Isaiah 9

v2. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
- people living in dark (sin) will soon see the light. some heavy parallelisms are being drawn to the past and present..right now...

v4. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
- "shattered the yoke that burdens"...so is that hinting the Messiah's next coming will defeat all burdens and suffering? all oppression?

v5. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
- this verse alone doesn't make sense too much, but tie it in with verse 6.

v6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- so...tying it in with verse 5, all that death and blood and pain and tears..every loss is "fuel for the fire"- it's all needed for the prophecy of the Messiah. Everything that happens, leads to the birth of Jesus. determinism. everything has a precedent cause...the Messiah will come to this earth and bring peace with Him. straight from God up in Heaven.

v7. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
- the extent of His goodness and peace will reach out so far, even the most powerful-est of the earthly kingdoms will have no chance. amateurs.

v11. But the Lord has strengthened Rezin's foes against them and has spurred their enemies on.
- who's Rezin? I'm guessing he's a bad guy...God's gonna show his wrath upon those who've angered him..there's no stopping it. God will use the tension between earthly kingdoms to punish humans. I'm not sure which one's a lesser harsher punishment- the great flood, or unending warfare.

v12. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
- Yeah, they've pretty much pissed off God. you DON'T wanna go about doing that...He'll send your most feared enemies upon you.

v17. Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
- even after all that, the people of Israel will not yield, and come before God head bowed begging for forgiveness. He says in the previous verse how he'll "cut off from Israel both head and tail, [...] elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail." one word- scary. Our God is a merciful God who loves all his creation, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get angry. God will get angry if you remain that stubborn and blind. chasing after the world instead of godliness..blashemy...wickness...

v20-21. On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring...Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
- He's just going to give them over to their carnal sins. I think God just let them suffer to the nth degree..never fully feeling satisfied. an unquenchable thirst for something that'll never quench your thirst...God was angry. period. he promises worse suffering than that of your most feared enemies.


Godislove.

Isaiah 8

The past several chapters have all been regarding prophecies of Judah and Jerusalem..and lots of stuff are a little confusing to read. chapter 7 mentioned the prophecy of Immanuel, and also lots of destruction and wrath upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I think it's because the people kept turning away from God and kept displeasing him. Also, I think this coming of Jesus' birth ties in with all these...maybe it's God saying yes, destruction on man will come and countries will fight each other, so He's gonna send the one who can save everyone from their sin.

God also keeps saying to stop trusting and fearing man, but to trust and fear God. two paradoxical ways to feel about someone...to feel peace and yet terror at God's wrath. but it's still good. God is our sanctuary.

The oxford english dictionary defines sanctuary as this: n. an area of land within which (wild) animals or plants are protected and encouraged to breed or grow.

I don't think God really wants to destroy people when they really displease him. because at the end of the day, we are all his creation whom he loves. When in scripture, there are sayings of God's wrath and destruction, i think it's just upon sin of man.

How He Loves.

Isaiah 7:1-9

Ahaz, king of Judah, finds out that the two big kings- king Rezin and Pekah are going to form a coalition and attack Judah, he gets scared. He's this little fish in the sea, and the two big bad fish are coming to attack him. So, naturally he's pretty scared out of his mind. Before he tries and does something impulsive out of fear, God sends Isaiah to tell Ahaz, "Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn't need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah."

God is just like, "Yeah they're planning to attack you but what do you have to fear from them? Syria is no stronger than Damascus, and Damascus no stronger than Rezin. And Rezin is no stronger than me." God says to have faith and stand firm in faith. Living in fear of those two kingdoms is fearing over nothing. It's God who he should have been fearing!

What a great Faith passage.

O, me of little faith.

Why oh WHY is it so hard to have faith? after all that we've learned, all that we've read and been taught in Sunday school and finally in college, why is the most simple and basic thing the most complex and difficult thing to do?

