God is faithful in pursuing me, even when I'm unfaithful in pursuing Him. PTL. -Al Jereau

Today, I was reminded how much I am nothing apart from God's grace  PTL. - Geneyem

God showed me how to trust him with my emotions whether they are logical or not. He showed me that I can be desperate with him, that I can be honest with him. PTL- E.J. Cabasal

My family was at home today and we were all angry at the Lakers shoddy performance. I ate lunch with Leon. PTL- E.J.

Wake up by the fire alarm going off at our hotel, walked down 18 flights of stairs, at the bottom learning it was a false alarm. God is still good - PTLJ. Geneyem

It is 9:30 am and my Future America kids were supposed to be here by 9. I think because of the cancellation of practice last week they forgot to come this week and so I'm sitting here alone...but God is still good and giving me this silence to spend time with Him. PTL. -Aarika

Today, Alex & Helen vowed to love each other for richer or poorer, in sickness & in health, til death do them part. Not because the other is lovely, but in order to make the other lovely. PTL. - Julian

Today, I read about Ben Ho's blessing, which is the following:

"Everything. God for who He is, what He's done, what He's doing, and what He will do. My life, my health, my social standing, my education, my car, my job, my stuff. The people that surround me, including family, girlfriend, friends, coworkers, classmates, professors, and fellow Christians. That I can imagine and create with my mind, body, and soul things that express the complexities and intricacies of my brightest dreams and darkest nightmares-- all a dull reflection of the realities that God has both revealed as well as shrouded from my mortal awareness. I could go on, but if you listen to the hymn "The Love of God" you will understand what I mean when I say that there is a burning in me that cannot even begin to express the vastness of my gratitude, which even then is overshadowed by His grace."

-EJ Cabasal

Today, I got the news from my manager I didn't the get the part, and God is still good. PTL. -Julian

Last night I slept at 3am and today I woke up at 8, and God is still good. PTL. - Geneyem

It started out a little hectic at the Community Feed tonight. One of our patrons was getting loud & boisterous & obviously upset. Everyone knew & loved this guy - he has a pretty funny personality at times, but other times he can be a little out of control. His emotional & mental handicapps are severe & noticeable, but the great thing about our church is that he is accepted & loved by all, no matter what frame of mind he is in.

As things with him escalated however, God gently nudged me to go & sit with him. I traded places in the serving line with my good friend Vince, and went to sit with him. We knew each other well enough, and although I couldn't understand exactly what was troubling him, God told me just to sit & talk with him & be calm, which is what I did. Things settled down quite quickly. I just love how the Spirit of God can bring peace through obedience.

I don't know that I've really been in God's will much lately as I've been neglecting my bible a lot, however, it's the simple things that God does through me that remind me that He is never far from me. PTL.

Steven

Praise God that he is faithful in answering our prayers in accordance with his will. May our wills be unified so that anything we ask may be glorifying to his name and enriching to our ever growing relationship.- E.J.

I'm so glad that God is not like me. Sometimes I get up and the worries of the world are already upon me and I get frustrated. But not Him.
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefor will I hope in Him." Lamentations 3:22-24
Oh, I love Him so much. He is able to renew my spirit even when I feel like screaming into my pillow (my way of venting!) PTL. -Andrea

Not in the sense of God's wisdom, understanding (sense) etc; but in the sense of "sensing God"...

(Had to clear that up first)

I've been trying to discipline myself into reading a little from the Bible again each day. I am innately aware of my need to do so, in fact, I started writing down scriptures again that I had once memorized but since forgotten. I've gone through a long season of not reading His word, and let me tell ya, I can tell the difference.

As is God's way, He spoke to me through His word once again with the first scripture I had transposed from my old bible. It comes from the book of James, and I will break it down here:

Js 4:5: "..or do you thik that the Scripture says in vain ""The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? (the NIV I think reads "God Jealously yearns for the Spirit he caused to live inside us" - loose translation).

So, after a long day at work, driving home through the gridlock & rain (I'm sure many can relate), I had the choice to hang out & watch the tube or take a short nap before I had to go out again in a half hour. Then I noticed my bible sitting on the table where I had left it, and the Spirit prompting me to look inside. God was jealously yearning for my Spirit to connect to His...

6: But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble".

7: Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

One by one, I could write about what these scriptures mean to me for an hour or more. There is so much there. This last scripture reminded me of something I read or heard someone say yesterday about God's voice being quiet & soft. (His still soft voice). The thought of God drawing near to me is very uplifting to say the least, and humbling. I know when He does I can sense it, if I listen for it. It often brings me so much peace, the peace that I can't understand but is none-the-less there. (Peace that passes all understanding).

But then I thought about the many times I have not sensed his presence, and the Holy Spirit drew me back to the previous verse, #6: "Therefore, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the "humble". I am convinced that this is a key to happiness. Not that I'm always in the "humble" state of mind, but when I can take an objective view of my life, character, behavior, and ask God to take the reigns & help me in that way, He is always faithful.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. As always, the Word becomes alive when I really take the time to "hear".

Last week I was feeling like a failure, but this past weekend, God showed me that 1. It's not about me. and 2. He is always working. PTL. -Aarika

Today, God healed my hubby from his stomach pains. PTL. - Geneyem

Today, my email was hacked into, but I was able to recover it. PTL. -Joanna Pantig

Praise the Lord for real friends.

Although it's hard to admit after 17 years of sobriety, I could have very easily thrown that away recently during an outing with some good friends. We were all hanging out for the weekend just to get away from life for a while, and really having a great time just kickin' it.

Saturday Night rolled around, and we were all hanging around the fire just chewin the fat & picking on each other, when some of my friends went out to get a few beers to celebrate the weekend.

