Wait 57 More Days (Genesis 5-8)

In the first month, the first day of month, Noah finally behold, the face of the ground was dry! Yet he did not come out of the ark! He had to wait for 57 more days until the Lord said to him, "Go out from the ark" and he went out with his wife and every other couples, human and non-human animals, so that they may swarm on the earth and multiply.

57 more days! 1368 more hours! 4.9 x 10^6 more seconds!

One couldn't describe those dreaded 57 days of silence. Noah waited. Silence. Human animals waited. Silence. Non-human animals waited. Silence. Then Noah heard the Lord say, "Go out". Noah called everyone, "We all go out". Every living thing came out. They multiplied. They filled the earth through every "seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, that shall not cease".

Why did Noah wait? Did the Lord told Noah to wait for His direction? Maybe. Did Noah even thought about getting out of the ark when the dove didn't return as a sign that he may come out? Maybe. Did Noah know that by claiming that he may see the dry ground, he is blind? Maybe.

In John 9:39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

I love this! Noah saw the dry ground. He didn't budge! As if he didn't see. Then the Lord spoke. And he moved as if he finally glimpsed the dry ground. Noah didn't see with his own eyes, but with the Lord's eyes.

Lord, help us not to budge in where we are now as we wait for your next direction. Amen.

Try Winter White Wonder Drinks!

Time with family = time to try some new recipes! I tried Komucha float and Raw Eggnog this year! They are delicious! You could try it with your family or friends!

Komucha Float

One scoop of vanilla ice cream and Komucha bottle (Gingerberry or Raspberry flavor recommended). Mix them well and enjoy!

*spiced dark rum wasn't included*

Raw Eggnog with Keifir
6 eggs
1/2 cup honey
Dash of nutmeg
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cream milk
1 cup keifir
spiced dark rum, to taste (optional)


Separate eggs into two bowls. Beat eggs whites until fluffy. Beat egg yolks, then add and beat honey. Then milk, cream and keifir and spices. Fold/mix in egg whites and add rum. Then let dudes and dudettes chill!

Lambs in Midst of Wolves (Luke 10-12)

My eyes glued to those figures who acted in audacious faith within the set of DVDs all the morning! John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and William Tyndale boldly challenged the Church of England according to the Scriptures even in the face of death penalty, which later enabled all of us to read our own Bible today! Now we are able to learn from God's people how we may live boldly even in the midst of wolves.

Jesus' said to the appointed seventy-two, "Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road." Today, Jesus says to us, "Go and find your extraordinary path; behold, I am sending you to be the light to the dark world. Don't limit yourselves to financial, resources, supports, or abilities. But act in audacious faith."

God may send us who lack financial, resources, supports, or abilities to show those wolves that God can turn His lambs into His lions! God wants to use His ordinary children to boast about His grace when He made them extraordinary. Steven Furtick wrote Sun Stand Still to show us that "even on the day of the sun stood still, an ordinary event paved the way for an extraordinary victory:
-God may allow you to receive a negative report from the doctor. ORDINARY. But you trust Him in a way that causes all your close friends to see Christ clearly through your response. EXTRAORDINARY.
-God may call you to serve as an unsung youth pastor of fifteen kids, leading meetings in a moldly basement, with an Atari for entertainment. ORDINARY. But he may also be providing you with the opportunity to pour your life into one of those teenagers who will go on to preach the gospel in a thousand places you'll never go. EXTRAORDINARY.
-God may lead you to stay at home with your young children, forfeiting a second income. ORDINARY. But along with diapers, dishes, and naps, you receive the gift of time- to model discipline, instill values, and speak life into your kids. They could grow up to be Joshuas in their own generation. EXTRAORDINARY.
-God may have placed you in a line of work that seems to have no eternal value and provides very little in the way of personal fulfillment. ORDINARY. But he knows you're the only Christian witness many of your co-workers and clients will ever meet. They'll observe what God looks like as you labor with excellence and integrity every day. EXTRAORDINARY."

Let us believe like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale that God may turn our ordinary event into an extraordinary event.

Jesus' First Ministry was Unwelcomed (Luke 4-7)

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. He was tempted by the devil during his forty days fasting. He finished his fasting. He went through Galilee to teach in their synagogues. Then he went on his way to his hometown Nazareth to begin his ministry. He opened the scroll of Isaiah,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

After Jesus closed the scroll, he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown." Jesus went on to explain that even Elijah didn't help anyone but one in the land of Israel. He was sent to only Zaraphath among many widows during the three and half years of famine. The same goes for Elisha. None of lepers were cleanesed, but only Naaman. Thus they were filled with wrath. They tried to throw him off the cliff. Jesus went away.

Why didn't Jesus allow them to say something before being direct with them? Why did Jesus say something that would make them angry? Why did Jesus even bothered to go to his hometown?

I'm uncertain. But Luke 12:49-53 states that Jesus came not to give peace, but rather division. God also came to divide the people at the Tower of Babel. Our God is a jealous God. Therefore He came down to refine us, and through the process we may be defined!

