18th October marks the day i gave my life to Christ. Yet, it is not a process done and finished once and for all. It is just a beginning of the struggles to come, yet, i persist knowing i gave myself up to God to take my life through. Gone were the days that i go around, over and under the problems. Gone were the days i try to run away and ignore difficulties anymore. Christ is here to live in me, and my body is His temple.

Professing my love for Jesus, doesn't make me a better person from now on. It's declaring that i'm weak, and i need Him. I'm still a sinner, no different from the rest of the world. Yet, following Jesus gives me hope. Hope to change, hope to pick myself up and hope to be forgiven.

I have nothing to give to God. There is nothing i can be proud of in my life that i can say before Him ,"Lord, i am proud of myself as a good person". For what is the meaning of my life, compared to His pureness, awesomeness and holiness.

I'm wicked, sinful and evil. I'm capable of all those things. Many asked, why did God create evil? Why didn't just wipe out evil once and for all? God did not created evil. Men did. The sooner we stop blaming God for everything, the sooner we realise how small and weak we are. If God were to wipe out all evil, there would be no one left on Earth the next second.

Yet, Jesus willingly gave Himself up for me. For what? Because i'm worth it? Because i deserved it?

~ To show us, the true meaning of love ~



Unshamed by Starfield (Link to song)

I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King
Of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends
To call me friend
Your mercy sets me free

And I know I'm weak
I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

I can't explain
This kind of love
I'm humbled and amazed
That You'd come down
From heavens heights
And greet me face to face

Here I am at Your feet
In my brokeness complete

Narnia

I'm getting BAPTIZED this coming SUNDAY.

Question?

I have not been posting anything recently. There was just too much gush to write about. I have so so much to blog about, yet, without a start, i leave it all tomorrow and tomorrow until it gets too heavy to bother writing. But i found something that sums up half of what i want to blog about, but it's alright.
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Second semester started not long ago. My gosh, 4 weeks ago. -_-''. Time really is zooming. God has been always faithful to me, and when i read this, i felt a need to post it up. It's too good to keep it for myself. I pray that God continues to work in your (readers) lives as well.

Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health ~ Donald S. Whitney

Is your character becoming more like Christ's?

1. Do you thirst for God?

2. Are you governed increasingly by God's Word?

3. Are you more loving?

4. Are you more sensitive to God's presence?

5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?

6. Are you more reliant on God each day?

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

Attending church on Sundays doesn't quite cut it, people. Neither does being busy with Christian activities, or congratulating oneself on not stealing/cheating/lying/hating/etc

Just ponder about it for a while, without thinking of your next assignment, your studies, what you're planning for tonight, games, msn.

Have a great day =)

There's more to life

Ever wonder what "life" means? Does it differentiate the contrast of alive and dead? Or does it mean the activities we go through on a daily basis, up and down, that is preconditioned by the world around us?

Have you ever wonder what "life" is in your own words instead of the "life" that you exported from the world around us.

To me, to have life is to have a purpose. With that purpose, only can i live my life to the fullest. We cannot make our own purpose, because it is the purpose that makes us.

Here's a lyric of a song i want to share.

Storyside B: More to this life

Round and round this world we go
Forming truths from what we know
It could never be foretold
What will happen tomorrow
Things we see right now will change
Our lives will never be the same
Praying hallowed be thy name
And I am lifted from my shame
And I know this will not be in vain

A moment in time has passed before my eyes
There's more to this life, there's more to this life
I'm struggling to fight the reasons we cry
There's more to this life, there's more to this life

Time will tell as hours go
The truth inside will soon unfold
Revealing secrets as we grow
Into a brand new tomorrow
The plan is already in place
Transcending love through time and space
Strong and humbled by His grace
Catching tear drops from my face
And I know I will not be ashamed

A moment in time has passed before my eyes
There's more to this life, there's more to this life
I'm struggling to fight the reasons we cry
There's more to this life, there's more to this life

And if it's peace you seek
Let me wash away the blood that's drawn
And soak up all the tears upon my sleeve
And if you'll kneel with me
Well I will pray for our forgiveness
To the only One who'll truly make us clean

A moment in time has passed before my eyes
There's more to this life, there's more to this life
I'm struggling to fight the reasons we cry
There's more to this life, there's more to this life


There is a meaning to "life". We cannot give it meaning by our own views and ways. Just as our body's need of oxygen to survive, so does our life's need in Christ.

