Service was extra good today!  I knew God was talking to me again, reminding me that His plans are so much better than I want things to be.  I realized that as much as I trust Him, I still want things to go my way and when it doesn't pan out, I go crazy.  I guess we are all wired that way.  It is something I should really work on - trusting Him with all my heart and just blindly letting go because He does not need my help.  Only by completely trusting Him will we be delivered from all our fears.  His will be done!

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. - Proverbs 19:21

Pastor Richard reminded us that God manifests and intervenes even in the impossible situations to accomplish His sovereign plan.   All of our grumbling and complaining doesn’t get God to give us what we think we want.  It is always going to be His will that triumphs.  It is never our way but always God’s way. So in all situations – WORSHIP.  He is always with us, good times and bad.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Ephesians

At church we have been studying the book of Ephesians.  It is actually one of my favorite books to read, probably because I like reading letters and the book is a letter of apostle Paul to the people of Ephesus.  So I am truly excited to learn more about this.

The series will run for six weeks and we are now on our 4th week, 4th chapter of the book.  The past couple of days, I have decided to read Ephesians in both NIV and The Message version.  The Message version is still my favorite, mainly because it is so easy to understand.  It is not romanticized, the word is what it is.  These are two verses from Eph 4 that struck me hard.


26 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry-but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry.27 Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.



I realized that I have to make a conscious effort in making sure that I follow these reminders.   I may seldom get angry, but I get annoyed a whole lot, with so many different things.  I realized that by harboring unpleasant feelings towards different situations I find myself in, I am opening myself to more awful positions - and I really don't want to be awful!


29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

 I noted in this verse that I have to also be very careful not only on things that come out of my mouth, but those that are running inside my head.  I would always say that my thinking mean of something is far better that me saying something mean.  But the reality is, it's just the same.  Both cloud the heart. 

The Dip

Pastor Dennis Sy spoke God’s word this morning in Church. I was truly encouraged. WE were at the second week of the 3 part series “When God doesn’t make sense”.

This week, the topic is when it takes too long. It talked about how Habakkuk wrestled faithfully with God. How he waited on him. Not for God’s answer to his questions but waiting for God.

It was illustrated how high we were when we first met God. How we always felt Him everywhere. And how it is but natural to sometimes find ourselves in a plateau. And if we stay in faith and not walk away, we will soar with His promises and revelations.

Pastor Dennis used Seth Godin’s The Dip figure to illustrate this.

When you find yourself in a dip:

1. Stop and Listen - we have to stop and listen for His answers.
2. Write the revelation - Write visions that we see God has for us. We do this because we tend to forget things, this way we are always reminded of God's promises.
3. WAIT - this does NOT mean NO movement. This means doing things by faith.