Dec 31 - 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!”

we are humans who love to dwell on our past.
sometimes we tell each other... let's forget about
past and live in the present. but i know i dwell on
many past...

in this passage, it said that he is a new creation!
the old has gone! the new has come!
i think it's talking about to stop worrying about
your old worries... and live your new life!
in joyful world.

i think this is very appropriate passage for end of the year
let's forget about all the bad things that happened in
2008 and enjoy 2009 and do good things!

let's live our christian life! if you mess up
it's okay! just keep on living...

let's give up our old ways... tho
and live our new life!

Dec 30 - John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me
you may have peace. In this world you will
have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world.”

I learned in this verse that we have to believe
in Jesus even if everything goes wrong.

i believe that there are many time I don't have
all my trust in Jesus...

God has overcame the world for us
and we should rejoice and be happy
but we still suffer...
and that's because we are human

we make mistakes and we need to believe
in God...

that's all we have to do...

believe in God.... and give him all we got...

Dec 29 - 1 Corinthians 13

Love...
Love is hard

it is said that there is 4 kinds of love

Brotherly love, Motherly love, Intimate love
and Agape... the unending love

motherly love is one of the important one
the warm love that a mother usually give.
but!
what i want to talk about is Agape
the love that is most important...

i think this verse is very very popular... everyone would
be like "love is kind... love is forgiving..."
love is kind... love is forgiving and love is amazing...
love is unending and everything...

God's love is very important for us...
well number one God loves us... that's important
but i think... why would God write about his love...

i think it's because that's what he wants our love to
base upon. when i read this... this was kind of love
that should always be around...

let's love...

Dec 27 - Hebrew 7:25

aren't these the verses you just want to
hear over and over again?

"Therefore he is able to save completely
those who come to God through him,
because he always lives to intercede for them. "

this is what Jesus would do for us...
it's just amazing to hear these verses
and wow... there is just no words that
can describe the love that Jesus gives us

Jesus is able to save us completely...
completely.. not partially... not only when
we're acting nice... completely and always...
if we live in him... he'll always be with us...
he'll always save us...

that's amazing... wow...
God's love... is amazing and unending...

Dec 26 - 2 Peter 2:4-5

angels go to hell if they sin just once
but we all get more chance then the angels

i found out that we are privileged people
if God didn't care for us ad didn't care about us
we would not be here...

world would have been over a long time ago

i don't know sometimes i look at the bible
and look at the world around us
and ask...

we are lucky bunch of people...
we should be very thankful

and i am very thankful for God
and his amazing grace.

Dec 25 - Mark 4:13-20

4 different ways the seed can be sown...

as Jesus talks in parable... this story is about
4 different way someone can take the word of God...
i mean if they choose to try to accept it.

first you can hear it and it can be taken away from you
like birds snatching away the seeds that are dropped along
the path.

there are so many people who listens to what we say
but all they hear is blah blah blah and you are wrong!
there are ignorant people around us and it's fine...
i can't say i'm not ignorant... so i believe if they don't want
to listen now...? it's not their time

second there are ones who hear it and celebrate but only last
for a little bit for they don't have any roots

i've seen and even i have experience the high of being
christian. at first you feel like God's listening to you
and you feel like little action that happens you are like
"God... your amazing... how did you know..."
but Christianity isn't like that, and i learned it the hard way
if you expect too much of God... there are many times
where your plan isn't God's plan... and you'll be disappointed...
but that shouldn't drive us away from our faith....
but many time... it does...

third... the thorns... that choke you...

so many things in this life wants you to be a
TERRIBLE christians... they want you to fail
they want you to fall in this race and never get up
and you are surrounded by these things constantly.
i am surrounded... constantly of things that i shouldn't be
doing... and sometimes wealth and things like partying
gets in the way of being ourselves.... being christian
and sometimes people fall in love with the world...
and you can't serve both world and God...
and usually if you love the world...
you love the world...

finally good soil!

it's said that crops can produce 30, 60 maybe 100 times
what has been sown. we have to listen to the words
and accept it... and love it....
the more you learn to love the more you'd want to share
it with others. it's hard at first... but why would you not
want to share this awesome gift of God's unending love
God's unending grace... with all your friends?
with all your neighbors... even people you don't
really like...

love your enemies as Jesus told us
let's be planted in the good soil....
and let's grow...

