God, my boss. I'm his business

I graduated in May with a diploma. I had gone for my first interview with SP Corporate Communications (CCOMs) to be a Public Relations officer (in line with what I studied) in April after much prayer. With encouragement from a Navigator friend, I waited for their answer. There were six applicants when I went. They called me back for a second interview with the management after a month. Now there were only two applicants, myself and another lady... everyone else probably had found other jobs already. When I went in, after that interview, I asked them how long I would have to wait for their reply. They said maybe 2 weeks. And even by then I wouldn't know if I would get a positive response or no. I complained that it was a long wait.

I left the place telling God I sorta didn't think the job would be mine, doubting it and giving excuses so I could go hunt for lots of other better-paying jobs in PR firms. I knew I was impatient then and entertained thoughts of applying elsewhere already. 3 hours after the interview, I got a call

I exalt me!

If this informercial were real, I would want to purchase it.

Wrong worship to make to God... For the contemporary hymn-singer, this song would be uber interesting as it's a parody of singing and worship. My friends have pointed out how at times when our heart is not in the right place when it's time to worship that we lie when we sing these songs and praise God.

Another friend suggested a remedy to this problem: mean what you sing/say. Don't sing the song on Sundays and forget its meaning on Mondays.

On Evangelism part 3: SIN

Ok, here's a good piece that came up in Google search: http://www.discipleshiplibrary.com/Bridgehome.htm
It's the entire gospel (Good News) of Christ in one post with a couple of verses to let you look in depth into his life story: why he died and how he died.

The reason is simply this: that Christ Jesus came to die on the cross for ALL our sins. This leads to the qns on sin. When sharing to strangers, the usual responses are bad deeds or evil things (some may quote the 7 deadly sins from Proverbs, which is good). It is simply disobedience to God, stealing, lying, anger, jealousy are some... as long as we fall short of his standard, or prefer to go our own way, it's sin.

Quiet Time today--Eccle7:15-29

 

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 Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

¹⁵ In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

a righteous man perishing in his righteousness,
    and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
¹⁶ Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?

Quiet Time today--Eccle5:1-7

 

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Ecclesiastes 5:1-07
Stand in Awe of God

5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

² Do not be quick with your mouth,
    do not be hasty in your heart
    to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
    and you are on earth,
    so let your words be few.
³ As a dream comes when there are many cares,
    so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

vs 6: God has in the process of many years led me to see the need to know his Word daily. When I was younger, I constantly caught the flu and had asthma or cough while at it, so I couldn't breathe much on cold

On Evangelism part 2: Writing Testimony

When you reach out to people, it's good to be sure of your own salvation. Thus I write my own testimony to show the 180-degree turn around from sin to following God. I couldn't pinpoint which day or event that made the change in me, but I believe it was a process over the ten long years I interacted with God and believers. Rmbr, the testimony is a truthful account of how you witnessed/saw/felt Jesus Christ in your life that made you make the decision to believe and follow Him.

To note:

1) Keep the story to be about yourself and not others.

Quiet Time today--Eccle3:1-15

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
A Time for Everything

 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

God is Love, my Lover

Hahax, to celebrate my own birthday, I pondered on this day from 20 years ago: Why was I made?

God the creator has made all his creatures and he made them well. When he made men, he wanted to have a relationship with them. He made us so we could glorify and know him. Interesting to note that he made us in his own image too (Gen 1:27)--that is to have a mind to think, a heart to feel and a will to decide right and wrong.

I was made so I could have a personal relationship with him. To glorify him and know him. I am made in his image. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Most importantly, man was made to be spiritually needy people. Needing spiritual guidance and also having the need for love. This complements well with how and why God creates us... Because God is Love, therefore our need for love equates our need for God.

Simple equation made perfect since the beginning of time. I need love, thus I need God.

On Evangelism part 1

According to Dictionary.com, it is 1) the preaching or promulgation of the gospel; the work of an evangelist and 2) missionary zeal, purpose, or activity.

Dear God,

thank you for the many opportunities for me to witness for you this holiday (at least before I start work). My objective was to grow a heart for people because I found that my heartlessness was a major no-no for you. thanks for letting me recognise that. At a Christian camp (boring as it was), my takeaway lesson was to remember and pray constantly for the people whom you've put in my way. This way, the more I pray for a group of people or an individual, the more I can share their concern and better relate to them by putting myself in their shoes. I'm still trying to do it faithfully. murh.

