First Thing First - Setting the Right Priority in Our New Year Resolution

Psalm 40:8 -I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.

How do we know the will of the one we love?  We get to know them, we try new ways to serve them and so discover what they desire and what they do not.  It is the same with God.  And though we may not always hear an audible voice, we can hear His voice through His words.

We can see His Word written on our hearts through His Holy Spirit at work within us, reminding us of His words, prompting us with His ways.  May we walk in obedience and surrendering each moments of our lives to Him and let Him lead us. As we end 2016, and start a brand New Year, let us be steadfast in our walk with God. May we tune our heart to His heartbeat.

Wishing you a Blessed New Year.

Influencer

Matthew 5:11:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.   

Our troubled world is in dire need of people who are willing to stand up and serve God by helping to spiritual influencer. We can take up this role to glorify Jesus. In our circle of influence such our family, our school, our workplace, our church, our neighborhood, and everywhere else we are in relationships with others – we can influence someone spiritually.

We build our spiritual influence on the foundation of our relationship with God. That is primarily the source of our ability to influence. Without this fundamental relationship, we not be effective in our influencer role.  So aim to strengthen our communion with God every day. Then we can see people and understand their potential and life challenges from the right perspective, and at the same time we can understand our role as spiritual influencer accurately.

Let us take the call to be spiritual influencers to those need to see the light. We influence the world rather than the world influencing us.

God Bless You.

Reflection on Jeremiah 2:2

Reflection on Jeremiah 2:2 “... This is what the Lord says: “ 'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown."


May the intensity of our walk & relationship with the Lord continue to grow day by day rather than waning day by day. May we not forget God's goodness in our lives. In every season of our life, let us honor Him & remain faithful.

Be Blessed.

The Blessed Hope

Reflection on Easter Sunday.

Matthew 28:5-6 - The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

The resurrection of the Jesus Christ from the dead is central to God’s message of salvation. It is central to our faith and hope in God for eternal life.

The hope from the resurrection of Christ is secure, confident, unshakeable hope in the God we know will come through for us. In His earthly time together with the disciples, Jesus told them He would die and be raised again. He is faithful to His word.

We can have hope that death is not the end. We have hope, not just for this earthly life but for life after death - eternal Kingdom life. That gives us the courage to have an eternal mind-set, focused not just on this short life which will soon be gone, but rather making decisions that only make sense when we have the hope of eternal life – Kingdom mindset.

The hope we gain from the resurrection changes everything. It changes our priorities. It changes what matters most to us. It changes how we spend our money and where we invest our time.

When our hope is in the gift of everlasting life through Christ Jesus, our life's priority becomes sharing that hope with the hopeless around us.

Blessed Easter my friends.

His Love knows no boundaries.

Reflection on the day after Good Friday.

Matthew 27:65-66 - “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

His Love knows no boundaries.

At the plea of the priests and Pharisees that the tomb be secured, Pilate remarks prophetically, "You have a guard of soldiers; go and make it as secure as you can". Neither death nor the power of Roman empire could contain Christ's infinite life, nor ours.

Today nothing can stop the love of God from reaching out to us except if we choose to close our heart.

No tomb can contain God's promise, through Christ our Savior. May we receive His love by opening our heart to Him.

Be Blessed.

Our Response: The Gift of Salvation - Receive or Reject

Reflection on Passion Week - Good Friday

Luke 23:34 - Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. The cross of Jesus is where God’s demands, His righteousness, coincided with His mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin.

Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to His resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace.

Wishing you the joy and peace of the Lord. May you experience the power of His love in this Good Friday. It is good because He died for you & me and take away our divine punishment.

Be Blessed

Our Action: Selfless or Selfism?

Reflection on Passion Week – Thursday


John 13: 14-16 - Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

In a world filled with proud and egotistical generation, selfless attitude and servanthood is considered weak and worthless. Self-promotion, self-praise and "me, myself & I" take precedence above others.

But Jesus demonstrate true humility and servant heart. He step down from a position of deity to become a man, and then further humble Himself to be a servant and wash the feet of twelve undeserving sinners. That is true love, and true humility.

