Are you depending on Him?

Today's devotion centred around breath of Life in us. Big question: Do you have the breathe of life in you?
Obvious, breathe of life is not referring to anyone's else breath except from God, which is significant because only at the creation of humans did God breath the breathe of Life in the process. The rest of the creation are wonderfully created via the the voice of God, the all powerful "Let there be ...".
But having said that, breathe of Life is given to us for a purpose. I believe it is not given to us as a gift or something that we can be boastful about. I believe it is a sign of dependence the we need to remember that in order for us to truly live, the breathe of Life cannot be missing. Without the breathe of Life, we will die a spiritual death, one seperated from God not achieving what God has design.
For me, i cannot say that i have the breathe of Life everyday of my life. I know of seasons of time whereby i turn my head from God and struggle through the requirements of this world and miss out of the true value of Life. However, it is not difficult for me to come to a point of recognising that "Hey, I need God". That to me feels very much like the God-shaped void, one that only God can fit. Apart from God, there is really nothing that can even come close to filling it up completely and eternally.
In conclusion, we all need God's breathe of Life to have our lives at their fullest. We depend on it. So when you see a person without the breathe of Life in them, would you not say a short prayer for them?

Making in His image

It has been a long while since i did devotion and i really want to thank God for bringing me back to Living Life. Today, the devotion comes from http://www.duranno.com/livinglife/english_su06.asp. You can take a look if you want to.

The main concept that i got is on how we are create in God's image. Even though we are not like God in many ways: just take a look at the number of crimes committed daily you will get what i mean; today's devotion reminded us that "hey! We can share the same image as God in our character! There is this hope because He made us like Them on the 6th day of creation." Though we have been fallen since the era of Adam and Eve, there is this hopes which comes from Jesus Christ that we can made reconcile with God. Which means a further hope for us to be like God's image, not to become God, but to share the same characteristics of God : holy, righteous, loving, Good.

If i understand this hope correctly, then the path ahead is to truly be able to recognise the unique mandate given to us. To the rest of the people that still have yet to known God, let them catch a glimpse of how God's feel like through us. To the rest of the creation of this earth, lets remember that we are entrusted to be good caretakers of God's creation. Let me break it down to a more bite size features.
1. Learn to resist evil. That's in no way like God.
2. Promote what God would do. Practice every form of Goodness.
3. Strive to be holy. So that people can see God's likeness in you.
4. Be good steward of the resources given to you. Be it electricity, water, animals or air.

Well, something interesting about today devotions comes at the last part. Yes, the Sabbath is suppose to be a day of holiness and rest. But they is provided you manage to spend the other 6 days pursuing
God, which should take you the full length of 6 days of pursuing Goodness. To me it feels interesting and humble at the same time, because it seems that God has it plan out all along and it have planned it out all along, as seen in Jeremiah 29:11.

With this, happy Thursday!
haha.

Selfish

Selfish.
Its built in with every person.

From birth, i am born selfish. All i care was what i want. I want milk, I will cry and my parents will come rushing to my aid.
When i score poorly, i will quickly point my fingers to the exam papers or the lecturers. One of the last few reason i will gave is myself. 
My interest comes first when I am finding a job. If I got myself a job that i dun really like, i will either struggle everyday to work or dun really perform well for the tasks given to me.

Can you find similarity with these statements that i experience? If so, welcome to the selfish family. Haha.

To be plain honest, it is simplest to be selfish, because it is so natural that it was not take a lot of effort out of a person. And there is lots of self-justification to selfishness. One of the more common ones is "If i can't even take care of my own self, how can i even take care of others?"

So selfishness is very easy, common and everywhere. There is no denial about this.
BUT even in the midst of all such selfishness, it remains a choice.

What do i mean by a choice?

We are given a mind to control what we want to do. So in every decision; the decision to be selfish, the decision to be selfless, the decision to do what is easy, the decision to do what is right; we have the choice to choose what to do. Hence, if is about convincing ourself that doing what is selfless and doing what is right, is after all worth the struggle, worth the effort.

I like to share my opinion.
When one person choose to be selfish, doors will remain to be close. But when one person choose to be selfless, many doors will have the choice to be open.
What are these doors?
There represent the hearts of people. When we choose to be selfless, it will first give a shock to that person and after which, the person will be curious why we choose to be selfless. Doors are open and conversation starts.

We are on this for a short 80 - 100 years as compared to the many years of human history. To be selfish enough to make sure people knows you even 1000 of years later could be a tough selfless act. Take for example Jesus, His act on the cross, still is opening up doors even til today.

Is taking the step of selfless simple?
No, of course not.

But if you feel that you dun just want to spend your short time here on earth, maybe you can try to be a bit selfless and see how many doors will be open to you.

I remember a trustworthy saying. "When you change, Everything Changes"
So be that change you want to see.

Haha. Have a great weekend. GBU.

take it like a man

Today i feel totally bad.
Everything seems not going the way it should be.
Resources go to waste just like that.
Never to recover back.
Tired, hungry and sad.
Then i started question myself, what mess did i got myself into? Can't i just be selfish and dun care?

To top things off, the sky decided to rain and allow me to drench in the rain.

I could not believe it.
Its like you are been abandon and everything seems worthless.

Then i was reminded about a facebook post i have eariler this morning.

It reads something like this.

CONVERSATION WITH GOD

God: Hello… Did you call me?

Me: Called you? No, who is this?

God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.

God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don’t know. But I can’t find free time. Life has become very hectic. It’s rush hour all the time.

God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still can’t figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

God: Well. I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: Why are we then constantly unhappy?

God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.

God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience, their life becomes better, not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

God: Yes. In every term. Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can’t we be free from problems?

