We Have the Victory

Scripture:
Yesterday, I was IM-ing a missionary friend of mine who lives in Spain. This missionary, is the missionary that God sent to the town of Écija, Seville, after we left over twenty years ago. I was telling him about all that is happening with my wife and I, about my wife's upcoming surgery and all that seems to be happening all at the same time in our lives.

I am sure he noted that I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with the spiritual battles that we are having and he shared this Psalm with me. Now as you can imagine he shared it with me in Spanish. Since then I have done the following.

1. Printed a small pocket sized version of this Psalm for my wife and I to carry around with us
2. Printed a full sheet version of it to put on my wall in my cubical here at work so that I can read it often.
3. Recorded this this Psalm in a CD so that I can listen to it in the car and use this recording to beginning memorizing it
4. Printed the Spanish version of this Psalm so I can read it in that language too.

Why am I doing all this? Because we already have the victory in Christ and I want to diligently use the sword of the Word of God and shield of Faith in my spiritual battles. Hallelujah. We have the Victory in Christ.

Prayer Request:
That we as His children really realize that we have the complete and whole victory in Christ and do not believe or even listen to the lies the enemy tries to tell us.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, Hallelujah, we have the victory in Christ. You have won every battle already and we know that because your Word tells us so. We believe what your Word says and thank you so very much. In Jesus name, Amen.

Remove the Stings Out of Life

Scriptures: “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble …” (Genesis 41:51)

Joseph was a legend in the Old Testament. For more than a decade, his life went up and down like a roller coaster. He was betrayed by his own brothers and was sold into slavery. He was exalted by his master, Potiphar, the Captain of Pharaoh’s guards, to be Potiphar’s attendant and was in charge of Potiphar’s household only to be framed and put in prison later on by his own master’s wife where he spent more than 2 years. But Joseph remained faithful to the Lord.

Because the Lord was with him and blessed him on everything he did, especially his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, he was restored to high position and was entrusted with great responsibilities. It was then that he was blessed with 2 sons of whom the first one he named Manasseh which literally means removing the stings of life. Joseph never forgot the grace and blessings of God. In his child’s name, he remembered what the Lord has done for him.

It’s interesting to notice how Joseph remembered his life. Many people have come to success with bitter memory of their past. Some of them even went to the extent to avenge themselves on those who had caused troubles in their lives before. Some, though not as extreme, carried the scars, resentments and bitterness with them for the rest of their lives. But, as Christians, how are we supposed to remember our past?

I think we can learn a great deal from Joseph. For one, I think Joseph was a man who constantly remembered that he stood before God for everything he did. God is omnipresent. To Joseph, this was not a theological concept or theory. This was a reality. Therefore, even when he was seduced by his master’s wife, his choice was partly due to his awareness of God’s presence in his life. More than that, Joseph had a heart that desired to please God. Not only did he know that God was there with him, he wanted to please God with everything he did. This motivation enabled him to make the godly choice of fleeing from that temptation.

To Joseph, God is good, period! Even though he had the firsthand experiences of human wickedness, he knew that God is good and that God is capable of making something good out of all the evil and wicked things man did in his life. Again, to Joseph, this is more than a theological understanding. This was his conviction that enabled him to submit to God’s leading and to be thankful to God for His divine providence.

How do we remember our past? What would come into focus when we think of our past? Would it be hurting moments? Or, would it be the confusing moments? Was there ever a turning point? What would that be? What did that moment turn us into? We should learn from Joseph and rise above human weakness and wickedness to start looking at our lives from God’s perspective. Then, and only then, will we be able to truly appreciate for everything God has done in our lives and proclaim as Joseph did, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)


Prayer Requests:
Those in bondage of hurting and broken relationship from past

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for being mindful of us. Even when we were still in the bondage of sin, You have come down to deliver us from the power and bondage of sin. You told us that, by Jesus’ wounds we are healed. We ask that You continue to work in our lives so we may be truly and completely healed of all human wickedness and be empowered to live a life reflecting the love and glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. In His name we pray, Amen!

Faith for Healing

Scriptures:
Isaiah 41:40 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be diwsmayed, for I am your God. I wll strengthen you and ehlp you.

