Songs of Praise!

This is something cool I started. See if you can figure it out =)

"This is my desire" to live a life that is "Magnificent".
Long ago, whenever I sat alone I always wished that "Better is one day"
How I wished that I could find "Sanctuary" in this busy busy life.
I often wonder what was "The reason I live". But I never found out why.
Later on, someone told me about an "Amazing love".
Then they talked about an "Amazing grace".
They told me that everything was done "So you (I) would come".
They said "We are the reason", that "Above all",
"Till the ends of the earth" He will always be there for"Evermore".
As I felt a little tug, I felt the call to "Come to Jesus"
As my journey with Him was just beginning, my life changed completely.
For the first time, I felt like I was riding on "Eagle's wings".
Truly, "There was none like you (Him)". He is the "King of Majesty",
He is "Mighty to save". He will be there "Through it all".
Lord, "Great is thy faithfulness". "Now that You're near", "I offer my life to you".
I know that I am in my "Potter's Hands" and I can be "Still" as I wait on Him.
"And now my lifesong sing" as a testimony to show "How great is our God"
for "His love endures forever".
Here I just want to "Give thanks" for His "Saving Grace"

If you can guess, it is a selection of song titles. They're all beautifully written songs to praise and worship our magnificent God. But no word or lyrics can begin to describe Him in a nutshell.

Thanks for always being so amazing Daddy!!

Love always, Me

He is faithful

Remember recently I blogged about God not answering my prayers the way I had wanted Him to? Well, turns out He did in some other way and more than I expected Him to. I wonder why and what else He has planned for me. I guess that will probably be a huge mystery waiting to be solved and to be revealed. At least, in His time.

Last week, I thought Daddy left me (well I know He won't but it really felt that way). Next week, I'm starting on a whole new adventure!!! I'm really excited to see what He brings for me to learn. I hope He'll teach me more and more and bring me closer to Him each day.

This whole month was a lot of waiting for me. And now, Mi is facing the same challenge. I know how she feels. You kinda get lost in the wait even though you didn't exactly go anywhere. But all we can do is wait. Well, a little dedication to my dear sister, "Mi, its going to be really amazing. Like how it has always been. You know that. Wait a little while more 'kay, I'll be here praying and waiting with you *winks"

To all who have been waiting for a long time for something dear to you, I guess it just means that you keep on waiting. God answers prayers and this wait will mould us to be greater testimonies for Him to witness His miracles and glory.

Don't let go!

May your prayers be answered in its most special and unique way, and MOST of all, at the right time!

I hope this post won't discourage you to think that God is trying to "kill" you waiting for Him, but to wait on Him and KNOW that He brings greater news and greater miracles to come.

Love always,
Me

Test of faith

It was most probably one of the hardest week of my life. It was really hard because this one thing I had been praying very hard for was one that I had hoped He answered a long time ago. But His answer was "not right now". I did my part, I prayed so hard for it, I had faith, I trusted Him. I thought He'd grant me my heart's desire this time.

But He didn't. He had something else planned. It was really hard for me to deal with everything. But thank God, He blessed me with something else and many brothers and sisters who were there for me when I had it hard. I was given many verses that I knew. I knew that God had a better plan for His glory (Romans 8:28), I knew that His ways are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:9). I knew that by trusting Him, He will lead my path straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I knew I had to be strong, I had to continue to trust Him and believe in Him. But I was in pain. It hurt a lot. Felt like Daddy didn't hear me, for the 3rd time. Felt like Job in the Bible. Though I'm probably not as upright like Job, but at that point, I wish I wasn't in that position, and I rarely think that way. So that means, it was not good.

I understood all that I needed to. I really did, but of course some were worried (sorry!). After much prayer, I took time to recover, Today, I can stand tall for God again. He took the pain away. I don't know what He's got planned. But I guess I'll find out. To be honest, I can't wait.

This past 2 months God has taught me to wait on Him in an whole new level. I realised that waiting can be long, tiring and very hard. And in this time of wait, I knew that I could do nothing but wait and trust and to cling on Him. I am willing, and I will wait for Him in His timing, for His glory.

I guess it's just mulling for me today =)

Me

On Bended Knee

2 Chronicles 14:2-15 (New International Version) (for full passage)
Asa (pronounced: Aye-sah) King of Judah

8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army (with an army of a thousand thousands or with an army of thousands upon thousands) and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.

