Put on Christ.

" And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed...

The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry or drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strive and envy...

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust.

- Romans 13:11-14

Heading on towards 2012.

 

" Lord make me to know my end,

And what is the measure of my days,

That I may know how frail I am.

Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my age is as nothing before You;

Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor,

Surely every man walks about like a shadow,

Surely they busy themselves in vain;

He heaps up riches,

And does not know who will gather them.

And now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in You." 

- Psalms 40:4-7

To come to realization how frail we are, how we come and then go, how my age is nothing before God, how we may be busying ourselves with the cares of the world when one thing is concerned, our Soul. Which only God can save. God wants us to focus on eternity, not only here and now. Seeking God's kingdom and looking upon Jesus will teach us to live life on this earth while not loosing focus on God's reality. 

Lay yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6 :19-21

Peace and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, Amen. :)

it is 1am.

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart, " - proverbs 3:3

"My son, keep my words,

And treasure my commands within you.

Keep my commands and live,

And my law as the apple of our eye.

Bind them around your fingers;

Write them on the tablet of your heart." proverbs 7:1-3

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverse mouth i hate." - proverbs 8:13

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." - proverbs 9:10

Lets get to know our Father in Heaven more and more each and every single day as we spend time at His feet reading His word and listening to His voice :). We have a lovely Father who loves us more than anyone else ever could! Even though Life, we never know anything about tomorrow, We do know who holds our hand and who holds the world. Our God who loves us abundantly! Our God who has wonderful and precious thoughts of us. He gave us Life, He is Life! Blessed are those who trust in Him for they shall be like a tree planted by the river, who's leave will always be green in every season!, shall never whither nor go dry. 

so many advices, opinions that can be found given in this world we are living in. They may seem good. But test all things with the Word of God. Truth, can only be found in the Word of God. So just keep keep seeking Him first in all things no matter what. take heart :)

I send you as sheep among wolves

" Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." - Matthew 10:16

" I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not in this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." - John 10: 11-16

" My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." - John 10: 27-30




How loving and personal is our God :) words can't describe how much He loves us.

The day i appeared on planet earth.

For you formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;


Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
When I was made in secret,
 And skillfully wrought in the lowest part of the earth.


Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.


How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If i should could them , they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You. :)


Psalms 139: 13-18

_ _ _ _

Is so good to know that God knows every single detail of our lives! He know the past , the present (now!) and the future :D! and we can trust Him so much , and He loves us SOOOO much! :) He knows every single person on earth, it doesn't matter if you were born in the middle of no-where , a small billy town, He totally knows you and he Loves you like no one else on earth ever could!.^^! And God has precious thoughts towards us! more that the number of sand there is on earth! and its not a dream its reality!. Its so wonderful to know! I am your working :) and your working progress.

conduct.

"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me." - Philippians 1:27-30

culture.

Sometimes i think about culture. How it is so different all around the world. Each culture has its own patterns shaping the entire society! But what do these cultures glorify. Most coherent in cities, in the West its all about doing something significant in the world and making a name for yourself. In Europe about living a comfortable luxurious life. In Asia about being rich and to be like the West and Europeans. All hoping to create a better world on earth. To make the earth a better place to live in or as some do, to just build a wall around themselves and live in a hole of comfort and luxury. To make sure self is not lost nor forgotten but play a significant role. 

But sometimes i wonder, If God really wanted to make the world a more comfortable luxurious better place, He would do as what the Jews longed for, a God as King to reign on earth. To set up new government to set up new rules etc. But the thing is He did not do that. As He walked this Earth, Jesus was born in a manger, in a small town. He healed the sick,  healed the blind, cast our demons, feed the thousands, clear the temple from those doing business in them.  He cared for people, showed love, justice and mercy, truth, power and authority that came from the Father. What He brought with Him was Himself, as a sacrifice for all our sins. He came to give us the opportunity to have true Life found in Him through Jesus Christ. Hence becoming a new creation all together, death would lose is sting because we will be resurrected to be with God into Everlasting Life with Him here after. And after being born again. God's kingdom reigns in our hearts as the Holy Spirit guides and helps us to live a life pleasing to the living God. This is every believes hope! To be able to be in the kingdom of God forever. Hence life here on earth, it is like a pilgrimage. To walk pass. not to make a name,  nor a grand tower nor a new earth for ourselves.

