Devotions Links Reference

 

https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/lent/lent-reflections.html

https://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=24377

https://mycatholic.life/books/catholic-daily-reflections-series/lent-and-easter-reflections/2-first-week-of-lent/

https://www.cscsisters.org/

https://www.cscsisters.org/2023-lent-reflections/#:~:text=During%20this%20Lenten%20season%2C%20may,to%20live%20a%20better%20life.

https://one.org.sg/resources/

https://one.org.sg/resource/2023-lenten-reflection-booklet/

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cuGISI4ruvWKa5nRjHw3Vp_3eotGOzQy

NECF Devotion Day 38 - 28 April 2020

Day 38 Devotion – 28 April 

Text: Read Rev 2-3:22

“…. you have a reputation of being alive…”

Christ addressed the 7 churches in Asia from chapters 2- 3:22. The churches were given commendations and rebukes, some of them both. They were also given solutions and were warned of the consequences of not taking the Word of the Lord seriously. Each one was given promises if they became conquerors. 

Today, I want us to focus on one of the many things Jesus was addressing in the church of Sardis.

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (NIV Rev 3:1-3)

Having a REPUTATION of BEING ALIVE, but are DEAD!

Reputation is defined as, “a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular characteristic or the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something”

Every church has a reputation, and we advertise our reputation in different ways with the goal of drawing people to our churches. It is difficult to see the lurking dangers because it is so attractive and especially when people gravitate towards it. Reputation, especially good ones can be deceiving, if it is built on the perception of what people want, the acceptance of prevailing culture and also our personal idea of how the church should be.

We must ask God’s opinion and measure the ministry of our church against the plumb line of Scripture (Amos 7:7-8) to avoid what Sardis was indicted for, “They have a REPUTATION of BEING ALIVE but THEY are DEAD!” 

Here are some probing questions for us to reflect prayerfully on today:

1. Are our worship services “Alive” because the Holy Spirit is moving among us, in us and through us or is it because we have discovered and acquired the best ways to get the best out of the people via culturally attuned music and preaching (talking) styles and the employment of effective social and psychological soft skills. What would be our reputation if we only have the Holy Spirit to keep us alive?

2. Do we preach the full Word (in content, urgency and seriousness) that emphasizes on eternal realities and obedience instead of just earthly practicality where people are challenged to prepare for imminent eternity or are we just moralizing? Do we preach to convince, convict, equipping and give instruction in godliness (2 Tim 3:16-17) or just to give, “an emotional lift” and to massage the human ego?

3. Is discipleship emphasized as a norm for every Christian or do we allow our reputation to mould our messages? When is the last time we preached strongly on faithful committed serving, giving, carrying the cross, making a stand for our faith and sharing the Gospel? 

4. Do we preach the importance of being faithful to the local church or are we just emphasizing on helping people grow (means nothing without faithfulness to the local church). 

5. Do we discourage “church hopping” and fully emphasize on soul winning or are our services and ministry prepped to attracted believers from other churches?

6. Is Christianity viewed as a daily walk with God or just a weekly Celebrative event to inspire? Do we emphasize time alone with God and corporate prayer with the church?

7. Do we treat everyone the same, preach and lead without fear or favour or do we give exceptions (openly or through nuances) because of social status, economic contributions, political affiliations and personal interest?

Jesus Christ loves the local church (Eph. 5:25-27) and we should likewise. These questions are not meant to be critical nor judgmental, but are for us to search our hearts, our motives, our actions, and let our reputations be defined by God and Scripture. Not by pop culture or the latest fad. I believe this is the reason why He wrote to the Seven Churches

It is of great significance that each of these messages were addressed to the “angel”–“anggelio” or messenger or pastor/main leader of the church (2:1,8,12,18;3:1,7,14.). The spiritual leader decides the direction and the quality of the local church.

Let us remember to pray for all our Pastors, Elders and Spiritual Leaders as they lead us to greater victories in these increasingly challenging days

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 3:6).

