Saturday, November 24th, 2007
oxymoron:
“the perfect law that gives freedom”
when you think about laws, you think about things that restrict you. things that govern freedom. so what does it mean when the bible talks about the perfect law that gives freedom? when you see a red light, you’d like to cross the road – but you can’t, cause you dont have the freedom to.
so, is it really an oxymoron?
we have things like ‘freedom of speech’ which is just as weird. right? but really, laws restrict some (bad) things to provide freedom for good things. on a very high-level the judicial system is a compromise (at least in north america) we get laws that restrict murder, securing the freedom to live.
it restricts general things to provide more ‘personal’ freedom. but what is this perfect law then? and what freedom does it give? what freedom is it referring to?
freedom from death. freedom from the sin that binds us while on earth. freedom that is granted through Christ Jesus our Lord.
anyways i love the contrast the bible presents. but let us look intently into this law and follow (do) it so that we may be free.
Friday, November 23rd, 2007
interesting analogy
anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
in james 1:19-27 this analogy is given which is quite vivid. i mean – what do you do when you look in a mirror? to look and check if there is anything to fix up. (unless of course you’re just checking yourself out)
but similarly, are we reading the bible and listening to sermons without going to apply it in our lives? what good is the word, if we just hear and not do? more so, whats the point of reading if it’s not going to affect your life?
so dont be foolish, like the man who looks at a mirror and does nothing, instead take what you learn and put it into practice.
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
i had the luxury of spending some time to talk with my dad, and i was sharing about how disappointed i was with my last midterm.
how it didn’t go according to what i had expected. how the time i put in – didn’t reflect how i preformed. i was very disappointed. to the point where i didn’t know how to react. like how can someone who fully understands a topic, fail?
it wasn’t like i had prayed to God to ask for help when i didn’t put in any work. it wasn’t like i was praying for something unreasonable either. so i was genuinely puzzled. in all that i did, i put God at the center – powering through my studies, to the point where i could teach someone the concepts without confusing them. to put it simply, i was confident.
in a sense, i felt like i should’ve aced it. i did a ton of past midterms, all the practice questions. but unfortunately for me – my prof has taught the course for the last 3 decades of his career, which meant there was a lot to pull from a bank of questions. (and let me tell you, his questions are ball breakingly hard. if you havn’t seen it before, you probably would have a hard time tackling it)
so i came out of the midterm pretty bitter too. i probably did more sets of past midterms than alot of ppl, but the ones that came out ontop were the ones that got lucky! not necessarily the ppl that studied and knew the stuff.
so my dad was listening and talking it out with me, and like there’s the usual advice like to fully rely on God, to change your mindset, to continue working hard… but the one thing that really stuck out to me was how something totally unrelated tied back into this situation.
cause i was also sharing about my spiritual walk with God this term, and i mentioned that it was doing well. infact, the reason why i decided to commit to being on committee this term was that I would trust in God. to come to know him even stronger that i had before. and as far as i could tell, all was well.
but like when everything is going well, my dad mentioned that there will be attacks from the devil. to pull you down, to prevent you from doing God’s work. and everything I expected God to help me with this term had gone awry – and for the longest time i couldn’t tell put my finger on why. sometimes i would just justify it by saying that it was in some other plans for me. or that it was preparing me for something bigger (which could be true)
but really, if the devil wanted me to accuse God, or to get me to be angry with him. this would be the perfect way to do it. infact out of that whole situation with the midterm, i’m suprised i didn’t accuse God of anything. and i was reminded that spiritual warfare does exist, and that just cause we dont see it. doesn’t mean that it doesnt exist.
so it was just really eye opening to see another perspective on the problems i was having, and being reminded that if we trust that God will provide, and God is faithful – we will come out on top.
so dont be discouraged, dont doubt, dont blame. remember the story of Job and always rely on God no matter what the situation.
dont let the devil attack your relationship with God.
proverbs 3:5-6
trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your way acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
this is perhaps my most treasured childhood verse from the Bible. like nothing trumps this except for like, john 3:16 which is too cliche.
but really, just trust God will take care of you. dont push him aside for anything, or to get frustrated over any preconceptions you might have over a situation. but to lift it all up and fully rely on God.
so when your doing something great for God. dont let the devil push you around, but rather let the man upstairs do his thing, and trust.
just trust.
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
the righteous who pray earnestly will receive.
a lot of the times, i find that i pray and then find myself doubting. not a lot. but there is a hint of doubt.
for example, when i pray for help in my studies so that i may pass my next test – i truly believe that he can. but when i go to write the test, i find myself fearing a little. doubting a bit. but i shouldn’t. He is able to do immeasurably more than i ask for, so why don’t i think that all the time. its so hard.
Prayer of Faith (James 5:13+)
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray . Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on thel and for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crops.
After reading this verse, I am reminded that i shouldn’t have to fear or doubt. but just fully believe. cause he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. i posted this a long time ago, but the counterpart of faith is doubt – and its unreasonable to believe you can have both.
so let us have faith – and pray and believe.
Monday, November 12th, 2007
so jokes.
“if God always changed his mind, he would no longer be man – he would be woman.”
(hope nobody was offended by this quote – intended for light humor purposes *smiles*)