I think i finally found out and realized what i want to do after graduate, and that's a miracle for me. and yet i find that the same things are still holding me back from going full out to achieving my goals. i wish my heart could just constantly remind itself of Luke 12:22- "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear." and then 24- "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!"

gooshhh. all i can say is just push prayer. pray pray pray. praying until something happens. i pray not only for myself, but also for those of you who are reading this and are going through the same thing, about what you want to do with your life upon graduation. Luke 12:22-32.

and i leave you with this- constant repeat on my playlist.
it provides some kind of relief and relaxation...

Isaiah 6

v1-3. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
scripture tells us that in heaven, there'll be angels like this just singing. constant singing and worshipping and praising. can you imagine an eternal praise&worship night?

v10. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
"heal my heart and make it clean. open up my eyes to the things unseen. show me how to love like you have loved me. break my heart for what breaks yours. everything i am for your kingdom's cause. as i go from nothing to eternity."


Godislove.

Isaiah 5:8-30

v11. Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.
hmm, i don't think Jesus would've enjoyed breakfastclub very much. just sayin.

v22. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,
i think God's basically telling us to don't waste time trying to perfect useless things. like things that are useless in God's eyes...what's the art of mixing drinks gonna be used for up in heaven?

v23. who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.
instead, learn compassion towards others.

Isaiah 4, 5:1-7

it's a metaphor. God's vineyard is supposed to represent mankind. A man spends so much time tending to and caring for his vineyard, expecting it to grow sweet grapes so that he can brew good wine from it. but instead, the grapes are bitter. He says, "what more could i have done for my vineyard that i have not already done?" He is so disappointed, and that disappointment turns to anger. because the next thing he says is how he's going to destroy it. he's going to torture the vineyard, let it go through hell because it didn't do what it was supposed to.

this makes God sound tyrannical and so sadistic. but in reality, He's not. and we all know that. He expected us to be one way, the good righteous way, but what he got were bad and rotten. imagine planting a garden, investing your money time and soul into it, but only to find weeds. wouldn't you be overrun with disappointment? lucky for us, God is good. Like he did with Noah and the ark, He's going to bring us down only to build us up stronger and better than we were.

Isaiah 3

v1-3. The Lord Almighty is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: all supplies of food and all supplies of water, the hero and warrior, the judge and prophet, the soothsayer and elder, the captain of fifty and man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman an clever enchanter.
It doesn't matter who you are, what you do, what status you have in society, you got nothing against God. If God chooses to pass judgement on you, your title can't save you.

v10-11. Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
Yeah, God is merciful and filled with grace, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get angry.

v18. In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery
Earthly things won't save anyone from God's wrath. Even like the rich young ruler, who was still good and lived morally, couldn't bear parting with his earthly treasure and turned the other way. In that way, God gave him a choice- but this time, with Jerusalem and Judah, God snatches everything away that people held dear because they disobeyed him so much and angered him.


despite all this anger and wrath and judgment that's all about to come...
Godislove.

Isaiah 1:21-31, 2

v24. Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.
This is kinda scary...God is declaring these people as His enemies...if it were any other earthly king, just build up an army worthy to destroy them, but this is God we're talking about...

v26. I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.
God's anger is soo visible and clear here. but still- God is good, and He promises to turn back these bad people into who they once were. God's love overshadows his anger. but this doesn't mean there still won't be retribution. God hates sin.

2v5. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
walk in the LIGHT, not DARKNESS. in the dark, you fumble around. but in the light, you are clear-visioned and can see where you're going. even to where you're about to make mistakes. but at least you can still see.

2v9. So man will be brought low and mankind humbled - do not forgive them.
Hm. What can we do when we live in a country filled with so many idols? there's no point in having pride at what i can do. that's like trying to steal glory from God. He's the one who gave me everything, so everything that I do should in turn go up to him. without God i have nothing. without God i AM nothing.

