Just thought this was cute.
I think it's like saying, " Today I will be happier because Christ has redeemed me for eternity."
Friday, March 27, 2009
integrity.
For the past two days, I've been struggling at work with the project I was on. I can't mention the name of the project but can just tell you that I'm uncomfortable, morally working on it. The producers told me that it's "totally not jenster", whatever that might mean, but I still felt obligated to work on it. I had to reference alot of madonna's old music videos.. (the ones that make people uncomfortable. Last night, as I finished up the boards, I was really disgusted with myself, that I allowed myself to take part in the project. I mean I could have spoken up and said, "I don't want to design for this project because it goes against who I am and what I stand for." I want to stand for justice, truth, love, purity, righteousness through Christ who has redeemed me, but of course, I chickened out and went home feeling guilty before God. I read last night, the final chapter of Ezekiel and then started reading the intro to the book of Daniel. It was stated that Daniel was a man of Integrity. That he stood for righteousness even when his reputation was on the line. Daniel took a stand even when he was alone. It also stated that God allows these circumstances to happen so that He can develop us to be women and men of integrity. I realized that I don't want to compromise my faith to please other people. I realized that God will develop me to a point in my life where I won't be chained by the opinions of others... I found myself asking God to not let this kind of situation happen ever again, but stopped myself, wondering, "then I'm asking for the easy way out." God knows all and will train me when He chooses to because He disciplines those He loves.
So, I came into work today, and the producers actually wanted me back on the project. I slowly walked over to the refrigerator, asking God to give me the strength for today to stand firm in all his ways even if I do get put down or ridiculed because of my faith. Right then, the producer came to me and told me that I can start working on another project. Of course I said Thank you GOD! Haha. Let's be a people that depend on our God in everything. That we may not compromise our faith, to please others but please God.
God, I ask you to humble me and help me to continue to rely on you. To pray without ceasing. I ask you, Lord that you may forgive me of chickening out and being put in a situation where I put my own self before you. I ask father that I may obey you in everything, in work, in friends, in every situation, even when I get scared. I ask that I may be like Daniel, but a woman of integrity and a woman after your heart like David. Help me to run for your fame and not mine. Thank you.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Isn't God with Everyone?
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful.
- 1 Peter 5:5-8
The title asks a great question. Isn't God with everyone? Scripture actually says no, He's not. Certain attitudes actually repel God's presence. The real war, of course, is fought on the inside. He won't show up when these internal attitude sins push Him away.
God is not with the proud.
What significant human problem does not begin with pride? Psalm 138:6 says, "The LORD . . . regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar." If you think you don't need God and can do life on your own, then God respects your choice and stays far away. A proud soul thinks that God is just for weak people. And God backs away and watches; We'll see how that goes for you. Pride is God repellent but God rushes to help the humble person.
God's not with the worldly.
James 4:4 says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Love for the world and love for God cannot coexist. We all live in this battle. The world tries to drag us down but God wants to pull us out. Face it: if your goal is fixed on satisfying your own self-indulgence and private pleasure, and in getting what you want when you want it, you're worldly.
Listen up, friend. These warnings are for all of us. James 3:2 says that "we all stumble in many ways." None of us are perfect people - just forgiven. That said, our relationship with God is dependent on how we deal with our own sin. When God shows you your sin in the mirror and you repent of it as soon as you realize it, and humbly ask Him for forgiveness and strength to not return to that sin again, God's mercy floods over you. But if you hide your sin, thinking, No one's going to stop me from doing what I want to do. I don't care that it's sin; I'm doing it anyway, that's harboring sin and it's so dangerous.
Categorically, the Lord is not with everyone - not with the proud or the worldly - but He can be with you. He is with you if your heart is yielded to Him, if you've turned from your sin and embraced Christ by faith and you're seeking every day to walk in obedience to Him.
-James Mcdonald
Monday, March 23, 2009
life, let it happen.
lyricks - gift.
I thought these lyrics were really powerful now that I truly understand them. I thought it was the hip thing back in the days before being saved but now.. oman, I just can't get enough.
