Have mercy on me, Lord

A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench until He brings forth justice unto victory. (Matthew 12:10 )

At times when tears and sighing never can be exhausted and when the weaknesses and disappointments attack again and again. 

Oh Lord, make your promise firm.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that you would richly bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand would be with me, and that You would so keep me from evil that it would not grieve me! And God caused what he had requested to come to pass (1Chronicles 4:10)

Some points that I enjoy as the firstfruits

This week I enjoy the spoken message concerning the firstfruits. Brother Ron spoke from our individual experience to our corporate experience concerning how we can be the firstfruits that satisfy the Father. Then there's a result from such a continual experience, that is, we'll be the first fruits, the overcomers, to satisfy the Father. 

I've been considering and also discussing with the saints how, in our experience, we can be the firstfruits that satisfy the Father. After some fellowship, I enjoy the picture revealed in John 15.

1) We are the branches in the vine. 

As we abide in the vine, we enjoy the resurrected Christ. The life juice from the vine being dispensed into us so that we can bear fruits. 

2) Satisfying the Father. 

A particular verse in John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full". 

No more tears but joy

Whenever I walked by this place, I remember how my tears streamed down that day so that I had to hide in the forest and cried. During these months, I've been inquiring the Lord concerning the matter. If I were able to collect my tears, they must have already caused the flood.

However, when I happened to read the verse today, it feels like the Lord has gently left a gift before me.

Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full (John 16:24). 

Of course, I have had a lot of prayers during the time, but today I enjoy how He has loved me and is willing to fulfill my joy because my joy has been one with His joy (John 15:7-11). So I emptied my thoughts from all busyness and paid attention to my inner feeling concerning what I really want.

I made a request that my joy may be made full, and I know that it is His joy as well.

I love You, Lord. Thank You and I praise You. No more tears but joy.

My responsibility is to love You

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

So when the Lord is working things together for good, my responsibility is to love Him. Lord, thank You for faithfully working Yourself into me in whatever situations I meet. This is the assurance that I can eventually fulfill the calling according to Your wonderful purpose.

Always open to You, and always love You. This is my prayer, Lord.

It was the Lord

Sometimes it seems like it was men's decision to do or not to do something. However, I realised that behind men's decisions, it's the Lord's hand moved by a lot of prayers.

One thing just happened and when I saw it, I said, "Praise the Lord". It was indeed the Lord's perfect will behind everything we encounter.  One of the reasons why we need a lot of prayers is also for this. We won't be tossed about by human opinions, feelings, and environment. Instead, when things befall, we can see the Lord's hand moving behind the scene regardless it seems good or bad. For this, I praise You.

As a consecrated person, the Lord's hand is guarding and arranging everything for good.

My 17th anniversary with You

I have been thinking to post some enjoyment to remember my 17th anniversary with the Lord but somehow I find it difficult to articulate what I've been enjoying. I'll probably grasp another opportunity to write down what I've received from the Lord.

There are still some feelings I'm struggling with. Oh Lord, but recently I've been enjoying this hymn- Divine Romance. To be honest, since I was a young person, we sang it frequently and I kinda getting tired of this hymn. I picked up this hymn again and realised that this hymn contains and describes a lot of my recent feeling.

I just want to consecrate myself to You, Lord. For I do not know where I will be going, and I don't know how my life will look like and end up with. I'm here asking You to draw me day by day. Sorry for being distracted from the vision. It's really not me who can follow You, but Your mercy, grace, and preserving power that keeps me all the way. Draw me more and more, Lord, so I don't just follow You in an ordinary or careless way but follow You by running toward Your love.


This divine romance
Is My heart’s deep plan,
I became a lowly man
To court My country girl.

Nothing could deter,
Nothing can alter
My eternal love for her;
I’ll gain My country girl.
___________________

In Your love I’m drawn,
To You I belong;
I am not my own, Lord,
I’m Yours alone.

By Your love I’m drawn,
In Your name I’m charmed,
And Your Person captured me,
For I’ve been kissed by Thee.

Thank You, Lord, for courting me. I believe it's the time to respond to Your love, once again. I love You :) 

The experience of the sin-dealing life

Each one of us, more or less, is involved in serving people. So recently I have been considering how to experience and dispense the sin-dealing life because this is one of the most important services of the priests. We all know that we can never have a holy, clean, and rejoicing life if we dwell in sins. If I dwell in sins, you feel the pain, and if you dwell in sins, I'm bothered as well. 

The first picture is in week one in Leviticus 8:14-15 and 10:17  (the verses in day 4 and 5).

"And he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. And Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and put some of it on and around the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and sanctified it, to make expiation for it" (Leviticus 8:14-15). 

"Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear the iniquity of the assembly, to make expiation for them before Jehovah" (Leviticus 10:17).

These verses show us that whoever has the heart to serve the saints have to experience the sin offering before we can make expiation for God's people before Jehovah. 

And the sister verse in 1 Corinthians also tells us that whenever we notice some inappropriate situations among God's people, the first thing is not to come to this person to judge and point out the faults. Instead, we have to prove ourselves first. We enjoy the sin-dealing life within so that we have the grace to dispense such a life to our fellow believers. 

But again, what's the application for us in the new testament age? Previously when I read Philippians 3:3, Paul said, "For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh". And my reaction to this verse somewhat remains in that kind of impression which I should enjoy the Lord in the morning and be filled with the spirit, and by this experience, I serve the Lord. But I was just reminded that the children of Isreal could enjoy the manna every day and still roam in the wilderness instead of getting into the Goodland.  

So, with the help of week 2 message, I realised that it's very significant when we say "we serve by the Spirit of God" because God is the burning and consuming fire! Whenever we touch Him, we are exposed who we are, we get burned, and because we're burned so we want to burn others. But sometimes it might not be my experience. I can enjoy the Lord and pray and do whatever spiritual exercises but not being burned to that extent. And all these are just an indication that I'm still a person who is pretty much in the flesh and need the cross as the sin-dealing life. Praise the Lord, through the burnt offering, our sin offering is also accepted by God.

Eventually, we can have Paul's experience and boast in Christ Jesus as the source of our service to people, and have no confidence in the flesh.