It is not an option, neither an advice, nor an alternative. It is a need.

Everyone needs Christ. The result of the absence of Christ is what we see in today's world.

So i encourage you to think about your "life" and what it means.

Love needs no reason

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Love is patient,
Love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast.
It is not proud.
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.


Love needs no reason.

It is not an emotion to be prompt when a stimuli is in place.

It is not a feeling that occurs from an action.

It is not a reflex.

It is not a thought that needs calculation of the situation.

It is not an action that requires labour.

Love just is.....

It needs no reason.

The Dilemma

Last week at OCF Bible discussion we touched on the topic on God's dilemma.

Scenario

Recall  best friend you have, where you spent alot of time with, playing around, talking, sharing secrets, copy each other's homework and seeing each other alot. Imagining that you are now a top judge in a high court and being justice and fair, you cannot be corrupt and unfair. One day your friend is being presented in your court to be charged for stealing $10 because he was hungry and needed to eat. He lost all his investment to the recent economic recession. What would you do? 

As a judge, you must be fair because you uphold the law. Also, you yourself are incorrupt and justice. At the same time, you love your friend whom you spent most of your life with. He/she even saved your life once from drowning in the river when you were young. What are you going to do?

That was the case scenario we presented to our groups. Do you think God has this dilemma too? Think about it.

God is like you too, in the case scenario. He too has a dilemma. It is not easy for Him to just say, i forgive you, because like yourself as a judge, you cannot compromise your love and justice. Just like God who is holy and pure, He cannot compromise Himself by letting go of sin. Sin to God, is like crime to men, which must not go unpunish. He needs to judge no matter what.

Sin is an offense against God. Just like crime. No matter how small or big, a crime is a crime. Is stealing $10 and $10,000 make it less of a crime? 

Nonetheless, it is still a crime isn't it? The same as sin. Sin is not how much of a level that is acceptable in God's eyes. Often we rank sins like a scale from 1-10 and draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not. Often we make that threshold of good and bad and act in a way that we think is close to the line without stepping over to the other side. Think about it again, does stealing $10 and $10,000 make it less of a crime? Just like God sees it, He doesnt perceive sin as big or small. All sins are sins to Him don you agree? If you dot a small ink on a piece of white paper, no matter how much you believe the paper is still clean, it is NOT entirely white anymore. It is true that the dot is hardly seen, but it does not run away from the fact that the paper is not clean anymore. Just like God, who is pure and holy, He cannot tolerate sin, not even a drop or an ink. 

Good and bad, right and wrong is more resemblance to a direction. Even those two words show the extreme opposite of one another. It is a direction. God sees that as a direction. You either choose to go left, or to go right, where one side resembles good and bad. It is not a scale with a line in between. 

So do you think God has a dilemma now?

Whenever we commit sin, it separates us from God. Separation occurs instantaneously. It's difficult to imagine it but here's an example. If you accidentally scratch your dad's car, do you feel anything? If someone scratched your car, do you feel anything? That's separation. You immediately feel guilty or in trouble when you scratched your dad's car. That's the separation your dad will feel too cause his car was being offended against. If i spilled water over your laptop, don you feel an immediate reaction that separates us from our relationship? That's the separation God feels towards sin committed against Him too. But like your dad, he too has the dilemma to punish you, yet love you at the same time. 

So what now? We are all sinners, we commit wrongs against men and against God and GOd needs to punish. Just like you as the judge, you cannot say you won't hand down a sentence to your friend just because he is your friend. 

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23

By being a sinner, we are condemned to die and go to hell. That is the law and that is it. No other way out. Just like the case scenario, your friend has to faced his or her consequences. 

But God is a God of love. He loves us. God does not have love, because He is love. You cannot take love out of God, just like how you cannot take heat out of fire. God loves us so much that he substituted Himself to be a sacrifice for our sins. For sin is punishable by death, so only by sacrificing someone who is sinless, can sin be taken away from all sinners. That form of substitute came in Jesus Christ. He was of no sin, who came to be sin for us, so that we might live. 

God paid the ultimate sacrifice Himself, humbling down to be a men among us, so that He can die for us. It was paid in full.

So back to the question as the judge, what would you do? 

If you possess God's justice and love, you would charge your friend with the most heaviest fine ever (i.e. 0$100,000) because you are a fair judge, and when you walk out of the court, take off your wig, you'll pay it all for him/her because you love him/her.

