Your Heart Calls (Neh 1-2 & Ezra 9-10)

"And the king said to me, 'Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.' Then I was very much afraid." Nehemiah was just a cupbearer to the king! He knew that his dream is too much to ask! But the king wanted to know what was in Nehemiah's heart, so he had to tell the king that he was sad because in place of his fathers' graces, the city lies in ruins and the gates had been destroyed. So the king asked him what he could do for him, of course the only way to deal with a heavy heart is to bring a healing to the broken place! That's restoration! So Nehemiah responded, "if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah... that I may rebuild it."

Your true calling is probably something that's already in your heart and something that you never tell anyone about. Nehemiah didn't shared what's in his heart until the king asked him. And even he didn't share it with the others! "And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem." So you're probably the only person who may discover your true calling. You would have to ask yourself this question: What do you care so much that you could be willingly to give up your life for? What is it that will make you say, "I wanna die" because this very thing is what broke your heart! Just like you've been stabbed in your heart. It is something that you wouldn't be able to hide very well. Nehemiah couldn't hide what's within his heart. So his face had shown his sadness, which led him to discover his true calling!

It's Nehemiah's true calling to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city and the wall. So he went to Jerusalem with few men and stayed there three days to inspect. Nehemiah now understood that God has called him to do those things and that he cannot deny, so he cannot hide what's within his heart from his men anymore. Thus Nehemiah said to them, "And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me." As result of his bold statement, his men were strengthened and said, "Let us rise up and build."

God Created the Domino Effect! (Ezra 5-8)

His-Story are full of puzzles, and once we get to the end we will be able to frame them on the wall in the heaven! Just like how those people once framed those puzzles into over 200 stained glass windows at Washington National Cathedral, one of the 2nd largest cathedral in the United States and the 6th largest in the world! Ever tried to read a story by either looking at the pictures from the bottom to the top or from the top to the bottom, actually I couldn't figure it out when I was there due to insufficient time. Over 200 stained glass windows, I've got a good excuse for not figuring things out, until the next time!

But do we ever tried to figure out the puzzles within the Bible ourselves? Do we ever see how God decorated His puzzles so that He can frame His puzzles when they are completed upon His wall? God love the chain reaction, the domino effect! His-Story hits His-Story throughout the Bible!

Jeremiah prophsied, Daniel discovered Jeremiah's 70-years prophecy and prayed over his sins and the sins of his people Israel so his plea went to the Lord, then Isreal was released! So they were able to see beyond the walls of Babylon for the years of captive had ended to see the future and hope that God had planned for them, so Jer 29:11 promise came! But that story didn't end!

The sounds of a shout and a weep went all over the Jerusalem when the foundation of the Temple was laid. So, King Darius sent his associates to find some information about the names of leaders, but they responded, "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." So the letter returned to King Darius with name-blanks along with His-Story, so he made a decree that everyone shall "let the work on this house of God alone" and that "the cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue... and whatever is needed... be given to them day by day without fail." God's provision began to flow and flow! Even more, Ezra also received his for "the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him." So Ezra was able to teach the people about the Law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given. Even the king told Ezra to take the treasury from the king's if needed, "Whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury."

God's the one who made this His-Story! "Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem."

Ezra was amazed by His chain reaction as he studied His-Story, so he proclaimed a fast to humble themselves before the Lord as they seek from Him a safe journey for themselves. "So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty." They were truly protected under His unique umbrella that included the stained glass windows! They were grateful that God had also used the generations before them to bring them there!

If the generations before you can pray for you even in 3,000 years before, then why couldn't we pray for those leaders who came from 3,000 years before as well? Could we pray for those sons of the prophets from 3,000 years ago to recover their lost ax head? Could we pray for the Shunammite's land to be restored? I would!

Sounds of a Shout & a Weep (Ezra 1-4)

"And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid."

Which one are you? I think the outcome depends on your experiences. If you experienced several failures, then you may weep with joy when you achieved your dream like how Joseph wept! When Joseph saw all of his brothers, he wasn't able to control himself anymore that he had to make them go out from him. "And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it. and the household of Pharaoh heard it.(Gen 45:2)" Joseph wept aloud that almost everyone heard it! It is just like how those old men wept aloud, "So that the people couldn't distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping."

Joseph realized that his crushed dreams had their purposes! He realized that he couldn't achieve those dreams if God hadn't crushed them by putting him into slavery, and even into prison. Although God didn't literally crushed Joseph's dream He carried him through those trails like the labor pains before Joseph's dreams may be birthed. So like a father, Joseph wept when he saw his Dreams coming out of a mother's womb who once miscarried other babies, well who wouldn't!

There are much more to the sounds themselves, for there are some effects behind the sounds that had caused the sounds to appear. The effects made us all unique in His sight, like a beautiful music! Our different backgrounds and experiences sound beautiful to Him as he saw different stories of our lives, but do we also view them the same way?

A God-Sentence Strengthened Daniel! (Dan 9-12)

"In the first year of Darius' reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes."

Although God's promises will remain. But because of Daniel's pleas for mercy, it went to God. And so He sent Gabriel to bring an answer to Daniel with an insight and an understanding. God gave him a Seventy Week vision that include some specific times appointed to be done such as seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week plan within seventy weeks vision.

God invited Daniel to play a role in His vision because he humbled before God! Daniel didn't rejoice when he has a role to play in God's vision, but he became mute as he turned his face toward the ground! He was mute because he had no strength left in him when he received the vision from God because it had to come with violence as promised. But with only one sentence from God, Daniel was strengthened!

"'O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage' And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened..."

Now Daniel is able to get up and perform what God had assigned him to do with a vision. Because Daniel remained in God, the Lord renew his strength by a God-sentence as He promised in Isaiah, "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." If you try to do things for Him with your strengths, then you will be weary or faint. But when you are willingly to wait upon Him when you had no strength, He will lift you up as promised!

