I delight in nature; what does God delight in?

One of the things that make me happy in life is sitting still somewhere in the untamed wildness of nature, and being awed by the amazing creation that God has made.

Whether I'm by the ever-changing, roaring, peaceful, beautiful, threatening ocean; at the top of a rocky mountain looking down on the green world below, or staring up at the amazing endless night sky with its infinite stars, I am always overwhelmed at how insignificant I am and how powerful, creative, huge, and worthy of adoration God is!

So imagine how stoked I was to discover this Psalm:

Psalm 147

1 Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,

13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.

What are we, that the God of our HUMONGOUS planet, on which there are 6 BILLION people, might have chosen us as His children? Nothing. We are nothing. And that, dear friends, is what's so amazing about grace.

God's amazing Word!

I recently wrote a post on talking to others about Jesus (see Being offensive versus being on the offense. In this I briefly mentioned how God's Word does all the work. And it's true, it does!
I think in all stories of how people became followers of Christ there's one thing that's always present, no matter how weird, interesting, or 'boring' the story is. This one thing is that it was hearing about what Christ had done that had struck a chord in the listener!

One of my friends says that his story of 'conversion is 'boring', because all that happened to him is that he went to church once, and he somehow found himself going back. I myself don't find any stories of how people began their relationship with Jesus boring, 'cause they're all such encouraging examples of how God's Word works!!

Let us not be discouraged if what we tell others does not result in them wanting to become Christians there and then! God's Word does what He wants it to do!

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:10-11)

Paul also reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:9, that unlike Paul who is a prisoner at the time of the writing of that letter, God's word is not chained!

There are many other verse I could quote here, but those two touched me particularly today. I suggest that you read 1 Corinthians 1-2 if you have time as well.

Doubting Thomas, Doubting Grace, Doubting You?

2007 was a hectic year for me, filled with doubts and anxiety about my Christian faith.

Is Jesus real? Is He the only way? Is He the truth, like He says He is?!?

I know of people that quash any doubts that they have about their Christian faith immediately, thinking that that's ungodly and sinful. However, I'm of the opinion that doubting can be, and often is, a good spur for growth.

We should not be scared of doubting and questioning the Bible's claims, for if it contains the truth like it says, it WILL stand up to the light.

God has also given us rational brains, capable of logical thought, to be used.

However, I think that one can distinguish between godly and ungodly doubting.

Godly doubting seeks to find answers to genuine intellectual problems and is a stimuli to increased maturity in Christ.
Ungodly doubting is a persistance in doubts, even after intellectual queries have been answered, because of our own sinful nature and reluctance to follow Jesus as King.

An example of this was when I stopped reading my Bible earlier this year for a month or more, 'cause I was questioning Christianity. However, even when my doubts were answered and I once again realized the Jesus IS God, and that He DOES offer us eternal life, I didn't pick up my Bible for quite a while because of my laziness and lack of self-discipline.

So you, if you are doubting today, use this as a spur for growth. Do not get stuck in it!

[PS I don't really have any biblical backing for this; it's just something I've been thinking about.]

The many names of the Holy Trinity

I was talking to my dear friend, Princess Sarah, about a lesson that God had been patiently teaching me throughout this year (TOLD YOU I WAS A SLOW LEARNER!). However, now that I'd learnt the lesson, I was struggling to find ways of applying it and I was uncertain of the practical implications it had for my life. After listening to me for a few minutes melodramatically wailing my stupidity, she reminded me to pray to "Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith!" (Hebrews 12:2)
At that moment I realized that I was again relying on my own strength and intellectual powers instead of surrendering all to Jesus!

That made me start thinking about the various titles God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit had. I'd been circling the ones I came across in my QTs for the last few months for the times I needed a quick reminder of God's amazing character. So I shall now share some quick fixes with you!

General:
- God our Saviour (1 Timothy 2:3)
- the living God (1 Timothy 2:15)
- the blessed and only Ruler (1 Timothy 6:15)
- the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15)
- the living Stone (1 Peter 2:4)
- the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (1 Peter 1:25)
- the faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19)
- the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
- the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10)

God the Father:
- the glorious Father (Ephesians 1:17)
- the Majestic Glory (2 Peter 1:17)

God the Son:
- the Word of life (1 John 1:1)
- eternal life (1 John 1:2)
- the Righteous One (1 John 2:1)
- our only Sovereign and Lord (Jude 4)

God the Spirit:
- the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17)
- the Spirit of glory (1 Peter 1:14)


Obviously there'll be many more I discover as I carry on reading, so I'll keep on adding to this list! And you are more than welcome to as well!

