Rooted In Christ

Redeemed & Forgiven

2015-01-14T14:59:00.003+08:00

2011-12-16T08:20:00.002+08:00

1 Peter 5:7

7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

2011-11-02T14:13:00.000+08:00

Does God really care about my troubles?

2011-09-02T10:33:00.000+08:00

Does God really care about my troubles?

Rest In God’s Loving Arms

2011-08-19T08:41:00.000+08:00

"He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.” Isaiah 40:11

Look at the mountains; He created them. Look at the ocean; He formed it. Look at the beautiful flowers, trees, forest and the birds that flying in the sky; all of them are God’s masterpiece. He created them! If the hollow of His hand measures the oceans, imagine what His arms can do. Big enough to guide us, protect us, and hold us,

God’s arms are strong enough to do anything that He wants to do. His hands are powerful to control the situations in our life and whatever that is happening around us. Today you and I can rest in God’s loving arms. Knowing that He is Omnipotent (All powerful), Omniscient (All-Knowing) and Ever-Presence God, we can trust Him and commit our future in God’s loving hands.

No doubt that God has strong and mighty hands, but He is tender hearted, gentle and merciful to His beloved children. Like a shepherd who will strongly protect his flocks from the predators and gently lead the flocks to green pastures and quiet waters, God will strongly protect us from the enemy and gently gather us to His loving arms, “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.” Isaiah 40:11.

My Friend, I may not understand what you are going through in life but I have a message for you. TRUST GOD! God’s arms are strong and big enough to do many wonderful things in your life. He wants you to completely TRUST Him and REST in His loving arms. While you are resting in Him, God will arrange and make things beautiful in His timing for you.

Don’t hold back anything, let go to God and let God take control over everything in your life. The more you hold back, the more things will get complicated, but if you trust Him, He knows how to do it. Take the step of faith and give all your hurts, concerns, troubles, past mistakes and your life to Him and rests in His arms. He can to turn things around you for your benefit and His glory.

The Blaming Game

2011-08-18T07:01:00.000+08:00

The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3: 12-13.

Have you noticed when a problem or mistake takes place in a family or in a workplace or even in the place of worship, there will be many voices and fingers are being pointed to each other? It is none other than BLAMING others. When something goes wrong in our life, we have the tendency to find fault on others. I call it The Blaming Game…

Blaming or pointing fingers to others is not something new to mankind. The blaming game took place even from the very beginning of creation at the Garden of Eden. When God made the first man which is Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam a commandment which is not to eat from that one tree, “Read - Genesis 2: 16.”

God gave the commandment to Adam directly not to Eve. It is Adam’s responsibility to teach his wife Eve about God’s commandment. Adam is responsible to lead, guide, encourage and help Eve to walk with God and to grow in the things of God. However, what happen at the Garden of Eden?

Eve was deceived by the serpent, and she ate the fruit which God commanded Adam not to eat (Read Genesis 1: 6). She also gave some to her husband and he also did the same thing. After that, when God questioned them about what they have done, both Adam and his wife Eve started to point their fingers to others and from there The Blaming Game started…

Eve blamed the serpent for her fall, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate." And Adam blamed Eve for his fall, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Adam not only blamed the women, but he involved God in this blaming game, “The woman you put here with me.” God gave Eve as a blessing and a good helper to Adam, but in his fear and mistake, Adam makes God’s blessing as a reason for his fall.

By right, Eve should be responsible for her own action instead of blaming the serpent and Adam should be responsible for his wrong move instead of blaming the women and God. Adam should say, “God, I messed up, I didn’t communicate properly with the women that you gave me, and I didn’t teach her all Your ways. It’s my mistake for not guiding her in Your ways. I am responsible for all this.”

Dearest, when something happens, it’s so easy to blame others instead of checking ourselves and change from there. We have to pause for a while and think whether we have done anything wrong, before point fingers to others. We are responsible for our own action. Many times, we can blame others and even blame God for our poor decisions in life. Let us stop the blaming game but be humble to admit our mistakes, to apologies and change from there. God will honor the humble…….

Let Go Of Your Regrets

2011-08-17T07:49:00.002+08:00

"…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." Philippians 3:13

‘BrainyQuote’ dictionary defined the word REGRETS as a pain of mind on account of something done or experienced in the past, with a wish that it had been different; a looking back with dissatisfaction or with longing; grief; sorrow; especially, a mourning on account of the loss of some joy, advantage, or satisfaction. FEELINGS of REGRETS will cripple us from moving forward and experiencing God’s best for our life. We should take inventory of past mistakes and learn from them but we should not let the feelings of regrets and guilt keeps us from excelling in our life.

There is no sin and no mistakes that you and I have ever committed that cannot be pardoned by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even the world's number one sinner has the chance to be pardoned from all his or her mistakes through the pure blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. There is no doubt in God's forgiveness for each one of us and He remembers no more of our mistakes, "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." Hebrew 10:17.

