TOTD, October 31

God Is in Control

WHEN WE ENTER INTO … SILENCE, we are seeking — and eventually we encounter — something profound: the freedom of God. The silence of prayer separates us from our projects and our need to be in control of every aspect of our lives, and when we allow this to occur, we are free to let God do with us as God desires.

- Daniel Wolpert
Leading a Life with God: The Practice of Spiritual Leadership

Actually we know that God is in control. But we sometimes are full of wants and greed, while at the same time we want to control everything in our life. Daniel Wolpert reminds us, when we enter into silence, we are seeking Him with all our heart, then we’ll find something valuable: the freedom of God. To let God be our God and guide in this life is the best thing to do. We need to pray everyday so that we can be in this stage.

(-fon-)

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you

--- Romans 8:9

TOTD, October 30

Control Our Temper

Rush hours, instant world (getting used of instant things), hectic schedule, traffic jam, those things together with all things that trigger our patient are filling our life each days.

It’s very true that we can’t be patient all the time, but at least I want to try to control my temper. Be a better person each day. Today, I might not control it well, but I do hope that I’ll control it better next time. Because the Bible says that a patient man more than a warrior. A person who controls his temper is better than the one who takes the city. So, let’s try to control our temper for the better. (-fon-)

Better a patient man than a warrior,
a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

--- Proverbs 16:32

TOTD, October 29

Endures Forever

The verse of the Bible today reminds us that all things are temporary. The flesh is like grass, the glory and honor is like the flower of the grass. Those things will wither and drops off. They won’t last forever.

One thing that will last is the divine instruction. It’s the Lord Himself. Never put too much hope on fame, money (richness), beauty, for they will all fade away. Seek for the eternity. God Himself through His Words and our prayers. We’ll find peace that will endure forever. (-fon-)

For all flesh (mankind) is like grass, and all its glory (honor) like [the] flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off,

But the Word of the Lord (divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.

--- 1 Peter 1:24-25

TOTD, October 28

Judge of the Heart

According to the Bible, the word of God is living and active. It’s sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. And more importantly, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Whenever our heart is at doubt, never be doubtful to seek His Words, His Advice, Himself through prayers before deciding anything. Let God be the judge of our heart, not anything/anyone else. (-fon-)

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

--- Hebrews 4:12

TOTD, October 27

Commit to the Lord

The book of Proverbs reminds us to commit to the Lord in whatever we do and we’ll be successful.

While this world has got so many offers, we need to make some choices in this life. Whatever we choose, hopefully we still can stay commit to the Lord. Choose the good one, don’t break your commitment to the Lord. (-fon-)

Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.

--- Proverbs 16:3

TOTD, October 25-26

Change

Usually, the best place

to make a new start

is where you are!

Before changing your address,

consider changing your thinking

When you change, your situation changes

It is law!

(Happiness in a nutshell, Andrew Matthews)

A wonderful quote from Andrew Matthews’ book. We need to change our thinking, especially the bad or negative ones, with a positive and good ones. Even the bible reminds us to change and become like little children: in enthusiasm, in purity, in their never-give up rise and fall experience.

We need to change. Change for the better. (-fon-)

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

--- Matthews 18:3

Living More Joyfully

Taken from the book Let’s Be Thankful by P.K. Hallinan :

I like to be thankful for all I receive, from the tiniest seashell…

To the mightiest breeze.

For when I am thankful, it’s easy to see

I tend to spend life

Living more joyfully!

We need to be thankful. In everything, we give thanks to the Lord. And more likely, we’ll live more joyfully. Joyful in hope to the Lord. (-fon_)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

--- Romans 12: 12

TOTD, October 24

Just Be Faithful

I try to commit myself writing thought of the day. It’s not something spectacular, though. Actually, it’s a very simple thing. It’s not that I’m a perfect person in Christianity. No, I’m still on the track to be a better person each day. What I’m doing is just giving my time in reading the Words, praying, and making a reflection out of it. I’m trying to be faithful in whatever I do. Hopefully we can stay faithful in whatever we do. The calling, the profession. From the tiniest thing until the greatest thing in our life. Just be faithful. (-fon-)

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

--- Deuteronomy 7:9

TOTD, October 23

Let Someone Else Praise You

There’s one point of time that we think we’re great. We’re fantastic. But, it’s better to keep a low profile. As the bible reminds us let the praise comes from someone else. Not from our own lips. Let all the greatness comes back to the GREAT God. All we have comes from Him. (-fon-)

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.