Utilizing Our Dreams & Visions (Dan 5-8)

"Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter."

Daniel is ten times wiser than all magicans and enchanters, so he was wise enought to write down his dream and visions. I wished I wrote down my dream right after I had one to keep those details vivid! I still debate with my parents once a while about what the dreams my dad and I had since our dreams corresponded. I recalled that my dad dream this and that, but my dad recalled differently. Since he dreamt his dream, he probably recall it more correctly than I did, but I hesitated since it is different than I thought. Unfortunately there was no details record about his dream! Since my family recalled my dream with the same accord, I was confidence that my dream was vivid, so I wrote it down later.

God sent one having the appearance of a man to Daniel to tell him, "'The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.' And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days... but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it."

Daniel was sick for some days although he didn't understand the vision, but he was shocked by the vision for the future. Of course he was afraid because his vision revealed that "without warning he shall destroy many." It is scary to know that someone will arise and cause fearful destruction. It was exhausting for Daniel to receive those visions and interpretations, so he needed some days to recover! It didn't scare us much because we are reading those second-hand, when Daniel received those messages first-hand. In the same way, it doesn't increase our faith when we borrow others' faith as second-hand until we experienced those types of storm ourselves and first-hand saw how God carried us through all of this. So Daniel needed time to recover from his vision-storm!

We all may experience different types of spiritual battles as we received our dreams or visions. Joseph had those wonderful dreams! Daniel had those scary visions. Although I had a comforting dream, my perspective once caused the fear to creep in me as I ponder about the interpretation of the dream in the part when those wolves prowled around me. But God is changing my perspective over time so that the wolves in my dream were now fearless to me because I know that God is my walking-stick (supporter) in anything I do! Although my dream remained the same because God showed me that He is protecting me from the wolves, but it is my perspective that changed over time!

"The more you understand the dynamics of vision, the more you can consciously choose to function at the level of vision--beyond positions, beyond reactions, beyond fear."

Extraordinary Faith in the Lacking (Dan 1-4)

"As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams... among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah... he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom."

Those young people were ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in the Babylons?! All the magicians and enchanters might wonder where they got all of those literature and wisdom when they had years and years of training. But they didn't realize that those youths didn't get those from the years of training, but from their extraordinary faith due to the lack of years and years of training! It's God who appointed them and raised them up due to their extraordinary faith.

"As I had suspected, it was determined that some of the most powerful gifts were found in the younger people, even some who were very young. Some had already learned to fight very well, using their gifts as weapons. What they lacked in training, they made up for with extraordinary faith.

The young ones didn't seem to have any doubt at all about winning the battle or cutting the tree down. I knew the rest of us had very little faith that we could actually be able to do it. We were more or less going out to fight because we no longer had a choice.

I therefore decided to place some of the children and eagles with each group of adults and to fight with them side-by-side. I felt their main leadership at this time would be boldness and courage, which is what we really needed."

- The Torch and the Sword: The Battle

Even in 2,300 years ago God raised up those four youths by giving them supernatural wisdom to proceed their gifts. So that God may promote them into the positions as the ruler over the whole provience of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon (Daniel) and rulers over the affairs of the provience of Babylon (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah). Those youths ruled the kingdom with Nebuchadnezzar because he realized that he needed them although they mightn't have the training to do so yet! But because they had the extraordinary faith proven, they saved all the wise men of Babylon, which led them to their promotion:
"Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery... Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night." So he was able to save the wise men of Babylon including themselves with the vision God gave him, plus the promotion! But the promotion doesn't end all their troubles for they went through the trails such as the fiery furance and the lions' den, but those trails lifted them up even futher for the men of Babylon to see! Those young people passed their tests with straight A's!

"And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit."

-God's promise for us recorded in the Book of Joel 2:28-29

Are we paying attention to young people, old people, or even those servants? Even God will use those untalented people! Talented or not, God will still use you, only if you are willingly to let your extraordinary faith to make up for whatever you are lacking.

Build Your Want-to Attitude (Jonah 1-4)

"I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and He answered me; out of the belly of Sheol [big fish] I cried." After the fish vomitted Jonah, he went to Ninevah in a day journey. "And he called out, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthown!' And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them... [So God didn't overthown them because He was pleased with them]... But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." But the Lord rebuked Jonah as He appointed a worm to attack the plant so that the scorching sun beat down on the head of Jonah. I love it when God appointed His animals to teach us, humans, some lessons about our attitude! Instead of feeling blessed by the Lord to be His vessel to bring the city into repentance, Jonah grumbled! Do you grumble like Jonah when God used you to bring a change? Would you grumble when God is leading you to be an advocate to someone you envied or so hated, and they ended up changed through your leadership?

Wrong attitude leads to wrong attitude. Jonah began with the wrong attitude, he reluctantly went to Ninevah. Since he didn't want to do it out of his love for the Lord, he continued doing things with a wrong attitude! Even thought God used him to lead the city to repentance, he was unhappy for he didn't really understood God's heart. God's joy didn't bring a joy to Jonah's heart. Jonah followed his own attitude instead of giving up his wrong attitude to replace his attitude with God's attitude! Jonah had the had-to attitude while Paul had the want-to attitude when God called them to do things to glorify Him. Had-to attitude is unfulfilling, while want-to attitude is fulfilling.

Paul would go anywhere God led him. He would have to flee the city at night by having Christians lower him down a gate wall using a basket. Then in Arabia, he was personally taught by Jesus for three years. In Jerusalem, he was rejected by Christians, but Barnabas took him to encourage him, so he was finally accepted! But by other death threats, he had to leave Jerusalem to go back to his hometown, Tarus, where he stayed for 4 years. Then Barnabas called Paul to go with him to Antioch to teach for an entire year. Then they aided few years of famine and returned to Antioch. He continued to serve the Lord with the right attitude for 11 years as a true Christian (around 33 AD to 44 AD) before he went to his first real missionary (evangelistic) journey with Barnabas, which must have established his character for those upcoming storms in his life that will bring the many back to Him.

