Humility before faith...

For many of us, faith is not the issue. We're up to challenge. We don’t rest on our laurels. We can run towards the piercing arrows unshaken and stand in a fiery furnace immovable. We can unscramble the hidden message. We can see the invisible in the midst of the cloudy skies. We can walk on the water. We can smile and even rally the people to victory while keeping our head above the water.

Yet, the right kind of heart is still the compass in our Christian journey. Humility before faith; meekness before honor. This is one of the significant marks of a true disciple.

Matthew 15:25-28: But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And Jesus answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

If we will read the verses above just scratching the surface, "faith" is most likely the highlight. But I believe before the Canaanite woman’s “great faith”, we must give her the credit of having the right kind of heart. If you were the woman and you were so in need or in pain or in your most desperate moment but instead of Jesus giving you the perfect treatment that you were expecting, Jesus would turn to you and say, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” How would you feel that instead of comfort, Jesus will throw you a mean answer and compare you to a dog? In this scenario, I believe many would walk away but the woman didn’t. She didn’t allow those words to offend her. She didn’t argue. She didn’t let her pride take the upper hand. Instead, she remained and with the lowliness of her heart, she accepted her position before Jesus. She didn’t demand for a big bite of bread but instead, she put so much weight on what the little crumbs can do to her. Thus, before her faith was seen, her heart was first put to test.

The way up is the way down. This is just one of the many ironies in the Bible that many people would not easily understand but this is one of the key yardsticks to gauge the level of our maturity. It is how we respond when we are offended. It is how we remain when we are in pain. So yes still, above our great performances and all our accomplishments – even the countless fruits that we can bring to the Kingdom, the fact remains, the right kind of hearts will set the line between a disciple and not… Without this right kind of heart, our faith will surely crumble.

“O God, let the secrets of my heart be uncovered, and let my wandering thoughts be tested” Psalm 139:23, Basic in Bible English

TRUST: A Walk of a Still Heart

Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

God has always been intentional. HE does things to drive a point, hit the bull's eye, strike for a purpose. The good news is, all HIS intentions are pure and impeccable, even when things don't seem to make sense. He is not asking for our understanding, He is asking for a heart who is fully surrendered to Him, with unwavering trust, immovable faith, and a steadfast love no matter what the cost.

I believe God inspired Paul to write Galatians 6:9 to validate that at some points, we will reach our lowest weariness or feel like losing our heart in the process. He wrote to acknowlede that at certain times, we will feel our nothingness and things are just so much hard to bear. He recognized that we have our own limitations. Yet, it is also a message to ascertain us that GOD knows, God feels and the best part is, God rewards.

Do not lose heart to be a blessing. Our weak feet may falter but His grace is steady. Walk in His grace and just take another step... and another step.. and another step... In our limitations we would know that God is unlimited, boundless and eternal.

Be still even when you have all the reasons to faint. Be still even when all things are choking you. Be still even at the brink of your breaking. Be still. Be still. Be still. And again, be still. Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God..."

AGAPE: The Outburst of My Heart

My AGAPE, My WORLD

When all the world makes all the noises

And all that surrounds me suppress me

You carry me to Your arms and Your Agape would be my world


My AGAPE, My BREATH

When the water rage and the boat shakes

And when all that's within me is gasping for air

You secure me to a quiet place and Your agape would be my breath

My AGAPE, My FUEL

When all I can hold is nothing

And find myself standing alone

You run towards me and swing me around

And You would always whisper that Your agape is my fuel


My AGAPE, My COMFORT

When all my nerves feel all the pressures

And all the stress rush through all my veins

You never fail to embrace me and Your agape is my comfort


My AGAPE, My STRENGTH

When my knees and all my bones weaken

And my feet is about to lose its balance

You would always there to catch me and Your Agape rekindles my strength


My AGAPE, My ANSWER

When exaggeration becomes my reality

And all the most challenging tricks would come to play

I just close my eyes… and there I would feel Your Agape becoming my answer


My AGAPE, My FRIEND

When no one can decipher what's on my mind

Nor feel what fills my heart

You would always know what to do and Your agape would be my friend


My AGAPE, My EVERYTHING

And when I am caught up with overwhelming blessings

You smile and turn my face towards You

And that above anything else, Your Agape is my EVERYTHING

Looking from the Lens of Forgiveness

One of the most plausible substances of a believer is their power to forgive but not because they are superheroes but because they themselves have tasted the depth of His forgiveness. But if we lay it down on the table, forgiveness is so hard to spell. It talks about our rights, our pride, our values. It asks you to consider all perspectives. It calls you to weigh things. It is something you can't demand to someone and on the same manner, they can't demand from you. It involves the whole of you.


ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS

Asking for forgiveness is more than being sorry to your actions and more than admitting your fault. I say, it's putting value to the person - to your relationship, to his/her feelings, to him/her as a person. We may have different perspective on the matter but we have to remember that emotions are valid and thus, asking for forgiveness is going beyond our logic.



I believe that the call to ask for forgiveness is not dependent on the consequences it had to make on the person. You don't have to wait for the person to look sorry before you say sorry. Hence, when pride takes the upper hand, remember that we are made from love, for love, and to love.




RELEASING FORGIVENESS

Releasing forgiveness is not a walk in the park because the pain almost always cloud us. But if we will just honestly evaluate it, what good thing can unforgiveness do to us? Even if I ponder it a thousand times, I guess I will never get an answer.



Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34



Looking at Jesus' standard, releasing forgiveness is looking from where the person is coming from (for they do not know what they are doing). Scrutinizing deeper, Jesus released forgiveness to the people who don't even have any intention to say sorry, not even a single hint of a changed heart. Needless to say, we don't get the green light from them. We don't wait for the person to apologize even before we extend forgiveness because actually, releasing them is freeing ourselves as well.

As a final note, here's Gary V's tweet for us to ponder: ‎"One thing that blows my mind away is when Jesus, even while being nailed 2 the cross said "God forgive them 4 they know not what they do"......He said this for a people who only had one thing in mind and that was to kill Him. This is the kind of love this God of ours has for us."

The STRONG Ones

Many people are amazed on how these “strong” people can do it. For me, one thing that I really learned is that everything just really depends on how we see things, really. Admittedly, I’ve wanted to peek what the future lies so I would be able to appreciate every detail of pain and get at least a little concrete assurance of the trail I’m travelling but then again, where would “faith” comes in?

Through many years of my Christian journey, I have come to understand that FAITH is the main flavour for me to savor every little chunk that comes to my plate. No matter what the taste would be – be it sweet, bitter, sour, tasteless– my FAITH would let me finish my meal.

Running around the unfamiliar roads is not simple, unquestionably not, but every time I see myself again hustling through the wilderness, I would always hold HIS grip. I know seeing it though my perspective won’t help at all; I need HIM to take the lead. It’s actually reading through the blank pages or getting the message through jumbled words – that’s how faith works.

So does it mean being “strong” equates to being “numb” to pain? Absolutely not, definitely not. But I must say, it’s how the strong ones translate the pain into trust, into hope, into love, into every little thing that would radiate HIS glory. The strength of a person is also not about how fast one can recover from the sting of life because I believe, many of these “strong ones” could still be under recovery yet they opt to still run and believe HIS perfect and irrefutable plan.

“In EVERYTHING, give thanks…” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Plasters and Blisters

Conquering new heights is like wearing new shoes. We get so excited to try it on. We feel pretty and walk so gorgeously on our first few steps... but after few more steps... and another step, we can feel the pain on our feet... blisters are forming. And for us to just go through the day, we put plasters on them... Yet still, the agony of bearing the pain and letting the day pass is kicking-in. But at the end of the day, we may find our feet with plasters and blisters, there's still undeniable satisfaction of having a new blessing... and we know, after some more tries walking with it, we'll get used to it... and soon enough, we will realize, how pretty we are on our new shoes... and that it perfectly fit with our size.

On the same manner, we get so excited with the idea of starting our career to a new place or new heights or taking new assignment. Hence, our hearts are so filled with joy as we start the journey... We're so pumped up with passion and determination! But as the days... and some more days pass by, the agony of waiting is just 'killing' us...

So I must say, "adjustment period" is inevitable and resistance is almost always part of the process but as long as we begin to see our future in HIS eyes and appreciate each blessing that was given to us, every step, big or small, is indeed not a waste... and sooner or later, it will be paid-off.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

It’s all about the character!

Life is a journey but what would take you to the finish line? Life is a quest but what would make you a winner? My bet is that our “character” will draw the line!

Some argue that life is unfair but had it been fair with Job? Some may debate that our “environments” would play a big role but looking at Joseph’s life, his “character” played much bigger. You may have a winning case but if your character fails to function well, you will lose along the way.

Yes, it’s all about our character! Things may present to us as an astounding surprise or likely expected, but the bottom line is, how much our “winning character” will stand out. We may have a long list of unanswered questions but the truth still lies, how are you going to respond while seeking for the answers?

Ephesians 4:14-15 (personally revised version): “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by life’s challenges and every questions left unanswered, and blown here and there by every offensive word, unacceptable reasons and unfavorable circumstances. Instead, speaking (and believing) the truth in love, we will grow having an unoffended life to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Get your portion!

2011 is said to be a great year – greater than ever! It’s our time to shine, our time to walk in the light and to be the light! But as we all know, there’s a price to pay for greater acceleration! As we are all in the market, most of us are working on different industries, there’s always a platform for us to excel – be skilled in whatever comes to our hands not for our name, but for HIS name.

I have been learning a lot from King Solomon chewing on every chunk written in Proverbs – not just reading and hearing but making each principle a reality. Solomon was known to be the wisest man in his time. How wise? All other kingdoms were willing to pay just to hear his wisdom! We want the world to listen to us? Be wise!


Here are few lines that keep on echoing on my head (all from Proverbs)

1. Acquire wisdom. Get insight. Love knowledge. – These are all over the book of Proverbs! We may all want the second word of each phrases “wisdom, insight and knowledge” but ignore the first one, “acquire, get and love”. There’s a step to take, a time to commit, an effort to extend. If we want excellence in our work and all areas of our lives, TAKE ACTION!

2. “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.” – Proverbs 1:32

(a) “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them…” – alignment to HIS word is always a requirement. Obedience is always a prerequisite. Don’t compromise! Stay focus!

(b) “…And the complacency of fools will destroy them.” – Don’t ever embrace mediocrity and never sit on your laurel; KEEP ON MOVING UP! There’s so much more to achieve. Don’t ever think that you have reached the top; remember that we go from glory to glory!

3. Listen to the words of the wise! Solomon reiterated many times in Proverbs, “listen my son…” or “pay attention to what I will say…” Learn from the best! Don’t ignore the teachings on excellent spirit and all those gifts given to us. Listen to the words given to Destiny! Listen to the words of GOD!



All the resources have been given – get your portion!