Many Aspire, Few Attain book review

by Walter A. Henrichsen
 See under Books tab

Printed in 1975, Walter is alive =P and served as regional and worldwide director of the Navigators for a while. You can purchase the booklet here: https://www.navpress.com/product/9781600064036/Many-Aspire-Few-Attain-Walter-A-Henrichsen

His little booklet serves as a short reflection on how one can run the good race of God instead of just sitting on the shelf. We can all easily do that, even as Christians, hence the title. Walter gives ample reason as to why we should keep running the race, and how to do so continually. Many can start the race well, but can we keep up till the end to do a good finish? 

You are my Strength when I am weak...

Dear Father,

I've been sleeping late these past few weeks, waking up drowsy and subconscious till 1hr after meeting someone. Stayed in school till 4pm or 5 mostly doing basics and helping Lee Yin out whenever possible. (Most weeks my objective is to die to self so I can serve the sisters or help out in the fellowship.) Last time, if i stayed till late afternoon and that was all the heat I could take, my body would go into flu spasms and feverish bouts. Eesh, talk about weak. I feared whenever it rained in the mornings, 'cos my flu would start and my nose would run. And tt ruined my day.

Quiet Time today--John19:20-42

 

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John 19:20-42

²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

 ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

 ²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

Quiet Time today--John19:1-16

 

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John 19:1-16
Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

 ¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.  ⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

God's perspective of Sin

I was having a downtime discussion with Nissi and asked her if it was okay to not forgive the person who didn't personally offend us, but offended us. Like, indirectly, his actions were so crude and bad that we took offense at it? I read in the papers often about such acts of crime and major sins committed, and sometimes the things I find on FB are more than disturbing, but extremely sickening. Very recently there have been stories about animal abuses and the cruel things people could think up of. Sometimes, the deeds done were

Quiet Time today--John18:28-40

 

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John 18:28-40
Jesus Before Pilate

 ²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”  ³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
 ³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

Quiet Time today--John18:1-27

 

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John 18:1-27
Jesus Arrested

 ¹ When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

 ² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

 ⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

Quiet Time today--John 17:20-26

 

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John 17:20-26
Jesus Prays for All Believers

    ²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Quiet Time today--John16:17-33

 

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John 16:17-33
The Disciples' Grief will turn to Joy

 ¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
 ¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child

Death death death alive

I was talking with Berenice often this week. She's busy doing SYFC events, leadership camps, Nav camp and activities, Kenjitsu martial arts and lots of other stuff all at the same time. And now school is coming up next week... o.O cue horror music.

She said her POV on life has changed a bit since her few camps the last few weeks this holiday. She is seeing how temporal things are now. There are other more important eternal things to learn and worry about. Some of these include God, His word and the souls of all people (and that's why we always have witnessing as much as possible; can be done by life or by lips, to anyone near to you). I encouraged Berenice all the more. Recently my cat died. An ex-classmate of mine in sec sch 4 years ago also died in a NS Bedok camp

Quiet Time today--John16:1-15

 

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John 16:1-16
Work of the Holy Spirit

 ¹ “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.

God's gift in the hospital

We went to the Tan Tock Seng hospital last Tuesday to visit Tresa and her dad and mum. Tresa's parents had received Christ just yesterday when my Bible leader went to pay homage and shared the gospel (of which they may have heard at Mass often) and both were eager to receive Him. So when we got an SMS that Tresa's parents received Christ, I was at a lose for words. I think Tresa may have been too.

Translation:
"There is a present, have you received it? It cannot be seen, the heart only knows.
This little present waits by you heart's door; it's been prepared for you, no one else incurs.

Chorus-Our life is short, time passes unnoticed. If you don't treasure it, chance comes to naught.
Although the gift is good, if you reject it still, how can you attain it--the gift of grace and life?

