(Thoughts) In God we trust.
In God we trust
In the things we think we know,
And in the things we know we don't know.
In God we trust.
LORD guide us in your paths of righteousness till the last breath that comes from our mouths, for this very last breath and all that was before, is given to us by You. Create in me a clean heart, and that of gratitude for all that we have and are in our essence comes from Your hand. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Biblical References:
"5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight."
- Proverbs 3:5-6
"14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."
- Psalms 19:14
"13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil."
- Eccelsiastes 12:13-14
Sunday 24 June 2007
Wednesday 20 June 2007
(Thoughts) Of love, in relationships...
(Thoughts) Of love, in relationships...
Hi all,
Yeah this is probably the 2nd last post I'll be putting up. This one's a little special I guess, because I did promise a friend to give some reflections and thoughts on love in this manner of relationships(bgr – boy-girl-relationships), and I will fulfil that promise before this blog comes to a pause. Today's source is mainly that from my diary on the 27th of February 2007. And yeah it was a period I was pondering and asking the LORD about the aspect of relationships, and how should it be like. And enough said here, let it begin.
On the 27/02/07...
*LORD I am reminded to learn not to bring in expectations or set perspectives, as far as possible, when getting to know someone and understanding this relationship with that person. For it is a human tendency to take comfort on that which is known, for many times we fear that which is not known. This is one of the reasons for the development of prejudices, biasness and oversimplifications(to some extent). What can result is a certain expectation placed towards someone which can ultimately lead to a strain in the relationship or in worse cases a broken one in result. So Father I ask that You give me the right attitude to have towards others, to accept them for who You've made them to be, in all their differences, in all the areas that I lack understanding, I ask for Your grace. Teach me how to love them as they are, the way You desire me to. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
*What should a relationship be like?
A relationship should be a “safe place for recuperation” for one another. A place where one learns to love one another, and together love the people God has placed in your lives. And most importantly, a place where one together leans to love God, and all this(3 aspects of love) modelled after the love of God He has shown to us.
*A relationship criteria?(If there should be any)
- Mutual understanding between each other
- Able to build one another up to the person God has planned her to be. (To grow in her relationship with the LORD)
- Able to benefit the other person “the most”. (To help her grow to her fullest potential, which is a possible “reason” why God has placed you 2 together?)
- Able to comfort and encourage each other enough to build up a shelter for one another to seek God together as we weather the storms of life
Yeah so those were my thoughts on that very day. And actually this understanding of relationship I do have further opinion on it.
Firstly, that it actually applies universally to all our relationships in our lives, just how far the application actually goes. For example to a friend who is in your cell group, it may apply 50 percent, yet to a buddy whom you've grown up with and knows you “inside out” perhaps it applies 80 percent.
Secondly, I believe that all this loving a person in accordance to who he/she actually is, have to come into play sometime in a relationship between a couple in courtship. This is either as they know each other as friends(most ideal i feel), in the courtship itself, or sometime in a marriage. And if it doesn't, the relationship's tendency is it it will tend to drift, as a commitment to one another resulting from the love you have for one another, will not be in place.
Oh yeah all this being said, I guess it reveals a principle i hold in my life, that in the most of the things that I embark in, I look to build on something that is meaningful, something that will last. For if it is not so, unless there is a particular reason, if not my tendency is that I will not begin to build this at all.
And so for me actually all this cumulates into just 2 things – a question and an image.
The question - think of it as the person whom you love or say you love, asking it to you.
“Are you willing to live a life of simplicity with me?”
Ah yes its a seemingly simple question, but it goes far beyond that which I think most of us can understand. Like for husbands to model the love towards their wife, unto that of willingness to sacrifice one's life that how Christ did for the church, like that for a wife to model the love towards that of total submission as to the Lord. It is difficult to comprehend, and we can only begin to understand when we ask the LORD and He shows us how to. And if anytime we think otherwise, then we better think again. And actually I think this simple question also summarises the long wedding vows people make on that special wedding day to celebrate the love that begets commitment and responsibility towards one another. It can also to read in this manner, “If all that you used to love me for fades or is taken away, if the circumstances in our lives become much harder than it is now, will you be willing to continue this walk with me, to love me as I am?” So that is the understanding of the love that begets commitment, modelled after the love that God has shown through Jesus Christ.
The image – that of the moon and the stars in the night sky. The moon representing the man, and the stars together representing the lady. The light that shines from them is given to them by the LORD almighty, and they will shine, and continue to shine as He determines. The night sky that is so distinctly dark in contrast can represent the world and all the trials of life, that causes difficulties in the life of these 2, but yet in it all, in the greater darkness, so the light contrasts even far more brighter. So that is the understanding of the imagery I have i guess.
So yep that's all I have to say about relationships. All can be done by someone, but it all culminates to a question “Are you willing to live a life of simplicity with me?”. And this reveals one thing about relationships, it requires a willingness of heart on 2 people to walk life together, to establish common memories that will be of hope in times of difficulty in the future. And this willingness is the finality of all that is prepared, planned and done throughout the process.
Oh yes, and not to forget, actually I realised from my own life, that sincerity of heart is important. But so is the guidance that comes from the LORD and the obedience to follow as He leads. After which then is the willingness of heart that we just spoke of in the previous paragraph. So 3 things we should look for I guess in relationship, if one is looking towards it :(1) Sincerity of heart, (2) Guidance from the LORD, (3) Willingness of heart. But this is as I have learnt from my own life, the LORD may show you otherwise in your own life as well. =)
Take care and God Bless~
In His love,
Jon
Biblical References:
“1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- Ephesians 5:1-2
“22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”
- Ephesians 5:22-28
“4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."”
- Matthew 19:4-6
“14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”
- Philippians 2:14-17
Hi all,
Yeah this is probably the 2nd last post I'll be putting up. This one's a little special I guess, because I did promise a friend to give some reflections and thoughts on love in this manner of relationships(bgr – boy-girl-relationships), and I will fulfil that promise before this blog comes to a pause. Today's source is mainly that from my diary on the 27th of February 2007. And yeah it was a period I was pondering and asking the LORD about the aspect of relationships, and how should it be like. And enough said here, let it begin.
On the 27/02/07...
*LORD I am reminded to learn not to bring in expectations or set perspectives, as far as possible, when getting to know someone and understanding this relationship with that person. For it is a human tendency to take comfort on that which is known, for many times we fear that which is not known. This is one of the reasons for the development of prejudices, biasness and oversimplifications(to some extent). What can result is a certain expectation placed towards someone which can ultimately lead to a strain in the relationship or in worse cases a broken one in result. So Father I ask that You give me the right attitude to have towards others, to accept them for who You've made them to be, in all their differences, in all the areas that I lack understanding, I ask for Your grace. Teach me how to love them as they are, the way You desire me to. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
*What should a relationship be like?
A relationship should be a “safe place for recuperation” for one another. A place where one learns to love one another, and together love the people God has placed in your lives. And most importantly, a place where one together leans to love God, and all this(3 aspects of love) modelled after the love of God He has shown to us.
*A relationship criteria?(If there should be any)
- Mutual understanding between each other
- Able to build one another up to the person God has planned her to be. (To grow in her relationship with the LORD)
- Able to benefit the other person “the most”. (To help her grow to her fullest potential, which is a possible “reason” why God has placed you 2 together?)
- Able to comfort and encourage each other enough to build up a shelter for one another to seek God together as we weather the storms of life
Yeah so those were my thoughts on that very day. And actually this understanding of relationship I do have further opinion on it.