 

Chinese Version:  Click here 

Bahasa Version:   Click here 

Chaplain's Devotion - GBM Exco Meeting 22 September 2018

Ten Marks of a Strong Church

1 Strong in faith - Word of God
2 Strong Leadership
3 Worship
4 People want to pray
5 Passion for Holiness
6 Personal and Community Transformation - people are change
7 Gifting of the Holy Spirit on display - prophetic element
8 Spiritual Fruits manifestation
9 Worship and Music life of church comes alive
10 Extra-ordinary things become ordinary - suffering, criticism,

1 Corinthians 3:6

6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”[a]; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”[b] 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours,22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Three truths:-

1. Source of life is not us - it is God
2. As carnal nature, we have to be careful
3. We must be inter-dependent 

Three Lessons:-

1. What survived ? - Build to last. If everyday of week is our age, some of us are living in the weekends. Beyond Sunday - it is beyond grace period. What have we done to last. Whatever we do, we must do it consciously and intentionally. When we are near to God, we hear Him and we will have the Fruits that last.
2. Lay your life down on the foundation of Christ. V 10  (Acts 18 - laid the foundation of Corinth) - foundation laid by Jesus Christ, we just build upon that foundation. Jeremiah 9:23-24 - Let not the wise men boast about his knowledge,  let him boast that he understands and knows me - Phi 4:8. Architect / Builder - we are master builders. We must aim to do what we do excellently. Build skillfully. Know when to contribute and when to withdraw from services unto the Lord. Methodist's Advises: Avoid all evils. Do goods mercilfully. Live out God's ordinances. Evaluate our thoughts and speech, what must we give up or avoid in order to make GB better. 
3. We must build together, inter-dependently. To live a well-focused life. Being and doing must come together. We are to build excellently.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 New International Version (NIV)23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
    or the strong boast of their strength
    or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
    that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

Philippians 4:8 New International Version (NIV)

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things

https://pushpay.com/blog/20-church-growth-strategies/

Every morning

Find rest my soul, in God alone.

Psalm 62:5

Don't be neutralized in defeat, be expectant of God's great love to come to you.

The Lord be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.

Isaiah 30:18

Faith is largely expectancy - expectancy set on fire by the Holy Spirit.

The Lord's compassion never fails, they are new every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Cultivate closeness to God every morning like John Stott would say: 'Good morning Heavenly Father, good morning Lord Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit.'

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you.

Psalm 5:3

To you I pray, Yahweh, at daybreak you hear my voice; at daybreak, I lay my case before you and fix my eyes on you. - The New Jerusalem Bible.

Our being sensitive to God is no reason that He is attentive to us, but when we give ourselves to Him, we became increasingly conscious of His loving, constant watchful over us. 

God has shown me great mercy in my recent encounters, I am truly thankful for that. In my darkest day thus far, I was able to pass it superbly, uneventfully, and somewhat peaceful. At my lowest point, I could not read the Bible, not devotional materials, to be exact, not any books that need thinking. I could only pass time with mindless tasks, something I enjoy doing but does not stress my brain, help me forget my pitiful state, and the outcome of the tasks gives me much sense of compliance. In other words, I was restless and I needed to pass time without sitting idle. I was a bit upset with myself and the circumstances I was in but there was no backing out option, I just had to psych my mind to remain steady and tolerate it.

But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Psalm 88:13

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17

It's like:-

When life brings you joy, embrace it 

When life brings you sorrow, grieve along

When life brings you surprises, take it

When life brings you inconvenience, go along

When life brings you pain, endure it

When life brings you adventure, take it up 

When life brings you bitterness, swallow it

When life brings you sunshine, take it all I'm

When life brings you rain, use your umbrella

When life brings you storm, call on Jesus to calm it

When life brings you unrest, ask God for rest

When life brings you a rainbow, enjoy it

So, whatever life present, you take it up, you may not like it but you can tolerate it and there is always a good reward awaiting you. No pain, no gain, right? So, Just Do it! 

At the lowest point, I considered myself selfish, pitiful, and arrogant. I think of the opportunities I have missed for not sharing God's love to others, I missed the opportunity to be light and salt. I was pretty useless to God's kingdom. I was struggling inwardly, feeling sorry for myself. Yet, God was faithful and watchful over me. 

When I think of Bible verse, I read out in my mind: 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.' Tears started to flow because I knew there is a verse further down about 'going through the valley of death', I didn't like that. So I stopped. Then I thought how about recite That Prayer? What's it called? That prayer Jesus taught? Blank. 

Nurses came to talk to me about the final preparation before surgery, I was distracted for a while. I needed to walk to my stretcher bed waiting for me outside. I laid myself down, helping vulnerable and helpless. All the way to Surgery room was like in television scene. I was just following it through. All the way into Holding area and finally the surgery room, I felt some cold. Then I told them I need to urinate and that gave me some time to recall that prayer. Finally, figured out its The Lord's Prayer and I said, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallow be Thy name." Then, I said, "Lord, please take care of me and I trust you know what to do. Amen." 

