This poem needs no explanation...no I didnt write it. I am hoping to get the energy up to reading and blogging a whole pile of chapters from the book.... hopefully..but anyways heres the poem...
I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.
I went before the Lord, I came,
I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time"
Will you find the time??
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Why worry when you can meditate?
That is the title of a daily devotional that I got a couple days ago from The Purpose Driven Life And there were some very interesting things pointed out so I thought I would write a blog about it. Oh and the 3 chapters from "Its not about me" are coming tonight!
If you are a chronic worrier, you would be a good meditator. John says that meditation is focused thinking, and worry is focused thinking. Worry focuses on what we cant answer or solve. If you can meditate on God's word throughout the day instead of worrying, you will be much happier. Worrying is not productive, and a waste of time (in my opinion) but think of if this way, if you worry a lot, replace all that worrying with meditating on God's word. Can you imagine how happy that would make Him? WOW
John gives us this advice "Try this today: If you catch yourself worrying, turn your thoughts instead to God and His word. Take a portion of scripture and turn it over and over in your mind. Remember what God has done for you. Be thankful"
I dont know about you, but I am going to do that!
Matthew 6: 25- 34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Psalm 1:1-2 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."
If you are a chronic worrier, you would be a good meditator. John says that meditation is focused thinking, and worry is focused thinking. Worry focuses on what we cant answer or solve. If you can meditate on God's word throughout the day instead of worrying, you will be much happier. Worrying is not productive, and a waste of time (in my opinion) but think of if this way, if you worry a lot, replace all that worrying with meditating on God's word. Can you imagine how happy that would make Him? WOW
John gives us this advice "Try this today: If you catch yourself worrying, turn your thoughts instead to God and His word. Take a portion of scripture and turn it over and over in your mind. Remember what God has done for you. Be thankful"
I dont know about you, but I am going to do that!
Matthew 6: 25- 34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Psalm 1:1-2 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Its Not about Me chapter 12
Chapter 12: My Struggles are about Him.
God leaves us to the consequences of our stupid decisions. Whatever we go through that is bad, it doesnt mean that God messed up! Dont ever think that. EVERYTHING that happens is for a purpose and to display God's glory.
God is sheer and mercy and grace; not easily angered, he is rich in love. He doesnt endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesnt treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. Psalm 103:8-11
Don't blame suffering in the world on the anger of God. He's not mad he didnt mess up.
Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles coopperate toward one end- the glory of GOd.
We have been selected to struggle for God's glory and we have been granted to believe in Christ and suffer for his sake!
Dont think that God is not listening because he is, He just may have different plans for the person you are praying for, or he may have a different plan for the prayer you pray for yourself.
GOd will use whatever he wants to display his glory.
(pg 127) A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward!
God leaves us to the consequences of our stupid decisions. Whatever we go through that is bad, it doesnt mean that God messed up! Dont ever think that. EVERYTHING that happens is for a purpose and to display God's glory.
God is sheer and mercy and grace; not easily angered, he is rich in love. He doesnt endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesnt treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. Psalm 103:8-11
Don't blame suffering in the world on the anger of God. He's not mad he didnt mess up.
Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles coopperate toward one end- the glory of GOd.
We have been selected to struggle for God's glory and we have been granted to believe in Christ and suffer for his sake!
Dont think that God is not listening because he is, He just may have different plans for the person you are praying for, or he may have a different plan for the prayer you pray for yourself.
GOd will use whatever he wants to display his glory.
(pg 127) A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward!
Its Not about Me chapter 11
Chapter 11: My Body is about Him
Use yourt whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13
Your body is God's instrument, intended for his work and for his glory. (pg 111)
Your body, God's tool. Maintain it!
Your body, God's temple. Respect it!
I dont have much to say from this chapter except that! That explains the whole chapter.
Use yourt whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13
Your body is God's instrument, intended for his work and for his glory. (pg 111)
Your body, God's tool. Maintain it!
Your body, God's temple. Respect it!
I dont have much to say from this chapter except that! That explains the whole chapter.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Its Not about Me chapter 10
Chapter 10: My salvation is about Him
The work of Christ is the bungee cord for the soul. Trust it and take the plunge! I personally DO NOT LIKE the thought of attaching myself to a cord and jump off a bridge. That is not my idea of a fun time! I just need to think of the work of Christ as a bungee cord. I need to trust him and take a chance!
On our own, we're spiritually sunk!
Max told a story about sailors who were dumped overboard when their ship blew up. We are equally helpless as they were when some died and some were waiting to die in the cold water. We are submerged. not in Salt water but in sin. We need to be lifted up- not out of the ocean but out of our failures.
We don't have what it takes to save our lives. We are not strong enough nor big enough. We don't need muscles; we need a miracle. (pg 102)
Max asks a question "Do you think that your baptism and Sunday attendance will be enough to save you?"
Your salvation showcases God's mercy. It makes nothing of your effort but everything of his.
And remember this one thing:
It's not about what we do; it's all about what he does.
The work of Christ is the bungee cord for the soul. Trust it and take the plunge! I personally DO NOT LIKE the thought of attaching myself to a cord and jump off a bridge. That is not my idea of a fun time! I just need to think of the work of Christ as a bungee cord. I need to trust him and take a chance!
On our own, we're spiritually sunk!
Max told a story about sailors who were dumped overboard when their ship blew up. We are equally helpless as they were when some died and some were waiting to die in the cold water. We are submerged. not in Salt water but in sin. We need to be lifted up- not out of the ocean but out of our failures.
We don't have what it takes to save our lives. We are not strong enough nor big enough. We don't need muscles; we need a miracle. (pg 102)
Max asks a question "Do you think that your baptism and Sunday attendance will be enough to save you?"
Your salvation showcases God's mercy. It makes nothing of your effort but everything of his.
And remember this one thing:
It's not about what we do; it's all about what he does.
Its Not about Me chapter 9
Chapter 9: My Message is about Him
Max used an example of himself when he was young. He was an art guide. An art guides job is to lead the people to the paintings, answer their questions, and step out of the way. Such is our mission in life. To lead people to Jesus, answer their questions about him and step out of the way, but occasionally bump them in the right direction if they are straying. My youth pastor had mentioned this a while ago to the youth that her job is not to have all the answers. Her job is to lead us to the one who has all the answers. She is not God, so we should not be depending on her. We should be fully FULLY depending on God at ALL times! I think us as youth are finally grasping this and its awesome! I am so proud of all the youth at Refuge! I have seen all my friends grow more! I have a small close-knit group of friends and I have seen each one of them grow closer to God. I have seen all the youth at Refuge grow closer to God. And I totally give all the glory to God for that, and I want to thank Karyn, our youth pastor for leading us towards him instead of trying to do more than she can handle! I love ya Karyn!