Firstly, that it actually applies universally to all our relationships in our lives, just how far the application actually goes. For example to a friend who is in your cell group, it may apply 50 percent, yet to a buddy whom you've grown up with and knows you “inside out” perhaps it applies 80 percent.
Secondly, I believe that all this loving a person in accordance to who he/she actually is, have to come into play sometime in a relationship between a couple in courtship. This is either as they know each other as friends(most ideal i feel), in the courtship itself, or sometime in a marriage. And if it doesn't, the relationship's tendency is it it will tend to drift, as a commitment to one another resulting from the love you have for one another, will not be in place.
Oh yeah all this being said, I guess it reveals a principle i hold in my life, that in the most of the things that I embark in, I look to build on something that is meaningful, something that will last. For if it is not so, unless there is a particular reason, if not my tendency is that I will not begin to build this at all.
And so for me actually all this cumulates into just 2 things – a question and an image.
The question - think of it as the person whom you love or say you love, asking it to you.
“Are you willing to live a life of simplicity with me?”
Ah yes its a seemingly simple question, but it goes far beyond that which I think most of us can understand. Like for husbands to model the love towards their wife, unto that of willingness to sacrifice one's life that how Christ did for the church, like that for a wife to model the love towards that of total submission as to the Lord. It is difficult to comprehend, and we can only begin to understand when we ask the LORD and He shows us how to. And if anytime we think otherwise, then we better think again. And actually I think this simple question also summarises the long wedding vows people make on that special wedding day to celebrate the love that begets commitment and responsibility towards one another. It can also to read in this manner, “If all that you used to love me for fades or is taken away, if the circumstances in our lives become much harder than it is now, will you be willing to continue this walk with me, to love me as I am?” So that is the understanding of the love that begets commitment, modelled after the love that God has shown through Jesus Christ.
The image – that of the moon and the stars in the night sky. The moon representing the man, and the stars together representing the lady. The light that shines from them is given to them by the LORD almighty, and they will shine, and continue to shine as He determines. The night sky that is so distinctly dark in contrast can represent the world and all the trials of life, that causes difficulties in the life of these 2, but yet in it all, in the greater darkness, so the light contrasts even far more brighter. So that is the understanding of the imagery I have i guess.
So yep that's all I have to say about relationships. All can be done by someone, but it all culminates to a question “Are you willing to live a life of simplicity with me?”. And this reveals one thing about relationships, it requires a willingness of heart on 2 people to walk life together, to establish common memories that will be of hope in times of difficulty in the future. And this willingness is the finality of all that is prepared, planned and done throughout the process.
Oh yes, and not to forget, actually I realised from my own life, that sincerity of heart is important. But so is the guidance that comes from the LORD and the obedience to follow as He leads. After which then is the willingness of heart that we just spoke of in the previous paragraph. So 3 things we should look for I guess in relationship, if one is looking towards it :(1) Sincerity of heart, (2) Guidance from the LORD, (3) Willingness of heart. But this is as I have learnt from my own life, the LORD may show you otherwise in your own life as well. =)
Take care and God Bless~
In His love,
Jon
Biblical References:
“1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- Ephesians 5:1-2
“22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”
- Ephesians 5:22-28
“4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."”
- Matthew 19:4-6
“14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”
- Philippians 2:14-17
(Thoughts) On the grace and love of God...
(Thoughts) On the grace and love of God...
Hi there,
You know what, for the first time in a long time I actually feel refreshed. Because of a reminder, a reminder of the love and grace of God, as shown and given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. The reminder came to me while I read this book "Ragamuffin's gospel" by Brennan Manning. He brought up a a parable repeatedly in his book, that of the parable of " The Lost Son", and he also emphasized on the importance of remembering that we are all sinners(Christians and non-Christians alike) and fall short of the glory of God, but yet the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption of our sin is more than sufficient to cover us completely in the process of sanctification - the process of restoration and reconciliation into fellowship with God our Heavenly Father.
What is the parable of " The Lost Son"? For the benefit of those who do not know, the story goes that there was a rich man who had 2 sons. The youngest son decided that he wanted to live his life as he wished, and so he went to his father to ask for the share of his inheritance(all this while his father was still alive!). What happens next is that he takes all this money and goes to a faraway land, spends it all up in wayward living - on the vices of the society. After using up the money he had, his life became hard, and while working at a farm one day feeding the pigs he thought to himself, "If only I were a servant in my father's household. For I remember that even those who worked for my father were very blessed indeed." So he thought and decided in his heart that he will return home to his father, and ask not to be as a son, but as a servant instead. As he made his way home, his father who had been awaiting his return for a long time saw him from afar, and ran towards him to embrace him. He gave him the signet ring, as well as placed a cloak around him - restoring him to a position of a son in his household. His father also threw a feast in celebration of his return. There are other parts to this parable, but I shall end the re-phrasing here, I will attach the actual references at the bottom of the page.
And yeah, so I was reminded from the parable of how truly richly our Father God abundantly flourishes us with His love, a love that we can begin and go through our whole lives trying to understand, and perhaps gain a better understanding - BUT never fully. Such is the beauty of that love that can never be fully described to man, or understood by him. In listening to this parable told we can imagine the images of the son coming back from afar, and the father in his old age rushing and stumbling up to him nevertheless. We can imagine how with his slightly shriveled and shaking hands he places that ring onto the son's finger and the cloak upon his body. We can imagine how he restores the son with his embrace and loving words, not asking or rebuking the son, but just restoration - knowing that the son was back safely was good enough. Such is the love that was shown - a glimpse of what is meant by the unconditional love of God, that which is given despite any circumstances, that which is so constant, so reassuring - that so many times we assume it to be ours to begin with. And when we take this love for granted, I pray that the LORD will in some way make this known to us as well, that we may repent of this heart of ingratitude.
So that was what truly impressed me yesterday, that of the unconditional love of God. May this reference from the letter to the Ephesians be our prayer as well.
"16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
- Ephesians 3:16-19
And I remembered as well the teaching of Jesus of that of love.
"43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
- Matthew 5:43-45
And that of the sinful nature of man, and the redemptive act of love by our Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem once for all, for us all from eternal death to eternal life. That is the message of salvation, a salvation not by our works, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we must accept in order to attain.
"22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
- Romans 3:22-24
"10The death he(Jesus) died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."
- Romans 6:10
"12He(Jesus) did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."
- Hebrews 9:12
" 1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. "
- Hebrews 10:1
"8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9not by works, so that no one can boast."
- Ephesians 2:8-9
And we have to remember as well, that the virtues of a "good man", is one that must outflow from the heart, in the thoughts of the mind and the intentions of the heart - this towards the acts of his hand and the words of his mouth. This cannot be achieved by pure human will, because of the tendency of the human heart to rebel to turn to its sinful ways. Remember that the path of righteousness is one that is narrow, but yet the LORD provides us with His Spirit to guide us in each step, to sustain our weary hearts that we may not fall. And actually my main point of mentioning all this is this: That the fruits of the Spirit are that which will outflow from our hearts, when we embrace the desire that he has given us to walk closely with him.
"13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
- Matthew 7:13-14
"16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
- Galatians 5:16
" 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
- Galatians 5:22-23
"17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
- 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
To me the teaching above, from Matthew 5:43-45, I remembered as that of "loving the unlovables". And I frequently asked myself, who are my unlovables? And in most recent times, I realised that for me, in fact the unlovables was not so much the lower rung in society, as much as the Christians whom by their manner of living selfishly, had deemed their own hearts unteachable. And the unteachable heart was really really detestable to me. But why? I questioned myself, and found that perhaps it is because of 2 main reasons, that these very people are those who proclaim so much the good news, and yet they do not live out the love of God in their lives, in a manner that bring glory unto the Father(And this not being that He 'needs' it at all). I realised that perhaps this was detestable, for it was such a reminder unto myself, of what I had been before the LORD had opened my eyes to the needy, for I became the most needy indeed. And the reminder of my detestable self was of utter disgust to me.
