Simply, truly...Love

Love.
Teach me to love.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." [1Corinthians 13:13]

Love...
Teach me how to love in spite of.
For if I know how to love sincerely...
then I can say that I sincerely know You.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." [1John4:8]

I fail to love when I unwillingly give or assist.
I fail to love when I stereotype in a judgemental way.
I fail to love when I put myself first.
I fail to love when I fail to serve.

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." [1John3:24]

Sacrifice.
Is that then the greatest manifestation of love?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His ONLY..." [John3:16]

Over and over again mention is made of Christ's death as God's greatest sign of love.
What can we then give to You Oh Lord? How can we profess our love to a holy & perfect God?

1. Obedience
" If you love me, you will obey my commands."
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world." [1John5:3-4]

WoW. I've said that I love You on many occasions, but have I really been obeying You?
Teach me obedience Lord, for it speaks louder than words.

2. Love one another
" If anyone says, 'I love God' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." [1John4:20]

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." [John13:34,35]

So I've been gathering over the past few days that in order to truly love God, I must first learn to love sincerely, from a pure heart. My actions, words and even thoughts must be saturated with love.
If the love of God is in me, I MUST love EVERYONE...EVERYDAY.

Getting to know me

So this isn't my regular type of post...but I decided to do it anyway.

1. I have to humble myself before God everyday…it’s the only way that I can be anything near Christ-like.

2. I’m spoilt with love. I ‘m used to be treated well. I’m not spoilt in the sense that I always get what I want though.

3. I like painting for two reasons: it gives me a sense of accomplishment and it presents an opportunity to replicate something that’s beautiful in its own way.

4. I think I shortchange myself.

5. Ok so I definitely shortchange myself :|

6. I really like the idea of being healthy and fit but actualizing that desire requires so much work and discipline.

7. I don’t like when I’m disliked. I know we shouldn’t really care in situations like those, especially if it is for no good reason or no reason at all, but it isn’t a good feeling. Don’t worry, I would not compromise anything in situations like that though.

8. I’d rather hang with guys than girls because they are more laid-back and I somewhat feel more accepted around them. Most of my close friends are girls though and I cherish them dearly.

9.Adventure interests me. Anything with heights excites me. (Ziplining for example). I’ve also always wanted to ride a motorbike (just to see what it’s like.)

10. Sometimes I find it hard to open up to people. To me, it is like giving someone something to carry and not being sure if they even want to carry it. So I guess I feel like people aren’t obliged to listen furthermore be interested.

11. I like listening to people. I’m not really the type to “just make conversation” so when I ask you if you would do something or about what you want to do in the future or what you learnt today, it’s because I’m actually interested.

12. I’m not really a phone person.

13. I enjoy my own company. I like being alone at times but there are also times when I hate it.

14. One day I hope to repeat Kirk Franklin’s words “ My entire life is a miracle.” One point of reference he made was that “I have a large choir but I’m not a singer. All I do is talk.”

15. I believe in happiness; but I also believe it comes and goes rather easily. Joy and peace however, can withstand storms.

16. I enjoy admiring nature. It’s definitely a source of peace for me.

17. I’m pretty reserved.

18. My mission is to love like Christ did. And though I won’t always succeed, I won’t ever stop trying. I love you.

Seek ye first

If God is not enough, what can possibly be?

What can truly be more satisfying than the Creator and the Saviour himself?
What can soothe the soul that always yearns for more?
If not Love himself,
then who?
If not Hope itself,
then what?
*sigh*

Is there something else in life worth seeking after 100%?
The things which I chase after last, but only for a while.
All that my hands reach for and all that my eyes envy will fail at some point.
But Him?
He never dies. His love never fades and His glory always shines.
Oh when will we realise that the joys of this life can be deceiving?!
Its alluring nature must never find us thinking that we can't find something sweeter than the taste of earthly pleasures.

-Seek ye first the Kingdom of God -

Mmmm. That's it! That is indeed God's desire for me.
"Seek me first", He whispers " and all that is mine; all that is good, will be yours."

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God - for it is the foundation on which immortal pleasures are built.

Does Paradise Entice You?

