Joy, not Fear

"You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.' The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, 'I am trembling with fear.'

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." @ Hebrews 11:18-24.

Shon

Wanted to write this down to remember it.

My friend Jeremy used to call his car Shon. Later, when he sold me his car, we decided jokingly that we should change the name to Shine. The next day, we were hiking in Yosemite and noticed that the Gatorade bottle we had said this:



Shine on. Shine Shon. hahahah :)

Shine 9/9/9

This is just crazy...



Found it on the LA Dream Center website. Indeed, it is "the night of dreams", remembering the dreams that God has given us, His promises. Using what we have in our hands, not what we do not have. Seeing what we have been blessed with, not what we lack. And "09/09/09", it is the number of fruitfulness, the nine fruits of the Spirit.

God, what are You up to?

Working as if for Him

I checked out a friend's link to the Dreamcenter and saw that the latest blog entry was called "Shining". Wow. It never fails to amaze me how many times God tries to get our attention!

http://dreamcenterla.blogspot.com/2009/07/shining.html

In short, whether you are speaking to a crowd of a million people, or scrubbing floors and corners in Starbucks, you are both serving the Lord and shining for Him (haha, i like the literal meaning of this one for Starbucks). There is no difference. There really really isn't.

Shine for me

"... I want you to know that I'm not letting go even when you come undone.
I love you more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine.
You are mine, and you shine for me too... "



More (Matthew West)

Take a look at the mountains
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of Me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

Shine for Me
Shine for Me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for Me

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Than the sun
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

God You Reign

Not sure why, this song has been ringing in my head for a long time...



Lincoln Brewster - God You Reign

You paint the night
You count the stars and You call them by name
The skies proclaim
God You reign
Your glory shines
You teach the sun when to bring a new day
Creation sings
God You reign

God You reign
God You reign
Forever and ever
God You reign

You part the seas
You move the mountains with the words that you say
My song remains
God You reign
You hold my life
You know my heart and You call me by name
I live to say
God You reign

Hallelujah
Allelu

"I am pleased with you."

I was having one of my down days. Many disappointments, sadness, grief, feelings of failure. I tried to come to Him, but felt as though I could not hear His voice. I struggled. I needed Him badly.

"I am pleased with you," He said.

"God, I don't need this now, I need to know you are real. I need to hear your voice. How do I know this is you?", I said.

"I am pleased with you. I will say it again. I am pleased with you. I will never be tired of saying it. Because I mean it. I don't say things to make you feel better. I say it because it is true."

"But Father, how could I have pleased you? I have disappointed you, I have disobeyed you, I have failed, I did not accomplish anything. I have not done anything that would make you happy."

He paused, deep in thought, as if memories are running through his head.

"Because you are still here," He replied, with tears are in His eyes.

And I saw a battle scene, and many were wounded. But they were not destroyed. God does not require anything from us, no tasks, no accomplishments, no successes. But the bible does mention something that pleases Him. "Without faith, it is impossible to please God."

And we only have to come back to Him. This is both the easiest thing and the hardest thing to do. To Him, it touches His heart deeply, immensely. To the beaten-down warriors out there, don't give up! God is good and He is more than enough.

Christ the Redeemer

Today, I want to share a photo that affected me deeply when I saw it. If there is anything such as prophetic photography, this is it.



An awesome brudder, Jerald, took it when he was in Brazil, of a huge statue of "Christ the Redeemer". (Incidentally, he took it when it was dark under long exposure.) Wanted to share it here, since we are on the topic of Shine.

God has blessed me with many amazing brothers in Christ over the years, and Jerald is truly a man after God's heart. Please do check out his blog. Deep revelations pouring out of his intimacy with his Lord and Brother.

Lastly, he shared with me a testimony about a Singaporean lady who had severe osteoporosis, rheumatism and leukemia at 30 years old and was going to die. Her testimony of how God healed her is amazing. Even more amazing is her encounter with God on her own kitchen floor... looking into the loving eyes of Jesus! Indeed, the lamp of the body is the eye.

Testimony

All of us have our reasons for believing in God. Some of us, crazy encounters, that the world would not believe even if we told them. But we know what we saw, heard, experienced. Those who have been given much, much would also be expected of them. And as the lady reminds us, when Jesus showed Thomas his hands, He gave him a crazy encounter. But He also said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Faith pleases God.

Shine Video

I saw this video at church last Sunday, and it really spoke to me because of all the things I've been seeing, hearing, wondering.. about Shine. Awesome. There are no coincidences :) Check it out!

http://www.highwayvideo.com/Radiate-P1163.aspx

1. May the Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

2. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

3. Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

4. Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

5. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

6. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

7. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

8. For God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Secret to shining

When God talks about light, He is talking about life.

John 1:4-5
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

How do we have life? How do we become alive? How do we shine? First, don't hide what you have. Second, let yourself be filled.

Luke 11:33 -36
"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

The secret to being filled is our spiritual eyes. It is the window INTO our soul, our spirit. What do we see in the world around us? What do we see in other people? What do we see in ourselves? What do we see in God? The lamp of the body is the eye. If we see as He sees, our body will be filled with life. Sit at His feet, look into His face. His love will transform us. His perspectives will change us. His joy will fill us. From the inside out.

How do we know if what we see is real? Externally, by its fruits. But more importantly, internally, because His ability is speak to us is greater than our ability to hear Him. We have to trust Him.

Indeed, this is the greatest blessing God has to give to us. He wanted Moses and Aaron to pray this for the Israelites.

Numbers 6:22-26
The LORD said to Moses,
"Tell Aaron and his sons,
'This is how you are to bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '
So they will put my name on the Israelites,
and I will bless them."

Psalm 4:6-8
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.