But even though we knew about the truth that our Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us, all of us have the tendency to dwell on our past mistakes and feel so guilty for what we have done. In our innocent feelings of dwelling on the past, we can become a great enemy to ourselves. You and I need to forgive our own self. Until we forgive ourselves, we can be a stumbling block to ourselves. Let us not hold ourselves from moving forward. Forgive yourself and accept the reality of who you are. Let go of all the disappointments and let God take charge of all our past and future. As we move on from here, one day when we look back of the journey that we walked in this life, we can only see His glory and His finger print in our life.

God is able to use anything to do something awesome in peoples' lives; even our past experiences can be used to help others. All the brokenness and the disappointments that we go through can be used for greater purpose in the future. You will be able to understand people who are going through hard times, brokenness and disappointments. And it will give us an opportunity to help them, to love them and even to minister to them.

Dearest, no matter what you have done in the past, God has already forgiven you. You need to forgive yourself and accept yourself. Give yourself a hug and give yourself a second chance. We all have done things which we are ashamed of and we live in the tension of what we have done. But the Bible says, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." Philippians 3:13. Because our hope is in Christ alone, we can let go of our past regrets and look forward to what God has prepared for us. Forgive yourself and start a new chapter today. It is never too late to excel in life and to be who God created you to be.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

2011-08-16T07:12:00.000+08:00

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…" Hebrew 12:2
The moment you come to the end of the road and you do not know what is next, just be still before Him and turn your eyes upon Jesus. Only the Lord alone can make a way for us to move further when everything seems to be so dim.

Our strength, talents, education and everything that we own has the highest tendency to fail us at anytime but the Lord's promises will never fail. If you feel that your journey in this life is so full of difficulties that you wonder if you will make it to the end, just calm down and put your trust in Him and all will be well with you.

For both the earthly journey and the ultimate destination, you have His promises to enable you to travel with Him. You can count on His Word. He has promised that the difficulties of this world will never destroy us even we are badly affected by those difficulties because He has overcome everything, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.

All that we need is Him and His Spirit in us to help us complete this journey. Every time darkness overwhelmed us, we need to remember that in the light of His glory and grace you will be able to see a new light of hope in that darkness.

Regardless of what you are going through in life today, everything is subject to change. In all situations, remember what the Word of God says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…" Hebrew 12:2. The author and perfecter of our faith means He is the One who begins and He is the One who will complete. Nothing else but from the starting point, in between and till the ending line, He is the one who holds our life.

When you are troubled don't look somewhere else but look at the One who holds you; the loving Lord Jesus, our author and the perfecter of our faith. Fix your eyes on Him, and surely He will fix your troubling soul. Then continue to stand on His promises and trust Him in all situations. In Him everything will be well with you.

--------------------

“When I feel I'm far away from You, You're just there just beside me. When I walked in my own ways, You're there walking together with me with Your loving arms on my shoulder, to bring me back into Your ways again. Lord, in the light of your glory, I found a new hope in this journey. You're forever faithful to me…"

God Is With Us In Our Dark Valleys…

2011-08-15T13:06:00.000+08:00

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

It’s easy to praise God when we are at the top of the mountain. Everything seems to be nice during good times. But when we are at the dark valleys, most of the time we begin to question, “God, why all these take place?” “God, where are, You?”

It is not our choice whether or not to face the dark valleys in life; it is part of life. However, we have a choice to respond to our darkest valleys. You and I have two choices, whether to continue to grumble, or to surrender our lives to Him. When we complain and grumble we will always question Him, “why, God?” but if we learn to surrender our lives to Him, we will be asking Him, “God, what would You want me to know and learn through this situation?”

Why the Loving God allows dark valleys in our lives? God in His infinite wisdom uses valleys to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in our lives. The Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God, knows exactly what He is doing in our lives.

We read in Genesis about a young man by the name of Joseph who has gone through much trial and betrayal. He was hated by his own brothers and was sold into slavery. Joseph also spent many years in prison for something he didn’t do. Why did God allow Joseph, a righteous man, to suffer for many years? In the darkest valley, Joseph was being prepared for a significant opportunity that would make all the tough times worthwhile. Romans 8:28 is our promise that God will use all things together for our benefit.

If today you are at any valley, do not lose heart! God is with you in your valleys. As God says in the Bible, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. God will walk with you in your valleys and He knows how to bring you out victoriously from that valley. After every valley you and I will come out stronger, more matured in Christ and be useful in His kingdom.

Grace, The Lord’s Nature

2010-04-14T08:04:00.000+08:00

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go and sin no more." John 8: 11

Some religious teachers and leaders brought in a woman caught in adultery to the Lord Jesus Christ. They made her stand before the crowd and said to the Lord Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing the Lord Jesus (Read John 8: 1-6). But the Lord Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8: 7. Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Those who heard what the Lord said began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. The Lord Jesus straightened up and graciously asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" John 8:10. And humbly the woman said "No one, sir," And again The Lord Jesus with full of compassion and grace said to the women, "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go and sin no more." John 8: 11.

