Song of the Week

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Welcome to August, dear people! It’s the 8th month of this year and I’m just believing that this will be the start of a new beginning in this year.

But how many of you have felt down? Disappointed? Unsure?

These feelings have been constantly replaying in my mind. Mostly, because now my summer is over, and I have done nothing the entire time! Okay, maybe not fully about my summer, but I have been down because I felt defeated in some areas of my life. Like with school, family, etc., I just couldn’t seem to shake these thoughts. But how could I think this way when I serve God who reigns over all things?

I am reminded of Psalms 42:5 NLT:

Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and

Our hope is in He that has created us for a purpose! So continue to fight!

That’s why today I want to share with you this song for the Song of the Week.

As you listen to this song, remind yourself that God has never lost a battle. Whatever you are facing, whether it be today, tomorrow, God will bring you through it. He never fails.

“You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.” Philippians 4:13

Weekly Soap

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We are now in the last week of July! Can you believe it? It seems like this month was super long and short at the same time.

Before we go into the Weekly Soap, thank you again for subscribing to this blog. This truly was a leap of faith, and with God’s instruction on how and what to write, I’ve garnered love and support from all around the world. I’m so grateful to all of you, even if this is the first time you’re reading my blog. You are not here by accident!

Now…

Let’s get into it!

This week’s SOAP is Romans 11. Although we aren’t studying the entire chapter, please read all of it. The Apostle Paul breaks down God’s mercy on the Israelites and on us.

Scripture:

19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” 20 Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. 21 For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

22 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree.

Romans 11:19-23 NLT

Observation: Paul was explaining how the unbelief of the Israelite people brought about the mercy/grace given to the Gentiles. Through the metaphor of an olive tree, he spoke of the broken branches/cut-off as the Israelites who had fallen to unbelief. However, those who remained in faith or the saved Gentiles, God rewarded them with His goodness, but still gave them a warning about being part of the fallen. God’s sovereignty is that even when we get cut off, if you believe and trust God again, He can reattach you.

Application: God’s grace on us is clear in our everyday living. If Christ wasn’t denied by His own people, we probably would not be where we are in faith. We, as sinners turned saints, would not experience the draw to salvation through Christ Jesus. But, thank God for His mercy and His grace upon us. For it is only Him that can do all these things for His glory to save us. He uses us all for this special purpose.

Prayer: Father God, I thank you for those whom you have set aside who are obedient to you through faith. God, I thank you for saving us and having mercy on us. Although you have a covenant with your chosen people, I am so glad that I was graffed in to be apart of your family. Thank you for accepting us. We are no longer fatherless, for we have a Father in heaven who looks after His children. Lord, continue to reign in sovereignty. Let your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Screen Time

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If you’re like me in quarantine, your screen time has gone up astronomically. I went from a couple of hours to about 8 hours a day. Am I slightly ashamed to say that? Yes! It’s 8 hours of my day devoted to my phone, which is the same time as a regular shift at work.

For quite some time before this situation, this addiction to my phone was how I filled much of my spare time. Through boredom, uneventful situations, and stress, my phone was my out. This was nothing new to me or to God. And that’s exactly why He intervened.

About three years ago, after washing dishes, I dropped my Google Pixel in the dishwater. Within seconds, I felt horror, devastation, and immense sadness. I cried immediately as I scrambled to find some rice to dry it out. (It’s funny how phones always have that “it’s waterproof” benefit, but they don’t really tell you how waterproof they are). After leaving it in rice for about an hour, I had hoped that it would turn on, but nothing. My parents tried to sooth me by saying things like, “Oh, it will be fine” or “You can always wait to get another one”, but I wasn’t trying to hear it. I could only see the blank screen of my device signifying my worst nightmare: my phone was dead, completely. So what do we do when we’re in trouble? Call God! But I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear His answer. In that moment, I heard God say to me, “This was the only way I could get your attention, and I shouldn’t have to do it this way.”

God had hit me with the 1-2-jab that convicted me. His words provided two very valid and scary truths.

  1. I had such an obsession with my phone that I couldn’t focus on anything else, including God.
  2. I had placed God as my last resort to turn to because of it.

Exodus 20:3-5 says,

3 “You must not have any other god but me.

4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

Now these verses are part of the Ten Commandments, and clearly I had violated them. I repented of my sin because I honestly wanted nothing to come between what I have with Christ or to affect me or my children. However, I had a lot of work to do to break this unhealthy bond.

In losing my phone for some hours, I cried, said I couldn’t live without it, and felt like I had just endured a lost of a best friend. (I know, very dramatic). All of this pointed to idol worship that I had no business doing and affected my relationship with God. It’s no wonder He stopped me. I was going off into the deep and in Exodus 20:5 that he was a jealous God and would not tolerate affection for any other gods.

