Wednesday, October 31, 2012

48. the note on top of my bed


today I hang a big note
on top of my bed
so that I will be reminded
 each time I read
the note says "Pray",
 in black ink, simple
in each circumstance,
 give thanks ample

a mental note to self,
it looks like an epitaph, an inscription
written in a "scroll",
 completes the imagination

at first I cringed,
 isn't that a morbid thought
but wait it's a reminder
of The One, our "salvation" He brought

indeed my old self is dead
I would like to believe that is so
the epitaph it will remind me
of the death I have come to know.





Sunday, October 28, 2012

47. what giving thanks does



I've always heard it from long time ago
that God commands us to give thanks
I never understood the reason, no.
and even thought that's a wrong message sent

The Writer, she wrote about it
what I have been trying  to understand
Give thanks anyways, do this in remembrance of HIM
For when we do it, it is us made whole, not The One

When we are broken and we give thanks,
 it is us who are made whole
Because when we remember to give thanks
our broken places are remembered,  made good.

 Giving thanks puts us back together
All our brokenness re-collect
In recollecting the goodness of God
Our dead selves resurrect

We are put back together
We are re-membered. We heal
It's us who are re-assembled
whatever the devil in us killed

When we're in pain and weary and sick
He re-members our broken bones
A joyful heart is a good medicine
when we remember to thank God.


So,the age-old question
why does God require thanksgiving?
it is never for HIS conceit
It's for our mending.




 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

46. If you really believe...



it was a quiet afternoon
lunch done and everything put away
i sat again in front of the computer
feeling for the inspiration to write the verse for today

nothing coming, instead i felt my eyelids heavy
would a nap do me good? I'm feeling unsteady
the comeon was strong, on the bed, I sat at first 
on a pillow I surrendered my head, yeah I'm sleepy

before I lost myself, I remember I was praying 
giving thanks, the scenes in my mind were flashing
the doctor's office, the home, the hospital bed 
the difficult struggle between my heart and my head

I have made the decision to get the operation done
I don't know if that decision was indeed the right one
It was swift, all I could think of was that God was leading me
That it was the right decision, to go get the surgery

I was dreaming, I heard a voice, asking clearly
"if you say you really believe, why do you disbelieve?"
out of my subconscious mind, I know God can see
that I may proclaim my faith but deep inside,there's uncertainty

I am building up my faith, I know God is with me 
I will struggle, like the others before me
The test of faith is on, pain and suffering will enhance
the trials in my life will produce faith and endurance


Scripture
Romans 5
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.



 


Thursday, October 25, 2012

45. Trust in the LORD



it was like a whirlwind, it carried me very far
since then, everyday, I know I've started the war

the first symptoms were easy, they looked ordinary
in my head, the treatment, would not be so scary.

I pored on information I could find on the internet
all the symptoms they mentioned, "I have all of them", I could bet

I read more and more, I self-diagnosed
In a few days from detection, in my mind, this body was comatose

I knew there was nothing wrong with gathering information
to arm yourself with knowledge, is not bad, but do with caution

 The next days became a roller-coaster, acceptance vs unbelief
some days I felt, "I'll submit", but then other days, "I'll just quit"

I have been reading God's words all throughout the ordeal
I can honestly say, I read -- but the message, DID I HEAR?

I went with the flow, preparations were made
I asked for prayers, for God's help, as I decide to go under the blade.

the last three days prior, I was numb, I stopped analyzing
I still read God's words, hoping to see HIS leading

I have snippets of Scripture, that were etched in my head
On the way to the OR, as I lay on that rolling bed

By the wide door we stopped, my children hugged and kissed me
Our fervent prayer, we said aloud, for God's help, for my safety

I started crying, then straight ahead as the wide door opened
Proverbs 3, verses 5-6,  i looked up again, they listened.

"Trust in the Lord with all of thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding
In all thy ways acknowledge HIM,and He shall direct thy paths"

I realized my folly, by God's grace He showed it to me
I depended on my own knowledge, predicted my own destiny.

A voice in my head spoke about the process of cleansing
Some things must come to pass, but trust HIM, there's a new beginning.

In all that we do, to the LORD God, put our trust
Every day of our lives, do this, it's a MUST.


 Scripture:

Proverbs 3:5-6

New King James Version (NKJV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.




44. Christian life is not trouble-free



it is a very wrong notion
that Christian life is trouble-free
in fact, sometimes, life's troubles
do not become less, instead, plenty.

this is because God is in the process 
of CLEANSING and CHANGING you
to do away with bad attitudes
and old negative habits that you do.

there are areas in our lives 
that need to be sanded, shaped, sifted
to transform us into Christian-likeness
is what it's for, it's needed.

trouble is one of God's effective tools
in winnowing a person's character
the greatest men and women of Scripture
are those whose lives were made harder.

43. happy is the people whose God is the Lord



the Lord is MY GOD
HE supplies all my needs
HE takes care of my food,
 as HE does for birds, their seeds.

HE gives me my shelter
my protection from the sun and rain
HE gives me the air to breathe
He soothes my aches and pains.

