Come, All Ye Weary and Heavy Laden

Jesus came to earth to take away our hurt and our pain. To remove the heartache and suffering of this world. That was His purpose- to reconcile us to God, to be the propitiation for our sins- our sins against Him, our sins against each other. He came, that we may live- that we may know that joy of Heaven, that love of God.

Have you ever felt like your heart was too pained and scarred to continue beating? That you couldn't raise your voice in song simply because there's no song left to sing? Aren't there those moments where it all seems so meaningless, so purposeless, so futile and empty? In those moments, vision is clouded and the mind confused, and all one feels is hurt and anguish. Isn't that the time when you want to throw your hands in the air and say, "I give up". Maybe there's someone amongst us who feels this way- like there simply isn't a way to move on with life, that the memories of the past and the disappointment attached to that time ago are just like hooks which cling to us and drag us backward, piercing our flesh and bleeding us dry of whatever was pleasant, beautiful, hopeful and abundant.

And yet, Jesus said that He came to give life, and 'life abundant'. Surely Jesus never lied, surely that Lamb of God would never bring deceit and falsity to His lips- no, Jesus only speaks Truth, and He IS here to give us peace of heart, reconciliation to the Father, and hope for tomorrow.

Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all ye weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls."

Take some time today, pause and think of what the Lord has done for you and for me. Wait upon the Lord, who knows each care and hurt, each bruise and wound, and tenderly bends to us to care for our pains. He alone can give that peace and healing that our hearts so desperately cry out for- only Jesus. He whose hands were pierced with nails of hate, whose feet were marred with spikes of malice, whose side was thrust through, and whose blood covered that hill on Calvary. The price He paid for our lives, for our reconcilation to God, with nothing less than His own suffering.

And today, He stands, calling, "Come, come, come- Come to the Father, my child. Why so broken hearted and tearful? Lift your eyes to Heaven, and rest in my love, my perfect love." Come to Jesus.

Dearest Jesus,
the price you paid for my life was so high- so unbearably high and painfully costly. Surely you understand the fraction of pain that I'm feeling just in my heart. The Bible says that you were a man acquainted with suffering, and that you understand this fragile mortal life- you understand it all, the heartbreaks and pain. Thank you Lord, for being so close and understanding of what us. Thank you for coming to Earth and giving us your greatest gift- yourself. O Lord, we give you praise and thanks that even now, you understand these prayers for deliverance, and that you are ever so close to us. Jesus, I pray for mercy, for deliverance from all these hurtful thoughts and memories. I ask, jesus, that you send Your comforting Spirit to give me rest. All I want to do, Lord, is rest in you and claim your invitation to take refuge and comfort in Your loving arms. You have said that you will never leave us nor forsake us, and Your Word is true. Give me faith to claim this offer of peace that you hold out open, and let me be found in You. Take this heart that has been so battered by the world, and make it whole. Thank you Lord for your lovingkindness, for your perfect love.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Little Faith-Building Discoveries I: On Marriage and Monogamy

Dear Brothers, there've always been little seemingly "grey" areas in the Bible which have always been a source of great distress to me. But God is faithful! And in His time, He reveals more of who He is and what He wants to be like in Him. =)

False Claim #1: The Judaeo-Christian God approves of polygamy in the Old Testament, hence the Christian doctrine of monogamous marriage and relationship of fidelity and loyalty are bogus teachings. God's morality is not absolute. Look at examples like Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon.

Truth: God DOES approve of monogamy! Scripture is absolutely clear and unambiguous in Deuteronomy 17:17where the Law describes the King of Israel, his model and exemplary behaviour (note: at this point of writing, there WASN'T even a King of Israel yet) "He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold." God is a god of truth, and unchanging, unwavering standards of holiness, and likewise, His leaders and children are to be as such. Gen 2:24 makes it clear that God intends ONE man to be witih ONE woman in holy matrimony" For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."



