http://bible.com/1/gal.6.10.kjv As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Month: October 2014
HANGING BRIDGE and the PINK BOOTS
Three forty-five in the morning – I woke up from a very long adventurous dream. The last scene woke me up when I fell off from a broken wooden hanging bridge and was soaked on the water because of fear.
DISTRACTIONS and TEMPTATIONS ON MY WAY:
My vision in this dream began with very complicated scenes. We needed to really have to go to our beach trip though we’ve been delayed because of distractions—people along the way, unavoidable situations like I’m waiting for my relatives but they handed me my nephew who’s handicapped so I needed to look after him when I was so excited for our beach trip that made the wait longer; helped other relatives because they badly needed my help; been distracted by boys flirting on me; having a lot of choices which left me undecided; my sister’s issue: her slowness compare to my being so excited and quick; I was all packed with my stuff and ready to go; I was so mad at her unpreparedness which caused me to wait so long; I needed to escape from something until I reached to the point of deciding to left unprepared just to go to my dad’s house for I thought, all the rest left me and all I had was my dad. I arrived at his house in the middle of the night and was threatened by a dog. It pretended to be so brave as if telling me, “If you won’t get back on your feet, I’ll bite you off.” But I was not afraid. “You’re just a dog…I’m human and I’m your owner’s daughter so pay some respect.” Later my dad opened up the door and got me in. I slept that night in his house and had my plan to invite him on the beach trip.
I was already at the meeting place for that trip, I wore double sweater over my shirt which made them comment, “Hey are you really going to the beach or you’ll go back home?” When I am about to go because my mom was calling out, a friend who’s staying came out with a cup of ice cream which I first thought as lotion. We’re caught up because of its appearance. I tasted it out of curiosity and found that it tasted good. Then, when I’m about to go, the cup became a huge basin full of ice cream. I was tempted to eat because ice cream is one of my favorite. Some boys who were pursuing me approached that girl and ate some. They said, “Jenny, don’t you know that this was your uncle’s homemade ice cream?” It amazed me but I pretended to know. These were my distractions.
THE LAST SCENE:
Finally, I sprinted towards the hanging bridge where my mom was with my baggage and pink boats on my feet. I saw my mom approaching me and informing me that the rope was being used by the kids swimming in the waterfall. It’d be easy and safe for us to cross the bridge with it because we just needed to zip line since the bridge’s so slippery wet. I wonder how my mom managed to cross the bridge and went back so easily without the rope. It encouraged me so instead of waiting on her with the rope, I decided to just cross the bridge by myself. I wanted to prove something by my own strength and decision. I thought, she made it, I also can do it, there’s no harm in trying.
Then I climbed on my knees. It’s a bit shaky but it did not distract me because what I only seen was two spaces of horizontal wood creating a hole on that bridge. I told myself, “I have long legs, I can able to cross over.” So I continued crawling on my knees until I saw two young girls in the middle of the hanging bridge. They were playing, however when they saw me, they got alarmed because I couldn’t picture out the real situation in that bridge until I dared crossing it. They warned me and gave me some tips on how to cross the bridge but I did not listen. I was proud saying, “I can do it my own way, just look and see.”
When I passed the quarter portion and was about to get ready for another step, I was welcomed with some problem, the real hidden problem revealed after I got closer. I found that the hanging bridge had been cut in two. It was only supported by another bridge built across it, that’s where the two girls were. I realized they were purposely positioned there to support the bridge and to warn or at least help the passersby. Uh-oh! My weight seemed could not save me when I made it slowly part each other. It’s hard to balance.
The two girls said, “Whatever happened, just reach our hands when you got here and we’ll pull you over.” So I tried to be braver. Next thing followed so fast in seconds. Half of the bridge I’m on swayed so I needed to push forward. That means I needed to exert extra effort.
MY GIANTS:
I am already in the real situation wherein I needed to apply the theory I’ve learned. I wasn’t given much time to think before deciding so I’m in a losing-winning game. When I was in the climax of that story (in my dream) when I supposed to get excited and be braver and stronger to fight, that was also the time when I was deceived by my thoughts, “Remember that you’re afraid of water, of heights and specially on crossing hanging bridge…the water looks deep, if you’ll fall you’ll get drown.” These thoughts kept running on my mind, distracting and paralyzing me. My thoughts won eventually. Instead of using my precious time for leaning forward or reaching out my hands, or leaping, or get my brain cells moved right so I could move so to save myself, it was frustratingly stupid moments.
I was so frightened while looking on that situation. “I really can’t do it…,” my mind panicked.
