"Like a Tree Planted by Streams of Water"

In the Stillness of God

2011-12-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading though the book of Hosea. It's funny how God leads you to the books that you really need to read during the right time of your life. In my ups and downs, It's no wonder I was reading Psalms. In this time now, of quiet reflection and the journey to repentance, It's no wonder I'm reading Hosea.

I'm beginning to understand what It means to turn away from God, what it does to Him, how He feels. To have so.much.love to a people that will repeatedly hurt you- wow. I think sometimes we talk about God's love like it's this abstract static thing. It always looks the same, acts the same, and feels the same. But if God is Love, then all his reactions: anger, pain, judgement, compassion, patience, wisdom- are also love. His anger towards Israel in Hosea was because he loved Israel, but they were hurting Him. Their idol worship, their blasphemous ways, their empty praises and sacrifices all hurt God. Turning away from God is spiritual prostitution. The love that is suppose to be His, you have given to someone else, something else. Thank the Son for being the high priest between the sinful us and the holy Father, but that does not change the pain we inflict on God when we turn away and give or love to anyone but Him.

This was good of me to know, to know the full consequence of my own sins. To finally understand what scripture means when it says when a follower turns from God, it's like crucifying Christ on the cross all over again. It inflicts that much pain. God does not deserve that. No one deserves that.

However, one thing that I've come to realize is how much pride is gone from me. I truly feel like I am broken, putting all my faith and strength on the Lord, and humbly learning how to trust Him to give me strength, I being the worst of sinners. There is a peace in brokenness, I don't mind resting my weary head here, on my Father's chest. I guess sometimes God really has to drag you through the dirt to teach you humility.

Today's a hard day for me, as a friend of mine is going through the same journey I am. But God is being sovereign, and even though I am worried, I will trust in him. Recently I've been writing poems that come to me. I'm not a poet. But I'll share the one I wrote today:

I release this pain I feel

I receive your comfort

I release the frustration and resentment

I receive your patience, peace, love

I release the building bitterness and hatred

I receive your peace and love

I release this anger towards my sister

I receive your compassion and wisdom

I release the hatred, anger, bitterness

I receive all of you

I release the anger and bitterness

I receive all of you

Yes. I receive,

all of you

In the stillness of God. I find peace and refuge.

In the stillness, I am close to You.

Peace be with you.

An Exercise in Honesty

2011-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

I've had a hard time settling into a topic that I want to write about- I have a lot of half baked notions but all of them seem to be blocked because of an obstacle I've encountered in this chapter of my life. It would be nothing, but one of the reasons I created this blog was to be open and honest about my spiritual walk no matter how good or bad. I think i'm finally at a point where I can start doing that.

In the past year, The enemy has attacked my family. He has attacked every member of my family, even myself. And to be honest it shook the very core of what I believe in. I know that's a very silly thing to say or think, especially in light of all the amazing power God has demonstrated in my life and the life of others around me, but I think sometimes we take for granted how much of a rock our families are. When your family is broken, it's like you are broken too- at least that's how I've been feeling. As I have articulated on the blog before, I have a hard time finding community so I find it no coincidence that when the one place I did find community, my family, went under attack, the Devil took that weak spot and exploited it. I've been going through these past few months holding bitterness towards God, my parents, my sibling, and myself while desperately trying to find means of feeling grounded again. Of feeling soil under my feet- a weight holding me down. I pushed God away and sought to be my own redeemer- I'm sure we all know the end of that story, and now I have to live with the consequences of choices I've made.

However, feeling the most broken and helpless I have ever felt. In the depths of the darkest pit, holding wounds and shame bigger than I can ever mend, I've come to realize that all that I've been putting myself into have not made these wounds go away but covered them up. And when confronted with reality I've overwhelmed with sadness, I'm forced to see and feel how broken I really am, how broken my family is. I'm also confronted with a large sense of loneliness- with a lack of a church community, a family community, I don't know who to go to or how to mend my wounds. My situation is bigger than I can handle and very soon, covering it up will not work anymore.

However, though I have been faithless- God has been faithful. After months of letting me carry on and live on slapping His hand away, He reached me in the depths of the darkest of seas. This past week, I got a message from a old childhood friend of mine. We parted ways long ago but out of the blue she contacted me. She reminded me of a time when we were very young, when I told her about who Jesus was and how much He wanted to love her. She told me that is when she accepted Christ into her life- that she recalls that night when she wavers in what truth she knows. And that she thanks me for being open and sharing the salvation I knew as a child with her. The most amazing part of this story is that I barely remember that time, I wouldn't have even recalled it if she didn't mention it- and the scene in my head almost feels like a dream. But I do remember it now.

In the middle of my hopelessness- when I'm no longer really sure if this situation is redeemable and when things are going from bad to worse, God reminded me that there is grace. That He is in control- even when I'm not aware of it. He reminded me that no matter what, He is and always will love me and that he will not desert me- He will not abandon me or my family. And even though I don't know when or how, God will make things right again. I can know that, I need to know that...I need to embrace Him.

I've picked up my bible after a very long time. I'm finally almost done with Psalm. I think I'll begin reading the short books on prophets next.

"The Lord is faithful to all his promises,

and loving toward all he has made.

The Lord upholds all those who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and loving towards all he has made.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

He hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who love him..."

Psalm 145:13b-20a.

I'm sorry for making the classic 'vague but emotional' post. It was an exercise in allowing myself to be vulnerable among others- something that God has told me to start working on. Hopefully my next post will be less, melodramatic.

Peace be with you,

Tabitha

I need to apologize

2011-10-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

So I need to apologize- I've completely neglected this blog. To the point where I forgot I had it until people started commenting on older posts. I'm not sure how much time I actually have to post anything, but I'm going to try harder to keep this blog updated and true to where i am in my spiritual walk right now.

I'll try to do a blog post on either wednesday or friday.

Until Then, Peace be with you.

Tabitha

For Darkness is as Light to You..

2011-05-14T23:14:00.001-07:00

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,'

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

Pslam 139: 7-12

A Love Offering

2011-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

"Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me."

Psalm 119:115

The funny thing about God is that he takes the complicated and makes them look simple. I consistently find that it's like Him to have layers for everything. How simple is this template for life, but when you think about the actual application of this statement, it's pretty deep. May my sole purpose in life be to praise God- that's everything I say, think, do, breath, make, eat, love, EVERYTHING that I am and want to be...may it all praise God. May the only thing that sustains me be His word- food, shelter, safety, companionship...may it all be sustained by God's law. Just how much that short sentence encompasses is mind boggling, yet it still feels very simple because in the end, that is the purpose of life. It's that simple- to live to praise God and have his law sustain you.

I want my life to be that. I want to live my life within this simplicity but allow the complexity of what it means to flourish in all parts of who I am. May I live solely to praise God and may His word be the only thing that sustains me.

God has been just blessing my life this past week. miracles upon miracles. 4 times this week I should have not been able to turn in late course work but it wasn't the case. In one instance I had a response paper I was suppose to turn in 24hrs in advanced and I never did. When my professor confronted me about it, I could have lied, he even set me up with some good excuses but i just told him the simple truth, "Professor, I just didn't do it...". My professor responded by offering to let me reschedule my response paper for another day...What??

God is good. God is SO good.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth"

Psalm 121:1&2

I really like finding verses from songs in the psalms. It's such a beautiful book and there's soo many prayers and praises in it. I've decided that Godly art comes in the form of the psalms. All the emotions that we go through- pain, sorrow, joy, awe, lament, etc. should be acknowledged because we live a world with all those emotions...they're real. But beyond all that, we should still remember that God is sovereign in all things.

I'm thinking of starting a project where have a photograph for all my favorite psalms. We'll see how it turns out, but I'll keep you posted on any photos I complete. If it does become a project, i'll call it The Art of Psalms

Speaking about art, I'm going to put up Sufjan Steven's You are the Blood again. I didn't completely get the song at first but recently I finally understood. If you don't know Sufjan, I highly encourage you to Google him. He is a fine example of an artist who is Christian admits a sea of Christian artists.

"You are electricity, you're light. You are Sound, itself, and you are flight"

The thing about art for Christ followers is that it becomes a form of worship. You are encountering God and making a beautiful offering for Him. You want to show your reverend, awe, and praise in your own creation. It kind of reminds me of the crowns the saints have in Revelations that they place at the feet of God in his presence. We do the same thing- your creation of something beautiful you give back to God and lay it at his feet. He deserves the best in all that you do.

Art is used as a way to express the place you encounter God. I think Sufjan encounters God in music, in sound- from the chaotic to the beautiful. After all, God created sound! He created all kinds of music, just look at nature. Listen to the birds of the air, the bees of the field, the swoosh of the sea. What a symphony!

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

"May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls

and security within your citadels."

For the sake of my brothers and friends,

I will say, "Peace be within you."

Psalm 122:6-8

Peace be within you ^_^

Tabitha

So that you would be lead to pray..

2011-02-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been catching up on the news, some HUGE changes have been happening in the middle east recently- the one getting the most coverage being Egypt's Revolution. Egypt has had a president for the last 30 years who likes to stay in power and keep opposition down. He uses the Egyptian police as a force to do his dirty work against people who decide to speak up against the injustices within the Egyptian government. There have been countless of activists and journalists who have been arrested just because of their demands for dignity for their people.

Around last week Friday many Egyptians decided that enough was enough and stood up to an institution that uses big guns and fear to keep people in order. The government shut down the internet, shut down the phone services, called a curfew, etc. all to discourage the organizing of Egyptians on January 25th. It didn't work. The Egyptian people, all in one voice, demanded freedom from oppression. Change. This past Tuesday about two million people showed up to a march for a million in Cairo. They all were demanding for a new regime- one that was there to protect them, not to oppress them. And all sorts of people came, young, old, men, women, different parties, Muslims, and Christians.

However, as this week progressed, what was a peaceful protest became very violent. Here's an account that Mona Seif gives in the middle of the square many Egyptians are refusing to leave till president Mubarak steps down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSBJwsjakcg

when I was listening to this clip, It was happening that day and I couldn't bear it. I couldn't help but think about what it must feel like to be in the middle of a open square with other unarmed individuals while your own government shoots automatic guns at you. How blessed are we? How blessed am I?? That I can march to my capitol and not get shot at? Of all the places God could have born me into- the middle of Congo's civil war, in the Gaza, in Burma, I was born in a situation where I am free from immediate oppression. I was born in a situation where I have power to stop oppression. Me and Mona Seif are living and breathing in the same time. While I sit in my comfy sofa, she sits somewhere in the cold outside not knowing who is being shot at, how many young ones are wounded or hurt. Of all the places I could be, God didn't put me right next to her- He put me here in front of a computer screen where I can chose to hear her story.

Whether I ignore it or not, the world still turns and people are still dying, people are still starving, people are still afraid of what may happen the next day.

I guess I'm writing this post because I'm trying to articulate what God has placed in my heart as a burden- not necessarily Egypt but the subject of oppression. I was talking to my roommate a few weeks ago and she was telling me about how she was explaining to someone that there are certain movies or documentaries she just cannot watch because it pains her so much to see women or families in those kinds of situations. That person told her she shouldn't write off those feelings, yea they may be sad to one person but if you feel that passionate or pained by it, maybe it's because God has called you to do something about it.

That was a sort of revelation for me. I once asked God why he gave me such a big heart, because I couldn't understand why it hurt so bad when I saw something like the Rwandan Genocide a friend losing their faith or even a movie like precious. The next day He answered, so that it would be lead to pray.

My heart turns inside out and upside down inside of me when I hear or see oppression. I cannot stand seeing evil things happening to people who have no power to do anything about it.

"Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed"

Psalm 119:136

But I think God is going to start teaching me what power prayer really has for us. I think right now that's the biggest gap I have. I know prayer has power, and I know God can move in our prayers but God just needs to reveal His truth to me.

"Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk'"

Acts 3:6

There is power in our words- God has made it one of the most important actions we do. After all the bible says that our words can cut a person deeper than any sword. And if just our regular words can have so much power- how much more does prayer have.We are directly speaking to God and He listens to us. Even more, our prayers go up to Him in full force when we pray together. How amazing is that.

That must really mean that the power of our prayers are much more sweeter than that of silver or gold. It's more effective because God can and will allocate resources better than any man can.

To Egypt, I do not have silver or gold to give but I do have my prayers- which is more valuable than silver or gold, sweeter than milk and honey. I know that because God is an all good God. He is all powerful, he looks after the oppressed and in some way or the other will give them justice and peace. I wholeheartedly believe in that.

Tell me. What has God given you to twist your heart inside out and upside down?

Also, Will you pray for the people of Egypt with me? Doesn't matter what you pray- whether for protection, salvation, justice, peace...let's pray for them. It only takes a mustard seed of faith to move a mountain : )

Peace Be with You,

Tabitha

We Give You All The Glory...

2011-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

God has just been speaking in my life- I dunno, and It could very well be a post-seminar high, but personally I feel like God gives us highs with his people so we run with it, not just leave it in that one moment.

