Latest Posts

Published by

‘Not all of us are cut out to be B.B. King. Not all of us would even want to be B.B. King. But all of us have something we’re good at. Something we love that makes this world a better place. (Sorry guys, popping beer caps off bottles with your teeth doesn’t count.) The trick is to find a balance. Find the thing you love and do it with all your heart. But keep the ones you love close to you, and be willing to make sacrifices for them, too.

Unless, of course, you want to be alone.

Jessica's avatarshift

poboxI fell in love for the first time in the sixth grade. He was an “older man.” A whopping fourteen. Two years later, he noticed me. The awkward middle schooler was growing up. We wrote letters over a summer while he was in Arkansas—real, hand-written letters. We didn’t have facebook. We didn’t talk on the phone.

I used to go on walks. I’d put my cocker spaniel on a leash, and we’d go. And I’d think. I’d think about him. I was scared. No boy had ever noticed me before.

I also thought about emotions. Why did we have to have them? I had air to breathe and food to eat. Why, then, did I have to feel this way?

It’s a question I still haven’t answered.

B.B. King has had it all. He’s had success and fame, and, at 87, he’s still doing what he loves…

View original post 366 more words

Fearfully and wonderfully made

Published by

fearfully and wonderfully made_wide_t

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Psalm 139:13-15

And God saw everything that He had made and behold it was very good.

Gen. 1:31

If the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” was really true, there will be no one in our world struggling with low self-esteem, insecurities and inferiority complex. There will be no deaths because of the words bullies use to hurt and intimidate people. Words are powerful. They can make or break you. Proverbs says, there is “life and death in the power of the tongue.” And James says, “the tongue is a fire, a restless evil full of deadly poison.”

If you grew up hearing your parents, close friends  or bullies calling you damaged goods, good for nothing, useless, loser, dumb, stupid and ugly, I am sure you’ve experienced its negative effect.  You may still hear the tape playing over and over in your ear, but it’s time to expose those lies with truth. It is time to destroy the tape.

Those words were chosen to destroy your life. Those words were meant to blur your understanding of who you really are and thwart your destiny. But I come to tell you that the devil is a liar. The fact that he chose to break you by using those words speaks volumes of his fear of you.

Because one child of God who truly understands who he/she is a threat to the devil himself. 

The minute you understand that you are special, beautifully and wonderfully made, made in the image of the Almighty God, he (the devil) will no longer have dominion over you. He will no longer be able to hurt you through hurtful words. He will no longer be able to stop you.

So, let’s start here: 

  • You are not a mistake
  • You are beautiful
  • You are powerful
  • You are unique and special, one of a kind
  • You are talented
  • You are gifted
  • You are creative more than you could ever imaging.
  • You are loved. Someone thinks highly of you, someone is crazy about you
  • You are strong
  • You are a winner
  • You are Smart and intelligent

The list goes on and on…

People can bend the truth as much as they want – they will never be able to break it. Lie does not have power over truth. The truth is what you need to hear and remind yourself of repeatedly. So start today. All you need to do is this – listen to what God who made you thinks and says about you. That is the only think that matters in life.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Weird Things on the ‘Bible Set’

Published by

Jesus says, ‘The Holy Spirit is like the wind.’ At that moment, a wind, like as if a 747 was taking off, blew his hair, almost blew the set over and sustained for 20 seconds across the desert, and the actors didn’t break — they kept going. And everything stopped. Everyone just looked at everyone like, ‘What just happened?’”

the Lord of host is His Name,

Published by

some trust in chariots_wide_t_nt

The Lord rules the angels, the stars, the elements, and all the hosts of Heaven; and the Heaven of heavens is under His sway… [the Lord] is on our side — our august Ally; woe unto those who fight against Him, for they shall flee like smoke before the wind when He gives the word to scatter them.

C. H. Spurgeon

The Lord of hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth is the Name of God we find in the Scripture when a men or women find themselves at their wit’s end. Jehovah Sabaoth is the Strong Tower, a place we can run to in times when we are weak, powerless or when our resources are inadequate. When there is no other help, it is especially at this times that one can appreciate that God is truly the Lord of Host.

