The First Useless Rumblings

Humility. Brokeness. Faith. Obedience.
Characteristics the world spits on but which are worth more than gold in God's Kingdom.
He's everything. I'm nothing. I have to learn to give Him everything. Nothing is mine. Absolutely nothing.
Even when I do sin, how ready is the Lord in recieving me back again......I am ashamed and astounded.
Before Him I am clean again. Holy. Pure. Before Him I am always His child, His son, His servant, HIs soldier....not because of anything I do or will ever do.....just because of what My Lord Jesus Christ has done on the cross two thousand years ago. I know Him. He knows me. I betray Him like Judas. He still loves me with an everlasting love. Grace. that wonderful word again. Teach me Lord to walk in your ways. To live for your glory and yours only. To see Your will done at any costs. Use me. The me that is sinful, wretched, rotten, dirty and utterly useless. You see fit to use me...and I will always be amaze by the knowledge that the Almighty uses me. Uses me for His glory alone. How truely wonderful is that?

"Majesty (Here I Am)" Delirious

Here I am humbled by your Majesty
Covered by your grace so free
Here I am, knowing I'm a sinful man
Covered by the blood of the Lamb

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

Majesty, Majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed, but alive in your hands
Majesty, Majesty
Forever I am changed by your love
In the presence of your Majesty

Here I am humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I stand, knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

A Truth We Christians Need To Relearn

" Feebleness of living reflects its weakness in the praying hours. We simply cannot talk strongly, intimately, and confidently to God unless we are living for Him, faithfully and truely. The prayer closet cannot become sanctified to God when the life is alien to His laws and purpose. We must learn this lesson well. Righteous character and Christlike conduct gives us a peculiar and preferential standing in prayer before God. The Word gives gives special emphasis to the part conduct has in imparting value to our praying." ( Taken from " The necessity of prayer " by E.M. Bounds )

Praying

God has brought to my attention of late, that He values and honours SINCERITY in our praying,..and IT IS important to Him. Often, in my praying, I realise that I don't mean what I pray at times. For example, in a prayer meeting, if the prayer agenda is for some unreach people group, I would pray for them and later realise, in all honesty, I don't seriously care what happens to them. Does God answer such prayers where my heart is not in resonance with what I say? In my reflections, I believe that in His grace, He might answer. But at the same time He might not, for I am clearly going through the motions in my prayer. Worse thing is....when it does not bother me whether or not He answers! Such is my wretched state. ( Thanks be to God that He promise He will never leave me in this state )
Insincere praying...does it offend God? Does He answer them? I don't think I have the all the answers but this much is true....we must examine ourselves and our intents when we pray, to ask the Holy Spirit to know our heart and try us [ Psalm 139:23 ], so that we will know our real intent, and pray prayers in the Holy Spirit that will move moutains, not just words or speeches that disappear into thin air, affecting nothing but the noise level.
I guess this in turn will lead back to the same question I was asking myself.."What to do with my insincerity? How do I pray for people whom I don't really have love or compassion for? For things that I just simple don't care about as much as the things that are affecting my life?"..... I think God showed me the solution is to also to PRAY. Pray to God, and tell him honestly, that you don't have enough love and compassion to pray sincerely for people, to ask Him to provide you with His love and His empathy. Tell God that you don't care about the things you are praying for but you WANT to care, that He grants you power over your apathy, that He gives you a heart full of compassion. I think ( I could be wrong ) that this is a little bit of what our Lord meant when He said " Watch ye and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK" [ Mark 14:38 ] Let us all start to pray sincere prayers.To be honest with our dealings with the Almighty and with our fellow men. God never played games with us......let us learn not to play games with Him.

Our Lord's command

This week, I made a trip to batam with a friend to visit an orphanage and a few island villages. It was a big eye opener for me. God, in His grace and wisdom, taught me alot of things through the people and environment. I was greatly blessed and ministered to just by meeting the people running the orphanage and the village school where I stayed for one night. Their faith and their commitment to the children and the villagers just puts me to shame of how I can complicate and drag my faith through mud at times. Unfruitful debates of theology ,"holier than thou" judgements of other christians, complains and rantings about what I have not etc. God can be so displeased with me and yet how patient He is with me......
Did not Jesus command us to serve, to love thy neighbour as we love ourselves, to make disciples of all men? This brothers and sisters in Christ, were willing to let go of their comfortable life, all of them city folks, to serve and to reach total strangers, to love them enough, to be use by God for His kingdom and His glory. Such simple but powerful faith! There were 2 women who are from the village school/church, one a teacher and the other a pastor,who related how difficult it was for them the first few weeks they were there. Overcome with lonliness, both related how they cry themselves to sleep those nights...but here they are, still serving the Lord, loving the people and children who they come into contact daily. Simple awe inspiring.
I have always thought that it takes a special kind of christian with a certain kind of character and personality to do foriegn mission work. Well, through this trip, I have learnt that Im only half right. Yes, it does take a "special" kind of christian to live, work, play, evangelise and minister on foreign soil as it is often a difficult way of life ( I think ), BUT God brought to my mind, of how He can and will, transform any of us (yes, that means you and me) to have that special kind of character and personality ( Christlikeness ) to be a bringer of good news, speaker of truth to all the nations.....
On God's part, a promise to transform and equip us through the power of the Holy Spirit [ Acts 1:8 ] , on our part, a sincere seeking of His will for our lifes( of course, NOT ALL of us are called to foriegn lands ), a surrendered life and an obedient & faithful heart. Thing is, are we ready to go for all the way with God? Do we really want His will to be done at whatever costs? Truth is, there was a time I could not care less about the great comission [ Mark16:15 ] and I did not want God's will to be done in my life. Yet, at this point in time, I cannot escape from this fact: Gods heart and will is really for ALL the nations of the earth to come to a saving knowledge of His good news of forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do we, as His children, have the same heartbeat?