Interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.

That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.

That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future.

That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..."

God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked...

"As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?

God replied with a smile:

"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but whom they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis!

To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently.

To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about you...and likes you anyway.

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves."

I sat there for awhile enjoying the moment.

I thanked Him for his time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer."

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did... but people will never forget how you made them feel.

God bless you abundantly

Learning To Walk

Life is a walk. Each day we take steps. Our tomorrow is determined by the steps we take today.

Everyday we are learning to walk with our Heavenly Father. He wants us to reach up and take His hand, but He doesn't want us to ever let go. In fact, His desire that we become more and more dependent upon Him for every step. That's because He wants to take us to places we've never been. To heights we cant even imagine. In order to do that, we have to go through the low valleys, treacherous mountains, rough terrain and narrow paths of life--places where we could easily get lost or off the track. And there is definitely no way we can just head off on our own and expect to arrive safely. We will never know the joy of true freedom until we understand we cannot take a single step without His help.

But its up to us to take the first step. If we don't, we will never learn to walk with Him. We can be so afraid of taking a wrong step that we fail to take any step at all. God didn't part the waters of the Jordan River for the Israelites until they first put their feet in the water [Joshua 3:15-16]. That's because God always requires the first step to be ours. In order to take that first step, we must look into the face of God, reach up to take His hand, and say, "Lead me in the path You have for me, Lord. From this day on I want to walk with You. I take this step of faith and I trust You to meet me here. Align my heart with Yours."

Once you've taken that first step, God will show you other steps to take. He will teach you how to walk in the light of His truth, revelation and love. You'll discover ways to avoid the things that separate you from Him and all He has for you. You'll learn to walk away from fear, depression, condemnation, loneliness, loss, unforgiveness and disappointment. You'll understand what it means to walk through the dark times of your life with the comfort of His presence as your only light.

I know what it's like to walk without His light. Before I born again as a Christian, I wandered around in a confusion of drugs, alcohol, occult, practices, unhealthy relationships, trying to find an escape from the emotional pain I endured daily. I was desperately struggling to live, but was moving closer to death with every decision I made and step I took. I experienced it all, but nothing worked and I became desperate. As I carefully planned my suicide, I knew I didn't really want to die. But I couldn’t live with the pain anymore, and I had no other way to stop it.

A close friend saw my hopelessness and showed me that I had been crying out for love, acceptance, purpose, fulfillment, peace and joy, and that these things could only be found in one place. When I prayed, "Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me for not living Your way and lead me on the path You have for me," I knew I had found that place. It was at His feet. I felt hope for the very first time. It was the initial and pivotal step on a journey that would transform my life.

No matter how far away from God you've gone, when you surrender your life to the Lord, a path is carved from where you are to where you are supposed to be, and He puts you on it.

This is the miracle of His power. If the path you've been on is crooked, He will make it straight. If you are headed in the wrong direction, He will turn you around. If you are going around in circles, He will correct your course and cause you to arrive at your destination. The simple act of giving your life to Him will immediately put you in the correct path and aim you in the right direction.

The moment i made that decision, I felt a major course-correction happen. I didn't know where I was headed, but I saw a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel of my life and I started going toward it, away from the life I had known. The road was not smooth and I fell a number of times, not because God let go of me, but because I let go of Him. But every time I reached out for His hand, He was always there to help me get back up and on the path again.

God wants us to depend on Him for every breath that we take.

Learning to walk with God is a process. And just when we think we have it all figured out, God leads us into a new place where our old tricks won’t work. In fact, it may seem like we're learning how to walk all over again. And in a way we are. We enter unfamiliar territory and are soon reminded that, on our own, we stumble. Yet when we take His hand, we fly! God wants us to soar far above the limitations of our lives and ourselves. He wants to take us to a place we have never been before and can’t get to from where we are without His help.

If you have been walking with God for some time and you suddenly feel like your life has come to a halt, don't be alarmed. Most likely, God is adjusting your way. Having God correct your course doesn't necessarily mean the one you were on was incorrect. But it does mean that something needs to change to get you headed in the direction God wants to take you. And it doesn't matter how young or old you are. As long as you are breathing, God will have new paths for you to take and exciting things for you to do. It’s best to trust His leading and get on with it. This is what a walk of faith is all about!!