Abraham: Abraham lay with Hagar to father Ishmael under Sarah's recommendation, in the hope of fulfilling GOd's covenant with Abraham. This may seem like God approves polyogamy, but this is not so. Biblical characters don't always act in accordance with God's will, and this is an example. We understand the ramifications of Abraham's sins when we see his subsequent anguish in having to "sacrifice" his only TWO sons- by leaving Ishmael in the wilderness and sacrificing Isaac on Mt. Moria. Imagine Abraham's pain and suffering as a father having to be heartless and cold to please God. Yet, it could be suggested that this is a result of his sin in not trusting God to fulfil His own promise, as well as taking a second wife and thus bringing sin into the family.

Jacob: We see another clear example when we think of Jacob's 4 wives- again, we remember that it was Jacob's intention to love only woman- Rachel, but because of Lot's dishonesty and the ungodly competition between Rachel and Leia that Jacob took 4. In additoin, we see Jacob consquently punished for this violation of the marriage committment in the disharmony between his sons, who fought amongst themselves: selling Joseph to Egypt and deceiving their father with his bloody coat. A dysfunctional family was birthed as sin started from the father and found its way into the lives of the 13 brothers- plus, Jacob, in his old age, suffered great pain TWICe when he too, lost his beloved sons JOseph and Benjamin at differnet points. The sin of the father persisted even into the life of Judah, who had an incestrous relationship with his daughterinlaw, Tamar. "the sins of teh father will be punished to the 3rd and 4th generation"

David- the "man after God's heart" had 8 wives. Although he was indeed highly favoured in God's eyes, he too sinned when he lusted after Bathsheeba when he already had multiple consorts, resulting in GOd punishing him with the death of his firstborn, as well as the family strife that persisted in the incestrous relationship with Amnom and Tamar. David's latter half of life proved to be extremely problematic, with his family rife with strife and conflict.Amnon and Tamar's sinful account is only one of them. The revenge-murder of Amnon by Absalom and ABbsalom's attempt to take the throne in David's old age further reflects the poor family fabric in David's home, a result of his personal sins. Polygamy was doubtlessly one of these sins.

Solomon- another polygymous King, who began well in God's eyes- the "wisest man in the world" However, with his taking of multiple wives (ultimately totalling approx 700 wives and 300 concubines) he became a poor ruler in his latter years, led into the worship of false gods and turning from the True God. If anything, this should be another clear Biblical example of God's disapproval with polygamy.

In contrast, the examples of Isaac (see previous post), Ruth and Boaz, Adam and Eve, etc demonstrate the kinds of relationships that God desire us to have.

God is a God of Truth, who does not lie or change His mind. Numbers 23:19
His mercies are new every morning! Lam 3:22-23
Amen.

Crystal Cathedral (Garden Grove, CA)

Could I Ever?

When I woke up today
And thought of all the things You’d done
I find myself here
Feeling oh so overcome

You gave Your life away for me
Truly my heart belongs to You
So let me say

How could I ever thank You for
What You did at Calvary
When You bled and died for me
How could I ever turn away
Knowing that You paid the price
That I could never pay

When I think of the way
That You died upon that Cross
Bearing my sin
Even though my heart was lost

You gave Your life away for me
Truly my heart belongs to You
So let me say

How could I ever thank You for
What You did at Calvary
When You bled and died for me
How could I ever turn away
Knowing that You paid the price
That I could never pay

on Understanding

Charles, thank you for the story and Ken for reminding me about love.

It was good to read the blog amid my flood of work and jobs and unanswered emails
thanks for the mail leb, will reply soon

I have been thinking. That is something we do alot.

The conversations in Job jump at me:

A) We can say all the right things and still be utterly wrong about God, regardless of our heart.

The charater of Elihu was a shock. He spoke nothing untrue about the wrath and character of God, professing to ' ...to speak on God's behalf. (Job 36:1)'. He defered respectfully to Job amd asking him 'suffer me a little' apologising for his chastisement and as he spoke in love.

He did nothing wrong save that of not knowing the context of God in his actions on Job. His heart was righteous as he spoke out for concern for Job . Yet he was wrong

I talk like that. We all do somehow, using words as we make apologies for what we believe in and framing our arguments accordingly as we speak.

Yet Elihu and the friends of Job in all their truth and belief were wrong.