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundatins of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened." Even more, the research indicated that Apostle Paul spends roughly 5 1/2 to 6 years as a prisoner or in prison although their time in Philippian prison wasn't specific, so we don't know how long they prayed and sang! But the difference is that Paul didn't resent the fact that other Christians didn't went through what he went through! He allowed God to be God, so he brings the joy with him through any trails!

Instead of letting the bitterness or resentment to creep into his mind, he eliminated them BY CLINGING ON TO THE INNER JOY by meditating upon Him day and night! If you have the Jonah-attitude, then you probably need to bloom into Paul-attitude by years of character building in Him through any circumstances. Today is the day we shall commit to begin/continue our character building, won't we?!

Multi-Dimension Metaphors (Hosea 7-10)

"Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season... Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird - no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!... Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts... Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit."

What does those verses tell us? God used several metaphors for Israel! Israel is being compared to grapes, fig tree, bird, root, and a mother! "No birth, no pregnancy, no conception!" Does it means Israel cannot have a baby? I don't think so. The Bible often use motherhood to represent Israel's growth. Israel's dream. I don't know if you are laboring with God-given dreams. God may put a seed into your dream-womb. Their promise land isn't like a promise land to them no more for they had a miscarrying womb. God once gave Mary a God-seed into her womb. Maybe God is giving you a God-seed dream into your dream-womb, but is your heart in the right place like Mary's?

Sometimes God's message can be like a multi-dimension metaphors or parables if you'd like. Jesus told us many parables, but why did he show us multi-dimension metaphors instead of straight talk? Jesus answered, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.'" Let's turn back to the book of Hosea 10:4, "so judgement springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field."

Through the multi-dimension metaphors, God will be able to weave our minds around His mind by teaching us through our dimension and then He will pull our dimension into His dimension. Just like how He pulled King David's dimension into His dimension. David once thought that it is allright to send Uriah into a death trap, so he may get away with what he did with Bathsheba and marry her to clean up his act. So God sent the prophet Nathan to tell him His parable in David's dimension, a story of a wealthy and poor shepherd. Then God used Nathan to pull David's dimension into His by simply saying, "You are the man!" So David was ready to "turn and be forgiven". This parable turned into a straight talk because God knew that David was ready to "turn and be forgiven", so the Spirit led Nathan to tell David, "You are the man!" David was strong enough to receive the straight talk, so God's judgement wasn't like a poisonious weeds for David.

For this reason, God is telling us not to judge others, but to correct others' dimensions through God's breathing scriptures. We cannot tell the others, "you have to read this or that," but to sit beside the others and show them how to read and allow God to direct them to read this or that. We also sit beside them and show them the correct dimension of hearing God's voice and allow God to judge them according to His knowledge, only He knew when the time is right for His parables to be turned into a straight talk. God, our Father, knew when to start feeding us the solid food.

Maybe you've been hearing a lot of parables from your pastors, in your dreams, in your visions, from your friends, from prophets, or wherever those parables came from. Let us ask Him to prepare our heart for His straight talk so that we may turn and be forgiven! So that we may carry God-seed dream in our dream-womb!

True Love = Relaxation (Hosea 4-6)

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." -Hosea 6:6 ESV

It is easy for us to establish what we will do and say in order to show our love toward Him. But what we didn't realize that we need to discern God's love language. What does He wants us to do? Not what we think He wants us to do. What is His love language? Let's look at what Jesus said to Martha.

'As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."'

Jesus told Martha that the only thing Jesus needed from Mary is to sit at his feet and listen to him! God only want us to sit by His feet like Mary when He is talking to us. God love to have us by His side, talking. He doesn't care about our serving because He wants us to receive His gifts and serving as He gave us grace upon grace. Martha was distracted by the preparation that she forgot her ability to listen! So Martha didn't listen.

Take away your worrying! Take away your preparation! Take away everything and sit at His feet. "Let go, let God".

"I'm after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings." - Hosea 6:6 MSG

Our Husband's Waiting For Us (Hosea 1-3)

Paul once said, "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." So Paul indicated that he wanted to take part in Jesus' sufferings so that he may be called His friend who 'walked beside Jesus to the cross'. Paul even wept when he warned them that they are walking as the enemies of the cross, "I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. (Phil 3:18-19 MSG)"

Hosea 'walked with God to the Bedroom (His kingdom)'. Someday we will once again call him, "My Husband!" God wanted to take us back, but He had to show us how He loves us through Hosea and Gomer's action. So "the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.'" So Hosea went and took Gomer and gave a birth to Jezreel, No Mercy (Lo-ruhama), and Not My People (Lo-amni) to show that God will punish Israel for forsaking Him.

Then God told Hosea, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins." So Hosea bought her wife back! In the same way, God bought us all back through the blood of His Son, Jesus. Hosea's relationship with his wife, Gomer is a foreshadow of God's relationship with us as His bride. He bought us all back to Him through His son. Since Jesus is a diety who dwells in carnal, he is also our son for he is also born of us. But are we willingly to let God to buy us back to Him through Jesus Christ, His son?

Did Gomer ever shown any appreciation for what Hosea did? How may Gomer show her love to him? How may we show ours to our God? Well, Gomer will never be able to pay Homer back for 15 shekels of silver and 330 liters of barley. But she can choose to become a better wife who hang on to the amount of love Homer gave her to stay loyal to him. How do we pay God back for the blood of Jesus Christ? There is no way that we could ever pay Him back, but we can walk with Jesus to the cross by sacrifice ourselves to Him. We may simply sit at His feet and love Him like how Mary sat at Jesus' feet, ignoring the desires of the world. And be like Martha who works hard to prepare the meal for Jesus when he hasn't arrived yet. Go to the cross with Jesus, just to be with Him.

