This is a write up on my after thoughts, thought process and a journalling, savoring the moment in gratitude. Also after managing to write 1350 words reflection selfawareness assignment today from 12pm to 1.10pm.....in just a short 1hour...impressive.
So with that begining and in the end I was late for class......things just didn't start off on the perfect note...other than I managed to continue my WoW and managed to level up my characters to which one was 85 a day or also...or ....Things just didn't start at the right music for me. Things are so hay wired...though with the interview SFBT assignment, I was already having thoughts of her.....well you know who... but well they are just some thoughts....nothing substantial. Just looking at the people, the circles of friends of potential pseudo clients to work with.... so with that note I finished the final lecture style lesson for the year....and looking into december with 3 assignments......2x1500 words essay and one full transcripted SFBT session to record.
So service....about extreme delight....and well I went into service at the very last moment and barely could find a seat....only finally to find one at the "extra" room....so be it.....it is fine with me.....saw JJ and Steve.....thinking that most prob JJ will be attending Steve cell group under Ps Jeff team. So worship worship...in an enclosed room....the achostic is really of a different feel....and the feel is so different.....perhaps due to sterotyping of such.... nothing too special.....just plain normal...other than I am sitting by myself with no one else I know in this life time of mine around me in that room...... So the word.. I am quite distracted.....taking down the key verse, although the key verse did strike me...Ps 37:4....something that interest me....but didn't keep me from distracting myself and getting myself divided between.....looking and hearing...well there isn't much to see about.... but in the end...it is a session that reminds me of God goodness and gracious in spite of the little faith that I have.
So service ends.........seems to me like Gkidz ended or there is no Gkidz....indicators.....I saw JN (new abb).....so went to 7-11 as usually, seeing what can be purchased to drink....already thinking that I will not see anyone that will know me......so far only saw 2 ....so still ok..... in the end, I didn't get anything for 7-11.....and best still, I missed my 855 bus.....as it passed by in front of me....well it will be a long wait from how I view it.....so still I waited.....wait wait wait.....looking at my iphone.....thinking at some corner of my mind...well perhaps I may just see her.....well it is just perhaps... so finally 855 came.....in the midst....and before....I was already thinking......well I think I should be more persistence.....I should just simply ask....I should just simply be nagging......and just continue to ask....or perhaps just ask the question... taking that it may be the last appointment to come. Popping 3 out of the 5 question.....from Steve Havey....asking the "miracle" question (not the SFBT style)... the question I at one point liked to ask....well.....back to my iphone....not expecting to see anyone.....not really to expect anything....although points of moment the sensing of something is coming......and indeed.....someone came up.....as I was just sitting behind the bus driver....a single seater.....didn't really notice who came up....it only don about when the person greeted me......and OMG.......God's gracious.........indeed it only the scale of God's graciousness.... that I see her in the most unexpected place.......we had a brief conversation about the bus.....and how long it took...and there is......a blind man came up....and she offered her seat....which is so gracious of her.....so it took a while for me to react....not used to such surprise....surprise surprise...that is down to the gut feeling and sense....the sensing....the coming of thoughts during the hypothesis of Law of Attraction. After I settled my game ....and did some reflection.....and reconsolidation....I managed to stand up and look for her at the back....well......just seeing her and being near is just sufficient.....well it is too me......reflection that just being in God's presence is so sufficient.....as I look back to that situation....I realise that no conversation, from my perspective is required to be in the presence of God. Thus in the similiar situation, as I did disturb her on Whatsapp by dropping a message......and then realise that she is busy with organising something....I just take time to savor the moment......to look at her ....noticing every details...and wondering....... really this is the moment that only God can make....and only the grace of God that is sufficient to give it......and here I am journalling it down. For myself to know....and whoever may perhaps going to read this. So just to occupy myself, I just post on facebook....
"I just can't believe but only know one thing. Only God can create miracles. The experience of extreme joy.