James 5:15 - And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

Revelation 12:11 - I overcome every devil by the blood of the Lamb, and by the words of my testimonies;

Psalm 107:20 - He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Jeremiah 30:17 - You will restore my health to me, and You will heal me of any wounds, this is what the LORD says;

3 John 1:2 - Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Psalm 30:2 - Lord my God, I called out to you for help. And you healed me.

As you know my wife will be going in for surgery to have her gall bladder removed. The date of the surgery is October 4th and as you can imagine the tension for this upcoming event is mounting. Jackie, my wife, is beginning to sense the fear from all that the doctor says he is going to do and I am finding my self praying for her all throughout the day and night.

For us it is an experience of growing our faith. On the one hand we are inundated with feelings and thoughts that could easily overwhelm us and on the other hand we know that the only way to go through this time is being close to our Lord.

Now all of this has lead me to spend time researching what the Bible says about healing and reading many testimonies about how God has healed.

These are just some of the verses that Jackie and I are learning so that we will grow in our faith.

Prayer Request:
That God would teach us to claim the healing that He already paid for on the Cross and that we would devour the Word of God so that our faith would grow.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, You have given us both salvation and healing. We claim that which you have heired to us as your children, in Jesus Name.

Instructions / Manual for Life

Scriptures: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

Over the last weekend, I have been trying to install a Sybase ASE server and to restore a backup of our production database on my laptop so I can have access to the system wherever I go. However, because I am using a free copy of the product from Sybase, it didn’t come with any instructions, or manuals. As a result, it took me 2 days to get the installation of the server done.

As for the restore of the database, it’s even more complicated because the server configuration between here and Hong Kong are different. So, up until now, I have not been able to get it restored and online for my work. I think I am having so many troubles because of 2 reasons: (1) I have not received a proper training and, (2) I do not have the instruction manual needed for this task.

As I was struggling through this process, it reminded me that we often have the same problems in life. Every day, we run into something new, something our past experiences simply can’t help and we become lost and frightened. None of us are really well trained enough to be ready for everything in life. These new and unexpected things can be our blessings and reasons for looking forward to each new day. But, we often take them the wrong way and end up with anxiety and frustrations.

But, things really did not have to be like that. Although we are not trained for every situation in life, we do have a leader who knows them all. He is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who has overcome the world and is interceding for us daily now. He knows what’s happening in our lives and is willing to extend His helping hands. What we need to do is to come before Him, acknowledge our needs of Him and trust Him for His leadership.

In addition, we do have a “manual” for life provided by God, our Creator and Sustainer. That is the Bible. In this book, He has outline in details what His will and plan for us; He has specific instructions on how are supposed to tackle every situation in life; He also provided many examples for our review and learning; if only we take time to study, memorize and learn.

More than these, He has sent a personal tutor, guide and counselor to our aid. He is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter God has sent in the name of our Lord Jesus. Not only is He here to give us a new life in the Lord, to teach us all truth, and to bear witness of our Lord Jesus, He is also here to empower us so we can live a life of triumph as our Lord did.

Who said our lives have to be lonely and hopeless? Who said we have to go through our lives feeling hurt and helpless? I am once again humbled and reminded by Paul’s proclamation, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.5Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)

Praise the Lord!

Prayer Requests:
Those struggling with career growth or career choices

Prayer:
Our loving Father, thank You for always being there for and with us. As we are prone to be distracted by things of this world, we ask that the Comforter you have sent us continue to move, guide and teach us so we can go through this journey in life as a good and faithful servant. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Decide to Grow

Scripture:

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!" (2 Peter 3:18)

I have heard it said that there are Christians and there are Christians. What would be generally understood by a statement like that is there are some Christians that are more Christian then other Christians. Kind of an indirect way of implying that not all Christians are good Christians. You could take that statement a little farther saying that there are many different definitions to what the word Christian means to people.

There are times when I am driving I consider all the differnt kinds of people that I share the freeway with. Sometimes we are all moving along 75 miles per hour then all of a sudden the traffic slows down only to find out that on the other side of the freeway someone is changing a tire. We are all different but we are all distracted by the same things in our lives. Even if I were not much of a "look-i-loo" I would still have to slow down for the look-i-loo's in front of me.