Recently, besides everything else, I've been really thinking about the way I process God, the word and how it relates to the way that I worship, speak and communicate my experiences...I've been wondering if that is what I'm really suppose to do or if its just the way I do 'church'. I didn't grow up pentacostal- nor did I just start becoming serious with my faith within the pentacostal church...but it's within the pentacostal church that I grew the most in my faith. And I'm always going through a proccess of refining what is truth and what is ok and what is just 'church'.

Today I went to a Holy Spirit seminar and I think that it just cleared up a lot of stuff for me that I've been pondering with a lot...and it's also opened my eyes to even more ways that we can experience God. Sometimes we need to just be more trustworthy with our brother and sisters in Christ. They might do something that is unconventional to us but you know, God says we will know each other's hearts by their fruit and I know that if God has blessed someone's life and I can see that what comes out of their mouth with scripture is true and I'm in agreement with, who am I to say they are 100% wrong...and even if they are, lean on the side of grace! God is a good God and he can use ALL things to glorify Him. And If my brother or sister, who i may not agree with all the time, loves God with all his/her heart, soul, and mind, then I know God will work in their life and give them blessings. The Law is there as a guide but also a reminder of how imperfect we are. We make mistakes and we don't always translate things well. But God expects us to mess up! He is good enough to make sure his message is is still delivered- we do not have the power to mess up God's plan- trust more in his majesty because he is more than enough to fill up the places we cannot fill ourselves.

So i'm just filled with the Holy Spirit- the third but none less important person made up in God's One. And I can't help but praise him. May you praise him too in your life. This song just came to me and I wanted to share with you : )

Alpha and Omega

"Be at rest once more, O my Soul, for the Lord has been good to you."

psalm 116:7

"He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. The will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Naitonas will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever"

Micah 4:3-5

I hope this all made sense- I'm writing and I don't know if it's going to translate well. But God is good even now.

Peace Be with You

Tabitha

Redemption from the Pit

2010-12-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I kind of hate these post after a long unannounced break. They're always hard to start.

Part of my absence came from just being so busy this semester. I've been juggling different clubs i'm a part of, school, and personal issues like crazy and they've literally left me with hardly any time to sleep- let alone blog. I am on winter break though so I have more time to blog now that I did before (and hopefully next semester will be less busy as well).

However, the large reason for my absence comes from this snag i've hit in my spiritual life- God' been, as I stated in my last post, revealing a lot of different fruitless branches in my life and I'm having a hard time of letting a lot of those branches go. It's rooted in this complicated issue of pride and also my difficulty in allowing redemption to overflow in areas that I've made ill choices in.

Because of all these things I did play around with the idea of maybe just going on a blogger hiatus while I get my act together but then I remembered that one of the main reasons I started this blog was to be completely honest, as an exercise in transparency, with where I am in my spiritual life. That obviously must include my downs as well as the ups.

Therefore, I'm writing from a ever more broken spirit- one aware of my limitations and just how much God's grace is sufficient to complete me in areas I just cannot complete myself.

SO. What have I been doing in my life.

I'm still going through the book of psalm (which probably should have been done by the middle of the semester). My devotional life hasn't really recovered from the summer sorry to say. During today's quiet time, though, this passage really touched my heart:

"Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's"

Psalm 103:2-5

This was a verse I think I needed to hear. More than ever I forget what God provides for me in this life. Especially the line that says "who redeems your life from the pit". That's largely how I feel right now, that my own sin has led me to fall in a pit that's too grand for me to climb out myself. If you know me, you know that a large part of my spiritual walk if validated by what I feel the spirit is moving within me say, act, read, etc. To feel nothing is the worst thing of all. But God is good and he is faithful and works even when my hardened heart cannot sense it.

If nothing else, I know I can praise God for never giving up on me. For never letting me go. No matter how much I may push away, his arms are always outstretched ready to grab a hold of me when I have enough sense to run back to him.

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;"

Psalm 103:8-13

Amen.

Community

2010-08-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hiatus.

My Bad?

Just as an update as to where i've been- i promise i didn't just drop the blogging for no reason. This summer i was in Washington DC doing training with Greenpeace with a progam called the Greenpeace Organizing Term. I won't get too into it because i don't really want to adversite, but if you want to read more about what that is, you can check out the homepage.

Anyways, I considered this summer as not only preperation for my future career as a girl with an activist spirit- but a small dose of what the rest of my life will be- balancing my career in a secular world and keeping my heart right and close to God. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't do that great of a job this summer. However, i learned an important lesson that God has been hinting at a bit for this season of my life.

I've been blessed to have been seaking God at such a young age- and to have been always seeking and trusting him for all my life. However, with that growth came a lot of times when God has had to humble my heart- I struggle with pride in my own relationship with Christ. I depend on myself to seek Christ because a lot of the times, i've had to seek him on my own. And even though I know the importance of community and struggle to find communion with other christians, i suppose i've never made the real connection between a community being my own support group to keep me in check with my walk.

I'm going into my third year of College and i've learned a lot about my imperfections. First off, the more busy i become i realize that things i struggled with become magnified. The birth of the blog, for example, was to help my be consistent with my devotions- something i have really stuggled with this summer (hence the lack of blogging). Secondly, I tend to assume that my role within a community will be as a leader of some kind (whether as a youth leader, bible study leader, small group leader, etc.) and therefore i do not articulate my struggles but instead suppress mine as I help people with theirs.

I've been aware of my pride and i've started to work on it and i'm aware of my need to find someone to be completely accountable to- which i think God has helped me find. However, I am now more aware than ever of the role that a christian community plays in my relationship with God. Surrounding yourself with people who constantly are seeking a relationship with God encourages you to keep seeking a relationship with God. being surrounded by people who love God and acts out God's love encourages you to do the same too. You remember things you tend to forget when you let yourself get caught up with the world- it keeps you grouned and reminds you of what is more important in life.

I guess I felt like i needed to post this because I've started to understand how much of a stumbling block this righteous pride has become in my heart. I've also truly started to understand what it means when Christians, including myself, say that we cannot do this alone. A fellow blogger posted a comment on a poem i wrote a few months back when i was going through a different kind of struggle and it just encouraged my heart because it reminded me that even though we always stumble and always fall short, God has the strength and power to make us stand in him

This year I'm going to be busier than ever and i'm probably going to fall and stumble all over the place. However i am confident that as long as I continue to have an attitude that hungers after my Father, He will fill my cup with his peace, wisdom and strength.

Praise be to the Father, who uses his broken people to glorify Him who is good. : )

Peace be with you.

My Life as a "Stud"

2010-05-20T02:50:00.000-07:00

Just found this spoken word via facebook. I think it's really interesting and really deep. Let me know what you think of it. It's a little long but worth it:

For anyone who doesn't know. A 'stud' is a black masculine lesbian.
**EDIT: I decided to add more onto this video just because 4am gives you little sense to think analytically.

I find this identity of being a 'Stud' very interesting. I'm not that familiar with the LGBT community- or familiar enough to know lingo and popular theories about different things but I know that there is a focus on the idea of sex and gender roles.

From what I understand (and someone correct/educate me if i'm wrong), the question is what is a man and what is a woman. There is the sexual difference between male and female, and there is the gender man and woman. The argument is that gender roles are constructed by society: men are aggressive, athletic, hunters, protectors, leaders, etc; women are care givers, sensitive, passive, easily flustered, etc. These are roles that are taught not natural. I think this is an important argument to hone in on because it is counter what many Christians believe. Up until a few months ago, i did not seriously think about the two different mindsets. Scientifically I know the only difference between both sexes are the two chemicals. If a male takes estrogen pills, he develops female parts and features and vice versa. Personally I do believe that there are character differences between men and women that are natural but i do also believe that there are things that we learn to act like. The question is where is that line if there is a line at all?

The discussion of gender and sex is presented in this video. If you have not seen or heard of a stud, it may be hard to grasp what she's talking about. Stud is a term used to describe a group of individuals within the homosexual community. In the white lesbian couple it would be the girl who acted more 'butch' but it goes beyond that. The Stud plays out the male gender role: watches sports, wears the clothes, protects the girl, is a rock. She is the dominant role. So both roles are there, they just so happen to involve two females.

Like I said, i don't know much about the dynamics of the LGBT community, but like the speaker said- a lot of these women do have a past of abuse or harassment or abandonment and I wonder if that is being played out here (Lord knows the black community's family structures are really shaky). The speaker in the video describes the girl that the 'Stud' is with as broken: wanting a masculine figure but not a man. The speaker also described herself during that time as not being comfortable with herself so dressing to try and hide it and be something opposite.

I also found the speaker's definition of choice interesting. The idea that being born in sin opens up the the choice of sin. There will always be a temptation that we will struggle with but it's only acting upon that temptation that makes it a sin. We still have the choice to act on that idea or to run to God with it. idk, it was a revelation that clears up a lot for me and should be noted.

That is all. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing."

Psalm 34:8&9

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned; the Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him."

Psalm 34:19-22

Peace be with you.

It's been so long!

2010-04-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Psalm 23

"All Animals Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others"

2010-03-09T07:41:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry that I don't post that much on here. It usually takes a large chunk of my day to write a thorough post and 3hrs + school work + student organizations + stress = no time to blog.
First i would like to formally say hi to everyone who started following me! one day i have 3 followers, the next day it's up to 10- that's a ptL to me :). Please don't be afraid to leave a comment- i love hearing other ppl's views and it really is a blessing to me.

Currently i'm reading through psalms and i'm just loving every minute of it. I've put reading this book off for the longest time and i'm glad I did. I don't think that I have been able to truly praise God up until this point of my walk with Christ so reading psalm any time before then just didn't mean that much to me. I could go on about how beautiful and passionate each chapter is but i'll stop before this post gets too long.

I've been coming across a few verses that really jump out at me:

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.Those who know me will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."- Psalm 9:9&10

"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."- Psalm 10:14

"You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."- Psalm 10:17-18

God has such a sense of humor. If you read my homosexuality post, at the end i stated that even though I identify myself with several worldly things, i first find my identity in Christ. It did not take God too long to test that statement. Recently i have been struggling with my identity as a human rights activist (and an environmental activist though both go together in my eyes) and i have had a hard time distinguishing this identity with my Christian identity- that's because i do not make a stand or associate myself with anything unless i feel like its biblically backed it up. Honestly i'm not completely out of this trial, but God is opening my eyes.

God hates injustice. He hates wickedness and he hates evil. It has taken me this long to understand that injustice does include the injustice that we see happening around the world. The people dying from starvation because their governments are withholding food from them, God hates. The people who are dying from polluted water and who cannot afford to buy fresh clean water because large water companies are asking too high of rates, God hates. The people in places like Iran, who are killed every day because they are publicly demanding that their governments play fair, God hates. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict- God hates that too (as in the countless injustice that happens on both sides).
All injustice, God hates.

But what do we do? What can be done?

Being in school, learning about International Relations 'stuff' like global governments, theories, systems, economics, etc- that is a major question that we try to answer. How do we bring justice to ALL injustice? How do we do this without creating more injustice? How do we bring justice and after that peace? How do we evolve into a society that can bring justice and peace for eternity?
How we yearn for peace. A time where there is no pain, there is no suffering, there is no hunger and there is no poverty. But no matter how much we may try, we cannot bring it. There will always be evil in the world as long as there is sin.

However, God- a being that is all good, all powerful, all knowing, and all holy- can bring that justice. I take the example that nature gives us. From far away- everything seems simple, primitive, even chaotic. But if you look closely- you see that all things are interconnected. There is a system that keeps everything working as it should.
It is the same with our lives. I believe that everyone's death happens for a reason. I believe that even though God is a God of justice, he is also a God of grace. Therefore, we may wonder where God is when ppl are victims of another persons wickedness, but I think we have to realize that it might be because God is giving them a chance to turn around- He did that with St. Paul after all. God hates evil, but he loves so much, that he will give evil-doers as much of a chance as everyone else change and do good.

That is the kind of love and grace that we could never show- and that is why we can never bring justice by ourselves. We may try to fool ourselves into believing that 'all men are equal' but the reality is that we also believe '...some are more equal than others' (to take a line from Animal Farm).
There are some people who you would rather see drop dead, than walk away free with no consequence. There are some people who you may be able to forgive but God help you if you ever forget. There are some people who you know have done such evil that if you saw them today, you know you would go on a righteous kill. It's that attitude that makes us human, and it's the ability to separate that feeling and giving grace anyway that makes God, God.

However, God is still a just God, and even though he brings grace, he is holy and cannot dwell with wickedness. Therefore. If a wicked man dies a wicked man- refusing to turn back to God, there will be justice that takes place. And it will be justly deserved, and it will be followed by peace.

Revelation Song:

Peace Be with You,
Tabby

To My Father that Deserves Praise

2010-02-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,
"God will not deliver him."
Selah

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah

Psalm 3

How Great and Wonderful is our God. Our savior, our protector, our refuge, our rock. He is a God of Justice and of peace. A God that created all things and all that is to come. He holds power and time in his just and good hands- yet he loves us, the insignificant and sinful ant compared to time, so dearly. He has promised that he will raise us higher than the angels, and that we will dwell with him for eternity. And we know his word is good because all that he speaks is truth.

Hallelujah- Blessings be on the most High- and his son Jesus Christ!

