Resembling Water

Well, water. As researches says that one can live a week without food but not with water. Then let’s talk about water and discover how great its importance is.

I remember our last team building activity at RRC. Leaders and workers of our church were given a bunch of task enhancing unity through physical activities. Being one of the facilitators, I had the chance to observe this: each member of a group, old and young, gets exhausted after a certain activity or task yet before proceeding to the next station, almost all will come to stop by a water source to drink then they're on-the-go again! That is water. It refreshes. It renews strength.

Then I came up with these attributes of water:

•  thirst-quenching 

• life-extending

• cleansing

• refreshing

• necessity

• needed in digestion process

• health-related

And God can provide all the water we need. In fact, He is indeed the Living Water for whoever the water Jesus gives, will never be thirsty again. .

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

-John 4:13-14 NIV

 1.  Thirst-quenching

Water removes away thirst and the same goes with God. He alone is the water who can fill the dryness of our hearts. Like a deer that searches for the water, and so was with our soul—longing after Thee.

"Then I lift my hands in prayer,

because my soul is a desert,

    thirsty for water from you."

(Psalm 143:6 CEV)

 2.  Life-extending

As said above, water is given much importance than food. In the same way, we can’t do anything without God. God is the true water who extends our life. Jesus came to gave us a joyful and satisfied life. (see John 10:10 CEV)

3.  Cleansing

As water is literally used for cleansing purposes—taking a bath, washing dishes, cleaning the house—and so as its use in cleansing our hearts. He is the one with mercy who purifies us and remembers our sins no more. His words, His truth were the very thing that more than powerful than any other bleaching solution in the world. He is the living water who washes away even our implicit dirt. Once we truly encountered the Lord, we became white as snow—radiant, glowing, shining (see Isaiah 1:18 NIV).

4.       Refreshing

Only God alone can give us a new heart. Those who are restless, troubled, brokenhearted, extremely lonely, God can and is willing to grant them a new undivided heart which only trusts God. He is more than ready to change our hearts ( see Ezekiel 11:19 NIV).

5.  Necessity

Indeed, it is a must. Water is a necessity to live. Try to imagine if God didn’t gave us water? This implies that without God, everything will be difficult. Without God, nothing could be established ( see also John3:27 CEV).

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

(Matthew 19:26 NIV; emphasis added) 

6.  Needed in digestion process

The Living Water digests what? Through the words and leading of the Holy Spirit, God make us through a time of trials. By His truth alone are we able to grasp How high, wide and deep His love is that in times of failures or challenges, we are sure that God will never ever leave us.

( see Psalm 34:18 NIV)

7.  Health-related

God’s word makes our spiritual life healthy. With His sufficient supple of grace, we can come to Him in confidence—with praising heart, pleasing life and worshipping spirit within us. (see Psalm 119:11 NIV)

The Psalm 19 Pattern

The word of God the BIBLE itself is a must for man to grow and succeed in life. I super love these verses below. Well, rhymes and wonderful words used are really awesome. God is the best. I don't know but it's just awesome of God having these Psalms wrtitten. Here is Psalm 19: 7-11 NIV:

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 

9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 

11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

(via www.biblestudytools.com)

1. It is perfect.

Because of its perfection, it refreshes the soul. It is without flaws making a broken person have bliss and energy. It is perfect in terms of time. It helps increase our faith with the multitude of promises it contains. It is reviving, life-diving and restoring targeting the soul.

2.  It is trustworthy.

No one can doubt God’s words. As the earth may pass away, but His words will stand forever  (see matthew 24:35). He is the same yesterday, today and forever and so are His words. In view of this, we can give our purest trust to Him simply because He never fails. He plans the best for us, He knows the exact number of our hairs, and He gave his only son just to free us. He loves us so much that He can’t leave us nor forsake us. What else are we searching for? Why not rely on Him? He is for everyone—simple, imperfect and inexperienced.

3.  It is right.

It is appropriate and just. It can never be wrong. And true happiness can be attained by living according to His words, His commands, His will that if we delight ourselves unto Him He’ll give us our desire making us have satisfaction. He alone can fill the emptiness we have in our hearts leaving us true bliss. His words uplift, heal and calm.

    4.  It is radiant.

“..radiant giving light to the eyes..” It is indeed a light which guides our way. It is the lamp that leads us to true life. It helps us see circumstances positively by faith. It leads us in roads unknown, points us from paths unsure. As we apply His words, our lives will be surely enlightened  and definitely as we humble seek Him, He’ll let His light shine from us thus pointing others to Christ, the true Light.

    
    5.       It is sure.

No one can change the mind of God. As He sets the stars in their place and so was our life. He knows for sure how we are going to be in the form of His likeness. Never doubt God. Keep the faith for faith simply pleases God. Trials and challenges are permitted in order to refine us not to harm us. Be solid in His words and you’ll be in last.

