10/29/2010

Walk By Faith



Walk By Faith
by Jeremy Camp

Would I believe you when you would say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

[chorus]
Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Help me to win my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

yeah, yeah , yeah, yeah, yeah, ya

[chorus]

Well I'm broken- but I still see Your face
Well You've spoken- pouring Your words of grace

[chorus x2]

Well hallelujah, hallelu
(I will walk by faith)
Well hallelujah, hallelu
(I will walk by faith)

I will walk, I will walk, I will walk by faith
I will, I will, I will walk by faith

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If in your heart the Lord would say, "Fear not my child, My hand will guide your every way", would you believe? Will you receive His words every moment of every day? If so, then walk by faith child of God even when you cannot clearly see. The road you're on may seem to be broken, but the Lord shall guide your way.

There will always be temptations to give up our faith and our values. There will always be views on contentment and real success based on worldly standards. In the face of adversity or temptation we must be on our guard lest our faith fails and we begin seeking undue signs and proofs and then we fall into making bargains with God.

10/22/2010

10/16/2010

Lord, Give Us Clean Hands



Give Us Clean Hands
By Kutless

We bow our hearts we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

We bow our hearts we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

And God let us be a generation that seeks,
Seeks your face, oh God of Jacob (x2)

[Instrumental]

God let us be a generation that seeks,
Seeks your face, oh God of Jacob

And God let us be a generation that seeks,
Seeks your face, oh God of Jacob (x3)

Jesus you are

You're my God (x2)

You're my God (x2)

You're my God

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Did you know that the 15th of October is global handwashing day? Handwashing could symbolize many things, but the message conveyed by this song has a simple yet profound meaning. Before the eyes of the Lord, how clean are our hands?

10/10/2010

Give, And It Shall Be Given Unto You

By The WindChime

Giving is universally recognized as a heroic trait. The measure of a genuine giving spirit is its willingness and ability to give even beyond what it is willing to give freely without any thought of receiving a reward.

Someone with great wisdom once said, "Give and give until it hurts; for if your giving costs you no pain, what makes it different from the rest?" The author was talking about sacrificial giving which is a trademark of a genuine giving spirit.

Only genuine godly love can empower a person to have the wisdom and strength to give beyond what he/she is willing to freely give without any expectation of reward. Genuine godly love is solely the motivation behind every act of genuine kindness. When it sees an opportunity for showing love, it gives willingly and freely without counting the cost and without expecting any reward.

The cosmos operates under divine principles and one of which is the principle of reciprocity. In science this particular principle is stated as follows: "For every action there is a reaction." In the common philosophical language it is popularly acclaimed as follows: "What you sow, is what you reap."

In the area of giving, the principle of reciprocity works just as perfectly fine. Because genuine godly love is authored by heaven itself, those who live by it cannot escape its overwhelming reciprocating effect. In heaven's economy, LOVE is the only currency and GIVING is its sole medium of exchange and TRUE PROSPERITY is but merely a side effect. True Prosperity may be defined as the state of being in grace where nothing is lacking and all needs met and provided for, contrasted with being in the state of materialism and over-indulgence.

The principle of reciprocity operates as a two-way street -- one way goes from one party to another party, and another way goes in the reverse direction. In the economy of genuine godly giving, there is a giver and there is a receiver. At any one time, a person with godly genuine love is the giver, and at other times he/she is the receiver. Like any other normal transaction, it functions in the give-and-take way. In times when a person is at the giving end, it gives him/her the opportunity to master genuine godly kindness. At other times when a person is at the receiving end, it gives him/her the opportunity to master genuine godly humility. In all of the times, every party who is taking part in the interaction is merely exercising his/her genuine godly love.

Therefore, to a genuine godly giving spirit operating within the heavenly economy, it is not only BETTER to give, but more so, it is both BEST to give as well as to receive because it teaches both kindness and humility -- godly kindness when you give, and godly humility when you receive.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

That is the Divine Principle of Reciprocity.

Here is one thinker's thought embodying also an essence of that principle: "No one can shout at a mountain range in one direction without hearing an echo from all directions."

The truth of the verse in Luke 6:38 holds true for the good or positive things we do to others. For instance: Show kindness to one person one way, and there will be ten or more people who will show you kindness in various unexpected ways.

But perhaps what most of us fail to realize is that the truth in Luke's verse also holds perfectly true for every bad or negative things we do to others. For instance: Hurt or be unkind to one person one way, and there will be ten or more people who will hurt or be unkind to you in various unexpected ways.

10/06/2010

Action, Progress, & Goal


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"Do not confuse motion with progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress." ~ Alfred A. Montapert

Just because things are moving is not always a guarantee that there is progress being headed. That's true. But try putting the idea a bit deeper in context, and you will discover a deeper meaning.

Consider MOTION (action) in relation to goal: "For a goal to be achieved, it is necessary that right action be taken."

Likewise, consider PROGRESS in relation to goal: "Progress is a measure of how far a goal is from being achieved."

Context 1: If the goal is to transport a child to some place, how foolish it would be to use a rocking horse! Surely the rocking action will get the child nowhere and the goal is not achieved.

Context 2: If the goal is to make a child enjoy playing, it won't be wrong to use a rocking horse afterall. Surely the rocking motion will make the child enjoy the play a lot.

Here is a rejoinder: "It's not so much an issue of MOTION (action) and PROGRESS. It is about GOAL coupled with right action which is of prime importance."

We may look at someone riding on a rocking horse and quickly dismiss the person's action as foolish... but for all we know, all the person's objective may just be to enjoy a rocking horse ride. Or consider a man on a treadmill. Just because he is not "progressing" an inch from where he is jogging in place that we can simplistically say there is no progress taking place?

So I say, "Do not confuse progress with goal. A treadmill can't advance an athlete an inch from the gym, but surely it helps a lot in progressing him towards his goal."

10/01/2010

Approaching A Door


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When a door presents as an answer to a prayer, approach it with the right mindset and attitude otherwise you will end up in a futile struggle against the door -- foolishly trying as hard as you can to force your way through... in a wrong way.

Instead of a presumptuous forceful pulling, sometimes all it takes to open a door is a humble gentle push.