Blame Me Not Them! (2 Sam 22-24)

The prophet, other than Samuel and Nathan, Gad came to David with three choices that the Lord offered David and Gad said to him, "Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me."

David didn't decide because he knew that it's better for the Lord to choose. So the Lord chose to sent a pestilence on Israel, and when David saw the destruction, David spoke to the Lord, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house."

David responded purely after he had make a mistake by asking the Lord to blame everything upon him for he is entirely responsible for his action. He didn't delight in sharing his blame with the others, but upon himself. He knew that Joab once questioned him about taking his delight in this thing. So he accepted the consequence without complaining! He even refused a gift from Araunah and paid for everything he need to build an altar for his guilt offering. By showing his humility, the Lord was pleased. "And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel."

David had a great attitude! He didn't blame upon anyone, but himself. As result, the Lord was pleased. By pointing at himself, he grew! If we are pointing at others, then we won't grow like how David grew from his mistakes.

Loyal to Your Loyalties? (2 Sam 19-21)

Although Joab did many things that David had to tolerate for his military usefulness, "election back then was won by who had the deadliest army", he also once took a part in rebuking David! We finally saw a glimmer of wisdom in Joab when he came into the house of the king to say:

"You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you... if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased."

Joab had the gut to confront David to help him win the people for if he kept mourning for his son, Absalom, then he may lose his people's loyalty. So David finally woke up. He remembered that it is his duty to support the people and it is their duty to support him as the king. He realized that they are the ones who served him not Absalom, so he had to sit in the gate before the people to pay them their respect.

It is just like how Jesus replied, "'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'"

It is as if Joab reminded David about Jesus who will say something like this in 1,040 years later, "Who is your son, Absalom?" Then Joab lifted his hand toward his servants, the people, he said, "Here are your sons and daughters, your people! For whoever does your will in this kingdom is your sons and daughters for the Lord had anointed you."

Violated Beauty (2 Sam 13-15)

"Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Ammon, David's son, loved her." All of us enjoyed God's beautiful people either outward beauty or inner beauty, for God made us all into His image! Fat or scrawny, male or female, exposed or covered, whoever we are, we are all part of the Body of Christ, Beau-ti-ful!

Now, when Ammon loved Tamar's beauty for a wrong reason, it led Ammon to do something wrong! So "when she brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, 'Come, lie with me, my sister.' She answered him, 'No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing.' But Ammon ignored her request and violated her beauty, "And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went... So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom's house... he had violated his sister Tamar." Your beauty were violated somehow by someone either big or small and you are hiding like Tamar was hiding...

Because someone else enjoyed her beauty in a wrong way, so her beauty was violated! Now she begun to live alone, separated from the community. She forgot what it's like to be beautiful in God's sight. She forgot what it meant to be part of the Body of Christ. But it takes time for Tamar to allow God to take ash by ash away from her head so that she may rediscover her beauty! God is also taking some ash away from your head over time, ash by ash...

If you ever tried to take the ash away from her head yourself, you may cause Tamar to go futher away from the community. Absalom once tried to take the ash away from Tamar's head by murdering Ammon, which made things much worse! So Absalom had to escape! David grieved. Tamar probably isolated herself much more for none was written about her afterward, so she disappeared! When all they needed to do is to sit still and allow God to take care of them. God is waiting for you all to sit still and allow Him taking care of you all...

If you are like Tamar or know someone like Tamar right now, remember that no matter how far Tamar's from the community, God's always beside her! Even some of your loved ones are beside you when you've never known it! "There was born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman." So Absalom, her brother, remembered her even when he was futher away from her sister. And he will always remember her for he named his daughter Tamar! Tamar probably didn't know and probably you don't know either...

God simply said, "You are BEAUTIFUL!"

Dangers of Compromising (2 Sam 10-12)

One day, David made a small mistake, which led to a bigger mistake! He was on the roof one day, probably praying to the Lord, but instead of praying he stared at a woman bathing through the window and saw that she was beautiful! So he sent for her, Bathsheba, and laid with her then she conceived. So David knew that he had to cover his mistake, so he tried, but failed, so he had no choice, but to compromise with a friend.

Joab is probably the only name that came into David's mind. He is the only friend that he may compromise with! Since David once dimissed Joab for a murder by saying that let Abner's blood fall on him and demand Joab and his men to tear their clothes and mourn before Abner. That's Joab's only punishment! I think it is obviously that David knew that Joab owed him a favor and that Joab has the ability to compromise with someone.

"In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter, he wrote, 'Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.'" So Joab followed David's order and Uriah died! But after following his order, he decided to use it to defend himself for his error, Joab "instructed the messenger, 'When you have finished telling all the news about fighting to the king, then if the king's anger rises... then you shall say, "Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also."' So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell."

Joab knew that he had make a battle error by getting so near the city to fight, so he defended himself using "Remember, I'd done you a favor here..." excuse. So David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab, 'Do not let this matter trouble you.'" David probably feel like everything is out of control, living in a lie! But I think Nathan brought a relief to David as a non-compromising friend! After Nathan confronted him by mirroring David as a wealthy shepherd who killed a poor shepherd's only beloved lamb, knowing that David is a true shepherd. David saw the ugly truth and said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." What a relief! Although David faced the consequence, but after 7 days of fasting, he accepted the consequence of a deceased son. "Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped."

Now David is free from guilt, but he knew that his compromising friend lingers! So he waited until his son raised up to take his place to clean up this mess! So David instructed Solomon, "Moreover, you also know what Joab did to me... act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace." Even our greatest leader didn't know what he should do, but his son Solomon was wise to ask the Lord for the gift of wisdom later. And so he got the wisdom from the Lord how he should deal with a compromising friend.