Anyways... Back to the book..
Satan whispers the question in our heads "What are people thinking of you?" I hate that! It hinders too many people from being who they were made to be, because of that stupid question that gets in the way!
God doesnt need us to do his work, we are simply his messangers. When we do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself! So important!
This last story in the chapter had a big impact. I will just type out the paragraph:
" A European village priest in medieval times once gathered his church for a special service 'Come tonight' he said, 'for a special sermon on Jesus' and they did. They came. To their surpise, however, no candles illuminated the santuary. They groped their way to the pews and took their seats. The priest was nowhere to be seen. But soon he was heard walking through the church toward the front. When he reached the crucifix that hung on the wall, he lit a candle. Saying nothing, he illuminated the pierced feet of Christ, then the side, then one hand, and then the other. Lifting the candle, he shed light on the blood-masked face and the crown of thorns. With a puff, he blew out the candle and dismissed the church.
May we do nothing more. May we do nothing less.
Max used an example of himself when he was young. He was an art guide. An art guides job is to lead the people to the paintings, answer their questions, and step out of the way. Such is our mission in life. To lead people to Jesus, answer their questions about him and step out of the way, but occasionally bump them in the right direction if they are straying. My youth pastor had mentioned this a while ago to the youth that her job is not to have all the answers. Her job is to lead us to the one who has all the answers. She is not God, so we should not be depending on her. We should be fully FULLY depending on God at ALL times! I think us as youth are finally grasping this and its awesome! I am so proud of all the youth at Refuge! I have seen all my friends grow more! I have a small close-knit group of friends and I have seen each one of them grow closer to God. I have seen all the youth at Refuge grow closer to God. And I totally give all the glory to God for that, and I want to thank Karyn, our youth pastor for leading us towards him instead of trying to do more than she can handle! I love ya Karyn!
Anyways... Back to the book..
Satan whispers the question in our heads "What are people thinking of you?" I hate that! It hinders too many people from being who they were made to be, because of that stupid question that gets in the way!
God doesnt need us to do his work, we are simply his messangers. When we do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself! So important!
This last story in the chapter had a big impact. I will just type out the paragraph:
" A European village priest in medieval times once gathered his church for a special service 'Come tonight' he said, 'for a special sermon on Jesus' and they did. They came. To their surpise, however, no candles illuminated the santuary. They groped their way to the pews and took their seats. The priest was nowhere to be seen. But soon he was heard walking through the church toward the front. When he reached the crucifix that hung on the wall, he lit a candle. Saying nothing, he illuminated the pierced feet of Christ, then the side, then one hand, and then the other. Lifting the candle, he shed light on the blood-masked face and the crown of thorns. With a puff, he blew out the candle and dismissed the church.
May we do nothing more. May we do nothing less.
It's Not about Me chapter 8
Chapter 8: God's Mirrors
We are God's mirrors. Max tells a story about a man who used a mirror to help rescue him. What if the mirror was "insecure" saying: What if i blow it? What if i send a dash when I am supposed to send a dot? Self doubt could paralyze a mirror. Our job description is simply this : REFLECT GOD'S GLORY!
Our job is to behold God so intently that we cant help but reflect him! Max says that to behold is to study, to stare, to contemplate, to seriously ponder. And he also says that Beholding leads to becoming, becoming leads to reflecting.
Matthew 5:16 says to "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven"
Let your salvation reflect God's glory. Your message, your salvation, your body, your struggles, your success- all proclaim God's glory. God sends us the message, we and our job is to mirror it. He is the source; we are the glass. He is the light; we are the mirrors.
The guy that Max was talking about his name was Mr Tweed. Mr Tweeds use of a mirror led to a rescue. May God's use of us lead to millions more!
We are God's mirrors. Max tells a story about a man who used a mirror to help rescue him. What if the mirror was "insecure" saying: What if i blow it? What if i send a dash when I am supposed to send a dot? Self doubt could paralyze a mirror. Our job description is simply this : REFLECT GOD'S GLORY!
Our job is to behold God so intently that we cant help but reflect him! Max says that to behold is to study, to stare, to contemplate, to seriously ponder. And he also says that Beholding leads to becoming, becoming leads to reflecting.
Matthew 5:16 says to "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven"
Let your salvation reflect God's glory. Your message, your salvation, your body, your struggles, your success- all proclaim God's glory. God sends us the message, we and our job is to mirror it. He is the source; we are the glass. He is the light; we are the mirrors.
The guy that Max was talking about his name was Mr Tweed. Mr Tweeds use of a mirror led to a rescue. May God's use of us lead to millions more!
Its Not about Me chapter 7
Ok heres the chapters i missed. Again, very sorry..
Chapter 7: God's Great Love
God's love is fresh and so pure! One swallow slackens the thirsty throat and softens the crusty heart. Immerse a life in God's love, and watch it emerge cleansed and changed. We know the impact of God's love. But do we know the volume? No, no person has ever measured it. (pg 70)
Does God love you? Behold the cross, and behold your answer. (pg 71)
Ephesians 5:2 says "[God the Son] loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God"
God loves us with an unfailing love! Isn't that exciting?? I think so! His love NEVER fails! We might fail, but God NEVER does!
Think about this.... if its all about you, then its all up to you. God rescues us from that burden! While we are valueable, we are not essential. We are important not not indespensable!
God loves us too much to give us more than we can handle. There is a verse that says something like that but i cant think of it right now. anyways... He knows our limitations and he is well aware of our weaknesses. God loves us way to much to say that its all about us! I certainly dont know what it takes to run the world, and Max says that we are wise to leave the work to God's hands!
To say that its not about us is not to say that we are not loved; quite the contrary, its because God loves us that its not about us!
A diver will go to the depths of the ocean to find the oceans bottom (the limit) And when it comes to water, we will find waters limit, but when it comes to God's love, we never will!
