Parable of the Rich Fool...

God Heals the Broken Spirit...

(1 John 2:3)  We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

(Psalm 103:11,17) For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him ... But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.
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Dear friends, how many of us were born free from sins? Who would dare step forward and be willing to declare that they are perfect from inside and out? I must say you would never hear me utter those words. After all, I am human; hence, I have sinned. But the fact that God is so merciful who amassed of nothing but goodness, compassion, love, and forgiveness that made way for human to be reconciled in righteousness, again. God bestowed us that prerogative when He sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ to die for us on Calvary. It is only through Jesus Christ that we shall gain everlasting life and be liberated from our past transgressions. When we have a fear and love for God and His commandments, it is His Kingdom that the righteous who chooses to live an upright life, shall accede to.

I admit. I have several dysfunctional personality disorders in me. Some I inherited. Some I picked up from the influence of society. And some were embedded in me through my childhood pain as I was molded by the flawed images of what is contrary to God’s will, while growing up into my adolescent years. In spite of it all, can I exert them as excuses to not change my ways for the better? It is tragic to say but some of these disorders still exist in me. It is like a parasite feeding off of its host to every last drop of blood that it can absorb from its very soul. Though, each time when I feel that gnawing pain, I pray earnestly to God asking him to take these sinful elements in me away and guide me in the right direction, again. If anyone who doesn’t know me as a person, I can be relatively condescending, withdrawn, pessimistic, sarcastic, and just downright blunt if I have to. But as each passing years and in developing an intimate relationship with God, through Jesus Christ—I've learned to slowly but surely drop each adverse traits about me one after another, until I can finally become one with Lord Christ Jesus.

Imitating Jesus Christ and his ways is the ultimate truth and goal, in living the Christian life-style. We are no longer living life by our own standards but instead, we should be living by the statues that were written in the Holy Bible-- that Jesus Christ had taught his disciples during Bible days. Jesus never claimed that those were his words but rather it was the commandments that was inspired by God. Jesus gave credit to where credit was due. Understanding this, there is no sin too big for God to not forgive us. There is nothing too shameful for us to shun away from the face of God. As long as we are willing to take the initiation to make it right with God, by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and truly repent with a Godly sorrow; God will make sure he will deliver us from the hand of sins and of the wicked things in this world of which is ruled by the culprit, Satan—the Devil, himself.



Let us pray

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me.

Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are of You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray out loud, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak and unsaved.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will only read this and not speak this aloud in their own lives. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe ... But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people, and I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You, Lord. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Are you willing to trust that God will heal you, implicitly, through His son Christ Jesus?

The Story of Lot...

The Book of Genesis

Abraham's nephew, presents a conundrum: the one just man in Sodom whose virtue leads God to grant Abraham's wish that Lot and his family be spared from the destructon to be visited upon the cities of the plain has an eventful history: "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.

And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back.

And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. The men [the angels] put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. They smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. It came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. . . . Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
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From this story in the Holy Bible, this particular verse stood out to me, substantially, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Perhaps, it is because that is where I often find myself most, when I am in my moment of solitary. I am guilty for always reminiscing the past. And until I learn to let go, I will never allow myself to look forward and accept what is in front of me. Sure, I may try to block the imagery of the haunting memories of what was done and gone with; but each time when the restless mind switches gears, then there I am again living in the moments of those inkling puzzles of what is done. Sometimes I marvel over what went wrong or where did I went wrong, what could I have done differently, or what could I have said to alter the situation that I was in. But the more I think about it, the more I find myself dwindling into a never-ending tunnel of no resolution leaving me bitter and resentful. However, I remind myself to rise from it and let God take care of that essence in my life.

In this account of the Bible, it emphasizes the importance of being obedient to God and not looking back. Reminiscing is only wise when we can utilize our past and learn from those lessons so that we could improve for the better, in our future trials. But to live in the past and reside there indefinitely is certainly not sensible. When we replay the inevitable course of our past incessantly, we tend to lose sight of what is in front of us. We lose focus of the moment and those around us who are more than willing to render love, care, and attention-- that we often times confer no significance to, merely because we are too caught up in living in those memories that could not be reverse.

It is like driving our own vehicle. If we are constantly looking in the rear-view mirror, not only is it obscuring us to stay focus to what is before us-- but also, we are putting ourselves in the risk of danger that may cause a collision. This collision could inadvertently may affect toward those around us, if we don’t drive safely and keep a steady focus of what is front of us. So in this story of Lot, if only his wife would keep on moving forward then she could have been prevented herself, in turning into a pillar of salt. With that, for anyone of us who are perpetually struggling with the past, I hope that this story shall be of an encouragement, to allow you to open your heart to what is in front of you and let go of what is forever gone. God wants us to learn from our mistakes and change for the better with it.  Hence, let the Salt and Light of God’s word as well as the Holy Spirit to be the healing powers to all the things that is in God’s sovereignty, through the atonement of Lord Christ Jesus.



