Drawing Feet Into the Bed

[S] Genesis 49:33 --
33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

[O] I am pretty sure I journaled on this passage before, but it hits me every time about this beautiful and peaceful scene where Jacob (Israel) addresses his family and then as a sign of "I have finished," he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last.  It was as if he chose to make that breath his last before giving into hands of God.  A contrasting scene would look like grasping to live on a little longer while regretting why the end came so suddenly and quickly.  Jesus also "breathed His last" on the Cross.  The sense of accomplishment of completing the task God granted must be an awesome and peaceful scene.

[A] I would love to live my life similar to Jacob's of completing it with peace and confidence to "draw in my feet into my bed" before breathing my last.  My mine quickly flashes back to the image imprinted deeply of my own father's face as I walked out of that ICU.  There was a bit of sadness but more so there was the expression of "drawing his feet into the bed to breath his last" as he shook his head gently to each side.  Right on that bed, he shared and passed on the spiritual legacy of how he had tried to live for God and pass on that "faith" to us.  He did that and I would like to sustain that legacy down to my children.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for such divine mentors like Jacob and my dad to look up to as I align my life also to be like them -- just to look to You and only You.  As my dad's birthday is approaching and this passage You spoke to me reminds me of our last encounter, I am just so grateful for giving me a solid foundation called family from which I can springboard into this world to carry out Your tasks until I pass on from this world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Some Times Fast, Some Times Slow

[S] Acts 13:3,19 --
 ³Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 
 ¹⁹"When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance--all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 

[O] These two verses highlighted two contrasting views: 1) When I have God's conviction, I should not delay moving forward right away after fasting and praying; 2) Development of God's ministry from ground up requires time to mature.  Both are participating in God's will and yet depending on the situation I need to discern to either do a 100m dash, or run a marathon.

[A] Some times I'm too cautious about moving forward with God's convictions.  I do too much of a the Gideon's testing by looking from various angles to make sure.  But seeing how the leaders from Acts I need to learn to fast, pray, bless (lay hands), and start (send) down the path of God's conviction with confidence.  On the other hand, when the development of the ministry seems to take too long, remember that God let the Israelites 450 years to settle into the Promised Land which He had already allocated for His people to take over.

[P] Dear Father, please allow me wisdom to discern how I should act in my current ministry roles.  At times I feel like I should move quickly with conviction; and yet at times I cannot see how we can cover so much in such a short duration.  I need Your wisdom daily so I don't get stressed out too much so I ask for Your peaceful understanding of my circumstances better.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Disorder vs. Order and Peace

[S] James 3:16-18 --

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

¹⁸And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

[O] The comparisons to note here: jealousy/selfish ambition vs. wisdom from above; disorder vs. peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy; evil vs. righteousness. Also displays the cause and effect here: jealousy/selfish ambition => disorcer/evil; wisdom from above => pure, peace, gentle, reasonable, mercy, fruitful, unwavering, no hypocrisy. The media carries a lot of issues in our world but not many solutions are offered in light of them. We see a lot of editorials and suggestions but rarely we see a clear statement telling us what the root cause is and how we need to correct ourselves because for the most part the focus is on the symptoms rather than the cause. This passage provides a view into why we have disorder in our society (including our homes and churches) -- jealousy and selfishness is the cause. So before we can begin to fix the disorderliness, we must identify the jealousy and selfishness and remove them. Then the natural outcome is mentioned in subsequent verses.

[A] Don't get too stuck in looking at the symptoms of the issues around me but pray and seek for His wisdom on understanding where the root causes may lie.

[P] Dear God, as the God of order in this world, I bow down humbly before You to submit my disorderly mind such thatI may be the recipient of Your wonderful fruits in my life in an orderly fashion according to Your timing. Please be with our church today as I go over the second part of the small group ministry structure so the church would embrace the new ministry with the passion in unity and order. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Power Of Peace

[S] Psalm 29:11 -- 
The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Mark 4:38 --
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

[O] In some sense "strength" and "peace" do not go too well because I envision a powerfulness like the Hulk when it comes to strength while peace gives the sense of serenity of a calm lake.  So as I was reading Psalm 29:11 I was thinking: how can God give the strenth as well as the peace to His people at the same time?  Subsequently as I was reading Mark 4, the whole scene of Jesus sleeping in the midst of the fierce storm who moments later had the power to calm it down gave light to the true power from God -- it is founded in the peaceful relationship with God foremost.  The power of sustaining through the storms of life in a total peaceful presence of God is the awesome power God desires me to attain.

[A]  In order to live strong and victorious days, I need to start the days by having recharging sessions with God in His peacefulness -- in a quiet time before others wake up, reading through His Word to touch and fill my heart.

[P]  Dear God, may my yearning for victorious and love-filled days be inspired by the peaceful times I will have with you.  Let me not dash out of the house charging ahead like a knight on a mighty horse but to head out with a confidence of knowing that your peace would flow through me like a mighty ocean wave throughout my day, with many different people I would interact with.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.