Step #1-Establish Ultimate Hope

“I know that there is someone to defend me and that he lives! And in the end, he will stand here on earth and defend me.” Job 19:25 ERV

“Hope-expect and wish; be optimistic; intent with some possibility of fulfillment”

Many of us will go through difficult times in our lifetime. If you have not experienced it, brace yourself because it is coming. There are issues in life no matter how rich or poor we are. It does not matter if how healthy or sick we are, we are in equal footing in facing the real test in life. For the poor that has nothing to eat or nowhere to sleep, they are already of much need of a greater hope. So as the rich and the famous, although they have everything at their own disposal, they too has the same equal opportunity of any type of suffering. Even the super athletes with super human strength and stamina, they too suffer just as well physically or emotionally.

The truth is we will suffer in some form or manner as we progress in our short stay here on earth. Job’s story in the Bible is a one of a kind story ever told about pain, suffering, loss but in the end – triumph. When you get a chance, read the full story in your own time so that you may know the extent of his sufferings. He lost his possessions, lost his family and lost his health. What sort of things that you can imagine to do or think of when you experiences it all – the ultimate suffering.

#1. Hope that God will stretch out His hand to help you. This is the ultimate hope and the only true hope.

Never lose hope that there is someone out there trying to help you.

Hope is not something that is transferable from one person to another. I can influence you or tell you that “yeah, there is hope and that God one day will eventually pluck you out from your misery”. In a 911 distress call, the person at the call center always (per protocol) ends the conversation like this “Ma’am or sir, help is on its way, hang in there”. Although we received the message “loud and clear”, in our mind, we always say “are they really coming to help me”. When? How? For our own survival, we make a concrete decision to believe that help is coming our way even though our situation feels like or look like next to impossible. You have to have your own hope deep inside you. The Emergency Medical Team or the the Rescue Team might be coming but you don’t really know if they can really get to you.

There are situations like this that you know that even if there is an available help out there, some of you feels that they won’t be able to reach you and you start losing your ability to live or go on. Discouragement sits in and slowly like a dripping water from a leaky water tank, your hope is dramatically drained to zero.

When you reach to “zero hope”, please know that there is still one string in your parachute that you have not pulled yet – the hope that God never abandons His children.

Please, establish that hope in your heart. It is such an endless hope worth having.

http://bible.us/406/job.19.25.erv

Read Job’s Story
The Trial of Job
Job: The Hardest Lesson

See it at YouVersion.com:

What to do with worries?

“Give your worries to the Lord, and he will care for you. He will never let those who are good be defeated.” Psalm 55:22 ERV

Worry is relative to our status in life. When you are a caveman and know nothing about civilization then most likely you have zero worries. I you live in a third world country where poverty is so desperate, your worries are food, clothing and shelter. If you have cancer or suffered a life threatening illness, your worry is about the question – do you have enough time to spend with your love ones. If you are an astronaut in space, your worries are survival in the unknown world and the reentry. If you are a surgeon, your worries are the wellness of your patient after the hour long surgery. If you are a parent with many children, your worries are the future of your kids. If you are a student, your worries mainly is passing the class. If you are a softworking person (opposite of hardworking), your worry at work is when are you going to be let go.

Yes, we have worries and it is a fact of life. But worries are there to help us attain a better future. When we worry, we start to become creative and inventive. Our minds goes in overdrive and it is amazing what we can do during a time of distress. What we can do in times of trouble are far beyond what we can ever think of.

A few years back, I was in my weekly 40 miles bike ride when two dogs attacked me at mile20 (this is Texas country roads where no one is around to help). I was arrogant and had too much confidence and thought I could outrun the two vicious dogs. Well, my 20 mph sprint was not good enough and the dogs were successful in their ambush. I crashed hard at 20mph. My right knee hit the paved road and had a huge open wound about an inch square. I was bleeding all over. My elbow were bruised too. I checked for broken bones and joints and all were accounted functioning. I checked my bike then and that too was ok. The owner of the dogs was scared because it was his fault that the dogs got away from the cage. In Texas, there is a thing called Leash Law where dogs has to be at all times be tied upon a leash. Well, this house were out in the countryside and no law enforcement to impose it. The owner offered to take me home but I insisted that I was ok and so I left the accident site on my own with a bleeding body and still 20 miles away from home. I don’t worry too much but that day I underestimated the extent of the damage to my body. The trip home was so agonizing and slow and I began to think the “what ifs”. What if I will pass out in the middle of the road? What if I will bleed to death? What if I can’t pedal anymore? What if I did really have a serious injury and I just did not know it? Too many what ifs but in the end, I was able to reach home just fine. Moral of the story is, when we are placed in a very difficult situation, as normal human beings, we feel worried and anxious that sometimes it can cripple us to reach our destiny. I know that I could have just get a ride home with the guy or maybe called home for help but I did not. Looking back now, that event taught me a great lesson regarding human survival. We worry when a certain event does not go in our way but if we drive on, pushes ourselves outside our comfort zones, we can achieve the impossible.

I know that your worries probably are far greater that I can ever imagined. You have the right to be worried but don’t let that stop you or cripple you to keep going. Worry or concerns are there for a purpose and to forget and disregard of its meaning is foolish. But excessive worry cripples us to our knees. Putting too much emphasis on our worries can drives us to insanity(sometimes).

What to do with worries?
1. Read the first line at the beginning of this entry.

2. Do something about your worries:
If you worry about your health, go to the doctor and get a check up or start an exercise program.
If you are worried about your job security, do your best every moment when you are at work.
If you are new to a workplace, write down what are the things that you need to learn.
If you worry about your relationship, be the first one to show love and compassion.
If you worry about the things that you cannot change, flip to the next page in your life and don’t dwell in the things that you have no control of.
If you are worried about your future, think of it as “the future”, you are not there yet.  Enjoy the excitement of what is happening today even if it is not that good.

