Have you ever heard of this phrase “Let Go and Let God”? Well I have heard this for quite some time ago and would really agree with it because it sounds logical and in a way true.

The the next question would be, how true is this phrase of “Let Go and Let God” in your life? For me, knowing it and experience is 2 different things all together. For I know this phrase and totally agreed with it for years, but it has never been as true as it is until I myself experienced it today and would love to share with my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ!

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight

Arising Matter:

Me and a few brothers in Christ are in the youth camp committee for this year and we have started planning for this year’s camp (will be held in December) since last month. Since then we have meeting almost every week or at least every fortnightly once. Giving out all ‘our ideas’ on the programs, activity, design of shirts, advertisement and most importantly the theme and theme verse.

To be honest, I felt that the past few meeting was kinda fruitless and leading us nowhere.

Hence, I’ve decided not think so much about it and just ask God to show us what He has in store for us, just trusting Him to provide for all those since He is the Head of Church and the Shepherd that leads us.

When a few of us are having ‘mamak’ session together and in the middle of our chit-chatting, we were talking about the CG retreat and it eventually lead to our Youth Camp.

Without any intention or thinking so about what we gonna do and what should we do about it, we just keep talking about it and out of nowhere ideas just keep flowing out from each and everyone of us. At that time, I honestly believe that God is at work and it is He who is the ‘Chairman’ that leads and guides us, giving us His idea that we need. Giving us all that we have been planning all these while, the design, tagline, games, lesson behind the games, the theme and it’s theme verse.

Thought this might look like something normal to anyone else, but to me I see God guidance and leading and it has been a reality.

Precious experience today:

The more we try to formalize, plan and give our own best humanly idea and thought in ‘doing something for God’, the more difficult it is for God to give us His thought, ideas and plan to work within us. It is only when we let go of all our trying, not thinking of what we can ‘do for God’ or asking Him to bless ‘our plans for Him’; and just by abiding, be-stilling and reseting in God’s love that allowed us to listen to what God has in mind for us.

Lesson: How can you fill a cup that is already full? We must first empty our cup with all our own desire ‘for God’ before letting God fill our cup with His own desire for us.

Now, Have you ever experience it? If not, do you dare let go and let God?

Isaiah 48 :12

“This is what the LORD says–your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go”

Could it be that Jesus is trying to ask Peter to prove his love for Him?

Most people would agree with that. However I see God’s love manifested in that conversation between Jesus and Peter.

Well this is how God spoke to me through these verse (not asking whether you agree or disagree with me)

John 21:15-18

 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs.

 Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep.

 The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep.

When Jesus predicted His death on the cross, Peter boast about how firm He is with His dedication to Christ, and even told Jesus that he will follow Him to death. He does this trying to prove to the Lord that He loves Him MORE than the other disciple does. Peter however denied Christ not only once but three times.

Remember the moment where Jesus predicted Peter’s denial, Peter firmly said (John 13:37) “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU”

And Jesus answered “Will you really lay down your life for me?…” and predicted His denial

When Jesus resurrected, He approached Peter (take not he called Him his old name Simon son of John instead of Peter) and ask Him the first question “Simon son of John, do you truly love (agape) me more than these?” THESE is actually referring to the other disciple. Jesus want to know if Peter still thinks He loves Jesus more than anyone else.

Peter answered “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love (phileo) you.”

We must also take note, when Jesus use the word love (for the first 2 times), He is using in the term of Agape (sacrificial love), but when Peter answered he said ” you know that I Phileo (brotherly love) you”

This is because Peter himself recognize after denying Jesus for 3 times, he can no longer claim to love Jesus sacrificially and he do realize that God is the one that know our heart.

However the third time when Jesus asked “Simon son of John, do you love(phileo) me?” He was using the word phileo, Jesus drops the level of love down to Peter’s and there’s a match. Jesus will work with whatever level of love we have for Him, but He does demand humility, which is what Peter displayed in John 21:15-17 in contrast to his prideful declaration in Matthew 26:31-33.

And when Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” The reason why Jesus ask Peter 3 times and give the similar answers 3 times is not so much of asking Peter to do something for Him. But it is because Jesus is trying to make a correlation; 3 times Peter denied Jesus, 3 times Jesus wants Peter to know He still love him. What greater acclamation of love that Jesus could give Peter besides than entrusting Peter with His precious sheep?

This is a perfect song for this entry

You Are More – Tenth Avenue North

Work from Monday to Friday,
overtime on Saturday and Sunday.

Overtime is not compulsory,
but without overtime it is impossible to finish up the works.

Imparting knowledge and touching lives is  what I am suppose and want to do,
however the ‘admin works’ which is not what I desire to do most seems to be more urgent and important.

Students are suppose to be my priority,
but it seems to me that marking their homeworks and test is on top of the list.

