Take a long look at the mirror before we even begin

I was reminded today of the Bible verse about the speck and log in the eye and found it here in this passage. 

Matthew 7:1-5 ESV

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

It is a very timely lesson that when we want to complain and judge others, first take a look at ourselves. And by the time we notice our log and try to remove, the speck on the other person eye doesn't seem so bad anymore. And by the time we judge our own actions and behaviour, we know we stand guilty and sinful before our God.

I like NT Wright on this passage in his Matthew for Everyone, where he said:

God intends that his world should be ordered, and that injustice should be held in check. Jesus is referring, not to official lawcourts, but to the judgments and condemnations that occur within ordinary lives, as people set themselves up as moral guardians and critics of one another...

He doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have high standards of behaviour for ourselves and our world, but that the temptation to look down on each other for moral failures is itself a temptation to play God. And, since we aren’t God, that means it’s a temptation to play a part, to act, to be a ‘hypocrite’ (which literally means a playactor, one who wears a mask as a disguise)...

Jesus, we should note, doesn’t rule out the possibility that some people will eventually be able to help others to take specks of dust out of their eyes. He isn’t saying that there is no such thing as public morality. But he is warning that the very people who seem most eager to tell others what to do (or more likely what not to do) are the people who should take a long look in the mirror before they begin.

I know that I need to stand in front of the mirror more and longer.

pearlie

Book Review: Jesus, Continued... by JD Greear

Jesus , Continued... why the Spirit inside you is better than Jesus beside you

by J.D. Greear

I read JD Greear's Not God Enough, Why Your Small God Lead to Big Problems in October 2018 and I like his writing so much I am looking forward to reading this one: Jesus, Continued...Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You.

And he did not disappoint. It is an excellent book about how one can and should work with God, not for God, through the Holy Spirit.

He captured me right from the very beginning:

A few years ago a young man sat in my office feeling deeply frustrated with his faith. Although he knew a lot of truths about God, he sensed very little relationship with God--at least, not the dynamic relationship he wanted. God seemed distant.

It seemed that everything God had done, he had done in the past: he created the world, died on the cross, and then inspired a Bible to tell us about it. then he gave us a mission and left through the clouds. God seemed like a busy teacher who had given an assignment and then stepped out of the room, leaving his students to get it done on their own.

So this guy busy at work, trying faithfully to learn the lessons, follow the instructions, and complete the assignments. He had a "relationship with God" in the sense that he prayed about his problems and tried hard to trust that God was working somewhere, somehow, to help him. Yet he lacked any vibrant interaction with that God.

This was exactly what I felt myself. The trying, the doing, and the striving to obey God seemed distant and as much as I wanted to build a relationship with God, I find it difficult to relate to him in a closer and more meaningful way. Yes, I read the Bible, I pray, I believe, but I knew it had to be more real than what I am feeling then.

Greear reminds us that Jesus told his disciples that he had to go: "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7 ESV

Greear said, "Do you consider your connection to the Holy Spirit so strong and real that you regard his presence in you to be a better advantage than even Jesus himself beside you?"

And that I found is the "best kept secret" though it is never a secret. The Holy Spirit is already in us when we received Jesus into our lives, and we have the power of the Almighty God in us to do the things he commissioned us to do.

And we have the Spirit already in us to enable us to build the very relationship that we yearn to have with him. 

There is also a chapter in there about prayer that I really appreciate. Greear reminded me that God wants me to seek him through persistent, faith-filled prayer. And that is one thing I lacked. I was not persistent enough. I thought I shouldn't need to "remind" God all the time, but that is exactly what God is asking us to do!

Remember the parable about the person who knocked on his neighbour's door for supplies at midnight until the neighbour had to open the door and attend to him? So from now on, I am going to keep asking until God opens the door, but of course if it is in his will and desire to do so...

...but I am gonna to keep on knockin'!

pearlie

How big is your God?

If was saying that I had a really good week and that it all began when I decided to fast TV for one week.