It still takes me a while to recognizing it while I am savoring the moment. Just being in the moment when already in my mind and sensing the prompting already but find it difficult to believe until I do now in exceptional unexpected times and place. Only thanks giving in gratitude are some measure to express the basis of basic of it
So what will come next is still untold. Only time will tell. What can be asked for. 5 stops away. "
So only when I am about the alight that it all ends.......even someone has to get the his friend who is blocking my exit to move aside.....and I get my chance to say goodbye...and a smile. and that ends of the journey......
also thank SS.....for liking the status..... it is nice.....and I really thank God for this moment..... these are moments to charish......moments to remember.....2 times in a month......how gratefully I am......
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
You Are God's Temple
Leviticus can be a difficult book to read. It is often difficult to see how these laws may be important or how they apply to our lives today. After all, what do moldy walls have to do with our personal relationship with God?
First, it shows us very practically that God really does desire a personal relationship with us. He is invested in every aspect of our lives, even to the level of how we clean our houses. God instructs us because He is good and because He cares.
Second, we can view this in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 6:19, which states that our bodies are temples because Holy Spirit dwells in us, and understand that God desires us to keep our bodies clean and free from things that defile us. Thomas Watson writes, "You who are the temples of God, let me beseech you to take heed of defiling God's temple... Do not defile the temple of God by error. Errors and heresies are as the leprosy which defiles the house (Lev. 14:39)."
Church is still considered by many to be a sacred space. But the Church is not a building-it is the body of Christ, the people. Just as mold can seep into buildings, so can misrepresentations of Christ and false teaching seep into the Church. Therefore, keep your body, God's temple, clean and in order by leaning on the Word of God.
Living Life
First, it shows us very practically that God really does desire a personal relationship with us. He is invested in every aspect of our lives, even to the level of how we clean our houses. God instructs us because He is good and because He cares.
Second, we can view this in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 6:19, which states that our bodies are temples because Holy Spirit dwells in us, and understand that God desires us to keep our bodies clean and free from things that defile us. Thomas Watson writes, "You who are the temples of God, let me beseech you to take heed of defiling God's temple... Do not defile the temple of God by error. Errors and heresies are as the leprosy which defiles the house (Lev. 14:39)."
Church is still considered by many to be a sacred space. But the Church is not a building-it is the body of Christ, the people. Just as mold can seep into buildings, so can misrepresentations of Christ and false teaching seep into the Church. Therefore, keep your body, God's temple, clean and in order by leaning on the Word of God.
Living Life
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
What Has God Done for You Lately?
Take a moment and reflect on the last good thing that has happened in your life. When was it, and why would you define it as good? How long did it take you to think of something good? It is a simple question, but for many people, it can be difficult to answer. Humans have a relatively short memory, especially when it comes to the good that happens in our lives. So often we focus all our attention on the problems of life, without taking the time to remember any of the good that has happened in and through our lives. We remember all of our hardships and troubles, but we are quick to forget all the good that God has done in our lives.
All good things have their source in God, and Psalm 126:3 boldly tells us, "Te LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Note the tense of the verse. God has already done good things in our lives. He has given us air to breathe and another day to rejoice in His glory. He gives us the desires our hearts, and He makes His presence known in our lives.
It is God's desire to be glorified in our lives, and when we dwell in His Spirit, we see His character revealed to us. Jamie Munson writes, "God's actions reveal his character to us. As we reflect on what God has done and what he has said about himself, we learn more about him." Take another moment to reflect on what God has done for you lately. What does it reveal about Him?
Living Life
All good things have their source in God, and Psalm 126:3 boldly tells us, "Te LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Note the tense of the verse. God has already done good things in our lives. He has given us air to breathe and another day to rejoice in His glory. He gives us the desires our hearts, and He makes His presence known in our lives.
It is God's desire to be glorified in our lives, and when we dwell in His Spirit, we see His character revealed to us. Jamie Munson writes, "God's actions reveal his character to us. As we reflect on what God has done and what he has said about himself, we learn more about him." Take another moment to reflect on what God has done for you lately. What does it reveal about Him?
