But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
- Philippians 3:7-8
So today, I decided to read through Colossians! It's a good letter haha! I realized I need to keep my blogposts short to make this a sustainable thing so I'm going to be...super brief on what I learned/stuck out to me today! haha
Perseverance in your faith - Colossians 1:23
We are to warn people! - Colossians 1:28
Do not be deceived/deluded by things of this world even if they are plausible arguments - Colossians 2:4, 8
We have died to these elemental spirits so we should not submit to them! - Colossians 2:20-23
note (elemental spirits = elemental principles)
Since we have been raised with Christ, we must seek things of Christ - Colossians 3:1-4
What does this look like? Putting to death and putting away Col 3:5-10, and putting on Col 3:12-4:6
Walking in wisdom and grace - Colossians 4:5-6
I want to be like Epaphras!! Colossians 4:12-13
Okay cool!
Also, listened to a little seminar thing! And one thing I wanted to point out was that when making spiritual goals, it is important to always think about and specify the "How?" and "When?" and to have someone keep you accountable with these measures. And that it is always important to continue striving and there is a godly dissatisfaction with where you are spiritually...basically, knowing that you are not already perfect, and strive towards the goal God has placed for you (Phil 3)!
It's not about knowing more about God, but knowing who He is.
Genesis 39:17-18 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
This past Tuesday, I had a time to talk and share with brothers in Christ, and one of them talked about Potiphar's wife.
For those that don't know the background story here, you can either read Genesis 39 for all the deets, or my short summary...
Joseph is a slave, but his master likes him so put him in charge of everything he owns except for his wife obviously. One day, he leaves and his wife approaches Joseph (cos he's good looking) and asks him to sleep with her and he says "no". She becomes persistent and he comes to the point where he avoids her. One day, she grabs her cloak and used it against him...which leads us to the verse above!
I guess the important thing to get out of this was that although the wife here seems like she's innocent and good, she is not. She is putting on a show. On the outside she is crying out and screaming for help, she is telling her servants and her husband these things, but on the inside, she is not that way.
So, I guess the question that comes in here is "do you hate sin?" or do you "scream for help" when you sin? Is your heart changed? or do you just put on a show? When you pray for a sin in your life, do you pray and hate the sin? I feel like you get my point...cos it's so interesting!! If God was my number one priority in life, if he was the soul most important thing in my life, anything that blocked me from His presence I would want to tear away because He is just so great and I don't want anything to block me from Him!
I pray that God would give me hatred for what He hates. That I wouldn't be like...oh everyone sins...but hate sin. Instead of focussing on sin, focussing on God and all of His greatness and righteousness! :)
Not sure if this blog makes sense...thoughts are still sort of jumbled, but I hope you get the point! :)
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." I feel like everyone knows this verse, but sometimes takes this verse for granted! There is so much power...so much faith involved in living out this verse...To seek God FIRST! to have faith that when you seek God first, all these things (worldly things, and such) will come as well! It's so true that sometimes, we prioritize other things in our life...Food, school, family, girls/guys, friends...stuff! lol but even the most basic things like food. You hunger for food physically and you eat it. Does your spirit hunger God? If you miss a "meal" does your body notice? Or have you become numb? I know that when i don't eat for a day...the first parts are the worst!!! i feel super hungry.. but then, after a little while, i lose my hunger pains and my stomach feels numb...literally! Seeking God first is so important! Being sensitive to the Spirit has so much value! Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and to have faith that once you do that, all other things will be added to you as well! Just for clarity, I'm not saying that you should go on not caring about anything except for God because that would be contradictory to what God wants! He doesn't want you to starve your body because you don't care about it...your body is a temple! He doesn't want you to not care about school/work...we are called to work at everything as if working for God! but once you seek God, all these things will make sense...they will sort of fall into place if you truly seek God for seeking God! :)
So yesterday, I came across this verse:
Psalms 139:23-24
"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
And I was sort of thinking to myself!...would I actually say that?! haha "search me, O God, and know my heart!" I almost prefer if not! because my heart is evil! "try me and know my thoughts!" my thoughts are evil too... LOL "and see if there be any grievous way in me"... I am 100% sure there are grievous ways in me!! I guess, what I would say is "lead me in the way everlasting!" because I would want my life to be led by God!