May we learn to develop a servant's heart. The way of the Cross is selfless and not selfism.

Be Blessed.

Our Attitude: Gratitude or Greed?

Reflection on Passion Week – Wednesday

Matthew 26: 7 - .... a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

Matthew 26:14-15 - Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to the chief priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to get Jesus into your hands?” And they gave him thirty silver coins. From that time on, Judas watched for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them.

Both knows the Savior well. One choose to act in absolute worship and adoration. She broke the alabaster jar and poured the costly oil on His head. The other allows greed to overtake him. He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver which was the going rate for a slave at that time. Till today he is still referred as the betrayer. Both knows Jesus but the condition of their heart determine their action.

May we be more like the woman who offered her precious alabaster jar for the Lord. May we anoint Jesus with the precious oil of our devotion, our worship, our resources, our talents and our life. May we give the best of our lives on the One who poured out His life for us.

Be Blessed.

Our Lifestyle - A Screen Saver or A Reflection of Christ

Reflection on Passion Week - Tuesday
Matthew 21:18-19 - In the morning, as he was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry and noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “Never bear fruit again!” And soon the fig tree withered up.

Sometime we observe that spiritual barrenness is camouflaged with an appearance of religiosity...like the fig tree with leaves but without fruit. God is looking at our inner man. The key to bearing fruits can be found in John 15:5 where Jesus told the disciples “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”. If we abide in Christ we will produce fruit. Those who have a relationship with Christ will bear much fruit or otherwise we will wither away. The question to all of us today - Are we bearing fruit?

Be Blessed

Our Heart - A Den of Thieves or a Temple of God?

Reflection on Passion Week - Monday
Matthew 21:12-13 - Jesus went into the Temple, drove out the merchants, and knocked over the money changers’ tables and the stalls of those selling doves. “The Scriptures say my Temple is a place of prayer,” he declared, “but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Jesus’ second day in Jerusalem was as eventful as his first (Triumphant entry into Jerusalem). According to scripture and tradition, Monday of Passion week was when Jesus cleansed the temple. The cleansing of the temple at the very least illustrates how concerned He is with the purity of our heart and worship.

If we profess to be saved by God’s grace, love, and mercy than we too are a temple of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, if we are a temple of God and Christ abides in us and with us, than we too need to consistently search our heart for things that doesn’t please the Lord.

In this Passion Monday, let us pray and ask God to purge our hearts and fill them to maximum capacity with His love, wisdom, and understanding, so that we can start living our lives with Him and through Him, finding good even in the bad that surrounds us.

Be Blessed.

Hosanna in the Highest

A Palm Sunday Reflection:

Hosanna in the highest!!

Revelation 7:9-10 - After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. [10] And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, one week before His resurrection. But it also serves as a reminder of what will happen in eternity.

Apostle John records in Revelations a scene in heaven that features the eternal celebration of the risen Lord. The saints were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands”. These palm-bearing saints will shout, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”.

Take time to be in the house of God today. It is a preparation for life in eternity.

Be Blessed.

Unconditional Love

Psalms 59:17 – “I will sing praises to you, my strength, because God is my stronghold, my loving God

King David, whom God referred to as a man after God's own heart, trusted God’s love. Despite his failures, he knows God loves him. King David's life was a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows. He left us an example of passionate love of God and dozens of Psalms, some of the most touching, beautiful poetry ever written.

A relationship with God is like no other relationship you may have experienced. God has a unique kind of love for you. It is unconditional that is not based upon meeting certain conditions. God loves you because He loves you.

He does not love you based upon your performance. There is nothing you can do to cause God to love you any more than He already does—and there is nothing that will cause God to love you any less. He loves you, even more than you love yourself.

He is indeed your true Valentine, the Lover of your soul.

Be Blessed.

Eternity Focis Living: Lesson #2

Life consists of seasons. We don’t always live the same way. We don’t always do the same things. Instead, there are seasons in our lives. Our ability to make the most of these seasons that God has given us is essential to living your life to the fullest.

