Why Me, Lord?

Text: Psalms 7-9; Acts 18

Stronghold. Shelter. Protection. Security. Sanctuary.

All these words evoke a place where one is free from pursuit, shielded from trouble and safe from danger. But is there really such a place nowadays?

"When I consider your heavens,
     the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
     which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
     the son of man that you care for him?

Why, yes there is! In God's arms is safety. A place where burdened hearts can stop carrying the weight it has had to bear all alone. A place where worries and fears and transformed into praise and worship. A place where desperation, rejection and betrayal are replaced by faith, hope and love.

But why me, Lord? Just because. His sovereign will chose to love us and because of that love, we have been made special! In thankfulness, let us live lives of excellence, faithfulness and passion... That all who see us may see the reflection of the full stature of His glory from within! Hail the Lord Almighty!

How about you, don't you want this place of safety? Won't you let Him in?

Disclaimer: Photo taken from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ancient-refuge-holy-land.html

The Cost of Peace

Text: Psalms 4-6; Acts 17:16-34

How abused that five-letter-word is, peace, that is. It's a running joke across the globe that in any international pageant, it should always contain a statement desiring, "world peace."

Perhaps the reason why the idea is such a joke is because we have since been disillusioned from the idea of its fulfillment. That all humanity, regardless of color, culture, clout or creed would treat each other as brothers and sisters? That the boundaries that separate each nation would ultimately blur because neither language nor systems of beliefs would cause the exchange of hot words, hot guns or hot ammunition.

But perhaps the impediment lies in this: we do not know and neither are we willing to know the cost of peace. Because, once we found out, we know that we will have to do something about it.

Yet here is the answer nonetheless: God--He is the cost of peace!

God--He is peace. His is the hand that created the beauty of this universe and the awe of every life form. His is the heart that bled for humanity's failing and so gave the prophets. His is the Spirit that rose in agony and saw sacrificed His only Begotten Son. His is the love that has crossed countries and generations in the quest for bringing life and abundance for the humanity that He could have so easily replaced. God, He is peace.

But believing in God comes at a cost. You become the oddball, the Jesus freak, the out-of-touch-with-reality fool. You could potentially become part of the unpopular crowd, the bullied and the overlooked.

Yet wars have been waged, lives have been lost and havoc have been wrought all in the name of God, you say? They were NOT in the name of God, but in the name of the fanatic urge of the powerful for uniformity and their hunger for excesses. True peace seeks not harm of his fellow but his salvation. True peace seeks not gain for self but gain for all. True peace seeks joy that can be shared with everyone.

Well, now that you know, are you willing to pay the cost?

May God's peace be with us all!

Disclaimer: Photo taken from http://www.peacefrogs.com/

Embrace the Necessity

Text Psalms 1-3; Acts 17:1-15

Sometimes it really just is a matter of perspective.

Maybe you find cleaning up the house or your room a bother? But taking in all that clean air, do you find that a bother?

Maybe exercising is a bother? But moving your limbs to lie down, sit up/down, stand up, walk or run--are they bothers?

Maybe you find having to spend time with your ailing aging mother/father a bother, or having to stay up with your kid to help with his homework/project a bother... but the genuine love, respect and gratitude they give you, are they bothersome?

Because, really, it's all a matter of perspective.

The same goes with the simple acts of praying, studying God's Word and fellowshipping. To many of us who live very busy lives, finding the time can be quite the challenge. I count myself among those who find myself stretching the limits just to make time for all three. For that to happen, I have to forego sleep that isn't quite sufficient as it is.

But I bother.

Because just like the psalmist, God's presence in my life is more a necessity to me than the air I breathe. Because just like the Paul and Silas, the evidence of His reality in my life as a testimony to the people I care about is more an essential to me than the vanity kit that most women consider must-haves. Because just like the Bereans, getting to know Him more is more a fundamental basic to me than even the moolah I receive as salary on a regular basis.

My spirit needs His nourishment even more than my body needs its sustenance. He is not a bother to me. As far as I am concerned, He is a necessity I choose to embrace.

Thank You, Lord! I love You!

Disclaimer: This artwork may be protected by copyright. It was taken from http://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-rivera/the-embrace-1923 and is listed as a completed fresco by Diego Rivera.

What Comes Out?

Text: Job 41-42; Acts 16

Foot in mouth or sweet of tongue? The aim, I believe, is to go to neither extreme, but instead, to be able to always find the right words, regardless of one's thoughts or feelings, regardless of other people's opinions and regardless of the plot of the present situation.

Easier said than done.

Finding the right words, at best, is hard when you are called upon to console the aggrieved, when you are asked to calm the justifiably enraged or when you are called to give the light of hope to the completely devastated. And when you are on the receiving end of these extremes? "What words?! I have feelings!" And the right words, despite our plea for special understanding, goes down the drain.

There is a way to avoid all these and this question is key: "What has come IN today?" Did you know that what comes out of your mouth is an accurate reflection of  what came in your heart before and during a certain situation? Did you know that the best feeding you can give your heart is God's presence? And did you know that His leading can only fill hearts that are daily, hourly and moment-to-moment emptied of selves?

So, again, really, what came in your heart today? If you are never worried by that question, what comes out of your mouth should pose no fear.

Disclaimer: Photo taken from http://www.dhunplugged.com/2013/08/14/dhunplugged-191-you-gotta-biggggg-mouth/

Attuned

Text: Job 38-40; Acts 16

"Not my will but Thine," Such a beautiful prayer but, in reality, a prayer that causes such heartache when we fail to properly see the answer.

Really now, how do we differentiate between feeling and God's leading? As we stand on that crossroad and pray that it be God's will that comes to pass and not ours, how do we know if the path we ultimately take is His and not just ours?

How? Simply. Be. ATTUNED. To. Him.

Simple! Spend time with Him. Be in such communion with Him that His presence to you begins to feel as if it were a tangent reality of flesh and blood. Be so constantly in His presence that you no longer separate thought from prayer.

Simply be attuned to Him... and you fill find that confusion in times of crisis cannot hold a candle to His decisive leading.

Aim to be attuned to Him beginning today!

Disclaimer: Photo taken from  http://embodiedself.net/attuned-touch/

Encouraging Words

Text: Job 36 & 37; Acts 15

There are moments we miss just because it took us a split second longer to decide what to do with them. You received an unexpected gift and you didn't know what to say or do... when a simple "Thank you," could have sufficed. You saw your friend feeling really down and out but you were among your peers and felt too abashed to step out and give her a pat and say, "How are you? You okay?" You see a nice but unpopular peer competing with no one to cheer him in the crowd and you miss the opportunity to yell "You can do it" until it's too late and the whistle blows the start of the competition.

Moments like these usually glare in their importance if they are followed by a tragedy: an accident, a disappearance or a death. Sadly, regrets are regrets simply because they come after such moments.

Encouraging words. Have you been using them lately? Elihu saw his fellow suffer and, instead of encouraging words, saw fit to label himself as one with "perfect knowledge" who must defend God Himself and bring down the spirit of his friend. By sharp contrast, the apostles settled a stressful and divisive problem in a church but resolute and encouraging words.

What power encouraging words have! Isn't it about time you used them today?

P.S.

Thank You for Your encouraging words today, Dear Lord! And thank You for the best gifts You can ever give me: Your presence, Mom and my wonderful husband, Peter, and kids, Phoebe and Phoenix!