blind eyes open
-1 Corinthians 6:19~20-

I'm not letting go. My choice is you and there is no other choice. And I am Your choice. Man that just hits home. I love this psalm in The Message version. Lord, I will never treat Your name like brand names. Your name is worthy of all praise! In the NIV version, this psalm talks about God at our right hand and we are at His right hand. When God's at our right hand, we will not be shaken. When we are at God's right hand, we're filled with joy and eternal pleasures. I sense a win-win situation ;)

I shall start my prayers with the first two veres: Keep me safe, God. Be my Lord. Without You, nothing makes sense anymore.
And I'll end my prayer with: I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go.

O how my heart longs and yearn for more of You. I will run to You!

johnny

加拉太書 2 章 15-19 節

「我們這生來的猶太人，不是外邦的罪人；既知道人稱義不是因行律法，乃是因信耶穌基督，連我們也信了基督耶穌，使我們因信基督稱義，不因行律法稱義。因為凡有血氣的，沒有一人因行律法稱義。我們若求在基督裡稱義，卻仍舊是罪人，難道基督是叫人犯罪的嗎？斷乎不是！我素來所拆毀的，若重新建造，這就證明自己是犯罪的人。我因律法，就向律法死了，叫我可以向　神活著。」

    人喜歡分門別類，每個禮拜來教會聚會，十一奉獻，參與服事，就覺得自己比較屬靈，比較靠近神，因為我們做到了某些要求。事實上並非如此，很多人因行為自以為義，因為遵行律法是比較容易的。但神鑑察我們的內心，神看重內心過於外表的一切，這就是為什麼耶穌嚴厲責備法利賽人，因為他們只注重外表的律法，忽略神真正的心意。其實，法利賽人不是壞人，他們都是行為端正、極其敬虔的人。但他們卻以為可以靠行為來到神面前，所以苦待己身，卻沒想到神喜愛一個真正悔改的罪人，甚於一個自以為義的人。其實人在神面前，無論多好多壞，不過是五十步與百步的差距而已；在神面前人都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀。

    人之所以得救稱義，不是因為行為，因為沒有人行為是完全的。我們能得救，在耶穌面前被稱為義人，完全是憑著信心。我們相信神的救贖，相信耶穌的代替，相信神為我們罪的緣故，預備了救贖的方法，就是耶穌為我們承受神對罪惡一切的刑罰，好叫我們因著祂成為義人。憑信心就是相信並接受，當我們敞開心，歡迎耶穌進入生命時，就是接受祂、相信祂成為個人救主。就好像我到你家敲門，你打開門一看是劉牧師，就請我進到家裡；同樣信心就是如此，當耶穌在你心門外叩門時，你打開門歡迎耶穌進來，祂就要進入你生命，帶來改變，帶來新生命，將你從罪惡中釋放出來。    


與劉彤牧師同心禱告
主，感謝你的信實是這樣真實，讓我們在每天生活中可以靠著你稱義、得救。求你的靈提升我們，學習憑著信心，不是依靠自己的勢力才能，也不是依靠自己的行為，在你面前得力。感謝禱告奉耶穌得勝的名祈求，阿們！

Can time go even slower as Your presence permeates?

³⁰ "If his sons forsake my law
       and do not follow my statutes,
 ³¹ if they violate my decrees
       and fail to keep my commands,
 ³² I will punish their sin with the rod,
       their iniquity with flogging;
 ³³ but I will not take my love from him,
       nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
 ³⁴ I will not violate my covenant
       or alter what my lips have uttered.
 ³⁵ Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
       and I will not lie to David-
 ³⁶ that his line will continue forever
       and his throne endure before me like the sun;
 ³⁷ it will be established forever like the moon,
       the faithful witness in the sky."

Tears were in my eyes when I came to verse 33. How deep the Father's love for all of us! How vast beyond all measure! Who can compare to His unfailing promises and His unending faithfulness? There's no one like our God! He's a God who does not and cannot lie! Lord, I won't let go of Your promises. I won't forget Your love.

johnny

These people God has put in my life are what's really important to me. I love them with all my heart. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! I believe it! I proclaim it! Hallelujah!

God has so many promises, and I definitely need to remind myself of them many times because God doesn't say "O wait and see that the Lord is good" but rather "O TASTE and see that the Lord is good"! I want to taste God's goodness, and I've been tasting it every day!


This month of preparation before the trip to West Africa is going to be quite exciting because on one hand I need to trust in the Lord for His provision but also do my best to come up with my share of financial support. O God I trust in You! I certainly hope some doors would be opened up (or rather I'll have to knock on 'em first) for me to teach some piano! I need to kick my own butt to start writing a theme song for West Africa with Annie and Luke...

       and your right hand sustains me; 

       you stoop down to make me great.

-Psalm 18:35-

Somehow I still can't get over with how God rescued me because He simply delights in me and how He stoop down just to make me great. This is mind-blowing. I don't need to know the reasons, maybe He'll tell me when I see Him, but if someone told me He's going to give me the shield of Victory and sustain me for the rest of my life, heck I'd take the deal in a blink of an eye.


Like what Steve Chua shared @ Regeneration on Ezekiel's River and the song "I've Got a River of Life" which we sang on Sunday, I'm not satisfied with ankle deep, knee deep, nor waist deep water, but getting lost in the river and let go. When Steve was sharing, I thought about my snorkeling time in Hawaii a couple months ago and how it was simply impossible to take control of where I was floating because my feet could not touch the ground. Many times I would try very hard to try to grab onto a rock to temporarily stabilize myself, but when the wave came, I could not hold on anymore.


So come and rush over me and let the river flow in the lowest place, I gotta get lower and lower!