Our Christianity is sometimes like that. We are all different and even if we define what a Christian should be and try to be it, sometimes what we define as being a good Christian is different from what we hang around and it follows that the Christians we hang around influence our definition of Christianity. Now this can be good or this might not be as good as we think.

For example, if I were to assess my spiritual life as needing to be a person who prays more but I go to a church that does not have a mid-week prayer meeting, then I probably should look for a church or fellowship group where I could learn more how to pray. Or if I felt that I needed to know more about the Bible then I should probably go to a Bible class or Sunday School where I could learn more about the Bible.

All this to say that I believe we need to be continuously assessing our spiritual lives and doing all that we can, including making changes in our spiritual practices, to grow in the Lord for the benefit of the body of Christ, which is the Church, of which we who are born in Christ, are family members.

Prayer Request:

1) That we do all we can to grow in the knowledge and spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ

2) That we continue to encourage others to grow and help others grow in Christ

3) That we respond to opportunities reaching out to others who do not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord

Prayer:

Dear Lord, our lives are continuously distracted with things that keep us from growing in you. Help us to grow more in your Spirit and make changes that are beneficial to our spiritual lives, reaching out to those around us who need help and need to know you so that they can be with you in heaven.

A Time to Listen

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. (Ecc. 3:1)

When my turn to post on the blog site is coming close, my normal practice is to ask the Lord in prayer, “What would you have me write this time?” Usually some verse from Scripture will come to mind and ideas begin to flow from that. For some reason, I wasn’t getting any answer this time. I tried combing through my collection of books to see if a title there might spawn some idea. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

That kind of thing happens a lot in life too. We are trying to solve some problem, or figure out how to best accomplish a task. Authors often speak of “writers’ block” when the stream of ideas that is normally in evidence seems to just stop for no particular reason. I certainly experienced that on occasion when I was in graduate school (most often when I had procrastinated getting an assignment started!). Even St. Paul found himself lost for words from time to time. In Ephesians 6:19, he asks the believers there to pray for him, “that speech may be given to me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel.”

Often, the best approach is to not force the issue. Trying to “make” an idea come often puts it that much further out of reach. The same is true for prayer. Prayer is truly a gift; we can’t force God to speak to us. But though He may remain silent for a time, He has not left us. Rather, He uses that seeming absence to draw us even close to Himself, and to teach us to better listen for His voice. Be still and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10). In that perceived void, we can learn to trust His grace at work in us, for we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

Prayer Request:
For those struggling to hear God’s voice. For those who have stopped listening for His voice.

Prayer:
Lord, our God, we know that You are with us always, walking with us through our life’s journey. Help us to remain faithful to our covenant with You in those times when we don’t hear Your voice. Give us grace to remember that in those moments, You are closer to us than we are to ourselves, for You dwell not only around us, but in us, and call us to be one with You. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Mines

Scriptures: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Many years ago, I read an article that talks about the United Nation’s efforts in cleaning up the land mines left in many war-torn countries. In the article, the author gave an example of what tragedies these un-cleaned mines could cause. The example was about a Cambodian boy, about 10 years old, who came home from school one day. As he was crossing a rice field with his friends, he noticed that there was something on the ground on the other side of the field.

So, he went over and picked it up. It was a mine designed to kill personnel. It could have been just curiosity or mere ignorance. Either way, he picked it up, played with it and was killed on the spot when he triggered it. The war was tragic enough. What’s more tragic was that the devastation of the war did not end when the war ended. It continued to kill and destroy lives everywhere it could.

In a very similar way, we are dealing with mines in our lives as well. The only difference is our mines may not be physically visible. They are spiritual mines, temperamental mines, lustful mines, pressure mines, relationship mines, you name it! I remember, one day, when I went to work, I ran into my boss in the elevator. So I greeted him by saying, “How are you?” He replied, “Bad!” with a stone face. I sensed something must have not been going right for him. So, I said, “Is everything ok?” To this, he replied, “It’s none of your business!” It almost sounded as though I ticked off a bomb or a land mine of some sort. So, I backed off. I wasn’t offended or hurt. But, running into something like that wouldn’t be anyone’s choice for the start of a day and someone could really be hurt or offended that way.