Chapter 7: God's Great Love
God's love is fresh and so pure! One swallow slackens the thirsty throat and softens the crusty heart. Immerse a life in God's love, and watch it emerge cleansed and changed. We know the impact of God's love. But do we know the volume? No, no person has ever measured it. (pg 70)
Does God love you? Behold the cross, and behold your answer. (pg 71)
Ephesians 5:2 says "[God the Son] loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God"
God loves us with an unfailing love! Isn't that exciting?? I think so! His love NEVER fails! We might fail, but God NEVER does!
Think about this.... if its all about you, then its all up to you. God rescues us from that burden! While we are valueable, we are not essential. We are important not not indespensable!
God loves us too much to give us more than we can handle. There is a verse that says something like that but i cant think of it right now. anyways... He knows our limitations and he is well aware of our weaknesses. God loves us way to much to say that its all about us! I certainly dont know what it takes to run the world, and Max says that we are wise to leave the work to God's hands!
To say that its not about us is not to say that we are not loved; quite the contrary, its because God loves us that its not about us!
A diver will go to the depths of the ocean to find the oceans bottom (the limit) And when it comes to water, we will find waters limit, but when it comes to God's love, we never will!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
sorry
Sorry about the lack of blogging. I have been kinda really sick these last few days and have had no energy. All i have been doing these past few days is read my bible and as my gift to myself, after i have read the WHOLE bible, I am going to go out and buy myself a new bible (different translation)
:)
But anyways, about the book, I am going to get reading again and i will hopefully post at lunch time tomorrow at work. I hope....
anyways, sorry guys!
:)
But anyways, about the book, I am going to get reading again and i will hopefully post at lunch time tomorrow at work. I hope....
anyways, sorry guys!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
It's not about me chapter 6
Chapter 6: His Unchanging Hand
This is obvious, with life comes change. With change comes fear, insecurity, pain, stress. So what do you do? Run away? take no risks of failing? Some do. But the better choice is to look up. Set your bearings on the one and only North Star in the universe-- God. For though life changes, He never does. He never changes! Amen!
God never tires and never sleeps (Psalm 121:4) He never signals a time out or puts the prayer requests from Russia on hold while he handles South Africa.
The word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8)
The Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35)
God's ways will never be changed. God will always be the same, yesterday today and forever. Hey that's a song. I think it was sung at youth councils "Yesterday, today and forever, you are the same, you never change." God will always hate sin and love sinners. He will always be the same! Its us who change! Not him! No matter what humanity does, it wont stop his plan -born in eternity. It will always withstand any attack of humanity.
The cross will never lose its power. The blood of Christ will not fade in strength. Heaven will never announce the collapse of the bridge! Amen!
With life comes change. But with change comes the reassuring appreciated of heaven's permanence. His firm foundation stands: (2 Timothy 2:19). His house will stand forever.
AMEN!
This is obvious, with life comes change. With change comes fear, insecurity, pain, stress. So what do you do? Run away? take no risks of failing? Some do. But the better choice is to look up. Set your bearings on the one and only North Star in the universe-- God. For though life changes, He never does. He never changes! Amen!
God never tires and never sleeps (Psalm 121:4) He never signals a time out or puts the prayer requests from Russia on hold while he handles South Africa.
The word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8)
The Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35)
God's ways will never be changed. God will always be the same, yesterday today and forever. Hey that's a song. I think it was sung at youth councils "Yesterday, today and forever, you are the same, you never change." God will always hate sin and love sinners. He will always be the same! Its us who change! Not him! No matter what humanity does, it wont stop his plan -born in eternity. It will always withstand any attack of humanity.
The cross will never lose its power. The blood of Christ will not fade in strength. Heaven will never announce the collapse of the bridge! Amen!
With life comes change. But with change comes the reassuring appreciated of heaven's permanence. His firm foundation stands: (2 Timothy 2:19). His house will stand forever.
AMEN!
It's Not about Me chapter 5
Chapter 5: Just a moment
Not even God made God. On sunday Ashley brought up a good question. If God created the world, who created God. Well the answer is simple. Not even God created God. He IS the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning AND the end! Nobody created God.
Along with Alpha and Omega there are many words to describe God: everlasting King (Jeremiah 10:10) , Incorruptible (Romans 1:23), who has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16), but you [O God]are the same, and Your years will have no end (Psalm 102:27), the number of his years is unsearchable (Job 36:26) There are many more but those are just a few.
God knows our beginning and our end, because he has neither. He IS the beginning and the end, so he has NO end!
He does not live sequential moments, laid out on a timeline, one following the other. His world is one moment, or better stated momentless. He sees our birth and burial in one frame. Its like a puzzle. Our life is one big puzzle. Each problem is one piece of the puzzle, and it is put together to make one big picture. But we only see one piece of the puzzle. God sees the whole picture. He is the only one who has the cheat sheet (the top of the box marked, _______'s Life) He is the only one who knows how, and when our lives will end. He is the only one who knows our future!
The length of our lives on earth is just a moment compared to eternity.
Paul says that the attacks, hunger and thirst are "light afflictions to be endured for just a moment" What if we took the same attitude towards life? What if we just saw our life as just a moment. What if we saw our problems as a grain of sand. It is small compared to the whole beach!
Max says here that "Fleeting days don't justify fleeing problems. Fleeting days strenghtn us to endure problems. Will your problems lass? No guarantee they will. Will your pain cease? Perhaps, Perhaps not. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says 'our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory' There are a couple paralells that I got. One is drinking. People drink to take away their problems. People have told me that when they drink, their problems just seem to go away. But at the end of all that drinking, you wake up and your problems are still there, and added to them is one big hangover. Another paralell I got is eating disorders. People seem to think that starving themselves or purging their food is goin to make them loose weight. Well in the long run it might, but there are so many problems that come along with eating disorders: organs damaged, organs shut down, eventually you could die if it gets worse. People seem to think that starving themselves or whatnot, is going to take away the problem of weight. Well let me tell you, its going to ADD problems. It might take away some weight, but it will add 10 times more problems just to get that one problem taken away.
I like this paralel that Max gives. This lady was using a pan scale. The weight of the purchase would be determined by placing weights on one side and the purchase on the other side. God does that with our burdens. He stacks them. Does he remove them? No, he offsets them. He places an eternal weight of glory on the other side.
We can be sick for just a moment.
We can be lonely for just a moment.
We can be persecuted for just a moment.
We can struggle for just a moment.
Can't we?
Can't we wait for our peace? It's not about us anyways. And its certainly not about now.
Not even God made God. On sunday Ashley brought up a good question. If God created the world, who created God. Well the answer is simple. Not even God created God. He IS the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning AND the end! Nobody created God.