As someone who's tools are the words, pictures and emotion to bring across meaning, i manipulate these to evoke whatever i feel/desire/need/want. Yet as our tools work on others they too work on us.

I have no doubt that the threat of self-delusion is reality among us, even as we seek our God and to understand his ways.


B) Living in God's light is understanding his ways and world view.

'And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' JOB 28:28 Kjv

It takes understanding and the wisdom of God to see beyond the basal desires of the world as to why we should abandon the things and feelings that we are dependent upon to look to God. Its that difficult truth.

Its something we must aspire to. Aligning our world view with that of God, knowing that it is his affirmation we should bear in mind as we reason with our minds, hearts and the others he has blessed us with. After all all the blessings in the world given to you does not equate to a relationship with God or that he is pleased with you. Job is a fine negative example of that.

Christianity is a relationship. Thats its difference. Relationships need understanding, God understands us, do we in our hearts understand him.

a simple story

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.

The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.

The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting."

Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!"

God gave his son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who'll take the son?" Because you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

O be careful little eyes what you see, what you see.

Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. *clap clap*

Remember this song from kindergarten? It really does highlight something important for us to note. The eyes are the most powerful stimulus we have as human beings- it is our primary means of gaining information of the world around us, and is (apparently,) our most evolved sensory system of all the five. It's no wonder then, that phrases and maxims such as "the eyes are the window to the soul" and "a picture speaks a thousand words" exist and pervade our 21st century lifestyle. Even when we travel, we desperately take photo after photo, trying to retain the visualness of our experience in order to jog our memory and help us remember those special moments.

For Christians, this- as in all things- is a double-edged sword. The dangers of this powerful stimulus is that it opens a whole world of temptation and sins of the eyes- no wonder then, that 1 John 2:15-16 talks about the "lust of the eyes" amongst the three primary sins that pervade Mankind.



Jesus warns us to guard our eyes, to go so far as to "pluck it out" if it causes us to sin, and be holy in all we do- including what we see with our eyes. Remember to guard your eyes from sin.



One way we can do this more effectively is by not just resisting SIN, but fleeing from temptation. By this, we refuse to even put ourselves in a situation where we can be tempted- and this involves the feet taking the eyes a place where the self will be tempted. Avoid places where we see things that displease Him- this may involve being in a room alone with the computer, or going to temptation-ridden place. By placing ourselves in a place where we can be tempted- we've already lost half the battle. A friend recently reminded me of something- people don't fall just because they're weak; they fall because they think they are strong. Flee from temptation.



On the other hand, the eyes have tremendous potential for good and sanctification. I'm not a artist by any standards, but art can also be used to point us toward the things of heaven. Let's explore then, how we can the eyes to glorify Him!

Real Victims

It seems to be ingrained into our human modus operandi to adopt a series of defensive mechanisms to criticism and hardship. We begin with blame pushing, denying responsibility and accountability for our actions, whether truly responsible or not, and look for scapegoats to push the blame to. We push the blame on those around us. We then push the blame onto evil- upon the temptations that lure into sin and suffering. We push the blame to the Devil. If that doesn't satisfy us, we become moody and depressive, wallowing in our self pity as we bemoan our circumstances and the conditions of our lives. In doing so, we move to a second stage of pushing the blame on God, upon whom all circumstances ultimately rest. In both these stages, we never seem to consider the role of the self in our own sufferings- bringing about our own discomfort and pain. Isn't this true of you and me?

We imagine ourselves as victims, of either malicious individuals around us or the oppression of fate i.e. God's actions (both direct acting and indirectly allowing) IN the case of Eve and Adam and original sin we see this pattern clearly played out when Adam pushed the blame ot Eve, and Eve to the serpent. Implicitly, even in Adam's justifications to God, he implicates the Almighty when he cries out it was the "woman YOU PUT HERE WITH ME" (caps mine) drawing God into complicity too, thus drawing upon the sources of both the first and last stages of the human modus operandi. In our sufferings, we consider ourselves victimised by a oppressive god, (Milton's Lucifer refers to his 'tyrannical rule' often) with our fellow human beings as instruments that god uses to torture or wound us. God becomes the villain, our fellow man, his tools for hurt, and ourselves, the innocent victims of his perniciousness. This is poor theology, or an incorrect conception of who God is.