That's what God did and He showed His justice and love, all at the same time. 

Personal Relationship

Last Friday at OCF, we talked about personal relationship.

Personal relationship seems relatively easy to understand; it involves 2 people. I believe relationships are important because we as humans are wired that way. Having said that, i do believe that we are made to have relationships and not live this world alone. Have you ever felt the need for relationship everyone you are alone? Think back to the times when you were home alone for the whole day, or when you come to a new country and a new place, or when you enter a room full of strangers. No doubt, some may say, they like to be lonely, but after a period of time, there is this 'need' for relationship.

Loneliness does not necessarily mean absense of sociality. It could mean, absense of people you know, or absense of something greater than you. After a certain threshold, we do feel that 'thirst' for relationships. As i have mentioned, i believe as humans, we are wired that way. Not only are we built for relationships, we are meant to have them.

Loneliness brings emptiness as well. When we feel empty, often we try to keep ourselves busy to get rid of the emptiness, but it doesnt stop us from being lonely. We can try and try to keep busy, just to break the emptiness feeling, but what keeps us making ourselves busy? Can you say i'm motivated by emptiness to get rid of emptiness? It doesnt solve the overall problem; loneliness.

Loneliness works in funny ways. I have friends around me 24/7, and yet, i can still feel lonely. I have contacts with my flatmates everyday and yet, i can still feel lonely. This loneliness issue deep inside our hearts is like a doughnut, where cream-fill sauce makes the outside pretty but emptiness fills the inside. Often we try to cure that loneliness by planning our lives with purpose, giving it meaning. We put study, work, marriage, relationships with others and entertainment as means to cure loneliness. It makes sense, i cannot deny it. I do that too. However after all these plans we make, they always come to an end nonetheless. Once i finish my studies, my purpose is complete and i'm back to square one. It's a never-ending struggle to fight loneliness. One temporary solution after another.

Often our future is something that we have no control over and we associate it with something greater than us, like luck, chance, horoscope, favourite number, feng shui etc. All these showcase the 'need' i mentioned about relationship. People want something to be associated with them, something greater to put their hopes on when in emergency. No man dares to say i'm the best and the greatest. He/she would be God. Nonetheless, we always put something far greater than us above us to watch over us. Call it God, call it spirit but again, it shows the 'need' for something greater than ourselves that we want to have a relationship with.

As humans, i believe again, we are created in such a way, that relationships are important. But whatkind of relationships? We often look for meaningful ones, ones that will last forever, ones that will cure that 'need', ones that will take away emptiness in our hearts and loneliness of the world. As horoscopes can define ourselves wrongly sometimes, just as my lucky necklace does too, i know deep in my heart, God's love does not. His relationship is one that is never frustrating, never disappointing and never failing. He said so Himself. His love flows like a river that never ends. That 'need' and 'thirst', call it void, call it space, call it something from nothing, can only be filled with God's love. Everchanging love.

Our hearts are shaped in a certain way. But no matter what way it is, each of us has the same shaped heart, and only one design shall ever fit in it, because only a maker can know which shape to fill it. To find such a maker, we look to our creator. To look at our creator, is to look for our purpose as well, asking questions like why are we here? We tend to think a lot on this issue, what is our purpose? Without purpose, we cease to exist. But we are still here. Thus we know that our maker has a plan for us. He wants to have a relationship with us, which is why, as humans, we always thirst for such a need, because we need relationships.

Relationships are important. Even more so, we have to think what kind of relationships are important. Important in a sense, that they are meaningful and ever-lasting. Not temporary. Loneliness is not an extreme end of togetherness. It is not a scale of 0-10 either. Loneliness just simply means absense of a relationship. You can add friends, but you cannot add loneliness. Even enemies take away loneliness.

As much as i have said, i'm in that sort of stage where i'm like a doughnut. Mostly because i have been looking at the temporary solutions to cure myself of loneliness. At times, i do feel empty as well, and by all means i keep myself busy, yet amongst the busy-ness, emptiness is still there. I can be busy doing things and still feel empty. I can have a hundred friends chatting with me, yet still feel lonely.