Peace be with you.

A Violent Change of Identity

2010-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Homosexuality.

This is the topic i have decided to write on, and it's a topic that i'm least excited to talk about. That is not because it isn't interesting or important, but because it's definitely a church breaker. This has been something that i have struggled with, not sexual orientation wise, but faith wise. Where does God stand on homosexuality?
A few months back i prayed for God to put my spirit at rest about this subject, and i believe that He has. Before i tackle the subject I will let you in on the nature of my struggle.

I have many friends in the Church who are uncomfortable around homosexual people and who may use derogatory comments like 'that's Gay'- which is not ok with me. I believe that the best way to allow God to move is to show love to those outside of the church so i do my best to not offend. I also am uncomfortable with advocates against things like gay marriage, the homosexual culture, etc. in the church. I believe that

1. the way the church changes the society that we live in is through prayer and demonstrating Christ-like love
2. Hate is not something of God (however, i also do not believe in hindering an individual's duty as a citizen to vote for things that he or she believes in- that's what democracy is)
3. The thing that we as Christians are fighting against is not man, but Satan. we are part of a spiritual battle, not a physical one- fight accordingly, and
4. Focusing on just one sin- and not even, a majority of homosexual people don't get up and choose to be the way they are- is wrong. homosexuality is not any worse than murder, lying, stealing, greed, etc. everyone- saved or not- are sinners. The only difference is that we recognize our sinfulness and repent from it, constantly.

Because of these beliefs, i put the 'fight' against homosexuality in the same boat as the 'fight' against abortion- a worldly distraction from what God called us to do. the Great Commission wasn't to preserve the faith, but to spread the faith (and to continuously purify in the process).

Unfortunately, we are in a situation now where we need to spread the faith but the faith does not match up with what society deems as 'right'- and that is where my dilemma comes in. Personally, I really wish it did. As a black woman and a Christian I am against the discrimination of any group of people. However, my faith frames what that equality looks like and, therefore, my equality is different from the world's equality.

Where does God stand on Homosexuality.
So what's my Answer?

I could spend a load of time putting up scripture, talking theology, and interpreting certain verses but i'm not going to. Because even though, i believe, the bible is clear on it's stance on homosexuality, people still find things to argue about within those scriptures.

Instead, i will say this:
Christianity is different from other belief systems because in order to practice it properly, you cannot look at as a religion- or even a lifestyle. It is not something that helps me deal with the reality i find myself in. It is not a tradition that has been practiced in my family or in my community for many years. What it is, is an invitation. It is the understanding of the reality that we all live in: God created man to love, man fell away from God- entered sin, God loved us so much anyway that he gave up his son- a part of himself- to save us from our sin, this human manifestation of God died for our sins and rose again, and this process of shedding blood and resurrection created a bridge that connected us, sinful humans, to the holy God. The invitation is for us to Join God's family- Jesus Christ being our older brother and us adopted children of God. The byproduct of taking that invitation is the peace and joy that we have now that we are in God's family but the real prize is, even though we deserve it, salvation from the eternal fire and all that comes from being part of the family that has rule over all things- in short, Grace.

Knowing now, the nature of Christianity, we need to recognize what it means to take that invitation. I take the example of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19. He asked Jesus what it is that he needs to do in order to gain eternal life- as he has already kept the law:

"Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." (Matthew 19: 21&22)

Jesus knew this young man was rich and he knew that he kept the commandments. However, he made it clear to this rich young man that keeping the commandments were not enough- in order to receive eternal life (the invitation into God's family), one must give up all that he has in this life, for it. People usually look at this scripture to mean physical possessions but i would just bring up that possessions for a rich man is not just things, but an identity. His riches is what makes him, him. That is why he was sad on hearing this, because he knew he would have to give up what came with his riches- maybe a title, respect, certain responsibilities he enjoyed having, in order to have the eternal life God has for him.

Therefore, understand that taking God's invitation shouldn't be done lightly- there is a requirement from us. It is a violent change of who we are- nothing should come before the identity we find in Christ.

It is more than possible to be homosexual and Christian. It is also very possible to, for a time, have no sense of guilt for holding on to this identity and holding on to the Faith. However, if God's word and truth convicts the heart- and that goes for everyone- remember that God does not change for our own glory, we change for God's glory. That is the exchange that we willingly make when we accept God's invitation. If we are going to be part of the Father's family, we have to follow the rules of the house- and His rule is that we leave everything that we are and that we have at the door.

My name is Tabitha. I am a Jamaican, an American, a black woman, a global citizen, an environmentalist, a photographer, a college student, a human rights activist, a heterosexual, but first and foremost I am a follower of Christ. And i would give up all those other things if God wanted me to because his Love is much more worth it.

I do not wish to offend anyone, But i also know that sometimes speaking Truth doesn't come sugarcoated. I encourage all my brothers and sisters to ask God to reveal to them what identity or possession they may have a hard time giving up. Then pray for strength to overcome it.
I'm sorry it was such a long entry, I promise to shorten it next time.

A song before I finish- He loves Us

David Crowder also sings this song in his new album.

Peace be With You,
Tabby <3

The Covers

2010-01-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded David Crowder's new album Church Music and i really like his cover of "All Around Me" by flyleaf. I will share with you now:

You can find the original flyleaf version Here.

While i was on youtube, i found another cover, but it was flyleaf doing "you are my joy/Inside out." I'm not that into christian hardrock- no offense, but i find it kind of tasteless but i do respect it- the more ways people worship God the better.

Here are the links to You are my Joy and From the Inside Out...and no i don't know what's up with the dress and pants combo, but it looks like she does it a lot (whatever the sister wants to do tho :P)

I'll probably make another post tomorrow b/c i have a good topic to talk about ^_^

Peace Be With You,
Tabby <3

"For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with the inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." Acts 17:23

Speaking Boldly For The Lord

2009-12-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

"At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There the spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders."

This morning's Scripture is Acts 14:1-3 but it's what verse 3 says that I want to focus on.

Many times, when i feel troubled by an issue going on around me, or if i feel concerned about the sinfulness society has come to, a well meaning sister or brother in Christ may say 'Well you need to speak out, be Bold for the Lord!'- however, i think that when the Church (especially here in the US) talks about being bold, we really mean being loud, noisy, and in the worst of cases, combative.

When speaking about being bold for the Lord, we should use the example of Paul and Barnabas:

1. They Came into the City doing what God called them to d0
This is important, because it shows that Paul and Barnabas did not go out 'looking for a fight'. This conflict came up after they found themselves in a position where all they were doing was following God's plan. They were called to spread the Good News, so they did.

2. When things started to turn sour, they continued to follow God's will
Here we see another key point. The act of boldness was continuing to do that which they were called to do. To be bold in the Lord is to continue to walk in His word and to walk in His will when the currents of the World tries harder to push you in every which direction.

3. God gave them the 'Stamp of Approval'
Finally, and maybe the most important lesson from the scripture, is the fact that God himself confirmed their actions by exposing his power and glory in their favor. If you are doing what God wills for you to do, he will ALWAYS give you his blessing- a signal that what you have done in His name was good.

God may call us to be his body, but he does not call us to be his soldier- He may give us his Holy armor to fight the spiritual battle that we face everyday, but it's for self-defense. We do not go looking for conflict, we stand firm in conflict. The only offensive move we make is speaking truth and acting in love.

Peace be with you,
Tabby <3

Back to the Basics: Love

2009-12-20T08:13:00.001-08:00

I have come back home for Christmas break- hopefully this means i can blog more. I'm probably going to go back to doing my personal devotions and blogging about it, sharing scripture that popped out at me.

These past few weeks I have been confronted by the idea of God and love. Including myself, many Christians find love to be the focus of God- God is love. However it has become clear to me that the definition of love for a lot of Christ followers has become watered down. More specifically, because God is love and because i am to strive to become like God, I must not judge; judging does not come from love. I do not know where this idea of a separation between Love and Judge came to be (i mean i have some theories but i won't get into that here).

There is a type of judging that is unhealthy and comes from a heart of malice- this is the one that people dislike and the one that many today try to stay away from (you are in the wrong with this kind of judging). However, to judge is not something that is wrong in itself. When an individual has a problem with heroin, isn't it out of love that their family and friends come to him to speak truth about his addiction? That is judgment being made and it is out of love.
If we look at the relationship between parents and their children, do not good parents put boundaries around their children and have consequences for crossing those boundaries? Do not good parents punish their children for doing wrong? And isn't all those things done out of love lest the child finds out the hard way what consequences and punishment does follow out of wrong doing. That is judgment and it is done out of love- I'd rather learn what consequences mean by my loving parents than by the state prison.

Many Christians forget that it is possible, and sometimes necessary, to judge and punish someone out of love. Of course the next question would be how do we know a punishment is coming out of love?

^"4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Unlike what we may hear at weddings, this description of love was intended for the brothers and sisters of the church. This is what love looks like to each other. And when we judge one another this is the heart that it must come from.

But how do i know that we are called to judge one another? after all Matthew 7:1 says 'Do not judge, or you too will be judged.' however if you take time to look at the context that scripture comes from, you get this:

" Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the lank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Matthew 7:1-5

The command isn't to never judge under any circumstance, but to warn the brothers that the measure that we judge each other is the measure that we God will judge us. How do we make sure that we do not judge in hypocrisy? we make sure we judge in love.

A point that i want to make clear- I do not say that judging includes people outside of the church- even in the scripture above it refers to the other person as being your brother. Again, in 1 Corinthians:

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you."

1 Corinth 5:12-13

This is where the Christians who focus on love are right. outside of the church, or outside of the family, our job is to love- Love like Christ loves. We do not condemn those that our not yet our own. However, inside the church it is a family- we are all part of God's family and we are all part of God's house. God is as holy as he is love, therefore anything that is not holy in the body must be confronted- but confronted out of love (the last scripture here is taken out of context- read all of chp. 5 to understand what Paul is speaking about). A family that truly loves one another will confront a member when they are participating in acts that are harmful to themselves (like the intervention with the heroin) and to do things that are not holy is something that affects our spiritual walk, let alone our spiritual peace, with God. Therefore, if i care for my sister or brother in christ, i will love him or her, yes, but i am responsible for judging her as well.

Therefore, as a final note; when you are being judged, if it is from a loved one, do not get defensive. Instead, trust the character of the person talking to you- wouldn't him or her have your own best interest in mind if they are confronting you? Wouldn't they say something to you if they thought it was in your own self-interest to listen? If that is the case, examine the speck in your eye because they probably have already examined the plank in their own eyes.

My pastor back at school said this in a sermon not to long ago: It is wrong to say God is Loving and Just. No, because God is love, he is also just.

I'll leave with a hymm performed by Sufjan Stevens:

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Lyrics:

Come Thou Fount of every blessing; Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I'm come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be! Let that grace now like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above

Peace be with you,
Tabby <3

...oh hai... >.>

2009-11-17T07:55:00.001-08:00

I know it's been a while and i apologize still.
on the bright side- i think i've got myself back on track, though i'm no less busy. Hopefully i'll be able to blog more this thanksgiving weekend/christmas.

I have decided to take some time out of my busy sched. to introduce to you a blog i stumbled upon thanks to stumbleupon.com (which is the best thing EVER)

it's Skeptical Christian (link going on the side bar). I haven't read through all of it but from what i have read, i do agree with the points given.
check it out when you get a chance to!

and to leave you, i've been listening to Sufjan's music recently and just falling in love with this song:

All the trees of the field will clap their hands

Tabby

"Then peter said, 'silver or gold i do not have, but what i have i give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.'"
Acts 3:6

I know it's been awhile

2009-09-30T22:52:00.001-07:00

...but bare with me. I've been so busy with school that i've had literally no time to do much else but homework (i'm actually quitting my amazing job just so i can have a few more hours to spare).
Though i will say that my personal time with God has suffered greatly because of my business and i don't like it at all.

I actually have a few revelations to share but no time to write about them so i'll just settle for a new song that i fell in love with:
You are My Joy- David Crowder Band

i know i usually go for a video with words to go along with it but it's a cool enough video w/o it (i like the candles) plus, i think the words are clear enough to understand : )

Peace Be With You <3

Grace Like Rain

2009-08-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

I wen't on a missions trip last week- God met me, finished stretching me, and showed me his love :)
Here's a worship song that i just loved:

Peace be with You.

A Poor Replica

2009-08-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

So when i created this blog earlier on this year i was in a pouring season of my life. However right now God has been filling me up; teaching me, stretching me, testing me, helping me grow. Because of that i haven't had much to say really- there has not been anything on my heart really to share. God has even silenced my teaching spirit for a while to allow me to listen to him better. I can understand that, so I am continuing to seek him while he humbles me.

However there is one thing that has been on my mind as of late- not really inspired by anything i read in scripture during my devotions but on my plane ride over to Hawaii last week.

As we began our first of many flights over to Maui, our pilot shared a very interesting- and eye opening- piece of knowledge with us: The airplane we were flying in took 3 miles a gallon. Of course, as an environmental policy specialization (my major is International Relations) I almost had a heart attack- i had read somewhere about the importance of only taking vacations accessible by car, but i didn't realize the amount of gas wasted with just ONE plane ride!!! (though this is an entirely different topic...). After i recovered somewhat from that first shock (and after vowing to never ride an airplane again if i could) I started thinking about what God meant when he said we were creating in his own image.

