Oh man, how many days has it been since I last wrote. How has life been? Same old same old. And yet here I am at the eve of Chinese New Years and reflecting on all that has happened. In my quiet devotion time, I was singing the song "Holy Holy Holy" in which the lyrics sang:
S'gala pujian bagiMu // All praise is for Thee
Seg'nap nafas muliakanMu // All my breath is to glorify Thee
Surga bumi kan berseru // Heaven and earth will exclaim
Kuduslah Tuhan namaMu // Holy is Thy name O' Lord
As I sang and prayed, I saw His cross. Where the King of kings and Lord of lords has sacrificed it all for me and His people. To bring redemption for all those who believe. To bring glory to the Father. And in that moment, I saw the majesty of it all. Here I bow beneath His glorious glory for all He has done in my life…
For all the hardships, joy, moments, heartaches, silence, anger, and even death-- He had, He has, and He will always be beside me.
Looking forward, I imagine that day will come soon. Where my Lord Jesus Christ will come in His full splendor. To bring judgment to all. Yet in that day where will you be?
I know by faith that I will be on my knees. In awe that my Lord has come to redeem. Where all the angels will sound the trumpets. The chorus of believers of New Israel singing in hymn…
"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
In my hectic day, I am constantly reminded. Do I only search for God when I need Him? To be honest, for the most part--yes. And yet I realize I don't want to be that person. I want to be like Christ who is faithful despite it all.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20
I've been seriously contemplating this verse the last few days wondering why Joseph would say this to his brothers who sold Joseph as a slave and abandoned him. And yet, when speaking this verse out loud, I realized all my Lord has done for me.
My life hasn't been easy nor smooth. In my past life, I was dominated by the flesh and did unimaginable evils. And I know how the devil has truly trapped me in his snares, and doing evil against me. I've lost so much time, potential, money, health, and everything else because of the evil one...
And yet through it all, how can a God so great mind me so?
By His grace, after my repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ, I realized all God has done. He has encapsulated my heart, and pushed me to be His witness. Through all the "evil" against me, God has truly meant it for good. How am I able to share the gospel? How am I able to see individuals accepting Christ? How am I able to witness of His glory?
By His grace alone am I able to see how God can use my small insignificant life for others.
And in all that, I am thankful. That through it all they may see Christ in me.
Thank You Father for all You had, have and will do. In my life, and for all those that are kept alive today... Truly "and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose-- Romans 8.28.
All praise be for You alone . . .
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Painting by Robert S Duncanson at Detroit Institute of Art
What an unexpected week this has been. Thank God I've started to do fellowship and met peers around my age. It's a nice change of pace, and I've finally understood why the Lord urges us to sharpen one another like iron. Anyways I digress. Today I was reading up on Luke 6:20 in which Jesus says,
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
And there were some awesome commentaries that follow along!
This same word for blessed – which in some sense means “happy” is applied to God in 1 Timothy 1:11: according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
“Makarios then describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.” (Barclay)
“Note, also, with delight, that the blessing is in every case in the present tense, a happiness to be now enjoyed and delighted in. It is not ‘Blessed shall be,’ but ‘Blessed are.’” (Spurgeon)
Blessed are you poor: In the ancient Greek vocabulary there are several words that can be used to describe poverty. Jesus used the word that indicates a severe poverty; the idea is someone who must beg for whatever they have or will get.
Immediately, this statement strikes us with its strangeness. Blessed by being poor? That makes no sense at all. Yet the power and wisdom in this truth lies in the fact that the poor man must look to others for what he needs. He has no illusions about his ability to provide for himself.
Though there is much practical wisdom in the teaching of Jesus, He was a spiritual man and taught on spiritual themes. The poverty Jesus had most in mind is poverty of spirit, and that was exactly how He phrased in the sermon recorded in Matthew 5.
Everyone can start here; it isn’t first blessed are the pure or the holy or the spiritual or the wonderful. Everyone can be poor in spirit. “Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact, between my soul and God.” (Spurgeon)
For yours is the kingdom of God: Yet those who are poor in spirit, so poor they must beg, are rewarded: they receive the kingdom of God. Therefore, poverty of spirit is an absolute prerequisite for receiving the kingdom, because as long as we keep illusions about our own spiritual resources, we will never receive from God what we absolutely need.
This blessing to the poor is placed first for a reason, because it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled in our own strength, but only by a beggar’s reliance on God’s power.
And today's devotion really hit me hard.
It really reminded me off
O Lord thank You for my life that started with nothing. In my spiritual brokenness I realized how much I continually still now needs You. In that struggle of helplessness I realize how You have blessed me abundantly. Lord, I will continually beg for Your help in my life. Not because of any other reason but of how great You are O Lord. My life will soon vanish and by gone. And yet You O Lord are eternal. Please have mercy on us. And please O Lord of the harvest use me to capture more of Your harvest. Please O Lord send out more laborer's and help us all to know of Your great love through Jesus Christ who has graciously redeemed us ... In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Friday, February 16, 2024
So many things happened recently. I got into a big fight with my parent. And in that way I was so so damn hurt by what they said. I felt worthless and tired for always deemed a failure. Yet I was trying… sigh. And maybe that's true. Yet the Lord graciously reminded me today of this amazing story of "Living in the Abundance of God's Blessings." And how great it was of this Son who despite his Dad's insistence still kept loving his Dad. His Dad finally saw and understood that despite his Son not being rich, he was blessed! And how blessed he was because the Son knew of Christ and His amazing love. How blessed he was that he can serve his father who wronged him so. How blessed he was to know that his worth came not from what others say, but from how His Father in Heaven loved him so…
Oh Lord my God. Thank You for loving me so. I have searched for you these last few days so hard.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
And yet You have sought me time and time again,
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10
Thank You Lord that even in my dreams You are there. In the midst of darkness Your light shines upon me.
Thank You for reminding me to keep myself disciplined as I am a runner in this race against my flesh, so that after preaching to others I myself should not be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Thank You Lord for giving me hope, that despite of my nostalgia and love for my ex, I shouldn't dwell on that. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
Dear Lord,
I thank You truly, please,
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! Psalm 119:10
To You O Lord be the glory forever. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
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