What a nature and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are a symbol of religiousness. The religiousness looks holy and godly but it tried to kill the sinner without any second chance or hope. No mercy or grace was extended to the adulterous woman. But the Lord Jesus extended His mercy, compassion and grace to the hopeless and sinful person.

See the first part of the verse, "Then neither do I condemn you". These few words proved the very nature and the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ; His forgiving nature and compassionate heart towards the lost. After the Lord extended His grace and forgiveness to the adulterous woman, then He gave her the command of what to do next, "Go and sin no more."

Why He extended His grace (Then neither do I condemn you) first before the comment (Go and sin no more)? Dearest, it is only by His grace we can do His commandment and live a holy life for Him. Only through His strength and His beauty we can walk in His Holiness. It is not by our strength or our will power. It is simply because of Lord Jesus Christ. If you are able to understand the very nature of the Lord Jesus, you will have an exciting journey of life with the Lord Jesus who is full of love, mercy, compassion and grace.

The Heart Of Lord Jesus

2010-04-13T08:37:00.000+08:00

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Luke 7:13

I may not understand what you are going through in this life right now but allow me to say this to you. The Lord Jesus who has a compassionate and a graceful heart knows you so well. It is because you are extremely special in His eyes. Whether you realize it or not, the loving Lord Jesus keeps you in the beautiful place of His heart. The world and the people may reject you but the Lord will never let you go from the palm of His gentle hands. He knows what your situation is right now and He saw everything.

The love of God never recognizes skin colors, gender, status or language. His heart always goes out for everyone, even for those who do not know Him. This is what happened to the widow who lost her only son. The Lord Jesus was on His way to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. Then the Bible says, "When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, "Don't cry." Luke 7:13. Then He went up and touched the coffin. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Luke 7:13. And the Bible says, "The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother." Luke 7: 15.

Look at the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, even the widow who does not know Him but the Lord was moved when He saw her crying for her dead son. See carefully the last verse of Luke 7:15, "and Jesus gave him (son) back to his mother". Not only He has compassion to the widow but the Lord was able to bring back the great lost for the widow again. In other words, the gracious and the merciful God is able to fix the issues of life in His own wonderful ways.

Dearest, as how the Lord has compassion to the widow, He, the unchanging Lord has the same compassion for all of us today. And as how He sees the widow, the never changing Lord sees you in the same way. His heart will always move for you and the Lord wants you to know that you are deeply cared for and greatly loved by Him. No matter what you have gone through in life and regardless of what you are facing right now, it is time for the "Don't cry" because He wants to fix your situation. Your mourning season has come to the end. Be glad and start to praise Him.

Today's Prayer,

Dear Father God, thank You so much for everything. Lord I am so thankful for the greatness of Your heart, for the compassion of Your heart, for the grace of Your heart and for the love of your heart. I praise You for who You are, my Lord. I surrender all my heartbreaks into Your loving hand. For You alone are my heart's strength. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus Name' Amen.

Lord, You Are Everything…

2010-04-01T08:29:00.000+08:00

"But what about you? He asked Him. "Who do you say I am?" Mark 8:29

The Lord was not so concerned about what the rest was saying about Him, but He was concerned about what His own disciple (Peter) says about Him (Mark 8:29). If today, someone asked you, "who do you say Jesus is", what will your answer be? Will you be saying He is just J.E.S.U.S? How will you address Him?

As far as I know, the Lord is your "Everything". He is the only One who truly understands you. He alone knows all your struggles and pains in this life. If you are having sickness in your body, then I would say He is your "Great Healer". The experts might give you a very discouraging report but the Lord's report will always say, "I am your Healer". He took all your sickness and was punished on the cross of Calvary so that you can be healthy again. He was wounded so that you might live again, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed". Isaiah 53:5.

If you are facing lacking in any of the areas in your life, then I would say that He is your "Generous Provider". He gave away everything for you and humbly went to the Cross of Calvary just for your sake. He became poor so that you might have abundance in this life, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich ". 2 Corinthians 8:9.

Besides that, He is your "Good Shepherd" who cares for you so much. He is always there for you to make sure everything goes well for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. The Lord guards you as a good shepherd guards his own sheep, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. Psalms 23:1-3.

Above all, He is the "Savior" of your soul. The Lord willingly sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary so that you might live again. His death on the cross brought us forgiveness and redemption from sin. There is no being in this world that would willingly sacrifice their life for you and me. The Lord Jesus alone has done a great work on the cross for you and me. Dearest, our words are not enough to say about Him, for He is so great. He alone is your "Everything".

Love Each Other

2010-03-31T07:54:00.000+08:00

“This is my command: Love each other” John 15: 17

All of us have been called to be a living vessel that will bring glory and honor to His Name. It was not our choice, but it is a privilege that the Lord has given us to live a wonderful life in Him. It is He who has chosen us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…” John 15: 16.