School Holiday is the only chance for me to catch up with old time buddies,
it is also the only time for me to catch up with undone work and preparation for the upcoming week and months.

Fierce is what is expected of  me,
but it is not my nature and even not who I want to be,

Being too kind will not only get myself in trouble,
I might also be label as irresponsible.

Writing all these is not to complain,
but to explain and share with other about the nature of my job.

It also kinda defeat the whole purpose of me wanting to do it.

What is a church?

This might seems to be a simple question,

many might know the answer,

most will think it is not something new.

Majority of you would have agree with me if I say ” church is not a place we go to, but who we are”

You might agree with it just because this is the  standard answer that you’ve heard of and know of.

However, knowing and agreeing is not the same as comprehending and understanding the statement as simple as that.

If we really do grasp the meaning and comprehend it, then will we still say/ask something like “Why today didn’t come/see you to/at church?”

When questions/statement like this slip out of out mouth, it just shows how much we understand about what a church is. Some might even argue that it is just the word they use but that’s not what they mean. Then again if that’s not what they mean then what could it be? It just shows they really don’t understand what the word means, hence using it in a wrong manner where they do not mean it.

Church is NOT a specific PLACE we go, not a specific TIME we meet, not a specific PROGRAM we follow, not a specific RITUAL we do, not a specific HUMAN LEADER to lead us and most of all not a specific SYSTEM to experience, know and worship God. If church is not what is mention above, then what is it?

Church IS the BODY of  Christ, with Christ as the head and WE are the body, being leading by CHRIST, not man. Church is ANY WHERE we are ALL THE TIME . It is a RELATIONSHIP we build with one another with God as our FATHER. It is a WALK with God DAILY that enable us to experience, know and worship God.

Some might blindly agree with that statement above just because it sounds logical, but not fully comprehending it.

If you understand what I’ve mention above then help me out with this.

• If someone is not regular in whatever meeting, will you question their walk with God?
• If someone had been lost for quite some time, will you say a prayer like “Father please show these brother/sister of mine the important of coming to church?”
• If a person is coming consistently and doing part of the ministry, will you say to yourself  ”Wow, his walk in God is surely strong! Not missing a single meeting, and putting God first”
• If someone is working on Sunday and not being able to attend service, will you say to yourself “This fella is not trusting God enough, He is placing work before God and his priority is work and not God.”
• etc etc….

If your answer is YES to any of the statement above, then you really don’t grasp what a church is! Why? Just re-read what a true church (that you think you agree with) is again

• Church IS the BODY of  Christ, with Christ as the head and WE are the body, being leading by Him, not man. Church is ANY WHERE we are ALL THE TIME . It is a RELATIONSHIP we build with one another with God as our FATHER. It is a WALK with God DAILY that enable us to experience, know and worship God.

After re-reading it, and your answer is still YES for EITHER one of the question posted above, then I is only two possible conclusion I can draw.

1. You still don’t fully understand what a TRUE Church is, just blindly agreeing with what I say the first time you read.
2. You don’t agree with what I say about what a TRUE Church is

If it is not the former, then it would definitely be the latter, no doubt about that.

Well I was once the former, deceiving myself thought I knew what a true church is. However it is not until recently I’ve comprehend and understand the true meaning of a church instead of just knowing it as knowledge just because it sounds logical.

Now that the truth has been revealed to me, I find liberty in living a Christian life, I see things differently no longer being judgmental, I am able to love others for who they are and not what they do, accepting them as who God sees them, able to trust and depend on God daily, He has been more real in my life. I am able to live a life trusting God with who He is!

The truth that sets me free has however laid a burden in my heart. I see people deceiving themselves just like how I used to deceive myself, in the bondage of religion and not being able to live a life of true FREEDOM in Christ!

And this is the main reason why I am writing this,  to help people who have been deceiving themselves to come to a REALIZATION of self deceiving and the important of having a genuine relationship with God. I am not here to set you free or tell you what you must do/don’t to gain this freedom because it is the very PERSONAL walk with God that will set you free, NOT any specific method, rule or standard for it will only ROB you the chance from hearing, walking and experiencing Him personally.

Remain in HIS LOVE!

OPEN ARMS

Michael W. Smith

IF WE ARE THE BODY

Casting Crown

If that is the case some of us might think to ourself and ask, why pray when God know all things? Well I found a wonderful article and would love to share with you. Worth every single second reading it.

IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE PRAYER AND YOUR PRAYER LIFE WOULD DEFINITELY BE ALIVE. IT HAS CHANGED MINE SINCE A FEW YEARS BACK AND I HOPE IT HELPS FOR THOSE OF YOU OUT THERE SEEKING FOR ANSWERS ON PRAYER!

Prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays.