3. Familiarize yourself with the book “How to stop worrying and start living” by Carnegie, He already wrote a lot of pointers about worry.  See my notes here.

Do not worry… Pray.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/406/psa.55.22.erv

Source of Ability, Efficiency and Might

“But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.” Acts 1:8 AMP

We are powerless. Our human nature always overrides our ability to do things. We can manipulate in the way we talk, the way we think, the way we feel and the way we act but give yourself a longer time and you can observe that we will end up doing/saying the same things over again. Neuroscience said that our brain can be molded or changed or transformed. We can train the way we perceive events so that we won’t respond irrationally. We can forge a new habit into our new life just like a New Years resolution. We can say “I can” to whatever we creatively imagine to accomplish. We can set out to change our mindset to improve our ability to face adversities. Part of those are true but there is a “but sandwich” (the other side of the coin), no matter what we do using our own strength, we can never attain true perfection without the supernatural help from God.

I do believe that we have the power to transform ourselves to become a better person. I do think that we have a part to play in our self-rebuilding. But our own strength alone is not enough to propel us throughout lifetime. One day we will fail again and be seen or heard “oh, he/she is back doing the same thing”. Nothing is wrong with that, we are humans, we are not a machine or a robot that can be pre-programmed to execute a task forever.

September 20, 2012, I made a promise to “not do something” and yesterday, July 25, 2013, I violated my promise. For months I was so successful but then all of a sudden, out of nowhere I broke my promise without even feeling guilty about it. Now, i have to start over again. I know as a person that my will power is strong. I am an endurance athlete and I trained myself to do things repeatedly even if it is painful. My workout log shows how good is my ability to sustain a habit. Take for example, for 50 days, I have not missed a single day of my daily workout. For years, I have not stopped my cycling and swimming training – even after I suffered a heart attack in 2008, I still kept the same objectives even up to this day. Every year, I never missed the Outlaw 100 miles bike ride. Or even writing a journal everyday right after waking up and using just an old iPhone4 only (yes, I’m typing all these using my iPhone). Can you see my ability to sustain a habit? Very impressive, don’t you think… but I know that one day it will not be there. It has been proven to me many years that man’s own promises/habits are meant to be broken. It’s not sustainable. We can willfully say or do something or not do things but without the help from someone, those efforts will not materialize.

Sad to recall but I used to do things the “unChristian way”. Name it and I’ve done it. But one day, the Holy Spirit came over me and started to minister me from the inside out. This small voice was trying to say, “don’t do it”, “your actions offends me”, “I’ve already redeemed you”, “walk with me at all times”, “come back to me”. This inner voice is the secret power that can transform you and me forever.

The Holy Spirit is the real source of power. It’s like the sun that never turn off its power.

One last note regarding quantifying change. God looks at us in a daily basis only and He does not keep a score of how many days we have been keeping our promise. It is a daily renewal and when we fail, we have the ability to be forgiven again. That is the beauty of the Kingdom life.

Regards to all. RA

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/act.1.8.amp

Do you want “true freedom”?

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)." 2 Corinthians 3:17 AMP

"Freedom-the condition of being free; the power to act, speak or think without externally imposed restraints"

Be in the Spirit 24/7/365.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/2co.3.17.amp

Today is a New Life!

"This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 AMP

There has been changes at work yesterday regarding work days. I will be going on a 2-week vacation three times until December.

Today is such a great day. I am not talking about ‘today’ in reference to a day in a week. I am talking about the present day which is today (the right now kind of today).

When I was 16, after the death of my father, I came across these words – "Today is a new life." It was popularized by Carnegie in his book "How to stop worrying and start living". During my darkest moment on earth, those 5 words helped me wake up each depressing day after I lost my father. I created a handwritten poster on card board and position it where every time I wake up in the morning, those words are the first thing that I think about. Even up to this day even without the poster, I still think of those 5 words as I prepare for the day doing my 100 sit-ups in a stay ball or drinking my morning coffee and eating my bagel breakfast.

So what’s in the word today that is so powerful?

It’s the power of "now". Jesus said "do not worry about tomorrow". It is not a suggestion, it is a command.

Many times we fast forward our time table and by doing so, we become partakers of the future instead of a participant for today. Indeed, the best way to live a life is to live it today for tomorrow may never comes. I’m not discrediting the preparation we do for the future, I am just implying to focus at least 90% of effort of today and 10% for tomorrow. And oh by the way, the things that happened in the past should get 0% of our attention. History are meant to teach us only and not to be replayed over and over in our head.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/psa.118.24.amp

Where Do I Start?

“The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 AMP

In 1970, there was a popular song called “Where Do I Begin”, the central message of the song is the story of love. The song can be interpreted as the great love of a man to a woman, or woman to a man or God to man. But the song was only about a story of a great love. It was only describing what a great love is.

Anyway, I love the song. How I wish mankind can confess that song everyday so that families does not have to suffer separation or daily exchange of sharpened words that hurts so deeply.

[I am not selling anything in this blog. Please understand that so deeply in your heart as you follow this journal everyday. My inspiration in writing almost everyday is the joy of passing along what the Holy Spirit is giving me as I wake up in the morning. I’ve recently discovered that I am normally inspired in the morning right after I wake up. So I have to obey or…]

There are people that are in huge trouble but never take a chance of asking for help from someone. They rather keep their problems inside and hope that someday that huge problem will go away. No, it will not go away until you start a new life. What if you are on your own and no friends or family around to help you get out from the cycle of defeat and sorrows. What if you can’t even talk to people because you are afraid to be judged or ridiculed. What if you are just so disoriented in life and you asked yourself many times “where do I begin?”

