Intentions: In prayer and fasting our “intentions” must be clear, the intention to humble ourselves before the Lord and admitting life without him is meaningless. But for some like me (this was before), fasting is part of my obligation as Christian, and some think that this was an advantage for selfish acts because of the benefits of fasting.
During the service, the pastor made us clear that, prayer and fasting with the intention to seek God lead to deeper, passionate and secure relationship with him. Isn’t it exciting?
Prayer and fasting are one of the important tool to seek God and deep our relationship with God, through fasting God also reveal to us deep thoughts and wisdom we need in our daily lives.
Lost in digit: In prayer and fasting, we always make time, we might think we lost time, but what is lost time compare to the presence of God is not a waste of time, Pastor told us, PAF is making time, lessen the activities and seek God and not in your “spare” time. It’s not about the digits, it’s about the time you accomplish to experience God.
Satisfaction: As the body is satisfied with food, so do our soul, pastor told us that when we seek God and his presence we make sure that we are satisfied spiritually, for God’s words are the food of the soul.
Reminder: FASTING without PRAYER is NOTHING
TOTAL TRUST IN GOD: When we PAF we are totally dependent to God, to trust him, temptation is part of our daily lives but as long as we depend on him, he will give us the strength to resist any temptation.
Expectant: Always to look forward in meeting God during PAF, be expectant of his super natural works in the lives of the people around you and yours.
Lastly do not forget to CHOOSE to be HAPPY and ENJOY the prayer and fasting
Old Sibling Struggles lol! #OLD is not in our dictionary as eldest haha #10 is definitely us. Found myself reading some article about first born kids, find it quite interesting.
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First born kids are somewhat the trial and error of a new parent: Honestly first born don’t mind it; we definitely understand that parents are imperfect person.
First born are tend to be controlling: The responsibility of being the eldest is not easy, you may say that we are “controlling freak” and “very authoritative and rule oriented”. All I can say is being the eldest take a lot of self-esteem to establish authority over your sibs, and a big heart to understand the tantrums you had. First born mind-set is not selfish which most of the sibs think. There intensions are not short tern discipline but rather a long term discipline that can be pass in generations.
The high expectation to the eldest: This is one of the reason why eldest are tend to be achievers yet insecure, responsible yet people pleaser and lastly smart yet approval seeker. Every eldest in the family has this growing insecurity in taking the lead when parents are not around, most often they were the ones who take care of everything. As a result in their personal life, they were the one to work hard and help the family.
Hurt: Most of the eldest were hurt when disrespectful come on their way through their sibs, we eldest always have the mind of “why did they not understand how to respect”, “I’m the eldest I demand to be respected” and it is true, eldest tend to feel authority violated when sibs don’t respect them as they are.
Fear of new things: I really think that trying new things and bound to go with the trend is fine with the eldest, we might be traditional and family oriented but we are always found of new things, we are not too old to follow new trend.
Always the good example and always right: I believe right in a way where the intensions relay, good example is really the hardest part of being the eldest because we tend to be a “perfectionist” in every way, but the sibs should also need to be understand that even if we try hard to be a good example, failure comes in our way, they should need to distinguish the things that needed to acquire from our experiences and eliminate the ones that are not beneficial.
Eldest are too distant and mature: All I can say is that eldest are not too far for your reach, eldest tend to be the ruler yet they are lovely and understanding in every situation, they are also your cheerleaders when you feel down, you can tell them your secrets and expect to keep it till they die and lastly generational gap is never been an issue for us. All you need to do is approach.
Nobody bothered to ask about their dreams and ambitions in life: I say true enough for this, nobody really bother to ask what are the dreams and plans do they have in the future, maybe because the eldest itself are too “bombarded” with the responsibly to help the family, they really don’t have time for their own life . eg: – Whenever they go out they need to be at home at specific time to look if the their sibs did their homework nor eat their dinner and also take care of the house. I remember my friend in one of our conversation about new grads, he told me that “the reason why graduate did not excel because of the mind-set and burden they have since they were kids, the mind-set to graduate and provide for the family is the highest priority that’s why they don’t mind whether they did not practice the course they take during collage”. True enough, but the truth is balance is what we, eldest need to be open to our parents on what do we want in life. I believe that they will support us every decision we made in life.
Eldest are the one who receive the least of “a thank you note from sibs”: True enough, but eldest don’t mind, because they were bounded by loved. Whenever they see their sibs happy, they were also happy or seeing them satisfied by their cooking (sister know this haha agree?)
Giving: Giving everything and less of themselves is never been an issue to an eldest. Something that sibs should be grateful for.