Our lives are filled with problems and troubles, as Jesus taught us. Some of them came from our workload, some from our children, some may come from our financial situations, while others may come from our ministries, inter-personal relationships, and many others. As diverse as the source may be, their destructive power are the same. If we don’t handle them right, not only will they explode to hurt us, they will also hurt others around us and be buried inside of them and become some sort of timed bombs, waiting to explode.

Jesus taught us that, if we abide in Him, we will have peace. Peace that is without struggle, without hurt, without burden, without worries, but with joy, hope and strength. We don’t have a choice regarding what troubles/problems this world will throw at us. But we do have a choice of staying or not staying in Jesus. Prophet Isaiah said that, “…the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) Jesus is the answer to these troubles and problems. He alone is the answer to the request for protection against all these visible and invisible mines in lives. Everyone needs Jesus!

The article I read called for support of such efforts conducted by UN to clean up these land mines so this world can be a safer place to live. How about these invisible mines that are still in many, if not all, people? Our challenge is more than just knowing that Jesus is the answer. Our real challenge is to seek and explore ways to share the good news of Jesus so that His peace may reign and protect all His people from these powerfully destructive invisible mines of sin! More than that, in a dark and wicked generation, I pray that all God’s people are filled with the heavenly peace from Jesus so they may be instruments to Him to love and save all!

Prayer Requests:
1. For protection and guidance for those children growing up in those war-torn countries.
2. For those knowingly and unknowingly carrying invisible bombs inside that they may be saved and protected by the grace and salvation of God.

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for giving Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life! We know the sin of this world must be heart breaking to You. We ask that You empower and move us to preach and witness the saving grace of our Lord Jesus so that this lost and hurting generation may be reconciled to You in Your peace and love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Listen!

Scriptures: “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength… ” (Isaiah 30:15)

When I cam to this country, I had the blessings of sharing the dormitory with a brother in Christ. He is much younger than I. We shared a lot of things in common. But, music wasn’t one of them. So, for may sake, I believe, whenever he wanted to listen to music, he would put on his ear muff and enjoy his music.

It was really considerate of him so that he could enjoy his music and I could do my study. However, in such time, if I wanted to talk to him, I would have to walk up to him and tap on his shoulder to get his attention. And, only when he took off his ear muff, then I could talk to him.

There are so many sounds in our lives: the traffic on the road, TV, cooking, telephone, neighbors, children, our boss, ministries, and many more. They all seem to competing for our attention. As we try to pay each of them attention, we often get disoriented. We lose sight of where we were supposed to be heading. Moreover, there never seems to be an end to it. It was moments like this that bring us back to our Lord and cry out: “What’s going on?”

But the problem really isn’t with the Lord. The problem is actually with us because we allowed too many things to take up our entire lives. This is like jumping into a project without proper planning. Not knowing what’s going to happen ahead and not having a predefined set of guidelines for addressing issues and problems is a lethal combination to destroy the very project we wish to complete and succeed.

In many ways, our life is like a project. A project initiated by God with a purpose given by Him also. Although we know God loves us and have a plan for us in life, we often run through our lives like children on the playground, going around and around, busy but accomplish nothing. We are on the project. But we proceed on the project without directions from our Project Manager, our Creator and Redeemer. And it doesn’t take too much for us to get lost and disoriented.

God spoke through his servant Isaiah that our salvation lies in our repentance and rest in Him and our strength comes from our quietness and trust in Him. We need to come back to Him and be attentive to what He has to say about our lives, about the way we lead our lives, about the directions He wants us to go and about the bags we carry with us as we travel through this life. In addition to the guidance and discernment, we also need to come to Him for strength and endurance so we will not be weary in this journey.

God said we need to be still and attentive to Him. We need to filter out all the noises in this world, just like wearing my friend’s ear muff, so we can hear Him clear and well. More than that, when we spend time with Him, our relationships with Him grow stronger, too.

I am thankful that we have this daily devotion and sharing time every day. It has been a great blessing for me. How about you? May God richly bless you with His presence and guidance, as He has for me!

Prayer Requests:
For busy people, busy in mind and in physical activities, who desperate in need of the peace and presence of God.

Prayer:
Our Lord of Peace, thank You for Your redeeming love that bring reconciliations to our relationships with You. We ask that, as we move through lives, we will continue to walk in the way and manner guided and empowered by You because we ask in the name of our Redeemer, Lord Jesus, Amen!

Follow the Holy Spirit

Scripture: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26

A couple of months ago my wife started taking my grandson Seth to a young boys group at church called the Royal Rangers. It is kind of like a Christian Boy's Scouts where they wear a uniform and earn badges for things they learn. Well last week my wife told me that I had an assignment to do with Seth. He needed me to read him his work sheets and do the related tasks. One of the tasks was to start a Prayer Journal. I thought to myself this is cool. Seth had to ask all of us what to pray for and I would write it down in a notebook and then we would pray for these things. As you can imagine the idea is for us to do it every day. It was great the first night, he prayed with the sincere heart of a 4 year old and I was blessed.

Well that notebook sat on my desk for almost two weeks, convicting me that I should be praying with Seth everyday, but I could not seem to find the right time to do it. There seemed to be just too many things going on in our lives, it was even hard to just sit down at a dinner table together as a family.

A couple of days ago we all committed to have dinner together at 7:30 every night (that is the time my wife and my grandson get home from work and school because they have to come from Anaheim Hills) and after that we would have a family Bible and Prayer time. Of course that means that I will be making dinner every night since I come home as early as 5:30. (I only live 8 miles from work.) Now that is ok, I am a pretty good cook, but that will mean that I will have to figure out when to do some of the other things I did before like the yard, fix things, read, etc.

In this real life example, mine, it amazes me too things; 1) How quickly I fell into the enemies trap of excuses for not moving forward with my grandson's prayer journal exercise and 2) how persistant the Holy Spirit was in convicting me to make sure we implement this exercise which is going to turn into a regular family time together of dinner and a family altar. (We are also going to read from the Bible.)

Prayer Request: That we will hear the voice of God and follow what he tells us to do because He knows better then we do what is good for us.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for sending us your Holy Spirit to remind us of the things you taught us and to teach us to walk closer to you and your path.

Every Day is Christmas

Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (Jn 3:3)

Our church choirs start up rehearsals again this week. It is a time of new beginnings, as we welcome new members and reconnect with members we may not have seen all summer. We have new music discovered at summer reading workshops. Everything is new – and even old friendships are being renewed.

As is typical at this time of the year, much of the music we’re learning is for Advent and Christmas. It’s always been kind of a joke with us that Christmas comes first to the choirs. As we were getting ready to begin rehearsing, one of my fellow sopranos told me that in the Philippines, the radio stations are already playing Christmas music and the stores already have their holiday displays up. Her disgust was pretty evident.

Merchandising aside, there is nothing wrong with getting into the Christmas spirit this early in the year, if we understand what that spirit really is. The disdain we may feel at the thought of Christmas being "promoted" long before Halloween andThanksgiving are over has less to do with timing, and more to do with the fact that we've allowed ourselves to get out of the Christmas spirit in the first place.

Jesus says in Jn. 3:5 that we must be born of water and the spirit. What exactly does this mean for us who are already baptized Christians? Does that Scripture no longer apply once we're baptized? Not at all. It is about allowing Christ to be born anew in us, about “giving birth” to Him in our lives every single day, not just on December 25. It is about welcoming Him and all He brings to us. We are reminded in Matthew 25:35-40 that whenever we perform an act of kindness and charity toward another person, we are really doing it for Christ Himself.

So what about those who have lost the Christmas spirit? The Lord says, I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you (Ez.36:26). That spirit is there, everyday, just for the asking, because the Lord is faithful to His promises.

Prayer Request: For those who have lost the spirit of Christmas.

Prayer: O Lord, our God, we thank you for sending Your Son to be our Savior. We know that You are with us always, even to the end of time. Be born in us anew this day and every day, so that we may daily be reborn in You. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Steering Through A Bumpy Drive

Scriptures: “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

It was the third time in six weeks that I have to take my mini-van to my mechanic for a suspension related problem. We’ve had this mini-van for more than 14 years. It has been a wonderful car. My kids are especially fond of it because they pretty much grew up with it. It’s roomy, comfortable and allows its passengers to see far. They love it. But now, problems are showing up.