Where is your starting point ?
1. Where you are right now.
2. Start believing the existence of God. Feel His presence.
3. Imagine an invincible wire that is connected on top of your head and it is connected to God in heaven.
4. Think that everything that happened to you (good or bad) were a setup by the almighty God. He was planning your life for years and you just did not know.
5. Read the Bible
6. Listen to Hillsong

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/pro.1.7.amp

Kingdom Auto Enrollment Plan

“All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].” John 6:37 AMP

I am currently helping my son find a school to go to for college. I am amazed by the quantity of requirements before you can even be considered. He has a choice of going to a local university (UT Austin) but in his mind he wanted to venture out away from home (UCLA). He scored 2200 in SAT and 34 on ACT and ranks Top 8 in his class at high school and he thinks he can go anywhere he likes to.  Doing so will place us in a financial burden because we already saved money for his tuition many years ago through Texas Tomorrow Fund and if he goes out of town, the tuition cost is tripled. My prayer is for God to guide my son’s heart to stay local.

The enrollment in the Kingdom of God is not the same as enrolling for college. There is no paperwork to do, there is not even a requirement that you must be at a certain state of purity to join. No SAT or ACT tests to take. There is not even a cost involved. Whoever you are, you are invited to join. We are all sinners. We made mistakes. We violated rules and policy. We crossed the line sometimes. We cheated. We lied to people. We slandered a person. We assassinated a character. We hated someone. We are jealous. We are sick in mind and body. We envied others who are successful.

It’s hard to name all our negative attributes but it does not matter because there is only one requirement to join the Kingdom of God – “you come to Him”. That’s it and you are enrolled automatically.

You will never be rejected.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/jhn.6.37.amp

Mystery of Being Spiritually Alive

“[It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not [ministers] of the letter (of legally written code) but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills, but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive.” 2 Corinthians 3:6 AMP

Many years ago, I made a decision to become a full time Christian believer. It’s not that I took a job in the church and work full time as a church worker, it’s about believing totally for God, Christ, the Bible and His teachings. I am a full time worker. I have a day job Monday to Friday and worked from 7am to 4pm every workday. No, I am not a preacher nor a teacher or a missionary. I am just your normal guy in the block that do the same things that you do as a human being. I wish I can go to full time ministry but I have 1 college kid now and another one next year and I needed to finance their future by working full time. My wife has the same attribute also-a full time worker. Maybe in the future after my retirement.

Being a Christian believer is something that changes my life for the better. I don’t go out to places anymore without having a “greater purpose”. My desires for material things are still there but in a mild dose only. I still buy premium items but for good reasons. My attitude changed from a reactive mind to a full blown “ready to accept anything” type. Give me a situation or an event and in no time I will accept the fact/consequences without questioning. The other symptoms I have is I can’t miss church. For some reason, I am always looking forward to be at church on every Sunday. I take notes at church, I have a medium size notebook filled with notes with scribbles of highlights and timelines and key points.

Other interesting facts about me is I only listen to Christian music. I destroyed all my non Christian albums many years ago. I just did not have the desires to listen to other types of music anymore. My children and wife still listen to “other types” because I don’t want to impose my own beliefs to them. But when I’m driving, the car will play praise and worship song only.

Also, I give money to the Church regularly and I found out that the more I give, the more I get in return.

The reason why I’m telling you all these is to let you know that these changes were not imposed by me or the church or some code of ethics for Christian life. No, these desires came as a gift given to me and I don’t even understand myself why I behave this way. That is the reason why I called it a mystery of being spiritually alive.

There is no “HowTo” to become “spiritually alive” except to start believing God for who He is. Let the Spirit change you from within. Don’t even try to do it yourself. You become more satisfied watching your life being transformed to a better you with the hands of God molding you to become the person that He wants you to be than by manipulating your life with your own manly ideas. Of course you still have to take your own steps when He put some instructions in your heart but that’s about it.

Living spiritually for Christ has its own benefits-joy, peace, love, hope, wisdom etc. The Holy Spirit gives life.

Regards to all.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/2co.3.6.amp

Build a Stable Self

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 AMP

The spirit realm is a very difficult subject to explain. Many scientists believe that man has a body and mind (physical and mental) only because there are evidence that they can tap or measure and get feedback. The Bible teaches us that man is not just physical and mental but a spirit being and so as God. It is hard to comprehend the messages from God throughout the Bible without establishing the concept that man has a spirit attribute.

God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

So what the word heart means In the Bible?
http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_heart.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_word_heart_mean_in_the_Bible#page1

1. Examine your heart daily.
2. Purify/fine tune your intentions and purpose.
3. Repeat step 1 and step 2 until the process becomes normal and automatic.

When the heart is in good working order, the Spirit man becomes healthy and stable.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/psa.51.10.amp

Experiment Worth Trying

“[If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which] I command you today, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land into which you go to possess.” Deuteronomy 30:16 AMP

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/deu.30.16.amp

Step #1 – Call Me.

“Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High, And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.” Psalm 50:14, 15 AMP

We had a difficult day at the factory yesterday and one problem was my specialty but I was consumed on another big issue. After almost 3 hours of troubleshooting, a coworker told me that they needed help. In my mind, I said “why did you not call me right away?.” In a matter of seconds, I was able to give him pointers of where to look and there it was, the issue was resolved. In another case, a coworker needed some of my help but instead of calling me first, he printed all the documentation I made and fixed the issue.

We have a pride. We don’t normally ask for help immediately. Part of us sometimes think that we can figure it out ourselves without calling for help.

Every other day, I get to watch a movie from Netflix or Amazon Prime during my 10mile indoor cycling to ease out the boredom of indoor training. The movie I picked was Prozac Nation http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prozac_Nation . Please be reminded that this movie is not suitable for kids. I’ve learned a lot about depression. There were things that I did not know about the illness that could have helped me deal with a friend long time ago. If you are a parent, a wife or husband or a friend and wanted to improve your knowledge of what depression is like, this is your movie. My depression before was only mild as it was triggered by an event and I could not really connect to people who has deeper problems so my counsel to a friend normally sounds like these-“you can make it”, “it’s going to get better”, “other people has much worst case than you are”, “it will go away with the passage of time”. Some of you might counsel like these-“let’s go have a drink”, “tell me about it”, “go on a long vacation”.

