Exodus 20:24-26

I love the Bible because it is living and it keep talking to me.

I was looking back on my posts in this blog and I realized that how many times I have wrote negligently especially with my language. Gosh, I wish I will take blogging more seriously and that my God's name will be glorified and know through this blog. Oh Lord Jesus, may you grant me the wisdom and the gift of writing that in my blog, many would hear about Your name.

In my morning devotion, (I was still grasping through the Bible in one year) today, my reading is on Exodus 19-21. My heart stopped (literally )when I read Exodus 20:24-26 because God was speaking to me through these few verses.

Exo 20:24 - "Make an altar of earth for Me and sacrifice on it your burn offerings and fellowship offerings; your sheep, goats and cattle.

Meaning of burnt offering (biblegateway.com): In Hebrew it means "ascending" where the whole being consumed by fire and as regarded that the whole being is ascended to God.

Meaning of fellowship offering (biblegateway.com): Another word for fellowship offering is "peace offering" or "thank offering". This indicate that he person who offer the offering already reconciled and make peace with God.

In explanation: This very verse in Exo 20:21 is urging us to come before the Lord in bringing burn offering and fellowship offering to Him, which in laymen term it mean bringing our lives which included our body, desires, hopes, sorrows and pain to "ascend" it all to God. (which also included out sins, as we confessed our sin it is ascend to God and in return we receive forgiveness). We are also to bring an fellowship offering to God, in laymen term it mean a relationship with God. We can go to God and have a relationship with Him because we have reconciliation through the blood of Jesus Christ, so now we are called into sonships.

Action: As a whole being offered all that I have included our goats, sheep, cattle (in today's word, it mean my possessions, house, desires, money, career, and etc) to God
And also because of what Jesus has done I am now having a relationship with Him.

Have I surrender all that I have to God today? and Am I having a relationship with Him, bringing to Him our sins and to reconcile with Him?

Exo 20:24 - {NIV) Wherever, I caused my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
NLT : "build my altar wherever I caused my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.

Today, to build God's altar mean the place "where God appeared" and it many times build as an memorial that God appeared.

God's altar today is Christian. We are God's altar because our body is the temple of God now (1 Cor 6:19) and a lot of time our lives is as memorial of the presence of God in this world. Which is why it is so important for us in our action, and live to keep an good memorial of GOD, so other see our lives and would see God.

The most lovely verse came after that when He say "I will come to you and bless you" - It is an guarantee, a seal covenant that God is blessing His altars (Christian, His children). Oh What a great comfort! What a great comfort. :) I'm opening my hand, to receive His blessing.... hey, you should try that too :)

Action: Is my life show a good memorial of God or the other way? I, as the altar have the responsibility to Glorified God's in our action and lives.



wowowow... one verse already God says so much to me. I will learned from Him. Got to go now... will continue hopefully ;p

Peace

How ironic that in this time of the world, the word "peace" is so seldom being pursuit or even being mentioned at all.

"Peace" is not the attraction to this generation; money, career, pleasure are the attraction for this generation. People can go through wicked ways or very selfish way to get what they want even though they need to forgo "peace". Someone, the attracting to the later is much more important to them.

But how sad, because in the end we would know that we will get nothing back in return.

23 Jan

Where should I begin.... life indeed begin in our mind.
When our mind is not healthy, our body will follow and our lives will then deteriorate.
But when our mind is happy, positive and healthy, our lives will be at the other climax.

My pain

Again, I fell from my bike. This is not the first time.
The more I fall the more painful it gets, it so painful that I begin to feel numb.
I have no more tears to share.

I wish someone would come to my heart and stay one night to understand the misery and pain that I'm going through. Yes, I have no illness disease, no losing of my family member, my country do not have the earthquake like in Haiti but my heart is grieving with so much pain of the experience of falling from the bike. It was one of the most challenging lesson of my life. And.. I'm still learning.

I asked the Lord, "God, would you spare me?" I have enough, I would not want to ride a bike anymore. I could not understand why will I still fall from the bike even though I have did all the best that I can to prevent myself from falling and I was riding with all the protection and with great care.

"Not again.." I was telling the Lord.

I took a moment, and just be quiet before Him because at this point I could not cry anymore. I begin to listen.

