It’s so easy to miss, overlook, and often taken for granted, ignored when God blesses us. On the first day of Chinese New Year, we went to visit relatives on a hot morning. We could even feel the heat with air conditioning on during the car ride. But halfway throughout the entire trip, between destinations, it rained. It seemed like every time we were in the car going somewhere it was raining, but it stopped right before we arrive at our destinations. This not only prevents us from getting wet when we are outside, but it also made it cooling outside. We were especially blessed at our last destination, where we visited our grandfather’s grave. It was cloudy with a little breeze which both blocks the sun and made it cooling, letting us fully enjoy the visit while also singing praises to God! God is greatttt! Thank you..
听着情歌，唱着情歌，
有悲有喜，
很自然地想起了你。
我可以感到着急，悲伤，害怕，
犹豫不决，忧心忡忡；
我可以感到兴奋，冲动，紧张，
喜乐不眠，病于思念。
但因有天父我却牢牢记住他的指示，
继续等待继续服从他。
权利在他手中，他掌控着一切，
赐我平安。
只能继续祈祷他会让我不断地相信他，
让我对他的信任一天比一天地成长。
God’s holiness is seen in this incident where Uzzah was struck by God for touching the Ark (v.6-7). Though Uzzah had good intentions, it was irrelevant. Since God is so holy, He cannot be touched by sinners, and Uzzah was a sinner, like all of us; God can only be with righteous people, which in God’s definition of righteousness, no one is. This reminds us of what the New Testament clearly says about our righteousness and salvation, which is not determined and cannot be gained by any humanly ways (our action or inaction) but instead is given to us, if we are willing to receive it with faith, by God through Jesus’ death and resurrection! That is why, no matter what Uzzah’s intentions were for touching the Ark, he disrespected God since his sins had not been washed clean and thus, still had a broken relationship with God. Which points us to Jesus!
David in this chapter, has seen both the wrath and blessings of God, which made him fear God while also rejoice in God’s blessings. This is actually still true in our day, but many only see the blessings of God and fail to see the wrath of God. Which is why we become so demanding of God and arrogant (the extreme being things like the prosperity gospel), forgetting that we are the servant and He is our master; forgetting that the blessings we receive, the things we have now, the mere fact that I am breathing and am able to type this is already God’s grace!! I pray for humility and a thankful heart, that we may fear God and honor Him for all that He is and His grace. –> David knew this as he doesn’t care about people’s view of him but only that he can worship and dance before the Lord, making himself a fool, undignified and humiliated to the world, but a pleasing sight to His God. 
But you were wrong
Posted: 18th January 2012 by bryan0530 in lamentation/exclamation, thoughts/reflectionYou locked it away in the depths of darkness,
You thought it wouldn’t harm anymore,
You assumed it was the end, silent, dead, vanished forever.
You thought you starved it.
But you were wrong.
You heard a whisper, a whimper, a plea,
You hesitated, pretended, avoided,
You couldn’t resist, fell, gave in,
You fed it, just a bit…
But you were wrong.
You were viciously bitten, wounded, and bled,
You are ashamed, defeated, and wept like a helpless babe,
You see the unending cycle, endless defeat, and became enslaved,
You cannot go on, incapacitated, crippled.
But you were wrong.
You were wrong with your assumptions,
You were wrong in your actions,
You were wrong about your situation,
You were so very wrong.
Assumptions that were built on sand will crumble in the face of storms,
But confidence that are built on the Rock will never falter.
Acts of rebellion will only destroy, hurt and kill,
But acts of obedience will please, bless and glorify.
Situations viewed with earthly eyes will disappoint, discourage and paralyze,
But situations viewed with heavenly eyes will encourage, empower, and clarify.
Jesus has cleaned this filthy rag, the Holy Spirit has moved in to stay,
And the Father has invited this stray child into His household.
This, you are wrong no more.
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32
WOW…O Lord, I pray and beg you to open up the ears of my heart, soften it and make it receptive to Your words, so that my heart will be set ablaze and burn bright within me as I encounter Your precious words…Amen!
Although I am on holiday, I have been writing much less now for a few reasons and one of them being that I have been writing down my thoughts from my QTs. But I think I will try to write again more often.