The other was that I realised in the teaching and reminding others of the importance of humility in one's life, in the cultivating of the teachable heart and spirit that allows the LORD to mould us according His purpose and will. In saying all that to others, in trying as hard as I may, in drilling it deep into my mind in understanding, in obedience in the outward parts, I had in fact created myself to become increasingly "self-righteous". I had judged myself, and others, and deemed us as unworthy, and detestable. This is not that it is not true, but that greater truth had I not reconciled, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us - this is love.
"6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die."
- Romans 5:6-7
" 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
- 1 John 3:16
And so I do apologise, if to any of you reading this who are my friends, brother and sisters, that if in my life I had discouraged you in any point, forgive me. For I was too caught up in zeal in fulfilment of the law, that I had not noticed that the law had already been fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord. And may we by the love of Christ given us, learn to encourage each other in our daily walk with the LORD, and learn to embrace each other in the various different circumstances that we walk in - because we are one, united in Christ, in his love.
And this will probably be one of the last few posts I'll be placing up for this period of time, till the next holidays. Will be embarking on some new things, of which I will be called "Coach" in the next few months. Continue to wait upon the LORD, and let's see together what He has in store for everyone of us. =)
In His love,
Jon
Additional Bible References:
The Lost Son
"11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " "
- Luke 15:11-32
Hi there,
You know what, for the first time in a long time I actually feel refreshed. Because of a reminder, a reminder of the love and grace of God, as shown and given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. The reminder came to me while I read this book "Ragamuffin's gospel" by Brennan Manning. He brought up a a parable repeatedly in his book, that of the parable of " The Lost Son", and he also emphasized on the importance of remembering that we are all sinners(Christians and non-Christians alike) and fall short of the glory of God, but yet the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption of our sin is more than sufficient to cover us completely in the process of sanctification - the process of restoration and reconciliation into fellowship with God our Heavenly Father.
What is the parable of " The Lost Son"? For the benefit of those who do not know, the story goes that there was a rich man who had 2 sons. The youngest son decided that he wanted to live his life as he wished, and so he went to his father to ask for the share of his inheritance(all this while his father was still alive!). What happens next is that he takes all this money and goes to a faraway land, spends it all up in wayward living - on the vices of the society. After using up the money he had, his life became hard, and while working at a farm one day feeding the pigs he thought to himself, "If only I were a servant in my father's household. For I remember that even those who worked for my father were very blessed indeed." So he thought and decided in his heart that he will return home to his father, and ask not to be as a son, but as a servant instead. As he made his way home, his father who had been awaiting his return for a long time saw him from afar, and ran towards him to embrace him. He gave him the signet ring, as well as placed a cloak around him - restoring him to a position of a son in his household. His father also threw a feast in celebration of his return. There are other parts to this parable, but I shall end the re-phrasing here, I will attach the actual references at the bottom of the page.
And yeah, so I was reminded from the parable of how truly richly our Father God abundantly flourishes us with His love, a love that we can begin and go through our whole lives trying to understand, and perhaps gain a better understanding - BUT never fully. Such is the beauty of that love that can never be fully described to man, or understood by him. In listening to this parable told we can imagine the images of the son coming back from afar, and the father in his old age rushing and stumbling up to him nevertheless. We can imagine how with his slightly shriveled and shaking hands he places that ring onto the son's finger and the cloak upon his body. We can imagine how he restores the son with his embrace and loving words, not asking or rebuking the son, but just restoration - knowing that the son was back safely was good enough. Such is the love that was shown - a glimpse of what is meant by the unconditional love of God, that which is given despite any circumstances, that which is so constant, so reassuring - that so many times we assume it to be ours to begin with. And when we take this love for granted, I pray that the LORD will in some way make this known to us as well, that we may repent of this heart of ingratitude.
So that was what truly impressed me yesterday, that of the unconditional love of God. May this reference from the letter to the Ephesians be our prayer as well.
"16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
- Ephesians 3:16-19
And I remembered as well the teaching of Jesus of that of love.
"43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
- Matthew 5:43-45
And that of the sinful nature of man, and the redemptive act of love by our Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem once for all, for us all from eternal death to eternal life. That is the message of salvation, a salvation not by our works, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we must accept in order to attain.
"22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
- Romans 3:22-24
"10The death he(Jesus) died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."
- Romans 6:10
"12He(Jesus) did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."
- Hebrews 9:12
" 1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. "
- Hebrews 10:1
"8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9not by works, so that no one can boast."
- Ephesians 2:8-9
And we have to remember as well, that the virtues of a "good man", is one that must outflow from the heart, in the thoughts of the mind and the intentions of the heart - this towards the acts of his hand and the words of his mouth. This cannot be achieved by pure human will, because of the tendency of the human heart to rebel to turn to its sinful ways. Remember that the path of righteousness is one that is narrow, but yet the LORD provides us with His Spirit to guide us in each step, to sustain our weary hearts that we may not fall. And actually my main point of mentioning all this is this: That the fruits of the Spirit are that which will outflow from our hearts, when we embrace the desire that he has given us to walk closely with him.
"13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
- Matthew 7:13-14
"16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
- Galatians 5:16
" 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
- Galatians 5:22-23
"17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
- 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
To me the teaching above, from Matthew 5:43-45, I remembered as that of "loving the unlovables". And I frequently asked myself, who are my unlovables? And in most recent times, I realised that for me, in fact the unlovables was not so much the lower rung in society, as much as the Christians whom by their manner of living selfishly, had deemed their own hearts unteachable. And the unteachable heart was really really detestable to me. But why? I questioned myself, and found that perhaps it is because of 2 main reasons, that these very people are those who proclaim so much the good news, and yet they do not live out the love of God in their lives, in a manner that bring glory unto the Father(And this not being that He 'needs' it at all). I realised that perhaps this was detestable, for it was such a reminder unto myself, of what I had been before the LORD had opened my eyes to the needy, for I became the most needy indeed. And the reminder of my detestable self was of utter disgust to me.
The other was that I realised in the teaching and reminding others of the importance of humility in one's life, in the cultivating of the teachable heart and spirit that allows the LORD to mould us according His purpose and will. In saying all that to others, in trying as hard as I may, in drilling it deep into my mind in understanding, in obedience in the outward parts, I had in fact created myself to become increasingly "self-righteous". I had judged myself, and others, and deemed us as unworthy, and detestable. This is not that it is not true, but that greater truth had I not reconciled, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us - this is love.
"6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die."
- Romans 5:6-7
" 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
- 1 John 3:16
And so I do apologise, if to any of you reading this who are my friends, brother and sisters, that if in my life I had discouraged you in any point, forgive me. For I was too caught up in zeal in fulfilment of the law, that I had not noticed that the law had already been fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord. And may we by the love of Christ given us, learn to encourage each other in our daily walk with the LORD, and learn to embrace each other in the various different circumstances that we walk in - because we are one, united in Christ, in his love.
And this will probably be one of the last few posts I'll be placing up for this period of time, till the next holidays. Will be embarking on some new things, of which I will be called "Coach" in the next few months. Continue to wait upon the LORD, and let's see together what He has in store for everyone of us. =)
In His love,
Jon
Additional Bible References:
The Lost Son
"11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " "
- Luke 15:11-32
Sunday 17 June 2007
(Thoughts) About seeing things in proper perspective...
