ahhh....Enjoying a nice beer....Learning to relax....

One of things I am terrible at, is socializing and having a good time with unbelievers. I guess sometimes I feel that I may take on some of their habits or somehow become like them, or their actions will somehow affect me by making me less "holy." Sometimes I even feel like I can be a bad example to them by misrepresenting what a Christian ought to be. But again, God showed that I missed the point. I need to be among them, but not hold on to their values, and I need to be their friends. In Luke 19, Jesus was a guest at Zacchaeus' house, probably eating and socializing with him, and yet Christ somehow always keeps His integrity. I guess sometimes that can be a challenge, but I shouldn't be afraid of that. Christ in me is so much stronger than anything. So I'm learning to relax a little in this area, and today I made some progress. At lunch today, I asked my co-worker if he wanted to go have a beer with me. It was such a nice today, and the beer and company really made it all the more special. To some people, this is not a big deal, but for me, it is a huge deal, since I hardly socialize outside of work with my co-workers, even though they invite me out. So I've made some progress. Yay!

Today I was just burdened a little by a thought. It became heavy once I dwelled upon it and did not give it back to the Lord. So I found myself praying two Psalms.

Psalm 120

I call on the Lord n my distress, and he answers me

Psalm 121

I lift my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

I sang a song to Him:

Came To The Rescue

Falling on my knees in worship
Giving all I am to seek your face
Lord all I am is yours
My whole life I place in your hands
God of mercy, humbled I bow down
In your presence, at your throne
I called, you answered,
And you came to my rescue
And I want to be where you are

My whole life I place in your hands
God of mercy, humbled I bow down
In your presence, at your throne
I called, you answered,
And you came to my rescue
And I want to be where you are

In my life, be lifted high
In our world, be lifted high
In our love, be lifted high

Don't miss the point...

I went to a praise night on Saturday at a local church. The music and atmosphere were really awesome, and I just felt the presence of God in a strong way. The speaker was really good, it he challenged me to a new way of thinking. Well, it probably isn't new, but his message really convicted in a deep, in such a way that it made me think about my walk and how I can really be more of a true follower of Christ.

He preached on this little passage from two passages, Matthew 15, and Isaiah 29:

Matthew 15:1-20
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."
Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides.[e] If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "

Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says:"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

The Lord totally rebuked these people for missing the point. They did things for the wrong reasons, did religious activities with the wrong attitudes, forgot God's intentions and priorites, and their hearts were far from Him. As a result, their sacrifices were not acceptable to Him. I just feel challenge to really examine my heart to make sure that I really have God's heart in my heart, and that He really does have all of me. Because if I am that close to Him, I will know what He cares about, His priorities and how He feels towards everything. I have to ask myself some questions: why do I go to church? or why do I serve God? or Do I really love people with His love? or Is His heart beating in mine?

-Amen-

Pouring out my heart...Uncle jo jo...

Sometimes there is such a build-up of thoughts in my heart and mind that can cause me to be anxious or worried. God's just convicted me to just pour out my heart and thoughts toward Him and to continue to do that always. For He does care, and He does listen, and He loves it when His children come to Him for advice, counsel and comfort. Knowing this, He also does want to speak to us about the things we pour out to Him, and we wait for that. A good verse reminds me to just "Be still, and know that I am God."

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."


Recently my sister and her husband, and their two kids came and moved into our house because they are trying to sell their house. So I am trying to help take care of the kids, and they are a handful, especially the older one. Anna isn't used to living at our place so she's kind of moody and easily irritable. The little one, Evan doesn't really know what's going on right now.

But one of the highlights of them being here is seeing them sleep. They are so cute. I love watching them sleep. It reminds me of how God watches us sleep. Let's rest and know He is God and that He cares, and knows all our troubles and knows what we need and desire.

-Amen-