My dear brethren, have you considered? The babe in the manger is here for you.
My dear brethren, have you understood? The best gift on earth: Jesus the Son of Man! 
(repeat chorus)

Quiet Time today--John15:18-27

 

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John 15:18-27
The World Hates the Disciples

    ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they

Queit Time today--John13:18-38

 

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John 13:18-38
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

    ¹⁸ “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’^[a]

   ¹⁹ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. ²⁰ I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

Quiet Time today--John12:20-36

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John 12:20-36

 ²⁰And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
 ²¹The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
 ²²Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
 ²³And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
 ²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
 ²⁵He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
 ²⁶If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Quiet Time today--John11:45-57

 

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John 11:45-57
The Plot to Kill Jesus

 ⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.    “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

Quiet Time today--john11:17-57

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John 11:17-57
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

 ¹⁷ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was less than two miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

 ²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

 ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

A Good tree bears Good fruit

Matt28:19-20 "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have taught you. And surely I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age."

Dear Father,
What an exciting week. You really make things in your own time. Just yesterday I came out late afternoon to meet Claire for witnessing. She hadn't brought her H/P so thank God we still managed to meet. If she came alone too, she would have gone home instead. Anw, we met Ming Ming from SIM at the Auditorium. It was the first time she heard the gospel and it went quite smoothly... so smoothly that when I shared with her, she really believed everything, from her sins to heaven to Jesus. She had a preconceived notion that there was one God out there. Her receipt of Christ as personal Saviour was innocent enough for us to believe she was indeed born again. We had to ask her a few times if she was sure about her decision.

Quiet Time today--John11:1-16

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John 11
The Death of Lazarus

 ¹ Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)

 ⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

Quiet Time today--John10:22-42

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John 10:22-42
Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

 ²² Then came the Festival of Dedication^[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Quiet Time today--John10:1-21

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John 10The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

 ¹ “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

No Dreamer But Thy Dream

Prayer

Master, they say that when I seem
    To be in speech with you,
Since you make no replies, it's all a dream
    --One talker aping two.

They are half right, but not as they
    Imagine; rather, I
Seek in myself the things I meant to say
    And lo! the wells are dry.

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake
    The Listener's role, and through

My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake
    The thoughts I never knew.

And thus you neither need reply
    Nor can;thus, while we seem
Two talking, thou art One forever, and I
    No dreamer, but thy dream

~Taken from James Gordon's "Living Wittily" blog.

Said to be written by CS Lewis, and another  source says he quoted it from an old notebook of an unknown author. But either way, the style is very much like his own. It is mentioned in "A Sacrifice of Praise" by James H Trott and in "CS Lewis: An Examined Life" by Bruce L Edwards.

At times our prayers seem to go unanswered and it brings no glory or honour to anyone. But Lewis' prayer is a reminder that the prayer is powerful though we see no major change. God would eventually, "through my dead lips breathe and into utterance wake / the thoughts I never knew." He would provide a new perspective. I have had the privilege of hearing someone else' POV on sth I felt important and realised I was looking at things the wrong way. Thank God she said what I needed to hear or I would be brooding in bitterness.

Quiet Time today--John9:13-4

 

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John 9:13-41
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

 ¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

 ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

   But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

Quiet Time today--John9:1-12

John 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

 ¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”    ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Quiet Time today--John6:16-40

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John 6:16-40
Jesus Walks on the Water

 ¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[a] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Dawson Trotman's The Need of the Hour

Recently at the Nav camp in Malaysia, we went through a short booklet called The Need of the Hour by Dawson Trotman. It was based on one of his addressing speeches to the Navigators men to inspire them towards world vision. I've been looking for an online version but the Nav digital copyright policy doesn't allow me to share the material on the interwebz, so here's a link to the booklet you have to purchase =P

The Need of the Hour: http://www.navpress.com/store/search.aspx?q=the+need+of+the+hour 
(ooh, wait a minute, for personal use, feel free to Google it)

I listened to the audio version at the camp, and they edited out a lot of mentions from the booklet... I guess 'cos the original one had a lot more deviations from the main message, the need of the hour/moment.

Here's a snippet anyway: "Then it dawned on me in a way I had never considered before. When Jesus Christ sent the 11 out, He let a situation exist which was so bad that there could never be a worse one. No printing presses, no automobiles, no radios, no television, no telephone, no buildings, not one single church, no uniforms, nothing for the vestry. He didn't leave them a little emblem.

He left them only a job to do, but with it He said, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Go ye therefore...' (Matt 28:18-19)."

He wrote loads more interesting booklets.

 

The entire message Daws gave was simply that the disciples went out on a leap of faith. Not knowing what the future would bring, not knowing where they would go and whether there would be money or food or shelter, they only had faith. I guess God wants all his people to only be equipped with that when we do his work. Don't need the materials, or the literature, but just have faith and a mouth to proclaim Christ.