(Thoughts) About seeing things in proper perspective...
Hi all,
Today's sharing just more or less an opinion I have on the manner of which we view things, and how all this can possibly change if we desire, and yes by choice...
You know how we always talk about how different people view things? Oh yeah some view things negatively, and all that negativity has a play on their mind and the way they approach things, becoming overly cautious to the point of paralysis, that the very act that is required of the person is not fulfilled.
Yet some talk about the view toward a matter positively, talking about the power of the mind, how positive thinking is the way to view things, to always have hope, always remember that a time we fail(or fall) is another opportunity for learning, never give up – things like that. They profess of how the manner of thinking helps them achieve success in today's society, through the very virtues of perseverance, learning from previous mistakes(of your own and of others), as well as learning how to pick and up utilise given opportunities.
So you may be thinking now, “Oh yeah Jon that's what we've been taught so frequently, both in a non-Christian context and even in a Christian context, most of the time. So shouldn't it be right?”
And no I'm not here to slam certain perspective of things as being perfectly “right” or “wrong”, because even I myself truly do not know, and I only know as much as I have learnt, in comparing what I have grasped in one hand - the knowledge as from the world, to the other hand – the knowledge and truth as we believe from the bible.
Actually what I'm just bringing to view here is just something actually quite obvious, but I just wonder why little people talk about it or practise it actually. That of learning to view things as they are, in truth – not so much whether it be positive or negative. And actually the fact is the popular and conventional views of positive and negative views about things are only differentiated(to matter to people) to the point of only whether firstly the task is accomplished at all, and whether it is accomplished well.
So that is the manner I've learnt to view things, in impartiality. And actually if you've been practising living your life as a whole, you'll also realise that this very manner of perspectives can also be taken unto the manner in which you view people as well, seeing them as they truly are, and form there learning to accept each individual as they truly are – being unassuming. And it is my sincere belief that only when we learn to see another as who they really are, then we can know how best to love them and meet their very needs - that only God knows best and they know second best. But lets return to viewing things as they really are, what I have experienced is that from doing so we recognise the reality of things, and can best train ourselves to respond to the different changes to matters, most specifically and more accurately. And to the aspect of what drives you, where you may place your hope and confidence, if the “living life as a whole principle” is kept, we will expect this to be realistic as well.
And yeah it is my belief also that as Christians when we say we believe in the Word of God as written in the bible, it also means that we belief that it is truth that is written. And believing that it is truth that is written also means this, that if we have really learnt to appreciate the truth as given to us, we will also be able to discern that which is right, and that which is wrong – the basic purpose of truth(or the law). So yeah I do think that it is the role of Christians in today's society, to differentiate what is right and wrong – that which result in consequences that is good or bad upon another. And as we know the truth better, we also differentiate better.
Yeah I'm quite tired for the night I guess, so perhaps I'll elaborate on things on another time. But in summary, what I've proposed is perhaps another view, to learn to see things more objectively, in truth – in learning to appreciate a matter for its very being. And in seeing things realistically we also learn to react realistically, and know our boundaries and limitations(individually) – not over expecting or under expecting in various situations. I also have talked about learning to check where your hopes and confidences actually lie – and are these placed on firm foundations?(are they actually realistic as well?) Perhaps then we learn to be more clear on the issues that really bug us, and that which is just set up in our minds by inappropriate perspectives.
Thank you for taking your time to read, and yeah as I mentioned from day 1, always welcoming feedback on how I can make things clearer, or the issues I should talk about. Thanks and may God bless your week ahead.
In His love,
Jon
Some Biblical References:
“17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
- James 3:17
“2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
“6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- John 14:6
“30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”
- Psalms 119:30
“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
- Psalms 139:23-24
Hi all,
Today's sharing just more or less an opinion I have on the manner of which we view things, and how all this can possibly change if we desire, and yes by choice...
You know how we always talk about how different people view things? Oh yeah some view things negatively, and all that negativity has a play on their mind and the way they approach things, becoming overly cautious to the point of paralysis, that the very act that is required of the person is not fulfilled.
Yet some talk about the view toward a matter positively, talking about the power of the mind, how positive thinking is the way to view things, to always have hope, always remember that a time we fail(or fall) is another opportunity for learning, never give up – things like that. They profess of how the manner of thinking helps them achieve success in today's society, through the very virtues of perseverance, learning from previous mistakes(of your own and of others), as well as learning how to pick and up utilise given opportunities.
So you may be thinking now, “Oh yeah Jon that's what we've been taught so frequently, both in a non-Christian context and even in a Christian context, most of the time. So shouldn't it be right?”
And no I'm not here to slam certain perspective of things as being perfectly “right” or “wrong”, because even I myself truly do not know, and I only know as much as I have learnt, in comparing what I have grasped in one hand - the knowledge as from the world, to the other hand – the knowledge and truth as we believe from the bible.
Actually what I'm just bringing to view here is just something actually quite obvious, but I just wonder why little people talk about it or practise it actually. That of learning to view things as they are, in truth – not so much whether it be positive or negative. And actually the fact is the popular and conventional views of positive and negative views about things are only differentiated(to matter to people) to the point of only whether firstly the task is accomplished at all, and whether it is accomplished well.
So that is the manner I've learnt to view things, in impartiality. And actually if you've been practising living your life as a whole, you'll also realise that this very manner of perspectives can also be taken unto the manner in which you view people as well, seeing them as they truly are, and form there learning to accept each individual as they truly are – being unassuming. And it is my sincere belief that only when we learn to see another as who they really are, then we can know how best to love them and meet their very needs - that only God knows best and they know second best. But lets return to viewing things as they really are, what I have experienced is that from doing so we recognise the reality of things, and can best train ourselves to respond to the different changes to matters, most specifically and more accurately. And to the aspect of what drives you, where you may place your hope and confidence, if the “living life as a whole principle” is kept, we will expect this to be realistic as well.
And yeah it is my belief also that as Christians when we say we believe in the Word of God as written in the bible, it also means that we belief that it is truth that is written. And believing that it is truth that is written also means this, that if we have really learnt to appreciate the truth as given to us, we will also be able to discern that which is right, and that which is wrong – the basic purpose of truth(or the law). So yeah I do think that it is the role of Christians in today's society, to differentiate what is right and wrong – that which result in consequences that is good or bad upon another. And as we know the truth better, we also differentiate better.
Yeah I'm quite tired for the night I guess, so perhaps I'll elaborate on things on another time. But in summary, what I've proposed is perhaps another view, to learn to see things more objectively, in truth – in learning to appreciate a matter for its very being. And in seeing things realistically we also learn to react realistically, and know our boundaries and limitations(individually) – not over expecting or under expecting in various situations. I also have talked about learning to check where your hopes and confidences actually lie – and are these placed on firm foundations?(are they actually realistic as well?) Perhaps then we learn to be more clear on the issues that really bug us, and that which is just set up in our minds by inappropriate perspectives.
Thank you for taking your time to read, and yeah as I mentioned from day 1, always welcoming feedback on how I can make things clearer, or the issues I should talk about. Thanks and may God bless your week ahead.
In His love,
Jon
Some Biblical References:
“17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
- James 3:17
“2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
“6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- John 14:6
“30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”
- Psalms 119:30
“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
- Psalms 139:23-24
Friday 15 June 2007
(Thoughts) On the appreciation of life(1)...
