Success According to Psalm 37

I always want an answer when I ask. However, the answer has to be specific and direct to the point. I hate it when I have to wait for an answer because time is running out. Before I attended the prayer and fasting last weekend, I have a lot of questions about my life on what I should do to be successful. My personality also affects my decision making in life. I've always needed affirmation from people that I'm doing the right thing. However, most of the time, I encountered negative responses. That's why, I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing or not. Because when I do something right, it seems wrong and when I'm doing the wrong thing, I will be shamed. It's hard for me because I wanted to do the right thing but most people around me never knew how to appreciate the things that I do. I honestly am confused.

During the prayer and fasting weekend, God spoke to me loud and clear through Psalm 37. Hanged on my bathroom door is the verse 4. I never saw its significance until I studied that Psalm. He simply gave me direct answers to all my questions by just following His commands. They are:

• Don't fret and don't be envious of the evil men (v. 1, 27)
• Trust and commit my ways to Him (v. 3, 5, 40)
• Delight myself in Him (v. 4)
• Be still and wait for Him (v. 7, 34)
• Do good and keep His way (v. 3, 27, 34)
• Refrain from anger and wrath (v. 8)
• Hope in the Lord (v. 9)

It looks easy but it's not especially when I'm aggravated or sense of doubt creeps in my mind. That's why He also tied His commands with overwhelming promises:

• He will give me the desires of my heart (v. 4)
• I will inherit the land (vs. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34)
• My enemies will soon wither (v. 2)
• He will make my righteousness shine and uphold me (v. 6, 17, 24)
• I will enjoy great peace (v. 11, 37)
• Power of the wicked will be broken (v. 17)
• He will remember my days and my inheritance will endure forever (v. 18)
• I will not wither in times of disaster and my days of famine, I will be plenty (v. 19)
• He makes my steps firm (v. 23)
• I will not be forgotten to the next generations
• I will be not be forsaken and will be protected forever (v. 28)
• He will help me and deliver me from the evil one (v. 40)

It's comforting to know that His promises are beyond my expectation. The bottom line is, just do what pleases Him regardless of what others will say. I know I will be successful one day as long as I follow His commands and I will live it up one day at a time. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Philippians 4:13) And His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my weakness! (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Speical Date with My Lover

Last weekend, I was being asked out on a date by Someone special in my life. Prior to that, He kept on asking me out but since I was so busy, I couldn't find time to be with Him. It was a good thing that He's very patient with me. But He made sure that our date last weekend should push through because He told me that He prepared something special for me. At first, I declined because I have an important work-related activity during that day but He made sure that our date will not be postponed. He allowed our stocks not to arrive on time so, I have no choice but to cancel the activity. And, I was not so happy about it but eventually, I gave in and told Him, "Ok, I will go."

Days before that special day, as usual, I was so busy with work but I was excited on what will happen during our date. In fact, I'm looking forward more on the surprise that He had prepared. I kept on telling Him about my problems in the workplace and my life but all He said was to wait for our special day. Finally, March 27 came and mixed feelings came upon me. I was excited, scared, worried etc. But everything turned out well...I became inspired by Him. He just wanted to be with me so that I could know Him better. I've always thought that I know Him already but I was wrong. I dicovered that He's more than what I expected because my perspective of Him was that He should please me that whatever I ask, He should grant if for me and He should make things better for me.

It was amazing because He plainly revealed Himself to me through the surroundings of that place and also through His love letter to me. And, what's more amazing was I didn't give in to my physical satisfaction and this allowed my to feel His presence more. Just by being quiet and listening to Him speak, I was revived. I saw His light through the sun, moon and stars. I saw His life through the trees and grass that surrounded me. I saw His majesty through the mountains from the horizon. I heard Him sing to me His love songs through the chirpping of the birds. I felt His embrace through the wind that blows my hair. I smelled His sweet aroma through the flowers that blooms everywhere. I have tasted His supplement through the water that satisfied my thirst. After these two days of dating with Him, I hungered for Him more. I wanted to know Him more because by knowing Him, I could love Him more and the more that I want to do things for His glory. It's Him I want to please, not the other way around.

I know that He's just waiting for this day that I would surrender back my life to Him and let Him control my life. And, I'm glad that our date became a fruitful one and the more that I want to seek Him. All I can say is, He is so good and I thank Him that He never gets tired of pursuing me. From this day on, I will not ignore and let go of Him anymore. Jesus, lover of my soul, my best friend, my dad and everything.

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

Are you happy with your life? If your answer is yes, how can you say that you are happy? Probably, it's easy for you to answer the first question, however, the second one seems like a million dollar question. True happiness is joy. It seems the same but it's not. I would define happiness as temporary but joy, it is something eternal and no one can take that away from you. For example, I am HAPPY because I ate my favorite food today but I am JOYFUL because I savoured every bite of it.

To be honest, it's really hard to find joy but joy is just around the corner. It's basically how you look at the things surrounding you. It is simply appreciating every detail of your life rather than complaining about it. It is being content of what you have and not what you want in your life. If riches or material things would make someone joyful, why are there a lot of rich people who are lonely? How about power? It still, won't make you joyful because a lot of those who have power are threatened to go out on their own. Intelligence? I don't think so, because most of these people have a hard time "surviving in the woods" and they get frustrated. Probably religion, if it is, why are there a lot of religious people still looking for pleasures in life?

What then makes people joyful? For me, it's having a simple lifestyle. Appreciating the air that we breathe, being able to see the sun rising and setting, being with our loved ones and most of all, having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Knowing that when Jesus is in my life, I know I don't have to worry about anything because He will provide for all my needs. And if I learn how to be content, joy will eventually fill my heart. As the Bible says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say REJOICE!" (Philippians 4:4) Imagine, Paul wrote this verse when he was in prison. Therefore, the bottom line is, joy means seeing something positive in a negative situation.