Let me admit that I have recently gotten addicted to Korean dramas real bad though that’s another story for another day. It’s just that I have been spending so much time on them that I knew that if I didn’t do anything about it, I’d soon be buried in them with no chance of reprieve. 

Hence the 1-week fast, which began 8 days ago on Saturday. I wanted to read and started checking out on my Kindle what I have bought, and this stood out. 

Not God Enough: Why Your Small God Leads to Big Problems

by JD Greear

This is a gem of a book. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be serious about God. 

The book began with a quotation by Evelyn Underhill, “A god small enough to be understood is not big enough to be worshipped.” And that practically summed it all up. 

Greear says that “those who understand their forgiveness tremble more, not less, in God’s presence.” 

I can see that we now live in a world where we think we are relatively quite good. We go to church and we listen to the Gospel preached and we go through the confession prayer, but we don’t really feel or acknowledge very much our depravity. We know it, but we don’t feel it. 

We fail to see how big and holy God is and, how small and bad we are in comparison.

I like this section where he tries to help us understand just how bigger than big God is. 

He says, “We prefer a God who is small and domesticated, who thinks like we think, likes what we like, and whom we can manage, predict, and control. We only have to glance upwards at the night sky to see how ridiculous that is.”

He used the universe to explain how distorted our view is of God. Do you know the size of the universe? To cut it short, we can only see 9,096 stars with the naked eye and that is only about 1/100,000,000,000,000,000,000 of what’s actually out there. Scientists have estimated the number of stars to be about 3 septillion and the number is constantly expanding. That’s a three with 24 zeros after it. 

Greear then makes it even clearer. He says, one million seconds ago takes us back about 11 days. A billion seconds ago takes us back 31 years and eight months. A trillion seconds? It will brings us to 29,672 BC! He doesn’t even continue on to septillion and these are in seconds!

Imagine that about the universe and know what? God measures off the heavens with his fingers! (Isaiah 40:12)

He is more than huge. And we are but a tiny drop of a septillion. And we think we are on the same playing field. Think again.

So the next time we think we so great, remember he is bigger than big. 

How about the fact that we always think we are not so bad, that we are pretty good?

Greear says it well: suppose you are getting a blood transfusion and you find out that 1 percent of it was contaminated with HIV. Would it help if the nurse said, “Don’t worry; it’s only 1 percent”? “No!” we’d shout back, “There is no such think as only 1 percent! One speck contaminates the whole lot.”

We are that one speck and we cannot survive the holiness of God. 

I was soon reading another book about the Islamic Sharia law. To the Muslims, they are taught to see themselves as the most perfect people, the perfect race. And the writer said this one thing that really strikes me. 

When she heard Christian pastors saying “We are all sinners”, she said that it was “one of the most comforting, liberating, uniting, and humbling expressions” she has heard. 

I never had the concept that being called a sinner is most comforting and liberating but the contrary. 

But she has a point. If we think we are so good and perfect, then living a life in this broken world will bring us into a reality we will never survive in. Being called a sinnner and being forgiven by God would then be the most comforting and liberating thing of all. 

Our God is bigger than big. We are but a speck of a septillion and a sinful bad speck at that and yet he loves us to death on a cross. 

How can we even understand that. Find him out and find out why. 

pearlie

What is the joy of the Lord?

When I am down, I would always recite to myself Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

I would regard this joy as coming from the Lord and with this joy that originates from him, it will give me strength to carry on. 

But this time, I thought a little further and realised that it’s the joy of the Lord and not joy from the Lord. 

That is quite substantially different, I thought. When it is the joy of the Lord, it doesn’t even need to be in me. The fact that he has joy is strength enough for me. 

But what is his joy? What does he have joy in?

That’s when I found this article: What does “The joy of the Lord” is our strength mean?

The author gave four things that our God has his joy in, of which I will only state just one. I am not so sure about the other three but you can read it up and tell me what you think. 

His joy is us - God delights in us for he made us out of his love for us and gave his Son for us on the cross so we may reconciled with him. 