(Thoughts) On the appreciation of life(1)...
Hi there,
Had a talk a few days ago with a friend and her mom, and one of the things that was brought up was about a girl who had committed suicide last year. From what was heard before her death was that she seemed so cheerful and outgoing, seemingly enjoying her life – despite the known facts of the difficulties she faced from broken family relationships, and other problems. So it seemed that she was okay, so it seemed. Then why did she decide to take her life?
It must had seemed to her like the end of the road, and there is nothing that can be done to salvage whatever situation she is in. Hopelessness must have been a word that seemed so true in her life. But why should it be so? If there were testimonies at her wake of how she was like this or like that, then why should it have ever been so?
What am I driving at this time? I'm saying that if we assume that the testimonies were factual and that she had indeed spend much time with those buddies, and she was indeed appearing to be normal to them, and they had not notice that she had been experiencing problems or suffering that was driving her to the breaking point, then I will ask one more question – How well did they know her? And how well did they try to know her? Because I do believe that it is impossible if you truly care about someone, to not know that they are experiencing problems, and that they do require encouragement and reassurance of love during those difficult times.
But why does it seemed that despite a possible lengthy period of time she and others had spend together, they hadn't known her enough to notice any problems that had been troubling her? You could give a reason, “Oh she could have been really guarded a person, not wanting to share about her life.” And I shall go along the lines now of complete agreement of what you brought up, but then I will bring other things that I feel that you had not considered. Had you begin on your part to extend your sincerity in knowing her and caring for her? Had you done the simple gestures of giving her a smile when you see her, or just saying hi? Or had you been one of those who turned away whenever you saw her on the street, just because you are afraid that she might not reciprocate your welcoming gestures? Or were you one of those who walked past her countless of times in church without stopping to talk because she fitted the “ain't the kind of person I would like to talk to” category?
Oh yes I might be raising some degree of guilt here, but it is not my purpose, what I am driving her is the point that there are people out there whom we have ignored(by choice), or we have neglected(for the very fact that we are so caught up with “things”). So here I bring up 2 points which I see is common in most people which can give reason for their lack of concern and love for others.
Firstly, I believe that being in Singapore, like most city dwellers we have grown so accustomed to a desire to achieve and do something. Stillness is not something we commonly hear mostly, let alone practice, but restlessness is the word. In my life, when I hear people who are working talk, I frequently hear about office politics, and how some do step on toes to get a step higher in achievements and recognition. But no, that is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the people you have crushed on your way in the pursuance of success – the suffering and the afflicted in whom you have ignored walking “your” path to the “winner's life”. So do you really think of it as the winners life? Ah yes, something you can pride yourself in today's world, but what about in the presence of the LORD in the days to come? And why do you act as if the LORD is no longer present?
Secondly, another major reason why we fail to see the needs of others, if for the very reason that we are so inward looking, by nature. So many times before we do anything, we ask in our hearts, “what is in it for me?”. And when we do good, we do it only because it is of “mutual benefit”. So what if I propose the case of singular benefit, and the beneficiary being the other party, will you still be willing to take up the case to do good? Oh yes that means status quo to you, what if i propose another case in which to do good for another it means for sacrifice of something dear to you, without ANY recognition from anyone, are you still willing? Are you really willing?
So the 2 main reasons why I believe we have failed to see the neediness of others is this:
(1)Our preoccupation with the achievements to gain for ourselves in this world
(2)The selfishness of the human heart, and the devoid-ness of love (that should and is capable to dwell within)
And if you are wondering if I had just thought of these things out of my own theories and philosophies, then you are wrong. It is the very teachings that some of us who are Christians from young have been taught from the very beginning. Here I shall state the scriptures from which I had understood this societal conditions that plagues us:
(1)Luke 10:30-37(The parable of the good Samaritan...)
“30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."”
In the context here, an expert int he law had asked Jesus what it is he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus' answer was “love”. In the learning to love God with all of your being – heart, soul, mind and strength – and learning to love your neighbour as yourself. The story that was told here shows a few things, firstly that there are needy people about us as seen from the man who was left half dead, secondly that there is a call for us as Christians to be as “neighbours” to them, meaning to love them, as seen from Jesus' conclusion of the story to “do likewise.”.
There is also some other things that have been brought to our attention, that is sad to be mentioned, that despite being in the prized positions of priesthood and levites, the people who supposedly should know God better and hence is able to better share forth that love that comes form Him, those are the very people who did not stop to help this needy man. And it was a Samaritan, one despised by society during those times that went to help this man, in whatever was needed by him. When we put this in more generality, we can possibly see it as the people who are more capable and have more capacity to help another did not.
(2) The beginning statements of the famous definition of love...
“1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
In this scriptural reference Paul was using these arguments mainly to reinforce the purpose of the gifts and possessions the people of Corinth had should have been used in the purpose of Godly love. The underlying motivation and attitude of the heart should be love( a perfect love that comes form the LORD, which we continue to learn more about daily in our walks), if not all will have been in vain. And for an example we can see from verse 3, that even if we had done “great deeds of sacrifices”, but the underlying motivation of our hearts was not for good, it counts for nothing. However I do believe that this does not mean the acts meant for nothing, but it there were no underlying meaning behind those acts, then it would be so. The very things entrusted into our hands by the LORD have to be learnt to be acknowledged, for the very fact of their very nature, they are entrusted, and entrusted by the LORD. So we learn and by the Spirit gain courage to act against the selfishness of the human nature to feed oneself, but learn to feed others as well.
So let's get back to the story when i heard about that suicide case, i was reminded of a few stories of breakdowns experienced in the past by some friends, and told to me in recent days. I was reminded also of my own conditions, and some thoughts about life and death I had a few months back. No it wasn't towards that of suicide, but more cries of desperation on my part, towards God. If you had been faithfully reading my posts, or perhaps know me personally, you should in part of the story of my life, of the pain I have constantly experienced in my lower back for the past 6 years. There are days I question myself, is this a curse or a plague that is upon me, because it really has been “haunting” me for the longest of times, and the tiredness I get from the drain the pain has upon my body is becoming increasingly prevalent.
I was truly quite tired out from the constant ache and the increasing demands that was placed upon my shoulders. The pain was definitely quite bad, and it left me with lesser and lesser waking hours which are productive. It somehow reached a point in my life, that even breathing felt difficult, and there I questioned myself, if breathing is difficult, why do I even bother taking that next breath? But as I read the book of Acts, I think in preparation for a lesson I was to conduct last semester, I read this verse, which made sense to me then, made so much sense in fact. And this is bearing in mind my hope that I will truly learn to grow in my heart to love the LORD as far as it is possible in me to contain – as that seen in the life of Kind David, the man after God's heart.
Acts 13:36-37
“36"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”
So I realised then from this 2 verses how David had embraced the fact, in his pursuance of understanding and enjoying the love of God, he had served God's purpose in his own generation, BEFORE he fell asleep. And I am reminded, that perhaps my work is not yet done here, and there is a reason for the LORD giving me these few breaths and not bringing me home yet. So I asked the LORD once again to not allow me to fall into the traps of meaningless existence, and to learn to appreciate into greater extent the life that He has given me. And to learn to give up this life in parts to bring people closer to the LORD my God. May he ever teach me to do so, to ever declare the truth that will remind others and always bring to their memory the love of God, who is in Christ Jesus my Lord.