I immediately knew I was in trouble, but didn't want to go against my friends' wishes. As soon as they left, however, I knew I had to get out of there so I crawled back into my tent at 8 at night. Earlier when we were talking about our pasts & the stupid things we used to do, I started feeling IT. For those of your that used to drink but no longer do, maybe you'll know what I'm talking about. You know, the feeling like youve already had a few just from remembering what it used to be like. It's a strange physiological sensation & I'd had it before. I knew that as soon as the beers started going around I'd be really tempted to just kick back & have a cold one. First the old memory would kick in & remind me of all the times I got stoned or drunk around a campfire, then once I started feeling that way it wouldn't be a big stretch to actually just go there. And I knew instinctively that would be the turning point for my growth also, once I broke my sobriety I'd have no reason to stop - it's just the addictive mindset.

Don't get me wrong - I know Jesus has completely healed me, & I no longer consider myself an alcoholic or drug addict, but I do believe in those old familiar spirits coming back to haunt me if I put myself in their paths.

But something good came of this whole situation - true friends doing what true friends do. As soon as they returned & found me back in my tent - they put the beer away & asked me to come back & hang out with them again. That was really cool. That's what I call true friends. By the way, if you ever find yourself in that situation with an ex-addict/alcoholic, do them a favor & remember my story. It's about decisions, and what's most important. Thank you my friends. You know who you are.
PTL. - Steven

Today, God rebuked me of my sinful habits. PTL. -Geneyem

Today, Marc Anthony De los Santos Dizon committed his life to Christ. PTL. -Julian

Lord I believe, help my unbelief. PTL- E.J.

God reminded me tonight He was still here...

How awesome it is to be able to just say that God is near & I know it to be true. It's like a sixth sense, because I felt his presence tonight. Sometimes I long for just a nudge, a simple word from the Holy Spirit, and when it comes it's better than Pasta or Pizza.

For a long time I've been having withdrawels from a lack of worship in my life. In fact, even though I am a musician by calling, often I don't even want to listen to music. If that sounds strange, I'm telling you it is. It's a weird place to be. Was a time in my past when I could sit and play my guitar for an hour just worshiping God in the Holy Spirit, singing scriptures in English & the small amount of Hebrew that I learned. It was such an uplifting time. Haven't had that kind of experience in a while, until tonight.

Tonight I got a breakthrough. It was a practice session for the worship team at church. I love the team - everyone there is so real & cool with each other. We are a tight knit family of believers, no attitudes, nothing lingering below the surface. Just some real people loving on each other & goofing with each other & just being real. Tonight, however, I was just feeling a bit disconnected. Things didn't sound right to me, and I was having trouble keeping beat & playing the correct chords. Normally I could just disengage & go with the flow, but I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray with the team. We all came together & prayed, and the mood transformed into a beautiful time of peace & worship. It was incredible. The last song we played was more of what we call a "flow" , the song lingered on as people just worshiped through it, and when the time came, the last note was played right on time and it ended softly, like falling on a bed of soft pillows. It was awesome.

What God showed me was that I do care about worship more than I realized. And that through the praises of his people God manifests himself. Awesome.

Today, i got into a car accident on the 57 south and watched as everything around me got shifted into perspective. I was actually not scared for myself, but more so scared of hitting other people and causing other people to crash. And yet God was there. PTL for the reality that God continually saves. -Aarika

Tonight I had an opportunity to watch a group of Christian believers portray the Gospel in their deeds. A disparaged man who wandered in off the streets to our Community Feed was ministered to in a holy way.

When the man, who I will call Tom, arrived at the hall where the feed was held, things were winding down. The hall had been cleaned up, tables stowed away, floor vaccumed, and the volunteers were taking care of last minute details before locking up & going home.

I was in the kitchen when someone asked me if there was any food left to give to the man. I surveyed the situation - we had two boxes full of bread & bananas, hardly a full course meal but at least some sustanance. As I carried a box out of the kitchen, Tom was sitting down being ministered to by some of our elders. I listened as he explained how he got there. He looked like he had seen better days & it was obvious he had not been able to take care of himself well. His face was full of scars and he was weak but talkative. He wore a walking cast which covered up some badly mangled feet. His eyes revealed his desparation & need for some help.

My first inclination was that we were all going to be there for a while. I just have to be honest. I was tired, it had been a long day. Then the Holy Spirit helped me to step back & really assess the situation. Thats when God blessed my socks off.

This could have been a scene from the days of Jesus. My pharisee attitude quickly took a back seat by the grace of God. As I stood & listened to Tom talk, God showed me that this was a divine appointment.

For the next 45 minutes, the love of Jesus rained down on him. He received a meal put together by the kitchen staff; a nice dress shirt someone was wearing to replace his tattered t-shirt; two pairs of clean socks; a belt, & much personal ministry. He wasn't going to get away without God showing Tom how much He loved him. A warm rag helped wash some of the dirt off his face, back & feet, and by the time he left Jesus had given him his best. As we were praying over him before he left, Tom started to break from the love being poured into his life. The gospel of Jesus was presented to Him, but the words were just a follow up the actions that came before.

Watching God's love flow through the conduit of his people to this broken & disparaged man was like a ray of sunshine on a cold day. I was reminded of the scripture that states that we can love because God first loved us. What an awesome experience it was watching the gospel unfold in deeds & words. My faith has been renewed in a mighty way tonight.

People change and people grow. Together and apart. What's nice to know is that all change is truly and solely a testament that God is working in all of us. PTL. -Aarika

Praise God for love because I love to love and think we all should love. - RJ