Kamusta ? :-)

God’s temple cannot have anything to do with idols, and we are the temple of the living God. As God said,

“I will live with them

and walk with them;

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.” Leviticus 26:11-12

This is a reassuring promise.

Another promise.

'“I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord All-Powerful.” 2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8'

2 Corinthians 6:18

GODLY SORROW x worldly sorrow

On Tuesdays, we try to meet up and dive into biblical truths. Today was about Peace.

What about Unmanaged expectations?

As a human being living in this side of eternity, attacks on peace and joy are inevitable. Life is naturally filled with unexpected twists and turns.

I must admit that more often than not, I do have unmanaged expectations because I do not know the enemy. Moreso, I tend to overlook who my Heavenly Father is.

With my worldly views and desires, I have always been at war with the Lord. I wanted to pursue what I thought was best for me at the time, which was often fueled by my selfish dreams and ambitions.

When I came to know about my identity with the Lord, I had the privilege of communing with Him.

Communion with the Lord means that all of His enemies became my enemies. And as the Word says, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). As a daughter of the Living God, I came to realise that I have to prepare for the attack.

The flesh (selfish desires)

-What is the thing that easily shakes my peace? What are the things that frustrate me? Are there certain things that require a heart check?

The world (the norms and values that I tend to compromise and/or conform to)

-Are there certain things that have warped my morals?

The devil (accuser and deceiver)

-The enemy is crafty and he knows full well how to entrap me though fully knowing that I can never be plucked out from God’s hand. And so, one of the biblical truths to fight the devil’s accusations and lies is focusing on what God says…

“I know my sheep, no one can pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28

There are countless times that I have fallen into sin and said yes to my selfish desires whilst rebelling against God when He is trying to discipline me.

The resolution that was discussed today was…

“I made a mistake today, I will look to the Lord to redeem me.”

As God is a God of order and peace… He also mentioned about a framework for prayer found in Philippians 4:8-13

1st step: Present all things with thanksgiving to God.

2nd step: Think about what is true and honourable. One has to be single-minded.

What does being single-minded mean? In the book of Luke, Mary exemplified that of a person who was focused and centred on Jesus. It was remarkable how she simply sat down and listened at the foot of the Life Giver himself.

“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their journey, they came to a village where a woman welcomed Jesus into her home. Her name was Martha and she had a sister named Mary. Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation he shared.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Human souls can be as perfect when we become as perfect as the nature that obeys the purpose to which it is intended for.

How are you?

I am hoping that you are well. I am happy that you are looking after yourself quite well. You just took a long walk, braving the rough city.

I hope that you will be able to peel back the layers that for so long has over crowded your heart.

I hope you filter out the noise. I hope you dethrone the gods in your heart.

————————————————————

I met up with friends today. I am just so happy that I went to church today. I have been struggling with personal issues. Mainly, stemming from my separation from my Lover. I continue to do the things I do not want to do, as what Paul says.

I pray that I will always welcome beautiful souls into my life.

The world is so vast, you wouldn’t believe the myriad of experiences and lovely souls you have yet to meet. We are indeed never too old to open up to them.

Dear you,

I hope you are well.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

     I will wait for the God of my salvation;

     my God will hear me.

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;

     when I fall, I shall rise;

when I sit in darkness,

     the Lord will be a light to me.

I will bear the indignation of the Lord

     because I have sinned against him,

until he pleads my cause

     and executes judgment for me.

He will bring me out to the light;

     I shall look upon his vindication.

Then my enemy will see,

     and shame will cover her who said to me,

     “Where is the Lord your God?”

My eyes will look upon her;

     now she will be trampled down

Love is not self seeking.

Did Amnon truly loved Tamar? Seems like he just lusted after her. 

Lust sees no objective but its own indulgence.

I ask God every now and then, if what I was doing was wrong since I am craving for it. There is this cycle of guilt and remorse after doing it, which I seemingly does not stem from anything apart from the very idea that I did the act. If it was right or wrong, I don’t know. I certainly relieved myself of the itch but it appears to me as senseless indulgence.

God is concerned with my character more than anything else.

In a situation, where it I am tempted to control people or circumstances. I have noticed that it never really goes well - EVER. The only thing that I can control is how I will respond. 

If psychologists were existing back then, Tamar must have been diagnosed with PTSD or anxiety disorder or even depression. And it is just sad that David being king had no involvement with it whatsoever.

Moral degradation

“Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and [See ver. 10 above] have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, ver. 8to lie in wait, as at this day?”

Saul was burning up in his anger. He was blinded by his self interest and he was as imperceptive and irrational.

He was willing to annihilate whatever it is that crosses him in pursuing David. The king does not even listen to reason. He does not have anyone to advice him. He acts passionately according to his own accord.

“Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.”

This was like an upfront against the Lord himself.

When David was fleeing from Saul, that was the time when Israel had its many battles against the inhabitants of the promised land. It was like Israel vs. others. With the king hot on his heels, he went to the land of his enemies to seek for refuge. God kept him alive despite the insurmountable circumstances that was happening around him. He was a celebrated hero by his people and it was just quite unthinkable that he was relentlessly pursued by the very king whom he defended.

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers)

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. (Hebrews)

God and Samuel left the group.

Saul became idolatrous in a way that he was not fully obedient to God. He took it upon himself to do what seems right and did not obey the voice of the Lord with fear and trembling.

One victory after another must have changed him in a way that he trusted other things than God.

Samuel was also heartbroken with this, that he wept before the Lord all night. He must have been invested in Saul and saw the former as if he was his son. To mourn like that, Samuel must have known the consequences that entailed of the departure of God’s presence in the life of Saul.