So it is my prayer that if any of you should come to a point of desperation in your lives, that you will not be overwhelmed, but you will learn to cry unto the LORD, just cry unto Him, and allow Him to be the one that sustains you. And I will hope also that the Spirit of the LORD will remind you of the sanctity of life of which is given to us, the breath of God within the his image in us. The reminder also of how we are the children of God, and that even if the world forsakes you, it does so because it does not recognise the face of Jesus Christ and it forsake Him first. And yet we remember that it still remains our choice and our privilege to be the mouthpiece of the living God, to choose to obey His calling to love others, and to speak forth His truth into their lives. Truth that will convict their hearts to walk in His ways of righteousness, if they should listen, truth that is encompassed in love and mercy, but yet truth also that possesses the degree of justice as the LORD our God is a just and righteous God. Be of the salt and the light my brothers and sisters.
In His love,
Jon
Additional Biblical References:
Philippians 1:21
“21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Philippians 3:7-9
“7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
Acts 20:24
“24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me; the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”
1 John 3:1-3
“ 1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
John 13:34-35
“34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."”
1 John4:11-12
“11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Micah 6:7-8
“ 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.”
Hi there,
Had a talk a few days ago with a friend and her mom, and one of the things that was brought up was about a girl who had committed suicide last year. From what was heard before her death was that she seemed so cheerful and outgoing, seemingly enjoying her life – despite the known facts of the difficulties she faced from broken family relationships, and other problems. So it seemed that she was okay, so it seemed. Then why did she decide to take her life?
It must had seemed to her like the end of the road, and there is nothing that can be done to salvage whatever situation she is in. Hopelessness must have been a word that seemed so true in her life. But why should it be so? If there were testimonies at her wake of how she was like this or like that, then why should it have ever been so?
What am I driving at this time? I'm saying that if we assume that the testimonies were factual and that she had indeed spend much time with those buddies, and she was indeed appearing to be normal to them, and they had not notice that she had been experiencing problems or suffering that was driving her to the breaking point, then I will ask one more question – How well did they know her? And how well did they try to know her? Because I do believe that it is impossible if you truly care about someone, to not know that they are experiencing problems, and that they do require encouragement and reassurance of love during those difficult times.
But why does it seemed that despite a possible lengthy period of time she and others had spend together, they hadn't known her enough to notice any problems that had been troubling her? You could give a reason, “Oh she could have been really guarded a person, not wanting to share about her life.” And I shall go along the lines now of complete agreement of what you brought up, but then I will bring other things that I feel that you had not considered. Had you begin on your part to extend your sincerity in knowing her and caring for her? Had you done the simple gestures of giving her a smile when you see her, or just saying hi? Or had you been one of those who turned away whenever you saw her on the street, just because you are afraid that she might not reciprocate your welcoming gestures? Or were you one of those who walked past her countless of times in church without stopping to talk because she fitted the “ain't the kind of person I would like to talk to” category?
Oh yes I might be raising some degree of guilt here, but it is not my purpose, what I am driving her is the point that there are people out there whom we have ignored(by choice), or we have neglected(for the very fact that we are so caught up with “things”). So here I bring up 2 points which I see is common in most people which can give reason for their lack of concern and love for others.
Firstly, I believe that being in Singapore, like most city dwellers we have grown so accustomed to a desire to achieve and do something. Stillness is not something we commonly hear mostly, let alone practice, but restlessness is the word. In my life, when I hear people who are working talk, I frequently hear about office politics, and how some do step on toes to get a step higher in achievements and recognition. But no, that is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the people you have crushed on your way in the pursuance of success – the suffering and the afflicted in whom you have ignored walking “your” path to the “winner's life”. So do you really think of it as the winners life? Ah yes, something you can pride yourself in today's world, but what about in the presence of the LORD in the days to come? And why do you act as if the LORD is no longer present?
Secondly, another major reason why we fail to see the needs of others, if for the very reason that we are so inward looking, by nature. So many times before we do anything, we ask in our hearts, “what is in it for me?”. And when we do good, we do it only because it is of “mutual benefit”. So what if I propose the case of singular benefit, and the beneficiary being the other party, will you still be willing to take up the case to do good? Oh yes that means status quo to you, what if i propose another case in which to do good for another it means for sacrifice of something dear to you, without ANY recognition from anyone, are you still willing? Are you really willing?
So the 2 main reasons why I believe we have failed to see the neediness of others is this:
(1)Our preoccupation with the achievements to gain for ourselves in this world
(2)The selfishness of the human heart, and the devoid-ness of love (that should and is capable to dwell within)
And if you are wondering if I had just thought of these things out of my own theories and philosophies, then you are wrong. It is the very teachings that some of us who are Christians from young have been taught from the very beginning. Here I shall state the scriptures from which I had understood this societal conditions that plagues us:
(1)Luke 10:30-37(The parable of the good Samaritan...)
“30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."”
In the context here, an expert int he law had asked Jesus what it is he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus' answer was “love”. In the learning to love God with all of your being – heart, soul, mind and strength – and learning to love your neighbour as yourself. The story that was told here shows a few things, firstly that there are needy people about us as seen from the man who was left half dead, secondly that there is a call for us as Christians to be as “neighbours” to them, meaning to love them, as seen from Jesus' conclusion of the story to “do likewise.”.
There is also some other things that have been brought to our attention, that is sad to be mentioned, that despite being in the prized positions of priesthood and levites, the people who supposedly should know God better and hence is able to better share forth that love that comes form Him, those are the very people who did not stop to help this needy man. And it was a Samaritan, one despised by society during those times that went to help this man, in whatever was needed by him. When we put this in more generality, we can possibly see it as the people who are more capable and have more capacity to help another did not.
(2) The beginning statements of the famous definition of love...
“1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
In this scriptural reference Paul was using these arguments mainly to reinforce the purpose of the gifts and possessions the people of Corinth had should have been used in the purpose of Godly love. The underlying motivation and attitude of the heart should be love( a perfect love that comes form the LORD, which we continue to learn more about daily in our walks), if not all will have been in vain. And for an example we can see from verse 3, that even if we had done “great deeds of sacrifices”, but the underlying motivation of our hearts was not for good, it counts for nothing. However I do believe that this does not mean the acts meant for nothing, but it there were no underlying meaning behind those acts, then it would be so. The very things entrusted into our hands by the LORD have to be learnt to be acknowledged, for the very fact of their very nature, they are entrusted, and entrusted by the LORD. So we learn and by the Spirit gain courage to act against the selfishness of the human nature to feed oneself, but learn to feed others as well.
So let's get back to the story when i heard about that suicide case, i was reminded of a few stories of breakdowns experienced in the past by some friends, and told to me in recent days. I was reminded also of my own conditions, and some thoughts about life and death I had a few months back. No it wasn't towards that of suicide, but more cries of desperation on my part, towards God. If you had been faithfully reading my posts, or perhaps know me personally, you should in part of the story of my life, of the pain I have constantly experienced in my lower back for the past 6 years. There are days I question myself, is this a curse or a plague that is upon me, because it really has been “haunting” me for the longest of times, and the tiredness I get from the drain the pain has upon my body is becoming increasingly prevalent.
I was truly quite tired out from the constant ache and the increasing demands that was placed upon my shoulders. The pain was definitely quite bad, and it left me with lesser and lesser waking hours which are productive. It somehow reached a point in my life, that even breathing felt difficult, and there I questioned myself, if breathing is difficult, why do I even bother taking that next breath? But as I read the book of Acts, I think in preparation for a lesson I was to conduct last semester, I read this verse, which made sense to me then, made so much sense in fact. And this is bearing in mind my hope that I will truly learn to grow in my heart to love the LORD as far as it is possible in me to contain – as that seen in the life of Kind David, the man after God's heart.
