Stop thinking those thoughts. I AM with you...
What a last couple of days. I fell into my past sins and hard. And yet. How the Lord just has a way to pull me back...
It reminded me of the core verse that saved me all those years ago.
Then Isaiah is so bold to say,
"I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me." Romans 10:20
Yet, thank You O Lord for rescuing me. Words can't describe how great You are. And I know how my incessant anxiety covered me in pure darkness these last few days. The fear and guilt I felt crept up on me. I knew I shouldn't have abandoned my ex all those years ago. I forsaken the one person I should have loved. I shouldn't have fallen into sin constantly. And in my helplessness You reminded me of a better way. O Lord in my weakness are You strong. In my weakness do I pray for Your abundant mercy. Have mercy on me O Lord, according to Your steadfast love, according to Your abundant mercy, blot out my transgression. And it's funny how the Holy Spirit truly interceded for the groanings of my soul... I prayed repeatedly,
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Psalm 51:2
And how You reminded me to stop thinking those negative thoughts. How in my guiltiness and shame You spoke to me it's "ok"😭😭. O Lord, You are good like that. In that affirmation, do I stand in thankfulness..
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7
Thank You Lord for being with me despite of my brokenness😭. I keep failing You and in my worst insecurities thank You for giving me hope. For asking me to stop thinking those negative thoughts.
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Dear Lord, today I learnt of Your amazing faithfulness once more. And I hope and strive to be like You one day. Holy and faithful... I praise You Lord and I love You O Lord for who You are and more. Thank You for reminding me to rejoice despite this crappy world. Because it is another day that You have gloriously made.
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
In this day do I praise You with my lips,...
Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Hosea 14:2
In this day do I serve You once more, do my soul sing...
Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:2
In this day do I lift up my hands once more to bless Your glorious name...
Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD! Psalm 134:2
Grogu kawaii desu ne :3
This shot is from "The Book of Boba Fett" S1 Ep6, we find our little alien friend puzzled.
Grogu was given a choice by Luke, to choose between the Mandalorian chainmail or the Yoda's lightsaber. As each gift represented the life Grogu would decide to live.
If Grogu chooses the chainmail, he will follow the Creed and the Way of the Mandalorian. As Din Djarin (Grogu's adoptive father) says, "A life of loyalty and solidarity." Working together collectively for the greater purpose.
Or, Grogu may also choose the way of the Jedi as Luke Skywalker. In order to master the way of the Force, the Jedi must forego all attachment.
Yet *Spoiler Alert*, Grogu chooses to be a Mandalorian at this stage of his life and follows Din Djarin. And honestly, I'm glad he did. I finally realized why the TV show is so so popular amassing roughly 2 mn+ household views (as of this writing). Because the show i.m.o reflects this generation's philosophy. Life used to be so clear black and white. Yet now it's more of a nuanced shades of grey. To live a life detached and isolated like the Jedi is not only hard, it's downright impossible.
Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Ecclesiastes 7:16
Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Ecclesiastes 7:17
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41
Because “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak,” the disciples were caught unawares in Gethsemane. The word for “spirit” in this passage is the Greek word pneuma, which in this context refers to the soul of man or the mind. The word for “flesh” refers to the human body and nature, with its moral and physical frailties.
The phrase only those to whom it has been given refers to people receiving what some call “the gift of celibacy” or “the gift of singleness.” Regardless of what we call the gift, Jesus teaches that most people do not naturally desire to remain single and celibate for a lifetime. Of the exceptions, two are physical, and one is ethical or religious: 1) some forego marriage due to their natural constitution—they are born with no desire to marry; 2) some do not marry because of some violent act perpetrated upon them by others; and 3) some, by the grace of God, have chosen to renounce marriage for the kingdom’s sake. Such celibates have received a special gift from God.
(The reason is that a married man’s attention is “divided” between pleasing the Lord and pleasing his wife; a single man is free to be more focused on the Lord’s work, verses 32-34.) Paul says, “I wish that all men were [unmarried] as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that”
It's funny how I didn't really plan to write today. And it's funny how easily one forgets. We drift through this life in a somewhat ebb and flow. Yet today I was reminded of a very important fact.
From Alice in Borderland season 1, we find Arisu, Karube, Chota and this despicable women in a sudden death game. They needed to decide the sole survivor of that game. Each person tried to fight at the end to survive. Yet in the closing moments, Arisu remembered a flashback. It was a time when he failed college and his family shunned him. They lost all hope for him and said, "I don't really expect anything from you."
That statement is extremely saddening😟.
