Matthew 17:7

And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 

Today's Thought: God is a God of love and not of fear.


When I was younger, I thought of God as a domineering tyrant who only wants to be obeyed. He was a distant God to me, whom should I fear and tremble. But knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and becoming a child of God changed everything. My Father in heaven is not a tyrant, but a loving and gentle God.

Our God is a God of love who constantly assures us of not being afraid of anything and everything, much more of His presence. This was the essence of the Garden of Eden - God wanted to commune with Adam. But Adam broke this sweet fellowship with God, and Christ reconciled us back to God for this sweet communion. We can now call Him Father and we can now present our sins for forgiveness, supplications for answers, and thanksgiving for His goodness before Him.

When Jesus came into my heart, He touched my life like never before. But everyday, Jesus touches my life and constantly tells me: Be not be afraid.

Nehemiah 9:2

And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 

Today's Thought: Before confession, there should be a complete separation.


I grew up in a religion wherein I only needed to confess my sins to the person behind the wall. After wards, I needed to make amends by praying a litany of prayers. It was the kind of a confession that I knew until I found the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a separation between me and the priest behind the wall, but it was a superficial separation.

Confession is a vital element in forgiveness. There should be an acknowledgement of sins through confession for forgiveness to be effectual. Otherwise, forgiveness is a ready but rejected gift. Without separation, it is impossible to have a 180-degree turn away from sin making the confession process bogus, a sham, and a show.

If a gambler wants to confess his sins, he should stop associating with other gamblers. If a drunkard wants to stop drinking, he needs to stay away from bars. If we want to show the seriousness of our confession, let us begin with separation.

Lamentations 3:39

Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 

Today's Thought: As much as we sinned against the Lord, let us be ready for the spanking.


The greatest problem of most Christians is the inability to know when God sends His trials and when He punishes us for our sins. Even if we are already rebuked by the Lord, we always say we are tested by God and we shall come forth as gold. It is a tragedy of self righteousness that God prolongs the punishment we are in.

When we are sinning against God, let us expect for the punishments of God as well. And when we are punished, the right response is to accept our shortcoming and ask God for mercy, rather than complain for what God has put us into because of our hardheadedness. It will not do us good, but only the acknowledgement of our sins and the forgiveness of God can put us through.

Even more, when we are punished and acknowledged our sins, let us remember that while God causes us pain in our punishment, the compassion and mercies of God are always enough.

Zechariah 7:12

Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. 

Today's Thought: God will get our hearts by gentle kindness or by his loving harsh rebuke.


The diamond is considered the hardest natural material in the world (not until wurtzite boron nitride's superior strength is totally known). Diamond cutting is a specialization by itself as cutting nature's hardest material and polishing into the gem it should be takes knowledge, precision and the exactness of everything to be done.

But hearts of men are harder than the hardest natural material of the world. It is the seat of every good and evil thoughts that come into the mind of a person. As often said, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Men decide not to hear the word of God, not that they cannot heart the sounds of it, but they determine not to hearken unto the word of God.

Let us remember that God reins and searches hearts of men. The Creator of everything, including you and me, can do whatever pleases Him to get you and me back to Him. While God is the still small voice of the beautiful day, He is also the God who sends gentle thunders to get our attention.

Psalm 44:20-21

If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 

Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Today's Thought: God searches the heart when we forget the name of our God.


The story of the nation of Israel is filled with running away from God, worshiping other strange gods, and forgetting the goodness of the Lord. But it is also a story of the grace of God, of His everlasting love, and relentless pursuit of His chosen people.

Often times, backsliding away from God starts with the simple slipping away from the intangible and invisible aspects our Christian life especially prayer and communing with God. Then it progresses with the decline in interest of the Word of God, and even the fellowship with the brethren. The end of it is forgetting the name of our God and worshiping strange gods.

But let us not forget that God searches the heart. He knoweth the hearts of man. It is impossible to get away with God or even completely erase Him from memory because God searches and reins the heart of man.

As often said: you can run but you cannot hide from the presence of God.