I do believe as we follow Christ we will be taught to love.  And what love does, is that it teaches us bit by bit to give up self. And love is the only thing that could make the world a better place. By following Christ, in action and deed we will be in fact making the world a better place and giving to the needy. But that should not be our focus, trying to fix this broken world i mean. But to actually fix our eyes on Christ. Who could give us living water. To share what He has given to us with others. However much we want to fix this world, It will still pass away. We must not neglect the poor, the orphans nor the widows. The truth is though that the only thing that will last in the end is the Word of God. 

to be fishers of men.

" and be ye not conformed to this world; but ye be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. " - Romans 12:2

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When you watch the media, news paper , if you just look at your surroundings, the city, advertisements, competitions. You can hear the scream of seeking individuality, personal achievements, all about creativity and progress. And all these is what the devil wants us to focus on. To tear away our focus from the one true living God and to focus on self. Me me me. Now now now. What i can get for me, now. Its the truth. The devil wants us to be so self developed. To tap into our own power inside and will. To live as the flesh dictates. To be independent, to be so strong and self willed, to believe i can achieve anything and be anyone i want to be and that this is what living and life is all about. No more about being like-minded in the things of Christ, to humble self but to be the total opposite. The world seeks for us to glorify self and glorify men. 

As we continue to walk in this world. Let's not be of it.

This being said, it doesn't give me the right to judge anyone. God is the judge.  And He is a merciful Savior who Forgives abundantly and views His children as cleansed by His precious blood. i myself am imperfect, but that won't stop me in following the One true Living God, Jesus Christ :)

" and be ye not conformed to this world; but ye be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. " - Romans 12:2

Unless

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

they labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,

To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows;

For so He gives His beloved sleep."

- Psalm 127:1-2

vain= without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless; senseless or foolish; fruitless, unavailing, useless.

in vain= without effect or avail; to no purpose; in an improper or irreverent manner.

Unless.

Unless the Lord is my builder. Shaping my life and plans, unless i commit all of me and what i do to Him, what i create, design and work toward, would be in vain. Unless the Lord is the one watching over me, the one directing, protecting, providing and sustaining me, my efforts in doing so for myself, would be in vain. How encouraging is it to know, we have God to be our builder, our provider and protector. That we need not do it by our own human strength and oh how foolish it would be. We in our flesh would reap corruption but in Him, everlasting life!

" Entrust your ways to the LORD. Trust him, and he will act [on your behalf]. " - Psalms 37:5

Its so easy to think and believe that our efforts, our wisdom, strength, intelligence, talent can produce something of value, something that has purpose, something that has great significance. But the truth is that, whatever is true and good can only come from God. He who is wisdom. And unless He is the one in charge, our efforts are in vain. We would be just beating our fist in thin air grasping things that hold no real value. He is our God. He is forever faithful. Seek first the kingdom of God. He will provide all our needs according to the riches of His glory as He guides us into everlasting:) Take heart, as we continue to walk this narrow road in faith.

He is the one Who builds eternity, the Only True protector and provider. The Only One who is and  gives life, liberty and light. So as that passage ends it concludes saying, as we continue to trust Him, those who belongs to the Lord will be able to enter into His sweet rest. To receive peace of the mind that can only be from the heavenly.                                                                                              

For so He gives His beloved Sleep :)

fruits.

"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." - Galations 5:22- 26

" Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary of doing good. for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those in the household of faith." - Galatians 6:7-10

" But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" - Galatians 6:14


let's continue to walk in the Spirit in all joy and to not lose heart.

<3

New

"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

"No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.  But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’" - Luke 5:37-38 

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” - Matthew 9: 16-17 

  

"In the same way, look upon yourselves as dead to the appeal and power of sin but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Do not, then, allow sin to establish any power over your mortal bodies in making you give way to its lusts. Nor hand over your bodily parts to be, as it were, weapons of evil for the devil's purpose. But, like men rescued from certain death, put yourselves in God's hands as weapons of good for his own purposes. For sin can never be your master; you are no longer living under the law, but under grace." - Romans 6:11-14

 

The Christian Life is not about patching up your old self. Its not about metamorphosis. Or as Lady gaga says " I am born this way" and being happy and content living fallen and sinful and to be the queen of this world that breathes of our fallen nature, dead. nor about fixing the old. or even earning points, maintaining certain standards or keeping scores.

