Actions Speak Louder

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Matthew 9:1-8 (NIV)
Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

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Father many times I may have said a lot of righteous things, yet in my daily walk, I may not have fulfilled them. Then there are situations when I feel that whatever words that comes out from my mouth is not of Your righteousness.

Thinking a level deeper about what is actually controlling my mouth and my actions, are my brain and my heart. I'm always eager to rebuke, when I should be eager to listen. At times, I let my emotions run rampant over the logical side of me as well, which ruins things.

Father Lord I pray earnestly, that You will bless me with a mind that thinks like Yours, so full of righteous thoughts, and a compassionate heart. I believe that only when I'm corrected from within, whatever output that comes forth will be from You.

Lastly Lord, I pray not to only be a talker, but also a doer. You've blessed me with tons of chances to spread Your Word to the many unsaved around me, and I shall do my best to seed, and wait patiently for Your rain of life.

Safe Forever

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Psalm 34:8-22 (NIV)
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

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To date, nothing serious had happened to me. I was not involved in any serious accidents when life and death are hanging by a thread. However, I've heard of friends and real testimonials that Your protection over them when accidents occur is tangible.

We will never pray that accidents will befall on us, instead Lord, we always pray for Your protection wherever we go. In times of trials Lord, I will remember that in You, I'm safe forever.

Something For The Soul

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Psalm 119:9-16 (NIV)
Beth

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

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Lord, reading Your Word daily brings me joy renews my faith. It deepens my understanding and teaches me the way I should live my life, so that it's fulfilling and purposeful.

I do find myself not doing enough for a particular area, and that's storing up Your Word in my heart. I should really start remembering verses, for that's the way to have permanent reminders of Your greatness and goodness, anytime, anywhere.

Father I want to commit myself to start today.

The Comeback King

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John 14:1-6 (NIV)
Jesus Comforts His Disciples

1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ..."

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Many people have came up with different ideas or reasoning, trying to shake the foundation of the Christianity faith by disputing the fact that Jesus either had never resurrected, or provided other forms of explanations that Jesus is actually just a man, not of God. In recent times, there was also the “Da Vinci Code” and the founding of the gnostic gospels from way back in time.

In response to these "findings", I always find that they contain plenty of loopholes. They try to bend near facts as facts, and using those as a platform, to confuse the masses. As long as we stay rooted in God’s Word, listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit has to say, none of these “findings” substantiate enough evidence displace the fact of what Jesus Christ had actually done for us.

My King is real, and He died for me. Though He died, He conquered death and resurrected. I am proud to say that I'm a child of God through Jesus Christ, and nothing will shake my faith in Him.

Rubberneck

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1 Peter 1:3-12 (NIV)
Praise to God for a Living Hope

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

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I remember my own salvation pretty clearly, since it happened not so long ago. I felt the Holy Spirit working from within me, and I was full of joy and tears. Peace overcame me that could not be described, and I could clearly feel the presence of God surrounding me. It was near magical, and it's a feeling that I will not forget.

With days passing by, I spent a little portion of my time daily to read Your Word, and do Your works whenever You call. While I'm curious to know what have my Lord Jesus Christ had prepared for me up in heaven, I'm more worried about unsaved families and friends here on earth now. I pray earnestly to You Father, that with Your transforming power, bless me so that I can show them the way to You.

He Would Not Go In

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Luke 15:25-32 (NIV)
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

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Father though I do not usually have bitter feelings or resentments, I know that I'm just a human and such feelings will attack me one day or another. If I neglect Your guidance and not guard myself well against such poison, I can easily be ensnared when it happens.

Lord I pray to You that You will protect and guard my heart from such poison. Remind me that all I have to do is to keep constant gaze upon You, and I shall find contentment. Nothing else matters.

What's The Point?

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Ecclesiastes 12:6-14 (NIV)
6 Remember him - before the silver cord is severed,
or the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.
"Everything is meaningless!"

The Conclusion of the Matter

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails - given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter;
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

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I've read something similar to this a couple of weeks ago, which I believe to the first few chapters of the book, The Purpose Driven Life. Before reading this, I never thought of what's the purpose for my life. Why am I here? What am I doing? All that I used to be concerned about was job related, getting money and chasing after fame in the industry.

All of those self-centered ambitions seem to change ever since I chose to commit my time to my Lord God. With each passing day of digging into His Word, I've come to realise that life on earth is short, and we really have to make full use of it and make the correct choices that will affect us eternally. So what if I have a lot of money? So what if I'm famous? If my Lord chooses not to look at me in heaven, what am I actually worth?

It almost seems like a daily race with time, for it is one thing that is impossible to grab hold of. Time is such a dear gift from God that I ought to spend it wisely in chasing after the correct things in life. At the end of my life here on earth, when I pass on to heaven, I want to be able to receive praise from God for my faithfulness, and that He’ll tell me, that I have been a faithful servant.

That's the point that I want to live my life for.