It’s not that I don’t give it regular maintenance as I should. But certain areas are just not covered in the regular maintenance. Suspension is certainly one of them. This is one that, unless the problems show up, you don’t even notice its existence.

Suspension is an amazing thing. It smoothes the drive as it absorbs the shock from the bumpiness of the road and it keeps the body of the car balanced and makes the steering of the car so much easier. I never realize its contributions to my comfort when riding the car until I lost it. When it doesn’t work, even the smallest bump on the road can create pain for the passengers. More than that, when a car loses its suspension, the bumpiness of the road constantly throws the car off its balance and creates tremendous problems for steering.

Our life journey can be bumpy too. As a matter of fact, it probably is mostly bumpy. We need a suspension in life to absorb the impact from life’s hardship and difficulties. Bible tells us that God Himself wants to be that “suspension” we need. “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8: 31-37)

When we choose to live in Christ, His way and His truth, He bears all the bumpiness life can throw at us. More than that, He brings peace, balance and enlightenment into our lives to make the steering of our lives so much easier and joyful. As He promised, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Prayer Requests:
Those who are struggling through their bumpy journey in life

Prayer:
Our gracious Lord, thank You for Your love and faithfulness that see us through the good and tough times in life. We ask that, when the storms in life arise and we are getting disoriented, come and strengthen us by showing us how close You are to us and how lovingly You are carrying us through. In the precious name of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen!

The Word and Prosperity

Scriptures: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or does not stand in the way of sinners or does not sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3)

When I was a little boy I remember my grandmother saying to me, "God helps those who help themselves" and for years I believed this so much that it motivated me, in part, to work very hard at everything I did. (most of the time ;-) And to this day these words are a part of me. However, I have never been able to find these words in the Bible.

For example, I put these two words; help themselves, into a Bible search website that will search all the versions it has online and only found one verse that had these two words together and this verse has the very opposite meaning. "Your enemies will help themselves to your wealth and merchandise." (Ezekiel 26:12) There were other verses with these two words but none with the meaning intended in this cliche.

This morning, on the way to work, I was listening to a bible teacher who was talking about how faith and was very simple but how we complicate it with doubt and don't use what God has given us. Then she said what she did was quote Psalm 1:1-3 and her point was that a man blessed by God was one that avoided sin and delighted in God's word and "whatever he does prospers."

I am very greatful that God has given me this job at Avery and I work hard at doing my job and giving honor to God, but I still need to keep focusing on God's Word as my principle delight. I want the faith that God has given me to flourish. I want to be like a "tree planted by streams of water, which bears much fruit and does not wither." Don't you?

The URL I used for the above word search was http://bible1.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=help+themselves&section=0&version=all&new=1&showtools=1&oq=help+themselves

Prayer Request: That we as children of God would believe in the faith that God has given us and commit more of our time to reading God's Word and walking in His ways.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us all the faith that we need. We know that we do not use it and get confused with what the world tries to tell us and what the enemy lies to us about.

Help us dear Lord to walk in you ways,
And fully delight in your Word.
So that we might prosper in all that we do,
And give all the glory to you.

Realization

Scriptures: “Only Luke is with me...When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments…But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” (II Timothy 4:11-17)

A missionary to Tibet was captured by the communist government and was put in prison for years. During that period of time, they confiscated his bible and did not allow him to have any contact with outside world. He was put in a tiny cell, cold, dark, humid, and lonely.

After he was released, people asked him how he managed to go through that period of suffering. He said the only way he could retain his sanity was by memorizing bible verses. The word of God not only comforted him, but also gave him strength to move on to face each day, whatever it brought him.

We may not have gone through extreme situations or tribulations like this missionary. But, for each of us, we have our share of troubles and challenges, too. Likewise, toward the end of his life, having “fought the good fight…finished the race, and kept the good faith…” (II Timothy 4:6), Paul realized a few things in the middle of the persecution he was facing:
1. The Lord was still at his side and continuously giving him strength to triumph over the tribulations he faced.
2. The Lord blessed him more than he knew. In persecution, when most other people had left him, The Lord was with him and blessed him with a faithful companion, Dr. Luke.
3. At his age then, given his physical condition and environment, the cloak was important to him. But, Paul considered the scrolls, especially the parchments, were much more important to him.