You don't need a calculator to know the odds are against Asa. To say he was outnumbered is an understatement! He's GONERS! The Cushite (or Ethiopians) had a HuGe army against their tiny 580 thousand men, and they had 300 chariots! Modern technology! But what determined the battle? What was the strategy? The tactic? Did they discover the Cushite's archiles heel? Because against the odds, Asa's army was victorious!

This is a frustrating passage for war fanatics- because the only matter mentioned, THE determining factor- was prayer.
11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you." 12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah.

Q: When did Asa say this prayer? How do you think you would have felt if you were told to say that prayer in the same position?

10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God...

Picture the sight in King Asa's shoes!

Asa wasn't praying in his leisure time- He was at a CRISIS! A time when vital decisions needed to be made! Scout reports had to be read, tents prepared, army trained, food provisioned, strategies and army formations established... He was "busy- got a lot of work to do", he had "no time- I need to make important decisions, file important papers, meet the general to discuss our plans"... He FOUND time to pray. And we see later that his victory was secured through prayer. And it you read from the beginning on the passage, you'd see that Asa had always been a man of prayer, a man that "sought the Lord".

Prayer is simple, and yet so difficult. That's why we need to DISCIPLINE ourselves to pray. self-denial is involved! Why? Because most of time is already taken up with legitimate activities: work, studies, children, ministires, church, quiet time, sports... we must NOT surrender those times but when we DO have leisure time, let's be honest, we're more concerned about self-satisfaction -sleeping, watching tv, eating... than prayer.

We need to deny ourselves of legitimate things if we truly believe that prayer is powerful and it is really the determining factor of everything in our lives, in our church, in our society.

Is life getting harder? You need to make important decisions but there are so many things to consider? PRAY

Is your church not growing? PRAY! Or do you naively believe that holding rallies and games is what will help the church grow? [Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.] Unless you pray for God's blessings and direction, all attempts to grow the church will be in vain! It's God that makes the church grow. [Acts 2:47 ... And the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved.]

Are you concerned with Malaysia's state of politics and social decay? If you "can't do anything", you're "only one person" let me assure you- you can pray!

But please, let it be sustained time in prayer.

Great spiritual warriors in the Bible and in Christian history have always been great prayer warriors as well- Daniel, Elijah, Jesus Christ, John Calvin, Martin Luther... Revivals are ALWAYS marked with a passion for prayer.

Do you sincerely believe that prayer is powerful?

Then start finding time to pray.

It requires denying ourselves of what is legitimate and good. It WILL be tiring- Jesus Christ in Gethsemane struggled in prayer till he sweat drops of blood. It IS humiliating- admitting we are not capable at all, that only with God can we do anything. It is God's COMMAND- 1 Thessalonians 5:17


It's such an irony to share my mulling on prayer because it's my personal struggle as well- I shake, quiver and despair faster than I get on my knees and pray. Sustained prayer? Unless I'm with a group of friends or set my mind on praying, I just end up falling asleep. But let's not give up. Let us deny ourselves, carry our cross daily, and follow Christ.

Just mi. mulling.

The truth is this...

You know how people like to say "Wake up! Reality isn't all that beautiful"

Or "That can't be it. There's no way things are that good"

"Careful. No friend is all that genuine. It's everyone for themselves these day"

Well, the truth is this. It is possible. Reality can be all that beautiful. Things can be all that good and friendships can be all that genuine. Our lives today have been clouded with thoughts of how it is impossible these days to find true friends, that reality bites. Yes, I really do mean clouded.

You must be thinking "She's got it all perfect. She's never had any hardships in her life. She probably has never felt any pain that's why she can say all this. Life is perfect bla bla... She's going to get hurt someday. Naive person. Grow up"

=) I get that a lot. Trust me, over the years, I have heard so much that I can write a whole chapter. But till today, I stand by that truth. You must be thinking "Man, this girl never learned anything did she?" Haha.. Well, I have learned enough to know that the world isn't a perfect world. I know that we can't change the world to our own liking. But we can change the way we see it and how we choose to live it.

Hardships? You mean the kind of pain where you can literally feel it in your heart? Or the kind that your stomach twists inside? And the time where you sit in the corner of your room in the middle of the night wanting to cry but the tears just won't come? Or is it the time when you feel so helpless and you just want things to end, literally? Yea, I've been through that too. Been through that enough to know that I can't do it on my own.