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Everything that’s written above is true base on the insight of an eldest. But here’s another truth:
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“Everything written above is true, but eldest don’t mind having the responsibility to help the family, also eldest may feel a little bit less appreciated but the truth is they don’t mind because they knew every smile from a family member is a great reward for them, and lastly eldest don’t mind everything that written above because they were motivated by loved and the reward of being the eldest in the family is priceless, one of the most fulfilling task that God gave us and we eldest never regret being one”
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So appreciate them!
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Thoughts coming during midnights, sorry haha nocturnal lang ang peg ko 😛 Blog starts 5:30am and end at 6:30am got me 1hour lol, drain brain cells 😛
It took me a lot of courage to do this letter i don’t usually share this thing, this will be my first and last letter to you 🙂 I hope others will understand the reason why I’m posting this. It’s not bad at all, to get your heart broken; right person will come through God’s way.
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I really don’t care if you’re still in denial or what; I know for a short period of time we both know what is the word “had” back then. I honestly love the things I made for the first time with you, you really made my world turn upside down, you made me laugh, smile, angry, sing, dance and cringe, you made me care more and less of myself, you made me realized that guys are not the same and it’s a choice to be who they want them to be, you made me see things beyond and you made me think that life isn’t bad at all, you also made me love and feel loved.
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You might not realize it but I was this kind of girl who doesn’t usually let anybody else mess up with my world, I take authority over my life and never let anyone in, but I let you. I really did hate you for leaving me hanging on air and end up hating myself for not having the courage to ask why, through years a whirlwind emotion start to take over my life. I been bitter instead of better, I turn into something that I don’t want to be, I choose to rebel over a thing that I’m hoping for to return.
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And at the end, I understand that I’m only hoping for something that isn’t coming, your words really drives me crazy holding on till the end, but I have to move on, moving on is never been easy, it took me years to finally say that “It’s really not coming, and it’s already “over” for both of us”. because i keep cuddling the emotion and holding on to the memories, I don’t wanna play blaming games with you. What I know is that, through the pain of falling in love for the first time it draws me closer to God, you love is a disguise of God’s love that I’m longing for.
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So I say thank you for everything that I experienced with you. I never regret that one day I fell in love and got hurt, that one day I feel bitter and yet never imagine that i can still forgive, His love made me forgive. And it’s a great feeling; I realized I did myself a big favor for not holding garage over someone else. I really learned a lot through my journey of healing and forgiveness, and I’m able to share it to others.
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I want you to know that you don’t need to feel guilty for hurting me either i, we both young back then, we made decisions through our emotions, and I already forgiven you. You’re one of the best thing that happen to me, so again thank you, I pray that the Lord will bless you exceedingly above and beyond because you’re a good, kind-hearted and a gentle person.
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– Goodbye FL 🙂
There are many myths about the devil, including one that he has horns. (iStock photo)
Americans can’t seem to get enough of horror movies. Every October, in time for Halloween, Hollywood releases a creepy new crop of films about masked serial killers, flesh-eating zombies, crazed vampires and demon-possessed children who crawl out of television sets to attack us.
This year’s horror fare includes Annabelle (about a red-haired doll possessed by an evil spirit), Devil’s Due (about a demonic pregnancy resulting from a voodoo ritual),Ouija (about teenagers who conjure ghosts by playing a board game) and Horns, (about a murder suspect who begins growing horns and taking on other devilish characteristics).
No thanks. The world is scary enough—I don’t need a horror movie soundtrack to go with it.
Many horror movies are quite religious (last year’s The Conjuring was about a Christian couple who did exorcisms), but Hollywood rarely gets it right when it comes to the devil, demons and the spiritual realm. The result is that many people today have wrong ideas about Satan—and Christians often subscribe to these kooky concepts because we haven’t studied God’s Word carefully. Here are six of the most common myths about the devil:
Myth No. 1: The devil is everywhere. God is omnipresent, but the devil doesn’t have that kind of power or influence. Jesus said He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening (Luke 10:18)—referring to the moment when our enemy was cast out of the highest heaven. Satan posts his demons in various regions, but the devil is not watching you 24 hours a day. And if you are in Christ, you are hidden in Him (see Col. 3:3) and the devil cannot detect you on his radar.
Myth No. 2: The devil has horns. Hollywood has perpetrated the idea that Satan has horns, a red cape and a pitchfork, but this is based on medieval folklore, not the Bible. In fact, the Bible says the devil is a master of clever disguises, and that he prefers to appear as “an angel of light” (see 2 Cor. 11:14). Without spiritual discernment, most people don’t even recognize that the devil is working because he is so cunning and attractive. The devil often shows up in religious meetings, and he even deceives Christians. He also loves to work through charlatans who steal money and live in immorality but know how to quote Scripture.
