Saturday, October 30, 2010
♥ 11:17 PM
okay. there's this other post that i wanna put up cox i feel that God is speaking very strongly in this area to me these few weeks. complacency.
Sometimes along our christian walk, things will just seem like a routine. we attend cell groups on friday, service on sunday. and by doing these, we "fulfill" our christian duties for the week. in a sense, we're not backsliding. but yet i wont consider that to be on fire for God. here comes the terrible thing.. we actually feel spiritually satisfied by this.
Revelation 3:16 (New International Version)
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
i heard a sermon a few weeks ago which really touched my heart. and in it, the preacher says "the curse of our generation is that we're very shallow in our convictions" we are deceived by the devil into thinking that it's perfectly okay to live our christian lives this way. the devil knows very well that especially for people who have been christians for quite awhile that he cant do much about making us not believe in God for we have already experienced Him. So in turn, the devil deceives us into believing in a mediocre christian life; just by going for cell group, church service, serve in a ministry, that just by doing these christian acts, that it is ENOUGH. BUT IT'S NOT! so often we tend to take our relationship with God for granted. We appear okay before others. standing strong, that even if we dont attend one church service or one cell group meeting, skip a few quiet times, we're not gonna be shaken, we're not gonna lose our faith. Just like a tree which appears to be big and strong but the fact is that our roots are shallow. We pray with powerful vocab, with a loud voice, but without substance. we counsel with the standard verses, say the standard things that has been drilled into us without really hearing from the Holy Spirit. i mean, what glory is there? it may appear to be okay. it really will appear to be alright before others. but seriously? is this the christianity we want?
We need to guard our relationship with God with every ounce we have in us. it is so easy for us to slip back into complacency if we dont guard our hearts and minds well. we need to constantly remind ourselves why in the first place did we love Him, what are the areas that He's come true for us, what are the breakthroughs that He's blessed us with. constantly have a thankful heart, a humble heart. we cant afford to live this one life we have in complacency. There are so many things that He has planned for us
1 Corinthians 2:9 (New International Version)
However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
There are so many things that He wants to accomplish through us. let's not be satisfied with a dose of christianity. let's not settle for prayers without substance. let's not say things we dont hear the Spirit say or do things that doesn't glorify God. We need to have our convictions imprinted deep into our being. conviction of keeping the sabbath, commitment to cell group, to prayer, to worship, to fasting, ect.
1 Timothy 4:12 (New International Version)
... set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
♥ 11:16 PM
I read this in a friend's blog and was tremendously blessed by it and i hope it blesses you too (:
I’ve always wondered why God created man. Why a totally self-sufficient God would create these minute, seemingly insignificant little creatures and place them on planet Earth, allow them to mess up His creation in every possible way, and then send His one and only Son to die for us so we can have a relationship with Him.
Why in the universe would God do that? Why would God create man?
Somehow the seemingly vague answer that He did it out of love never really satisfied me. I mean, that just doesn’t make much sense… Creating something out of love? Who does that?
We do.
Why do people choose to have children? In a marriage where not having children doesn’t mean the marriage is any less complete?
Because of love. Love for each other, and love for the child that hasn’t even arrived. Because people want to love. They want to love their child, whom they’ve brought into the world. Because they have love to give, and even if it means 9 months of morning sickness for the mother and 9 months of suffering unending PMS for the father, they’d willingly go through all that to bring a child into a world full of chaos.
If people really love their children-to-be, why would they want to bring them into a fallen world, filled with pain and suffering, knowing that their children would definitely face hurt in their lifetimes? Because they know that the love they show their children will help bring them through those dark moments in life. And also because part of them wants to leave their mark in the world, and the best way would be to love their children and touch their lives, so that they, in turn, can love their children.
All parents want their children to reflect their goodness. All parents want their children to grow up to be great people. And when that happens, others who look upon their children will say to them, “You guys are great parents. You brought up your children well.”
Isn’t that so much like God? Sometimes I wonder why God would create man. Allow us to mess up His perfect creation, and then continue allowing us to live in it. Sometimes it almost seems cruel to allow us to live in a world filled with pain and suffering, which really is a world we brought upon ourselves, no matter how much people choose to blame God or deny His love or deny His existence.
And as we wallow in our self-pity and self-righteously declare how unjust and unloving God is to allow suffering, we epic-ly fail to acknowledge our part to play in all of that. I do mean all of that. As we focus on our self-centeredness, our problems, our needs, our situations, our circumstances, we completely forget that God’s love is enough to see us through. Every single thing.
And no, that doesn’t mean that our problems mysteriously, or divinely, disappear. Nor does it even mean our problems are any smaller when we receive God’s love (which is there for us 24/7). It just means that we know that God is in control, that God is infinitely bigger and more powerful than any problem we can possibly face, and that He understands how we feel and yet loves us unconditionally.
Amazing.