Acts 13:36-37
“36"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”
So I realised then from this 2 verses how David had embraced the fact, in his pursuance of understanding and enjoying the love of God, he had served God's purpose in his own generation, BEFORE he fell asleep. And I am reminded, that perhaps my work is not yet done here, and there is a reason for the LORD giving me these few breaths and not bringing me home yet. So I asked the LORD once again to not allow me to fall into the traps of meaningless existence, and to learn to appreciate into greater extent the life that He has given me. And to learn to give up this life in parts to bring people closer to the LORD my God. May he ever teach me to do so, to ever declare the truth that will remind others and always bring to their memory the love of God, who is in Christ Jesus my Lord.
So it is my prayer that if any of you should come to a point of desperation in your lives, that you will not be overwhelmed, but you will learn to cry unto the LORD, just cry unto Him, and allow Him to be the one that sustains you. And I will hope also that the Spirit of the LORD will remind you of the sanctity of life of which is given to us, the breath of God within the his image in us. The reminder also of how we are the children of God, and that even if the world forsakes you, it does so because it does not recognise the face of Jesus Christ and it forsake Him first. And yet we remember that it still remains our choice and our privilege to be the mouthpiece of the living God, to choose to obey His calling to love others, and to speak forth His truth into their lives. Truth that will convict their hearts to walk in His ways of righteousness, if they should listen, truth that is encompassed in love and mercy, but yet truth also that possesses the degree of justice as the LORD our God is a just and righteous God. Be of the salt and the light my brothers and sisters.
In His love,
Jon
Additional Biblical References:
Philippians 1:21
“21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Philippians 3:7-9
“7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
Acts 20:24
“24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me; the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”
1 John 3:1-3
“ 1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
John 13:34-35
“34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."”
1 John4:11-12
“11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Micah 6:7-8
“ 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.”
Tuesday 12 June 2007
(Thoughts) On memories...
(Thoughts) On memories...
Hi there,
Yeah today i thought i'll just talk about something that been constantly on my mind for the past few weeks. When people talk about memories, what is it that comes to your mind? Most people will highlight and remember the most vivid and impactful of memories that if generally classified, can be into 2 categories: (1) The fond ones, (2) The unpleasant ones.
Of course this does not exclude the other kinds of memories that may be in your mind, things that you sought so hard to remember, like your new house number, back in the age where there were no handphones and you had to key in the entire length of numbers onto the keypad before you can connect with another. Others that aren't so vivid could be the “usual” stuff that happens in your life, the teddy bear that you said goodbye to before your bedtime, your hot cup of coffee that your mom prepared for you in the morning, or the bus driver who gave you the nod and smile when you bored the bus to school. Oh yes, and those were random just examples, NOT of my life.
But one thing I would like to bring up and suggest, that if you think about the memories that are so vivid to you, they do share a common factor of being naturally developed. That being said I mean that on most occasions when a fond memory occur, it is not as if you had particularly set aside a certain memory and desire in your heart, “Oh yes that should be one that is fond.” and hence it becomes fond. It is fond for various reasons, our preferences(naturally, and developed in our growing years), our state of mind and comfort level at that point in time, and others.
Just to make clearer, for example if you did like butterflies before visiting a park, and one day as you rest on a bench at a park in the midst of watching the waters trickle down a nearby fountain in the sun, and a nicely striped butterfly flutters by, it is a fond memory that is implanted in your mind. You need not tell yourself repeatedly, “oh yes I am told that butterflies are beautiful and hence when one flutters by in the right circumstances, I am to think it good.”
Conversely, another example could be that if you had never liked bees, and we have the same setting as above, that beautiful warm sunshine upon that bench you are sitting on, admiring the fountain int he middle of the park, AND a bee flies by, turns back and darts straight at you. The whole image is still one that is unpleasant or negative to your mind, despite the beautiful setting, and you need not tell yourself that it is unpleasant, because it becomes naturally so.
So what am I driving at? Just a simple point really, that the most pleasant and most unpleasant of memories do not happen by choice(unless in specific circumstances of which people try hard to manipulate their way of thinking, and tweak the way they view their memories in manners that alter perceptions of truth), it comes about quite naturally and smoothly without our need for intervention.
That being said does not mean that one must always view life in a negative sense, when one goes through the downs of life, or strictly positive when one goes through the ups of life. For I do believe that the dwelling upon the different thoughts of the mind and emotions of the heart is that more of by choice. Here I would like to refer to the letter of Philippians that Paul wrote, from Philippians 4:8.
“8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8
As it is seen Paul urges the people of Philippi to choose to dwell upon the thoughts that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.
So the question now lies here. What in the world can be classified into such a category? I would like to suggest 1 thing, the word of God as revealed in the Bible.
“18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
“5 Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Proverbs 30:5
“28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
Psalms 119:28
“105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Psalms 119:105
“ 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalms 119:11
“4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.”
Psalms 33:4
“12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”
Job23:12
“6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”
Psalms 12:6
And all in all once we learn to begin treasuring the word of God, with the right attitude of the heart, we begin to learn to change as He teaches us through renewing our minds, through the conviction upon our spirits by the Holy Spirit. But on our part we have to make that effort in treasuring what He has given us in his revelation in the Bible.
And what is all this leading up to? I would say 2 things, and in fact its the same things that I told others on the day of my 21st birthday when I was asked what i wished for. No I did not wish for world peace(I'm not a Mr Universe or something.) I wished that the people whom I know will begin to love, first by knowing how God loves us, and then from that very love, learn to love others. For that is the only true love that we can ever learn from, ever look up completely to. And I prayed and still pray in my heart, despite my current state of weariness, that I will be able to love those in which the LORD brings into my life, loving without favouratism, to love as how he will desire me to love, to be able to give forth these people that warmth and that hope of which today's world and society is so greatly devoid of.
So in effect I'm talking about the beginning of the journey of (1)knowing and revering this God of the Jews and of Christians. This God who was, who is and is to come. This God whose sovereignty is above all, who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, whose thoughts are above our thoughts, and ways above our ways. This Father God who provides for our every need, this Son Jesus Christ who redeemed us from eternal death and purified us, that we may dwell in his presence, this Holy Spirit who indwells within us to guide us into paths of truth and righteousness amidst all the confusion that lies in this world. The beginning of the journey of (2) learning to obey the command of love, to love God and to love those whom God has placed in your life.
Additional Bible References:
“12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
“5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.”
1 John 2:5-7
“36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."”
Matthew 22:36-40
“ 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22
“10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:10
“12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:12
Yeah I think I have said enough for a night. Good night and may all you fellow brothers and sisters continue in your journey of learning what the love of God truly means in your life, and just living out the truth as He shows you. May we continue to encourage each other in our every segment of our lives – and to look out for those who have been left alone and afflicted. May the peace of God be with you all both now and always. Amen.
In His love,
Jon
Hi there,
Yeah today i thought i'll just talk about something that been constantly on my mind for the past few weeks. When people talk about memories, what is it that comes to your mind? Most people will highlight and remember the most vivid and impactful of memories that if generally classified, can be into 2 categories: (1) The fond ones, (2) The unpleasant ones.
Of course this does not exclude the other kinds of memories that may be in your mind, things that you sought so hard to remember, like your new house number, back in the age where there were no handphones and you had to key in the entire length of numbers onto the keypad before you can connect with another. Others that aren't so vivid could be the “usual” stuff that happens in your life, the teddy bear that you said goodbye to before your bedtime, your hot cup of coffee that your mom prepared for you in the morning, or the bus driver who gave you the nod and smile when you bored the bus to school. Oh yes, and those were random just examples, NOT of my life.