How many times have we been hurt by people that we have decided that "I need to live for myself and I don't need anyone because all they do is hurt me". I have had one of those friendships too. But I've been blessed to have a friendship that's always about being genuine, truthful, giving and forgiving.

So really, what is the truth? Sad and painful reality? Or in that painful reality there is something wonderful that we ourselves wouldn't believe it? I think I'll hold on to the latter. The blessings in life are God sent. The trials we face, God allowed them. So we can learn from them, grow stronger, become who He wants us to be and most of all, to know how helpless we are without a Father that we can hold on to. The hardest part of life isn't what we face or to what degree, it is facing it these trials alone. The best part of life isn't avoiding the trials we have to face, it is overcoming them by God's strength.

Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. See? Daddy promised great things.

And we only need to ... seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

The truth is this... The world isn't perfect, but God is. The world isn't fair, but God is.

Love always,
Me

How deep is your love?

Matthew 18:
15"If your brother sins (against you), go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

I think most of us would not point out the fault/sin of our brother or sister- why potentially jeopardize a fine, growing relationship?

Good point.

But how can you see someone that you claim to love living in sin, and be indifferent about it? If you can be indifferent about something, it means that you don't care all that much after all, because otherwise- you'd so something about it!

Notice the verse uses the words "won your brother over".

You can't win something over unless it was lost.
When you see a sin gripping onto your beloved brother/sister's life- (s)he's losing the battle of her soul! Why? Because no true believer would continue to live in sin! A true Christian would hunger and thirst for righteousness and desire to live a holy life.
[Note: it's NOT "A true Christian is righteous and holy"- we're bound to make mistakes, we're bound to fall. Christians are NOT perfect. But we love God, and hence His love enables us to strive for that.]

Moving on...
To have someone "listen" to you doesn't mean the person must completely eradicate the sin as though sin is like a typo in a document that is so easily resolved! If they can acknowledge it and realize they need God's strength to start dealing with it- that's good enough!

BUT.. what if they refuse to admit it's "a problem"? (we all have our pride and ego whether you're a guy or girl so it could very possibly happen- heck, who would admit "Yeah, you're right, I'm struggling with porn or alcohol addiction" (for example) just like that?!)

(continued)
16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

If you're not all that close to the person, it's not surprising that the individual will simply refuse to tell you anything at all [(s)he'd probably just laugh it off and walk away from you when you approach him/her]. But the above verses doesn't mean you start spreading the news around that X is struggling with sin!

These 2 or 3 witnesses should be people that are in authority over the individual (eg: X's youth or Bible Study leader) or those that most likely know about the matter as well (eg: VERY close Christian friends- if any) so that the 2 or 3 of you can try to approach X about the matter GENTLY but firmly.

The idea is NOT everyone ganging up on one person to force him/her to change! It's only to let the person realize they are doing something wrong because only GOD can change a person.

After exhausting all that, if the person refuses to acknowledge it, then you've done your part. Everyone has done their part. Leave the person to God (and continue to keep him/her in prayer).

Most of the time, there's no need to go THAT far. Most of the time we (as Christians) know when we're living in sin ( 'cos the Holy Spirit would prompt us), but somehow we're just holding on to it... because, well, we've not been caught yet. Or more likely because (as much as we hate sinning,) we enjoy it- even though we know it's wrong.

I guess sometimes we're just waiting for "someone" to show up. Someone that's God-sent who can be around. Doesn't have to be the opposite gender, just a genuine friend. A friend that's like a brother from another mother that we can share our burdens with; because sometimes, it's just too hard to go through on our own though we know that God is there... if you can agree with that, perhaps that's exactly what your brother/sister is looking for in you.

How much do you love your fellow brother/sister?
Are you gonna "wait first" because (s)he still looks quite fine on the outside?
Are you gonna wait until (s)he has fallen ALL the way- physically looks pale, crying and devastated, going to be sent for rehab or counseling before you say,"Actually, I've been wanting to tell you about that for a long time"?
Or do you love him/her enough to care about his/her soul?

How deep is your love?

The price of Pride

Pride is one of the hardest sins to overcome. Many a times we know ourselves so well that no one knows us better. Is that confidence or is that pride? Other times we know something so well or we stand on something so firm that no one can even talk to us about it. Are those convictions or is that pride of not wanting to be wrong?

