And so the question remains...
I'm not crushed, nor brokenhearted. believe it or not. all those principles thing really worked after all. the words Guard your heart means u imagine your heart to be this time-bomb or this little rascal-kid that cant be tamed. so u literaly have to try to tie it to a chair....like tell it "SIT! be still!". don't invest your heart until there is commitment...blah blah blah. it works!! just knowing how to apply it is the difficult part huh.
i'm kinda confused about my big goals/dreams. wow...i can't pursue ALL of them. i gotta like start thinking what i can do. what i really like...it might take a total change of my course in life.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lord i wanna be focussed on YOU and your purpose. Amen
Thank you also for discernment....
I saw through some guy's huge OUTRIGHT LIE!! online and offline!! (dont worry, its something this week that happened haha) do people actually talk sooo slowwlyy?? *trying not to roll eyes*
And dear Miss L (the retro gal) and i met up today to shop eat and talk lots......more like sharing.....it was so amazing....shared a lot and it was so invigorating to be able to hear out people and share your stuff that cannot be understood my even your so-called chums u "grew up" with or "hang out" with. but she went thru more than i...and i admire that she came out stronger than me...learning to lean on God's providence on a daily basis.
Thank you also for discernment....
I saw through some guy's huge OUTRIGHT LIE!! online and offline!! (dont worry, its something this week that happened haha) do people actually talk sooo slowwlyy?? *trying not to roll eyes*
And dear Miss L (the retro gal) and i met up today to shop eat and talk lots......more like sharing.....it was so amazing....shared a lot and it was so invigorating to be able to hear out people and share your stuff that cannot be understood my even your so-called chums u "grew up" with or "hang out" with. but she went thru more than i...and i admire that she came out stronger than me...learning to lean on God's providence on a daily basis.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
the most loving thing to do
Doing something right!
Ok i did the most "right thing" today. even though i really wanted to attend the fellowship, i didn't stay. :) my parents miss me....but anyway...i decided this was not just the "most right" thing to do it was the "most loving" thing to do. so i'll be guai first....then see how God works on THAT. or uses THAT (whatever we learnt at KH's bible study and campus crusade teaching didn't go to waste) hmm.....i backed out on the japan trip...ouch! cos couldn't take leave.....but but but CM2007, here i come!
Ok i did the most "right thing" today. even though i really wanted to attend the fellowship, i didn't stay. :) my parents miss me....but anyway...i decided this was not just the "most right" thing to do it was the "most loving" thing to do. so i'll be guai first....then see how God works on THAT. or uses THAT (whatever we learnt at KH's bible study and campus crusade teaching didn't go to waste) hmm.....i backed out on the japan trip...ouch! cos couldn't take leave.....but but but CM2007, here i come!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Deep thoughts...
It all starts from the heart, from what happened before, with the future. With what happened before, we fear what may happen again. we think things might (happen again) because of the phrases "People don't change", "Does a leopard change its spots?", "I doubt i've changed" or "Can I change so much these things and people will never happen to me again?"
do you think this is true?
i dont think so.
My belief is that its up to the individual to alter his situation to a certain extent...not 100 percent but to at least some percentage, the world needs every one (to give). With each fall or bad trial comes pain and all but yet more discernment or more empathy. And character-building.
Love (not the romantic type) is indispensible. People can come and go, but love keeps people going. God is love (if not he wouldn't come to us...) and he sees everything.
As for personal aspect of life, yea been encouraged by many people thru the strangest ways. yet these 4 weeks have been very very up and down and this week was plain...strange. but a little sweet.
It all starts from the heart, from what happened before, with the future. With what happened before, we fear what may happen again. we think things might (happen again) because of the phrases "People don't change", "Does a leopard change its spots?", "I doubt i've changed" or "Can I change so much these things and people will never happen to me again?"
do you think this is true?
i dont think so.
My belief is that its up to the individual to alter his situation to a certain extent...not 100 percent but to at least some percentage, the world needs every one (to give). With each fall or bad trial comes pain and all but yet more discernment or more empathy. And character-building.
Love (not the romantic type) is indispensible. People can come and go, but love keeps people going. God is love (if not he wouldn't come to us...) and he sees everything.