Dear God, i pray and pray, that in times such as this, your never-ending love still rests on me, to keep me from the loneliness of such a heart. I pray for a changing heart that is seeking You. I pray for my friends, readers and friends of friends Lord, that You may answer the voids in their hearts when faced with loneliness or emptiness and show them that having a relationship with You, fills such a horrible gap that haunts us everyday. Amen

One word: Irony

This news has been up and about for quite sometime now. It's about 9 year old girl in Brazil who got repeatedly raped by his stepfather since she was 6. She was carrying twins into her 4th month. Doctors allowed an abortion to happen because her back wasn't developed enough to support twins and that issue sparked a debate among Brazilians populated Catholic society. The Vatican got involved as well. More of the story here and here.

The issue on the debate was directed at the abortion itself. Here are some clarifications.

- In Brazil, abortion is allowed in the case of raped or when the mother is put at health risk.

- Abortion is illegal within the Catholic community as it is a form of murder (taking away an innocent life) which matches up to the Ten Commandments.

The question brings to a new issue. How many days/weeks/months is considered "life".

The Vatican says that life starts in the form of an embryo and that God's love does not differentiate itself from an embryo to an adult. Read here.


So now we have 2 points are are openly contradictory to one another. The girl has clearly twins that are passed the embryo-stage and she is also risking her own life by supporting weights she herself cannot support.

At this stage, what are you going to do?

Her mother approved the abortion and doctors went ahead as well in support in order to save the girls life. The Brazilian archbishop however excommunicated the people involved with the abortion deeming it as a sin to take away life. Excommunication here means, to be expelled from the church.

Cardinal Re from the Vatican since then defended the archbishop's decision in the light that many were against. This situation produces a very big dilemma for people like you and i who are at the far side of the world.

In my opinion, it is a rather difficult judgment and decision to make. Ultimately, we're all human and we have to take a stand to something that we belief and stand for am i not right? To be ignorant of such matters is equivalent to a blind man who sees darkness. Might as well right?

The Vatican is known to put church laws above human rights for most of the time. They argued that in this case, human rights do not apply because it is the responsibility of a human to protect the lives of the twins. Also, because God allowed the existent of the twins, thus only God can take away their life. That is the claim.

At the same time, doctors say that continuing with the pregnancy might kill the girl as her bones and muscles are not developed to carry and handle such weight.

Now you be the judge of this.

I know my opinion already and i have no choice but to agree with the abortion solely because its inhuman not to. How can the church think about a poor 9 year old supporting twins? Do they expect her to survive? What if she dies? That's 3 lives they would have taken away. From the church point of view, it doesnt matter as long as life is preserved. What an irony! To preserve life, they are willing to let another go. What form of preserving is that! From the doctor's point of view, it seemed like a textbook decision, to save your patient, you do what is necessary. I do think in making life so much an issue, the church forgot what love is. How are they expecting a mother, to watch her daughter go through a pain no child is suppose to go through, especially labour, at her age! I don expect the church heads to know because clearly they are deprived of such wonders and nightmares of life, yet retaining the status quo that they know what is best for families. Irony again. It is true that God's love has no boundaries, from a zygot to an elderly, but don they think God's love exist for the girl too? Some may argue that yes, the girl would maybe able to give birth in the end if God loved her so much, but being rape and then force to give birth is like double raping her. If forcing wasnt enough in the first place by her rapist stepdad, the church still stood by willingly to force her again . And for what? Seriously, for what? The church isnt gonna take care of them are they?? The church has lost sight of the main issue and missing the point altogether. I do think that the church in becoming God's witnesses to the communities of the world, they let slip what's the basic importance for an individual. So often emphasis is given to societies, communities, congregations, groups, organisations and teams, yet they lose sight of the fact that within all those, exists unique individuals that make them up, each with their own special talent and gifts from God.

No doubt that i've pondered what it would be like to actually have the twins lead a normal life, but then again, i must not lose sight of what is in front of me, in front of them, which is the girl. The Bible does not give such clear answers to situations like this, but still, it calls us to not lose sight in God and to fix our eyes on Him. By fixing our eyes on Him, we could make decisions such as this case. I believe the Catholic church has lost sight of things, looking at the options rather than the immediate consequence.

Having said that, yes the church might be right about all this and the girl may actually survived, but somehow they excommunicated the mother, the child and the doctors. That itself makes their blindness so clear. It goes to show how unloving their loving church is. Who has authority but God alone to deny anyone to enter church. Then again, church refers to the people, not a building. In the light of the excommunication, the Catholic church signalled their intention by not wanting sinners in their church. Irony again.

