As you can probably tell from the title, it's my birthday. But it's not a day to commemorate me but to remember God and His grace because that is what gave me a new year.
This morning I was praying and was reminded of all the great things He's done for me this year:
This was the year I wrote my first song for His glory.
This was the year I wore my first sari (to all those who don't know what a "sari" is, google it :]..i just googled it to make sure it was appropriate and for the most part i think it is)
This was the year for major change in my life.
This was the year God moved my family from one church to another.
This was the year I took Believer's baptism.
This was the year I started a ministry with 4 other girls.
This was the year of my deliverance.
This was the year God tested me and refined me like silver.
This was the year I understood the greatness of His forgiveness.
This was the year of my first spiritual dreams and visions.
This was the year of my first and second (and hopefully last) car accident.
This was the year to begin to understand spiritual warfare and how I'm in it until the end of the war.
This was the year I learned to forgive fully and have compassion for those who wronged me.
This was the [first] year I went to an IBC retreat that changed the air around me.
This was the year God began to spell out my future calling.
This was the year for growth and I'm never looking back because greater things have yet to come.
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do (for you) :]
I'm excited to see what will happen this year, and I am glad for the things that happened last year.
All glory to Him.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Frustration
Frustration. Feeling anger crawling up your veins and mixing with disappointment. Frustration. Pleasant thoughts fading and being replaced by annoyance. Frustration. Future regretted words slipping out of your mouth. Frustration. Holding your fists tightly and realizing how close you are to what you want. Frustration.
Today after school I was late to the bus area (yes, I'm a junior riding the bus..) and the buses were about to leave. Stressed about school, I just wanted to get home quickly and relax. So swiftly walking past the doors I approached my bus and its open doors. Then all of a sudden a teacher stood in my way and told me it was too late to get on the bus. I stared, dumbfounded, between him and my 3-yard away bus. Clearly feeling the illogicality of the situation, I calmly and collectively said, "But my bus is RIGHT THERE and the doors are STILL OPEN." He shook his head and never let me get on that bus. All huffy and puffy, I stormed off and called my mom to come pick me up. I thought about him when I waited for Mom. I thought about the situation when I was on the way home. I edited certain actions out and in when I ate my lunch. I just kept on replaying the scene and feeling my anger grow steadily. Small situation, right?
Many times we let the small things get the better of us. One of the last things Jesus tells his disciples in John 14:27 was, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." The peace Christ leaves for us isn't temporary happiness. He gave us a peace that transcends all understanding. He gave us the peace that he had when he was crucified and left to die on the cross. The peace that was with him when he conquered pain, agony, and death is what he has given us. There are many times when frustration tries to creep up on us and pounce on our Christ-granted peace. How many of those times do we walk away in peace? How many times do we walk away fists clenched and curses sitting on our lips?
Dealing with situations that don't go the way we planned them to are difficult struggles. Sometimes we get angry because everything seemed to be going along perfectly when BAM--a curve ball is thrown that disorientates us and our emotions. It's so easy to blow up, reduce to a 3-year-old, and throw a temper tantrum. It's always harder to "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 and know He'll take care of the situation. Always remember that in the end, something greater will spawn from that once "frustrating" situation. Take my account of today for example. Had I not been though that entire situation, I wouldn't be here writing a blog and sharing the importance of peace with you all. God created us in his image. He is the Prince of Peace. In the same way, we are called to be princes and princesses of peace and love. God bless :]
Today after school I was late to the bus area (yes, I'm a junior riding the bus..) and the buses were about to leave. Stressed about school, I just wanted to get home quickly and relax. So swiftly walking past the doors I approached my bus and its open doors. Then all of a sudden a teacher stood in my way and told me it was too late to get on the bus. I stared, dumbfounded, between him and my 3-yard away bus. Clearly feeling the illogicality of the situation, I calmly and collectively said, "But my bus is RIGHT THERE and the doors are STILL OPEN." He shook his head and never let me get on that bus. All huffy and puffy, I stormed off and called my mom to come pick me up. I thought about him when I waited for Mom. I thought about the situation when I was on the way home. I edited certain actions out and in when I ate my lunch. I just kept on replaying the scene and feeling my anger grow steadily. Small situation, right?