Couldn't care much less you invisible
blind to the eyes of the world so they ridicule you,
tryin to get rid of you and we let em by
when it's their own lives that they minimize
what if they knew that you're alive
that you gave up your one and only son to die
for mankind, could they deny
the truth of it all, that it aint a lie
Almighty God use me for your purpose
naw i'm not perfect, hear my words
but one thing is certain, and i'm sure man
all i wanna do is kneel at your service
here at your service, all for you
all praise to the Lord, i offer you
my life, my soul, you the reason I breathe
every season of the year wanna walk with you
let me burn wit a passion, everlastin
life let it happen, speak through my rappin
don't wanna feel no shame no more
u can get it done any way any fashion
it's all about attitude,
you give so much and i show no gratitude
blessed with the gift of music, now I use it to give back to you
give me the strength till I get there
so let me stand, not just sit there
you gave me the gift
now i gotta give it back to the best of the best, oh heck yea
(lyricks)
Who's this that you're hearing again?
dedicated to the people, lives, and events
God are you there? cuz mom isn't here
daddy cries in silence, his tears fall to the ground
all my sound, my work, all my music fuses
humans confusing people, livin in a world that's not so see through
with that said, the booth is lethal
I become a weapon, everytime I step in, step out
Lyricks in effect now, bullets in .wav form and everybody's set now but
hold your fire. ladies and gentleman, I just wanna let you know
more proud than I've ever been
name is irrelevant though. me, nobody
just got a samaritan flow.
(manifest)
how long do we gotta wait, for the gates
cuz around us they surround us wit a lot of hate
and i frown at the fact that a lot of these so called rap heads won't see a better day
so i better pray now for a better way
everytime that i'm down you're a friend to me
everybody wanna see to believe so it aint easy but I know that you set a date
for the ones that will choose to follow
for the ones that'll keep it real God knows
unashamed not kept on the downlow
before they was dead but they now know
give me the strengh cuz i need you
can't do it on my own
i wanna stand not just sit there, gotta be sincere
Lord could u bring us home
(jsmaals)
I recognize I'm a part of you
and your voice ain't always audible
and the hardest part to try to follow God is that the audience don't respond to you
but I learn to do what the Father do
and that's so much more remarkable
so much more tough, but much more love
when you walk in the path that He paved for you
when you step in the lane that He made for you
I, never meant to be ashamed of you
I, never meant to bring shame to you
I, never meant to bring pain to you
But I could name a few things, and say a few things that'll make a nigga change his ways
make a boy take a step in cuz life hectic and we livin in some crazy days
wanna take it to another page and let em know that the love you gave
is sorta like the first touch of rain
cuz it's so refreshing
and so the message, the boy accepted it, most reject it
it's so depressing, and so the question is who to blame? cuz the globe is stressin
give me the strength till I get there... I'm gonna make it heck yea...
Friday, March 20, 2009
lover of the nations.
I want to be a lover of the nations. We should pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted today in India and the Middle East and everywhere the holy spirit leads you to pray.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
sweetly broken
Sweetly Broken - Jeremy RiddleTo the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of it's suffering I do drink
Of it's work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness.
While doing my quiet time two nights ago, I kneeled before the Lord and asked him to speak to me if he chose to. I failed him a million times that day and will continue to fail every day but what I knew was that He would never leave me and will continue to finish the work He has started in me. His spirit gently brings me to my knees surrendering all that I have. As I came to the light, I read this in His word. Ezekiel 36:26 - 29.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. I will save you from all your uncleanness."
I look back at my life before I re-dedicated my life to Jesus. My heart was a heart of stone. I was apathetic. I didn't care about much. I wandered without a real goal overworking myself, knowing that even money wouldn't bring me happiness. During my church retreat in 07, God spoke through Debi, (a sister that I admire so much.) and broke me causing me to weep whenever I thought of the cross. I couldn't even speak because the spirit was grieving in me. I wanted to scream to the world the love of Christ and our beautiful God. When school started, my cousin Jane who has also been miraculously delivered from drug addictions, told me to start a bible study. That bible study is called Passion Church. He worked miraculously during senior year through passion church, helping us to bond more as a family and to be there for one another. We've seen each other being healed before our eyes. God's amazing. Another time, he gave me an opportunity to have passion church with Yun's sister and mom who were visitng from Korea. Only by the holy spirit, there was conviction within Yun's sister and her mom that after I left, they were blown away what God was trying to do the whole time. Recently, I met up with Yun again and she told me that her father was starting to go to church. He's now in love with Jesus and with God. Amazing how God can transform a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Yun told me that she hears from her sister what He does at home and how He can't stop talking about Jesus and the bible. Praise God! God's been faithful and will continue to be faithful to us. I can't write into words the love He has shown me and is continuing to show me. All I can say is that I don't deserve any of this but that is the main reason why it's through grace I am saved. With mercy, God is training me to love him in every situation and to lay down my life everyday.