I guess you could say that between confidence and pride is a thin line to cross. Similarly, convictions and pride has a dangerous line in between. Once not aware, we might cross it and not even know it. And at this point, can we say that we lead our lives on our own for all the things we believe in or have God lead the life He gave us for us?

It is hard to stay humble sometimes when you really do know so much and you are really convicted. And when we receive praises, it's hard not to be proud of all the hard work we've put in and all the hardship we've gone through. All hard work is finally paid off, so what's not to be proud of?

But really, where does the blessing come from? Who does the glory go to?
James 1: 17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

For every blessing comes from God and therefore, all glory goes to Him.

We should always check ourselves if pride consumes us. Unlike lust, pride is very subtle. I would say we are proud when we stop listening to other's comments and thoughts and insist that we are right. We start being proud when we think we can never be wrong. We have pride when we start taking glory for the blessings in our lives.

The price of pride? Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:27 - But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put shame the things that are mighty. When we come to a point where we have forgotten how to humble ourselves and God humbles us, it's a very painful lesson to learn. We may not always remember and we will fall again and again, but we must always try our hardest.

May we all not need to pay the price of pride and in all thing give all glory unto God for without a doubt, He is worth it, and He is worth everything.

Hope to always be His humble child and servant,
Me

When your feelings cry...

When your feelings cry, "Oh, if only life would get easier," may this quote from Phillip Brooks motivate you to choose a different attitude- to open your arms wide and receive what God gives you to do, along with His sufficiency to accomplish it:

Do not pray for easier lives;
Pray to become stronger men.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers;
Pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Then your life shall be no miracle,
But you shall be the miracle.
Every day you shall wonder
At that which is wrought in you
By the grace of God.

John 16:33 I (Jesus Christ) have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! Be courageous! I have overcome the world.
(note: emphasis added)

Adapted from:
The Satisfied Heart
Ruth Myers

Your fellow sojourner,
Mi.

Take time to realize... Love

You see her there.

Rumor has it she's going through a rough patch in life right now. To be technically exact, she's actually living in sin- she's in a relationship with a non-Christian guy and its been getting 'physical' in non-violent ways. "At least she's still coming to church."

The guy in the corner.

He's a nice guy. Friendly, fun, funny... He just... It's just that... He swears. He smokes. He clearly has issues, but he's not sharing. "I hope God will touch him through today's message."

... ... Is that enough on our part?

Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.

Granted that ultimately each of us are responsible for our own spiritual walk, we must not overlook the fact that in Christ, we are family. We NEED to love each other. Not just as we love and care about our secular friends, but as Christ loves us. If we can't even love our brothers and sisters who are in the family of Christ, how can we love others? How can others trust us when we say we love and care about them?

John 13
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Goodness!! How many times must our Lord Jesus Christ say the words "love one another" before it registers in our heads and overflows through our action from our hearts?
[FunFact: Throughout biblical times, importance and emphasis of what is being spoken is expressed through repetition of what is being said. Jesus Christ repeated "love one another" THREE times in 2 verses.]

We earnestly desire to evangelize for God, to share His message and His love to the lost souls in our Jerusalem (where we are), Judea (our immediate neighbours) and Samaria (all those around us).. Let's not get so excited about Judea and Samaria that we neglect our own Jerusalem.

It's not going to be easy- We need to be spiritually firm, yet gentle in our approach. We need to be carrying each other's burdens yet remembering that ultimately we're responsible for our own spiritual walk, not others; and..

Galatians 6
9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

We are told we'll only see the success of these efforts IF we do not give up, and we're suppose to love each other at every opportunity!

That's where God's love and strength comes in.

If we loved those around us with our own capacity and desire- we're bound to burn out, give up, fall out. But if we love others because it's very much an overflowing of the love of God we have experienced in our lives- it's never hard. It's kinda like sharing a pie or your meal with your friend- it's nothing at all to you if you have SO MUCH extra (which should be the case for us as our God is a generous giver and provider as King David describes in Psalm 23: 5-6).

For myself, I know I've let go of many opportunities to love others. I've also had my fair share of giving up as well. But we don't give up. To phrase it up, I'd like to quote Apostle Paul:
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.. (Philippians 3:13)

Phileo agape,
Mi