Some of our advices are valid. In the movie, I was waiting for something to happen. I normally watched the movie for 50 minutes at a time because I only needed it for my 10mile workout. So the next day, I completed the last half and I was still expecting that a friend or a family will come up with something that I was looking and helped Elizabeth deal with her depression. Towards the end, it was the medication called Prozac that aided her to find herself again. The doctor’s explanation was Prozac will give you “breathing space” so that she can function as a writer again and she did and became a good writer and wrote the book Prozac Nation.

The thing that I was looking for was a “call on God”. I wonder if we do that at the very first step of our troubles.

My advice now for a troubled friend or spouse or even myself when a disaster strikes – call on God first. It should be step #1 at all times.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/psa.50.14.amp

Choose Your Hiding Place Wisely!

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.” Psalm 119:114 AMP

“A hiding place-a place suitable for hiding; a place of escape; or a place/act to separate yourself from an event or calamity or problems.”

What do you do when something bad happens? Where do you go when things don’t go in your projected outcome? What do you do when you think you failed? What is the first thing do you grab when your day was so exhausting and filled with failures, insults and demeaning events or conversation? What do you do when you can’t find a stable source of income to finance your family? What do you do when your doctor told you that your body is failing and you might not live more than a month? What do you do when someone close to you dies? What do you do when you become a victim of betrayal with the person whom you loved so dearly?

No matter how we train ourselves to prepare for these disasters or inconveniences in life, there is no escape from reality. We will go though these painful experiences no matter what (some, not all). That is the bottom line-we will one day be subjective to a very difficult situation.

Many of us had created a few defenses to deal with difficult situations. We turn to friends for counsel. We turn to mature figures like our parents or relatives for advices. Some will resort to alcohol to drown themselves from seeing or feeling the pain. Some will resort to drugs and sex for temporary comfort. Some will inflict pain to the physical body so that the physical pain overrides the emotional pain. A few of us will take up endurance sports to numb our mind from the emotional pain and suffering. Some will pack their bags and disappear to another remote country and start over.

My favorite hiding places:
1. Long distance cycling
2. Long distance swimming
3. Reading books.
4. Solving problems(anything that requires thinking)
5. Organizing my life daily
6. I read the Bible daily right after waking up
7. I blog about what I read in the Bible
8. Prayer
9. I go to Church every Sunday
10. I mentor anyone that comes in contact with me.

My best hiding place-The presence of God.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/psa.119.114.amp

More Than Conquerors; Dream#1,#2

“Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.” Romans 8:37 AMP

“Conqueror-someone who is victorious by force of arms”

“Conquer-overcome by conquest; take possession by force; to put down by force or authority”

“Victory-a successful ending”

When we struggle of something, we always think of quitting or shifting our priorities. We are afraid to continue the fight and give up.
“Maybe this is not for me”
“Maybe I am not meant for this”
“I made a mistake on taking up this journey”
“I’ll be glad to start over again”
“When this hardship going to an end?”
“Will I be happy again?”
“When can I feel normal every time I wake up in the morning?”
“When can I be at peace before I go to bed?”
“When will all my troubles be gone?”
“When will I stop worrying about my job?”
“When will I stop worrying about my health?”
“When will my insecurities end?”
“When will my depression stopped?”
“Where can I get money for food?”
“How can I come up of funds for my daily expenses?”

When you start asking these questions, know that the victory is already given to you.

“We are more than conquerors.”

Dream:
#1. Someone at work announced a new leader and we were instructed to write a short welcome note. We started with a small post it note but then the space was too small and suggested that we have to use a bigger paper- we end up using a yellow pad paper.

I did not write anything.

#2. I was lying on the floor when my boss passed by but I was on her pathway, she walked over me.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/rom.8.37.amp

Strength of My Heart

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.” Psalm 73:25, 26 AMP

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/psa.73.25.amp

Know More About God

“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]” Philippians 3:10 AMP

“Determined-devoted full strength and undivided and concentrated attention”

“Purpose-an anticipated outcome that is intended”

It is impossible to know somebody without spending time in research about the subject. When I was still chasing my wife many years ago, I studied her literally. I observed her ways, the way she talks, feel etc. I wanted to know more about how she reacts in certain difficult events. I wanted to know more about the way she thinks. I wanted to know more about what makes her mad or laugh. Not that I knew all about her during the courtship phase, but I had a big picture about her. In no time, we became best friends as we spend time together for hours talking just about any subject. We been through storms together and survived. We went through glorious moments also and we celebrated the triumph with each other.

Fast forward 27 years and you will be surprised about the outcome of the closeness we shared in those good old times. We talked less now. We don’t spend 4 hours on the phone talking nonsense. 2 minutes on the phone is already a world record. We are so comfortable without talking for hours when we are side by side. We talked in our minds. We understand each other like we have mind power that we know each other’s next move. My relationship with my wife is personal, too personal and intimate and we are committed to each other. It is really hard to imagine not to think of her every minute of my life. She became a part of me forever.

Our relationship to God is the same way. God is a Person. Jesus is a Person. The Holy Spirit is a Person. In other religion, worshipping and believing God seems so distant and no personal touch. To some, God is out there in the heavens watching us and listening to us but no feeling that He is with us or around us as we walk in our daily life.

Many people were wondering why God send His son Jesus to the world and let Him live for a few years and then let Him die at the cross. Jesus was God and He has all the power to sit Himself free from all the sufferings but He did suffer anyway. It is really hard to understand the concept of Christ’s suffering but the answer lies after the resurrection. When He was near His death, Jesus told His disciples – instructions about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will come and will give us power. It took me a while to fully understand the presence of the Holy Spirit but when I did, I became fully aware of God’s presence.

The Holy Spirit is a Person. Treat Him as your friend. Ask Him questions. Ask Him for guidance and wisdom.