If He has chosen us to live a life in Him, there must be a way of living that He desires us to live! Yes, as His followers and His disciples, we have a way of living, and He has commanded that way of living clearly to us. The Lord Jesus said, “This is my command: Love each other” John 15: 17.

Loving others or being kind to others should be our way of living. When you live such a life, it will portrait Him in us. You don’t have to preach a sermon about the Lord Jesus but your action and the way you live your life should give a sermon about who is the Lord Jesus in your life. Action speaks louder than words.

The Lord has commanded us to love each other. But what kind of love He is talking about? He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15: 13. He wants us to live a “Lay Down His Life For His Friends” love life. “Lay Down His Life For His Friends” is a picture of selfless love. The Lord Jesus does not want us to be self-centered or selfish. A self-centered person can’t truly love others. They always live a life such as this, “It’s all about me…”, “How can I be benefited through this?” “It’s about me and me alone.”

The Lord wants us to love others and be kind to others, even if we can’t receive back anything from them. He wants us to love the unlovable. Is that easy to live such a life? No, it’s not easy to live such a life by your own. You can only do all these things when you allow the Lord Jesus live His life in you and through you. You can do nothing apart from the Lord, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5.

The Lord has given us a commandment, “Love each other” and He also has given us the remedy to live out His commandment, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit”. As the Bible said, we can do nothing apart from Him. We have to decrease day by day and the Lord Jesus has to increase in us each day. The more the Lord increases in us the move the characteristic of the Lord Jesus Christ will develop in us and manifest through us. Through Him, we are able to love even the most difficult people. Today, ask God to give you an opportunity to love and be kind to someone.

He Will Take Care Of You…

2010-03-30T09:33:00.001+08:00

"The Lord will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life." Psalms 121: 7

Different in many ways but so comment in one thing…

HUMAN an awesome creation of God, created with many different shapes, languages and colors. Even though we all look different in many ways but we humans have something in common. WORRIES! We all have worries and we are constantly afraid of so many things around us.

For example, when we are having some kind of symptoms or minor sicknesses in our body, the first thing that often times come to our mind is, "Oh no, I'm having pain in this part of my body, it could be cancer. Am I going to die?" Or when you hear about your company retrenching workers, you might think "maybe I'll be the first one to get retrenched." Many people always predict bad things to happen to their lives when something not so encouraging seems to be happening around them. Because of this, people always live in fear and depression.

Are we supposed to live in this way? Do we have something that can set us free from all worries? Yes we do, look carefully at what the Word of God says, "The Lord will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life." Psalms 121: 7. The Lord is the only solid rock that you and I can rely on. Neither the storms of life nor sicknesses are able to shake this solid rock.

If God is watching over your life, why must you be worried and feel afraid of so many things today? Don't you think that He who has written your name in the palm of His hand does not care about you? Do you think the Lord will never watch over your life as He has promised in His word? Of course He will, because whatever He says, He will fulfill. Do not be afraid of any circumstance around you but be confident in Him. Even if something is not right in your body or around you just believe what the Word says, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Isaiah 54: 17.

That should be our faith in times of trials and adversity. Fix your eyes on Him who is permanent and the solid One, instead of fixing your eyes on your problems and temporary circumstances. When you fix your eyes on Him, He will fix your issues of life. As a child of God, we always have the favor of the Lord. Today, whatever situation that you are facing, God is saying to you, "my child, don't be afraid, I am with you." Matthew 17: 7. "I'll keep you from all harm because I am watching over your life." Psalms 121: 7. Believe and rest in Him…

He Is Always There For Us

2010-03-26T08:39:00.000+08:00

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” Psalm 139:7-8.

Let this truth deeply sink in your heart today and forever! Regardless of how you feel and what you are facing in this life, you are not alone. The Almighty God is always with you from the beginning till this very moment. It might be true that people around you have disappointed and have rejected you but the faithful God doesn’t have a heart to leave you nor forsake you. Why? Because it is the nature of our God! He is the all-knowing God, all-powerful God and an ever-present God.

God is Omnipresent! The attributes of God by which He fills every single part of this universe and He is present everywhere at once. It is not some part of Him but the whole entirety of God is present in every place. This is true of all three members of the Trinity. What an amazing God!

If I would put the above explanation about ‘Omnipresent God’ in lay term, I would say He is ever present wherever you go. When you serve Him, He is there with you. When you stumble and fall, He is there to lift you up. Even when you sin against Him, He is there in that secret place. When you were hurt and heartbroken, the loving God was there with you and carry you through the painful season of life.

My friends, there is no place, you and I can hide ourselves from God’s presence. No matter what you do, what you face and where you go in this life, nothing can separate you from the Omnipresent God, as King David says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” Psalm 139:7-8.

What should your attitude be after knowing this truth? Scared that God will know what you will say, what you will see and what will you do? No my friend, you should be more confident and bold in this life to face anything. Knowing that He is with us all the time, we are well able to do whatever that He desires for us to do and knowing the truth of His presence never departed from us, we can still be safe in times of trouble and know that is He is the Almighty God Who will help us in all situations.