Let us pray

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me.

Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are of You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray out loud, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak and unsaved.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will only read this and not speak this aloud in their own lives. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe ... But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people, and I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You, Lord. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Have we truly let go and let God?

The Story of Jonah and the Whale...

The Book of Jonah

The story of Jonah is a drama between a passive man and an active God. Jonah, whose name literally means "dove," is introduced to the reader in the very first verse. The name is decisive. While most prophets had heroic names (e.g., Isaiah means "God has saved"), Jonah's name carries with it an element of passivity.

Jonah's passive character then is contrasted with the other main character: God (lit. "I will be what I will be"). God's character is altogether active. While Jonah flees, God pursues. While Jonah falls, God lifts up. The character of God in the story is progressively revealed through the use of irony. In the first part of the book, God is depicted as relentless and wrathful; in the second part of the book, He is revealed to be truly loving and merciful.

The other characters of the story include the sailors in chapter 1 and the people of Nineveh in chapter 3. These characters are also contrasted to Jonah's passivity. While Jonah sleeps in the hull, the sailors pray and try to save the ship from the storm (1:4-6). While Jonah passively finds himself forced to act under the Divine Will, the people of Nineveh actively petition God to change His mind.

The plot centers on a conflict between Jonah and God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but Jonah resists and attempts to flee. He goes to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a great storm at sea, and the ship's crew cast Jonah overboard in an attempt to appease God. A great sea creature (the Book of Jonah says it is a fish but the New Testament reference in Matthew 12:38-41 and retellings for children conventionally assume it to be a whale) sent by God, swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah languishes inside the fish's belly. He says a prayer in which he repents for his disobedience and calls upon God for mercy. God speaks to the fish, which vomits out Jonah safely on dry land. After his rescue, Jonah obeys the call to prophesy against Nineveh, and they repent and God forgives them. Ironically, the relentless God demonstrated in the first chapter becomes the merciful God in the last two chapters (see 3:10). In a parallel turnabout, Jonah becomes one of the most effective of all prophets, turning the entire population of Nineveh (about 120,000 people) to God.

How many people like a sense of duty? How many of us live in this mundane world without having some kind of responsibility to carry out each and every day? What drives us? What is the cardinal of motivation to our life? Often times, some of us tend to find ourselves passive and complacent to the monotony routine of life, don’t we? Perhaps, we like it in our comfort zone; hence, we don’t want to venture out to new avenues in apprehension that it may lead us to foreign paths. But how could we ever grow and seek personal development if we don’t nurture ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically?

I like this story in the book of Jonah. I appreciate this biblical account merely because there are a few lessons that we can adopt from this allegory. As Christians, we know that Jonah was one of God’s prophets and he was called to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh so that they could repent and ask for forgiveness from God. In doing so, God will spare the population of Nineveh from destruction. It is palpable that Jonah despises the people of Nineveh so he didn’t want them to survive. He felt that they should be punished by God. It is apparent that Jonah knows God’s nature. Thus, recognizing God’s characters, Jonah thought that if he were to preach repentance to them, then they will repent and God will save them from destruction. Jonah didn’t want that, so he bolted from the call of God.

As the story continues, Jonah fled from the will of God in preaching to the people of Nineveh.  Thereafter, he encountered a colossal storm that was sent by God. But God is a merciful God; he didn’t wanted Jonah to die so God sent a whale out and deliver Jonah from the enormous tempest. The whale swallowed Jonah into the stomach and Jonah stayed in there for 3 days and nights. While in the whale’s stomach, Jonah had prayed earnestly to God day in and day out for deliverance. God did not forsake Jonah and had liberated Jonah. This time, when Jonah got out—he obeyed God and he did preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Subsequently, the lives of the people of Ninevah were spared by God because all had repented and asked God for forgiveness. Albeit, Jonah was not happy because he felt that those people deserve to be castigated. But God is loving and merciful so He does not want anyone to die.