Once we developed friendship with the Holy Spirit, we will be surprised that we cannot be so alone by ourselves. We found a true friend that can be with us wherever we are and whenever.

It’s not rocket science to know a person. All you have to do is use your curious ways. Be curious. Talk to Him and read about Him.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/php.3.10.amp

5 Levels of Faith

"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 AMP

Level 1-Zero belief in God
Level 2-You believe that there is God
Level 3-You believe in God, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit
Level 4-You believe in God, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, reads the Bible, pray, active in church
Level 5-You are living all out for Jesus; “your light is shining before men”; has boldness to tell the whole world about the “Good News”

My faith fluctuates between Level 4 and Level 5. I’m trying to grow but sometimes there are instances that pulls me back to a lower level. It is hard to do it when you are in the battlefield most of the times. Knowing what level of faith you currently in is a good thing. Our faith should grow to the highest level after a few years of being in the faith. We grow in faith by exercising our beliefs. Expect something from God and when those expectations are met, our faith increases. But not just in victory that our faith grows, there are times that we encounter hardship and impossibility, these experiences also can drive our faith to a higher level. Faith is a daily journey. Our victory from yesterday does not promise a victory for the next day. The devil is real and he is always watching us when we feel vulnerable to temptations. Being watchful can help but the best defense is being constantly in the Word of God. Spend time daily reading the Bible and let the message speak to your heart. You don’t have to read other person’s devotional, you can create your own devotional and write the things that is reflected to you and meditate on it. For those who are just starting your faith journey, don’t get discouraged right away when you think you failed your faith. Once you are in The Kingdom, the Holy Spirit will guide you in every step. Be patient and let you inner being listen to the whisper of the Voice of God.

The levels of faith that I mentioned earlier is just for illustration only. I just made that up to quantify faith. There is really no way to quantify how much we believe in God. There are 2 levels of faith, Level 0 and Level 5. You are either for God or against God.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/mat.5.16.amp

Unexplained Favor; 15 Years at Samsung

"Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!" Matthew 5:4 AMP

"Blessed-highly favored or fortunate"

"Mourn-feel sadness"

"Comforted-experience physical well being or relief"

One of the reason why I am sharing my thoughts here on the web is I want you to know that there is hope. I don’t know who you are and how you struggle everyday. I’m always thinking of people who are less fortunate, that life must have been so difficult for years and you are asking "when these hardship is going to end?".

I gained nothing for doing this except for a simple thought-that a few of you might end up sharing the same cup of joy with me.

I had my share of misfortune (maybe hardship) a few years back. There were times that I thought life is a struggle for survival. You get your shovel and work hard everyday to provide for your family. Then at night, you gather your strength in your sleep and then wake up in the morning and do the same thing over again.

There is one thing that science have not explained to me yet-"God’s Favor".

Looking back through the years since my birth, I have no idea that I will end up where I am today.  I know that you too might have the same theme of life-a journey of defeat and triumph.

Yesterday, I received my 15 years of service award from Samsung. They gave me a cute glass statue with my name on it and the year 2013 engraved just below my name. I joined Samsung in July of 1998, a year after they built the building in 1997. I don’t consider my job at Samsung secured because I know how this technology market can change in a day. I love my job, my team, my co workers and my superiors and I really desire to retire from this place. That chapter of my life still need to be written.

When I got home, I stared at the award for a moment and then all of a sudden names, events, places flashes in my mind. It was like being in heaven where God stood beside me showing all the things He had done through the years. He was explaining to me how my mom and dad felt so excited about my birth. Then He showed me how I cried so much in 1983 when my father died that evening of April 9th at the age of 55. Then He moved on to show me how He let me stumble with the person that became my wife. Then He showed me the flood in Ormoc where 5000 people died and I managed to find ways to survive. Then He showed me New York where I felt so happy to be reunited with my wife but then in 3 months time, took away that happiness and replaced it with sadness when I joined the US Army; the night before I left for training we learned that my wife was pregnant. Then He showed me how sad I was during that moment as I left New York and I even questioned Him. Then He showed me how worried I was during the 2-hour bus ride from the airport to Ft Leonardwood, Missouri (on my way to Army boot camp) thinking that I let my wife and baby down by leaving them on their own. Then He showed my hardship in the mountains of South Korea for a one-year tour of duty at DMZ. Then He showed me how He manipulated my mind to take the AMD entrance test which guided my family to pick Austin as our final place of work Then He showed me how a person called me out of nowhere and recruited me to work for Samsung.

It took me a while to get to my "promise land" but I know in my heart that it was all God’s doing (God’s Favor). But what really got me so excited is when He showed me the people that I met during the journey; that without my interaction with them their life could have been so different. When I look back now and told myself that if I disobeyed God during my hardship and went on to a different direction these people will not be where they are now.

There are more stories like in my life that I consider unexplained. How did it happen? What lead to the event? Why?

God’s existence is a mystery but it does not have to remain a mystery to you. There are so much to expect from Him everyday that no one can ever imagine.

His favor is endless.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/mat.5.4.amp

When Love Matures…

“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:18, 19 AMP

“Love-a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; an object of warm affection and devotion.”

“Maturity-the period of time in your life after your physical growth has stopped and you are fully developed.”

The true test of a genuine relationship is the existence of love. The true test of a genuine love is the existence of trust. the true test of a genuine trust is ‘the lack of fear’ in the relationship.

When love matures, there is no more room for fear.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/1jn.4.18.amp

Humility Produces Abundance

“The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4 AMP

“Humility-a disposition to be humble; lack of false pride; marked by meekness or modesty, not arrogant or prideful”

“Superbia-unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem (personified as one of the deadly sins); pride”

“Rich-abundant, affluent, comfortable, easy, flush, loaded, moneyed, privileged, prosperous, wealthy, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-situated, well-to-do”

There are so many ways we can cross the line between being humble and being prideful. I think humans by design are prideful. We take pride in everything. We take pride in our work and the results it brings. We take pride of our possessions and would like the whole world to notice it. Pride is a motivator (in some ways) it drives us into action. But too much pride has a negative effect specially when it is mixed with arrogance.