In any situations, remember, you have an Omnipotent (all-powerful), an Omniscient (all-knowing) and an Omnipresent (ever-present) God. He is faithful to walk together with you in all kinds seasons of life. Dearest, whether you realize it or not, you are actually walking with God all the time. His presence will never leave you. There is no place to go where God is not already there…

-----------------

Today’s Prayer,

---------------------

Father God, I thank You so much for Your presence never leaves me, nor forsakes me. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. This truth has given me new confidence to walk in this life. Help me oh God, to understand You more and more in this life. Reveal Yourself to me, oh my Omnipresent God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

New Every Morning…

2010-03-25T08:15:00.000+08:00

“They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

Normally I’ll be praying in my master bedroom but just a few days ago I felt like praying in another room. So that morning I went to that room, sat on the bed and I was facing my window. It is a transparent glass and through that window I can see a beautiful green hillside. I can see the green hills and birds happily flying early that morning. I felt in my heart that the birds are rejoicing for the brand new day and gladly flying around celebrating their new day…

Watching the beautiful hillside and the birds on the air, I begin to praise and worship Him. The worship and my chit chat with God went on for sometime. Actually the day before that morning, I heard heartbreaking news from someone. The news really concerns me so much and I went to my bed with a sorrowful heart that night. That morning, I knew in my heart that God wants to speak to me in a different way when He prompted me to go to the other room and pray.

While I continued to talk to God, suddenly I saw the beautiful sun rise from the back of the hills. The beautiful sun began to shine and I saw the sunshine gives a new light for that day. At that moment I had a wonderful sense of adoration towards the Creator, our Heavenly Father who is so faithful at all times. When I saw the Sun rise, in my spirit I saw God’s faithfulness, His provision, His grace, His second chance and His everlasting love.

God will never turn His back from His people. Like the sun always shining on the dark surface of this world, His light will always shine on us. Even in the darkest point of our lives, God’s light will faithfully show us the way out. As the sun light provides sufficient supplements for green plants in this world and keep us warm from the cold weather, God will faithfully provide all our needs in life and satisfy us with His great love. He will never fail us.

Not only that, when I saw the beautiful sunrise that morning, it reminds me about God’s grace and many second chances He gave us each day. Every morning is a brand new day God has given us to do it all over again those things that we fail to do the day before. When you mess up yesterday, in Him you have a second chance to turn the mess into a message today. That is God’s grace and His faithfulness for all of us each day.

My friend, in some seasons you may see the sun every day but sometimes it may rain, and the sun could be blocked by the clouds. But no matter how thick the cloud is, the sun is always there. In the same way, at times our life can be like a bright sunshine day, but sometimes it could be a rainy and cloudy day. No matter what season of life you go through, God is always there for us and He is always faithful. In the end, surely you will see His light again. Let us remind ourselves each morning that God is so good to us. Let us remain in the truth of His never ending grace and faithfulness in our lives, “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

His mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning

New every morning.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord.

Great is Thy faithfulness...

Daddy, Hold My Hand

2010-03-23T08:13:00.000+08:00

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

We are living in a world full of challenges and difficulties. It is so easy to slip and stumble if we are not careful in this journey of life. Besides that, all of us have our own weakness that will contribute to our fall many times. Let us admit to Him that we are not strong apart from Him. Each one of us have to humble ourselves and come before the Lord with all our weakness and surrender our lives at His feet daily.

We don’t have to try to walk or do things by ourselves and fail miserably. God, in His loving kindness has offered His help to all of us. He said in His Word, “For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13. All our fears, anxieties, worries, failures and troubles will fade away when we know that the Lord Jesus holds our hand and walk with us daily. What a blessed assurance in Him!

One of my anchor verse in the Bible is, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalms 32:8. This verse talks about His willingness to lead and guide us to do the right thing and walk in the right path. I ask this question to myself, “If I don’t surrender to Him and refuse to let Him hold my hand, how He will be able to lead me and guide me?”

In His loving kindness and graciousness He will never give up coming after us to lead us and guide us, but we will constantly struggle and wrestle with Him. Why? It is because we don’t trust His gentle loving hand to guide us. We fail to understand our Heavenly Daddy’s Heart.

I have done the mistake of walking by my own many times and hurt myself badly. I tried to take up things in my own hands to do it my way but only to end up getting disappointed. Running everywhere just to have people’s acceptance and love but end up being frustrated, feeling rejected and hurt. At the end of that journey, I can only see His two loving arms ready to embrace me again.

Dearest, we need Him and apart from Him we will only end up getting hurt, frustrated and disappointed. Enough of walking pride-fully all by ourselves. Our Heavenly Daddy is waiting to hold our hand again and He is willing to walk with us for the rest of our lives. You cannot go wrong or lost when you allow Him to hold your hand. He will help us to reach our promised land safely. You are not a loser when you surrender to our Heavenly Daddy God but you are a winner actually. You are a winner over self-pride and self-centeredness. A surrendered life is the best life to live for the rest of our lives because He will be holding our life and future.

