Joey's Journal - August 26, 2006

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me another day on earth. Thank You for watching over my family last night; the boys and their nannies having a good night’s rest and my wife coming safely home. Lord, today I lay at Your feet all my joys, works and sufferings and may they be acceptable and pleasing to You. Let me stay focus to You and be by my side all day. When certain situations arise and I am needed to make a decision, may Your wisdom be with me and always remember WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?). Take away from my mind all the anxieties and distractions brought about by the evil one. All these in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

My reading - Psalm 24 - Who will enter and stand in God’s presence?

God created the earth and everything in it is his! The world and all its people belong to him; for he has laid earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. Who will stand in God’s holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have right standing with God the savior. They alone will enter God’s presence and worship the God of Israel.

My reflection – ‘Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never lies.’ If you think about this statement, really think about it – this statement reminds us about the two greatest commandments of God, that is, it refers to loving God and loving our neighbor. This is its foundation! And, if we do these, we will receive the Lord’s blessing and have right standing with God.

But, we have to have pure hands and a pure heart to love God and our neighbor. As I said in previous psalms, the most difficult to achieve is loving our neighbor because of our human frailty, self-centeredness in other words, our wanting to outdo others. However, in my recent readings, I have changed my mind to thinking loving God is the most difficult. How do I TRULY love God? To truly love God, we need to acknowledge Him, obey His Word and follow His Ways with a pure heart. All three words we think are easy but if we go deeper to their real meaning and requirements, we probably say, ‘it is tough!’ Yes, it is tough and that’s why we need all the help from our Lord. Without His help and guidance, we can not do it.

So, to stand in the presence of God, we need God to help us to lead us in the righteous path, the godly one.

My prayers – Gracious Father in heaven, teach me to truly love You. Lord, You have given up Your only Son, Jesus to die for my sins and be restored back to You. I can only think that it is just right to obey and follow Your ways. All I want is to be worthy of standing in Your presence at the final judgment. I know good deeds alone will not earn my salvation but acknowledging You, obeying You and following You, will be pre-requisites for getting that heavenly banquet invitation. May I lead a life from now on that will be pleasing and acceptable to You. All these I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

by : Joey B

Joey's Journal - August 25, 2006

Dear God, I give You thanks and praise for watching over us last night. Thank You for Your comforting hands to get Joel to finally have some rest and sleep after waking up crying due to a bad dream. Also, for Joshua who was awaken by his brother’s voice and wanted to play rather than sleep. Thank You for finally making them sleep at 12 midnight. I thank You too, for watching over Annabel while she was out last night and bringing her safely home. Thank You, Father God. May our day be blessed in following Your Word. May You be in control of our lives. I rebuke all anxieties and distractions coming from the enemy and live more godly today. Take care of Joel in school. All in the Name of Jesus. Amen.


My reading - Psalm 23 – The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need

The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful waters. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.


My reflection – What a wonderful psalm this is from David! It is a prayer of affirmation that when God is with us, we will be safe and protected; sufficiently provided for and with abundant blessings. Yes! This is a prayer of affirmation of a loving and caring shepherd who watches over his herd of sheep; nurturing, protecting and guiding them from young to maturity. God, our Father, is like our shepherd, guiding us to right paths, protecting us from the evil one and providing for our daily lives. He is really an awesome God! And, if He is with and in my heart, I have everything I need!

During my primary school days in the Philippines, the Jesuit fathers were my mentors. ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ was taught to us as a song in order for us to remember the words. At school, every Friday is dress up day for an all-school mass and celebration. We always sang this first part of the song………

My shepherd is the Lord, nothing indeed shall I want.

My shepherd is the Lord, there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures, where He gives me repose.
Near restful waters He leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.

My shepherd is the Lord, nothing indeed shall I want.

As Christians, we should remind ourselves to say this prayer of affirmation while in our quiet time with the Lord. By saying this, we rebuke the powers of Satan and what his legions are doing to us because the Lord, like a good shepherd, watches us with love, compassion and mercy. And lastly, we acknowledge that the Lord our Father has prepared a heavenly banquet for us when we meet with Him face to face and we will share in it permanently.