Being offensive versus being on the offense

Recently I had the opportunity to be a leader on the Christian youth camp where I myself had understood the amazing news of salvation and forgiveness in Jesus Christ for the first time. Obviously it has a very special place in my heart for this reason, but also for the reason that it's ALWAYS so great to go back there and just see how God's amazing Word works in people's lives! I especially get a kick seeing young people change, 'cause come on, not to insult all the people I know, but when you were younger, did you ever think further than what you were going to eat next, the latest fashions or the newest lipstick colour?!? [Okay, okay, I was a bit of a tomboy, so the first thought occupied my mind MUCH more than the latter two]. Seeing them arrive as materialistic, worldly teenagers and sometimes leave as drastically-altered, Jesus-focused youths is amazing!

Anyway, this year was really really really really awesome, 'cause God gave me some great opportunities to talk to the non-Christians in my group about Him, and He gave me numerous opportunities to encourage the Christians in my group. Now, to be honest, the previous two years I'd been a leader, I think I was more concerned about being cool and popular with my girls than actually concerned about seeking opportunities to talk to them about Christ. Also, as half of my group always ended up being my local youth girls, I didn't make much effort 'cause I thought I'd have ample time to challenge them at the weekly youth bible study.

However, this year my group consisted of 8 girls I hardly knew, and who I probably won't see again they come on camp again next year. God had also been teaching me throughout the year that my laissez-faire attitude to ministry was not on, so I also arrived with a more serious attitude to speak about Jesus!!

Which brings me to the point of this post: Being offensive versus being on the offense.

I think one of the stereotypical characteristics of Christians is that we are offensive, judgmental people. As God's people, if we show these characteristics, WE ARE TO CHANGE THAT!!! Obviously, the gospel is offensive - who enjoys being told that they're rotten, guilty, evil wretches who'll die to face eternal judgment??!?! But at the same time, I think that Christians have earned this reputation not because of the offensiveness of the gospel, but because of their manner in which they share it!

Have a look at the following verse:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

Sometimes we panic and think that we're in charge of converting people; that they need to become a Christian after we tell them the gospel, and so we're going to force it down their throats whether they want to hear it or not. This is WRONG! We are not in the business of converting people; God is. Let me say that again: WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF CONVERTING PEOPLE; GOD IS!! God is in control. We are not. God is Sovereign. We are not. God's Word works miracles and brings the dead to life. Our words can barely get our siblings to bring us biscuits from the kitchen. [I know this. It is a fact of life.]

All we are called to do is to share the gospel with those who we have been given opportunities to share it with - that means that if they ask that we stop sharing the gospel with them, we STOP.
(To make it easier for people, if an opportunity presents itself I sometimes tell them that I tend to get excited about Jesus and sharing the gospel, but if at any point they want me to stop, they can just tell me to.) However, that does not mean that we stop praying for them and for more opportunities!!

At the same time, I think it's quite easy to quite complacent about opportunities, and that we wait for God to hit us over the head with a tree branch or something before we realize that Susan telling us about how meaningless life seems all of a sudden is actually an opportunity. Which leads me to the second point: we need to be on the offense!!

Just like in football movies, we mustn't just wait for opportunities for the other side to stumble so that we can score.. We must constantly be looking for, and creating opportunities!!

This athletic speak can actually be found in the following verse:

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

[Hehe, okay okay, I don't think Paul was really thinking of a football team when he wrote that.]

For example, if Susan says "Wow, life seems so meaningless right now", it'd probably be silly talking about the amazing pasta you had last night...

It's tough going sometimes, but yay for a Sovereign God who's always in control! I was reminded of this recently when I had two amazing opportunities in two days, and I found myself unable to say anything coherently or lucidly!! Thank God that other people's eternal lives don't rest on my wisdom, but on God's working Word!

Let's go out there, not being offensive, but being on the offense!

My Dad can soooooooooooooo kick your dad's butt!!

One game little children like to play (and that I enjoy watching them play) is the "My dad..." game. What happens is that two little kids take turns bragging about what their dads can do until the statements reach a preposterous level... (I call it 'game', but for them it's probably deathly serious, especially considering the intensity of the statements!)

