I do believe that God has placed many events/things in life to be that imperfect picture of the perfect picture of His glory and Majesty.
Quite abit of things that happened this week deserves me to get my mind 'working'.
I do realise I have been extremely 'draggy' in getting things done. Procrastinate would be a more suitable word. This definitely takes a toiling effect on me and others around me when I am not 'moving'. The wake-up call came from my dad who lovingly told me the few times this week as he drove me to camp.
This week had me 'exposed' to different people whom I am somewhat impressed, blessed, burdened for.
-My dear brother, Sebastian, whom I really need to spend more time with.
-The Yakult factory uncle who talked with such vigor about living 'life'.
-A tour guide who had such great stories to share about WW2 heroes.
-The countless soldiers that died so we can be 'free'
-Darren, how he had grown spiritually.
-The CO, his 'spirited' and authoritative character.
-Yann Howe, for his way of doing things.
All in all, I believed many people do make an impact on my life. In fact, I do believe these impacts that are make by these 'extraordinary' people do 'mould' and shape thinking and lifestyle.
I did read through the new GCSS material. Simple and relatively easy yet essential points to learn from this book. It's always the part when such reading needs to be 'applied' or 'lived out'. The most essential thing which I am still learning is doing with 'a pure and humble heart', clear of wrong motives.
Learning that it's always good to be mindful of Christ's birth, death, resurrection and His coming, to see myself as being redeemed rather than the redeemer, lest knowledge puffs up and pride takes over.
Hope God continue to work in each of the hearts of the believers and non-believers to the great knowledge of knowing Him, the great 'I AM'.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Getting the standards
One of the worst things sin did for man was to make him selfish, and selfishness cannot love. -Andrew Murray
This quote struck me whenever I see how easily it is to become self-centered. Learning about selfishness and Love in 'Absolute Surrender' by Murray.
It's the 'new year', or the lunar new year season. This year seems different, (of course it's different every year) There's a dine-out reunion dinner, lesser visitation and a less enthusiastic me. Maybe it's the mental part which had me not getting into the mood of cny well enough this time.
There seems to be a more urgent need for reconciliation between Chinese customaries and Christian belief.
On another note, halfway through 'Purity Under Pressure' by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park. This book talks about all the BGR and relationship issues. Many many scriptural quotation from this book that I have came across before. I would like to type a section out, on 'Who am I?', talking about our identity as a Christian. Notice many a times Christians are referred to being children of God.
Quote: Pg236-238
Because I am in Christ...
I am like salt for everyone on earth (Matthew 5:13)
I am like light for the whole world (Matthew 5:14)
I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am part of the true vine, joined to Christ and able to produce lots of fruit (John 15:1, 5)
I am Christ's chosen friend (John 15:15)
I am chosen by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I am Christ's personal witness sent out to tell everybody about Jesus (Acts 1:8)
I am a slave of righteousness who pleases God (Romans 6:18)
I am enslaved to God; this makes me holy and gives me eternal life (Romans 6:22)
I am a son of God; I can call Him my father (Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6)
I am promised an inheritance and will share in Christ's glory (Romans 8:17)
I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. His Spirit and His life live in me (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am a part of Christ's Body and a member of His family (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a new person; my past is forgiven and everything is new (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am at peace with God, and He has given me the work making peace between Himself and others (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
I am a son of God through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26,28)
I am God's child and will be given the inheritance He has promised. (Galatians 4:6-7)
I am a saint, a holy one (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2)
I am God's building project- His handiwork- born anew in Christ to do His work (Ephesians 2:10)
I am a citizen of heaven with the rest of God's family (Ephesians 2:19)
I am a prisoner of Christ, so I can help others (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1)
I am righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)
I am a citizen of heaven seated in heaven right now (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. (Colossians 3:4)
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved, one of His special people (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
I am a son of the light and belong to the light and not to darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
I am chosen to share in God's heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)
I am part of Christ; I share in His life (Hebrews 3:14)
I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1 Peter 2:9)
I am a alien and a stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Peter 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil (1 Peter 5:8)
I am a child of God, and I will be like Christ when He returns (1 John 3:1,2)
I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
I am no the great "I AM" (Exodus 3:14; John 8:24,28,58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Unquote
How often do people relate themselves to groups, cliques, schools, etc...?
My guess is that we often tend to conform to the image set forth by the group we represent, or remain unchanged to remain being identified. There nothing really wrong about this, but the danger is how this can lead to compromise in our 'base' identity.
Our 'base' identity should be in Christ as Christians. If that's too lofty an idea that seems unreachable, that's why we have many 'faithful men' who had 'run the race' before us, so that we can follow suit.
Another section from C.S Lewis book, Miracles. Addressing the idea of imagery of using this father/son relationship throughout scriptures.
Quote: 'Horrid red things'
"...... Christianity is not to be judged from the fancies of children any more than medicine from the ideas of the little girl who believed in horrid red things.
