I've recognized something really important and that's how God's love for us shines brightly on believers in Christ. I cannot legitimately state that I am worthy of God's salvation. I have found out that worshiping God and living out a life for Him is good and meaningful. It is God who covers all of my sins and any problems that others try to fault me with. I personally don't really think about if I'm going to offend someone by doing so and so. It's pretty odd that with me playing piano, it would be really offensive to my dad and have him go crazy just because I'm playing. I don't really receive any recognition from anyone for the piano, I play. My dad further accused me that I had no degree because I didn't put it in my heart to tell him and should be focusing on getting a career. It felt like my dad was telling me to hunt for a job on a Sunday and to be more pragmatic about life.
Personally, I didn't feel pretty good about my dad trying to change me to fit his expectations. I sometimes get this feeling of courage to speak out my heart out and preach about things I learn at church. I mixed in my life experiences with my dad's and mine and some godly principles I know about. I think speech shouldn't be said out of anger because it looks adamantly foolish. I believe that is my dad's style of speech when my dad can't seem to let go of his anger. Short tempers are of course a temporary state, but it really has an effect with me. I believe that these short tempers from people I have experienced are really special and meaningful; when I get annoyed by their one-sidedness and start speaking on a mellow end, they like to change the subject and blame me more. I think it's temporary agitation on their end and all for no good reason, but I don't see it carrying through their normal conversations in life. I could be serving as a distraction to their anger problems; I'm not quite sure about this vexing volume of personal attacks I really need to live with. I have started communicating not out of mixing fear and anger, but out of wanting to speak boldly about the truth- this method is personally good for my heart. There is no wrong in the way I speak and with me not believing in negative gossip, I believe it's all because of God's grace upon me.
Academy of Scrappy Credible Undergraduate Desire
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sharing My Faith With Spiritually Weak Sibling
This is really interesting because my sister feels I do a lot of gloating. She says I have been attending a lot of church and that it should have humbled me, but it did not. She continues to add that I've been living with my parents and have no job and that I'm really lucky that I do not need to pay any rent. Ironically, she stated that the only reason I did work in the first place was because I was not going to school and that I would be going to school, if I didn't work. I guess your sibling knows you the best, especially if she is being honest with you. I think she feels that with me gaining more spiritual knowledge, it's been making me appear more prideful to her.
I'm pretty glad that I don't really get mad with her anymore whenever she says stuff like that to me. It really seems that my sister is still a little ignorant to the full meaning of me. If I do things so unwillingly and it is offending people, then God might as well just strike me with a lightning bolt and take me up to heaven. It's really funny that people really rely on other's opinions for reputation. I sort of see this ideology in my sister; she doesn't see herself as nearly that bad as me. She even continues to complain that I may be judging her too much. I think there is some lifestyle that my sister would prefer to hide about herself.
The Bible states to be wise as a serpent and soft as a dove (Matt 10:16). We should be discerning about others, especially when sharing our faith with them. We need to be ready to be witty with our tongues to thwart conflict. We should also not be in a really attacking mood with others, to go far as to offend them. This is something I have had to work on because I've grown up with a mom and sister whose countless frustrations have to be dealt with. I think they choose not to listen to me, so I always felt I would not have a big voice in the circle. Awhile back, I messaged an estranged friend about how he was immorally wrong for planning revenge even in a joking mood with a girl who hurt his feelings. It also didn't help that he had kept yelling at me and telling me irrelevant faults that did not directly deal with him. After that e-mail he said he was no longer my friend; two weeks later he was shaking my hand. Boy, was he pretty unstable about himself? I think my words really do have an impact on people because it makes them not want to see how sinful they are especially when they are in a prideful state.
Overall, I feel that my reputation is pretty good and appear to have a pretty high life, even though I honestly state I'm struggling. It looks like God has blessed me with a mother, father, and sister. Even though their cranks may not be satisfying to me at times, I still feel a privilege to be ordained to them by God. In these young years that I am in, I'm not going to foolishly waste them away anymore(!) like other acquaintances have done for their own pleasures.