Fruit of the Spirit: Love

"All you need is love, all you need is love love, love is all you need." The Beatles were totally right. We all need love. It is someting we crave for but we don't know where to get it. That's why most of us have superficial understanding of what love is. We often define love as an emotion when we feel the chemistry and the spark towards another person. Or we also definde love as blind because we don't "see" the other person. Sometimes, we say that we love someone because we need them to supplicate us with our needs. Also, we define love as "you complete me."

The question now is, what really is love? We were taught that there are categories of love such as: phileo - friendship, eros - passionate or romantic, storge - affection or parental kind of love and agape - unconditional love. We have different arguments on how to define love but the Bible clearly states what it is. We don't need Merriam-Webster or Wiki to define it for us. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, it says:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

I think it is clearly stated what love is. Bottom line is, whatever relationships that we have, if we truly love them, all these traits must manifest. For example, I like the part "love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth", because it shows that when we truly love someone, we will not tolerate the wrong things he/she has done but rather, we should correct him/her in love. Although they will get hurt but when we love, we just want the right things for them. The best example is Jesus Christ. If you look at the verse again, He actually did manifest all those traits. To the point that He died on the cross for all of us, to save us from our sins. "Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends." (John 15:12). Also, Jesus commanded us to love one another...not just those who are lovable but also those who are not.

Well, since love is again a virtue, it's easier said than done. And, it's sad to know that the true meaning of love is now deteriorating. Let's remind ourselves what true love is by looking at the cross. So that, when we are with people, we can also manifest the traits of true love.

The Easy Way Out

This is a blog I imported from my multiply site. I was compelled to re-post this because I believe God wants to speak to you through this blog. I hope you enjoy it! :)

It’s easier to take revenge than to turn the other cheek

It’s easier gossip than to confront

It’s easier to judge than to understand

It’s easier to talk than to listen

It’s easier to tell a lie than to tell the truth

It’s easier to let out all our emotions than to use our minds

It’s easier to mind other people’s business than our own business

It’s easier to put up a fight than to bring peace

It’s easier to make a big deal than keeping it small

It’s easier to create a problem than to solve them

It’s easier to react than to respond to a situation

It’s easier to see the negative than the positive

It’s easier to discipline than to deal

It’s easier to hold on to our pride than to be humble

It’s easier to worry than to pray

It’s easier to be distracted than to stay focused

It’s easier to love the sin than the sinner

It’s easier to doubt than to have faith

It’s easier to question God than obey Him

It’s easier to fear man than to fear God

The list goes on…Where do you place yourself? The easy way or the hard way? Who do you please? God or man? Would you go for what everybody wants or what God wants from you? Above all these, it’s actually easier to please God than man…He just have one standard…To love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength then all the hard part will become easy. We just don’t love Him enough. Remember, He loved us SO MUCH that He sent Jesus Christ to DIE and save us from our “easy way out” but we still choose to stay in our “comfort zone” and do them than to follow Christ. How come we can’t love Him back? He has done so much for us, sinners and undeserving of His love. He has the choice to condemn us, leave us behind and be bondage of sin forever but He chose to love us instead! Think about it…it’s already in front of you but it’s easier to ignore it than to recognize it…It’s your choice anyway…

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

I'm the kind of person who's very aggressive. I hate waiting and I want things to be done right away. But one thing I learned is that being still can help me do things better. They say that patience is a virtue and since it's a virtue, it's something easier said than done. Being still can help you focus on what you should do and do it in an orderly manner. Else, you will be like a headless chicken always on the run.

This afternoon, I was on my way to meet someone. I thought I won't make it on time because I left something in the office that I have to go back and get it. Although, I was just a few meters away, but still, time is running fast. If I got pissed off at myself for forgetting it, then waiting for the bus under the sun won't be fun. However, I said to myself that maybe there was a purpose why I left my stuff. And, true enough, that short delay became perfect timing. It was amazing because I was able to catch the bus right on time (seated on the window side too!), reached my destination earlier than my scheduled appointment and was able to have a quick and very cheap lunch. Then, the meeting went on smoothly and got a positive call. When I was about to go home, the person's colleague offered me a ride and dropped me off near my house. God is so amazing! I know that His hands are moving today. So, again, I would claim that "this is the day that the Lord has made!"

It's hard to be still especially if you have a time frame or a deadline. But when you claim that God will rule this day, He will put all the puzzle pieces together in a perfect timing. You may seem not to understand it at first, but at the end of the day, you will realize that delays happen for a reason. And if I got impatient during the day, I might not be able talk to the person properly and might end up giving him a bad impression.

Closed Door, Open Windows

Opportunities are everywhere. It's just a matter of how sensitive you are to them. There are some good and bad ones but you will never know what it is until you took the risk to grab it. That's why you need to have the discernment whether you will grab it or not.

Most of the time, I aspire to have a better life and career. When a door is closed, windows would suddenly open. I had a lot of offers from different people and I have to filter everything to grab the best one that would also be beneficial to me. There are also times when I have to force a door to be closed because it's becoming toxic and suffocating. Sometimes, a window may look good but it would turn out that it's not right for me so, I have to close it too. For example, I had suppliers who would offer me very good products but since I don't need them, I'll have to turn them down. But there are times when they offer me products, I would grab it...not because I need it now but it would help me in the future.

One realization I had about opportunities is that if you can not hold everything in your hands, better give it away. And those you gave away will be compensated with something better and something you need. I remember a quote that says: "Your garbage is someone else's treasure." The Bible also says, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38). As a human being, I'm naturally selfish but as a Christian, "my cup will overflow" if I give. Besides, how can I receive more blessings if my hands are full? Imagine our world if we all give...life would be far better!