And yet, how often do we recognise the truth of the matter, that God is in fact, a victim of sin? David makes it clear in psalms when he exclaims, "against you and you alone have I sinned" that GOd, the embodiment and source of all righteousness and good, is the victim against whom ALL sins are committed. He does not delight in evil, but takes pleasure in the righteous shunning sin. Whenever a man falls prey to sin, we call that rebellion against God. In such a matter, GOd does not clap His hands and shout hooray. Neither does He stand silent and say, "free will. Man's choice." No. In fact, every time we choose poorly, His heart bleeds as the prodigal son demands his inheritance from an all-loving father to leave home. God tears each time we sin and reject His holy righteousness. In ALL matters of sin, God alone is the victim of any offense, and we are accomplices to each other's sin.

In Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson, Revered John Amnes replies to a difficult God-type question with tremendous wisdom. He notes that man associates God with 4 essential characteristics- omniscience, omnipotence, justice and grace. He further comments that as far as he goes, he lacks the knowledge to know very much, the influence to be anywhere near potent, the ability to simply be just and fair, and the magnamity with which to show much grace- much less imagine or understand teh powers of all 4 qualities expressed in conjunction. As much as this looks like a cop-out, i think it is a fair argument to say that God's standards and our own are very different. This is not to say that God is beyond human comprehension because He is so high (of course He is,) but God is beyond human comprehension also because we are too LOW.

We grieve each other enough as it is- imagine how every wound we give each other multiplied by 10, and then by every sinful human being in this world- that is the extent of His suffering and His ability toforgive and show grace. Do remember then, that we are NOT victims to each other's hurts, but accomplices in wounding a loving God.

Be Raised!

How great the power of Our God, how majestic is His name!
How good and pleasant it is to be love by one such as He!

My dear readers,

how often has the Lord OUR God been at our side when trouble threatens to overwhelm? how often has He given us comfort in our despair, companionship in our loneliness, strength when we were weary, joy when circumstances offered no happiness?

Many of us are going through periods of draught; we are being led through our individual valleys (see psalm 23:4) and O how real the sorrow and grief of the world. how piercing the pain in our hearts and bodies. but yet we live on. that in itself is miracle enough is it not? that every new day we are given life anew! that every morning we are given consciousness anew! that every morning we are greeted with his sapphire skies and heavenly symphonies.

If we just look past our sorrows for awhile; if we would be still and sense the closeness of God, truly then we will see how it is his hand that supports, his arm that defends, his embrace that so strengthens. In these moments when all around us loses its flavour, when love, knowledge, relationships, passions fail, how REAL the claim, "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." -psalm 39:7, how true that he alone is the sole reason we rise to work and attempt to live the day. and truly how sweet is it to have this simplicity of purpose! when there is nothing that distracts, nothing that battles for our attention.

i have an interesting theory as to why we grief in such situations. i believe that it is because when one loses any other reason to live and inadvertently turns to God that the evil one has no other tool he may use to distract you or encumber you that he uses one's emotions. that the battlefield is no longer external, but purely internal; a battle in heart and mind. Our natural reaction in times of abject helplessness would be to turn to the sole being who could be of any help, but the evil one cannot have that. thus he sends intense waves of grief and sorrow that we might focus on the pain and not find the relief to this pain. O that we would just cling on to the promises of God, that we would just claim Isaiah 40:31, and then my brothers, then we will truly rise on eagles wings and soar above the circumstances of our lives.