As humans, everyone is a sinner, and falls from God's grace all the time, everytime. Yet, God still loves us, welcomes us with open arms. Even followers of Jesus dont deny their sins, but delights in their weaknesses to make them grow stronger in Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9

"......Therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when i am weak, then i am strong.

The Catholic church however, desires the holy and expels the unholy. Who are they to judge people's righteousness and actions but God alone. An individual's sin is an individual's sin. It is not a collective total towards the community's sins to which the church can have any authority in having a say on it. Only by God's grace can we be forgiven, and it is not by our own works, or anyone else works, so that no one can boast.

In my heart, i felt sad to see how the church can opt to follow such a path, just for the sake of a law that they intepret as being the word of God. Many would argue with me to question how the doctor would anyway know that carrying the twins were life-threatening to the girl and that the doctor may have made the wrong assumption. I don't honestly, but because he could come to a decision like that, that is serious enough to jeopardise his own membership with the church, i think its goes to show the bravery to what he stood up for, whether in profession and in faith. Whereas to the church leaders, it shows hyprocrisy, willingness to persecute a victim of rape in favour of their sins by excluding them in what is rightfully only God's grace to save and forgive.

The church leaders should by now know God does not discriminate sinners. Nor does he allow us to judge one another.

Let's pray for the girl shall we?

PS: I speak from a Christian point of view, not a Catholic. Do not be mistaken, these 2 terms vary like A and Z.

35 Truths about Prayer - 6

Truth 6

Bring your anger to prayer. Hot metal can be molded

35 Truths about Prayer - 5

Truth 5

If you begin to feel advanced in the way of prayer, think again

35 Truths about Prayer - 3

Truth 3

Prayer is like a garden. Tend to it and it will be fruitful.

35 Truths about Prayer - 2

Truth 2


Prayer begins in a restless heart. Listen to its stirring.

35 Truths about Prayer

During this whole month i will put up 1-2 Truths about Prayer. Hopefully it'll give you readers meaning to why prayer is important, necessary and not such a bad thing to do


Truth 1

Prayer has many methods. Do it your own way.

To errr is human

There was this talk on Love at Grace City Church yesterday (27th September) from 3-9pm. It was divided into 3 part. Love, Purity and Truth.

Overall i have to admit that it enlighten me a whole lot about the truth of love and its purity. The meaning of love that was discussed was totally different from the meaning of love that i had and always assumed in my life. Now that i've realised so much on what i've missed and mistaken, i wanna strive to be the person in Christ Himself. I am willing to surrender my mistakes and sin to Him, so that i can follow Him, and His way.

It's not always easy to go through struggles in life. It never is. Struggles we face everyday, if taken into our own hands, always yields opposite results or no results at all. This too has made me realised that all sufferings, pain and struggles cannot be achieved and overcome by the will of men. By myself, i can succeed in a short-term, but i will keep failing as always. Only by offering my life to Him, can i be able to accomplish anything. Through Him, with Him and in Him, nothing is impossible by the unity of the Trinity.

To change, is what i want. To live the life like Jesus, is what i strive for.

But to fall and sin, is human. God's grace and forgiveness is greater than all of our sins combined. We tend to stray away from God as we commit small sins. Remember that Jesus has took all of our sins away, and will take them away, if we are only willing to accept the fact we are sinners and offer our sins to Him. With a flick of His finger, by the grace from the Father, our sins can be forgiven.

In life, we face tough challenges as we walk our daily lives. Sometimes, the amount of problems we have clouds our judgements even to the point it affects our emotions and social movements. What's most important is that we know God is bigger than our problem and that we should not tell God how big our problem is but tell our problem how big God is.

Different priorities in life

What's glad to know is that God did not create this world with us in it to be left alone to struggle as we walk the face of the Earth. God made us in this world, assigning names to us, knowing our fates even before we were born.....we were made for a purpose. I know i was created for a purpose. God created mankind so that He could have a relationship with them. He created mankind so that man could glorify Him.

God loves us.
God loves you.
He loved us so much that He sent His only Son in Jesus to be sacrificed to take our sins away.
Heaven is pure and clean and no man of sin can enter.
When Jesus died, the gates of Heaven was opened as He bore the burden of our sin.
Jesus set us free from our sins, making it possible to enter Heaven.
He has forgiven us, for past, present and future sins, IF we are willing to submit them to Him, now and forever.