Tommy: "My dad's got two cars, and we're getting a third one tomorrow!"
Billy: "My dad can ride his bike backwards while pedaling with his hands!"
Tommy: "My dad can do 100 pull-ups!"
Billy: "Oh yeah?!?! My dad shot a lion the other day!"
Tommy: "SO?!!? My dad was in the army and he got a gold medal!"
Billy: "My dad can beat up your dad!!!!"
Tommy: "My dad can beat up your dad and 50 other guys with one hand tied behin..." [At this point, Tommy's dad comes past, overhears this, and takes him home before Billy's dad hears this and challenges him.]

What amuses me so much is the thought that as Christians, we WILL win every single time we play this game! [Yes, that's right, Grace is getting excited at the thought of beating 5 year olds at their own game... ;)]

"My Dad's the King of the Universe!"
"My Dad's the Creator of the Ocean!!"
"My Dad determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name!
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.." (Psalm 147)

What an AWESOME Dad we have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our God is a God of comfort!

I was thinking earlier how great a God we serve- He heals the broken-hearted, and one day in heaven there are going to be no more tears and no more mourning, for He Himself will wipe every tear away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with the lyrics from Casting Crown's "Praise you in this storm":

I was sure by now, God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus: And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth


Praise God that He remains who He is, no matter where we are!

Training for the next life...

I was a leader at a youth camp recently, and met the mom of one of my girls on the last day.
Practically the second thing she said to me after all the niceties was: "Are you considering Bible College?"

Wham-bam-boom. Out of nowhere!

I replied that I wasn't thinking of full-time paid ministry, but I was considering the thought that I might be more effective in a non-Christian working environment.

She gently corrected my thinking of how Bible College was only for those serious about full-time paid ministry by pointing out how much time we spend being educated for this life (primary school, high school, university), and how little time we spend getting ready for the next!!

Imagine my amusement then, when I got home and my QT passage for the day included the following words:

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise both for the present life, and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)

It's definitely something to think about...

Have you checked your rubbish lately!?!?!

Think of a rubbish bin filled with fish heads and skeletons, rib bones still covered in sauce, empty tins dripping with strange liquid, toe-nail clippings, dust balls, scrap pieces of paper, pencil shavings, sweet wrappers, vegetable peels....

Now think of your nice clean room with your CD player, CD collection, guitar, beautiful dance dresses, perfume bottles, lovely clothes...

Do you see Image 2 as Image 1 in comparison to what you've gained in Christ?

Do we see as everything as rubbish in comparison to Christ?

I don't. Yet. Like if I had to choose, I'd def choose Jesus, but my sinful self would definitely be saddened about some things I'd had to leave behind... The world has still a very strong grip on me.

BUT...

Even though I might not be what I want to be, I am not what I used to be!

Relationships with my sisters-in-Christ

One thing God has been showing me throughout this year is how important my female relationships are, and how necessary it is that we hang out, encourage and love each other as Christian sisters.

I tend to get on well with guys and quite often prefer hanging out with them, but God's been gracious and shown me how much I need Christian sisters, not only through some wonderful friendships, but also through the realization that my guy friends won't remain MY guy friends.. I'll lose them to girls, you know.

It was a silly realization I had when a close friend of mine started becoming better friends with another girl, and all of a sudden I got jealous. It was all highly silly, but like my Amazing Goat pointed out, we tend to put more emotional value into our guy friendships than our girls. Anyway, after a while i realized instead of feeling sillily [silly used as an adverb; yes, I have no idea if that's right or not, but I'M the English Major, okay! So go take your dictionary somewhere else!!] [Oh dear, we've had this conversation before, haven't we?!?!?] Where was I... oh yes, so instead of feeling sillily emotional whenever we were together and he was hanging out more with her than with me, I began to see the opportunities that God had placed right there for me to talk to my Christian sisters or the non-Christians or the newcomers :)

It's SO important to have amazing encouraging GODLY sisters who know what battles the world's putting you through, and to share practical wisdom about female things. e.g. i shared my Fat Day revelations with a guy and he was like "What are those? Girls have them?!?", whereas my girl friends were all like "Oh YES! I know EXACTLY what you mean!".

On this point, we're also called to develop friendships with other Christian sisters so that we can model a godly life to them. At this point you might be thinking "FREAK OUT!! WHY ON EARTH WOULD PEOPLE WANT TO LOOK AT MY LIFE AS A MODEL?!!" like I used to, but I've come to realize that there's so much one can learn from even the youngest Christian! We must stop freaking out and thinking over it too much, and just do it.