“Come on…lean forward, push the bridge more so you can advance and we can reach your hand…,” the girls shouted at me. But I just didn’t try. I was so coward. I just watched and let the bridge swayed forth and back. I did not realize that pushing forward is a little slow than going backward which made me impatient, but the good thing about pushing forward is you’re given extra time. That extra time is for you to decide what strategy to use for fighting in the actual situation so there’s no turning back. In that dream, I did not turn back yet I wasn’t moving forward either. I simply just didn’t do anything. It’s like I was given two options. Option A is to move forward, to fight, to act, to be brave and to win, and option B is the exact opposite—to move backward, to give up, to idle, to be coward and to lose. But I was like “Don’t you have option C because I’m undecided?” My spirit is willing but my body is weak.
After the dumb moments, I watched how the hanging bridge swayed backward so fast for a short time creating a wide gap in between me and the two girls. They really felt sorry for me. I could have had took advantage of my chance. The motion of the bridge I’m on moved so fast that made it collapsed. I fell down straight cutting the water. I was so afraid of falling because I thought the water’s so deep. I was trapped between two woods that were broken out from the bridge, yet I successfully managed to disentangle myself, however I was so dismayed to find out that the water’s only waist deep. I climbed up the steps while gasping. Soon there were two guys running towards me. They panicked. They thought I was harmed but I’m all right, I just ended up wet, blaming myself while carrying my pink boats.
LESSON LEARNED:
I don’t have to build my identity on others around me. It is okay to identify my weaknesses but it isn’t necessary to rest on it or always dwell on it, neither limit myself by it.
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Ephesians 6:15 is the Scripture directed to me by the Holy Spirit pertaining the “pink boots”. That if you have peace from Jesus, you can be able to get ready for the battle. And since in my dream, I climbed up the hanging bridge barefoot, I removed the boots because I thought they were just too heavy and slippery and I was so confident of myself that I can do it my own so the result was I didn’t have peace but fear when threats came in and I fell.
“Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your FEET FITTED WITH THE READINESS THAT COMES FROM THE GOSPEL OF PEACE….” (Ephesians 6:13-15)
“You will keep Him in perfect PEACE, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Faith is energized by love. Love casts out all fear.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:18-19)
It’s not my first time to have this kind of dream specifically on hanging bridges, mostly if I felt discouraged by what I see around me or hear from other people. I got warning from my Heavenly Father again. Honestly I was disturbed by few people around me these days especially from my own relatives’ opinions. I know which is right and I know where I was called to and I know what I am tasked about so at the end of the day, I would try to comfort myself telling, “Their opinions doesn’t matter…what matter is God’s…” But then again I would find myself complaining to God and acting impatiently.
I learned that hanging bridge symbolizes balance, journey and moving forward.
Jesus is our bridge to the Father. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) He is strong and not shaky kind of bridge. You cannot have fear if you fully depend on Him. His structure and foundation is firm and strong. So I concluded, if only the hanging bridge (in my dream) was strong enough, whole and doesn’t have holes, I probably would just run through it without weary and would not fall. If we compare what kind of bridge Jesus is to the kind of bridge we used to pass through, we could closely figure out the difference. Sometimes we run to wrong people when we’re confused or down that we can’t see closely their holes which make them so vulnerable, too. And when they got to carry us, our weight (including our loads and burdens) are too heavy for them to carry that makes those vulnerable bridges (wrong people) collapse because they themselves also have their own weight to carry (including their loads and burdens). Only Jesus can satisfy.
The human way is to worry. God’s way is to trust. “Come to Me, all you who labor and heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:5-7)
SEEING and BELIEVING?
In the book HEAVEN IS SO REAL, Choo Nam mentioned, “We have already been raised up, spiritually, to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The world says, “Seeing is believing,” but the Christian says, “Believing is seeing.” The true reality is spiritual, not temporal. Most people think the only reality is found in what we can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. But the ultimate reality is the spiritual world.”
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Horse is one of the most useful animals on earth because it is wonderfully made by God. Look at racehorses. They are blindfolded while they’re on the race because their eyes could rotate in a perfect 360 degree angle, thus they can be able to see the front, sideways and behind. In order to avoid distractions, their eyes must be fully covered with blinders so they’ll just focus on looking and running forward because they could not see other horses behind or besides them. Figuratively, horse race is our spiritual journey in life. We have lots of distractions—our past, our present situations and our fear to face the future. If only we developed in ourselves the attitude of a racehorse after been blindfolded, then we won’t be affected by what our eyes see (problems, our giants, dark clouds, or whatever you call it) only for a moment because we know that at the end, the finish line is waiting. Journey has an ending. And, we’re on the winning side.