Myth No. 3: The devil is afraid of crosses, holy water and religious icons. In the typical Hollywood vampire film, Count Dracula is repelled by a crucifix and demons scream in torment when a priest utters a Latin phrase. Don’t be fooled. Satan is not afraid of religious people. Satan is quite comfortable hanging around religious buildings as long as the people inside are not preaching the true gospel. That’s why Paul the apostle warned us that in the last days people who at one time followed God would fall away from the faith, “paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). Some of the most demonic heresies were hatched in church buildings when Christians turned away from the truth to follow the devil, the father of lies.
Myth No. 4: The devil is to blame for all the evil in the world. A lot of Christians have the idea that the devil caused them to sin. “The devil made me do it!” No, the devil was probably nowhere near. The Book of James says we must own the responsibility of our sin. “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14). Don’t blame the devil for what you did. Take responsibility and repent.
Myth No. 5: The devil is all-powerful. We Christians ascribe to Satan way more power than he actually has. The Bible says in Colossians that when Jesus died on the cross, He disarmed satanic powers and made a public spectacle of them (see Col. 2:15). I love the way The Message translates this verse: “[Jesus] stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.” Satan’s authority has been taken from him, and all he can do now is lie, steal, kill and destroy—much like a renegade terrorist army—until the church finishes the job of preaching the gospel to the world. And Satan knows his end is near.
Myth No. 6: The devil lives in hell. Popular artwork often shows the devil running his diabolical operation from a headquarters in the midst of the flames of hell. But that is not a biblical concept. Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” because he runs his show from a remote heavenly location. The good news is that he won’t be there for long. Jesus said hell has been prepared for the devil and his angels (see Matt. 25:41), and Rev. 20:10 says after the final judgment, God will throw Satan into the lake of fire and brimstone where he will be “tormented day and night forever and ever.” That is the horror movie the devil fears most.
If you are a believer in Christ, you have no reason to fear the devil. We should not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, and you should develop discernment to know where he is working, but you do not have to be afraid of him. If you are strong in faith, aggressive in prayer and filled with the Holy Spirit, you are a threat to Satan’s kingdom. The apostle Paul’s words in Romans 16:20 remind us of our victory: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproje
Yeonmi Parkis a One Young World delegate originally from North Korea. She is speaking during the Peace and Conflict Plenary Session at the 2014 Summit in Dublin about her life in North Korea and escape from the Kim regime.
I am a North Korean defector who escaped the hardship of the region in 2007. Korea has remained in the media spotlight in recent weeks due to the unprecedented disappearance, and reappearance, of leader Kim Jong-un. Countless people have spoken about the missing dictator, but very little attention is being focused on the invisible victims of the Kim regime. People born in North Korea are born prisoners for life.
In 2012, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea estimated that there are 150,000 to 200,000 people in North Korea’s notorious prison camps. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea estimated earlier this year that between 80,000 and 120,000 people were in the camps – often being imprisoned without a fair trial.
Some are there for what would be considered minor crimes outside of North Korea; it doesn’t take very much to get jailed for life or executed by the Kim regime. Growing up in North Korea, I heard about and witnessed public executions for reasons such as:
Stealing cows: A 27 year old man, who had tuberculosis and was starving, stole a cow. He was gunned down in a public execution. Cows are needed for labor in North Korea, so it is a serious crime there to steal or eat one.
Defacing the likeness of the dictator: A man who rolled a cigarette to smoke was arrested by a policeman who witnessed the “crime.” The smoker was executed because the newspaper included Kim Jong-Il’s likeness. There are numerous stories of people being hailed as heroes for rushing into burning buildings to rescue portraits of the Kims. Those who allow such portraits to be burnt are publicly executed.
Watching foreign movies: When I was nine years old, I witnessed my best friend’s mother get publicly executed, along with about seven other people. They had been caught watching foreign movies from South Korea and the United States. The “criminals” had their teeth broken and stones stuffed in their mouths so they couldn’t speak or scream, their joints broken so they couldn’t walk or escape, then were shot several times as a warning to the rest of us, à la Animal Farm.
Fleeing North Korea: One of my mom’s friends borrowed money from us. The next day, the entire family disappeared. They had been caught talking about escaping to South Korea and so the entire family was wiped out.
Those executions were carried out by Kim Jong-il’s regime when I was living in North Korea, but the carnage hasn’t stopped under his son, Kim Jong-un. Eighty people were recently slaughtered in one day, for the “crimes” of watching South Korean movies and reading the Bible. They were machine gunned in a stadium, shot repeatedly so that it was difficult to identify them.
So many people in North Korea have been killed needlessly by the Kim regime. The amount of attention that had been focused on the disappearance and reappearance of the dictator does prove that the world can pay attention to North Korea, but what about their victims? Where has the compassion gone for human life?