Sometimes I wonder if I could ever say those words...just because I feel like it may almost always be rhetorical! My heart and my thought and my ways will always be sinful...and it's almost embarrassing to ask God to look at and search them! And it's so true I guess, if God looks at me and sees me...in His eyes, it's probably like some black mess of sinfulness...just cos He's just so perfect! Which then reminds me of God's grace to me! And Imputed righteousness!! Christ imputing His righteousness onto us, and us imputing our sin onto Him. Because of Jesus, and because of what He has done for me, I can say those words! Because of Jesus, God can look at me and see Jesus. I'm not saying that I'm perfect, or that because of Jesus I can do whatever I want...we are called to press on towards sanctification! but, it's always so great...thinking of God's grace and what He has done for me. No longer a slave to sin, but a slave to righteousness and obedience to God! :)
Wow...
So I saw my friend post this to other friends of mine on facebook and decided to just check it out...cos i figured it'd probably be a good song. And, it's actually so powerful!
It actually sort of summarizes up my fave verse (Philippians 3:7-11) and puts it into a song!
It's actually somehting i've been thinking of a lot too! so it's just really interesting! Very encouraging to me!! I really like how God uses random things to remind me of Him!
Phil 3:7-11 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Okay, so here's the song
Lyrics: All I am Lord here before You Reaching out for more You're the promise never failing You are my reward, Jesus, You are my reward
I let go of all I have just to have all of You And no matter what the cost I will follow You Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You When I finally reach the end I'll say You are worth it all
There's no riches or earthly treasure That will satisfy Every longing is for You Jesus Set this heart on fire Oh, set this heart on fire
I let go of all I have just to have all of You And no matter what the cost I will follow You Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You When I finally reach the end I'll say You are worth it all You are worth it all
When I'm there in Your glorious presence Every knee is bowed before You Hear the sound of heaven singing You are worth it all All the saints cry holy holy Angels singing worthy worthy Forever I will shout Your praises You are worth it all
When I'm there in Your glorious presence Every knee is bowed before You Hear the sound of heaven singing You are worth it all All the saints cry holy holy Angels singing worthy worthy Forever I will shout Your praises You are worth it all You are worth it all
I let go of all I have just to have all of You And no matter what the cost I will follow You Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You When I finally reach the end I'll say
I let go of all I have just to have all of You And no matter what the cost I will follow You Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You When I finally reach the end I'll say You are worth it all You are worth it all You are worth it all Jesus, You're worth it all
so today, woow! God is amazing! that is all I can say! ahaha today, I spent a good 2 hours chilling with God today! and He has showed me so much! not going to lie, it was not easy!... or at least easy to start it! but boy was it worth it! Honestly, until the time I spent with God today, I was supperrr unproductive!!! I literally did nothing ALL day!...anyways, I have been really noticing myself drift further and further from God and today i was like...no...this is too much! "Lord, I need you" haha! and it's so true! cannot live without him! anyways! after those 2 hours of just praying, thinking, studying John 15 and stuff God showed me a lot of things! oh lol and i was listening to the song "your love never fails"... and i JUST noticed the first lines LOL like the very first lines of the song! "Nothing can separate Even if I ran away Your love never fails"
And i'm like...wow! I can totally relate to this! haha... even when I run away... nothing can separate me from Your love!!!...so true! LOL even when i run away! lol i just find that pretty funny!/powerful! cos running away is a pretty intentional thing! lol and the fact that even when I try to run away from God, He will continue to pursue me! constantly, firmly yet gently! He chooses me! I don't have a choice in the matter, it is His will... not mine! And honestly, THANK GOD HE CHOSE ME! thank God He pursues me! Thank God that I am a branch that bears fruit only through of Jesus (the vine)!...and that I am not withered up and thrown into a fire! God is so gracious and amazing! Thank God that nothing can separate me from his love...even when I'm intentionally running away from Him! Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Recently I've been feeling a little bit down!! and I was looking for some encouragement so last night, I went to my handy dandy DailyBible app on my phone!! haha and the verse of the day was the following:
Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