Remember! Nike!

Time for a holiday!!

Anyway, now that it's holidays, I've also been thinking about how to be constructive with all the free time I have. This is going to sound silly, but holidays are fun and a great time to catch up with everything and everyone, but we need to make sure that we also have a good rest and look after our bodies as well. I realized I was taking my holidays too seriously, when a mere crazily-packed two days after my holidays started, I was over at a friend's house and promptly fell asleep on his bed!! Also, I think it's also going to be a challenge keeping so focussed when there's all this wonderful free time. I don't know. I'm the type who can get everything done if there ain't enough time, but if there is too much free time, oh dear...

Struggling with prayer: some practical tips

I've been lank encouraged and provoked to think by the current sermon series we're having on prayer. What's been missing for me till this point, however, are practical tips on prayer. So I was quite intrigued when a friend said that she just sorta cordoned off 20 minutes in her day for prayer with God, no matter if she felt she had anything to say or not.

Now, as my prayer life till that point had been consisting of a few one-liners after reading my Bible, a few more minutes of desperately racking my brain to think of something more to say to God, then giving up, this was a highly novel thought for me. So I've been trying it, and it's working! :) I don't always use up the whole time, but that's okay, you know. I'm praying much more than I used to, and we can't expect to run when we've just started to crawl! Hehe, I have been facing some hiccups, 'cause I try do it as soon as I wake up, and there was that one morning where I fell asleep in my session, so I gave myself another session, but then I fell asleep again!! [Third time lucky, if you're wondering ;) ]

Here are some other tips that I've found to be helpful:

- pray continuously throughout the day, as you're reminded to and as things are happening around you. Who said that one-liners aren't prayers?!?! Iif you're like me, you WON'T remember to later!

- sometimes the 20 minute session can get daunting especially if I don't have time free, so then I try break it up into 4 5-minute chunks spread throughout the day. Or something similar.

- use the Bible and your quiet time passage to pray through! The Psalms are an amazing aid to pray with!

- do it whenever, wherever! If I'm doing something on autopilot (like washing the dishes, or walking around town), I try to pray. If I'm lying in bed struggling to fall asleep, I try to pray. If I'm waiting in a queue, I try to pray. [Especially then. It keeps me calm and patient ;)]

- talk to God about EVERYTHING! Sometimes I just like to talk to God about what's happening around me. It's not necessarily something that's bothering me or that's a concern or something that I'm thanking Him for, but just my thoughts. It's not only training me to turn to Him when I do have issues or concerns or want to thank Him, but it also reminds me that God isn't a vending maching, but Someone with whom I have a relationship.

But yeah, I'd really like to hear more prayer tips from you guys. Leave a comment :)

Oh yes, and I got the greatest feeling the other day, when I was upset and my spirit just cried out "DADDY!" to God. It's wonderful to think we can call God "Daddy!" :)

Amazing grace

I was listening to the wonderful words of Amazing grace, and they're sooooo beautiful, so I'm including them here:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Putting the blood of Jesus to the test!

A wonderfully amazing thought was passed along to me in a chain letter.

Now I rather dislike chain letters, and they tend to go straight into the trash can, along with any chance of success I had hoped for my love life, my friendships or my spiritual life (depending what the chain letter has promised you). But this one was SOLID BIBLICAL TRUTH, even though I'm not quite sure how real the story is.

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution.

But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.

This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.

He began to speak and his statement was this:
"My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?"

[I've deleted the part where the whole church starts weeping. That's too much sentimental manipulation for me!]

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters.
Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely.

If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

What an amazing reminder that in Jesus ALL our sins are swept away and forgiven! But let us remember that this applies for EVERYONE who accepts His amazing gift! God's not judging. Why are you?

Death

I have come to the conclusion we’re all dying. We just don’t know when. So let us live today as if it is our last day, but in light of the future we’ve been promised.

On that note, I wish you all a hearty hearty day/ week/ weekend.

Training and self-discipline

One thing that I’ve been reminded of is that we’re running a race. The end-goal is certain, so we just need to focus on running. I say this, 'cause as a slightly neurotic perfectionistic I tend to be my harshest critic and beat myself up a lot for things I’ve done or haven’t done. However, that's highly unnecessary! We're in training; we don't need to get it perfect the first time... So what if I’ve only managed a two-week stretch of QT’s?!?!? I must not let that get me down! I just need to pick myself up, and improve on that session for next time.. maybe a two week, 3 day stretch next time, you know?!?!

