Thursday, December 27, 2012

Adios 2012


The year is coming to an end! Praise, honor and glory to Him who has and continues to lavish me with His love and faithfulness.

Over the year, I have grown deeper and gained 5 inches to my growth with Him. Praise God! I am grateful for the wisdom that blossomed from the disappointment, the pain and the experiences that I have encountered this year. Indeed, without the Lord's constant availability and presence, I would have rotted in self-diminishing thoughts and self-pity.  I have learned how grace envelopes and strengthens. Maintaining a sensitive heart and believing constantly that He was near, led me to be in awe of His powerful grace. Day by day, minute by minute, I chose to trust that God would give me the strength to dismiss the negativity that came to mind. Taking captive every thought and assaulting it with His sword of truth, got me thus far. I have learned to see God through the lenses of grace and to authentically understand what it means to die to self. I have learned to hold on tightly to the truth that "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

I have also come to realize that respect, convictions, and wisdom are the most needed qualities in this world today but it is also the most easily forgotten virtues that we tend to overlook and don't posses. To earn respect, we must exude it. Without standards, without principles, without barriers, one should not expect respect. It is earned through responsibility. Convictions and wisdom give you strong footing to withstand the vile attacks of the enemy. The lure of this world and the desires of our hearts may snatch us without realizing how deeply involved we already are.  Charles Swindoll said, "Wisdom comes from privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of scriptural principles to daily circumstances." 

Heart without wisdom is destined for chaos. I'm through with permitting my heart to take the lead on the decision-making. Wisdom (or simply, practical common sense) need to make herself comfortable in the throne of my thoughts, my heart, and my actions. As the Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) One must truly discover and acknowledge the weaknesses of their own hearts. Whatever they are, the enemy surely awaits and prowls to take over. Be on guard and grow in the knowledge of the Lord to know how to guard your own. All heart without a sound mind leads to rationalization. Rationalization silences reality. Emotions cloud judgement. We know we fatten up our tendency to rationalize when the sins are obvious yet we gloss over them. We know that we allow the feast of rationalization to merrily continue on when we disguise our excuses with flowery words or spiritual phrases to talk ourselves out of a bad situation. C'mon. Let's not kid ourselves. Be real. Be honest. What do you really want? I have learned to honestly expose an unwise option wrapped in fluffy white sheep's clothing. 

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Proverbs 4:26

The time is ripe to leave all heedless tendencies and grow up. To leverage what I know now and realize my design. As Paul has said, "When i was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Here's to a beautiful redemptive 2013! Goodbye 2012! You have taught me well!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Peace

photo by sister 
I saw this verse highlighted in my Bible last night. 
They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14)
Instantly, I thought about the many times I deceived myself into believing that I have found peace and declared it even if there were things that contradicted the very principles of His Word. I justified my decisions and believed that God approved. How easy it is to find signs or coincidences and conclude, "This is peace. This is God's will." How foolish... 

"I want the peace from God, not the peace I attempt to create." - Joshua Harris

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Fly Away

Far far away from where I came from. 
I smell victory. Greatness is here. 
Photo by sister. 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

SIN

How do we decide what is sin? "Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." -Susanna Wesley

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Forgiveness

The heart of God is to forgive. Love, patience, grace, compassion, these, to name a few, depict the tender heart of God. If we are for Him, we ought to reflect such qualities. We represent Him. We glorify Him. To forgive is volitional – a choice – to realize that it is a not only a command but it is for the purity of our hearts. 
Free yourself. Reflect the heart of God.