--- Proverbs 27:2

TOTD, October 22

Biological Father vs Heavenly Father

SINGAPORE (AFP) - – A Singaporean man has gone on trial charged with murdering his 23-month-old daughter in a fit of rage after he caught her playing with his cigarettes, court officials said Tuesday.

Sallehan Allaudin, 26, is accused of fatally beating his daughter Nikie in January ahead of her second birthday, causing her to die of a ruptured vein. If convicted, he could face death by hanging.

The High Court was told Monday that Sallehan, who had just returned home with his wife with a present for Nikie, went berserk after seeing the toddler had torn up and scattered his cigarettes, the Straits Times reported Tuesday.

Sallehan has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His wife, Rozanah Mohamed Yusoff, 24, used a mannequin to show the court how Sallehan allegedly kicked and stomped on their daughter in the kitchen, the newspaper said.

The couple, who have two younger daughters, called for an ambulance when Nikie started bleeding from the nose, but she died of her injuries, according to the report.

"I did not go into the kitchen to stop my husband as I thought that was the way he wanted to discipline Nikie," the wife was quoted as saying by the newspaper. (source: yahoo news).

What’s our reaction when we read such things? That the biological father has got something wrong? How come he killed his own daughter only for such a minor matter, his cigarettes. I don’t know what’s behind his act. Maybe he’s under such a huge stress that he can’t handle. Maybe, he’s frustrated, maybe he’s depressed…A lot of maybes on our mind ,right? And if let say the kid is alive, will she have a good impression on her own father? I don’t think so…

That’s why we need to change our attitude when we talk about our heavenly Father, our God. It’s because our Father in heaven is completely different with whatever image that we carried until now in our mind about our biological father. He is different because of His love, unconditional love. He’s different because simply: He’s God.

His generosity is amazing. Even the birds of the air, He feeds them. And we’re much more valuable than them. He will protect us and fulfill our needs according to His Plans and His Ways.

Whatever image that we have on our own biological father, we pray it to the Lord, so that we won’t have a distracted image of Him. Because our Heavenly Father is totally different. God is love. He is full of love. (-fon-)

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

--- Matthew 6:26

TOTD, October 20

Miracles Do Happen!

KOLKATA (AFP) - – A newborn baby has escaped unhurt after being delivered in the toilet of a moving Indian train and then falling onto the tracks, reports said Thursday.

Rinku Debu Ray, 28, suddenly went into labour late Tuesday while on board an express train that was passing through the state of West Bengal.

According to the Times of India and Hindustan Times, Ray delivered the baby in the toilet of her carriage and the newborn infant slipped through the discharge chute and onto the tracks below.

The distraught Ray immediately jumped from the train, prompting passengers to pull the emergency cord in the belief that she was trying to commit suicide.

"We got off the train and started looking for my wife," husband Bhola Ray, 33, told the Hindustan Times.

"After an hour, we found Rinku sitting beside the track with the baby in her lap," he said.

Mother and child reboarded the train and were taken to the nearest station and then to hospital, where doctors pronounced them both in good health.

"This was a miracle," station manager Shyama Prasad Mukherjee told the Times ofIndia.

In a similar incident in February 2008, a baby girl, born prematurely, fell through a train carriage toilet in the western state of Gujarat.

She was found on the tracks two hours later, not only alive but almost completely unharmed. (source: yahoo news).

Miracles do happen. And it’s God who performs miracles. Reading such a story fromIndia made me say : “ Thank you, Lord for the miracles in this life.”

(-fon-)

You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.

--- Psalm 77:14

TOTD, October 21

He Will Sustain You

Worried? Scared? Anxious?
Bring those cares of yours to the Lord. Cast your cares on Him. Then, He will sustain you. He will never let us fall. He’ll catch us if we fall and He’ll enable us to get up once again. He really cares for you. (-fon-)

Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

--- Psalm 55:22

TOTD, October 17-19

Be Strong, Take Heart, and Wait

In whatever situation that you’re facing at this moment… Especially the bad ones, the most stressful time of your life, the most unpredictable in such a negative way…

All we can do is just stand strong. Take Heart and wait for the Lord.