How many of us who are Christians felt like fleeing from the call of God at times? Have we ever felt convicted somehow by some conscious calling from within? It is the Holy Spirit, dear friends. The Christian life is no longer about living egoistically for our own personal gain, anymore. When we surrendered our life to God, and through His atonement and grace; we have given up our life to give ways to His calling of us. Sure, we can attempt to recoil from the voice of the Holy Spirit but God will bring us back by the circumstances of our lives. Nothing is just a mere coincidence, dear friends. God speaks to us through circumstances and if we chooses to discount it or disregard them, then He will make sure He will draw our implicit attention in one form or another, so that we can be down on our knees and begin to listen to His call, ultimately. Each Christians have a sense of duty and if we don’t live up to it, then we are not living in harmony to God’s will and are not obeying to God’s commandments. Each of us has a gift that God created in us to wield. He wanted us to maximize them all for the purpose that God has manifested us to be. In acknowledging this, have we done just so?

Therefore, as Christians, we all have the greatest commission to ply and that is to spread the, “Good News” to everyone among us whether we like it or not. We should not let fear be an obscurity for the preaching of God’s word. This world needs a voice to save the lives of those who are still blinded, the lost, and to the unreached. There is spiritual battle that clearly exists on earth at this time--as we can see from the economic recession, political war, increase of unemployment rate, famines that is affecting us globally, and etc. etc. It is no longer our choice. It is the will of our heavenly father and if we don’t act upon His call, then we will soon discover God will have other plans for us, until He can capture our complete devotion to Him and away from our selfish ways. With that, Christians, it is only wise to listen and obey to the convicting of the Holy Spirit. We are serving to a living and loving God, and through the sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ who grants us the salvation of our transgressions and gave us the gift of eternal life-- it is the least that we could do all for the glory of God.

Let us pray

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me.

Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are of You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray out loud, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak and unsaved.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will only read this and not speak this aloud in their own lives. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe ... But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people, and I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You, Lord. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Are you still in the good race or have you given up, already?

Christianity in a Dsyfunctional World...

(2 Peter 1:5-7) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
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How I just love the Scripture above but it is rather unfortunate that not many of us actually follow through this statutes. Each day when the morning dew sets in on the myriad of leaves in front of my bedroom window, I would turn on the radio station to listen to the news before I head off to work. And I must say every time I hear a life passed away due to some morbid calamity, it makes me muse on how frail the human life is. Many times than not, I often wonder if those who have died ever had the opportunity to seek the truth or even come to know the truth about our Heavenly father, in Lord Jesus Christ. If anything, I hope that they do and if not, I am certain that we are serving a loving and just God. Thus, He will not be partial with His own creations.

In this very scripture, it reminds us that we should make it our every effort to add values to our faith and knowledge. Furthermore, as Christians, we need to learn self-control with resoluteness and in that resoluteness we then renovate it with Godly qualities. When we embrace the Godly traits, we discover how to treat everyone with subterranean loving affection. Nonetheless, with the way the temporal realm is appearing, there’s nothing but hatred, retaliations, bloodshed, political controversy, and war precinct that seem to occur in the midst of innocent lives. How can we put an ending to all this chaos around the globe? In truth, there’s nothing anyone can do about it but the individual themselves. It has to start with the person before the whole nation can become united. We cannot change the world if we think for one second that we are perfect and that there’s no need for any changes in us. Human is far from perfection yet only one man can make that all possible for us. It is Jesus Christ, himself.

Over many decades down the line, the ambiguities of societal apathetic ways have left people with a bitterness stance and confounded by adverse taste of pessimism. As time passes, the abhorrent essence of one generation then becomes embedded into the next. Hence, how can hatred ever cease if there isn’t anyone who has the bravery to alter a revolutionary change to it all? Dear friends, Lord Jesus saw this and he knew what his purpose was on earth.  He knew he needed to make that change for all of us. Can anyone be willing to say that they can save the world? Of course not. But Jesus Christ did. He was sent by God, our Heavenly father to put a stop to the culprit, Satan, the Devil, from these heaps of disarray. But the question is, are we willing to accept this truth? Are we willing to let Christ live and dwell in us through the monotony days of our lives? The answer to this is rather simple but ghastly denied by the people and obscured for what it’s worth. We have the prerogative to make a decision. But a decision that is based upon a weak foundation of faith is dead and in effect, are blinded by the insatiable desires that derives from the broader path of this world.

With that, please bear in mind that God gave us all the gift of free-will. Hence, we can open our heart today to make that positive change. If not now, then when. Life is fragile, dear friends. We live today yet have no clue as to when our last day is marked. But I like to ask you this, if you do know of your last day; then will you know with a certainty where you would be after death? Learn the truth and perhaps, this truth can save you for all eternity, if you will. God loves us all and thus, He love us so much that He had sent Jesus Christ to die for us to gain ever-lasting life. All he need from us is to love and accept him just the same as he did for us.



Let us pray

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me.

Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are of You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray out loud, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak and unsaved.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will only read this and not speak this aloud in their own lives. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe ... But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people, and I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You, Lord. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Do you have the courage to accept this truth?