Yknow i was just thinking...
They say choices determine our lives.. so the crux lies in the choices we make.
There are too many choices to make sometimes, and it can get pretty frustrating/confusing... we end up not being able to manage.
But to me the key lies in the value in our choices...
(as simple as 1,2,3 check-qns)
1. Do our choices carry eternal value?
I don't think I wanna elaborate further... spend some time to ponder will you.
Leave you with a verse...
Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Mood:
full
my days are perpetually crawlinggg...
#1 work has been boringg
#2 no letters yet (d-day arrives 30thmay)
#3 air tickets are still not finalised
i need to do something.... like watch korean vcds everyday!
Love Story in Harvard is FAB! pls go watch it everyone!
- Mood:
blah
caught Spiderman3 last night..
totally loved that show.!!
MJ: -to Spidey- "Everybody needs help. Even Spiderman does."
it got me thinking that no matter how strong we may be, even heroes, can fail and have their weakest moments. Man can never rely on themselves.. we need God, His help, His love, His strength. We are nothing without God, seriously.
- Mood:
energetic
experience the blessings promised in the Bible immediately?
If all results were instant, we could never walk in faith.
Without faith, we could never please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
If you always reaped the harvest of your deeds immediately, the
incentive to do right and refrain from wrongdoing would only be
selfish. No faith, or love for God, would be required.
During delays we have opportunity to demonstrate whether we
really love God, and trust Him, or not.
A delay is a test. Without testing, there could be no reward.
God does not test us so that we can fail, but so that we can
overcome. He believes we will make it with His help.
We desire an instant manifestation of victory. God's desire is
for us to press into Him and His Word and walk in faith until
we see victory.
To overcome there must be opposition and struggle. God cannot
always shield us from problems without taking away from us the
privilege of overcoming.
Victory is sweet. What makes it sweet is that it is not easy.
If we really trust God, time is not a problem. Leave that with
God. His timing is perfect and He is dependable! We know He
promised, and can never fail -- and that is enough.
Totally describes my mood now. God is good i must say!
- Mood: chipper
one thing that ps hee guan said during Lord's supper on sunday was very meaningful.
(apart from the fact that i was already x100000 amazed at the spot-on)
indeed tis the season of so many uncertainties for me...
its like zomg im so overwhelmed by all thats happening..to the extent that i feel so lost and surreal(i wouldnt know if this the right word to use), mmm like circumstances literally have the ability to push me from one end to another. and i knew I just needed a breath of life from God, His voice, His words.. just anything that'll come from Him and Him alone. thank God for ps.!!
he shared that.. "...we must focus on Christ, who will always be THE CERTAINTY in our lives.."
immediately i rem this particular verse:
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever"
He is the constant rock... Things, circumstances and people will change, but God will not. yknow Man will always fail us.. expectations of the world will fail us too.. So many people in the world are lost, they get sucked into the world, into cultures, and some end up going in circles. It seems like their lives are swaying day by day..
BUT
we as Christians enjoy the privilege of knowing an eternal God, who lifts us up when we fall, who gives us the best, who knows us the best...I believe that the reason why I wanna just stay close to God is because of His nature, His faithfulness + love that NOBODY else can give..
So I think I should end with a short prayer:
God, help us to know and cling onto You, who is the constant rock in our lives. Oceans may rise, thunders may roar.. but we will not waver because we have You. Problems, struggles, temptations may come, but we will not be weakened or fearful because we have You, who empowers us and gives us all the answers and help. Indeed in Your name we see true everlasting faithfulness... thank You for this heart of Yours Lord. We receive it and claim it deep into our Spirits. Amen!
I pray that this week God will help you to trust and know that He is the Certainty in our lives!
- Location:office
- Mood: touched
- Music:screechy aircon
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."
....yes I will run the race..till I see Your face...
not by might not by power but by the Spirit of God amen!
- Mood:
sad
"Some passages in the bible are being overused, and people feel that such repitition doesnt work their growth, but often its these that are overused that highlight the point of revelation and how teachable we really are..."
-annoynmous
So true.
There are so many verses out there that we can just verbalise it offhand. But each time we regurgitate them out, do we know it deep down and act upon it(shows the extent of application of the verse in our lives)? do we live the Word out in our lives?
It's so easy to miss out on God's rhema Word for us when we choose to slight such "overused" verses. We think we know, but the question is do we really know.
