Prayer for a brother

Dear GOD,

I pray for my brother Cecil. LORD, You know what he is going through.
Please be with him and strengthen him, O LORD. Surround him with Your
enduring love!

It isn't easy dealing with breakdowns in relationships, but LORD, You
can empathize with my brother. You experienced denial and betrayal
from Your beloved disciples. You know how it feels to have your
beloved turn upon you.

LORD, grant my brother wisdom and understanding. Help him deal with
the challenging situation of working through a divorce, while having
to meet his wife at her brother's wedding. It isn't easy dealing with
emotional hurts like this but You are able! You are willing and You
are faithful, LORD. I cry out to You, Father, that You help my brother
and his wife. LORD, I still hold out to the hope that they will
reconcile. Father, when all else seems hopeless, we have our unceasing
hope in our LORD Jesus Christ. Please hear our prayers and heal this
relationship. Let the open wounds heal, Father! Bind them together
again in Your love. Your love is a reconciling love. You reconciled us
unto Yourself. Please reconcile my brother and his wife.

Thank You, Father.

In Jesus's Name,
Amen

The Answer

I believe you are the answer to every tear I've cried

I believe that you are with me

My rising and my light

 

Give me strength when I am weary

Give me hope when I can't see

Through the crosses I must carry

Lord, bind my heart to thee

 

That when all my days are over

And all my chores are done

I may see your risen Glory

Forever where You are

 

Lyrics by Corrine May Ying Foo

 

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel."

 

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2:25-35 NKJV.

 

The day will come when we will be laid to rest. When our eyes will shut one last time and our body will stir no more. When the rhythm of life as we know it will cease. No more role playing, no more dreams, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain. Our soul will be released from our body. What then remains? Things of eternity: faith, love and hope. Faith in God; love for one another; hope for the day when we will reunite in the world unseen.

 

For my friends who walk with me when I was weak. For my family who love me for who I am. For the LORD my God who knows me by name.

 

Agape,

Sv  +

AD 1973 - AD 20xx

 

Because He Lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, All fear is gone

And because I know, I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives

 

The day before I turned a year older, I woke up wishing for three things in my life - peace in my heart, a simple life and staying rooted.

Nothing overly ambitious I guess, nor outwardly progressive, nor financially viable. What is wrong with her? Some would implore.

Life is not defined by what we have, even if we have a lot. Life is defined by what we become in the Potter's hands. 

 

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am.

Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? Matthew 16:24-26 The Message.

 

I am not saying don't work hard, give up your dreams or aspirations. But I am saying in the midst of being caught up in busyness and complexity of making a living,

don't neglect your soul and not negate the worth of the soul of others, be they good or evil.

 

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best - the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. Matthew 5:43-45 The Message.

 

We would be merely existing if we had nothing to believe in, nothing to sustain our soul. No one to stand by us, no God to turn things around.

Times when we give our darnest, only to be damned. When we speak the truth, only to be marginalised. When what happens in our lives gives us no reprieve.

As we try to manage, things get out of control. And we come to the end of ourselves. At the end of our natural ability, we become aware of God's divine intervention.

 

He turns the ordinary around. He restores the soul. You find yourself having the strength to go through an ordeal. The unexpected happens and you are filled with gratitude.

In the midst of realigning yourself, God is realigning your life. If not for faith, love and hope; there would have been no reason for living, for believing that God works for the good of those who love Him. There's where faith is built, strength is found and hope is renewed.

 

Shalom,

Sv

 

Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.

~ Rabbi J. Gordon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mistakes We Make

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned. And done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Psalm 51:1-4 NKJV.

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:10-13,17 NKJV.

 

David, whom God regarded as one after His own heart, had committed a grave offense against a man under his charge - he had committed adultery with his general's wife and later masterminded the man's murder. However, when confronted by Nathan the prophet, David acknowledged his misdeed and remorsefully sought forgiveness in the face of God.

Like David, we are all capable of wrongdoing everyday. Ironically, it is when mistakes are made and when misfortunes have befallen that we are made stronger, wiser and kinder.

 

The mistakes we make help us recognise our frailties and grow from them. Unless we have fallen, we would not truly appreciate the chance to get back on our feet.

Until we know how it feels to be brokenhearted, then can we be filled with thanksgiving and wholeness for being loved, cherished, honoured and accepted wholly, unconditionally.

Had it not for His mercies, loving-kindness and love; mankind would not have lasted. God in totality has found completion in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Shalom,

Sv   ".+ 

 

 

 

Valley-forged Faith

Valley, an area of land lying between two lines of hills or mountains; also used symbolically to refer to the difficulties in life.

It is easy to pay homage to God and get on with life when everything is going well. It is a totally different story when things fall apart.

Assailed, plundered and left wounded in the valley; it is easy to give in to exhaustion, to give up, to stop believing, to curse God, to harden our hearts.

 

Yet, it is when the night is the darkest; when pain is the sharpest; when hurt is the deepest; that the heart wails its mourning.

At the end of road, life becomes ironically clear. On the brink of despair, the condition of our heart underlying the substance of our faith  is abashedly exposed.

The last strand of faith that fights on to trust God on the final outcome. To remain on the anvil, until steadfastness is smelted into a valley-forged faith.

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NKJV.

 

Shalom,

Sv   ".+

 

 

 

So You Would Come

Before the world began
You were on His mind
And every tear you cry
Is precious in His eyes
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was done
So you would come

 

Nothing you can do
Could make Him love you more
And nothing that you've done
Could make Him close the door
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was done
So you would come

 

Come to the Father
Though your gift is small
Broken hearts, broken lives
He will take them all
The power of the Word
The power of His blood
Everything was done
So you would come

 

("So You Would Come" by Hillsong United)

 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Matthew 27:46 NKJV.

Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?" Matthew 27:46 The Message.

 

The pain of separation. The source is love. That you'd be loved.

 

Sv  ".+

 

 

The Heart

A fragile heart was broken before
I don't think it could endure another pain
But there's a voice from deep inside of you
That's calling out to make you realise

 

That this new bond gives inspiration
To all who feel no love appeal no more
So how can I break this wall around you
That's aiding both our hearts to grow in pain

 

So forget your past, and we can dream tomorrow
Save our hearts for care and loving too
It's hard I know, but oh
One thing for sure
Don't go and break this fragile heart

 

("Fragile Heart", Westlife)

 

I read somewhere that a heart can be broken, but it goes on beating just the same.

Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing that I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." 1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV.

 

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!"

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him.

For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:6-7 NKJV.

 

So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one."

Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.

And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." 1 Samuel 16:8-11 NKJV.

 

So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:12-13 NKJV.

 

If God had intended to please the people with a king, he'd choose a man pleasing in appearance; but, if he'd wanted one after his own heart, he should not be chosen by the outside.

God looks at the heart, and sees the thoughts and intent. He judges man by it. True beauty is within, and man is judged by his mind and not his expression or appearance.

At the end of the day, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

 

Shalom,

Sv   ".+