And then I wonder how in the world we, as insignificant, sinful, self-centered, foolish human beings can ever, ever possibly come close to reflecting God’s love and glory. Which really is His purpose for creating us in the first place – to reflect His glory.
I guess it’s a choice, isn’t it? We can either continue living the way we are – sinful, self-centered, foolish, and every possible negative adjective, or we can make the seemingly painful, sacrificial, and heart-wrenching, but ultimately totally fulfilling, satisfying, and peace-bringing decision to live for God, fulfil His purpose, and reflect His glory.
And no, we can’t do it on our own. We can make that decision, and we have to be the ones to make the decision and go all out for it, but it is God who works in us and through us, when we allow Him to, to reflect His glory.
Maybe you disagree with me, but… that realization (which has ended up much longer than it was initially) has helped me understand a little bit more of why God would ever create us.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
♥ 12:15 AM
All things happen for a reason.
I believe that God allows us to go through different trials and temptations to empower us to help others. i believe that the greatest trial in our lives will be our greatest testimony when we overcome it. However, i think that a very normal response for most people is to run away from it? at least i felt that way all this while. for example, if you were an addict of gambling, and by the grace of God you've overcome it. and now all of a sudden you find your life filled with gamblers. what would you do? i doubt many people will actually respond by saying," Praise for Lord for throwing me right back where you saved me from! " LOL! i think most people will think of it this way," Lord, why?" HAHAHA! that's exactly how i feel. but nonetheless, i believe that this time it's different. that i'm empowered with greater grace to not only help myself, but also others.
Father, i pray that You'll help me guard my heart above all else. Let Your grace be more than sufficient.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
♥ 2:33 PM
God's really amazing.
it's simply so amazing for the creator of e universe to be so deeply interested in our very individual lives, right to the very precise details. How can this be? there can be no other way to explain this except for His grace and mercy. well, i've been thinking a lot recently. and just like what pastor shared, i do believe that in this crisis, it's not just pastor alone whom God is testing. im not sure about others, but one thing i know, it's that He's testing me too. God, being God, can simply remove all the evil in e world, or at least just stop it from happening. the trials, tribulations, temptations, He can get rid of them all this very instant. But why doesn't He? I believe it's cox He respects us, He loves us, He longs to have a relationship with us.
If he took all e pain and suffering away, wouldn't we be so complacent? we wouldn't know how to treasure the blessings we've been given. but then again, you may argue " why not He just creates us to behave like Jesus, to think like Jesus. Then we'd be all made perfect and have a super sense of righteousness, super sense of gratitude, and all that good stuff" If that happens, then we'd all be photocopies of one another. we'd lose our personality, we'd lose our free will. the fact that we are who we are is because of what we've gone through. the ONLY way to grow is by breaking through trials. They shape us into who we are. and hopefully, who God wants us to be. most of the time when im in a trial, I'd ask Him ," why this again? I thought i passed this test the previous time?" But slowly i realised, it's not just about passing one type of test once, it's to pass it again and again and again. cox what He's looking for is not a one time conviction, it's not a one time commitment, it's not a one time obedience. but again and again He'll test until you're hard-pressed on every side, till you are so tired of fighting, and just surrender everything to Him. anw, i have no idea how did i end up writing about this when this is not what i wanted to talk about. haha
i wanted to talk about God. How speechless I am toward Him as i know Him more and more. I mean His goodness is beyond what words can describe, beyond what any human being can possibly or will possibly do. How can THE magnificent God be interested in every single detail of our lives? who are we to deserve this? i dont even think i've planned every single detail of lucky's life, or will even plan for my child's life in that manner in the future. besides creating us, besides sending His son to save us, once we allow Him to come into our lives, He plans our education, plans for our career, plans for the friends He wants us to have, plans for the spouse He's prepared for us, plans for every single human being who will come into our lives, plans for every single step that we take. Who in this world would actually do these things for you without robbing you of your will? who can love to such an extent? How can i possibly not love Him? I can only say for myself that the grace He's poured out upon my life far exceeds what i can possibly contain or even comprehend. it's simply not justified. i dont think that i've done anything worthy of such grace. in fact, i think im a very terrible person who's always finding an excuse to run to all the wrong stuff. and yet He still faithfully loves me, waits for me, calls me, and cant wait to forgive me.
Father i pray that you who began a good work in me will bring this work to completion. mould me, shape me, into who you want me to be. I dont wanna be anywhere apart from your will. So come and take control of my life.
I don't know how to say exactly how I feel
And I can't begin to tell you what your love has meant
I'm lost for words
Is there a way to show the passion in my heart
Can I express how truly great I think you are
You're my dearest friend
Lord this is my desire to pour my love on you
Like oil upon your feet
Like wine for you to drink
Life water from my heart
I pour my love on you
With praises like the perfume
I lavish mine on you
Till every drop is gone
I pour my love on you
Is there a way to show the passion in my heart
Can I express how truly great I think you are,
My dearest friend
Lord this is my desire to pour my love on you