I guess this comes in relevance to me, that i need to believe in the "overused" verse :
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
It's definitely a season of total dependence on God.
It's good and essential to have faith.. to see the impossible and move in the supernatural. We need to have faith to help us to not be of the world, we need faith to walk with the Spirit, we need faith to grow deeper in God.. if you havent got my point, basically we just need faith for so so many things.
I'm sure alot of us know that we need to have faith. we always say that we have faith in God. in fact we seem to use the word "faith" so loosely such that it becomes just a mere word with no conviction in our hearts. And when I say that, it means faith becomes a form of head knowledge, and theres no conviction=no action=no works.
I realised that I am guilty of having faith just in my mind. My immediate response to many problems in life would be" Just have faith n trust in God.." but I never really got down to carrying out that belief into action, i.e prayers. But in the bible we are told that faith without works accompanied is dead. which means no matter how much of faith we have, if we dont pray and all, everything is useless. we simply cant just say and not do anything about it. Faith then becomes a half-hearted thing.. can you imagine what half-heartedness can do in our lives? Ans: nothing! We get stuck in situations and feel that God doesnt seem to be moving. But heres an encouragement; --> its in God's will for us to experience miracles. He wants us to know His power and at the same time to see His glory. Besides our God is someone who loves, who has already so willingly gave up His son so how much more will He not want to give to us? So its important to have faith and the works, if we wanna see God moving.
Check: Are your faith accompanied by works?(if yes, continue to live out that spirit, if not ask God to change you)
-
Application: Lord, I know prayer changes things. with faith+works we can move Your hand in every single area of our lives. Help me to have both faith and the works. Thank You Lord!
- Location:office
- Mood: good
(The future glory of Zion)
This short passage speaks of the Lord's promise, which comes from His deep compassion, everlasting kindness and unfailing love.
We need to know what is our heritage, which is one thats in the Lord.
I like how the passage develops(and relates to me).. beginning it talks about the hurts, shame, disappointments that we face in the many trials. But God never fails to deliver because of His character--- compassionate, kind and loving.
Our Heritage in the Lord
1) Know the mercies of the Lord
v7-8:"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you", says the Lord your Redeemer.
v10-12"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,"says the Lord who has compassion on you.
.... and be thankful.
2) Know the authority of the Lord
v16-17:"See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the colas into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you."
..... and be secured.
Application:
I will not be affected by the words of others. I will stand strong in the promises of God. And no matter how the circumstances challenge my faith in God, I will not give up. Because God has proven to be greater than anything in the world. Joce press on!!!
Once again, remember its the Year of Victory. Claim it!
GIVE THANKS.
Give thanks at all times, in every circumstance, whenever you can, regardless of how you feel... because we can never outgive the Lord.
And as the song goes;
"And now let the weak say I am strong,
let the poor say I am rich,
Because of what the Lord has done for us..."
We need to have the attitude of giving thanks! Because this attitude will change our perspectives.. and enable us to claim the power and riches of God into our lives. Only then can we be strong when we're weak; be rich when we're poor. The Lord loves a grateful heart of thanksgiving!
# Thank you Lord for your provision everyday!
- Mood: content
I was just browsing through my prev messages sent by many, and i stumbled once again on this devotion sent by Ps Danny.
And I took some time to ponder.
I will have to say that I always feel that God's hand is not upon me. I don't seem to be basking in His blessings, no matter how hard I pray or try to walk as righteously as possible. This would be significantly evident in my education years, since primary school up till now, I think my studies have never been once smoothsailing(perhaps mini surprises for SMALL tests only). I'm always on the lower end of the range.. I struggle, I panick, I fear. I always do not do better than others. To me I feel that I'm constantly being 'suppressed' by my other good friends. And one question was always in me: God, why do you not choose to bless me in my studies? I'm so tired of going through the harder way(appeals, interviews etc). Especially so now, uni applications have been a huge burden. and i really detest that feeling.
But even as I read that devotion, I sensed God speaking;
God's hand(ie. the things He do for us to see) shows one thing, but His heart shows something deeper altogether. Circumstances that we're in may be His way of testing, teaching or moulding us(insert negative circumstances). But beyond all these, lies a faithful heart full of love and mercy. I would like to parallel this with an example, to help you get a clearer picture. Take, your mom nagging at you for instance. Dont we find nagging really irritating/horrible? But if we were to look beyond all the nagging and into the heart of our moms, we know for sure her intentions are good, to guide us, teach us, make us better people. Most of the time such good intentions are not verbally expressed. So likewise, whenever we feel that God does not want to bless because of the things we see, change your perspective: look at His heart and TRUST. He loves us so much, He'll only give the best to us. For His love is everlasting, never fails, never shortchanges.