It reminded me of those times where people even my own family also looked down on me so much. C'est la vie. I remembered feeling helpless and worthless. I always wanted to be good at something yet I failed constantly and lost all hope. And yet, in the midst of hopelessness I was saved by my one true Savior and Friend.
Just as Arisu remembered this flashback, he was so joyful with his friends who loved him so. Friends who loved him through all his good and bad traits.
And I'm reminded again today of how my Lord Jesus Christ was always with me all those years ago. Even to years ahead of now. Lord Jesus, thank You so so much for loving me and entrusting me. I knew that I was a nobody. Yet You believed in me through it all.
As You once said,
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
Thank You Lord for exemplifying by dying on that Cross and laying your life down for me. It was a very expensive price. I pray that I may be encouraged today of Your sacrifice. Help me to live live live. Just as Arisu's friends gave up their lives so that he may live a full life. I believe that Your O Lord wants me to continue. Thank You Lord, may Your great sacrifice be more glorified even more...
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
#greater #love #life #lay #down #life #for #friends #Arisu #Karube #Chota #Lord #Jesus #thank #You #so #much #encouraged #grace #AliceInBorderland
--April 10, 2023
The Parable of the Tenants
And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
'What is truth?' Pontius Pilate once asked. That statement has reverberated in my mind all this time. What is true to some is highly debatable to others. What is factual to some, is biased facts by others. Yet in all this, shouldn't absolute truth exist?
As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed."
And it's true. We live at an era of influx information, making it easy to reject information we disagree with. As psychologists would argue as "cognitive dissonance" a psychological phenomenon that make a person feel discomfort when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs.
In addition to that, we find the excerpt of the "Parable of the Tenants" to be amazingly vivid in showing this unadulterated carnal desire. The story simply states how the owner of the vineyard entrusted
Resources:
| Mark 12:1-2 | MedicalNewsToday: Cognitive Dissonance | -TheWashingtonPost: A History of Denial|
When You Threaten Christians, THIS Happens | Paul Washer
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
2 Corinthians 4:7
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 Corinthians 1:17
Been having a pretty late slump lately, yet thank the Lord for reminding me once more to return. How depraved is this body to its affinity towards sin. The carnality and unwillingness to seek the Lord. Yet this short testimony by Paul Washer reminded me once more how important it is to rely on the Lord. That no matter what we do, we need His surpassing power. Not just for our spiritual lives, but for preaching the gospel and conversion. That it takes a supernatural belief, as it did towards me a sinner. Thank You Jesus for saving me time and time again. I pray that You may also empower me towards seeking my lost family and friends, and to have 100% faith in Your awesome and surpassing power.... In Jesus name' I pray. Amen.
It's rare how when I went to Church I didn't hear or feel the Lord speaking with me. Yet the Lord had other plans. And today I realized how far I've fallen in my life recently. When I read this verse:
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which makes a penny. Mark 12:42
This reminded me of an older article in which I reflected of the poor widow. And reading that simple verse, tears suddenly gushed out from me. I prayed and said. O Lord, please forgive me for my laziness and not giving You my all. I yearn to be like this poor widow who gave You all she had. I pray to be like my Lord Jesus Christ who gave 100% of His life and His best to You. How I have fallen these last few days.
Please Lord, do not tire to remind me. Please Lord, I ask of Your mercy and forgiveness once more. To offer You and give You my life (wealth, effort, time) once more...
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
April 24, 2023
Today I encountered a family member who constantly gives me advice. Sometimes I'm just so tired listening to them. Because no matter what I do, it's always never enough. And yet today the Lord reminded me of this verse:
Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
I just try to look at a different perspective. That maybe the Lord wants to remind me from that said person. I don't agree with 100% what they tell me, but I do hold fast and try to take the best out of the conversations. Thank You Lord for reminding me to work harder and to decrease my game intake...
Oh also! I read this super interesting article that stemmed from a commentary I read ages ago. That our goal is not Heaven or this temporary place of rest with the Lord. But it is in the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"
Heaven, as a place apart from the earth, is not the goal of the Christian life, and to present this heaven as a sort of goal for the Christian life is a disservice to the gospel itself. The Bible doesn’t say much about heaven, but one thing is for sure, heaven, or at least the common conception of it as a place of repose for the faithful, is not the goal to which we as Christian strive. Rather, the goal of Christian salvation is that heaven may come to earth so that where the church on earth is, the church triumphant is also.
...
