Yesterday, 7 people lost their lives in a rail tragedy. My heart goes out to their families and to those who were injured. And I pray that this tragedy never occurs again.
When I realized what happened yesterday, I was overwhelmed and could not but thank the Almighty God for preseving my life. We are indeed living in perilious times, and we have to be mindful to always watch and pray. It is so easy to slip into the monotony of life... and not be conscious of the different ways the devil is trying to attack humanity. The Bible clearly says that the adversary roams around like a lion looking for whom to devour. My prayer is that none of us will end up his prey.
....On a reflective note....
"You asked me to give you some time... to get back on track with Him... because it seems like everything is so foggy around you... Now I'm giving you some time... I have to admit it is not the easiest thing to do... How I miss the times of just talking with you... Don't get me wrong I do see the need for what yo are doing... My one fear is this: that after you have taken time off... You will no longer see need for me... Like after the fog clears in your mind... I will just be a figment of your imagination... A dream that never quite materialized... I wonder if there is doubt in your heart... Was it something I said... Or is it something I did in my past... That thing that you said was 'ok' but isn't quite 'ok'... I also worry that when you've come back from your journey... that my heart may have grown bitter and cold... That the blaze of desire and passion that is now there may turn to nothing more but a flicker... I have no other choice than to have faith in the word I heard and in the words you said, I have no other choice than to hope that you indeed are everything I prayed for.... and I have no other choice but to love you... through it all."
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." -I Cor. 13:13
Wow!!! Okay back to reality!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Forgetting Is No Small Problem
Right above my bed I think I shall hang a sign that says, GOD EXISTS. You see, I wake most mornings an unbeliever. It seems that during the night, I slip into forgetfulness, and by the time the new day comes, I am lost. The deep and precious truths that God has brought to me over the years and even just yesterday seem a thousand miles away. It doesn’t happen every morning, but enough to make it an ongoing reality. And I know I am not alone in this. As George MacDonald confessed in Diary of an Old Soul,
Sometimes I wake,
and lo, I have forgot,
And drifted out upon an ebbing sea!
My soul that was at rest now resteth not,
For I am with myself and not with thee;
Truth seems a blind moon in a glaring morn,
Where nothing is but sick-heart vanity.
Forgetting is no small problem. Of all the enemies our hearts must face, this may be the worst because it is insidious. Forgetfulness does not come against us like an enemy in full battle formation, banners waving. Nor does it come temptingly, seductively, the lady in red. It works slowly, commonly, unnoticed. My wife had a beautiful climbing rose vine that began to fill an arbor in her garden. We enjoyed the red blossoms it produced every summer. But last year, something happened. The vine suddenly turned brown, dropped its flowers, and died within the course of a week. After all that loving care we couldn’t figure out what went wrong. A call to the nursery revealed that a worm had gotten into the stalk of the vine and eaten away at the life from the inside. Such is the work of forgetfulness. It cuts us off from our life so slowly, we barely notice, until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.
(Desire , 199–200)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes I wake,
and lo, I have forgot,
And drifted out upon an ebbing sea!
My soul that was at rest now resteth not,
For I am with myself and not with thee;
Truth seems a blind moon in a glaring morn,
Where nothing is but sick-heart vanity.
Forgetting is no small problem. Of all the enemies our hearts must face, this may be the worst because it is insidious. Forgetfulness does not come against us like an enemy in full battle formation, banners waving. Nor does it come temptingly, seductively, the lady in red. It works slowly, commonly, unnoticed. My wife had a beautiful climbing rose vine that began to fill an arbor in her garden. We enjoyed the red blossoms it produced every summer. But last year, something happened. The vine suddenly turned brown, dropped its flowers, and died within the course of a week. After all that loving care we couldn’t figure out what went wrong. A call to the nursery revealed that a worm had gotten into the stalk of the vine and eaten away at the life from the inside. Such is the work of forgetfulness. It cuts us off from our life so slowly, we barely notice, until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.
(Desire , 199–200)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Take Heed!!!
"You who think you stand, take heed lest you fall."
Ever been in that place in life where you've always said, "if I were in that position, I wouldn't do such and such." Only to be confronted with the situation and alas you fall....
Your story then becomes easier said than done.
The word of God says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord"...
I was in that place just recently... I had been soo sure of my ability to resist that thing that so easily beset me that I forgot to flee every appearance of evil. The end result was obviously not pleasant. Now while I was rescued in the nick of time, my spirit was still unsettled knowing that I had grieved the Holy Spirit of God.
And so I turned back to Him, like a child that has been wounded and I sought Him... still seeking Him. You know that song that talks about His steadfast love and His mercies that never come to an end but that are new every morning? That song is so relevant. He says that if we confess our unrighteousness, He is faithful and just to forgive us. Isn't that amazing? He is still willing to show me loving kindness for His Name's sake. He says that He longs to show me compassion.
