Profound Life...
It was a busy time for me last week but in a good way...Well, I mean I wasn’t really really busy or something, however, I was busy in the sense that relative to my usual schedules I have had significantly more things going on in my life at this point in my life the any other point in my life after my A Levels, with the exception of a number of occasions this year. So yea, it’s true that I’m feeling really happy that I’m living my life more fully and doing more of the things I wanna do, and I’m feeling good about most things. Still, there’s more that I’m aiming for especially with regards to having the opportunities to be involved in more outside activities and to go out with friends and do stuff, which is still lacking. And, there were a few stressful moments during the week. But, on a whole I must say i can’t complain about anything and I’m happy with the way things are heading and about the however little but significant things that have been added to my life, it’s been great and I’m grateful for it. That is why last week was good for me but wasn’t without the not so good.
Basically, to give an idea of how I spent my somewhat busier week last week, here’s a summary of it...Monday, I stayed at home and did the usual stuff again. Tuesday, went down to get my membership with HWA. Wednesday, I had chess lessons. Thursday, I went to the hospital for my check-up. And, Friday I had my vocal lessons. As for the weekend, I attended a church wedding on Saturday while on Sunday we went to church, had lunch outside and then visited my grandmother at the hospital.
As for last week I didn’t really encounter many situations which gave me things to think about but there were some random thoughts I did have during the course of the week, I was mostly either busy doing my own stuff or out getting something done. But to begin with the dominant thought of the week that I feel epitomises what my week was like last week. Last week, was like a continuation of my happiness from last week, where really I’ve been feeling like my life getting better and that I living more fully and doing the things I love and receiving things in life that I want or in some cases take steps towards some of my goals and dreams. However, on the other hand there were stuff at home that weren’t going that great and I did feel upset about some things. This led me to this thought that: Where there is joy in life there is also pain and suffering. And, what I meant by this is not just that there is good and bad things in life but also that there is joy even in the midst of pain and suffering, a joy brought about in difficult times in knowledge and hope of God’s work in our lives and His presence with us through whatever it is we are facing.
Somehow, last week I just began pondering about the shortness of life and the way to live life. I realise that just as much as we should live each day like it’s our last, we should dream like we’ll live forever and live for these dreams. I mean personally I know for a fact that in my condition I probably wouldn’t live as long as an average person, but then again we can never know, only God knows; anyone can be taken away at any moment. But, that should not stop us from dreaming and doing things we would do if we knew we could live forever because there are things much greater we can do with our lives in view of an eternity than we would have if we live for dreams within a short time frame since everything seems insignificant if we had no future. And, if we believe in a future, we can dream greater things and achieve greater things in our lives. And, the truth is that there is life after death, and a greater purpose for our lives than just the here and now, and that is to live for God’s glory, and we have dreams of things for a future beyond death that is for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God. I mean, there would be no point in doing anything if we were just a result of evolution and we perish after death on Earth, so clearly it is God who created us to bring glory to His name and to look forward to an eternity with God in heaven, and that is the purpose for our lives and we are motivated by our passions and dreams which leads us to fulfil a purpose in this life that ultimately glorifies God. One other thing I did wonder about regarding this issue of dreaming as if you’ll live forever, was really would anyone be together with someone who would live a much shorter life? Kind of reminds me of the movie a long time ago, A Walk to Remember. But, I guess, why not? If it be in God’s will that the person has a soul mate, then it will come true, just like God will not create your soul mate and not let you meet the person. And, besides, love is unconditional, so why should it matter that one party may not live as long. Where two people are truly in love, nothing else matters.
And, this brings me nicely to my other thought...that is about success and God’s glory. Basically, my question was what our motivation is and where is the ambition to be successful, since our purpose in life is to live for God’s glory. But, truth is ambition is actually a God thing, yes living for God’s glory means doing everything we do as unto God, however, it also means giving of our best to God our master. Then again, we need to ask ourselves what it truly means to be successful, is it to earn a lot of money, leave behind a legacy, do well in school or at work, have a nice car, have a nice house or win awards? Yes, in victory when we attribute it to God, it glorifies God and it has, meaning, significance and we fulfils our intrinsic purpose. But, it doesn’t mean that when we are not successful as the world puts it, we do not glorify God, whether or not we are winners or losers, successful or a failure, it does not matter, it is in the heart of worship and doing everything for God’s glory that ultimately glorifies God. And, let me just address this issue about what success really means, success as the world puts it is achieving some sort of status be it socially or in terms of wealth. What the true meaning of success though is actually in fulfilling the five purposes God has for our lives that lead to the ultimate reason for everything that is the glorification of God. The five purposes being, worship, fellowship, discipleship, mission and evangelism. That is not to say God wants us to live in mediocrity, in fact God wants us to live an above average life, He has a purpose for our lives to prosper us and give us a future and a hope. God wants us to use our full potential in the area He has set for us. God gave us our abilities for a reason and that is to be able to live for the purpose He has for our lives. When we don’t give it our best, we just can’t achieve what God want us to achieve with our lives. And, in the same way our passions and dreams are for a reason, they form part of our shape and who we are, and allows us to do our best in that area, thereby achieving something and at the same times bringing glory to God as we do it as unto the Lord. It is essentially all about our relationship with God and living for God in gratitude for His son Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins while we were undeserving so that we have eternal life.