My prayer – Dear Father, You are all I want. You are all I long for. Let me stay focused to You. Be by my side always. Protect me from all that is evil. Guide me in Your ways to do good and be caring to others. Invite me to Your heavenly Kingdom where I will be permanently with You. All in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

by : Joey B

Joey's Journal - August 24, 2006

Our Father in heaven, I offer this day to You; my works, joys and sufferings. May they be pleasing and acceptable to You. Thank You for watching over us and giving us this day to live for You. Lord, I commit my son, Joel into Your guiding hands and keep him safe and obedient in school. And, when he is home this afternoon, I pray Your grace to be with him and us; obedience for him to our instructions and patience for us to discipline him. Help Carlyn take care of the two boys tonight as Maria is away. May I spend today being more close and focused to You and Your Ways as I continue reading Psalms. I pray all these in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

My reading - Psalm 22 - No one else can help me except You, Lord!

Everyday I call to you, my God; but you do not answer. Have you forsaken me? Why do you remain distant and ignore my cries? Yet you are holy, and the praises of Israel surround your throne. Our ancestors trusted you and you rescued them; they were never disappointed. But I am scorned and despised by all; everyone mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads and say, ‘Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!’

Don’t stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me. My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls, like roaring lions attacking their prey. My life is poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like the sun-baked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, and you have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like packs of dogs. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body. My enemies stare at me and gloat; they divide my clothes among themselves.

Show the Lord reverence, all you descendents of Israel; for he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away, and has listened to their cries for help. All who seek the Lord will praise him; their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and will return to him. People from every nation will bow down before him; for the Lord is king! He rules all the nations. Future generations will also serve him; our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord.

My reflection – After reading the psalm, I can’t help but put myself in David’s shoes and try to experience this situation he was in, being hunted by his enemies and fearing for his life. Facing certain death at the hands of his enemies, he cries out to the Lord to rescue him and describes how he feels. Scary for the most part of what he goes through thinking about death. But, he called on God to help and rescue him. And, God responded.

Oftentimes in my reading the psalms, I flashback to the car accident I had last year. I still clearly recall the events from the start; seeing that the car’s brakes would not be enough to safely avoid the mishap, my body being thrusted forward because of the braking motion and my mind thinking we would definitely hit the truck in front of us. Even for those seconds I was staring death in the face. Did I call on God’s help? I really don’t think so! Because it was only after the accident happened did I think of God. And, I even called out to Him and said, ‘Why?’ and had that voice encounter with Him. I was complaining to God why He let this happen now after committing myself to serving Him in our church in Surabaya. I vividly tried to move and lift myself up; my arms, shoulders, hands and legs but to no success. Even when the on-lookers were taking me out of the car, I was saying to my driver, ‘Saya mati! Saya tidak boleh krassa dan mundur! Anakku masih mudah.’(I am dead! I can not feel anything or move! My children are still young). While being transported to the nearby small hospital, I kept thinking about paralysis from neck down and could not walk, move or function normally. It was really scary! And, I called on the Lord to help me recover from this serious accident and help me walk again.

Like with David, God answered my call for help. He sent His Holy Spirit to my pastor and his wife to inform as many church members and friends and start the prayer brigade for God’s hand to be with me while in the hospital and that there will be no serious or unrecoverable injuries. My pastor when he saw me the next day, told me that God will fully restore me and I should claim His promise daily!

My prayer – Heavenly Father, may I always stay focused to You. May I always remember You are there by my side. Should I stumble or become weakened by the enemy, may Your Holy Spirit be my alarm bell to rebuke the bait of Satan and stay on the right path with You. May I always remember in my quiet time, to worship You; in my tough times, to trust You; in my happy times, to praise You and all the time, to thank You! All these I pray in Jesus Name. Amen.

by : Joey B