    6.       It is pure.

Unlike nowaday’s products, His words are not 99% pure but 100%. What is written here in verse 9 is about the fear of the Lord—not the worldly fear those children know but the holy fear. This fear is about a love together with reverence. A love knowing that He is our Father and Bestfriend and reverence acknowledging Him as our King, Master and Lord. This fear must result to the purity of our hearts and minds as we continue to walk with Him.

    7.       It is precious.

“If you don’t have a Bible, go and sell your house and buy a Bible… ” a dialog I can recall from a teaching long ago. It is precious! The message version says that diamonds are no better than God’s words. As we grow to know God more by His words, we learn to do things that result in heavenly rewards which do not tarnish for the things of this world are just temporary.

    8.       It is incomparable.

Riches of this world offer happiness and pleasure that will not last. But the joy of knowing God can’t be compared to those riches. Talking about sweetness, I was reminded of the book of Isaiah, particularly the 43^rd chapter. It was undeniably sweet divulging more of the immeasurable span of His love for Israel, for His people, for us.

    9.       It is warning.

As His words guides, we can experience rebukes and warning when we are doing something against His will. His words, through the Holy Spirit, remind us everything we need in the battle of life. As we keep our gaze on Christ, sin is prevented, enemy is destroyed and the victory is ours.

    10.   It is a reward.

By meditating His words, we grow in Christ leading us to the true treasures we must have—an unfailing love, a full life, a beautiful hope in Christ and eternal friends. Living according to His words, enduring stumbles and failures that come our way, dealing with God, doing all things for Christ’s sake…who knows how proud God will be? How many crowns we’ll receive when the time comes?

Note: I also love the "The Message" version too. You can read try it!

Featured song "Running After You" by Planetshakers: 

Out of LOVE

It is what His commands are all about: LOVE.

Love? As far as the word of God is concerned, many verses can be referred to. One of the famous is in the letter of Paul to Corinthians which typically describes what love is. Yet this morning, chapter 13 verse 8 and 9 of the book of Romans inspired me. It made me remember the basic.

(emphasis added; photo captured from www.biblegateway.com )

As Paul had written, love is the fulfillment of the law that when one loves his/her neighbor, He has obeyed all the commandments. Think of old testament’s Ten Commandments which was given to Moses. There are these orders that say the words “dont”. Thinking deeper, all do points out to love. How come? When you love the people around you, you won’t do anything that will displease them or will cause them bad things right?

Loving the people around us is easy if they are good to us. Agree? But when things aren’t going well or when people changed their ways (especially not in our terms), do we still have the same love for them? And this is what the bible says in 14:7, that whether we live or die, it must be for God not for ourselves (click here for reference). We LIVE for GOD not for ourselves. We must do things as though He is the one who will benefit, as though He is the one we are dealing with.

(emphasis added; photo captured from www.biblegateway.com)

No one can say he loves God when he does not love the people around Him, for God is invisible and man is visible. The tongues we have talking to God must not be the same tongue who carelessly curses others. This means that loving other people unconditionally represents our love for God. When we learn how to care, give, respect and please others, both Christians and people of different faith, then we really have God in our hearts. Because if He lives in us, he is the one who will give us the capacity to love. When we are filled with his love, an overflow will eventually happen, making us pour love on others.

So I say, cling unto God and be satisfied with His unending love. Acknowledge His love as a gift that is meant to be shared. It is a gift from heaven that is limited not only for ourselves, for our families and friends but for everyone who lives around us. Reread Romans 12:9-21. The verses teach us how to live in harmony and peace with each other. And it all will start with a desire—desire to be filled with God’s love, desire to manifest His love, desire to exemplify His love by loving any kind of man here on earth. Let us always do thing with love and we will never be in regrets.

Here is Tenth Avenue North in their song entitled "Love is Here."

Stillness

I am always amazed by God. Everyone else has, has been and must be amazed by Him. There are so many things for God to care about, but sometimes do you ask yourself why He chose to love you? in fact, there’s no reasons behind. It’s just He is love himself. Yet there are times when we feel that God isn’t on our side. Yes, there are lots of ups and downs, so much struggles and never-ending troubles but one thing is for sure—because of His great love, we are not abandoned nor forsaken says in Deuteronomy 31:6.

^"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." (emphasis added)

 .

As I read the story of Elijah in 1Kings 19, verses 11-12 really marked my mind and my heart. the It says here in CEV :

Note: For the story itself, read the previous verses from this link 1Kings 19:1-18.

(emphasis added; photo captured from: www.biblegateway.com)

During this time, Elijah ran away from Ahab and Jezebel who has torn down God’s altars and has punished almost all prophets except Elijah. If you've read  verses 1-10, we can see that God is a God who provides for His people. Reading from the photo above, I have wished that I am Elijah or I was with Elijah during those times. I wanna see God too.

God is omnipresent. Yes, He really is. But he didn’t promise that we’ll feel Him all the time, for faith is not by feeling. And His presence has many other forms. He uses different things or people for us to know He is right beside us. From the latter verses, we can see that God, before allowing Himself to be seen by Elijah, sends storms, wind and fire but none of those represented Him. He chose to be seen and felt in silence, in stillness, in gentleness…in a whisper.