O God, renew my spirit and fill me every day with your unfailing love. Help me to reach the lost. Burden my heart with the brokenness in your heart so that I may go out of my way to please you and bring those you have called back to knowing you and loving you, because there's nothing like it. You are like... totally out of this world. I wished everyone could turn to you and believe in you... I guess that's why you have placed Christians here, so that we can pray on their behalf, and to intercede for people who do not know you.
I remember watching Prince of Egypt a couple months back for the first time after being saved and man, that broke me so much. God is beautiful. My spirit started to grieve again for my brothers and sisters that were in bondage to the world just like the israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians. God calls Moses to bring His people out of slavery to freedom into the promised land. God told me while watching this how I was a slave to sin and now He has brought me out. The Israelites are God's people enslaved. This is why we evangelize, to bring them to repentance before the holy of holies, to help break off the chains of apathy, indifference, suicide, pride, lies, etc...That movie is super annointed even though it's done by Dreamworks. And there is no limit to God. He uses even people who don't know Him to speak... that's crazy.. and these people don't even know it's God using them in His plan.. Anyways. Got to get to work early tommorrow.
Good night world.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
righteousness by works / wicked in repentance.
Ezekiel 33: 12 -16Matthew 21: 28 - 32
Do you guys see the similarity? I was blown away during my QT. When Jesus was saying this to the pharisees, it was exactly what God was using Ezekiel to speak to the House of Israel.
1st son -
- says out of his mouth "no" to his father but does what his father asks of him.
- wicked man who turns away from his sin and does what is just and right will not die.
- prostitutes and the tax collectors that Jesus is talking about.
2nd son -
- says out of his mouth "yes" to his father but does not do what his father asks of him.
- righteous man who trusts in his righteousness and does evil will not be remembered.
- pharisees and the teachers of the law during that time. (this can apply to us too.)
God tells Ezekiel his view of his people in Ezekiel 33:31-32. It is not only for the house of Israel but also for the church.
"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths, they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy with unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice."
Prayer : God be merciful to me and keep me. Help me to not give you empty words but my whole heart to you. I am blind to my own ways, shed light so that I can be more like your son. Forgive me for being like a pharisee and thank you for breaking me. God, I ask that you may train us and speak to us like Ezekiel, that we may be clean vessels for you to use. Open our mouths and have us proclaim truth being filled with your spirit. In Jesus' Name, amen.
pride and doubt.
Goood morning. I was listening to James Mcdonald today on 107.9. This message has blessed me so much and I thought I'd like to share.
Passion church members: This is the sermon I was talking about a week ago that broke me so bad and revealed my self righteousness.
Please take time to listen.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
today's sermon
Hey everyone. I'm baaackkk. I don't know why I'm but I'm always super excited to post new stuff on my blog. Came back from church and will need to go bowling at 6ish.. so this will be a bit short. Plus, my mum is making me dinner. So the sermon verse for today was Romans 8:28-30. Spoken through Pastor Chris. I added a bit of stuff in it too..28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Pastor Chris went over the topic of struggling last week so I'll review a bit. When struggling, God teaches us things that can only be taught in hardship such as gentleness, compassion, patience, sympathy, etc.... Basically one who experienced a similar situation can influence and help you more since they've gone through the same thing. There's a korean saying, "If you haven't gone through this, just don't say anything." God uses suffering so that He could draw us to him. Whenever we fall into temptation, we are humbled, helping us realize how much more we need God and his Word to overcome. So, in all cases, we must understand that when it's written ALL WORKS in v28, it includes the good and the bad,.. not only the good. We might win the lottery or have a business that is going well, and believe that God is using this work for the good of us. This might be so, but I would ask what about the deaths that happen in our families? or bankruptcies? or heartbreaks? Is that being used by God to later glorify Him? I believe so.. The world might see blessings as in forms of money, luck, fortunes, etc... but that's not always so in the eyes of God. In order to make one more Christlike, would be seen as a blessing. The struggles, pain, and perhaps more persecution in the near future will help us realize that it's not because God's calling down curses on us but many of the times it's for us to learn how to be humbled, to be humiliated, to be meek, and basically to be more Christlike. (many times though, the hardships are sometimes what we had sown (sin) and now are reaping.) But as followers of Christ, we must share in His suffering so that we may later be glorified with His son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:17...."Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
"...for the good of those who love him..." v28. this shows that we must love him above anything and anyone else.. love him more than ourselves and our flesh. Pastor Chris mentioned that there are 9 categories of love with God.