2v22. Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
man is nothing. the air we breathe has been breathed into us by God. He can take it away at any moment. so it only seems foolish to not trust in God.


Godislove.

Isaiah 1:1-20

v3. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manager, but ISrael does not know, my people do not understand.
Even brute animals know who they serve, but how come people don't? Or they do, but are stubborn and choose not to acknowledge their master.

v7. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
Hmm, kinda sounds like church right now. We're all in chaos, sin has overtaken everything.

v11. "The multitude of your sacrifices-what are they to me?" says the Lord. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats."
I'm kinda drawing a parallel to King Saul when he disobeyed GOd's orders to kill the Amalekites, and instead sent burnt sacrificial offerings to God. same as now. God doesn't want meaningless sacrificial offerings from us. We have to give him ourselves. we need to give up our bodies as living sacrifices.

v13. Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.
see above.

v15-16. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
I can't even imagine what it'd be like if God was so disgusted with me, that He just stopped listening to my prayers. what if He just turned his face away? When i was a baby, my mom would find me awake at night crying just because my dad slept with his back towards me. He didn't mean to do it, he was just sleeping comfortably! but this- what if my heavenly Dad deliberately turned away because i was too dirty. bad. sinful.


Godislove.

flooding the gates

It's only a story, but the point it makes is a reality not to be ignored. As the story goes, there was a day when the devil called an emergency meeting in hell. All his senior demons were there. The agenda: how to increase the number of people who were going to hell instead of heaven. The first demon to speak said, "Let me launch an all-out attack on people's belief in the Bible and in Jesus as the Son of God. Before I'm finished, they won't trust either one, and hell will be full." The devil was impressed and he released that first demon to launch his doubt offensive on the future inhabitants of eternity. After an appropriate time, Satan reconvened his council of senior demons. He was not pleased, especially with demon number one. He said, "The number of people coming to hell is up only slightly since you tried your little strategy of creating doubt. This isn't working! We need a better idea."

That was when demon number two stepped up with a plan he believed to be foolproof. "I will launch an all-out campaign to convince people they will have to give up too much to follow Jesus. It costs too much! It's too hard! That's what I'll tell them." Satan was fascinated with that proposal and he wished demon number two great success. Well, it didn't happen. The traffic coming into hell did increase some, but not nearly enough to satisfy the enemy of every human soul. He wanted many more.

All the other demons were afraid to offer another plan for fear of failure and the devil's displeasure. Well, all the other demons except one, that is. Demon number three asked Satan for permission to launch a top secret strategy - one which he would only reveal after the results were in. The devil was skeptical. But since nothing else was working, he let demon number three put his secret plan into action.

Within weeks, the floodgates opened. More people were ending up in hell than any of the demons had ever seen. Satan again convened his demon council to find out what was this strategy that was sending so many to hell. When the third demon explained it, everyone was amazed. And that strategy for keeping people from heaven is the sober reality we all need to consider.

The third demon explained: "I actually tell people they do need Jesus and that they should give Him their life." Satan was ready to explode! The room was quiet as a tomb when the third demon said: "I tell them to come to Jesus...tomorrow."

taken from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

give me Jesus

i woke up "early" to study for my exam in an hour and a half, and even though i'm trying to cram all this last minute info, this song pretty much sums up what/how i'm feeing right now. soo...good day.

:)


**
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,
When I am alone,
When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die,
When I come to die,
When I come to die,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

undone worshipper

gosh.

i just finished the 2nd chapter of our praise band q.t. book...and i absorbed every single word like a sponge. it just talked about everything that i needed to hear. one in particular was about jonah and the fish. God told Jonah to go preach to the people of Ninevah, but he decides he's too good for it or whatever and walks away. but God's like "oh no you don't", and sends a huge storm unto his ship, landing Jonah in the belly of a ginormous fish.