I was reading a book from Elisabeth Elliot and here she quote from Paul "What do you possess that was not given you?"

God has given me everything and I need to acknowledge that all the event and things in my life was permitted by Him. It is not out of control that I fell again but it is in HIS control, so I fell.

And because all from God, all i need to offer it back to Him.

"Having given my all, I may specifically offer my time, my work, my prayers, my possessions, my praise, and --- yes --- my sufferings." -EE

I then put out my both of my hand and lift it up toward heaven and say, "Lord, I offer this suffering to you. This suffering comes from You and I accept the lessons you want to teach me behind it."

The thought of the songs "Blessed be Your Name" where the lyrics sang
"You gave and take away
You gave and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name."

The power to offer up our suffering to God is a step to victory but it does not mean the pain will be gone in a zap. It will still be there... but the different will be, you able to walk through this thorny road with a HOPE. HOPE knowing that God is at the other side, opening His arms waiting to say, "Well done, my faithful daughter."

May the name of Christ be praise and glorified.

Malaysia needs You - (Song by Passion, Breathe)

God has been gracious to me, His servant. Such an unworthy and undeserving Ruth, yet He still loves me and constantly reveals to me His riches treasure of His knowledge and understanding in the Bible. I could not have thank Him enough.

Just as it was said, "All things come of Thee, O Lord and of Thine own have we given Thee." Lord, we give you all things because all things have been given by You. This is our offering.

I asked God, what is happening to our country and world. Lord, please let me know what is happening? The Lord answered me in my daily devotion as I do the Cover to Cover devotional guide.

As I was reading through the chapter in Exodus, the situation in Egypt is very similar to the situation in our world now.

1) Exodus 3:7 - The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey .."

Our world is groaning in pain and people are being oppressed by violent and wickedness.

"In Aceh, a students in Langsa, who experienced a return to violence, when she was allegedly raped by three sharia policemen. The strong reaction is not only related to the rape itself but the authority of the Sharia police. Another case, a students and a male friend were arrested, while the man was released while she was raped by the members of Wilayatul Hisbah " http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/21/letters-stop-violence-aceh.html

"Haiti is among the four most important countries for drug transit to the United States. Law and order in Haiti is deteriorated as a result. Kidnapping, death threats, murders, drug related shootouts, robberies are common in Haiti." http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1134.html


2) Exodus 8-11 : The plagues of Blood, Frogs, Gnats, Flies, Livestock, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness and Firstborn.

God is doing something to those who have wickedness in their nation. Those nation who do not fear God and defiled the name of the LORD. They will see plagues and what we are seeing here in Aceh, Haiti, Malaysia is only the beginning.

In Aceh, December 2004 - Almost 2% of the whole population in Aceh lost their lives during the Tsunami. 500,000 were left homeless and approximately 230,000 were killed.

In Haiti 12 January 2010 : A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M earthquake hit Haiti, it claimed 100,000 to 200,000 lives at least.

Verse 10:3 said "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?"

Lessons I learned

Truly God is majesty. He is the author and the perfecter of our FAITH.
He is a God who has PLANS for His children, PLANS to Prosper us, and not to Harm us, PLANS to give us HOPE and a FUTURE.

Just as the praises sings in Jeremiah 10:12 "But God made the earth by His power, he founded the world by His WISDOM and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."

Malaysia needs You

Malaysia needs You.

The Malaysia's flag had stand tall and the strong wind made the flag look like a peaceful wave. Today, I passed by Dataran Merdeka, where located the tallest poll that hang our dearest Malaysia's flag.

As I was driving pass the flag, the song of my MP3 was playing the song "Breathe". It was singing "I'm desperate for You, I'm lost without You." It was a moment for God and I. God revealed to me that Malaysia need Him, that I need Him.

It is time, His eyes will be upon Malaysia.
It is time, He has heard enough the cries of His people who were under oppression and injustice.
It is time, He will come and bring judgment upon our land.
It is time, He will bring Hope to our land, that our sins can be forgiven through Jesus Christ.

My heart as fell from a tall building, Lord, I confessed my sins and the sins of our country. O Lord, we need You. Our country is desperate for You. O God, we are lost without You. Malaysia desperately need You, as I am speaking here Lord, even I desperately need You. O God, come O Lord. Come.