At the same time, we need to remember that training requires self-discipline. Even though we are certain of our victory, we are not called to rest on our laurels; we are called to participate in that victory and RUN THE RACE! I think that materialistic commercial thought dominates the thinking of many godly Christians and we forget that self-discipline is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit! There was a stage where I wasn't doing my QTs 'cause I managed to persuade myself that I should only do them if my heart was in it... Problem was, my heart WAS in it, but I didn't realize it because my sinful nature persuaded me not to be lazy.

Do you see the paradox here? We are certain of victory because of what God has done, but at the same time we need to attain this goal ourselves. A friend sums this up quite nicely in the following statement: "Be what you are". In other words, do and act like the victorious and blemish-free child of God Jesus has made you!

[Let me know if this doesn't make sense...]

Bearing fruit

I read Jude the other day, and something that really struck me is this description of ungodly men:

They are like “autumn trees, without fruit, and uprooted- TWICE dead. (Jude 12)

Not only are they dead when they are uprooted, but they are also dead if they do not bear fruit!

I think it was reading that that the main point of James suddenly struck home – that faith without works is dead.

So think upon that, dear friends.

Did you hear?!?!??!?!

In our Bible study we were working through James, and we recently tackled the section on controlling your tongue (James 3). It was really hectic, 'cause I think it's one of the things that all human beings, whether female or male, struggle with.

We can see this in the gravity with which James approaches the topic, as well as the many other mentions that gossip and talk get in the Bible. Here are a few examples:

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:6-8)

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:4)

Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. (2 Tim 2:6)

Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel. (2 Tim 2:23-24)

We really tried to nail the practical application of not gossiping, and I’m going to mention a few things that stuck out for me.

- We tend to forget to not only not spread gossip but also to not listen to gossip. If you can't stop the person from talking, FLEE from temptation, even if it means running out of the room!!! [And it's good exercise as well!!]

- Four checkpoints when passing on info: is it TRUE, NECESSARY, HELPFUL, and LOVING? If it doesn't fit all four of these criteria, rather not. Talk about the weather instead!

- Sigh… and then there’s the all-too-easy Christian copout – “I’m so concerned and wanting to pray about so- and-so 'cause {-insert gossip here-}". Why not hold our tongues, and if we are genuinely concerned, say something more like "I think Susie's struggling, so will you please pray for her. God knows why!"

- Something I’ve also realized about passing other people's news (that isn't gossip but news that everyone will end up knowing anyway) is that I'm robbing them of their privilege of telling others. I know from my own experience that sometimes I save something to share with someone specific when I see them, and when I finally do, they tell me they’ve already heard my news. That’s not too much fun.

- One last thing: quite often we use the excuse "But we’re girls, we’re supposed to do so” to justify our gossip. As the Sister would say, "Sorrie for you!". The only thing we’re really and truly called to be are not examples of the socially constructed idea of women, but God’s HOLY PEOPLE!

Oh yes, don’t be offended if I respond to every piece of news you tell me with “Should you be telling me that?” I’m batting through practical applications of not gossiping, and it’ll be a while before I figure things out.

Talk to ya later!

I'm a loser, you're a loser. Get over it!

Even as Christians, a trap we fall into is of categorizing people as “losers”, “people we can talk to”, and then “cool people”.

Now this really gets my goat, even though I must admit that I find myself in this same stupid trap quite often. [I'm a sloooooooooooooooow learner!] God made us all in His image – we’re ALL unique, wonderful, cool people, because contrary to the evidence found of my siblings, God don't make no mistakes. [Joking, kids!]

But why it really gets my goat when others don’t want to talk to people who apparently are "losers" is because of the following passage from 1 Corinthians 1:26-28

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him.

That's right! WE are the foolish, weak, lowly and despised!!!

Like Mark Driscoll said (Johnston 2007) [yippee, look at my wonderful referencing!!], us Christians are the loser kids who don’t get chosen to play in the neighbourhood games 'cause we pee in our pants when we get excited, continuously have a dripping nose and snot which gets everywhere, and can’t catch a ball to save our lives. It’d be ridiculous for that kid, when they finally do get chosen to play, to boast about their ability or coolness factor!!! So why do we do the same??