Dec 24 - John 3:16

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

this is the reason why we are saved
our basic of our belief...

sometimes it's good to step back and
look at the basic....
sometimes after we do so much for
Christianity we forget about the basic

God loves us and loves us so much that
he'd give up his only son for us...

in this amazing words...
let's love others like he loves us

Dec 22 - Luke 19:1-11

This verse talks about Zacchaeus... the tax collector
tax collectors weren't the most popular people in this world
they collected there earnings from people and they were
probably back talked and many things before...

so many people in this live in this world is back talked and
talked bad about... and its not fair but we're human and
gossip and many things are going to happen... and no one
in this world can stop that...

i believe that so many people are so self conscious about
what others talk about that.. they change themselves...
sometimes they avoid being in a situation
where people talk about them... sometimes at worse
those places are church.... and those are the times
where people stop going to church and junk...

that's not good... but this passage talks about
it's not about what others talk about...
Jesus can ask you! to dine with him....
i mean if he can pick a tax collector that continually
seek him... if you seek him continually
Jesus will see the real you...
not the you that everyone talks about....

let's love...

Dec 19 - John 3:3

"i tell you the truth, non one can see the
kingdom of God unless he is born again."

born again... christians are suppose to be born again
they are suppose to see the world in a different way
but because we are human we see it in the same way
as anyone else in this world...

God knows that and forgives us for it...
but can we see the kingdom of God?

can i see kingdom of God...?
what is kingdom of God?
was i born again?

in my heart i know i am seeing kingdom of God
i know i fail God so much but isn't it the point..?
loving God and God loving us is all about unending
love from God neverending grace from God...

love so amazing...
everyday i wonder...
wow...
you are an amazing God...

Dec 16 - Matthew 6:9-13

Lord's prayer...

we say the Lord's prayer every sunday right before
we end service. we always say it like we memorized it
and like there is no meaning and we say it like how we
used to say the Pledge of Allegiance during elementry school

when i used to go to elementry school i didn't see any
meaning in the pledge of allegiance... and many christians
see Lord's prayer the same way.

Lord's prayer is very important to us... it highlights every
details of being a christian... such as pledge of allegiance
shows what we should know about being an american...

our father who art in heaven hallow be thy name
thy kingdom come thy wills be done on earth as it is
in heaven... give us this day our daily bread
forgives us of our debts as we forgive others
lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil...

it says everything from forgiving others to be
thankful for God and asking God for help

we should read lord's prayers and know what we're saying...
next time you are saying lord's prayer out loud..
say every words as you mean it...

Dec 15 - Luke 18:1-8

parable of the persistent widow...

this is a story that gets me going all the time
it's about a widow who couldn't get things in her ways
but when she persistently asked for something
at the end she did get it her way even though judge was
at first not willing to listen...

this reminds me of the story of me and praise band
at first i thought that because i knew how to play bass
guitar and was better than everyone in church i should be
playing and i was wrong in that perspective... i thought i was
better than others and i was not paying attention to the
important thing of being in a praise band... which is to
worship God with your heart... not always with your talent...

i persistently asked God for my chance to serve as a
praise band member for many years but no answers came
but i never gave up... i started saying things like oh.. if i played
bass for the praise band then i'd have to go to church and
that'll be actually good for my spiritual life!

but i found out recently that... that wasn't the case
God was waiting for me to learn the lesson of... wanting to
go to church... because i want to worship God and give my all to God
not to play bass every friday sunday.

sophmore year in college i attended church regularly to
all the meetings and i realized that when i said i'd go to church
more frequently if i play in praise band... that's going more to
just play bass... and i'd not beable to see the whole picture of
serving God by playing bass.

i was persistent on asking but God ignored me for my good...
i believe that i learned so much more from my mistakes... so much
more by not serving... and now that i'm serving... i'm going through
and learning more about serving.

now there is a complete different obstacle, but
going to church 5 days a week... frustrates every once inawhile...
but... it's not frustration... that's just devil working in us..
church 5 days a week... going to church at 9:30 is...
joy....

feeling God's love for us... is joy...
i still have to learn and grow much more in Christ.

Dec 12 - matthew 18:7-9

if it causes you to sin...
cut it off and throw it away...

