Friday, February 20, 2009
A.S.K God

Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.'

How many times have we ask and not receive? Seek and not find? Knock and no one opens the door?

Many times, we have tried to find the answers to these questions. I spent the last 2 days questioning God on why didn't I receive what I have asked and I found my answer. 3 main things:

1. God is looking at my response, my attitude towards Him
I have not been myself for the past few days. In fact, I was feeling really messed up and reckless but even through this difficult time, I constantly asked God for the answers and praise Him in every way I could. It wasn't easy, I had many struggles but through it all I found the answers, which leads me to my next point..

2. God says wait, a call to persevere
God's intentions are for good when He presents a test. I know I have been trying so hard to overcome many of His tests and I admit that it has build my faith. I have been put to my limits, almost to the point I question my faith. But like the many times I overcome, broken hearts and all, I always find myself coming back to God. When you don't find your prayers answered, you've got to persevere on for God might just be looking at your hearts and intentions of your mind. Waiting for you to be ready first and foremost, before He is ready to give you your desires.

3. A closed door leads to another open door
Sometimes the door you are knocking on might just not open at that very moment no matter how hard you try. Through a situation I've been through, I've come to realize this: God might just want you to visit another door first before opening the door you have so painstakingly knock at. In short, God wants you to settle other things first before opening the door you have been knocking at. Discouragement will set in at times, but it takes greater faith to persevere. When we do persevere, God will open that door for us at His time, not by our time.

God blesses those who trust Him, those who are willing to do His will. It maybe difficult at times however, God is faithful and He will surely bless those who are obedient to Him.

I have been greatly encouraged by Hebrews 10:35-36,
'do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.'

Have faith when You A.S.K God.

Labels: Devotion

Thursday, February 19, 2009
Rising Faith of a Worship Warrior

How big is my faith?
I really wish
It was as strong as Abraham
So many things
Flashing before my eyes
How long can I endure?
I have had the slightest idea

Praying that God gives me
the strength to overcome
To be strong and to be
filled with His perfect love
For there is no fear in perfect love.
Only God can help me through the storms
To persevere the trials
Laid ahead of me.
Though I knew what was coming,
It was God who kept me strong
Strong in my senses

As hard as it may seem,
I know I'll overcome
With You by my side.
When the dust has cleared
Only You stand by my side
Only You have been faithful
Through it all.
As broken as I may seem
I will still stand in awe of You
Praise You for what I've been through
For I will appreciate the tests
When I look back
At the long winding road I've went through.

Praise be to the God of all ages
For I will set my eyes focus
On God's mission.
One thing I know:
I will hold on to God's promises.

Labels: Devotion

Sunday, February 15, 2009
The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart

Did a bible study on Abraham's test

Here's a brief summary of this story:
God presented a test to Abraham, which was to sacrifice his son, his only son as a burnt offering.
Abraham obeyed the Lord and was ready to slay his son, his only son till the Lord stop him.
And because of Abraham's faith and fear of the Lord, God promised him that he will surely bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.

I was intrigue by Abraham's story. Maybe it never did spoke that loud to me the last time as i had not experience something similar that Abraham as going through. Can you imagine the thoughts that were running through Abraham's mind?
Nevertheless, Abraham continued to obey the Lord without questioning God's action. He was certain that the Lord will provide.

Abraham's story really hit me in the heart. What if I had the give up certain things that were important in my life? Would I react in the same way as Abraham did? It's really an easy question that is hard to answer. It exposed the weakness in me, I can never do that on my own. I need to have faith, trust God that in whatever circumstance I'm going through He is able to provide.

God is looking at our response, at our hearts...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
For...

The Heart is deceitful
Above All Things
And beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

'I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
To reward a man according to his conduct,
According to what his deeds deserve.'

The Lord knows best. Persevere on...

Faith. Trust. Transition. Transformation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Labels: Devotion

Sunday, January 25, 2009
Freedom!

DANCE TO THE FREEDOM WE KNOW!
PROJECTS ARE DONE AND OVER WITH!
except for the presentation and reflection report but for now...
THE TIME HAS COME FOR RELAXATION!
PRAISE THE LORD,
I AM A SURVIVOR.
WHEEE!

Labels: Thanks Giving

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
TRUST

Sometimes I just feel so flustered and tired...

Lost and confused...

Lord I need your help...

Help me to trust in You, I just can't do it on my own...

I surrender my all to You...

Guide me in Your way...

There's nothing better than knowing...

You are always there for me...

I lay my desires before You...

I trust that if it's your will...

It shall be done...

May I seek righteousness first....

In Jesus name, I pray...

Amen

Labels: Prayer

Thursday, December 11, 2008
To Be Good Or Not To Be Good?

To be good or not to be good? That is the question. Life is certainly full of choices and it can be hard to make decisions at times. Being a good person can be tough while being a bad guy seems so much easier and much ‘cooler'.