Jacob, when he was left alone and at the mercy of his brother’s wrath wrestled with God and demanded a blessing, saying, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Gen. 32:26

Hannah, faced with impossible odds of having a child after years of infertility, she chose to cry out to the LORD of hosts. 1 Samuel 1-2

David, facing an immovable force, the giant Goliath, with no human hope of victory – declared – “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies” – and Goliath fell. 1 Sam. 17

Before Joshua attacked Jericho, he humbly submitted himself to the commander of the Lord’s army. Few days later the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. Joshua 5:13-15

Zerubbabel had a great mountain to remove. But he got a sure word from the Lord of Host – ‘not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord. Zechariah 4

Esther was queen, but she didn’t know that there was a plot threatening the very existence  her people. But three days in intensive prayer calling on the Lord of Host and a risk to appear before the King thwarted the plot. Esther 8

The disciples, jailed, flogged and threatened never to speak in the name of Jesus held a prayer meeting calling on the Lord of host and the place they stood in prayer shook. Acts 4

Check out the lyrics to the Hymn “Mighty Fortress is our Cod” Martin Luther must have understood the power of this name of God:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never-failing;

Our Helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;

His craft & power are great, & armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

Whatever battle you’re going through today, the victory is yours. The enemies you see today will all be gone tomorrow. I urge you to “Be still” and let the Lord of Host fight your battle. He says in Psalm 46:10, 11

Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress

This psalm is a powerful and historical reminder of God’s deliverance of the people from earthly armies.

And what I like about it the most is that – it also looks forward to a final deliverance when God will conquer and subdue hostile forces of evil forever. I urge you to “Be still” before the Lord of Host and stand in the power of His might. Watch and see your enemies flee – like smoke before the wind when He (God) gives the word to scatter them.

Father, today, in the name of Jesus – scatter our ancient foe, cause him to flee like smoke before the wind. Fight every battle that we can and cannot see – in Jesus’ Name – Amen!

She fights for her life and nobody knows

Published by

Okay, I was on Google+ last nigh and I came across this wonderful animated stop motion video posted by Christopher Michel. It was the most creative thing I’ve seen in a while. I must confess that I’m not familiar with stop motion that much, so I obsessed with it for a while, sending it to a few people.

I wanted to post it on my blog but I didn’t know who was singing and what the song was. I am kind of dogmatic sometimes about – what I call “worldly music.” Anyways, since I watched the thing for more than a million times :0 I couldn’t help but think about this line – “she fights for her life and nobody knows.” That kind of hit me.

How many times do we meet people who are going through difficult times and we fail to go deeper, beyond the smiles, the fancy cloths, nice shoes and great makeup? Or, how many times we carry stuff, and instead of getting real and vulnerable, we hide behind a mask.

Anyway, if you are fighting for your life today, why don’t you take some time to confide in someone you trust. Why not seek some wisdom, prayer. Why not look to Jesus his word. If you know somebody who might be fighting for dear life, under a cloud of gloom and doom, why don’t you reach out to them. A simple phone call, an invitation for tea or coffee could change that person’s life. They might be contemplating suicide, stepping out the door with the wrong friends or stranded on a highway with no gas, no phone and no one to help. Make that call. Follow that hunch.

May the Lord bring encouragement to you and give you some fresh and heavenly perspective on the stuff you are going through. Watch the video – it’s fun! It might cheer you up.

______________________________________________________
Song & Lyrics by Oren Lavie – Her Morning Elegance
Animated in Bed Stop Motion by Christopher Michel

Keep your Vows even when it Hurts

Published by

A few weeks ago, I felt compelled to meet with a brother from our congregation. I didn’t want to scold him, nor rebuke him, I simply wanted to talk to him about standing me up several times.

He is one of those guys who’s very quick to volunteer for a project. You know, guys with very good intentions, willing to help, but really do not realize that they are over committing.

I didn’t want to break out in a brand new teaching series on how to make and keep your vows; neither did I want to discourage his enthusiasm. But I had to tell him that he didn’t have to approach me every week to commit to something and not actually do the thing.

I wanted him to actually think and plan about how he wanted to serve, than pursue it passionately. However, I did share the following scripture and thought with him:

the faithful followers of the Lord,
keep their promises even when it hurts. Psalm 154 NLT

What I do not mean by keeping your vows even when it hurts:

The Pharisees had four types of non-binding vows.

  • The Vow of Incitement. This is a vow motivated by the actions of others.
  • The Vow of Exaggeration. These were unrealistic and excessive vows.
  • The Vow of Error. This vow is one made by mistake.
  • The Vow of Constraint. This vow is one made to robbers, murderers or tax collectors.

In these sets of circumstances I think a vow is non-binding – even today.

The kind of vows I think we should keep even if it hurts are those vows made in the following context:

  • You promised to financially or prayerfully support a missionary, give to a project at your church, volunteer your time to serving the poor in your community.
  • You promised your friend that you will keep their secret and never tell anyone no matter what.
  • You told your wife/husband that your will forsake all others and cling unto him/her alone. That you will love and cherish him/her in sickness and in health; for better for worse; for richer for poor – till death do you part
  • You told the Lord that you will follow him, surrender to him, do whatever he wants, go where ever he sends
  • You told your children that you would spend a bit more time with them. You told them you will play with them, you will simply hang out doing things they like to do.
  • You should call the girl/guy if you told her/him you would call her/him. You are not only single but you are a christian man/woman who is single. Be a man/woman of your word.
  • You should pay your debt. Even if it hurts.
  • You should pay your tithes even if it hurts.
  • You should pay your child support even it hurts.
  • If you’ve made a vow to turn off all your gadgets… smart phones, laptops, iPad and spend time with the Lord, family, friends and loved ones. Turn it off even if it hurts. It is ridiculous to sit at the same dinning table and be texting each other.

