Month: June 2018

S-A-L-T !

Matthew 5:13

“You are like Salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses it’s saltiness, there is no way to make it Salty again. It has become worthless so it is thrown out and people trample on it.

As the Scripture says, we are the “Salt” for the whole human race. What is the essence of a Salt? Why we need to become Salt for the human race?

We have our purpose here on Earth — It’s God’s purpose in us. We are the “arms and legs” of the Lord here on Earth. If we will not serve our purpose we are worthless. We need to act and move for His Kingdom.

Salt is very important in our daily living. It has many uses.

According to research, Salt has many uses.

68% – Induatrial Chemicals

12% – Water Conditioning

8% – Highway Deicing

6% – Agriculture

6% – Food Grade Salt

-Maldom Salt Company

With the many uses of Salt it has not been the main stream of the end result or product . It always be the producer or creator.

Like in food that we cook daily, it will never be tastiful or delicious if salt were not added, however once the food were cooked and delivers it as delicious, the cook were recognized for cooking a tastiful viand.

In life how are we able to serve as Salt for the whole human race?

We could be an influencer, encourager, teacher, or even a helper or assistant—think of how will you be able to make an IMPACT to a person’s life or touch their hearts, but always pointing to God to be glorified and NOT you.

One of the good quotes says, “it is not what you do, but it is how you touch other’s lives!” It is how you made them feel that resonates.

Like Salt — in many uses that salt has been used, it is always the end product or result that has resonated. It will always be the creator or producer of the end product. Likewise to us, it should always be our Abba Father who will be glorified.

Let us continue to love one another as the Lord’s second greatest commandment says, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”

Let us continue to touch other people’s lives and make a good impact to them, big or small it does matter!

Learn how to love your neighbor as yourself intimately? Click here !

Obedience that breaks the walls….

Joshua 6:1-16

Joshua 6: 1. Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 3. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” 6. So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7. And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.” 8. When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10. But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11. So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there. 12. Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14. So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15. On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! – Bible Offline, NIV. bible offline

Joshua is a warrior that led the Israelites to the land that God has promised to Abraham’s descendants to inherit. Canaan is a land that is “like the Garden of Eden” (Gen 13:10)

Genesis 13: 10. Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) – Bible Offline

Canaan is a city that’s build inside the wall of Jericho. Who’s people are like Giants and great warriors. But God promised the Israelites this land as their inheritance as children of God. He wants the Israelites to make this their dwelling place. A land that is full of God’s promise and his presence and grace. God has commanded Joshua to lead the whole tribe of Israelites to conquer the land. God has given Joshua a specific instructions on what he has to do to have the victory that he intend for them.

Joshua obeyed what God has commanded him and has the faith on God for their victory. He has led them to march around the walls for 7day, one round for 6 days and 7 rounds on the 7th day. With the blowing of horns and shout of praise the walls came crushing down. And the Israelites was able to conquer the land without anyone perishing from them in the battle.

In our life we all have a circumstances that we live in. Walls and giants that we face everyday. May it be in our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues. A lack in our finance, a loss in our life. A situation where in the odds are against us, an insurmountable fear will set in. But take heart and do not be discourage, for our God has promised us that victory is Ours. His grace and love for us is sufficient to overcome every fear in our life. We have to be like Joshua that obeys what God wants us to do. Set your eyes on the promises of God through the lens of faith.

Obedience to our God will lead to our deliverance in every walls and giants we face. Our God is faithful and full of grace and love for us.

Jesus is calling to each and everyone of us to let him be the Lord and saviour of our soul. He is calling us to have a personal relationship with Him.

Jeremiah 29:11

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

         Jeremiah 29:11 

 

IMG_6531It took me almost 29 years to actually and genuinely understand what it means to trust God. During my early years of existence, I thought I was able to really grasp the content of Jeremiah 29:11. When I was younger, everything was easy. I go to school, do my best, behave properly and making my parents proud was more like the routine that I got used to and apparently, I was doing a pretty good job mastering this. But came my 20’s, everything changed. This was when I got the true taste of reality and confusion started to hit me hard. There were moments that I would cry at night praying and hoping that Jesus would just make all the pain go away in an instant because I could not take it anymore. And looking at my past, I could say that everything happened because Jesus was showing me what it really means to put my WHOLE TRUST IN HIM, and in HIM ALONE.

