Dwell in the Land

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV)

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3, 4 NIV)

Dear Lord, thank You. You have saved me and my people once again. Thank You, Lord. Thank You. The work we do, Lord, we do it for You. And I will continue to do what You have placed in my heart to do. There are days when I just want to drop everything because of the problems and obstacles, but You, Lord, are faithful. And You, Lord, are my strength. So even then, Lord, I will continue. Oh, Lord, there are so many more dreams that I'd like to make come true! But You have Your timing, Your perfect and good timing, Lord. And for now, I will dwell in the land You have given me and enjoy safe pasture for You are with me. Bless this coming week, Lord. Direct our hearts and minds and hands so that what we do is pleasing to You, my Lord and my God. Amen.

Be Courageous

Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."

All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:25, 42 NIV)

Dear Lord, I know I should be fretting now, because we can lose a very important client if we're not careful. But somehow, I feel at peace. And I don't know why I said I will not fret because You will save us, but I do believe You will. Lord, bless the works of our hands, that what we produce will please You. Forgive us for being careless. And save us now, Lord, just as You have saved us before. Fight for us, Lord. I stand still before You. May the rain stop, Lord, that we can go to the office. And may we finish before lunch, Lord, that the electricians may finish our electricals today. Lord, give me rest. And give my people rest. And give my clients rest. I lift to You this rainy day, Lord. May You shower it with Your love, Your blessings, and Your favor. This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Vampires that we are

I found an interesting podcast called, "How to hug a Vampire." I listened to it last night. I'm sure you'd agree that around us, there are people who suck the life out of us. Emotional vampires, some call them. But what the podcast was saying was that, most of the time, the vampires are our own selves.

I find, in my case anyway, that there is truth in this. We complain about how certain people around us are so draining and annoying. But many times, us complaining actually adds to the good-vibe-leakage. In my case, the only one really darkening my day is me. Client not yet paying. Urgh, agencies. But I already know agencies pay slow. So who's making my life miserable by fretting? Me. Phone line taking too long to get transferred. But I already know the phone company takes long. Who's sucking the life out of me by worrying? Me. Who's blaming me for not anticipating the problems, and making me feel bad doing so? Me. Nobody's else is blaming me. It's really just me. All I see are the problems. But I want to break free of that. Primarily, it's not other people who suck the life out of me. I suck my own life out of me. And I want to change that. I want to be an encourager, like my friend, Macky. I want to be a morale-booster, like another friend, Martin. I want to show the ones who are precious to me that I care. I want to look outside, and not keep on looking in and at how I feel. I want to be pleasant. I want to be brave. I want to have strong faith. I want to look at a problem and say, "Challenge accepted," instead of whining about how things are not going my way.

And so today, I shall try that. May my God drive a stake into that vampiric part of me, that the human part may live life, and live it to the full.

Friends

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17 NIV)

Today's devotional was all about friends. I guess my lesson on community is still ongoing. Lord, I have friends and I love them. Some of my oldest fiends are very devoted to me. You have blessed me in that realm, Lord. And I am very grateful. Sometimes, I just don't take care of them properly, I guess. But I want to, Lord. If You would teach me how to maintain my friendships, strengthen them even more, and also make new ones, I would listen, Lord.

You of this Generation

"You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: "Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam; we will come to you no more'? (Jeremiah 2:31 NIV)

No, Lord. you have not been a desert to me. You have been my spring, giving me enough resources to survive each day. You have bee my light in the darkness, my hiding place and my refuge. You have eased my fears. You have given me comfort when I sought for it from others and couldn't find it. You have taught me. You have guided me and rebuked me when I was wrong. I sought You, and You found me, Lord. I will forever come to You.

Today, a Fortified City

Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. (Jeremiah 1:18 NIV)

First, it was all about community. And I realized that I really haven't been involving my community in a lot of things I did. The tables arrived on Saturday. Some of my people came and helped me. But we started late and we were tired. We only finished assembling 2 tables. That night, I told my mother that I was going to the office the next day to continue building. And she said, "Alone? Are you out of your mind?" or something to that effect. The statement irked me. But later, upon reflection, it irked me because it implied she thought I couldn't do it myself. Pride. Long story short, I relented. That afternoon, my family and my manager and friend, Martin, came and helped build the tables. All thirteen were finished that afternoon. Behold, the power of community.

Alright, so I learned my lesson. You don't build an empire on your own. You do it with the power of God, the support of your friends, and the decision to trudge on. After the tables were completed, I felt a double-shot of achievement. One for the fact that we finished them. And the other for learning the lesson. Then just before I went to bed, this is what my God tells me. "Today, I have made you a fortified city." And I have a feeling it's not the walls He's referring to to protect me.

Black Dot on a White Space

Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. (Proverbs 15:16 NIV)

Dear Lord, Martin told me I fret too much. And that's true. He said I always only see the tiny black speck and not the big white area. Lord, how? How do I not feel overwhelmed, Lord? Do I really not know how to wield power? Lord, teach me. In my eyes, the idea that there's still so much to do is greater than the fact that we have a nice new office. In my head, I know that this should be flipped. Change my heart, Lord. And Mom's right. I always just want to do things myself. I snapped at her last night. I'm sorry. Yes, I think the community part came in here. Lord, that's a lot of tables. But I'm supposed to have a bunch of friends and family, too. I need to learn. I need to stop fretting. Lord, change my heart.