— Soren Kierkegaard, Danish Philosopher

I carry a file of prayer requests with me on my cell phone in a digital application.  There’s a place on each request where I can check-off when the prayer has been answered.  At anytime I can refer back to my list to see what needs and desires have been filled and which ones still need to be lifted up.

For several years, the unmarked “answered” box on many of the prayers has left me frustrated and somewhat angry.  I look at the list, read through the many heartfelt and heart breaking needs, and it pains me to see them go unanswered.

There are requests for spiritual salvation, medical and emotional healings, relational reconciliations, and economic buoyancy, however, many seem to go unnoticed and be in vain.

Maybe it’s just me—praying for something and never receiving the answer I am looking for or never receiving ananswer at all?

I wonder if my heart was in the right place when I prayed.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:3).

I wonder if I truly had faith in my prayers.

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well (James 5:15).

I believe God knows what I’m going to pray even before I utter a single word.

I believe He cares for every person and about every circumstance we face.

I believe He is in complete control.

However, within my prayers, I sometimes find myself trying to convince Him of what (I think) is best in a situation when I can only see and comprehend a fraction of what is going on.  And the only reason I have any understanding whatsoever of the circumstance is by His grace and the knowledge He has given me in the first place.

How do you spell arrogance?

At times I have to laugh at myself as I try to “figure out” what God is up to.  After receiving a lifetime of blessings and experiencing incredible “only God” situations, who am I to think I can understand His ways?  Why would I even want to try?  I would probably just get in His way.

It reminds me of Mary and Martha’s plea to Jesus for their brother Lazarus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  When Jesus heard of Lazarus’ condition, “He stayed where he was (Jerusalem) two more days.” (Before traveling to Bethany less than two miles away, John 11:3, 5).

Could you imagine being with Jesus at the time He received the news, knowing that Lazarus was a close friend of His?  We would have questioned why Jesus didn’t leave immediately to be by his side.  We would have sympathized for Mary and Martha’s anguish as they watched their brother’s health diminish.  Lazarus himself must have wondered where his friend was, who could have healed him.

Jesus finally arrived after Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days and was greeted by Martha.  “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21)  Upon seeing Jesus, Mary said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  (John 11:32)  The Jews said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  (John 11:36-37)

Martha, Mary, and the Jews all believed Jesus could have healed Lazarus before he died.  So, why didn’t He?

Before departing Jerusalem, Jesus told his disciples, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him.”  (John 11:14)  Jesus had a reason and a purpose for not leaving earlier to heal Lazarus.

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him”(John 11:45).

A number of years ago, a very committed, dedicated and faithful couple in my church had a daughter whose life spanned only a week due to complications associated with undeveloped organs.  After a week of fervent prayer, we as a church had so many questions as to why God would allow this to happen to such faithful servants of His.

We later found out close to thirty family members and co-workers of the couple came to know Jesus through their child’s short life.  Was that God’s purpose for the life of that child?  Is this what God had planned in the midst of their grief?  We may never know for sure; we just did what we were called to d  pray.

Recently, a local pastor’s son was involved in an automobile accident and a worldwide plea for prayer was sent out.  Thousands of believers unceasingly prayed for the healing of his body, believed in a miracle, and trusted God.  Three days later, the Lord took him home.

A church and a community are left with the question, “Why?”

I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven (Matthew 18:19).

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14-15).

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (John 16:24).

We look to passages like these, we pray for understanding, and oftentimes we walk away not able to comprehend how the Lord is working and why.  However, just because God does not work according to how we think doesn’t mean He does not hear our prayers nor care about our situation.

Even as Jesus approached the tomb where Lazarus was buried, knowing full well He was about to raise him from the dead, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

Solomon, often referred to as the wisest man on earth, penned these words trying to help us understand it is in God’s time and purpose that He works, not ours.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Whether we ever understand God’s ways or ever see clearly how He’s working in our lives, or those around us, we should continue to pray because He tells us to.

Men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).

It is not only our way of communicating and communing directly with our Lord and Savior, but also a major component along our journey of faith.

At the Sunday service following the death of his son, the pastor praised his son for his earlier decision to donate his organs.  Five unknown families received the gift of an organ as a result of his son’s death.

His sister wrote:  “Five lives were immediately saved, and a total of 77 lives will be significantly impacted thanks to Josiah’s donated organs.  Sometimes miracles happen in ways that we don’t expect, but the miracle still happened.”

Through all of the prayers that were lifted up for the gift of life, somebody’s prayers were answered that day.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)

Every time I pray,

I do not move the hands of God for He is Sovereign.

Instead I am drawn closer to Him and know Him more,

for I know He is in control.

Every time I pray,

God do not remove the mountains in my life,

instead He gives me the strength and energy to climb it,

or even carry me through the mountains if I am too weak.

God is NOT interested in tearing down the mountains,

He is more interested in building me up.

God is NOT interested in changing the circumstance of my life,

He is more interested in changing me.

