When He Comes

image source: http://mikemesserli.blogspot.com/2011/12/sunrise.html

What will you do when the president of the Philippines tells you he is visiting your home? No matter who you voted for president last election, you would most likely clean up your house, use the best curtains and doormats you have and prepare the best food you can think of. 

Jesus, however, who is the the King of kings and Lord of lords does not require such effort - for hardly do we even recognize his coming. When he was born on earth as a baby, He did not ask the world to make him a mansion or prepare him the best food. He was even born in a manger!

This is still true today. Afraid that Jesus will feel dishonored if we invite Him into our messed up lives, we'd rather not let Him in at all. Feeling dirty and unworthy, we hide from His gaze and we resent His every effort to reach out. This is what happened to Peter when he told Jesus to stay away because he's a sinner. 

Jesus can come anytime - in the midst of a divorce, while fighting against an addiction, while you are flunking all your subjects, while he family is on the edge of falling apart.

Accept Him as you are. He is God. He will not feel threatened. He is God - it's His job to help you get up and live an abundant life.

"I came that they might have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him." (Revelation 3:10)

Words

image source: http://www.vocationnetwork.org/articles/show/9

When God created the world, he did it with WORDS. So that spared him from coming down and doing all the dirty job of making the ocean, forests, animals, humans, etc.

There is power in words - especially if they come from the creator of the universe. God did not create us only to bask in His power and splendor; He created us to have fellowship with Him. We are a projection of His very being. "So God created human beings in his own image..." (Genesis 1:27)

Because God wants a relationship with us, He wants to do so with WORDS. God's message for you and me lurks everywhere - especially in the Bible. Some of us have listened; some don't want to listen; some are getting there. 

Some don't want to listen because they think it's not going to help; they think it's not relevant to them. They think He does not really understand their circumstance. Some fear that if they listen and believe, He will turn their lives upside down, send them to Africa to feed the homeless or give up their evil ways. 

Some, however, like the disciples have laid aside their concerns and chose to listen intently to what God has to say.

The world has become so noisy today. Your facebook newsfeed alone will tell you this. There are messages everywhere. But in your 24 hours every day, can you still spare a single minute to hear what God has to say to you?

If you believe there is power in the word of God; if you believe it was His words that created the universe, then listen to His word to you today.Take heed because His word is out to give you a life beyond your wildest dreams and imagination. 

Hope Above Hopes

We have hopes in life: hope to finish college, to bag the job we've always wanted, marry the man of our dreams, catch the earliest bus, save enough money for travel and the list goes on.

All of these comprise the dash between the day we were born and the day we will die. 

In my case, it's 1985 - only God knows when. 

See that dash? The hopes I mentioned above are found there. There is however a bigger kind of hope that goes beyond that. And God revealed this to me in a fresh way. It is this one hope that can faithfully hold you even when you're hoping against hope about any of those things above or when all hope is seemingly gone.

While I was reading 1 Thessalonians 1, I came across this phrase: "enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.."

And it struck me that despite all our struggles in this life, all our victories, happiness, both good and bad times, it'll all boil down to whether we have something to hope for in the end.

And this is the kind of hope that matters after all. If you believe that there is life after death and you're sure that you're spending eternity with God, then you're on the right track. 

Let your hope be enduring - one that will not end after the dash of your life is over. If you're not yet sure, it's never too late. Click here to find out.

Alabaster Jar

image source: http://stephenclarks.blogspot.com/2011/04/alabaster-jar.html

The alabaster jar – perfume worth a year’s wage. To a thief, unnecessary expense. To a donor, better off given to the poor. To an extravagant worshipper, insufficient to express love.

The alabaster jar – symbol of everything precious you have that is worth nothing if not used to express love for Jesus.

image source: http://www.ccburbank.org/blogs/BrokenAlabaster/?page_id=29

What is precious to you? What is in your hand that you cannot share with Him? What are you willing to surrender to express love for Him?

Resurrection Day 2012

Today is Resuurection Day and I recall the first time I believed in Jesus and accepted Him as personal Lord and Saviour. I am full of joy now having experienced exhilarating moments as a Christian – my honeymoon stage in my walk with Him, my passion to share the Gospel especially when I was still a very young Christian.

Likewise, I feel honoured and overjoyed having experienced deep pains with Him. I have experienced loneliness, confusion, rejection and Jesus was with me all throughout. It was our intimate fellowship that did not only make me survive, but have made me come out a better person and deeper in the faith. The best thing about it is how he stuck with me and how I came to know him more intimately. Can one really know the one who created the universe? You bet. It's the best thing in the world.

Now, I know that whatever happens to my life, I will always be victorious because one thing is for sure, God will always be on my side. 

What a life! If people really knew how it feels, they would trade all things for a life like this..

“When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:46)