when God gives you a gift, talent, opportunity, WHATEVER, to do His work, you don't turn away from it. sure there's personal struggles while trying to figure out how and if you want to use those gifts for God. i know there's so many times when i just wanna drop everything and just focus on my schoolwork. Lord KNOWS that i could use all that time studying so i can up my gpa, get a good job, etc...but every time i think it, this story comes to mind. my talents are gifts from God so that i'd use it to further His kingdom. not to boast of my own abilities or anything, but to make His name known. but if i try to walk away from it, then God will put me down so that i could see that it's all up to God. i don't wanna end up in a fish's stomach..that's gross! but that's what happened to Jonah, and he ended up doing some serious reflecting, and was safely regurgitated. :D

But...on the other hand. we shouldn't take our gifts and boast our name. we're indispensable... we're nothing. God doesn't need us to do anything. He's God, He could do whatever He pleases. but because He's the loving Father He is, He wants to give us these opportunities and work towards Him. God's a funny guy. He works in such mysterious ways. it's mind-boggling.

shipwreck

[Starfield]




I built a fortress
With a hundred thousand faces
I'll keep it safe
With a hundred thousand more
But these masks are wearing thin
As You draw me in

I spent my time
On the empty and the fleeting
I spent my life
On much less than I'd dreamed
But I'm reaching out to you
To make me new

'Cause I am just a beggar here at Your door
I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore
I come empty handed
Ready to see
Your life in me changing who I've been
To who I need to be

You tell me my story
As You sift between the pages
I feel redemption
In the space between each turn

Could You take me in Your arms
And tell it just once more
Could You take me in Your arms
And tell it just once more

twinkle twinkle little star

Philippians 2:12-18

when i read this, i got the feeling of being rebuked but in a gentle, subtle way. i felt as if Paul and Timothy were right by my ear, talking to me. orr..maybe it's just my guilty conscience. lots of times, when some of us get together to chill and hang out and just to talk, the conversation lot of times turns into complaints and whines about this and that. i always was aware that i tend to complain a lot, and whenever or even looking back, there was always a little voice nudging me to stop or walk away from the group. but of course that's never easy. as servants of God, we are his instruments in doing his good purpose. we shouldn't ever bad mouth those around us, but there are just some people who whenever i enter a conversation with, that's all that's said- gossip. gossip gossip and more gossip. i'm at fault too, no doubt. i could just walk away, but easier said than done. we are to "shine like stars in the universe as [we] hold out the word of life"..i think im losing my luster. or shine. or whatever the technical term is for the shining properties of stars.

like a wild flower

James 1:2-18

it's funny comparing the worldly teachings versus godly teachings. we are taught to do whatever it takes to reach the top, and take pride in our successes once we're up there. God says otherwise, to take pride in weakness. taking pride in high position and money can just as easily be taken away in a blink of an eye. taking pride in humble circumstances and low position instead will strengthen a person's character and perseverance.

also, scripture tells us to not accredit bad happenings to God. God is the definition of good, and bad can't exist in the good. but being human, we naturally tend to blame everything on God while thanking Him for the good, when in actuality we should be thanking Him in both bad AND good. sin should be blamed for bad things, not God. that doesn't even make sense. God's our good father. i love that analogy of the caring parent..a loving father wouldn't give his child rocks when asking for candy. not logical. same way with us and God i guess.

helping them help me.

1 Timothy 1:1-8

i really liked corporate prayer today @ church. Alice brought up the topic of praying for our country and authorities and especially president Obama. i guess to some it might sound kinda funny and not a "usual" prayer topic, but thinking about it more just makes more sense to! in my home church, my dad always asked members to do the same and pray for this country. i feel like we don't pray enough for our nation and the govt as Christian because our "primary concern" is church issues, salvation of our friends/family/colleagues, and etcc..but Timothy urges us to do so. he suggests we do more than the usual and reach out to the higher authorities by lifting them up in our prayers. no matter how corrupted the government may be, it is a system that was established by God and therefore warrants prayer. what, just because this nation's an international superpower, that we don't need prayers? nothing could be further from the truth. the more powerful it is i feel the more prayers and help it needs.