John 19: 38-40

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.  He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.”

As we all know Nicodemus was a pharisee (John 3:1), and his act in John 19:39-40 could have gotten Him into trouble at that very moment. The dead of Jesus on the cross was a moment where even Joseph (one of Jesus’ disciple) fear to let others know that He is a follower of Christ.(John 19:38)

Nicodemus, as a pharisee has all the more reason to not identify with Jesus at the cross. Jesus was view as criminal and a false messiah in the eyes of the Romans and Jewish authorities. Furthermore by touching a dead body may cause Nicodemus to be unclean for it was the day of Preparation and the next day was to be a special Sabbath (John 19:31) and Nicodemus will be unclean for the Passover ritual on that evening itself. As a pharisee, his authority as a religious leader can be strip away, it would be a political suicide. His life might be at stake or even thrown in to prison for identifying with Jesus

Yet the power of the cross was so strong, and the love of Christ was so perfect that it drives out all fear in Nicodemus (1 John 4:18). To the extend that Nicodemus would go forward the cross and help out with he burial preparation which is only normally done by family members.And this shows that Nicodemus is identifying Christ as a family. Jesus has became so precious to Nicodemus than he is willing to lay down his religious position, the religious rituals and even his own life has at the foot of the cross. This is because Nicodemus has come to a point in his life where he truly understand the significant of Jesus’s Love at the Cross and has found the true meaning of life.

It is the LOVE of our crucified Lord that brought us all into His kingdom and family. And I pray to be more of a Nicodemus than a Joseph.

-Luke 9:23,24-

What do you understand about carrying the cross? Why did Jesus use the symbol of the cross?

Too often people mistaken their problem and troubles as the cross, they will say im carrying my cross and often their cross present their family, their career, their , their studies etc etc. But the truth is the cross got nothing to do with us at all! It is only the thing that we are doing for Christ is the cross.

To me I have a rather radical view on what it means to carry the cross. At that time when Jesus asked them to carry their cross, He had not died on the cross yet, so in the original context the symbol of the cross is death. In fact it was a very humiliated, suffering, torture and long pain that lead to death.

Jesus uses the symbol of the cross to tell the people at that time that following is not as simple as it looks like, it is not having to do nothing and having a simple life. In fact it will cost us if we were to follow Him. On the other hand it will cost us more not to follow Him.

In my opinion when we go to church, go for cell group, go for bible study or go for fellowship etc etc, all those do not represent the cross because those are the thing that benefit us without costing us much. It is true that we sacrifice the time and petrol but is it something we are doing for God or ourself? I believe all of those are more for our benefit.

Instead by sacrificing our time and money in preaching the gospel, reaching out to the lost, unloved, unwanted and those in the old folks home, visiting orphans and sharing the love of God with them, doing something for the community so that people will see God through us, being persecuted by friends for not following their way because you want to obey God, doing missions etc etc.

In short we are only carrying the cross when we are doing what God wants us to do instead of what we want to do despite how much it cost us including our lifestyle/life. It is no wonder Jesus continue to say “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

I have to confess myself that I am barely taking up the cross daily, and recently this is what God is challenging me to do so. I pray that more us will carry up our cross and follow Jesus obediently

It will cost us  to follow Him, but it will cost us more not to follow Him.

Watch the video to understand what the sentence above mean.

Filed under: Challenge, Christianity, Faith, Truth ]]> http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/carrying-the-cross/feed/ 0 Soul http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/before-the-morning/ http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/before-the-morning/#comments Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:27:15 +0000 Soul http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/?p=681 ]]>

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Romans 8:18, 24-25, 28

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has. But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Would you dare to believe?

Safe

Phil Wickham feat. Bart Millard

Psalm 27

Randomly went to watch this movie after going to a friend’s birthday party. Well the good thing was I step into the cinema without any expectation for I haven watch the trailer and did not have a single clue from the title “Shutter Island”. The thing I enjoyed most was the unexpected twist at the end of the movie.

The purpose of this blog post is not to tell you the story of the movie but just something I learned and realize from the movie. You might not want to read this if you want to enjoy the movie yourself for it might contain a MILD SPOILER for I have to give a brief summary of the movie in order to convey what I’ve learned from it. So stop reading from here if you want to get the most out of the movie. But if you’ve watch it or don’t plan to watch then do continue to read on.

SPOILER WARNING !!!

The whole story was about a patient (Andrew Laeddis) in the Ashecliff Hospital (a mental hospital for insane criminal) having a delusion of being a US Marshal investigating on the Ashecliff Hospital which he suspect that they are turning human into ghost (not literally) for military purposes and the doctors are actually trying to bring him back to reality by playing along with him and to finally reveal to him the fact that he is actually a patient of the Ashecliff Hospital instead of a US Marshal for if they fail to help him come back to senses then he will have to go for lobotomy. In the end they were able to help him realize who he was and his true identity, man who killed his wife and lost 3 of his children. But that’s still not the end yet, just as they want to confirm that he does not reset to his insane mood his doctor ask him what’s next, and it was then that he decided to fake being in his delusion again for he rather choose to go for the lobotomy than to accept the fact that he is a murder of his wife.

