jogging with God

I learnt this while jogging...that running on a flat (non-slope) track can actually be the most tedious. As we all know, jogging on a descending slope is the easiest as gravity naturally pulls us down. Going up slope on the other hand, tho' arduous, it gives one the satisfaction and thrill of ascent.
So, I see the entire journey very much like a believer's spiritual/ prayer life. When we are going downhill in our life, it is very easy to backslide and go with the tide, hence we must always be very careful, or at the very least be conscious whenever we are travelling downslope.
When we are going uphill, every step has to be taken with greater effort in order to keep us going forward and that surge of strength from within will propel us further, like how every trial only makes us stronger at the end of it. And we can always look to Him for strength.
When there is nothing going on in our life, when things appear to be smooth sailing, we must never grow restless or complacent. In fact, it is during this part of the journey that we must remember to continue to keep focused so we do not lose our momentum and sidetrack.

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." Joshua 1:7

"Lord, keep my feet on the track, on the path You have designed for me and lead me and guide me that I may obedient at every juncture and be dilligent to seek You always. God is my pacer, and Holy Spirit, help me keep my focus always. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

How can we remain pure

The very next night, God shows me..
How can we remain pure?

He says, in Psalm 119:1-20:
' Aleph
1 [a] Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.

2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.

3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.

4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!

6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.

8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
b Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.

13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.

16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
g Gimel
17 Do good to your servant, and I will live;
I will obey your word.

18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.

19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.

20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.

I thank God for following up on me. For His constant guidance.
God, I thank You for always speaking to me, thank You for Your faithfulness Lord, I love You.

Pursue Him with a pure heart

I had been wondering for a while if it was alright to try to please God. Like if it was ok to do something out of your will just so God can see and be pleased with you. Not to win the approval of men really, but to win His favor. But in modern day lingo; to curry favor (my Father in heaven).

I had an answer for myself then.. I thought, of course dear, it is alright to want to please God.

So during my prayer time, I asked God. I said, "God is it alright to try to please You? In the things that I do.. like when I intentionally do things that You like, so that You would be pleased with me?" And His reply was,

"Pursue Him with a pure heart."

"The kingdom Jesus had come to establish was not a political regime, but a kingdom of the heart and of the Spirit."

Amen.
Thank You Jesus for speaking to me.

God is alive and He is still speaking very much to you and me today.

reciprocate

One of the biggest hurdle during my quiet time is fatigue, so last night while worshipping God, the Holy Spirit reminded me:

"If you know to reciprocate when someone shows you love,
how much more should you bless the Lord
who has filled you with His grace and mercy."

With that, I was humbled by His presence and continued to worship the Lord my Heavenly Father who has been so gracious and merciful to me..

(The below is a song that speaks my heart)

O come let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Lord God we worship you;
You are glorious in holiness,
full of love and compassion; abundant in grace and truth.

We confess that we have failed to recognise your greatness
We have tried to define you, to limit you, to cut you down to our size..
We are not always moved by the wonder of your love in Jesus Christ
We miss the breadth and the miracle of your grace.
There are times when the best can manage is a sort of formalised
and half hearted praise for all that you have done..
Lord we confess these and our other sins and failures.
We ask you to forgive us because of your grace and mercy offered in Jesus Christ.


Yes Lord, I worship You and give You all the glory, for all things were created through Him and for Him. And God You deserve all my praise. Amen.

guide

I pray often for God to guide me in my ways, for He is my shepherd and I am His sheep and His sheep, they will hear His voice.

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:14,16)

Indeed June was right, our praying life helps balance us. Whenever our prayer life dips, our life loses balance. Therefore we must never grow tired of coming before Him, seeking Him, worshipping Him, fellowshipping with Him.

This morning as I prayed, as I sought God and worshipped Him..
He impressed upon my heart:

The fear of the Lord is my guide
The joy of the Lord is my strength

(that) as I pray everyday for the Holy Spirit to guide me, walking in the fear of the Lord; obeying His word, doing His will, is my GUIDE.
And my strength comes from His delight, for God will honor those who honor Him, who revere Him. And That joy is my strength, and the strength gives me great joy.

I thank that He takes delight in me, in my righteousness. I thank Him for His grace that abounds so deep in me, I thank Him for His faithfulness and His mercies. Amen.