What does this point out? First, I can view the humility that God. He could have a thousand of angels with their trumpets to welcome Him along the way, or He could have been in fire or strong winds to magnify His greatness, yet He comes in a gentle whisper. Second is the testing of faith—neither by feeling nor by sight. Elijah, after his near-death experiences, seeks God. He is not moved by the earthquake, by the wind nor by the fire. He is not moved by his problems and sufferings for God’s cause. He sets His heart only to God, thus enabling Him to encounter God who came in silence.

In our lives, we may have mountainous problems, storms of suffering and fiery enemies but once fix our eyes on Jesus, we’ll have the victory. We’ll just need to focus on God, obey him and earnestly seek Him. We just need to trust in His omnipresent power then acknowledge His presence. He can be everywhere yet  in stillness, one can hear God’s gentle voice.

Choose to listen and believe to the His voice. Check out this song and enjoy the lyrics: Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns.

Deeper

“Delight yourself in the Lord and 

He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:4, sounds familiar right? Probably you have memorized for a long time and so was I.

From the New International Reader's Version (NIRV):

"Find your delight in the Lord. Then He will 

give you everything your heart really wants." (emphasis added)

I have known the verse (the NIV one) for a long time, and I have memorized it because I often hear it, from preachers, friends and family in Christ. Back then, when I was still a baby in faith, I view that stated verse materially—that if I acknowledge first God’s kingdom, then He will give me everything I wanted. For years of just attending church intermittently, my comprehension of what David has said is very limited to my hopes and my dreams. It seem like I attend church to test God and seek Him for MY OWN benefits. Yet thank God for his mercy, I wasn’t stuck up with that worldly knowledge. As I hear more of His voice during Sundays and gatherings and as I read more of His words before sleeping for years, unconsciously I understand more of what he really says.

Deeper. I have to think beyond what the text says as I said to myself. As God continues to deal with me with this verse repeatedly, I prayed. And what happened next? He revealed to me what Psalm 37:4 really means. Okay. God is faithful and He keeps His promises that once we delight in Him, He’ll give us what we want. but behind his words lies a greater meaning—once we delight in him, once we enjoy His presence, once we find unexplainable gladness in His authority, we are unknowingly being turned into someone who desires nothing but God. As we seek Him earnestly and then find Him, He gives us peace, joy and love that we don’t wanna let go. Our heart’s desires are then changed, changed to His desire for us. More to this, our heart’s desire turns out to be God himself, making Him become everything we want. He is the sole satisfaction of this life. And this is what should happen—to seek and have more of God into our lives, to please Him and obey Him by having His way for us.

Check this video for a song  entitled "The More I seek You" by Kari Jobe:

Election Meddler 1: Must be a Role Model

Years have passed that I don’t have any concern or anything against these words: COMELEC, governor, senator, platforms, bribes, votes and rights. What I am talking about, obviously, is election. Now that the election is drawing near, I am somehow bothered of whom to elect. Thinking that I am at the legal age to vote and is registered to practice my right, I found myself in front of a store staring at the wall with numerous posters of the candidates running for various positions.

Lately, since it was summer, I was kinda busy for myself at home—reading the same books, sweeping the fallen dried leaves, cooking rice through woods, etc. It was then that a familiar sound with unfamiliar lyrics played loud enough to be heard in our house. Then by one o two of those poster-persons somehow came to life to greet me a good day, offering their hands for some shake and giving some pieces of paper with their name on it. Oh, campaign days: disquieting.

One morning I was happily walking, I think I’m going to buy some breakfast that day when I encountered a bunch of yellow politicians (they wear yellow shirts which look the same). One politician caught my attention. Not to mention his full name, he is known in our town. I don’t know why, but I recognized him immediately. Maybe he runs for some political positions frequently. Apparently, he wore a yellow shirt with prints of his party plus a vest-like thing with multiple names on it too. The problem is not his attire, no his smile or way of communicating to people. What caught my attention is the smoke coming from his mouth brought by the thing he has in his fingers—a cigarette. It’s a free country anyway. People can do whatever they want, whatever gives them pleasure. And since the country is a democratic one, people are free to choose who will rule them. And the youth, which is the next generation, can elect persons like him—the cigarette councilor.

I guess in every politician platforms, there is something to gain the vote of my generation that is pro-youth. And I also think that politicians must be models, being what they want in the future. Connection? As for me, people must not focus on the benefits that a politician is promising. Yes, benefits are good but personality is to be examined. I don’t know how to elaborate things yet because it will be my first time to vote, I want to be responsible for the consequences of my right.

Thinking that I am at the legal age to vote and is registered to practice my right, I found myself again, staring at the same wall with numerous posters of the candidates running for various position and I would like to hear them speak and watch them act, not in a campaign activity but in normal days like how they do something in their respective family and neighborhood.