could i ever
by planetshakers

when i woke up today
and thought of all the things You’d done
i find myself here
feeling oh so overcome

You gave Your life away for me
truly my heart belongs to You
so let me say

how could i ever thank You for
what You did at Calvary
when You bled and died for me
how could i ever turn away
knowing that You paid the price
that i could never pay

when i think of the way
that You died upon that Cross
bearing my sin
even though my heart was lost

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happy easter :)

-phing-

"put it on my bill"

there is no such thing as a free lunch. i am sure that everyone has heard of this statement before. indeed, there is a price for everything.

a boy came into the shop and ordered some food. minutes later, the boy's mom walked into the shop with a friend. after the friend had ordered her food, she asked that whatever the boy owe, put it on her bill. so, i took the boy's ticket (or bill) , put 'paid' on it and transfered the total owed onto the lady's bill. at that instant, it hit me. isn't this exactly what easter is all about.

each of us has a 'bill' - for sins in our lives. i know it doesn't sound nice, but we humans are not perfect (romans 3:23). and the total price on our bill - death (romans 6:23). and no, master card will definitely NOT save us.

and so, because of love, Christ came and paid our bills, in other words, die in place of us (romans 5:8). the story is far from over. after dying on the cross, Christ resurrected, which means that He has conquered sin as well as death. our salvation is now assured. and this, is the story of easter.

now, i have a 'paid' on my bill, and so is yours :)

"... the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - mark 10:45

-phing-

His selflessness for our selfishness

“How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?” - Albert Einstein

God showed His love for us by sending His Son.
Jesus showed His love for us by dying on the cross.

**************************************************
weight of the world
by planetshakers

the sweetest sound i've ever heard
the sound of heaven calling out to me

before i ever called Your Name
You gave Your life for me
and all the things i'd ever do
You took upon the cross

You took the weight of the world on Your shoulders (x2)
You did it all for me (x2)

the greatest love i've ever known
that You would give Your life to set me free

before i ever called Your Name
You paid the price for me
and all the things i'd ever do
You bought a covering

You take me as i am
into Your new scarred hands
and when i run so far away
You always call me back again
into Your open arms
not matter what ive done
amazing grace has found me here
because of what You've done for me

**************************************************

-phing-

in who (can) we trust?

my friend shared a link to me. it was an hour long documentary on malaysia's ex-deputy pm, anwar ibrahim; (quote unquote) "an insight story on an elaborate conspiracy". it tells of a very different story from what i know and heard when the ex-dpm was charged and jailed. all my years, all i know was that he was bad and that was that. now this documentary states otherwise, it was all a conspiracy to kick the ex-dpm out of the government.

i know, every story has its bias interpretation, and we should always look at both sides of a story. just like the classic red-riding hood, where we were told that the wolf is the baddie who tries to eat little red. that is until i watched 'hoodwinked', which tells of a different story from the fairy tale that we know. oh, btw, it really is good to watch, well-worth the 2 hours (or less) of your life ;P oh, if you must know, wolfie is not the baddie and this is about all the spoiler that you get. go watch it yourself :P

anyway, back to the question, "who can we trust?" in this fallen world, there's not many. as children, we were often told not to talk to strangers. so, 'strangers' would be definitely out of the list. who, then, is on our list of trust? family? friends? colleagues? neighbours? they are the most probable answers on our list. but can they REALLY be trusted? ok, calm down. i heard some already saying, "what?! don't you trust your OWN FAMILY?" of course i do. but i don't deny that family problems still exist because of betrayal of trust. even the bible has more than one story of unhappy family, i.e cain & abel.

then, you say, "hey, what about God?" yes. God. can He be trusted? some already question His existence, let alone trust. i have never seen God. so, why do i trust Him? or why do i even believe that He exists? i don't know. all i know is - FAITH. yes. faith. you can't question faith and you definitely cannot measure faith. either it's there or it's not. ok, i know i'm not making any sense. but i just couldn't explain in words, why i felt peace in the midst of chaos, felt joy in the midst of sadness, felt comforted when i'm blue or just having the assurance that anything is possible when i have Him with me (and by this, i don't mean that i plan to jump off a plane without a parachute, mind you). it's either i'm delusional or God is really with me. and i would definitely prefer the latter :)