SPOILER ENDS HERE

After watching the ending it kept me thinking about how true it is that many of us are living a life of regrets, a life that we cannot face, a life that are haunt by the past, a life that we wish we could just forget about and start a new and fresh life. Just like Andre Laeddis in the movie who said to his doctor “What’s worst? To live as a monster or to die as a good man?”, many of us would rather choose to die or to erase our memory so that we can live as a new person without regrets or past that will haunt us. This movie portray the reality of what most people will choose to do when they can’t accept themselves  for the things they have done or happened in their life. It’s no wonder there’s so many suicide case  happening around us.

Well it’s true enough and no surprise that there is no other way than death that we can be release from all this burden, regrets, trauma, and haunting past. But one thing most people fail to realize is that we have to be death to our sin in order to be set free from all this ! It is not by killing ourself  that will solves the problems. This thought struck me even harder when I was on the way home from movie. One of my friend was sharing with another friend about how he was able to stop swearing with God’s help and said that it would be impossible to stop without God. The other friend then responded by saying “When you die you will also stop swearing”. He is so right by saying that and just hit the target right at the spot when he said that, BULLSEYE ! but what he fail to see is that the friend of mine has indeed died, he has been death to his old-self, old nature and old habit when he invited Jesus as Lord in his heart and God has created him as a new spiritual being and he has been set free from sin and all other bondages, that is the main reason why he was able to stop the bad habit of swearing.

John 10:10 Jesus says
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

God is calling out to you, whether you believe it or not, God is calling you and He wants to give you a second chance in life in this hopeless world. Without Him everything seems hopeless, but with Him in your life things that are impossible will turn to “Im Possible!”. Will you not want to have a new life? Will you not want to have a new start in life ? Will you not want to be free from bondages in life? If so then Jesus Christ God’s only Son is the answer to it for He has promised to give us life and to have it to the FULL!

Romans 6:6
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! “

As for me now I can freely proclaim that I am free from sin and I am a new creation, whatever is in the past is no longer holding me back or stopping me to live life to the full for I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

John 5:24
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Now that you’ve heard the word of God, will you not accept this free gift of eternal life and cross over from death to life? The choice is in your hand, think carefully and make a wise decision.

John 11:25
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;”

For the past few weeks, I was particularly busy preparing for midterm at the same time fetching my mum and siblings around. This affected my eating habit for I used to eat almost every 2 hours. However due to the busyness, my eating hours and habit started to changed.

I did not realize this change until quite recently when my stomach start to growl at weird hours and also I couldn’t really eat much when I am real hungry. Have you ever felt so hungry until you don’t feel like eating anymore ? Well that’s what happen to me at times I can even skip a meal without even realizing it. I feel weak at times and also tired all the time due to this inconsistent eating habits of mine. This shows how important it is for us to keep a consistent  diet and eating habit in order to stay healthy.

Similar to the physical body health, my spiritual body need to be feed constantly in a consistent manner in order for it to grow and stay healthy. The word of God is my spiritual food, and if I don’t feed my spiritual body how could it even grow or be healthy ? Not only feeding it is important, I have to do it on a constant and consistent basis.

If I were to feed our spiritual body for like say once a week, do you think that it will even grow the way it was supposed to grow? Just like the physical body, the spiritual body needs to be feed daily, and not only once a day. If I don’t feed  it on a consistent basis then my spiritual eating order will changed and my spiritual body will grow weak and it causes spiritual eating disorder.

I’ve personally gone through both physical and spiritual eating disorder and the causes of  both of this is due to inconsistent order of eating. For example, when I skip reading the Word of God for days, then the habit of reading it daily soon changed and I feel spiritually dry, low and down. Sometimes I doesn’t even feel like reading it after not reading it for days  because I just felt so lost not knowing where to start to read or what to read ! This is similar to the feeling of  being too hungry till don’t feel like eating.

Would like to encourage each and everyone of you to feed both your physical and spiritual body in time on a consistent basis with a healthy and proper eating habit so that you will be able to have a strong and healthy body and to prevent eating disorder !

Von Wafer

Danny Ildefonso

Kobe Bryant

Dwayne Wade

Michael Jordan

And the funniest of all HAHAHA

Rebound Fail !

Other Bloopers !

