Today's prayer

"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

God works in mysterious ways. Some disaster might be a lessing in disguise. Some hurt and disappointments could be a sign of better things to come.

March is nearing again and much as any common sense insist, the innate fear and helplessness still creeps up in me ... unsuspectingly. Mundane and unnecessary issues get blown up and I tend to over react. I have to keep strong.

And it's strange... does God have the power to manipulate electronic devices? Could He have done or willed someone to manipulate a system to eradicate a potential issue that will cause harm to me? I wonder.

Learn to let go.

Learn to cultivate peace of mind when dark forces are out to play.

Learn the signs and mistakes of the past.

"Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" John 16:24

Be strong

This year there will be a huge change for me. Something that I wanted since I was a kid and never got about to having it due to many reasons. I can cry about it, dream about it and pray about it but I never expect to have it till now. This is only the very beginning, my very first step in its entrance and there will be a long and (hopefully) less stressful years ahead. (haha) There is a long way ahead and I will have to be very focused and work very hard in order to be able to graduate.

My hubby is the greatest person to thank for he pushes me to dare to dream, dare to try and dare to cry if i fail to get in. Indeed, the application, test and interview were nerve wreacking and the waiting.. ooh the waiting to get the news makes my self doubts increases to a new high.

So I got in and I panicked again. Hard not to be stress when my work load is piling, self expectations increases and anxiety to get through this becomes overwhelming.

Sunday.

I picked up the Daily Bread and I flipped to the date 17 June 2013 and this appears. It's like God's message to me.

Because I have the opportunity, my insecurities creeps up on me. Opponents in many forms. Self, work mates and work loads. People may know about it and may choose to support me or may try ways and means to topple me. I may become my greatest enemy if I don't learn to control my thoughts and emotions.

Stay alert. Know myself. Listen to my body. Know when I'm self destructive. Be alert when others mean harm. Stay alert for God's wisdom and help.

Stand firm in the faith. Believe that I won't be left behind by God.

Show courage. So what if I may not be as smart. so what if I fail (Please no. too expensive to fail). I need to stand when I fall and learn to be a better person. Trials makes a person stronger. Makes a person believe.

Be strong. Stand up and move on.

Everything you do should be done in love. Amen.

Happy Easter & remembering

The Scapegoat, a novel by Daphne du Maurier, is about two men who are amazed at the striking similarity in their appearance. They spend an evening together, but one runs off, stealing the other’s identity and leaving him to step into a life filled with problems. The second man becomes a scapegoat.

The origin of that word comes from a ceremony performed with two goats on the Hebrew Day of Atonement (known today as Yom Kippur). The high priest would sacrifice one goat and symbolically place the sins of the people on the head of the other—the scapegoat—before it was sent into the wilderness carrying away the blame of the sin (Lev. 16:7-10).

But when Jesus came, He became our scapegoat. He offered Himself up “once for all” as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of “the whole world” (1 John 2:2; Heb. 7:27). That first goat had been sacrificed as a sin offering for God’s people and symbolized Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The other goat was a representation of the completely innocent Jesus accepting and removing our sin and guilt.

None of us is without sin—but the Father laid on Jesus “the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). God sees followers of His Son as blameless—because Jesus took all the blame we deserve.  — Cindy Hess Kasper

Jesus our Savior left heaven above,
Coming to earth as a Servant with love;
Laying aside all His glory, He came,
Giving His life, taking all of our blame. —Hess

Jesus takes our sin and gives us His salvation.

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Remembering God and remembering His sacrifice for us. But we still hurt Him so.

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Taking time away from Easter eggs and bunnies, I try to think about the real meaning of Easter and the reason we celebrate it. The day where Our Father dies for us on the cross to remove us from our sins. The day when He was tortured and bloodied. Where he suffers and bled for His children. 3 days later He rose from death. I forget, but I will make an effort to remember. God bless us all.

Daily Bread 16-Nov-2008

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” —Genesis 28:16

"As Jacob did in Genesis 28, I like to remind myself each morning when I awaken that God is here, “in this place,” present with me (v.16). As I spend time with Him each morning, reading His Word and responding in prayer, it reinforces my sense of His presence—that He is near. Although we do not see Him, Peter reminds us that we can love Him and rejoice in His love for us with “inexpressible,” glorious joy (1 Peter 1:8).

We take the Lord’s presence with us all through the day, blending work and play with prayer. He is our teacher, our philosopher, our companion—our gentle, kind, and very best friend.

God is with us wherever we go. He is in the commonplace, whether we know it or not. “Surely the Lord is in this place,” Jacob said of a most unlikely spot, “and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16). We may not realize He is close by. We may feel lonely and sad. Our day may seem bleak and dreary without a visible ray of hope—yet He is present.

Amid all the clamor and din of this visible and audible world, listen carefully for God’s quiet voice. Listen to Him in the Bible. Talk to Him frequently in prayer. Look for Him in your circumstances. Seek Him. He is with you wherever you go!  — David H. Roper"

This struck me, made me realized that I have, my hubby has and we both have so much to be grateful for and to honor in His words and name in such trying times.

He holds us close, He is present and He listens to us. We are never alone. 

He loves us and journey with us with his Love.