Whatever you ask for in prayer....

Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

What does this mean?
What does this mean to me and my family?

It is a lifestyle.

Are you ready?

Life is a CONSTANT choice to walk with the Lord, choosing to trust Him, developing new modes of behaviors.

Every thought going through my mind, every word from my mouth, every action from my body counts. It either leads me closer to God or pushes me further away from Him. It either displays God or Evil.

Are you ready?

I want to say I am not. Is there a middle ground? But unfortunately the world has been run this way already and there is no middle ground. We are plainly deceived that daily thoughts, words, actions do not matter. No one will know. We comfortably slide into our old habits/pattern without even noticing them.

Like everything that we eat goes through our GI track, either providing nutrition or toxin to the body, every thought goes through our minds contribute to our spiritual health.

Do we want to be healthy or unhealthy?

God’s miracles

When I was a new believer, I challenged our small group leader: why God did not show up in a big way and manifest himself, then we all converted to his followers?
Why do we have to show the unbeliever using our “born again” lives?

Last night as I was in class, after being a believer for many years, God asked me: which one do you think it is harder? Performing miracles or changing lives? Which one you benefit the most, watching a miracle or giving tools and resources in your new life

Two groups

I know two groups of people. They all have similar lives until they about 30s.

A leading example from group A is that he realized that he does not have anytime to waste. He stepped out from his highly paid job to be a servant of God. He is very busy, many people depend on him spiritually and he is depending on God to pay his rent, mortgages, maybe food on the table.

A leading example from the second group (group B) is that he “accidently” become filthy rich and he has been very smart and successful in replicating his accident experience. He is also very busy, sleeping about 4 hours each day.

I believe God is powerful so I ask Him why you did not connecting dots a little bit differently? To have group A become filthy rich then they can serving you without worry about the next meal on the table, and have group B not so successful so they can have more sleep, which is better for their health.

God: “I am giving a group A a stronger faith…, they are not lacking anything…” “Which group do you want to be in?”

Run-away

Recently I tried to “persuade” a friend to be a believer. He asked if anybody has believed in Jesus once and then later on converted into a un-believer. There are quite few of them. If counting the persons who are believers in the words but unbelievers in their actions, there are even more.

He commented: “I need to know what those people are thinking before deciding if I should choose to be a believer”.

When I first become a Christian, I heard stories from a senior person in our small group, that his biological brother was a Christian but changed into a unbeliever later on in his life. I found myself right way not impressed by this Jesus and his saving capability anymore.

If He is truly powerful how can he let people go? If Christianity is truly the only way of life, why people run away after they found the treasure?

Recently, I begin to think differently. It is actually “the process” God will bring them back. Maybe the runaway is the opportunity that God will bring them into a deeper relationship. Without the runaway, there are things they would not understand. God’s mercy is great enough, even to cover all kinds of runaways.

There are things happening in my life I don’t understand, I was disappointed with life once. I was a runway, do not want anything to do with this Jesus. But God is great enough to use this exact area to show me the way.

Allowing runaway is because He is able, His mercy covers all and His blood redeems everything.

Don’t judge the “run-away’er” but pray for them, making this the very opportunity that God will use to build roots with them.

What is the greatest gift?

If God’s store opens, and you can get any gift from Him, but only one, what will you ask for?
The bible documents many spiritual gifts, which one do you desire the most?

At our weekly online worship, God freely gave out His spiritual gifts. There was a new tongue, an anointing of worship, intercessory prayer, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, physical healing, new calculator, ….etc and a big faith.

If you were there with me and free to choose, which one you want the most?

I really desire the word of wisdom and word of knowledge which will help me to be more effective in what I do. But a Voice came: the big faith is the greatest gift of all.

Is it? God is the author and beginner of my faith, if He did not find me, dug me out, I am still lost. If I do have other spiritual gifts, I pray that I use them to glorify the owner (God). But my heart are longing for the big faith, without which I can not fulfill my purpose in this life.

Law vs Grace

Bible passages, descriptions (such as descriptions with wife) are not condemnations (Law) but the promise of what He is working in me (Grace).

Mind=conscious control center. Mind governs conscious life. Choose which will follow and which will rule (flesh vs Spirit)

What’s the first thing you can serve the Lord in the New life?

Last year I give all my technical skills, interpersonal skills, talents, ambitions, plans etc to the Lord. I thought those are my best that I can give to Him.

Often heard from people in the church from the past, I want to serve the Lord with my musical talent, with my leadership skills, with ....skills…..

But this morning, I woke up to realize the very best thing we can and should serve the Lord is to serve Him with our minds. Empty our minds and yield to the Spirit.

This should be the very first and foremost that we could give to the Lord and very first fruit of a born-again?

Have you ever experienced born-again? Make sure you do not miss that.

Goals and objectives

Goals in US are inspirational. In another words, they drive the team towards the goals but not judging the performance with it. If the team achieve only 80% of the goal, it is perfectly fine because the team could turn around to say the goals are not realistic or we tried our best. However, goals in Asian culture are set to measure performance. As long as they are in place, people will automatically measure their progress and achievement against the goal. In another words, you’d better achieve 100% or beyond or you failed.

I was thinking if the goals and objectives are biblical in the recent month. Is the goal more like the law and freedom more like the grace?

Then I found this in my class handout: Goals may be very good, even biblical. But if the law of the thing itself is my focus, I will fail:
- My flesh rebels: through a deception.
- The more I focus on and determine to achieve the goal, the more I fail
- Results: despair, depression, anger at self, others, God (here I am trying my hardest to obey but failing!)

What do you have time for?

I am a very time conscious person. I hate wasting time. I always analyze if this is a good spend of my time. Because $ can be earned but time went by, it is permanent.

Time is so precious, but I have a habit of putting it into unhappiness, weary, worry, and depression. For a life redeemed by Jesus’ blood that is really not a time well-spent.

I decided that I don’t have time for depression, despair any more….Would you like to join me?