Tuesday, July 29, 2008

When My Faith Wavers....

Although how consistent and serious I am in believing God and praising Him..many a times my faith wavers.
Questions like,

"Is God for real?"
"Am I delusional?"
"Where this thing will take me?"
"Am I really saved?"
"What about the New Age teachings and Oprah?"
"Where will I go from here?"
"Does heaven and earth really exist?"
"What if the scientists are true?"
"What about the anti-Christ and atheists? Are they having fun with life right now?"

..the list is endless.

But just two days ago...I had the answers coming right from
Pastor Prince...Read on..:)

"When You See God’s Grace, He Sees Your Faith"

Ephesians 2:8
8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Many a time, people ask me, “Pastor Prince, I know that God’s promises are true, but how can I be sure that His promises will come true in my life?”

My friend, if you want God’s promises to be sure in your life, you cannot depend on youself. If you depend on youself — your obedience, goodness, service and even faith — you will not be able to receive God’s promises. But when you depend on God’s grace — His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favour towards you — that is when His promises become sure in your life.

This was true of the woman with the issue of blood. (Matthew 9:20–22) She didn’t go around saying, “I must have faith… I hope that I have enough faith… I will have faith… I will not lose faith.” No, she was only conscious of the grace of Jesus — how He always healed the sick, how powerful He was in raising the dead and how willing He was to use that power for her healing.

She just saw His grace abounding towards her, so much so that she said, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” And when she came behind Jesus and touched the very hem of His garment, she was healed. At the same moment, Jesus stopped, turned around and said to her, “Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well.”

When the woman saw His grace, God saw her faith! And so it was by grace, through faith, that God’s promises became sure in her life.

God wants you to see His grace. And when you see His grace, He sees your faith. God says, “For by grace are you saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8) The Greek word of saved, sozo, doesn’t just mean to save from hell, but also to heal, preserve and make whole. So it is by grace that you are made whole, kept healthy, preserved and prosperous. It is by grace through faith that God’s promises become sure in your life.

My friend, don’t worry if you feel that you lack faith. Begin to see God's grace in your situation and he will see that as faith. And because He sees your faith, you will receive the breakthrough you need!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Out of Gas!

I have recieved this devotional from Ed Wrather's website www.theburningbush.org.
I don't wana run of gas neither...That's why I keep flooding my ipod with God's words, practical sermons of our Pastor just to keep me going each day.

Read on so you will know what I am talking about.:)

"Out of Gas

(Update of a devotional from 1998)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:1-4.

Just a day or two ago in Cookeville, Tennessee three thieves ran into a problem while making their getaway. The three were in the process of stealing a recliner from a Goodwill store. Now, they did succeed in loading the recliner into their truck and they were able to begin to drive away but that was when their problems started. Before leaving the parking lot of the store the truck ran out of gas and by that time someone had called the police about the break-in. They were all arrested and have been charged with the attempted theft.

Some of you may never have run out of gasoline in your car. It has only happened to me once and that was enough! I was 17 years old and a friend had set up a double date for us. We were on our way to pick up the girls and I was in a hurry. It was a complete shock when the car began to spit and sputter and then die. Needless to say we were late for the date, and the evening turned out badly which was probably for the best.

Spiritually we can run out of gas as well. We are busy people with jobs, children, their activities, our activities, church, our responsibilities at church, and church activities. We are preoccupied with the immediate. Then it happens, a crisis comes into our lives and we find that the spiritual tank is empty. We turn to the Lord and try to fill it back up but the crisis is such that everything we take in immediately goes back out. We put on our happy faces and pretend that everything is okay but really we are just barely crawling, trying to make it through another day. Sound familiar?

The fact is we can’t wait until that storm blows in to fill up the tank. Just as we need physical food frequently in order to live we also need spiritual food. We need that daily intake of reading, studying, and meditating upon the Word of God. We also need to pray every day. Jesus says to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the model prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).” In Mark 1:35 we are told, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Jesus had a quiet time and we need one every day too - preferably early in the morning before beginning our day.

Maybe it’s time to fill up the tank? Don’t let the devil catch you when you’re, out of gas!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

God says...

I received this from one of my Facebook friends' Franses Yones post..
Take note of the Bible verses where it's taken from.
Indeed , God knows who and what we are while we are in this world.
He knows our struggles and pains..So to assure us of His love,
He wrote it in the Bible as a promise...
Read on...and fill your soul.


SAY
GOD SAYS
BIBLE VERSES

You say: 'It's impossible'
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)

You say: 'I'm too tired'
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: 'Nobody really loves me'
God says: I love you
(John 3:16 & John 3:34 )

You say: 'I can't go on'
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: 'I can't figure things out'
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: 'I can't do it'
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)

You say: 'I'm not able'
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: 'It's not worth it'
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )

You say: 'I can't forgive myself'
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: 'I can't manage'
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)

You say: 'I'm afraid'
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)

You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated'
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)

You say: 'I'm not smart enough'
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: 'I feel all alone'
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)





God Is Love." 1John 4: 16

How To Change Your Mom?

I thought of some ways in how to change my mom's attitude
and the way she thinks about life and all.
She hates my cousin and she wants to move out to a new place.
Literally, she hates everything and the only thing
that could brighten up her day is when I send her some cash.