Once again, I am amazed and thrilled that the Bible has so much to offer even within a short passage of 5 verses.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
- Matthew 11:25-30
There are two main points in what Jesus said here, how to know the Father and Jesus and how do the weary find rest. However, what really struck me when I read this today was the former. Even before having this 3 months holiday, I’ve asked God what should I do with my long holiday. There are lots of possibilities. I told God, I wanted to do something meaningful, and He concurred. He challenged me to dedicate these 3 months to Him, so that I may grow spiritually and grow closer to Him. To be honest, I was and still am thrilled and eager to obey Him! Determined to do this, I have set rough plans to fulfil it (and the mission trip to 山村 helped). Obviously, wanting to do it and actually doing it is two different matter…and it is awfully hard to be discipline! There were some success and some failures but I am still determined to strive on. And praise God for always being faithful to his servants! This verse is really encouraging for me to continue on this journey with my Father. It is also a good reminder that to know God better, I should get to know JESUS better; likewise, to know Jesus better, I should get to know GOD better! All the “how can I grow stronger?” and “how can I get to know You better?” are immediately wiped away. How easily I forget what God has told me…sigh. But all the more I will praise Him for his grace and love for me that instead of condemning me, He forgives. Of course, it is also great to talk to wise Christians and learn from them about God/Jesus, but it is still far from the best. Jesus said it clearly, that NO ONE knows the Father better than Jesus and NO ONE knows Jesus better than the Father. And Jesus doesn’t stop there, and He invites us (can you believe it!?) to go to Him and take upon His yoke (which is to follow His lead and walk with Him) so that we can learn from Jesus Himself!!
!@#$%^&*()_+!!!!! AMEN AMEN AMEN HEHEHE.
朱勇伟。李晓光。
你们这两个小家伙，我会记得你们的。你们一定要跟我加油！不但在学业上要加油，生命中更要加油，永不放弃！虽然你们可能永远也不会看到我所写的一切，也可能不会再见到我，但是我真心地希望和祈祷你们会感觉到。。。而且更重要的是祷告你们终有一天会遇见和迎接耶和华，我们的神，来到你们的生命中。
说真的，短短的四天就能让我那么的想念你们！如果神允许。。。我们明年见！！！
I almost forgot the most essential part of what You’ve said. It’s love.
The two most important commandments are:
Love the Lord your God, and
Love your neighbour as yourself.
The common thing between these two commandments is love.
Wisdom is good, but wisdom cannot stand alone.
Wisdom without love is useless.
In every good thing in the universe, without love, it is meaningless.
Thank You, Lord, for reminding me of what is the most important.
Let me love like You love.
Let me love You like Jesus loves You.
Set my heart on a merry-go-round in loving You, round and round.
Coming back to when I first fell in love with You, again and again.
My love for You, stronger every time, more passionate every time.
Love > Wisdom.
O my soul, O my soul.
How it stings to see me right now- my relationship with You, my spiritual health.
Yes, it may seem okay, it may be growing at a healthy pace, I may even say I have a great relationship with You.
And yet, why does my heart feel this unquenchable thirst, heart-aching longing, and undeniable yearning for…You?
Humbled, I am again reminded the fact that we (I) just cannot possibly get enough of You.
我已无可救药彻彻底底地再次迷上了你。
“若失去了你，若你从我生命里消失，我决不能活下去。”
这句话是拿来对人说的吗？屁！只有你才配得上这句。
Can I ask, O Lord, that You fill me, fill this ever-leaking bowl of mine?
Can I ask, O Lord, that You hold me, hold this ever-wandering heart of mine close, so very close, to Yours?
Can I ask, O Lord, that You teach me, teach this ever-rebellious son to truly love You?
All I want is to love You more, with my heart, my strength, my mind, and my soul.
O my soul, O my soul, won’t you dwell closer to your Master, your Lord?
O my soul, O my soul, won’t you indulge in your first Love, and let not your love for Him grow faint?
O my soul, O my soul.
A good friend suggested that I should write down the things I learn and the things God tells me during my quiet times, and so I gave it a try. And wow! To my amazement, it is so rewarding and helpful to be able to pen down anything I got from my quiet times. Also, I realized that just by having a pen and a notebook in front of me when I do my QTs makes me think more, think harder, dig deeper, and ask more questions. I think it has already became a habit, though I just started about two week ago (1/11/11). A great habit, at that! Which is funny but awesome because just a bit before my friend suggested this to me, I’ve been longing to grow deeper with God and asking myself how can I do that. I don’t remember consciously praying for that, but God has obviously seen through my heart, know my longing, and gracefully answered my prayer!! Really praise God for blessing me through my friend! (:
