GGATHND: Part V - Me and my judgmental tongue.

I just read this most amazing book called "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" by Alan Chambers and the Leadership Team at Exodus International. It's so wonderful I just have to share bits and pieces from it! It's written so graciously and humbly, yet uncompromising on the truth that ALL have sinned and that Jesus has died for ALL :).

Like the previous post, this one is just about a little point one of the authors makes in the book.

He writes that he's

one who notices everything and judges it accordingly. God help those of us with this trait. Some call us prophets, others call us plain old mean.

(I definitely recognise myself in those words.)

But he comes up with a (for me) novel suggestion:

The truth is, that those who often judge others harshly are actually using the gift of encouragement, discernment, and/or prophecy negatively. I know that when the Lord is in the center of my life and I'm seeking to serve others as Christ did, I have incredible discernment and use that to find people to encourage and pray for (p.91).

So let's go use our judgmental hearts and tongues to judge positively :) Cool!

*All extracts from Chambers, Alan. God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door. USA: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.

GGATHND: Part IV - Letting go and letting God

I just read this most amazing book called "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" by Alan Chambers and the Leadership Team at Exodus International. It's so wonderful I just have to share bits and pieces from it! It's written so graciously and humbly, yet uncompromising on the truth that ALL have sinned and that Jesus has died for ALL :).


In this post, I merely want to share this funny little anecdote I read in the book. The writer, Randy Thomas, talks about wanting to share the gospel with someone he starts developing a friendship with. However, the opportunity never arises. He thus concludes:

I must rest in the fact that my Lord is bigger than I, and He will watch over and guide her in His timing to His truth. I know the Holy Spirit… and His name is not Randy (p.127).

I just love the way his story reminds me not to get frustrated when I think things aren't going the way I want them to, but to rather rest in God's good timing and planning :) I know the Holy Spirit too! And His name is definitely not Grace!!

*All extracts from Chambers, Alan. God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door. USA: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.

GGATHND: Part III - False Identities

I just read this most amazing book called "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" by Alan Chambers and the Leadership Team at Exodus International. It's so wonderful I just have to share bits and pieces from it! It's written so graciously and humbly, yet uncompromising on the truth that ALL have sinned and that Jesus has died for ALL :).

On the one hand it recognises that there are practical tips and guidelines to follow when dealing with homosexuality, as it is a unique sin in some regards. On the other hand, it's written realizing on that homosexuality is like all other sin in God's eyes and therefore deserves no 'higher abomination' status than other sins. In that regard, it's been a really helpful reminder of who we are as Christians, how sin affects us, and how to minister to others.

The third post is on false identities:

Interestingly, just as the term 'gay' or 'homosexual' indicates a false identity, actually so does the term ex-gay. The desired change in identity should pull the focus from the sin or struggle with sin and onto the true, fully righteous, fully holy identity bestowed on them via the Cross of Jesus Christ. This concept is key for the people leaving homosexuality because it forces them to accept that who they are is not changed or altered by feelings or even actions. They begin to find freedom from untrue definitions of who they are and to accept who God says they are. They discover who they really are in Christ, and they experience true freedom (p.73).

By the way, this search for identity in Christ alone isn't unique to people leaving homosexuality. All people, at some level, are on a quest for true identity. People search for identity in heterosexual promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, work, money, and relationships. Coming to grips with our legitimate identities as men and women in Christ is essentially the same process for all Christians (p.71).

Healing comes when we adopt Christ's heart and attitude and learn to apply that to how we feel about ourselves (29).

[If every time you read the word 'homosexual' and don't feel that that sentence applies to you, just insert one of the many sins you struggle with].

*All extracts from Chambers, Alan. God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door. USA: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.

GGATHND: Part II - Ministry

I just read this most amazing book called "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" by Alan Chambers and the Leadership Team at Exodus International. It's so wonderful I just have to share bits and pieces from it! It's written so graciously and humbly, yet uncompromising on the truth that ALL have sinned and that Jesus has died for ALL :).

On the one hand it recognises that there are practical tips and guidelines to follow when dealing with homosexuality, as it is a unique sin in some regards. On the other hand, it's written realizing on that homosexuality is like all other sin in God's eyes and therefore deserves no 'higher abomination' status than other sins. In that regard, it's been a really helpful reminder of who we are as Christians, how sin affects us, and how to minister to others.

The second post is on ministry:

As we consider ministering to those whose lifestyle we don't understand, we must always remember to offer them the same grace, understanding, and love that Christ offered us! (p.17)

There isn't a special antidote for ministering to those with same-sex attractions any more than there is one for ministering to those with an unhealthy love for money, food, heterosexual sin.. Or whatever. The same God who sent His son for you, sent His Son for the homosexual.
[...]
After all, God wasn't after my homosexuality; He was after my heart. (p.17-18)

[If every time you read the word 'homosexual' and don't feel that that sentence applies to you, just insert one of the many sins you struggle with].

*All extracts from Chambers, Alan. God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door. USA: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.

God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door: Part I - Transformation

I just read this most amazing book called "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" by Alan Chambers and the Leadership Team at Exodus International. It's so wonderful I just have to share bits and pieces from it! It's written so graciously and humbly, yet uncompromising on the truth that ALL have sinned and that Jesus has died for ALL :).

On the one hand it recognises that there are practical tips and guidelines to follow when dealing with homosexuality, as it is a unique sin in some regards. On the other hand, it's written realizing on that homosexuality is like all other sin in God's eyes and therefore deserves no 'higher abomination' status than other sins. In that regard, it's been a really helpful reminder of who we are as Christians, how sin affects us, and how to minister to others.

This first post looks at various bits and pieces on transformation from the book:

Transformation is a process. Many Christians struggle in their forward movement to maturing. God is gracious and more than able to love us in spite of our fallibility. And that's our task: to effectively communicate God's grace and power to change to a world that thinks to be a Christian one must either be perfect or a hypocrite (p.17).

The gospel isn't just about the hope of eternal bliss: it's about living a transformed life as a citizen of God's kingdom! The Scriptures demand and promise the same of homosexuals as of every man, woman and child: transformation (p.53).

The Holy Spirit works change in the homosexual in the same way He works change in each of us. We begin to seek Him and align our hearts with His heart. We desire more and more to live life in accordance with His Word. As our hearts become aligned with His heart, we begin to desire what He desires. He changes us, and we are no longer what we were. We grow in the knowledge and satisfaction or who we now are, and no longer desire to live in the pit of a false identity. We become God-focussed, rather than self-focussed. We wait on the Lord, and He fulfils us (p. 75-76).

[If every time you read the word 'homosexual' and don't feel that that sentence applies to you, just insert one of the many sins you struggle with].

*All extracts from Chambers, Alan. God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door. USA: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.

Glasses and the church

I'm the laziest owner of glasses you'll ever meet.

For example: the top of my one glasspiece currently has multiple chips along the edge because I'm too lazy to take off my glasses before I yank my jersey or my T-shirt off, sending it flying through the air while hitting a dozen hard objects along the way.

You might be able to guess then that cleaning my glasses isn't a top priority on my list of Things To Do. Sometimes I don't even notice how dirty my glasses have gotten until I realize that there isn't really fog in my room - I just can't see through the oils and dirt on my glasses! (Eew, I sound really dirty, but I'm really not this bad! I'm just exaggerating a little now for dramatic effect)(And speak to anyone who wears glasses: it's really easy getting your glasses dirty, especially if you're into hugging people)(heehee, I'll stop defending myself now!).

However, whenever I bump into one specific friend and my glasses aren't squeaky clean, but haven't become dirty enough for me to actually notice, our interaction generally goes something like this: after chatting to me for a while, he'll sigh, take my glasses off, and while we finish off our conversation, will wipe my glasses clean on his shirt. (Cute friend, hey? :) )

And I just realized now what an apt illustration it is of why we need fellowship with each other. We're living in a world which is constantly smudging our view of and focus on Jesus, sometimes so insidiously that we don't realize it before it's too late. Sometimes all we need is a brother or a sister to come along and help us regain our focus with clarity.

So moral of the story: don't hug Grace.
Just Joking :)

Real moral of the story: Help a partially-sighted Christian today and clean their glasses!!!

Fulfillment in Christ?

This is an extract from a letter I just finished writing to a friend who's currently investigating the Christian faith:

Dearest [Name]

A few days ago you asked me if I found ultimate fulfillment in Christ. But I had spent so much time and energy worrying and focussing on myself and my issues on and off throughout the past few days/weeks/months, that this question sounded completely foreign to me: Fulfillment in Christ? Joy, happiness, peace in Jesus?

But as my mouth opened to say an automatic yes, I found that in saying yes, it was a TRUE yes. Your question cut through the mess in my head clearly, showing me and reminding me that yes, underneath all that was going on, I did find true fulfillment in Christ.

It's not easy, like I mentioned. There are many things to distract you along the way and to rob you of the peace and joy found in loving Jesus. Quite often my focus slips off Him, and I try seek fulfillment in other things: friends, being popular, love, looking pretty and dressing nicely, even my academics(yeah, yeah, I'm a geek). But these are all false identities that temporarily veil my true identity - as Christ's child and much-beloved daughter. And I must tell you, when I realize again (I say again, 'cause I'm a slow learner so this happens quite often) that I have been drinking in and eating of the junk food lies that the world offers as happiness and fulfillment, and when I turn to God again and regain perspective that He is the only true Living Bread and Water, then, and only then, do I find true satiation, true fulfillment, true joy and peace.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

And no matter how paradoxical that sounds, it's true. :)

Happy belated Bloggiversary to me!

Yes, why yes, can you believe it?!?!?! It's already been a year, lalalalalala..

And I have decided that even though my blogging is completely erratic, I quite enjoy the discipline of having to think about my thoughts and having the opportunity to read about the later, so let the blogging continue :)

PS to those of you who have me on their blogreader.. I have now realized why multiple copies of the same blog might appear in your reader, so I humbly apologize and will 'STOPPIT!'!

PPS And Merry belated Christmas! But yay, every day is like Christmas when you only live because of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection!

"I am strong...

because the Lord Almighty is my God" :)

That's a really cool verse I read somewhere but I can't find again :( Maybe because I'm remembering incorrectly? But if you find it, please reference! I think it was a prophet somewhere in the O. T.

Faith is..

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is, in the end, a kind of homesickness - for a home we have never visited but have never once stopped longing for. (Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God, 1988:276)

Interesting.

God converts, [Part II]

and heck, don't we know it!

I was reading Matthews chptrs 1-3 today and I was laughing at how ridiculous it all seemed. Rationally it doesn't make sense at all: whoever heard of prophetic dreams, talking angels, virgin births, flying donkeys... ?!?! But if we were able to figure it all out rationally, us realizing that Jesus IS God wouldn't be grace.. It'd be work.

It brings this passage to mind:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

So if you're talking to friends and family about Jesus, keep on keeping on and don't get frustrated that your words aren't convincing them. It is our job merely to present the truth, and then God will do the real work in His own good time.

PS There aren't really any flying donkeys in Matthew... Maybe in Shrek. No, you're right: Shrek ISN'T in the Bible. I kinda just thought it'd be funny. It isn't? You should go look for your sense of humour then!

God converts,

not me.

But this is something I had been forgetting in many of my chats with my non-Christian friends. There are two people in particular that I often walk away frustrated from because sometimes I can't answer their arguments, and at other times when I do, they just seem to refuse to accept it.

However, I was reminded of God's irreplaceable role in evangelism when a visiting preacher at our church used a Bible verse to show that the Bible is God's Word. "Hold on," I asked him afterwards, "isn't that a bit of a circular argument?!?!?!? If I wanted to start a cult and wrote a book, of course I would say it's the Word of God!"

To my complete surprise, the minister agreed. But then he pointed out that that's why God has to change your heart to see that the Bible is really His word. This is not saying that we need to throw out our brains- even though the argument for the authority of the Bible might be circular ("The Bible is the Word of God because it says it is the Word of God"), there are many intersections it makes with the real world, and it does stand up to rational investigation. However, this doesn't mean that rational arguments will convince anyone - it is the work of God to ultimately convince.

For those who are now getting worried about the authority of the Bible being based on a circular argument, another minister I asked this same question pointed out that there are many other things in life based on circular arguments. (Which didn't really comfort me that much more). But then he added that you can then check out other claims that the Bible makes e.g. internal consistency - the OT prophecies certain claims which the NT records as having been fulfilled etc.

Now I'm tired of typing, so you (i.e. The Sultan of Sound, quite possibly my one and only reader) can come up with some more.

PS I'm trying to think of other circular arguments and thought that love might be a good example? You should believe I love you because I say I love you. But then this is observable in tangible forms e.g. the way I treat you. Make sense? Not so much?

Living

So it's been a crazy few months since I last blogged, and one of these reasons is 'cause a very dear friend of mine went in for a much-needed liver transplant. Now my casual mention of this should not deceive you into thinking that this is an ordinary I'm-just-going-to-pop-into-the-shops-for-milk-quickly kinda event. It is indeed what they call A Big Deal. [Praise God, the operation went smoothly and he is now recovering at home. Albeit with a little bit of cabin fever.] [For those unfamiliar with that term, no need to worry: cabin fever isn't a terminal illness ;)]

Anyway, having someone so close to me come so close to death, has really made me think about the role God plays right now in running this world. As I read various bits and pieces of the Bible, I came to realize that in my head I had this picture that God had created the world, and now it kinda runs with momentum from that one moment.

Wrong!

The Bible makes it very clear that the world can not run at all without God's power!

for example:

[Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17)

When I learned that my friend had to go on to a lung machine on and off throughout the day just to be able to breathe, a function we take for granted, I realized that my friend actually had the amazing opportunity to realize how weak and fragile our bodies are. And quite often we are tempted to think that we will be fine with our modern technology and medicines, but that's actually quite arrogant! As the writer of Psalm 3 wrote:

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I woke up the other morning and really got it for the first time: the only reason I didn't pass away during the night was cause God was sustaining me! And that meant that He had something for me to do that day :) How amazing! So let's not live our lives as if every day is our last (as though that day could be taken away from us) but rather as if every day is our first - as though that day were specially given to us :)

Change, change, change

Sometimes I really get frustrated with people who aren't showing any signs of being convicted by the gospel of Jesus and who aren't changing in ways that my eyes can perceive. Then I was reminded of two awesome ...umm, for lack of a better word... reminders.
[I don't know who to reference for these - I stole them from a friend's Facebook note :)]

1. Give people time to change
I think there are some tensions and questions here, but we need to give people time to change. How long did it take for you to become perfectly like Jesus? Of course, you’re still changing. There are some sins we’re prepared to work on over a lifetime, but there are others where we demand instant change. Why is this? The answer, of course, is that we want them to become respectable. We don’t want a messy community. So we say, ‘You’re saved by faith, but to become part of the church (e.g. to be baptised) you need to change your life.’ So which is it? Are we saved by works or are we saved by works?

2. Focus on the heart
What’s your agenda for change? All too often we focus on behaviour. We can list the behaviours we would like someone to stop or start. But Jesus says our behaviour comes from the heart (Mark 7:20-23). Our focus needs to be on the heart. Our job is to help people love God and treasure Christ. In Philippians 1 Paul says the aim of his ministry among them is their joy (1:25-26). He wants them to find joy in Christ – only then will people turn from the pleasures of sin. I do need to describe a life that pleases God. But my job is not to go round telling people to reform their lives or change their behaviour. My job is help people find joy in Christ.

Going to the mall turns out to be an educational experience!

At the mall today, I was intrigued to see these pushmobiles [for lack of a better word] that parents could hire to push their kids around in.

Children would sit inside car-shaped vehicles, which even had steering wheels that many a kid tried turning in an effort to direct themselves. However, the reality was clear: the parents were the ones who were making the cars move AND the ones in control over where they were directed! No matter how much the kids were pretending that they were in control, they weren't!

And I thought, what a cool illustration for life as we know it!

Firstly, God is the only reason we're 'moving' at all. As it says in Colossians 1:17 "In him, all things hold together." If God were to say to the world to stop at this moment, it would! God's power is mindblowing! e.g. Psalm 33:6-7
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses."

Secondly, God is sovereign! Even when everything's going hunky dory and we think we're in control and that we're steering our own lives, it's only cause we might be 'steering' in the same direction as God is for that moment. And how comforting that even when our car seems to be going in the wrong direction, there's still Someone who's in control! And Someone who's got a much better view of what'll be best for us than we could ever imagine for ourselves! Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".

As Paul joyfully concludes in Romans 8:31-32 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Repentance versus feeling sorry

We were talking about the difference between repentance and just feeling sorry, when a friend came up with a cool game that illustrated repentance quite well: "Have all the children run away from you, and when you shout 'Repent', they have to stop and run back towards you."

Then some bright spark added: "Yeah, and if you shout 'Feel sorry', they can carry on in the same direction."

- Yeah, yeah, I was the bright spark, but I thought it would help illustrate the difference! -

A necessary reminder

The body of sin has been done away with

: We have died to sin.

: We are freed from sin.

: Sin shall NOT be our master!

And death?

Death no longer has mastery over us.

For we have been born to life through Christ Jesus!

(Romans 6:1- 14)

To Infinity and Beyond!!!

In the epic movieGladiator, just before he enters the battle with his courageous soldiers, the powerful and heroic Roman general Maximus ends his inspiring speech by reminding them of one thing: "Brothers, what we do in life echoes in eternity!"

What a great reminder to us Christians as well!! So let's don the "armour of light" (Romans 13:12) and CHAAAAAAAARGGGGGEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!!

You arrive at school, and for some reason everyone’s looking at you. Not in the adoring “wow, the coolest kid at school has just arrived” kinda way, but more in a shocked disbelief which rapidly turns into bursts of giggles. Sniggers in some cases. You look around you to see if there’s someone else who’s quite possibly the figure of all this attention, but the people behind you are looking at you too. It’s definitely YOU they’re laughing at. But why!??! You suddenly realize that you can feel the wind all over your body, and when you look down, you realize it’s your worst nightmare come true!!! You’ve forgotten to put on your clothes!!

Ever had that dream? Those who have have assured me that it's the biggest relief to wake up and realize it's just been a dream! To be fair, this isn’t everyone’s worst nightmare#, but it links pretty high up there on many people's "I hope this NEVER happens to me" lists!! If that’s the case, why do so many of us to clothe ourselves?

As Christians we’re told to clothe ourselves with our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14) and compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience (Colossians 3:12) amongst others, but so often we neglect to! How awkward to think how often we're being laughed at in the spiritual realm!*

# In fact, my worst nightmare was having Godzilla come tear up my town because we were keeping her babies in a lab.. But hopefully this’ll never be one that comes true either!

*I doubt that we really are… But for the purposes of my analogy, pretend it is! :)

How are you treating your Bible?!?!

I popped in at a Christian conference during the holidays, and man I was rebuked!

After a few weeks of not reading my bible, the last thing I wanted to hear was : “The way you treat the Bible is a reflection of the way you treat God”. But of course, that was the very thing I needed to hear!

Add to that a reminder from Romans 12 that we are called to "no longer conform to the pattern of the world, but instead to be transformed through the renewing of your mind.." And how do you renew your mind? By immersing it in God’s Word and reflecting and thinking about it! And I know for myself that if I haven’t read the Bible for a time I certainly have no inclination to really fight sin and live life God’s way..

God’s Word is powerful and life-transforming, so why aren’t we treating it as the most precious thing we own?!?!?

So I'm back... again!

Once again after yet another long silence, Grace is back :) I'm sorta like F-R-I-E-N-D-S reruns, I suppose!

Anyway, in the long absence, I've had a holiday, started reading my Bible again after yet another bout of not reading it, stopped reading my Bible again, and then finally.. But let me explain.

So I think I’ve mentioned a few times that I went through a bit of a rough patch, and I thought I’d processed and worked through everything with Jesus, but it turned out that I hadn’t really put God in His proper place as Number 1 in my life. So I started reading my Bible again, I realized that I was still angry/frustrated, so I stopped, which was actually a bit silly. Till a few weeks later when I had coffee with Miss Liza, a wonderfully encouraging and mature older Christian. While we were chatting I realized two things:

1) That I’d sorta let this issue take number 1 spot in my life and put God in the secondary role of psychotherapist whose job it was to deal with issues, instead of thinking of God’s glory first.

2) That I’d let everything overwhelm me to the point that I’d forgotten that I had a choice in the way I was acting!

As I was talking to Miss Liza, I asked her “Will the rest of my Christian life be like this? A long stretch of sorta backsliding and not really trusting or obeying God and then maybe one good month of really loving, trusting and obeying, and then another long stretch of non-growth?” to which she replied: “It’s up to you! It’s your choice!” Well, knock me over with a feather! I’d somehow COMPLETELY forgotten that I had a choice in the matter! How silly!!! And since then, I’ve been taking it one day at a time, choosing to love and obey Jesus Today. Not that it’s easy (it’s never really easy), but I’ve definitely been more at peace now that I’ve put Jesus in His rightful place again, and everything’s just fallen into perspective! YAY!

Praise the Lord

I'm in charge of music ministry at church, and I sometimes just want to tear my hair out because of all the niggly bits of admin!! [I am not one of those blessed with the gift of admin!] But I was heavily rebuked the other day, when slightly grumpy at the thought of all the organisation I had to do, I smsed one of the band members to remind her of the practice that evening, and she responded: "Coolio! See you later! Let's praise the Lord!"

What an awesome attitude to have :) I'd somehow lost the plot a little [maybe a lot... I definitely shouldn't have thrown the drum stick at our guitarist] [just jokes;)] and let all the little details distract me from the real reason why we were meeting and practising! Yay! Let's praise Him in everything we do!

The Carlights Analogy

While I was driving home the other day, a friend who was sitting with me in the car reminded me to switch on the car lights. To those of you who are freaking out a little at the thought of me driving around in the pitch dark.. I'm not that stupid. [I think.] It was twilight - light enough not to need to put on lights to see what was ahead of me, dark enough for my friend to be a li-ttle worried ;). But as I saw the cars swishing past in the oncoming lanes, I realized that sometimes we don't put on the lights for us to see by, but for others to be aware of our prescence.

And I thought, wow, what a cool analogy for the Christian walk. Sometimes we do things for ourselves. Other times, the things we do don't really matter to us, but we do them as examples/ models for other people.

Having said that, I can't think of a single example, so you're on your own there...

:)

DJ B?

Xenophobia: our response?

It was mentioned in church today that:

"Xeno + phobia" = "stranger + fear"
(i.e. fear of the stranger.)

However, did you know? The word for hospitality in the New Testament is:

"Xeno + philia" = "stranger + love"
(i.e. love of the stranger..)

I think that makes things pretty clear!

A modern take on the Poor Widow story..

While sitting watching people coming to and fro, placing their offerings in the temple treasury, Jesus saw how many rich people threw in large amounts. But one poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Yet, she was the one Jesus noticed. Calling his disciples, he told them: "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on." [Mark 12:41-43]


Two friends of mine both attend a church which is being used as a place of refuge for people who are fleeing (mostly) township areas due to various xenophobic attacks that have been taking place in areas in South Africa. Many of them had fled with only what the clothes on their back, some had been able to leave with things they could carry, but the majority of them, already in poorer circumstances than the average church attender of that church, had lost everything. Having no other place to go, when Sunday came, they were all still there. So they were there for the morning service, and in an act of generosity which definitely humbled my friends all gave when the offering plate came around. And at the evening service, they all gave again.

Just makes me wonder about how much I give.

Xenophobia attacks

Otherwise, I've been pretty frustrated, mad, saddened, angry, sore about all the attacks that are happening around South Africa. It just makes me so mad to see how selfish and stupid and just plain sinful people can be. When I see what levels the human race can stoop to, I am blown away completely by the amazing mercy of God.. How is it possible that Christ died for us while we were still enemies?!?!?

Interracial relationships?

The other day a friend of mine mentioned that he'd been turned down by a mutual girl friend and one of the reasons she stated was because of of their racial differences.

After all the steam stopped coming off my head, and I started seeing things in a lighter sepia shade rather than bright red, I went to the bathrooms and sat and cried a little. It might seem a bit of an extreme response, especially considering I'm quite awesomely hardcore, and not given to leaking waterdrops at all, but what really saddened me is that he's a Christian... And so's she.

Is it unfair of me to consider this an immature response? What kind of friendship and Christlike behaviour do you show when your actions say something like "okay, despite your race, I'll be your friend and hang out with you and think you're a cool person, look look, I'm not racist 'cause I have friends of other colours", but as soon as it hits too intimate a level your race suddenly jumps up as a factor? What happened to all being equal in Christ? I remember reading a Christian book for females a while back, and it was actually really sound, but the author was against interracial marriages?!?! I think this, quite frankly, is outright bull, but if you can show me in the Bible that my opinion is wrong, I'm happy to listen.

Money: To give or to keep?

We've been talking about money again recently - oohlala, the taboo subject - and about giving and generosity. It's interesting how people always ask "How much should we give?" In a weird way, it reminds me a lot of the question of "How far can we go?" couples tend to ask. However, a brilliant response I once heard to this was to point out that this was the wrong question entirely -the right one would be to ask: "How far can we stay sexually pure? How far can we stay away from temptation?"

In a similar sense, maybe we shouldn't be asking "How much should we give?" expecting an answer of a certain amount of money that we can give to ease our consciences about not giving anything and to relieve our selfishness so that we don't give too much... Maybe the right question is to ask "How much should we keep? Why not give it all away?"

That might seem a little bit crazy, but it should be a challenge to you to consider your dependency on money - do we really need it? Why are we so attached to it?

hmmm...

The future is swiftly approaching... What to do!??!

A friend and I were recently talking about the future. My future, in fact: What I'm going to be doing in 10/20 years time... Or rather, what I'm not going to be doing, as right now, I have NO idea!

Anyway, we were talking through the idea of working for God's glory, and not your own, and I voiced aloud the difficultly of finding a balance between doing your work well, and doing enough to just keep up with the others in your field/department. He simply pointed out that we shouldn't make it our goal to keep up with others, because there will be people for whom work is everything, for whom work is an idol. And this is not the case for us.

Hmmm...

PS Just to clarify...

Umm... I tend to shout at God a lot. Well, not really shout at, but rather get frustrated, confused, mad, sometimes despairing... Not that I'm saying we should shout at God. But we should come to Him with our true real selves, and talk to Him as if we are His children. Sometimes, for some silly reason, I put pressure on myself to have these perfectly worded prayers etc.etc., but I actually think it's really fake and not what God wants. Umm, yeah. So if you're in a bit of a bad place, talk to God about it, and tell Him how you're really feeling.

Okay.

Ummm... yeah...

This world and the next… #3

[For context, check out This world and the next... #2 ]

So after a turmoil-filled and emotional few days, quite possibly weeks, of thinking about all the injustices of this world, and of the things I wanted to help with, I found myself one evening absolutely miserable: to put it simply, I was just sick of and fed-up with being trapped in this academic circus.

[To be honest, I have an inkling that this feeling could have been aided in part by my many swiftly-approaching deadlines.]

Frustrated, I voiced my thoughts to God [okay, maybe I shouted a little bit inside], asking Him why I was here when I'd be of so much more use out there. Wherever out there was. [I never get a clear picture of what "out there" means; probably because a gritty reality might scare off my overromanticised mental images of being a gracious, supercool, much-beloved humanitarian ;)]

Yet, after more thinking and what-I-shall-euphemistically-call-prayer, I came to realize that my frustration was stemming from a belief that I knew better than God..! Maybe I WON'T be of much more use out there. Maybe my calling will be to stay in this academic high tower, and to be a Christian witness to those that are stuck in intellectualism... [Gee whiz, I hope not! They think too much! ;)]

I must trust in God, that He knows what is best for me, and that He has placed me in a situation where I CAN make a difference where I am. Because He has.

Going home

A good friend of mine helps out at Sunday School occasionally, and she recently related the following anecdote to me:

She'd asked the children in her class what the highlight of their week had been. When it was the turn of one of the young boys, he said without hesitation: "My highlight was that my granddad got to go to the place where he wanted to be the most."

His grandfather had passed away unexpectedly earlier that week.

Many members of the church family were left heartbroken and grieving, yet he had grasped the amazing truth that though the ones left behind were mourning, his granddad was home now.

Varying details in the gospels... Eeek!??

One of my friends asked me the other day about the seemingly problematic discrepancies in detail between the various gospels.

I say "seemingly-problematic" though, as many historicists credit the varying differences in the gospels as ADDING to their believability as eyewitness accounts. If they had been exactly the same, that's when you should start wondering if the authors had gotten together and decided to conspire together on what to write.

Think of any event for yourself- you'll get at least one slightly different account for every person who saw it! The fact that there are so many minor aspects which differ, don't take away from the gospels as truth- they lend authenticity to the accounts as eyewitness accounts.

Having said that, the points on which they differ aren't major points- so what if there was one angel or two angels? What is important is that the key points remain the same - Jesus rose again and was seen in real life!

Romans 12:12 says

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer."

Isn't that great?

Money and shopping...

So the other day, I went shopping. And was quite disturbed by the amount of money I would need to hand over for one piece of clothing. So I went home. And kinda nearly froze.