"3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

psalms.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”- Psalm 121:1-2

i think this is a great passage that summarizes the book of Psalms. and mind you, it's a looong book. majority of it (if not all?) is written by king David, when he's happy, joyful, sad, depressed, guilty, angry, etccc.....but it all ends the same way- praising and reveling in the Lord. what a GREAT mindset to be in @ all times. no matter what obstacle David faced in his life, no matter what joy or pain he faced, he still lifted up praise to God. it's so hard to do that. David was an adulterer among many other things, and i bet his guilt ate him up alive some nights. but he still trusted in God and his faith is what made him such a figure in scripture and history. just goes to show that we need not be perfect to be perfect in God's eyes.

don't put out that fire.

there's this book the praise team is reading and is called "The Unquenchable Worshipper" by Matt Redman. one line that i can remember vividly from my reading is about passion and fire for praising God, &he paints this picture by describing a forest fire. usually, wild fire is almost impossible to stop..it spreads so quickly and almost instantly (hence the term "spread like wild fire") and is pretty overwhelming. almost dangerous. the reddish orange flames engulfing everything in its path and destroying it..nothing has a chance against it.

this is how our hearts should be described when it comes to worshipping God. our desire and everything else should be run over by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is all a good thing! we WANT this because it's all to glorify God, but sometimes it's easy to mistaken this feeling as something dangerous and wild, so we try to stop it. matt redman says we try to cut off the fire. when authorities try to stop the fire from spreading to villages and stuff, they look ahead and cut off a whole bunch of trees and land so it's just barren. but this stops the fire, because it has nowhere to go, so it just...ceases.

apparently, we're the same way. we put a box around God and what He can do, and prevent the fire from spreading to people around us. but that's bad. we want to be engulfed by passion and desire to worship God.

a steadfast heart.

Psalm 51.

should be the song of every sinner. this is what David cries out to God after the prophet Nathan comes to him about committing adultery with Bathsheba. It's so solemn and broken and yet beautiful because it's David pouring out his heart to God and just surrendering. he knows he wronged God and he comes before him asking him to change him. i wanna take a look at one verse specifically though, that caught my eye:

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Create. create a pure heart, not change my old heart. the definition for create is to make something out of nothing. it's not change, where something is transformed into something different. but rather, it's made of absolutely nothing. and it's something that only God can do. David's asking Him to absolutely just create something that wasn't there before, and that's a heart. he knows his he can't do with the heart he has now, and so he throws it out and asks God for a different, a pure and clean one.

I always just thought when Jesus died for us, our old hearts were changed into something new and heaven-worthy. but i don't think that does it justice. because it's like we were so sinful before, we can't even count what we had as a heart. we were void human beings, filled with and knowing nothing but sin. by asking God to create a heart in him, David knows he can't become 'good' without God. so he leaves it up to divine power to create what's good and pure in him.

beautiful collision

i always liked this song, but i never really listened to the lyrics. it talks about our paradoxical (am i even using this word right,?) relationship with our father. we're tiny little specks of existence, running around sometimes aimlessly but nevertheless trying to live right. sometimes the void in our heart longs to find that deep voice that calls out to us, because we find comfort in that voice. the only thing separating us from that is sin, we're separated from God because of our sin. but the truth of Jesus being sent to die for us breaks that barrier and we're no longer alone. sometimes, we don't let Him in because we're too conscious of our sin. but when God's goodness and our sin-ness collide, His goodness overpowers everything and erases the sin. then we become good in His eyes. it's only a matter of time before we meet Jesus in heaven, before sin meets the good.