Along with Alpha and Omega there are many words to describe God: everlasting King (Jeremiah 10:10) , Incorruptible (Romans 1:23), who has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16), but you [O God]are the same, and Your years will have no end (Psalm 102:27), the number of his years is unsearchable (Job 36:26) There are many more but those are just a few.
God knows our beginning and our end, because he has neither. He IS the beginning and the end, so he has NO end!
He does not live sequential moments, laid out on a timeline, one following the other. His world is one moment, or better stated momentless. He sees our birth and burial in one frame. Its like a puzzle. Our life is one big puzzle. Each problem is one piece of the puzzle, and it is put together to make one big picture. But we only see one piece of the puzzle. God sees the whole picture. He is the only one who has the cheat sheet (the top of the box marked, _______'s Life) He is the only one who knows how, and when our lives will end. He is the only one who knows our future!
The length of our lives on earth is just a moment compared to eternity.
Paul says that the attacks, hunger and thirst are "light afflictions to be endured for just a moment" What if we took the same attitude towards life? What if we just saw our life as just a moment. What if we saw our problems as a grain of sand. It is small compared to the whole beach!
Max says here that "Fleeting days don't justify fleeing problems. Fleeting days strenghtn us to endure problems. Will your problems lass? No guarantee they will. Will your pain cease? Perhaps, Perhaps not. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says 'our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory' There are a couple paralells that I got. One is drinking. People drink to take away their problems. People have told me that when they drink, their problems just seem to go away. But at the end of all that drinking, you wake up and your problems are still there, and added to them is one big hangover. Another paralell I got is eating disorders. People seem to think that starving themselves or purging their food is goin to make them loose weight. Well in the long run it might, but there are so many problems that come along with eating disorders: organs damaged, organs shut down, eventually you could die if it gets worse. People seem to think that starving themselves or whatnot, is going to take away the problem of weight. Well let me tell you, its going to ADD problems. It might take away some weight, but it will add 10 times more problems just to get that one problem taken away.
I like this paralel that Max gives. This lady was using a pan scale. The weight of the purchase would be determined by placing weights on one side and the purchase on the other side. God does that with our burdens. He stacks them. Does he remove them? No, he offsets them. He places an eternal weight of glory on the other side.
We can be sick for just a moment.
We can be lonely for just a moment.
We can be persecuted for just a moment.
We can struggle for just a moment.
Can't we?
Can't we wait for our peace? It's not about us anyways. And its certainly not about now.
It's not about me chapter 4
Chapter 4: Holy Different
God's holiness commands headline attention! (pg 38) Amen! He is holy, holy, holy! Hes the Alpha and the Omega and we need to bring headline attention to that. Its not just old or unimportant news! It needs to be spread like wildfire across the nations!
The Hebrew word for holy is "qadosh" which means cut off or seperate. God is definitly seperate. God is unique, different from the world he has made. He is not just any ordinary man. He is HOLY!!
He told us to make a paper airplane and then challenge it to a basketball game, spelling bee or a board game. Of course, we will win over all of that because the paper airplane is an inadimate object and doesnt move unless we fly it. It only exists because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it. Multiply the contrasts between you and the paper plane by infinity, and you will begin to catch a glimpse of the disparity between God and us. Now I dont know what "disparity" means, and for those of you who dont know what it means... it means.
dis·par·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-spr-t)n. pl. dis·par·i·ties
The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree; difference: “narrow the economic disparities among regions and industries” (Courtenay Slater).
Unlikeness; incongruity.
Any pursuit of God's counterpart is vain. Any search for a godlike person or position on earth is futile. No one and nothing compares with him. That makes total sense to me. That is something I struggled with a few months ago. I was more dependant on my youth pastor than I was dependant on God. I wasnt seeking God fully. I was seeking a godlike person on earth! That should NOT be. I should be seeking God and God alone! I should be depending on HIM to help me through times of struggle. Yes I can ask my friends to pray for me/with me. But I should be seeking God first! I shouldnt just be depending on them to intercede! I need to ask God to help me first before I ask other people to ask him for that. I hope that made sense!
We need to know that we were not created for our own sake. We were not created "just because" Revelation 4:11 says "You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created" We were created for HIS pleasure; not our own! And until we get that, our lives are meaningless.
Wow this hit me like a tonne of bricks. The veil that blocks your vision and mine do not block God's. Unspoken words are as if uttered. Unrevealed thoughts are as if proclaimed. Unoccurred moments are as if they were history. He knows the future, the past, the hidden and the untold. Nothing is concealed from God. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. I always knew that that was true, but I guess I just forgot about that. But it is true. If someone is making you mad and you want to tell them what you are thinking about them at that moment, even if you just thought about it but didnt do it. Its as if it were already said. ouch!
God's holiness commands headline attention! (pg 38) Amen! He is holy, holy, holy! Hes the Alpha and the Omega and we need to bring headline attention to that. Its not just old or unimportant news! It needs to be spread like wildfire across the nations!
The Hebrew word for holy is "qadosh" which means cut off or seperate. God is definitly seperate. God is unique, different from the world he has made. He is not just any ordinary man. He is HOLY!!
He told us to make a paper airplane and then challenge it to a basketball game, spelling bee or a board game. Of course, we will win over all of that because the paper airplane is an inadimate object and doesnt move unless we fly it. It only exists because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it. Multiply the contrasts between you and the paper plane by infinity, and you will begin to catch a glimpse of the disparity between God and us. Now I dont know what "disparity" means, and for those of you who dont know what it means... it means.
dis·par·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-spr-t)n. pl. dis·par·i·ties
The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree; difference: “narrow the economic disparities among regions and industries” (Courtenay Slater).
Unlikeness; incongruity.
Any pursuit of God's counterpart is vain. Any search for a godlike person or position on earth is futile. No one and nothing compares with him. That makes total sense to me. That is something I struggled with a few months ago. I was more dependant on my youth pastor than I was dependant on God. I wasnt seeking God fully. I was seeking a godlike person on earth! That should NOT be. I should be seeking God and God alone! I should be depending on HIM to help me through times of struggle. Yes I can ask my friends to pray for me/with me. But I should be seeking God first! I shouldnt just be depending on them to intercede! I need to ask God to help me first before I ask other people to ask him for that. I hope that made sense!
We need to know that we were not created for our own sake. We were not created "just because" Revelation 4:11 says "You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created" We were created for HIS pleasure; not our own! And until we get that, our lives are meaningless.