Not only that, but one of my pants tore all the way up the leg. And another pair ripped while I was at a friend's housewarming [I was distraught for two reason: firstly, I'd had that pair for 8 YEARS, and was rather attached to them!!! Secondly, it ripped right across the butt area!!!!] [Luckily I was wearing a long coat...]. So that left me with two/three pairs with which to face the awful winter.

At that point, I realized that money is a blessing. Yes, I do need to be wise about how I use it [i.e. do I really need that exorbitantly priced jacket, when this moderately priced one will do?], but I shouldn't feel conscious-stricken about using it especially if it means I'm going to end up freezing.

So I went shopping.


PS Yeah, I realize there's much more that can be said about money and shopping, but that's the lesson I learnt this time, so hold your horses!

This world and the next… #2

After a week of illuminating lectures and movies, I was reminded of the world outside my wonderful First-World bubble. No longer can I conscientiously defend my dreams and hopes of a comfortable future when the majority of the world's people are living in extreme poverty, being executed, oppressed and abused. It is true that everyone needs Jesus, but what kind of witness am I when I tell them to trust in Jesus and do nothing to alleviate their conditions?

And the scary thing about this is that when I went to bible study, I was struck by how I felt that I couldn't speak to anyone about any of this - how everyone seemed to be sucked in by the same commercial dreams as all the other non-Christians...

What crap is this? Why are we being sucked in by the same materialistic ideals that non-Christians are going for? We KNOW that nothing in this world will last, so why aren't we out there helping those in need, suffering for the sake of others... As Christians, we have absolutely NOTHING to lose because in heaping up earthly things we have nothing to gain. We've got everything in Jesus, who will never forsake us. So why are we participating in the rat-race?

Here endeth the ranteth....

This world and the next… #1

So there we were one Sunday, singing one of my favourite songs. Yet when we reached this line: "before the throne of god above/ I have a strong, a perfect, plea", I was suddenly gutted. Not because of the offpitch tones around me, but because I was suddenly hit by the thought that some of my loved ones might never ever be able to sing this, that they might never ever know Jesus, and that they might never end up in heaven with me. I was gutted. There’s no other word for it.

Yet knowing that I was able to enjoy a relationship with Jesus didn’t really comfort me much. Usually when I get reminded of how this world is sinful, sucky and mad/crazy/bad, I am comforted by the reminder that we as God’s children look forward to eternity with Him. However, this time around, I was really struggling to understand how I could be comforted in this when there are so many people out there who don't know Him? It seemed like such an incredibly selfish hope!! I was so frustrated that at a stage I was even thinking that if I couldn’t share in this amazing future with everyone, that I wasn’t sure I wanted it at all myself.

However, I realized that would be the wrong attitude to take in light of God’s mercy and gracious sacrifice. It IS a selfish hope only if we persist in keeping this good news to ourselves. It should instead motivate us to tell others about Jesus so that they too may know the good news. For God is infinitely merciful, and promises us that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be heard…

Being comforted by God's Word

I was frustrated (more on this in my following posts) and looking for words of comfort in God's word, when I came upon the following verses from Psalms:

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and take heart and wait for the Lord."

"My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word."

"My comfort in my suffering is this: your promise preserves my life."

I was so encouraged by the reminder that God, and only God, is keeping us alive. I particularly enjoy the last verse: every time I read it I get a mental image of me as a piece of wrinkled dried fig floating around in some sort of preservative :) heehee...

Struggling along, struggling strong

A few weeks ago, when I was going through a bit of a bad patch [haha, I’m always seeming to go through a bit of a bad patch, aren’t I?!??!], my lovely friend, Princess Sarah, smsed me a phrase of encouragement: “Fight strong.”

Not only did I enjoy the way she phrased this, but it also reminded me of the phrase:

“Be strong and courageous”

We’d both gone on a camp together last year, where this phrase had popped up quite frequently. The speaker had talked on Joshua, and he reminded us that at the beginning of Joshua, the Israelites are camping on the edge of the Promised Land, the seeming beginning of many glorious things which should fill them with much hope and longing, and yet God reminds them to be strong and courageous. Similarly we need to remember that we’re camping on the edge of eternity, and should be emboldened and strengthened by this...

Therefore I encourage you from another book of the Bible:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Yay! God’s rooting for you! Be strong and courageous! Ride the fire.

[okay, the last bit isn’t in the Bible; it just sounded really cool ;) ]

Why, hello there!

A recent message from Byron [yes, yes, my #1 fan! ;)] reminded me of the existence of my blog… And when I checked it out again, I realized that the last time I posted was Feb 23?!?! Three months ago?!?! WOWEE!!

But now I’m back :), so expect a few little catch up blogs just to let you guys know what God has been graciously teaching me and reminding me in the last few months of silence…

Relearning old lessons, and struggling on..

So all those amazing lessons I learnt regarding work, time, and priorities last year?? I think I need to learn them again.

Or, to be more honest, I've had to relearn them. Wednesday night found me sleeping for a mere hour and a half in an effort to finish off an assignment for Thursday 9:00. What a fool I was!! Barely compos mentis, I printed off the assignment at 8:45, rushed to class, only to find a note on the door telling me that my lecturer was ill!!!!! WARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Serves me right!! I then had to struggle through the rest of the day, and apart from a brief 30 minute nap at a friend's who also had worked the whole night through, had no sleep or rest until 22:00... (Well, I did nod off a few times in my lunchtime lecture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, okay, I actually don't remember a word the guy said. Which makes me so sad, cause the topic was something I'm really interested in!!!!!)

I'm STILL recuperating from my sleep deprivation now, three days later (or is it two? I don't know!!).

Sadness.

But I think I have relearnt my lesson....

Picking a fight with Apostle Paul...

On Thursday the bible study leaders were all sitting around prepping next week's passage from Romans together. All seemed to be going well, except for some little minor issues here and there, until someone blurted out: "What's happening in Romans 3:4???? What a stupid argument Paul's using!!!! It doesn't make sense AT ALL!!!!" Silence descended upon the people gathered there quicker than a group of male students onto a free buffet.

True story.

And that someone was me.

Maybe I was a bit harsh, maybe I should have phrased it better, but the argument that Paul was using which so confused me was pretty stupid. (However, let me say at this point that the difficulty arose due to the many possibilities for interpretation the word "Let" has. I understood the passage according to the one interpretation when the other had probably been meant.) (So yes, I was wrong in saying what I'd said about Paul!)

However, I realized that I rather enjoyed telling my blunder to people, not only because it's a funny story, but because it shocks people out of their complacency concerning the Bible.

Let me say at this point that I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that it is true and infallible. Me accusing Paul of silliness is not a sign of me undermining the authority of the Bible. It was rather a sign of me struggling to understand and wrestling with the text.

What often happens with people when they reach a tough part that's hard to understand, they tend to stop struggling through it, thinking that it's okay that they understand most of the passage. However, I think that's lazy (and don't get me wrong, I fall into this trap quite often myself!!), and why I keep on telling my story is so that people get kicked into gear: for them to challenge me on my argument, to go back to that bit and struggle with it and explain to me why I was wrong and why Paul was right. We need to wrestle with the Bible ESPECIALLY when it's not making sense! Next time I take Apostle Paul on, I'll just try to do it in a nicer way ;)

Are you godless and wicked?

We're tackling Romans in Bible study at the moment, and this bit about godless and wicked men really jumped out at me, and went "AHAH! Are you like this!??!"