I will learn how to trust His heart! amen
- Mood: calm
Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
Within your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father You are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
--
God, I need peace and help me to rest in your faithfulness, mercy, grace and love!
- Location:office
- Mood: worried
- Music:cheenapokxx music
I believe that God values the things we value just like the way we do.. Things that are important to us are important to Him as well.
Today I was facing some hiccups at work, got abit frustrated over the relocation of forms; yknow, uptight and gripped with fear of being reprimanded by the boss, though to a very small degree lah. Actually, I was already facing this problem since last thursday.. and i made a comment the other day "Gen, lets go home and pray and I believe we can find the forms next week, no worries..." HAHA i dont know what kind/degree of faith I had at that moment, perhaps to me it was really "a slip of the tongue", something that can be forgotten easily.
BUT GOD HEARD IT.
And today as I was jst looking through the same stack of forms, in hope of finding the missing ones, I found it!! without much effort. And right at that very moment, God spoke.
He told me that even the little nitty gritty not-worth-mentioning things in our lives, He bothers about them. He values them the way we do and even at times when we just give up and fall into numbness, He lifts us up. This is MY GOD. This is MY GOD who cares so much about me. I am so loved and cherished :)
So dont ever leave God out of the small insignificant things in your life. Maybe you think that it wont really matter to God, but trust me, He knows your heart. He knows it all, inside out.
Bless you with the deep knowledge of His love! <3
- Location:office
- Mood: loved
- Mood: grateful
I'm sure we all know the story of Martha and Mary in the bible very well.
Let us do a character analysis of the both of them:
1)Martha: enthusiastic, perfectionist, initiative, confident
2)Mary: innocent, pure, childlike
Martha was enthusiastic in welcoming Jesus into the house and got herself preoccupied with the preparation of sumptuous dishes and tidying. On the other hand, Mary(I would like to presume that she's the younger one with the traits given) simply wanted to be in the presence of the Lord and did not care much about the "exterior and worldly" things, for she knew that one day in the courts of the Lord beats a thousand days/things/affairs elsewhere.
In the passage, the Lord mentioned something that struck me.
In verse 41 it says, "...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."
And so, i questioned myself: Joce, do you know what that one thing is?
Is it 1) material possessions 2) money 3) glamour or 4) to be sufficient in and with His presence?
I realised that I've been so caught up with my life.that I choose to forget my walk with God. I'm just like Martha, being enthusiastic and initiative about the wrong things. That is why even when the Lord appears in front of me, just like Martha, I forget the importance of His presence in my life. It's like I know I desire and need God in my life, but not as much as I desire for the material things. I have forgotten how to simply enjoy God and share His heartbeat. I do not know how to be satisfied with just God alone.
Lord, teach me to be like Mary. Who will so readily sit down at your feet and listen to your heart with innocent wide eyes and a pure heart ready to receive. Who thinks that You are enough and all that she ever needs.
- Location:office
- Mood:determined
- Music:Emmanuel
While I was doing my devotion during lunch break(am fasting), the Lord put this passage in my heart and reminded me of the miracles that He performed through Jesus. Even as the miracle weekend(healing service) is approaching, my heart is fearful to a certain extent. I worry about whether people are going to be truly healed. I worry about how am I going to minister God's healing grace into people's lives. I worry about the reactions that are going to come from the mass--good, or totally cynical? And i wonder if you reading this now face the same worries and doubts just like I do.
But the Lord spoke,
He used the abovementioned passage so aptly to counter my fears.
So in short, I'm gonna summarise 3 points that I've understood from it.
1) Jesus performs healing miracles just for ONE sole purpose, i.e v3 "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.."
-Let us ask God for His glory to be revealed in each and every lives presented to Him, instead of focussing on the extent of healing. Because I believe that when His glory comes, it will penetrate and shine beyond just mere healing. Lives will be SET FREE. in every aspect. TOTALLY.
2) Jesus was able to heal because He knew where He was coming from, i.e. v4 "...we must do the work of him who sent me."