At this stage I must turn aside to deal with a rather simpleminded illusion. When we point out that what the Christian mean is not to be identified with their mental pictures, some people say, 'in that case, would it not be better to get rid of the mental pictures, and of the language which suggests them altogether?' But this is impossible. The people who recommend it have not noticed that when they try to get rid of man-like, or as they are called, 'anthropomorphic', images they merely succeed in substituting images of some other kind. ' I don't believe in a personal God', says one, 'but I do believe in a great spiritual force.' What he has not noticed is that the word 'force' has let in all sorts of images about winds and tides and electricity and gravitation.'I don't believe in a personal God', says another, 'but I do believe we are all parts of one great Being which moves and works through us all'- not noticing that he has merely exchanged the image of a fatherly and royal-looking man for the image of some widely extended gas or fluid. A girl I knew was brought up by 'higher thinking' parents to regard God as a perfect 'substance'; in later life she realised that this had actually led her to think of Him as something like a vast tapioca pudding. (To make matters worse, she dislike tapioca). We may feel ourselves quite safe from this degree of absurdity, but we are mistaken. If a man watches his own mind, I believe he will find that what profess to be specially advanced or philosophic conceptions of God are, in his thinking, always accompanied by vague images which, if inspected, would turn out to be even more absurd than the man-like images aroused by Christian theology. For man, after all, is the highest of the things we meet in sensuous experience. He has, at least, conquered the globe, honored (though not followed) virtue, achieved knowledge, made poetry, music and art. If God exists at all it is not unreasonable to suppose that we are less unlike Him than anything else we know. No doubt we are unspeakable different from Him; to that extent all man-like image are false. But those images of shapeless mists and irrational forces which, unacknowledged, haunt the mind when we think we are rising to the conception of impersonal and absolute Being, must be very much more so. For images, of the one kind or of the other, will come; we cannot jump off our own shadow."
Unquote
With this in mind, it's much easier to remember where we stand as redeemed ones in God's 'eye'.
~It seems my brain is slowly degenerating to conjure much logical and rational thinking. All these quotes from books had been read quite a while back.
I remember how hilarious it was last monday back in camp where we ordered 'yu sheng' in celebration of cny.
Whenever 'yu sheng' is 'lao', (messy affair no doubt), people is expected to say nice phrases and words to congratulate and bless each other of the season and the year to come. And guess what?
Only one phrase that didn't even contain a proper word rang consistent through the short and chaotic session : O.R.D lo.
This quote struck me whenever I see how easily it is to become self-centered. Learning about selfishness and Love in 'Absolute Surrender' by Murray.
It's the 'new year', or the lunar new year season. This year seems different, (of course it's different every year) There's a dine-out reunion dinner, lesser visitation and a less enthusiastic me. Maybe it's the mental part which had me not getting into the mood of cny well enough this time.
There seems to be a more urgent need for reconciliation between Chinese customaries and Christian belief.
On another note, halfway through 'Purity Under Pressure' by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park. This book talks about all the BGR and relationship issues. Many many scriptural quotation from this book that I have came across before. I would like to type a section out, on 'Who am I?', talking about our identity as a Christian. Notice many a times Christians are referred to being children of God.
Quote: Pg236-238
Because I am in Christ...
I am like salt for everyone on earth (Matthew 5:13)
I am like light for the whole world (Matthew 5:14)
I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am part of the true vine, joined to Christ and able to produce lots of fruit (John 15:1, 5)
I am Christ's chosen friend (John 15:15)
I am chosen by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I am Christ's personal witness sent out to tell everybody about Jesus (Acts 1:8)
I am a slave of righteousness who pleases God (Romans 6:18)
I am enslaved to God; this makes me holy and gives me eternal life (Romans 6:22)
I am a son of God; I can call Him my father (Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6)
I am promised an inheritance and will share in Christ's glory (Romans 8:17)
I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. His Spirit and His life live in me (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am a part of Christ's Body and a member of His family (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a new person; my past is forgiven and everything is new (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am at peace with God, and He has given me the work making peace between Himself and others (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
I am a son of God through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26,28)
I am God's child and will be given the inheritance He has promised. (Galatians 4:6-7)
I am a saint, a holy one (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2)
I am God's building project- His handiwork- born anew in Christ to do His work (Ephesians 2:10)
I am a citizen of heaven with the rest of God's family (Ephesians 2:19)
I am a prisoner of Christ, so I can help others (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1)
I am righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)
I am a citizen of heaven seated in heaven right now (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. (Colossians 3:4)
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved, one of His special people (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
I am a son of the light and belong to the light and not to darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
I am chosen to share in God's heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)
I am part of Christ; I share in His life (Hebrews 3:14)
I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1 Peter 2:9)
I am a alien and a stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Peter 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil (1 Peter 5:8)
I am a child of God, and I will be like Christ when He returns (1 John 3:1,2)
I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
I am no the great "I AM" (Exodus 3:14; John 8:24,28,58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Unquote
How often do people relate themselves to groups, cliques, schools, etc...?