I know as Christians we tend to emphasize how much we do not matter compared to God and how insignificant we are when compared to time, but I think we sometimes need to realize that we are God's greatest works! Though we were created lower than the angels, we were made in the image of God. Think about all the achievements man has made- we can advance in technology, we can create, we can build upon our knowledge, we can love and hate, we are capable of compassion in one instance and malice in another, we can choose to be or do or say or not choose at all. We imitate the characteristics that God has but yet, we don't imitate him well.

Take this plane for example- It resembles and was inspired by the bird of the air. Man said 'I want to fly' and found a way to. However can the airplane fly like the bird? No it does a terrible job imitating the bird God had created- It's clunky and big, it's heavy, it uses/wastes TONS of resources just to get it off the ground, it's loud, it's expensive, and takes a lot of maintenance.

It's like we're poorly made replicas of God. If your a little kid like i still am, you may remember that classic spongebob episode where spongebob and Patrick stumble upon the magic pencil and decide to make a poorly drawn doodle of spongebob. The doodle made a poorly drawn pineapple house along with poorly drown furniture, yard, everything. At the end of the episode the doodle says 'no. Me spongebob, you doodle.' In short the created wanted to replace the creator. (I can't believe i just tied in spongebob to God...wow...)

It is in this praise in humanity- the complexity of man- that fools us into believing that we can control the things that we cannot. I think we, as humans, suffer from a big fish in small pond complex. Compared to all the things in this world, we are the most advance, promising, and intellectually sound. There is nothing that lives and grows on this earth that even comes close to meeting our potential. However, if you put that big fish in the ocean- it soon finds out that compared to the real players out there- it's not that great, it's not that advance or all knowing. When we encounter the holiness and sheer power of God himself, we realize how insignificant and how flawed we are. We understand our place and realize how much of a poor doodle we are compared to the creator himself. That is why one says Nothing Can Compare to Our God!

All that we are, that this world universally deems as good, is a direct reflection of God. our love for each other reflects how God IS love- he makes up all the forms of love we see on this earth. Creativity and creation reflects God's ability to create (the earth, the stars, the Galaxy, heaven, the angels, ourselves, etc.). Our advancement in knowledge and understanding is a reflection of God's knowledge of everything and anything! In fact all knowledge comes from God. The emotions that we feel all come from God- Joy, Peace, pleasure, satisfaction, even hurt, pain, anger, heartbroken-ness. It is not that God is made in the image of us, but-again- we are made in the image of God.

Then why then, one might ask, is there hate, prejudice, guilt, and yes pain, hurt, heartbroken-ness- all thing you wouldn't expect God to be. Why is it that the good in us coexists with the bad? That is simply because of the sin in us. God did not create us with the bad, but we introduced it in our lives- it's a perversion of our spirit- i heard it explained not too long ago as a 'spiritual illness.' All men have the capability and will to do good because of the Godly reflection we have within us, however we all have a tendency to do evil because of the disease we have inherited from our ancestors before us.

So in the end i wonder how can we have this attitude? How can proclaim ourselves righteous and Godly if we cannot even fill the shoes of God? It's like a five year old deciding he wants to switch places with his parents. I've met a lot of people who tell me what they believe happen when they die or tell me nothing happens when they die- i cannot help but say, what does it matter what you 'believe' or 'think' may happen when you die? You (which really means we) do not have any control over the afterlife of yourself or others just like you do not have any control over what the weather is tomorrow, whether you may die tomorrow in a freak accident, or whether the world is going to end with a big fire explosion from the core. What is it that makes us think we can decide our life (or lack of life) after death when sometimes we cannot even control what's going to happen to us tomorrow? Someone has to be wrong and I know that it isn't me (i remember going into this subject in a post on Jabberwocky. If you are interested just click on the link- it's not that long ^_^)

I am done- hopefully that made sense (like i said i'm in a period of filling so i don't really trust my writing skills at the moment). I will put up some pictures from the trip next time : )

Peace Be with You

Finding a security in Christ

2009-07-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Some, God speaks to through visions
Some, God speaks to through emotion
Some, God speaks to through others
Me, God speaks to through his Word.

I am going through the book of Ezekiel right now. I don't know a lot about him other than what i've read so far but he was a prophet and God spoke to him in visions. I know i've had a hard time understanding what it means to hear God speak to me, to have a 'conversation' with God. The way people have said it made it sound like they say something and then God answers them in their head- like a quiet voice speaking. That doesn't happen to me so I sometimes say- God, why don't you respond to me? I'm calling and i don't hear you saying anything back.

recently i've realized that the way God communicates to his people vary from person to person. To explain the blurb above- Some people converse with God like Ezekiel did. They pray, God shows them- whether that means an actual vision or hearing God audibly in their head. Some people converse with God through feelings and emotion. Sometimes people get an intense feeling to go a certain direction. Some people converse with God through others. They pray, God answers them through another man's mouth. I'm not sure if this is necessarily exclusive to a certain group of people (actually none of them are exclusive- sometimes God switches it up on you) but i bet there are some people who always seem to find themselves getting unusual answers from people they didn't expect to get answers from.

But Some, like myself, converse with God through scripture. I've realized that God usually, if not always, answers me through his word. I pray, I read scripture, and God answers. It's kind of silly but being in a Pentecostal church and hearing people prophesy and speak in tongues all around you can be disheartening when God has given you a more reserved spirit. But God is helping me come to terms with that- to accept the spiritual gifts he has blessed me with so i may use them to further his Kingdom.

Even though i do not fully understand it yet, i know there is a reason i cannot speak in tongues, why i am not as emotionally 'in-tune' as other people, and why i have no period of darkness in my past- it's preparation.

I am actively waiting and i'm finding peace in that,
May there be peace with you as well.

Welcome Wagon

2009-07-29T02:12:00.000-07:00

I am very excited! after months of searching, i have stumbled upon a band that matches up with my taste in music but have lyrics that satisfy me as well.
it's a pastor and wife duet who go by the name Welcome Wagon.
Sold! To the Nice Rich Man (i guess this is what most would call a Praise Song- it gets better as it goes along :P) is good.
And i also enjoy There is a Fountain Filled With Blood
You Made my Day is ok. Though it's like it get's a little to folksy for me then they pull it back right after the 'ew, country' feeling.

Apparently they were produced by Sufjan Stevens (shocker right?). But speaking about SS, he made a song that i found pleasing to the soul.
You are the Blood-

sorry for the unexciting video- there wasn't much i could do.
Both Sufjan and WW's style are acquired tastes i think. I know it took me a while to realize that i did actually like Sufjan Stevens and i know i wouldn't have warmed up to Welcome Wagon as quickly if it wan't for him.

I hope this music has blessed you as much as it has blessed me
Peace be With You.

"When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood."

Ezekiel 3:18

"Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood."

Ezekiel 3:20

Reaching

2009-07-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

i took this picture on saturday. I don't know what it is about it, but I just felt like sharing it:

God has been really stretching me and allowing me to grow in so many areas. I've been seeing him answer prayers in others and making me a better servant in him. Today at church my pastor did a message about Lazarus (John 11:1-45) and his death. This scripture spoke to me like it never had before:

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in the spirit and troubled." John 11:33

God doesn't enjoy seeing us in our difficult spots. I know there have been nights where i am weeping and crying out to God, "Lord why make me go through this pain! I'm hurting inside, where are you????" But i never saw him as being there and crying too because he sees me, his daughter who has faith in him but doesn't understand why she's going through this pain. I can just hear him saying, 'i know it hurts and i know you don't understand but you have to trust me, you will be better off in the end. It'll be over soon, just keep pushing through this hard time, i'm still here.'

It's like a mother who knows that their infant child is sick and needs surgery in order to get better, but the problem is the child has to be awake for the procedure. I could just imagine seeing a poor innocent child, looking up at me with fear and helplessness crying out because it hurts and they don't understand why I as it's mother, who says i love them, is allowing this pain into their life. I would probably cry with my child. holding their hand and trying to comfort them as they go through the surgery- telling them it will be over soon. Sure i could stop the doctors from doing their job but i know that she would be worse off later- and would probably have to suffer even more- than if we took care of the sickness now.

That realization brought me to tears today. Knowing that God would sit along side me and weep because I, his daughter whom he loves, is weeping too.

Jesus, no matter how much it hurt to see his followers weep the death of their good friend, had to let Lazarus die so that the people there and us today would know that Jesus can conquer even the most impossible of situations; not even death itself can stop our God from working in our lives. the little suffering of the people then was made up with a deepened relationship with Jesus and the miracle of raising a more than dead person lead to more people putting their faith in Christ.

The Next Level

2009-07-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've been just so busy these past few weeks- i started a new summer class and it literally eats up my life. However- i have still been able to do my devo's pretty frequently without having to blog about it so i'm going to say that i'm making progress^_^

At this rate, i'll be able to just blog about the random things that come in my head without having to leave a long list of verses from backed up days and whatnot's.

Nothing much to say other than i'm a page away from finishing that bible journal and i've already bought a new one that's more than ready to take it's place.

Instead of putting down ALL the verses i have written down so far (cause that's a butt load...) i'll just put up the ones i really REALLY liked.

"Though I an free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible."
1 Corinthians 9:19
~Paul talking about his role as a preacher of the Word

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
1 Corinthians 9:22

^"1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.⁶Now these things occurred as examples^a]">[a] to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did."
1 Corinthians 10:1-6

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
1 Corinthians 10:13

"'Everything is permissible'- but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'- but not everything is constructive"
1 Corinthians 11:23

"In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God."
1 Corinth 11:11&12

"therefore my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues."
1 Corinthians 14:39

"we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."
2 Corinthians 5: 20a

" ⁸I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
2 Corinthians 8:8&9

"For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men."
2 corinthians 8:21

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
2 Corinthians 9:11
~'us' being Paul and his crew- one of the things Paul did as he visited different churches was fund raise so that he could spread the wealth to the churches that needed it.

Peace be with you.

Amazing, Because it Is

2009-06-24T07:01:00.001-07:00

By the Almost
(it's more like an oldie but a goodie : )...)

Verses for Today:
"The wife's body does not belong to her but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife."
1 Corinthians 7:4

"But if they cannot control themselves [widows], they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."
1 Corinthians 7:9
~don't worry ladies, if you have the desire to marry, you will find a husband- it's called the gift of singleness for a reason :P

"To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else reconcile to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."
1 Corinthians 8:12&13

Flu

2009-06-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

I was sick in with the flu last week so that set me back a few days (but i didn't really make that much of an effort after i was a little better...)

I'm a little excited actually because i'm fairly close to finishing my first bible journal (i started it last summer). Just thinking about how much i've grown and how much God has stretched me this year is very interesting. One of these days i'm going to have to read through the whole thing and just see how it has progressed- though it's been more of a list of bible verses and random bits of writings, prayers, sermons or comments. haha, journal-ing has never been a strong point.

did you know i took pictures? well now you do :P
(p.s. the one up top is an original ^_^)

Verses for Today and Yesterday:

Yesterday-
"you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"
1 Corinthians 3:3

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow"
1 Corinthians 3:6&7

"the man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."
1 Corinthians 3:8

"¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
~I LOVE this verse sooo much that i bold-ed it :P

" ⁶Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another."
1 Corinthians 4:6

Today-
"Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?"
1 Corinthians 5:6
~Paul is talking about sexual immorality in the church but this can be applied to all evil that is in the church. It doesn't take a lot to contaminate the Church, just one person doing evil can make the whole batch go rotten. The best example (pertaining to the issue Paul is speaking about) is the African American church. There is a coexistence of sexual immorality and Christianity that's more than wrong but has contaminated the batch to the point that sex before marriage becomes widely accepted. I'm not saying, and Paul's not saying, that the Church's job is to throw out anyone who doesn't fit into the perfect cookie cutter christian, he's saying that if a person of the church decides that they are quite content living in their sin and are unwilling to change, for the sake of the Church, he must be treated as an outsider. Of course, putting that in the context of the church today seems terrible but back in those times there was a lot of protection that came with joining a church. However the church did right to love outsiders of the faith as well. The throwing out is almost a rebuke that the Church makes to the individual for the individual's sake as well as for the congregation's sake. God's house can't afford to let sin creep into the building, the individual cannot afford to live in Sin when God freely gives us his forgiveness to wash that away.

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside, 'expel the wicked man from among you'"
1 Corinthians 5:12
~an example of the relationship the the Church and 'outsiders.' we don't Judge people outside because that's not our place but we judge the people in our own Church; not to create distrust or disunity, but out of love. We want to keep each other on the right path.

"¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. ¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
1 Corinthians 6:18-20

That's it for today,
Peace be with You.

Help me to Stand

2009-06-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

I run to you, I seek your face
but without understanding.
because I'm following you hard
I'm a target in Satan's eyes.

Lord how long has he had a finger in my soul?
How long have I been bound in these heavy chains?

