My Relationship with God....

I look at my relationship with God as this:
Letting go of the past that which no longer serves my own growth. Over the years, I have been rebuilding my life a new foundation. Nobody will change if I am feeling judged that I can't afford to stay resentful of my situation. In order for me to let go of feeling resentful, I looked at what need within me have been challenging. By doing that, I gave others who are in my life more benefit of the doubt regarding their intentions and looking for the best in me. My hurt isn't their problem - it is mine. I can control my emotions, or control my circumstances which create my emotions, but other than that, I need to accept and just let it go.

What am I resentful of? My sins of the past? Why I am not healed? Change was probably the most important aspect of letting go, as often those who challenged me the most to change have been my teachers.

I have learned that one of the most important ways to let go is rid myself of self-criticism. Life can be hard, but it is considerably harder by criticizing myself and depriving myself of what I deserve: joy, love, abundance, happiness, and laughter. It all begins inside of me. By changing what I believe, deserve, letting go of my negative self-criticism, and embracing loving thoughts and behavior.

When I am alone with God, He taught me the true meaning of a spiritual life. The Holy Spirit convicts my heart to discern my spiritual health by asking myself: "Is my spiritual life superficial or real?" I will not understand my spiritual character deeply unless I subject myself to the spiritual discipline of the Holy Spirit and have a wonderful relationship with God who I know. The more I know God's character and attributes, the more I trust His Word. No matter what I do in my life, God is always guiding me through my circumstances. How many providence in my life that I failed to recognized in the past? I have recognized some big ones but missed the little ones. God is always making provisions for my future according to His will by providing and guiding for His glory. God is very concerned about my life and He is always ready for my future. God leads me to my destiny according to His will and glory. I am learning that God will always lead me to His providential circumstances for my own good, in His will and for His glory.

God have convicted me to turn my heart, my life, my health, my mind, my time, my money and my talents to God. God knows me so well that He will do His providential actions at the very moment of my need according to His will. For the longest time, I thought I have planned and executed my life all by myself but really never aware that my life have always been guided by God.

The real issue that I have been learning recently is that the real hindrance to my spiritual progress is not fully submitting to the Holy Spirit. Nothing holy and genuine will be done in my life until my will is surrendered in active obedience to the Holy Spirit. When I pray, I need to transfer my will to God's will. My personal destiny is depended on my response to the Holy Spirit and God's words.

What God has done for me is more than I ask for and more amazingly, how my life affected others for Christ. I will NOT take my life for granted and this is ALL to God who made me know where HE STANDS in my life.

My Thoughts for the day...... LIFE !!!!!!!

God wants us to grow according to HIS WILL, to know the whole truth and tell it in love--like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. Truth wounds through life's experiences as well as from the Word of God. The truth resolves some difficulties and creates more difficulties. When truth speaks, there is not burdens but rather "The truth shall make you free"; that is, free from the woes, the yokes, the burdens. To avoid causing others to stumble is itself strong incentive to walk by the Spirit. Biblically, Christians are no longer "in the flesh": "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Rom 8:9). "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25. The Holy Spirit dwells in me with all the power and gifts of God, necessary to enable me to walk the noble, spiritual, Son-like life with God. I can have GREAT knowledge but if I don't have spiritual wisdom, my knowledge is worthless. Someone has said "The wisest person in the world is the person who knows the most about God and place the Bible as the most important book in the world." So, I should be this wise Christian, who is committed into action of reading, putting faith in the Word, and surrender to the Holy Spirit so that I can learn from the heart. When Jesus said that the Comforter is coming, He was saying: "The Comforter will not come to stand on His own, to speak on His own authority. Am I studying the Bible for myself and observing God's Word? Is my personal Bible study a daily discipline for my spiritual growth? The purpose for reading the Bible is to change me as I read, believe and obey. The concept is this: The Holy Spirit guided writers of the books in the Bible so that the Holy Spirit can teach the readers. The Holy Spirit is the source that Christ promised me and I am to submit myself to the Holy Spirit as I submit myself to Jesus and His Father. We should all be aware that every day is a day of testing. Reading Paul's Letters in the New Testament, he had the wisdom to recognize that God's power can be experienced in trials and God does not always delivers us from trials but that He brings us through trials more like Christ and closer to Him. Reading Paul's Letters and aware of his afflictions that we can learn much truth from such trials, some of it depressing and some altogether elevating and wonderful. Reading 2 Corinthians 12:9 says "God said 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." Christ is our strength, our enablement. We are hopelessly weak in ourselves but powerfully strong in Him! Spiritual maturity requires great care and a true knowledge of ourselves to distinguish a spiritual burden from irritation around us but at the same time, we cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us. "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16) The Scriptures and Christian history have taught us ways to have spiritual endurance with the encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

Through the Word of God, I have learned great importance of spiritual decision-the act of faith (those who understand the concept of faith) by submitting my entire future according to God's will, not mine. Is the Bible in error, or do we just have a faulty understanding of faith? What is the true nature and source of faith? From a Christian perspective, we believe that God's Word is true and that He can be trusted to perform all that He has promised. Our faith is in God, not in faith. In our relations with the world we seek to bring the truth of Christ to bear upon every issue facing our culture (Mt. 5:13-16). In our relations with one another, we seek to build friendships that make a difference (John 13:34). And in our relations at home, at work, and in the community, we strive to do all that we do for the glory of God and benefit of others (1 Cor. 10:31). In the Christian life, thinking is crucial, emotions are crucial and service is crucial. God is not honored by an unfeeling, joyless, loveless intellectualism, by unthinking, uncritical emotionalism, or by well-intentioned but fruitless claims to love. All three are needed-minds that are gripped by the truth of God acquired through the serious study of Scripture, our hearts that are on fire with intense emotions of love for God and His glory, and real commitments to make a difference for the Kingdom through our life and ministry. It is through the truth of Scripture that we become transformed people through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This truth comes through practicing the discipline of careful reading of the Bible, seeking to find the author's intended meaning (Ephesians 3:4) and its implications for the issues we are facing today. The role of the Holy Spirit is not to add anything to the text but to make the readers' heart humble so that we will welcome and embrace the truth and act upon it (1 Corinthians 2:14). Jesus touches our lives (inward) and enables us to touch others (outward). And since the Gospel so transforms us with the power of the Word, we can demonstrate God's grace power with the reality of our lives.