As you could see, I have placed different colors in the verse so I could share to you how I have come to truly understand Jeremiah 29:11. Without a doubt, Jesus is still continuously showing me the beauty in his word. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)

 

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord..”

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This part alone has so many reasons why God wants us to put out trust in Him. God deserves every bit of our trust because He is our Creator. He is our loving Father and He loves us as His sons and daughters.

 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

                                                                    Psalm 139:13-14  (NIV)

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. 

                                                                                               Isaiah 49: 15-16 (NIV)

Because God created us, therefore, He knows every single thing about us. He is an OMNISCIENT God. He sees everything, hears everything  knows everything, from past, present to future.

“Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the LORD “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

                                                                                                                               Jeremiah 23:24

          Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.

                                                                                                                                    Isaiah 40:26                                                                              

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

                                                                                                                              Matthew 6:31-32

All knowledge came from Him and His knowledge is perfect. He alone is perfect, and therefore,  His will and plans for us will never fail. Just like what He planned for our Lord Jesus Christ. Dying on the cross was not a failure but was the greatest success and the most beloved gift, a Father could ever give to His son and daughter.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

                                                                                                                                     John 3:16

 

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you…”

I believe that everything happens for a reason, and in this life that we have, its not always sugar, spice and everything nice. It is true that God is a God of love (1 John 4:8) and knowing that makes it hard for some people to understand why God would allow us to lose someone we love, or go through all kinds of pain and hardship.

When I have come to know God, I was able to understand that the world that we live in gives us a huge misconception about having a prosperous life. This world is always about having all the wealth, ageless beauty and health, unbeatable success etc.  The word of God clearly says that God made this world, but the spirit that lures around it is not from God. All the lust, greediness, anger and hate. These are far from God.

For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world.

                                                                                                                                     1 John 2:16

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

                                                                                                                                  Romans 12:2

purpose

Despite all that, we must remember  that the road to a prosperous life is not about being born having a silver spoon in one’s mouth.  It is about having Jesus Christ in our lives. God, in all His ways, is leading us nearer to Him. His purpose for our lives is for us to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and to exalt His Name, offering our lives as a form of worship so that other people will come to know Jesus Christ. This is the only way for us to understand how God works in our lives, may it be in ups or downs, in joy or in pain. In whatever circumstances, putting our trust in God will never lead us to any form of harm because we will never be apart from Him.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

                                                                                                                         Romans 8:28

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

“plans to give you hope and a future…”

Now your asking, “Why do we need a Savior?”. This may sound very bold to you, but the simplest answer is this: Because we are SINNERS and sin SEPARATES US FROM GOD. It is not because sin is more powerful, but because GOD IS HOLY.

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Now, why would I put my trust in God knowing that I, having a sinful nature, will never be good enough for Him? Because again, God’s plan to give us hope and a future has been fulfilled many years ago when He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for you and me.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:10

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3: 1

The truth is, He loved us first. We do not deserve to have a loving Father like Him, but still, HE LOVED US FIRST. And because, His love for us is so great, He sacrificed His son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, for you and me. Isn’t that enough reason for us to our trust in God? He is so faithful and so merciful that my mind could not even comprehend why He would do that for me. Again, it all comes back to His Love.

cross

Jesus Christ took all the sufferings and punishment that was supposed to be imposed to you and me. If Jesus did not died on the Cross, we will not be living under grace right now. So could you imagine the extent of His love for us? Its too much for us to bear, but, I am thankful to have come and know what Jesus did for me. And having Him in my life is the greatest gift I could ever have. I know have someone whom I could trust, someone who knows me and have good plans for me, someone who wants to prosper me in every way and will never put me in any harm, someone WHO BECAME MY ONE AND ONLY HOPE, so I COULD HAVE A FUTURE.

 

Hallelujah! All Glory to God!

 

Do you want to know more about Jesus and his love for you? Please click here!