-Jesus was sent by the Father, whom he loved and trusted. He understood one point(which we all have to as well), that when he goes in the power of the Lord, he goes forth with power and victory. Likewise, we must also know where we are coming from-- Jesus sent us. He chose us. He has empowered us with all that we need. So there's no room for fear of not being able to minister to the people. We can do it, in the name and power of Jesus.
Furthermore, in v7 "...wash in the Pool of Siloam(this word means Sent)". Clearly, Jesus was "backed up" by His Almighty Father. And we, as sons and daughters of this same Father, will also be "backed up" by Him.
3) The blind man acted in obedience and faith, which resulted in complete healing, i.e v7 "...so the man went and washed, and came home seeing"
-I believe that the key point here is not to worry about how our friends/family members will think. Rather, we need to pray for faith and obedience in their hearts. So as to receive. Because ultimately supernatural miracles require FAITH. As we all know, FAITH goes Forsaking All I Trust in Him, therefore people need to learn how to abandon their worries/doubts/certainties/troubles before they can witness a miracle in their lives. So why dont you take the next few days to sincerely pray and ask God for faith in the people's hearts.
I believe that the Lord is so going to do a mighty work on Sunday. His ressurrection power and glory will rest upon the lives of the seekers. Amen!
- Location:office
- Mood: excited
- Music:At the Cross
i'm in the office again..sneaking on this entry hhaha. and my colleague is playing some weird chinese music thats giving me a headache. this week's gonna be dem busy... and i can totally feel my brain in my stomach grrrr. besides work has been monotonous.
Aside;
1) I really need to start planning PROPERLY for my australia(brisbane) trip.
2) I have so many things on my mind, of which #1 SHOPPINGGGG
3) I can't wait for this week to be over
4) I so wanna go for the malaysia trip w my clique
5) I need to stop fantasising about America (x100000 omgzz)
6) I hope to get an interview from every faculty that I applied for
(not in order of importance)
Mmm. it's so much easier to write in short, concise points. easier for reading too rightt
:) i want to learn how to be happier.
- Location:office
- Mood:
sleepy - Music:^*$%!!
okay sorry ive not been keeping up to my resolution of blogging devotions daily here. next time i must rem my next resolution is to keep to all my resolutions!!
anywayz,feeling like a total zombie now. past few days have been tiring. dont know why am I so busy too. just have alot of things on hand and like later i have a rehearsal to rush to. i feel like eating ban mian and drink bubble tea(thank God cramps are gone!!) and just burp. okay i need to get back to work before gen starts nagging at me hahaha the slacker.
If you look carefully, you can spot my sexy& heavy eyebags. wonderfullllll.
- Mood: tired
I realised that many of us have knowledge of the Word in our lives. We attend services and listen to God's Word for us every week. Without fail, we gradually become hearers of the Word, which is good for a start I must say. (Memory verses popping up in your mind now?)
But a group of us are unable to truly receive the Word into our lives. I mean, God's teachings become mere head knowledge that when we come across certain verses over and over again, we face them with an "okay i already know this and prayed once" attitude. But have we really received the Word into our lives? For another group of us, we get sick and tired of hearing the same Word over and over again, yet not knowing that God has a purpose for doing so-- wanting us to really receive His word into our spirits. We get drained and frustrated when breakthroughs dont come, victories are not experienced etc, because primarily we have failed in truly receiving His word for us right from the start.
And moving on to the point after receiving His word into our lives, we need to PROCLAIM the victories and breakthroughs with faith. Because if we dont, the devil will rob what God has intended for us. The key to receive God's promises for us is to BOLDY SHOUT EXCLAIM it in our lives.. loud enough to win over the devil and to scare them hahah.
Yup, so i shall summarise my devotion in 3 concise points:
In order for us to walk in victory, we have to
1)Know
2)Receive
3)Proclaim!
His almighty Word for us!!! amen!
:)
- Mood: crappy
1. His security will be temporal (Matthew 6:19)
-"Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."
2. He is more prone to temptations (Matthem 4:8-10)
-"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Go away Satan, For it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."
3. He allows the root of all evil to deepen in his life (1 Timothy 6:10)
-"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
4. He commits idolatry (Matthew 6:24)
-"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
5. He will be controlled by his slave master (1Cor 6:12)
-"Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me --but I will not be mastered by anything"
6. He will face destruction (Matthew 6:9)
-"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction."
Beware of the 'Possession Upgrading' Trap.
It is easier to upgrade than to downgrade.
Many atimes, upgrade possession=downgrade soul
This post is here to be remembered forever.
- Mood: content
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