Cup of Thoughts

Worship is such an important necessity in our relationship with Christ. In fact, the Bible actually says that we are commanded to worship the One True God (Exodus 20:4) .  Worshiping God is a way to express our love and reverent adoration.  Sometimes while driving to school I'll crank up the speakers so that I don't have to hear my own voice, and sing the loudest I can with lyrics just for honoring God.  Most of the time when someones mentions ' worship ', or ' worship service ' they're talking about the 15-20 minutes of the choir singing hymns before the preacher gets up to the podium and gives a sermon. Lyrics can be more than just lyrics. Hymnals can become a foundation for your praising. I have to admit, sometimes I just sing because everyone else is. It's easy to get in the motions and get distracted. But when we say the Lord's name and His grace with a voided meaning, isn't it the same as taking His name in vain? Worshiping...

Resurrection Day is here! I cannot believe that Spring has already come. Every year, I like to read one of the 4 Gospel's views on the crucifixion around Easter. This year I started reading from Matthew. During my Bible reading, I felt led to share this with you all. Here is what I got out of Jesus's parable in Matthew 21:33-44 . Characters (perceived by me): The Landowner is God. The servants are the previous prophets in the Old Testament. The Son of the Landowner is Jesus. The vinepressers are us. Parable summary: The landowner plants a vineyard puts up a hedge, builds a winepress, and creates a tower for it. After he leases the vineyard to some vinepressers, he sends his servants to receive the fruit of the harvest. The vinepressers kill all the servants that are sent. The landowner sends more servants and the vinepressers commit murder again. Then the landowner decides to send his son, thinking that the vinepressers won't kill him out of respect. Yet,...

What does aroma mean in the Bible? When the Jewish people wanted to be forgiven of their sins they would purchase a spotlessly clean animal and take it to a high priest for a sacrifice. ( "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.." ) During the sacrificial ceremony on the altar in the holy of holies, there was a separate  offering of burnt incense  in front of the curtain. The aroma was a mixture of oils and spices that was pleasing to the Lord. This altar is a representation of Christ.  As Jesus was our intercessor, he preceded the sacrifice for our sins. He became not only our sweet-smelling sacrifice, He was our precious lamb that was slain. "Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Romans 8:34b Why are there two forms of sacrifice then?   "...The altar is especially holy to the Lord.”   The incense had to be by the exact recipe God ha...

Have you ever been through a long day at work and feel as if you haven't done a thing? Or, you make a to-do list in your head and the list just keeps expanding?  I'm never satisfied. It seems there's always something else I need to finish. My mind strays to the tasks that need to be done, rather than living in the mess. Some people call me a clean freak. When working I tend to keep myself preoccupied with things that won't make me seem idle, especially if or when the boss makes an unexpected check up. It seems as if every time my employer comes by where I am working it's in those moments when I'm plumb worn out of being a busy body. It seems as if I've not done a thing when in reality I've been trying to keep myself from not doing anything. Does that make sense?  Just this past week I pondered why exactly I get so wound up in trying to look as if I'm a hard worker. Why do I desire to please other people so much. Why does it even ma...

Family devotionals have always been very trivial with my family. We either don't get enough time to do it, or events take place and we simply forget to do it. But most cases we end up just making excuses. After coming back from our mission trip we realized how important those devotionals were with our group. They were empowering and motivating. Each day it became one of the things I looked forward to doing.  When we came back home we knew that we wanted to include my dad in the devotionals, who wasn't able to join us on the mission trip. We've picked through some really good devotionals, but books never seem to be finished with us, so my dad found a video devotional series by Mark Hall  that we are almost finished with. Every night he reads a scripture in the devotionals and goes over it with funny analogies and stories that tie everything in together.  After a few nights passed things started to happen.  First epidemic, my mom was saving a bunch of edited ...

wedding ring ˈwediNG ˌriNG/ noun a ring worn by a married person, given by the spouse at their wedding. That's the definition of a wedding ring currently, thanks to Google. Haven't you ever wondered why married couples or soon-to-be spouses buy fancy rings for one another? When did the tradition ever start? Why do we wear rings on our left hand and why do we wear rings in the first place?  Get ready, there might be some history facts ahead. What's with the ring finger? The ring finger or the fourth finger of your left hand is said to have the Vena Amoris , or in English: the 'vein of love'. The allegory, or the symbolic picture, is the vein that interweaves itself straight to the heart. Some say that's one of the reasons why we associate wedding bands with our fourth left finger. Others wear engagement rings on their right hand until the actual wedding day and then transfers the ring over to the left hand. The ring finger has been as...

My high school graduation was this past weekend. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that I'm officially graduated. Seeing so many family members and friends gathered all together was such a tremendous blessing.  Because of my local homeschool co-op group, I was able to have a regular graduation ceremony. At first, I have to admit, I was completely opposed to the idea. Walking in front of a big crowd, donning a sweaty gown and cap, in the meantime, trying not to fall and make a disaster of myself, haha no thanks. However, I was convinced that if I don't go through with this now, I will for sure regret missing out on the experience later. And now I am so thankful I did it. Here are some following snapshots that were taken during the big day. Total, there were only 12 graduates. Some of them I knew, most of them were complete strangers. Even though we were all shy and a bit awkward, especially me, the whole ceremony united us in ...

"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." ( Matthew 28:6 ) I know that Easter has come and gone, and the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ has already been shared on Sunday morning, but it's not just a story to be told once every Spring. The story of God's Son should be talked about and shared every day!  "-Talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  ( Deuteronomy 6:7-9 ) This was God talking to the Israelites when they just escaped captivity in Egypt. They were new to this relationship with God and faltered many times by the wiles of the enemy. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, as a guide to living righteously, He wanted to make it ...

Cup of the day/ /classic chai tea "And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—'The LORD is one,' And His name one." ( Zechariah 14:9 ) JESUS.  Savior. Jehovah . Yahweh. Abba. EL SHADDAI. Shalom. I AM . Elohim. Raah. SHARUMUH. King of Kings.  God . Redeemer. FRIEND. Alpha & Omega. Lord . Branch. Advocate. LAMB OF GOD. The Word . Shepherd . Lord of Lords. Prince of Peace. LIGHT OF THE WORLD. The  Way . Immanuel . Son of God. THE GATE. Mediator. Horn of Salvation . King of the Jews. Author . BRIDEGROOM. Wonderful Counselor. Bright, Morning Star . Anchor. Bread of Life. HIGH PRIEST . True Vine. Creator . Rose of Sharon. LIVING WATER. The Rock. My shield . Master . Lamb of Sacrifice. Lion. THE ALMIGHTY. Provider. Cornerstone . The Way, The Truth, The Life . Teacher. BEGINNING & THE END. Strong Tower. Last Adam . Judge. Servant. LIGHT . Holy One. Conqueror . Master of Storms. Chief Musician. THE GIFT. Livingston...