and oh my!!!! LOL i don't know if you understand the feeling of when things happen EXACTLY when they need to happen!! but that's what it was last night for me!!! I was thinking about my dream girl and just girls in general and was feeling anxious!! i was like ... "GOD, what's your plan for me?? When will I finally be united with my dream girl?" and just like those kind of thoughts...and things just didn't always go the way i wanted! I'd rely on my own powers instead of God's and when I read this verse...."Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."...wooow!! I really needed to hear that verse at that exact time!! "take heart!!" haha have faith!! TRUST IN HIM ALONE!! "don't rely on your own strength Jireh!! or your "lucky boxers" LOLOL! TRUST IN ME!!!" I heard God telling me this through that verse!!! and then one of my new fave songs started to come into my head!...Lay Me Down by Chris Tomlin! here are some of the lyrics: "I lay me down I'm not my own, I belong to You alone"!!! and woww!!! that is so powerful!!! I am God's! He CHOSE me!! yet, sometimes i want to take things in my own hands when I should rely on God because His way is the best way!! and becasue I belong to Him!! He's adopted me!! I have inherited sonship and will be coheirs with Christ!!! that is just so amazing!..."there's no life apart from you" yeah!! it's just so true!! I've been trying to do some things wiht my own strength and try to live my life without the need or trust on God! I need to pray more!! and yeahh!! the bridge of the song! "It will be my joy to say, Your will, Your way, ALWAYS!" that's amazing! because I really just have been thinking about this too!! You can always say, "yes God, you are sovereign, do whatever you please" but to say, "God, YOUR will for me is my joy! You alone are sovereign!" is sooo different! becasue for me, when things I want to happen don't happen the way I personally want them to, I get upset/sad (mostly sad)! BUT, "It will be my joy to say YOUR WILL, YOUR WAY!" so i shouldn't be sad!!! because the fact that God has a plan for me is a privilege!!! it's amazing!!! because He alone is all knowing!! I don't know anything!! if I had to live my life with my will, and my way, I would probably just fail!! but God's will for me is a privilege!! I am Lucky to have been chosen by Him and His will for me is sovereign and I will take joy in knowing that I and trust in Him!! and I can wait for Him and know that his will, his way is the best for me! I can wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for Him alone!
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy , being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
BTW, just saying.. look at the word savior! LOL it looks weird after while! anyways on a more serious note, think about this passage!! :)
I really love crossfit! lol the "sport of fitness"! haah I recently started doing it in june/july of last year and i honestly feel a lot fitter and stronger! so, i think it's effective! Recently, i've read my bro's article on living a cross-centred life.. and what it means and i just thought about this idea...of being "cross"fit! Are you strong enough to carry the cross? What does it mean to be fit enough to carry the cross? If you want to read somethign that makes sense, click my bro's article.. LOL if you wanna read my summary of it, keep reading! HAHA
Essentially, as Christians, we want to live with Christ being the centre of our lives. Philippians 1:21..."For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" He should be put first...above all things. If you look at what Christ did for us, it's actually pretty crazy...from what I think, God imputed Christ's righteousness on us and our sin on Christ.. and if you think about it.. it's amazing.. just thinking about God's grace, mercy, love and justice! if you wanna read more about this imputing thing, read another one of my bro's articles on mercy and justice... pretty interesting! But honestly, if you really understand what Christ did for you, it's amazing and I don't know how you wouldn't want to rejoice all day and live your life around Him!
Now going back to this.. are you strong enough to carry the cross and what makes you fit enough to? (obviously i'm not talking about physical strength) You have to surrender yourself! Luke 9:23 "Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." so yeah! i guess that's all you have to do! LOL to be "cross"fit, you have to be living a Christ-centred life which includes desiring God and surrendering to Him by being obedient to His will! But then you ask, why would I want to surrender and obey Him? and it's because you love Him and desire Him. John 14:15 "If you love me, keep my commands"!
I know this blog post was pretty poorly written, but i hope you guys get the point.. if not.. just read the 2 articles in the post.. it will probably clear things up... maybe!
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a]caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”
Colossians 3:15-17 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I was thinking about this verse today! Recently, I've been a little anxious about things that I cannot say! LOL and I am just worried sometimes..i guess! But really, I find that I truly need to "let the peace of Christ rule in my heart"! And just be thankful...no matter what! And just remember, that no matter what I do, I should do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus! and give thanks to God through Him!
