His Mercies are NEW everyday

I’ve come to the realisation that I never seem to do things right for long. Stereotypical failed New Years Resolutions? Check, check, check. My goodness, they weren’t even that difficult really. It seems even the most simple of tasks can be swept under the carpet when I’m feeling lazy – and suddenly, its late afternoon (like today) and I haven’t got squat to show for the time. Was so excited that I had a public holiday to catch up on study.

Yet, here’s the catch: it’s okay. You see, the combination of you not being perfect, plus an enemy lurking around trying to trip you up at every given moment means that these things will happen. HOWEVER. It also means that if you want something to happen, you can’t sit down and just hope that you’ll get it right eventually. You have to fight every moment – because that same enemy hates it when you start getting it right. Thankfully, we’re also not alone in this fight, because His mercies are NEW everyday. We are children of the Uptmost High King, and His authority is such that if we resist the devil – he will flee us. To add to it, His grace abounds, so if we mess up IT’S OKAY.

I now know why God says “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” and again, when James rebukes people saying “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”. It is NOW that matters, it is TODAY that matters if you want to make a change. So ‘pick up the loins of your mind’ and just get to it! I’m going to start studying NOW!

I’m coming back to the heart of worship

HS whispered to me: “How can you expect the fruits of intimacy with God if you haven’t even spent time with Him? Just as it is awkward at first to spend time alone with friends you haven’t seen in a year, 6 months, a week… so much more does this apply to your relationship with Christ. However, while your friendships may have two-sided awkwardness, the focus is on you with God. He never left, He was always waiting, and He would never feel awkward with you. This is about you becoming familiar with your Father again.”

Love is…

http://sobadsogood.com/2012/06/29/heart-warming-quotes-about-love-romance-from-kids/

Such a sweet article 🙂 Some of my favourite quotes:

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka – age 6

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” Noelle – age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it.  But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.  People forget.” Jessica – age 8

“There are two kinds of love.  Our love.  God’s love. But God makes both kinds of them.” Jenny – age 8

So cute. A good reminder to enjoy the purity of being God’s children too 🙂

Dear Beloved

Beloved, if you knew how much you were loved by Me – you’d know how to love others too. I created you so unique, so full of quirk and fun to be a joy to Me – and no matter what you do, I will still love you the same. I won’t stop pursuing you, I won’t stop filling you with warmth and peace. So draw near to me, and dine and talk with Me. If you seek Me first, these things will be added to you.

So take heart! I’m with you. And I can’t wait to show you how much I love you.

God

Emoing

It’s already the middle of the year. Time disappears so quickly… and the prospects of losing things – people, especially, becomes that much greater. Looking over past photos makes it all the more sad… indeed, its only the photos that remain to remind us of what there was. I feel a little like I’m losing all those memories – since they’re all fading into nothingness, and I don’t remember exactly what happened back then even when presented with photos. Sigh. This is why I don’t enjoy being left to myself – I think myself into misery.

Let go of the past – and instead endeavor to make NEW memories, FRESH encounters everyday. Just as your relationship with God can’t be sustained with just one encounter, so too does your relationships with other friends and family require daily interaction!

Silly me. x

Jesus as the living water, His word as my daily bread

After reading Lee Younger’s post on “Jesus said he was like food . What?!” (http://leeyounger.com/post/26267010226/jesus-said-he-was-like-food-what), it finally clicked. The reason why we need to constantly go to Jesus and His word, and the reason why my life isn’t magically changing for the better (i.e. I still struggle with so many temptations!!) is because if you don’t eat food – you won’t have the energy to fight off the things that hinder. It’s not easy to follow God, cuz everything, including your own body is pulling you the other way. “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41) is so very true. Nowadays I find myself sitting in front of laptop, staring at a Facebook page with nothing new, a youtube homepage filled with the same music and wondering why there’s nothing interesting to see. There’s this gap of longing that was once satisfied by these things… but now, its not enough. I realise now where my heart is because of where my treasure is… (Luke 12:34); however, now it’s no longer treasure to me but instead, like gold that has turned to dirt before my eyes…disappointing. (Spirited Away anyone?) This is pretty duh-worthy for seasoned Christians, yet I can’t help but think that so often it’s the small things that trip us up. (Song of Solomon 2:15) So here’s a point for accountability – whenever I feel that longing again, to use that as a reminder to feed myself that which is more satisfying.

Walking with Jesus is not…

Walking with Jesus is not about trying harder to be holy. It’s about admitting that you don’t have what it takes to be holy. Walking with Jesus is not about getting stronger when facing problems. It’s about asking for more help to face those problems. It’s not about becoming a better you. It’s about becoming more and more His kid.
– Lee Younger

Someone once asked me, “Why are you so good? You need to be corrupted a little!” Now I admit, I tend to come off as a perfectionist, teacher’s pet and all-round good girl… But I also happen to know my worst points, my ugliness, my weaknesses. And believe me, its not that I choose to hide them, but if you really knew me – this is what you’d find. I know I’m not good. I know just how bad I can be. That’s why I need Jesus. If I were perfect, why would I need God? No, I need God because I know just how imperfect I am. People tend to think Christians are all so holy, so good people – and that if you’re not up to standards like them, you’d be judged by them. The truth is, the people in church are just the same as those who are not – but have also chosen to seek help from the One that is perfect. Jesus came for the liars, the cheaters, the murders, the guilty, the broken, the sick, the ones that rejected Him, the ones that killed Him. He loved us so much He chose to die, so that we could have a new life, one where you can be free from these things that torment you. After knowing Him for a mere 2 years, I’m not an expert by any means – but I can say my life has changed drastically and for the better.

This is the core of Christianity, and also the most easily misunderstood aspect. It’s my prayer that people might come to know the truth 🙂 Food for thought?

Beloved – Tenth Avenue North

For better or worse… Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Waiting for love…

I seem to be in that season now… Even God has spoken regarding this. As I was pondering this, I realised my impatience was getting the better of me haha~ But God spoke again to me again, and I want to share this:

Waiting for the right man is like sitting in a restaurant, hungry, and waiting for your order. You see all a manner of other foods going past your table, but none of them are intended for you; nor are they really what you desire from the bottom of your heart. But right now you’re feeling sooo hungry that you’re just about to settle for anything. Don’t give up. Your dish, custom made to your tastes and your liking is currently being cooked to perfection in the kitchen, and will come out at the right time. Plus, by resisting eating the other dishes, they’ll reach the girls they were meant for, intact, without having to go back to the chef to make whole again.

xx

Q ‘What if I never asked for my sin to be paid for me? What if I wanted to shoulder responsibility for my own sin?’

Jesus died for ALL sin; not just your own. Would you want to die for the sin of someone else? Or in another way, would you want to die or pay the consequences because of someone else’s actions? That inevitably happens… e.g. if another person crashes into your car, you wouldn’t want to pay for the damage to the car right? You’d expect them to. But there are people who don’t take responsibility for their own sin, and cause harm to others. God offers freedom from not only our own sin, but others’ too. He protects us, covers us and holds us in His hands so that we can have a future that only prospers us, and doesn’t harm us (Jeremiah 29:11). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) – but we were never meant to die. We were meant to have eternal life, and life to the full (John 3:16; 10:10).