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

~ Isaiah 62:5 ESV

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

~ Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

And this gives me strength because he rejoices in me and delights in me, and what more, he first loved me. And with that I rejoice in him, find strength in him and love him with all my heart, my soul, my might and and my mind. 

pearlie

Food and thoughts: crowd out, don’t cut out

I found out about the diet advise of “crowd out, don’t cut out,” where it will not work to cut out food that taste good but may not be good for you. So instead of cutting it off completely, crowd it out with good food, and you can still savor some of the tasty stuff in small quantities. 

I realize I have been doing that. For one, I drink a lot of water and I feel quite full as a result. And recently, to stop me from opening up tins of CNY goodies at work, I would pop a Fisherman’s Friend lozenge and that worked fabulously in helping me stay away from cookies and snacks. 

But I’m also crowding out this other one thing. There are some thoughts and worries that I cannot cut out. But it does not help to think or worry about it either. 

So I’m practicing crowding out by replacing my thoughts with better things. I did not crowd it out with serious stuff today but with something simple and easy enough to fill my mind for the time being. 

It worked perfectly.

Philippians 4:6-9 (MSG)

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

pearlie

Be still my soul, the Lord is on your side

pearlie

My 2018 Prayer: to overflow with thankfulness

Pastor Wong Fong Yang preached on the Lordship of Christ from Colossians 2:1-8, with God’s word to chart us off into the new year. 

I like it when he referred to 2:6-7 as a litmus test of life in Christ. 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

~ Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

His message for the new year is that we will continue our lives in Jesus, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith we have been taught all these years, long or short. 

And the litmus test is to ask: am I overflowing with thankfulness or am I always complaining or murmuring?

I pray for a more Spirit-filled 2018, to live my life more fervently in Christ, to stay rooted in him, to continually be built up in him, to be strengthened in my faith in him. And all in all, to overflow with thankfulness in whatever circumstances I am in. 

pearlie 

Pain: a megaphone to rouse a deaf world

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

~ CS Lewis

This is my favourite quote of all time and it is most relevant today. I’ve not been talking to God for such a long stretch of time in a long while. 

It’s not good but good that the time has come. Thank you Lord. 

pearlie

What if someone prayed the wrong things for you?

We are to pray for others and support each other in petitions to the Lord, but we can sometimes pray the wrong things for our brethren and loved ones. 

That is exactly what happened to me today. 

It happened because they did not have the full story and so when the person prayed for me, she prayed for exactly the opposite of what I am asking God for. 

She was not to blame of course because I wasn’t given the opportunity to say more about my situation but I’m also okay in not doing so. I appreciate the privacy accorded to me, but then the prayer wasn’t accurate. 

So what do we do in such circumstances, for both the person who prays and the person prayed for?

Of course the person prayed for can talk to the person who prays and they can pray again. 

But if that is not possible or preferred, then nothing I suppose. We pray for others as we deem necessary and as the Spirit lead but that also begs the question, was it really Spirit led?

I don’t know. 

But this I know: we need to be thankful that God knows all. And he hears our prayers and will answer according to his perfect wisdom and knowledge. 

pearlie 

Why do we keep seeking for perfection in life?

Have you ever thought that we always want and expect good things to happen all the time. 

And we want it now. 

Healing, solutions, answers, riches, success, any kind of good things you name it. 

We want it now. We want it more. 

Have you ever thought that as human beings, we are made to have a consciousness and mind of our own, and we have this desire for perfection. We desire all things to be good in our lives. 

Do you know that we were created in perfection? But we are far from perfect. We know it and yet we seek for perfection in our twisted imperfect ways. 

And until and unless we acknowledge our own imperfection, we are doomed to spiral into an endless search for perfection but never finding it. 

And until and unless we recognise Jesus as Lord, we will forsake the very perfection we are looking for. 

The sermon today was based on Colossians 1:15-23 on The Preeminence of Christ. 