As for personal aspect of life, yea been encouraged by many people thru the strangest ways. yet these 4 weeks have been very very up and down and this week was plain...strange. but a little sweet.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
the voice of truth
Are You Hearing Voices?
Dave Burchett
is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People
....I picked up the paper today and found a Peanuts cartoon that hit the nail on the head on a couple of levels. Peanuts creator Charles Schultz loved the Lord and loved baseball. That should qualify him for sainthood in my scorebook.
This particular strip has Charlie Brown standing on the mound ready for the first game of spring. Charlie Brown loves baseball more than any character on the planet except my friend John Frost. Charlie raises his arms in triumphant joy and exclaims, “I love the start of baseball season.”
In the next panel he has a nostalgic smile and notes, “There’s a certain indescribable feeling in the air.” From rightfield Lucy decides to add her feelings about what is in the air: “Defeat!”
Isn’t that what most of us deal with from time to time? Or maybe all of the time. We feel excitement. We feel triumph. We feel optimism. And then that voice from rightfield tells us that defeat is certain. That voice can be programmed from childhood. Negative parents, teachers, coaches, siblings, friends (?), Christians (?) and assorted others have laid down tracks on our mix of negative thoughts. But another voice that believers hear is the voice of Satan.
One thing is certain as you follow Jesus. If you are doing something for the Lord you can count on hearing from the Enemy. I get letters and emails and stories nearly every day from heartbroken people in the church. It almost always starts out the same way. "I was serving Jesus and it was going great and then…"
...another churchgoer did or said something.
...someone took my place or took me out of my place.
...I didn’t get appreciated or honored.
...I was disappointed by someone or something.
Then the voice jumps in.
And the voice starts telling you what you want to hear. That they should never have said that or did that if they were really a Christian. Or, you deserve that spot, not them. Or, how dare they take you from that position? Maybe the voice reminds you of how hard you work and no one cares. Or how others don’t work and you have to do it all and they still don’t care. That voice is not the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. That voice is the one yelling “Defeat!” from rightfield. That voice is the one robbing you of your joy in serving Jesus. Let’s be honest. If we are serving Christ to honor Him, we should be serving without expectation. Have I done that very well? No. Am I getting better? A little bit.
If I approach my service without expectation then it is about Him and not me. I am always ready to reverse the pronouns. If I offer to serve and I am not picked… praise God. He knows my heart and knows that I had an unselfish desire to serve. If my four decades of following Jesus have taught me anything it is that God will honor that spirit. Don’t let that “voice” ruin your walk with Jesus.
There is another voice.
It is much softer and requires a lot more effort to hear. You have to slow down and be quiet and spend time in prayer and God’s Word. Casting Crowns has a great song called "The Voice of Truth" that describes this spiritual battle:
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"
The song goes on to describe that "other voice":
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth
Jesus had to deal with voices. Three times He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4). The very men who Jesus invested His life into heard that voice and made ungodly suggestions. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a town that did not welcome them. Jesus rebuked them. And Peter got his hair parted when he tried to explain to Jesus that the events the Lord had just outlined really couldn’t happen.
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. Matt 16 NLT
All of us hear those voices. The voices from bad experiences in our past may require a little help to erase. Here is a little tip that I have learned: The voice we hear in the spiritual battle is the loud one. Listen for the quiet voice. Be still. Pray. Read His Word. The Voice of Truth says, “This is for my glory.” That is a plumbline for righteous action.
Is it for His glory? That is what the Voice of Truth tells you.
I am choosing to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.
Dave Burchett
is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People
....I picked up the paper today and found a Peanuts cartoon that hit the nail on the head on a couple of levels. Peanuts creator Charles Schultz loved the Lord and loved baseball. That should qualify him for sainthood in my scorebook.
This particular strip has Charlie Brown standing on the mound ready for the first game of spring. Charlie Brown loves baseball more than any character on the planet except my friend John Frost. Charlie raises his arms in triumphant joy and exclaims, “I love the start of baseball season.”
In the next panel he has a nostalgic smile and notes, “There’s a certain indescribable feeling in the air.” From rightfield Lucy decides to add her feelings about what is in the air: “Defeat!”
