Above

"You’re only One that matters.

Your voice is all I need."

When  my heart's out of oxygen

Evening covers the day

Flowers forget to bloom

Oceans dry up

I’ll lift my voice

Dance in the rain

Worship arises from the unknown

Praises resound from Your silence

Sweetness abounds in bitter fruits

Fire ablaze underwater

Air never stops

The Sun was never dark

Stars have not kissed the ground

Trees grow not upside down

You are God.

Home sweet home

 I just realized that it's actually good to stay at home.
 
                                     You can eat freshly prepared meals.

                                  
                                   
                        Eat as much ice cream as you want while watching movies.

                                             

                                            Cook food the way you want.

                                                   

                                         Have easy to prepare breakfast.

                                                                 

                                               Try new recipes.

And live a healthy life.

Background

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. – James 3:1

Lord, I know that You have called me. I know who You are in my life. You are Lord over all. Lord over my thoughts, my feelings, my actions.

Yesterday when I shared what You have told me, it wasn’t what I prepared. There are portions I wasn’t able to emphasize. There were details I gave so much time discussing. I was so organized having an excellent outline. But things weren’t the same when I faced Your people. I did not look too much on my notes. I just shared my heart out.

Lord, You know how much I loved to preach. You designed me to be who I am now. But now Lord these thoughts of insecurity just come non-stop. Father, get me back to my feet again.

I don’t need to hear the praises of men. My mind keeps on thinking about the gaps and lapses in my teaching. 

Lord, I am talking like a fool now because I am thinking that it was “my” preaching. Father let me always see You,speak words from You, do everything by You and for You.

Let me not evaluate myself too much to the point of taking You out of the scene. I am still gonna follow You. I love You.

Let me learn from what happened but help me forget the feeling of being a failure. This is Your show, I am just the background

I wanna be a monk

I grew up at a time when being a Christian is uncommon- sometimes a good thing but at times not. A lot of  unchurched people were not open to my kind of spirituality. About 15 years ago, when you meet somebody who says he is a Christian, you automatically feel comforted that you are not alone, that you found a relative. These days, many profess to be a Christian, a born-again Christian for that matter. It’s fashionable. It’s easy. Less rules more grace. Less actions more faith.

 During the earlier church, the response to this is monasticism. Because of the lax in standards (caused by massive pagans being converted bringing them their beliefs and manner of worship into Christianity), those who had been raised in a Christian family/setting felt the need to do more, to sacrifice more, to pursue godliness all the more. 

I believe that today, we can also learn from the monks. We don’t need to be surrounded by brick walls but let us put strong boundaries from unholy lifestyles. We are not required to live in patterns or monotony but let us discipline ourselves to seek God in everything.  

This is an impossibility without His grace.  Grace abounds in need. If we are not doing anything, we don’t need much of it. But if we actively pursue the things of God, the more that we need this grace… and the more that we are given.