He will take care of everything. And everything will be beautiful in His time.
(-fon-)

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

--- Psalm 27:14

Wisdom and Understanding

Living in this kind of situation of the world that become more and more evil and chaotic, really needs wisdom and understanding from God. Let’s ask Him for more wisdom and understanding of things. Only by His guidance through the wiser people surrounds us, we’ll be more mature and have more wisdom. (-fon-)

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call understanding your kinsman;

--- Proverbs 7:4

You Don’t Have to Prove Anything

Sometimes, we’re trying to hard to show something. To show something great, to show some success to this world. It seems that we need to prove to other people, to ourselves, to this world, that we’re somebody.

But actually, we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to prove anything, because we’re precious and honored in His sight. And more importantly, He loves us so much. So, all we need to do is enjoying His love. Experiencing His Love and loving Him in return. Without the thought of proving anything, we’ll lead a more peaceful life. Because we know, we’re worthy. We know we’re loved so much by God. And begin to live a joyful life and celebrate each day as a gift form Him.

(-fon-)

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,

--- Isaiah 43:4

TOTD, October 16

God’s Unconditional Love

SINGAPORE: A 75-year-old grandmother has become Singapore's oldest living organ donor. Madam Chee Leng Yin donated one of her kidneys to save her seriously-ill daughter.

They say nothing is stronger than the bond between a mother and her daughter.

When Madam Chee found out that she could save her daughter's life by donating a kidney to her, she did not think twice.

She said: "It's my kidney, it's my daughter, who can stop me? Once I've decided, no one can stop me."

46-year-old Shirley Lau suffered from end-stage kidney failure and needed a kidney transplant to lead a normal life. Even so, she had reservations about her mother's sacrifice.

She said: "The feeling is quite complicated because in a way I'm worried, but in a way it is a solution for me. They (the doctors) went through a lot of tests. So based on that fact, we were more assured." (source: Channel News Asia)

Reading the story above, we might feel touched. We might feel that the mother is a very loving person who gives up everything, including the part of her body to her daughter. She has the kind of unconditional love. And talking about unconditional love, our God has proven more. He has even given His one and Only Son to this world. We can see unconditional love in this world such as the mother and daughter’s story above. But our God will always have His unconditional love that can’t be offered by this world. So, if you think that you’re not loved, seek Him. You’ll see that He loves you really really really unconditionally. (-fon-)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

--- John 3:16

TOTD, October 14

God’s Best Plans We can plan a perfect plan for us. In our opinion, that’s the best plans ever! But then, they turned out to be disaster. Nothing is going right. Even worse, it seems go wrong. But, as long as we believe in God, He’ll give only the best plans in our life. Best plans in His Way, not in our Way. Just waiting for the best things in His Plans for us. (-fon-) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. --- Jeremiah 29:11

TOTD, October 15

Never Too Old

Last night I watched America’s Got Talent which has been aired in the US around a month ago through a local channel here, channel 5. I saw Grandma Lee, a comedian. She’s very confident even though she’s 75 years old now.

Sometimes we think that we’re too old for something. Even in the Bible, Sarah thought that she was too old to conceive a baby. But, if God wants something to happen in our life, it will be! No matter how old you’re at this moment. Not really matter if you’re 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or even 80s. Never too old if He wants to fulfill His plan in you. (-fon-)

Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

---Genesis 18:10-15

TOTD, October 13

Seek Advice

I got this wonderful twice a week reminder from Bo Sanchez in God Whispers Club. And here’s the thought for today:

Dear Fonny,

When you're making a decision, don't ask, “What will other people say?” or “What will be the easiest thing to do?” or “What will be most beneficial to me?” All those question are distractions. Only ask yourself one question: “What's the right thing to do?” If you don't know the answer, ask help from wiser friends. Once you know the answer, do it.

Love you,
God

P.S. Scared, Fonny? Love drives out all fear. So do everything because of love.