We’re all losers. Get over it. Why are we claiming to be better or more worthy than others?!?!

Offending others...

This revelation is a story my good friend, Miss Liza, passed on to me.

Her friend (and neighbour), Mr L, went to the travel agency the other day to book some flight tickets. However, some misunderstandings arose, and the agent got offended, whilst Mr L got confused as English isn’t his first language.

He came back to ask if someone would accompany him to the agent to sort the misunderstandings out, but on hearing the story, everyone realized that the agent was actually in the wrong, and that he'd had NO cause for being offended. On pointing this out to Mr L, however, he was still adamant that he wanted to go back to sort out the issue. When asked why, he answered: “As a Christian, when I am offended, I am comforted by the gospel. A non-Christian, when he is offended, he has nothing to comfort him, so he will remain offended. Let me then rather be the offended party!”

It was such a great story, ‘cause I’ve been thinking over the practical implications of “When is enough, enough?” I am slowly, much to the dismay of my sinful self, coming to the conclusion that maybe there is no limit, within reason, to what we are called to endure for the sake of others and the gospel...

Struggling with Fat Days. AGAIN!

I've been thinking about Fat-and-Ugly days. [Yes, again!] (Yeah, yeah, I know, this topic again - !!!! - , but I think that as human beings we’re particularly vulnerable to this issue, ‘cause it’s so dominant in our society.)

Having had many Fat-and-Ugly days, I have realized that people shouldn’t really try cheer me up by telling me how I’m not ugly or that I’m not pretty.

Firstly, it’s not going to work – if it really did, I wouldn’t be unhappy in the first place.
Secondly, you’re falling right back into the beauty myth by depending on other people's opinions about your outwardly opinions, AND you’re being distracted from Jesus’ place as your life’s center and Person who gives you fulfilment.

I have noticed that whenever I have Fat Days it usually is 'cause I’ve been spending too much time thinking the way the world’s thinking i.e. being suckered into thinking that beauty is all-important, and then I know I’ve lost the plot.

So next time I come up to you, and say I’m having a Fat Day, please rebuke me. If I’m not having a Fat Day it's 'cause I'm not Christ-centered and godly. Honestly. And I’ve decided to do the same for anyone else who’s having a Fat Day, so if you’re looking for self-pity or compliments, I AM THE LAST PERSON YOU WANT TO COME TALK TO!!!

PS What also helps is if I wake up to a Fat Day, I dress in a particularly frumpy manner so that I am forced to get over myself and the way I dress. Hardcore, baby!

Grace the Glutton

This is a topic close to my heart, and even closer to my stomach: food.

As someone who’s highly energetic, and blessed with a reasonably well-functioning metabolism, I tend to eat a lot. I mean, A LOT. [A guy friend actually once told me I needed to stop eating so much cause he never gets any leftovers when we eat out!] [We don't talk anymore.] [Jokes! :)]

However, I’ve become aware that I treat food as an idol, and that I’m not being godly in the way I treat my body, nor in the way I use food, e.g. last year I struggled a lot with sinusitis, and apparently one thing that can cause tons of PostNasalDrip is dairy. So I tried cutting it out for a while, but kept on going back to it, even when I realized that eating dairy has a negative effect on my sinuses, oh happy days. Another example was that if food was available, I’d eat to the point of being as stuffed as a stuffed turkey, especially during my most stressed out times.

Now this might seem pretty silly to you, but that just shows how lighthearted a sin as gluttony has become. And I use the word 'sin' consciously, ‘cause turning to anything apart from God first is sin.

So now I’m being more thoughtful about my eating habits - am I really eating cause I’m hungry? (Quite often I’ll eat for other reasons, such as stress or boredom). If I’m not hungry, am I using food to replace God’s role in my life? (Am I turning to food as stress-relief, instead of trusting in God?) If I am hungry, is what I’m eating going to beneficial to my body so that it shows that I am treating my body as a temple of God? (I’ve cut out a lot of artificial sugar, but I still have a nice treat every now and then!) These are just some things to think about.

I’ve also started saying grace before meals again – for the last two years I’d only been saying grace when there were other people with me, ‘cause I was of the opinion that you should only say grace if you mean it, and I didn’t really. But it’s good for me 'cause then I get reminded of God’s place in my life (as King and Lord) and food’s place in my life (sustenance that provides energy so that I can work for His glory). [on that note, have a look at Talking to our Father.]

