choosing to lose

today's qt made me realise some things. first off, i'll confess that i haven't really had a quality-kind of qt in a while - it's been more of breezing through passages without any real study. but today things were different, and i'm pretty sure it's only because today i chose to set aside undisturbed, unrushed, unpressured time, and because i really just took my time dwelling in the word.

and what a difference it makes. when there isn't anything else on your mind, you're fully awake, and you really want to analyse and break down the passage and fit it all together again to understand it. so many times i just went with the flow of things and busyness, and let them take precedence and priority in my life. even when i did do qt, i made sure it was short and consoled myself that hey, at least i did it.

i guess i never realised that we really do have a choice, we shouldn't feel like slaves to time or work or stress, or even entertainment or friends. and it extends to all areas of how we spend our time. what jobs we choose to do or what cca/commitments we choose to take up - does it exhaust us and leave us with no time to commune with God and His people? are we choosing temporal, worldly enjoyment over the true joy that comes from building a relationship with our Lord and Saviour?

Jesus says, 'whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.' (Matthew 16:25-27)

now that we acknowledge we do have a choice,

may we choose to lose,

and find that He will save.

The Danger of Being the Same

Have you ever felt a vast difference in your ways of thinking or operating between you and a fellow brother or sister in Christ? Or wished that people in church had the same qualities or opinions as you have?

This article really enlightened me further on how, as a body of Christ, we are united in Christ, yet God has made us each unique, and we can complement each other! :) As someone commented, this article is summarised in 1 corinthians 12, and I think it puts the bible passage into practical, everyday terms!

Let's learn to accept and cherish each other for the differences in the way God has made us! We can actually use these differences to build each other up to become more like Christ! I think it also helps us understand the importance of speaking up in love and being open to receiving suggestions/rebukes from others, after all we are a family in Christ. :)

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/22252-the-danger-of-being-the-same

bad times?

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Romans 8:28-30
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

every situation we go through, is to build our faith and steadfastness (James), and ultimately to make us more like Jesus (Romans). and these are essential in our growth and our journey towards the end point: heaven. James never wrote "when you're having fun, it will produce steadfastness".

good times rarely make us more like Jesus. it's the bad times that count more. let's find our joy in that. :)

Bible Discussion #2

Reminder: This discussion is meant to be one that will help each of us to gain more knowledge on the bible and on the different perspectives others may have on the same topics. You don't have to limit yourselves to the answers given if you think there's a better answer. I'm just hoping this discussion will push us to desire to improve our understanding of the bible as a whole. So please be open and friendly in your discussion! :)

#2:
What is the good news that we are to proclaim?
a. That Jesus died for the sins of the world
b. That sinners can go to heaven
c. We now have direct access to God
d. God will make a new heaven and a new earth
e. God reaches out to reconcile creation to Himself

...that they may be one even as we are one...

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:13-14

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17:20-23

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth tweets?

Kenji shared this article on facebook. As social media becomes the dominant form of communication in our society, especially among the youths, it grows increasingly important in our lives.

l Cor. 10:31. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Do ALL to the glory of God. We spend so much time on the internet, are we doing it to the glory of God? Let's think about how we use social media the next time we "log on".

In His Love,
Xian

http://theresurgence.com/justification_by_twitter