Its about total discard of the old system and self, and accepting the New. Only found in Jesus Christ, the way, truth and Life. In Him we become an entirely new creation. Our inheritance is in heaven. Its about being born again, putting on an entirely new garment. Living by the Spirit. Its when self dies and Christ lives. We are definitely still imperfect and we make mistakes, we still sin, but we can trust the Lord in perfecting us in our heart and thoughts as we continue to walk and follow Him. And may it be displayed in truth and deed :)

peace !

Rest

" Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. " - Psalms 37:7

Rest as opposed to action, movement, taking things into our own hands, devising schemes, doing, creating. 

Rest from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: 

a bodily state characterized by minimal functional and metabolic activities, freedom from activity or labor ,a state of motionlessness or inactivity, peace of mind or spirit, a rhythmic silence in music, something used for support.

Rest in God, finding comfort and quiet confidence in Him that the need to strive and take things into our own hands cease. 

Wait patiently. I know i know, its impossible to wait patiently for anything in this generation. Everything happens instantly! Sending and receiving emails, text messages, calls. No more waiting days, months, hoping that the mail won't get lost through its process and journey. We have instant noodles, fast food, microwaved popcorns ( gah!,). We live in a now now now age. Its normal and Okay for us to lose our temper, to complain in annoyance, to blame someone else if we don't get what we want NOW. Everyone becomes extremely demanding, their way has to be met, and profits have to be made within certain time frames.

People use to walk or ride animals to get to places. Go on sea, dependent on where the wind. blows and the temperament at sea. Now we are so sheltered and so protected, and totally allowed to control almost everything! The weather don't seem to matter so much as it did before. Self dependent beings we are. I can't even say, remember the days where we had to grow our own crops and wait for harvest.  Where there were seasons for sowing and seasons for reaping. Haha, we just go to the supermarket!. Or well now we can do online shopping! We need not even move our body.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When i think about waiting patiently, a women from the bible reminds me of how needed and rewarding it is to wait on the Lord and how disappointing it is when we actually try to take things in our own hands. Well, if you can maybe guess. Yes that women is Sarah. Abraham's wife. :)

Promised by God that she who was barren would one day have a son. She waited for years, yet, no Son. She soon forgot who the giver was, and Him who's timing was always perfect. She was required to wait on the Lord for God to fulfill this promise. But out of her disbelief, her hastiness maybe. She took matters into her own hands and asked Abraham to have a son with her maid servant Hagar. You can see here that she totally have lost her faith, she was here not trusting and hoping in God but wanting to work things our in her own timing and understanding. But the consequences we actually disastrous and the child that Hagar had for Abraham in fact was not a chosen son of God because it was not an act of obedience towards the Lord. God of course out of his sovereignty and loving kindness and mercy will always be able to make all things work out for those who love Him but there is always consequences when we try to take things into our own hands and depend on our own works.

God said to Sarah" I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be from her. "- Genesis 17:16. She was at that time 90 years old, totally way pass the age to give birth. She actually laughed in disbelieve. But as you know this promise was fulfilled. Isaac was born, the promised son! So hence, should we all learn from Sarah and learn to wait patiently on the Lord. :)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Another person that came into mind were the two sisters in the New Testament. Martha and Mary. 

"Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”And Jesus  answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10: 38-42

Here as it is illustrated, we can see that Mary was resting at Jesus' feet,  humbly listening to all He has to say. She was not busy serving Him, She was not doing anything! But sitting there resting at His feet and listening to His Word. And when her sister complained to Jesus asking Jesus to tell her sister to get up on her feet to help her serve Him and everyone else. Jesus just said, Mary has chosen the good part which will not be taken away from her. Stop worrying Martha and stop being troubled about the many things! I guess the only true service to God is the service of obedience. Obedience to His Word. We can't serve Him without Him, now how dangerous would that be! 

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

" There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. " - Hebrews 4:1-3


c:


rest.