Living Life
Clean in Christ
In recent years, cleanliness has becomes very important. Maintaining our physical hygiene fores us to wash our bodies and brush our teeth regularly. In an increasingly socializing world, it is important to present ourselves as inoffensively as possible. But cleaning extends far beyond the realm of personal hygiene. the ideal of cleanliness dictates that we must wear clean clothes and live in clean houses. Further, developing clean energy and even performing business in an earth-friendly way is becoming increasing popular- and expected.
As obsessed as our culture is about being clean, so were the Israelites of Old Testament times. But the people of Israel were concerned about their cleanliness for a completely different reason. While people today are concerned about how they might be perceived by others,the Israelites were concerned with how they would be perceived by God.
Leviticus 14 helps paint a clear picture of how one is declared cleansed of a skin infection in the eyes of God. It is also describes God's desire for us to be declared clean. However, we no longer perform such rituals today. This is because, though cleansing is still vital to our salvation, we are now cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Horatius Bonar says, "As a believing man, I enter upon his fullness; I becomes partaker of his riches; and so identified with himself, that his cleanness is accounted my cleanness, his excellence my excellence, his perfection my perfection." Christ is good, and unlike the devil who comes only to steal , kill and destroy (John 10:10), our God comes to cleanse, heal, and give thriving life.
Living Life
As obsessed as our culture is about being clean, so were the Israelites of Old Testament times. But the people of Israel were concerned about their cleanliness for a completely different reason. While people today are concerned about how they might be perceived by others,the Israelites were concerned with how they would be perceived by God.
Leviticus 14 helps paint a clear picture of how one is declared cleansed of a skin infection in the eyes of God. It is also describes God's desire for us to be declared clean. However, we no longer perform such rituals today. This is because, though cleansing is still vital to our salvation, we are now cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Horatius Bonar says, "As a believing man, I enter upon his fullness; I becomes partaker of his riches; and so identified with himself, that his cleanness is accounted my cleanness, his excellence my excellence, his perfection my perfection." Christ is good, and unlike the devil who comes only to steal , kill and destroy (John 10:10), our God comes to cleanse, heal, and give thriving life.
Living Life
Good Gifts
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? Would you wish for more wish, immortality, or perhaps earthly pleasures? If you were to ask this question in a secular setting and again in a Christian setting, you might receive two very different answers, even from the same person.
As Christians, we struggle with two very different desires: the desires of our fleshly selves and the desires of our spiritual selves. As selfish humans, our first wish would be to appease our flesh. But as Christians, we would first want to honor God.
When we ask the question of "three wishes," we usually do it in the context of a magical genie. However, we must realize that there is nothing NOTHING!that we cannot ask God for. This does not mean that God will always answer the way we want Him to, but as His children we are able to ask Him for anything.
God wants to give us good gifts, but how He defines "good" and how we define it is sometimes different. We do not always know what is good for us, and we do not always desire what we should. As Thomas Aquinas writes, "When we say that good is what all desire, it is not to be understood that ever ind of good thing is desired by all; but that whatever is desired has the nature of good. And when it is said, 'None is good but God alone,' this is to be understood of essential goodness." Whether we realize it or not, God gives us good gifts, because He is good.
Living Life
As Christians, we struggle with two very different desires: the desires of our fleshly selves and the desires of our spiritual selves. As selfish humans, our first wish would be to appease our flesh. But as Christians, we would first want to honor God.
When we ask the question of "three wishes," we usually do it in the context of a magical genie. However, we must realize that there is nothing NOTHING!that we cannot ask God for. This does not mean that God will always answer the way we want Him to, but as His children we are able to ask Him for anything.
God wants to give us good gifts, but how He defines "good" and how we define it is sometimes different. We do not always know what is good for us, and we do not always desire what we should. As Thomas Aquinas writes, "When we say that good is what all desire, it is not to be understood that ever ind of good thing is desired by all; but that whatever is desired has the nature of good. And when it is said, 'None is good but God alone,' this is to be understood of essential goodness." Whether we realize it or not, God gives us good gifts, because He is good.