* * * * *
The breaking makes a sound
I never knew could be
So beautiful and loud
Fury filled and we collide

So courageous until now
Fumbling and scared
So afraid, You'll find me out
Alone here with my doubt

Here it comes, a beautiful collision
Is happening now
There seems no end to where You begin
And there I am now, You and I collide

Something circling inside
Spaciously you fly
Infinite and wide
Like the moon and sky collide

the here and the now.

Mark 14:1-11

i wonder how weird that must have looked..a woman approaching Jesus with her most precious perfume, pouring it all over Jesus. my initial reaction would be like those onlookers too..i'd rebuke her for wasting all that expensive oil instead of selling it. it's not that they rebuked her in the wrong mindset, they thought that selling it for money to donate to the poor was a better idea. but Jesus does something surprising and rebukes those who rebuked her. He defends her and her action by saying that even her what then seemed foolish act is still beautiful because Jesus wouldn't be there for much longer.

it's like Jesus knew everything back then too. well obviously, i knew that. but even back then, He was always preaching about the here and now. we're always waiting to do something good, or what seems good to us. but scripture showed how Jesus always acted now, performed miracles on the spot. He never waited until the time was perfect, because there was/is never a perfect time.

our time in this life is short. i wanna be like the woman at bethany who didn't hold back to give Jesus everything she had. like the widow, even though we don't have much, the fact that we surrender everything to Him is beautiful. there is beauty in the broken.

rediscovery

rediscover you by [Starfield]



i feel like this song is talking about, to, and from the perspective of cornerstone right now. everyone talks about how it feels as if everything's going downhill, we're not even at a plateau of spiritual high or whatever, but that it's getting worse and we're just steadily declining.

the thing is that we're forgetting how to pray. rachel even talked about it in her blog, how there is no wrong way to pray, but still at the same time, is there? Jesus tells us to pray with faith and God will answer..but that also doesn't mean for us to pray with only the intent of "seek and you will find"..

we pray because of our relationship with God. without prayer, there is no relationship. right now, it feels like we're frozen. our hearts are rock solid and too cold, and that's what's thickening this barrier between us and what's real. it's not just religion but a relationship.


* * * * *
I need to just admit
my faith is paper thin
I’m feeling so burned out
On religion

I say an empty prayer
I sing a tired song
I need to just admit that the passion’s gone

And I want to get it back

You told me
Look for You and I will find
So I’m here
Like I’m searching for the first time
Revive me, Jesus
Make this cold heart start to move
Help me rediscover You

I want to learn to pray
The way that David prayed
I want my soul to burn when I hear Your name
I want to feel like new
I want to hunger for you
Bring me back to life like only You can do
Cause I don’t want to stay the same

Lord, I want to be Yours today
I want to know the passion of the saints
And how they were changed

I want to burn for You
Bring me back to life, Jesus
Help me rediscover You

love love love.

1 John 4:7-21

love love love love love. i feel like this is like an extension of 1 Corinthians 13..love is patient, love is kind. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God. like two puzzle pieces. even though we're creatures of sin, we still have that tiny part of us that lets us love, which is the part of us that is in God's image. i know many of us (if not all of us) have at least that one person who really throws us off the edge. just bothers us down to the bone. but reading this passage is starting to show me what i already know and believe, but also teaching me that Jesus not only died for me but that person as well. so therefore i have no right to hate him/her. it's like since God forgave me for my sin, don't hold any grudges. passing down what has been given to you.

instruction manual.

22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

I love 2 Timothy..it's like an instruction manual on how to live this life. especially for servants. i know lots of times, people get discouraged by other people's lack of enthusiasm or just simply not doing what they're supposed to. but when i think that, i often come back to the fact that I'm HUMAN too. i'm imperfect, everyone is. but that's the beauty of it all, is the fact that God calls all of us imperfect human beings to come and serve him. honestly, could you even name one religion whose God calls on the weak?

let's not be discouraged by anything, be it small numbers, lack of enthusiasm, apathy, etccc. instead, let's be like how Timothy instructs us to be- gentle and kind and with a heart to teach one another. letting ourself get consumed by anger and frustration is only opening the door wider for satan to come through. it's just giving him an extra hand on getting a stronger foothold and tying us down. let's not become captives of satan, but servants of each other and God.

lifeline.