Humanly speaking, we are so ignorant and vulnerable. We know very little about what’s going to happen to us in the future, near or far; we learn very little from our own experiences and human history either. James said, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow…You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14) No wonder many people, when old, come to the conclusion that the only thing certain about life is its uncertainty.

But, as Christians, we know that, in the midst of the troubling and uncertainty, our Lord is always there with us and for us. Just like Paul’s realization, we can take comfort in the fact that, because of Him, we are never alone and, with Him, we are never in want. Praise the Lord!

Prayer Requests:
Those aging brothers and sisters struggling with loneliness

Prayer:
Our loving Father, thank You for giving us Your Spirit, our Comforter, to abide in and strengthen us. Help us to become that faithful companion You prepare for those in needs to bring them Your comfort and encouragements. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Is It “Enough”?

O Lord, my heart is not proud, or haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great or marvels beyond me. Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. Like a weaned child on its mother's breast, even so is my soul" (Psalm 131).

Over the past few weeks, several friends who live in other states have been dealing with various crises. We've exchanged lots of e-mail and phone calls, the occasional get well card and even financial assistance. At times, I have found myself feeling frustrated that I can’t do more for my friends from this distance. As one friend likes to say, “Sometimes you need someone ‘with skin on’ to comfort you.”

I am reminded of the friends who laid Jesus in the tomb after the crucifixion. It was preparation day for the Sabbath, and not just any Sabbath. It was the Sabbath of Passover, which ranks much higher in importance for an observant Jew. Sunset was near, and those few who had remained with Him throughout His passion and death had precious little time to perform the customary rituals. All they could do was wrap the body in burial cloths and seal the entrance to the tomb.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that the women in attendance, when they had seen the tomb and the way in which His body was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils (Lk. 23:55-56). Clearly it was their intention to come back after the Sabbath was over in order to give their Lord a proper Jewish burial. In my meditations, I couldn’t help but wonder how those friends felt. Had they rendered themselves ritually impure by handling a dead body, even if it was the body of the Lord Himself? Did they feel frustrated or inadequate? Jesus had died for them, had freed them from their sins, had loved them unconditionally. He had given them dignity and an entirely new way of living. Now they found themselves unable to do for Him something as simple as washing and anointing His body, as was the normal custom.

This account illustrates a reality that is difficult for many people to accept; namely, that God is God and we are not. He is omnipotent; we are created beings with the inherent limitations of our "creature-ness." Whether or not we choose to acknowledge our place in the created order, it doesn’t alter the reality. Truth is unchanging and absolute.

Walking in the light of that Truth means accepting who we are, with both our gifts and our flaws. It also means trusting that God will make up whatever is lacking in us in order to accomplish His divine plan. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.” The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few (Lk 10:2). Let us, then, take up our share of the work. Let us be faithful to the promptings of God’s grace working within us. As long as we do that, we can be at peace and trust that it is “enough.”

Prayer Request:
For all those who labor for the Kingdom and wonder if their efforts are enough.

Prayer:
Lord, You are mighty God and Creator of all, yet You invite us to partake in the work of salvation. Help us to remember that You are with us always, leading and upholding us, as we work to bring about Your Kingdom here on earth. We pray in the name of Jesus, Our Lord. Amen.

Offering Pleasing to God

Scriptures: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)

A young Christian, just graduated from college, went to work for a consulting company. Having being taught to be a responsible steward of everything entrusted to him, he worked very hard to be the best professional in his field. But he soon found that his job demanded more than he expected.

First of all, there’s always work not planned for, nor scheduled. He discovered that, when the company wanted to maximize her profit, she actually also meant to minimize the resources required. He found himself constantly working 60 to 70 hours a week. With all other responsibilities unchanged, he became physically worn out all the time.

As if this were not enough, he also came to realize that the real world is so much different from what he thought it would be. Whatever the text book said, there are more than a million ways to implement it. Every manager has his / her own way, depending on their experience and style. And they fought for his support and implementation. Office politics made his work more challenging and less productive. Toward the end of each day, he found himself not only physically exhausted, but also mentally stressful.