Isn’t that what most of us deal with from time to time? Or maybe all of the time. We feel excitement. We feel triumph. We feel optimism. And then that voice from rightfield tells us that defeat is certain. That voice can be programmed from childhood. Negative parents, teachers, coaches, siblings, friends (?), Christians (?) and assorted others have laid down tracks on our mix of negative thoughts. But another voice that believers hear is the voice of Satan.
One thing is certain as you follow Jesus. If you are doing something for the Lord you can count on hearing from the Enemy. I get letters and emails and stories nearly every day from heartbroken people in the church. It almost always starts out the same way. "I was serving Jesus and it was going great and then…"
...another churchgoer did or said something.
...someone took my place or took me out of my place.
...I didn’t get appreciated or honored.
...I was disappointed by someone or something.
Then the voice jumps in.
And the voice starts telling you what you want to hear. That they should never have said that or did that if they were really a Christian. Or, you deserve that spot, not them. Or, how dare they take you from that position? Maybe the voice reminds you of how hard you work and no one cares. Or how others don’t work and you have to do it all and they still don’t care. That voice is not the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. That voice is the one yelling “Defeat!” from rightfield. That voice is the one robbing you of your joy in serving Jesus. Let’s be honest. If we are serving Christ to honor Him, we should be serving without expectation. Have I done that very well? No. Am I getting better? A little bit.
If I approach my service without expectation then it is about Him and not me. I am always ready to reverse the pronouns. If I offer to serve and I am not picked… praise God. He knows my heart and knows that I had an unselfish desire to serve. If my four decades of following Jesus have taught me anything it is that God will honor that spirit. Don’t let that “voice” ruin your walk with Jesus.
There is another voice.
It is much softer and requires a lot more effort to hear. You have to slow down and be quiet and spend time in prayer and God’s Word. Casting Crowns has a great song called "The Voice of Truth" that describes this spiritual battle:
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"
The song goes on to describe that "other voice":
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth
Jesus had to deal with voices. Three times He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4). The very men who Jesus invested His life into heard that voice and made ungodly suggestions. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a town that did not welcome them. Jesus rebuked them. And Peter got his hair parted when he tried to explain to Jesus that the events the Lord had just outlined really couldn’t happen.
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. Matt 16 NLT
All of us hear those voices. The voices from bad experiences in our past may require a little help to erase. Here is a little tip that I have learned: The voice we hear in the spiritual battle is the loud one. Listen for the quiet voice. Be still. Pray. Read His Word. The Voice of Truth says, “This is for my glory.” That is a plumbline for righteous action.
Is it for His glory? That is what the Voice of Truth tells you.
I am choosing to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
good book
trials last for a season only....whew
Jesus too had to suffer to grow.
any many other big truths that i've been reading from Dr Douglas Rumford's book "Questions God asks, Questions Satan asks"
thot provoking yet factual....only 10% opinions in my opinion. haha.
New department's good.....until the day they kick me out, that is...., anything can happen nowadays.=) but till then...i'm trusting Him.
Jesus too had to suffer to grow.
any many other big truths that i've been reading from Dr Douglas Rumford's book "Questions God asks, Questions Satan asks"
thot provoking yet factual....only 10% opinions in my opinion. haha.
New department's good.....until the day they kick me out, that is...., anything can happen nowadays.=) but till then...i'm trusting Him.
Friday, March 2, 2007
stressed but not abandoned
Stressful week ~ yet not abandoned
the whole of level six was packing this week to move to level 8. and that is scaryy. it scaresss meee......moving house or office levels is just not my thing. and there were TWO BIG MEALS this week in the office....one dinner to "close" chinese new year and one happy hour lunch....almost consecutive....its nuts!!! argh. jian3 fei2 time again...haha. then again i've been encouraged too this week....so its good n bad.
the whole of level six was packing this week to move to level 8. and that is scaryy. it scaresss meee......moving house or office levels is just not my thing. and there were TWO BIG MEALS this week in the office....one dinner to "close" chinese new year and one happy hour lunch....almost consecutive....its nuts!!! argh. jian3 fei2 time again...haha. then again i've been encouraged too this week....so its good n bad.
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