So, if I could spend hours on my phone, why couldn’t I do the same with God?

And that’s the magical question to ask yourself today. If you are like me and you struggle to escape the claws of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., it may be time to reassess.

By no means am I telling you to give up your cellphone, social media and live off-grid for your entire life. That would be nearly impossible since so much of our society is digital. However, I am asking you to evaluate your time and how you spend it.

Recently, in my personal struggle, God helped me use the digital well-being features on my phone. You could say, “Well Chan, all phones have those features. You’re not special for using that.” And yeah that may be true, but in the usage of the parameters God set for me, my entire life changed.

I not only developed a plan for myself (I am disorganized, but I’m working on it), but I have searched for God more. My cut down of screen time gave God the space to work in my life the way He intended. I hear His voice more clearly, write the way I want, and found peace in many areas of life. I can’t even go to sleep peacefully unless I’ve read a passage from the Bible (lol). Also, I’ve developed so many more hobbies now!

John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

I’m committed to loving God and to keeping His commandments laid out in the Word and those He’s uttered to me. If that just happens to be scrolling through Pinterest and Twitter a little less, then so be it.

Romans 8:38-39 sums it up perfectly:

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now if you’re nosey like me, you’re probably thinking, “Now why hasn’t she talked about her 8 hour screen time in quarantine yet?”

My answer is this: Youtube, Phone Calls, Spotify, and my digital Bible.

God Bless You!

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Be blessed!

Chan!

Song of the Week

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Happy Monday wonderful people! I hope you’re having a magnificent day in the Lord!

Today, I come to you with a song that sums up everything I feel and you may feel right now. With the uncertainty of the times we live, I find certainty in God.

Psalms 18:2 says, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” And right now, this is the scripture my heart holds.

Though your mind may race at a thousand miles a minute, God “leads you beside still waters” (Psalms 23:2). He brings peace to us in all that we go through.

In this song of the week, the artist, CASS, paints a picture of what it’s like to battle anxious, depressive thoughts. Verse by verse, CASS pleads to God for clarity in a moment of darkness.

I hope this song blesses your soul as much as it did mine!

Lo-FI Clarity-CASS

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Be blessed!

Chan!

Weekly Soap

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I have a question for you today? I want you to think very deeply about this.

Are you living peaceably or are you raising hell?

source: Giphy

Now, I’m not trying to call anyone out and I’m not making this a bash post. As I grow in Christ, I realize that this part of myself (and others…) needed to be dealt with. Now what am I talking about exactly? Let me give you an example.

Amy, a newly converted Christian, pulls into a parking lot in a very crowded area. As she drives up and down every aisle, she comes across a space with her name on it. As she is about to turn the wheel into the parking lot, another car out of the blue, steals her parking spot. Amy felt the rage inside her come to the surface. Her face was red with anger and she could hear the myriad of expletives running through her head directed at this driver. As she was about to open the door, she heard clear as day, “No, not today.”

HOLD UP! Amy deserved to get those feelings off her chest, right? Her anger would dissipate and she could be calm after confronting them. Right?

WRONG.

Let’s dive into the Word.

Scripture:

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

(Romans 12:17-19 KJV)

Observation: Paul highlighted that in this world, we may get persecuted, face hatred, and endure downright awful things from people. Our human reaction to this is to retaliate, to fight back when wronged. But, now changed, we need to live peaceable lives with all men, those who love us and hate us. It is not our job, our responsibility, or our place to seek vengeance, but God will handle it. He fights our battles for us.

Application: In faith, fighting evil with evil only creates more evil. Amy would have received temporary satisfaction from cussing out that driver, but what does it do for her spirit? We are examples to people of who Christ is in our lives and what He does inside of us. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, so that means throwing off the old man and picking up the new (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22). Even as Christ lived, people had hatred in their hearts toward him and sought to kill him, yet He met them with love and treated them fairly in peace. Know that God has the final say everything that happens to you. You no longer have to fight like the flesh wants, but fight with the Word! God fights for you!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being an example of Christian living. As you walked peacefully among men, I pray that I follow in your steps. God, I pray that I do not combat evil with evil, but that I overcome evil with good. Remind me that vengeance is yours and that you will repay. Lord, let me be honest in faith and stay humble. Forgive me, Father, for not approaching every situation this way. I thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that I can use going forward. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Song of the Week

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It’s the end of June! We have officially made it through the first six months of the year!

tenor GIF

However, this is still 2020, the year of clear vision! Those same declarations we decreed in January still can come, by God’s will, before the close of this year. Do not lose hope. God’s got you!

