The Gospel Of Judas

(View Daily Bread)

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV)
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

__________________________________________________________

Father ever since I got to know You, there's been so many "discoveries" of new Gnostic gospels that wants to undermine Your great power and sovereignty. Yet, amidst all these doubts, there's always a special tug in my heart whenever my ears get exposed to such messages, trying to warn me that none of them, absolutely none, are plausible.

Lord, I know that heartfelt tug comes from the Holy Spirit. Maybe I'm still a young adult and Christian at the moment, whenever I hear about such misleading “discoveries”, I will respond in defensive anger. I strongly feel that they're insulting You, especially when these messages come from close friends who choose to challenge You.

However, my quick temper might actually push them further away from You than in winning favour for You Lord. Father I pray that in view of all these Gnosticism, I can have a cool head and react calmly, pointing out to people around me of Your greatness and mercifulness. Guide me to be a better servant for You Father.

How Long?

(View Daily Bread)

Psalm 13 (NIV)
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me.

__________________________________________________________

Father I may not know the exact length of time to wait for some things to happen. Probably I've rarely petition any of my worries or thoughts to You. Deep in my heart, I know that I have to trust You to bring me answers that I need. There are actually a lot of matters that I can pray for, but I chose not to.

Is it because I'm lazy?

Or is it because I don't trust You with the weightier things in my heart?

I lied to myself that nothing drastically huge had happened that required immediate answers, and so, I have no expectation from You. Lord You know me from the inside out, and there’s nothing that I can hide from You. You know me even better than myself. I just have to confide in You, right?

Lord from today onwards, I shall commit my whole heart to You, and pray unceasingly on things that matters to me the most. Many such things linger around in the inner sanctuaries of my heart and I think it's time to entrust them to You.

Nothing is coincidence. You designed all the circumstances around me so that I will choose this decision today. I'm glad Father, that I can trust You with me in my entirety, and You will love me and never forsake me.

No matter how long it takes Lord, I know You're the One in control of everything.

Searching For A Rare Jewel

(View Daily Bread)

Proverbs 2:1-21 (NIV)
Moral Benefits of Wisdom

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair - every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.

12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.
18 For her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;

__________________________________________________________

Father what are the means of finding Your wisdom? Have I done enough?

I read my daily bread for expanded knowledge based on Your word, I pray occasionally for wisdom to come upon me, I try to put You in front of my every decision, I believed that I entrusted my life in Your hands, I applied what I learn from You to some important relationships around me, I'm proud to say that I started my journey with You in blind faith, at a stage when I don't even know much about You.

Are those enough?

Obviously no. My heart is not chasing after You entirely. I only pray occasionally for wisdom, I try to put You in front of my every decision, I believed that I entrusted my life in Your hands, I applied what I learn from You to some important relationships around me, and my faith journey with You is still pretty much blind.

Father I can't hide myself from You, for You are everywhere I go. You know me better than myself, and You know that I know I’m doing too little. I need to change and really need to start seeking for Your wisdom. Wisdom is the best gift one can possibly receive from You, for it'll help one to discern many different situations in one’s life.

I want to seek You even more than what I'm doing today Lord. Fertilise me with Your wisdom Lord, I want to grow and stand on firmer ground when it comes to You.

The Heaven File

(View Daily Bread)

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV)
The Coming of the Lord

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

__________________________________________________________

Lord whenever I read from Your Word regarding the Rapture that is promised to happen at the end times, I'm both elated and sad.

I'm elated because I know I will be able to spend eternity with You, with all the people who had been faithful in You during their walk in life, and have fellow brothers and sisters to share eternity with.

At the other end of the pole, I'm sad because at this point, I'm still the only one saved in my family. I have countless close friends who are still unbelievers, backsliders, and some who probably have not even got the chance to hear of Your Word. If the Rapture happens today, I would probably lose them forever.

Father God I know that everything is in Your hands and Your ultimate plans. You have Your plans for me and there is no way I can understand Your ways, which means that I do not have to worry so much. Whatever that I worry is futile, and I should learn to trust You in any given situation.

Lord make use of me to seed seedlings of Your Word in every conversation that I make, so that Your good news may be spread outwards to others. Make use of me to seed seedlings of Your Word in every single thing that I do, so that Your goodness, faithfulness and love may be reflected and made known to others.

In Your time through Your power, let these seedlings germinate and grow, and may all the people around me believe that they DO have a tangible God who is always here for them.

The Pain Of Falling

(View Daily Bread)

1 Corinthians 10:1-12 (NIV)
Warnings From Israel's History

1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

__________________________________________________________

Lord I fall every so often, when I give in to recurring sins that I convicted myself to get rid of. Each time after I fall, self guilt and being shamefulness never fails to haunt my consciousness. The feeling that I'm not worthy of Your love lingers on...

When I sense that I’m dwelling in such negative thoughts, I will start to pray immediately and do what I can to realign my life back on Your track. I'm always encouraged by Your unfailing love. You know of our imperfectness, and only through that can Your perfectness be glorified. Your everlasting mercy takes me back every time. Time after time through such trials I really began to see Your great love for me, and further heighten my determination to be rid of my recurring sins.

The pain of falling spiritually, I know it all too well. Father guide my walk with You, and bless me with wisdom to understand Your principles and live by them. I want to be truly free from those ensnaring recurring sins. Thank You for everything Lord.

Hebrews 4:16 (TEV)
Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.

The Scorpion's Sting

(View Daily Bread)

Proverbs 6:20-35 (NIV)
Warning Against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father's commands
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
24 keeping you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes,
26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread,
and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps with another man's wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment;
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never be wiped away;
34 for jealousy arouses a husband's fury,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.

__________________________________________________________

Father I pray that I'm forever attuned to Your Word Lord, and that You quicken my heartbeat so that it syncs with Yours.

God You're eternally merciful, and You forgave me after all my transgressions against You. How can I stay astray from You? Your love wraps around me and care for me, and You watch me grow. How can I stay away from You?

Help me grow in wisdom and knowledge with Your Word Lord. I want to act out my faith for You, live according to it, and be happy and free through obedience to You.

Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Corky

(View Daily Bread)

John 16:1-16 (NIV)
1 "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

16 "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

__________________________________________________________

Father the reason why I'm feeling so low, is it because I'm trying to take charge of so many things in my life? When things don't go my way, I'm disappointed and sad. When things get rough, I'm stressed.

Lord, I confess all these worries to You, and cast them all unto You. You're my Saviour, my Salvation, my Provider, and I cast everything to You. Lord I don't want to keep holding on to things that are not mine in my heart. I'm tired. If it’s not Your will, I shall obey and be free in You.

I entrusted my life to You, and now I pray that You answer me Lord, that You take them all away. I walk with faith that everything that I trust unto You will be made good in Your time and plans. I trust You with my life. I know You'll take care of me if only that I come.

I’m here Father...