Last time, everytime this situation would pop out...
I would really get a bad headache. As in reaaal bad headache
that I just wanted myself out somewhere
where I can be alone and have peace!

I wanted escape!

I wanted to do something
or have something that could bring me to a relax state.

See how my mind played tricks on me again?

...drowning me even more with all those
negative thoughts that keep nagging at me?

But stop right there!

It is just my thoughts!

So no matter where I go or what I do...the next moment it will
come to attack me again!

There's no escape to it.

Heelp! I need Superman!

Yeah! Those were just my thoughts...so were my struggles!

So I asked myself, will thinking too much about this situation
help me in some ways?

How could just one thought bring me sooo down and made me feel so
weak inside?

It must be so powerful!

Another question pop out, Will it help me overcome my problem?


...the answer?

Yes!

I fought my negative thoughts with POSITIVE THOUGHTS!!
...and have added extra little creativity in it.


So, I imagined the situation and have put it inside my "getaway box".
(It's in my previous blog if you want to check it out)

And boy, am I so glad I did it!

Right now, as my mom keeps bugging me on what she wants to do and where
she wants to go...guess, it is not my problem anymore.

It's JESUS' job!

Of course , i love my mom. and I just want the best for her ,
I want to take action.
But the weird feeling comes when everytime I want to do something
in my mom's situation...a thought keeps poking me that says,
" hey! You have given it up to me so you have no right
to deal with the situation again.
It's all mine!So relax and do your thing!"

Amazing ,isn't it????

It must be God or Jesus telling me those stuffs!

So , I just rest in Them..

And I want this thing to become a habit..

A habit that is soooo hard to break
as the song goes:)

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Got so busy...

The ways of the world have gotten me so busy lately..

And I kinda missed the Lord...missed u Jesus.

Please don't go so far from me..Let me feel your presence

for the world has weaken and exhausted me.

Yeah. I had so much fun. But you know how it is.

In me...it is just You who can satisfy my cravings.

Let me draw strength from You know and let it refresh me.

(takes a deep breath. Drawing air from Jesus.)

Got a lot of things to share but for now, let me sleep for awhile.

I love you..Jesus.

Thank you for everything...:)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Happiness is Freedom!

I used to Google "How to find REAL happiness" a lot.
Hoping I'd find the answers somewhere like on my emails or even on Facebook.

Heheh!
Happiness is elusive, don't you think?

Sometimes, you got hold of it and just hope that it would lasts..

Sad to say..while you're in this world ..it does not.

(Unless of course, You try to shift and change your mind a little bit.
Tweak your faith and follow the right PERSON.)

I used to think having all the things that I wanted will come
to shut me off.

Get a good career, have lotsa of money, go anywhere, have a life.

Pathetic huh?

If you think on the worldly, natural way..well, happiness is indeed everywhere.

Obviously, it comes totally in different packages.Depending on how you percieve
and imagine it would be.

Chillin out in Starbucks having your fave cuppa is Happiness..

Shopping till you drop is happiness.

Clubbing is happiness.

Having a great dinner with someone special and being romantic is happiness.

Spending a holiday on the beach is happiness.

Getting that macbook pro and iphone is happiness.




The list is endless.



Partly, I have been there.

Done that!

(There's one thing that I'm curious about though.
Like if having that Lamborghini would make a lot of difference. Lolx.We will see.)


Well, there's one thing that I'm REALY sure of...

The above which I've mentioned have only one common denominator.

That is.

They are all...

T E M PO R A R Y....



It's not lasting.

It doesn't stay with you for long.


At the end of the day, when you are most alone, you find yourself facing a
blank wall. Trying to figure things out. Ask so many "whys","hows"and "what ifs".
Searching for more.


Some will accept it and just say "This is life!" and start to do things all over again. In cycle. Leaving with nothing but unsatisfaction and an impending doom.

Others will seek more wisdom from almost on anything. Books, religion, etc.


Me?

For years, I have come to level up my so-called "happiness" and have stopped
associating it with worldy stuffs.

For me, happiness is FREEDOM!


Freedom from all pains, sickness, stress, confusions, boredom and poverty!



When you are free from all these..or even just one of these... Woow!
It is when you start living! For real! Without worries and all.

Amazing isn't it?



..to be con't.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Seeing ugly me draws me closer to Jesus

The more I fall unto sin and see the ugliness in me.. the more I see
and feel the great love of Jesus has for me.

It's amazing. How one man can sacrifice Himself for someone, a nobody - like me.
Saving me from hell and giving me LIFE at its truest, fullest sense.

Yes, without Jesus, I'm a total wreak!

I could turn around many times twisting my own fate..playing on it everytime.
Enjoying temporary self-gratification... For whatever.

That's the power of Choice!

I choose what I think is better for me to do.

I choose to be in this state.

I choose to be where I am.


But above it all.

I choose to be with Him.

Because in Him ..I am filtered. I am protected. And blessed.

I thank you Jesus, for dying for me on the cross.

Let me praise you in my own ways...

...I will get there.

Overcoming #IntrusiveThoughts: Empowering tips from a Christian Perspective #JohnnyChang

Overcoming #IntrusiveThoughts: Empowering tips from a Christian Perspective #JohnnyChang Welcome to my channel where I’ll be providing empow...