Many times we let the small things get the better of us. One of the last things Jesus tells his disciples in John 14:27 was, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." The peace Christ leaves for us isn't temporary happiness. He gave us a peace that transcends all understanding. He gave us the peace that he had when he was crucified and left to die on the cross. The peace that was with him when he conquered pain, agony, and death is what he has given us. There are many times when frustration tries to creep up on us and pounce on our Christ-granted peace. How many of those times do we walk away in peace? How many times do we walk away fists clenched and curses sitting on our lips?
Dealing with situations that don't go the way we planned them to are difficult struggles. Sometimes we get angry because everything seemed to be going along perfectly when BAM--a curve ball is thrown that disorientates us and our emotions. It's so easy to blow up, reduce to a 3-year-old, and throw a temper tantrum. It's always harder to "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 and know He'll take care of the situation. Always remember that in the end, something greater will spawn from that once "frustrating" situation. Take my account of today for example. Had I not been though that entire situation, I wouldn't be here writing a blog and sharing the importance of peace with you all. God created us in his image. He is the Prince of Peace. In the same way, we are called to be princes and princesses of peace and love. God bless :]
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Treasure of the Kingdom
I haven't been writing in this blog lately and this is because Satan has been distracting me and trying to bog me down with so much junk--but I won't stand for it anymore :]
So yesterday I heard this moving message that I felt I needed to share with everyone.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."-Matthew 13:44
The Kingdom of Heaven is more valuable than the greatest jewels of this world. It is so valuable, that this man sold all of his possessions with joy in order to have this treasure. The man did not buy the TREASURE but he bought the FIELD because all of his possessions could not come close to the true value of the treasure. Then we ask, what does the field represent?
The field is people ready to hear the word of God and souls longing for an encounter with Christ. It is our duty to go out into the field and spread--like wildfire--the message God gave us. We at times have to give up everything--all our possessions to serve God but do not worry.
Our God is Jehovah Jireh--My Provider. He will supply all our needs when we give up everything for Him. In our lives, we don't need to worry but instead focus all our attention on God because it says "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" -Matthew 6:33. When I heard this part of the message, I felt convicted because all the junk that's been holding me down were worries about school, friends, my future, college, majors, etc. but God reassures us by saying, " Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" -Matthew 6:26-27 When we feel distracted, remember that is what Satan is trying to accomplish. He is continuously grabbing footholds in our life and struggling to pull himself up as he tears us down so we must always remember to seek God first then everything else will fall into place.
The story of Boaz and Ruth is the representation of Christ and his bride (the church).
When Boaz first saw Ruth, she was gleaning and gathering grain in the field. In the same way, when Christ comes again in order to be reunited with his church, the first place he's going to look, is at the field. The question we must ask ourselves then is, are we going to be in that field when Christ comes or are we going to be somewhere else, distracted by Satan? God is not asking everyone to travel and have the ministry of outreach but he IS calling each of us to have a ministry because he has called us to "Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf" -Isaiah 43:8. We are ambassadors for Christ in the world. We need to spread the message of God's love and Christ's reconciliation on the cross to the people around us. Christ is coming soon, where are we going to be?
I hope this message touches you as much as it moved me. Have an amazing day and God bless. :]
So yesterday I heard this moving message that I felt I needed to share with everyone.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."-Matthew 13:44
The Kingdom of Heaven is more valuable than the greatest jewels of this world. It is so valuable, that this man sold all of his possessions with joy in order to have this treasure. The man did not buy the TREASURE but he bought the FIELD because all of his possessions could not come close to the true value of the treasure. Then we ask, what does the field represent?