Of desires and temptations

I've been writing to God very much ('cept I haven't posted 'em online), and He is faithful to answer me everytime.

Recently, I've been pretty haunted in that I've been struggling with my inclinations, temptations.

Last night, I learnt a few things.
As I was walking out of my office, I remembered a prayer I had made to God. I had told Him how much I love Him, and I don't wanna just talk the talk, I wanted to walk the walk.
And so, it hit me that my present circumstance was the best time to show Him how much I love Him, how I could use this opportunity to show Him that I choose Him and reject evil.
It was truly an opportune time and one of the best ways to show my love. for I can be rest assured that He will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear, so I can stand up under it. (1 Cor 10:13).
And as far as this case is concerned, all I need to do is stay away from temptation and control my behavioural and environmental conditions.

"James (James 1:13-18) tells us that it is our own evil desire that begins this process that can only be described as a downward death-spiral of sin. The desire to sin is already within us. If it were not, sin would not be attractive to us. On first glance, you might think that sin is some sort of a magnet. But that is not true. The magnet is within you. It is your desire."

I just need to hold on toght on God's promises. And I will do just that.

While worshipping, I had a revelation about Him. Y'know, why did God make promises? He didn't make promises for fun or for no reason y'know. God made promises so they can be fulfilled. God is faithful. He couldn't deny Himself.
So. How can His promises come true? >> It is when we live it.
All the more we must have the courage, and be bold and obedient to follow the Word, for we can be sure that Christ is with us. Amen!

Leading a balanced life(time)

My revelation for tonight..

Leading a balanced life..




*Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 (KJV)


How our cup can be filled..
By pouring it out so God can refill it..
We are not to only be takers, but rather be givers as well, but as we give of our lives, as we pour out our lives, there will be a transition period where our cup will be dry, and that's where friends can encourage one another.

Can God use a sponge?

A few months back, I was annoyed with myself for being so easily influenced, so I called myself a sponge. I then asked myself “Can God use a sponge?”
Upon looking back, I know the answer now.

Yes.
God CAN use a sponge.

God wants people who are open, teachable, and always ready to soak up His word. People who are flexible. God’s ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa 55:9). So, we need to remain ever ductile and malleable for His purpose. And we should always come before Him with an open heart; in obedience and in humility.

This is what I realised:

IF the sponge is constantly soaked up in the SAME pail of water and if that same sponge doesn’t go from pail to pail but obediently remains in God’s pail, he will be filled and God’s blessings can overflow to the people around.


May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. Rom 15:13


In Psalms 23:5, the LORD your Shepherd said that He would fill your cup until it runs over. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over"


Be a sponge in God’s word.

Encourage me

As I was walking to work yesterday, I asked God to come in and encourage me and comfort me..
I always ask God to encourage me whenever I feel a little low in my walk, cos I know when He encourages, He always does it in a big way :p

Last night during prayer meeting, Sy Rogers came!
and he preached in the 2nd session of our prayer meeting! (None of us were aware that he was coming.. cos it was meant to be a prayer meeting for our shift to Expo.. )

So, he preached about 4 criteria to living life.

1st criteria: Be and stay flexible
Because God doesn't work in your way and probably not in your convenience too.. He does it in His way and in His time. So don't hold onto your ideas too rigidly.
The supple reed will bend & sway with the wind and not break, but
a rigid reed will be broken. So, stay flexible and don't climb out of His hands.

2nd criteria: Learn to rebound from your mistakes because you will make them
-Keep trying till you find the door that opens to success
-Failure is a necessary component in the curve of success
-God takes manure and turns it into fertilizers
-A little mistake can help us stay vigilant and save us from bigger ones
but
"You play on the edge of sin
It won't be long before you fall in"

3rd criteria: Have a sense of humour (as an attitude towards life)
Psalm 68
"Make lemonade with lemons"
God gives, God takes away but I trust God for light in my plight.

4th criteria: Ability to persevere to see the bigger picture
Sy Rogers struggled for a decade with his iniquities before God came in to deal with them. He then asked God, "why now? You let me struggle for a decade before You decide to come in and poke at my tender spots??! and why now?? When I am in public ministry..?" and then God said 3 things to him:
a) 10 years isn't cosmic in the light of eternity
b) Who said big issues had to be resolved immediately?
c) Only when you are mature enough can I cut open your heart and do something about it

Ecclesiastes 8:6
There is a time and purpose for every procedure even tho' for now, your misery weighs heavily.