1... mm.. i forgot this one... will ask soon.
2. to trust in his power to protect His own.
3. to have peace that only He can impart.. (this comes with training.. not depending on one's emotions but holding onto truth.)
4. is sensitive to His will and His honor.
5. to love what God loves. (you'll learn about what he loves when you read his word.)
6. to love people.
7. to hate what God hates. (violence, sin, etc.)
8. longs for Christ's return.
9. Obedience. (2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.)
I've always asked God to help me to love Him with everything I've got.. and Pastor Chris had listed out the things I need to surrender and things I should pray more specifically about. Sooo.. what is the purpose that v28 is talking about?? Everyone is wondering about purpose in life. Rick Warren sold millions of copies with the book, "Purpose Driven Life." This shows how many people are truly wondering what their purpose is. This is pretty blatantly written in verse 29. We are to be conformed to the likeness of His son.
Summary: We should continue to ask God to conform us into the perfect image of Love which is Christ. For us to hate ourselves and our sin and love God more than ourselves. To be in complete obedience to God and take the reins of our thoughts and surrender it to our Lord Jesus Christ.
How are we going to not lash back because we were humiliated for the name of Jesus, if we do not obey now? How are we going to love when we can't even love someone that talked behind our back? How are we going to forgive those who will piss at our face like Brother Yun in heavenly man? Oman, when I heard what he did, I asked the Lord to give me a heart like that. I want to be tested and tried. I want to be gold refined in the fire. To learn how to love no matter what the circumstance but it's because I want to be obedient to Him.
This reminds me of Misty Edward's sermon/testimony for Fascinate 08. Powerful sermon on the relevance of Life. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
i am satisfied.
This is my second post on my new blogspot! woohoo. exciting. I've been contemplating whether to make a blog or not.. and i just decided to... last minute. The purpose for this blogspot would be to write my inspirations, dreams, visions, purpose, training, and goals in life. Dang that's a lot.... My life has been amazing so far with it's ups and downs. God's been breaking me a lot these days, revealing to me who I really am. It's pretty crazy looking back and seeing all the mistakes I've made and also the mistakes I'll continue to make on a day to day basis. God's been merciful to me by showing and telling me who who I've hurt, offended, and basically judged in the past two weeks. He's been forcing it out ever since I was really mad at Jay. HS's been revealing to me my pride and self righteousness. To be honest, I was in complete state of shock. It's who I never wanted to be and was trying my best in my own ability to avoid becoming. Without knowing, I was blind to my own ways and my heart deceived me and will continue to deceive me unless I look into the word and listen to the HS. The more I realize about myself and how wicked I can be, I start realizing more of the grace of God and how Beautiful Jesus is. I know it's not on my own performance and works that I'm saved but by grace.... just placing my hope, faith, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ because I know I will always be falling short. I'm always going to be falling again and again but the only thing that matters is not how many times I fail but whether I can get back up and start walking again believing and trusting in the Blood of Jesus and not on my own performance.So, I've been writing down my thoughts and bible verses in my little red book that I purchased in Little Tokyo. So far I've finished 1 notebook and is onto this one.. I wonder how many I can fill up in a lifetime... I bet this world wouldn't be able to hold my notebooks if I wrote every single thing God's been doing in people's lives. O man! I'll be a busy woman.. writing every single moment of my life...God, You're amazing! This is why this post's title is "i am satisfied." I am not satisfied at the state I'm in, but I am satisfied the fact that God's always going to love me no matter how many times I fail... This will lead me to repentance and faithfulness to him. Because HE IS LOVE! and I want to love Him with everything that I've got because He loves me. Many times I've caught myself taking advantage of God by doing whatever I wanted....but He STILL draws me back to Him, realizing how I can be.. how fickle I can be to God, who remains faithful til the end. He continues to break me and help me realize that He's all I need. That His grace is enough for me. Anyways, so this is my first post.
The song that would fit this would be:
Tenth Avenue North: Satisfy
Satisfy me Lord, 2x
Yeah, I'm begging You, to help me see
You're all I want, You're all I need
Oh, satisfy me Lord
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're more than all this world can give
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're love is all I need to live.
I believe this should be our prayer everyday, that He will satisfy us and to help us see..
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