The principle laid out in the Bible is always opposite to what a natural man thinks. I’m still amazed by this thinking: do you want to be rich, give to the poor ; do you want to be peaceful, reach out to those who are needy; do you want to be at the top, be at the ground level with the lowly; do you want to be smart and wise, don’t think on your own and rely in your own understanding; do you want joy, make other people happy; do you want to feel superior, be a follower; do you want to increase, decrease; do you want to be the first, be the last person.

So in theory, if you really want to excel in life, do the opposite of what you think.

The theory behind why it can succeed is when your cup is empty or your resources are dipping low, it produces a need. Imagine an empty cup in front of you, if that cup remains empty, there is always room for it to be filled. But imagine that the cup is full, there is no more space to fill.

The purpose of money is for “giving”.

Generosity produces wealth. When you are generous, God sees your heart and He quickly rearranges your life so that you will not run out. Think of yourself as being the pipeline of resources and the Heavenly Father is the source.

So how does humility produces abundance?

When we are humble, we become so dependent with God. We give up our own strength, own power, and own wisdom and we are no longer in control. When God is in control, He has more leverage in all areas of our life and can manipulate our circumstances to produce the best outcome. When we do it on our own, our capabilities are limited because we can only see what is in front of us. God sees the whole, we see only the portion of what we are trying to accomplish.

http://bible.us/8/pro.22.4.amp

The Invention of Fear

“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever leans on, trusts in, and puts his confidence in the Lord is safe and set on high.” Proverbs 29:25 AMP

“Fear-an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger usually accompanied by a desire to flee or flight; an anxious feeling; a feeling of profound respect for someone or something ex. fear of God”

“Snare-something deceptively attractive that catches you unawares.”

I was awaken in the middle of the night because I heard my wife was talking in her sleep. She had a bad dream. A zombie was chasing her and my daughter. It feels literally that she was out of breath and was panting as if it was real.

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is grab my iPhone and open the youversion app and read the message for today. Today’s message is about fear and what a perfect fit for the answer to her dream-“fear God and not man”.

Today marks the 2nd day of us having to wake up in each other’s arms. She previously worked nightshift at the hospital for such a long time that we really missed living like a normal couple. A good perk with her new workplace, a Monday-Friday day job, 8-5.

I came home yesterday with questions about the crash of Asiana flight 214. The incident hits home to me personally because we use that route to travel to Cebu almost every year. We fly to Incheon all the time now because we use Korean Air as our airline since they uses Dallas as port of entry and makes our trip to Austin to just less than an hour.

Somehow, the family was affected indirectly by the accident but I knew that I can hear their fears inside. When I explained to them how the accident happened, they were so attentive about the explanation.

Fear was invented to produce an action-“fight or flee”. But sometimes if fear is not dealt with and explained, we human beings will attempt to play that fear over and over and it becomes an obsession. When fear becomes an obsession, it drives us to act or respond abnormally even though the subject of our fear is not even present. There is a purpose of fear but when we give fear too much attention, it normally brings us unpleasant experiences.

Fear will always be there with us. It has its purpose, just don’t play it over and over in your thoughts. Turn on to the next page and continue living.

There is a different type of fear known to us. The fear of The Lord. The Bible’s meaning is -” the fear of The Lord is the beginning of Wisdom”. It looks deep and hard to explain but play that sentence over and over in your head and you will understand the meaning. It means “profound respect” to God. Knowing God is knowing His Wisdom and knowing His Wisdom makes you wiser than ever.

Be fearful… In a good way!

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/pro.29.25.amp

17 years Trim Tab Event

“Better is little with the reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord than great and rich treasure and trouble with it.” Proverbs 15:16 AMP,

“Reverent-a feeling of profound respect for someone”

“Worshipful-showing adoration”

How do you turn the ‘direction’ of a giant cruise liner? You turn the rudder left or right. How do you turn a ‘rudder’ of a giant ship? They use trim tabs. Read more http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_tab

Trim tabs are small mechanism attached to the huge rudder to leverage the movement of a larger system. They don’t actually turn the rudder directly, they turn the “trim tabs” to execute the change of direction of the ship.

Today is a special day for me and my wife. We have those “trim tab moment” again and I am in awe. In 1996, we moved to Round Rock, Texas from the nearby US Army Base called Ft Hood. My 4 years enlistment in the Army ended and I just found a new job at AMD, Advanced Micro Devices, a semiconductor company who was the leading competitor of the giant Intel Corp. Britta found a new job at Round Rock Medical Center. Even up to this day, RRMC is so special to me because we found this hospital by accident driving around at night in the densely wooded road at 620. It was a gift to us that we discovered this new workplace for her. I already had job lined up at that time but my wife did not. Also, my youngest son was born in this hospital on August of 1996, 17 years ago.

For some unknown intervention, her employment at RRMC ended by surprise after 17 years and that is why today is a special day because we are starting over, Day000000.

I used to be bothered by “trim tab events” but when you worship and pray to an all powerful, all knowing God, I think I don’t have to worry at all. God allowed something to happen to us for a very special reason. Instead today I will say to myself “let’s go Lord, I am excited of where this family is going with the change.”

I welcomed this adjustment of Yours and I thank you for not letting us be so satisfied with status quo.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/pro.15.16.amp

Acceptance Then Change

“But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” 2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP

http://bible.us/8/2co.12.9.amp

Exercise Your Hope

“So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.” Hebrews 10:23 AMP

A week ago, someone had ignited something negative in my ears. I was suppose to fight back and say something that would not be so pleasant to his ears also but instead I told the other person in my mind “thank you for training my patience”. I ignored the whole situation and after that … nothing negative happened anymore.

