Do we really know about Faith?

La pace sia con voi ( Peace be with you ), my friend…

Again I am here to share some of my journey’s experiences as a Christian which I believe would help some of you to get right with God.

Running through my Bible enthusiastically one particular night after finishing a session of a Bible study material, I was enlightened by the Holy Spirit with new insights and understanding. I was amazed and dumbfounded by what the Spirit had to say to me… it was about FAITH…

Faith. What is faith? As I post a question to you which goes “What do you know about faith?” What will be in your mind pertaining to this question? I believe many of you will come out with different kinds of answer or opinion about Faith… Over the past 8 years of being a Christian, I thought that I had grabbed firmly the meaning of faith until I was proved wrong. Many people who had chosen Jesus as their personal savior had resorted to accept what other people have to say about the word of God instead of reading or going deep into it themselves. I was of no exception. Because of that, we are building our houses on the sand a.k.a partial truth. So, it is crucial for us to spend time alone with God daily, letting the Holy Spirit to speak to us personally about the truth. I am definitely not asking you to stop listening to preachers and do your own study instead I am just urging you all to come back to the word of God always for the confirmation of the truth.

Here I will show you what the Bible says about Faith.

“ So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions , then it is dead.” James 2:17

The moment I saw this verse, I was asking myself “Can Faith be dead?” I only knew that we need faith to please God as what the book of Hebrew states “No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.” Instantly, the next question hit me “is my faith dead?” You might also want to ask yourselves this question. It is a crucial question for me as I choose to be a God-pleaser. In my mind I was thinking “Then what is not a dead faith?” As I continued to read the chapter of the scripture, I finally found the answer which I called it as a perfect faith. Yes, a Perfect Faith… It is in the Bible which is stated in James 2:22 .

“Cant you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his action.”

Often as I share with other Christians about faith, some of them thought that as long as they have faith or believe in Jesus they are saved or Jesus can tolerate their sins because Jesus had died for them and the penalty of their sins were paid full, so if they sin also they might still make their way to Heaven. If so, let me show you another verse which says “Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe- and tremble in fear “ James 2:19

Here it says, Demons also believe in God or in order word have faith in God, but they are going to hell. Demons believe in God but they don’t serve God. They serve themselves. So, do you believe in God?

Honestly, I am happy to hear people say that they believe in Jesus as their personal savior but does that mean they are put right with God. I dont think so as the Scripture says we need to put our faith or belief into action which, in other word repentance. That is what matters most…

Hope this portion of sharing might help some of you… God Bless

Love, jon

Nothing more than a Break.

Just thought of giving myself a break by updating my long long unupdated post…

Over these two years, God had been working in me so mightily. What happened in the initial was a renewed heart which God had put in me at the very moment when I truly acknowledged the saving Grace of God and also His marvelous Love that He had showed to me on the cross, which toke place 7 years ago.

However, when it is the time for what that had been done in me , started to work it ways out, it is a totally different experience. I used to think that when I accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour or other word, born again, I will be able to shine brightly for Him and to impact the life of others will be so much easier as long as I do His Will. But how am I going to shine for Him if I take the Grace that He had given for me for granted.

Over the last one year, so much things had taken the life out of me, and was compensated with the Life that will bear more fruits for the Lord. I believe what had happened so far is the very thing that I eagerly asked God to do in my life and that is MORE CHASTENING… Jesus had been faithful in answering my prayer by bringing more chastening into my life. At the end, God is trying to humble me.

Heb 12:6 Because the Lord corrects everyone he loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a child."

Pro 3:12 The LORD corrects those he loves, as parents correct a child of whom they are proud.

Rev 3:19 I rebuke and punish all whom I love. Be in earnest, then, and turn from your sins.

I thank God for correcting me all this while and rebuking the wrongs that I had committed. I truly give all the praise and glory to God as He had let all these dirty junks in me to surface at this very point of time which I personally believe the worst junk. When it surfaces mean it appears, don’t they? And people acknowledge them… All these punishing had truly and remarkably been hard, but still I thank God for I am being purified by His blood each day and also by the grace that He had given to me…. Surely, God’s grace is always sufficient to me and you. Over this period of time, God had been forced to take away precious things in my life in order that I may learn my lessons."Thanks" to the spirit of rebellion in me. Yes, it does hurt a lot, but it is for my good that this thing should be taken away…

Honestly, I didn’t know the chastening can be that serious and inevitable… Wow, Our precious Jesus Christ is truly a prayer-answering God. I might have gone through much chastenings for now but I do 100% agree with what God had been doing because I absolutely cannot imagine how will those junks in me will appear in the later part of life which I believe will bring more shame to me and not to say, God.

For now, though life is hard, saddening, and traumatizing, I still ask God to bring in more chastening because only by doing it, I will be more pure and shaped into the likeness of Christ. So, I welcome more chastening as this is a hallmark that point to me that Jesus loves me.

All glory, praise and majestic be on to God alone… Amen

Reignite...

Are you in a Christian club or are you with those who are willingly laying down their lives to follow Jesus?... Do give it a thought..

Love ,
Jon

Thank you, Lord

This holiday ( month of July ) had been a fruitful moment for me with God. He had led me to get a hand on few books written by Godly Man of His that have unfailingly spoken to my heart. I was convicted of my past sins. I just want to take this opportunity to thank those people who had forgiven me for hurting them unintentionally or without my knowing for i understand the Joy and the Freedom that follows the moment they chose to forgive me . For those who still hold grudge on me, I ask for your forgiveness.

