His Words

Oh yeah the title seems to be about pregnancy but it is not. It is basically how to up lift our hope and expectations when we are asking something from God. I remember when my job in Barclays Capital ended, I prayed for a job that doesn't have a job rotation so that I don't have to work at night. After few weeks, my prayer was granted but I forgot to mention Him that I did not want to be an "on call support". But my new job that time required me to be available for any system malfunction at night. Then I remember a preaching from a pastor before that we should pray for the exact things that we want and not too vague.

When we are talking and praying to God and basically asking something, we should be more specific and don't settle for less. Sometimes, we hesitate to pray specifically because we don't have enough faith that anything is possible; we put in our mind that any prayer results will be just fine. Even Jesus prayed a specific item during His execution (Luke 22:42 - “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”). He sets himself to accept the Father's will, but he prays for deliverance. To help us pray more effectively, I have enumerated some things that we should always remember:

Image taken from powertochange.com

The preaching last Thursday service was about obeying God's words. It was actually a very powerful message. I was actually telling to myself, 'Uh oh, Lord you are talking to me again!' Basically, when it comes to prayer and pouring of blessings, we immediately claim them and we say, 'Oh Lord, it is for me, I claim it, give it to me oh Lord!' but when commandments are being relayed, we ignore them and we say, 'Oh, this message is not for me, it pertains to others'. Claiming victories and blessings is so easy for us but when we were instructed to love your neighbors, do not judge others, give forgiveness, etc, we tend to point our eyes to others.

 

In these kinds of situations, we should check our foundation of faith. Do we have the strongest foundation that any instructions that He will give us, we will obey. Do we have the deepest foundation that we believe that any adversities and challenges will pass and we will be victorious? The main verse on that service was Luke 6:46-49. Basically, there are three things that we should know and check about our foundation:

 

Foundation of faith is like the foundation of a house that is being built. If it is so deep then it can't be shaken but if it is shallow then you know what will happen. We might sometimes need to check our foundation and categorize if it needs minor repair, major repair or total destruction. Building a strong foundation takes time so we should be careful with it and ensure that we are surrounded with people and things that can help us to enhance and improve it.

 

Image taken from colindye.com

 

Last Thursday during the service in Victory Church, I was reminded of how our God is so patient, understanding and forgiving. These past few weeks, I wasn't myself, I was full of negative emotions and wrong thinkings. But despite those things, He continue to protect and bless me for which I felt that I don't deserve any of it. I was then realized that He is still guiding me, directing me to the right path, indeed the best shepherd.

The service discussed God as the true shepherd. The pastor first mentioned the characteristics of a sheep on which some of them, I believe relates to us or defines our very own traits. The list included strong, stubborn, dependent, demanding, restless, slow to learn, straying, same everywhere, unpredictable, unattractive, copycat and fools. Despite these adjectives, isn't it great that God doesn't give up on us? Isn't it a great feeling that no matter what we do, we always have the second chance? Isn't it wonderful that there is someone that provides unending love, concern, protection and guidance?

1. Pursues Us. In verses Ezekiel 34:11 (For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them) and Luke 19:9-10 (⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”) mention that there is no place for us to hide, He will continue to look for us, search for us and will never give up on us.

2. Protects Us. These verses state that God will be our ultimate protection against any harm and willing to give up His life for us. Ezekiel 34:12 (As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.); John 10:11 (“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.)

3. Provides For Us. As we all know, He is the Great Provider, He gives us everything that we need. No matter what we ask He will give but let's always put in our mind that God has three answers in everything we ask, (a) Yes (b) Not this time and (c) I have better plans for you. Ezekiel 34:13-14 (¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.)

The pastor then asked us to read Psalm 23, read not only by eyes but should come from the heart. That very moment, I felt His touch, the warmth of His embrace and it was like He was sitting besides me and saying "welcome back my son, its good to have you back. I've been waiting for you". I know I'm not perfect but I am blessed that I have a perfect shepherd. We just need to listen to His voice and obey Him. It will also be a good thing for us if we are surrounded by people with the same belief and encourage us towards the correct path.