A 5-year old may want to drive a car badly but does he know any better?

"Don't give up on My character in the midst of your afflictions."
Exodus 23:29
for God will complete the great work He's begun in you.

So, cross the finish line and hear Him say "Well done!"

--
I thank You God for the encouragement. You are ever so faithful.. Keep me close to You Lord I pray, in the loving name of Jesus.
Amen.

my role

God is so amazing.
In fact, I dunno how I should start.
Maybe I’ll just begin from where I last left off…

My role (in the Christmas drama).

Well, due to some changes, I’m no longer playing the main role. Concerned about me, sister Sandy and Pastor Eileen have been very supportive of me during this period.

So. Sister Sandy shared with me her testimonial as a late bloomer. She said that she’d always had a passion for acting, but because of her gifting in piano, she took up music instead of drama, in the Sch of Creative Arts. It was only a year later before she finally decided to pursue her dreams in acting. So, during her 2nd year, she switched from Music to Drama. Now, she continues to serve God in the music ministry as a keyboardist and at the same time, is fulfilling her dream in the drama ministry, getting involved in numerous church and community productions.

Pastor Eileen spoke to me too.

I’d left out a particular episode:
Before the decision to change the role, I was to have a final rehearsal with sister Sand’ and sister Jas’. And the night before the rehearsal, I sat by the pool and wrote to God. I thanked Him for the divine opportunity, for ‘rekindling’ my passion (or should I say reminded me of my dream I’d shelved for years). It was this time that I remembered how much I’ve always loved drama. I told Him I wanted to shine for Him.

So, back to pastor Eileen..
I then told pastor I would accept sister Sandy’s offer for a smaller role, and my decision to join the drama ministry. Like what sister Sandy said, acting is an art. And I too agree that acting is a craft that needs to be honed. So instead of sitting around and wait for another chance, I should use this time to work on my craft. I couldn’t deny what I told God. Even if I didn’t get the main role, I cannot pretend that I never had the talent to act anyway and chuck everything aside. If I had told Him I wanted to shine for Him, then all the more I should work on it. I need to show God I meant what I said and to use my talents for His glory.

And now, for the new story..
Less-than-one-week later, I got a call from my best friend.
Apparently she had bumped into Melody Chen who was urgently casting for a main role in her short film. So last night, I met up with Melody on the role.

I’m IN!!!

I will be playing Melody when she was in her 20s.

And know what’s the other amazing thing? The film depicts the stage in her life EXACTLY when I first knew her! Can you believe it?!

God never ceases to amaze..

“Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.” Psalm 119:116



Amen.

Eat this scroll

Last night, I thought to myself .. indeed it is very urgent that we be armed in the word and be strengthened in Christ. Because we meet new people everyday and anytime can be a good time to share our faith, to win the lost, to spread the gospel.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. " (1 Pet 3:15)

and then God spoke to me in EZEKIEL 2, 3:

"EAT THE SCROLL"
Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. (Eze 3:3)

Indeed if we are to be strengthened, we need to be discipled in His word and meditate upon His precepts day and night.


-- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God (John 1:1)

-- ...the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us...(John 1:14)


God, I love YOUR Word. Holy Spirit help me gain a greater understanding of the truth, and speak to me as You would, as You only can. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Heal our land

I have been praying for healing for our land, and God shed light upon this verse:

"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

Everything for a purpose

Since we know that things happen for a purpose, we should look to recognise the reason for it, to learn and to grow rather than to see it merely as your destiny and be resigned to your fate. So therefore Seek God fervently and Inquire of Him everyday. Ask Him What is the ends to this?

I guess this could be the reason why God teaches us not to lean on our own understanding. (You know how sometimes we can get so discouraged and disappointed..?) Afterall, maybe our puny little brains (which we only use 10% of it) might just be a LITTLE INCAPABLE of understanding the INFINITE ways of God, you figure?

So, lean not on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Amen!

God encourages

God is merciful. Amen.

