6 August 2010 - 1 Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled"
"Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus" you behold
"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had"
For "when you lived in ignorance" some of your actions were bad
"But just as he who called you is holy"
"So be holy in all that you do", however slowly
"For it is written" continues verse sixteen
To "be holy, because I am holy" says God unseen

These four short verses pack quite a punch
I will be revisiting them, I have a hunch
It is often a challenge to be self-controlled
To reject temptation before it takes hold
But to be holy is that much tougher to do
As it means applying all that I learn sitting in a pew
I cannot pick and choose
And act according to my own views
It is our calling that with God we should walk
That focus must be evident in all I think, do, and talk

5 August 2010 - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

From 2 Corinthians 4, the last part
"Therefore we do not lose heart"
"Though outwardly we are wasting away"
"Inwardly we are renewed day by day"
"For our light and momentary troubles"
"Achieve for us an eternal glory" that more than doubles
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen"
"But on what is unseen"
"For what is seen" will disappear
"But what is unseen" will always be here

Last night I went to hear a Ugandan childrens' choir
Due to AIDS, the outlook for that country appears dire
But as this verse does say
These orphans have a different way
They rejoice in God and sing
And are therefore to us a blessing
From these children, pastor did say
May come new leaders for a new day
And for those of us whose lives are more blessed
Remember that each day can be considered a test
We are given lots of opportunities
With joyful hearts, these we must seize

4 August 2010 - Proverbs 1:20-33

"Wisdom calls aloud in the street"
"She raises her voice" where people meet
"She cries out in the city's gateways:"
"How long will you...love your simple ways?"
"How long will...knowledge" be hated by a fool?
"I would have poured out my heart to you"
"And made my thoughts known" too
"But since you rejected me when I called"
"No one gave heed"; I was appalled
Verse 25 says "since you ignored all my advice"
"And would not accept my rebuke" even once or twice
"I in turn will laugh at your disaster"
"Then they will call to me but I will not answer"
"Since they hated knowledge and did not...fear the Lord"
"Since they would not accept my advice" or my written word
"They will eat the fruit of their ways"
And suffer the rest of their days
"But whoever listens to me will live in safety"
"And be at ease, without fear of harm" says verse 33

The topic today is a 'warning against rejecting wisdom"
For being deaf to sage advice is really dumb
This starts with the word of the Lord our God
But also refers to what we learn around the school quad
Remember that we can learn from anyone
For our education is never really done
This is most true about knowing God's will
Without which our lives' purposes we cannot fulfil

PS. I noticed that yesterday was blog number one hundred
I am thankful for all the kind things that you readers have said

3 August 2010 - Psalm 113

"Let the name of the Lord be praised"
About his deeds we should be amazed
"From the rising of the sun to the place where it doth set"
"The name of the Lord is to be praised"; we should never forget
Verse four says "the Lord is exalted over all the nations"
"His glory above the heavens" and all denominations
"Who is like...our God...who sits enthroned on high"
"Who stoops down to look on...the earth" without a sigh?
"He raises the poor from the dust"
"And lifts the needy" who in Him trust

To yesterday's psalm this is quite a contrast
Beyond today's troubles the author looks past
Our Lord does not slumber let alone sleep
So a watchful eye on us he does keep
And even if don't always yelp
He is there to help
This gives me comfort great
Knowing that He controls my fate

2 August 2010 - Psalm 88

"O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out", can't you see?
"May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry" says verse two
"For my soul is full of trouble"
"And my life draws near the grave's" rubble
"I am like a man without strength" says verse four
"I am set apart with the dead...whom you remember no more"
"My eyes are dim with grief"
"I call to you...every day" for relief
"But I cry to you for help", that's what I do
"In the morning my prayer comes before you"

Although this psalm is full of despair
The author knows that God does care
We don't know why we suffer
Perhaps it is to make us tougher
But we do know one thing
God's praises we should sing
In good times and in bad
There are always reasons to be glad
To repeat what I said other times
In various poems and rhymes
I must remember to praise God and pray
Every morning and every day

1 August 2010 - ENCS

We heard a special sermon at ENCS today
From Guam the pastor was Mark Benavente
He started by referring to the movie "Inception"
And led us to the performance orientation
The need to be loved and the fear of rejection
Often result from a childhood predeliction
The focus on performance is driven by a false motive
That is not how God wants us to live
For to depression this cycle usually leads
As we can never meet all of other people's needs
By doing more and more, to the point of too much
A "new normal" is created that is out of touch
There is nothing we can do that can impress God
Remember that in his image we were put in our bod
Being a child of God is what He did presage
Jesus came to restore us to that image
From Proverbs, "as we think within ourselves, we are"
Many times, from good we think we are far
But 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says God will sanctify us
Our "whole spirit, soul, and body" without a fuss
Our body is what we are used to seeing
Ephesians 3:16 says our spirit is our inner being
And from 2 Corinthians 1 verse 22
God put his spirit in our hearts, that's true
Which is why Proverbs 4:23 (the first part)
Says that "above all else, guard your heart"

Satan has tried to destroy us over the years
Attacking our hearts with lies and fears
Making us believe that our hearts our bad
But reading Colossians 2:11 should make us glad
Romans 7:23 leads to Romans 8:10
Talking of the Holy Spirit living in us once again
This way we can avoid being like a Christmas tree
Only appearing to be alive, when death is clear to see
Sin dwells in our body but die it should
For God gave us a new heart which is good
Our heart and mind don't always work together
But God wants them to be attached with a tether

We must recognise sin, confess, and repent
Replace our old ways with new ones is what Pastor meant
And don't forget Titus 3 verse 5
Through God's righteousness, we are alive
God has changed our inner essence
He loves us completely, without any pretense

1 August 2010 - Psalm 100

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth”
“Worship the Lord with gladness” that comes forth
“Come before him with joyful song”
“Know that the Lord is God” all the day long
“It is he who made us, and we are his” for sure
“We are his people, the sheep of his pasture”
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”
“Give thanks to him and praise his name” with voices raised
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever”
His faithfulness will abandon us never

This psalm comes right to the point
To praise God, who will never disappoint
For He is our one creator
The one who loves us more and more
We should give thanks for so many things
Which is why every Sunday the congregation sings
But our praises should not be restricted to Sunday
They should be constant, as this psalm doth say

I went to Festival of Praise last night
The indoor stadium was full, according to my sight
Planetshakers and Don Moen led the worship
Pastor Che Ahn also mode a very long trip
This year’s theme was “a new day, a new season’
Hope – which comes from Christ- is the reason
The definition of hope includes anticipation
We also said a prayer for the nation
From 1 Corinthians 13, pastor did sayeth
That hope is even greater than faith
The singers and pastor were clearly gifted
After three hours my spirit was really uplifted