Friday, February 26, 2010

Abundant Life


In a letter from Grace to You Asia

When Jesus spoke of the abundant life, was He promising material wealth, early happiness, or a life ease?
None of the above, really. The abundance promised in the gospel consists mainly of spiritual and eternal riches. In fact, don't be surprised or dismayed if the heavenly blessings of salvation come to you packaged with early trials and persecution.
According to Scripture, trials are blessings if we receive them correctly by faith, knowing that God governs our lives through His loving providence, managing even the earthly hardships we suffer for our good.
That truth is what makes a believer's earthly life so abundant. We have the assurance that as long as we live in faithful obedience to God's Word, the stresses, worries, and cares of this world will not be able to distract us from following Christ.
If we genuinely embrace that truth by faith, our perspective won't be tied to events around us and our joy won't be dependent on the ups and downs of life. Endless wars, failing economies, corrupt politicians, rampant secularism and unchecked cultural perversion cannot cast a shadow over us when we're living each day believing in and obeying God's truth. In a word, we're unshakable.
That doesn't mean there won't be hard times or disappointment for the faithful Christian. Our faith will be tested, we will encounter temptation, and we will undergo trials. We won't be completely free from the powerful influences of this sinful world until we are called home to be with Him or when the Lord returns. But living in obedience to God's Word keeps our feet on solid, stable ground. It's our anchor when the storms of temptation and trials threaten. It gives us balance and security even while the world around us appears to be collapsing in sin and despair.
Whether you're a stay-at -home mom, businessman, mailman,teacher, doctor, or student, God's Word is the only trustworthy compass for your life. Whatever your situation is, the truth of Scripture is timeless, universally applicable and always relevant. The Bible alone sets on the path of godliness, insulates us from the cares and worries of this world, strengths our faith, grows us in the likeness of Christ, and equips us for faithful ministry to others.
Our commitment to God's Word and to living out His truth is vital, and it starts at a foundational, practical level: our willingness to believe God. Specifically, it begins with out faith.




Thursday, February 25, 2010

Will of God


The following "Question" was asked of John MacArthur Jr., the pastor of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California. Copyright 2001 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

How does a person making decisions know what is the will of God?

Answer

The will of God is not meant to be a secret we must uncover. God wants us to understand His will far more than we want to understand it. He always makes His will clear to those who seek it with an obedient heart.

Most of the real problem areas in the question of God's will are settled for us in Scripture. The Bible reveals that it is God's will for all of us to be:

Saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9)
Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18)
Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)
Submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
Suffering ( Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12)

If all those things are true in your life, you may do whatever you want. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." That means that if you are conforming to God's will in all the five ways listed above, He will place in your heart desires that reflect His will. So do what you want to do!

I have written a little book on this subject called, Found: God's Will, available from Chariot-Victor.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

信心


撞啊撞,
人生小船。
漂啊漂,
在狂浪中。
但我有耶稣同船,
可平安渡到对岸。

Jesus Calms the Storm
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Matthew 8:23-27

Paul Called by God

10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birtha">[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peterb]">[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.


Paul's conversion remains a great inspiration and encouragement for me too!
Paul is certainly one of the last person any believers of Christ at that time will have imagined to convert.
Yet, Paul's conversion was in the plan of God long before times. There is nothing God cannot accomplish. He wills everything to his purpose and plan.
I pray for the salvation of my parents, that the Lord will soften their hearts to accept the Gospel.
Do pray for them :)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Chinese New Year!












In this festive season, let's not forget the wisdom of God :)


(Images by Randall Bowman, in Journeying Down Life's Never-ending Road, accessed http://rblog.thebowmans.us/labels/Scripture%20Slides.html )

Friday, February 12, 2010

Fireproof



8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

14 Feb is around the corner but looking around today, are we having misconceptions about what love is? Similarly divorce rate is rising...what's happening?
Lets look to the Cross for an answer.

On Marriage

A sacred institution designed by God

Gen. 2:18, 21-24

The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Different Yet Equal

1 Peter 3:1-5, 7

    In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.