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

Obviously as a Christian, I'm not godless anymore, but what struck me was that these people who are called godless and wicked do (or rather, what they don't do). Can you see it in the first bit? They neither glorify him as God, nor gave thanks to him... This just made me wonder how often I really do glorify God in everything that I do, or how often I thank God for His generous blessings and mercies! Wowee! Solid rebuke!

Revelation through Creation

We took a walk today to two waterfalls in a National Park on the outskirts of my town. The weather was wonderful, lovely, and warm, and it was so refreshing to plunge into the icy cool water after a hike in the midmorning heat! As we were walking through the mountains, I was just reminded again of the words in Romans 1:18-20, which we had tackled in Bible Study this week:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Hectic! But so true! I mean, how can one look at the amazing and awesome mountains, oceans, animals, trees, rocks etc. and think that all this is the product of randomnity? It's just all so mindblowing!! Especially when you remember that this God who's created EVERYTHING is the God who loved you enough to send Jesus here!!

O Lord my God

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!

And when I think that God his Son not sparing,
sent him to die - I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home - what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim, my God, how great thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!

How GREAT our God is! YAY!

PS Hey, look my title rhymes!
PPS What a boring post!! I feel as if my words are so inadequate to describe the beauty of the area we found ourselves in, and the spontaneous humble adoration and praise it made me feel towards our Father.

Do not be wise in your eyes... (Josh Harris)

The Sister had this up on her wall, and I liked it so much that, as any good godly Christian would do, I stole it. And put it up on mine.

Just teasing ;) I photocopied it.

It's a list of ways we might be tempted to be wise in our own eyes. Have a look!

"I am wise in my own eyes...

1. When I don't pause to pray for God's guidance on a decision. Very true!

2. When I fail to depend on God's word and approach it as a daily "lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105). Yip!

3. When I assume a decision doesn't need a second opinion, and I don't take the time to ask trusted friends for counsel. The Bible teaches us how to be God's children, but friends help us to think of ways to apply it in this day and age.

4. When I am critical of another person's practice or perspective without taking the time to understand it and ask questions.

5. When I am lax in fleeing temptation, assuming that I'm adult enough to "handle it." Haha, I fall for this one quite often. But nowadays, I just run!

6. When I do something right and fail to acknowledge before God that it is only his grace that allowed me to do it right.

7. When I pat myself on the back about knowledge I have that I learned from someone else.

8. When I don't draw out, or seek to understand, a person who is bringing criticism (whether or not it's being brought constructively).

9. When I assume that the truth of a sermon is for someone else, not my own life. How often have you zoned out in a sermon 'cause you think it's not relevant to you?!?!? I do it more often than I'm willing to admit!

10. When I neglect to consistently plead to God for his wisdom.

Until I see God and fear him, I cannot see myself rightly. When my view of him is clouded, when I'm a functional atheist, I will trust and applaud my own wisdom. But when I rightly fear God--when I see him for who he is as the all-seeing, all-powerful Holy One to whom I will answer--I will see myself as weak, dependent, and in need of heavenly wisdom. When I fear God, I will shun the evil of pride and self-sufficiency."


PS the italics are all my little added thoughts :)

Check out the original blog post here: www. joshharris.com

Hebrews 10:19-25 - Love and good deeds?

As you avid readers of my blog know (haha, avid, I certainly hope so), Hebrews 10:19-25 was our first Bible study passage of the year. It was chosen specifically to go with our theme for the year - Saved to Serve... Any guesses why?

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Anyway, I was particularly struck by the bit in bold. Not because it's in bold, mind you (you silly person you, I put it in bold myself!), but because I had just skimmed over it casually when reading it for the first time. And the second time. And the third time. But I had to stop and think about it when I was going through the Bible study questions. The ones that stopped me were:

How can we spur one another on toward love and good deeds?
What part should the Bible and prayer play in this?

Blind panic! What was the answer?!?!

Luckily, my brain hadn't disappeared too far off in the holidays (it never gets too far away; it's lazy like that), so I managed to haul it out for a quick think. And this is what I came up with.

We need the Bible when considering love and good deeds because:
- the Bible gives us examples of what love and good deeds look like! Not only through the ultimate example of Christ's love for us (i.e. sacrifice at the cost to self), but also through directions on how we can show this love (e.g. not saying nasty things about each other, but building each other with our words).
- the Bible reminds us why we are to love and perform good deeds! As seen in the Hebrews passage above, the writer doesn't start immediately with the list of "Let us..."s; he gives us the reason for this in that Jesus has broken down the barrier between man and God!

And prayer? Why do we need prayer? 'Cause we can't do anything without God's help!

So arising from these, here are a few tips we thought of that might be helpful:
- model to each other what it means to love and perform good deeds.
- talk about what it means to love in action!
- remind each other of Jesus and what He's done for us. There's no greater motivator than the amazing love of an Amazing Person!
- notice and quietly praise each other when you act in love and good deeds. We don't do deeds for men's glory, but it is encouraging when you're struggling with something to be appreciated!
- pray for each other.

Any other ideas?

Hebrews 10:19-25 - Encouraging one another

The holidays are over, and I'm already hard at work... Hence the silence for the last few days; apologies to my one and only blog reader [DJ B, that's for you ;) ].

One good thing about the beginning of the new term is that it's sooooo good to see everyone again! I've missed just hanging out with Christian brothers and sisters, and even though I can be a solitary person at times, I was once again struck by how much I had missed everyone, and how the Christian family really IS a family. We need each other for encouragement, accountability, fellowship, rebuke, loving concern, support etc.etc.

We are actually commanded biblically to hang out with each other, e.g. as seen in our first bible study passage of the year: Hebrews 10:19-25.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Yay! I hope that you're meeting up and encouraging each other!! You never know who might need YOU at this very moment.

Hold on...there's a light at the end of the tunnel

I find it incredibly hard to think of something to say when faced with friends and loved ones who are going through hard times. How can I remind them of God's love and sovereignty without sounding trite and cliched? How can I support them and show that I love them when I don't understand what they're going through? It's hard to think of the right thing to say.

That's why I was so grateful that a friend of mine played me this amazing song by Third Day recently. I love it so much :) because I was also needing it at the time! Hope it helps.

Tunnel - Third Day

Well I won't pretend to know what you're thinking
And I can't begin to know what you're going through
And I won't deny the pain that you're feeling
But I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you
Just remember what I told you
There's so much you're living for

There's a light at the end of this tunnel
There's a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
So keep holding on

You got your disappointments and sorrows
You ought to share the weight of that load with me
Then you will find that the light of tomorrow
Well it brings new life for your eyes to see
So remember what i told you
There's so much your living for

There's a light at the end of this tunnel
There's a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
So keep holding on
Keep holding on

So remember what i told you
There's so much you're living for

There's a light at the end of this tunnel
There's a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you yeah
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you yeah
There's a light at the end of this tunnel ooh
For you, for you yeah
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
So keep holding on
Keep holding on
Keep holding on now

You got your disappointments and sorrows
I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you


Here's a Youtube clip for those who want to listen to it: Tunnel- Third Day.
NOTE: it's not the official music video.

Work matters

I've always been quite intrigued by all the various little psychological syndromes that appear in print in the self-help section at the bookstore. There's Texas Syndrome (similar to Short Man Syndrome, the need to have everything bigger and better), Peter Pan Syndrome (for men who refuse to grow up and act like adults), Barney Syndrome (when you believe that you're a giant purple dinosaur) [joking ;)] etc.etc. I've successfully diagnosed myself with the Saviour Syndrome (the belief that I can 'save' people by helping them out and doing things for them), and the Superman Syndrome (the belief that I can do everything!) ;).