Yesterday I was watching Joyce Meyer’s preaching about “Trusting God when you don’t understand.” It blew me up…whew! After all, this topic’s on time in my situation now. And, I remember one of our pastors’ preaching about Spiritual journey. He said, “It’s not about starting, it’s about finishing. Who cares if you messed up with your game at the beginning, what’s important is while the game is still ongoing, you have all the chances to correct your mistakes, advance, continue, give your best and not give up.”
FEW SCRIPTURES:
“We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.” (1 Chronicles 29:15)
“What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest…” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23)
“Jesus said, ‘I give them ETERNAL LIFE and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.” (John 10:28)
Our final destiny, our citizenship and our ultimate travel destination is HEAVEN.
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” (Philippians 1:27)
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your things above (as citizens of heaven), where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, (as citizens of heaven), not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2)
“All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be the citizens in the city of my God.” (Revelation 3:12)
“For it is by grace that you have been saved to be citizens of heaven through faith—and this is not from yourselves. This is a gift of God not by works, so no one can boast!” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
To God be the glory!
How FAITH works
I had been stranded in the book of Hebrews last week, particularly in a topic about faith. Then it’s a perfect timing how I coincidentally checked on one of Joyce Meyer’s preaching about “How faith works”…
I found the ‘topic’ so practical and so I’d love to share it to you, just in case you prefer to read than watch and listen for long hours and just wanted to get the main points instead.
Here it is…
- Life point: If you ever want to see your faith work; you’re going to have to totally give up self pity. Anything not done by faith is a sin. Worry is a sin. Doubting is a sin.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
- Patience is how we act or behave while we wait.
You can wait with expectation. You can wait with a good conversation. You can wait and spend your time being a blessing to somebody else. That’s a cool thing to do. But if you’re like “I can’t do this anymore…I’m just going to quit…what took it so long? I’m going to give up…this is not working…” then you can start all over again.
Hebrews 6:15 says, “And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
Abraham waited 20 years…Joseph was imprisoned for 13 years or something when he didn’t do wrong. It’s fun when you’re having a dream. Joseph had a dream. He got all excited. He shut his mouth off to his brothers, got into a little pride saying “he he…You’re going to bow down to me.”
Do you need a trip somewhere on the backside and nowhere? Does somebody right now in the wilderness of your life and riding on or not and working some junk in you that needs to come out before you’ll going to be ready to have what God has promise you?
- You need to learn to enjoy where you’re at on the way where you’re going.
- Faith only works and is energize by love. What kind of a love walk do you have? How much do you study love? How well do you know the Scripture on love? How do you treat people? How many people are you mad at?
Galatians 5:6 says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Paul was a little fed up with the Galatians who were always talking about circumcision, not circumcised, I’m better than you because I’m circumcised, you need to be circumcised…
a. Paul said, “Quit being so neat picky about the rules and regulations of religion and just get busy loving each other.”
It’s ridiculous the way different denominations fight, neat pick and shut each other out because we all don’t believe exactly the same way. So who’s right? None of us is 100 % right. Not me, not you, not anybody else. We’re all doing the best we can for where we’re at.
b. The fruit of our lives is more important than anything else. Paul said “just get busy loving each other because faith only works and is energize by love.”
- Faith is always at rest.
Mark 11:22-25 says, “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believed that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Hebrews 4:3 says, “Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world.”
- Faith needs to be released. It’s a force that’s in your spirit. There was a time in my life when I was only released in my faith for the forgiveness of my sins and to go to heaven someday when I die. I wasn’t releasing my faith in any other areas. I’m not releasing my faith to overcome or to be healed from my abusive past. I wasn’t releasing my faith to do anything for God or to be use by God. I wasn’t releasing my faith for finances. We just barely got by all the time.
- Faith always brings results.
Luke 7:50 says, “Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 17:19 says, “Then He said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
If you need to take medicine or if you need to go to the doctor but don’t do anything without trusting God to bring healing in your life, I don’t believe there’s any medicine or any doctor that can help us if we don’t have our faith in God to make it work. Jesus is our healer. There’s no healing apart from God. Even the wisdom of medical profession has today, they got it from God and its good thing that He gave it to them or we’ll all be dead. I wouldn’t go to a doctor without praying which one to go to. Don’t take that medicine without praying to God to bless it and anoint it and make it work.
- Above all, trust God for healing because even when medicine or man can’t do it, God can still heal you. He’s still a miracle working God.
- Faith protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy.