"...in God i trust; i will not be afraid..." - psalm 56:4

******************************
oh, i got 3 fortune cookies yesterday.

one read, "you will never grow old because of your personality", which i felt was describing steve more than me. and so, i gave it to him.

the second read, "you are most likely to move at the end of the year", which i highly doubt. unless it was talking about my landlady not wanting to rent the house out any longer, which would then make the 'fortune' applies to everyone in this house. haha. i hope not.

and the third read, "think alot before answering any question next thursday". so, let's just see what happens on thursday :)

-phing-

loosing the sight of You

i came across a verse today and it really hit me hard.

it got me thinking. since the time that i've started work, everyday was like 'just getting through another day'. work is no fun and i think most (if not all) would agree. and living like this is seriously n.o.t g.o.o.d. for the soul. so, "what am i here for?", and i am sure that it is not living like this.

have i really strayed that far? i hope not. but only God knows.

"and be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." - romans 12:2 (kjv)

-phing-

sorry for your lost

four simple words, and yet it is so hard to be expressed.

what exactly do you say to someone who has just lost their loved ones? i have no idea. having lost a loved one myself, i couldn't remember exactly what people has said to me. words of comfort and encouragement that is all i know.

today i found myself really lost for words, and all that i could do was to pray.

prayer. what a great gift. in times especially when nothing can be done, a prayer is the best that one can offer. a prayer for comfort. a prayer for peace. or a prayer for understanding.

"...pray for each other..." - james 5:16

-phing-

life's like this

has there been a time in your life that you felt really sick of life and there's absolutely nothing what-so-ever that you do could make you feel better? you felt like screaming but your voice's trap in your throat; you felt like crying but the tears just won't come; felt like giving up but is afraid to disappoint the people that you hold dear. you feel so alone eventhough there are people around you. you think that, "well, no one cares anyway". then, you realize that the problem is not with the people around you but it's YOU. and then you felt 10x worse than before.

well, that's life. that's what i'm feeling right now anyway, with my hormones on their roller-coaster ride. i think i'm gonna go insane; one moment everything is okie-dokie, next moment it's "you better get lost!"

ok, so the diagnose: ME
problem starts when we (ok... when 'I') put ourselves ('MYSELF') in capital letters. we focus too much on ourselves that we think that our problems are far superior than ww1 and ww2 put together and that people should know better than to cross our paths or that somehow it becomes their sacred duty to make us feel better. ok, i admit that i'm guilty in this department lately and i won't use my unbalanced hormone levels as excuse. truth is, there is no excuse, it's just our selfish nature taking it's course (;P)

how often have we thought of others instead of ourselves? in our conversations, what's the ratio of 'me' to 'he/she/them' (and by this, i don't mean in the bad/gossip kind of way, for this is just another way to make you look 'bigger' or more superior than others, indirectly). and so, i hang my head in shame as i recall the countless times that tried to make myself look 'big' (not physically, though i don't need much help in that area anyway ;P)

the solution: GOD
then i learn to change my focus and put God first. and when God is the centre of attention, all i could see is His unfailing love and His wonderful mercy. at this, i couldn't help but smile and with such awe in my heart that i just have to say thank you to the One who gave me life in the first place, who allowed me to experience and be part of His marvelous creation, who in the worst of myself, NEVER forsakes me.

when we are at the weakest points in our lives, God is always there waiting. just like the story of the prodigal son, how often when there's no other options left, only then we turn to our Father. why does He have to be the last we go to? i'm not mad at anybody, just myself for relying on my own strength too much and too often than trusting God to provide. all my life (well, 4 years of my life) i taught kids to put God first, but look where i am now. i felt like a hypocrite. i guess i am. name: michelle, job: hypocrite. oh, how i loathe myself right now.

anyway, just like the story, i know that my Father is and always will be there when i need Him. there is not a moment in a day that i am not filled by His unfailing love. it's so hard to put into words this love that i felt. even in times like this that i hate myself for doing the things i did, somehow i could feel His comfort, it's like Him saying, "it's ok, i love you".

God never fails.

"the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and i am helped. my heart leaps for joy and i will give thanks to Him in song." - psalm 28:7

-phing-