Metamorphosis

Hosea 2

¹⁴ “But then I will win her back once again.
    I will lead her into the desert
    and speak tenderly to her there.
¹⁵ I will return her vineyards to her
    and transform the Valley of Trouble^[b] into a gateway of hope.

Let us have a retrospect of the past year.

How many times have you failed God?

How many times have you felt too defeated to move on?

The first part of the year has been a tough one for me.

I have lost a loved one.

I have lost a direction.

I even lost my reason to live at some point.

But despite the fact I fell down and got beaten up, God picked me up and redeemed me. Despite the fact I have been unfaithful to His will, he pursued me and won me back. He prospered me by transforming the ugliest season of my life into something beautiful. Life is still not perfect. I still face hardships. I still stumble and fall once in a while. The good thing is he paves the way for me to start over each time.

I believe hardships are important for us to grow and prepare us for greater things. Just like a butterfly, we need to undergo metamorphosis so we can soar high and fly.

No matter how tough this year was, know this, God will make our 2013 awesome!

Addictions

Wine has robbed my people of their understanding.

Hosea 4:11

The holiday season calls for celebrations left and right. A lot of get together with friends over a bottle of wine occur. Although this is the season of merriment, please do not forget the responsibility that comes with each glass you drink. Each glass you raise decreases your sense of reason.

Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.

Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive

1 Corinthians 10:23

But this passage in Hosea does not pertain to wine or drinking alone.

Is there something or someone in your life right now that is taking over you?

Is God still your priority?

Has this something or someone taken your sense of reason away from you?

Whatever it is we are devoted right now other than God, we must always be on guard.

The modern day WINE in the passage is ADDICTION.

"ADDICTION has robbed my people their understanding."

Is there anything in your life that is causing chaos or unbalance?

Has your career or business removed your sens of time with your loved ones?

Has your relationship with someone removed your sense of purity and morality?

Above all things, we must be devoted to God first. Everything else should be just secondary.

Reviving Chuck

7 years ago, I bought my first pair of Chuck Taylor Hi Cut Sneakers.

To this day, it still fits me but I don't get to wear it anymore because of the stains. I got a white one and now, it is nowhere near white.

So I promise myself that this coming 2013 and I spend some time reviving my chucks. Anyway, heels are thing of the past to mee now due to my business and an addition to my collection of comfy shoes is very much needed.

Here are some of my inspirations.

I will look for some more.

Will keep you posted.

Litmus Test

Has the Lord redeemed you?

Then speak out!

Psalm 107:2

They say that the tongue is the most uncontrollable part of our body. The Bible also mentioned how it can greatly influence our lives. 

Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

James 3:2

If the eyes are the window to our soul, our mouth shows the state of our heart and soul. 

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Luke 6:45

If someone would measure your kindness through the words that come out of your mouth, what do you think would be the result?

Unfortunately, most of us would probably fail this litmus test.

Now the challenge that Psalms 107:2 imposes is not just to control our tongue but make a habit out of praising and proclaiming God's glory in your life.

This challenge actually helps as cure our mouth that spits out acidic, painful and unkind words.

If we make it a habit to say good things about God and how he redeemed and change us, this would decrease your opportunity to say bad words.

This would also give us a yearning to get to know God more. We cannot give empty praises and statements about God.

Let us challenge ourselves everyday to speak out about God's redeeming power in our life. :)

CONTROLLING THE TONGUE

Main Verse: James 3:1-17

v.2 For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

Our tongue is really powerful. With words that come from it, we can wound or hurt, and uplift or encourage.

v.3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want.

Our tongue influences our life and other people’s lives.

v. 10 Blessing and cursing come pouring out the same tongue.

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1: 19

Being Christians, we must be very careful with what we say. What comes out of our mouth is our testimony.  Whether it is good or bad, it will reflect the Christ in our life.

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue you are only fooling yourself. James 1:26

Inspire: Challenge Accepted!

Faith and Endurance

Main Verse:

James 1

v.2 When trouble comes your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy

v.3 When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow

God never sends us challenges that we can’t over come through Him. It is also a chance for God to show His glory in your life. It is your chance to become a living testimony, the best way to glorify God in your life.

v. 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God.

He gives us necessary tools like His word and prayer. That is why it is important to arm yourself with God’s word at all times. If you don’t know His word, you won’t know His promises.

v. 6 But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.

Faith in God is necessary to overcome anything. If you don’t believe your God is bigger than your problem, then it will overcome you instead.

Do not have faith in fait but have faith in God alone.

v. 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.

God has better things in store for you. Those challenges allow you to grow so that you will be ready to handle blessings that come with bigger responsibilities.