I'm pretty glad that I don't really get mad with her anymore whenever she says stuff like that to me. It really seems that my sister is still a little ignorant to the full meaning of me. If I do things so unwillingly and it is offending people, then God might as well just strike me with a lightning bolt and take me up to heaven. It's really funny that people really rely on other's opinions for reputation. I sort of see this ideology in my sister; she doesn't see herself as nearly that bad as me. She even continues to complain that I may be judging her too much. I think there is some lifestyle that my sister would prefer to hide about herself.
The Bible states to be wise as a serpent and soft as a dove (Matt 10:16). We should be discerning about others, especially when sharing our faith with them. We need to be ready to be witty with our tongues to thwart conflict. We should also not be in a really attacking mood with others, to go far as to offend them. This is something I have had to work on because I've grown up with a mom and sister whose countless frustrations have to be dealt with. I think they choose not to listen to me, so I always felt I would not have a big voice in the circle. Awhile back, I messaged an estranged friend about how he was immorally wrong for planning revenge even in a joking mood with a girl who hurt his feelings. It also didn't help that he had kept yelling at me and telling me irrelevant faults that did not directly deal with him. After that e-mail he said he was no longer my friend; two weeks later he was shaking my hand. Boy, was he pretty unstable about himself? I think my words really do have an impact on people because it makes them not want to see how sinful they are especially when they are in a prideful state.
Overall, I feel that my reputation is pretty good and appear to have a pretty high life, even though I honestly state I'm struggling. It looks like God has blessed me with a mother, father, and sister. Even though their cranks may not be satisfying to me at times, I still feel a privilege to be ordained to them by God. In these young years that I am in, I'm not going to foolishly waste them away anymore(!) like other acquaintances have done for their own pleasures.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Living In Joy With Goodness of God
The Lord is grateful to have His believers turn to Him, after realizing they need to repent to live a life of unsurpassed joy. For this very reason, Scriptures state:
"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." (1 Peter 1:5-7, NKJV)
Virtue reminds me of our repentance and being humbled, as man was born into sin. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Knowledge is about partaking in God's ministry- it's not about puffing ourselves with knowledge and keeping it to our own benefit; I've seen a brother in Christ do this and he was really getting convicted by the Holy Spirit of doing wrong. Self-control is about flushing our sins and cleaning out the system. I've heard of a useful technique where you inhale in God's love and faith of Christ's resurrection and then exhale a true confession of your sin. Perseverance reminds me of spiritual endurance, where dependence should be on God. I do not believe a person can eventually rely on his own strength to stop sinning! We have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us. We were all born in sin and will fall short. We need to humble ourselves daily.
Briefly, God's love is a reflection of our lives; how the Holy Spirit has transformed the lives of others who had no where to go. God's love upon us is our testimony to unbelievers! To brotherly kindness, we have a glorious privilege and that's prayer. Renowned, Senior Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa recently came out with the book, "Prayer, Our Glorious Privilege"! This verse is saying to me to keep on prayer for your friends, family, country, and good people:
"Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God." (Hebrews 12:15, NLT)
"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." (1 Peter 1:5-7, NKJV)
Virtue reminds me of our repentance and being humbled, as man was born into sin. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Knowledge is about partaking in God's ministry- it's not about puffing ourselves with knowledge and keeping it to our own benefit; I've seen a brother in Christ do this and he was really getting convicted by the Holy Spirit of doing wrong. Self-control is about flushing our sins and cleaning out the system. I've heard of a useful technique where you inhale in God's love and faith of Christ's resurrection and then exhale a true confession of your sin. Perseverance reminds me of spiritual endurance, where dependence should be on God. I do not believe a person can eventually rely on his own strength to stop sinning! We have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us. We were all born in sin and will fall short. We need to humble ourselves daily.
Briefly, God's love is a reflection of our lives; how the Holy Spirit has transformed the lives of others who had no where to go. God's love upon us is our testimony to unbelievers! To brotherly kindness, we have a glorious privilege and that's prayer. Renowned, Senior Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa recently came out with the book, "Prayer, Our Glorious Privilege"! This verse is saying to me to keep on prayer for your friends, family, country, and good people:
"Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God." (Hebrews 12:15, NLT)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Quick reflection
My life is getting a little hectic. I've been really busy with church and trying to find a good source of income so that I could tithe and get more Christian resources. Maybe it's not in my blood to write anymore because I haven't been doing this for so long now. I think the best writing has been set forth with me by mainly thinking about God.
