Category Archives: Devotion

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No Turning Back

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.”

– John 6:68

What a reply from Peter. Here’s small part of the A Devotional for Women today:

When facing the unknown, we may be tempted to retreat, quit, or refuse to move forward. We may be tempted to panic and doubt God’s wisdom. The disciples had many of the same feelings when Jesus began to explain the depth of commitment required to follow him in John 6. Many simply dropped away. Jesus asked his closest friends if they, too, were going to leave. Peter made an amazing statement. Knowing that Jesus was God incarnate and that leaving him would man living a life of lies and pretense, Peter said that there was no other option but to continue following Jesus. Peter may have been unsettled or frightened by the words of Jesus, but he knew the truth when he encountered it, and he chose to stick it out. His choice proved difficult, but brought the ultimate rewards of abundant life on earth and eternal life with Jesus.

Following Jesus requires that we discipline our thoughts and our words. We must struggle with our sin everyday. This can be very difficult alone, but together we can encourage each other and assure one another that our God is faithful and true. Petter wisely said, “To whom would we go?” When we meet Jesus we are in the company of many others. Once we have met Jesus, we know for certain that there is no turning back.

Jesus demands that we choose him over every other enticing option because he loves us. He knows that everything else is just entertainment, not life to its fullest. Following Jesus is no ride at an entertainment part. This real life is with a real God who really loves us.

I pray that we, disciples of Jesus, when we make our decisions to follow Jesus, we really choose him over every single thing in our life because, “Following Jesus is no ride at an entertainment park. This real life is with a real God who really loves us.”

Blessings to you all!

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God’s Invitation

Hear me as I pray, O Lord
Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say,
“Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds,
“Lord, I am coming.”
~ Psalm 27:7-8 ~

Isn’t that a beautiful prayer from David? I made that as my prayer too, today. We are invited to come and talk with God at anytime, anywhere, and in any circumstances/conditions/situations in our life.

We often say, “I don’t have time today,” or “May be tonight I can spend a little time to pray.”
Why not now? Why not where you are now? Why don’t you stop whatever you do now and spend time with God? He loves to be with you and he always be waiting for you to come and to find him. We have time, only the question is “What do I want to use my time for?” It’s all up to you.

God is waiting for you to come to him and have relationship with him. He keeps on waiting for you to say something because he is ready to listen to you (Jeremiah 29:11-14 & 33:2-3).

Have you spent time with God today?

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Five Minute Friday: Still

Hey today is Friday (like 10 more minutes to midnight ^_^)… and it’s time for 5 Minutes Friday. Today is at the (In)Courage website.

It’s been a while for me. The 5 Minutes Friday is about we write in 5 minutes, no more no less, play the words on the prompt, this week is “Still.”

Okay… here we go…

Still. The very first thing come up in my mind when I read the prompt word for today is “Be still and know that I am God.” This verse is an answer and confirmation for me, the reply from God for what I’ve been praying in this week.

We have postponed the plan to go to Chicago for a conference because we didn’t have enough money for it. Then earlier this week we got an e-mail from a missionary and he asked us to go with him to the conference and help him to share the needs and ministry in Indonesia. We don’t know what to say because we know we cannot go or even register for financial wise. But we kept on praying until 2 days ago I got an e-mail a friend who has been praying with me for something that my husband and I hope to see how God leads us to go and to do his will. That’s the first confirmation for us that God wants us to go.

I asked God for one more confirmation from the Word of God. And today I got this verse clearly I heard inside my heart and head saying that we need to be still and know that he is God, the God who is calling us and will equip and provide whatever we need to accomplish his calling and plan. It’s not about us. It’s about God. If we can go, it’s not because we have money or we can, but it’s all because of God and his will be done.

Being still is not easy for me and my husband. Our mind cannot stop thinking about how we could get the money, or what we should do to get more money, or how much money we should put aside so we could get enough, or even how we can get the money to pay the registrations on time, and more and more. The more we thing about it, the more see clearly that there’s no way we can make it. But God order us to be still and know that God is God.

From my understanding being still is stay still, don’t do anything base on human mind or way. By being still means we wait upon God in prayer and Spirit, then we will know who God is, what he can do, and we will see and know more of him, we will get the answer.

So that what we are going to do, “Be still and know that God is God.”

 

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Woman Who Fears The Lord

First, a woman who fears the Lord is not anxious about the future. Look at verse 25. I love this line, and I praise all you women who are like this: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Satan dangles in front of her the specter of tomorrow’s troubles, but she glances up at the almighty God at her right hand (her magnificent German Shepherd!) and laughs at Satan’s folly.

Second, the woman who fears the Lord has practical wisdom. Verse 26, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” We’ve been taught from grade school on that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), so it’s no surprise that the woman who fears the Lord “opens her mouth with wisdom.”

Third, the woman who fears the Lord is strong. Verse 25, “Strength and dignity are her clothing.” Verse 17, “She girds her loins with strength and makes her arms strong.” She will be morally strong. Proverbs 23:17 says, “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.” The woman who continues in the fear of the Lord will have power to resist all the allurements to envy, to desire what she shouldn’t have.

Fourth, a woman who fears the Lord will live not for herself alone but for others, especially her husband, if she is married. Verses 11, 12, “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.” A woman who fears the Lord will not squander the family’s livelihood on frivolous purchases, but will have the complete trust of her husband because she is for him and not against him.

(Pastor John, 1981, Excerpted from A Woman Who Fears the Lord Is to Be Praised.)

 That’s what I quote from Desiring God blog, the question of the day:

Are you a woman who fears the Lord?

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How Do I Know?

“Lord, I pray for these needs… please bless and provide the ways…”

That is may be one of the lines in your prayer every day when you pray and ask God to provide what ever you need in your life, family and ministry. The next step is waiting for God to answer that prayer. The question now is “How do we need to wait for God’s answer to our prayers?”

“Perhaps He already has,” wrote Jon Graf (Pray! Magazine, Issue 5, p.4). But you say, “How do I know that God has answered my prayer?”

Jon Graf explains the 4 steps to find God’s direction and confirmation:

1. Pray: ask God for confirmation in your heart. Pray about all aspects of what you are contemplating doing. Keep an open mind to hear something else God might be telling you to do.

2. Read the Word: go to God’s Word and seek Him for a confirmation. It can come through God speaking through a passage and by a growing peace in your heart.

3. Study: if it is something you heard or read about that worked somewhere else, read everything you can on the subject. And don’t be afraid to read something that might be critical of or have warnings about what you are considering. God can still confirm in your heart what He wants you to do.

4. Confirm through others: have fellow believers pray with you about what you believe God is revealing. If God is leading you to do something, He will confirm it through others.