Yeah! i know i sort of paraphrased the passage, but it's so true! I need to have a thankful heart and do everything for Him! and let Christ's peace rule over my heart!
I think one of my resolutions for 2012 is to have a thankful heart...no matter what happens! Whether good or bad...let Christ's peace rule in me so that I can be thankful! Either way, God has a plan for me...and I know it His plan is always better than mine! I might think that one this is better than another, but if God doesn't think that for me, then it's probably not better! God knows everything and loves us! No matter what life throws at us, we have to be thankful, learn from the experience and move on...and grow!
Dear God,
I ask for your peace to rule my heart so that I may be thankful no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future. I want to be able to continuously sing to you with gratitude in my heart! A heart of thanksgiving and peace! And let everything I do, be in Your name! If good things happen to me, let me praise Your name...If bad/sad things happen to me, let me praise Your name! for you are worthy to be praised! And Your plan for me is great! God, you know my heart...you know what I'm struggling with! Please give me peace so that I can truly be thankful to You!
OH! AHAH i was just reading something! and this is a really good verse!!
Philippians 1:20 "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." this is true!! http://utmost.org/let-us-keep-to-the-point/
WOOW!! so jokes! i didn't know that devotion existed in Utmost of His Highest when i wrote THIS blog! LOL
So yeah! haha! yesterday during my deep thought and prayer with God, i came to a point where...i couldn't exactly say what i was thinking! i think I talked about this in my previous post, but I wanted to pray about something in my heart that i just didn't know how to express through words! So i was just there... thinking to myself... "GOD, why can't you just read my mind instead of me having to pray to you...but then you can! lol oh well!"... then I'm like "God, read my heart...cos you know what's there and you know exactly what i am trying to say to you...even if I don't know" I kinda just lay there praying and eventually moved on in my thoughts about other stuff that was bothering me.
BUT the coolest thing happened today when i read my verse for the day!
Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts know the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."
WOOOW when i read that today i was like....what are the chances this would be the verse I'd read today after praying like i did yesterday! *sigh* Seriously, when i got this verse I was actually amazed! i actually said "wow" out loud in a bus! LOl cos that's where i was reading it! LOL it was a lil awkward but w/e! I am pretty sure i've read through all of romans before, but this verse never stuck out to me for some reason! ! so i was just really surprised when i read it! "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" I actually found that really cool cos...that's how my prayer was yesterday!.. iunno if it as a literal groan, but yeah! i think u guys get what i mean!
Anyways, i must study more now! 2 more exams!! :D:D haha
SMILE! and be happy!
HAHA so yeah! i didn't have much time to do anything this weekend so i'm talking about it now! LOL
ANYWAYS, NATIONALS WAS A LOT OF FUN!! :D we pretty much went there and competed and won! LOL i kind of felt weird cos there were a billion of ppl way better than me that weren't on the western team! LOL but yeah! it was a cool feeling though! winning a national championship! HAHA! ohh yeah! HAHA heres the video if ur interested in watching it! :D haha
Don't look for me though! just watch it! haha and be impressed! :)
anyways, I don't know if this is like this for everyone, but for me, whenever i'm SURROUNDED by Christians, I grow spiritually because i learn from everyone and i just want to spend more time with Him! there's fellowship and personal growth! ... generally, it's pretty amazing and i love seeing people who truly love God! it encourages me!
On the other side of the spectrum, i find that being SURROUNDED by non-Christians and people with different morals (very different btw) makes me rely on God THAT MUCH MORE! and it can be a period where i grow personally with God! obviously, there isn't much fellowship cos there aren't many other christians!, but thats alright...it just makes u really appreciate it when you go to church or fellowship!
Anyways, Last night, during the party, i didn't do anything i regret! and I truly thank God for that! It really did help having one Christian friend with me! this way, we could keep each other accountable and be there for one another! For sure, it would have been a lot more difficult to resist temptations without that other spiritual friend there! :) but yeah, living with my cheer friends, really helped me understand how much i DON'T want to be like them! LOL (in terms of their drinking, sex, partying, etc...) and it just kind of made me draw closer to God, because i realized that God is so much more worth it and is better!
