Psalm 37:4.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
[Psalm 37:4]

From the ESV Study Bible:
Ps 37:4 - the desires of your heart. Some take “the desires” as referring to the feeling of desire, i.e., “God will shape your heart so that it desires the right things”; but the sense is rather, “he will give you what your heart desires.” It is safe to say this to those who embrace the advice of this psalm, because as they delight themselves in the Lord, their hearts will desire the right things.

The Lord will give you what your heart desires, but He will also shape your heart to desire the right things. You must first seek the kingdom of God, and all these will be given to you as well [Matthew 6:33].

But you also have to keep in mind...

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
[James 4:3]

God doesn't give you certain things because you're asking for all of the wrong reasons. Like I said before, as you seek Him, He will change your heart according to what He wants for you even when it's different from what you want for yourself. God is our loving Father. He wants what is best for us.

Just take a couple of minutes and examine the things you ask of God and why it is that you want them.

Ant

Psalm 27:14.

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
[Psalm 27:14]

Jeremiah 17:7.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
[Jeremiah 17:7]

Psalm 119 in 119.

So one of the pastors at my church (back home) posted a challenge on the church blog.

The goal of the challenge is to develop a passion for reading God's Word and studying it.

How you ask?
Read Psalm 119 everyday for the next 119 days. I just started yesterday and I'm already feeling something stirring in my heart. Don't be discouraged by reading it too because Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm consisting of 176 verses.

I encourage you to take on the challenge if you want to develop a passion for studying the Bible.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
[Psalm 119:103]

Here's a link to the blog: http://frontlinesilverspring.com/2010/02/119-days-of-psalm-119/

Day one, done.

Ant

There Is A Way.

So, with about 15 minutes left in Valentine's Day, I decided to post a song that has quickly grown on me since I heard it for the first time yesterday.

It indeed talks about love, but not gushy, romantic love. Rather love from our Father that was given to us from the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. After I got home a couple of hours ago from Senior High Winter camp at my church, I tried to find that song on Google and YouTube. To my luck, and searching skills I eventually found it. It is a song by NewWorldSon titled, 'There Is A Way.'


----

You say love is just a word, just four letters in a row.
Just a thing that people say, or they never tell you so.
And you use every excuse, to let nobody in.
Now this cloud you bring around, has become your only friend.

And everybody saying that it's going to go away, but it don't go.
And everybody's telling you one day it's going to change,
but you don't know, if it's really going to end.
But there is a way, there is a spark,
there is a hope that you can hold on to.
There is a lifeline come to the rescue,
just like a hand that's waiting for you.
And if you believe in this I promise that you won't be alone.
There is a way, the truth and the life, and the way.

But if love became a man, if the word had flesh and bone.
Would you recognize His face, if He came to bring you home.
You think you're all alone, gotta do it on your own riding solo.
Is there someone you can call, when you stumble and fall?
Cause you don't know, if you'll be getting up again.

There is a way, there is a spark,
there is a hope that you can hold on to.
There is a lifeline come to the rescue,
just like a hand that's waiting for you.
And if you believe in this I promise that you won't be alone.
There is a way, the truth and the life, and the way.

Don't you think your life's worth saving?
Don't you know that love's amazing?
Don't you want to lay your troubles down?
Lay them down.

If I thought love was just a word, I might feel the same way too.
But there's so much more than that, and it's waiting here for you.

There is a way, there is a spark,
there is a hope that you can hold on to.
There is a lifeline come to the rescue,
just like a hand that's waiting for you.
And if you believe in this I promise that you won't be alone.
There is a way,
there is a way...
----

Love this song!

I might cover it very soon...I hope I don't kill the song :(

Ant

Seventy Times Seven.

Ya know, I've been feeling bitter and hard-hearted over something that I had no control over. I didn't know what to feel and I let the emotions get the best of me. I told people what had happened, and after, I just felt so guilty after I had thrown that person that had wronged me "under the bus."

After talking to my friends about it, they quickly stopped me and helped me come to my realization that I'm being apathetic and unforgiving over that person. I admit it. I was. And it was through fellowship with my fellow brothers-in-Christ that helped me come to my senses.

God tells us that we MUST be forgiving of everyone. No matter the circumstance. No matter how great. No matter how small. No matter how many times. No excuses.

Reminds me of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35):

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

God forgives us of our sins, why can't we forgive our brothers an sisters who sin against us?

Seventy.Times.Seven.

(if you don't know or are mathematically challenged like me 70 x 7 = 490)

Ant

Swedish Fish.

I love swedish fish (finnish fish here in Canada ay?). I'm chomping through a bag as I'm writing this. It's second right now on my list of loves. First and foremost being the Almighty God.

:)

Ant

P.S. - To the ladies who read this blog, that is one way to win my heart. HAHA just sayin'

braap braap.

So large event is over :(. No more promoting. I found great joy in promoting something great for God. Although I expected more people to show up, we still had a great number to hear two awesome stories by two awesome people.

But just because large event is over doesn't mean we're done for the year. There's still contact info sheets to sift through, follow-ups, MDA events, and weekend Leadership meetings. It's going to be a busy next couple of months, and with the school year winding down, it's gonna suck, period.

Hmmm...here's to a great event and a great rest of the school year. Praise God and let it roll...

braap braap!

Hope.

The word hope means "a confident expectation of something better." Hope in Christ realizes, "Hey! My best days are ahead of me. Life isn't all in the rearview mirror for me now. In Christ I've got some things I'm looking forward to - not just in this life, but in the life to come." That kind of self-talk stirs up hope within us.

I got this in a devotional I received in an e-mail. So true.

Get on the hope train!

Ant