Living Life
Friday, November 04, 2011
The Good behind Banishment
Along with the increasingly common view of a hypocritical Church, the very goodness of God is often challenged by non-believers. For example, Leviticus 13:46 states, "As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp." Here the supposed good and loving God banishes sick people not only from His presence, but from the presence of their friends, family, and community. So how does this show goodness?
God jealously love and protects His people. If not dealt with, infectious skin diseases would quickly spread throughout the camp, endangering the lives of everyone. Until cleansing comes, separation of the clean and unclean is necessary for the health of the community. Furthermore, this helps paint a clearer picture of sin and its consequences. Just as God does not want His people to be infected by physical disease, He does not want His people to be infected by spiritual disease, that is, sin. Sin not only infects the sinner but has a nasty habit of terrorizing the lives of others through the sinner. God's goodness exposes our sinful infection so that we might cry out, "Unclean!"
Arthur Pink writes, "Divine light exposes filth within, of which they had no previous realization, causing them to cry with the leper, 'Unclean, unclean!' (Lev. 13:45)...But how thankful we should be if God makes us 'abhor' ourselves (Job 42:6), and thereby make way for prizing Christ all the more!" It is through His goodness that God shows us our spiritual state, so that we might cry out to Him.
Living Life
God jealously love and protects His people. If not dealt with, infectious skin diseases would quickly spread throughout the camp, endangering the lives of everyone. Until cleansing comes, separation of the clean and unclean is necessary for the health of the community. Furthermore, this helps paint a clearer picture of sin and its consequences. Just as God does not want His people to be infected by physical disease, He does not want His people to be infected by spiritual disease, that is, sin. Sin not only infects the sinner but has a nasty habit of terrorizing the lives of others through the sinner. God's goodness exposes our sinful infection so that we might cry out, "Unclean!"
Arthur Pink writes, "Divine light exposes filth within, of which they had no previous realization, causing them to cry with the leper, 'Unclean, unclean!' (Lev. 13:45)...But how thankful we should be if God makes us 'abhor' ourselves (Job 42:6), and thereby make way for prizing Christ all the more!" It is through His goodness that God shows us our spiritual state, so that we might cry out to Him.
Living Life
Thursday, November 03, 2011
We Are Not Good
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is a popular secular Christmas song. Santa Claus, as most people know, is supposed to come on Christmas Eve to give wonderful presents to all good girls and boys. Although this is just a fictional story, it gives rise to a very interesting question: how do we define "good"?
People may have different ideas of what it means to be good "good," depending on where they live. In some cultures, being "good" is based on how well you take care of your family. Other cultures define being "good" by how noble, pure, or upstanding you are. At various times, people who were viewed as "good" by their culture owned salves or mistreated people of lower castes. Because of the fleshy world we live in, "good" is all too often defined by the people with power.
God, however, is not interested in our definitions of "good." Jesus tells us plainly in Mark 10:18 that "no one is good-except God alone." In this vein, James Smith declares, "As bad as man was, and God knew the worst of him- yet knowing the worst of him, he had a purpose of mercy toward him in his heart, and that purpose was to provide a way of salvation for him." We would much prefer to live as good, decent people. No one likes to think of oneself as a bad person. But refusing to accept who we are and what we need-if we really examine ourselves-will only hurt us in the long run.
Living Life
People may have different ideas of what it means to be good "good," depending on where they live. In some cultures, being "good" is based on how well you take care of your family. Other cultures define being "good" by how noble, pure, or upstanding you are. At various times, people who were viewed as "good" by their culture owned salves or mistreated people of lower castes. Because of the fleshy world we live in, "good" is all too often defined by the people with power.