What this means practically that if someone asks me to do something I shall say yes. Never mind if I'm already getting less than 8 hours of sleep (okay, okay, I sleep a LOT so this is a BIG DEAL for me!!), and barely get time for a lunch break! GRACE SHALL DO IT [do you hear the Superman theme song in the background??]

Except... Neither the Saviour nor Superman were actually little Asian girls... In fact, Superman don't even exist, dude!! So God's been teaching me over the last few years that I need to say NO.
I can not do everything. And even if it seems as if I'm coping, God reminds me that He doesn't want me just to cope - He doesn't care what the results are, 'cause what matters to Him is my attitude towards whatever I'm doing.

This realization has struck me particularly concerning my work and my ministry so I shall tackle this in two different posts.

"Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go".

When was the last time you heard such a cheerful attitude about work? Can only be in a fictional imaginary cartoon world inhabited by little people with names such as Sleepy and Dopey!!

I live in a student town, where the general attitude towards work is unconcerned and apathetic.
"I started studying for this a hour before I wrote!"
"I failed but I can do it again next year!"
"Didn't go to a lesson all year."
Even many of the solid godly Christians are suckered in by this worldly perspective towards work.

Like I wrote earlier, I was doing a lot in the last two/three years, and that meant everything suffered a little due to time constraints. But I thought it was okay, 'cause I was coping (just barely, but I was!!!) and my marks were still okay. However, I hadn't remembered that God doesn't care about marks. He doesn't care if you get a 40%, 50%, or even 90%! He cares that you treat your work as if you were doing it for Him!

Colossians 3 :23 states:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

I know that I might speak from one extreme- I tend to work for my academic glory and self-worth rather than for God's, but that is my personal struggle. For many their struggle will be similar, for others theirs will be to take work more seriously. I think it is up to each one of us to look at even this area of their life and ask themselves if God is Lord there!!

Ministry matters

I've always been quite intrigued by all the various little psychological syndromes that appear in print in the self-help section at the bookstore. There's Texas Syndrome (similar to Short Man Syndrome, the need to have everything bigger and better), Peter Pan Syndrome (for men who refuse to grow up and act like adults), Barney Syndrome (when you believe that you're a giant purple dinosaur) [joking ;)] etc.etc. I've successfully diagnosed myself with the Saviour Syndrome (the belief that I can 'save' people by helping them out and doing things for them), and the Superman Syndrome (the belief that I can do everything!) ;).

What this means practically that if someone asks me to do something I shall say yes. Never mind if I'm already getting less than 8 hours of sleep (okay, okay, I sleep a LOT so this is a BIG DEAL for me!!), and barely get time for a lunch break! GRACE SHALL DO IT [do you hear the Superman theme song in the background??]

Except... Neither the Saviour nor Superman were actually little Asian girls... In fact, Superman don't even exist, dude!! So God's been teaching me over the last few years that I need to say NO.

I can not do everything. And even if it seems as if I'm coping, God reminds me that He doesn't want me just to cope - He doesn't care what the results are, 'cause what matters to Him is my attitude towards whatever I'm doing.

This realization has struck me particularly concerning my work and my ministry so I shall tackle this in two different posts.

This rebuke struck home particularly with regards to youth ministry. I shall confess now that I rarely spent much time prepping for youth. In fact a few times I would just read the passage we were to tackle before the session, and wing it on the good solid teaching I'd received and able memory God had graciously blessed me with. And they got the lesson, but that doesn't matter regarding my godliness 'cause God cares how I treat ministry because this shows how I regard His work and therefore Him. What I was showing was that I didn't really care that much!

A verse that jumped out at me during a time of conviction and rebuke about this issue was 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Paul writes:

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

I think this is an amazing model of ministry. We are called to share the good news of God with others, but how will they believe us, and how will they see the change in our lives if we cannot share our lives with them and show that our sharing of the news comes from our love for them - that we want the best for them! Ministry is serious - and we can see it in the way Paul (for example) treated it!

So often my mistake is to do the one thing and not the other... e.g. with some of my friends I'll share the gospel of God with them (in this case I happily did so with my youth), and with others I shared my life with them but I didn't share the Word of God with them...

What a lot to think about!

Money, money, money, ain't so funny

A few posts ago, I blogged a bit on how foolish we are in running after money and material things, when we have been promised the Creator of the Universe as our portion!!

As this is something which I spent much time thinking about last year, and which I was rebuked quite a few times about (esp. by the Brother, a Commerce student), I've decided to spend more time sharing what I've learnt!

Note: This is not an all-encompassing list. This is just a few thoughts I've had about money.

1. We tend to idolize money because this is what the rest of the world idolizes and runs after.
I don't think this is a particularly new thought- just have a look at what advertising and marketing sells: a better lifestyle and life but ONLY if you have their products... And the only way you get things in this life is Moola (money). We've become a culture driven by instant gratification (which is a truism recognised by such books as Poor Dad, Rich Dad which state that one of the ways of getting rich is to delay instant gratification. i.e. don't buy on credit!) (But sorry, I digress)
At this point, I'd like you to remind you of Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Hollow, deceptive philosophy = lies.

2. We tend to idolize money because in this way we are still able to retain some sense of our Kingship and control over our lives.
The funny thing is that in the end, our love of money gets the better of us, and that Money ends up ruling us. The very thing we were avoiding- that of living under God's GRACIOUS and RIGHTFUL rule becomes a life of living under Money's tyrannical and unfulfilling despotism. True story. Jesus himself warns us of this:

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Matthew 6:24).

3. We tend to idolize money because we forget about what's waiting for us!

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Note that it isn't money that leads to our downfall, but rather our attitude towards money.
As it says in 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil."

So what to do!??!?

What really helped me is:
1. Recognise how you value money.
The fact that I was so reluctant to give showed me exactly where my fault was- I was not trusting God's awesome promise of faithfulness and His great Sovereign character. Instead I was holding on to money tightly because it was the only way I could hold retain a modicum of control over my own life.

2. Remind yourself why you're giving it away.
The reason why we do anything as Christians is because of what Christ has done for us. There is not point in just giving money to the church because it's another thing to do in our checklist of How to be the Perfect Christian. We give to the church because Christ died for us, and because He is now our life and treasure... How much easier is is to give when we are reminded of what we have in Christ!!!!!!!!!!!

3. Give it away!
There's nothing like giving it away to lessen it's control over your life. Spend some, save some ,and GIVE SOME AWAY for the glory of God - i.e. the spreading of His Kingdom!

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). But because I wasn't cheerful about giving my money away, I was using this as an excuse not to give. Which is actually really daft because of course I wouldn't be happy giving money away if it had such a strong hold over me! Luckily the Brother reminded me that sometimes we need to just be self-disciplined!

There is so much more than can be said here, but here's one last thought.
There is no minimum age nor minimum salary income necessary for giving. No more excuses! I think if you're only 'just' getting pocket money, you should be willing to give some of it away to further God's work! If God really is Lord of our lives, we will be showing this in the way we treat our earthly goods.

Isaiah 55: 2, 6 reminds us that money can not fulfill us:

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
...
Seek the Lord while He may be found,
call on Him while He is near.