I don't think we're called to follow the example of those hard-core old-school dudes who worked out what would be best nutritionally for their bodies, and didn't eat anything else apart from that. We're reminded that "everything that God created is good" (1 Timothy 4:4), and that God is a God "who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy6:17). But I do think that we are called to be critical and discerning of why and how we act, and that we are called to change if we are not acting godly..

Bon appetit!

Finding comfort in the Psalms

I was having another Spiritually Fat Day AGAIN , but God's Word is so super-duper amazingly awesome that it provides all the ammunition I need for Actively Fighting For Joy (see Coping with Fat Days).

Yay for the Psalms!!

Psalm 42:5

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Saviour and my God

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy
of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit
to sustain me.

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being,
praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits...
who gives all your sins...
who satisfies your desires with good things...

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love
He does not treat us
as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.

Have a wonderful day!

The dreaded S-word: Singleness!

The younger Sister and I were talking about marriage, and by the fifth hour (okay, I exaggerate now), I was up to the end of my tether, so I told her to get over it, to which she replied "You're just bitter cause you don't have anyone".

It was lank funny (great insult, well done), but it made me think of how the world constantly tells you you're incomplete without someone. And that's true. Only, someone should actually be Someone. Whether we're single, or married, our true partner is Christ. You are not incomplete if you do not have another person in your life... but you definitely are if you don't know God.

Talking to our Father

For a long time earlier this year, I had really been struggling with doing my quiet times (from hence forth they will be referred to as QTs), but once I started being more disciplined, I realized some truths about prayer.

It's going to sound sillily simple, but you must think over it, ‘cause it really helps you:
In EVERYTHING, think of Christ's example first and pray to God.

Prayer is good for many reasons, but there are a few reasons that I've been reminded of particularly.

1. It 'puts you in your place’!
= It reminds you firstly of who God is - the Dude in control, who sent His Son to die for you.
= Secondly, it reminds you of who you are - the dude who messed up sadly-badly, and who is wholly dependent on God.
2. God is gracious and He answers prayers :)

example: if you've got someone who keeps on irritating you, you should remember Christ- i.e. you must have pissed off God a lot with your sinful actions, but he still died on the cross for you; so that reminds you to be humble – cause you're just the same - , and it reminds you to be gracious, ‘cause Jesus was gracious. And if you pray, it reminds you that you're not going to be nice to that person out of your own good character, but God's going to provide that power.

And He does.

PS sillily = silly used as an adverb... that's right. I'm an English major. I have a license to make up words!

We are God's creation, and He knows what's best!

Okay, the next lesson/reminder was that God has created us and therefore knows what's best for us, and THAT's why He tells us to do certain things; NOT because He's an evil sniggering rule-obsessed type who likes to see us fail.

We were doing 2 Peter in youth Bible studies, and for one of the week's applications we decided to each pick a characteristic from chapter 1 like godliness, perseverance, kindness etc. that we were struggling with, so that we could work on it during the week.

I had a sinking suspicion the following week that they had forgotten to apply this in their week, but amazingly they hadn't! I talked to my one girl who described how she hadn't been grouchy to certain people she would've normally been emos with; instead she'd just smiled and been friendly, and she said it was soo cool cause she'd actually felt good inside.That just reminded me again that we don't do things like that (e.g. be nice and friendly and caring and godly) ‘cause we're good, BUT we do it cause God's created us and he knows what's best for us. Being godly is what we've been designed for!!!!
- example: anger. We’re not told to control our anger ‘cause it only hurts other people. We’re told not to be angry ‘cause it also hurts us. Anyone who's been angry for more than 5 minutes or more, knows how it can turn you so bitter and vengeful; in the end it eats you up and hurts you more than it hurts others!

Yay for God who created us to be fulfilled in Him!

Coping with Fat Days...

A few weeks ago, I woke up on a beautiful summery Tuesday only to realize that I was going to have a Fat day.

[As if waking up wasn't already hard enough by itself!]

For the few of you who are blessed enough to be free from this trial, i.e. those of you who are members of the opposite sex, this is how a Fat Day goes...

You wake up, stumble past the mirror, and think "Haha, Halloween rocks!" Then the thought hits you... Halloween's still months away, and you don't own a mask that looks like your face... (To be fair, if we were to be more technical, Fat Days are actually Fat-and-Ugly-Days).
You put your clothes on and you're like "I NEED TO GO SHOPPING! I used to fit in THAT?!?!"
Then you know. Everything's just going to go haywire from there.

