In the silence I can hear Him say, Everything in its time.
Sometimes I really wonder how our lives can feel like such a fairytale. If you'd asked me one year ago on this very same day, I would never have thought things would become as they are now. I'd never have thought I'd ever experience the things I did in February this year, and the months onward. But I guess that's why we're human and He's God. He knows what we'll be going through, what we've gone through, what we are now.
I need to surrender. Not commit, but surrender. What's the difference? The difference is who's in control of the car. Is God driving, or am I the one driving the car that is my life? At the moment it's still me, most of the time. I guess I really have to learn to let go. And it's hard, just so hard sometimes.. but I don't want to have to wait for a time when I get into a car crash before I let God fix my car and peel my fingers off the wheel to guide me to the road that I should go by.
I think reading the blogs of other followers of Jesus can be very encouraging. As much as I am inspired, emcouraged and touched by them, I always wish to touch other people's hearts the same way others have done for me. And, well, that's what our friends are for.
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
- Hebrews 10:24-25
Monday, May 14, 2007
Hallo :)
I think many people, including me, struggle with putting God first. There always seem to be so many things to finish, so many "better" things to do. We can never finish! How can there be time for God then? But in the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
FIRST
Pastor How, Heart of God Church
An example: If you put your career first, God will let you take care of your career.
If you put God first, God will be God of your career, and bless it.
Give God priority in these 5 areas:
1. Finance - Tithing, First fruits
• Tithing: not voluntary, but a command (Tithing is giving 10% of what you have, to God)
• The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives (Deuteronomy 14:23)
• Giving is an act of love. Jesus asks if you love Him. The more you love, the more you give. The moment you stop loving, you stop giving.
• Tithing is a sign of commitment.
• Bring the first fruits to the house of God. (Exodus 34:26, Leviticus 23:9-10, Proverbs 3:9-10)
• Give your first fruits, not the leftovers. You give the first 10% because you KNOW the other 90% is coming. As you give, more will come.
• How you spend your money, what you spend your money on, kinda shows what you treasure.
2. Interests - What occupies your heart, mind, conversation? What excites you?
• You're free for two hours- what do you do first? That shows what you're interested in.
• Matthew 12:34- "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
• God is your hobby! Be interested in God.
3. Relationships - Do they bring you closer to, or away from God?
• Proverbs 12:26- "The righteous should choose his friends carefully."
• Proverbs 27:19- "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the friends he chooses."
• You have to choose relationships that bring you closer to God.
• For relationships (friendships) that bring you away from God, yes you still be friends with them, but have this shield around your heart- don't allow yourself to be influenced badly. Instead, be the good influence.
4. Schedule - Sabbath, Priorities
• Sunday is the first day of the week. Rest, rest in Him, on that first day.
• Sometimes, no matter how efficient and good at managing our time we are, we still can't seem to finish what we have to! It's about priorities- selection. Select what's more important, and intentionally neglect the less important.
• When we get home, we always tell ourselves we'll finish this and that so it's all out of the way, and our mind can be clear to do our Quiet Time (QT). However, when we're done, we're usually too tired to have proper QT. Put daily QT as first priority! Time, like money, always go (as in, "disappear"), somehow. QT should be the first thing you "get out of the way".
5. Troubles - Turn to God first
• Psalm 50:15- "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honour me."
• Who do you turn to first?
• Pray! Prayer is not a last resort, but a first option. He wants to show us that He is God.
So, put God first!
You know, there's a difference between losing, and leaving.
Eg. When a husband says, "I lost my wife"- you sympathise with him.
When he says, "I left my wife"- ah. Different story, yes?
From the hustle and bustle of life, we tend to find ourselves getting busier and busier, and somehow...eh, where's God? God got "lost" in all the other million things you were supposed to do! (Happens to me too. Whoops.) But hey, we don't just lose God like that. God is always there. He is faithful. We could only have neglected Him, and left Him. So you know, don't leave God. Place Him as the number one in your life- the top priority. Put him FIRST (Finance, Interests, Relationships, Schedule, Troubles- F-I-R-S-T!) and all these things shall be added unto you, as has been promised in Matthew 6:33.
Here's 2 Corinthians 9:11 for all of you reading this. "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
As long as you put God first.
God bless :)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Adapted from Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion and Purity".
A New Act of Creation
Calvin Thielman, pastor in montreat, North Carolina, tells the story of an old Scottish preacher who, as he was serving the bread (representation of Jesus' body) and wine (representation of Jesus' blood) of the Lord's supper, noticed a yong girl sobbing at the communion rail (where we usually receive the bread and wine). As he passed her the bread, visible sign of the body of the Lord Jesus ("I give it for the life of the world," He said) the girl turned away her face, which was wet with tears.