I have this sinking feeling
Something's weighing me down
I am completely saturated
The waves are crashing closer
My feet already drowned
Doing the thing I said I hated

They've been swimming in the wrong water
Now they're pulling me down
But I am clinging to you, never letting go
Cus I know that you'll lift me out

Have your way here
Keep me afloat cus I know I'll sink without you
Take this ocean of pain that is mine
Throw me a lifeline

Wake up feeling convicted
I know something's not right
Re-acquaint my knees with the carpet
I have to get this out
Cus it's obstructing you and I
Dry up the seas that keep us parted

They've been swimming in the wrong waters
And now they're pulling me down
But I am clinging to you, never letting go
Cus I know, cus I know


.Brooke Fraser.



made another private post..so im posting another good song =]
Godbless.

in our shoes.

14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:14-18


He wasn't like other gods. other gods didn't dare step down from their mighty thrones and take human form to live amongst us because they didn't have to. well God didn't have to either. He could've just created us, given us those commandments, and just weed out who went to heaven or hell. but this is the beauty of it all, how our Maker himself came down and lived and walked with us so that He could take the blame for our stupid sins. all the crap that we do now, all the sin that we immerse ourself in no matter how many times we tell ourselves we won't do it anymore, God already forgave us for that. Jesus already paid the price of an insufferable amount of beatings and torment so that nothing else may block the way of our relationship with Him.

bad stuff happen. we sin, we're human, and it's life. no point in continuously beating up yourself over it. because when you do that, you might as well just spit in God's face. yeah, thanks for sending your son to die for me but my sin is so great, that even Your Son's death won't do it. that's a terrible mindset to be in. learn to live towards the future, not the past. or else, that's just taking God's mercy in vain and for granted. holding guilt is still a sin. it's okay to feel remorse for what you did, but then accept God's forgiveness & move on. stop drowning yourself in guilt- because that's still sinning.

la verdad.

Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me
Is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
'Cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become

Brooke Fraser


i posted this lyric a couple days ago..but i thought it was appropriately post worthy. :D

she talks about our life in this world, kinda lost and blind. but the Holy Spirit inside of all of us nudges us in the right direction, and every once in a while we turn blind to that nudge and the Spirit gets all antsy. well, at least that's what i picture. God sends us with the Holy Spirit so that we can go the right way, but we've been desensitized to the world. ....and that's probably not good. deep down, we know what's right. we know the truth. hello! John 3:16..that whole thing with Tim Tebow..people throw huge tantrums about Tebow painting 3:16 on his face during a game. because Satan's got these people trying to squirm away from the truth. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is the truth. and the truth is that we need the Spirit of the living word inside all of us. errrrry day.

charge onward like the calvary

"13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14


forgive & forget. some people say that one's possible without the other, but i disagree. sure, it may be easy to forgive someone you love but the fact that you don't forget.. is i dunno. i don't really think complete forgiveness can happen without complete forget-ness (?), but with the exception of God. only God can do that, bcus He's God & and can essentially do anything. but yeah.

where was i going with this?

why is it so hard to forget what happened in the past? holding onto something that's already happened is so futile and useless. waste.of.life. lingering in the past, more importantly, something you can't control, is not just useless but also God says it's a SIN. we have more important things to worry and focus on. God sent His son to die on the cross so that we can look to Him and try to live right, not weep and be sad over the past. sometimes, when i'm by myself i can just feel satan trying to seep into my mind bcus in that brief moment, i'm reminded of all the bad things that happened and i start slowly getting angry. that is DEFINITELY not what God wants.

i just pray that we can learn to look ahead and store up our treasures and hopes in Heaven. because all the world's ever gonna give to us is disappointment.