God, however, is not interested in our definitions of "good." Jesus tells us plainly in Mark 10:18 that "no one is good-except God alone." In this vein, James Smith declares, "As bad as man was, and God knew the worst of him- yet knowing the worst of him, he had a purpose of mercy toward him in his heart, and that purpose was to provide a way of salvation for him." We would much prefer to live as good, decent people. No one likes to think of oneself as a bad person. But refusing to accept who we are and what we need-if we really examine ourselves-will only hurt us in the long run.
Living Life
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
The Goodness of God
Superheroes are admired for their strength and cunning They rise up to defend the weak and helpless. They fight against the forces of evil and, against all odds, rise above their enemies. Some superheroes possess extraordinary gifts and abilities, while others rely on technological savvy or physical talents.
If you had the talents and abilities of a superhero, what would you do with it? Many of us would want to rise to the challenge and fight evil, though others would use it for their own personal agenda.
God is vastly more capable than any superhero. There is nothing that He cannot do. God, if He so desired, could destroy us in an instant with the sound of His voice. We often take God's goodness for granted. God certainly is not required to be good. As the Creator of everything, He is well within His rights (and power) to treat us however He chooses. So how much greater is it that God's nature is a good nature.
How do we know that God is good? Acts 14:16-17 declares: "In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Knowing this, what should be our responses? John Howe writes, "It is of the greatest consequence to us, in all the world, to have our souls habitually possessed with a believing, admiring sense of the goodness of God." God is good, and this is something that is good for us to dwell on.
Living Life
If you had the talents and abilities of a superhero, what would you do with it? Many of us would want to rise to the challenge and fight evil, though others would use it for their own personal agenda.
God is vastly more capable than any superhero. There is nothing that He cannot do. God, if He so desired, could destroy us in an instant with the sound of His voice. We often take God's goodness for granted. God certainly is not required to be good. As the Creator of everything, He is well within His rights (and power) to treat us however He chooses. So how much greater is it that God's nature is a good nature.
How do we know that God is good? Acts 14:16-17 declares: "In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Knowing this, what should be our responses? John Howe writes, "It is of the greatest consequence to us, in all the world, to have our souls habitually possessed with a believing, admiring sense of the goodness of God." God is good, and this is something that is good for us to dwell on.
Living Life
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Careful Examination
According to 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is from God, and more than that, it is useful to all our Christian walks. This is evident when we look at the books that make up the New Testament, because they tell us how we ought to live. But how does the Old Testament apply to our daily lives? The Old Testament may seem archaic and no longer applicable, but it is through the Old Testament that we have a deeper, richer understanding of the New Testament.
Leviticus 13 explains what to do in case of skin disease. This seems more like it should be in a medical journal rather than a spiritual text. Yet God does not command doctors to inspect the people, but the priests. God is making it clear to His people that He does not care about our spiritual lives only, but about our physical lives as well. The priests are meant to take are of the people in every sense of the term.
Furthermore, as Ligon Duncan says, "The idea behind this, again, is that disease and decay are incompatible with the blessing of the presence of God in the assembly of His people... Therefore these diseases...become things which exclude your from the assembly of God's people in His presence and worship."
God wants us to be able to worship Him; He does not want us to be separated from Him. Also, God makes clear that He will carefully examine His people. Every pronouncement made by the mouth of God is not based on impulse or whim but on careful and thorough examination.
Living Life
Leviticus 13 explains what to do in case of skin disease. This seems more like it should be in a medical journal rather than a spiritual text. Yet God does not command doctors to inspect the people, but the priests. God is making it clear to His people that He does not care about our spiritual lives only, but about our physical lives as well. The priests are meant to take are of the people in every sense of the term.
Furthermore, as Ligon Duncan says, "The idea behind this, again, is that disease and decay are incompatible with the blessing of the presence of God in the assembly of His people... Therefore these diseases...become things which exclude your from the assembly of God's people in His presence and worship."
God wants us to be able to worship Him; He does not want us to be separated from Him. Also, God makes clear that He will carefully examine His people. Every pronouncement made by the mouth of God is not based on impulse or whim but on careful and thorough examination.
Living Life
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