Filed under: Just For Laugh ]]> http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/professionals-fail/feed/ 0 Soul http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/god-in-the-old-testament-vs-new-testament-and-the-devils-lie/ http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/god-in-the-old-testament-vs-new-testament-and-the-devils-lie/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:35:05 +0000 Soul http://delightsoul.wordpress.com/?p=613 ]]>

Hebrews 13:8

” Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever“

Many a times when those non-believer read the old testament they will think that our God is a God without mercy and His wrath is aways upon us. Same goes to Christians that are not grounded in the Word of God and have not really understand and cannot comprehend why the characteristic of God in the old testament is so different from the loving God in the new testament. This is one of the best lie that Satan use to cause confusion and to make Christians doubt their faith for He is the father of lies (John 8:44).

If you are a Christian and believe that God words is 100% true, then could the above verse sound contradicting to you ? If the bible tells us that Jesus Christ who is also God is the same yesterday today and forever then how could it be that God in the Old Testament sounds and looks so much more different than the God portrayed in the New Testament ? Could it be both the God are different God ? Or could it be that God has changed ? Or even could it be the old testament and new testament have nothing to do with each another ?

If you have either one of the above question that you are still questioning then satan could be telling you lies to confuse you from the truth. And maybe reading along might help you find the answer. Those were the question I have in mind as well when I was still a new born spiritual baby and I believe most of the Christian out there are still having the same question and have not found the answer to it. But before you read on, I would just like to let you know to know the basic believe of a Christian, that is we Christian believe that  the bible is 100% true and there is no contradiction in it, for if ever it is contradicting then it wouldn’t be the Word of God and there is no power in it for the Word of God is PERFECT. To young Christians whom find the bible contradicting maybe you can pray and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom each time you read the bible and He will be your teacher and reveal all truth to you.

1 Corinthians 2:12-14
“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

John 14:26
“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 16:13
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come“

The answer to all the questions mention above is rather simple. I would like to ask you a simple question : Do you believe God is a God of justice ? If you believe so then do you think it is just for Him to punish those whom broke the law ? Definitely yes, that is why God is so strict to the people in the old testament, He passes his judgment onto those whom disobeyed Him and His decree and His wrath is always upon them for their disobedience. And if you agreed that God is a God of justice as written in the bible then this is what a God of justice will and MUST do, or else He would not be contradicting Himself and would not be God.

Now then you would start to question, but why so do the new testament describe God as a graceful, loving and merciful God ? How could did be, have God changed ? Have He not contradict Himself already ? The answer to these questions are fairly simple too.

The main event that separated the  old testament and the new testament is the answer to it all. The main event in the new testament would be the coming of Jesus to earth as a man and being hang upon the cross to die for our sin. If only you recognize the significant of this event then everything will be as clear as it is, but sadly most of us doesn’t understand it.

Let me just elaborate and paint a bigger picture for you. You see when Jesus died on the cross, He died for you and me and whoever who believes in Him. He took our place of judgment and sin, I repeat he bear our JUDGMENT and SIN. Therefore God’s wrath is no longer on us for all the sin of the world was laid on Jesus and the wrath of God and judgment had been bore by Jesus on the cross !

In Matthew  27:46 ” About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?” – which means, ” My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ”  For the first time, Jesus addressed His Father as “God”. The Father had forsaken the Son. As Judge of the universe, God had to turn His back on His Son, who was carrying the filth of the world’s sins, for His eyes are too pure to behold evil. If the Father had not turned His back on His Son, He would have to turn His back on you today. But because Jesus has taken your place, today, you take His place, and you have God’s face smiling on you always! Today, the fire of God’s wrath will never fall on you as a believer because it has already fallen on His Son at the cross. He judged your sins then, but in the body of His Son.

Now that you know the truth, do keep this precious thought with you, do not let satan attack you for His main aim is to make you doubt your salvation and causes you to stray away from God. Because He knows that when you think that God is angry at you, you will try to avoid God for the fear of punishment.

1 Peter 5:8
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Proverbs 19:12
“A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.”

John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “

2 Corinthians 11:14
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. “

John 8:44
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies“

You see the King’s rage is like the roaring lion, and the devil is prowling around “LIKE” a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Take note the King rage is God’s rage and the devil is just prowling around trying to scare us by acting like a roaring lion, deceiving us by telling us that God is angry with us in fact that God is no longer angry with us. Do not let satan destroy your faith do not let Him even steal your Salvation by giving into his lies. But instead claim onto God’s promise and so right now, you are not under the King’s wrath but His favor. And His favor rains down on you like dew on the grass every morning!

Let me just end with 2 Timothy 2:13

“Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.“

Matthew 27:51 “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”

It had been such a great revelation to me when I watched this video. When the curtain of the temple that sealed off the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies), it signified the immediate access to God made possible to everyone by Jesus’ death.

The moment the earth shook and the rocks split, THE WHOLE WORLD (Those whom accept, receive and believe) sins are actually being washed by the blood of Jesus when it reaches the atonement cover (aka the mercy seat)

That’s is why we are already set free from sin, for we have been washed by the blood of Jesus the lamb of God once and for all. And we are in the present of God through Christ Jesus our mediator.