This began all the way back in September during Children's Day big day (Children's Day). Being performers especially, we are to carry forth the anointing. It is most important during this period that we consecrate ourselves, keeping ourselves pure for the Lord. With greater Visibility (being creative leaders and all), comes greater accountability and responsibility.

With every big day, all the more we need a breakthrough!
Standing on stage during rehearsals, I experienced spiritual attacks on my mind. Past bondage came back to taunt me, and I was haunted by mental images that sprung up in my mind ever so often. Everytime it came, I did the only thing I knew how- Pray.
Feeling disturbed, I prayed for deliverance at home. I asked for forgiveness and I prayed for comfort and encouragement, for I was feeling unworthy.

God, being a good and merciful God, showed up the very next day to encourage me!
Whilst doing my makeup, exited lil' Madeline bounced up to me to show me an sms that said,
"Lingual and Madeline, sister Sandy would like to hear you out for an audition for a part in the Xmas drama today."
As I saw that I leapt for joy!!!! In fact, I was shivering with excitement as I ate my food..!! Christmas drama audition? Christmas drama? The most important event of the year? Christmas? Me? Lingual? God? You could use me? You could? WOW!!! I felt deeply comforted by God and I couldn't stop thanking Him for the opportunity!!!

Part II
Continuing with my prayers every night, I got a call-back audition, and following the call-back audition, sister Sandy called me one night to say that they wanna use a guy for the role instead but the role of Mary was still open and asked me to go down to try for it the next day. Mary?! I couldn't believe it in my heart? In fact, I was questioning within myself if I was even suitable for it, since I figured I look slightly young to fit the role of a mother. But yes, that was my carnal mind thinking..
Beyond the role, I somehow knew there be a message behind it. "Let it be to me according to Your word" That night, I tried to look in my bible for the story of Mary, but somehow I missed Luke 1 & 2, so I went online to search instead, and here's what I found:

She was beloved of God. He saw in Mary a woman who was after his own heart.
Do you have that same longing; are you looking for his return? Does God find favor in you? Do you become one with him in sweet intimate fellowship? Just imagine the encounter Mary had with the angel ringing out his salutation of "Hail!" Mary must have been caught off guard with surprise - or was she? Certainly she was filled with a lot of mixed emotions, but could it be she was in communion with God in prayer at the entrance of the angel appearing in her room?

What has your response been to the Lord when he has found favor with you? When he has given you a higher calling? Did you follow through with the directions the Lord gave to you or plodded, questioned and mucked your way through? Dear sweet Mary's response of, "Behold the maid servant of the Lord! Let it be unto me according to your word" is so precious to me. Oh! Sisters, her response should rock the very foundation of our souls!

That was it! I too had found favor with God! And I want to have the same response! The same willing response. "Let it be to me, according to Your purpose. I want to walk in Your perfect will", I prayed..

On the day of the audition (whilst walking on the road), I asked God, "God, what is my role, what do You want me to be?" As it was drizzling, I walked under the trees hoping to be shielded from the rain, and I felt God pointing to me that I am to be a tree- To provide shelter to those who seek it, and to be fruitful.."

Part III:
You know how some people serve a purpose in your life? They come, they go. They teach you things, they leave a message behind. And that was what I felt the 'Mary' role was about. It came in to tell me something. To share with me the story of a young woman who was willing, faithful and full of faith. It was also here that the verse, "Nothing is impossible with God" took on a deeper meaning.

Part IV:
I didn't do too well for the audition tho', so as I was walking outta the audition, I kept thinking about how I could've improvised the scene differently. But knowing what's done cannot be undone, and that audition's over, I just consoled myself that everything happens for a reason. The lines rang in my head so much, I started singing it and made it into a song, which I call MY Consolation song:

Everything has its purpose
Everything has its way
And if you just walk in His will
Everything will be ok

Don't you worry about a thing
All you have to do is pray
Just think about His promises
Everything will be ok

Have faith Have faith
That's what the bible says
Have faith Have faith
He loves you all the same
Have faith Have faith
Just trust Him anyway
Have faith Have faith
Everything will be ok

Oh and finally...
"hi lingual good news ... we've decided tt you'll act as chloe for xmas. rehs start this sunday at 630pm at jw. see u there."
Yippeee Yippeee Yeahh Yeahh!! Praise God!!!
Excitement surrounds me again.. and I tremble with joy...