This is important because the Lord knows a thing or two about making and keeping vows. As children of God, we need to represent Him by showing a good reputation. Needless to say, God honors those who keep their promises or vows. It is a great test of our personal integrity, something that gives others the confidence to trust us because we are people of our word.

Dig Deeper:

Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Genesis 9:8-17; 22:16-19; 2 Samuel 7:12-17; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5; Psalm 15:4; Matthew 5:33-37; 10:38-39; Hebrews 6:13

Be blessed! I look forward to hearing from you.

I am a work in progress!

Published by

Have you ever wonder why start-ups often keep the Beta test phrase label on their products long after their launch? They leave it on there to stress that the product is not finished – it is a work in progress. There is still room for improvements.

What do you think will happen to us if we could embrace the idea of “Permanent Beta” and apply it to every area of lives – Allowing space for growth in our spiritual, social, and professional life. Permanent Beta – is a one day at a time commitment to personal, professional and spiritual growth and development. Each day represents an opportunity to develop you craft, sharpen your skills, improve your serve and show Christ in his ever-increasing glory.

I have heard people dismiss or cover up their sluggishness with the phrase – “I’m a work in progress.” But this is not a passive excuse to spiritual, or professional laziness. The goal is to open up your life to the Lord, to trusted friends with continued humility and a teachable spirit, recognizing that you are not perfect and there is always room for improvement.

I’m not ashamed to tell the world that God is not finished with me yet. He is still cutting off the rough edges of my life and shaping me into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. That is the beauty of permanent beta. That’s the beauty of being a work in progress – you get to reinvent yourself and make things better.

Recently. I went back and edited close to 50 old articles on my blog. I’m ashamed that I even had the guts to publish them. But Christ’s love and perfection compels me to do better. So I deleted a few and edited some. I’m striving everyday to do better.

Here is how I am striving. By:

  1. Staying humble
  2. Staying open to criticisms
  3. Staying hungry to learn
  4. Staying creative
  5. Staying a visionary
  6. Staying pliable in the master’s hand
  7. Staying adventurous

After I’ve done my best, I will rest in his perfection to spur me on – because I will always be a work in progress until I’m completely perfected in Him on that day.

Detours

Published by

Life is sometimes full of twists and turns:

  • You are up – than you are down.
  • You are in love – you are out of love.
  • You are Healthy – than you are ill.
  • You are Employed – than, unemployed

Other times, life is great, you are moving toward your dreams, goals and your destination is just around the corner and boom – roadblock. All of a sudden, you hit a brick wall. What do you do when you find yourself on this roller coaster ride of ups and downs? What do you do when disappointment hits? How do you handle detours, opposition and roadblocks?

Quite often, when life serves us an unexpected blow or a pill too hard to swallow, we quickly get discouraged and think it’s the end of the road. Sometimes we blame others or simply just give up.

A few years ago a young violinist by the name of Lukas Kmit was playing at a Jewish Orthodox synagogue in Prseov, Slovakia. While he was performing, the cell phone of one of the members of the audience began to ring. remarkably he kept his cool and didn’t allow the distraction to keep him from completing his concert.

What he did next became a YouTube sensation. He began to play the very tone that was interrupting his performance. The crowd went crazy and his story and talent reached many more than he’d imagined.

  • He took it as it came
  • He kept his cool… maintaining a positive attitude
  • He used it to his advantage
  • He did a little improvisation
  • He stayed focused on his goal – to entertain people

As a result, he captured his audience attention, remained in the driver’s seat, display a sense of creativity and won the day with lots of applause from those listening to him.

Maybe there is something we can learn from this. Something we can take away today to help us handle life when it throws at us distractions, disappointments, roadblocks and brick walls. Here are a few:

  1. This could simply be a blessing in disguise… so be positive in your attitude.
  2. People and unplanned events will try to take you off your game… so stay focus.
  3. Unless you have a compelling reason to change course… stick to your plans and goals.
  4. Use the good the bad and the ugly, everything that may come your way, use them to your advantage.
  5. Make room for error… anticipate obstacles, prepare for the worst and look for the way out of every situation.
  6. Make room for some divine intervention, miracle…
  7. Get up and try again. Don’t stop after your first attempt . Don’t give up!
  8. Don’t ever forget that timing is your very best friend…. it produces character.
  9. Seek counsel, get a mentor, talk with people who have dealt with similar problems.
  10. Never forget to learn from every experience… they are given to equip you for the future – both for yourself and for others.