I love to travel, I really do! I have visited all South East Asian nations and experienced a lot of things. During those times, I felt the excitement of being lost and just walk the way without direction. In reality, we are afraid to ask directions if we got lost and we just depend on our own wisdom. We put into our minds that we are certain and sure of the directions that we are taking. Also, we are having some difficulties to ask some questions as it might result to a change of impression by others to us. We should admit that we need help, we need advise and we need the correct and right path and direction.

In the spiritual perspective, we can see that there are lots of lost souls who believe that they can earn the "entry pass" into heaven by hard work, counting the good deeds that looks like a desperate step into saving themselves. But they are absolutely wrong. Today's passage is about a wealthy man who only thinks of himself and making plans for the rest of his life.

Luke 12:16-21 "¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."

You will notice the number of times the man used the words "I" and "my" which indicates the plans he is making based only on his own thoughts, desires and experiences. This shows a self focus man who is trying his own way and secure his future with no help from anyone even from God. The Lord called the man "fool" for owning and writing his own destiny. But God expects His children to ask and follow His guidance. In short, if we do our OWN plans and take actions without considering and asking for His guidance and think about of what God will advise then we are acting like a fool. We can't do anything on our own, remember that He has the best plans for us. Ask for guidance, seek direction, request for advise and follow it. Pray for your plans and always include Him in your plans, on how to be with Him and to abide his prepared path for us. Let us be wise and ask Him for directions, don't be a self-directed man who acts like we know everything, we can accomplish anything and we can do all things on our own. Let's always put our eyes unto Him and be remided that He is the best guide in our life.

Blaming others and defend ourselves were the first steps that we do when we are facing false accusations that might lead us to uncontrollable anger and madness. I was once accused of something that I did not do, maybe it was easy for them to do such thing since I was making a lot of fun unto them and to others. As a human, my initial reaction was falsifying those words and insisted that I didn't do it. I was angry and the emotions were covering my entire physical body and mind. Then in the end, I realized that it was totally wrong, I didn't control myself, instead I caused pain and ache to the accuser by saying words beyond my control. In that situation, I was reminded that I should always represent Jesus in my every action and I failed that day. It opened my mind that as Christian, I should be calmed in facing storms and probable false words that will destroy my credibility. Yes, I have learned my lesson.

In Luke 12:11-12 (11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”), it says there prayer is the most powerful tool in such situation that if we do, God will provide us supernatural wisdom and words will utter into our mouth. That's why we should have first inner peace and experience His presence and give full attention only unto Him as He is always available for us if we seek guidance (John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid). Then we should ask for wisdom and ask for the right words that should come out from ourselves as He will seal our lips until He shows us the perfect words to pour out. You will then be surprised on how calm you are and you might not even identify how those powerful words came out of your mouth (Psalm 141:3 - set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips). We must always remember that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the path of understanding and will show us beyond those hurful words and actions the right approach to do. He will give us insight and better picture of the entire situation.

It was a solemn day when I read this verse during my early morning devotion. I was attached to the message and made me realize how He is very patient to us. In Jeremiah 18:1-6 (1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I Went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 "O house of Israle, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my had, O house of Israel.)

Indeed, He is like a potter. He molds us into something that He wants us to be. Like a potter, it takes too much effort for Him to bring out the best in us. The best thing that we should do is to always obey, follow His commands and ensure that we are doing the right thing in our every ways. In real life, when the potter saw the output as unsatisfactory, he destroys it and remold it, rebuild it and reshape it. Like in our lives, sometimes we fail Him by doing sins and not following His path. But He is a forgiving God that He always forgive us so that we can have a fresh start. But this doesn't mean that we shall abuse it as every actions has it's own consequences. To be a righteous person, the road towards to His way will be full of trials and obstacles which will help us to be molded perfectly. It just like how the real potter put his finished product in the realm of fire to finish it perfectly and be the best piece of art. We should always remember that He is the potter and we are the clay.

One fine Thursday morning, again, during my devotion, a certain verse spoke to me. I'm not sure how it spoke to others but these words became a reminder and an inspiration to me. In Luke 17:11-18 (11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" 14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?")