Some of my friends were like... if you've never tried it, how will you know other things are better... or stuff like.. only ppl who don't drink say they find other things more fun... but for the first one, there are a lot of things I know i WON'T enjoy before i do it! like...jumping into a fire, or cheating on my wife, or iunno jumping off a building or w/e! lol u kinda get what I'm talking about!... in terms of the drinking comment,... sure, i've never been super drunk where i black out and stuff, but I honestly find doing other things so much more fun! I'd way rather have a serious heart warming talk with a good friend, than get drunk with them! or just have fun, chilling with them! or sharing with them! i find joy in many things other than partying! LOL iunno! maybe it's not a good argument, but I dont find it(getting drunk) worth it...you do things things that you would regret sometimes, it's not good for your body...thats why you puke, puking is NOT cool, its NASTY! and... it doesn't even taste good! LOl w/e lol
I'm just glad God didn't put me into any temptation that i wouldn't have been able to get out of!
It is so true! 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
It's so funny how for morning devotions on that day, i read Ephesians 6 and the night before, i read Ephesians 5! a lot of good stuff in there.. wont talk about it now though! read it on ur own time if you time and you may see why i liked it a lot!
Sooo today during ACF, I was thinking about God's grace and His AMAZING LOVE! ... like i usually do! LOL iunno why but His grace an love are just things that amaze me so much! haha! anyways, I thought of this story for some random reason... LOL i don't actually know how it came to my head but it did...
Drowning man
By: unknown
While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.
"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."
The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.
After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.
"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"
"Dummy, I sent you two boats!"
Sooooo This is the typical explanation for this ... parable thing! or just story!
This is actually from a website, i didn't say this stuff
"The Universe is always watching out for the best interests of our spiritual evolution, even when we are too narrowly focused to see all the other opportunities it presents us. Sometimes, all that is needed is a change of perspective."
AND it is a good thing to learn! LOL don't get me wrong! but for some reason, I looked at this story and it just amazed me!! I partially looked at it through a different perspective! LOL okay.. think about i like this:
God is God right? (duh) and He is all-knowing! He knows EVERYTHING!... okay u see where i'm getting at with this? LOL basically, what I'm saying is that God knew that that man was going to die. He knew that the man would refuse His help yet He still sent help! ... LIKE isn't like that so much LOVE and GRACE?! like.. even though He knew that guy was going to refuse the help, He still sent the boats anyways, just to give him the chance and choice! He didn't send one, but 2! haha you know what the probability of that is? LOL i don't.. but its probably pretty small!! BIGG ocean... and one random guy that's treading water... (who is also not flailing to boats asking for help) which means the ppl in the boat would also have to notice him and etc....but that is besides the point. LOL the point is that God, being the God of grace, mercy and love and way more, gave him that opportunity LOL... anyways, if you guys don't see it already, to me, the story reminded me of the Gospel! and of God's amazing MERCY! He died for us, when we totally didn't deserve it. He Loves us, when we don't deserve it. We DESERVE DEATH. YET, He provides a way out because of His great mercy! He gives us a choice to love Him and get to know Him...even if He knows that we will not choose Him... HE STILL GIVES US A CHOICE AND THAT TRULY AMAZES ME!.. haha just makes me so happy/emotional! LOL mostly glad that I took hold of the choice and chose Him!
ANYWAYS yup! :D thats what i was mostly thinking! :)
Recently, I have been getting closer and closer to God. LOL i honestly just find that spending time with Him is just so enjoyable sometimes and relaxing!! but a couple weeks ago, a saw myself thinking the wrong way.. the way Christians aren't supposed to think! I found myself skipping church because I slept in......and what was my justification to that? I just said to myself, well, I'm close with God, so it's okay! or i'd say...i probably already knew what the pastor was going to say anyways... or something dumb like that! but honestly, that is not necessarily the reason for going to church! You go to church because you LOVE God and you wanna spend time with Him! You go to church to fellowship with others who are also christian! You go there to worship... you go there for Him and for no other reason! Today, I went to church in loo with some close friends! and it was just... SO HAPPY! HAHA like i didn't go last week because I slept in.. so going today was just so good and I miss going to church! Honestly, all my joy and love that I have isn't even mine! I get it all from God!