    Don't be concerned about the outward beauty ... You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God ... In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard. (NLT)

What Does the Bible Say?
• Wives - demonstrate godly character and quiet inner beauty.
• Husbands - honor their wives and be kind and gentle.
• Husands and wives are equal partners.

Outcome

1 Corinthians 7:1-2

    ... It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.(NIV)

This verse suggests that it is better not to marry. Those in difficult marriages would quickly agree! Throughout history it has been believed that a deeper commitment to spirituality can be achieved through a devoted life of celibacy.

Clearly this verse refers to immorality in sexual relations. In other words, it is better to marry than to be sexually immoral. But if we elaborate the meaning to incorporate all forms of immorality, we could easily include self-centeredness, greed, wanting to control, hatred, and all of the issues that surface when we enter into an intimate relationship.

Could one of the deeper purposes of marriage be to make us confront our own character flaws, the behaviors and attitudes we would never have seen nor faced otherwise? If we allow the challenges of marriage to force us to confront ourselves, we will be applying a spiritual discipline of tremendous value.

What Does the Bible Say?
• Strive to overcome immoral living.

I believe God designed marriage as an instrument to make us more like Christ. In his book, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas asks this question, "What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?" Is it possible that there is something much more profound in the heart of God than simply to make us happy?

Can we lay down our own ambitions to love and serve our spouse? Through marriage we can learn about unconditional love, respectful honor, how to forgive and be forgiven. We can see our shortcomings and grow from that insight. We can develop a servant's heart, and draw closer to God. As a result, true soul happiness can be discovered, and this, I believe is one of God's ultimate desires and purposes for designing the covenant of marriage.

On Love

Proverbs 15:17
A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.

Song of Solomon 8:7
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a and 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:33
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.


"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."
C.S Lewis

Thursday, February 11, 2010

On Death


“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind”
C.S. Lewis

Saturday, February 6, 2010

This Magical World! (Sorry what's Avatar?!) Not in 10 years but in six 24hr days!


Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.


Iceland

Steam, bubbles, rocks and ice combine into breathtaking, though, alien-looking landscape. This is Iceland. The island with no trees, few people and the biggest glacier in Europe called Vatnajökull. Yes! This is Europe, not the moon.





Uzbekistan

The hole filed with burning gas called by locals “the door to hell” is in Uzbekistan but could be as well quiet spot somewhere on Venus.




Mauritania

Eye of the Sahara called Richat Structure has a diameter of almost 50 kilometers (30 miles). Placed in Mauritania, it is so huge it can be visible from the space. A meteorite impact? An effect of erosion? A symmetrical uplift? Or maybe three in one? Geologists do not really know how the structure was created. (Man is still clueless about many things!)




Socotra Island

A long geological isolation and dry, hot and harsh climate made Socotra Island looks like a grotesque computer animation. Hyperbolic plants, funky-looking trees and pink flowers can be great inspiration for graphic designers. The island is situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen and it was isolated from mainland Africa for a long time.



Spain

An ancient, acidic river in Spain - Rio Tinto – is a favourite environment for acid- and metal-loving extremophiles. It does not look like human-friendly and, in fact, it is not, but surely it could quench the Terminator's thirst.


Arizona

The Antelope Canyon, located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona looks more like an oil painting than a rock formation. Not without reasons it is the most visited canyon in the southwest America.



Yellowstone National Park

The terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, in the USA, are created by heat, water, limestone, and rock fracture. The formation is like a living sculpture that is constantly changing by flowing water and erosion. Well...the trees are very much alive as well.




Planet Earth

The icy forms of glaciers are located around the world. That’s how I imagine Pluto and Neptune, the coldest planets in the solar system.






Denmark

The Mars’ landscapes of Skagen in Denmark do not really fit into the image of the richest and most developed country in the world. The moving dunes and deserted beaches run into the end of Europe where the Baltic Sea clashes with the North Sea.





Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, is located in southwest Bolivia. The salt desert surrounded by cactuses, volcanoes and geysers looks as if it was a remote planet, far from our solar system.





From
http://opentravel.com/blogs/most-unreal-landscapes-on-earth/

Wisdom of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth








I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C.S. Lewis


This is a Magical World through and through! May All Glory goes to God!