Honestly, I've been a little shocked to find brothers and sisters have been willing to view my profile. I'm not an excellent writer at all. God is amazing isn't he? It's really all about God's love upon us and the promises God has for His people. I can really state with conviction that the Lord is moving in this land and people really need to hear the gospel. Don't give up with sharing the gospel. It's really a great faith that we need to come to realize.
Honestly, I've been a little shocked to find brothers and sisters have been willing to view my profile. I'm not an excellent writer at all. God is amazing isn't he? It's really all about God's love upon us and the promises God has for His people. I can really state with conviction that the Lord is moving in this land and people really need to hear the gospel. Don't give up with sharing the gospel. It's really a great faith that we need to come to realize.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
God Is Not About Affliction
God has truly saved us by grace. (Ephesians 2:8-9) I think it becomes a real consideration then in how our thinking should be like. God is not someone who we can really cut corners with because He's a Spirit with standards we will never be able to obtain on Earth. (Romans 6:23) This should not discourage believers into continuing their lives in sin. Paul states beautifully in Philippians 4:8 :
"Finally, 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."
It's call cheap grace when one views God's gift to us as an insurance policy. It is not all about obtaining added assurance that our lives are about pleasing only ourselves. For the unbeliever, God will place judgment upon them. To the unbeliever, a Christian may offend him or her. It's a shame because my sister professes to be a Christian, but tries to be a friend of the world. She is borderline Christian, as far as she can compromise with her friends. It is more about not offending people.
It is quite strange that even though we do not want to offend people, we do so in oddity. Christianity is something we should all not be ashamed of. Paul states in Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile." (NLT)
We should rejoice in Christianity. Spread the love and joy around in Jesus. Even if it offends others, these people are totally out of it. They are only going through a seasonal pain; it's just like missing a day of not showering in a cold winter day. Make sure you do not get too comfortable with backsliding and confess right away. Best to do it daily because the world is not ours for the moment. We are battling principalities and our flesh is weak-we hear people excusing themselves that they are not perfect. We accept each other because we want to tolerate those who we can believe were brought up well enough. Let's pray for each other!
"Finally, 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."
It's call cheap grace when one views God's gift to us as an insurance policy. It is not all about obtaining added assurance that our lives are about pleasing only ourselves. For the unbeliever, God will place judgment upon them. To the unbeliever, a Christian may offend him or her. It's a shame because my sister professes to be a Christian, but tries to be a friend of the world. She is borderline Christian, as far as she can compromise with her friends. It is more about not offending people.
It is quite strange that even though we do not want to offend people, we do so in oddity. Christianity is something we should all not be ashamed of. Paul states in Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile." (NLT)
We should rejoice in Christianity. Spread the love and joy around in Jesus. Even if it offends others, these people are totally out of it. They are only going through a seasonal pain; it's just like missing a day of not showering in a cold winter day. Make sure you do not get too comfortable with backsliding and confess right away. Best to do it daily because the world is not ours for the moment. We are battling principalities and our flesh is weak-we hear people excusing themselves that they are not perfect. We accept each other because we want to tolerate those who we can believe were brought up well enough. Let's pray for each other!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Fast Post
I'm just going to continue to spread my joy around. Keeping myself in constant check is what I yearn to do. I know that deep down inside, I have some selfish motives that really want to be appeased. It's like some people want to be at the center of attention. I think the focus should never be on ourselves because it is just plain foolish to be completely honest about ourselves. We all have some dirty sins that we do not want to let out.
I'm just going to leave it at that because I don't have a lot of time to focus on this thing. Becoming reliant on God is such a wonderful commitment to make. God is awesome, and we should always give our best stewardship. It's not like we cannot have fun in the process.
I'm just going to leave it at that because I don't have a lot of time to focus on this thing. Becoming reliant on God is such a wonderful commitment to make. God is awesome, and we should always give our best stewardship. It's not like we cannot have fun in the process.
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