----
By the way, I do have a song to remember God's goodness to me, for His encouragment..
It's named, "My God, My Love & My Lord"

You believed in me
Encouraged me when I pray
You lift me up when skies are grey
I thank You Lord for Your grace
I thank You Lord for each day

I remember that day
You came to me and You said
You’re here with me everyday
Lord You soothe my heart and I can say
I love to be in your warm embrace

I need You God
I want You God
You’re my God, my Love and My Lord
You’re here to stay
You’re with me everyday
I thank You Lord for Your Grace

I love You more with each day~


Hallelujah! God is good!

Change to a bigger frying pan!

On Sunday, Pastor Carl-Gustaf preached on Faith: that will break your borders and give you beyond your wildest dreams (even if your wallet/ circumstances don't seem to allow it). Don't let your mind limit your dreams or thoughts on what you can do.

As the preaching ended, as we stood up to worship God, I was hit by a voice that started ringing in my head, "I want to goto Bible School, I want to goto Bible School, I want to go to Bible School!.." In fact, it was so loud, it was overwhelming, and tears welled up in my eyes. So fast, so sudden, I had to calm myself down and reply mentally, "yes yes.. I heard you..!" before the tears would stop.

I believe this is a dream from God. I dunno how this is going to be fulfilled but I will not inhibit the thought, the dream, of going to bible school next year. Because I am going and I am going and I am going. My faith is taking me there!

Every morning

Get up every morning and say by faith, "Oh, I love You, Father, with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength! And I love my neighbor as myself today because that pleases You and I love You!"

"Sacrifice your time"

Last night during my quiet time prayer, I asked God what He would like me to sacrifice to Him.

I then heard Him in an instant, "Sacrifice your time."

>>Yes God, I will bear that in mind too..

I really pray that I will not merely listen to His word, but that I will learn to apply His principles into my life too:

James 1:22-25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Unfulfilled vows

On Friday service, pastor Ulf talked about hindrances to reaching our destiny, and one of them was Unfulfilled Vows/ Promises to God.

Not wanting to live life with a broken promise to God, I asked Him, "God, is there anything that I've promised You and not yet fulfilled? I pray O'God that You will remind me, so I can keep to my word and mean what I say. I pray O'Lord that my ways may well-pleasing in Your sight."

A few days later, God answered me.

"Remember what you said to me as you were walking towards Club street that night? You said you wanted to be serious with me, and that you would show me that you were serious with me." : )

I write this down, cos I need to bear this in mind.

Heart of worship

I confessed before God that I have not been dilligent in my walk with Him.

In church last Sunday, while worshipping God, God gave me a vision. I saw a girl kneeling before God in her lamp-lit room. That girl was me. Then, that image started zooming out till I could see her thru the window and the entire apartment block soon came into full-view. But God wasn't just looking at her praying. He was looking right into her heart. There, I felt that God was teaching me how to pray. He said, "Quieten your soul." (Because I had told Him that I am usually very distracted and my mind is always wandering.)

Ever since that vision, I feel it's become easier to come before Him especially when I know He is watching and looking into my heart.

God is looking for true worshippers.

Now, whenever I feel distracted, I would just quieten my mind so that I can focus better, and I feel it is helping..

Mercy Forgiveness

One day, I decided to re-confess to God of my sins, for I was ashamed of myself. I confessed of my fallen nature and I sought His forgiveness once again. I was remorseful and I prayed for the Lord to speak to me as He only can, as He will, as He always has.

After prayers, I picked up my bible and God showed me the first verse which said, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace.” I got excited as that was my prayer to God! ..that I wanted to hear Him speak!

I then leaned my heart and listened all the more intently to what He had to say:

HE PROMISES TO READILY FORGIVE YOU

“For You Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5)

The bible notes then wrote about the prodigal son: it said Jesus told this story to give us a picture of just how ready God is to forgive us. He’s like that dad standing on the porch, looking down the road for you-running toward you when He sees you coming. He doesn’t forgive you because He has to. He forgives you because, like that dad, He loves you and what He wants more than anything else is to have you home with Him.

Praise God.

I thank God for His grace. His mercy endures forever. Indeed.

I feel so relieved knowing I can be cleansed and forgiven in His righteousness. His grace is more than sufficient for me! Amen!