Jesus once said in this passage that if your
eyes cause you to sin then gouge it out
if your hands cause you to sin... cut it off
because it's better to enter heaven crippled
then to go to hell.

this passage shows Jesus pulling out the eternal damnation
usually we talk about heaven and how our
awesome afterlife is going to be, but
this is the darker side. this is what would happen
to us if we mess up.

in christ alone we will live eternal life
meaning going to heaven but we do need to know
there is a flip side to this. there is eternal damnation

let's wake up and smell the air.
I don't think just because our hand or something
is causing you to sin you should cut it off

but i think God is just showing...
this is serious... so wake up....

let's live a christian life and try our best not to sin
although it is impossible to stop sinning altogether..

Dec 11 - Psalm 86:11

11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

i feel there are many times where i feel like
i do everything and it's not right
teach me your ways o lord...

i want to walk in the truth and i want to walk the truth

i've been reading psalm and it's just...
wow... so much compassion... so much love
towards God.

give me an undivided heart oh lord
because you are incredible...
you are just amazing and you just does so much
for me

i think we should all live by the word
and God will always help us
and God will always be on our side....

Dec 10 - Psalm 19:14

may the words of my mouth and the medication
of my heart be pleasing to you...

Psalm 19 is a passage that has been turned into
Worship music and when i sing that song it convicts me
my words things that come out of my mouth should
glorify God... and ultimately be pleasing to him

but so many times i feel like what i say doesn't please him
so many times i say things that i shouldn't say...
words we say makes so much impacts specially when
we go around putting label on ourselves saying that we are
christians.

it's good to label ourselves as christians... it's good to stand
out of the crowd... it''s good to be different... different from everyone
but when we label and say that we are christians we have to
make sure what we do what we say shows who we are
and if we say that we're christians

we should act the way christians do.
if we go around saying that we're christians
but then do something that's against everything
that that bible says.... it's not right...

there are so many times i feel like i hate someone
or i dislike something or anything... but even if life is hard
i have to remember that i am a christian and i'm going to
live this life and run this race...

let's keep faith! let's show who we are
to the world...

Dec 9 - James 1:2-5

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

persevere... and you'll learn...

life has thrown to me many things
something i love to do or that i love
and somethings that i just don't want to do.
life is full of surprises...

every time i face trials...
i blame my problems to God
every time i face trials...
i think it's something bad

but this passage has thought me to rejoice
that God's trying to fix my life and it will
develop perseverance and so many times
i believe that i need to grow how to wait
how to become a better person

teach me your ways... Jesus

Dec 8 - psalm 55:22-23

this is a passage i like to read
when i am down....

kcast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you...
he'll never let righteous fall....

we are the righteous and we will never fall behind Jesus

there are so much courption in this world
and i'd say that i'm even one of them
i am so corrupted and i don't deserve this great
love this great mercy of God but he comes down
to rescue me and i'm so thankful for that
i love Jesus... i love God
and i have all my trust in him...

God will bring down what's bad and take us away to a better place
and Jesus will come back and save us....

"I love you Lord and i lift my voice
to worship you oh my soul... rejoice..."

i'm unworthy... yet you love me...

how can i hate... how can i not love....
i love you Lord with all my heart and soul

dec 6 - Luke 22:31-34

You will..

Jesus knows us better than anyone around...
in this passage... Peter says that he'd die for Jesus
that he'd go to prison for Jesus, but we all know
he denys Jesus, and Jesus knew that...

This was the first verse that was in the bible study
and it was verse i can relate to well.

there are so many times I tell Jesus that
I will stop doing this sin... I would change
and I will do all that... but at the end
i go back to my troubles... I go back to the sins

and as the bible study says in john 21...

Jesus shows that... even though we go through hard time
and sin so much... if we are willing to change and live for him
he's willing to forgive us...

our heart is the one that's not ready for forgiveness
because even though it's our fault that this has happened
Jesus is ready to forgive us for whatever we've done.

Jesus is reaching out to us...
let's reach back....
and let's love...

dec 4 - habakkuk 1:1-11

"how long, o lord, must i call for help, but you do not listen?"
i started reading the book of habakkuk today
and i read the first 4 verses and i couldn't agree more sometimes
sometimes i just feel like God's not there
i just want to yell and be like
"WHY GOD?"
if he loves us so much.... why must we suffer
and i already know the reason... we suffer because
he loves us and he wants us to be fixed and be better

verse 1-4 is about habakkuk complaining about his situation he is in
and verse 5-11 clearly states why it's happening and God answers

God will always answer... if we complain he will tell us why
why we feel like God's not here...
i know there are so many times where i blame God for my problems
and humans or just anyone in earth is quick to blame God for our problem
if God is so amazing and strong... where is he now?
where is he now when I'm suffering...
remember the story...
"i was the one footstep in the sand... i was carrying you on your hard times"
remember that God's always with us and he'll always love us


so let's follow God... let's love...