To have a personal relationship with God, one-on-one, is our purpose in life.
To please God, is what gives our lives meaning.
To glorify God in whatever we do, is to fulfil the purpose which gives it meaning.

No one comes to God but through Jesus, as He has made God the Father known through Himself, that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.

I love You Lord
I long to have a relationship with You
I seek You as my Saviour

I pray for those who have never heard of You, that You may search for them and fill them with the Holy Spirit

I pray for those that are persecuted in Your name, that you may give them strength to carry on their mission for Your people, and forgive those that offend You as they have not known your mercy and love.

I pray for those who long to seek You, but restricted in their freedom to do so.

I pray for those who rejected You, that you may open up their hearts of stone, and give them hearts of love alone.

I submit these prayers in Your son's name, Christ Jesus. Amen

Different sides of life

Time

Why a day does consist of 24 hours? Some say men set it that way that 60 seconds made up 1 minute, where 60 minutes made up 1 hour. Why did they not calculated in such a way that 1000 minutes made up a day? Or 100 minutes made up an hour? It would have made calculations so much easier.

Whatever the agreement was, a day was a day, no matter what unit we used today, a day’s time cannot be increased, neither can it decrease assuming the amount of sunlight = sundown (equator area, it’s fair that way).

How great is it that God’s creation of light and dark added up with the speed of the earth rolling on its axis and size of mother Earth, produces the right amount of time in a day for mankind. How amazing is it for mankind to be able to eat, sleep, work and rest all within the same 24 hour period. Some say, our body’s circadian rhythm of 24 hours adjusts itself to fit the 24 hour cycle.

What if a day was 30 hours? Would we have a 30 hour cycle then? How long would we need to sleep, eat, rest and work now?

I believe that God intended to give 24 hours a day period for us all. He fine-tuned His creations especially us, to fit and use 24 hours to our comfort to perform all the necessary activities in life. He perfected 24 hours in a day for us so we would not have to work for more than 10 hours, eat 5 meals a day and sleep for 15 hours. Neither would we have less time in a day to do anything. Combined with the amazing Earth’s self rotation on its axis and the size of the Earth, God gave us the one precious free thing we have unconditionally.

Time. Time that we could use it to carry out human activities.


We are so used to complain that time is insufficient in a day to do what we want when in fact we should be grateful that a day is never too long neither too short. Let’s be grateful. It is perfect.

Eureka 'Moment'

I have a lot of things to blog about but when it comes to penning things down, I say, “I’ve got nothing to blog about.” It’s one of those nights where you just want to let your feelings be written out in words, but feel lazy to. The night is now, and the time…… a few days down the road. (Sigh). It’s nearing the end of semester which is why it’s much easier to have time to reflect about stuff that happens now. Pressure of exams have been lifted, 2 down and a remainder to go on Thursday. For tonight, I would just like to dedicate my prayers to the few and far between.

To my mum,

That the Lord may take care of you, bless you with good health and spirit. That you may find seek god closer everyday. I pray to the Lord that He can forgive me for the wrongs I’ve done to you in my 19 years being under your care. I’ve held grudges, scream back, cursed etc but I know what you do, you do because you love me and I’m grateful and thankful for ALL the things you’ve put me through. I would not take back any single day from my lifetime because by your guidance and care, I am what I am today, to be able to have a good education, life, responsibility and matured thinking that I may not have if I weren’t your child. The pain you had to go through for years ago years to come, I pray that the Lord holds you through it.

To my dad,

That the Lord may look over him and bring him back to the hands of God. That the Lord may bless him with good health and strength to live life in the eyes of God. I pray to God that He may also forgive me for the mistakes I’ve done against you. Your sacrifice has made me who I am today. You are my role-model in growing up. With my friends, I’ve never failed to say, “My dad is….” Because of the person you are. I pray that He may always look upon you and keep our family from danger and bring is closer to Him and one another.

To my brother and sister,

That the Lord may also bless you with His gifts and show you both what He wants from you. All the arguments and differences we have, I would not trade them away for anything else. The silence at home doesn’t show who we are and I’m thankful we are family. We fight because we love one another, which is why I thanked the Lord for it. You instill challenges in our life so we may grow closer. Let us grow even closer as we move away from teen-hood.

To my Tiger,

That you may always be strong to live day to day as the Lord has given you. I pray that our time apart may be useful for our time in the future because “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. You’ve grown stronger each day that I could see the difference for all these years. I’m very proud of you and thankful for the Lord in helping us move forward. I pray that each day that passes without you is a day spent with you with great love.