I run for you but I'm constricted
I search for you but I'm choking inside
I've been unhappy for so long I'm used to the pain
-but just barely

I'm weak
I'm tired
why don't i feel like anyone's there?
how many years have i felt this lonely?

It's funny how he knows my weakness long before I do.
It's scary that he understands my insecurities before me.

But Lord, you know me
not just my weakness but my strengths.
my heart, my mind
you know all about me
and you know how to help me overcome

Lord Jesus set me free
Break me from the bondage I was too blind to see
I want to live in victory
I want to see your supremacy

Let your majesty wash over me like a flood
So that I may rise again praising you
Hosanna In the Highest
You are able the make me Stand

"He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are. So that no one may boast before him."
1 Corinthians 1:28-29

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
1 Corinthians 2:4-5

Church of Love

2009-06-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, it's been almost a month! and i'm on vacation!!! T_T
a mixture of business and nothing to say i guess (but on the bright side, i've been doing the devo's thing fairly regularly these past couple of weeks ^_^)

Right now i kind of feel like God is revealing and telling me all these different things but i don't really know what to take from it just yet, like what he wants to use it all for. I realized that one of my biggest frustrations with the Church (meaning the body of Christ) is the lack of kindness seen- like if you ever just read the opening greetings or final greetings and, a lot of times, the in between's of Paul's letters to Churches, the early church did A LOT to help out their community, and their members. They cared for the poor/unemployed, they took care of the elders who did not have someone to take care of them, made clothes and fed the unfortunate- why don't we do that? why do we just sit on our butts and totally miss that part of scripture. I mean at one point Paul had to tell a church to only help widows who had no family instead of everyone. One of the major works of the church was taking care of their community- not just preaching at them. I think today the church has found itself in a position where it focuses too much on the individual's responsibility and not the group's responsibility. It's always how can You feel God more, You need to pray for people, You should show God's love to others, You, you, you, me, me, me, I, I, I- What about Us?

With that first revelation (the fact that i am very bothered about this topic) has lead me to this new possible vision for my life. I want to see this happen to just one church, see if it can be done with the state of the God's people today- ESPECIALLY in this country- I want to see just one Church able to fulfill the kindness factor in the God equation (pft that was so corny...). And i think that in order to make it legit, it has to start at the very beginning, it needs to be part of that Church's core values, it has to be hammered in from the very beginning not 'worked' in later on.
And i want to be there, i want to see it happen from the beginning and be apart of that ministry in that new church. I want to see God's love pour out of that building so much that it truly becomes a City on a hill (well in this case a Church on a hill) and i think because of that, because we're acting out God's love instead of just talking about it, we will see a revival in whatever town or city we're in. We'll see a plethora of people giving their life to Christ. We don't need, and should never tone down scripture, but that's one major part of God's command for the church that's definitely looked over.

but again, now that i have that, what do i do with it? i have no idea what i'm suppose to do in order to get to that end point- ugh, this always happens to me too. Just the other day actually, i was in church yesterday and the pastor was talking about taking the responsibilities that God has given us and putting it to work (the story of the Talents Matt. 25:14-30). But i don't know what responsibilities He has given me to invest. maybe another lesson in active waiting? *sigh*

ok, devos time- verses that popped out for me this past almost-month :P

21/5/09
^"12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Colossians 3:12-14

^"18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.²¹Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged."
Colossians 3:18-21
~man and woman are equal under God, this passage gives the relationship between husband and wife room for change. What's important is the principle of the matter: a wife respects her husband for his sake and a husband respects his wife with love for her sake. Think about it, it does nothing for the family to see you mom always cutting down your father. All you would want to say is man up.

27/5/09
"Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful,"
Colossians 4:2

"Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most out of every opportunity. Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone,"
Colossians 4:5&6
~this one hit me hard

28/5/09
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands just as we told you, so that your daily life my win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody,"
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

29/5/09
"And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are Idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

1/6/09
"for even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'if a man will not work he will not eat.'"
2 Thessalonians 3:10
~Jesus does not support laziness

"¹⁵Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
1 Timothy 1:15-17
~Paul speaking about himself

2/6/09
"This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the savior of ALL men, and especially of those who believe."
~if God only chose the few to save, why does Paul say that he's the savior of all men? i guess he didn't get the predestination memo...

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set on example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."
1 Timothy 4:16

"Watch you life and doctrine closely. persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourselves and your hearers"
1 Timothy 4:16

3/6/09
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
1 Timothy 6:17

4/6/09
"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also"
~I've been wondering if maybe it's possible to inherit the same kind of faith that you had in you family. It's no that important but i was curious about it : )

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."
2 Timothy 1:7

"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God."
2 Timothy 1: 8
~Paul speaking again

"that is why I am suffering as I am, yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom i have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day,"
2 Timothy 1:12

" ¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹²if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself."
2 Timothy 2:11-13
~i think what is important here is the difference between disowning and being faithless. It is possible to lose your salvation but that's only if you decide to disown Jesus as your savior. But it is also more than possible to fall back in your faith and be in God's permissible will as well. As it says in Hebrews 6:4-6, it is impossible for a believer who has felt, tasted, and seen God and fallen away to be brought back. It's like Crucifying Jesus all over again.

"avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly,"
2 Timothy 2:16

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments because you know they produce quarrels."
2 Timothy 2:23
~how many times do you see a christian argue and argue over theology? yea...

6/6/09
"¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
2 Timothy 3:1-5
~sound a lot like today

"In fact, everyone who want to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
2 Timothy 3:12

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped from every good work,"
2 Timothy 3:16-17
~don't get me wrong, sometimes you have to take into consideration the time period and culture but all scripture is influenced by God, that means there is always a principle at work with it. example, the scripture about women having to cover their heads and not yelling out in Church is basically getting at women of the church should be seen with respect and modest (not necessarily Mormon modest, but you get it)

8/6/09
"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction."
2 Timothy 4:2

"⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
2 Timothy 4:6-8
~ahahah! I LOVE this scripture. This is Paul speaking as he sees the end of his life approaching. I want to be able to say this on my own death bed *goal one* ; )

10/6/09
"¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age"
Titus 2:11-12

" ³At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
Titus 3:3-8
~i know, it's a big one, but something to stress (as it says)

and there's today (which hasn't happened yet :P) so i'll end on a worship song by Hillsong- Your Name High

Peace Be with You.

Just Kidding, Colossians :P

2009-05-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness for sins."
Colossians 1:13&14

"so then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:6&7

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of his world rather than on Christ."
Colossians 2:8

The Simplicity of God

2009-05-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

So these past couple of days I have been, once again, searching for some decent christian music that i can listen to. If you don't know my music taste it does include a lot of secular artists- and that is because i do not believe that secular music is 'evil'. God is my life and my everything but i also have other things going on besides God as well. what about the small things that the bible doesn't touch on?

I think- and i'm thinking and typing here so bare with me- I think that what i'm trying to say is that The bible deals with the big important parts of life, the things that we need to focus on because when everything else fades away, those fundamental parts of life are always going to be standing. However, it does not mean that those smaller details of life are not there- or that we do not spend time being involved in them. we just, as Christians, are not suppose to be obsessed with them.

When an artist, or artists, decide to dedicate their talents to God (not necessarily an artist who is Christian but someone who considers themselves a Christian artist), they make it their duty to produce music that deals with the fundamental ideals of life that is seen through the bible. They do, and personally i think that they should, not waste their time with focusing on the smaller things in life- i mean they can, but not when they made the decision to use their music to honor God, that's their ministry and it should be treated as such. let the secular artists deal with the small things of this world.

I believe that God is a simple God- Jesus even said that we should not pray long and complex prayers like the pagans do. He takes the unappreciated,the unattractive, the overlooked, the unimpressive and makes it into something extraordinary. God uses this pattern all through the bible: Moses, Abraham, the 12 disciples- THE 12 DISCIPLES! they were illiterate fishermen! and they ended up being the foundation of the Church. Jeremiah was a young prophet who could be seen as inexperienced. The burning bush was first, before all else, a bush. People look pass bushes!!!

Knowing how God prefers to move I think it is better to be simple with the medium that we use when we want it to be used by God. A sermon should have as little pomp and circumstance as it can because when God moves through it- you can give Him all the glory. In the same way, when a song is being composed by a Christian artist it should lose the complex and intricate metaphorical stuff because people can't worship to that.For me personally, i first have to sit down and break down all the metaphors and figurative language and imagery then see if the end product matches up with scripture. Then i have re-assemble the song to make sure it makes sense and only then can i even fathom worshiping to that song. It really shouldn't be like that. Poetry is beautiful yes, but i feel like it's place is for personal worship. I can't copy those songs and jam out to them with my youth band. We need simple songs that speak nothing more than God's truths: God is Love. Jesus saves us. I am Alive through his death and resurrection.

Sufjan Stevens is an artist who worships through poetry. However he does not label himself as a 'christian artist.' Therefore i can see that he uses this play on words and his writing as a personal worship to God- i'm fine with that and i wish that many of these poetic 'christian artists' would follow his lead. There's nothing wrong with being a christian playing secular music, take pride in that. Just don't waste my time when i'm trying to find some different kind of worship music and i get this metaphorical stuff...

I'll give you two examples. One is Sufjan Stevens: seven swans

I don't know. Maybe i'm slow but this song, like most of his songs, I only get half of. I'm baffled really at what his point is (no, and i did not enjoy breaking down poems in high school either...) so it's hard for me to see if his understanding of the doctrine is solid as well.

Now here's Tye Tribbett again- Everything (i know. same song. but i'll even use a diff. video :P)

see? simple- they just use words. Master, savior, father, protector, everything, Jesus! I can follow that and so can everyone else. That's a good worship song (lol- and isn't he the craziest? ^_^)

um, that's about it for my rant. Here are my verses. I might stick to Jeremiah but we'll see :)

"But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say "I am only a child." you must got to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them because i am with you and will rescue you,' Declares the Lord."
Jeremiah 1:7&8

"They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord."
Jeremiah 1:19

Peace be with You.

End or Romans

2009-05-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Not like that took FOREVER :P

"I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what i have said and done"
Romans 15:18
said by Paul. This shows how careful Paul was with his words and actions, so that God could be seen through him as clear and he could.

"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teachings you have learned. Keep away from them."
Romans 16:17

Recently i've been wrestling with the historical facts of the bible- i must say that it was in lack of faith i always avoided this topic. I was too scared to look at historical proof or documents because i was worried i'd find something that didn't add up. However this past Sunday i asked my father about it and realized that going through the history of the bible and how it has become the book it is today is a natural stage of development in a Christian's life.

i haven't done much research yet (actually i haven't even started researching :P) but I will definitely put up any good stuff i come across on here to share with anyone who wants to see.

From what i got from talking with my Dad, what's wrong about these skeptics of the Bible's authenticity/accuracy is that they focus on the surrounding material that is not in the bible and not on the bible itself. apparently there was a very high pass or fail mark for what got into the bible. If there was any doubt at all about a certain book it was thrown out.

I leave you with Lerae- Go Hard

I have this snobbish attitude about christian rap- it kind of sounds a little crappy to me, but Lecrae has such a great testimony i feel- you can see that he really has a heart for God and it shows in the truth in his lyrics. Check it! : )

Peace be with You.

Romans and Everything

2009-05-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

^"9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^a]">[a] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"^b]">[b]says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."^c]">[c] ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Romans 12:9-21

Everything- Tye Tribbett : )

Back and Kicking: Predestination

2009-05-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ha! so it's finally finals week!!!
(and yea, i meant the 4th not the 2nd :3)
and i don't think i did too shabby on the devotions thing- i mean there were weeks...but i had a really good week as well where i was mad busy with school but still managed to do the devo's everyday- gooood ^_^

I decided that I'm going to try to stop preaching- so i'm working on that

Now when i decided to create this blog- i decided to be as real with it as i could about what is going on in my spiritual life: what am i wrestling with what are my doubts what are my praises what are my revelations.

One thing that God really has me thinking about is this idea of predestination: does God already know who is going to dwell with him in eternal life, or do we ask him to dwell in his eternal life. Now, i believe in Jesus- i will call myself a Christian. I do not believe in full predestination- as in i do not believe that God already knows who is going to dwell with him in eternal life and who is going to forever be condemned to hell. Now to most Christians this is a crazy concept and usually i don't share this view of mine unless pushed on it but it's become clear to me that the full predestination thing is something that needs to be squared away with- because it can be the difference between someone getting saved and someone not getting saved i think.

The idea of predestination is this:
God knows all- obviously because he is God. And it is only by grace we are saved- it is by no decision that lets say, I made to be saved from the eternal fire. With me doing nothing God has chosen to save me unconditionally and to have mercy on me and for that I am eternally grateful.
see, i understand that argument and it makes sense to me as well but the bible also speaks about God being love. And i cannot ignore the fact and the inconsistency of God being love and creating man in his image and as something to love and then to condemn more than half of his creation to hell. because the bible also says

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."- Matthew 7:13&14

So what am i to make of that? God chose to save those few? and chose to condemn most men to hell and eternal fire? no! that's is not God at all! see the end of that verse? 'only a few find it.' we obviously have some say. We obviously have some free will- because that is what this is saying- we do not have an option to follow God, we are predestined to do it.