The end of Christianity is the coming of the kingdom of God of which believers are heirs. This heaven is not the end, it is only the beginning of the realization of the greatest Christian hope of all, the restoration of a world where God may dwell world without end. Today, we are heaven on earth, the very representatives of the coming kingdom that we strive to proclaim and build by our deeds and our words through the leading of the spirit by the power of God. Therefore let us press towards that high, upward call of God and let us, as many as be perfect have the same mind and let us eagerly await him of whose kingdom we are citizens and representatives of our Lord Jesus Christ who is working even now to reconcile all things to himself by the power of the blood of the cross. Glory to God in the highest, for in the end that is all there shall be on earth and in heaven when God walks again on earth.
"
--DefinedFaith--
April 26, 2023
Last night I learned to make some tempura seaweed chips that looked something like this:
And it was super yummy. Who knew rice would be the star ingredient in making these chips. Anyways. I digress. What I wanted to say was that it was my first time. And I can't believe how good it still tasted. And so last night I prayed. I said,
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for giving me the talent to cook. I am truly grateful for You. For entrusting me with so much. I don't believe in myself. Yet You always did. Even when I'm lazy and confused. You kept on loving me. Pushing me yet nurturing me every step of the way. You are the greatest heavenly Father. And Lord, I thank You for giving me so much even though I know I don't deserve it... Please give me strength and wisdom to use these gifts for Your Glory O Lord...
And it's funny. I remembered one of my favorite Bible verses.
The LORD said to Moses, "See I have called by name Bezalel the son Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. Exodus 31:1-5
I read this verse ages ago when I first started becoming a Christian. I remembered faintly how in that time I was unemployed and struggling to find my life purpose. My family kept pushing me to go back to school or work, yet I know my calling was in entrepreneurship. I lacked the skills and know-how. Yet the Lord is gracious as always and showed me this verse. I have never heard of Bezalel before. And yet, see how he is called or in theological terms irresistible calling where when the Lord calls us, we can't but help to respond. And at that time, the Lord led Bezalel (and Oholiab) to help Moses build His Holy place (tent of meeting, ark of testimony, etc.).
The key here is the Spirit of God. Or the Holy Spirit isn't just able to lead us in terms of moral decisions. But also in terms of our work in every craft. And it's true. All those years ago after I prayed that prayer and even today. I reflect and am amazed at all the ability, intelligence, knowledge and all craftsmanship the Lord has bestowed upon me. The sheer fact that this website can exist today. The sheer fact of it all is that the Lord is great. And my life has (hopefully) became a testament to that. O Lord, thank You. Who am i? That a God so great would mind me so. Yet Lord. As I reflect. I am in awe of Your Spirit. Thank You Holy Spirit for all the articles/videos I've seen, the people I've met, all the nuggets of wisdom You have given me. I pray to be faithful daily. And that my work in every craft may reflect Your awesome glory even more...
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
April 27, 2023
O God beyond all praising, We worship you today And sing the love amazing That songs cannot repay; For we can only wonder At every gift you send, At blessings without number And mercies without end: We lift our hearts before you And wait upon your word, We honor and adore you, Our great and mighty Lord.
Parents. Are so very complicated. And in writing this do I realize that even more. Yet the Lord reminded me today despite of my love-hate relationship, they are still to be treated honorably.
I once read this verse,
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. 1 Timothy 5:1-2
It's funny how I just noticed that we are not even to rebuke but encourage. Or as the NLT version writes, "never speak harshly." And this is talking about the context of people outside are family. Can you imagine how we should treat our family even more kindly? Why is that? Well. Because the Lord sees parents as honorable before Him,
Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:3
To revere means feeling a deep respect and admiration. And as such do I today learn that I really should be treating my parents better. Yet I also hope that my parents would also limit their advices to the point that they shouldn't provoke their children to anger. Meaning that, too much advice can also be a bad thing. Remember that a parents role starts at bringing them up in the instruction for the Lord:
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
That is the ultimate goal. For the children to know our Lord Jesus Christ even more. To love Him with all their heart, strength, soul, and mind and to love others as well. And I know my parents means well, but I believe that as people we all sin. That only the Lord can change someone. And sometimes parents need to do their part and simultaneously to also let God's power do the rest.
As 1 John writes,
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 1 John 5:16-17
When we see those around us sin, it is divided into two categories: leading to death vs. not leading to death. For the sake of this discussion, sin that does not lead to death is to be treated with prayer. By asking God to admonish and inherently change. Especially if we (by faith) believe the children are saved and born again. Do we have hope that the Lord will finish what He started.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 1 John 5:18
So yeah. In this hope do we live for. And if they (our children) have been born again, why should we be fearful?
As this week I am thankful O Lord for all the opportunity. I hope my parents would also change. Yet my role in all this is to honor them as I want to honor You O Lord. And thank You Lord for my parents who reminded me a lot because I know that in all these You are gracious...
Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,
Proverbs 1:8
April 29, 2023
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