Jesus' first ministry is to shake us and then his last ministry is to unify us. Jesus want us to cast away our old ways of thinking, our carnal thoughts.

God Will Make A Way (Isaiah 1-3)

I've been watching the Lord of the Rings with my family in California for the past few days. I couldn't not share the analogy! Mary would treasured up all these things in her heart and ponder them, as she did with what the Shepherd told her (Luke 2:19) and what Jesus did as a boy (Luke 2:51). Mary love to wonder!

Frodo was carefree before Bilbo Baggin left him the Ring! Virgin Mary was carefree before the Holy Spirit come upon her. Gandalf came to Frodo to explain him that he's to be the Ringbearer. The angel came to Mary to tell her that she's to be the mother of Jesus. Gandalf urged Sam, or Samwise the Brave, to stay with Frodo after he eavesdropped their conversation. God's angel showed up in Joseph's dream again to tell him to go with Mary. Frodo carried his burden with Sam and Mary carried her burden with Joseph.

The Nine Fellowship were gathered together to complete the mission together, but throughout the journey they were assigned to other duties by the Flow. Gandalf the Grey fell, but he later returned to the Fellowship as Gandalf the White. Boromir was slayed. Merry and Pippin were kidnapped by the Orcs, but they met Treebeard who later gathered all Ents to go into the war. Frodo and Sam escaped to complete the mission. Aragorn, Gimili, and Legolas decided to go with the Flow and fight for the earth. Throughout their journey, they didn't realize that the Flow assigned them into the correct mission to defeat Sauron the Dark Lord.

The angels sang and encouraged them, then they went away from them into heaven. The shepherds saw the newborn baby lying in a manager and returned to their places. Simeon and Anna, at their old ages, witnessed the promised six weeks old baby Jesus at the Temple. The wise men came to offer the less-than-two-years-old baby gifts and left into the new path to avoid the path of Herod. Mary and Joseph received the warning from the angel and they departed for Egypt. They all went into different paths, but they didn't realize that God had assigned them into those positions to defeat Beelzebub the Prince of Demons.

All of us may carry a God-assigned burden like the Ringbearer or the Mother of Jesus, but God's the author. He will make the way for us. All we need to do is to walk like how the Ringbearer walked unknowingly into Mordor and how the Mother of Jesus unknowingly raised Jesus into the Savior.

Mercy (63-64)

Prayer for Mercy:
"Look down from heaven and see from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me."

What's mercy? It's a compassion shown to an offender or a blessing resulting from a divine favor or compassion. In Exodus 17, Israelities whined. They grumbled against Moses. They offended God by saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us with thirst?" By the mercy, God gave them water. God told Moses to strike the rock so that water may come out of it. God didn't demand an apology nor any explanation from Israel before He gave them His compassion!

Moses asked, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" Moses was offended. He was afraid. He ran to God, "What shall I do? They are ready to stone me." God saw that they needed the compassion. God put aside the fact that they threatened Moses. God saw that they were afraid, and out of unholy fear they threatened Moses! He gave them mercy without any obligation.

BUT in Numbers 21:4-9 God showed his disciplinary action against Israel as He sent fiery serpents among the people. In Isaiah 63 God had trodden the winepress alone, which spattered their lifeblood upon His garments and stained all His apparel. God's so full of wrath!

Why was God so full of mercy and yet so full of wrath? Only He knows what's in our hearts and what's in His soverign plan. His thoughts are higher than ours. His ways are higher than ours. As the heavens are higher than the earth. But our earthly-brain may offended Him when we didn't trust Him to do His part.

Let us implore Him to stir His heart for us again and to look at us with compassion! Stir up love!

Our Wedding Rehearsal (Isaiah 61-62)

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exault in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." -Isaiah 61:10

I was with my family. We were in front of television. And Bayless Conley was speaking inside the box in front of us something like this, "Our expectations may lead us to disappointment, while our expectation in God will lead us to success." I captured those words in my heart. We set our plans. When we failed we blamed God for not keeping His promise. We forgot that our plans are not God's. We had to let it all go. We jumped into God's plans. We began to succeed!

Our definition of success:
-the achievement of something planned or attempted
-the attainment of fame, wealth, or power

God's definition of success:
-the achievement of understanding a piece of God's blueprint for us and walk in the illumination
-the attainment of the garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness, and the jewels of adornation.

When we focused on our definition of success, then we shall fail as His bride. If we look onto God's definition of success, then we shall prevail! We shall come into harmony. We shall dress ourselves up as His bride. Maybe something hindered us in our preparation for the wedding. Maybe a robe didn't fit us perfectly. Maybe we are trying on a robe of our own definition of success. We have to cast that robe aside and look for the right robe. When we couldn't find the right robe, maybe the flow had ceased.

We agony in our prayer. Our prayer shall open up the heavens. With the heavens open, the flow shall resume. With the flow, we could find the right robe. Thereafter, our dress rehearsal begins!

"Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production." -Rick Warren