Sweet Wake-Up Call

 My close circle of friends know how I love sleep and how difficult it is to wake me up. Sometimes, I don't even care to snooze my alarm. It would go like, "Ring once, ri... *alarm dismissed*." One and a half hour later, "Hoahm", it's nine, "Shoot!"

But this morning went slightly differently. 7:24 AM. I heard the voice inside my head talked to me, "Hey wake up, I am going to bring you to some awesome places."

And, strangely, at once, I woke up. I was puzzled. How could that happen? I guess, it is the feeling that I don't want to miss out on something great.

And when I am fully awake, I think, He does not really have to take me to the central of Amsterdam to show me some awesome works. My life is His works, and I believe, it is going to be awe ... some.

I am so thankful for my God who knows me so well. He even knows how to wake me up sweetly so that I don't have to resent my lack of sleep. And for the works He is working on my life. And today, I determine to live gracefully and wholeheartedly and write this new chapter of mine with more God in the story.

Is God a character in the chronicle of your life, Friend?

R

Walk on water

Psalm 34:4

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Fears can be very haunting and leave us no rooms to hide. 

This morning, I felt a sudden fear in my heart. I didn't know why and where it came from. I could only guess that it's the opposing force who tried to bring me down and ruin my day. Praise God, he sent Holy Spirit to help me drive away the spirit(s) of fear. 

Yes, I figured, it is very human to be afraid and to worry. But fear is not from God. Fear never does us any good too. The only thing it can do to us is to hold us back and stop us from entering the promises of life. 

I just heard a sermon a few weeks ago, about Peter walking on water. Yes, the story has been told so many times and even the Sunday school kids know it, but the message that Sunday was new.

We all know that when Peter walked on that sea, it was during a heavy storm. Above all else, as a fisherman, Peter should know that he could easily be drown if he stepped out of the boat he was on. Moreover, Peter and the other disciples, they were freaking out, afraid that the storm would eat them alive. But, when Jesus showed himself, as repulsive as he could be, Peter said, "Master, if it's you, ask me to come to you." And Jesus did asked him to walk on the water. And he did walk on that water for a little while.

All I can see in this story that morning were three take home points:

1. When Jesus calls, he often calls to do something not ordinary, even at times impossible-for-human-to-do.

2. When one responded to Jesus' calling, he will be able to live a life of wonder (walking on water, building a thousand temples in a night, turn the moon blue, and many more fantasy scenes)

3. The water that one should be walking on or the platform where God would show his power is usually one greatest fear. 

My greatest fear today is the fear of another failure. But I believe, as I try to keep trying and don't give up, I will eventually walk on water.  

Fun = Gift

Friends, in my hard times, I treasure my few happy memories. I long to be in that moments again and again. But, as reality kicks me hard on my dry bones, I can never relive those moments again. It sucks. 

Now, I am left with doing something so monotone. I used to like doing these things. But I don't feel the same anymore. These things become my routines. I hate doing routines. It absorbs away my passion. I feel like my life becomes so very dull. 

However, as I am trying to go on with my life with this routine, I am made understood that having a good time, or simply having fun is a blessing, an awesome gift. And if I can't have a good time by doing something fun right now, why shouldn't I try to make my routine a bit more fun? Maybe, I don't have to try to change things I am not supposed to change, but I simply need to enjoy these moments of torture. 

Is it possible to enjoy a painful process? I don't know. I'm going to give it a try. Do you want to give it a try? If you do, let me know how it turns out for you. Leave comments below. 

Sincerely,

R

You and I

I need You.

You are the air I breathe,

I can die without You.

You make my heart beat,

I have nothing but You,

My only hope and my God.

Release me,

Come through and save me.

I am the one with the little faith.

I am the one who can't see.

I am the one who's not faithful.

Now I turn to You, I want to see You.

Live Creatively

4-5Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6 MSG

This is what I need to hear this morning. I came to a point where I didn't have any directions recently. I began to question everything. I doubted myself. I was afraid that I have been walking the wrong path.

Praise God, He always has the right answer. For me the answer is to trust Him by trusting myself more. I am not supposed to lose my confidence. God has my back. I shall be fearless - fearless in the sense of doing the right thing and not in cooking up some illegal conducts and rebellious actions.

Bottom line, God's message for me today is: "What I need to glorify God with my life is in my hands already. I shall not pretend that I don't have any skills at all. That is being oblivious with God's gifts. Be courageous and don't look to my left and right. Keep my focus on Jesus, and Jesus alone."

Be blessed, loves! Have a great weekend!

R

Sacrifices

"No. I've got to buy it from you for a good price; I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice." (2 Samuel 24:24) 

This is what David said to Araunah the Jebusite, in purpose of buying Araunah's threshing floor in order to stop God's wrath upon Israel. The King needed to make sacrifices to ease up the heart of God.

We should feel the sacrifices when we offer something, especially if we need to make up for our mistakes. Luckily, we live in the period of grace when God does not condemn people at once - He is saving all His wrath for the judgment day. Therefore, we don't have to worry about trying to please God to be saved. We are only saved by His grace and not our works. However, it is in God's nature in liking to see us honoring Him with our offerings. Offerings show the sincerity of our love towards God, I would say.

In bringing back the offerings, we have two options:  to give something within our power and we don't feel anything or to give something precious to us but we know that God would like it.

I remember a friend of mine said to me, "Give 'til it hurts."

The best gift is the one that hurts us most.

Friends, gifts have been a symbol of love for thousands of years, that is why the reflection of how you give could indicate on how deep is your love toward somebody. Have you loved him as much? Are you feeling the pain of loving somebody? Be courageous. Love with all you've got. God, the source of all love, will surely refill you with His eternal love.

Sincerely,
R

Season Sale (Almost Over)

Hello World! It's a new morning in Amsterdam. And I don't want to say that it is 'another' day. By now, I should have realized that this should be the day. The day where I take full control and responsibility of my life.

I let many things slip away from my hand and I watch them happen. Most of them were my time. Well, I am thankful that I have started to learn this lesson since I am young. I can't imagine how it would be if I were 45 years ago, and I regretted the things I wasn't able to do just because I haven't felt like doing it or simply because of I was feeling lazy and not in the mood.

Now, I might have second chance -season of grace. However, as it is called a season, there will be a time where it is going to be over. In what area in your life are you now that you feel that you are in this season of grace? Grab the season well! Sow what you need to sow, reap what you need to reap, water what you need to water before winter comes and destroy all your year-long hard work (all my year-long hard work/this-message-is-for-me-too).

Let's work, People! It's not the time to slack behind. The sun is soon setting.

Sincerely,
R

Seeking God's Heart

I believe that it is not hidden somewhere in heaven. It may only be found by those who seek Him earnestly.

When a girl meets a guy, she doesn't normally give all her heart to him. She longs to be sought after. She wants to be treasured. She is desperate to be romanced.

Man and woman are reflections of God. It can also mean that God has this feminine side. He likes to pursue us the way lovers do. And on the other hand, He might also has the feminine side of being romanced. Sometimes, He can be the jealous type. At other times, He wants our full attention. In any ways, God is a personal God -- He relates to us personally, like a man to another man.

To really understand one's heart, lots of time and effort should be put. As one gets to know one better, the unveiling mysteries become countless. And most of the times it is very interesting and breath-taking to really understand the works done into a person life. Moreover, to dig deep and see the wonders of God's heart must be a heaven of an experience.

Bottom line: knowing God should be the most thrilling experience we have; for we are let known the feelings, the concerns, the desire of God, the Almighty Creator of all heavens and earth. How cool!