Do you have a compromising friend that is chained to you due to some mistakes in your pasts? Maybe it is time for us to ask the Lord for the wisdom in dealing with our compromising friend. You wouldn't want to be unable to say, "No!" to a compromising friend due to what favor you are owing to them like how David had to say, "Sure, no problem" when it is a problem! David is probably dying inside until Nathan came! So David confessed, "I've sinned" and then he went free! Are you willing to confess in order to break your chain to a compromising friend? Now or never...

The Gospel of Adoption (2 Sam 7-9)

"The early church was known, even among many who despised it, as a people who defended the orphan. Believers went outside the city to find infants abandoned there, taking them in, and often raising them as their own. This witness was one powerful factor in the vibrant life and growth of Christianity in its first 300 years, and at other high points in history as well. It can be that way again." -Love for Orphans Transforms, article by Jedd Medefind

"David said, 'Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?'" Even our hero David sent his servants outside the palace to find Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son who was lame in both his feet, to adopt him. When Mephibosheth arrived, "he paid homage and said, 'What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?'" He felt unworthy before David, but David called him his son and he always ate at David's table.

In the same way, for Love's sake, may we also show our kindness to those orphans like how God showed His to us. If David once adopted a boy and if the early church people were known to adopt those abandoned infants, then why couldn't we be like them? We can help those abandoned people to feel welcomed in different ways:
-welcome those abandoned people (including homeless) into our homes for a dinner.
-support those families undergoing the adoption process.
-adopt a child.

"Caring for orphans makes the Gospel visible. At the heart of the Christian story is the God who pursued us when we were destitute and alone. He adopted us as His children, and invites us to live as His sons and daughters. Perhaps nothing makes this truth more tangible than when Christians follow in their Father's footsteps, opening heart and home in unconditional affection to the child that has no claim upon them but love." -Love for Orphans Transforms, article by Jedd Medefind

Dancing Defeats Our Insecurities! (2 Sam 4-6)

"And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod."

What does it means to dance before the Lord with all his might? The Message quoted, "dance with great abandon before God." It seems like David was letting go his fear by abandoning the cares of the world, dancing and singing like no one is watching!

David didn't do it easily, but he did it with all his might, to conquer his insecurities! Before the ark arrived, David was afraid of the Lord because He strucked Uzzah for putting his hand upon the ark of God. So David was angry and unwilling to bring the ark of the Lord into the city of David for he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" He disbelieved, but after seeing how the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom and all his household, David realized that he had to conquer his fear and receive His blessings, so he decided to celebrate all the way! The men only took six steps when David started to make sacrifices and danced all the way, even before the ark got into the city of David!

Even David ignored his wife's scorn! His wife looked out the window and saw David dancing before the Lord carelessly. Of course, David didn't bother anyone or danced with anyone for he danced before the Lord all the way. She despised him in her heart because he wasn't acting like a high-class-king in her view. Who cares?! As result, she had no child to the day of her death. God is taking care of those who are watching us. All we need to do is abandon the cares of the world and celebrate before God with all our might, letting go all of our fears and insecurities! Yeah it will never be easy, but once you take a step it will be a lot easier after that!

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

Asahel's Focus (2 Sam 1-3)

Asahel is one of most respectable person in the Bible, I couldn't ignore Asahel when I first saw his name in the Bible! Asahel demonstrated the most aligned focus ever when he kept chasing Abner without turning right or left to find some comfort!
"Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner... Abner said to him, 'Turn aside... and seize one of young men and take his spoil... turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground?'... But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back."
Abner is telling Asahel to find the comfort in the spoil and to stay safe, but Asahel refused! Asahel didn't look at the circumstances around him, but upon his mission! What a strong focus! If Peter had Asahel's focus, then Peter probably never drowned when he walked upon the water! We need that kind of focus, but our mission must be God-oriented mission not ours.

David had Asahel's focus in honoring God's anointed one. He never once harmed Saul! He cut off a corner of Saul's robe and felt a pang of guilt for dishonoring him. He stole Saul's spear without killing him. And now he "took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they morned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son." Even David told the Amalekite who claimed that he killed Saul, "'How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?' Then David called one of the young men and said, 'Go, execute him.' And he struck him down so that he died."

Can you count how many times Saul had betrayed David for his loyalty? Jesus told us to not forgive anybody seven times, but seventy times seven! David probably foretold what Jesus would say, so he forgave Saul and honored God's authority by honoring Saul. David's real focus isn't to honor Saul, but to honor God by honoring His anointed King Saul! Are we like God-oriented-Asahel in our lives? Are we honoring God in everything we do without looking at the circumstances around us?

Loss of Ignoring the Lost (1 Sam 29-31)

"David said to him, 'To whom do you belong? And where are you from?'
He said, 'I am young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.'
And David said to him, 'Will you take me down to this band?'
And he said, 'Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.'"

It is easy for the master to ignore the sick and move on without wasting his time! But he didn't realize that his servant has the free will. So when David's men fed him bread, water, a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins, the servant was revived for he hadn't eaten for three days and nights. So he was eager to take them to the band that has ignored him as long as they won't let his master to hurt him or hurt him themselves.

David won the servant's heart by simply serving him! Jesus won our hearts because Jesus simply served us by teaching us, hanging out with us, and heal us! The servant's master decided to ignore his servant because he knew that his servant won't be able to keep up with him and serve him. So his greediness led his servant's loyalty to David, his enemy!

If David ignored the young servant, then David mightn't found the Amalekite or found the easier way to catch the band. By David's men's generosity, not just to their people, they received a blessing from the young servant because they went outside their boundary to serve the outsider. Are we willingly to serve someone on the street? Are we willingly to serve someone who is abandoned? Are we serving the lost, or ignoring the lost?

What's Life About?...Silience... (1 Sam 26-28)

"When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, 'Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.'"

Some of us began to ponder about what is life about? Is there more to life than this? We began to question God about our life and whether God is a true God, but we were too afraid to keep looking for the truth, or to wait for it. So that we either turn to other gods or other spirits that do not come from God of Adam and Eve or stop seeking and disbelieve in any spiritual things. Even some of us may face some scary things in seeking for the truth that we began to avoided the search and stopped.