Introduction

 

" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, " Let there be light", and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:1-5

" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:1-5

Its beautiful how God introduces Himself. The creator of all things. Life. The light that separates us from darkness. The beginning and the end.

c:

the pilgrimage

So, we walk upon this planet. Going along with life, playing along the wind. Letting it blow us wherever it wishes may be? Controlling every little single detail of our lives perhaps? Or maybe you have allowed someone else hold the pen? What about giving the pen to someone greater, out of this world, that someone who knows more about the human race, this planet, more than anyone else imaginable!. No scientist, no philosopher, no human can have His wisdom or understanding because He is the one who made them, who made everything we see. How can something you create understand more about you than you if you had created it? Same with God. What we know is just a speck of dust compared to what He knows. Try to be wise in your own eyes and you'll only see how foolish you are. He is in control of Everything. Truth.

We travel from one place to another. Journeys are usually about getting from one point to another. And the in between, the walk. We see things, encounter things, we try to survive. The physical journey is one where you need food and water to fuel you. You need to rest in the shade, and have a good sleep at night. Rest your feet. Is live all about survival? maybe for some. Is life if going well, all about being the best and on top? maybe for others. But what is life to you. what is the journey for?

What we are, is a soul with a body. Not the other way around. Have you thought about your spiritual journey? Is it asleep? pushed aside? is it growing? More than not, this journey on earth is about your inner growth and its always from the inside that shines and is displayed outward,  everything comes from the inside. A plant, it is healthy and strong because of the type of water it receives, its fertile soil and having enough sunlight. What is your spiritual water, your spiritual food, what is your Sunlight?

The thing about Christianity is that Christ has said, " I am the Living water ", " i am the bread of Life", come to me and you will never run thirsty nor hungry. He is our Sun, He is the light, apart from darkness. Its amazing how He ilustrates Himself as the Spiritual food for us, to grow, to live. Its amazing, and its the truth!. He even said "come to me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest!" Rest, the inner peace and joy and rest. Can only be found in the creator of it. It can't exist anywhere else! You may get physical rest from stopping and laying down, But the inner man, that inner self, the peace and rest, God gives its like no other, nothing like the world. And He Jesus is the one who said , follow me!, I will lead you, I will impart my Spirit to you, to always be with you.

You see, if you think life is all about what you see, well. Its more than what you see. This whole world is a battlefield between good and evil. Between God and the sons of Disobedience. Choose your side. God is knocking on your heart, He is always willing to be your God if you'll just let Him. Nature obeys Him, why do you think the sunrises and sets at the same time, gravity holds things down, The trees grows and give. They obey the rules of nature, We on the other hand, we were made in Gods image, God let us choose, create, we have free will to disobey. Could you imagine if the sun was able to say, " i'll take a rest today at my own time mind you" .. or the trees that give out fruit were able to withhold them from you asking for something in return, or if gravity decided it didn't want to work that way. 

The whole world would be chaos! Now imagine your life living in disobedience. We are all fallen and imperfect. But God has given us Grace to be accepted. He fulfilled the Law by reversing everything when His perfect sinless Son paid the price for humanity. Sin = dead. But when someone sinless, not at fault pays the price for everyones sins, everything reversed. Dead was Conquered. The curse removed towards those that accepts Jesus. The Law fulfilled. We were ransomed. The bible is a beautiful love story. Of God and His people. Check it out :)

Imagine music being played in an Orchestra. You need someone to orchestrate it!, To write the music piece, If you want it to sound like its suppose to, Magnificent. Every single one of the players need to play their instrument by looking on to the orchestrator.  If everyone decided to do their own thing, or that they will worship the guitar player instead or the harp player. Everything just gets messed up. But the thing about life is that, God orchestrates all of time and eternity. He weaves it so magnificently that His will, will be done.  He will even work so in a way, that those who are not on his side, what they do also plays a part in fulfilling His will. Did you think that if the devil knew that crucifying Christ would save humanity He would actually work for it to happen. And at that point where Christ was on the cross, the devil might have thought he won. But the truth was that God was going to fulfill the Law! God was going to conquer death. God is wisdom. So its either walk with Christ, follow Him. Or the highway.

I shall just stop here today :)

just biscuits for thought i guess.

Ciao!