Anyway, during the week I was angry with someone which made me consider something and that is whether I really have the right or reason to be angry. Also, I was forced to consider the topic of forgiveness/unforgiveness. I guess if someone really does something wrong it is ok for us to be angry but again we must be careful not to in our anger sin. However, more often than not we are not without fault, so we should not just get angry but we should examine ourselves and confess our part of the conflict before we get upset with someone. The anger should be at the wrong or failure of the person and not the person. What we must be careful of, though, is not to bear a grudge, so we should make things right as soon as possible. We should also seek God for discernment in knowing what is right and wrong in the situation. Next, in dealing with it, we should first seek some resolution to the problem, to share what we felt was wrong and how it has hurt us. The ideal situation would be the person realises the mistake and apologizes, and the other party should his or her mistakes too, and the two should find some common agreement and understanding. But, in the end, the main consideration should be to have reconciliation and work things out between each other to get back on good terms. And, there will always be honest disagreements and differing opinions, but as long as we can restore the relationship it is ok. The truths is we all make mistakes, so we should be patient with one another and forgive each other as Christ forgave us. And, all of this should be done gently and in love for love is unconditional. Coz, as Christians we are all here on this earth to learn to love and grow through this process of sanctification to reach the ultimate goal of becoming Christ-like.
Finally, here are some of my thoughts about the message at church on Sunday which really did speak to me in some ways. The speaker began the introduction talking about the fact that there are ups and downs, spiritually and in our walk with God. But, pointed out the joy and hope that is Christmas, which is a reminder of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. And, with regards to the down times in our walk of faith and when there is this sense of emptiness, that is because we have not done these three things that is to come to, listen to and seek God, so that we can delight in God, in His presence, and feel the passion and joy that is in Christ who has blessed us. We must do these three things to allow ourselves to experience the full joy and blessing in Christ Jesus, and the promises in Him. So, the first point about coming to God. In essence, God is already here with us, He is everywhere. A lot of times I and like many of us at, at least one point in time have been in situations where we don’t feel God’s presence here with us. It is in such situations and especially in situations where bad things happen that we ask where God is, but it is not God who is not there but that we have turned away. The answer to it is to come to God for He is here and welcoming us into His presence. And, really at times when I say I don’t feel the passion and feel God’s presence as strongly, I don’t mean that I need to feel it and I also don’t mean that it is just that I feel it but in that we need to come back to Him. Those we are thirsty and hungry are told to come to Him, who is the Living Water and spend wine, milk and the bread of life, which will satisfy forever. And, this is to all people even if without money. How great is it that we can have this living water and bread of life for free? Coz in Christ we have the hope of eternal life which has already been paid for by Jesus. It really struck me these sentence, that is not about having the things we want in life that satisfies but it is in Christ that we are truly satisfied. And, again, how relevant to me at this point in my life now where I’ve been frustrated for so long not being able to live my life as fully as I would have liked and do the things I want in life and achieve my dreams, and now I’m getting a lot of the things I want in my life and getting closer to fulfilling some of my dreams, interests and passions. I need to remind myself of the times where I felt I had nothing or felt empty or didn’t have a lot in life, to remember that though I have nothing, I have everything in Christ. It is our relationship with God is the most important thing, and God should be at the heart of everything in our lives. Also, we should God first and all these things will be added unto us. So, it should not be the fact that I have all these things i want in my life that I will be ultimately satisfied but that it in Christ that I’m satisfied. Next, we are called to listen to God. A lot of times we just hear as in we just hear it with our ears, but we are told to listen which goes one step further, that is we are not just hearers but doers, coz we not only hear it but understand what it means. It means we put into action what we have learned and set it in our hearts. And, lastly, we are to Seek God and turn to Him. We do not live on our own terms but according to God’s will. Coz when we try to put God into a box and try to do God’s work our way, we fail and we will not live. But, it says in Isaiah 55:8-9,” For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God knows best and so we should seek God’s will in our lives. Therefore, if you feel some emptiness in your Christian life maybe you are missing some of God’s blessings, so you must come, listen and seek.