Wow this hit me like a tonne of bricks. The veil that blocks your vision and mine do not block God's. Unspoken words are as if uttered. Unrevealed thoughts are as if proclaimed. Unoccurred moments are as if they were history. He knows the future, the past, the hidden and the untold. Nothing is concealed from God. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. I always knew that that was true, but I guess I just forgot about that. But it is true. If someone is making you mad and you want to tell them what you are thinking about them at that moment, even if you just thought about it but didnt do it. Its as if it were already said. ouch!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Its Not About Me chapter 3
Chapter 3: Divine Self-promotion
One glimpse [of God's glory], one taste, one sampling, and your faith will never be the same. (pg 25)
To seek God's glory is to pray "Let your nature spill forth. God, show us God" To ask to see God's glory is to ask to see all of God. (pg 26)
Glory- is a root word for heavy, weighty or IMPORTANT. God's glory celebrates his significance, his uniqueness, his one-of-a-kindness.
When you think of God's glory, think preeminence and when you think preeminence think priority. For God's glory is God's priority.
Think of the imagery that comes from this paragraph:
"God's staff meetings, if he had them, would revolve around one question 'How can we reveal my glory today?' God's to-do list consists of one item: 'Reveal my glory.' Heaven's framed and mounted purpose statement hansg in the angels' break room just above the angel food cake. It reads 'Declare God's glory" I totally got imagery from that. Did u guys? It was total imagery! That was cool!
Why do the heavens exist?? to declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1)
I love this verse. "Trust in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory (Psalm 50:15)
There was imagery of a pilot of a lifeboat. When you are drowning, the lifeboat comes to rescue yuo and the pilot says "I am here, I am strong, I have room for you. I can save you" (pg 30)
We need to promote God. We need to boast in the Lord. Think about this "God awoke you and me this morning for one purpose: Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples (1 Chronicles 16:24) (pg 31)
I will leave you with one last thing:
Why does the earth spin? For Him.
Why do you have talents and abilities? For Him.
Why do you have money or poverty? For Him
Why do you have strengths or struggles? For Him
Everything and everyone exists to reveal his glory.
Including you. (pg 32)
One glimpse [of God's glory], one taste, one sampling, and your faith will never be the same. (pg 25)
To seek God's glory is to pray "Let your nature spill forth. God, show us God" To ask to see God's glory is to ask to see all of God. (pg 26)
Glory- is a root word for heavy, weighty or IMPORTANT. God's glory celebrates his significance, his uniqueness, his one-of-a-kindness.
When you think of God's glory, think preeminence and when you think preeminence think priority. For God's glory is God's priority.
Think of the imagery that comes from this paragraph:
"God's staff meetings, if he had them, would revolve around one question 'How can we reveal my glory today?' God's to-do list consists of one item: 'Reveal my glory.' Heaven's framed and mounted purpose statement hansg in the angels' break room just above the angel food cake. It reads 'Declare God's glory" I totally got imagery from that. Did u guys? It was total imagery! That was cool!
Why do the heavens exist?? to declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1)
I love this verse. "Trust in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory (Psalm 50:15)
There was imagery of a pilot of a lifeboat. When you are drowning, the lifeboat comes to rescue yuo and the pilot says "I am here, I am strong, I have room for you. I can save you" (pg 30)
We need to promote God. We need to boast in the Lord. Think about this "God awoke you and me this morning for one purpose: Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples (1 Chronicles 16:24) (pg 31)
I will leave you with one last thing:
Why does the earth spin? For Him.
Why do you have talents and abilities? For Him.
Why do you have money or poverty? For Him
Why do you have strengths or struggles? For Him
Everything and everyone exists to reveal his glory.
Including you. (pg 32)
Its Not About Me chapter 2
Sorry, i am already behind, but i will write chapter 3 as well so i am up to date!!
When we ask to see a glimpse of God's glory, we cross a line when we make such a request. When our deepest desire is not the things of God, or a favor from God, but God himself, we cross a threshold. Less self-focus, more God-focus. Less about me, more about him! (pg 18) I just wrote a poem/song about that last night. I dont have it with me right now, but i will write it in tonight!
Just a glimpse of God's glory can change you forever!
Max was telling a story of when his uncle died and they were at his funeral. He was sad, everyone around him was upset. He looks at his dad and his dad says "its ok son" Max says "at that moment i realized something. I could look around and find fear, or look at my father and find faith"
So you can choose to look around at the pain of the world or you can choose to look at God's face and find happiness!
When we ask to see a glimpse of God's glory, we cross a line when we make such a request. When our deepest desire is not the things of God, or a favor from God, but God himself, we cross a threshold. Less self-focus, more God-focus. Less about me, more about him! (pg 18) I just wrote a poem/song about that last night. I dont have it with me right now, but i will write it in tonight!
Just a glimpse of God's glory can change you forever!
Max was telling a story of when his uncle died and they were at his funeral. He was sad, everyone around him was upset. He looks at his dad and his dad says "its ok son" Max says "at that moment i realized something. I could look around and find fear, or look at my father and find faith"
So you can choose to look around at the pain of the world or you can choose to look at God's face and find happiness!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Its Not About Me- Chapter 1
I am starting to read "Its Not About Me" By Max Lucado (One of my FAVORITE authors) I am going to keep accountable by writing each chapter on here. I couldnt stop reading so i have like 4 chapters done... aha... I have underlined stuff that stuck out to me. I will write those out first and then write my comments on it. If you could, please keep me accountable to keeping up blogging the chapters. Thanks
Chapter 1: Bumping Life of Self-Center
Max Lucado was comparing Copernicus to God.
"[Copernicus] tapped our collective shoulders and cleared his throat and said 'Forgive my proclamation, but' and pointed a lone finger toward the sun, he announced, 'behold the centre of the solar system'.......... "What Copernicus did for the earth, God does for souls, Tapping the collective shoulder of humanity, he points to the Son- His Son- and says, 'Behold the center of it all"' (Pg 4)
Ephesians 1:20-22 (MSG) "God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church."