To my friends,

Many wrongs I’ve done to you. I pray that God forgives me as I find the opportunity to seek forgiveness from you all in the future. I pray that the Lord guides you each day towards your goals and not deviate from God’s eyes.

AMEN.

Bible verses

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.


Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease, where there are tongues, they will stilled, where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophecies in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When i was a child, i talked like a child.
When i became a man, i put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face.
Now i know in part, then i shall know fully, even as i am fully known.


And now these three remain:faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

Prayer

Prayer begins in a restless heart. Listen to its stirring.

Prayer is a yearning for one’s true home. Follow its lead.

Prayer is like a garden. Tend it and it will be fruitful.

Don’t worry about works or formulas. Prayer is a listening.

Prayer has many methods. Do it your own way.

Pray always, but schedule special times too. The spirit, like the body, needs formal exercise.

Let your prayer be short. Love needs few words.

Pray where you are. God is everywhere.

If you want something, ask yourself, “Do I want what God wants?” God wants your true goods.

If you begin to feel advanced in the way of prayer, think again.

If you need something, pray it. God desires your goods.

Remember: your work and struggles are not unholy. Pray and God will come to you just as you are.

When you’re praying becomes dry and routine, keep at it. Parched earth welcomes the rain.

Pray when you’re worried. Prayer puts everything in perspective.

When life is cruel and unjust, keep praying. God is the victim, not the cause.

Touch the joys and troubles of your friends and neighbors. Shared life is a shared prayer.

When you are overawed before Mystery, just be. God’s spirit is praying within you.

When God seems far away, keep praying. Light can be blinding.

Pray in your resting. Sleep is the prayer of a creature secure in God’s love.

Pray in your rising. Each dawn draws you closer to the light.

Use noisy times for prayer. Sound is the clamor of creation seeking God.

If prayer makes you passive and indifferent, it isn’t a prayer. True prayer will bear fruit in care and service.

God’s life runs deeper that your feelings or experiences.

When sickness, age, pain, or worry steals your concentration, relax. God is an understanding friend.

When you receive bad news, take heart. Praying uncovers the spark in the cinders.

If you don’t like somebody, pray for them. Prayer reveals the hidden God.

When prayer invites you to take risks, have courage. God will uphold you.

If, for any reason, you cannot pray, relax. The desire to pray is already a prayer.

Use quiet tomes for prayer. Silence draws you to the Infinite.

When you sin and continue to fail, pray anyway. God keeps on loving you.

Bring your anger to prayer. Hot metal can be molded.

When your heart is bursting with thanks, just be. God’s spirit is praying within you.

Pray when you feel lonely. Prayer puts you in company of angels.

To pray is to breathe. Do it deeply and you will be filled with life.

When you feel sad or sorry, weep. Tears are a prayer of the heart.

Offenses and Forgiveness

Last night at OCF bible study i had the chance to be part of it and listen to the leaders messing with our heads=). The topic that night was "Offenses and Forgiveness". I kinda liked the talk because it's really helpful in life. Here's a short summary.




Offenses by definition means being hurtful and doing others wrong. To offend is to hurt by intention. Sometimes it's not. Misunderstanding can happen too, especially if one culture crosses another. Offense is also resentment and failure to show regard to other people's feelings.







Forgiveness is the ability to absolve payment of debt, by giving away the right to earn something back from the person that offended you. It is also to renounce anger or resentment. Forgiveness doesn't NECESSARILY mean forgetting. Forgive and forget is perhaps a misunderstood statement. Can you offend or be offended and hope it all goes away? Can you try and shove the unwanted memory? It's difficult.




Forgiveness is a one way traffic. Imagine 2 people. One being the offender and being offended. Forgiveness works one way. The offended forgives but the offender stands by his principles. Therefore forgiveness doesn't settle just everything. RECONCILIATION does. It is something that involves both parties. To forgive is easy, say sorry and all is over, to reconcile is not, talk it over, compromise and resolve the issue.







God sent Jesus to this world to reconcile our sins. He did not just forgive us with the word of mouth or the snap of His finger. He could, but He didn't. Instead, He sent His son to die for us, so that in return, we may reconcile with others. In Jesus's sacrifice, our sins are forgiven.



Read Matthew 18:21-35




If we set revenge, we are making ourselves judges and passing judgements which rightfully only belongs to God.