It All Starts with God

Finally I'm able to find some time to read my new book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren after struggling over my busy schedule. Well i'll be sharing on what i have learnt on "What is the purpose of our in life" based on daily basis (hopefully). Chapter 1 indeed starts with a strong impact of verse.

For everything, absolutely everything,

above and below, visible and invisible,...

everything got started in him and

finds its purpose in him.

(Colossians 1:16) [msg]

The first sentence immeadiately this verse; "It's not about you" caught my attention  because most of them will ask "It's my life, if it's not me, then who?". Life is indeed far greater than our own personal fulfilment, peace of mind, or even your own happiness. Is there life more than these? Ofcourse we do have more than those in our lives! Everyone is born by HIS purpose and for HIS purpose. Most of people just puzzled around for their purpose of their existence in their life and they never find it. That is because they always begin with the self-centered questions like "What do  want to be? What should I do in future, my goals, ambitions and etc...Focusing on self-centered questions will definately get you no where. You will not be able to discover the purpose of your life by looking within yourself!!

Try thinking the purpose of our life begins with God, your creator. We exist today because of God wills that you exists. You were made by God and for God – until you understand this, life will never make sense. It is only through God, we are able to discover our self; our identity, meaning, purpose, significance and destiny. You may try other paths, but all will just lead to a dead end. Many people often try to use God for their own self-actualisation, resulting doomed to failure. Life is about letting God to use you for his purpose, not using him for our purpose.

One thing we have to bear in mind is that being successful in life and fulfilling your purpose is not the same!! You could achieve all your personal goals, becoming a raving success by the world’s standard, and still miss the purpose for which God created you. Some people may thought of this the moment before their death or some time in their life; “What have I been doing all these while? I’m nothing but a slave to the world.”  Some may achieved all their ambitions and dreams yet still felt unsatisfied because he has not discovered and fulfilled his purpose of his life that is planned by God. Besides, life is not about how to cram more activities into an overloaded schedule. By doing so, you are actually allowing yourself to learn how to do less inn life!

As a conclusion, God is not just the starting point of our life; he is also the source of it. To discover our purpose in life we must turn to God’s word, not the world’s wisdom.

Wall of Fire II (27/5/2011)

I was pondering, worrying, hurting, trying to overcome something in my own life which I forsee but is helpless to overcome..and suddenly, I remembered the series vision that I had.

Let me elaborate a bit, God is unique in his vision in my relationship with Him. Every time where a new season, or a new stage in life is gonna come, God will let me see a wall of fire. Let me elaborate even more:

The 1st time the vision appear is before my awakening, God show me the 1st wall of fire, and He challenged me to cross it and He promised greater things ahead of that wall and the fire won't hurt me. the 2nd time the vision appears, I was nearer to the wall, maybe just below it and God is telling me I'm near and challenging me to cross again. The 3rd time happens after my self-awakening. I know I had crossed the wall, the wall of awakening fire and God show me another vision, there was another wall of fire ahead further away. And the gap between had the word "Devotion".

And now, the 4th time it appeared. And I was below that wall of fire. Am I ready to cross it? what has God installed to me behind that wall? I'm curious and I'm eager to cross it. But one thing is for sure, there is a change and a different stage of life coming to me. I'm ready~

A Letter to God-4

To my God

Who resides in heaven

Your love will never fails

For all my fails and failures

I was found again by Your grace

You never give up on me

Even when I hurt You so much

Your love is patient

Never failing to forgive

You put aside all my wrongs

And gently nudge me back to the right path

All my evil doing

All my wretchedness

All my corrupted ways

You accept them all

You saw me that day

When You took the crown of thorns

When You was mock and whipped

And when you finally went to the cross

Who am I that to deserve Your grace

Given without any conditions

Without any restrictions

Given out of love for me

I will bless Your name

The ‘No’ You said to my plans

The ‘No’ You said to my desires

The ‘No’ You said to my ways

I will accept them

Even when I drift away

When I try to hide

You will find me

Like how a lover wait upon his love

You waited for me

And I know

Even in my loss of vision

I can be sure You are still finding me

Gently nudging me back to You

And I know

That I will come to realize

I’m found once again in You

In Your eternal peace and faithfulness

Forever Yours~

A Letter to God-3

Oh God Your love is like a calm water
smooth and flowing
bringing peace to my soul embracing me with Your mysterious serenity
tranquility beyond expression
As I know I'm in Your embrace
Your gentle voice tenderly touch me
freeing me of my bounds, my worries
Oh, how overwhelming is Your peace
I can find no where in this earth
In that secret place
Just me and You ...