Anyways, today the pastor was talking about Jesus' Big Dream! haha and how His dream is for the church! oddly enough, some of the passages that were used in the sermon were aactually from what I was reading from the Bible yesterday! haha i was like.. that sounds familiar! LOl then i saw the reference and i was like. OOHH yeah i was reading that yesterday! HAAH anyways, what I think i'm trying to say is that this life i live isn't for myself...it is for God and for the church! and being part of the church, we are then Christ's body!! As a church, we should act like how God would act and and SERIOUSLY think about "WWJD" What Would Jesus Do? WE ARE CHRIST'S AMBASSADORS! we need to set an example for the world so that the world can see Jesus through us! :)
I watched a video today...basically it was a person preaching for about 5 mins. It was really powerful in my opinion! heres the link if you want! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QKCMbbeMaxM#!
but yeah theres so much in that! but i'm just gonna talk about one line he mentioned... one of the first things that stuck out to me when we was talk was this line..."I see people living but not surrendering lives" and this just like reminded me of all the stuff that i learned over the weekend!
On friday, a speaker came into acf and talked about his personal testimony. And the thing that stuck out to me was Who God is to you!...Who is God to me? The question posed was, is He my just my Saviour or is He also my Lord! At first I was like. duhhh.. but then i thought about it more. Christ being your LORD AND SAVIOUR is so much more! you need that act of surrendering! He is my Lord. I honestly can't exactly explain myself atm for some reason... but for those Christians out there.. really think about this... if God is just your saviour or if He is also your Lord! and there is a difference! it makes a difference in the way you should live your life! because your life doesn't belong to you!
Yesterday (sunday), i went to coffeehouse and someone mentioned that verse. 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." Doesn't this verse kind of make you want to surrender all to Jesus! For His grace is sufficient fo me! and i want Christ's power to rest on me! like... iuno! i just find this verse connects with what I'm thinking!
Also, another thing to think about is a quote from "Ellerslie" (eric and leslie ludy) my fave authors! LOL jk but yeah! i love their books! :) "you cannot have complete joy without complete surrender".. don't know exactly where it's from, but its from them! LOL and it's so true to me! LIke i said in my earlier posts, the closer i get to God, the more I get to experience His true joy! and it's amazing! His true joy is what completes joy and you'll understand what being truly joyful is!.. through Him!
I know this blog is like all mumble jumble LOL no organized manner or w/e.. but then when are my blogs organized anyways? but yeah these are just things i've been thinking about and i wanted to write it down before i forgot them! I think God is telling me to surrender my life to Him! haha surrendering my laziness, surrendering my grades, surrendering my DG, surrendering...my whole life!
Anyways, SMILE guys! and be Happy! and surrender to GOD! :D
btw DG! i've been praying lots for u recently! hope ur doing well out there! :D
Galations 5:6 The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Isn't that so true? As a Christian, we are called to love one another! In verse 13 it says, "serve one another humbly in love". Faith is so much more than just saying you believe...it's actually SHOWING it. and our faith we have in Jesus Christ should be shown to the world through our love! "and they'll know we are christians by our love".. thats from a song that stuck out to me before.. mainly because it's true. But yeah! if you read James 2, you'll see that having faith without deeds/actions makes no sense at all! like i'm serious! haha Knowing something and doing nothing is TOTALLY different from knowing something and doing it!.. The comparison made in James is that even DEMONS know who God is, but that doesn't mean they will be saved. They don't follow Christ; they don't have true faith. Here's the verse if you're interested: James 2:18-19 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
I just find that so powerful! haah the "show me your faith without deeds"...mannn sometimes i feel like i'm the man who tries to show that, and when you think about it, it's so foolish! Faith without deeds is meaningless! verse 26 of that chapter says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
Anyways, as Christians, we ought to love one another and show to the world that we are different through Christ's love in us. And if you truly are a Christian and say you love God, make sure your faith and love for Him has deeds as well! You should be spending time with Him whenever possible!.. If you love God, honestly, how hard can it be to spend a few minutes here and there with Him? just reading His word, just talking to Him, just worshipping Him, just... CHILLIN with Him? I know i have a lot of time for my friends, so I should def have enough time to spend a few minutes here and there with God!..even if its rather short.