My understanding on this subject of the few:
I believe that God is all knowing and all powerful, but there are things that God is capable of doing but wont do. For example- God is capable of doing evil but he can't do evil. That's because he won't do evil. I think this pattern is seen elsewhere. I believe that God is capable of knowing who is going to go to heaven and hell but, for the sake of giving us free will, chooses not to know that that end result. i believe in a partial predestination where there are things moving in our life and in this world and in reality that God wants to happen. So no matter what people decide, God's end result is going to be the same. But God still gives us room to decide things- one of those things is if we want to be saved or not.
Do not get me wrong, Acts 15:11 says,

"No! we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved..."

I believe that it is by grace that we are saved as well- but i believe that God has the invitation out for us to ask for. We, ourselves, do not reach an "enlightenment" of some kind where now everything makes sense but we come to the alter and ask God to save us.

"But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." -Romans 10:8&9

again

"for, 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." -Romans 10:13

We ask God to give his grace on us, and unconditionally God gives it to us- no matter what we did or what are backgrounds are or if we turned away from him. That's how i see God's grace being something unconditional and nothing but grace. Because it's something that he offers everyone freely but we have to ask for it and we don't even deserve it.
God created Adam and Eve and they loved Him. But there was no choice but to love God, so Adam and Eve's one rule of never eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was the choice God gave them to show their love for Him. God basically said, "if you love me, you will listen to my one rule for you and not eat from this tree." God is giving us that same choice with salvation. but instead of being able to take the fruit, we have to come up and ask for some fruit.

I could go on on this topic, but like i said it's finals week and i need to study
I also want to make it clear that i am always open for God to change my mind on this subject as well. God knows how i am because he created me and he knows how to open my eyes through his word so that i can have understanding in things that are not made clear right now. There are many verses about predestination in the bible- i'll give you one even Romans 8:28-32
i'm ready to tell you right now i don't know what to take from it. but i will be patient with God, like he is patient with me and have faith that he will reveal his truth like he has countless times before.

Scripture that has caught my eye since April 10th:
19/4/09
"not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5

"for just as though the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one. man the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19

20/4/09
"what shall we say then? shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? by no means! we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1-2

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of the sin might be done away within, the at we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." Romans 6:6&7

"Therefore don't let sin reign in our mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instrument of righteousness." Romans 6:12-13

21/4/09
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but hose who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5

"because those led by the spirit of God are sons of God," Romans 8:14

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. and by him we cry, 'Abba, Father'" Romans 8:15

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

"for the creation was subject to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." Romans 8:20&21

"In the same way, the spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes from us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26

"And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will" Romans 8:27

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; hose he justified, he also glorified." Romans 8:28-30
~there you go, but here is where my faith steps in. I have faith that God will open my eyes and i refuse to let this present and apparent inconsistency hinder my faith.

"no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, either angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Romans 8:37-39

22/4/09
"it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" Romans 9:8

"it does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy" Romans 9:16

"therefore God had mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and hardens whom he wants to harden" Romans 9:18
~this part made a reference to how Pharaoh's heart was hardened when moses asked him to let the Jews go

Romans 10:8-9

"for, 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can the call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear w/o someone preaching to them? And how can they preach without being sent? As it is written, 'how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Romans 10:13-15

23/4/09
"Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" Romans 11:11-12

"If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either." Romans 11:17-21

29/4/09
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

Today
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Romans 13:1

"Give everyone what you owe him; If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:7

"Love does no harm to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Romans 13:10

"accept him whose faith his weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" Romans 14:1

"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand" Romans 14:4

"But the man who has doubts is condemned if the eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23
~This one came from the context of a strong believer not judging a weaker person of faith for not eating certain things or drinking wine and for a weaker person of faith not condemning a stronger person in faith for drinking or eating certain things. It is saying here basically that if the weaker does the thing that the stronger does but still sees it as something wrong then for him, that is a sin.
putting it in another context- if i go out and drink (legal age and all that) i'm ok with drinking and being a strong christian. for someone else that may not be the case and i shouldn't push someone who sees it as a sin to drink because to them the feel wrong doing it- therefore, because their concious isn't clean now, them drinking has become a personal sin against God.

That's it- i think it's been over 2hrs... >.<>

Just a bit too stressed out...

2009-04-10T18:07:00.001-07:00

So i've tried everything to be more consistant with this blog but the fact of the matter is that i'm just a little too stressed out AND worried about one too many classes to update it everyday (or even frequently) so i'm making the decision to put this blog on hold until
May 2, 2009
(a.k.a. the beginning of finals week- which equals more time)

so i will return to Like a Tree then

Peace Be with You!
(and yes, that will prolly mean me not doing my devos as often either =/ i kno, i fail)

**pps! prayer would be VERY nice as well... >.<**

I changed my mind...

2009-04-06T00:44:00.001-07:00

I decided to go through Romans! (well go through it again...) AND like i have been awfully busy with school i decided to just write down the scriptures i found interesting every day (no responses unless i feel like i really need to do it) and just leave the ramblings for days i have more time...
So here we go:

4-4-09:
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jews, then for the Gentile."
Romans 1:16

"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"
Romans 2:2-4

"To those who by persistence is doing good seek glory, honor and immorality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."
Romans 2:7-8

"All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing, now even defending them."
Romans 2:12-15

"No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart; by the spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is no from men, but from God."
Romans 2:29

5/4/09
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin"
Romans 3:20

Peace be with you.

P.S. Here's "In Your Freedom" by Hillsong! xD

A New Believer, what next? O.o

2009-04-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

This once a week thing is killing me...

school has been hectic, my devotions have been occasional, and and i've been working a lot more since the beginning of this semester...

Recently, like more tonight that any time before, i've been really thinking about the man i will end up marrying (God willing of course...). Honestly, i am not planning on getting married any time soon- like mid to late (more mid) twenties are good for me but i have a feeling that whoever i end up with needs to be as unique as i am (and as amazing OBVIOUSLY.....)*psst. i was trying to be sarcastic :P*

Like i want a strong christian who knows the word and who is on the same page i am. Like i want someone who will hold me as accountable as i will with him. But i don't think i could stand being with a conservative christian- we'd get into so many fights it wouldn't even be worth it.

lol- but enough of me being a little girl- devotions!!!

I ended up doing the book of Psalms for my next project; i've been thinking that i should go through it. AND if you didn't know, that is where the title of this blog came from:

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law he mediates day and night. He is like tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers"
Psalm 1:2-3
(no duh, you should know that b/c it's right up there on the top of the screen :P)

I think this scripture is really important, to me and to everyone else. We are to meditate on God's word every single day. When we make it a habit to read God's word on a daily basis, we find ourselves at peace and more guarded from the enemy and his wickedness. It is when we dwell in God's word that be can consider ourselves righteous. When man decides that he is going to follow Christ, he is free from sin but is still prone to fall back into his sinful nature. Only through Christ can you dwell in good- consistently.

If you see anybody who has disciplined themselves to meditate on the world every day and every night you see a difference in how they handle their life. They handle the bad and messy with such grace and peace and confidence because their extensive look at the word has enable them to learn enough about God that they know that the "...Lord, has never forsaken those who seek [him]"

I think what a lot of people don't realize is that it is ok, as a Christian, to have doubt and to have questions about Christ and God and the Word. Those are things that God wants us to have in order to help us know him more- without the ability to think and have a mind and to have logic, we are not going to be able to learn about God more and learn to love him more.

I know that for me, asking my father about things i don't understand in the bible helped me with a lot of my doubts because he would sit me down with the word and pull out scripture to help me bridge gaps in my knowledge. Some things tho, i just left unanswered but kept on reading my bible and God opened my eyes to the answers of the questions i had in my heart.

I know that recently i've been feeling a little frustrated- i don't understand why no one can see this! if you trust in God and you pray for understanding he will not forsake you. If you seek him, He will answer. I know it's true because it happens to me all the time- to the the point that i hardly remember them now a days. God is always opening my eyes to things that i couldn't have seen without him. My father is like that and some of my really close friends are like that as well :)

So i guess what i'm saying is that if one is reading the word but is not understanding it, or even having doubts about it- continue reading and continue praying and find a spiritual mentor to help guide you. The biggest and hardest part about being a new believer is that there is a lot of faith and trust that needs to be put in from early- that's because there really isn't a lot you know about God yet on an intellectual level. The next step for someone who want to really take their faith seriously is to meditate on God's word day and night- whether or not it makes sense at first. Have faith!

a collection of all the other passages i liked from my devotions:

25/3/09
"Many are saying of me, 'God will not deliver him.' But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow your glory on me and you lift my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill."
Psalm 3:2-4

"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side"
Psalm 3:5-6

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8

Sunday-
"He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble give birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he cause recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head."
Psalm 7:14-16

Wednesday-
"The Lord is a refuge for the opposed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
Psalm 9:9-10

Hiatus- and no there's no good reason for it...

2009-03-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry again for being so lame =/
and i think i've only done my devo's twice in the more than a week long hiatus...

FAIL

So i decided to do Philippians next and it was such a short book that i finished it the second time i did devotions... (it was like 4 chapters long :P)

I'm mad busy so i'm just going to go through the verses that stood out to me =/
(again, sorry for being so lame)

18-3-09
"And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ"
Philippians 1:9-10

"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,"
Philippians 1:29

Monday-
"Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Philippians 2:2

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God w/o fault in a crooked and deprived generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe"
Philippians 2:14=15

"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Ad the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philip. 4:6-7

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
Philip. 4:13

A bucket O' Hebrews :P

2009-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

So i was bad again this weekend and i did not do my devo's friday, or saturday, and today i'm prolly not gonna actually get down and read a chapter.

If it counts, Friday i had to wrap up some stuff (which i'm glad i did btw!!!)/ pack?/ leave that night to go to the airport
Saturday i was tired and fighting on whether i should sleep, pack or neither (i think i ended up doing more of the latter...)
And today i don't really have an excuse...

I'll just say right now that there's been a lot of issues that have been going on in my mind:
Predestination
Battle Cry Controversy
the "Customized Jesus" thing (yea, again)

and a few more smaller issues. I know that i don't really have time to go over it right now (HOMEWOOOOOORRRRRRRKKKKKK!!!!!! T_T). and like Tomorrow's monday, and will be a busy day for me, physically and spiritually, i highly doubt i would have time to write any kind of devotional anyway (with all the hw due tuesday... :( ....)

Plus i am having a hard time deciding what book in the bible i should do next- i want to do something short and in the new testament (like i jut finished one in the Old testament) but i'm not exactly sure what. Maybe 1 and 2 Peter? idk, i know i went through a John phase (John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John...). But idk... I might have already gone through the Peters...

I guess i'll just leave you with some of my fav (rather highlighted) verses from Hebrews:

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. after he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."
Hebrews 1:3

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness"
Hebrews 3:13

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow"
Hebrews 4:12

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves in distinguish good from evil."
Hebrews 5:13

"And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised."
Hebrews 6:15

"But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them"
Hebrews 7:24

"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear."
Hebrews 8:13
~yea, that's definitely a topic that's waaaaay to complex and intricate to go into right now...

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see"
Hebrews 11:1
~yes, i am aware that i am posting this scripture again- (i just really like it ;D)

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:11

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord"
Hebrews 12:14

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering"
Hebrews 13:3
~Compassion! Empathyyyyy!!!!

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
Hebrews 13:15

Everything and the End of a Book

2009-03-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

So i've been having this kind of spiritual block these last two days and it's getting hard to interpret my bible and stuff like that, idk- there's something i need to take care of and i don't think this block is going to go away until i take care of it.

Everything- by Lifehouse

Most ppl know this song from the Everything Human Video
but the song by itself is so powerful too- i just never noticed until i was singing it in Church

On another note: i reached the end of Isaiah!!! :D
"I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations- to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations."
Isaiah 66:19

No interpretations today, i'm just not getting anything :(

Peace be with You.

Revelations

2009-03-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, i feel like us Christians get too caught up with all these different roles that we need to play. We want to one up another with 'who raised their hands first' at worship, who sang loudest, who spoke in tongues, who said a divine word- basically who was more 'spiritual' than everyone else. That kind of pressure, i think hinders a person's worship. I know that sometimes i find it hard to distinguish if i am praying and worshiping for others or for God.

But tonight i felt something that i haven't felt in a long time- long meaning maybe a year or so. I was totally overcome by God: to the point i was just shaking uncontrollably. It was just weird but good to feel. I mean, it happens every once and a while- and it used to happen a lot when i started really focusing when i worshiped, but at some point it was like God just said 'enough of that,' and i really didn't know why. I still don't know why actually! Maybe because he wanted my close period with him to be when i was intellectually, not emotionally, dumbfounded by him? hmm... that could be it... (if you haven't noticed, i tend to be pondering while i'm typing :P). But it was good to feel- I can't even begin telling you how many times i have prayed to God to let me feel him again. JUST ONCE! That was one of my struggles all through Italy- God never truly took over my senses over there. I cried about it, i prayed about it, i read about it, but it just never came. Instead tho- i filled gaps in my knowledge of God that you wouldn't believe. New revelations came to me every single day.