But here is the difficulty or should I say the struggle. While I am aware that He is ministering His love and forgiveness to me, my mind/soul cannot but wonder if I'll be able to forget what happened or if I'll be able to have peace about certain decisions I made. In the midst of all that, I get that impartation in my spirit that says, "You cannot have peace until you embrace joy." In other words before I can even begin to understand whether or not I have peace about my decisions... I first have to joyfully accept the free gift of love and forgiveness that He's given. Like how about I start from there right? So I remember that I need to put on the garment of praise to shake off the spirit of despair and guilt.
Two scriptures for today:
"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
--Philippians 3:12-14
"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."
--1 Cor. 13:11-12
Have a blessed day! And remember to press on! :-)
Ever been in that place in life where you've always said, "if I were in that position, I wouldn't do such and such." Only to be confronted with the situation and alas you fall....
Your story then becomes easier said than done.
The word of God says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord"...
I was in that place just recently... I had been soo sure of my ability to resist that thing that so easily beset me that I forgot to flee every appearance of evil. The end result was obviously not pleasant. Now while I was rescued in the nick of time, my spirit was still unsettled knowing that I had grieved the Holy Spirit of God.
And so I turned back to Him, like a child that has been wounded and I sought Him... still seeking Him. You know that song that talks about His steadfast love and His mercies that never come to an end but that are new every morning? That song is so relevant. He says that if we confess our unrighteousness, He is faithful and just to forgive us. Isn't that amazing? He is still willing to show me loving kindness for His Name's sake. He says that He longs to show me compassion.
But here is the difficulty or should I say the struggle. While I am aware that He is ministering His love and forgiveness to me, my mind/soul cannot but wonder if I'll be able to forget what happened or if I'll be able to have peace about certain decisions I made. In the midst of all that, I get that impartation in my spirit that says, "You cannot have peace until you embrace joy." In other words before I can even begin to understand whether or not I have peace about my decisions... I first have to joyfully accept the free gift of love and forgiveness that He's given. Like how about I start from there right? So I remember that I need to put on the garment of praise to shake off the spirit of despair and guilt.
Two scriptures for today:
"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
--Philippians 3:12-14
"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."
--1 Cor. 13:11-12
Have a blessed day! And remember to press on! :-)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
That sweet warm feeling inside....
I'm back! I know it's been a while... but I assure you... you've been on my mind the whole time I was away. I often felt your tugging at me to update you. To fill your pages with the events of my life.. the ups and downs included. I'm here now.
Where do I begin?
These past couple of weeks have been interesting.... more like exciting. I wanted to start this post with a passage from Song of Solomon 1 but decided not to. It just might be too much for you! lol... Life is beautiful... and although it is raining outside with the sun in hiding, life has offered me a silver lining. You know that feeling you get when you thought all hope is lost and out of no where comes the very thing that you hoped for. Like one minute you blinked and a whole new journey opened up before you. Like all it took was for your life to be transformed in one moment. I like that verse from that song (Saviour King) by Hillsong: "Hope which was lost now stands renewed." When you see that silver lining you know that although things may not be as perfect as you would like them to be, there is still hope. As they say when there is life, there is still hope. You know what God (Yahweh) wanted to show Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones? He wanted to show him that even if hope is dead... it can still be revived. It was hope that enabled Ezekiel to prophesy to the dead bones in Ezekiel 37. I believe one very essential component of our walk with the Lord is hope. Till the day we die, there will be a pull on our lives to hope. We hope for a good life, we hope for that special someone to come into our lives, we hope for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ! That sweet warm feeling inside is hope. Since we know that the expectation of the righteous will not be cut short, why don't you go ahead and hope today!
Where do I begin?
These past couple of weeks have been interesting.... more like exciting. I wanted to start this post with a passage from Song of Solomon 1 but decided not to. It just might be too much for you! lol... Life is beautiful... and although it is raining outside with the sun in hiding, life has offered me a silver lining. You know that feeling you get when you thought all hope is lost and out of no where comes the very thing that you hoped for. Like one minute you blinked and a whole new journey opened up before you. Like all it took was for your life to be transformed in one moment. I like that verse from that song (Saviour King) by Hillsong: "Hope which was lost now stands renewed." When you see that silver lining you know that although things may not be as perfect as you would like them to be, there is still hope. As they say when there is life, there is still hope. You know what God (Yahweh) wanted to show Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones? He wanted to show him that even if hope is dead... it can still be revived. It was hope that enabled Ezekiel to prophesy to the dead bones in Ezekiel 37. I believe one very essential component of our walk with the Lord is hope. Till the day we die, there will be a pull on our lives to hope. We hope for a good life, we hope for that special someone to come into our lives, we hope for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ! That sweet warm feeling inside is hope. Since we know that the expectation of the righteous will not be cut short, why don't you go ahead and hope today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)