So, when God telling you to move in a certain direction, let me give you two words of advice: DO IT!

Refusing to walk according to God's leading will get you nowhere. Oh, you will arrive some place all right, but if it is not where God wants to bless you, it will still be nowhere.

It doesn't matter what your situation is at this moment. Wherever you are God has a path for you that is filled with good things. Draw close to Him and you'll find it. Say, "Show me the way in which i should walk and the thing I should do" [Jeremiah 42:3]. He will do that and, if you carefully follow as He guides you, He will not let you get off the path. With each step He will reveal more of Himself. "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, "This is the ways, walk in it" [Isaiah 30:21]. So reach up right now and take God's hand. He promises He won’t let you fall.

(some quotations are from Stormie Omartian)

Embracing The Moment

I was reading my old devotions today. Somehow it is very encouraging for me. And I want to share it with you all. I wrote this devotion more than a year ago.

None of us like pain, uncertainty, strife or frustation. We want things to run along smoothly. But the challenging and miserable times are not without their aspect of good. Things happen to us during those times that are as precious as diamonds. For it is then that we have the opportunity to experience the Lord's presence in a deeper way. If we embrace the moment, we see Him in it.

Walking step by step with God requires embracing the moment for all its worth. When you are tempted to become fearful, frustrated, uncertain or panicked about what is happening in your life, stop and see that God is in it. And with Him, you have everything you need for this moment. Here and now.

Its amazing that when we open our eyes to the whole picture, we have a different perspective. The bible says, "Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread" [Proverbs 20:13]. When we embrace Him, we see the blessings that are right in front of us. We can be content right where we are no matter what state we are in--literally or figuratively--because He is there [see Phillippians 4:11].

Regardless of what you situation is at this moment, God has an abundance of blessings for you. Right where you are, God is working powerfully in your life. He wants you to close you eyes, call out His name, and say, "Lord, show me Your hand in my life." He wants you to sense His presence. He wants you to trust that when you are afraid, you can turn to Him and find His peace. When you are weary, you will find His strength. When you are empty, you will find His fullness. When you are sad, you will find His joy. And when you are in the middle of a raging storm, you will find His shelter and provision. But often we become blinded by our circumtances, afraid of whats happening, easily discourage, drawn toward bitterness or quick to complain. And our first instinct is not to look for God in the modst of our circumstances.

Why cant i have all the light i need right now, Lord?" we cry.

However, God knows that too much light can be hard to take. It can blind and confuse us. He prefers to give us just enought to keep us dependent on Him. In that way, He can teach us to take bigger steps of faith in order to prepare for what He is calling us to in the future.

When we have a deep and personal relationship with the Lord, our difficult times are not the same as they are for people who dont have Him. For unbelievers, their dark and troubled times are without hope. Even for believers who dont understand all that God has for them, their difficult experiences are filled with fear and doubt instead of a sense of God's sustaining presence.

I remember one particular time of great need in my life when i felt deeply lonely. It was the kind of loneliness that is so severe it brings physical pain as well as emotional agony. Because my lonely childhood had turned into a lonely adulthood, i always feared that loneliness would become a way of life for me. Even after i became a believer and experienced healing for the layers of emotional pain i had, it never occured to me to ask God to heal my aloneness. Actually i thought it could only be taken away by the right person. One night, however, i was so overwhelmed that i turned to God. I lifted my arms and cried, "Lord, why must i always be lonely? What can i do to get rid of this pain? You have promised to supply all my needs, and i need you to take this loneliness away."

The moment i prayed, i felt the arms of God surround me in an unmistakable way. I know that may sound strange. It would have sounded strange to me, too, had i not experienced it. But even more amazing is the fact that i have never felt loneliness like that since, even though i have been every bit as alone at times.

I now see any sign of loneliness as a call from God beckoning me to spend time with Him. I know He is not causing my loneliness. Nor He is ignoring it. He sees it and wants to fill the empty places of my heart with His love. As i embrace Hin in the moment, He is always there.

When you take the first step to embrace God in your circumtances, He will go the distance to embrace you.

Whenever you feel angry, sad, depressed or fearful, say, "God reveal Yourself to me in this moment. What are you doing in my life that i am not seeing? If all things work together for good, then show me the good." When you're determined to see the good, you will find it.