Some say that nice guys don’t last. Well I chose to be a ‘goodie’ good person for the past 3 years and I’m still standing. I may not know what lies in the future but I had rather be a blessing to the people around me then a walking disaster or a pest. What brings joy to me is the smile on people’s face and I certainly know that it brings joy to my heavenly father too. It sure isn’t easy being a good guy, some people just hate good guys and there’s really nothing you can do about it except pray for them haha.

So have I been a bad guy? Yes definitely, when I was younger. Back then, I was a little haywire and I did a lot of stupid things. It was only when I hit the age of 15 when I finally saw the light! Playing as a bad guy was cool and all but it really didn’t get me anywhere. I did extreme things like throwing frogs into my ‘nemesis house’, picking the locks of doors to rooftops back in my previous condo, going heads on with the security guards. You can never imagine me doing all that if you see me as the person I am now. I probably look like an angel=) yeah right. Anyways that is not the main point. The main point is this: I may have the attention and ‘friends’ but I felt like an empty shell that was lost and alone inside.


Why the sudden change then? I don’t really have a reason why I guess, it just seem so natural that when I’m nice to people, I just feel super good. It’s like an in-built trait in me and I guess maturity plays a part too. Through out the past 3 years, I have seen much more blessings in my life, and I really thank God for all He has done for me. Being a good guy isn’t that all boring, you can be fun to the people around you. I realize that you make more true friends when you are sincere and down-to-earth with them. God blesses the good abundantly and in my case, he has blessed me with GOOD friends that I can trust, as well as a peaceful family. There is certainly more to come but yeah, the blessings will come at God's timing.


I firmly believe that the nice people would last in the long run. Don’t believe me? Then I challenge you to try it out!

It may sound kind of cheesy, but good people makes the world a better place! (So Don, if you ever want to try anything stupid: think twice AGAIN, tell me or don’t even try!)





So who would you be today?
To be good or not to be good…all the time? That is the question…

Labels: Devotion

Friday, December 5, 2008
My testimony, My Life...

God has done many things in my life. I am really thankful that He has indeed changed my life. Though I was a born a Christian, I never really got to know the Lord intimately until some circumstances in my life helped me to draw near to Him.

I remembered the day that I rededicated my life to the Lord. It was right after my O levels and many thoughts were running through my mind. I was thinking about my future, and I felt unsure of where God would lead me. At that point in time, I wasn’t really close to the Lord. It was like having the belief that there was a God, yet you are not really doing anything about it. I did not know exactly why I decided to trust in the Lord, but it was a certainly a decision that I did not regret. In my heart I was saying like, ‘God, if you are truly a God who cares for me, then change my life at this very moment.' It was like a sudden thought that triggered in me and right after I made that decision, my life was never the same again.

At the beginning of the year 2007, I received a call from my mum and she was telling me that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I did not really know how to react to it. Now for a brief history between my mum and I. I was never really to close to my mum and I did not live with her for a certain period in my life. I stayed with my aunt for the most part of my life. I did not really like her because of the way she showed her love and concern for me. Hence, when I heard that she had cancer, I was rather confused to how I should react to it. However, God reminded me from the bible that I should love my parents and furthermore, love should be patient. I took this step of faith to visit my mum for the very first time since 7 years ago.

She was not in a very good state and though my heart was broken when I saw her, a part of me still felt cold towards her. However, I trusted in God that He will make things for the better. My father and I would try to visit her every time when we were free. I found it very hard to visit her each time because of the way she showed her love and concern for me. I really did not like how she was still treating me like a child but I made the effort to be patient with her. My mother was a Christian but some how along the way, she drifted away from God. Through her last days, I tried my very best to help her to believe in God once again and I succeeded in doing so.

On the very day before she passed away, she said something that really touched my heart. She told me that she knew that her way of loving me may not be something that I like, however she did try her best to change and asked me to forgive her for any hurt that she has brought upon me. Her last words to me were that she really loved me. It felt really different from the previous times that she expressed her love towards me. I had a sudden urge to just tell her that I love her too. There was this sudden breakthrough in me after saying that. I felt that something heavy in my heart has been lifted up. I knew that God was healing my heart at that very moment.

Though she may be gone, I know that she is with God at this very moment. If it wasn’t for God, I would not have forgave my mum and perhaps still carry a sense of hatred to my mother till this very day. A series of blessings, such as reconciliations, close friends as well as good grades, followed after that. Yes, there were other challenges along the way that I had to face, but I knew I wasn’t facing it alone. I know that God has always been with me in the past and He will be with me in the present as well as the future to come. He has been with me through it all and I really thank God for molding me into the person I am today. The person you see standing here today is a much, much stronger person than he was 2 years back.

Through brokenness, there was transformation. If you believe in God today, the very same God that has changed my life will changed yours too and I testify to that.

Aaron
The warrior of light

Labels: Devotion