And everything usually does. But you know what? It turned out fine, cause I had such a busy and happy day, I sorta forgot to have my Fat Day! (Yay for early adulthood Alzheimer's ;)

The next morning, I woke up to read the Bible passage for the day which was from 1 Peter 3, about how women are to find their beauty not from appearances and outwardly adornment, but from a quiet, gentle submissive soul. In light of my Fat Day, it made me wonder if we ever had 'Spiritually Fat' days. As I worked through this thought, I realized that no, we shouldn't cause we've got Jesus, and in Him we're perfect and blemish free. He's our spiritual Extreme Makeover! So that was Wednesday.

But on Thursday I woke up to realize that it was going to be a Spiritually Fat day.. Oh dear. But I was prepared, because remember, dear reader, that I had done all my mental preparation the day before. So I pulled myself together, and gave myself a good talking to, and realized that I could either give in to my silly emotions "oh woe is me", or I could Actively Fight For Joy. (The capitalization is very important, because then it becomes a Mission, and I enjoy Missions.) And this followed a two part strategy which I have found very useful for coping with Fat Days, physically or spiritually-induced!

Actively Fighting For Joy:
1) lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of prayer whenever I was feeling particularly down,
2) lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of reminders of God's truths and amazing awesomeness.

And yay, God was kind and good and gracious, and even though I spent a bit of the day still feeling miserably wretched and sinful and awful, it was a contented misery, ‘cause God Gives Peace and Joy. What a great lesson!!! :)

Let us remember not to just give in to our doubtful, negative thoughts, but to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Onward!!

In the beginning...

...there was a little girl called Grace. She had a loving family and amazing friends, went through school (primary and high) reasonably unscarred, and was generally blessed in her circumstances. However, she couldn't help but feel that there was something missing, something not-quite-right, something she wasn't getting...

All this became clear in December 2003, when the Parents decided that the school holidays were too long and off to a Christian camp Grace, the younger Sister and the older Brother must go. After much groaning and moaning (and maybe, perhaps, a little bit of foot-stomping), the Parents put THEIR collective feet down, and the Siblings found themselves by the registration tables in sulky resignation. But much to Grace's surprise, the camp wasn't half-bad.. And the people there WERE Christians, but they were also cool, funny, nice, kind... normal. Which didn't really tie in with her previous misconception of Christians as nice but geeky, sweet but wussy, wallflowers. What's more, they seemed to have a REAL relationship with Jesus.

Anyway, as the week unfolded, Grace thought about this more and more, until one of the talks on the second last day grabbed her. This can be seen as a testament to her egotistical self-centeredness that it was a talk about grace.. but not a talk about her, but rather about God's undeserved gift of mercy to those who have rebelled against Him.. How Jesus had paid the penalty for our sins, and how we can be made righteous in God's eyes if we accept this gift! YAY FOR JESUS!!! And at that moment, Grace realized that there was a God-shaped hole in her heart, but that God graciously offered Himself to fill that hole.

Since that moment, my life has been one of certifying the validity of this truth, and working out what this means for the way I live. Like the apostle Paul, "I know whom I have believed" (2 Timothy 1:12) not only through objective, external historical facts, but through a personal, subjective, internal experience with Jesus Christ. I have plugged in my brain and my heart, and that is why I wake up every morning and recommit myself to a life trying to live like the child of God I am.

However, whereas God is good, kind, faithful, just, and holy, I am a wretched miserable sinner who is still trying to look out for myself first, instead of glorifying God in everything I do. But God is gracious, and His power is constantly working in me to make me more like His perfect Son! I have had many struggles, many wrong-turns, many lapses, but God is teaching me so much... If only I didn't have to go through so many learning curves!! However, I've started this blog as a chronicle of my struggles and lessons learnt in the prayerful hope that my fellow sisters-in-Christ (and brothers, if they're interested) will encouraged to carry on! I'm going to give this blog-thing a bash for 6-12 months and we'll see what happens!


Soli Deo Gloria

Grace


A little more about me:

My name really is Grace, and I'm currently studying in a little town in a wonderful country of this temporary home we call Planet Earth.

Till I get called to my permanent dwelling with God, I am standing strong, not in my own power, but in the grace that is in Christ Jesus! "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13).

Why should I be reading your blog?

I don't know. Why are you?


Another other questions? Drop me a comment...