Why do people have to be so hard on them?

I understand that there are many false prophets and money-hunger-self-claimed men of God out there. Nevertheless, didn’t God say that the false prophets would be judged by His own wrath? Excuse me, that means – God will avenge, not us.

I don’t understand why when revival hit, sick healed, lame walked, and blind reclaimed sights, deaf heard, and inner wounds mended… and YET, there are people out there can make a comment saying that, “this is just a show”. Angry? Oh yes, I am. I am heart broken for preachers and workers of Christ.

Ooh, I ever heard an individual said, “Oh… look, the praise and worship is like in a concert. So self-serving.” Little that he knew that the musicians, choirs, and singers are well trained, skilled, and willingly to give up their time for practice and stay for 2-3 services on Sunday just to lead the congregation into the presence of God, while he might be sitting at home flipping through channels or having good meals in restaurant. By the way, they don’t get paid, unless the church employs them.

I wonder why preachers have to be poor with their shoulders shagged and maybe live in mobile homes, and then people will accredit them as MIGHTY men of God. In conjunction of the lifestyle, people expect the preacher’s wife to work in the ministry as well, when only one salary is paid. I wonder why people are afraid that their tithes and offerings would go to the pocket of wicked men, while there is ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with them for the tithe and offering are due to God alone. Hey, if they are more blessed than us, why not? The art of God should be praised.

I wonder why the people who make such comments choose not to stand on the frontline and be the hands and feet for God, rather – put on righteous faces and make comments as if they know it all. Do you know missionaries sacrifice their sweet homes, comfort, career, time, money, energy, and even family for the love of God to be sent to lost souls? Have you seen the bristles and wounds of their feet? Have experience home sick when you are thousand miles away from home? Have you dined with the locals when you are not accustomed to the food? Have you being tired of rejections? Have you seen the tears of repentance? Have you seen people set free from bondages?

These workers deserved more than your negative comments and tipping. Their feet are called beautiful and there are crowns of life waiting in heavenly places. Please be merciful to the workers of God, even they ask not.

I believe they need to be blessed in all ways. I don’t believe they need to beg for monetary support when going to mission trips or crusades. I believe they deserve applauses in heaven and here on earth. I don’t believe that they need to be treated as second-class citizens. I believe that if we are bearing the image of God, we shall able to extend our mercy and grace, though I don’t believe that we are perfect.

Please don’t let your bad experience discredit the honest hard work.
Please don’t quick to judge when you are only outside looking in.
Please be merciful when they fail.
Please be willing to serve as they are.
Please let God be God, and we are mere men.

Oh woman...

One of the greatest tragedies in the history was the fall of King Solomon.

A man, who was adored by kingdoms from near and far, and sited on a splendrous throne that made of ivory and coated in pure gold.
A man, who sought after wisdom before riches and death of his enemies.
A man, whose wisdom surpassed earthly justice and righteousness, and satisfied all difficult questions from Queen of Sheba.
A man, who built the most magnificent temple of the Lord and promised to walk in His statues.

The wisest and richest man, who ever walked on earth, fell for the sake of women.
He had 600 wives and princesses, and 300 concubines.
He died in the bosom of his foreign wives.

He traded his wisdom and favor of God for sweet smiles and warm embraces.
The wisest man became the most foolish man on earth by the power of women.

Oh woman... thou quietness, smiles, and tears can trample a man's heart and cause kingdom to fall.

Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997)

Rich Mullins is one of the most well-know Christian artists. Even though we lost him nine years ago, his songs never cease their powerful impact and sensible touch to many of us. Talking about a radical Christian, a follower of Christ, a cool dude who writes songs and poems, an against-all-odds lover of God - Rich Mullins had his place solidly grounded in the history.

To know more about him, check him out, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Mullins

My favorite Rich Mullins' Quotes:

• "Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours."
• "So go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up real bad. But, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you didn't live."
• "I think if we were given the Scriptures, it was not so that we could prove that we were right about everything. If we were given the Scriptures, it was to humble us into realizing that God is right, and the rest of us are just guessing."
• "If you want a religion that makes sense, go somewhere else. But if you want a religion that makes life, choose Christianity."

Running Away and Sweetly Broken

Running away? You must be kidding me.

I had been bewildered for a while in regard to my work and life. Sometimes, I doubt if what I am doing directly becoming the hands and feet of Christ. How could I converse this thought of mine into words? Idleness and a life without a vision drain me. It doesn’t sound like me at all because it is not who Zoë is.