As I continue to try to raise awareness about the human rights crisis in North Korea, I hope that we will be able to focus more attention on the invisible victims of the Kim regime. So many Korean refugees in China and elsewhere are desperately seeking, and dying, for their freedom.
I pray for the young women around the globe for they find comport in the Lord, especially those women whose been suffering from physical, mental and emotional abuses, those women whose think that there is no way out in the situation that they are in, those women whose sell their bodies, to women whose lose hope, those women whose been crying for help, those women whose been seeking freedom, holiness and purity, those young women whose think that this the way of life, not realized that there is always another way, those women whose been making there step to change, those women whose been abducted, those women whose been accused, those women whose been boon parent-less, those women who are sexually abused, those women who been living in the street those women who felt dirty, insignificant, discourage, tormented, guilty, sinners, those young women who stay up in to work, those women whose been seeking for someone to care, the woman who are divorce, mistreated, wronged. I PRAY THAT THE LORD WILL COMPORT YOU TO ALL THE PAIN THAT YOUR GOING TROUGH, I PRAY THAT YOU ARE BEEN REMINDED THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS BATTLE, I PRAY THAT YOU ARE REMINDED THAT NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, I PRAY THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL MADE YOU REALIZE HOW VALUABLE, BEAUTIFUL, INCREDIBLE, WONDERFULLY MADE YOU ARE, HOW PURE AND DILIGENT YOU ARE, HOW GREAT YOU ARE, I PRAY THAT NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU, I PRAY THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS BEEN SECURED BY THE LOVE ON GOD, I PRAY THAT YOU WILL REALIZE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY IN THAT KIND OF LIFE BECAUSE JESUS 2000 YEARS AGO PAID FOR YOUR FREEDOM! THAT JESUS DIED SO YOU DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF LIFE THAT JESUS ROSE FROM DEAD SO YOU CAN HAVE HOPE! THAT JESUS IS ASCEND TO HEAVEN SO YOU CAN HAVE ETERNAL LIFE!!!
I PRAY THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS BEEN SURROUNDED WITH PEOPLE WHO WILL LET YOU GO CLOSER WITH GOD. PEOPLE WHO WILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO LIVE A WORTHY LIFE THAT BLESS OTHERS AND BE REMINDED HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU AND WANT YOU TO HAVE A LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM I PRAY YOU REMEMBER THAT GOD IS DOING A LOT OF THINGS IN YOUR LIFE THAT HIS PURPOSED AND PROMISES WILL ALWAYS FULFILL IN YOUR LIFE!! I PRAY AND SEALED THIS BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST WHO HAS BEEN SHED ON THE CROSS! AND NO WEAPON OF THE ENEMY CAN STEAL THE DREAMS AND PURPOSED OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE! I PRAY THAT THE ABUNDANCE OF JOY WILL FLOW IN YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT, AND THE BLESSING OF THE LORD AS HE OPEN THE FLOODGATES OF HEAVEN WILL POUR OUT TO YOU THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO CONTAIN FOR IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT WHEN GOD OPEN THE DOOR NO ONE CAN SHUT I PRAY THAT EVERYDAY YOU WILL HAVE HOPES AND COURAGE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT IS PLEASING TO GOD! AND NEVER EVER GO BACK AGAIN TO THE WAY YOU USED TO LIVE! I PRAY TO THE WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN TIRED! I PRAY THAT YOU WILL FIND REST IN THE LORD! FOR HE SAID LET THE WEARY COME AND HE WILL GIVE REST. AND LASTLY I PRAY THAT WE WILL NEVER FAILED TO SEE HOW MUCH GOD LOVE US, THAT OUR LIVES IS A CHANNEL OF BLESSINGS TO OTHER PEOPLE AND NEVER FORGET TO LIVE A LIFE FOR GOD FOR HE IS ALONE OUR REASON FOR LIVING, A FATHER WHO ALWAYS CARE, A FATHER WHO ALWAYS LISTEN, A FATHER WHO LOVES AND A FATHER WHO NEVER LEAVES.
IN JESUS NAME AMEN!!!
Sorry for the caps lock… hahahaha! I really can’t contain and can’t stop praying since yesterday, since I watch Yeonmi Park Testimony regarding her space from North Korea. I felt that I should not let this pass, its kinda late post for me because I don’t have internet connection yesterday… So I just make a pause, and stop doing my project for a while so that I have a time to pray. And if you have time please watch the video attach and never stop praying for every women around the globe. I know that there are some women who have been discourage, I just want to encourage you though my prayers and I hope you do.
READ.WRITE.TALK.LEAD 