OhMaGosh, if heaven started tomorrow, would you be satisfied?
Think of all the things that are great in your life, all the things you want to experience, all the things that bring you joy. If tomorrow those things were instantly replaced for something greater (God in His purest form), would you be excited?
Honestly.
If starting tomorrow, as Christians, all we had was God himself and all we did was praise Him & be in awe & bond with Him, WOULD THAT BE ENOUGH??

Does heaven truly excite us?
Think about it. I can just hear some of the answers that you subconsciously whisper in your minds.
- " Heaven? Of course! I mean after all, isn't that our goal?"
- " Yup, that's why we got saved isn't it?"
- " Yes it sounds like a nice place because it's perfect!"
I remember my answer to that question. It was " I'd be excited about going to heaven, yeah, sometime in the future when Jesus comes & all that stuff happens." But then God asked me, "What about now? Would you be excited to go now?"
"What God? Why would I need to think about going now?"
He gave me time to search my heart but tonight He came back for an answer. What I found prior to His visit scared me.

If God came & whispered to you, "Hey, Come on. Heaven starts tomorrow" would your heart race with excitement or would you be like "um ok cool"? Would you happily let go of your present joys? Would you secretly be just a tad bit disappointed because you were just two years away from the perfect job? Or because 2010 was supposed to be your year to shine? Would you ask God for a bit more time here because you hoped to be married in a few years or maybe so that you could experience the miracle of childbirth first? If God said "Heaven tomorrow", would he be interrupting our lives?

After searching and seeking, the truth saddened my heart for I realised just how wrong this sounded if as Christians, heaven did not truly excite us NOW. I realised that if God ALONE is not really & truly ENOUGH for us right now, then it is impossible for the idea of Heaven to genuinely excite us NOW.
That thought scared me.

Is God only enticing when He shows up with the accessories of life? Does God only appeal to you because he has promised you something great in the future or because your life is currently an excellent reflection of his abundant blessings?
Don't think for a second that we accepted Christ because we were truly desirious of Him. We didn't even know Him, remember? We accepted because we realised that we need Him. We accepted him because HE CHOSE US... & it's great that He did & it's great that we then chose to seek Him that we may be blessed and whole. But if Christ called you to live with him, without the things, dreams & relationships we have here and just glorify Him with complete contentment, would - you - be - thrilled?
We do realise that that's what Heaven is like right? Have we realised that Heaven is so perfect because all that exists is God, his angels, his children, perpetual praise and a satisfaction & joy that is immortal?

So I found my answer just in time.
" Yes Lord, the thought of Heaven right now would delight me."
I have learned that extreme pain will be experienced at some point because this is the flawed version of life, but thankfully God is greater than all pain. I have also learned that the joys of this life are exquisite but they are merely a sample of The Real Thing.

Unconditional Love

There's a part of me that has always craved love.
A love that would fill the gap when parental love just could not suffice.
A love that'd make me feel like a Queen
who, in her finest gown spins on the dance floor
& the world watches - amazed at her grace and glory.
I've longed for a love that would occur naturally;
a love that would not dare let me go.
A whisper so sweet, it calms me.
A touch so enchanted, it revives me.

But when oh Lord, did I get here?
When did You become more than enough??
I need not search for You professed your Love a long time ago.
It was I who was on your mind when you hung from that cross!
Oh... what love so Divine.

How Great is your desire for me that you should
woo me & serenade me,
comfort me & heal me,
fight for me & even... die for me.

As I reach for your face my Lord,
I ask that you fill my cup.
For once I have your love,
I will thirst no more.

The love of others wanes in comparison to yours.
The touch of man dwindles and fades when compared with yours.
For ONLY you can truly satisfy.

You never left, even when I lost faith.
You complained not once
when I indecisively ran to and from you...
Your comfort is incomparable to any I've known.
Your embrace... stills my soul.

Withold from me no portion of your love dear God!
For I am yours...
&
You
are
mine. :-)

Be Bold. Stand Up for what you Believe in.

"Stand up for what you believe in." Hmm, this becomes a little difficult when we're not fully sure of what we believe in doesn't it? If we have nothing that we will adamantly stand by then we have nothing to stand up for. And "if we stand for nothing..." well you know how the rest of that saying goes.
But are you comfortable with falling for anything? Is that why you question everything? I notice that we've become a very "safe" people. You see it's safer to stay in the middle; to stand on the fence...or so we think.