It is by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that we continue to be. I thank God for every single one of you who is reading right now. Stay strong and know that by God’s grace “are ye saved through faith and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

As you listen to the Song of the Week today, I want to remind you that there is freedom, strength, peace in Christ. John 12:46 says, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

Grip of Grace (Lyric Video)- VOUS Worship
Grip of Grace (Live at VOUS Casa) – VOUS Worship

Weekly Soap

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Hey Everyone! How are y’all feeling? Let me know how you feel in the comments below!

This past week for me was ROUGH. In all caps! At times, my efforts to do anything were minimal and my head was not in the zone. I couldn’t seem to shake this funk at all.

It not only affected me naturally, but spiritually too. When I tried to pray, I felt such a mental blockage. When I tried to praise, I couldn’t get into it.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME?

Yet, God always has a way of snapping me out of it. Amid my turmoil, God called me to fast. It seems like every time there’s good eating or a show on TV I want to watch God gives a fast, but I know it is so necessary. These distractions keep us from seeking Him. Once removed, we can hear and see what God wants for us.

So now, after my week of surprises, I have a Weekly Soap for you:

Scripture:

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

(Psalm 27:7-8)

Observation: In this Psalm of David, titled in the Holman KJV Study Bible as “My Heart Shall Not Fear”. I am not sure what part of David’s life this was, but this was certainly a time that he was seeking God heavily. Starting off strong in beginning with his psalm, verse 7 was a plea to God from David. He wanted God to hear his prayer, his song, so that God may have not just mercy, but to give an answer. He was desperate to hear from God, he needed him because life possibly had shifted. And by verse 8, he had it. God told him to seek his face. To chase after God passionately! But it wasn’t out of David’s mouth that his answered flowed, but his heart. His core, his mind, his character, his entire being would seek God.

Application: From my short narrative above, this is exactly what happened to me. Life was going great, just like the first half of Psalm 27, but everything slowly dwindled down. I felt like I couldn’t pray or do anything to get my connection to God where I wanted it. But just as the frustation overwhelmed me, God spoke, just as He did with David and gave instruction. “Seek ye my face.” He made it personal for each and every single one of us. Meaning, it’s our responsibility to go to the Father. In Matthew 11:28-29, it says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” You can’t want help and expect it, if you do not voice it. God knows what you need, but you have to come to Him. To lay out the issues you have before Him.

But this all starts with the matters of your heart. Without hesitation, David’s heart responded to God’s instruction. Our heart’s desire should be to stay in the will of God, and at that moment, this was the answer. We should do whatever it takes to please God.

I will never forget my mother’s story of tendinitis in her arm. For a while, her arm was in so much pain until God spoke to her. He told her to wear one of my old soccer socks around the arm until it healed. Now, how absurd does that sound? But because she was so desperate to escape the pain and she was obedient to God, she did it. I can’t even remember how long she wore those makeshift armbands, but what I do know is that her pain is gone.

And that’s what it takes for us a Christians. To seek God’s face with our whole hearts. To chase after him shows that we love him. How could we not serve him? In Matthew 8:27, which is after Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples said, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

I urge you all, even in the midst of turmoil, to push forward and seek God’s face. I know it gets hard to pray, I know it gets hard to praise and God sees that. But PUSH THROUGH! Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Prayer: Father God, I come to you today as humbly as I can, to seek your face. God reveal to me your will and your ways so that I may follow after you. Please Lord, remove any distractions in my way that are preventing me from seeing you. Remove any impurities from my heart so that I may be obedient to you always. Thank you God for seeing me as I am and changing me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Song of the Week

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Hey good folks! I hope all is well with everyone of you. I know during these perilous times sometimes we can feel ourselves diving into a black pit. However, what does the word say?

“Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5)

So, for this song of the week, I wanted to go backwards in time to one of my favorite songs as a kid (you will see how young I am now). Not only is it catchy, but the message was uplifting then and still is now.

Hold On (Change is Coming) by Sounds Of Blackness

This hit, released in 1997, brought optimism, positivity, and overall message of knowing that everything will be alright. Though very contemporary with its roots, this song always played on our local Gospel radio station.

However, I cling to this song more than ever because of this stanza:

When the troubles of life weigh you down
Just lift your head up, yeah, yeah
When the love you seek is hard to find
Don’t give up, just keep strong, keep the faith

The first two lines remind of the scripture, Psalm 121:1 (KJV), “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help“. I firmly latch onto this verse just because it puts life into perspective. When it feels like you’re in a hole surrounded of darkness on every side, you can always look up to see the light. That light for me is Christ Jesus.

In John 8:12 it says, ” ‘When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.‘ ” The path of righteousness is illuminated because of Jesus, but when we turn from the son, we cannot see it. However, that doesn’t stop God from loving us.

We know that God’s love for us goes above and beyond what any man, woman, or child can give in this world. It is unconditional. Although Sounds of Blackness talked about the difficulty of finding the love we seek, and to persevere, we don’t have to go very far to know that God loves us. He wouldn’t have sacrificed His Son, if He didn’t (John 3:16).