 

 

 

Writing for Jesus

Due to unavoidable life circumstances, we recently had to move to a new place. In the process of moving, I encountered some notebooks and journals I had accumulated through the years, some of them I had already forgotten (out of sight, out of mind). Some brought back nice, feel-good memories (hello scrapbook of pictures put together from scratch from my very first sheep Chloe, look how thin I was!).

But some of them made me cringe. As in literally, the hairs on my arms stood up, and I felt the blood rush to my face. Did I really write these? Who was this person who wrote these words? And why was she so mad sometimes?

notebooks(I forgot how much I used to rant and rage on the page, using it as an outlet for things I would never say out loud. And the cursing! Goodness, I didn’t even remember I could think those words, much less write them down. Shaking my head at you, Janice from 15 years ago. You were brutal.)

Words are mighty powerful indeed. Just with a few short sentences, great authors can evoke strong emotions that last.

But it was only a few seconds of heartache, a moment of unbidden nostalgia, and I was brought back to the wonderful (if chaotic) present. Now, writing is still a release, but I am not the angry person I was before. Now, when I write, it is always with the knowledge that I have Jesus in my heart. And out of the abundance of my heart, my heart will speak (Luke 6:45).

I am still an ocean of words. They will still pour out of me in one way or another. But now I use my words to bless instead of curse. And they will not just stay in old notebooks with lousy chicken scratch handwriting. They will be shared so that God will be glorified.

Click here to find out how you can also be surprised by the abundance of glory of in your heart.

None like King Hezekiah (Part 1)

hezekiah

Bible passages: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, Isaiah 36-39

*All Bible passages used are in NKJV

 

King Hezekiah, son of King Ahaz and Abijah, daughter of Zechariah, was the 13th king of Judah and the king who “did what was right, good and true in the sight of the LORD, according to all that His father David done” (2 Kings 18:3, 2 Chronicles 31:20) like some kings of Israel and Judah. I, as a kid, have known him for having an additional 15 years of life given to him by God when He prayed to God for his sickness (2 Kings 20:6) but never did I know that he was regarded as the king like no other.

2 Kings 18:5 says:

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him..

He must have been quite a king to be regarded as such! The king who trusted God that no king before and after him was like him.  Let’s look at some characteristics of King Hezekiah:

  1. He was zealous for the restoration of both Judah’s and Israel’s relationship to the LORD God.  2 Chronicles 18:3-5 says:

    3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.  4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.

    His first order of business as king was seeking God by cleansing God’s temple and urging the Levites to purify themselves before God. He unashamedly admitted before his people about the trespasses their fathers made before God by turning their backs from Him and forsaking Him that brought upon the wrath of God. He urged his people to come back to God as they were chosen by Him, as 2 Chronicles 18:11 says:

    My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.

    This king wasn’t afraid to admit their transgressions before God but instead he humbled himself and repented and then urged his people to do the same. He made them remember that they, the Levites, were chosen by God with a specific purpose for Him. After repenting and cleansing themselves, they worked on cleansing the temple, as 2 Chronicles 18:16 says,

    Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD.

    2 Kings 18:4 mentioned specifically that he abolished the pagan idols that the Israelites used to worship:

    He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.

    King Hezekiah led and commanded his people to worship only one God, “the LORD of hosts, the God of all the kingdoms of the earth who made heaven and earth” (Isaiah 37:16).

    2 Chronicles 29:29-30 says:

29 And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped.30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped

He even urged all Israel to seek God as 2 Chronicles 30:1 says:

And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.

King Hezekiah recognized that knew seeking God and restoring their relationship with Him as one nation was of utmost importance and should be his foremost priority.

 

2. He diligently  and whole-heartedly obeyed God which resulted to prosperity and favor.

2 Kings 18:6 says:

6 For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. 7 The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went.

Moreover, 2 Chronicles 31:21 adds:

21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.

Throughout his life, King Hezekiah was faithful in every work that he did for God and served God with all his heart. He and his people honored the LORD through worship, burnt offerings, devotions to the law of the LORD and the giving of “firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field”          (2 Chronicles 31:5). This was rewarded by God by blessing his kingdom.  King Hezekiah saw this great abundance as it says in 2 Chronicles 31:9:

9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.10 And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.”

