My flesh & heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever!


Sunday, September 24, 2006

L.I.V.E. Loud!!!

A lot of people talk about life. Many say they wanna experience and live life to the fullest so that when they are 40/50 years old, there aren’t any regrets. I, myself am guilty of that thought too. We never hesitate to stop at the traffic light and start to think that life is more than just partying, smoking, loading yourself with litres of booze, courtship, etc. Most will say to those thinkers, “Common, don’t be so serious. You should loosen up.”

But what is life really all about? I believe everyone on this earth will ask. Is it just about living out their life like every other people do, in attempt to fit into the “crowd”? Or else, you will be left out, or you are the odd one… Some people might think that they have to do stunts or drift around a roundabout to be “cool” and “I have live life”… But do you really find permanent fulfillment in that? The pleasure and joy from alcohol and fagging last only when you are with your friends, because it is fun doing it together since we are now grown-ups but can this be called a lasting joy?

These people, who live a life like this, need to constantly do this thing to sustain their happiness. Constantly rekindle this temporary fulfillment that soon fades as the week goes by. So, what do you call this? Living life to the fullest? If yes, why didn’t it last fully?

So, do all these life experiences and encounters bring freedom since they do not offer lasting fulfillment? No, I don’t think so. It is more like they are trapped in this kind of lifestyle. Everyday is a routine for these people. At the end of the day, when you wanna tell your next generation about your life journey, is this what you wanna share? Is this what you want them to admire you for? If you think this is the life that you wanna live, so you are saying this is the purpose you are called to this world. That is to life your live around the clock. To do well in your career, be financially stable, get married and start a family. When you look back your life 40 years later, what are the great things you have done as you journey through your life?

As for my life, I live it for God. My purpose is to reach out to the friends around me, share with them about Jesus, talk to them about life, vision, goals, purpose. To love and appreciate the people around me. Everyday is an exciting day for me as I wait upon what God will do in my life today. Who is He gonna place in my midst? How am I gonna make my conversation fruitful? Every encounter I have with others I ask God what He can bring out of it at the end of the conversation. At the end of the day, it is my fulfillment when I meet God standard, and trust me, it last!!!! It doesn’t just end there. It will prompt you to do more things, great things! God continues to extend your border.

This is my last year here before stepping into another journey of my medical career abroad. Before that, I hafta sit for my finals which encompasses what I’ve learned in IMU this 2 ½ years. Honestly, I’m running out of time. But thank God, my 24 hours seem like days. I could use it to do His work and study effectively at the same time. What grips me is to see youth wasting their time doing things that don’t bring forth benefits in future. I really hope I can help people around me find their life purpose God has called them to be. I believe, at the end of my life, it will be a great story to tell my kids because God is the author of my chapters in life. Measure your standard to God’s, not the world. Ultimately, it is He you wanna imitate.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Repent!!!

Finally, exam is over! I can take some time to breathe, and recuperate some of my thoughts. It has been a while since I last blogged. To those who were wondering how was D.I.V.E in camp, lemme tell you…. it was fantastic!!! Those who didn’t go, you really missed the time we spent together with each other & with God. But this is not what this post is all about… And as I was attending my leadership class today, Shawn spoke about this verse:-

Matt26: 14Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him(Jesus Christ) over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

Shawn told us, “Judas trade Jesus for 30 silver coins. What about us now? How much did you trade Jesus for?”

This really grips me, because many of us put their personal life, career, studies, unattended responsibilities, etc above Jesus. We trade Him for a gathering with friends… 2 hours of weekend service for studying for exam… or maybe to attend an event in school… This totally nullifies His position to be the Lord & Savior in our life. We uphold our worldly responsibility more than our heavenly responsibility, which is to obey what God says. I can’t comprehend how they can take other events so seriously, but not Jesus, who is our God, who blesses us everything under the roof, who shines us through troubles… Is the door to our Father only knocked when we need His help? Or are we too comfortable with our life that we think we are in control & do not need God’s help to author the chapters of our life?

Rom10:9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

This verse is prayed by all who wanted to commit their life to Christ. But instead of committing, it is “committing”… In the Roman days, when the soldiers go around asking, “Is Caesar the Lord?” the people will respond, “Yes, Caesar is Lord”. As for Christians, they will claim “No, Jesus is Lord!” Because of that, many were killed for their faithfulness in Christ. Many were used as human sacrifice for entertainment for the Romans.

Think about this, what about us today? Do we really mean it when we say the sinner’s prayer? Or are we just saying so that we make it to heaven? Jesus never says don’t study, or don’t care about your responsibility. Rather, He asked us to follow Him & obey what He says. Is it so difficult for us to come to Him? After what He has given us, and done for us on the cross…..

These thoughts prompted me to repent…