So i guess that must have been it then. Maybe God pulled away the feeling part for a while so that i could focus all my attention on becoming close to him through my mind and my knowledge of him. Interesting. I guess the next question would be will it happen again? is this just a one time thing or did I break though a barrier that God temporarily put up for me? Time will tell...

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"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him"
Isaiah 64:4
~like i said before, What makes our God so unique is that all he asks of us is to make him our Lord. He wants us to love him and put faith in Him and he will answer us when we do so. Other religions you have to work hard- cause that way, if nothing happens then you can just blame urself. With our God, there is not alot of room to blame ourselves. We have to risk it all by just having faith that he will answer you.

"Do not be angry beyond measure, Oh Lord, do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people"
Isaiah 64:9
~This is a crazy powerful scripture. It just highlights the problem with the old covenant in the nutshell: THIS IS WHY WE NEED JESUS!!! If you read Isaiah through, God is fairly strict with his people. He punishes them for their sins if they did it for a while- and it was a harsh punishment. There is frustration between God and his people. God cannot come close to his people as long as there is sin between him and them. That sin wasn't going to go away as long as the people continued to sin and not take the measures to cover it. When the Israelites sinned too much, God just got very frustrated. There is his people- the one that he has put aside as his own- and they are dishonoring him over and over and over and over and over.
Thanks to Jesus, that isn't us anymore. Jesus took away the sin we did in the past and the sin we are going to do in the future. God doesn't have to see us as too filthy to even touch anymore, he can be close to us now with no kind of separation. Thank you Jesus!!! O.O

"Behold,, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind"
Isaiah 65:17
~i wanna go over this now, but now is not the time...

"The wolf and the Lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain."
Isaiah 65:25

Peace be with you.

My Purpose In Christ

2009-03-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

So Recently- since i started this whole blog- i've been thinking a lot about what my role is in the now. I know what God's plan is for me in my life- it involves me awakening the Church from it's elitist apathetic state. Of course you understand that that really points towards the Churches in the US and also to pull out the Churches in Europe. My heart is really in the building of churches and making sure God's people stay focused on what truly maters: God's Word. I also know that's why i have this gift of being able to interpret the Word and to teach.

I took this survey thing (which didn't help with anything really) but it was about my style of worshiping God, basically at what point do i feel closest to God. The tallies show that i am the Intellectual and Activist type. That means that I feel closer to God through my mind and by bringing about social change- which is totally true. Actually it lets me see why i put such a heavy emphasis on the bible, I feel closer to God when i get a new revelation about him through his word. I LOVE learning about him. I also have a heart to bring about a great social change in the Church- i know i would feel closer to him when i finally start my role in helping him bring about his Kingdom in that way. I mean, ever since i was young i have been about starting a revolution and leading a social fight- how i LONG to have been part of the Civil Rights movement or something like that!!! GAAAAAH- i need to be alive during the 60's!!! O.O
(good music yea? ;P)

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem's sake i will not remain
quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch"

Isaiah 62:1

*Coming back from Rant* After i came back from Italy, I was so on fire!!! (known as the Mission Trip Jesus high) and i was doin my devos and and telling myself 'no! i'm SO on fire of God! i will not step down for anything! i will NOT get distracted by this world! The need is too urgent!!! The harvest is Many! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!! JESUS IS COMIN' BACK!'

......buuuuuuuuuut......

Like what happens when everyone comes back from a missions trip- i did loose the some of that fire, and once i got to college- it all went down hill from there. Never turned back, but i definitely hit the cruze mode for a long time (with the occational step on the gas but it never lasted long). And i'll tell you right now- the reason why Christians find it hard to keep the fire the had on a missions trip is because when u are on a missions trip- it's just you and God. God is dwelling in that place and he is so there that satan has to work EXTRA hard to pierce through the bubble. However, going home you fall back to a normal life- a life where you don't have the option of just spending time with God, you have to deal with other things too like work and money and worries and distractions 24/7. Now, you have to make time to spend with God- it's not just given to you.

But i knew the whole time what God wanted me to do with my life and I knew the first step in doing that was to really get down and do my devotions; not every once and a while but daily (and yes as you can see, i'm still working on that...). But now that i've gotten kind of over that first step, i dunno what the next step should be...I want God to tell me what my next step is suppose to be. =/

I feel like it's the activist part of me that needs to develope more...
lol- but Jesus! i wanna save the world NOOOOOOOOW!!!! >.< =3

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Monday-
"Instead of bronze i will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and Iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler"
Isaiah 60:17

"The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; In its time I will do this swiftly."
Isaiah 60:22

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn."
Isaiah 61: 1-2

Today-
"Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in greatness of his strength? 'It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save'"
Isaiah 63:1

"I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me."
Isaiah 63:5
~I really like this scripture just because it just shows that no matter what, God's will is gonna happen. However, God get's upset when he has to do everything. He wants to be glorified through us, not by him doing glory for himself.

**As a side note** This song has been playing in my head and i absolutely love it <3
Arise!!!

Peace be With You :D
*btw- i'm not an old conservative kind of person. i kno i'm not doing a good job showing that. But i just so happen to like old ppl worship music :P*

Power of Your Love

2009-03-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

I miss this song... what ever happened to the great worship hits of the nineties and eighties?

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"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"
Philippians 1:6

"The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire"
Matthew 3:10

"for in Scripture it says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame' (Isaiah 28:16). Now in you who believe, this is precious. But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone' (Psalm 118:22), and 'a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall' (Isaiah 8:14). They stumble because they disobey the message- which is also what they were destined for."
1 Peter 2:6

I've been bad...

2009-03-06T20:37:00.001-08:00

So i know it shouldn't have happened but i've been bad...boooo
i missed doing my devotions yesterday...and Wednesday...and it's very possible that i may miss it tonight as well

but, but i do have a reason...well it's not a good reason but a really bad excuse?
well Wednesday all i was doing was trying to get hw done and pack to leave Thursday.
Thursday i left to stay over at a friend's house cause she was giving me a ride to the airport today
and today i'm so awfully tired...BUT i knoooooow
that's no excuse to miss my time with God- i could have at least prayed... =/
*caught*

well i'm gonna go, hopefully, do my devos for tonight at least so i have something to write about tomorrow.

it's suppose to be SUCH a busy day thoooo
oh well, i guess i'm gonna have to just get up extra early right ;)

Peace Be With You : )

Complete

2009-03-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

When doing my devotions yesterday, i decided it would be a good idea to go to last.fm and just listen to the Hillsong United radio thingy (apparently last.fm is kind of like Pandora??? O.o- but i think it's better :P). Well i was just baffled by how many of my preferred genre of Christian music was out there!

Me personally, i made the decision a little while ago that i was not satisfied with "Christian music" as in Christian Rock or Christian Pop or Christian 'xyz' just because when you actually looked at the lyrics, they aren't saying anything of much concern. Usually it's just a bunch of vague lines that deal with simple concepts ("Jesus wuvvv yuuuuu")

Because of this, i find many "Christian" artists nothing more than Christians playing secular music. I am not a supporter of the cross over band and I feel like bands who do cross over are sellouts. Your music is either inspired by God or it's not, there's no gray middle when it comes to the things of the Kingdom and things of this world.

That being said, i've found that the type of Christian music that i lean towards is Worship music. That's because a worship band has no other job but to worship God- there's no 'quota' of non-Christians to meet.

Artists who i have liked were:
Hillsong United(ESPECIALLY)
Hillsong (yes it's different)
Desperation Band
Chris Tomlin
David Crowder Band

Now don't get me wrong, i do sometimes find good worship songs in cross over bands. So it's possible that some may be playing a role in the Kingdom- i just don't like it.

That's one of the things about being a Christian. There are some things that you do not approve of but you have to make the distinction of what you think is wrong and what God thinks is wrong. That's because sometimes what you feel isn't the best way to Honor God or something that you think does honor God more, may not be the same to the brother or sister in Christ next to you. And that's perfectly fine! (well unless the bible blatantly says it's not obviously) Take Paul's idea of drinking (i think it's in Romans? or maybe one of the Corinthians?). Now for him, he has no problem with drinking (not to the point of drunk of course) but he realizes that some other Christians do have a problem with that. Not only that, he is willing to put the bottle down for the sake of his brother.

It should be the same attitude for us. With things that aren't of much importance, we should be willing to drop it if it's going to interfere with the fellowship that we find with other Christians- if it's really that important to the other party that you don't drink, then don't do it around them, it's not that big of a deal. Don't break up the Church for trivial things.

anyway! away from the ranting.
Yesterday i heard this amazing song by Parachute Band.
They are a New Zealand Worship group and, even though this song sounds a bit outdated, the message is still good.
The song i came across was Complete
Lyrics:
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart, I offer up my life
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And by faith I will walk on Lord
Then I'll see beyond my cavalry one day
And I will be complete in You

Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart, I offer up my life
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And by faith I will walk on Lord
Then I'll see beyond my cavalry one day
And I will be complete in You

I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears
Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And by faith I will walk on Lord
Then I'll see beyond my cavalry one day
And I will be complete in
I will be complete in
I will be complete in You

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"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear"
Isaiah 59:1

"We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. For offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities"
Isaiah 59:11-12

True Fasting

2009-03-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Alright, so i've come to the realization that mondays may almost always be skipped, just because it's my most busy day- i didn't even do my devo's yesterday... T_T

But i did Sunday so i'll go off of that (at some point, hopefully, i'll get back to talking about what i read on the day i decided to post...)

"'Why have we fasted,' they say,'and you have not seen it?' Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high."
Isaiah 58: 3-4

So i'm glad i ran into this scripture because the only other scripture i've ever read about fasting was in Matthew and Deuteronomy:
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Matthew 6:16-18

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
Deuteronomy 8:3

Fasting is something that one does to honor God- like it says in Deuteronomy, When we fast we are acknowledging that it is God and only God that keeps us alive, not even food or drink. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone decides to fast cause they just wanna honor God randomly (not like there is a real problem with that. it happens every once and a while) but usually when one fasts, it's because they are faced with a really big problem- a situation that they cannot control, something bad that they know is going to happen and there doesn't seem to be a way out of it, even something like a very important decision that they need to be made. When we are in these situation, that is usually when fasting is a good thing to look to. That is because you are offering up to God your problem as well as letting him know that you know that he is the one that controls all- even your life.

So, i know that this sounds a little crazy- like some kind of form of Christian suicide- but, as long as the problem is necessary and ur heart is in the right place, you will be fine. This is where that faith kicks in- you have to trust God with everything- that means all aspects of your life as well as your life itself.

What is important to remember, as we see in Matthew and Isaiah, is that fasting is only half of the exercise, how you fast is just as important as the process itself. Matthew emphasises the importance of keeping your fast between you and God. your fasting is ideally suppose to be a direct offering to God of yourself, he is the one that is suppose to get the glory. Letting people know you are fasting is something that no longer gives God any glory but, instead, it gives you the glory. We fast to say "God, you are bigger and more amazing that i will ever be- i put my ego aside to honor you will all that is mine." Telling everyone else that we fast is basically saying to God that you are not interested in giving him glory, ur interested in giving yourself glory.

Remember in Deuteronomy, God made the Israelites hunger as a way to humble their hearts.
In the same way, when we fast it is suppose to be in a way that we humble ourselves.

In Isaiah, it also talks about how you fast. In the context of the chapter (Isaiah 58), God is more referring to his holy days that the Jews had to acknowledge like the sabbath, but we can still use this scripture today just because it talks about the fasting on these holy days. God tells his people that, in order for God to acknowledge the fasting that is done, the people need to act differently when they are fasting. Don't fast and just carry on the day like you usually do.

When we fast, it's is a time to worship God. The hunger is a constant reminder of why we are doing this and we should mediate on God through prayer and his word- give the days up for God, not yourself. There should be a difference in how you spend your time when you are fasting.

When we fast right, God answers your prayers like no other. It becomes clear to you what you have to do and the problem you are facing is gone. Not only that though, after fasting- like after missionary work or going through a dry spot- you come out changed and stronger in your faith than when you came in:
"Then your light will break forth like the dawn. and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard."
Isaiah 58:8

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.' The mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 58:13-14

Peace be with you
*yaaay for not being crazy long!!! :D*

Why Jesus' blood is vital

2009-03-01T10:37:00.001-08:00

Well actually I skipped Thursday *whoops!*
but i DID do my devotions Friday, Saturday-and soon-today ^_^
So i'll just play catch up...

So in the span of these last few days i came across this amazing scripture in Isaiah that is just a prophesy of Jesus and about what his role for the world was! it was just amazing to see the obvious and blatant connection between the new and old testaments. It was Isaiah 52:13-53:12. I would love to type out that chuck of scripture and just save you the time of going through the pages but there's a good chance i'll accidentally write something down wrong. Plus, opening the bible may lead to reading of more scripture right ;).

Verses that stood out to me in that passage:
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5

"Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities."
Isaiah 53:10-11

On Friday, i met with one of my friends in Starbucks and we read through Hebrews 1 and 2. Like i said before, i kind of wanted to visit Hebrews again just because it makes a lot of references to Isaiah and, now that I've read through most of Isaiah, i think it will be easier for me to understand Hebrews more as well.

