Sunday, May 11, 2008
-
the world around me...my spiritual life
:
before that, i need to ask a question: does God condone WHITE LIES? I was discussing this with my friends, and i came up with these 2 examples in Exodus 1:19-21; "The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own." (In context exodus 1) and the verse in Joshua 2:4; "But the woman (Rahab) had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from."" (In context joshua 2) and I was asking my friend from these 2 examples, does God condone white lies? what do you think? if so how are white lies defined?
ok now about my spiritual life. during the exams my spiritual life has been a wreck. i only believe that the existence of the spiritual life is only by the existence of a relationship with God with only happens through intimate time with Him and which is only through QUIET TIME. make sense right? if not, even if u are doing things which are right, you are only merely a good boy thats it. i must find a way to balance and regularly have my quiet time and put my spiritual life back on track. only then will i be able to continually increase my faith and trust in Him as the Bible says "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." in romans 10:17. We need Christ's guidance, protection, providence every single day of our lives.
you might say that I am trying to be a role model for those around me in school, a Christian one. But during exams and before the exams I find myself leading 2 separate lives. In school, I'll act holy and boasted on my minute knowledge of the Bible but at home, I just study and neglect God all the way. Then one night I was doing quiet time and it spoke to me cos it was talking about God waiting for the whole day just wanting to speak to us and how many times we have let him down(Daily bread - May 1). There was another day which spoke to me too which was on 1 peter 3:8-12 which is a passage i'll try to read every night before my quiet time as a warm-up. I was feeling very moody that time and it was about how we should be a positive impact to everyone we meet and a heart touched by grace brings happiness to the face. So now Im trying to lead a proper-decent Christian lifestyle or aka an intensive makeover for my spiritual life. Just that there's no end to this intensive makeover.
We are as Christians should work in-work out our Christian faith as the word says "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." in Philippians 2:12-13.
There is also another question in the Bible that is erm...conflicting? In Matthew 5:16 it says "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." and Matthew 6:1 it says: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Despite the difference in these 2 verses, I gathered that whenever we do good deeds in front of men, and we have received our full reward in trying to have a positive influence on them. So it's like sacrifice. Yup.
Thats all.
aaron chua thanked jesus at3:58 PM
Saturday, May 10, 2008
-
the world around me...my family
:
i have always been very grateful to have a family like mine. i dont think i can ever become a great father like my dad. i mean, my dad always have to check my mood swings when he tries to have a conversation with me, he always have to check what i want to do before what he wants to do and stuff. kinda thankful that i really have a great family. great mum, great dad, great bro, great aunt, and lastly, great ME! kidding...i would love to talk more about my family but i got a message to share in this entry...
i know when we were born we didnt get to choose our family and sometimes i know that some guys would feel that their family are against him or something like that, but i just want to tell u that your family loves you and you ought to love them back! whenever you find them irritating, keep asking you the same questions over and over again, or keep saying no to what you want to do, remember that they are just concerned about you and they have your best interests in mind. THEY LOVE YOU! there were times that i will give a very disssatisfied reply or a irritated reply, but after i remember that they are ADULTS and they ought to be treated like one and not see my mood swings and that all they are doing are cos they love me then I'll give them a better reply. They have their busy lives to lead too, but they specially take their time and effort to try to talk to you, but if you just dont them, like will you know how irritated or how hurt they may feel?
When you are happy, they are happy. When you are sad, they are sad. They are with you all the way.
Never Never Never take them for granted.
I LOVE YOU~
aaron chua thanked jesus at10:51 PM
-
the world around us...starting with the closest
:
k why not we start with our furthest...cos the closest will be a little personal...
you know, us christians, we consider this satanic, this not too good for us, this witchcraft, examples of this would be like the Golden Compass, Harry Potter, Pokemon and others. but today i want to bring forth this idea, that if we avoid this, and do other wrongful stuff, have other sick "fetishes" or aka idols, would it be just as bad or worse? it will do us no good if we avoid what the priest, the "big" people in the christian church, tells us what is anti-christian, and we continue with our sinful ways. im not saying that we should dont care and watch these stuff and i agree too that these stuff MAY be bad for us depending on the person but we should always keep our behaviour and spiritual life in check. what do i consider idol or sick "fetishes"? things that remain in your head for a long time even if you try to get it off your mind. "For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world." I John 2:16
another issue linked to this is that is there a need for us to avoid these? there was one cell group meeting that we were discussing this verse in Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." and i was asking them is there a need to avoid them and be in the world but not OF the world? The thing that they emphasised was it varies for different people on their ability to "clear" their mind and the "lasting" effect it may have on different people. JUST for example, harry potter, if a 5-yr boy watches it he may really think that there is such thing, but in comparison a 30-plus yr guy would just dismiss it as rubbish. In that verse earlier it says to think about such things and NOT TO AVOID such things. Another verse was in romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." and that we should be "in the world and not OF the world" just shows that we have to be IN the world so that we can talk to others about christ isnt it? BUT first you must know your limits.
