Blessed Beyond Words (Part II): Matters of the Heart

I can't believe how MUCH God is being gracious in answering my prayer!

I found one of my best friends writing a blog:

http://thegirlhewants.wordpress.com/

For those of you who've been following my posts, I keep saying that I hope to achieve a sense of fellowship and community with this blog -- and He just keeps pouring in more people! He's allowed me to reach people I would never have met without His leading; and, He's re-connecting me with the people who mean a lot to me!

One of my best friends, whom I haven't heard from in like -- FOREVER -- have recently started blogging again. And it's just so overwhelming to hear how people very dear to you are doing, especially in their walk with God.

I can't believe I actually went through ALL (well, there were just 4, but still, ALL) her posts and couldn't stop myself from giggling and sighing all through the time I was reading! I was not only reading about how she's been lately, but I'm reading about how SWEET God has been to her! IT'S JUTS EXHILARATING! I WAS STOKED -- so of course, the only logical thing to do was WRITE ABOUT IT!

Check her blog out! I'll be posting a link to her blog (along with her blogger profile) on the "The Communion of Saints" drop-down page. Her blog is mainly about her relationship with God, and how God has been teaching her the truth in RELATIONSHIPS. Yup, it's a blog about love, heart-aches, Mr. Right, among other things a girl walking with God has to deal with. But NOPE, it's not exclusively for girls -- as brothers and sisters, co-saints, we learn from the way God speaks to each of us -- so I encourage you to check it out. Here's the link again: http://thegirlhewants.wordpress.com/

The Saint Communes 5 (3.2)

Coincidentally, today's passage both for the Love Series and the Saint Commune is one and the same! (Talk about God knowing?! :D)

*******

John 13:33-35

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2013:33-35&version=NIV

In this passage, Jesus gave the disciples a NEW command:

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Why?

Well, firstly, of course, IT'S A COMMAND. We have to follow, we are servants after all!

Secondly? Well, let's see what Jesus has to say:

"By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." (Jn. 13:35)

This is our mark, it's that which sets us apart. LOVE.

This world is very keen on love, yet it never really understood it. If you'd ask me? In this world, without God, there is no love. It's just a complex chain of Social Exchange taking place. It's when people do things JUST BECAUSE they benefit from it, and/or they're getting something equal to that which they spend/give out.

So if we only do such, what then sets us apart? We are after all, citizen's of Heaven, Bride of the Lamb!

The answer? Jesus Christ clearly said it: LOVE.

If we learn to love others, only then can the world see we truly are loving.

Thing is, love is not something our humanness can handle, so how can we love?

If, and only IF, we get to know His love for us. (1 Jn. 4:19) We cannot give what we don't have, and love is not something we humans are capable of.

So at the end of it all? It still is all about our relationship with Jesus. The more we know Him, the more we experience His love; and the more we experience that, the more we learn to love others; the more others we love, the more people will come to know Him; and the more people coming together in Him, the more love goes around!

So, LOVE ON! But be sure to get it from the right source!

Saintly Notes

Well, this is a short break-ish from the Saint Commune stuff I've been posting.

I realized, that I kind of want to just make this post a normal (sort of?) blogpost, where it's more personal that the Saint Commune posts...

So yup, I've just had a very tiring day from helping out as a volunteer at our local church for the VBS (Vacation Bible School) this week. What's so tiring?

I'm handling PRE-SCHOOLERS! :O

Yes, they're cute and cuddly... But they are quite a handful.

So what about it? Well, if you guys saw the video I posted just before this post? The VBS includes a whole lot of catchy tunes, that's selected to emphasize the themes and lessons to the children. If you watched the video, it IS really for children, and a pretty upbeat tune to it too.

So imagine, quite a bunch of those songs, about 13-15 songs like those? Some are slow, some are fast, but all are catchy, all were action songs, and all had videos of children having fun singing and dancing them.

What about it?

Well imagine, songs like that I posted? I ACTUALLY HAD TEARS WELLING UP WHEN I FIRST SANG THAT. Yup... And even while the kids were singing, jumping up and down having fun? I was with them, but trying to hold back the tears. This was the scenario for almost ALL of the songs...

And I know, there's only one reason for that...

I am coming back to a place where I am in awe again of just who He is... :')

The songs all had a message of His love; very understandable, I mean these activities are conducted largely because of its evangelistic nature. And a great way of opening people (most especially kids) to God's salvation, is to expose them to God's great LOVE first.

For these songs to have such an impact on me? (Well, I am a very emotional person... And I know there's something when I'm singing for Him and it just feels... Different. ) I must have really strayed from Him, or at least His face, for way too long: He had to remind me of His great love yet again.