Dec 3 - Mark 2:1-12

"i tell you get up, take your mat and go home..."
and the paralytic got up and walked home....

wow... that's all i can say to that passage

these are the passages.... these are the passages that
non believers or people who love to challenge our belief would say
how?
why?

there are many things in life that people just won't understand...
even i don't understand God's love... but all i know is
he loves us unconditionally...

i had a atheist friend who used to came up to me
and used to challenge me about the bible
and what was said in it...

days when i read passages like these makes me remember him...

"dave do you really believe God or Jesus did whatever he did
make blind see and make parayltic walk?"

and everytime he asks me those questions
i told him simply yeah i believe that

he'd tell me that my answers are biased and that i'm not
thinking clearly...
but one day we had a intense talk and then he told me
dave i don't agree with you, but i admire your faith in something...

God is working on all of us...
we are all just a paralytic his eyes...
but for us who found him...
he came up to us
and he told us...
"get up and walk home..."
actually Jesus....
i'll run home to your arms...
let's love...

Dec 2 - Matthews 13:31-32

"vote now and make difference"
these days life is full of people saying that
one person can make a difference but there
are so many times when you feel like you can't
you can't make a difference.
These verses talk about the parable of Mustard Seed

Mustard Seed is the smallest seed around and mustard
tree is one of the biggest trees around


there are many ways to take this verse but i believe
the smallest difference can make a big difference
mustard seed is a best way to describe that you can make a difference
i can make a difference and anyone in this world can change the world
sometimes people think that they are just one out of

6,602,224,175 people

and we are.... but we are all special and we all can make a difference...

Dec 1 - Roman 2:1-4

This passage has stood out to me
my "the message" has called this chapter
"God is kind but not soft" and it's perfect way to put it
first verse is true that we often find ourselves passing judgment
on others while we do the same things.
we are very controversial and we are not a perfect being.
because we are human because we are people
we make mistakes and because we are people
and because we are human we judge others...
and (verse 4) many people don't realize how important
God's kindness is to for our repentance.
repenting doesn't make sense and it shouldn't
we do things wrong and just because we admit that we did
something wrong and have sinned.
God forgives us.... that doesn't make sense to me at all.
and for God to forgive us... it's just his amazing love
and amazing grace and his amazing kindness...
we should thank God for his kindness and his amazing love always

i enjoyed this passage because soemtimes it's hard to see
why God would love and forgive such a sinner as I
but God does and I'm so thankful for everything he has done
for me and i'd always live my life for his glory

peace.

don't judge or you too will be judged

today I read from Matthew 7:1

how I got to this passage is because I was searching mindlessly about people judging each other and I felt like I was being quick to judge and I felt unrighteous.

"1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.""

what is judging others?

when someone do you wrong... when someone makes you so angry... and you just have to... you just have to talk about that person to make you feel better.... is that okay?

no it's not... it's not okay...

we are all hypocrites... we're all sinners...

no one is higher or lower then anyone

so lets treat everyone with same amount of dignity

I'm not saying that I always treat everyone with same amount of dignity... I'm guilty of that in many ways.... I feel judged but also when i say that... I can't say that sometimes i do deserve it. and most of the time... I do deserve it. you fall I fall we all fall.... I'm just saying... let's keep this verse in mind.

gossiping and talking about others is fun and all but let's keep this verse in mind....

keep in mind that if you judge someone... you will be judged the same... if you judge someone.... sometimes it'll be like your trying to remove a speck of dust from someone else's eyes when you have a plank in front of yours.

know yourself before you judge others... don't judge others but correct their actions... help one another... when you correct others... do it because you want that person to become better... i think that's what differs from judging someone and correcting someone.

judging someone would be talking about person's mistake without thinking of the growth of that person but correcting someone would be talking about that person's problem for their growth...

Christians... we're all in same team.... let's stop hurting each others and support each others by correcting each others...

let's love....

I for one....

Loving God
Worshipping God
Praising God
Praying to God

all starts with just one

if there's no one...
be not afraid... there's always Jesus with you

everything starts with us... just one is enough...

"Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall"
psalm 55:22

God cares for us forever and ever
if we fight for him and if we're righteous
we will never fall

let's fight for Jesus...