Where Was God?

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Hebrews 13:5-8 (NIV)
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."

6 So we say with confidence,

"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

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Lord, help me know You are near. In times of confusion, temptation, hardships and sufferings, help me know You are near. It's always easy to follow You when prayers are answered, or when all things in life is smooth, but when things don't go well, it seems so much harder to continue walking in faith.

Father I understand that prayers will not always be answered immediately, for everything is in Your time. I also understand that hardships and pain are necessary to mold me into a better person. In such times O Lord, help me to focus on You. Ever more I need Your strength to tide me over such circumstances.

You're my Lighthouse in a sea of terrible storms. I pray to You Father, that no matter how heavy the rain, how strong the wind, how blinding the mist, I will never lose sight of Your light. Help me know You are near.

Thinking Like a Servant

Day Thirty-four
Thinking about My Purpose

Points to Ponder: To be a servant I must think like a servant.

Verse to Remember: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Question to Consider: Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?
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No Record Of Our Sins

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Psalm 130 (NIV)
A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

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The stronger in faith we are, the more temptation the devil throws at us. Winning in temptation yields greater faith, but what will happen if we fall? Do you feel dejected, useless, full of guilt and ashamed that you sinned again?

You’re not alone. I've constantly been tempted by the devil, and while I try to resist, there were times when it seems to be too overpowering. Ever woke up in the middle of the night with a tempted thought? I had one recently. The outcome is nothing worth mentioning.

In addition to that, I fell into one of the "traps" that the devil laid. I was reading from an article about the badge "PBPGINFWMY", which means "Please be patient. God is not finished with me yet". At its own level, you will most probably see that it's actually a very encouraging and meaningful acronym. However, I gave in to the thought that since God is not finished with me, I could sin once in a while.

Knowing that I was wrong, I can turn back to God's Word. It's very encouraging to see what the psalmist wrote. It gives me renewed confidence that my God is ever-loving and will keep no records of my past sins as long as I repent. Since He does not keep mine, He will not keep yours.

Keep praying with me, so that our recurring sins do not come back and taunt us. Our God loves us indefinitely, and yearns our repentance. Let's not disappoint Him once and again.

We're forgiven! We're free!

The Bug Zoo

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Proverbs 30:24-28 (NIV)
24 "Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 coneys are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces."

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Lord there's many times when I wish that I have certain talents, the strongest being with music. I really used to envy people who are able to play musical instruments well so much, that I kind of lose sight that why I wanted to learn it in the first place is the possibility to serve You in the music ministry one day.

But thank You O Lord, for showing me the best way to serve You. In doing what I love most, which are things related with technology, I was able to help by setting up a blog for my cell group where we can use it as a repository for our life journey with You. Though it’s just a small task, I found that while I’m in the midst of doing it, I was really enjoying the process of what I was doing.

Through this experience, your Scripture brings forth strong meaning to me.

Romans 12:4-5 (NIV)
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

I am convinced that You can use whatever talents You’ve given to each human being, and use them to make a difference in all kinds of ministry, supporting one another and helping each other to grow.

I'm not going to give up my pursuit of musical instruments though. I know that I may not excel at it, but I'm still going to try nonetheless. I do not want to waste any spiritual gifts that You have blessed me with Lord. Let me use them to bring glory to You.

How Real Servants Act

Day Thirty-three
Thinking about My Purpose

Points to Ponder: I serve God by serving others.

Verse to Remember: "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matthew 10:42 (NLT)

Question to Consider: Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?
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Using What God Gave You

Day Thirty-two
Thinking about My Purpose

Points to Ponder: God deserves my best.

Verse to Remember: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

Question to Consider: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?
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Visible Reminders

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Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NIV)
Love the LORD Your God

1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

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Putting It Into Practice

• Memorize a verse of Scripture as you go to work.
• Write a verse on a card, and tape it where it is visible.
• Meditate on that verse during the day.
  

Lord just a week ago, I tried to commit myself to memorising a verse of Scripture daily. Now looking back, I found that I had already lost that “habit” shortly after 3 days. I believe Father, that today's message is to help me get back on track and get rooted in Your Word.

By myself, not all things are possible, but with You, I'm encouraged that nothing is impossible. Help me Lord, to stretch and flex the muscles of my brain. You gave me a good and quality mind to be able to think extensively, process meticulously, and absorb thoroughly, so let it not go to waste. If I do not start remembering Your Word, I will regret one day when I find that I can no longer remember.

Father God, let my mind be focused on Your plans for me. If a verse per day is too much for a start, by Your grace I can take two days. If two days is still too little time, by Your love I can take three days. In my opinion, the important thing is that I start somewhere and not give up. Lord Jesus, guide me in my daily walk and prepare my mind for its daily task. Use its capability to bring glory and praise to You.