naive:

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!

In God’s Time

Today's Verse

Genesis 30:22-23 (NKJV)

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

Read: Genesis 30

Thoughts

Child-bearing is a big deal for many women. In the Middle East, infertility of the wife could be a ground for divorce. And if that happens, the infertile woman may lose her husband and security, and could end up being a servant or prostitute in order to survive. And we see this kind of desperation and uneasiness in Rachel’s actions, when she saw that her sister Leah keeps on bearing children while she remains barren. She sounded like putting up a fight with Jacob by her complaint in verse 1, and Jacob responded angrily, “Who do you think of me, like God who withholds you from giving birth?” (my paraphrase). And maybe probably, to appease Jacob’s anger, she gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob to bore a child for her. She followed the steps of grandma Sarah who gave her maid Hagar to Abraham for child-bearing.

Even then, with all the worries and attempts to remedy things in order to have a child, God already had plans long before. God – remembered, listened, and opened Rachel’s womb (verse 22). God was not forgetful that He “remembered”, but it is now God’s time to execute His plan. God’s timing never comes early or late – it is always the perfect timing for He is not bounded by time, for God is eternal – no beginning and no end!

We often miss out God’s best for us because we panic, we freak out, we lose track, we lose faith, we become impatient, and we end up doing the remedies of the flesh. Instead of seeking guidance from God through His word – to know whether God says “no”, “wait”, or “yes”. You may not hear God audibly, but His Spirit speaks within you that He gives you comfort and courage when it is time to go on. Many victories in battles were won, because of the character of waiting and patience. Many survivors of earthquakes and disasters were the ones who waited for help, those who freaked out and worried died. We too can win our battles in life when we wait upon the Lord, and be patient. God’s plan in your life does not change, wait while worshiping the Lord. Do not waste time worrying and complaining.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, give us the character of patience and waiting, replace our unbelief with faith, our worries with worship, and our complaints with comfort. In Jesus Name, Amen.


Gott ändert nie!
(God never changes! In German)

The Temple Sacrifice

Today's Verse

Judges 16:28 (NKJV)

Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”

Thoughts

The story of Samson in the Bible is very well known both in the Christian and non-Christian communities. It is the story of a man who was called and appointed by God even before birth to be the deliverer and judge for Israel. The concept of judge during that time is different from the judges we have today, who wear long black robes, they sit at court houses, and hammering the gavel. Judges in the time of Samson are ordinary people like town elders, appointed by God or leaders, sitting by the city gate, and performing judgment whenever two persons have issues. Few examples were Lot sitting by the city gate at Sodom, Moses judging the people of Israel, and Joshua who succeeded Moses.

Samson’s story is both bad and good. He was raised from a very godly family, we may nick name him as “Sunny”, and was set apart by God as a Nazirite – which means he should not take any wine products, he should not touch any dead thing, and no razor or scissor should come near his hair (Judges 13). And if he does, God’s Spirit will be with him, and he will have tremendous power, wisdom, and strength – and Samson was! Many great Bible characters were born from barren mothers, and Samson is one of them. They really must be God-made heroes.

Initially, Samson was doing well for the Spirit of the Lord was moving through him (Judges 13:25). But in chapter 14, sudden shift of event happened for Samson took charge of the stirring wheel of his life, and drove “down” to Timnah – a Philistine town. What he’s gonna do in a Philistine town when God called him to be judge in Israel? Many times we are like that, we cannot wait to take control of our lives, instead of letting the Holy Spirit lead us. By then, Samson began his spiritual and moral descent, he had broken the vow of being a Nazirite by going through the vineyards, killing a lion with his bare hands, and eating honey taken from the dead lion. Only one rule was left unbroken, having a haircut at the Devil’s salon.

He engaged himself with Philistine women until he was caught up with Delilah – who made him weak, as the name implies. And finally, he gave in to have his haircut, then the Spirit of the Lord left him. Now, Samson is totally not a Nazirite anymore for he broke all the rules, his giver of strength and power left him – and was turned to nothing by his enemies, but as a donkey grinding the wheels. Until one day, he made a final request for the Spirit of God to strengthen him again – his hair may have grown back for sometime, he turned his trust back to God, to make his life as final sacrifice in the temple of his enemies. God acknowledged his faith.

Are you living or planning to live your own life after giving it to the Lord? Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4). Don’t waste your life, give it to Jesus. Don’t wait before it’s too late – abide in the Lord.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, help us to abide in You that we may live holy lives before You. You bought us with Your blood, and we are yours. You are praise worthy and there is none like You. Amen.

Live A Holy Life

Today's Verse

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NLT)

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Thoughts

For much of us, holy living is kind of strange idea that is hard or maybe impossible to achieve. We were all born sinful and we live in this corrupt and wicked world that we can easily get influenced by it or ride into its ways. In Genesis 6:5, the Lord God looked into the people of the earth and said with desperation that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”.

Many people do not want to become Christians because they think that life will become boring and they will lose all their “good times” with sin. Thinking that there is God up there who is some kind of cosmic killjoy. And yet, even Christians tend to think that way too. Bible study becomes boring, prayer time becomes boring, and going to church is not cool!

Peter who had denied Jesus three times in a row, now has understood what is it all about holy living. After all, holy living – with all the hardships, trials, persecutions, and even physical death – will someday meet its match when Jesus will return and be revealed to the whole world (verse 7)! There is that great inheritance – incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, waiting for those who lived a holy life (verse 4).

On the other hand, if we persist to live unholy lives, consequences are waiting on the other side of the bridge. The Bible says there is no inheritance in God’s kingdom for those who sin continually in the eyes of God (1 Cor 6:9). If you truly are a Christian, cleansed and saved by the blood of Jesus, prove by living a holy life.

Sad to say, people have watered down the idea of sin and made them sound politically correct, thereby misleading many people into committing these very sins. Abortion is now termed as unwanted pregnancy or pro-choice. Genocide as ethnic cleansing. Sexual immorals as intimate partners, or sexual liberals. Suicide as bi-polar disorder. Homosexuals as same-sex partners. And many others. But, in the pure eyes of God, sin is sin, and holy is holy. Are you looking forward for heavenly inheritance? Live a holy life and reap the rewards that await for those who are committed.

Prayer

Dear Lord Heavenly Father, You desired that your children would live holy lives for You are holy. Even the desire to be holy, You have given us for we can do nothing good by ourselves. Forgive us for many times giving in to our worldly and selfish desires. In Jesus' name, Amen.

O Deus bless o!
(God bless you! In Portuguese)