"When God looks at the center of the universe, he doesnt look at you" WOW! That's so important! "We are lesser orbs" as he says. We are appreciated, valued, loved dearly. But central, essential? Nope! "Our comfort is not God's first priority" MJ is over, and i read that to her and we both went. OUCH!! (pg5)
Max made a comparison of us and the moon. The moon reflects the sUn, and we should therefore reflect the sOn. "The moon reflects the greater light.... What would happen if we accepted our place as SON reflectors?" (pg6)
He then makes a comparison between Self-Centredness and an Orchestra. If the orchestra doesnt follow the conductor they just wnat to shine. They dont care about the other people. If we follow the conductor everything will be orderly and not in chaos! (pg7)
"Ptolemaic thinking says 'Its mine, Im going to enjoy it' God centred thinking acknowledges 'It's God's; I have to respect" (pg8)
"My pain proves God's absence' would be replaced with 'My pain expands God's purpose" (pg8)
"We move from me-focus to God focus by pondering him. Witnessing him. Following the counsel of the apostle Paul: 'Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [we] are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord' 2 Corinthians 3:18" (pg9)
I love this book! I totally reccomend it. So much spoke to me. I ordered online a journal that goes with this book. there are questions in there, but i think i am going to keep those to myself. :) but I will share daily what i learn and what popped out to me!
Blessings...
Chapter 1: Bumping Life of Self-Center
Max Lucado was comparing Copernicus to God.
"[Copernicus] tapped our collective shoulders and cleared his throat and said 'Forgive my proclamation, but' and pointed a lone finger toward the sun, he announced, 'behold the centre of the solar system'.......... "What Copernicus did for the earth, God does for souls, Tapping the collective shoulder of humanity, he points to the Son- His Son- and says, 'Behold the center of it all"' (Pg 4)
Ephesians 1:20-22 (MSG) "God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church."
"When God looks at the center of the universe, he doesnt look at you" WOW! That's so important! "We are lesser orbs" as he says. We are appreciated, valued, loved dearly. But central, essential? Nope! "Our comfort is not God's first priority" MJ is over, and i read that to her and we both went. OUCH!! (pg5)
Max made a comparison of us and the moon. The moon reflects the sUn, and we should therefore reflect the sOn. "The moon reflects the greater light.... What would happen if we accepted our place as SON reflectors?" (pg6)
He then makes a comparison between Self-Centredness and an Orchestra. If the orchestra doesnt follow the conductor they just wnat to shine. They dont care about the other people. If we follow the conductor everything will be orderly and not in chaos! (pg7)
"Ptolemaic thinking says 'Its mine, Im going to enjoy it' God centred thinking acknowledges 'It's God's; I have to respect" (pg8)
"My pain proves God's absence' would be replaced with 'My pain expands God's purpose" (pg8)
"We move from me-focus to God focus by pondering him. Witnessing him. Following the counsel of the apostle Paul: 'Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [we] are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord' 2 Corinthians 3:18" (pg9)
I love this book! I totally reccomend it. So much spoke to me. I ordered online a journal that goes with this book. there are questions in there, but i think i am going to keep those to myself. :) but I will share daily what i learn and what popped out to me!
Blessings...
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Surrender
"God can use whatever we surrender"
I was sitting down at the prayer meeting on Tuesday morning and that statement caught my eye. So i picked up the newspaper (christian news) article and started reading it. It was about a man named David Bentall and his son Jon. It starts off by saying: " I am not a hockey player, I don't consider myself much of a missionary and I definitly dont speak Slovak! So you might say it was a bit out of the ordinary, tat i would find myself on a hockey missions trip to Slovakia this winter" David decided that if God can use a few loaves of bread and a few fish to feed 5,000 that he could use him on this trip! The hockey team had made a banner for their team. Before the game the Mayor came to David and thanked him for helping to bring peace and understand between the countries (canada and slovakia) and she told him that "Only Jesus Christ can bring real peace to individuals, as well as to countries" It was neat to hear that two countries were coming together to bring peace.
Now i bet your wondering...how did God use David on this trip? Well, he helped look after the team's equipment, and was responsible for refilling the teams water bottles between periods. He was happy to do what he was asked to do. He didn't play hockey, nor did he speak Slovak but there he was at a hockey tournament in Slovakia. But God used him to help the team.
He puts it really nicely at the end of this article: " We all need love, we all need God's guidance and presence in our lives; and we all need to surrender all we have, and all we hope for, to him.... God wants us to surrender our lives to Him" Sooooo true! It doesnt matter what we can't do. It matters what we can do! We need to ask God to use our abilities for his glory! God can use anything we surrender to him, whether it be our money, our time, our service..anything.... We dont have to be world class sports players, we need to be world class Christians!
God can use whatever we surrender to him so let us surrender what we have to him for his glory!
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." ~ Romans 12:1-2 (NAS)
I was sitting down at the prayer meeting on Tuesday morning and that statement caught my eye. So i picked up the newspaper (christian news) article and started reading it. It was about a man named David Bentall and his son Jon. It starts off by saying: " I am not a hockey player, I don't consider myself much of a missionary and I definitly dont speak Slovak! So you might say it was a bit out of the ordinary, tat i would find myself on a hockey missions trip to Slovakia this winter" David decided that if God can use a few loaves of bread and a few fish to feed 5,000 that he could use him on this trip! The hockey team had made a banner for their team. Before the game the Mayor came to David and thanked him for helping to bring peace and understand between the countries (canada and slovakia) and she told him that "Only Jesus Christ can bring real peace to individuals, as well as to countries" It was neat to hear that two countries were coming together to bring peace.
Now i bet your wondering...how did God use David on this trip? Well, he helped look after the team's equipment, and was responsible for refilling the teams water bottles between periods. He was happy to do what he was asked to do. He didn't play hockey, nor did he speak Slovak but there he was at a hockey tournament in Slovakia. But God used him to help the team.
He puts it really nicely at the end of this article: " We all need love, we all need God's guidance and presence in our lives; and we all need to surrender all we have, and all we hope for, to him.... God wants us to surrender our lives to Him" Sooooo true! It doesnt matter what we can't do. It matters what we can do! We need to ask God to use our abilities for his glory! God can use anything we surrender to him, whether it be our money, our time, our service..anything.... We dont have to be world class sports players, we need to be world class Christians!
God can use whatever we surrender to him so let us surrender what we have to him for his glory!
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." ~ Romans 12:1-2 (NAS)
Pay it Forward
I am not sure if this qualifies as Pay it Forward...however... it was REALLY cool!!!!!!