To end, yea last week was a busy week. I’m happy coz my life is really going the way I want and I’m living more fully, but of course there are unhappy things in life too, yet there is still joy in the midst of everything in Christ Jesus. We should dream as if we’ll live forever and live as if we’ll die today, and our ultimate goal in life is to bring glory to God, sure it doesn’t always mean we are successful or we win, but just that we do what we do for God’s glory at the best of our abilities. We should, love one another and be patient with one another and forgive each other as Christ forgave us. And, finally, to experience the full delight in Christ we must come, listen and seek God. Life's just so profound...
Basically, to give an idea of how I spent my somewhat busier week last week, here’s a summary of it...Monday, I stayed at home and did the usual stuff again. Tuesday, went down to get my membership with HWA. Wednesday, I had chess lessons. Thursday, I went to the hospital for my check-up. And, Friday I had my vocal lessons. As for the weekend, I attended a church wedding on Saturday while on Sunday we went to church, had lunch outside and then visited my grandmother at the hospital.
As for last week I didn’t really encounter many situations which gave me things to think about but there were some random thoughts I did have during the course of the week, I was mostly either busy doing my own stuff or out getting something done. But to begin with the dominant thought of the week that I feel epitomises what my week was like last week. Last week, was like a continuation of my happiness from last week, where really I’ve been feeling like my life getting better and that I living more fully and doing the things I love and receiving things in life that I want or in some cases take steps towards some of my goals and dreams. However, on the other hand there were stuff at home that weren’t going that great and I did feel upset about some things. This led me to this thought that: Where there is joy in life there is also pain and suffering. And, what I meant by this is not just that there is good and bad things in life but also that there is joy even in the midst of pain and suffering, a joy brought about in difficult times in knowledge and hope of God’s work in our lives and His presence with us through whatever it is we are facing.
Somehow, last week I just began pondering about the shortness of life and the way to live life. I realise that just as much as we should live each day like it’s our last, we should dream like we’ll live forever and live for these dreams. I mean personally I know for a fact that in my condition I probably wouldn’t live as long as an average person, but then again we can never know, only God knows; anyone can be taken away at any moment. But, that should not stop us from dreaming and doing things we would do if we knew we could live forever because there are things much greater we can do with our lives in view of an eternity than we would have if we live for dreams within a short time frame since everything seems insignificant if we had no future. And, if we believe in a future, we can dream greater things and achieve greater things in our lives. And, the truth is that there is life after death, and a greater purpose for our lives than just the here and now, and that is to live for God’s glory, and we have dreams of things for a future beyond death that is for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God. I mean, there would be no point in doing anything if we were just a result of evolution and we perish after death on Earth, so clearly it is God who created us to bring glory to His name and to look forward to an eternity with God in heaven, and that is the purpose for our lives and we are motivated by our passions and dreams which leads us to fulfil a purpose in this life that ultimately glorifies God. One other thing I did wonder about regarding this issue of dreaming as if you’ll live forever, was really would anyone be together with someone who would live a much shorter life? Kind of reminds me of the movie a long time ago, A Walk to Remember. But, I guess, why not? If it be in God’s will that the person has a soul mate, then it will come true, just like God will not create your soul mate and not let you meet the person. And, besides, love is unconditional, so why should it matter that one party may not live as long. Where two people are truly in love, nothing else matters.
And, this brings me nicely to my other thought...that is about success and God’s glory. Basically, my question was what our motivation is and where is the ambition to be successful, since our purpose in life is to live for God’s glory. But, truth is ambition is actually a God thing, yes living for God’s glory means doing everything we do as unto God, however, it also means giving of our best to God our master. Then again, we need to ask ourselves what it truly means to be successful, is it to earn a lot of money, leave behind a legacy, do well in school or at work, have a nice car, have a nice house or win awards? Yes, in victory when we attribute it to God, it glorifies God and it has, meaning, significance and we fulfils our intrinsic purpose. But, it doesn’t mean that when we are not successful as the world puts it, we do not glorify God, whether or not we are winners or losers, successful or a failure, it does not matter, it is in the heart of worship and doing everything for God’s glory that ultimately glorifies God. And, let me just address this issue about what success really means, success as the world puts it is achieving some sort of status be it socially or in terms of wealth. What the true meaning of success though is actually in fulfilling the five purposes God has for our lives that lead to the ultimate reason for everything that is the glorification of God. The five purposes being, worship, fellowship, discipleship, mission and evangelism. That is not to say God wants us to live in mediocrity, in fact God wants us to live an above average life, He has a purpose for our lives to prosper us and give us a future and a hope. God wants us to use our full potential in the area He has set for us. God gave us our abilities for a reason and that is to be able to live for the purpose He has for our lives. When we don’t give it our best, we just can’t achieve what God want us to achieve with our lives. And, in the same way our passions and dreams are for a reason, they form part of our shape and who we are, and allows us to do our best in that area, thereby achieving something and at the same times bringing glory to God as we do it as unto the Lord. It is essentially all about our relationship with God and living for God in gratitude for His son Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins while we were undeserving so that we have eternal life.
