Friday, April 11th, 2008
I was reminded yesterday at the Embassy, that if God is not the cornerstone of our life – then everything we achieve and do will be pointless cause God can take it all away just as easily as you have gained it.If I plan out the next seven years of my life, (which has already been done before) laying out a step-by-step plan on how I will get to my final career goal, before asking if this is really what God wants me to do – then it is pointless. I can be trying, trying and trying; but God can take it all away and prevent it from happening.
So the last shall be first, and the first last.
– Matthew 20:16
Following God and putting Him first usually sounds like the most ridiculous thing ever, cause usually it leads you away from what you’ve planned. It usually means you have to give up your material wealth, give up the cushy more high-paying jobs, give up the quicker-faster-more direct route to success. But our plans is not God’s plans, and if we follow Him, I can promise you that it will be that much more rewarding in the end. And we will reach a destination that has been secured to us, by God; and we will stand firm – unwaivering in the midst of this crazy world.
God will refine us, challenge us, and grow us in the right ways. So that when we do reach the end – we can stand victorious and know that God has provided for our every need.
I mean, how much worse would you feel if you finally got to where you wanted to be, and God took it all away the next day? I bet pretty darn awful.
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?
– Mark 8:36 (Luke 17:33)
So commit to making God your cornerstone in life, and trust that He is faithful. Even if it means throwing away those idols/distractions in your life.
Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.
– Psalm 37:3-6
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
A psalm. For giving thanks.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing–if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
– Galatians 3
We receive the Spirit by faith as we receive the Lord in salvation by faith!
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
And when he had finished speaking, he (Jesus) said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
- Luke 5:4-11
I came across a really cool verse this morning. It’s a good reminder that cause sometimes I feel that even though we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and are made clean before the eyes of God, we are still so unworthy to go before Him and have Jesus dwell in our temples. (body) I feel like, even though He only sees white – I’m still seeing the scars of my sin. And the scars sometimes prevent me from getting closer with God.
But Jesus didn’t care if Simon was a sinful man or not, he still took him as his disciple and used him to do big things. And as long as we have faith, to cast out our nets; all we’ve got to do is trust in Him – that’s all Jesus needs to do big things with us.
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
– 1st Timothy 4:12
For me, it is an all too familiar sight, where people my age are constantly dismissed when taking on larger ministry opportunities because we are young. Especially in the more traditional cultures, (aka the asian culture) elders seem to hold all the authority, whereas youth hold little or no say in anything.
When we (ppl my age) want to teach Sunday school, we told that we are not mature enough and should try children’s ministry. When we want to hold workshops, we have to leap over hurdles and steeples in order to show that we do have something to say. And when we want to guest speak or share publicly in-front of our peers, it seems like we have to get a pastoral degree before we’ll get a chance.
But why? Why is it like that?
More…