Chasing after beauty

The cousin of a friend of mine was recently spotted on a beach by a model agency's scout, and within the next two weeks, she is jetting off to Milan, quite possibly also Paris and Thailand, where she shall hopefully become known as the "next Cindy Crawford"! Ooh lala!

My friend was telling me how her first shoot went; how they spent a hour and a half on her hair and makeup; how she was unable to recognise herself when she looked at herself in the mirror; and how they still hadn't received the photos yet because they needed to be Photoshopped!

And it just made me a little bit sad... 'Cause all the young girls, fashionable students, older women [and to more and more of a degree, men are also being suckered in by these lies] are chasing after the ideals of beauty found on magazine covers or catwalks or movies.. Except that these "ideals" are so unattainable in real life that they can't just sommer plonk a beautiful girl in front of a camera and take photos of her without hours of preparation and editing before and after.

Does something seem a little bit FAKE to you?!?!?

Interestingly enough, when I mentioned this to Princess Sarah she related how one of her fellow art students had taken a Cosmopolitan mag to class one day to discuss her plans for her project. As soon as she took it out, the lecturer (a well-known and talented photographer) looked at her, and said in slight puzzlement: "But you know that's all fake, right?"

Just a thought.

Good, better, BEST!

I've been struggling through something recently [ooh, how cryptic], but have been blessed by the support of my close Christian sisters and brothers. I've also been extremely encouraged and excited by God's constant reminder of how faithful, how good, and how Sovereign He is, even when it seems to me that everything's just going HaYwiRe!!

Like Paul writes in Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose

Struck by this consistent reminder, I smsed one of my close friends, Goat, to tell her "God is good! And He is giving me His strength and power to be strong, but I'm still a bit sad.. okay, very very sad."

To which she replied:

"Don't let the good be the enemy of the best!"

The point being not that God isn't the best, but that whatever's happening in my life is not MERELY good, but it's the best!! How humbling to think that our God and King is always concerned about what's BEST for us, even though we might only be allowed to understand it with hindsight.

PS Okay okay, I didn't really remember my sms word-for-word, but that's the basic gist. And Goat's sms was not included in its entirety.
PPS Nice referencing, eh!

Why oh why oh why oh why do we keep on running after earthly things?!?!!?

Hebrews 13:5 says:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."

The writer of Psalm 73 picks this thought up in verses 25-26

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Let these words be ours today, and be shown in the way we treat God in comparison with other things.

*Sigh*... More on money and materialism later.. I've got to go correct my thinking.

If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad

A line from Sheryl Crow's song If it makes you happy has been running through my head lately..

If it makes you happy
then why the hell are you so sad...

As Christians, we know the answer to the mystery of life, we have all the pieces of the puzzle, and yet, even though we walk through life knowing the awesome, fulfilling Person that is God, every now and then we are still miserable for no reason.

Do you know what I mean? You might be relaxing with friends on the grass, on the most beautiful summer's day, joking about, enjoying each others' company, and all of a sudden, a feeling of indescribable sadness will creep into your joy. And you don't know why.

At times like these, I like to think that they're God's way of reminding us that we don't belong here - that even in what we think are our happiest times, God's graciously reminding us that what we are promised in heaven is INFINITELY better than anything we'll ever experience here on earth!! And I like to think that in our happiest moments we ache, because God's created us in His image, and somehow we know that our happiness will never be complete here on earth.. 'Cause this fallen world of an earth is not the way things are meant to be!

It reminds me of how the writer of Hebrews, as well as Peter, both refer to us as "aliens and strangers [in the world]" (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 11:13). Let us then remember, just like everyone's favourite ExtraTerrestial, E.T., to "phone home". Okay, okay, that analogy didn't really work, but remember how E.T.'s main line is "E.T., phone home"... Just like E. T., let's remember where our real home is - Heaven, baby!!

So next time you get hit by a sudden wave of misery, remind yourself that you are not of this world, but that you belong to a home that is infinitely greater than the place we currently are!

Keeping your word

I would really like to be known as a woman of my word. Someone who you can trust to follow through on what she says, whether it's something as silly as "I'll bring the chips to the party tonight", or important as "I'll look after Timmy while he swims".

It's been hard 'cause that means I've had to swallow a lot of my words and watch what I spontaneously sprout [and when I say spontaneously, I mean that I would and could rival Vesuvius in spontaneous eruptions!].

(Yet, it is satisfying to be someone others can take as face value and that others can trust. We are to be like our Father in everything, and if we cannot take His Word seriously, man oh man oh man, are we in SERIOUS trouble!)

I was reminded of this decision I'd made when I read this in Psalm 15 (1, 4):

Lord, who may dwell
in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He....
who keeps his oath even when it hurts.

When was the last time you kept your oath EVEN WHEN IT HURTS?

I can't remember when.

Every day we have, is one more than we deserve

I was walking around in the video store earlier, browsing through all the titles and wondering what to take out (which, sadly, seems to be all that I end up doing in video stores!!!!!!!!!), when the tagline of the movie Up Close and Personal (starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer) caught my eye:

"Every day we have, is one more than we deserve".

And though I'm sure the writers of that didn't mean it in a Christian context, it stayed with me because it so aptly sums up the grace God has given us in us still being alive.

To look at it from a human perspective, imagine that you've stolen a loaf of bread. Or maybe something more extreme like 5 million dollars. The police would immediately be on your case, hunting you down, and you'd eventually end up in prison (well, that is theoretically what should happen). There is no leniency for those who have committed crimes (yes, yes, I know that many people get away scot-free with awful crimes, but that's not helping my analogy, so hush baby!). Those who have broken the law get what they deserve: an apt punishment.

What about us? We, as rebellers, against the only True and Living Lord and God face death as punishment because the magnitude of our crime is so horrendous. Yet, God is so merciful he allows us to live so that those who repent might spend eternity with him. If we were to follow through with the human analogy, we should've been caught, judged, and thrown into prison ages again...

Every day we have really IS one more than we deserve.

God is good. Let us not forget His infinite mercy and patience!

Happy New Year! AND Sharing your faith in the New Year

Hello, are you well?? YAY! I'm back, alive and well from holidaying with family and friends in a wonderfully warm place further upcountry. I am now multiple shades of brown (and pale), have an uncomfortably darker nose than the rest of my face, and featured as the local Dish of the Week for that area's mosquitos, but am wonderfully relaxed [well, except for when I'm busy scratching away at my mozzie bites!] ! Ready to face the New Year.... Bring it on! [dum dum dum] ...oh dear; famous last words!! ;)

Like many of you I tend not to make or keep any New Year's resolutions. Or if I do, I facetiously say that my New Year's resolution is to not make any! But if I were to say one thing I'm striving for in the New Year, it is what I've been striving for every year ever since I became a Christian: "To live a life worthy of the calling I have received" [Ephesians 4:1]. And I think part living a life worthy is to share our faith with others: with non-Christians so that they too may participate in eternal life with us; and with Christians, so that they are encouraged to keep on.

God's been amazingly gracious and given me ample opportunities with one of my non-Christian friends (many of which I blundered) but right now we're busy in an honest dialogue concerning Christianity and other religions. It's quite exciting that he's interested, but also daunting, 'cause he asks amazingly good questions! (Thank God that He's in control!!)

But while I'm petrified stiff at the questions he's bringing up and the questions that he will still bring up, I'm very grateful that he is asking such good questions- they've been really good at sharpening my thinking and understanding of the gospel.

As Paul writes in Philemon 6:

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith SO that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

So, here's a New Year's challenge to you! Grow by going and sharing your faith with others!