Hi Everyone!

I'm back to share one important lesson that God taught me yesterday night.

How wonderful and glorious is the truth to us, that when we believed in Christ Jesus, we were forgiven, washed clean, white as snow in the eyes of God.

Few years pass by... We bump into less-than-perfect Christians, who manage to hurt us terribly... And we begin to weep inside and their sins seem like the darkest of all!

Then one day the truth hits us... Is any sin bigger/smaller than the other in the eyes of the Holy, Holy, Holy God for whom every sin is equally abhorrent? No! Then why am I gloating in my forgiven sins and not noticing that the very sins of others which have hurt us, are also forgiven them by God!

Its easy to be judgemental. Its difficult to be impartial like God. He is no respecter of persons. Yet we can learn to think like Him for we've got the mind of Christ!

Believe it, ask for it and He'll give it to you! A life of freedom from bitterness.. A life of freedom.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

This is in continuation to my last post. If you've read through you'd know that I posted about my disobedience towards the prophecy that came to me around three years ago. But that day I felt God had opened the doors for me. Yes, despite my disobedience! Because God honors repentance.

God opened the door, and Satan tried his best to discourage me with words, with circumstances and much more. But I managed to see that God took me through to the first step that was required and by God's grace it is done!! All glory to God!!

Now remains the second step, after which I will only wait and prepare for God's time. I know it might be far, but I am aware of a move of the Holy Spirit, which also partly convinces me that it may be very soon!

Whatever it is, I am totally and fully committing myself into the Lord's hands. His will be done. Amen.

What I'm trying to say through all this is, God sized dreams come with a price. A cross. A price to be paid, and a cross to be carried. Sometimes we fail, but God's still waiting. Because He doesn't give up on us so easily. If He would, we'd all be in hell rotting away. So don't give up, and don't give in to Satan!

Press on, reaching forward towards the goal that He took hold of you for! You can do it!

Just the other day I was praying in the morning with my Bible open in my lap.. And reminiscing the prophetic instruction that I had failed to obey immediately (and I had paid for it heavily since now the door was just not opening for years together)

And for a second I felt so despondent, that I had missed out on the chance God had given me! It felt like I had shut all doors and one would never open. And immediately my eyes fell on my next day's Bible reading - Psalm 86

I'm telling you, this was none other than God speaking to me!

Psalm 86 : 1-7

A prayer of David.

1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;

answer me, for I need your help.

2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.

Save me, for I serve you and trust you.

You are my God.

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

for I am calling on you constantly.

4 Give me happiness, O Lord,

for I give myself to you.

5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,

so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.

6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;

hear my urgent cry.

7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,

and you will answer me.

I might have forgotten that God is ready to forgive, abounding in mercy and slow to anger.... But God never fails to remind us. In my desperate hours, when I am silent before the Lord, I realise His Holy Spirit is ever whispering words of comfort. He knows we'll miss the mark, not just once, but many times. Still He's chosen us. Its an amazing privilege. Since the time I've been saved, I've always stuck to this word "privilege", and indeed it is! Just to sit there every morning, at the feet of Jesus, in close intimacy with the Holy Spirit is a privilege. And over and above the fact that He allows us to enter into His presence,

Ps 86 : 15-17

15 But you, O Lord,

are a God of compassion and mercy,

slow to get angry

and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

16 Look down and have mercy on me.

Give your strength to your servant;

save me, the son of your servant.

17 Send me a sign of your favor.

Then those who hate me will be put to shame,

for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

Drawing skills again

Plus photography..lol..negative pic effect!

My drawing skills shown off during a meeting

Ha ha:) cool isn't it?

Reviewing these days what I believe in the core of me…that truth which indeed delivered me: I am dark yet lovely (Song. 1:5). And how this truth is finding its way into who I am as a parent. I am not sure what it is for most, but for me, parenting is a revealer of my ‘darkness’ more than any other function, role, or relationship I play a part in. It exposes quickly every faultline and false foundation in me. And in these days, I am confronted with a great amount of weakness, a stinging amount of impatience, of pride, of selfishness, and the like.