" For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trepasses. "
Matthew 6: 14-15


"And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
John 20:22-23


God also revealed upon me the way of unleashing the Power that had taken its root long time ago in me, as a child of His or a prince of His Kingdom. Holy living has been known to be one of the Key to it. One of the power that holds me back from grabbing this blessing is none other than of the Satan. Recognizing the bait of the Satan is essential if we want to stay right with Jesus. Ask Holy Spirit to grant us the gift of discernment in order that we may come to know how to dfferentiate between a pure and impure " gold ".

May I not forget my First Love. Same goes to Christian out there. Let us continue to shine for the Lord.

love,
jonathan

who? them?

Have you ever wondered who are the people on this earth that God had put in your life that you think are closest to you? Have you ever wondered who might be the person that you will first seek in times of troubles?

I bet some of you might throw me answer of common, like my best friend, my gf or bf, my puppy or kitty, my teacher or even my maid... If any of the previous few answers had been in your mind for the past few seconds, then i suppose you might want to give a second thought of an answer for the two questions above. I hope you all can come out with an answer starting with the letter " F " .
F for FAMILY. Yes, FAMILY... What i am pointing to is biological family.

Over the past few years of my growth into maturity, I had encountered and talked to people or friends whose lives were devastated by all mean of ways. Some say that they hate their families, their father, their mother, or their siblings for hurting them. One of the saddest thing that can happen in one's life is to experience the disunity in the family. The disunity can be due to many reasons and i bet you people will be thoughtful enough to list out the possible reasons yourself. Again, not to forget, our dear enemy , Satan, who will never be tired of ripping families apart as he knows that family plays a major role in shaping a person's life. He will try any possible way to tear down the Fence that keep a family united.

There is nothing more precious than to have a loving family, cradled in the arm of God, a place where you seek to love and to be loved. Also, it is place where you share your joy, sadness, and seek Trust. The kind of trust that you cry out for in time of crises. Family is one that will always be there to support you.No one else will be more ready to love, help, embrace, and understand you and to wipe your tears in time of your struggles. No doubt that you can seek " love " outside the Fence but be reminded that, the kind of " love " that you are pursuing is just temporary and might be of higher chance of finding yourself disappointed in the end unless you and your partner agree to build a new Fence together.

It has been our responsibility to unite our family by all means, for God uses family to shape you into the person that He wants you to be. God put family into your life for a good reason. There will come a time when you will want to love your family member so so badly but it is too late. No one holds the future except God, Jesus. No one knows what will happen tomorrow.

So ,choose to treasure and to show your Love to your family today.

love,
Jonathan

Him

dear all,

Like me, most of you might be caught up in the jams of life. So so much interesting things happening around us and always, out of curiosity, we attend to them. Busy schedules, friends, relationship ( mostly are those which end up breaking up), family, yum cha.... and the list goes on...

Have you all ever....... ,ever try to quieten yourself for 10 mins or more to think of these question until today:

1. Have I ever wondered who was the one who created the universe? ( Do give it a thought seriously)...............


2. Does God exist? ( Do give it a thought seriously)......................

3. If God exists, where is He now? ( Do give it a thought seriously).......................

4. How to look for Him? ( Do give it a thought seriously)..................

Lastly,

5. Does God know me personally? ( Do give it a thought seriously)........................



The 10 min or more that you spend on these question might be the one that will change your course of life and answer all your questions in life.... And lead you to the Truth of life that you are looking for.


love,
jona

Something or Nothing

dear all,

John 15:16
"You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.'

Jesus has always been the extraordinary Man and God in my life and i bet also in the lives of many people who has earnestly seek Him. And we all should know too that His Way is always the highest.
When Jesus said I chose you... Who did he choose?
Do you ever think of the question before? No?

As you go through the Bible yourself especially the books of Gospel or even the old Testament, Jesus literally chose someone who is considered nothing to the society or even nothing to themselves, to be his disciple or His important person to be a part in His great and extraordinary plan for the world ( to save the world). The Galilean fishermen Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, starts with John the Baptist are the few fishermen who are being picked by Jesus to be His Follower. Fishermen during their period of time was labeled as useless, worthless, despised, and ignored by the society. Yet, Jesus chose them. Jesus Himself who was ,is and is to come ,the King of kings and the Lord of lords humble Himself to become someone who is considered nothing to the world. The world, that He created by His own hand. He was from the weakest and the poorest tribe in the town of Bethelehem in Judae and was born in a manger. During the last days of His life, He was crucified on the cross by His own people who had treated Him as if He is an animal. He was being kicked, humiliated, beaten up, scourged, spat, slapped and chained and crucified. In all, He was also considered nothing to His society. However, great things were yet to come. By His Blood, He saved the world. By His blood , He saved you and me.

Jesus said in-
Pro 3:34 "He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble"

Psa 18:27 "You (God) save those who are humble, but you humble those who are proud."
( God said He will save those who are humble, but He did't say I will save those who are proud )

1Co 1:27 "God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense (nothing) in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful."


Jesus choose people who are considered nothing to the world, to shame the wise.
Wow...
As we all know, people tend to compare themselves with other or even to an extend, to put others in their shoe and ended up condemning and demoting others. They are pleased with what they have or when they have " Something". Degrees, branded goods, cars, how many ex-, popularity, and so on.... But do you know what Jesus said regarding all these things , TOTAL FOOLISH...

So, my friend, do you consider yourself something or nothing?

Let me throw you a simple question.... What will Jesus think of me?

God Bless...


love,
jonathan