When we hold back and let a situation pass, we disarm anger and revenge so that it becomes harmless and ineffective and then both of you win – no negative consequences after.

My point is – when you face difficult people, tell yourself or the person “thank you for training my patience”.

Honestly, our patience does need training and exercise and to me, it is the best place to practice brain plasticity – adaptation of change.

But what if the situation is at a higher level of difficulty. What if you face an unbearable hardship. What if you are given a terminal disease. What if you lost something precious in your life. What if your hardship becomes a daily occurrence. What if the funds you have in the bank is not able to buy groceries. What if your spouse is not doing what she/he is supposed to do like keeping the sanctity of your vows. What if your kids are rebelling and doing drugs and premarital sex. What if your only child all of sudden decided he wants out from your house.

Can you still say, “thank you for training my patience”. Most likely “not”, because we are humans. We have limitations and we needed someone to help us.

So where do we get help?

The correct answer is from God. We get help and encouragement from Him.

But how? He is up there somewhere!

The other day, I had an interesting conversation with someone who is not a Christian yet but his heart is already wide open and was asking a lot of difficult questions about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. Simple but difficult questions and it requires explanation. Why did God sent His son? Can’t He do it himself? Who wrote the Bible? What is the Holy Spirit? What is prayer?

I am not an expert in the Bible. I read the Bible daily just like most of you and I’ve never attended Bible school and my knowledge is not to the max regarding Biblical knowledge … but one thing I’ve done to myself is I stopped asking the “why questions”. I just start believing what the Bible says to me in my heart. When you get a chance, try it. It will change your life.

I was able to explain to him most of the questions but I know that even if my answers were believable, he will have to take his own belief to the next level.

“God so loved the world that He send his Son to us that whosoever believes the Son (Jesus) will not perish but will have everlasting life” John 3:16

All we have to do is believe. That simple and why not?

How hard is it to believe in Him? Is it really that difficult to just say “Lord, I believe in You”.

The Christian faith does not end at believing God. That is just the beginning. When you believe in God, you become hungry and thirsty and you want to know more about Him.

The source of information is the Bible. Although written by humans, the Bible was given to man through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Think of it this way – you are alone by yourself and then inside you someone is telling you to write something and then all of a sudden you transcribe the ‘inspiration’ -what was given to you – in words and put it in writing.

Ok, I don’t want to mislead you too much about how the Bible came along. Bottom line is, when you read the Bible daily, you will realize that it’s message does not come from mere human beings – it must have come from a guy who knows everything.

That will be your homework – to find God’s daily message for you.

The reason why I mentioned “believing God and believing the Bible” earlier is because those are the foundation of the Christian faith. God and His Words.

But why the Bible is so vital in our faith?

1. The Bible is God’s way to talk to us. Honestly, I have not heard God’s voice talking to me in my ears. He does sometimes in my heart and sometimes I cried joyfully, but in ordinary days like today, I read His Bible to tell me something. That is why I kept coming back for more everyday and I hope you are doing the same thing.

2. The Bible has God’s promises. Those promises are there for you and me and it is free. No strings attached. All you have to do is believe. You don’t even have to get out of bed to get it.

3. You need the Bible to exercise your hope. Many times in my lifetime I’ve experienced super difficult situation and most often it looks so impossible in my eyes. What I noticed and remembered saying are these:

“Lord, you said in the Bible that You will never leave me nor forsake me”, and He did not.

“Lord, you said in your Bible that you will reward me with long life”. I’m still waiting for this since I had a heart attack at age 42, I’m 46 now.

“Lord, You promised that you will provide for me and my family”. He already did.

“Lord, You said Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given unto me”. He already did.

“Lord, You said You will give me peace and joy”. He already did.

It’s your turn. Find a promise in the Bible and question God about your request.

Got to go for now. I’ve written this entry while lying in bed using my old iPhone 4. I’m getting up from bed now and get my coffee and clif bar and 42 miles of cycling. If I made some mistakes or typos, I got my excuse – blogging in bed using an iPhone;-( )

Regards to all (specially to Taze)

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/heb.10.23.amp

Guard Who Keeps Watch

“I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me– Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father–and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep.” John 10:14, 15 AMP

“Shepherd-someone who watches over a group of people.”

We constantly make decisions every waking minute. There are times that we choose to do something in a snap and then we realize that we made a mistake . But then when you want to hit the “undo” button, we are brought to a surprise – “undo” is not possible. You really must have to face the consequences if our actions and there are no other choices available.

When we walk in faith, there is a promise in the Bible called the promise of protection, one that says I am a Good Shepherd .. that no matter what we do, He is always there for us to guide us in ways that we don’t even know. When we go astray or veered off from the righteous path, He is there to tell us “hey, you need to get back into the path that I prepared for you”. Imagine a GPS that is constantly telling us that when we follow a road that was not laid out in the direction, the GPS system will constantly remind us, “follow this road” or “exit now” or “make a u-turn”

All we have to do is listen to His small voice and then take actions. It’s there.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/jhn.10.14.amp

Suffering is Temporary

“[But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!” Romans 8:18 AMP

We all suffered to some degree in our lifetime. Some of us will experience hardship in the form of sickness, mental torment, financial lack, betrayal, isolation, loneliness, heartaches, loss of a job, loss of a child, loss of a father or mother, loss of pride, loss of a limb or part of a body, loss of faith, loss of trust and the hardest of all – the loss of hope. In one word, it is called suffering and it’s not easy.

I understand that there is no magic word to get out from our suffering. I know that sometimes we have to go through all the hardships before we can appreciate the true meaning of the situation.  Once we fully immersed through the hardest of the hardest of time and we are able to see the effect of suffering and we say to ourselves – “I know why I went through all the sufferings.”

I want to give you hope as Paul mentioned in this verse that these sufferings is nothing compared to the glory that we will experience as we are being transferred to our next final place.  Better yet, even while we are here on earth, we are provided a way out to our bad situation.