God Works For The Good Of His Beloved

2010-03-22T08:02:00.000+08:00

"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.

How do you see troubles and hard times in life? Are you seeing it as a heart-breaking moment or something that can pull you down? What does the Scripture says about everything that we face in life?

If you see your hard time the other way around, you will see it as an opportunity to learn new things and to change ourselves to be a better people. Sometime in life, incidents will make us to see ourselves clearly and to come into realization of our weaknesses.

God has His own ways to accomplish the things that He wants to accomplish in our life. He does things in His highest ways and in His great wisdom. Sometimes the way He does things doesn't make sense for us but at the end of the day you and I can see the great outcome of the works of His hands.

Even our bad situations and hard times that we face in life can be used by Him to do something awesome in our lives as the Scripture says, "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 would like to encourage you to see things in life in His perspective. When you face any unwanted situation in life, don't gave up hope but trust God for the bigger picture in life. God is able to use any bad situation to turn it into something good for His glory and for our benefit. In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.

~~~~~~~~

Today’s Prayer,

~~~~~~~~

Father in Heaven, I thank You so much for Your faithfulness. Lord, I come before You with all my weaknesses in me. I believe I still have hope in You. Change me Lord and use me in Your Kingdom for the glory of Your Name. I surrender to You, Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Lift Yourself Up!

2010-03-19T08:40:00.000+08:00

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturb within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." Psalms 42:5.

There are ups and downs in this journey of life. Today a person might be experiencing a smooth cycle of life but few days later the same person might go through a challenging moment. It is normal if you are feeling down and sad during stormy seasons but you should not stay or remain in that condition for a long time. Why? God wants us to live a life by faith and move on in this life. By saying this, I do not mean to give a picture of God as someone that doesn't understand our feelings and hard times. He is full of compassion and He understands us more than we understand ourselves. He wants us to trust Him and by faith He wants you and me to step into His plans.

We can learn many godly principles from King David in the Bible. He is a man who experienced God's touch in his life, favor, mercy, forgiveness, supernatural breakthrough and victory in his life. Like us, he too faced many different kinds of seasons in life. Consider the feelings of the psalmist when he says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?" His soul is downcast because the storms of life swept over him. Probably he has no strength to face the hard times that he was facing at that moment. He was at the lowest point of his life and he was emotionally affected and that was the reason he continued asking the following question to himself, "Why so disturb within me?"

Does this sound familiar to your soul? Have you ever experienced these feelings? Have you ever been overcome by these emotions? The psalmist is not speaking from his ivory tower, declaring to us all what we ought to do. Rather, the psalmist is speaking from experience and is teaching us by telling us about his life and how he got through his difficulties. Life is not easy when we feel overwhelmed by many storms. Life is hard when we are emotionally down and being struck down by hard times. What should we do in the midst of these feelings?

Lift yourself up! Look at what the psalmist says in the same verse, "Put your hope in God." The psalmist is reminding himself to put his hope and trust in the Lord, regardless of what he was going through. When we are at the end of the road and things do not seem to be working out the way we expected, it is time to repeatedly tell ourselves to put our trust in God. In my own life, every time I faced hard times, I learned to tell and confess something like this repeatedly, "Lord, I trust in You". Every time I keep saying that phase I found that a new strength will rise up from the inside of me. One thing is for sure, when you put your trust in Him, He will never disappoint you.

Dearest, God has called us to pick ourselves up in times of trouble. I believe this is the point of the thrice repeated refrain "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." To get through hard times, we need God. While we wait for God, we cannot allow our emotions to spin out of control and rule our lives. Nor should we sit back and expect everyone to come rushing to our aid. We are to pull ourselves up and endure hardship through His strength. Lift yourself up again!

God Is With Us In Our Dark Valleys

2010-03-18T08:30:00.000+08:00

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

Why the Loving God allows dark valleys in our lives? God in His infinite wisdom uses valleys to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in our lives. The Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God, knows exactly what He is doing in our lives.

We read in Genesis about a young man by the name of Joseph who has gone through much trial and betrayal. He was hated by his own brothers and was sold into slavery. Joseph also spent many years in prison for something he didn’t do. Why did God allow Joseph, a righteous man, to suffer for many years? In the darkest valley, Joseph was being prepared for a significant opportunity that would make all the tough times worthwhile. Romans 8:28 is our promise that God will use all things together for our benefit, if we love Him.

If today you are at any valley, do not lose heart! God is with you in your valleys. As God says in the Bible, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. God will walk with you in your valleys and He knows how to bring you out victoriously from that valley. After every valley you and I will come out stronger, more matured in Christ and be useful in His kingdom.

TRUST And OBEY HIM

2010-03-17T08:38:00.000+08:00

“To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

If you are parents, will you give instruction to your children so that they will end up becoming failures, destroyed, getting hurt and eventually come good for nothing? Surely your answer will be “No”. Any parents want the best for their kids. So does God, our Heavenly Father wants us to have the best.