Has a frightful voice questioned you that, what if your life is wasted? Just like any others, totally wasted? You have wasted your life in reaching career goals, fighting over meaningless political battles, saving for material and status possessions, trading opportunities to love and to be loved for a foolish idea, and so on and so forth?

I woke up this morning and made up my mind to cease this turbulence. Usually I reject no perplexity and welcome healthy struggles but I have come to the point of re-bounce. If the devil thinks that feelings and circumstances can blind me from pursuing my Beloved, he will soon realize that he has lost the battle to the ultimate.

My prayers might seem to be hitting unfathomable silent walls but the Bible says that the prayer of the righteous one is powerful and effective. There are times when I abhor this superficial and shallow world, whereas the Lord tells us to be mindful of things above. I can’t help to thank God for this brokenness and daunting. For these, I appreciate every blessing and who He is.

Only when we take our sins seriously, we learn to treasure the greatness and grace of His sacrifice and resurrection! The incompleteness drives us to His arms; the desire for all things new ascertains us of His unchangeable promise.

Running? You must be kidding.
I was made for His glory and I am trained for overcoming battles.
The Father is in me, and the Holy Spirit is guiding me.

Bring it on and you will see what it means by “Arise and shine!”


If I am going through a “sweetly broken” pathway, I am sure I am heading to the “sweetly restored” eternity.

Jeremy Riddle - Sweetly Broken
From the album Sweetly Broken

To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, underserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled

Chorus:
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness

(2x’s)Chorus:
Label: Vineyard Music

Zero Distance

Alison shared her first “rhema” (revelation), Romans 8: 38-39, on Monday. I love the way she put it – NOTHING can come between God and I. I have known this scripture as nothing can separate us from God but I found it hard to picture that there’s NO distance between God and I. To you, it may seem the same but to me, it is not.

You can harbor something without separating yourself with your love one. A couple could stay together but anger might sneak in, jealousy might spring out, disappointment might strike, and I can go on and on through the list.

To prevent all negative attributes and sins in God’s eyes, I have been hard on myself. I want to do what pleases God, I want to lay down who I am today to speed up the process of transformation, and I want to be completed in His image. Along the journey, I forgot this one thing – He has accepted me as who I am. It is not about future, but today. It is not about how hard I try but how still I can rest in His arms. It is not about what I can do to please Him, but acknowledge the fact that He is already pleased of who I am today, now, this moment.

This is a true freedom. There is nothing can come between us!! No sin, no shame, nobody, no nothing can come between us through the blood of Christ.

What a great reminder!!

Romans 8:38-39

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (New International Version)

38I'm absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, 39high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. (The Message)

38For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, 39Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Amplified Bible)

Fantasia Barrino

Last night, after I cooked myself a simple and quick dinner, I sat down in front of the TV. As you know, TV and I don’t go along very well. It is a Comcast box, which I don’t even know which button is which. All of the sudden, a voice inside me told me to hit “25” and enter. I did.

The first thing I saw was an American Idol, Fantasia Barrino, standing on a stage with tears and amazement. Taking no interest in this show, as soon as I was about to change channel, I heard her saying, “I was just giving God thanks and praise and was thinking about all that I had went through and thought about all these people had gave up on me and I wasn’t going to go anywhere…” I stopped. I ended up watching the entire interview. (http://www.cbn.com/cbnmusic/Interviews/700club_fantasia102605.asp)

My eyes welled up with tears. This is how God can take dust and turn it into something beautiful. I did not go through what Fantasia did and I did not choose the path that she chose when she went astray but I can relate to her in full because we both serve the same God. I was once nobody and knew no significance of life. Against all the odds and defeating words, God raised me up and called me into being.

I have friends once told me that I was seeking and waiting for something that never exist. They advised me to take the face value of life and live with it. You know what? Call me a fool but I am not buying any bit of that. I love how C.S. Lewis put it in his book, The Silver Chair, “If Narnia never exists… with all the greens and stars… and the sun was just the shadow of a lamp… even if all these were in a dream, I would rather choose to believe in that dream because I don’t see anything that is pleasant to me in this very world of yours” (Paraphrased).

I know the power of God and I know His love knows no bound. You go girl, Fantasia! It is true that when the praise goes up, the blessing comes down!!