If God knows your thoughts [Psalm 94:11], your heart [1 Samuel 16:7], when you stand up and sit down [Psalm 139:2], and how many hairs you have in your head [Matthew 10:30], then He knows where you are at any given moment. He sees your circumstances. Just because you cant see anything ahead doesnt me He cant. He can and He does. He knowes where you've been. He knows where you're headed. He knows where you are supposed to be going. And He knows how to get you there. If you have light for just the moment in which you find yourself, it is enough. It must be enough. For you have Him, and He is all you need.

God bless you abundantly!!

In the day when i cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul [Psalm 138:3]

There is hope in our future

We must rejoice in the Lord today and everyday of our life because God is promising hope for our future.

What is hope? It's the feeling that what one desires will happen. It's a feeling of optimism.

-"I hope I pass my exam with good grade."

-"I hope I will go to Thailand this summer."

Hope and faith maybe linked to each other but one is quite different from the other. Faith is the substance of things hoped for; evidence of things not seen. Faith is a believing without proof.

Hope connects us with the future, just as memories connect us to the past. We cannot have hope in something we don't desire or expect to have. Because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we tend to know the glory that awaits us in the future. "Christ in us, the hope of our glory"

It is our faith in Christ that makes us to believe that someday we will stand on God's holy mountain and reign with Christ.

We have all lost hope in some sense at one point or the other in our lives. I did. Life can sometimes be difficult and harsh, and there are times we think thing will not get better, but our faith in God gives us the hope that things will get better.

Through the Bible God gives us hope. It gives us hope and peace.

But the problem now some of us have been stubborn to the will of God. Some have been rebellious and some have idols that they worship. God has revealed from time to time how displeased He is about some of our attitudes just like the Israelites. But because of His mercy and grace he still sends us comforting messages of hope.

"There is hope for your future” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:17

Jeremiah’s message to the people of Israel shows that God’s plan for His people goes

far beyond punishment to a more fulfilling future. This was why God already said to

His people; "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

THE MAN WITH THE BIG PLAN has huge plans for your life and they shall be fulfilled in the name of Jesus Christ. You may be thinking God has no plans for you, but He does. And it is not just any old plan; it’s a plan to give you a good and a prosperous future.

And of course He is more than able to do that.

God says; “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

Yes, there is nothing too difficult for the Lord. That is why He is the ALMIGHTY, the All-sufficient God. When we place our hope in Him, He does not disappoint us.

What plans God has for us?

As we look deeper into Jeremiah 29:12-14, we will see deeper of His plans:

-- God will listen to you when you call upon Him and pray. When you call someone you are trying to pass a message across to that person. Calling someone is a way of drawing the person’s attention. You either want to show the person something or tell him something. By the time you say; “In the name of Jesus” three times God the Father knows who is calling. He knows your voice. He is aware that you are the one knocking on the door because He sees your face. You are inscribed in the palms of God’s hands, so He can never forget you!

Let me also say something here; you do not call someone by keeping your mouth shut. It is the same when you are talking to God. Although God knows who you are and He knows your need, but He wants to hear your voice.

-- God will make Himself available when you seek Him. How can you find something when you don't look for it? It is the same thing with God. You need to search for Him to be able to find Him. You need to follow Him closely. You need to desire Him with all your heart and you will find Him. When you are diligent in your search and service to God you will know Him deeply.

-- When you find God He will deliver you from captivity. God’s plan is to deliver you from every form of bondage. God wants to deliver you from the bondage of sickness. He wants to deliver you from the bondage of lack and from the bondage of sin. Deliverance will take place in your life today. God’s plan is to make sure you are not disappointed. He will turn things around for you. You can count on Him. No one would have seen nor heard what God has arranged for you because of His love for you. Once you know God’s plan for your life, stick to the plan, for there is hope for you when you do this. Follow hard after God and you cannot miss it. You may not know what the future holds, but once you know the One who holds the future you have nothing to worry about. Don’t be afraid of what you cannot see. It may seem dark, cloudy and slippery now, but there is hope for your future. Only trust in God.

Trust Him. Have faith in Him.

:)

We do have amazing God, aren't we?!  Not just God but also our Father and our Best Friend!!

Keep holding on. There is hope!! There is hope in Him.

Look at Me, seek Me, know Me, love Me.