Ephesians 6:16 says, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
10. We receive all of God’s blessings through faith. We’re made right, justified, sanctified, forgiven, redeemed by faith.
11.We do great things for God by faith.
READ: Hebrews 11: 7-31
12. Faith grows and increases as you use it.
13. We do things by faith and there’s always a reward.
14. Faith has to fight.
1 Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1 Peter 5:9 says, “Resist the devil, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Luke 10:19 says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
You have power and authority over all the power the enemy possesses. The devil only has power, but you have power and authority. The only authority he has is what you give in.
15. Faith is the only thing that conquers fear.
Fear is so prevalent in the world today. The bible says that in the last days, men’s heart will fail them for fear. Many Christians are so afraid of the conditions of the world today. I’m not afraid. If I’m going to be afraid for anything it would be if the people are lost so I want to keep on working as hard as I can, trying to get the good news to them while I can. And I want to be informed and I want to do my part and I’m not going to stick my head on the ground and act like there’s nothing bad going on but I refuse to be afraid of it. If God has chosen you and I to be alive in this day and hour then we’re up for it. We’ve got what it takes.
To God be the glory!
“Amazing funny direction from God”
Early morning today I woke up from a dream.
You know for the whole week, I’ve been searching for my pajama–the one that had been given to me from a mom we ministered couple of months ago. She actually had it handmade purposely and gave it to me in their church one afternoon on Sunday while they were having their WM’s (Women and Mothers’ ministry) prayer meeting. I love its color, its texture, fabric and design and more so because I had been asking God to give me pajama because I did not bring any during that time. He did so answer my prayer.
I remembered wearing it last week and I just noticed it’s nowhere to be found when I searched for it in my closet. I asked my mom but she didn’t know anyhow. I suspected cheaply maybe, just maybe it was stolen. I told my mom to be extra careful with our laundry especially on where to dry them because I lose confidence and trust in our place.
After a week of searching and failing, I asked the Lord last night to tell me where it was…I felt a little frustrated and embarrassed knowing He became my last option. I only did ask His help when my human ability failed me.
So this was how my dream all about–my pajama.
In my dream, the Lord showed my mom wearing it and me surprised by the scene asked her, “Oh where did you find it? I’ve been looking for it for the whole week but how could I have known that it was only in your hands.” She answered with assurance that she did not purposely put it in her own closet, “I accidentally had placed it in my closet while I was fixing my other clothes and yours.” Afterwards, I could hear “the voice” instructing me, “…this morning tell your mom that no one could find your pajama except her. Even if you try, you’ll still fail because it’s only your mom who’ll find it.”
In the morning, just after I woke up I told my mom about my dream. So I developed the hope of having it back.
I did not realize that my mom is already searching for it after I told her about my dream. After more or less than an hour she handed over to me my pajama telling me that she did not find it hard to searched for it because she was directed by the Holy Spirit to where it was when her human strength was starting to tell her “…ask your God for help…” and so she said she was directed to where it was.
Simple experience… yes it was, but it is how God can show His power and significance in every decision-making and circumstances we face and undertake so that in every circumstance be it small or big, we’ll continue to trust in Him, not with our human strength and knowledge but by His power, mercy and grace. His word, indeed, is true that if you can be trusted in small things, God can also trust you in greater things.
God have done an extra help again. First, He wanted to remind me that He’s in control. Second, I must not dishonor my parents. Last night, I felt the guilt for talking back against my mom and told her not to do the things I needed to be done myself. I knew she was hurt thinking I no longer needed her as my mom when she’s just so happy doing those favors for her motherly love towards me. So I asked forgiveness for that thoughtlessness by giving back the favor, lying next to her in her bed for an hour and found out that she actually needed someone to talked to, someone who’d listen to her and understand her. So simple task yet so helpful.
“Every people have their own pain and disappointments. What we see is we come every time we get to fix things into their lives but nobody listens to them…what we actually need to do all the time is to simply listen to them. Ask, “how are you?…” It’s so easy. You don’t need to have a bible school for that. You don’t need to have strategy to ask ‘how are you?’.” – Fritts Rouvoet, Blood and Fire ministries, Netherlands
Oftentimes, we do not realize we’re hurting our Lord Jesus Christ when we don’t ask His help, when we thought we can manage by ourselves, when we try harder to prove that we’re in control when the truth is, we’re not.
“Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8)
Choo Nam in the book “Heaven is so Real” said, “He (Jesus) explained that I would not do anything on my own because I understood that I needed Him in everything. That, of course, is the key to progress in the spiritual life. It is also the key to being used by the Lord—to remain open to Him and all He has in store for us.”
To God be the glory!