"Tak' it, lassie," said the old man. "It's for sinners".
-
No sin is too great. He forgives. HE is bigger than all that.
Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
(James 4)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Does God want everything?
"He gives all.
He asks all.
One morning I was reading the story of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. The disciples could find only five loaves of bread and two fishes. "Let me have them," said Jesus. He asked for all. He took them, said the blessing, and broke them before He gave them out. I remembered what a chapel speaker, Ruth Stull of Peru, had said: "If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because the pieces will feel a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad.""
Taken from Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion and Purity".
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Healing Light Institute of Spirituality
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
The above speech by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material.
"Do everything without complaining of arguing,
so that you may become pure and blameless,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved world,
in which you shine like stars in the universe."
-Philippians 2:14-15
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
i think a relationship is about commitment? because okay, you say it's about love right? but see, love is about commitment (oh i've been reading all the stuff about marriage and all that cos of my fyp/work. haha) the "feeling" really doesn't stay there forever. you have to...make it work. i guess it's like serving in a way- the more you serve someone, the more you love that person, so the more you'll serve that person, so you'll love that person more- it's a cycle. maybe love works that same way? so ultimately it's about commitment?
so actually i think not "feeling" for a person isn't really good ground for breaking up. better ground would be if after dating, you find out you're not compatible for marriage, so the two people break up. (hopefully amicably)
enjoy your time of singlehood. you know what i think sometimes? that this is a period for me to better myself. so i can be a better person for my future partner :) so this time of singlehood is 1. freedom, 2. knowing God better, 3. becoming a better person. of course having a partner, you could have all that too, but in a different way, and you don't focus on 2 and 3 as much. maybe you could try to think that way too :)
Reading Christian Acts of Kindness and Chicken Soup for the Soul series always lets me feel mellow, somehow. And as I read how people are affected by what others do, what others say, it always occurs to me how we're all interconnected; however much a "stranger" you are to another, we are all affected by everyone else. And that just makes me want to be that person who'd warm someone else's heart, who'd be an inspiration to the other, to be the one the other party can write about in a scenario like those in Chicken Soup for the Soul. But it doesn't matter if any of us gets starred in a book; it just matters that you've just made a difference in someone else's life, an impact on someone else's soul.
I'm just a single voice;
What can I do to erase
All this misunderstanding, all this anarchy?
Six degrees of separation
Sometimes it's so hard to see,
That we are not alone in this.
I need to surrender. Not commit, but surrender. What's the difference? The difference is who's in control of the car. Is God driving, or am I the one driving the car that is my life? At the moment it's still me, most of the time. I guess I really have to learn to let go. And it's hard, just so hard sometimes.. but I don't want to have to wait for a time when I get into a car crash before I let God fix my car and peel my fingers off the wheel to guide me to the road that I should go by.
I think reading the blogs of other followers of Jesus can be very encouraging. As much as I am inspired, emcouraged and touched by them, I always wish to touch other people's hearts the same way others have done for me. And, well, that's what our friends are for.
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
- Hebrews 10:24-25
Monday, May 14, 2007
Hallo :)
I think many people, including me, struggle with putting God first. There always seem to be so many things to finish, so many "better" things to do. We can never finish! How can there be time for God then? But in the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
FIRST
Pastor How, Heart of God Church
An example: If you put your career first, God will let you take care of your career.
If you put God first, God will be God of your career, and bless it.
Give God priority in these 5 areas:
1. Finance - Tithing, First fruits
• Tithing: not voluntary, but a command (Tithing is giving 10% of what you have, to God)
• The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives (Deuteronomy 14:23)
• Giving is an act of love. Jesus asks if you love Him. The more you love, the more you give. The moment you stop loving, you stop giving.
• Tithing is a sign of commitment.
• Bring the first fruits to the house of God. (Exodus 34:26, Leviticus 23:9-10, Proverbs 3:9-10)
• Give your first fruits, not the leftovers. You give the first 10% because you KNOW the other 90% is coming. As you give, more will come.
• How you spend your money, what you spend your money on, kinda shows what you treasure.
2. Interests - What occupies your heart, mind, conversation? What excites you?
• You're free for two hours- what do you do first? That shows what you're interested in.
• Matthew 12:34- "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
• God is your hobby! Be interested in God.
3. Relationships - Do they bring you closer to, or away from God?
• Proverbs 12:26- "The righteous should choose his friends carefully."
• Proverbs 27:19- "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the friends he chooses."
• You have to choose relationships that bring you closer to God.
