Thursday, March 30, 2006
Trials and Tribulations and WHAT NOT!!!
Guess, I have a little time before the next activity in life springs forth and grabs my attention. Was commenting to oh my! I'm an as well as 'n' flailing today how time just flies. Do you remember the times where you were younger? We had less things to worry about, less problems to ponder over, less cares to vex over. When we were younger life seems simplier and more innocent... Now?
Remember when parents or those we are more senior than us would often tell us to enjoy ourselves when we are studying because when we grow up life would not be as fun. We would look back at them in disbelief. How can that be so? Can exams, tests be ever fun? To think that some of us have to even withstand the teasing and bullying of those that are bigger in size, but now?
As we look at the society, we lament at the innocence gone. Everyone around you seem to have an agenda against you or you are the very tool they need to get the job at hand done. We start to plot and scheme because much more seem to be at stake now. Money for one. Female guns was telling me that, "Money is the root of all evil." Is that so? I thought that, "The love of money is the root of all evil." Money itself serves a purpose, but when we start to serve money, and be greedy and discontented over the amount we have, that's when the red light flashes brightly.
Do we really have that much problems? Or are our "trials and tribulation and what not" all in the mind? It is amazing the amount of issues we need to deal with, whether real or imagined. It is time we look into the mirror honestly and think about what life is all about and be content. Remember, it could have been much worse. With God on our side, who can be against us?
Do hope that all of you would just put away our imagined fears, life on its own have enough, don't add on to it. If you are really down and out, ponder on this verse from Matthew 11:28-30.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Be content with your share in life, more importantly be balanced, not nochalent, not discontented as well.
May you find peace that surpasses all understanding.
Remember when parents or those we are more senior than us would often tell us to enjoy ourselves when we are studying because when we grow up life would not be as fun. We would look back at them in disbelief. How can that be so? Can exams, tests be ever fun? To think that some of us have to even withstand the teasing and bullying of those that are bigger in size, but now?
As we look at the society, we lament at the innocence gone. Everyone around you seem to have an agenda against you or you are the very tool they need to get the job at hand done. We start to plot and scheme because much more seem to be at stake now. Money for one. Female guns was telling me that, "Money is the root of all evil." Is that so? I thought that, "The love of money is the root of all evil." Money itself serves a purpose, but when we start to serve money, and be greedy and discontented over the amount we have, that's when the red light flashes brightly.
Do we really have that much problems? Or are our "trials and tribulation and what not" all in the mind? It is amazing the amount of issues we need to deal with, whether real or imagined. It is time we look into the mirror honestly and think about what life is all about and be content. Remember, it could have been much worse. With God on our side, who can be against us?
Do hope that all of you would just put away our imagined fears, life on its own have enough, don't add on to it. If you are really down and out, ponder on this verse from Matthew 11:28-30.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Be content with your share in life, more importantly be balanced, not nochalent, not discontented as well.
May you find peace that surpasses all understanding.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Failures...
Interesting topic you may say, but indeed when you get down to talking to many people, you would see how many of them are always beset by failures, real ones as well as conjured ones. Some have said that the way we deal with failures would be a show the type of character we are, as in what we are really made of.
It is inspiring to look at the Bible where the heros of the faith were quoted in Hebrews. Many of them are figures who were lifted as models, and yet each have their own failures. It is good to know that failures are not unique to you, everyone have them. However, most importantly is to consider this point. What makes a man? (Well, man here is used generically, so I need not post man/woman all over.)
Does a failure make a person less of who he is? A failure in life shows that he would never be able to stand and face up to it again? Nay, I would. It is how we react to the failure. If we are to wallow in self pity, then indeed the failure have overcome us and then we have truly failed. However, if we can learn from it, we would emerge a stronger person than before. Do not let your failures tied you down. Leave the emotional baggages behind.
Face the failure and learn from it. Another thing about failure is that through it we learn to depend more on God and less on ourselves. Remember it is not I but Christ. Not my way, but let God's will be done in my life. Let's not be discourage in times of trials and tribulations but to hold fast and run the race.
Pray and remember that the God we believe in created the entire world, can God not intervene in our problems if he choose to? Will he not provide a way for us? Take heart my friends and be strong, for our God will see us true this.
I have finished reading Psalms and onto Proverbs. Really, the bible is one with timeless truths, even familiar passages, we can still continue to learn so much from them.
Until then, pray unceasingly, always.
It is inspiring to look at the Bible where the heros of the faith were quoted in Hebrews. Many of them are figures who were lifted as models, and yet each have their own failures. It is good to know that failures are not unique to you, everyone have them. However, most importantly is to consider this point. What makes a man? (Well, man here is used generically, so I need not post man/woman all over.)
Does a failure make a person less of who he is? A failure in life shows that he would never be able to stand and face up to it again? Nay, I would. It is how we react to the failure. If we are to wallow in self pity, then indeed the failure have overcome us and then we have truly failed. However, if we can learn from it, we would emerge a stronger person than before. Do not let your failures tied you down. Leave the emotional baggages behind.
Face the failure and learn from it. Another thing about failure is that through it we learn to depend more on God and less on ourselves. Remember it is not I but Christ. Not my way, but let God's will be done in my life. Let's not be discourage in times of trials and tribulations but to hold fast and run the race.
Pray and remember that the God we believe in created the entire world, can God not intervene in our problems if he choose to? Will he not provide a way for us? Take heart my friends and be strong, for our God will see us true this.
I have finished reading Psalms and onto Proverbs. Really, the bible is one with timeless truths, even familiar passages, we can still continue to learn so much from them.
Until then, pray unceasingly, always.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Facts NOT Feelings...
Think there are many times when people gets discouraged. Myself, yup. Been there, done that too! How did we ever pick ourselves up? Well, time is always a factor isn't it. However, I think the best will be reliance on God.
Think of it this way, we have to base our faith on the facts of life, on the facts of who we believe in, rather than on feelings. Emoitions may not be a good indicator of the true situation. There are times when we are feeling good and nothing seems to be too huge for us, other times when we are so down that dragging ourselves out of bed is tough, let alone anything else for that matter.
Still we have to remember that God has said that whatever that is impossible with man is possible with God. We just have to keep our faith, look at the cross and continue to push on. Skeptics may jeer us, enemies may try to derail us BUT revenge is not for us to take for it is God who will recompense.
So don't be discourage in life, look upwards to realise that God is watching over us. God will provide, just that it will be in His time and done in His will. May we have peace that will surpass all understanding.
Until then!
Think of it this way, we have to base our faith on the facts of life, on the facts of who we believe in, rather than on feelings. Emoitions may not be a good indicator of the true situation. There are times when we are feeling good and nothing seems to be too huge for us, other times when we are so down that dragging ourselves out of bed is tough, let alone anything else for that matter.
Still we have to remember that God has said that whatever that is impossible with man is possible with God. We just have to keep our faith, look at the cross and continue to push on. Skeptics may jeer us, enemies may try to derail us BUT revenge is not for us to take for it is God who will recompense.
So don't be discourage in life, look upwards to realise that God is watching over us. God will provide, just that it will be in His time and done in His will. May we have peace that will surpass all understanding.
Until then!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Not I BUT Christ!
Well, guess I am back, had some time to kill since I am waiting for 66 pages of documents to be printed, it is crazy, think I need a better printer soon, the current one prints oh so slowly and for some weird reason can only synchronize with the laptop and not the PC. Nowadays the PC is acting weird as well, being unable to play certain programs at all, since the main functions are still there. I realise that unless you are playing computer games which requires state of the art technology, normal usage of the computer needn't be one so extremely high tech, so for my current situation I am content.
Have been have lots of time to think nowadays, a point that is good and bad at the same time. (This reminds of what 'n' flailing always tells me, "I think too much for my own good.") However, (Started off with BUT then I remembered what I always tell my students, "You never start a sentence with BUT!", so there H-O-W-E-V-E-R!) I think it is interesting to be able to ponder about things in life. This maybe one of those times where I get to LEGALLY or LEGITIMATELY rest and recover.
Of the thoughts, one came to me, NOT I BUT CHRIST, there is a lot of times where we heard that we are in control of our own destiny, nothing can be further from the truth than that. In reality, we are always stranded in circumstances that we can't control. Can we control how others would react to us, we can't. Sure we can try to give others a better impression of ourselves, but eventually who we are, we will be. There is no hiding at all. Hence, be yourselves and be honest.
Seriously I find that plotting and safeguarding yourselves is just full of nonsense. How can we be safe? Trust God. Frankly, all in all, God is the only one in control and who can look after you. Let go of pride and think that we can do all things. The faster we get over that point the better.
This is especially true when we pray, if you want to pray about your problems to God be prepared to leave the problem to him and don't anticipate any solution. He will see you through, may not be in the way you wanted but God will. I have seen enough situations about me and situations I got myself into to say that. Stop praying about the problem and when you get up the next moment, you take the problem and tell God that you would be able to solve it, you can't. Worse still, most of the time you end up in a worse position that you started off previously.
This always make me recall a story of a relative of mine, who worked hard throughout his entire life, only to die at a fairly early age due to liver cancer. Before he left the world, he told my dad that being contented is being happy, Zhi Zhu Chang Le, (Hope I got that right, been ages since I last have to do Han Yu Pin Ying). Not that we do not need to work in life, but we need to be content and we need BALANCE. That's what is missing is so many people's life.
(On a side note, to just show how slow my printer is, I am only at 42 of 66 pages... It is really draggy)
Well, being content stretches further as well, we need to cherish those people around us. I was comment to a couple of friends that real friends are hard to find nowadays as we grow older. Sure, we know more people, but more good friends? Nay, in fact, we would could ourselves lucky if there are more than 5 or so people who we can really share our problems with. I do count myself as blessed in many ways, this is one of them. Everytime in my darkest time, there will always be someone around. Such I have fair share of people who may not be like me (Like is probably an understatement, but let's just leave it there), but I do have many more people who do care for my well being.
So do be content, cherish those around and be always dependent on God, will end with this passage which I read in a Christian bookshop, find it pretty nice.
God, grant me,
the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
the COURAGE to change the things I can change,
and the WISDOM to know the difference.
Until then.
Have been have lots of time to think nowadays, a point that is good and bad at the same time. (This reminds of what 'n' flailing always tells me, "I think too much for my own good.") However, (Started off with BUT then I remembered what I always tell my students, "You never start a sentence with BUT!", so there H-O-W-E-V-E-R!) I think it is interesting to be able to ponder about things in life. This maybe one of those times where I get to LEGALLY or LEGITIMATELY rest and recover.
Of the thoughts, one came to me, NOT I BUT CHRIST, there is a lot of times where we heard that we are in control of our own destiny, nothing can be further from the truth than that. In reality, we are always stranded in circumstances that we can't control. Can we control how others would react to us, we can't. Sure we can try to give others a better impression of ourselves, but eventually who we are, we will be. There is no hiding at all. Hence, be yourselves and be honest.
Seriously I find that plotting and safeguarding yourselves is just full of nonsense. How can we be safe? Trust God. Frankly, all in all, God is the only one in control and who can look after you. Let go of pride and think that we can do all things. The faster we get over that point the better.
This is especially true when we pray, if you want to pray about your problems to God be prepared to leave the problem to him and don't anticipate any solution. He will see you through, may not be in the way you wanted but God will. I have seen enough situations about me and situations I got myself into to say that. Stop praying about the problem and when you get up the next moment, you take the problem and tell God that you would be able to solve it, you can't. Worse still, most of the time you end up in a worse position that you started off previously.
This always make me recall a story of a relative of mine, who worked hard throughout his entire life, only to die at a fairly early age due to liver cancer. Before he left the world, he told my dad that being contented is being happy, Zhi Zhu Chang Le, (Hope I got that right, been ages since I last have to do Han Yu Pin Ying). Not that we do not need to work in life, but we need to be content and we need BALANCE. That's what is missing is so many people's life.
(On a side note, to just show how slow my printer is, I am only at 42 of 66 pages... It is really draggy)
Well, being content stretches further as well, we need to cherish those people around us. I was comment to a couple of friends that real friends are hard to find nowadays as we grow older. Sure, we know more people, but more good friends? Nay, in fact, we would could ourselves lucky if there are more than 5 or so people who we can really share our problems with. I do count myself as blessed in many ways, this is one of them. Everytime in my darkest time, there will always be someone around. Such I have fair share of people who may not be like me (Like is probably an understatement, but let's just leave it there), but I do have many more people who do care for my well being.
So do be content, cherish those around and be always dependent on God, will end with this passage which I read in a Christian bookshop, find it pretty nice.
God, grant me,
the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
the COURAGE to change the things I can change,
and the WISDOM to know the difference.
Until then.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
The Unpredictable Life.
Oh well, guess this must be one of the rare times, have been pretty bogged down with life these days. Moreover, life have been just full of surprises these days. The Lord has really been encouraging me in my walk with him, it is just the overconcerned me who is constantly worried about life.
Managed to spend some time singing the old songs which I have kept and here's one particularly interesting one, titled, "O Rejoice In The Lord". It is one of my dad's favourite songs as well.
God never moves without purpose or plan.
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
Chrous:
O rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead,
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above,
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
It is interesting that as I grow older there seems to be more concerns about life, and with those concerns we find ourselves having to depend more on God as there is nothing much we ourselves can do. It is during such times that we find that indeed we are weak and He is strong.
When I was younger I used to imagine that I could do so many things but as I grow older, I realised there is just so much things in life that you can't control. You have absolutely no control over. Circumstances for one, how each day would turn out, People for another, there is no way we can control other's reaction to ourselves. All these thought brought a verse to my mind from Psalms 127:1-2.
1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
If there is anything I have learnt these past few weeks of my life, these verses are the one. We can plan and set things to motion, but God can just change everything at a single moment.
Well, I am still reading and learning, I dare say that this objective of mine is doing pretty okay, keeps me reading the Bible each day and yup, if you have guessed as much I am currently still in Psalms, now at Psalms 138.
Wise mine suggested that instead of taking by passages I should set aside a certain period of time to read it. It will probably add more consistency to the daily devotions, will probably try it out to see. Problem is that I would forget sometimes where I have read until. Silly and forgetful me. Maybe the stick it will really help. Guess I should try. Will see how things go.
Until then.
Managed to spend some time singing the old songs which I have kept and here's one particularly interesting one, titled, "O Rejoice In The Lord". It is one of my dad's favourite songs as well.
God never moves without purpose or plan.
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
Chrous:
O rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead,
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above,
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
It is interesting that as I grow older there seems to be more concerns about life, and with those concerns we find ourselves having to depend more on God as there is nothing much we ourselves can do. It is during such times that we find that indeed we are weak and He is strong.
When I was younger I used to imagine that I could do so many things but as I grow older, I realised there is just so much things in life that you can't control. You have absolutely no control over. Circumstances for one, how each day would turn out, People for another, there is no way we can control other's reaction to ourselves. All these thought brought a verse to my mind from Psalms 127:1-2.
1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
If there is anything I have learnt these past few weeks of my life, these verses are the one. We can plan and set things to motion, but God can just change everything at a single moment.
Well, I am still reading and learning, I dare say that this objective of mine is doing pretty okay, keeps me reading the Bible each day and yup, if you have guessed as much I am currently still in Psalms, now at Psalms 138.
Wise mine suggested that instead of taking by passages I should set aside a certain period of time to read it. It will probably add more consistency to the daily devotions, will probably try it out to see. Problem is that I would forget sometimes where I have read until. Silly and forgetful me. Maybe the stick it will really help. Guess I should try. Will see how things go.
Until then.
