Smiling with God...

“You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your live, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is our love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!” Song of Songs 4:9-10 In the book of Song of Songs, Solomon gives us a very graphic, visual, and stirring description of what a God centered love relationship with a man and a woman can look like. Make no mistake about it, this is not an analogy of God's love for man, this book is purely a love relationship between a man and a woman.  It is very passionate, exciting, erotic, and at the same time, it is intimate, gentle and sweet. Which I wouldn’t expect anything less, being that an awesome God created love and sex. To have this kind of passion for another person is not only good, but it is very good. Yesterday I was at McDonalds eating my Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal, and I herd behind me a couple sittin...

“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19 Though this verse is simple it reveals a wonderful truth about all men. Our hearts are very much reflective of who we are. Here Solomon wisely says that if you examine the heart of a man you will see what he is really like. Here he is describing the inner soul, the inner sanctuary, the inner most part of him. That is where the real person is. Past the disguises that each person puts up, you dig deeper you will find what really makes this person. My nieces are back in town, so you know what that means, I am watching more and more Disney movies. But a couple of nights ago I was forced to watch a movie Mulan again, and again. About the 3rd time I was watching it, something caught my attention. The song that Mulan sings, “When will my reflection show who I am inside.” What caught me was that what she was seeing was not what she wanted to be. So when I read this verse here what I see sometimes the refle...

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations just as it had been said to him, ‘so shall your offspring be’” Romans 4:18 Wow, what faith.This is what it means to live by faith. To firmly believe in the promises of God and know that it will come to pass. I can now say that God’s promises will be fulfilled. I can now embrace that God’s work shall be completed in me. I trust that God will finish what He started. If He says it, it will be. Against all hope God is working. But there is a part two, Abraham in hope believed. We must have faith in God. Be confident in God through the thick and thin. There are many things in my life where I fail to realize that God’s will come through. There are promises that are yet unfulfilled that I now know that I can trust in now. I am now confident that God can and will bring me out of the this season better and stronger. God is orchestrating, God is putting the pieces together, God is bring the plan for ...

The word of the Lord came to Solomon: “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations, and keep my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:11-13 God here lays it out to Solomon before he starts building the temple. If you do this... then I will fulfill. Before the building of the temple, before anything is completed, God lays down the real law, a simple command, be obedient. Be obedient to His command, be obedient to His following. Be obedient to His order and structure. That is what God asks Solomon here, that is what he is asking me to do today. I can’t stand when I am forced to do something that I don’t want to do. I remember I was working for this place and I they made us do something I just had a problem with. I hated it, I couldn’t stand it. I pouted about it, I tried to “reason” my with the b...

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it s possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will but, as you will." Matthew 26:36 He had to ask. I mean why not? He knows the impending doom that has to be done, but instead of taking it, Jesus, like David prayed hard to change the mind of God. Why? It's not like we didn't know what was going to happen. We all know that when David heard that his son was going to die, he prayed and lamented, and did his son live? No. Here Jesus knows that he God assigned him to walk this very path, but here he pleads and to no avail. He has to walk the path. What sacrifice. Doing things even though you don't want to, that is awesome. Walking in the will of the Father is not easy. There will be times that walking with God will be like the best. But there will be times where we have to walk through the fire. We have to walk through the hard times. But at least I know t...

“He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? Will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12:22-23 David in all his grief cried out to God in desperation to save his child. But nonethess, the child was taken away, the words of Nathan was fulfilled and like that it was over. David, then got up, doing all he could do he moved on. Though it was custom and tradition to lament and fast after a death, David here recoginzed that it was final, it was done. Moving on after a death, is tough. But for some it’s not just a death, but maybe a shattered dream, a long lost wish unfulfilled, or just something that never materalizes. When it dies, it dies. But the lesson here isn’t just the reaction after death, but also what to do till it dies. David did all he could, he pleaded, fasted, did everything he coul...

Wow, okay well here we go my first blog entry.... Scripture: During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afriad and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matt 14:25-31 Observation: I like this story, a story of risk, of faith and of walking out when you know the odds are against you. Not that this applies to my life now or anything. It is a time where Jesus is walking out on the water. Can you imagine what that looks like. ...