God will instruct us and teach us in the way that we should go simply because He loves us so much and He wants us to have the very best in our life. You and I will never lose anything if we listen and obey His instructions and leading; we will only end up being blessed. But if He says something and we willfully disobey His instruction we are actually heading to a destructive path. We will end up frustrated, disappointed, hurt and even could cost our life.

Once in my life, I desired to have something. As usual I went to the Lord in prayer and asked Him. Immediately the Lord said to me, “No, cut it off”. I tried to convince God for what I want to have but God continuously say the same answer again and again, “No, cut it off”. When I refused to listen to Him, God in His unconditional love sent some people to speak to me, they said to me, “Ben, this is not what God wants you to have.” I argued and I even used Scriptures to justify my stand.

One day, during my prayer time, I pride fully said to God these words, “God, I know you have someone else for me but I choose this one.” What a pride in me. Eventually I got what I wanted but I never knew what I was going to face in life after that. I went through so much sadness, brokenness, deep wounds in my heart, hurt, bitterness and frustration. I begin to lose focus in God and ministry. I couldn’t handle the pain and the suffering that I brought on myself. During that time, I often recall back on my prideful conversation with God, “…but I choose this one”. I cried many times to God for pride fully saying all those words to God.

I understand after sometime that God stopped me from the beginning because He wants to save me from all the hurts and pains. I don’t blame anyone for all that I have been through. It was my willful disobedience and I put myself into something out of God’s will. Anything outside of God’s plan will never last and even if it’s last it’s not His best for us. The things that I wanted so much and hold it so tight in my two hands turn to become ashes in my own hands.

God knows I struggled so badly and He was so gracious to me. Eventually, in His amazing love for me, he removed that thing from my life. He restored me and healed all my pains and deep wounds in my heart. Today, in Him I am a free man again. By His grace, I’m back to Him and back on the path that He wants me to walk in. I learned many things throughout that painful journey of life but one thing I would like to encourage all of you from my experience is to TRUST And OBEY Him no matter what He says to you. This is the greatest lesson I have learned in my life.

Friends, you will never regret if you listen to Him and obey His voice. He will never lead you into the path of destruction. He loves you so much and He don’t have a heart to see you suffer. He wants you to have His best in your life. Believe in Him and listen to Him. TRUST and OBEY Him no matter what He says to you, “To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

2010-03-16T08:24:00.000+08:00

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14.

I was depressed for a few years because of losing something dear to my heart! Once in my life my hair was everything to me. During my school days often I’ll go to the washroom just to check my hair and comb my hair. Even my teacher admired my hair and she asked me once what I was using for my hair.

Everything started to change after turning 20. Each morning when I wake up I’ll notice so much hair dropped on my pillow and my bed side. I spent so much money to save my hair but nothing worked. I only ended up frustrated, heartbroken and depressed. Friends and family members started to notice the change in me.

Day by day, it was getting worse and people around me started to ridicule me and each day my self esteem was getting lower and lower. Wherever I go people started to ask me and laugh at me. I couldn’t take it then. Slowly I started to avoid people, functions, weddings and family gatherings because I couldn’t take it when people talked about my problem and ridiculed me on that. I even avoided snapping pictures of myself because I was ashamed and hurt when see my baldhead on the picture.

I started to feel rejected and I used to think that no girls will like and no one will marry me because I’m bald… I was getting so sensitive and easily offended because of my hurts. I can still remember, during one of my conversations with some of my friends, they ridiculed me and I just stood up and walked away from that place. I don’t blame them because they really do not know what I was going through that time.

But things started to change after 9 years. God began to restore me and set me free from the depression. Day by day I started to gain my confidence in Him. At the age of 29 I was completely bald but the joy of the Lord truly was my strength. God became more real and real to me each day. I was sensing His presence everywhere I go. His sweet presence in my life began to transform me and heal the hurt, feelings of rejection and depression.

God also began to restore my confidence level in Him and I begin to meet people, attend weddings and other functions. Not only that I started to snap many photos of myself and I don’t feel shame to see myself in the picture anymore. The funny part is after I went completely bald many ladies admire and are attracted to me compared to when I have so much hair (This was not said in pride -just for sharing). God healed me so much – even when people ridicule about my baldhead, I no longer get offended but I laugh together with them. That is our God – He makes me smile and put laughter in my heart once again.

Now, I don’t need my hair again and I’m happy to be who I am today. My birthday just past and I’m 31 years old now. All that I want to say with all my heart is, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14. The Lord is my joy, my peace, my happiness and my confidence. He truly made me wonderfully and there is no mistake in the way He created me.

Friends, be happy with what you have right now. Praise Him for who you are in Him. Your confidence should be in Him and not in other things. Truly He has made you and me beautifully and wonderfully. He loves us so much…

He Has Ordained Your Future

2010-03-15T08:32:00.002+08:00

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight". Proverbs 3:5-6

Nothing about you will surprise your heavenly Father. Before you were formed in your mother's womb, God has already seen you and He who made you knows every single thing about you. God recognizes all your weaknesses, and sees all your needs. He nurtures, protects and brings you up as His very precious child. Even if the earthly fathers do their best for their children in many ways, how much more your heavenly Father wants to do phenomenal things in your life.