It’s an crucial message to learn that when Christ came and removed our imperfection, he substituted it with his perfection through his death on the cross and through his resurrection. 

So what we have is Christ’s perfection and not ours. 

Then why do we still strive for it in our own imperfect ways?

We may not realize it but we may feel that Jesus is not enough. We want more. 

And do we know who he is and what he has accomplished?

Until and unless we do, we will not be able to see life to its complete purpose. 

What is your only comfort in life and death? I am not my own, but in Christ in both body and soul, in life and death.1

pearlie

1 Heidelberg Catechism

Some reflections about praying and being with God

I admit don’t pray very well. 

I am okay when I have my own private prayers because I will just speak my mind without much thought about structure or form. I wouldn’t think of what I should say, I will just speak my mind and from the heart, sometimes casual and sometimes formal. 

But when I pray in public or when I attend prayer meetings, I get quite stressed up as I don’t usually know what to say. I do know what to pray for, especially since it’s a prayer request. I just don’t know how to pray it. 

I also hold the view that we do not treat prayer like a wishing well, asking only for things we want, or reminding God to keep his promises, as if he needs any reminding. 

So to the very core of it, I do not really understand prayer. To me, God already knows what’s best and will give us his best, whether in a form of a blessing or discipline, he knows what is best for us. 

So then, why and what do I pray? 

I pray because it’s commanded by God and so I do it. But what do I pray about. I am not exactly sure and so other than taking on how Jesus taught us to pray, I would just speak my mind and my heart.

I also began to see what books I have on prayer and found I this in my stash. 

Praying Backwards, Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name

by Bryan Chapell

I have just started reading it and I like it. I do not want to rush through it and thought I’d read it bit by bit to learn and practice as I go. 

Here are some gems so far from the Introduction and first portion of the first chapter:

When we pray “in Jesus’ name,” we pray for his sake more than our own. We still present our desires and concerns to God, but we do so in the context of yielding our priorities to Christ’s priorities.

In this fallen world you cannot avoid suffering; you can have peace in the midst of it. You cannot avoid trials; you can have confidence of their purpose. You cannot bind God by your prayers; you can guarantee his blessing. You cannot direct the will of God; you can pray according to his will and rest in the assurance of his love. You can pray knowing that God will marshal the powers of heaven to accomplish on earth all he knows is best for your eternity. Praying in Jesus’ name is the key.

We approach the throne of grace without the burden of our sin and with the righteousness of our Savior. We ask for his blessing based on God’s wisdom, not ours. We trust in his faithfulness, not in the adequacy of our faith.

I especially like what Chapell says here: We trust in his faithfulness, not in the adequacy of our faith. 

I always berate myself for not praying enough, for not reading his Word enough, for not keeping close to God enough, and I realized I have been depending a lot on what I have done or not done to keep this relationship with God, when at the end of it all, it is God himself who first sought me, and who first call to fellowship and commune with me. 

So the next time when I am reminded to pray or read the Bible or just to be in his presence, I must not do it in guilt that I have not done enough, but to simply be there with the ever-present Emmanuel, God who is with us, who is with me. 

pearlie

Finally, a sermon on envy

It was just two months ago when envy reared its ugly head in my life and I was quite badly affected that I really need to get it managed before it went bad that I found and bought a book to help me with it, which I blogged about here. 

The book termed it as a sin that no one talks about which is why I am so grateful that it was the topic of our sermon this morning by Pastor Wong Fong Yang. 

Pastor gave us these four ways on how to overcome envy:

1. Having a proper grasp of the gospel that will lead to godly contentment. Jesus is the Lord of all our circumstances. From that deep contentment will flow a right desire for and rejoicing at the good of our neighbour. 

2. Love others, for in 1 Cor 13:4, love does not envy. 

3. Enjoy the glory of God's creation and workmanship. Look on beauty and be grateful. Look on truth and be grateful. Look on talent and be grateful. 

4. Have faith in future grace. Meanwhile, live, work and play with the view of the One audience in mind - his praise matters more than anything or anyone. 

And I would like to add one more, courtesy of the author RT Kendall, that we should accept our calling. We should embrace what God has called us to and not look beyond it. He said, "He has a calling for your life--one that is infinitely better or greater than you could have come up with on your own. When you accept His will and His choice of a career--or job--you are at peace with yourself and lessen the temptation to envy or to be jealous."

And I also have this thought that we will still never ever be satisfied if we get what we covet or envy for. We will still want more and so to counter that, accept what we have and be grateful for it.  

It is however, not an easy thing to do and I am not sure what will happen when it comes again. 

We also talked a lot about it during our CG today and pastor teased us with the possibility of another sermon on Envy Part 2. 

When eh, pastor?

pearlie

The Furious Longing of God

I am in Day 2 of my fasting from TV. 

I am reading again. 

I have heard of Brennan Manning and the popularity of his books but I never did find out more about him though I did purchase a few of his book in my Kindle. 

I decided to read The Furious Longing of God, and it was exactly what I needed. 

The Furious Longing of God

by Brennan Manning

Manning was a master and expert on words. He really had a way with it. Mark Batterson who wrote the foreword to the book said, "Brennan has a raw poetic writing style that puts him in rare writing company. His words will gracefully confront the status quo in your life and reawaken a deep desire to know the One who desires you. Brennan also has a way of putting into words the subliminal fears and hopes and desires many of us have a difficult time verbalizing. That’s why his books resonate with readers on such a deep level."

The book touches on Christian Spirituality and how furiously God loves us. 

Both theology, which is faith seeking understanding, and spirituality, which is the faith-experience of what we understand intellectually, offer a glimpse into the mystery. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles (1 Cor. 13: 12).

The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their own imperfect existence.

However, I find myself getting wary of it getting too loose on the grace of God. The book seem to elevate the love of God without enough mention of the grace of God and how undeserving we are of it. 

Manning said, "if we continue to view ourselves as moral lepers and spiritual failures, if our lives are shadowed by low self-esteem, shame, remorse, unhealthy guilt, and self-hatred, we reject the teaching of Jesus and cling to our negative self-image."

It is true that those qualities are not what God wants in our lives. There is after all no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 

Maybe it's just me, but I cannot read the book with reckless abandon, though that was what I felt when I read it - to really immerse myself in the furious longing of God. 

To simply be in his presence all the days of my life. 

pearlie

Having confidence makes a difference in what we set out to do

I attended a meeting where a vendor was presenting a proposal but I felt it was not very well done. She seemed lacking in experience in making a presentation but it may be because of a lack of confidence as well. 

How can we be more confident in what we do? 

I find that experience count a lot and we have to believe in what we do, but I feel that the best of all, we have a faithful God who undergirds us with his presence when we do what we do with his strength and not our own. 

He is our confidence. 

And I found these sayings encouraging;

Confidence comes from discipline and training. 

~ Robert Kiyosaki

Confidence comes with maturity, being more accepting of yourself. 

~ Nicole Scherzinger

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it. 

~ Stan Smith

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. 

~ Marie Curie

Confidence... thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live. 

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. 

~ Martin Luther

I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God. 

~ Robert E. Lee

pearlie

A tapestry of prayer

I was in church today when pastor introduced some visitors from the US and he shared with the congregation how they have supported the church in prayer all these years. 

The topic of prayer has always been a mystery to me. But I take it as a commandment from God that we pray and to pray fervently, and so even if I don't understand it fully, I obey and I pray as much as I could, as best as I could, though it isn't actually as much as I wished or as well as I wished. 

When pastor told us about the prayers of our counterpart in the US, this picture came to mind:

I imagine prayer is a connection of the people of God as we pray for one another we connected with each another in the Spirit and in love. It's like weaving a tapestry of love and brotherhood across the whole world. 

We all belong to God and even if we don't pray for others, He will never forsake any of us. But yet, we are to pray for one another. We need to be connected to one another in Christ and prayer is the perfect way of doing so as we remember each other, we love each other in the Lord.

pearlie 

Book Review: Jealousy, The Sin No One Talks About

Jealousy, The Sin No One Talks About: How to Overcome Envy & Live a Life of Freedom

by R.T. Kendall

I finally finished reading this book today and upon logging it into my Goodreads account, I noticed that the last time I completed a book was 3 months ago! I have really been slacking in my reading, but it's only because I was stuck with not a very good book that I want to finish before I started another one. 

I bought it because I needed it. It is a reality that all of us go through this and I had to admit to myself that I was going through a bad bout of jealousy. 

I went hunting for articles and books to read but they weren't many except for this one that looks more promising. I've read R.T. Kendall before but I don't like his books that much. 

And my assessment was spot on, for me at least. 

The only parts I found useful was the first and the last. I could not agree with his treatment of the subject when he wrote it from the perspective of the gospel in Gospel Jealousy, which in my opinion he belittled the gospel in doing so.  And I do not agree with his interpretation of the Cain and Abel account. 

And of the portions I found useful, he kept repeating himself. But it's good that he does conclude everything in 13 ways to overcome jealousy in the last chapter. 

Here are some excerpts of the better sections of his book:

Jealousy is an easy thing to fall into. This is because it plays into our insecurity. Like it or not, we are all insecure.

The envy described in Ecclesiastes 4:4 emerges in one of two ways (or both): (1) productive envy is the desire to outdo what has preceded you (what motivates vates athletes in the Olympics); (2) counterproductive envy is the wish (consciously or unconsciously) to make another feel envious, although God may overrule and turn this to good.

Counterproductive jealousy is what eats our souls and leaves us bitter and impoverished. It is one of Satan's favorite vehicles by which he brings us to despair and destruction.

This is why jealousy is so bad. It has the very breath of Satan in it.

...the worst thing that can happen to a man is to succeed before he is ready.

Envy is inevitable; jealousy is envy that is manifested. Envy is the thought; jealousy is the obsession. The rule of thumb: deal with envy while it is only in your thoughts. That is the best way forward.

Holy Spirit never promotes us to the level of our incompetence. We may promote ourselves, others may promote us, but not the Holy Spirit. He knows what we are good at, what we are not good at, and what the Father has called us to do. The way we guarantee we will not be promoted to the level of our incompetence is that we truly look at ourselves soberly-with ruthless honesty, knowing that we all have only a "measure" of faith. This means that each of us has a limited measure of the Holy Spirit. You do not have all of God there is. Don't let anybody tell you that you do. Only Jesus had all of God there is (Col. 1:19); only He was given the Holy Spirit without any limit (John 3:34). It is our responsibility, then, to admit humbly to our limitations. Nobody can do everything. Quit trying to do everything! Do not imitate another's ability.

We may be envious or jealous of another's anointing or calling, but if each of us comes to terms with what God has called us to do and accept it without murmuring, we may lessen the likelihood of jealousy. King Saul became jealous of David's anointing (1 Sam. 18:12). And yet, sadly, we all tend to have problems with what God has called others to do. I repeat: Jesus said that it was none of Peter's business how John would die; He replied to Peter, "What is that to you? You must follow me" (John 21:21-22, emphasis added). So it is with all of us. We may ask, "What about him? What about her? What are You asking them to do?" And God says to each of us: "None of your business-you follow Me."

The grass often looks greener on the other side of the fence, but it seldom is.

pearlie 

When and how to surrender when we are conditioned to fight?

I was reading Jeremiah 21 today and when I read these few verses, I have a question,

Jeremiah 21:8-10 (NLT)

"Tell all the people, 'This is what the LORD says: Take your choice of life or death! Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life! For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the LORD. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.'

I understand that God disciplines us to teach us to be mature, more so when we really needed the lesson, when we need to humble ourselves and accept it. 

However here in Jeremiah, God was telling his people to surrender to their enemy in order to live. God did warn them and gave them years and years of warning through the prophet Jeremiah to repent, but they did not turn away from the disobedience. They gave no heed to God and his commands and yielded their lives to other gods. 

And God is telling them to surrender and to be defeated. 

I suppose we are indeed brought up to hold on to what we think is ours, but if you think about it, what is ours? Doesn't everything belong to God? What we are, what we have and what we are trained and skilled in, all ultimately belongs to Him. 

But to surrender to an enemy? To give ourselves to what we know is bad? It is so against what we as human are being taught and conditioned to do. We are taught to fight and stand up for what is ours. 

Is it even right to give up our rights? How will we know that is what God wants from us?

pearlie 

A sermon on adultery

Today's sermon was from Proverbs 6:20-7:27 on a topic that is seldom preached in church: the subject of adultery. 

It comes with a title that says it all - Can a man scoop fire into his lap (an euphemism won't you say?) without his clothes being burned? (question in parentheses mine). 

The passage uses three imageries as to why one should not commit adultery:

1. A prostitute - the price of a prostiture for a night might be minimal but the cost of adultery is extremely high. 

2. Playing with Fire - one who puts fire into his own lap will surely get burned. You won't get away with it. 

3. A thief - it's sheer stupidity to commit adultery destroying marriages, and the stake is so high: you will lose honour, reputation, manhood and womanhood, life, future. 

It all boils down to our hearts, which is usually prone to evil and momentary pleasures. 

Pastor gave us eight pointers on how to have sexual purity:

1. Know that you have a sinful nature. Our hearts are wicked. We are weak. 

2. Keep God's word in our hearts to remind us. Live according to God's word in line with the Holy Spirit's leading.  

3. Delight in Christ. Have him as someone better and more delightful than sin. Jesus is wisdom, salvation, sanctification. 

4. Think noble thoughts. Stop fantasizing as it will surely lead us to fall into sin.  

5. Keep ourselves away from pornography.

6. Have good healthy hobbies.  

7. Have accountable and trusted friends and mentors.  8. Find sexual satisfaction from your spouse. 

Like what Joseph did when he literally ran from Potiphar's wife, stay faraway from tempting situations and if you find yourself in such a situation, run! 

It is too high a cost not to. 

pearlie 

Do you have a big heart?

It was about 20 years ago when someone used the word magnanimous on me. I did something, which I thought was the right thing to do and though I didn't think too much of it, this person commented that it was magnanimous for me to do so. 

The exchange stayed with me all these years. 

The word means:

- generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness: to be magnanimous toward one's enemies.

- high-minded; noble: a just and magnanimous ruler.

- proceeding from or revealing generosity or nobility of mind, character, etc.: a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness.

The word originated probably from 1575–85, from the Latin word, magnanimus that means great-souled. It is equivalent to magn(us) magn- + anim(us) spirit, soul, mind + -us -ous. 

To me, the word means having a big heart, and I was tested in that way today. 

I met a person whom in my opinion is a toxic person. She was petty and vindictive. She wasn't very happy about something I had done, which I thought was such a small matter. I didn't even do anything wrong, it was just not to her expectations, and she reported me to a higher authority. And that without my knowledge, which I somehow came to know about. 

So, what do I do? 

It did plague my mind for awhile but then I refuse to let it steal my joy and cheer for the day.

To me, it is a decision for me to either have a big heart or a small heart. 

And I chose to have it big, to forgive and to bear no malice. It wasn't that difficult to do. 

But I do feel sorry for her and so I decided to spend time praying for her, for her heart to grow and expand so that she too will be magnanimous. So that she will learn to have a big heart. 

pearlie

Source: Dictionary.com

It's a happy day

I took the day off today to recharge myself and it was a very good and blessed day - one of those rare days where I felt really happy and blessed.

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. 

~ Earl Nightingale

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. 

~ Marcel Proust

Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It's the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps. 

~ Sharon Draper

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

~ Romans 15:13 ESV

Thank you Lord for this blessed beautiful day. Amen. 

pearlie