This was the divine exchange with God that  I had on 9 May 2016 at 8:15 am in QEH2 Operation Theater, Level 2 or 3. The only thing I could say to God. Pretty unspectacular kind of faith. But God is faithful. 

GBM Exco 5th Committee Meeting Chaplain's Sharing

Devotion by National Chaplain on 20 January 2018 - 
GBM Exco Committee Meeting at GBM HQ

Joshua 1 New International Version (NIV)
Joshua Installed as Leader

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “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. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”


Sharing God is a very personal God. In the 9 verses, "I" was used 7 times and "you" was mentioned 14 times. He cares about our personal needs.

Verse 2 "NOW" is the moment for Joshua to lead, He is with him to start the new journey. God is into the current moment in time. We may not know the future but He is concerned about "Now".

Verse 3 Stay in the land that God gives to us. Don't move out the will of God like Naomi who moved away from the land, came back bitter and asked them to call her as "Marah" which mean bitter.

Verse 9  God reminds us that He is the Commander and control the situations. Do not be terrified, fearful and shaking in our shoes; for God is with us wherever we go. 

You must have time for God's word. In everything give Thanks and know God is in control and able to work out the good for us.

Devotion during IDMC - Mary & Martha

That One Thing

Devotion by Rev Edmund Chan

18 Feb 2017

During IDMC 2017 Miri (Plenary 3) 

Luke 10:38-42 

What is that One thing Jesus told Martha?

Luke 10:38-42The Message (MSG)
Mary and Martha

38-40 As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”
41-42 The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Context and Contrast

Context :-

Martha and Mary were Jewish Sisters, brought up to understand Jewish Hospitality. Both love Jesus and welcomed Him and the people into their home. They have been taught how to cook and carry out hospitality.


In summary, two sisters,

• Both love Jesus
• Both love hosting 
• Both love hospitality
• Both generous

But here were some Contrast:-

#1 Living Room Vs Kitchen

#2 Spiritual Vs Materialistic

#3 Many things Vs One Thing

#4 Working away Vs Sitting at the feet of Jesus

Within the context, the contrast Jesus referred to that one thing. One Bible Commentary even suggested that One thing was referring to One Dish! That having One Dish would be enough for the gathering. So, what is that one thing Vs the many things? The "many things" were mentioned by Jesus in the earlier sentence: "Martha, you are worried and bothered about many things." Verse 42 The one thing - Inner Calm, Inner Peace that Mary had.  

Here was the likely scenario for that day, both sisters started quite happily in the kitchen cooking. After Mary has done some cooking, she decided to check out on Jesus and the crowd. So Mary left for the living room and she decided to stay and join in. Whatever Jesus was teaching, it got Mary's attention. Mary had forgotten about the kitchen workloads. 

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Martha has noticed that Mary has disappeared, she asked the maids where Mary was. The maids reported back to Martha that Mary has gone into the living room and sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha continued cooking and then felt unhappy that Mary did not return. 

If it was true that Martha just wanted Mary back into the kitchen because there was a lot workload there, then she personally or she could send a maid to go over to Mary and whispered for her to come back and help. But, that was not what Martha wanted, instead, Martha went into the Living Room and interrupted Jesus's teaching and questioned the Lord, 

“Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”

Martha was clearly seeking to be vindicated. In Bahasa Malaysia, there is a term for this "minta puji / minta kasihan". She wanted vindication, right there at the living room before the crowd from Jesus! This is the main reason why she was wrong! 

We could imagine the silence in the room, what would Jesus say? Jesus replied with great compassion towards Martha, 

“Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Therefore, that One Thing Jesus referred to was the inner peace and not just worried about too many things.

Lets use sanctified imagination:-

That we reverse the story. What if Martha was rested while busy in the kitchen preparing for food and Mary was the one filled with unrested-ness thinking why Martha was not at the foot of Jesus learning like herself until she interrupted Jesus to question him, "Master, don't you see that my sister is busy away in the kitchen and missing your teaching, why don't you ask Martha to come and sit here with me to learn from you?". Then Jesus would have replied to Mary, "Mary, dear Mary, you are worried and bothered by many things but only one thing is necessary and Martha has chosen it - and it won't be taken from her."