The people gathered the grain for four months. Before this, grains were already taken by the priests as tithes and offerings dedicated to the LORD and by the people of Judah as provisions for their families. Still after all were full, the left overs were still great in amount!

King Hezekiah had the favor of God and with it came the favor of men. As it says in 2 Chronicles 30:11-12:

11 Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD.

When the king sent letters to urge people all throughout Israel to come to Jerusalem to worship and keep the passover, some laughed and mocked at the runners carrying these letters (2 Chronicles 30:10). But God’s hand was upon the tribes of Asher, Manasseh, Zebulun and of course, Judah. He touched the nation of Judah that all obeyed, as one and with the singleness of heart, the command of the king and observed the passover. God blessed the feast with great joy and with a great number of people as 2 Chronicles 30:25-16 says:

25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

Abundance in grain, people, favor and joy! An overflowing abundance indeed!

 

Stay tuned for Part 2!

 

If you want to have this zeal, prosperity and favor from God like King Hezekiah had, click here.

 

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#TimeSpentWithGodIsTimeBestSpent

 

.The Temptation of Jesus.

“Let us learn on Jesus ways on how he resisted temptation. He soak, fill and saturate. Early in the morning he will wake up to devote his time to the Lord. He will fast for him to regain the zeal of his commitment to do the will of God to him and to draw near to God.

Let us follow Jesus ways! Let he be our role model to resist temptation in this world.”

Matthew 4:1-11 NLT

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’ ” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

When we are in this kind of situation, how is our respond will be like?

In the Scripture, Jesus was being tempted after he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. As human he was very hungry. His flesh was weak. Fragile — easy to break and need a rest and food to refuel it.

But his Spirit was full. He had God’s fullness at this time as he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. His Spirit was high with God almighty.

As tempter tempted him, first, he tempted his weakness— his flesh — his hunger. But Jesus thrown the tempter a Scripture “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Second, the temper tempted Jesus through his sound mind. “Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’

Third, the tempter tempted Jesus through the lust of the eyes. “Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. Matthew 4:11

How are we able to be like Jesus? Resisting the temptation in this fallen world?

We should be like Jesus! We must understand that in this Scripture, Jesus was still human. He had his weaknesses as well, but he resisted it.

How he can resist it? He resisted it by

  1. SOAK. Soaking his Spirit in the presence of God. The Bible said in Psalm 91:1 ” Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. Psalm 91:1‭, ‬3 NIV – The Devil will first target our weakness. But he know nuts! He thought that Jesus can fall as prey. The things that he was not aware was Jesus’ Spirit was strengthened and communing to God at that very moment. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” – Romans 8:26. Knowing that  God is already protecting Jesus at that very moment.
  2. FILL. Filling and knowing the Scripture by Heart. After Jesus was not tempted his weakness. The devil’s second target was his sound mind. Li’l did he know that Jesus is guarding his heart with the words of God. Jesus guarded his heart by believing the truth of the Word by heart. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Jesus’ heart was saturated with Word of God and as in everything we do it flows from our heart. Jesus’ heart was so strong as he had fasted because God made it strong and full of wisdom that directs and flows to his mind not to be warped by this world.
  3. SATURATE his Focus. Knowing where your heart is there your treasure is also. Jesus knows where is his treasure is. He knows his kingdom is not in this world but in the heavenly kingdom that the Lord is preparing for him. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19‭-‬21 NIV . Jesus knows by heart and mind that his kingdom was not in this world. He can never be deceived by this world’s deceiving glory. He set his focus in mind and heart to heavenly treasure.

Let us learn on Jesus’ ways on how he resisted temptation. He soak, fill and saturate. Early in the morning he will wake up to devote his time to the Lord. He will fast for him to regain the zeal of his commitment to do the will of God to him and to draw near to God.

Let us follow Jesus’ ways! Let he be our role model to resist temptation in this world.We need to have God’s fullness in our life daily!

My friend, if you do not know Jesus, please click this link JESUS loves You!

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