Mission Trip

When the idea of going to the mission trip in June was first suggested to me, in my mind I was asking: is this where God wants us to be? As we brought it up to the students, tried convincing the parents and interacting with the church leadership, I struggled and kept asking God what He wants for this group of lives He has placed in my hands.

At this very moment, I'm convinced that Philippines in June is where He wants us to be. I haven felt such an intense struggle of faith in a long time, the swinging of emotions and thoughts between hope and fear. I feel helmed in, only being able to slow, small steps in this mental world of mine; knowing that God is with me but yet feeling as if He's miles away; knowing that He'll provide but yet struggling with the fear of passing time and the lack of faith.

Even with the inner turmoil, I shall hold His Word close and dear to my heart:

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

I'm thankful for my sister in Christ who 'gifted' the above passage to me a few years back and I believe this is the time for me to really live this passage out.

Lives be healed

Chains be broken

Lives be healed

Eyes be opened

Christ is revealed

This is the chorus from You'll come by Brooke Fraser and is also my prayer to all those who are hurting around me.

I will Rise by Chris Tomlin

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
[x2]

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

Wonderful song...

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Had a random thought as I was preparing lesson on Sabbath: Does God still observe Sabbath? Its nice to imagine that as we worship Him on Sundays and seek Him during bible study, that He is actually taking a break to be with us and smiling at what we're doing to glorify Him...

The Ten Minas

I just hope I've spent my time well these past few days.

The Pilgrim's Progress

My revelation for the day:

I've always adored this book by John Bunyan, I like how he portrays the characters in this book, how Christian, the protagonist, somehow always seem to triumph over all the trials and tribulations he faces. I love how the author depicts the taking away of sin from Christian, the rolling away of the burden he carried and the joy he felt as that happened. I read it over and over again as a child.

It was only today as I recalled this book that I suddenly realized that this book was not simply fantasy. It wasn't a unrealistic depiction of our Christian lives but a very real one in which many could identify with and my revelation was that it didn't speak of a story till we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior but of our ENTIRE Christian life, from before we know Him till the day we see Him face to face. I realized that the characters and places in the story like Mr. Worldly Wisemen, Mr Legality, Vanity Fair, Giant Despair, Mr. Ignorance and many others are in many ways part of our daily lives, both in our struggles and the people we meet. Sadly and in a very real way, I have lost friends, who listened to these 'people', to the world.

I guess its a good time to reread this book again! =D

God's Promises in Ezekiel

My hope and prayer for the leaders:

¹⁶ "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'

¹⁷ "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.'

¹⁸ "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. ¹⁹ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."

Perhaps I really don't have much time anymore. Although some might think that I have done much, when I turn and look back, I really don't think I did much. I want to turn back the clock but I know its impossible and hence I want to do what I can now with whatever time that is left for me. Praying that whatever God wills will be done.

My Savior My God

My Savior My God lyrics

Artist(Band): Aaron Shust

I am not skilled to understand

What God has willed, what God has planned

I only know at His right hand

Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed

Christ died to save me; this I read

And in my heart I find a need

Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange, so once did I

Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, My Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God: He was, my God; He is

My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring

My strength, my solace from this spring;

That He who lives to be my King

Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange, so once did I

Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, My Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God: He was, my God; He is

My God is always gonna be

My Savior loves, My Savior lives

My Savior loves, My Savior lives

A song that is on playback on my mp3. It's amazing how I accidentally 'discover' songs in my mp3. This song aptly describes my walk as a Christian and I think for many others as well. When I first began my walk I didn't know what I was in for and about the God I gave my life to, I just remember knowing that there was this God who literally took me away from the depressing situation I was in and that I was thankful and grateful. I didn't know much then about this God and whether that getting out of that situation was a coincidence or not but I recall asking for faith and faith then was a value that I held closely as a new Christian, which is repeatedly sung in this song. Listening to this song really helped me to recall my 'roots' as a Christian, so thank God for the writer and this song! =D