It's so easy to get caught up in a LOT of things that we end up forgetting who God is, and what He is to us. Yes, our minds keep what we know about Him in storage, and when asked, we all know what to say... But when circumstances are already there? Do we really know these truths? Or do we KNOW them? Its something else to have it implanted onto you heart through experiences, compared to just being able to read/hear about them (like in this blog for instance).

There is a reason for everything, me volunteering, the songs, and even the lessons.

Well, I'm sort of the teacher's assistant for the pre-schoolers... And so, that means, I got to ran-through the bible stories we'd be teaching the children. As always, (for those who know me) I'm late again. I only confirmed to be a volunteer, 3 days before the VBS starting day! So I only got to run through everything awhile ago.

To my surprise? While reading aloud the script for teaching the stories which I grew up hearing (like Jonah, Elijah, etc) I was, again, holding back my tears!!! Talking about how God sent fire for Elijah when he prayed, about Jonah and how God watches over him, and many more ACTUALLY made me cry.

I was like this ... ARGH! I don't think I have an illustration for such.

Ah! Think about being away for so long, and then all of a sudden you see a video of your family when you had Christmas years ago... And then you see how much they cared for you, how much it all meant to you, etcetc. But even that doesn't capture the exact feeling... With God? It's just different.

I guess I still haven't learned my lesson that He had to bring me to VBS for a week and learn with all these toddlers about Him.

Sometimes? Its the simple truths that mean the most... The most complex doctrinal truths mean nothing if the truth about YOU and GOD, His Love, His Son, and your Salvation are not in place. Somehow, we tend to be over confident and think that we are spiritual mature, so much so that these simple truths, we refer to as "baby food" now. But then again, God's word is God's word. And there's a reason why God is making me go back to the simple truths, and making me write it for you to read it.

God is speaking, its time for us to listen...

The Saint Communes 3.1

A little something more about LOVE. Before you could even think about knowing more about LOVE... You have to remember, how MUCH He loves you!

The Saint Communes 3

Well, this was supposed to be another "fast-food take-out" until I got to read the passage again, and realized how there was SO much more to it than I first saw.

I read this passage last night, and after reading, I went straight to a long prayer (the kind where you feel like you're just on the phone talking to a friend? yup, that!) and we talked about this passage. He did enlighten me, but then again, His word really is ALIVE; so after reading it again now for this post ... It took on a whole new form.

*******

1 John 4:7 - 5:1

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204:7%20-%205:1&version=NIV

Yup, if you clicked the link and read: The topic is unmistakably LOVE.

So what about love? That was my very first question the first time I read that.

The answer? What NOT about love?

I mean LOVE is the very foundation of our faith. Salvation and the cross is founded on LOVE. God is even called LOVE.

Talking about gifts? Paul talked about the "GREATER GIFT," it being? LOVE!

Love is a very overrated word, given the kind of world we live in now. But as it turns out, for our faith to be founded on such a word? There must really be something to it.

Love is much more powerful and mysterious than we give it credit for. Sure, Hollywood makes a ton of money out of it, but even THAT kind of love is nothing compared to the love John tackled in today's passage.

I actually planned on writing a little bit more on the importance and meaning of this "Love;" but I guess I want you guys to think about it for yourself...

1. Do you know what Love is? Not love, but LOVE?

2. Do you know how to Love?

3. What does loving mean? What does it entail?

4. etc...

How much do we really know about this LOVE?

*******

For me? It was actually a heads up. A heads up that times are going to require me to learn to really LOVE my neighbors and start reflecting love to others... Which, I got to actually test just a few hours ago. But details are not necessary.

Anyways, then after reading it again, God reminded me that I really don't know a LOT. I mean, REALLY LOT.

Like for example, me being all stressed about decisions and stuff = me not loving enough. YUP.

He reminded me of how loving He is, and that His LOVE encompasses all that, now, if I were to keep stressin' about tomorrow? Its either I doubt His love? Or I don't love Him and don't trust Him at all.

What else? Love is that thing which I should crave more of. (Not in the "I-need-someone-to-love-who-loves-me-back-so-badly" kind of way!) But that I need to crave that He would increase this Saint's LOVE. For others, for Him, and probably even for myself...

For it is in LOVE, that everything would mean something, and that power is more than any power this world has ever known. To have Him increase my Love, would mean empowering me to do greater things for Him, and overcoming a LOT more things.

Someone once told me, that his prayer right now was to have God increase his love. He'd trade any, even all, of his gifts for the Gift of Love. And I guess, that is something God is making me realize now... That there is more to that prayer - SO much more.