In these exposures of my ‘darkness,’ I am hit full force with the tide of my weighty weakness as I feel its unavoidable impact upon my children. There is no way of evading it. I will fall short. I will miss the mark. And I will do it every day. With that comes the sobering reality that every honest parent since Adam knows, the little hearts and minds of my children will be marked by my shortcomings and errors. It is one thing to be connected with your sin and shortcomings, yet quite another to watch as those faults impact little frames and wound little hearts.

And as I ponder these things once more, I almost hear the Holy Spirit whispering, “Surprised again? Surprised by your weakness? Surprised by the sin within?” That which He has seen so vividly all along, now blares before my eyes, and I am the only one thrown off by it. He rushes in with the remembrance that the Gospel and the Good News never begins with my success or my godliness, but with His fullness in the wake of my poverty. I come poor. I come in need. I come empty. I come as a child. And there, in that place and that posture, He receives me. He embraces me. He delights in me. And He fills my emptiness with Himself. Here He calls me lovely and crowns me with His enjoyment.

This is the gospel I am to live before my children. And it is as I drink of the depths of my poorness, while cleaving to Christ continually, that I will offer my children my best as a parent. I can do nothing apart from Him. Any kind word or good attitude that is not born of the Spirit is wind and a vapor at best.

Better that I give my children a vision of desperate dependence and complete poverty of my own with intermittent whispers of the strength of God, than giving them some impressive outward spirituality rife with the sickness of my own strivings. The sooner I come to the end of me, the greater my entrance, and thus also my children’s’, into the strength and abundance of God. Yes, living in the deep of my spiritual poverty and clinging to the Vine of Christ—not just in theory but in actuality, and not just occasionally but incessantly–I am at my best as a mom.

These children are not mine to bring forth, they are the Lord’s. I am not their savior, He is. My perfection will not deliver them but only the One who is perfect. And the truth of the matter is, they will benefit the most from seeing me rushing to the Cross when I am wrong, clinging to my Redeemer and leaning into Him for every bit of my strength. This is living the gospel before them, and in turn pushing them into the path that will become for them their own shining testimony of, “I am dark but lovely to God (Song. 1:5).”

Written by Dana Candler (© 2010) – More about Dana and her books Here

Christmas and You.

Its my first Christmas after my wedding, and for the first time I have immediate family members who’re very excited about Christmas.. And its contagious! Its been 4 years since I’ve known the Lord but for the first time I’m reading Magazines about Christmas, and articles and special Christmas devotionals. They all point to the one single fact of history that changed mankind once and for all – the birth of Jesus the Christ. And its becoming more evident how we can get carried away with the festivities and gifts and food, and take Jesus for granted on His earthly birthday!

I’d say it’s the most quoted Bible verse – John 3:16 – for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life – this verse is also the least understood. In fact, while travelling back from my house to my hometown, sitting in the bus, I realized that I’ve forgotten the first passion, the first love. I once read in a book by Joyce Meyer, that in a women’s prayer meeting, a new believer said that she’d found the most wonderful verse in the Bible! And when everyone was all ears, she read out, “For … God … so … loved… the… world… that… He.. gave His One and Only Son….”, John 3:16.. And she was savoring each word as the most delectable dish! Yes indeed, sometimes we forget the first love, the first awe with which we knew God through Christ Jesus.

My prayer this Christmas is that you all would come back to that first love, the first passion for God, and be filled with His glory as you enter the new year of 2010. God is mighty in power, and He wants to fill you with that power as well, for the glory of His name. Everyday He wants to equip you to handle the pressures of life, and be victorious in every trial. He wants you to be victorious so you can testify of His name. 2010 is the year of fruitfulness, year of breakthrough. Not only breakthroughs in your life, but breakthroughs in the sharing of the Gospel, breakthroughs in the spiritual realm….! Look forward to this year with anticipation. Those who come with hungry and thirsty hearts shall be filled; the full shall become empty. Trust Him, He has great things in store.