The field is people ready to hear the word of God and souls longing for an encounter with Christ. It is our duty to go out into the field and spread--like wildfire--the message God gave us. We at times have to give up everything--all our possessions to serve God but do not worry.
Our God is Jehovah Jireh--My Provider. He will supply all our needs when we give up everything for Him. In our lives, we don't need to worry but instead focus all our attention on God because it says "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" -Matthew 6:33. When I heard this part of the message, I felt convicted because all the junk that's been holding me down were worries about school, friends, my future, college, majors, etc. but God reassures us by saying, " Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" -Matthew 6:26-27 When we feel distracted, remember that is what Satan is trying to accomplish. He is continuously grabbing footholds in our life and struggling to pull himself up as he tears us down so we must always remember to seek God first then everything else will fall into place.
The story of Boaz and Ruth is the representation of Christ and his bride (the church).
When Boaz first saw Ruth, she was gleaning and gathering grain in the field. In the same way, when Christ comes again in order to be reunited with his church, the first place he's going to look, is at the field. The question we must ask ourselves then is, are we going to be in that field when Christ comes or are we going to be somewhere else, distracted by Satan? God is not asking everyone to travel and have the ministry of outreach but he IS calling each of us to have a ministry because he has called us to "Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf" -Isaiah 43:8. We are ambassadors for Christ in the world. We need to spread the message of God's love and Christ's reconciliation on the cross to the people around us. Christ is coming soon, where are we going to be?
I hope this message touches you as much as it moved me. Have an amazing day and God bless. :]
Friday, February 5, 2010
Should've, Could've, Would've
The words that encompass minds across the world. "I should've...I could've...I would've..." Many times we dwell on the past and it inhibits us from moving forward. I've caught myself thinking these thoughts, wondering if I said or had done something differently, the results would be to my liking. Instead of keeping life on replay, I've embraced the philosophy "There are no coincidences." Very philosophical, right? Solomon wrote in Ephesians 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" and that's where I derived my so-called philosophy. Keeping this short I just want to you--and remind myself--that mistakes happen, words are spoken, actions are done. What's done is done. The past is in the past. What we can do is learn from our mistakes and trust God to take care of the rest. There were many times in the Bible that great men of God had their "should've, could've, would've" moments. Consider Abraham, the Man of Faith and the Father of Many Nations. He disobeyed God and went to Egypt when God instructed him to stay in his land during the famine. What were the consequences? The Jews were kept captive in Egypt for more than 400 years. But God fixed the whole mess by sending Moses and creating the whole journey to the Promise Land. Look at David. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and made a terrible mistake. God cleaned his mistake and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came from the lineage of David and Bathsheba. Sure things happen and God may not approve of it. But He can fix the biggest messes and the most unforgivable mistakes. Look at Adam and Eve. Their fall of temptation led to sin for all mankind but God even fixed that. He sent Jesus to redeem us. Things happen for a reason. Don't sit around cutting and editing events in your mind. Move forward.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Word Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOkLP6VHtWk
Today I was listening to a message by John Piper. When he opened his message I was thinking "This sounds familiar" and I realized he was saying different passages from memory. His message turned out to be about the value of memorizing scripture. Listening to him emphatically say passages, my eyes were opened to the value of the Word of God. In many churches today, sermons aren't mainly based on the Word but rather on the speaker's interpretation of the Word. I'm not trying to degrade sermons in any way but I feel that we are watering down the true value of the Word of God. It can stand alone. There are times that when we need to make a sermon or speech, we fret and pull hair out stressing about what insightful thing we have to say. The truth is, we don't need anything "insightful" because "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35). For all those speech writers out there, calm down. Mediate on the Word and don't edit it because, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There's no need to edit what God has already made perfect.