Anyway, during the week I was angry with someone which made me consider something and that is whether I really have the right or reason to be angry. Also, I was forced to consider the topic of forgiveness/unforgiveness. I guess if someone really does something wrong it is ok for us to be angry but again we must be careful not to in our anger sin. However, more often than not we are not without fault, so we should not just get angry but we should examine ourselves and confess our part of the conflict before we get upset with someone. The anger should be at the wrong or failure of the person and not the person. What we must be careful of, though, is not to bear a grudge, so we should make things right as soon as possible. We should also seek God for discernment in knowing what is right and wrong in the situation. Next, in dealing with it, we should first seek some resolution to the problem, to share what we felt was wrong and how it has hurt us. The ideal situation would be the person realises the mistake and apologizes, and the other party should his or her mistakes too, and the two should find some common agreement and understanding. But, in the end, the main consideration should be to have reconciliation and work things out between each other to get back on good terms. And, there will always be honest disagreements and differing opinions, but as long as we can restore the relationship it is ok. The truths is we all make mistakes, so we should be patient with one another and forgive each other as Christ forgave us. And, all of this should be done gently and in love for love is unconditional. Coz, as Christians we are all here on this earth to learn to love and grow through this process of sanctification to reach the ultimate goal of becoming Christ-like.
Finally, here are some of my thoughts about the message at church on Sunday which really did speak to me in some ways. The speaker began the introduction talking about the fact that there are ups and downs, spiritually and in our walk with God. But, pointed out the joy and hope that is Christmas, which is a reminder of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. And, with regards to the down times in our walk of faith and when there is this sense of emptiness, that is because we have not done these three things that is to come to, listen to and seek God, so that we can delight in God, in His presence, and feel the passion and joy that is in Christ who has blessed us. We must do these three things to allow ourselves to experience the full joy and blessing in Christ Jesus, and the promises in Him. So, the first point about coming to God. In essence, God is already here with us, He is everywhere. A lot of times I and like many of us at, at least one point in time have been in situations where we don’t feel God’s presence here with us. It is in such situations and especially in situations where bad things happen that we ask where God is, but it is not God who is not there but that we have turned away. The answer to it is to come to God for He is here and welcoming us into His presence. And, really at times when I say I don’t feel the passion and feel God’s presence as strongly, I don’t mean that I need to feel it and I also don’t mean that it is just that I feel it but in that we need to come back to Him. Those we are thirsty and hungry are told to come to Him, who is the Living Water and spend wine, milk and the bread of life, which will satisfy forever. And, this is to all people even if without money. How great is it that we can have this living water and bread of life for free? Coz in Christ we have the hope of eternal life which has already been paid for by Jesus. It really struck me these sentence, that is not about having the things we want in life that satisfies but it is in Christ that we are truly satisfied. And, again, how relevant to me at this point in my life now where I’ve been frustrated for so long not being able to live my life as fully as I would have liked and do the things I want in life and achieve my dreams, and now I’m getting a lot of the things I want in my life and getting closer to fulfilling some of my dreams, interests and passions. I need to remind myself of the times where I felt I had nothing or felt empty or didn’t have a lot in life, to remember that though I have nothing, I have everything in Christ. It is our relationship with God is the most important thing, and God should be at the heart of everything in our lives. Also, we should God first and all these things will be added unto us. So, it should not be the fact that I have all these things i want in my life that I will be ultimately satisfied but that it in Christ that I’m satisfied. Next, we are called to listen to God. A lot of times we just hear as in we just hear it with our ears, but we are told to listen which goes one step further, that is we are not just hearers but doers, coz we not only hear it but understand what it means. It means we put into action what we have learned and set it in our hearts. And, lastly, we are to Seek God and turn to Him. We do not live on our own terms but according to God’s will. Coz when we try to put God into a box and try to do God’s work our way, we fail and we will not live. But, it says in Isaiah 55:8-9,” For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God knows best and so we should seek God’s will in our lives. Therefore, if you feel some emptiness in your Christian life maybe you are missing some of God’s blessings, so you must come, listen and seek.
To end, yea last week was a busy week. I’m happy coz my life is really going the way I want and I’m living more fully, but of course there are unhappy things in life too, yet there is still joy in the midst of everything in Christ Jesus. We should dream as if we’ll live forever and live as if we’ll die today, and our ultimate goal in life is to bring glory to God, sure it doesn’t always mean we are successful or we win, but just that we do what we do for God’s glory at the best of our abilities. We should, love one another and be patient with one another and forgive each other as Christ forgave us. And, finally, to experience the full delight in Christ we must come, listen and seek God. Life's just so profound...
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