During the times of Adam it was a lamb for a family, and when it came to the time of Moses and Aaron it was a lamb for the nation, and when Jesus came, he became the Perfect Lamb of God for the entire world.

Oh Lord Jesus, I just want to thank you for loving me this much to the extent of humbling yourself by coming down to earth as a baby and to live as man just so we could believe in you, to see you as a being appearing in the mist of us, and more so to suffer in the hands of your created one, to be humiliated by them, to be mock and nailed to the cross just so that our sin can be forgiven and so our relationship with God could be restore. Oh Lord I thank you for your Grace and Mercy, for although you are the King of kings and Lord of lords yet you are so willing to take our place so that we shall see death no more. Who are we that you would be mindful of us? What do you see that worth the looking our way? Help me comprehend this love you gave so freely to us and help me appreciate it and respond to it. Amen

-Kutless-

What Faith Can Do

Hebrews 11

Matthew 17:20 – Jesus replied “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.“

不同的人,

不同的世界,

对爱的感觉,

却都一样

In this generation, there are many “philosopher wanna be”. So what do I mean by “philosopher wanna be”? Those are individual who create their own philosophy in life (which most likely is not “different” from the “normal”) and they hold strongly to it, and yes, this applies to Christians as well.

The reason behind this “philosopher wanna be” ?

Is just to show people that they are different from others, they want to be special.

According to my observation, majority of the “philosophers wanna be” have a messed up life. Why?

Because they wanna be the author of their own faith, wanna be the God of their own life, wanna take control of their own life, wanna be the LORD of their own life, not realizing that they are actually just an imperfect weakling. Always acting on what they think is right (which is most likely wrong according to God’s law), instead of really doing what is right in God’s sight. Yes and this too applies to both Christian and non-believers

To them there is no absolute right or wrong, anything is acceptable as long as they can reason it out, for they don’t even know God’s commandment and they careless about what God said is right and wrong. Reason ?

As for the Christians, those are the people whom are shallow in God’s word, they are never interested in God’s word, they does not feed on God’s word and it is no wonder that they are not growing spiritually. Hence they end up doing things in their life according to their will instead of God’s will, for they do not even know the will of God! How could they possibly do His will then!

As for the non-believer (even some so called “Christian” fits into this category), majority of those “philosophers wanna be” are Godless person, there is no such thing as God in their life, they fear no one, they are God themselves, they determine their own life, they determine what is right and what is wrong, they are the one with the absolute authority over their own life. They are deceiving themselves all the time, feeding in to the lies of satan, being blinded by their own pride in life.

Can we blame God for this ?

God is the creator and author of our life, and for sure He knows what is right and wrong in our life, He not only revealed it to us through His Words (The Bible) but also giving us conscious in know what is right and wrong ! Therefore we have no right to blame God for the messed we created by our own hand. Yet those so called “philosophers wanna be” choose to ignore the conscious that God gave them, they compromise too much and ended up living a Godless life. As for the Carnal Christians, they choose to ignore God Word; instead they look to the worldly value as the guide in their life, in the end being consumed by the world.

But wait, I am here to bring you good news, not condemnation!

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”

Well to be honest I was once guilty of the same thing too, that is why I am so familiar with this, and yet God is gracious enough to bring me back to His side. Note, it was God whom draws me to Him, not me whom turn to Him first. See how good and graceful our God is? He does not wait for me to go to Him, but He came to me.

God speaks to me through His Word. In Hebrews 12:2” Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. In this verse I know that Jesus is the author and perfecter of my faith, and I should let Him take control of my life, to guide me, lead me, and shape me.

As it is written in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ²I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” God spoke to me through these verse I was still a young Christian, for the milk is His Words and from then I realize that if I do not feed on His Words I will never ever be able to grow and will still be an infants in Christ till this day.

It’s still not too late!

Revelation 3:20

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Dear readers (both Christian and non-believers), God is constantly knocking on the door of your heart, will you not open your heart to Him and invite Him all knowing God to guide and lead you in life? Will you not soften your heart and allowed Him in and enthrone Him as Lord of your life? As Christmas is approaching, you might ask me what’s the greatest gift I have received and wonder what great gift will you receive this year, I tell you that Jesus Christ the greatest gift you can ever receive in your life for it is a priceless and a free gift from God as written in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. All you have to do is just open your heart and accept this free gift from God.

Before I end, would just like close this by sharing a chapter from the book of Isaiah chapter 55

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

³ Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

¹² You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”

May God speak to you through the reading of His Words, and I pray that You will come to know this God personally. May God bless every single soul.

Try as we may, there aren’t too many men who can lay claim to all of these elements of success at once. Tiger has it all, and it wasn’t just handed to him. He came by his success through hard work and discipline. He earned it.