but we are cannot escape from the world and reality, the sinful and wrong stuff. It is "part of our human's nature" as many would say. I think that's why many people like to watch wrestling. We like to see people getting beaten up, we like to see them getting tortured, we like to see them suffering in pain. Then you'll feel very relieved of your stress and SHIOK! Once i understand this fact, i immediately gave up wrestling, cos not only this but i know it has a lingering effect on me. I have to confess something that happened to me in p2. My classmate of mine that time, had this super cool-bad boy attitude and that handsome face and i was like why cant i be him. Anyway it didnt get any further then that, but my point is that we are very easily influenced by the world around us. People blame the pop culture, people blame the globalisation, but i blame us humans. I mean it is all our doing isnt it?
ok i think this is getting too long...time to start next post...
aaron chua thanked jesus at9:59 PM
-
-Faith-
:
hi everyone im back!
today this will be a long long entry...with many thought-provoking thoughts that i came to me during my exam period...
firstly, credit to desmond, i finally got an answer to my question "does God forget our sins?" the answer is very clearly stated in the Bible in Hebrews 8:12: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE." ya thanks desmond!
secondly, there was once i was "discussing" with my school friend whether only those who are baptised goes to heaven and if not what's the purpose? I was insisting on this verse in romans 10:9: "That 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." and that baptism is MERELY a physical act. Then i tried looking up in church membership books and stuff and couldnt find anything. a few months later, just recently, i chanced upon this verse in 1 Peter 3:21-22: "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - NOT THE REMOVAL OF DIRT FROM THE BODY but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." well there you go!
im going to split this entry to many entries for better understanding of every issue...ya...now im going to talk about FAITH. this was given by my church friend, desmond, again who took down notes about the sharing my cell leader did. yup so here it is...
cell word series - faith
what is faith?
-hebrews 11:1; "Faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
1) Faith assures us that we have the things we hope for
-if we hope for something, we can only "long for it", but faith assures us that we can have it!
-e.g. we all long for good results, but faith assures us that we can obtain good results. this will affect our attitudes and actions.
-e.g. we all hope to be saved and delivered from sin and death, but faith assures us that God has already saved us.
2) Faith helps us to see what our "natural eyes" cannot see
-faith can help us believe what our natural reason/logic cannot explain
-e.g. in hebrews 11:3 "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." by faith we know that God created the world. Were we there and did we see creation? No! But by faith!
-*sidenote: maybe another example for help those non-believers...when u take the lift, do you actually go and check the "expiry" date of the lift and check if the next check-up is overdue? no you just press the button, enter the lift and close the door. in other words, you have faith that the lift wouldnt snap and fall!
-biblical characters of faith: Noah, Abraham, the whole long list in Heb 11:7-17
having faith for our salvation
ephesians 2:8; "by grace we have been saved through faith..."
-by faith we know that we are saved, and not just hoping to be saved
-by faith, despite all that we are now, we know that we belong to God
closing
romans 10:17; "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God"
-if we dont know what God's Word says, how to have faith?
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"" Romans 10: 14-15
cell word series-faith (part 2)
-people who have faith have conviction in what they are doing, even though they may not see the results yet
examples of people who had faith
1) Noah (Heb 11:7)
-God instructed Noah to build an ark BEFORE it began to rain
-he built the ark for 100 YEARS! (but in that time, a hundred years is nothing much...)
-faith working: Noah obeyed and built the ark even when he could not see rain
2) Abraham (Heb 11:8-12, 17-19)
-Genesis 12: God called Abram (his former name) out of his country and promised to make him a great nation
-Faith working: Abramham obeyed and went without knowing where
-*sidenote: God has a plan for everyone, including Abraham, but we do not take the first step of faith, then you will not be able to reach greater heights in your spiritual life.
-God promised Abraham that his descendants will be countless, but he and Sarah were old folks already!
-Faith working: Abraham obeyed and got ready to sacrifice his one-and-only, long-awaited son, Isaac on the altar.
3) Moses (Heb 11:23-28)
-God called Moses out of Egypt to lead the israelites
-Faith working: Moses obeyed and left Egypt
Closing
-Caution: It is possible to have pure faith, but for the wrong thing!
-That is why faith and God's Word must go hand in hand
-Our God is a fair God, God only helps those who helps themselves.
-How do we apply faith for our salvation?
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2
-1 Timothy 6:12 - "Fight the good fight of faith..."
check out for my next post!
aaron chua thanked jesus at8:56 PM