• For relationships (friendships) that bring you away from God, yes you still be friends with them, but have this shield around your heart- don't allow yourself to be influenced badly. Instead, be the good influence.
4. Schedule - Sabbath, Priorities
• Sunday is the first day of the week. Rest, rest in Him, on that first day.
• Sometimes, no matter how efficient and good at managing our time we are, we still can't seem to finish what we have to! It's about priorities- selection. Select what's more important, and intentionally neglect the less important.
• When we get home, we always tell ourselves we'll finish this and that so it's all out of the way, and our mind can be clear to do our Quiet Time (QT). However, when we're done, we're usually too tired to have proper QT. Put daily QT as first priority! Time, like money, always go (as in, "disappear"), somehow. QT should be the first thing you "get out of the way".
5. Troubles - Turn to God first
• Psalm 50:15- "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honour me."
• Who do you turn to first?
• Pray! Prayer is not a last resort, but a first option. He wants to show us that He is God.
So, put God first!
You know, there's a difference between losing, and leaving.
Eg. When a husband says, "I lost my wife"- you sympathise with him.
When he says, "I left my wife"- ah. Different story, yes?
From the hustle and bustle of life, we tend to find ourselves getting busier and busier, and somehow...eh, where's God? God got "lost" in all the other million things you were supposed to do! (Happens to me too. Whoops.) But hey, we don't just lose God like that. God is always there. He is faithful. We could only have neglected Him, and left Him. So you know, don't leave God. Place Him as the number one in your life- the top priority. Put him FIRST (Finance, Interests, Relationships, Schedule, Troubles- F-I-R-S-T!) and all these things shall be added unto you, as has been promised in Matthew 6:33.
Here's 2 Corinthians 9:11 for all of you reading this. "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
As long as you put God first.
God bless :)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Adapted from Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion and Purity".
A New Act of Creation
Calvin Thielman, pastor in montreat, North Carolina, tells the story of an old Scottish preacher who, as he was serving the bread (representation of Jesus' body) and wine (representation of Jesus' blood) of the Lord's supper, noticed a yong girl sobbing at the communion rail (where we usually receive the bread and wine). As he passed her the bread, visible sign of the body of the Lord Jesus ("I give it for the life of the world," He said) the girl turned away her face, which was wet with tears.
"Tak' it, lassie," said the old man. "It's for sinners".
-
No sin is too great. He forgives. HE is bigger than all that.
Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
(James 4)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Does God want everything?
"He gives all.
He asks all.
One morning I was reading the story of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. The disciples could find only five loaves of bread and two fishes. "Let me have them," said Jesus. He asked for all. He took them, said the blessing, and broke them before He gave them out. I remembered what a chapel speaker, Ruth Stull of Peru, had said: "If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because the pieces will feel a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad.""
Taken from Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion and Purity".
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Healing Light Institute of Spirituality
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
The above speech by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material.
"Do everything without complaining of arguing,
so that you may become pure and blameless,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved world,
in which you shine like stars in the universe."
-Philippians 2:14-15
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
i think a relationship is about commitment? because okay, you say it's about love right? but see, love is about commitment (oh i've been reading all the stuff about marriage and all that cos of my fyp/work. haha) the "feeling" really doesn't stay there forever. you have to...make it work. i guess it's like serving in a way- the more you serve someone, the more you love that person, so the more you'll serve that person, so you'll love that person more- it's a cycle. maybe love works that same way? so ultimately it's about commitment?
so actually i think not "feeling" for a person isn't really good ground for breaking up. better ground would be if after dating, you find out you're not compatible for marriage, so the two people break up. (hopefully amicably)
enjoy your time of singlehood. you know what i think sometimes? that this is a period for me to better myself. so i can be a better person for my future partner :) so this time of singlehood is 1. freedom, 2. knowing God better, 3. becoming a better person. of course having a partner, you could have all that too, but in a different way, and you don't focus on 2 and 3 as much. maybe you could try to think that way too :)
Reading Christian Acts of Kindness and Chicken Soup for the Soul series always lets me feel mellow, somehow. And as I read how people are affected by what others do, what others say, it always occurs to me how we're all interconnected; however much a "stranger" you are to another, we are all affected by everyone else. And that just makes me want to be that person who'd warm someone else's heart, who'd be an inspiration to the other, to be the one the other party can write about in a scenario like those in Chicken Soup for the Soul. But it doesn't matter if any of us gets starred in a book; it just matters that you've just made a difference in someone else's life, an impact on someone else's soul.
I'm just a single voice;
What can I do to erase
All this misunderstanding, all this anarchy?
Six degrees of separation
Sometimes it's so hard to see,
That we are not alone in this.