A Letter to God -2 (28/4/11)

Oh Mighty and awesome God

You who reign in heaven and earth,

Your name will be glorified

Like a rushing wind

Like a thunder roll

Like a roar of a mighty army

You will come with all Your glory

As You move in this land

As the authority of Your melody march

The fire in Your eyes cannot be quenched

And You will ignite the heart of the people

With Your cleansing fire

And all the earth shall turn to You

All knees bow

All the voice of those who revere you raised

All hands rose to the holy throne

And all authority will You command

Your name will forever be established

In this land, in the people

Hope found

Spirit ignited

And You will reign, forever and ever

A Letter to God-1 (16/4/11)

Oh God,

You desire my trust

In plans unseen

Oh God,

You promised and you shown me

To depend on You no matter what

But Lord,

See in me my weakness,

See in me my hurt

See in me my unfaithfulness

I know you desire my everything

And even though through hurt and pain

You desire my trust

Oh God,

My heart anguished

Mould and broken through what you bring me through

A process of seemingly hopelessness

A process where I know I will be hurt over and over

But God,

You desire me to love,

You desire me to forgive,

And You desire my patience

See in me Lord my weaknesses

Washed over and over again with pain

See in me LORD my cry unheard

And come and comfort me

Assure me oh LORD,

Assure me of my doubts

Assure me of that promise which I cannot see

Comfort me of my pain

My shield and my hiding place

See in me LORD my faithlessness

And forgive me,

Give me the strength to persevere on

Even when I know I will be hurt again

When I pray,

Assure me again oh God,

Take away my pain,

Give me a heart of love like Yours

But in everything oh Lord,

Your will be done,

For Your grace is sufficient for me,

And when all things fade away,

Be the one there for me

When all things are against me,

When all my everything is dry,

When You take away for what seems best

Be the one there for me

Where I know in my tears I will be comforted

For You are the one I love,

The one I know and You are the one that forever will be

In my heart.

I LOVE You LORD.

The Lord's Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Introduction à Even Jesus’ disciple asked Jesus how they should pray… appear in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew[6:9-13] and In the Gospel of Luke [11: 1-4]. Though we memorize it as a set “formulae”, the Lord's Prayer shouldn't be repeated mechanically or without thought. We should know what are we praying or else we will be just like pagans doing random chanting [Matthew 6:7]

Why is it important till it appears more than one time in the bible?

è The Lord's Prayer is a basic Christian prayer

è Serves as the “standard” guideline for those who are still maturing in Christ.

è Teach us the components of prayer/ what to pray.

Our Father in heaven,    [Praise]

Hallowed be your name,

By calling God father, He invites us to have a close relationship with Him. Jesus teaches that we have a filial relationship with God; God sees us as if we were a daughter or a son. We can be more familiarise and able to approach God, like a child approach his/her loving parents.

None of our description is enough to describe God. God who is in heaven, whose name is holy, cannot be fully known by us. His name is honoured, and above all other names. Is there anything higher than heaven? Only God.  this phrase (Hallowed…)  as a petition that people may look upon God's name (which is his word, his presence) as holy

Your kingdom come,     [Let God’s will to be done]

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

God, our mighty king would rule over the earth according to a plan that unfolds from the beginning of the world. He will replace human ruling and governments, which too often are driven by greed and power. God’s kingdom which has set the policy to be justice and peaceful where the good will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished [Proverbs 11: 31]

In our life we need to acknowledge God’s authority and power. As a Christian we believe God to be the Alpha and Omega, the creator of all things, therefore in everything we do, we need to be submissive, faithful and trusting in His will, His perfect planning, on earth, as it is in heaven. God is the architect with the masterplan.

Give us today our daily bread.      [Asking ]

Describes all those physical, human and spiritual gifts we need to live. Our God is a kind and loving God who is not stingy and always give, provided you ask! [Matthew 7: 11]. Beware and we must have a clear motive of what we ask for. [James 4:3] We need to have hunger for His voice, His Words, His guidance, His encouragements, His blessings.

Forgive us our debts,   [Confession]

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

We seek for God's forgiveness for our daily offenses either unintentionally or intentionally, and  we link God's forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. If we don’t forgive sins of others unto you, God will not forgive your sins unto Him [Matthew  7:14]. Unforgiveness and Hatred hinders us from seeking God! Another good scripture on forgiveness will be Matthew 18:21-35 Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

And lead us not into temptation,   

But deliver us from the evil one.

In our lives, whether we like it or not is a daily battle. Trials and temptations like [tendency to cheat, failure and bad habits] often make our spirit “crushed” or to sin against God. This points help us to ask God to safe-guard of our hearts when being “tested” and to deliver evil desires from our lives.

 ** Remember that God tests us, but Satan tempts us!!!!** Case: "Lord, you're placing me into a situation of temptation." God’s reply would be, "You're to be ready for any situation. I am placing you in a situation where your faith will be tested for your good benefit." God does everything according to His word and He expects us, as His children, to do the same . Case: Why does God tests us by allowing Satan to tempt us? remember that God owns Satan because he knows you will grow stronger and glorify him in the end.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. <Some may not have this>
Now and forever. Amen   [Acknowledging God]

Finally we acknowledge God’s supremacy and position as Almighty Ruler from Above.

Conclusion:
No matter how many years of Christian hood you went through, sometimes it is good to refer The Lord's Prayer as your sample or the foundation of our daily prayers. *Cheers*