To find JOY in everything
is to be THANKFUL for all things
to be happy is to look unto HIM
and to listen to what HE is saying.

a life apart from the LORD
is a life of strife and uncertainty
Each step away equals worry,
in pain and discomfort, unhappy.

happy is the people
whose GOD is the LORD
all their HOPES are unto HIM
looking forward to HIS SECOND COMING









Thursday, October 18, 2012

42. God speaks



i found myself
in a valley of tears
hating myself
for my own sins

i've lived in those sins
ignored the warnings
yet at the back of my head
i hear God's proddings

i read His words
I claimed understanding
but only temporarily
before long i found them waning

i praised Him for all things
acknowledged His blessings
but when the time came for faith-testing
i found myself running

but God is faithful
beyond our understanding
even when we reject Him
He still remains so loving


Today in a painful moment
of admitting my sin of unbelief
I confessed wholeheartedly
and after that I found relief

God sent an emissary
a vessel of God's truth in words
it was like a dam broke, I cried a river
For what she said truly struck a chord

I sit here laughing, crying
enjoying this quiet conversation
about promises, about love
about healing and protection




41. a lesson from Paul


in one's journey through life
temptations are all a-plenty
a snare, a trap, a will to boast
to lift oneself up unnecessarily

what would it gain someone to boast?
it will accomplish nothing
and what would it profit a man to pose
claim greatness about something not his doing

the Lord is good
He safeguards us from conceit
trials may look like a thorn in our flesh
but in reality it protects us from Satan's deceit

sometimes He allows Satan's ministrations 

leaves us open for Satan to mess with and torment
it sometimes pushes us over the edge
to the point that we plead and lament

and when that happens, it is the time
to reveal that His grace is sufficient
the time to experience God's awesome power
Power made perfect when our strength is absent

if being weak means God is with us
who would despise the absence of strength?
it would be a joy to boast of one's weakness
and delight when in hardships, persecuted, insulted.

it doesn't matter much--
if in your flesh, you have thorns
with God in our lives,
the weak among us becomes strong





2 Corinthians 12

New International Version (NIV)

Paul’s Vision and His Thorn

12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.





 

Monday, October 15, 2012

40. looking forward to the thousandth verse

with renewed hope, a stronger faith:




to keep WALKING along this PATH
is the desire of my REPENTANT heart 
in the everyday JOURNEY of my life
a THOUSAND VERSES I will write



39. what steals your joy?



who owns the power
to create your own joy?
does joy come from beauty,
or from a joke, or a funny toy?

when you cease being joyful
do you know you also stop being hopeful?
when you surrender your joyfulness
you embrace the call of the darkness

Ann Voskamp, she asked:
"why deprive myself of joy's oxygen?"
because you believe in the POWER OF THE PIT!
the swiftness and starkness of that answer is startling!

do you smother your own JOY
because you believe ANGER achieves more?
is your daily life ruled by God
or by complaining, exasperation, resentment, Satan's ways galore?

what it really is, is a choice
to CRUSH joy with BITTERNESS
it is the purposeful choosing
to take the way of the PRINCE OF DARKNESS

search yourself,  ask the same questions
do you choose Lucifer's angry way?
is it more effective over giving THANKS?
think about it LIVE JOY starting today.



Note: Inspiration for this verse came from: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/10/why-you-should-smile-right-now-crazy-joy-day-10/





38. two gods


wherever your treasure is
a chain is connected to it and to your heart
this is the MRI/x-ray machine
of the Holy Spirit of God

if you want to know where you're at spiritually
just look at where's your money
wherever your money flows
it tells you where's your loyalty

according to Jesus himself
the two gods are not God and Satan
for Satan is a tempter, a created angel
he broke away from God, to the other direction, had gone.

God and Mammon
the two vying for your heart
God vs money and materialism
seek God's help to set them apart.


Matthew 6

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c]your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

37. Grace-stoppers



If you've ever experienced
God's grace and love
you'd know how it feels
to have that grace depart

it's true that only God
can give us everything
but when grace-stoppers come up
we end up with nothing

there are things that destroy
God's work in our lives
they ruin God's plan
and they give Evil a place to thrive

It is written in Acts, Chapter 5
The story of Ananias and Sapphira
Husband and wife that pretended and lied
Willful deception, exemplified.

At some point in our lives
We face the same temptation opportunity
To pretend, to pose, to deceive
Of hypocrisy, we are guilty

When we crave for applause from people
This causes grace from God to stop flowing
God wants us to remain pure and humble
Our spirit, He is protecting.

Live your life being who you really are
And not who or what you purport to be
Let us seek God's grace to help us see
How to live our lives in honesty.


Scripture:
Acts

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.





36.closer to the Father


i can't remember when was the last time
that I caught myself about to smile
with all this bunch of unhappy things
i'd  bet it has been quite a while

lately my days are filled with worries
and challenges that brings me down
it's hard to smile, much more, to laugh
i think, even if i see a clown.

scary thoughts of unknown sickness
i need to muster courage to find out
my head is bursting with thoughts of illness
everyday, to me, are continuous bouts

wavering faith is not good at all
if we allow it, it will make us falter
connect with friends who love the Father
keep one another in fervent prayer

it is good to listen to people of strong faith
they give you strength to muster
your own faith grows and brings you closer
to God, our Heavenly Father

35. caterpillars and butterflies

...the caterpillars you have to endure
if you want to see butterflies in the future...

34....



how quickly feelings shift
from positive to negative
but isn't it human nature
to be irresolute, indecisive

one moment it's a yes
the next it is a no
and then fear creeps in
as we wait for signs to show

signs are not reliable
if they are based on human interpretation
we supply our own meanings
whatever is convenient for the situation

face the fear, that's what's to do
although it is easier said than done
pray for confidence and courage
leave everything in the hands of The One

Note: Will be posting a few verses saved in the drafts folder ~ sitting there for a long time, some missing a line or two, waiting for the inspiration to finish them....and then it came.....