Saul was scared too, so he began to inquired for a medium, a woman who is in contact with the spirits of the dead with the ability to bring them to the living. So she inquired for Samuel, but Saul realized that instead of accepting the silence and keep seeking the true God, he went into something worse, which increased his fear:
"Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night."
Even though after some encouraging words, he finally ate and went into a battle where he later died. He might be able to die a bit more peacefully if he'd allowed God to keep His silence rather than going to a medium. Sometimes God is all-knowing God who will not say anything for a while because He knew what answer we need at the right time. But because Saul went to a medium to call Samuel in a forbiding way, he was hurted even more! Sometimes it is better for us to wait on God and accept the purpose-silence.

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Sometimes, it is when we descend into the death of self-will and ambition that we hear God speak to us. There is so much confusion among believers today because they haven't died to self-will in order to hear God's true voice. Tell our self-will and ambition, "be still!" and wait on God to increase His voice in our lives.

Innocent Takes Guilt (1 Sam 23-25)

"When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, 'On me alone, my lord, be the guilt.'"

Abigail displayed Jesus Christ's character when she takes all of her husband's guilt upon her! But Abigail takes the guilt before a human: human to human. While Jesus takes the guilt before God: diety to diety. Unfortunately, there are some out-of-proportion stories out there. Ever read or watch "The Last Sin Eater"? Here is a summary:
"In 1850s Appalachia, 10-years-old Cadi Forbes feels responsible for her little sister's death, so she searches out the one man she feels can take away her sin - The Sin Eater. But in her quest for redemption, Cadi uncovers a dark secret that threaten to divide her family and community."
The dark secret is that no human could take away her sin because it is out-of-proportion! Do you want to know why her discover almost divided her family and community? I wouldn't want to ruin the secret, so you had to watch to find out if you haven't!

Abigail bowed to the ground before David to take her husband's guilt, Nabal's, upon herself! She had no choice, but to save herself and her servants! So she took the guilt upon herself without telling Nabal or even trying to convince Nabal to change his mind. C'mon people, don't forget that it is life-or-death situation, one had to be goody-sneaky! Beside, Abigail probably knew that Nabal is hard-headed, so it would waste her time trying to talk him out of it for she said to Daivd, "Nabal is his name, and folly is with him." Abigail didn't tell Nabal until he was sober in the next morning and as result, his heart died within him and he died 10 days later! So Abigail is now free from her husband, even more she won David's heart because she is willingly to speak up and take guilt upon herself for her husband to protect!

In the spiritual world, Jesus intervened by coming to the earth into a man without telling Satan about His plan! As result, Jesus won His heart and now, as the Church, we are able to marry Him! While the Satan will be doomed forever!

Mask of Insanity (1 Sam 19-22)

Achish the king of Gath recalled the song about him:

"'Saul has struck down his thousands,

and David his ten thousands'?

And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard."

Even one of our heroic figure had degraded himself in front of a king! Can you imagine one of your heroic role model acting like a madman, leaving his salvia on his beard? It is hard to believe isn't it? I think we all once acted weird at some point because we are all human, there isn't such thing as a perfect world, well not in this millennium!

Bruchko once quoted, "I would need to remember this lesson many times: before you really understand a people, don't judge."
He once thought that Yukos, the Indians in South America, hadn't cared about him because they looked at him stoldily without any signs of emotion on their face when he left. But the mule didn't cooperate him after an hour of riding, kicking him off and ran back to the village, forcing him to walk all the way back. So he grabbed the mule again and rode for three hours, this time Bruchko tried to win and the mule kicked him at the arm and then his face, causing the blood to spurt out of his mouth upon his neck and down on his clothes. After a hard long walk back to the village, he wrote, "As I neared the village, I began to yell, 'Help me! Please help me!' By that time, I didn't care if they laughed. Suddenly a few Yukos did appear. The chief was with them. They didn't laugh. The chief himself carried me up to the village and helped take care of me."
Bruchko realized that although the Yukos didn't show a sign of emotions when he left, but they truly cared about him! It is easy for us to look down someone who's emotionless or weird like the Yukos or like David and cast them out. But both Bruchko and Achish the king of Gath probably later realized that they cannot judge them without knowing them first!

It takes time for us to know each persons better before we can decide what's in their hearts. Know anyone you dislike? Maybe we should take time to know the person we dislike the most and learn the most from the person who is the opposite!

Unfitting Armor Experience (1 Sam 16-18)

After Samuel anointed David to be a king after Saul, "the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward... Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him." Although the Spirit came upon David suddenly, but David began to grew in stature grace upon grace. God began to lift David's worthless name up, so Saul heard about him from the people who saw that he was favored by the Lord. "Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, 'Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.'... And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed him."

Although the Lord had lifted David's name high, God was slow to make him public. So David was eager to go into a battlefield when his father commanded him to bring a provision to his brothers. David rose early in the morning to go, then he constantly inquired others about what will be done for a conqueror, bringing his brothers to anger. David was confidence in the future image of David (probably because he knew that he will be a king someday), but through a humble unfitting-armor experience, he put his confidence in God.

"Then Saul clothed David with his armor... And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them... So David put them off." David is just a teenager boy, while Saul is advanced in age and tall! David was simply a shepherd boy, who've never gone to a war! He once tried to be who he wasn't, but he realized that he cannot be who he wasn't, so he had to set aside his vainity and be who he is as he is, a shepherd boy. It was in a matter of time that he finally had his own armor as a warrior alongside Saul. It was in a matter of time that David finally became a king. Meanwhile, he used his gifts as a shepherd and a worship leader for Saul until God began to lift David up into his promised kingship.

Do you frequently compare yourself to others? Are you trying to wear someone else's armor? Follow the example of David: offer your gifts/talents to God, and expect Him to use them as only He can.