On the above verse, 10 men were healed from leprosy but only one came back to give thanks to Him. Sometimes when we have a blessing we forgot to thank Him. We should always remember that everything comes from Him. Also, there is a time that we are looking on the negative thing, why don't we focus on what we have and what is presently being provided to us. A simple thanks to Him will be sufficient. It signifies that we remember Him not only during our sad moments. I sometimes say, "Thanks Lord ah!" or a prayer of gratitude during a quiet moment. "Thank you", simple words but means a lot to Him, we are remided to be grateful to Him.

On the 6th of February, Pastor Christie gave a moving and very inspirational teaching. It was about moving on, forgetting the past and embrace the future that waits us by starting "today" and do the necessary. Every year, we are doing this new year's resolution but sometimes we were able to do it for the first few months then will get back to old doings. We can always start a new beginning and ensure to be strong and hold on to it. Seek His power and feel His love to us.

1. How to sieze the day to live a more fulfilling life? (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) Jesus Christ died on the Christ so that we can have an eternal life and live it to the fullest. We shouldn't be wasting our time thinking of the past, let's enjoy it by praising Him and do His ways. We might be abused physically or mentally on the past but by praying everything will be forgotten. Don not live on the past.

2. How to live life abundantly? Pastor gave this keys: a) forget the bad / b) Do not dwell on the past to wrap your future - In our every decision, don't look back to the past instead, plan it by visioning the future as the past may hold our hearts and can't move on to embrace what awaits to us / c) Let Go and let God - Let put Him in control, let go of the past and forget those painful days, just pray and believe that He will guide us into His path / d) Live the life of Jesus in You - We should be living a life based on His ways and how He wants us to be the leader of our lives. Obey His commands and be inspired by His power and life.

Isaiah 43:18-19 - 18) Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Luke 23:43 - Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

I think it was last year that I posted these words in my FB account: "It takes true courage to avoid retaliation". It is indeed true! Well, if you ask me, I was known as the king of revenge since high school and college days or even in my previous works. It was very hard not to take revenge after someone caused you pain. My ideal before was very simple, I will not stop until I caused that person same pain or even double or triple. But now, I am proud to say that I have managed to control my anger and not to take retaliation anymore. Instead, I just pray for that person. Eventually, in one of our caregroups, my CL told me she was thinking of me when was about to send our topic, yes! It was my favorite topic as I have a lot to share.

Matthew 5:38-42 - 38) You have heard it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth' 39) But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40) And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41) If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42) Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

During our discussion, we have enumerated three steps or ways on how to handle retaliation.
1. Learn to give up my rights when facing personal insults. Even Jesus Christ faced insults (Matthew 27:42 - "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israle! Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him) But what did he do? He just prayed for them and take all our sins and He was the one who asked forgiveness from God for our sins (Luke 23:34 - Jesus said, "Father, forvie them, for they do not know what they are doing" And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.) In our daily life, we cannot please everybody, someone will strike you with insults and bad words that will make you anger but what should we do? We just need to forgive and pray for them because if you take negative actions against it, you will just commit sin, we should be more understanding and pray for that person and give them forgiveness that comes from our heart.

2. Learn to give up my rights when facing unreasonable demands. This portion is mostly about submitting to our leaders. For sure we have experienced overload in work and our boss continues to give us more work even if we have not yet done with our current assignment. But Jesus told us to follow your learders as they are the chosen one. No matter how bad they are, just pray for them as they will be the one answerable to Him. We should also pray for more wisdom and strenght in facing challenges of superb demands and expectations from us. Just continue to do the best that we can and try work harder and seek God's guidance and help.

3. Learn to give up my rights for taking revenge. (Romans 12:19-21 - 19) Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20) On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.) In this way, we were taught to love our enemies. 21) Do not take revenge but instead, learn to love them and give them what they need. They need more understanding and encouragement so give them what they lack of.

Truly, isn't it a great feeling that you are loved by everybody and caused no harm to anyone? That everyday we face the morning breeze all is positive? I believe that avoiding revenge is such a big challenge for all of us but if we try harder and put more effort and always thinking His lessons, we can overcome this. Let's continue to pray and seek his guidance and take His leadership and make Him the center of our life.