As a reminder to myself, I think on these things when I feel down or unwanted in the world. Especially right now as many are fighting for change, through protests, hard conversations, and petitions of justice. I hope that as you listen to this song, that they encourage you.

Hold on and know that change is coming!

Matthew 7:7 it reads, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Deny Him Access!

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As I prayed the other day, I heard this title loud and clear. Now at first I was perplexed where God was going with this, but it had everything to do with how I was living. I will start this off with a brief story.

In November 2019, I had backslid into sin for a moment. I understand that we are not perfect by design, but we can fully understand what is right and wrong. However, I had chosen a path of unrighteousness at the moment that led to a consequence that I was not prepared for after repentance.

I had unintentionally invited torment into my life that manifested physically and mentally. The devil was literally playing mind games with me in negative self-talk, insomnia, and making me believe that I would die. I had forgotten the scripture, John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and destroy…”. I felt that I could not escape this until December.

As I cried out to God to take this burden away from me, He exposed the truth behind this madness and how my deliverance would come. If I had looked at the second half of John 10:10, I would have known what God was about to tell me: “…I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.” The only thing that wanted to take me out was the enemy, not God. He brings life, not death. However, I was missing out on what I possessed inside of me, the power of the Holy Spirit. Just like the disciples in Luke 9:1, we have “the power and authority over all devils…”. So, how was I going to proceed in doing all this? I did not understand the supernatural battleground, nor did I have a strategy. All I knew was that I would win because of Christ and that I had to keep fighting.

Just like any battle, you can’t use the same tactics from previous battles. My communion with God would have to be more frequent, my prayer life would have to deepen, and my knowledge of the word would have to increase. When everything came together, then was I given a plan.

What kind of plan was this? This is the plan that God made for me. It was what He wanted out of me at the time for my deliverance. And this is what I want to share with you.

  • To focus solely on God (to keep the enemy away):
    • Realize that you will go through some things in Christ (Luke 9:23).
    • It’s important to make a daily sacrifice/offering to God. What does that look like? That in whatever we do that it is “it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord” and done DAILY! (Lev. 3:5)
      • Reading the Word
      • Worship
      • Praying
      • Fasting
    • When delivered from ailments or sin, do not go back to the very things that caused you to do it before “lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14)
    • Always repent! About all sin, not just the sins you know about consciously, but those that are secret or you have no knowledge (Psalms 19:12-13)
    • Let your speech and thinking reflect what is acceptable to God. (Psalms 19:14)

So what does this have to do with my title? Absolutely everything.

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Do you realize the strength in this verse? We can say NO to the devil! Not only that, but when we do it, he’s got to go! Just as Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…” so can you. (Matthew 16:23).

Don’t let the enemy rob you of something that he can’t take. You would have to give him access to entry to take it, but we won’t do that. Today, DENY HIM ACCESS! Tell him he cannot come in. Tell him that his card declined and he cannot buy you. Tell him he doesn’t have enough flier miles to fly on your plane. Tell him he cannot have you!

Song of the Week

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Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Truly this month has been full of revelation and chasing after God’s heart!

This is exactly why I wanted to share the Song of the Week with you.

Waterfall by Jonathan Ogden

With his chill vibe and mellow voice, Jonathan Ogden describes the love of God and the reaction we should have towards Him.

Everlasting One
Nothing else compares
To knowing You
To knowing You
You’re the living God
And my soul it longs
To be with You
To be with You

In the opening verse, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last part. Our soul longs to be with God. When we develop a relationship with anyone, we feel such a connection that it’s hard not to think of them or want to be in their presence as much as we can. The same goes for when we form a relationship with God.

As our relationship with God flourishes, we long to be in His presence. For some, their spirit sings from joy or even erupts in laughter. But to know Him is to love Him. Nothing will ever compare to that which He gives to us.

Oh Lord Your love is like a waterfall
Your love is like a flowing stream
And whenever I’m feeling dry
I come to the river, I come to the river of life

His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3) and it never runs out. His love is not conditional, and it never fails. Can any man on earth say the same? The love of God is so great that the comparison to a waterfall truly explains two things: it is continuous and it is refreshing. However, it didn’t stop there. Because of His love, we were given His Son Jesus, who brought us eternal life when we believe in Him (John 3:16).

As the song comes to a close, Lucy Grimble says:

As the deer pants for the waters
So my soul longs after You

In quoting Psalm 42:1, our attitude and action towards God should shift. Willingly we should bring ourselves to God with so much passion that we truly cannot get enough of Him. Like the deer who depends on the water to continue to live, we should depend on the Father to live.

Waterfall by Jonathan Ogden ft. Lucy Grimble

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Be Blessed!

–Chan