We must understand the seasons. If we do not understand that there are seasons in life, we may draw the wrong conclusions about what is happening in our lives, or the reasons for it. God has a plan and a purpose to make our life beautiful. Every season has lessons of life for us. In Joseph's life, the plan of God was for him to rule, but before he ruled he was ruled over

Transiting from one to another requires us to hear God's will and purpose in our lives and be obedient to it. There’s a fine line between pursuing what God has next in the season of life and running from the responsibility of stewarding a season well. The new season is always impacted by how we left the last season.

Let's be faithful in every season that God leads us in and out.

A Childlike Faith

Luke 18:17 “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”

Few days ago, my friend shared a photo of her daughter in her own accord opening up the bible, praying and worshiping God. It is amazing to see young ones approach the throne of God with simple faith.

A childlike faith is vital for living in the kingdom of God. The religious Pharisees had complicated their faith with elaborate answers to simple questions. In this world of scheming and rationalizing, children approached Jesus with simple faith. The kingdom of God centers on a relationship between us and our Abba Father.

Faith is not primarily intellectual. It is a childlike act of trusting in Jesus. The Christian faith is not contained in theological manuscripts or complicated religious rules. It is just the simple reality that “Jesus loves me; this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong; they are weak but he is strong.”

Have a great week ahead. God Bless You.

In Rememberance

Setting the course for 2016

Hebrews 12:2 - "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

In the race of faith we must keep constantly our eyes on Christ who is the author and perfecter of faith. The gaze of faith is focused on Jesus who has fulfilled all of the promises of God.

Eternity Focus Living #1

One of the mark of eternity focus living is the heart of generosity.

1 Timothy 6:18-19 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

I decided : - Walking with God in Broken Places.

I decided:
The race is not endless.
The time to run is not without limits.
A finish line has been drawn in my life.

No time left:
To waste
To change lanes
To run sideways or backward
To run slowly and wave at the crowd
To run circles around the slower ones,
Or,
To run in the crowd of the mediocre.

The part of the race behind me cannot be re-run.
I can only run what is left of the race which is before me.
So,
It is time to run like Hell is hot on my heels
And Heaven’s open door is before me.
To run with purpose and power.

To run in a way that uses my gifts from God,
My resources,
My experience,
And
My skills to the maximum!

To run without yielding to distractions.
To run and not be deterred by any relationship,
But, to be spurred on by my relationship with Jesus.

To run so that when the race is over,
My past will benefit the future of others.
To run in such a way the spectators will not say,
“What a runner!”
But, they will say,
“What a Race!”

- John La Noue & Kaywin La Noue: Walking with God in Broken Places.

Morning Reflection - Idols

I was reflecting on 1 John 5:21 this morning. The Living Translation says "Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Amen."

Other translations says "keep yourselves from idols". In the most basic sense, an idol is anything that takes the rightful place of God in our life. Apostle Paul equated covetousness or greed with idolatry. Our career, our pursuit of money, our possessions, excessive devotion to leisure and recreation, or even putting a human relationship ahead of our relationship with God, may all become idols. Our ministry can be an idol too if we fail to put God first. Nothing is more dangerous than making our ministries or jobs first in our life and relegating the God of those ministries to second place
Zooming in we can see that at the root of all of these is the idol of SELF - Me, Myself and I.

Be Blessed.

The Greatest love of all .....

About 25 years ago, my English teacher used Whitney Houston’s song, “The Greatest Love of All” for her listening comprehension lesson. Towards the end of the lesson, she asked a very defining question to her students - “Do  you  agree  with  the  singer  that  the greatest  love  of  all  is  loving  yourself?”. Many of my classmates agreed with the singer. Deep within me, I was praying for courage to disagree with my classmates.  After a while I took the courage and responded saying that I disagree with the singer. For me, the greatest love of all is God’s love.

I accepted the Lord two years before this question was raised. I saw the love of God reaching out to me and transforming me. 1 John 4:10 says “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Sometimes we need reminding that God loves us. We focus on the difficulties of life and wonder, Where is the love? But if we pause and consider all that God has done for us, we remember how much we are loved by God, who is love (1 John 4:8-10). The greatest love of all demands the greatest sacrifice of all and on the cross Jesus died for all our iniquities.

Be Blessed.