When has God been more real besides the time when our agony seems the most excruciating? When has God closer other than the times when we felt most painfully lonely? and perhaps the most debilitating of all, when have we felt the smallest and most underserving of His grace, other than those moments when we just sit in the quiet little corners of our room weeping to him, helplessly repeating, "dear lord, dear lord, i know not what to do, i know not what to do".

even as i write this i feel a great wave of emotion, remembering the many times that God has broken me only to show me the great depth of His love and His faithfulness. it is after these countenance wrecking experiences that i can truly attest to Joshua 1:5 and say that he has truly never left me nor forsaken me; it is after these heart wrenching times that i have found the truth of nehemiah 8:10, "Do not grief, the joy of the lord is your strength".

we go through trials and testing, breaking and refinement, all for the building up of our individual souls. but how? we always hear this sanctimonious cliché, but how? how is our faith built up? ahhh and with this the claim, "the truth shall set you free" has been proven truth, that truly only when we we go through all the flames, and all we have left are the very words of God, that all we have left is Him alone and we realise his faithfulness and goodness, then and only then are we refined, then and only then are we built up!

therefore my brothers, "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." (James 1:1-3) and "perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4). and what is this hope but the greatest hope of all, the "hope of glory" that is "CHRIST IN [US]" (Col 1:27)

i pray this song i share will speak to you as much as it has to me.

YOU RAISE ME UP

When I am down, and oh my soul so wearyWhen troubles come, and my heart burdened beThen I am still and wait here in the silenceUntil you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains!You raise me up to walk on stormy seas!I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.You raise me up to more than I can be.

How far high He raises us! to STAND ON mountains and WALK ON stormy seas!!!

CAMOUFLAGED COMMANDOS OF FALSE FAITH, BEWARE

"These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.
They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever."-Jude 1:12-13

I picked up this little verse from my younger brother's blog that's http://mightycheesecake.blogspot.com and I thought it was such a beautiful verse- so literary and so image-evoking that I had to say something about, perhaps do a mini pract crit on it.

(WARNING: PRACT CRIT AHEAD)

Can you conceptualise a blemish at a love feast? What is a love feast anyways? (http://www.piney.com/AgapeBrit1911.html) In summary, love feast is also known as an agape love feast, a sacrificial feast that ends with a eucharistic celebration- connoting notions of holy sacrifice and communal worship marked by purity and Christ-centredness. The linguistic effect of such a blemish at such a love feast negates the pleasing and lyric movements of this metaphor with taintedness, tarnish and imperfection.

These figurative blemishes, or persons of this blemish are presented as desensitised to conscience and have little regard for sanctity or reverence, being "without the slightest qualm" of their sinfulness; expressing the ease and neutrality with which these false believers are camouflaged amidst the body of Christ, conveniently joining the holy union of believers. Jude further describes them as "shepherds who feed only themselves" a powerful image with contrasts with John's description of the selfless shepherd that represents Jesus' agape love for His flock. Juxtaposed against this figure of magnimity and humility are these false believers who are self-centred and inward looking. These superimpose the self over and above the natural place of the community of Christ, much like a shepherd who fails to tend to the needs of his flock. Instead, he cares only for his own nourishment and fill.

Consequently, these false believers are presented with a sense of temporality and flux, without permanence or groundedness. They are easily moved and swayed by the world around them, loosely tied and poorly rooted. The biblical image conjures tenets of fruitlessness and pointlessness, "clouds without rain" which serve no function and are merely empty and thus, temporal. THeir place in physical dimension too, are loose and uncontrolled, being blown by the winds as and when it wills. The sense of wastage and barrenness associated with the fruitless autumn trees further connate the spiritual emptiness of their faith, producing only in form but not in substance. If this were not enough, Jude takes care to doubly emphasize this point with the reference to being 'twice dead'- not only do these trees not bear spiritual fruit, but after a while are uprooted too, since their groundings are nothing but weak.

These images are reinforced linguistically by the alliterative 'wild waves' which strengthen the sense of unfocused wastage of kinetic energy, undirected and left to spew abroad freely when the waves 'foam (up) their shame'. The foamy image is apt indeed as the physical characteristics of foam being visible in form but lacking in substance or weight correctly represents this kind of false, self-centred faith- a mere mimicking of true relationship in Christ.

Jude takes care to parallel Paul's famous metaphor of believers as "stars" in Philipians 2, extending the Christian image to encapsulate the fallen believer. The latter is a "wandering star" a directionless celestial with no purpose or aim. The metaphorical value of the light-emitting "star" is wasted when the light is cast aimlessly without adding to visibility, or being a point of reference for travellers- the two functions of a believer (to reflect God's glory, and be a point of reference in the impermanent world) Instead, the end is promised for these wasted Christians- a promise of the "blackest darkness" reserved for their futile faith. If one considers the potential of this image, it makes such brilliant sense. The wasted promise of a star's briliant potential simply serves to be even more embittering for the star when it is reminded of its squandering. Every prodigal child is depressed not merely by their current state of decay, but by what was relinquished in its place- a thought that evokes even more pathos and sorrow. Similarly, the wandering star's promise of a blackest darkness would only be mere darkness if it did not give off light. Instead, it's BLACKEST darkness is guaranteed in the face of the wastedness and regret implied by Jude.

p.s. i do apologise- this isn't a proper e8, just rambling. the thoughts are loosely and poorly grouped, save being united by tenuous threads.

(CONTINUE READING HERE FOR DEVOTIONAL ASPECT AS OPPOSED TO E8 ANALYSIS)

Are we these "wandering stars" that Jude describes? Their characteristics are fairly clear, as outlined by the brilliant poet-writer: such false believers are fruitless, unrooted, self-centred and desensitized to conscience. By fruitless, one invokes the theology of the Fruit of the Spirit- 9 Godly qualities that the believer produces consequent of the presence of the Holy Ghost. (Galations 5;22-23) In being unrooted, we describe the pagan who neglects the duty of the child of God to attend to scripture, the roots of our faith both in simply reading, meditating and daily application. Self-centredness is a fairly clear indicator of a poor faith, as Philipians 2:3-4 urges the believer to look to the interests of others in sacrifical agape love, an apt thought that is presented in conjunction with the communal image of the love feast.
Finally, the desentisation of the conscience to disregard any of the above and carry on in a state of being without god. I personally believe that this is the worst state any believer can be in. To have a heart of apathy is to not care- to devalue the spiritual things of God and His instructions and fall prey to Satan's greatest weapon- the spirit of being too busy and too occupied to care.


Do take care my dear brothers to not be apathetic to this message of distinguishing false and true faith. Sometimes we move between the two without even realising it. If you're not interested in linguistic analysis, do read the second last and last paragraphs again anyways.

The Ellusive Will of God

I came across this article thanks to the links brother caleb has been providing and i thought that it would apply to many of us in our current situations. enjoy and may you be blessed.

Waiting on God
How do you find God's will? Is it something you just stumble across one day, like a one-dollar bill in the parking lot? Does it come in the middle of the night, awakening you the next morning with a fresh sense of purpose and direction? Or is it something deeper—a process of ongoing "baby steps" that lead to ultimate fulfillment?

In our fast-paced society, answers can't seem to come fast enough. Too often, however, we forget that God operates on a different timetable than we do. When it comes to seeking God's will, we want to know everything at once—we expect His entire plan for our lives to be brought to us on a silver platter. Yet God sees far beyond our need for immediate resolution.
If God began by showing us where we would end up, we would likely do our best to get there as quickly as possible, with little consideration of His timing. Think about it this way: if you were given instruction to travel from Miami to Seattle, from one corner of the United States to the other, how would you go about doing it? Some might take the scenic drive through the mountains, others might stick to the coast and the waterways, and some might opt for the quick flight over everything. The point is—we all would go about traveling from Miami to Seattle in different ways.

Never aware of what lies ahead, we may fly right into a turbulent storm, suffer from car trouble on a deserted highway, or lose our way altogether. But God sees the storms ahead of us; He can steer us in the right direction and away from the pitfalls of self-effort. Often, He may simply ask us to take two small steps and wait on further instructions. Discovering God’s will doesn't happen overnight.

Following Saul's Damascus Road experience in Acts 9, God did not say, "Saul, I am going to make you the greatest missionary for the Christian faith in the history of mankind." Instead, He simply told Saul to travel to Damascus and "it will be told you what you must do" (Acts 9:6). From there, the Lord led Paul from city to city and country to country, using him every step of the way to spread the gospel through the world. Day by day, God will guide us and direct us on the path we must take.

Now we may ask, "What if I mess up? What if I get off track?" Fortunately, God is a God of second chances. Moses ran from God; David strayed away from the Lord on many occasions; Peter denied Christ. God is fully aware of our human nature—He knows we will make mistakes. His will for our lives is not a one-shot opportunity. But if we do get off track, we must simply re-focus our attention on Him, rather than our circumstances.

Ultimately, if we are in tune with God, we can trust that He will reveal His plan for our lives. Not only does this involve praying and asking God for direction, but, also, listening to Him and meditating on His Word. "Be still," the Lord tells us, "and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 (NIV). It's hard to listen to God and know His will if we are constantly doing the talking. That is why it is so important to listen to Him and meditate on Scripture.

Where is your life right now? Are you content? Where do you see yourself in five years? Today, begin asking God what He would have you do next. Listen to Him, understanding that answers may not come at once. Ask for patience and wait quietly. Through His grace, you can confidently walk in the will of God.
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In Touch (Friday, June 25, 2004)
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On learning.

'Teach me, and I will hold my tongue and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.'- Job 6:24 (KJV)

This verse stopped me as i hurriedly scanned through the passage while on the office computer.
It makes sense in the way 'Be still and know that I am God does' and more. Its a cry, a desire, a plea among many others that Job cried out. With 4 personal pronouns there is no doubt that Job takes reponsibility for this action of searching for christ.

It strikes at an age where we come to terms with ourselves, our lives and our world views. The words flow as we reckon with ourselves with interllect and reason. Yet there is a time we are to be silent in our conflict and say Lord teach me whats wrong, teach me whats missing.

Its something we have to do. Looking to reset our direction to the spirtual North of Christ regularly as we journey on this earth. After all the past is straight and narrow.

It humbles me.

TO VERY SPECIAL FRIENDS

As the title implies- I'm going to write about something very different today.




1 Kings 19:1-9

1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid [a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

In my loneliness and bitterness, there've been many many times where I've felt like I want to drown, where I'm just in over my head. When the people you trust the most disappoint, and those whom you've given all to treat you as if a stranger- when the assurances of the Lord seem questionable and doubtful, and the road looks long; the journey, turbulent and the sky, overcast. At times, the road God calls us to walk is so full of struggles and difficulty, and the simple truths of my childhood faith seem so unbelievably fantastic.

Those are the times when the Lord sends His angels who come alongside as encouragers and ministers- sometimes to rebuke, to admonish, to discipline, to sympathise, to mourn, to weep, to encourage, to uplift, to listen, but above all- to love. These are my very special friends- the food and drink that God sends along to nourish and provide for. It blows me away to think that He who governs the universe cares for me, and in His tender mercy and love, comes to us saying, "Get up and eat- the journey is too much for you" when we're spent and broken.


Sometimes, friends too can disappoint and hurt-and the feelings of isolation and loneliness are strengthened when one's expectations are too high. Forgetfulness, ignorance, insensitivity, distraction, selfishness, fickleness are equally a part of human nature. For these things, we pray prayers of grace to cover over these, and grace to live each day with the heart to love instead of to be loved. As St. Francis prayed, "O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love." Yet this heart of unselfish love too fails every so often, and we feel that we really have no more grace to love this way. But then, in His timing, He sends the gifts of temperance, charity and faith that we need to get through each day. And His timing is always perfect. And yet somehow, the slightest grateful gesture of a dear one is again enough to inspire the heart to greatness and noble endeavour, and the most ambitious project, more than enough bring the broken heart to tears.

Thank you dear Lord, for friends who give us the gifts of love- who lift us up when we have no strength to carry on. Even young men stumble and fall indeed, but those who hope in the Lord will be renewed. Lord, renew us as we are broken and weak. Send those whom You will as Your ministers of love- send friends who will point us to You and be the expression of Christ's love in the church. Help us to count our blessings and gifts- even when we feel as though we have none- we have so many. Thank you for friends Lord, even You did not walk this earth alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.

To that dear friend who made me weep tears of joy-I thank you for your friendship. Do be patient with me- it takes a little while to go from water in wine.



thank god for you all.