The Last-Minute Exercises (1 Sam 12-15)

"He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, 'Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings'... As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, 'What have you done?' And Saul said, 'When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed... so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.'"

Sometimes we often found that our God may be a last minute God because He wants to stretch us in our faith. In the same way, Samuel knew that he would return on time, but Saul didn't. Some of us might wait for some of His promises to happen for many years and then we started to give up when nothing had happened, and we gave up without knowing that His promise will come a day away or even few minutes away!

At Osprey Point, MD, I jumped into the pool and decided to do some breath-holding exercises under the water. So I quickly swam underwater halfway and popped up! So I knew I had to be mentally prepared, so I decided to gulp some air and swam underwater with my eyes closed. It was pretty long, so I had to come out of water to find out that the other end is only an arm-length away! So my third try, I went all the way! My fourth try, I went all the way, and then gulp for some air and went all the way back! In the same way, it is how God stretches us through our failures to increase our stamina, so that we may finish the race in faith!

Because Saul didn't exercise his faith, he lost the race. Samuel said, "But now your kingdom shall not continue." He didn't just failed one test, but he failed others. He spared some sheep and oxen when Samuel instructed him not to spare any! So like the swimming coach, the Lord rejects Saul from the team for not exercising his faith.

Culture Maker's b-day cake for us!

Culture Maker made cakes for us, all we can do is singing to ourselves, "Happy bday to us, Happy bday to us! Happy bday to His dear creation! Happy bday to us!" And then we blew the cakes He had made for us! A lot of us forget that our Culture Maker is the one who creates the cake (the earth) for us and all we can do is singing and blowing the b-day candles (use our little efforts to create a new culture within His culture), then He will cut the cake for us (by our small effort, God will finish the works), so that we will enjoy the cake for a thousand years to come!

"The temptation to take matters into our own hands, to take over God's role as the transformer of culture, leads to folly... the one who gets the credit is the Creator."

"Is there a way to change the world without falling into one of the many traps laid for would-be world changers? If so, it will require us to learn the one thing the language of "changing the world" usually lacks: humility, defined not so much as bashfulness about our own abilities as awed and quiet confidence in God's ability."

"Jesus paries the procurator's assertion, 'I have power to release you, and power to crucity you,' by insisting, 'You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above' (Jn 19:10-11)."

"In C.S. Lewis's Narnia chronicles, we will very likely find ourselves suddenly snatched from a known and comfortable world to another one, where extraordinary things are expected of us that seem far beyond our own talents and capabilities."

"Grace is not a shortcut around our effort; it is the divine blessing on efforts that are undertaken in dependence and trust on God... Disciplines are private and invisible, preparing our hearts to handle the pressures of our work becoming public and visible... attracting no notice and deservicng no prize, humbling us in advance of the occasions when our work will be recognized and applauded... bring us to these moments of disillusionment with ourselves."

Wow! Grace = disciplining us into a private disillusionment of ourselves, so that we may learn to have a quiet confidence in God's ability! I'm grateful for those private disciplines God had in my life! Feeling unworthy? That's right we are all unworthy for our names are below His Name. But we are all worthy in His sight because we were created here to sing and praise His Name!

God Says, "C'mon Lil Children!" (1 Sam 8-11)

"Happy Birthday Kari! It's amazing to see how God has taken this tiny, shy, timid girl (back when I first met you) and turned you into a courageous woman of faith. Your boldness to share your faith with others is a inspiration and encouragement to everyone who knows you. God does indeed have a very special and wonder...ful plan for your life! Jeremiah 29:11 Lord bless you on your special day and give you many, many more!"

I want to say thank you all for reminding me that I was born 24 years ago and that I had changed a lot since then! I am probably 19-20 years old in my spiritual birth (I think I have lost my spiritual birth certificate, wink). In the same way, I believe that God had changed a lot of you ever since your first spiritual birth like how God had changed Saul from a timid guy into a courage king!

Imagine a prophet coming up to you, telling you that God will use you mightly. Well, you might say, "Well, I am worthless, why me?" like how Saul once answered Samuel the prophet when he came up to Saul: 'Saul answered, "Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?"'

When Samuel asked all tribes to present themselves before the Lord as Samuel was casting the lots to set a king over them. The tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot, then clan of the Matrites, then Saul the son of Kish. "But when they sought him, he couldn't be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, "Is there a man still to come?" and the Lord said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."'

Some of us may push God's words for you aside like how Saul pushed Samuel's words for him aside. But God always find a way to pull you into a position that you avoided! God loves to encourage you and build you up. Like how God nudges me (6 years ago) with this verse Matthew 11:12: "the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it". He is telling me to move as God moves, "C'mon gurl! Let's fight alongside with me, aren't you a Daddy's little girl?" All I can say, "Okay, Daddy!" and move. I knew that I cannot stay in a defense mode when my Daddy is calling me to go with Him. So I go with Him and learned a lot from my Daddy as I watched Him fighting the battles for me, all I have to do is carrying His stuff for Him such as carrying His Words in a bag and allow Him to pick the Words He needs and apply it to His sword. I just kept moving as He moves. God is always fighting on the offense, so am I! So are you!

God is saying, "C'mon little boys and gurls!" All you have to do is saying, "Here I am, Daddy!"

Glory to God (1 Sam 4-7)

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, it brought tumors upon the people at the city and their god Dagon fell downward before the ark. So they brought the ark around, to other cities, but tumors came upon all of them, so they cried. So they knew that they had to do something about dishonoring God!

'And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?"... So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you and your gods and your land.'

So they took the ark of the Lord and box of the guilt offerings (five golden tumors and give golden mice) upon the cart and sent it off with two milk cows pulling it to wherever they go. They thought that the cows mightn't carry the cart toward its own land, but they were wrong! The milk cows carried it toward its own land, to Beth-shemesh. Even God handled those two milk cows and herd them toward the ark's home. So the Philistines returned home knowing that all glory must be given to God although they don't worship the same God!