There are some people that pick and poke and cut and paste the Word in order to fit the message they are stuggling to portray. But realize, the Word of God is what God is trying to TELL us, what He is INSTRUCTING us, so why try to adjust verses to justify your own man-made ideas or actions if God clearly gave us the guidelines to life? The purpose of sermons are to help guide the congregation in their spiritual walk. A speaker, preacher, pastor, minister, achen, evangelist, etc., should not create a message and figure out a way to justify it with God's word, but rather should DERIVE the message FROM God's Word.
As a person listening to speeches and sermons, I'm saying to all us (who are mainly in the congregation instead of on the pulpit) be careful for wolves in sheep's clothing. When you listen to a sermon, open up your heart and mind to understand the sermon but always check it for alignment with the Word of God. When you go home, mediate on the verses the speaker mentioned and look at its context. Many times people tend to use the good part of the verse but not the instructional and imporant part. For example, if I was giving a sermon about prosperity and said, "In Deuteronomy 28:1 it is written 'The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth,'" I would be depriving you of a key point in the scripture. The entire verse is "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth." In order to receive the blessing, we must first obey God. Deuteronomy 28 is a chapter filled with blessings for those who obey God. If we are living in disobedience or open sin, we cannot come to God praying, "God, it says in your word that the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, so please let me be better than Billy Joe at the game tomorrow." If we prayed that, we'd be neglecting God's instructional part of His message to be obedient and THEN He will bless us. Not the inverse.
All in all, mediate on the word, memorize it, teach it, and share it but don't edit it. God's word is perfect and it has everything we will ever need :]
Today I was listening to a message by John Piper. When he opened his message I was thinking "This sounds familiar" and I realized he was saying different passages from memory. His message turned out to be about the value of memorizing scripture. Listening to him emphatically say passages, my eyes were opened to the value of the Word of God. In many churches today, sermons aren't mainly based on the Word but rather on the speaker's interpretation of the Word. I'm not trying to degrade sermons in any way but I feel that we are watering down the true value of the Word of God. It can stand alone. There are times that when we need to make a sermon or speech, we fret and pull hair out stressing about what insightful thing we have to say. The truth is, we don't need anything "insightful" because "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35). For all those speech writers out there, calm down. Mediate on the Word and don't edit it because, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There's no need to edit what God has already made perfect.
There are some people that pick and poke and cut and paste the Word in order to fit the message they are stuggling to portray. But realize, the Word of God is what God is trying to TELL us, what He is INSTRUCTING us, so why try to adjust verses to justify your own man-made ideas or actions if God clearly gave us the guidelines to life? The purpose of sermons are to help guide the congregation in their spiritual walk. A speaker, preacher, pastor, minister, achen, evangelist, etc., should not create a message and figure out a way to justify it with God's word, but rather should DERIVE the message FROM God's Word.
As a person listening to speeches and sermons, I'm saying to all us (who are mainly in the congregation instead of on the pulpit) be careful for wolves in sheep's clothing. When you listen to a sermon, open up your heart and mind to understand the sermon but always check it for alignment with the Word of God. When you go home, mediate on the verses the speaker mentioned and look at its context. Many times people tend to use the good part of the verse but not the instructional and imporant part. For example, if I was giving a sermon about prosperity and said, "In Deuteronomy 28:1 it is written 'The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth,'" I would be depriving you of a key point in the scripture. The entire verse is "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth." In order to receive the blessing, we must first obey God. Deuteronomy 28 is a chapter filled with blessings for those who obey God. If we are living in disobedience or open sin, we cannot come to God praying, "God, it says in your word that the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, so please let me be better than Billy Joe at the game tomorrow." If we prayed that, we'd be neglecting God's instructional part of His message to be obedient and THEN He will bless us. Not the inverse.
All in all, mediate on the word, memorize it, teach it, and share it but don't edit it. God's word is perfect and it has everything we will ever need :]
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Purpose
Waking up every morning. Just going through the motions of brushing teeth, getting ready, and getting in the car or bus. The sky gray; the neighborhood lake motionless. This is flatland. Walking through the hallways of school or rushing to clock into work on time. Teachers babble, co-workers gossip, bosses throw temper tantrums. The monotonous lifestyle of many--many that ask themselves everyday "What's the purpose?"