I was at Douglas College all day (in New west which BTW i like David Lam campus SOOO much better!!) I was hanging out with my friends from the TR class. We have a study group. We met up and did a few leisure interviews and we studied for 3 hours STRAIGHT!!! WOW..anyways.. i went to photocopy some things and this guy (who happened to be REALLY REALLY cute **blushes**) comes in to the photocopy room and was like:
Boy-"well, what a crappy day today has turned out to be" he was referring to the pouring rain. Me- "meh, its not so bad"
Boy- "well isnt someone in a chipper mood" he wasnt in a BAD mood like he wasnt giving me attitude but he was teasing me i guess (my friend says he was flirting.... i wouldnt know what that looked like even if it came up and bit me)
Me- "yup"
Boy- " Its saturday afternoon and we are at school, how can u have such a chipper attitude"
Me- I dont let the bad weather get me down" i smiled.
Then he couldnt figure out how to put money on his card for the photocopier and so i helped him put money on his card, and i had to get back to my group and he said "thank you" and he was in such a better mood when i left. he looked at me and smled when he said thanks. I walked out of the room with the biggest smile on my face!
That is totally what God wants us to do. Sometimes if someone is in a bad mood we tend to get the brush of that mood and then we get in a bad mood. but if someone is in a bad mood (or just not happy about the weather) you have to counteract that mood with a 'chipper' attitude. If you do that people will be like "wow, shes happy, maybe i should be happy too, life isnt so bad" :)
THEN i went to leave and my friend and i were walking down the hall and another guy (who was cute yes, again!) and she complimented his hair (she is an older lady not my age... btw) and i agreed and he looked at me and smiled and he was talking about how he is growing it out and its going to cover his ears...and such.. my friend and i were going to the facilities and she was like "theres another guy totally checking you out" hahahaha.... again i wouldnt know that even if it came up and bit me..but all i said to her was:
"Must be the hair" :)
Blessings to you all....
I was at Douglas College all day (in New west which BTW i like David Lam campus SOOO much better!!) I was hanging out with my friends from the TR class. We have a study group. We met up and did a few leisure interviews and we studied for 3 hours STRAIGHT!!! WOW..anyways.. i went to photocopy some things and this guy (who happened to be REALLY REALLY cute **blushes**) comes in to the photocopy room and was like:
Boy-"well, what a crappy day today has turned out to be" he was referring to the pouring rain. Me- "meh, its not so bad"
Boy- "well isnt someone in a chipper mood" he wasnt in a BAD mood like he wasnt giving me attitude but he was teasing me i guess (my friend says he was flirting.... i wouldnt know what that looked like even if it came up and bit me)
Me- "yup"
Boy- " Its saturday afternoon and we are at school, how can u have such a chipper attitude"
Me- I dont let the bad weather get me down" i smiled.
Then he couldnt figure out how to put money on his card for the photocopier and so i helped him put money on his card, and i had to get back to my group and he said "thank you" and he was in such a better mood when i left. he looked at me and smled when he said thanks. I walked out of the room with the biggest smile on my face!
That is totally what God wants us to do. Sometimes if someone is in a bad mood we tend to get the brush of that mood and then we get in a bad mood. but if someone is in a bad mood (or just not happy about the weather) you have to counteract that mood with a 'chipper' attitude. If you do that people will be like "wow, shes happy, maybe i should be happy too, life isnt so bad" :)
THEN i went to leave and my friend and i were walking down the hall and another guy (who was cute yes, again!) and she complimented his hair (she is an older lady not my age... btw) and i agreed and he looked at me and smiled and he was talking about how he is growing it out and its going to cover his ears...and such.. my friend and i were going to the facilities and she was like "theres another guy totally checking you out" hahahaha.... again i wouldnt know that even if it came up and bit me..but all i said to her was:
"Must be the hair" :)
Blessings to you all....
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Purpose Driven Life chapter 40
Chapter 40: Living with Purpose
Something to remember: Living on purpose is the only way to REALLY live. Everything else is just existing.
Verse to remember: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" John 13:17
Something that was impactful:
Once you know what God wants you to do, the blessing comes in actually doing it.
What will be the centre of my life? God! Who am i going to live my life for? God! What am i going to build my life around? Worshipping God, bringing other people to him, bring him pleasure, serving his people! To keep Him the centre of my life I need to continue to worship him!
What will the the character of my life? Christlike character! What kind of person will i be? A person who worships God through ANYTHING I am going through. I wnat to be the kind of person who gives and gives and gives!!
What will be the contribution of my life? Using my gifts to help people! Using what i have learned to teach others. What will be my ministry in the Body of Christ? I would like to be the birthday card person of my church. I love getting birthday cards from people for my birthday with a nice little message in it. So i want to make other people happy by giving them birthday cards on their birthdays. What will be my role in the family of God? I have been told that i have a gift of encouragement so i will use my gift of encouragement to encourage people (giving them encouragement books etc) How will i make a difference? I hope to encourage people so they are not discouraged! Is there a specific group in the Body that I am shaped to serve? Youth and Seniors.
What wil be the communication of my life? I will invite people to come to church. I have been talkin to a friend of mine at school about God, he is a Christian too and I am sharing with him what God has done in my life ( i shared on tuesday with him about Jeremiah 29:11-14 and what happened with that verse) I will live out what i talk about. I wont just be a talker, i will be a walker!
What will be the community of my life? How will i demonstrate my commitment to other believers and connection to the family of God? I will continue to encourage others and if someone is sick or feeling sad i will encourage them by making them something encouraging. Where will i practice the "one another" commands with other Christians? At my church, at my house and my school! To which church family will you be joined as a functioning member? New Westminster Corps.
I want to serve God's purposess in MY generation!!! Will I be a person God can use for his purposes? YES. Will i serve God's purposes in my generation? YES!!!
Man, this book has been life changing! I am going to continue to go more in depth with it even after the whole study is over! I will forever live out my purpose.
Blessings...
Something to remember: Living on purpose is the only way to REALLY live. Everything else is just existing.
Verse to remember: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" John 13:17
Something that was impactful:
Once you know what God wants you to do, the blessing comes in actually doing it.
What will be the centre of my life? God! Who am i going to live my life for? God! What am i going to build my life around? Worshipping God, bringing other people to him, bring him pleasure, serving his people! To keep Him the centre of my life I need to continue to worship him!
What will the the character of my life? Christlike character! What kind of person will i be? A person who worships God through ANYTHING I am going through. I wnat to be the kind of person who gives and gives and gives!!