Anyways, Smile guys! be Happy! and LOVE GOD, everyone else and yourself! :)
1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
I find it difficult sometimes, to really just surrender all I am to God: All my worries, my pride, my love life, my relationships, my education, my jobs, my future...my life! Some things, I want to just...think I have control over them because...I dont know...It gives me a false sense of security? but in the end, what I need to remember is this. "You are not your own; you were bought at a price." OH SHOOOT!! lol it seems kind of weird at first, because you don't usually think about it like that, but it's not weird. We (all christians) were bought at a price! Jesus' BLOOD/LIFE is what it costed! and this isn't like a master buying a slave thing...instead of a master buying a slave to "imprison" him, God bought us and freed us from sin so that we could become His CHILDREN! and all He asks us to do is have a relationship with Him and love Him. I don't even see how that's hard, I'd find it quite easy to love someone who just saved my life. "Therefore honor God with your bodies."... i think i can do that. How? by surrendering all I am to God. I know i'm kind of taking this verse out of context, but I think it makes sense. In this context, we need to honor God with our bodies through fleeing from sexual immorality. But still, we can honour Him by surrendering our lives to Him and knowing that "I(we) have been crucified with Christ and I(we) no longer live, but Christ lives in me(us). The life I(we) now live in the body, I(we) live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me(us) and gave Himself for me(us)." --Galations 2:20.
Anyways guys, I hope you are all doing well!
Smile and be happy! :D
1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
So recently, I've really been wondering WHY God let me get into the cheerleading team! Honestly, I'm sure that that without His help, I wouldn't have been able to get into the team myself. So i was strongly convicted that He had me there for a purpose....not that everything I do isn't for His purpose or anything, but it just stuck out more than everyday-life stuff.
Going back to the verse, I feel that as christians, we need to really know that we get the opportunity to live only through Jesus and this is only because God loves us so much. He gave us a way to live, when we really don't deserve it at all. When people see us, they shouldn't see normal people, they should see Jesus in us. We should be so happy because of this.. or glad! I don't really know, but yeah it just makes so much sense! We are free because of Him! I think it's just cool! Some people say that if you truly know/meet God, and truly understand what happened, all you would be doing is either trembling in fear or rejoicing! God's love always amazes me and challenges me as a christian! It amazes me because it's just...so awesome, unconditional, loving...i'm bad at explaining things.. LOL It challenges me because I want to love like Him and love people unconditionally!
Anyways, i'm tired now!! i can't think anymore!!! but i hope that I can have Jesus live through me! and i hope that people can see because that is what it means to be a christian!
"You may say to yourself, "My power and strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today."
Recently, I've really been thinking about what I'm going to do with my life. Am I going to be a doctor, a physio, hobo? Am I going to get married or will I always stay single? Am I going to die young? LOL I actually thought about that stuff! I guess I thought that stuff because, I may have lost vision of what God really wants me to do. I used to think He wanted me to go into med school, but I don't know anymore! It's just so complicated! I also feel that sometimes I don't like being independent have having to be responsible for my life. I like depending on my parents and family members most of the time...just because it's easier. In that way, I'm still quite immature I guess! LOL Anyways, so I have been praying to God, asking Him to give me a vision of what HE wants for my life (expecting he'd be like.. "jireh i want you to be a doctor"...because honestly, that's really the only thing that matters. Guess what He told me.. LOL nothing LOLOL! AHAH This is pretty much what I got from Him: "Jireh, I want you! I want you to do everything for me." and that kind of hit me I guess. Maybe i had this revelation before, but really, it shouldn't matter what exactly God wants me to be, especially at the moment. God wants me to try my hardest for Him and He will provide!
This brings me to today's verse of the day (VOD) LOL. I was just thinking that maybe in the future when IF i become a doctor or just excel in life, I genuinely hope that I can praise God in the end and say that EVERYTHING I am is because of Him. He is the one that gives me wealth, however much it may be, not my power or strength. "for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth"!