In conclusion, many things refer to whatever that can cause bothered and unrested inner self; one thing refers to rested-ness and inner calm. Outward activities we do Vs Inner heart.  The heart and space within is the one thing referred by Jesus. Be rested in the heart like Mary.

Personal Reflection :-

I got super excited when Rev Edmund Chan decided to share on this during the devotion on Plenary 3 of IDMC 2017, for so long, I have been hearing Christians teaching one another:-

Don't be like Martha, be like Mary because Mary chose that one thing and Mary was worried over many things. 

Don't be like Martha, cooking and sweating away in kitchen, missing Jesus' teachings and be like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning so much from Jesus. 

Be like Mary because our life is short and we should treasure special time with Him and not spend time cooking in the kitchen. 

What I have been hearing was telling me that 

1) Working and cooking in the kitchen is ungodly. Being at the feet of Jesus is godly as Jesus praised Mary and said that in future, people would remember what Mary has chosen over the bad choice of Martha of toiling in the ktichen.

2) Its is not good to worry about many things and let things to make us worry. We just need that one thing like Mary and we should be fine. 

But, I have been objecting from within :-

1) If Martha did not work in the kitchen, what would they all eat? 

2) Someone obviously made the sacrifice so that all could benefit? But why was Jesus so harsh on Martha?

3) What about the Theology of work? Is work not holy or a form of worship towards God?

Through this devotion sharing by Rev Edmund Chan, I found the answers and agree that Martha has been wrong about missing that one thing and allowed the many things to make her worried. 






Note :- Pictures here are all from the internet.

Devotion during IDMC 2017 - Psalms 71:17-18

Devotion during IDMC Miri 2017

Rev Ann Chan

18 Feb 2017
Miri Meritz Hotel

Psalms 71:17-18

17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 

Four things to learn from David :- 

1) Don't stray from God

3 things we do when we encountered problem

• Fight
• flee
• Freeze

2) Dont give up or opt out

Don't leave God and don't forget to give Him praise

Praise can change things and most of all, praise vhNges us.

3) Be empowered by God

V18 do not favor sake me

When times are tough, appeal to God, ask Him for new vision, new peace.

JI Packer - I am losing sight but I am now seeing Jesus.

4) Focus on your life purpose .

Until I proclaim your might to the next generation.

Our life is beyond this generation, this is our goal in life, passing on our legacy beyond our life. The most important thing we leave behind is not wealth, it is the spiritual legacy to the future generations.

Devotion during IDMC - Foundation of your life

Foundation of your life

Rev Edmund Chan

17 Feb 2017

Miri Meritz Hotel

2017 Miri IDMC Devotion during Opening Session

Foundation of your life

Matthew 7:24-27

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

To Jesus, The most important thing is our foundation, In fact, there is nothing more important than the foundation.

This is a parable of Contrasts - to appreciate Contrasts, first note the similarities :-

Similarities :-

1. Similar men - both are equally good, clever and resourceful
2. Similar desire to have a house - it was not one wanted a temporary shelter or half-hearted
3. Similar focus to have a house - both were very sure and very focus
4. Similar design of the house - from the outside, the houses looked the same
5. Similar skills - both are capable
6. Similar Knowledge - they both know how to build a house
7. Similar resources to build the house - it was not one has less finances 

Up till this point, we realise that the "foolish" man is actually not "foolish". He has the resources to do things and has the same desire and same focus as the first man. 

Contrasts :-

1. One decided to invest in the foundation in terms of time and money. He built carefully from the bottom up.
2. One decided to spend litte money and little time in building the foundation. He wanted to build the house really fast and took little care about the foundation.

Faster to build on sand and cheaper to build on sand and from ground level up, it looks the same. 

Watch your foundation.

As we know it, there were two totally different Results :-

Major Implications - 3 Critical Paradign Shifts :-

1) From Beautifying the Facade to Building the Foundation

"a wise man and a foolish man" V 24, 26

Rev Edmund Chan told the story of the Great Tree of Singapore planted by the Senior Founding Premier The Late Lee Kuan Yew that was featured by the newspaper front page, asking the people to be like "The Tree planted by Lee Kuan Yew". A young tree expert took notice of the photo and realised that it was actually dying. He went to the site and investigated and found out that was true, they put cement to surround the tree as "support" but it has caused the root unable to spread out and it was dying from the inside. Outwardly, it was a gorgeous green living tree. 