In recent weeks, however, Tiger’s personal life has become the stuff of tabloid journalism. While details remain unclear, it appears his beautiful wife may have used one of Tiger’s own golf clubs to knock him senseless when she discovered he only had eyes for—at last count—nine other women.

It could have been worse. Tiger could have been an abuser: an abuser of controlled substances or an abuser of his wife. There’s no evidence of any of that. He could have been an embezzler. Not satisfied with having it all, he could have stolen even more. He didn’t. Like another famous athlete, he could have struggled with jealousy, flew into a rage, and killed his wife. Didn’t happen.

Tiger Woods isn’t as bad as he could be. But neither is he the role model he appeared to be. He’s not a thief or a murderer. He isn’t an abuser. Tiger is simply a serial adulterer. He enjoys being in the company of a variety of women. Tiger has just this one quirk, one besetting sin, one shortcoming, yet that quirk was the trip wire over which his entire world has come crashing down.

There isn’t a man on the planet who in this sense isn’t Tiger Woods. There isn’t anything in Tiger that isn’t in you. None of us are as bad as we could be, but the propensity for lust, lying, anger, and unfaithfulness are all there—hidden in a heart that is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. There isn’t any one of us who is not capable, like Tiger, of saying, “It’s only this one time. No harm.”

A moral code can keep the tiger in you in check for a time. The fear of getting caught is a restraint that keeps most men within the boundaries of their marriage. I’m sure it was that way for Tiger Woods. We have admired him as a man of disciplined perfection. But that discipline, that self-denial, which was so characteristically on display in Tiger’s athletic prowess, failed him with immeasurable consequences in his personal life. When push came to shove, Tiger had a great fall. Discipline, apparently, isn’t enough.

Neither is the power of the law and the fear of getting caught enough to restrain the depravity of the human heart, and yet that’s all most of us are counting on to keep us on the straight and narrow. No man, no matter how disciplined, has what it takes to keep himself from falling. Every man has an untamed tiger within, waiting to pounce at the first sign of weakness.

The moral of Tiger’s tale? If you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it within yourself. Discipline and restraint are in themselves never enough to produce perfection, because all that is in us is depravity. Failure is inevitable. But failure is never final.

There is hope for overcoming failure. But it isn’t in you. And it obviously isn’t in Tiger. It’s in a Lion: Jesus Christ—the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, introduced to us in the inspired writings of the Bible, whose birth we celebrate this month. This Lion has prevailed over our untamable propensity for sin and failure. He has triumphed over every enemy poised against us for our personal destruction. He did it by taking on himself the likeness of our weak, vulnerable and sinful flesh in his incarnation in Bethlehem, living a life of perfect obedience to the demands of the law, becoming obedient to the point of death, thus procuring the perfection that all of us long for and which God demands.

Jesus is perfect because we aren’t, and because we can’t be. And he doesn’t keep his perfection for Himself. His perfection is for us, and for our salvation; and for Tiger’s. After all, there’s nothing in Tiger that’s not in you.

Source: http://www.crosswalk.com/11623365/

For some of you whom knew me for quite some years, you might notice that I used to be a person that doesn’t really like getting along with people and always prefer to be left alone. However, my perspective is starting to change  because God in his very special way, help me realize that isolation from others is not the way to live a Christian life, for we are a community and God cannot use me if I were to isolate myself from the people that God places in my life.

For the past few weeks (say 3-4 weeks) I had been meeting a lot of people. I met new people from HUC Camp, and even more new people in CF, some primary school mate that I haven seen for 9 years and some for 2 years, and the people that I meet daily.

Well to be honest, the urge of wanting to know more people started a few months back, and I had been praying for God to help me meet more people in my life. However nothing really happen and this fire of meeting new people slowly died down. I no longer look forward to know new people, and started to be antisocial all again.

But God is good and his timing is always perfect. Just as i was very down and disappointed not only people around me but also myself, He opened up my eyes and give me hope by  putting new people in my life as well as bringing back old people from my life.

I really gotta thank Kingsley for always encouraging me to go for CF (although i rejected him for a million times) and also keep inviting (pushing) me to the Camp (which I am reluctant to go to).Although me being still me (the passive one), I still get to know quite a number of new brothers and sisters in Christ whom are really friendly.

The more people I get to know, the more I realize how shallow I am and the unsatisfied I am with my current status. Therefore it encourages me to build up myself and to grow stronger and have a deeper relationship with God instead of being satisfied with where I am now. I get encouragement from the people around me just by their small actions, and this makes me realize that I could be the one encouraging people around me without realizing too. Hence I  am now learning to be more aware of the things i said, do, react and be more sensitive to the people around me. And I am going to make sure, no matter what I do, I will  be able to glorify God !