He couldn’t get his work out of his mind. The time he spent actually doing company work was already 60 to 70 hours a week. If including the time he spent thinking about his work, he might have been spending more than 100 hours a week. As such, he became spiritually challenged.

He thought he was doing his best to be the best professional to give a good name to Christians. Instead, he found that the joy has left his life and his heart was filled with work, not inspiration; with bitterness, not love; and with resentment, not thanksgiving. Where have all the joy gone?

I think this is a real challenge to every Christian, in varying degrees, of course! We want to do the best we can so as to bear a good witness to our Lord Jesus. Yet, somewhere in there, there is a line that we missed. There is a line that says, “If you cross it, you will lose your sense of direction, put yourself under the yoke of this world and lose your spiritual balance and your power to witness.”

God does expect each of us to be the best professional there is, but not at the expense of the divine priority, to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) Unless we maintain our spirituality, we cannot be the persons God wants us to be; we cannot do the work He commands us to do. How can we have mercy on others when our hearts are filled with bitterness? How can we share the knowledge of God when our lives have no bearing of such knowledge?

Every morning, let’s set aside the amount of time we need to build our relationship with our Lord first. A musical instrument is of little value to its player until it is tuned. We need to be tuned to our Creator and Redeemer first before we may be His instruments. Studying His Word, meditation on His instructions, and coming near to Him in prayers are all critical to our readiness and maturity in doing the work He called us to.

Our lives will continue to throw work and busyness at us. But, we need not be reactive. We can proactively approach our lives, especially our professional lives, in ways that can truly give glory to our Lord Jesus.

Prayer Requests:
Busy professionals

Prayer:
Our gracious Lord, thank You for redeeming us from the power of sin and for calling us to ministries to serve You and the people around us. We ask that, in every opportunity presented to us, You first transform our hearts and lives so we may respond with Your wisdom and love. Be glorified in our lives, especially in the work we do every day. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!

A Holy Hush

Scripture: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! " Isaiah 52:7

I was about to share how God worked this past weekend with our quartet but then I read a email from a missionary I know in Spain who has an evangelism ministry of preaching on the streets. I was moved to tears as I saw how God is reaching the hearts of men and women and thought why share what I am doing when I can share what God is doing..


"It has only happened a few times before. Understand that our preaching spot is quite unique. We hear construction noises, beggars calling out for a coin, lottery vendors telling us of the millions we can win, police cars driving through our listening crowds and tooting their siren, musical groups playing 50 yards away and selling their cds, buses and taxis driving by, an occasional helicopter overhead, motorized street sweepers passing along side us and fire trucks racing by with sirens blaring. You would think that a band of open-air evangelists could not be heard amongst all of that commotion, especially when we use no type of amplification. Granted, sometimes it is a challenge.

"But on both Monday and Friday we experienced the "Holy Hush". We were singing a new song called, "Who is Jesus to you?" Suddenly I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in an extraordinary way. "He's here", I thought. A greater number of people stopped to listen than normally do. When I stood on the box to preach, the air was charged with the presence of God. Everything became silent. Everyone outside our listening audience moved, as if in slow motion. I heard nothing but a voice calling out to the people; pleading, reasoning. The voice was mine, but it was as though I was part of the crowd listening to myself. The emotion of the moment was about to overtake me so I called for another song. No one left. The hush continued over our area. Maritza sang another song and I felt like we were the only ones in the plaza. I was driven back to the box to call the people one more time to abandon their sins and to run to Christ. I called for a public response for those willing to do so and asked them to place their hands over their hearts. Several did. It is my custom to pray for them by lifting my open eyes toward heaven. When I did so, there was a lady on the second floor of a hotel, standing out on the balcony, with her hand on her heart. When my eyes came back down to the crowd, everyone was still there, immobilized by the presence of God."

Prayer Request:
That God will continue to work through dedicated missionaries who have a particular calling to preach the gospel in other countries.

Prayer:
Lord, We know you are doing great things in the world saving the lost and healing the broken hearted. We don't usually see your great hand working in our lives, though we know that you are, but our hearts are moved by what you are doing in this missionary family who preaches the gospel from the street corners of Madrid Spain and we thank you for calling this family and using them to glorify you Son. We pray for these missionaries and others like them, that they will reap many souls for your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen