Fear Me. Sin not.

Fear Me. Sin Not.


I received a text message earlier  from my friend Gabby with the verse:


Prov. 23: 17-18

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you,and your hope will not be cut off.


I became interested right away to study and mediate this verse more.

Zealous actually means marked by active interest and enthusiasm.

So, mark the fear of the Lord with interest and enthusiasm? I hastily became curious about it.  Thus I end up searching.

Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature - JoHannah Reardon

..the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. (Exodus 20:20b)

We, what is Fear of the Lord first?


If we knew that all of our secret thoughts, words, and actions would be displayed publicly so that everyone could watch them and evaluate them, it would make a profound difference in the way we live! We have an instinctive concern about what others think of us and how they will judge the things we do.

If we have this much concern over what other men and women think of us and our actions, how much more should we be concerned about God’s evaluation of our thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, and motives? 

The fear of the Lord is one of the most valuable treasures that we can gain, because God is our Creator, and if we are to find true success, we have to live according to His design. He knows what is best for our lives. As we gain wisdom about His ways and choose to value what He values, we will mature as His children and our lives will be blessed.

The Bible mentions many benefits of fearing the Lord, including the promise of Proverbs 22:4: “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life.”


God is love. He is kind. I don't know if I fear him, but since it's revealed to me that it's His command, now I want to!


But how can I learn to fear God?


Consider God's Creation


When we look around at God’s creation—the majesty of towering mountains, the expanse of oceans with their high tides and low tides, the intricacy of delicate flowers, the brilliance of the sun, and the glory of our galaxy—we can catch a glimpse of how awesome our God 

Respect God's Word

Having a high regard for the Bible, the Word of God, is an essential part of growing in the fear of the Lord. When we take time to read Scripture and commit to applying its universal, non-optional truths, we learn more about the nature of God, His ways, and our role as His creatures.

“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees." ( Deuteronomy 17:18-19)

                                                                                                                                           (Source )



Think of God's judgment on Sin.

Here are the verses that made me realize the Fear of the Lord more:

2 Corinthians 5:10-11

Daniel 5:5-6

Matthew 28:3-4

Revelation 1: 12, 17

Deuteronomy 14:22-23 -Tithe

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14



"Do not fear them. Fear ME." I can only hear Dad saying this to me now...

Ball gown of His Love

 Everytime that I would be reminded of His love, I can just imagine that I am wearing a ball gown.

           The love that I am wearing  is the Love that is unfailing, unconditional, everlasting, infinite, it's beyond what you can imagine. I trully believe that this statement by Dieter F. Uchtdorf is even an understatement: Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.

           But what am I wearing before this ball gown of Love? It's the filthy rag of being lost. I thought that I know love. I thought that what I'm wearing is the best that I could have. I was pretty much used to it because of wearing it for years. The insecurities, "I-am-good-for-nothing" thoughts, the idolatry, the worries and all. I was trusting in my own dress of kindness and sincerity to save me. Not knowing that a ballgown of Love is just waiting for me all this time waiting for me to claim who I really am - a princess.

           As I claimed it, as He authored my faith, I am now a Princess wearing the ballgown because when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior (it means He's the one who calls the shots now and I stopped trusting in myself anymore. I can't be the Savior of myself), God became my Father. He adopted me. I finally have that sense of "belongingness" and being cherished. Afterall, He loved me enough to give His all.

           I want to wear this everyday and smile to the heavens as my accessory. He gave this to me and all I ever want now is for other girls to wear theirs.  
           It transformed how I view myself because I now see myself as how He sees me - precious and such a treasure.

            Just like Cinderella's? But mine is not a fairytale it's the real thing. Jesus makes all the difference.



Bought and now Free

This is the story that I heard in this message when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior last January 15, 2012. Until now, every time that I would be reminded that He bought me to set me free, I can easily be brought back to tears. How can I not accept the freedom that He is offering? How can I not serve wholeheartedly the One who gave His everything (even His own life) just to set me free? Accepting it was the best decision I've ever made in my life.



"During the years when slavery was legal in the United States, a gentleman happened upon a slave-bidding in a crowed street. The man paused to observe the activities. As he watched from the edge of the crowd, he saw one slave after another led to a platform, their arms and legs shackled with ropes as if they were animals. Displayed before the jeering crowd, they were auctioned off, one by one.

"Some onlookers would inspect the 'merchandise,' grabbing disrespectfully at the women, examining the muscular arms of the men. The gentleman studied the group of slaves waiting nearby. He paused when he saw a young girl standing at the back. Her eyes were filled with fear. She looked so frightened. He hesitated for a moment and then disappeared briefly. When he returned, the auctioneer was about to start the bidding for the young girl he had noticed beforehand.

"As the auctioneer opened the bidding, the gentleman shouted out a bid that was twice the amount of any other selling price offered that day. There was silence for an instance, and then the gavel fell as 'sold to the gentleman' was heard. The gentleman stepped forward, and waited at the bottom of the steps as the young girl was led down to her new owner. The rope which bound her was handed to the man, who accepted it without saying anything. The young girl stared at the ground. Suddenly she looked up and spat in his face. Silently, he reached for a handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face. He smiled gently at the young girl and said, 'Follow me.' She followed him reluctantly. As they reached the edge of the crowd, he continued to a nearby area where each deal was closed legally.

"When a slave was set free, legal documents, called manumission papers, were necessary. The gentleman paid the purchase price and signed the necessary documents. When the transaction was complete, he turned to the young girl and presented the documents to her. Startled, she looked at him with uncertainty. Her narrowed eyes asked, 'What are you doing?' The gentlemen responded to her questioning look. He said, 'Here, take these papers. I bought you to make you free. As long as you have these papers in your possession, no man can ever make you a slave again.'

"The girl looked into his face. What was happening? There was silence. Slowly, she said, 'You bought me to make me free? You bought me to make me free?' As she repeated this phrase over and over, the significance of what had just happened became more and more real to her. 'You bought me to make me free?' Was it possible that a stranger had just granted her freedom and never again could she be held in bondage and servitude to any man? As she began to grasp the significance of the documents which she now held in her hand, she fell to her knees and wept at the gentleman's feet. Through her tears of joy and gratitude, she said, 'You bought me to make me free. I'll serve you forever!' ( Click here for the source )

This is what's always rushing through my mind and I always to tell this to Him:

                     "You bought me to set me free..now all I want is to serve You all my life."

                                                                                                                        

True Beauty

       I believe that nothing is an accident, so when I actually encounter this podcast over here or here , I just know that it's for me. This is entitled "True Beauty"  by Nicole Whitacre. I don't know who she is but as I listened to her, it's as if she's the other Mr. Thammie Sy (someone God used to remind be that I am beautiful) in my life . But no, I hesitated, Ms. Nicole taught me other thing. She finally made it clear to me that my God is the beautiful One.

       Here's actually my notes while listening to her message. I honestly cried. There are a lot or revelations here.
     

      To see beauty is to see God. 

To know beauty is to know God. 

God's beauty is: 

Eternal

Lovely

Powerful

Wise

Holy

“It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from.” 

― C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces

Beauty comes from my beautiful God. 

If you're complaining about how you look, you're actually arguing not with the mirror but with God.

 You have a controversy with God. 

It's as if you're telling Him "I could do the creation thing a whole lot  better". 

Trust in His wisdom and goodness. 

I am born in God's thoughts. 

That is the Grandest thing. 

I will resolve to receive my body with gratefulness.

Because of the the most stunning act - Jesus dying on the cross. 

I saw beauty once again. 

He reawaken our vision of real beauty.

If you're looking for your beauty, always look in Christ, not in the mirror or camera.

We are to reflect the glory of God.

The reason why we still feel that we are not beautiful enough is because we took the glory away from Him to ourselves.

God is beautiful and He created me in His image 

becomes I am beautiful because God created me. 

The problem now is it starts and ends with us instead of God. 

It's the preoccupation of myself.

I'm  so self absorb.

I think too highly of myself.

I am  aspiring something more.

We thought of the compliments that we will receive later.

We want that few moments of greatness!

We never get what we think we deserve.

We all desire attention and approval for how we look .

We want them to think or to say "Oh, doesn't she look pretty?" 

We are never satisfied.

We want attention and approval but the truth is 

Jesus deserves all the adoration and admiration.

Glory is the Lord's and it is His alone. 

Don't steal His glory.

The problem with vanity  is we took the story and  write us as the lead. We put us in the lead. 

Sin made us glory robbers. We want center stage. We are grasping for glory.

If your heart was genuinely transformed by the Gospel, you will genuinely want God to have all  the glory.

Understanding the true nature of my struggle can hep me overcome it and repent more quickly.

Cure: Gaze to the beauty of the Lord!!!!

The Gospel made me think less frequently about myself.

Imagine that you are in the Revelation 4, in the throne room of God, you will not think about your hair or clothes anymore but just be in awe of the One who is truly Beautiful.

Application: 

look for an aspect of God' s beauty!

where do I see the beauty of God here (as you read the Bible, as you look at his creations)

behold to the beauty of God again

praise Him

As we do that we won't be thinking about ourselves. We will forget about ourselves.

We will focus on our precious God.

It's be for minutes at first and then it'll hours and days of gazing at this beauty. 

Struggle with beauty starts when we put self not God in the center.

He is like the Sun, as long as he is in the center, everything  will stay in their proper places. 

Gospel offers freedom from vanity and self-focus.

            Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

                                                             (Proverbs 31:30)

Praise God's beauty and get praised. :) 

People will sing your praises as well. 

Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
(Psalm 115:1)

       

Remarkable Teaching Skill, Patience and Bubbly Disposition (But really, it's Grace)

             Remember my blog entry entitled "Go Ahead"? (If not, it's here )  Basically, I went  to work and still have my injection at the same day (what-a-favor!) That happened in the month of January alongside with the Cat scratch incident and all.
             Anyway, I  also wrote there the consequences of missing work. That includes the risk of losing a chance in becoming the Best Teacher and go to South Korea (wow di ba? Actually this is one of my faith goals this year,so  faith kung faith!) I know it'll happen eventually (because of God's grace) pero in my mind, it'll be in months like June, July etc. Basta matagal pa. Thus, it's very far from my mind.
            One morning, I was so sleepy (I usually wake up at 3AM) and so tired when I log in on our site. I read a post in the community. I literally screamed and nagising when I realized that I am actually the Best Teacher for January.
            Best Teacher? Me? Waaah! Ang nasabi ko lang talaga kay Daddy (God) at that moment was "Agad, agad?" Grabe ang amazing Nya! Who would've thought that my faith goal for the year would be answered in the same month that prayed and fasted  for it (Fight 2014, thanks prayer partners!) ?
            He really got a different timeline. As my friend Dyna would say "Alam talaga ni Daddy kung kailan sweet."
            Here comes February though.
            Let's say today is the awarding ceremony for the Best Teachers. I was so happy and all, but the next day, guess what happened? I'm late (that's one of the worst things that could happen) . I don't know the purpose but I know I just gotta trust Him. There, I got my first memo. Would they still someone na may memo?
            March. I started with my part time. So basically, from 3AM - 9:30 PM of MWFs,  I'm awake. A challenging month again. It's really a fight against fatigue and all. I don't think I performed well. Thus  the thought of being the Best Teacher again, I pretty much "Let it go".
            But then, I will be reminded that my confidence is not in myself, it's in Him. In fact, it's Him.  Thus I'll be hopeful again and again and again.
           One night, while I'm teaching, my friend kept on coming to my station. I can't talk to her right away of course. After class I hastily asked her the matter. I think she said "Congrats Ycsiieeee! Best Teacher ulit!!"

 I was like  "Whaaaat?"


            "It's You. It's You. This could only be You!"

             April though.
             I received the result of my quarterly evaluation. I failed (because of the late and memo). My SL (Section Leader) said it's pretty ironic -the Best Teacher yet a failure in the evaluation. I'm honestly sad about it but when I actually read her comment about my performance, I ended up being so grateful. She said, "She's relatively new but she managed to be the Best Teacher twice because of her remarkable teaching skill, patience and bubbly disposition..."

           At the back on my mind though, I know that it's only because of Him who planned it all. I know this could only be Him.
           Would they still choose someone na failure sa evaluation? Will I really go to Korea this year?


           One day, I'll post about my trip.(claiming it na) :)