Friday, October 3, 2014

We, like Peter, want to do what is right but are not finding the strength. We need to follow God's admonition to keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking—and He will give us the strength that we need (Matthew 7:7). Prayer is not a magic formula. Prayer is simply acknowledging our own limitations and God's inexhaustible power and turning to Him for that strength to do what He wants us to do, not what we want to do (1 John 5:14-15).

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On Dream 51 and Becoming the Next Action Star

However, in the Bible, the word ambition takes on a whole new dimension: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands …” (1 Thessalonians 4:11; cf.Philippians 1:17;Ephesians 5:8-10).

Where the world teaches us to go all out to be the best, to have a bigger house, a fancier car, a larger paycheck than our neighbor, the Bible teaches us the opposite: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3). The apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9 NASB). The Greek word for “ambition,”philotim, means literally “to esteem as an honor.” Being ambitious, in and of itself, is not wrong, it’s what we esteem or honor that can be a problem. The Bible teaches that we should be ambitious, yet the objective is to be accepted by Christ, not by the world. Christ taught us that to be first in the Kingdom is to become a servant (Matthew 20:26-28;Matthew 23:11-12).

Paul once posed an insightful question: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?” His answer: “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Later, Paul reiterated: “On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Paul is affirming a truth proclaimed by Jesus Himself: “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44). We must ask, what is our ambition: to please God or to please man?

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Lord after reading this, and after pondering and weighing my thoughts and motives.. Lord ganahan gihapon ko mu-work sa "Area 51", Sotto. Since sauna paman jud na Lord. Ni-present lang ko sa ako case Lord but if it is not really Your will..okay rajud Lord. Just help me be strong to accept it. Pero still diha jud ko ganahan magpaka-nurse while naa pako sa Philippines. I-spend akong strength diha... sa masa... sa nakaka-rami... sa mas in need. Please Lord. Consider my appeal. But I recognize Your Sovereignty over all. Hehehehe... Love you Papa God!! Sa December daw Papa huh? ^_^

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Wait

"Wait"
a Poem by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.
I pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,
The Master said gently,
"Child you must wait."

"Wait"?!, You say, "Wait"?,
my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers,
I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened?
Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked,
and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future, and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me 'wait'?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no', to which I can resign.

"And Lord, you have promised that if we believe,
We need but ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
"I'm weary of asking: I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair; defeated and taut
And grumbled to God; "So I'm waiting, for what?"

He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,
Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.

"All you see I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust, just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,
When darkness and silence was all you could see.

"You would never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of My comfort late in the night;
The faith that I give when you walk without sight;
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for that loved one o'ernight could come true,
But the loss! if you lost what I'm doing in you!

"So be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all....is still...wait."

--"Wait" by Russell Kelfer taken from Hannah's Hope by Jennifer Saake pages 177-178 Copyright 2005

You Can Never Outgrow God

  Do you think you can outgrow your God? Do you think because your situation now in life is different, feels much harder than those you face...