The words "purpose", "direction", and "vision" are commonly interchanged but never lacking in value. I started this blog as a new year's resolution to "seek God first" in 2010. When starting down this new venture, the purpose, direction, and vision are important to consider. I'm going to clearly define them for you and definitely for me (as a reminder in case I ever forget)
Purpose: I created this blog to keep me on the right track in this new year. This is a place where I can share my testimonies to you, write verses that can enhance your spiritually growth and mine, and create a virtual diary expressing the awesome-ness of God :]
Direction: This blog is solely directed towards God (hence the "seekfirst" title) and for the expansion of His kingdom. I acknowledge the fact that I'm not qualified in any way as Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, " When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." (-1 Corinthians 2:1-3) I feel pretty much the same way and that's okay because if Paul, a great man and powerful man of God, wasn't "qualified" per say, neither do we have to be. I remember once Joyce Meyer said she didn't graduate from missionary school but from the School of the Holy Spirit, and quite honestly, that is better than man-made "qualifications."
Vision: My (emphasis on "my") vision for this blog is to write my testimonies, revelations from the Word, growth in ministry, etc. on here. I emphasize "my" because I recognize that God is higher than me and can change anything in any way He so desires. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Now the reason I wrote the depiction of life at the beginning is that many live this way and I know for a portion of my life I did too. We just go through the motions and feel like there's a void in our life because of all the monotony. While some turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, and other frivolous things, and the ones seeking truth turn to God. For it says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. " God will fill any void in your life, any dissatisfaction with monotony, and He will give you more excitement than any drug or drink can because those things pass away but His love will never pass away. His word is forever. His promise for salvation still stands. His truth surpasses any lie spoken into any life. His light is all encompassing and penetrates any darkness. And remember "He will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6) So don't go to any empty well. Come to the springs of life and seek God first :]
All glory to God. Have an awesome day :]
The words "purpose", "direction", and "vision" are commonly interchanged but never lacking in value. I started this blog as a new year's resolution to "seek God first" in 2010. When starting down this new venture, the purpose, direction, and vision are important to consider. I'm going to clearly define them for you and definitely for me (as a reminder in case I ever forget)
Purpose: I created this blog to keep me on the right track in this new year. This is a place where I can share my testimonies to you, write verses that can enhance your spiritually growth and mine, and create a virtual diary expressing the awesome-ness of God :]
Direction: This blog is solely directed towards God (hence the "seekfirst" title) and for the expansion of His kingdom. I acknowledge the fact that I'm not qualified in any way as Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, " When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." (-1 Corinthians 2:1-3) I feel pretty much the same way and that's okay because if Paul, a great man and powerful man of God, wasn't "qualified" per say, neither do we have to be. I remember once Joyce Meyer said she didn't graduate from missionary school but from the School of the Holy Spirit, and quite honestly, that is better than man-made "qualifications."
Vision: My (emphasis on "my") vision for this blog is to write my testimonies, revelations from the Word, growth in ministry, etc. on here. I emphasize "my" because I recognize that God is higher than me and can change anything in any way He so desires. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Now the reason I wrote the depiction of life at the beginning is that many live this way and I know for a portion of my life I did too. We just go through the motions and feel like there's a void in our life because of all the monotony. While some turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, and other frivolous things, and the ones seeking truth turn to God. For it says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. " God will fill any void in your life, any dissatisfaction with monotony, and He will give you more excitement than any drug or drink can because those things pass away but His love will never pass away. His word is forever. His promise for salvation still stands. His truth surpasses any lie spoken into any life. His light is all encompassing and penetrates any darkness. And remember "He will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6) So don't go to any empty well. Come to the springs of life and seek God first :]
All glory to God. Have an awesome day :]
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