Hebrews 2:14-18 stood out to me the most
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death- that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants, For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
*wow! that's a long one O.O*
~God is nothing but a father who created something to love. He also gave that something the free will to love back but it was this free will that ended up severing our relationship with God (Adam, Eve, forbidden fruit, sin, the works...). Because of the sin that we brought upon the world, it was impossible for us to have that close relationship with God. How can a room of just light dwell with darkness? How can Holiness dwell with sin? it doesn't work.

However, God found a way to dwell with his people, the Israelites, but it was through many sacrifices that covered the sin of his people. in order for the Jews to be close to God they had to also have a mediator between both of them: that was the role of the high priest. It was through the high priest that God connected with is people but like the high priest was just a man himself, this relationship was still severed because, even though God wanted to be close to his people, this sin that continued to cover them kept them apart.

It's was kind of like a person living in America understanding the life of a person in poverty in Africa or India. They may want help and do everything they can to help but as long as they have never walked in the shoes of the poverty stricken, they will not know truly the types of fears and dangers and problems they face. It's kind of the same with God, He wanted to help his people but like he does not know what it is like to live with sin- him being holy- he can't help his people (i kno, that part can get confusing because it's like a 'but God can do everything so he can...'- just stay with me though. It's more complex than that. It's more of a "Can God sin?" question. The answer is yes he can, but he just wont. He doesn't go against the rules that he has placed up because he doesn't want to. It's also like the "Can God make a rock that too heavy for him to lift?" the answer would be yes but you know the next response would be "But God can do everything" so the answer would be no, but then your saying that God can't do everything and your stuck in a circle of confusion and crazy deep God stuff. My point is, the term "God can do everything" is something that's much more complex that one would think because, as we know, our God has set up rules on how reality works. We just have to trust that we will understand later, when we get our new bodies and dwell with our Father in Eternity, how these two contradicting concepts can still live together in harmony. It obviously goes beyond our logic).

This all changed with Jesus. Jesus came into this earth as a man so that Him being God manifested in human form would be able to experience a life with temptation while still being without sin. also, like he was without sin, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice (like a lamb without blemishes) for the sin of all people. The blood of Jesus is so powerful because it didn't just cover our sins, like other offerings did, but it completely wiped them away! Not only that though, this complete removal of sin also broke free every single person's chain to fear of death, if they so choose to take the key. It is because of Jesus, i can now say that i am no longer a slave to sin. Instead i choose to be a slave to God and through that servitude, i am free. (I would love to go over what i mean by freedom but that's for another day...)

Hebrews 2:1-18 is a real eye opener to the true role of Jesus Christ.

Another verse i like from this passage:
"In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers."
Hebrews 2:10-11
~ 1 Corinthians 15: 20-28 does a great job explaining it. Christ is the first fruit, or the first born. and he was the first of us to be resurrected. Being the first and him being the son of God, He inherits everything but like it is through him that we enter God's family, Jesus calls us his brothers (and sisters of course) as well. He is sharing all that God is giving him with us like adopted brothers and sisters. Another reason why we thank him ^_^

Additional scriptures:
Friday-
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who says to Zion 'Your God Reigns.'"
Isaiah 52:7

"But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard"
Isaiah 52:12

"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,' Declares the Lord"
Isaiah 54:17

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, Listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest fare."
Isaiah 55:2

"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
Isaiah 55:7

Saturday-
"When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain."
Isaiah 57:13

"....I live on a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite."
Isaiah 57:15
(JUST SO YOU KNOW!- Contrite: rueful, remorseful, repentant)

Peace be With You.

just to add on...

2009-02-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

"The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that i may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
"The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary, he wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

The Lord God has opened my ear, and i was not rebellious, i turned not backward.
The sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
i hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; i did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

But the Lord God helps me; therefore i have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and i know that i shall not be put to shame."
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. therefore have i set my face like flint, and i know i will not be put to shame."

Isaiah 50:4-7
(NIV) and (ESV)

I saw this scripture later on today and for some reason it just got to me, and I've been showing it to everyone i can :P

I think it speaks to me a lot because i feel like my role in the church will eventually deal with teaching or at least include that. Obviously Isaiah also had a part to do in that role for Israel and was not popular because of it. But even though he had to go though mockery and beatings and hard HARD times, he still did not back away from the truth he knew was right! and it was all because he knew he answered to a higher authority. God gave him the message for Israel to hear so went on and gave it and took crap for it because he knew God will always be behind him- the Lord never leaves his people, even through the hard times. You just have to stay true to him and his word and he will deliver you.

I think that's what some Christians feel like that's how God operates; that He is only there for the happy times. but God is there for the good, bad and the ugly- i mean, if there were only mountain top moments, then you wouldn't grow! it's only when we go through the wilderness do we start learning more about God and his Love and how amazing he truly is.

Isaiah understood that, and it is because of this understanding, he was able to find the strength needed to carry on God's message for Israel.

It is echoed in Isaiah a lot but when we come out of the desert (meaning really hard times; when we don't seem to be feeling God that much or at all) after pushing through the doubt and frustration by still doing our devotions and prayer, we just can't help but Glorify God.
We can't help but say "Thank you God for letting me get through that! I couldn't have done it with out you..."

Peace be with you : )

What is required

2009-02-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

"This is what the Lord says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.'"
Isaiah 48:7
~I feel like God was answering me when i came across this scripture this morning. It was kind of like a 'Tabby, don't worry about it, i'll lead you where you need to go'. Sometime it's important for us to remember that God knows what is best for us but more than that, he teaches us what is best. He also directs us to the best solution as well.

What makes Christianity a belief that you cannot find in the rest of the world is that it requires you to give up the idea of trying to 'earn' your way to heaven (or paradise or Nirvana or whatever you call it). To believe in God and his son Jesus requires you to give up the little control you believe you have on your life and let God drive the steering wheel from now on. There is no pray X amounts of times or give X amount of money or mediate X amount of days- there is only the "God, i from now on acknowledge that you control my life and that no matter what i do i will always fall short of you holiness. With that in mind, i will still strive to be more like you and to keep myself dwelling in your righteousness so that some of your holiness will shine from within me. I bring death to my flesh and birth to your holy spirit dwelling in my soul"

Therefore, the only requirement there is for Christianity is Faith- which is defined in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

When one becomes a Christ follower, he or she is as certain that there is a God as the ground beneath the feet or the air that one breathes. This does not mean that there wont be doubt or questions of or about God, sometimes you will even doubt your faith if it get really bad, but the truth is that you still have that initial faith that keeps you from turning away from Him and his word.
Going off that, the only way one can have faith in someone, is by knowing that someone. We know God by praying to him and reading his word. Think about it like a best friend.

The person who you consider a best friend is someone who you know everything about. You know what they hate, you know what they love, you know what annoys them, you know what saddens them, you know their accomplishments and what they want to accomplish- you know everything about them and you do that by getting to know them!
If i sit next to the same girl in all my classes and never speak to them, then i could never in any instance call her my best friend- because i don't know anything about her. Same with God. In order for me to have faith in him i need to know who he is. In order to let that faith grow, i need to know more about him.

The more we read the bible the more we see why God is so amazing and the more we love him for it.

As a side note, i think i'm going to go over Hebrews again after finishing Isaiah because Hebrews makes A LOT of references to Isaiah. Idk tho, we'll see : )

Other scripture that i found quite interesting today:
"Therefore, I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, 'My Idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them'"
Isaiah 48:5

"If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea."
Isaiah 48:18
~just a side note on this as well. This is why it's so important to listen to God when he tells us to do something- i mean when he shows us in big fat letters and flashing lights that this is what he wants us to do. Not listening to God can be devastating and may take a lot to recover from. But do not think that he'll just leave you there to sulk in your own misfortune, if you ask for help He will answer you. I can't exactly remember where it is but my father always says it "In the day of trouble, call upon me and i will deliver you and you will glorify me" (i think it's in psalms somewhere...). Just look at the history of Israel, time and time again, The nation did not pay attention to God's commandment but God never left them- God never leaves his people.

"'There is no peace,' says the Lord,'for the wicked'" Isaiah 48:22

"He says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
Isaiah 49:6
~Obviously speaking of Jesus. This is a foreshadowing of the destiny of Israel, to help be a light to the Gentiles (the non Jewish peoples). It is fulfilled when Jesus, a Jew, is born by Mary. But through Jesus' disciples, the preaching of salvation to the Gentiles begin (a little from Peter but mostly Paul); and i must say, thank you Lord for doing so!! :D

"to say to the captives 'come out' and to those in darkness, 'be fee!' They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill."
Isaiah 49:9
~I just put this here because one day, after church back home, one of the ladies came up to me and said that she felt God wanted me to hear this scripture- i'm not sure exactly when it will hit me as something that opens my eyes but i make note of it every time i pass by it.

A cry for direction.

2009-02-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

There's a lot going through my mind
Old angers and resent that i cannot shake off
why can't I move on?
i want to move on...

In one sense i want Love to overwhelm me
but on the other hand what good is love if you first don't experience hate?
Lord you have calmed my soul before
You have quieted the lion in me
Help me to move on
I need to move on

Lord tell me what to do!
should i say something?
Should i continue to sit back?
I want to Shout from the hill top!
and deliver a righteous slaughter
but maybe my heart isn't in the right place
Maybe my mind isn't ready yet
God, you know i hate sitting back...
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"I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I the Lord do all these things."
Isaiah 45:7

"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I the Lord created it."
Isaiah 45:8

"Woe to him who quarrels with his maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'what are you making?' Does your work say, 'he has no hands?'
Isaiah 45:9

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and i will carry you; i will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Isaiah 46:4

the Modern Idol

2009-02-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Today is a Sunday. And i feel like it's a good time to start a blog that will be solely dedicated to my faith and to my God. As i have said in one of my more recent entries (in Jabberwocky i mean), God has definitely laid on me the importance of reading his word consistently and daily. And as i said in that entry, i feel like one way to encourage me to do my devotions on a, hopefully, daily basis, is by writing down my thoughts about what i have read and just get out there what i'm reading about.

JUST SO YOU KNOW-i'm not trying to make a point, i'm not trying to start any arguments. If you do not believe or are getting upset with whatever i write here then you always have the option of just exiting the screen- no big deal. This is just another form of journaling but i am giving anyone who wants to the option of reading my thoughts.

I'll probably end up rambling about life as well from time to time but i suppose that's what makes it interesting. :P. And with that, i will start

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Right now i'm going through Isaiah and it's taken me a long time, mostly because i've kept my bible closed for most of last semester *oops!* BUT i'm trying to get back into the groove!
It's amazing how many ways the devil can distract you right?

Anyways- i'm going to start with Friday (cause yesterday and today didn't exactly work out...)

I read through Isaiah 43 and 44 and some parts of just blew my mind...
Isaiah 44:6-20 talks about idolatry and about how it makes absolutely no sense. When a Carpenter is making an idol, he's the one that cuts the wood and carves it and it's just a man making something that is 'holy.' God forces us to see that there is nothing special about that piece of wood. If the scraps are jut going to be used for everyday things like food and heating up a house, then what makes that other part of the wood holy?

This section i like the most:
"From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, 'Save me; you are my god.' They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, 'half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?' He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, 'Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'"
Isaiah 44: 17-20

Usually when people of the Church talks about idolatry, they start talking about how today we kind of worship, instead of wooden or metal figures, materials like money or clothing or even other people. However, this passage made me think of something just a bit different.
In our day and age, it is popular to kind of make up your own idea what kind of God is up there, how spiritual things work out, if it's a god or multiple gods up there or if there is a god at all or if we are in fact the gods, etc. etc. but I feel like we can understand this 'customized religion' thing in the way that God explains idolatry. bare with me-

I am a human with very little control over the things in my life, let alone a spiritual realm, how can i just decide on who or what God is? a personalized religion is a conclusion that one comes up with by themselves. It is a worship of something that one creates in their own mind- what's so holy about that?

Another section of my reading i liked a lot:
"Yet you have not called upon me, o Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. You have not brought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished no me the fat of your sacrifices. but you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses."
Isaiah 43:22-24
~This one speaks a lot to me right now. I mean i haven't turned away from God by any means but i have been cruising for a while now. I haven't grown a whole bunch or prayed too often (only for stuff i need) and i havent been keeping up with my devotions lately- it's bad. And knowing what God has in store for me makes it even worse because i know i cannot help others and use my gifts for God's kingdom if i decide not to stay in his word daily. You cannot be an effective christian and decide that you are going to stay fully devoted to God when you feel like it. I have to be consistent and i need to really push myself to do so.

these next few excerpts are just scriptures i found that i liked as well:
"...Fear not, for i have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."
Isaiah 43:1(ish)
~Somewhere in Ephesians 2-3 there is a reference to how we belong to God too so you can look that up if you like (unless i'm wrong...but that's ok because Ephesians is a good book as well :P)

"When you pas through the waters, i will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43: 2

"The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise" Isaiah 43:20-21

"....I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." Isaiah 44:6(ish)