(Bo Sanchez – God Whispers Club)

To make the right decision, we need to ask the question: what’s the right thing to do? And we need to seek help or advice from wiser friends. Wiser spiritual mentors, wiser elders, etc. We need to listen to good advice. (-fon-)

The way of a fool seems right to him,
but a wise man listens to advice.

--- Proverbs 12:15

TOTD, October 11

Listen and Carry Out His Words From the passage from Luke 11, we can see this interesting thing: This woman is deeply impressed with Jesus and his ability to hold the crowd’s attention with his healing and his story telling. She does the most natural thing in the world: she thinks how proud his mom must be to have raised a child to become such a man, and she congratulates the child by blessing the mother with a beatitude: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” When Jesus answers—“Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it”—it may sound at first as if he is deflecting the compliment to his mother by using it to make his own point, as if he has said that anyone who does God’s will is greater than his mother. In fact, he increases the honoring of his mother. He is saying, in effect, “Greater even than her human mothering of me is the way Miriam has heard the word of God and carried out that word.” ( by Dennis Hamm, S.J., http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101009.html) Let’s ask God the heart of Mary. The one who listened to God’s words and carried out that word. Let’s do our best to listen and carry out His Words in our life. (-fon-) While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” —Luke 11:27-28

TOTD, October 12

You’re the Reason that I Breathe

This is supposed to be a romantic love song. From a boy to a girl. From a woman to a man. But, I’m going to use it as a love song for us, to our God.

I will follow You

You're the reason that I breathe

--- ( You Are My Everything – Glenn Fredly)

God is the only reason why we can breathe. The reason that enables us to live and enjoy the sun, the wind, the breeze, the moon, and the breathe itself. So, let’s celebrate, let’s be thankful, let’s rejoice. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. He deserves every praise and honor, because He is the reason why we breathe. (-fon-)

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

--- Psalm 150:6

TOTD, October 11

Listen and Carry Out His Words

From the passage from Luke 11, we can see this interesting thing:

This woman is deeply impressed with Jesus and his ability to hold the crowd’s attention with his healing and his story telling. She does the most natural thing in the world: she thinks how proud his mom must be to have raised a child to become such a man, and she congratulates the child by blessing the mother with a beatitude: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”
When Jesus answers—“Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it”—it may sound at first as if he is deflecting the compliment to his mother by using it to make his own point, as if he has said that anyone who does God’s will is greater than his mother. In fact, he increases the honoring of his mother. He is saying, in effect, “Greater even than her human mothering of me is the way Miriam has heard the word of God and carried out that word.”
( by Dennis Hamm, S.J., http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101009.html)

Let’s ask God the heart of Mary. The one who listened to God’s words and carried out that word. Let’s do our best to listen and carry out His Words in our life. (-fon-)

While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
—Luke 11:27-28

TOTD, October 10

God is Great

MAY YOU EXPERIENCE ANEW
God’s great Yes to you and to creation –
and may this Yes set you free
to live and love abundantly.

- Sam Hamilton-Poore
Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation (source: the upper room)

Today, let’s experience all over again, the greatness of God. The love of the Lord. Because He’s a mighty and an awesome God. He loves us unconditionally. Let’s celebrate His love, His Greatness…. Today, tomorrow, and everyday of our life.

(-fon-)

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

--- Deuteronomy 10:17

TOTD, October 08

Earnestly I Seek You

This is a psalm of David when he was in the Desert of Judah. I do believe when we earnestly seek God with this kind of attitude, how can he not showing us Himself? With this kind of thirst and hunger, He’ll definitely fill our soul with His presence. Seek Him with all our heart, and He’ll give us something unbelievable. Peace that is exceeding human’s thought, joy in times of sorrows, He’s able.
Seek Him more! (-fon-)

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
--- Psalm 63:1

TOTD, October 07

Heartless

To a woman so heartless
How could you be so heartless?
oh, how could you be so heartless?
(Kris Allen's song – Heartless)

This is my reaction when I read about this woman who made her autistic daughter starved to death. Yes, the daughter might have some problems because of her autism, but it doesn’t mean that the mother can do such things. Things that have been said as unimaginably heartless and cruel. My heart keeps crying when I read about this unbelievable action.

SYDNEY, Australia – An Australian woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the starvation death of her 7-year-old daughter.