Even the enemies of God realized that they have to give the glory to God. So they gave the guilt offerings toward a 'foreign' God. Since they do not know God, our God is like a foreign God to them. But those of us who already know our God, who dwells in us through Jesus Christ, wouldn't have a hard time to give the glory to God, don't we? Maybe it is easy for us to give glory to ourselves because He dwells in us through Jesus Christ so we started exalt ourselves and realized that we are making ourselves like those gods. So like those Philistines, we got to recognize that it is God who carried us and changed us, not us.

Groanings in the Heart (1 Sam 1-3)

'Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman... but Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord."'

Don't push it! Maybe some of the people in your pews won't sing or pray together visibly, but we'd never know that those people may pray or worship the Lord in their heart like how Hannah was speaking in her heart. Some of us may dance and lift our hands up, but some of us may stand up stiffly and quietly with the groaning in our hearts, crying out to the Lord. The people standing beside those quiet people may think that they aren't spiritually enough to worship Him like how Eli thought Hannah was drunk. We may be wrong! Those quiet people like Hannah who didn't use her voice (or hands) may have shown their authenticity toward God through their hearts' groaning in prayer, "I believe that You are the Lord and that You can do everything through Your Name!"

'And the Lord remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, "I have asked for him from the Lord."'

God gave each of us dream seeds inside us and in due time they will be conceived in us and we will bore those dreams. I don't know what your dreams are, but are we groaning for those dreams to be planted into us? Maybe we aren't being broken enough to groan for them? Let's ask God to break us down so that we may begin to groan for those dreams to be planted in us when we began to realize that our God is the Lord.

"Pray like it depends on God, work like it depends on you"

Fail, Fail, then comes a Victory! (Judges 19-21)

"So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man... destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line... the second day... destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel... third day... the battle was hard, but the Benjaminities didn't know that disaster was close upon them. And the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel."

The battle was hard on the third day, but the Lord defeated! Although the Lord said, "Go up against them" three times, but they failed the first two! I don't know why, but we all know that the Lord already won the battle invisibly, so the Israel won on the third day!

Sometimes things appear to us that everything is beginning to fall apart when they didn't. Like how National Community Church feel like the perfect property had fallen out of our hands when it didn't because it had been in the Lord's hands even before March 17! So it finally fall into National Community Church's hands on June 17! In Pastor Mark Batterson's blog, he says, 'Despite those three deaths in the physical realm, it didn't die in my spirit. I preached a message on Easter about Lazarus. Even after her brother had been dead four days, Martha said: "Even now God will give you whatever you ask." What's amazing about that is that Jesus hadn't been raised from the dead yet. She didn't even have a category for resurrection, but she still believed. It was like she was saying: it's not over till God says it's over.' - www.evotional.com/2010/06/real-estate-miracle.html

Let us be like Bruce: "Over the past twenty-eight years, on a number of occassions his faith had been tested almost to the point of death. In those times the Lord had sustained his confidence in Him. Bruce had come to the jungles of Colombia because he believed He wanted him there. So long as he remained obedient to that vision he had to believe that Lord would provide for whatever his needs would be." - "Bruchko"

Stay strong to the vision whatever the Lord had given you to follow!

Spiritually Seduced (Judges 16-18)

"'Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.' So Delilah said to Samson, 'Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.'"

To seduce someone is to lead someone astray or draw someone away from faith, principles, or allegiance. Delilah is drawing Samson away from his faith and committment to God. In her attempt to steal Samson away from God, she is trying to act like Samson's Goddess. She is drawing Samson into her authority, away from His covering. Like a bad (opposing) view of a persistent widow, Delilah "pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death."

The sad thing is that Samson didn't know that he was naked before God after he gave himself away! He didn't know for he said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." When the Lord had already left him. He was blinded under Delilah's seducing. I think Samson's teachers failed to make him memorize this verse: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." -1 Peter 5:8

It is easy for us to start pleasing someone we really like. Sometimes we need a Sabbath, which allow us to stop and rethink through everything around us. So that we may be sober-minded again as we allow God to lift the cloud from our minds so that we may see things around us better. Are we listening to our spouses rather than God? Are we listening to our friends rather than God? Are we listening to our mentors rather than God? It is ok to please someone as long as it also please God. Don't try to step one foot outside of His covering saying, "Well, I am still halfway inside His covering, so I am allright."

Samson's Parents Advocate (Judges 13-15)

"His father and mother said to him, 'Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?' But Samson said to his father, 'Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.'"

Samson is obviously wrong because he went out of the boundaries didn't he? His parents tried to encourage him to find the right woman, but he is a strong-willed person! But if you read the next verse, you will find out that God had made Samson for who he is. God knew that Samson will grow up into a strong-willed young gentleman who will set his eyes upon that woman. But Samson's parents were great because they allowed Samson to be himself and to pursue his dream although they didn't realize this: "His father and mother didn't know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines."

Because Samson's parents supported him in his own dream, they allowed God to work in Samson! So the Spirit began to come upon him after they went down to Timnah:

-he tore the lion into pieces as one tears a young goat.
-he scraped honey from the body of the lion and eat as he went.
-he created the unsolvable riddle (til his wife told of them).
-he struck down 30 men and took their spoil and gave the garment to those cheaters.
-he caught 300 foxes and took torches to set fire to the Philistines' grain.

He probably won't be who he is if his parents didn't allow God to shape him for who he is! Instead of trying to make Samson following his parents' dream, his parents decided to be Samson's advocate as they went down to Timnah with him! So Samson achieved his God-sized dream!

Are you leading a group? Are you shepherding your people? Are you training someone? Are you parenting your kids? Are you mentoring their kids? Whoever you are, recognize them as who God created them to be and be their greatest advocate.