Keep the faith!

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/rom.8.18.amp

Give Up Now!

"Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go." Isaiah 48:17 AMP

Growing up as a child, I’m always reminded by these words in our home library that says: "The greatest mistake is giving up". Up to this day, those words are embedded in me. Part of the reason why I’ve chosen endurance cycling and swimming as my favorite pastime was the mindset of not giving up. You really have to put a lot of negative energy in me before I say "I am done" or “I quit” or I’m abandoning this idea” or “I will choose another path”.

But…

Sometime in the 90’s, I’ve violated that idea of not giving up. I can’t really remember the details but I know somehow I gave up something that changes the course of my life forever.

In my 2nd year in college in Cebu, I discovered the self defense art of Aikido.   I fall in love with the sport and started attending practice twice a week.  I formed friendship with a few group of people in that circle.  At that time, there were only a handful Aikido practitioners in Cebu and the training was held in a private home somewhere in Talamban.  On the weekends, I really have to put an effort to go to the dojo just to get my training for 2 hours but I did not care about the long commute.  It was fun and exciting and I know in my heart that Aikido will become a central core of my life. I started reading books about aikido and I consumed other materials in related subject also.  I was drawn to spirituality.

At the same time, I took up cycling as part of weekly activities.  I was in my 20’s at that time and I had a stable job, no commitments and I just had all the time for anything that I wanted to do.  Basically, I was living a great life.  I counted 5 years of Aikido training in me and I was really drawn to the spiritual side of it too.  One of the likes I have with my Aikido training was the peace of mind and self-control that I’ve attained through the training.  No doubt that I was in perfect peace at those years [I thought] .  I practiced meditation and stillness and mindfulness and become good at it.  I was in total control of my body, mind and spirit. Later did I know that in the coming year I have to give it up.

In 1989, I had two cycling accidents, the first one was only minor.  I hit a pedestrian crossing the road and I did not have time to react and collided the person head on.  My mindfulness and awareness skills failed me.  On the 2nd accident, while I started climbing a steep bridge at the foot of Mactan Bridge, A car hit me from behind. I was dragged for a total distance of 9 feet according to the police report.  My bike was crumpled underneath the car but fortunately I survived with no broken bones.  The injuries I received were a bruised buttocks, bleeding elbows and bleeding knees. Other than that, I was fine.

Looking back now, I learned that the two cycling accidents were the turning of my life.  Through that intervention, I was led to join a local church and became a born again Christian.  While attending church regularly, I resumed my Aikido practice on the weekends and resumed meditation.  I love the calming effect of meditation and the outcome after doing it.  It feels like you are in perfect harmony with life.

One day during the Wednesday service, my pastor called out for a Baptism of the Holy Spirit [read more about it] I was only around 3-month old in my walk as Christian and I was not fully immersed yet of the full effect of the power of God.  I attended church, read my Bible everyday, daily prayer meetings, sing songs, raised my hand in worship but at that point I was just a simple follower of the faith and nothing else [no boldness].  My pastor was preaching the Valley of Dry Bones that evening and at the end of the service, he called out for believers – those who wanted to commit their lives fully to Christ.  I said to myself that I’ve already done that a  few months ago but the altar call seemed like it was calling me again and I was confused.  Then the pastor explained that he was talking about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and you must receive it.  I was skeptic at that time but in my heart I said, ok, I will go up to the front and do it.  On the background, the church band was playing “Only By Grace” and I closed my eyes and raised my hand towards heaven and totally surrender my life to Him and I said in my prayer that I will do anything for Him.  As silence dominated in my mind, I heard this voice in my heart telling me what to do.  There was a long list of the things that I needed to get rid of and I said, yes Lord, I will.  As the prayer progressed, I felt something in me, it was like a flowing river of goodness flowing through my whole body and then all of a sudden I was speaking in a strange language.  I did not fully understand what it was at that time but all I can say that it was a great feeling.  Later on, I then realized that it was a touch from Heaven.  From that time on, boldness and confidence and trust began to grow within me and it carried me even up to this day. My life was transformed.

After that day, the rest of my life evolved.  I later gave up Aikido and meditation and replaced it with prayers and meditation.  Yes, I was a quitter – for the right reasons.

I know that some of you are skeptics about my experience but please understand that it was real for me and to the rest of the brothers and sisters in Christ.  The experience exists and if you are at the end of your rope, please know that there is one thing that you have not done yet – give up your life for Christ.

To Brent and Brittney, when you come across this journal, please know and understand that without the Holy Spirit in you, things that you do, things that you know well is powerless. May you guys one day stumble upon the mystery I once experienced. It was a great revelation – it transformed my whole life to a new beginning. 

1. Find a spirit filled church
2. Read your Bible daily and ask for revelation
3. Pray

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/isa.48.17.amp

Being Quite

“A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4 AMP

It’s very odd of me blogging almost daily. I have to teach myself to be more expressive and open. I am normally a quite person who can make anyone feel so uncomfortable with my deafening silence. I used the silence technique very often to weed out true friends.

I’ve learned this truth before that talk is cheap, too much talking can cause you a lot of trouble. I’ve also learned that when you are a quite person, people will carefully listen to you when you speak.

Our tongue has a special purpose, it is designed to uplift others. It’s job is to build up a person and not destroy. It’s for encouragement, it is for giving hope and assurance that everything will be alright. It’s not for gossiping nor for destroying a character or reputation.

So if you find yourself not uplifting someone, it is time to close your mouth.

I better keep quite now since I’m talking too much already.

“The true measure of friendship is when silence is comfortable”.

Regards to all.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/pro.15.4.amp

When You Believe…

“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” Isaiah 40:31 AMP

When you believe…
1. Strength/Power renewed
2. Weariness is removed , no mental and physical fatigue
3. Enormous supply of energy [physical/mental/spiritual]

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/8/isa.40.31.amp