We all could look like that tree :- from ground level up, we look good and great, we are doing many good things, But from ground level down, it is dying from mal-nutrition. Take care of our root and foundation! 

2)  From Knowing the Word to Doing the Word

Those who hears these words of Mine and put them into practice. V 24

Knowing, loving, serving and becoming more and more like Jesus. Become a disciple of Jesus and share with others. This it the key thing to do. 

3) From Seeking a Storm-free life to having a Storm-proof life

"it did not fall beacuse it has its foundation on the rock" V 25

Learn ther truth and apply the truth - transformed and pass on the substances. Speak with substance or vacuuum ?

We cannot do God's Word without first reading God's Word. But after reading it we must be committed to doing it.

Conclusion : What is the Foundation of your life ? Upon what are you building ?
Bible is the foundation of our life. Word of God is the foundation. To witness the faithfulness of God and pass it on.

Steps in Mentoring :-

1. Discover the truth
2. Do / walk the truth - Apply the truth
3. Reap the benefits
4. Pass it on - reproduce our kind

Sad facts :-
60% of Christians do not evangelise
70% of Christians do not have devotions.

The Lord is saying : I care for your foundation in life and want you to be firm and sure so that I can use you in the kingdom of God. Kingdom mentality for this earthly living. Work on the Foundation.

My reflection :-
We have heard it before in Sunday Schools, this is the parable of the Two Builders - one wise and one foolish. We sang the actions song and still sing it today. I always thought how foolish was the builder who built on the sand. He has no wisdom and he probably lacks finance or doing it half-heartedly. But it is about two similar men having similar desire to build similar house with similar resources and one failed because he did not pay attention, he did not spend time and finance on building the foundation. We can build on the sand or rock, the foundation is the most important.

Interestingly, on the 19 February 2017, Pastor Renny shared on the same passage during our Sunday Sermon on Rock or Sand. 

Senior Partner

Christianity is walking and working each day with a senior partner. Missionary in China

E. Stanley Jones described the divine-human partnership : 'God comes close to His children in a way that leaves them free to think and act, yet in a way that awakens the personality to aliveness and alertness of mind and spirit. His guidance is always sufficiently obvious to be found, but not so obvious that it does away with the necessity of thought and discriminating insight.' God's secrets are always 'open secrets' - open, yet sufficiently secret to make us think. 

He does not dominates our life, not overriding partnership.  

Impurity, pride or resentment can cause blocked channels to our partnership with God. 

Hebrews 2:5-18

Jesus was tempted in every ways as a human. In the person of Jesus, we have a God who can sympathise with our weaknesses because he faced the same temptations and difficulties as we do0

When I have to cross the bridge

Recently, I had a soul searching experience. It was a deep one. Sometimes when one comes to a bridge, no matter how tangy the bridge look, with limited confidence or knowledge about its breaking point, we just have to cross it. There is a slim possibility of turning back but it's not a good choice. You may end up worse than if you do not cross the bridge. It could be a hanging bridge with thunder lighting from above, winds blowing fiercely making it swing and shaky. But it is the only path presented to you, you have to cross it. 

Among the perils of life, you come to this bridge and you just have to cross it. At least be thankful, you are presented with an option albeit it's not what you like. 

Many deep thinking in the depth of the nights, soul searching when gazing at sunrise or sunset, there is only one answer : Just cross it ! 

Pace Vs Peace

Ecclesiastes 8:11

11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Psalm 147:10-11

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Pace Vs Peace

My Pace or God's Pace
World Peace or God's Peace

It is a choice.

Turn Strong to meet the day

Are we strong enough for the day ? Can we rise above the care of the day ? 

Psalm 139:13-18New International Version (NIV)

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139:13-22The Message (MSG)

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
    God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
    all the men and women who belittle you, God,
    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
    Your enemies are my enemies!

When I awake, I am still with You. God is with us in our sleeping and our waking. 

Every morning lean thine arm awhile

Upon the window sill of heaven

And gaze upon thy God;

Then with the vision in thy heart

Turn strong to meet the day.

It is an unknown poet who wrote this. Very optimistic outlook. 
We could wake up gloomy and say, 'Oh Lord, another day.😫😩😞😔' or 
we say with energy and expectation, 'Oh Lord, another day! ☺️😊😇🙂'