We were all made with an innate desire to worship; to give praise to someone or something outside of ourselves. Most people can admit that but we seem to want to play it safe because having 100% faith in God seems confusing and maybe even impractical; but just because we don't fully understand something or cannot fully explain it, doesn't mean that it's not true. That just usually means that it's simply beyond our comprehension...that's all. So go ahead, dare yourself to believe...To have Faith.He is a God of Faith. That's what He requires- faith.

What reward should we get for believing in only what we can see or understand? What should be granted unto us for simply believing only that which we can explain? What's so superior about that?
How much would we/ could we credit God if He were so simplistic & visible & tangible & audible that we had absolutely no questions? If how He did what He did and continues to do, was easily explainable and comprehensible by all, would that not lower His standards or bring us closer to His level? But maybe that's what we want right? Is that why we continue to question? Are we looking for a means to console our badly bruised egos or our bitter hearts because we realise that WE fall short?? That we infact are inferior?

We try to ignore our spiritual side but we fail to recognise that we are spiritual beings & that aside from the world that we can see and feel, there is also a spiritual world. We all belong to someone. God's arms are wide open, ready to accept those who will surrender. Why should we have to make a decision to do so, you ask? If He made us shouldn't we automatically be His? Well... we are all His creations but not all His children. Seeing that Lucifer rebelled, we now all fall short and now must choose to be His child through accepting Christ (the bridge between man & God, who is ALSO God). Sounds a tad bit confusing right? And so that's how we now have people questioning Christ and the Trinity, because according to one, "It makes almost no sense." But umm excuse me... did God saying "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." and it being so, make sense to you? Did Jesus' miracles make sense to you or Jonah's survival in the belly of a large fish? I'm sorry but when exactly did we come to the concensus that it all HAD to make sense?

That is the beauty of our God! He does what is beyond our imagination, intellect and ability YET made us superior to His other creations. And as His creations, it is our duty to submit to the Creator and to seek Him for ourselves. I can't spell, describe or draw God for you. Each man must embark on his own journey to seek the Lord. As Jeremiah 29:13 says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."Sure I still have a few unanswered questions about what's really important and what to believe but I'm holding very dear to me His words : "Call to me & I will answer you & tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." - Jer 33:3.

I've mentioned before that I am on a mission and I mean it. I believe that there is only ONE TRUTH and as bold of a statement as that is, I will stand by it.

What are you choosing to stand by?

The Spoilt Child

I wish things never went the way they did.
I wish Your dreams were mine...
OR that my dreams were Yours.
I’m so selfish by nature, You may have realised. Have I forgotten that I’m a slave to You now & that really and truly, I should have no agenda of my own?
I suppose I just went along with Your free Gift Lord; not necessarily accepting the fact that with the Gift comes death to self. It seems I thought the Gift was more of an accessory to life.
You should’ve found me repulsive because of that but instead... You called me.
You called me closer and closer to You but I fought and squirmed like a child displeased with what You had to offer.
“No thank you!” I screamed. “Can’t you see I’m fine!?”
You didn’t seem surprised at my reaction.
You reached for my hand but I clutched tightly to what I wanted (& sometimes still want).
You waited...& waited...
And out of frustration and partial surrender, I released my grip, allowing my ‘stuff’ to fall.
My name You whispered, inviting me to take another step. Not only did You want me to surrender what I had; You wanted me to receive something else; hold onto to a greater fascination. I quickly flashed my arms and then folded them; leaving them that way for a while.
“You’re being unfair Daddy!!” I complained. “What about Your other children?!”
His love began to feel like unwanted attention. I couldn’t see WHY my life was such a big deal. Why’d it matter so much to Him, what I held onto?
I thought the fact that I am His would be enough.
I stood there still, with my back turned and folded arms, occasionally glancing to the side to see if He’d left.
He was still there. He wouldn’t leave.
He looked patient, loving; even though I’ve been a terrible child. I began to reflect and my heart sank. My burden finally weighed me down and I collapsed.
Still He was there...
“Come”, He whispered.
“I ... I can’t make it Lord.”
“Come” He whispered again.
“I don’t deserve it! I’m bitter Lord.”
“Just come my love.” He urged.
I crawled to His feet where I just laid, Desolately
trying to muster up the strength to murmur “Help me”, but the words would not come out...
So there I laid silently, desperately, with no life, no thoughts, no desires...
Knowing somewhere inside that
He’d lift me up.