I dare not say I have a strong faith, but I have it nonetheless and I'm not afraid to use it! =P lol, I just need to learn when. In this camp, I thought I would start by giving myself and everything in daily prayer to God, and let him take control of everything. Let him use me and what I have. When Christ really is in the centre, I have to let him take the steering wheel of my life.

There's this job opening that has called me in for an interview. It's the same company I interned in, but maybe different boss. I want a full-time job but I didn't want the PR job. But I guess if God wants me there, I have to learn to submit. He didn't quite bless my previous time there, but I hope he would be with me here. So hopefully ultimately I can learn to be trained there in office while continuing the Great Commission. =))

Quiet Time today--Gen46

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 Genesis 46
Jacob Goes to Egypt

 ¹ So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

 ² And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

   “Here I am,” he replied.

 ³ “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

Quiet Time today--Gen41

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Genesis 41
Pharaoh’s Dreams

 ¹ When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, ² when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. ³ After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. ⁴ And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.  ⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. ⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. ⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

Quiet Time today--Gen40

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Genesis 40
The Cupbearer and the Baker

 ¹ Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.    After they had been in custody for some time, ⁵ each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Quiet Time today--Gen35

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Genesis 35Jacob Returns to Bethel

 ¹ Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”  ² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. ⁵ Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

Quiet Time today--Gen34

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Genesis 34Dinah and the Shechemites

 ¹ Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³ His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”  ⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

Quiet Time today--Gen33

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Genesis 33Jacob Meets Esau

 ¹ Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ² He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.  ⁴ But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. ⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.
   Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”

Parable of the man and diamond-carving

This story really got to me. It’s about the need to spend time with the Bible, the treasure trove of heavenly secrets, the law of laws and most important story of the world, the word. Being able to spend more time with the Bible can only mean you get in tune with the truth more and more, so when you hear of something that doesn’t sound like the truth, you will know to avoid it. As told by my friend during a Bible class.

There was a man who wanted to learn to carve diamonds and create 25-carat-looking pieces. He came to this old man who was a guru at diamond polishing and carving. The guru’s only task to him was to make him hold a piece of diamond in his hand for a few months.

Quiet Time today--Gen32

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Genesis 32Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

 ^{1 [a]}Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.^{[b]  3} Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”
 ⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

Quiet Time today--Gen31

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Genesis 31Jacob Flees From Laban

 ¹ Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” ² And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.  ³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
 ⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were.

Quiet Time today--Gen29

Vs 25: Laban was wrong to have done that to Jacob, giving him Leah instead of Rachel to marry just because it was their custom for the firstborn to marry first. Laban should have explained the terms of the wages and the work first before offering to him only sth, in this case someone, that he didn’t count as proper salary for his work. He didn’t want Leah. And what do you usually do with stuff or people you don’t like?

Guess the streak of deception runs in the family, as previously Jacob was deceiving his brother too.

APPLICATION: I was looking into being an entrepreneur, another far-off dream though, and being deceptive in your work and payment is not an honest way to do business. Legally you’re gonna’ get a lot of problems your way. Anw even in the office, I too have to look out that I don’t be deceived by others who keep hidden certain conditions of the job which I find out only afterwards. Eg. I said after internship I would stay on at my PR position as part-timer, because I was given the impression that the part-time person does as much as the intern.

Getting paid only 2 dollars an hour more than intern, the boss expects me to work full-time hours still. And also I only just knew that the job may include more admin stuff to do. So much for fair exchange. Either way, I can hope to do God's work while here, and do it cheerfully.

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Genesis 29Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram

 ¹ Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. ² There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

 ⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”

Quiet Time Today--Gen28

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Genesis 28

 ¹ So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram,^[a] to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty^[b] bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Quiet Time today--Gen27

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Genesis 27
Jacob Gets Issac's Blessings

 ¹ When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
   “Here I am,” he answered.
 ² Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. ³ Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. ⁴ Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

Quiet Time today--Gen 26

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Genesis 26Isaac and Abimelek

 ¹ Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. ² The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. ³ Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^{[b] 5} because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” ⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.  ⁷ When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

Quiet Time today--Gen25

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Genesis 25The Death of Abraham

 ¹ Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

 ⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

Quiet Time for today--Gen23

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Genesis 23The Death of Sarah

 ¹ Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

 ³ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.^[a] He said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
 ⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”