But one thing I would like to bring up and suggest, that if you think about the memories that are so vivid to you, they do share a common factor of being naturally developed. That being said I mean that on most occasions when a fond memory occur, it is not as if you had particularly set aside a certain memory and desire in your heart, “Oh yes that should be one that is fond.” and hence it becomes fond. It is fond for various reasons, our preferences(naturally, and developed in our growing years), our state of mind and comfort level at that point in time, and others.
Just to make clearer, for example if you did like butterflies before visiting a park, and one day as you rest on a bench at a park in the midst of watching the waters trickle down a nearby fountain in the sun, and a nicely striped butterfly flutters by, it is a fond memory that is implanted in your mind. You need not tell yourself repeatedly, “oh yes I am told that butterflies are beautiful and hence when one flutters by in the right circumstances, I am to think it good.”
Conversely, another example could be that if you had never liked bees, and we have the same setting as above, that beautiful warm sunshine upon that bench you are sitting on, admiring the fountain int he middle of the park, AND a bee flies by, turns back and darts straight at you. The whole image is still one that is unpleasant or negative to your mind, despite the beautiful setting, and you need not tell yourself that it is unpleasant, because it becomes naturally so.
So what am I driving at? Just a simple point really, that the most pleasant and most unpleasant of memories do not happen by choice(unless in specific circumstances of which people try hard to manipulate their way of thinking, and tweak the way they view their memories in manners that alter perceptions of truth), it comes about quite naturally and smoothly without our need for intervention.
That being said does not mean that one must always view life in a negative sense, when one goes through the downs of life, or strictly positive when one goes through the ups of life. For I do believe that the dwelling upon the different thoughts of the mind and emotions of the heart is that more of by choice. Here I would like to refer to the letter of Philippians that Paul wrote, from Philippians 4:8.
“8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8
As it is seen Paul urges the people of Philippi to choose to dwell upon the thoughts that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.
So the question now lies here. What in the world can be classified into such a category? I would like to suggest 1 thing, the word of God as revealed in the Bible.
“18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
“5 Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Proverbs 30:5
“28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
Psalms 119:28
“105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Psalms 119:105
“ 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalms 119:11
“4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.”
Psalms 33:4
“12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”
Job23:12
“6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”
Psalms 12:6
And all in all once we learn to begin treasuring the word of God, with the right attitude of the heart, we begin to learn to change as He teaches us through renewing our minds, through the conviction upon our spirits by the Holy Spirit. But on our part we have to make that effort in treasuring what He has given us in his revelation in the Bible.
And what is all this leading up to? I would say 2 things, and in fact its the same things that I told others on the day of my 21st birthday when I was asked what i wished for. No I did not wish for world peace(I'm not a Mr Universe or something.) I wished that the people whom I know will begin to love, first by knowing how God loves us, and then from that very love, learn to love others. For that is the only true love that we can ever learn from, ever look up completely to. And I prayed and still pray in my heart, despite my current state of weariness, that I will be able to love those in which the LORD brings into my life, loving without favouratism, to love as how he will desire me to love, to be able to give forth these people that warmth and that hope of which today's world and society is so greatly devoid of.
So in effect I'm talking about the beginning of the journey of (1)knowing and revering this God of the Jews and of Christians. This God who was, who is and is to come. This God whose sovereignty is above all, who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, whose thoughts are above our thoughts, and ways above our ways. This Father God who provides for our every need, this Son Jesus Christ who redeemed us from eternal death and purified us, that we may dwell in his presence, this Holy Spirit who indwells within us to guide us into paths of truth and righteousness amidst all the confusion that lies in this world. The beginning of the journey of (2) learning to obey the command of love, to love God and to love those whom God has placed in your life.
Additional Bible References:
“12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
“5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.”
1 John 2:5-7
“36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."”
Matthew 22:36-40
“ 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22
“10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:10
“12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:12
Yeah I think I have said enough for a night. Good night and may all you fellow brothers and sisters continue in your journey of learning what the love of God truly means in your life, and just living out the truth as He shows you. May we continue to encourage each other in our every segment of our lives – and to look out for those who have been left alone and afflicted. May the peace of God be with you all both now and always. Amen.
In His love,
Jon
Sunday 10 June 2007
(Thoughts) Like reflections upon a mirror...
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(Thoughts) Like reflections upon a mirror...
Hi there,
Yeah I just got back from Hong Kong a while back, so I've just been catching up with news from back home. Its been an interesting trip, lots of walking about the city, lots of learning to understand new people, new systems/conventions, new environments. Things like that...
Had quite a few people asking me before I went, “What are you going to be doing there?”
My answer: “ Just take a walk, go for a breather, maybe think about some things.”
Had quite a few people asking me after I came back from my trip, “So how was your trip?”
My answer: “Oh yeah i walked about alot, took alot of breaths, thought about stuff.”
Just joking. But yeah I guess it is true still in some sense what I just talked about. Visited quite a few places in Hong Kong. It is pretty much a city living like Singapore, but the societal attitude is a little more competitive than us. I took quite a few pictures, which you can see from my flickr photo link on the left.
Today's thoughts will be one that is short. I learnt some time back about how to begin to reflect upon life in order to live it meaningfully. What I'm sharing here is just something more visual in description that may aid your understanding.
The picture here shows how we can reflect upon our physical image on the mirror, and from there make some corrections, like styling your hair, something that will improve the overall package(of yourself). Life can be seen somewhat in a similar manner, the experiences and preferences of our lives whereever we may be causes us to become of a certain person that we begin to understand as we go about life. It is true that we grow and mature through the experiences of our lives, when we learn how to take lessons out of that which happens to us. But how meaningful and how great the lesson will depend upon how quality is the reference source by which we learn from.
I do feel that truly it is such a blessing that as Christians our LORD God has given us His word in the bible to read and learn about how we should live our lives most fruitfully. And so I propose this visual for you, you can picture the bible as a full bodied mirror, able to reflect upon the entirety of your life, and allowing you to see clearly in the areas that you need to improve upon to become more complete. How clearly will you see? How much will you improve upon? These are things partly determined by the LORD, which is beyond our understanding. The other is upon the willingness of our hearts to learn from Him, and to change.
Hence if you use this same imagery, I can say that is is possible for a man to improve upon his character in outward form, if he can find a theory that is true in part, or a philosophy that encourages good will amongst men. This can be seen as a mirror as well, smaller in size, and perhaps not so well polished.
If you are reading this and you concur that, “No way, Jon is just being biased because he's a Christian, hence he is just being overtly emotional and insisting upon the perfection of the word of God as he always have.”, then I will answer you with this, that we test it upon the fruits of our lives. I dare to say that truly my life in all its experiences have begun to make sense only upon greater understanding of the word of God, and my life is defintely increasingly changed as I learn more of what God's love for man is, and how I am to share it.
So I do dare to propose that if you would like to do a QC test, a true Christian is one that is increasingly transformed from the inside and out, in both form(in his action and words) and then intention of his heart, and his heart is one that truly learns to love the God whom he worships, as well as those who are needy and helpless in society. He is one that is totally immersed in the society, knowing its working, yet is able to gain strength from his God to prevent himself from circumbing to its pressures(of wealth and successes at the expenses of relationships), and through strength and love is able to move freely and attending to the needy.
In His love,
Jon
Biblical references:
1 Corinthians 13:12
“12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
James :1-23-25
“23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
Romans 12:1-2
“ 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
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