Justice Robert Allan Hulme called the girl's death "unimaginably heartless and cruel" as he sentenced the 36-year-old mother on Friday.

The woman was convicted of murder in June. Her husband, convicted at the same time of manslaughter in his daughter's death, was sentenced Friday to 16 years imprisonment, with possible parole after 12 years.

The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons meant to protect the identity of their three other children, had pleaded not guilty to murdering their daughter.

The girl, known as Ebony, weighed barely 20 pounds (9 kilograms) when she died November 2007. Several doctors testified she suffered the most severe case of malnutrition they had ever seen.

Give us good heart, make us good men, Lord. Don't let us become heartless persons. Amen.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

--- Luke 6:45

TOTD, October 06

Heartless

To a woman so heartless
How could you be so heartless?
oh, how could you be so heartless?

(Kris Allen's song – Heartless)

This is my reaction when I read about this woman who made her autistic daughter starved to death. Yes, the daughter might have some problems because of her autism, but it doesn’t mean that the mother can do such things. Things that have been said as unimaginably heartless and cruel. My heart keeps crying when I read about this unbelievable action.

SYDNEY, Australia – An Australian woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the starvation death of her 7-year-old daughter.

Justice Robert Allan Hulme called the girl's death "unimaginably heartless and cruel" as he sentenced the 36-year-old mother on Friday.

The woman was convicted of murder in June. Her husband, convicted at the same time of manslaughter in his daughter's death, was sentenced Friday to 16 years imprisonment, with possible parole after 12 years.

The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons meant to protect the identity of their three other children, had pleaded not guilty to murdering their daughter.

The girl, known as Ebony, weighed barely 20 pounds (9 kilograms) when she died November 2007. Several doctors testified she suffered the most severe case of malnutrition they had ever seen.

Give us good heart, make us good men, Lord. Don't let us become heartless persons. Amen.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

--- Luke 6:45

TOTD, October 04-05

Loving

Here’s a quote from St. Catherine of Siena:

LOVE IS HAD only by loving. If you want love, you must begin by loving — I mean you must want to love. Once you want it, you must open the eye of your understanding to see where and how love is to be found. And you will find it within your very self.

- Catherine of Siena

Love begins with loving. We must want to love. And the source of unconditional love can only be obtained from our God. There’s none like Him. We can be loving and find the love inside ourselves. But, more importantly, we can cling on to the loving God all of our life. Thanks to the Lord. (-fon-)

He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

--- Psalm 144:2

It’s All About Faith

Things went wrong. Really wrong. Then you became speechless, stressed out, and frustrated. It’s not easy to gain your faith in that kind of situation.

Even it’s earthquake, flood, natural disasters, or personal problems like family matters, sickness, jobless, financial problem, just name it…We can be distracted and might believe that we don’t have any way out. We’re just stuck in the middle of nowhere…

But FAITH is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. That’s why, we need to keep the faith. Need to believe once more that God will give us the way. His perfect way in His perfect timing.(-fon-)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

--- Hebrews 11:1

TOTD, October 03

Long Enough…

After the earth quake that stroke West part of Sumatera on 30^th of September, we begin to wonder : what’s the message behind all of these…? One disaster after another, we’ve tried to be patient and brace ourselves. Maybe our condition –somehow- is similar with David in Psalm 13. We thought that God has ignored us long enough. Long enough that we’ve carried the burden, the troubles, the pain. Long enough to be patient of all the disasters in our country, in our life.

But, then, David is finally rejoicing Himself in God’s rescue. His prayers are fully answered by God. We can be like David. Feel depressed, frustrated, and stressed out. Only to find that in the end, God is always there to answer our prayers in His time. He will never ignore us. His love will be there. Long enough for us to enjoy for the rest of our life till eternity. (-fon-)

Long enough, God— you've ignored me long enough.
I've looked at the back of your head
long enough. Long enough
I've carried this ton of trouble,
lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
have looked down their noses at me.

Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

I've thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I'm celebrating your rescue.
I'm singing at the top of my lungs,
I'm so full of answered prayers.

--- Psalm 13:1-6

* Deepest sympathy for the quake victims in West Sumatera. God, hear our prayer….