What will be the contribution of my life? Using my gifts to help people! Using what i have learned to teach others. What will be my ministry in the Body of Christ? I would like to be the birthday card person of my church. I love getting birthday cards from people for my birthday with a nice little message in it. So i want to make other people happy by giving them birthday cards on their birthdays. What will be my role in the family of God? I have been told that i have a gift of encouragement so i will use my gift of encouragement to encourage people (giving them encouragement books etc) How will i make a difference? I hope to encourage people so they are not discouraged! Is there a specific group in the Body that I am shaped to serve? Youth and Seniors.
What wil be the communication of my life? I will invite people to come to church. I have been talkin to a friend of mine at school about God, he is a Christian too and I am sharing with him what God has done in my life ( i shared on tuesday with him about Jeremiah 29:11-14 and what happened with that verse) I will live out what i talk about. I wont just be a talker, i will be a walker!
What will be the community of my life? How will i demonstrate my commitment to other believers and connection to the family of God? I will continue to encourage others and if someone is sick or feeling sad i will encourage them by making them something encouraging. Where will i practice the "one another" commands with other Christians? At my church, at my house and my school! To which church family will you be joined as a functioning member? New Westminster Corps.
I want to serve God's purposess in MY generation!!! Will I be a person God can use for his purposes? YES. Will i serve God's purposes in my generation? YES!!!
Man, this book has been life changing! I am going to continue to go more in depth with it even after the whole study is over! I will forever live out my purpose.
Blessings...
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Purpose Driven Life chapter 39
Chapter 39: Balancing your life
Something to remember: Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone.
Verse to Remember: "Let's take a good look at the way we're living and reorder our lives under God" Lamentations 3:40
Something that was impactful: Our five purposes are to:
1.Love God with all your heart.
2.Love your neighbor as yourself
3.Go and make disciples
4.Baptize them into...
5.Teach them to do all things
I am totally serious about living my purpose driven life!
So i need to Talk it through with a spiritual partner or small group. We are meant to grow together.
Give myself a regular spiritual check-up (Evaluate my life periodically. i.e should I have handled that this way or should i have dealt with this problem another way)
Write down your progress in a journal. I keep so many journals. I ran out of notebooks so i need to go buy another one. Each of my notebooks right now has a purpose. I need to keep a record of the life lessons that i dont want to forget. That is so important.
I need to pass on what I know to others. I need to pass on what i have learned so others can learn as well. It is MY responsibility to carfry the message to others. God is calling ME to be his messanger. I am honored to do that.
I am going to go waaay more in depth with this purpose driven life book. We went pretty in depth in church and small group, but i am gonig to write down some things that the book says to do like keep a journal, write my testimony. etc etc.
Something to remember: Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone.
Verse to Remember: "Let's take a good look at the way we're living and reorder our lives under God" Lamentations 3:40
Something that was impactful: Our five purposes are to:
1.Love God with all your heart.
2.Love your neighbor as yourself
3.Go and make disciples
4.Baptize them into...
5.Teach them to do all things
I am totally serious about living my purpose driven life!
So i need to Talk it through with a spiritual partner or small group. We are meant to grow together.
Give myself a regular spiritual check-up (Evaluate my life periodically. i.e should I have handled that this way or should i have dealt with this problem another way)
Write down your progress in a journal. I keep so many journals. I ran out of notebooks so i need to go buy another one. Each of my notebooks right now has a purpose. I need to keep a record of the life lessons that i dont want to forget. That is so important.
I need to pass on what I know to others. I need to pass on what i have learned so others can learn as well. It is MY responsibility to carfry the message to others. God is calling ME to be his messanger. I am honored to do that.
I am going to go waaay more in depth with this purpose driven life book. We went pretty in depth in church and small group, but i am gonig to write down some things that the book says to do like keep a journal, write my testimony. etc etc.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Purpose Driven Life chapter 38
Chapter 38: Becoming a World-Class Christian
Something to remember: The Great Commission is YOUR commission.
Verse to remember: "Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live" Mark 8:35
Something that was impactful: Do you wnat to be a WORLD CLASS Christian or a WORLDLY Christian? Its your choice. I personally want to be a WORLD CLASS Christian. I used to TOTALLY be a WORLDLY Christian. TOTALLY was. I was ALL about my needs and nobody elses. I went to missions fest and just sang, didnt actually LISTEN to the message. I went to all these confrences and didnt really truly listen to the message.
If you want to be a world class Christian you need to shift from a self-centered thinking to othere-centered thinking. I dont liek what is written that children only think of themselves, because not ALL of them do. but ya... i duno i just dont like that.
Shift from local thinking to global thinking. Care about what God cares about. Think about the world! The way to do this is to pray for different countries.
Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking. Fix your eyes on what is unseen! Because that is eternal!
Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill my commission. Dont say that you dont have anything to offer because i have said it before. EVERYONE has something to offer. We are all called to worship, fellowship, to grow like Christ, to serve and to be on a mission with God in the world. We need to stop making excuses as to why we CANT do it and think of reasons TO do it! and that reason is because God CALLS us to. As I write the blogs for this last purpose on every single one God is telling me to tell you to SAVE ONE MORE FOR JESUS!! Start at home and go GLOBAL!!
Blessings to you all as you are on your mission...
Something to remember: The Great Commission is YOUR commission.
Verse to remember: "Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live" Mark 8:35
Something that was impactful: Do you wnat to be a WORLD CLASS Christian or a WORLDLY Christian? Its your choice. I personally want to be a WORLD CLASS Christian. I used to TOTALLY be a WORLDLY Christian. TOTALLY was. I was ALL about my needs and nobody elses. I went to missions fest and just sang, didnt actually LISTEN to the message. I went to all these confrences and didnt really truly listen to the message.
If you want to be a world class Christian you need to shift from a self-centered thinking to othere-centered thinking. I dont liek what is written that children only think of themselves, because not ALL of them do. but ya... i duno i just dont like that.
Shift from local thinking to global thinking. Care about what God cares about. Think about the world! The way to do this is to pray for different countries.
Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking. Fix your eyes on what is unseen! Because that is eternal!
Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill my commission. Dont say that you dont have anything to offer because i have said it before. EVERYONE has something to offer. We are all called to worship, fellowship, to grow like Christ, to serve and to be on a mission with God in the world. We need to stop making excuses as to why we CANT do it and think of reasons TO do it! and that reason is because God CALLS us to. As I write the blogs for this last purpose on every single one God is telling me to tell you to SAVE ONE MORE FOR JESUS!! Start at home and go GLOBAL!!
Blessings to you all as you are on your mission...
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