Nothing is hidden from His eyes! He even knows your hearts' desires and dreams and He wants to take part in those desires and dreams. You will never regret when God gets involved in your desires and dreams. He knows how to bring something good out of your desires and dreams. The best thing is if our desires and dreams are not aligned with His plan, He knows how to correct and bring us back to His original plans. You just have to be with Him and follow Him with all your heart.

Before you make any decision, tell God first and seek Him with all your heart. Acknowledge Him in everything regarding your life and let Him hold your hand and guide you. The Scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight ". Proverbs 3:5-6.

If we have Someone that can see our future and lead us to a victorious life, why must we walk in our own ways and put ourselves in problem? You can't see your future but your heavenly Father already ordained and predestined your future. In all your ways, in all your plans and in all your ideas acknowledge the God who already arranges all good things for you. There's nothing wrong to have desires and dream but even to see your desires and dreams to come to pass, you need Him. The Bible says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4.

'Delight yourself in the Lord’ mean to take great pleasure or joy in Him. So dearest, find your pleasure or joy in Him day by day. Spend quality moment with God daily and discover the best things that He has in store for you. Talk to Him and worship Him every day. When you lean not on your own understanding but by delighting yourself in the Lord, you will experience great things that you never imagined before. He Has Ordained Your Future.

You Are Important for Him

2010-03-12T08:43:00.001+08:00

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40: 11

'Flock' means a group of sheep or goats. Let's just say it is a group of sheep; they will be from the same kind or species. But they will be in different sizes, shapes, some will be strong and some will be weak, some are young and some are old. No matter what the differences are, the good shepherd will take care of them dearly and carefully.

The Bible always portrays the Lord Jesus as the shepherd and the people as a sheep. Like the group of sheep, we humans are of the same kind but with many differences to one another. Difference in skin colors, sizes, status, strength and languages. But no matter what are the differences, we are all same in the eyes of the Lord; every soul is so important and precious for the Lord Jesus Christ.

You might be saying, “I don't think I'm important for the Lord, because I am nobody compared to my friends who are more talented than me…" My friend, you are wrong! Whether you are somebody or nobody, whether you are talented or not talented, you are important for Him. There is no favoritism in His eyes. The Bible says, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11. This verse tells us about the character and the loving heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His very nature.

See carefully the bold words in this verse, "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." 'Lambs' it is a plural not singular. The word 'Lambs' gives an understanding of the whole group. He gathers all of them with His loving arms and not even one is missed out from His heart.

Likewise, you and I are equally important for Him. Never ever think that you are left out because of your inadequacy. He will always accept you as you are right now. He loves you no matter how many weaknesses you have in you. There is no condition for His love for you. The Lord didn't die on the cross for only a selected number of people. He died for each and everyone in this world because everyone is important for Him. You are one of them…

A Love That Never Fails

2010-03-11T08:50:00.000+08:00

"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?" Matthew 6: 26

They never die but they increased in number everyday according to their own kind. They fly in the sky with joy and with songs in their heart without any worry. They do not have barns or stores to store their food for the next day but they continue living happily today as if they have everything for tomorrow. What a worry-free life they are living! Every morning thousands of birds get fed by our Heavenly Father without fail. God did not forget to feed them daily and they have plenty in Him.

Even for the birds He gave so generously and God specifically gave them according to their kind. He knows what is best for each one of them. If even the birds of the air He cares so much and feeds them without fail, how much more He cares for you. Your Heavenly Father is so graceful and merciful. You are always in His heart and you are so precious to Him.

When I was still studying in University, I faced some financial difficulties. One day I ran out of money. I really do not have any money to have dinner. I was so hungry on that night. I just sat in my room with a hungry stomach and meditate on His Word. I knew in my heart that God will never let me sleep with an empty stomach. I said these words in my heart "Father, even the birds You feed, I am more valuable to You, surely You'll feed me tonight ". As I was saying those words in my heart, someone knocked at my room door and came straight inside.

It was a guy standing in front of me with two pieces of Hotdogs with bread. He said "this is for you" and I replied him "I don't have money to play for this". Then he said, "Its ok, this is for you, take it". He gave me the Hotdogs with bread and went away. That night, God really touched my heart and He was so real to me. God fed me that night and satisfy me. It is all about His phenomenal love for me.

My friend, do not worry about your life, the Creator of this world loves you so much and He will take care of everything. God knows your needs and He understands you personally. Just trust in His unfailing love for you. He will make a way for every situation in your life. You are more valuable to Him than any other things in this world. Just place your trust in Him and enjoy your relationship with your Father in Heaven. His love will never fails, His love never falls to pieces, His love never collapses, His love never terminates. He loves you so much.