Stephanie, everything will be okay because I know the un-shed tears. I know the scream that is rising in your throat. I understand the need to smash something. I know when you cannot control your emotions--I know how scary that is for you. I am with you, holding your hand the whole way through. I keep you together when it feels like you're falling apart--you won't completely fall because I am holding you. Even though you tell me to leave, I won't leave you!

I love you. That is enough. That is all you need. You have Me.

Look at Me, seek Me, know Me, love Me.

I am all anyone ever needs.

So please, look at Me.

Your Heavenly Father

Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken.

Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken.

That's the revelation that I got today during my quite time. I was praying and talking at the same time to God. Proclaiming that my faith in Him will get stronger and stronger. Not shaken.

But then I remembered that so many times my faith is shaken. Not only by word of the evil but also by my own flesh. Doubt and fear are the reasons for most of the time. It's been 3 years since I became Christian and honestly the journey is not easy. But today as I look back I can see that every time my faith was shaken, I became stronger. Because greater is He that is in me :)

Like I said, the journey is not easy. Like right now lots of people say "Wow Steph, you're going to Hawaii for bible school!! Good on you!". All the smiles and congratulations.. It's just an opening of the journey. I have less than 2 months and I need to see thousands of dollar coming. How bout that?

I don't have home church. I don't have family that is able to help me. I am living by faith (that's what we always say about the way we lived and it's true). Trusting God for monthly support so that I can pay all the bills. Well, there were times I cannot pay the bills on time :) But yeah I have faith in Him. I trust Him. It's easy to say right when it's about trusting for $50-$100 to come. How bout $10,000? Wow, there are so many zero in that amount!! Yes, how bout talk about it?! Do you have the faith... Steph?

It is easy to say YES. YES YES YES!! Hah! Easy right?! But how bout saying it and believing it? It is challenging. To be honest for the last 1 month my feeling has been up and down and up and down. I know that God said to me to do this school. And I know when He calls you to do something He will pay all the bills. But this heart of mine, this faith of mine so many times its not even as big as the mustard seed. I cried myself to sleep so many times just thinking about how am I gonna get all the money. Even though deep down inside of my heart I know God will provide.

And all of that leads me to a prayer "Father, give me more faith"

But then I hear this soft still voice saying "Stephanie, You don't need much faith to get me hear you prayers and to get your prayers answered."

The bible speaks of having "childlike faith" and "faith as a grain of mustard-seed" to move mountains. I do not need a quantity of faith, I simply need faith. Any amount of genuine faith that believes that God is able. God is good. God is faithful. He is mighty. He is enough.

God only requires faith as a small mustard seed to work mighty miracles. The black mustard plant in Israel grows to be over 10 feet high! It is amazing that such a small seed can grow into such a large plant. And I believe that my prayers, your prayers, our prayers will do the same thing. Praying is in itself, faith.

It takes faith to pray, but it takes a stronger faith to keep praying when your facing something in your life. I think the reason why so many of us quit praying is simply because they don't have faith. We don't believe God is going to answer our prayer. So many of us had faith to receive Jesus as the savior but not enough faith to trust God to take care of them.

And I want that kind of faith. Faith and trust that God will take care of me. A childlike faith. Faith in my Father.

Again, unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken. If our faith is to grow, it must go through hardships, our own failures, and trials. Our faith will be put to the test, we need to learn to cherish those moments as Paul did (2 Cor 12:9-10).

I realized that my problem and everything that I am facing and need right now are a stepping-stone, a perfect opportunity for me to make God happy by continuing my faith in Him. God is still on His throne, I will learn to sing in the storm by having faith in God. The sun is always shining somewhere. And the Son is always shining in my heart.

And yes, that is what I got during my quite time. Wow, its pretty long :')

So again, unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken!! If you ask for more faith, you are actually asking for more troubles and problems and trials to come your way because that is how God increases your faith.

And He is increasing my faith right now. My faith is shaken but it's unshakable! Because I know He will never fails me. And the greatest faith in the world is to simply take God at His promises.

And I believe in His promises. I will always set my eyes upon Jesus.

And I know that $10,000 that I need will come. All I need is a childlike faith. Faith and trust that my Father is able. My Father is taking care of me and my needs. My Father is the one who calls me into His business in this world. My Father is the Author of everything. And I am saved :)