My guess is that we often tend to conform to the image set forth by the group we represent, or remain unchanged to remain being identified. There nothing really wrong about this, but the danger is how this can lead to compromise in our 'base' identity.
Our 'base' identity should be in Christ as Christians. If that's too lofty an idea that seems unreachable, that's why we have many 'faithful men' who had 'run the race' before us, so that we can follow suit.
Another section from C.S Lewis book, Miracles. Addressing the idea of imagery of using this father/son relationship throughout scriptures.
Quote: 'Horrid red things'
"...... Christianity is not to be judged from the fancies of children any more than medicine from the ideas of the little girl who believed in horrid red things.
At this stage I must turn aside to deal with a rather simpleminded illusion. When we point out that what the Christian mean is not to be identified with their mental pictures, some people say, 'in that case, would it not be better to get rid of the mental pictures, and of the language which suggests them altogether?' But this is impossible. The people who recommend it have not noticed that when they try to get rid of man-like, or as they are called, 'anthropomorphic', images they merely succeed in substituting images of some other kind. ' I don't believe in a personal God', says one, 'but I do believe in a great spiritual force.' What he has not noticed is that the word 'force' has let in all sorts of images about winds and tides and electricity and gravitation.'I don't believe in a personal God', says another, 'but I do believe we are all parts of one great Being which moves and works through us all'- not noticing that he has merely exchanged the image of a fatherly and royal-looking man for the image of some widely extended gas or fluid. A girl I knew was brought up by 'higher thinking' parents to regard God as a perfect 'substance'; in later life she realised that this had actually led her to think of Him as something like a vast tapioca pudding. (To make matters worse, she dislike tapioca). We may feel ourselves quite safe from this degree of absurdity, but we are mistaken. If a man watches his own mind, I believe he will find that what profess to be specially advanced or philosophic conceptions of God are, in his thinking, always accompanied by vague images which, if inspected, would turn out to be even more absurd than the man-like images aroused by Christian theology. For man, after all, is the highest of the things we meet in sensuous experience. He has, at least, conquered the globe, honored (though not followed) virtue, achieved knowledge, made poetry, music and art. If God exists at all it is not unreasonable to suppose that we are less unlike Him than anything else we know. No doubt we are unspeakable different from Him; to that extent all man-like image are false. But those images of shapeless mists and irrational forces which, unacknowledged, haunt the mind when we think we are rising to the conception of impersonal and absolute Being, must be very much more so. For images, of the one kind or of the other, will come; we cannot jump off our own shadow."
Unquote
With this in mind, it's much easier to remember where we stand as redeemed ones in God's 'eye'.
~It seems my brain is slowly degenerating to conjure much logical and rational thinking. All these quotes from books had been read quite a while back.
I remember how hilarious it was last monday back in camp where we ordered 'yu sheng' in celebration of cny.
Whenever 'yu sheng' is 'lao', (messy affair no doubt), people is expected to say nice phrases and words to congratulate and bless each other of the season and the year to come. And guess what?
Only one phrase that didn't even contain a proper word rang consistent through the short and chaotic session : O.R.D lo.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Updates
I intended to go on further to talk about 'Perfection'.... But its better to go back to the harsh reality of life, and with that 'renewing' of mind, being able to relate it to the big 'philosophies' in the Bible.
Some updates to my life:
Passed BTT. Meet many familiar faces during the test. It's back to the basics of driving. Haha.
My messenger account seems to have many computer generated 'people' adding me. The Internet is not really a safe place nowadays.
Doing FBI for the 1st time tomorrow. Only day I am free to take it for the week.
Guard duty on Sat. Again. Which translate to no time to complete and help in the cleaning/clearing of my house this weekend. Still can go Church on Sunday though.
Witnessed too many people who each has 'the world revolved around them'. And the ease of doing it is a real temptation.
Seen how a grassy patch opened to a path by continuous walking by many people.
Thinking of how God/Jesus is the First of Everything.
Shall come back to blog about something close to my heart.
The line of how, when to tenderly rebuke.
Some updates to my life:
Passed BTT. Meet many familiar faces during the test. It's back to the basics of driving. Haha.
My messenger account seems to have many computer generated 'people' adding me. The Internet is not really a safe place nowadays.
Doing FBI for the 1st time tomorrow. Only day I am free to take it for the week.
Guard duty on Sat. Again. Which translate to no time to complete and help in the cleaning/clearing of my house this weekend. Still can go Church on Sunday though.
Witnessed too many people who each has 'the world revolved around them'. And the ease of doing it is a real temptation.
Seen how a grassy patch opened to a path by continuous walking by many people.
Thinking of how God/Jesus is the First of Everything.
Shall come back to blog about something close to my heart.
Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed."How do we really Love each other?" The daily struggles of husbands and wifes, the quarreling and disagreement of friends, that what many face each day.
The line of how, when to tenderly rebuke.
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