God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly, in the midst of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading.

God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside you awaken. Eyes provide sight, heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?

God: Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

Me: In tough time, how do you stay motivated?

God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessings, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?

God: When they suffer they ask, “Why me?” When they prosper, they never ask. “Why me?” Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, “Who am I? Why am I here?” I can’t get the answer.

God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I am so happy to start the New Day with a new sense of inspiration.

God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve.

-Anonymous-

Well, even though i cannot agree to all of that is mention, somehow, there is this small tickle that sort of keep reminding me: "Hey son, am I like that? Do you think given My character, I will leave you or forsake You?"

Sometimes we are quick to anger and slow to pray. It should be the other way round, quick to prayer and slow to anger. So even now, i am praying to God:" God, teach me something from this episode that is of value. Because i trust that You allow me to go through this for my benefit. That is Your Character. I may not know what You will do for me, but i do know You. So Lord, have freedom to teach me through Your Way Lord."

I guess you can say that i am taking it up, like a man, belonging to Him. :)
Have a great week ahead, whoever that read this post. 

Even though the healing doesn't come

I came across a song from klove about this singer sing about "even though the healing doesn't come" and it is basically about the Job experience. Well, in modern society, man hardly do things without expecting return.
One of the thing you aim to do well in studies, so that you can get a good paying job and a easier life later (not always easier life though). Some work, so that they have enough money to go by the days. Some are for more worthy cause like spreading the gospel and coaching under privilege children so that they have a future just to name a few. Yet some can be as simple as satisfaction like the point of crossing the 42 km mark in a full marathon.
We all expect some form of thing in return.
So what about God? Does He expect some form of return?

I believe so.

I believe that God doesn't just send His Son Jesus to die on the cross and see no people returning to Him. That is the kind of "returns" that i believe God expect from us. So when we believe in God and return to Him, we close the "deal" and that's the end of the story, or at least that is what theoretically should be.

The problem with some of us is that we believe in Jesus because He can do miracles and bless us. Well, He can do all these good works but if our salvation is on the blessing tht God can do, then i thought it will be very shallow which easily fall away in times of trials. Instead, our salvation should be based on what He has already done on the cross, that is to allow us to be reconcile with God through the forgiveness of sin based on the cricification on the cross and raising up again on the 3rd day.

Now if we based our salvation on the latter, even though the healing doesn't come, we can still hold on to Him for His presence. Do you get what i am saying?

I enjoy what i heard from my leader sometime back. He mention in the days of Jesus, meal time is meant to be very relational and extended. Typically, during that time, under that culture, if someone invite you for a meal, it means that he really wants to build relationship with you and spend time with you. So when the bible mention about the meal time, it shows that spending time with God and how precious God's presence is to a believer lives, not the present God can give.

In our current context, how much time you spend on having quality time with the people around you, and with God. Make a count. If you are not spending enough time with God, can i challenge you to spare a thought for God and spend the extra minute with Him? If you have not been spending enough time with His people, can i challenge you to remember that the only reason why we are still on earth, is because the gospel has not reach its maximum protential yet.

Ultimately, i pray that you will believe God not on the miracles He can do, but what God's Son Jesus has already done and the promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Have a great weekend ahead!

Copy cat

I tend to like to describe myself like a copycat. Definitely not because i copy in examination or what but because i tend to adopt a lot f feature of my past leaders.
Call it highly receptive to influence or what, when i learn more from a particular leader, i tend to behaviour around the same as that particular leader. For example there were one time my direct leader is highly dominating. Those that know me will understand that i am actually not really a high D kind of person but rather high C. So somehow, because of my frequent interactions with the high D person, i start to be really dominating in expecting work done. It appears nothing wrong at first but when my high D and high C comes together in the same picture, not many people can tahan it. But honestly speaking, i have a lot of fun then.
Then when i was with another leader, i again adopted his art of cold jokes and there was a season i will purposely introduce cold jokes. Not as successful as i am not at that level yet, but this just go to show how easy i can pick up things.

Now, why do i share these? Well, since one of my trademark is the ability to trace the positive point of others, i tend to use it for my spiritual life as well.
"What did that person do to experience God in this way"
"How long did he persevere in order to see break through in his life"

So far, i have seen some slight success in my life through copying what others do. But i also know that God has made every life special, and their experience unique. There could be similarity, but it will not be totally the same.

To me, the hardest to "copy" is Jesus. I mean, in my current state, how to i even come close to copy Him? I am not talking about His power but the way He lives His life. But one thing i do know is that as i radically turn my ways towards Him, someday, i too can reflect of what Jesus will look like to others.

Looking forward to that day that i can "copy" Jesus.

Hope you have a nice day ahead!

Faithfulness

Unlike many, i dun have a lot of dramatic ups and dramatic downs. Everything feels smooth with minimum turbulence. From Primary school, enter the last primary 3 class but graduate at the 1st Primary 6 class. At Secondary school did well enough to go to Poly and eventually to University. Even in University, not the 1st Class material but can maintain at a 3rd class also not too bad.

Looking back, it feels smooth enough and i thank God for letting me experience that way. Even though my academic was smooth enough, my spiritual wasn't as smooth. Got my many downs and my occasional ups. Sometimes running away from God, little times back to God. In seasons and occasional thoughts, i even thought about giving up this faith, but somehow, it remains a thought with no further action. So, sometimes, i do ask God, why do i feel so negative this way.

God never really given any answer but i believe He knows that i will find the answer. In fact, i start to believe that until now, God has been faithful to me despite my unfaithfulness to Him. Even though i have ran away from Him affecting my spiritual walk with Him, somehow, He always manage to make sure my academics are more than acceptable.

He is NOT a God that ties a string to a kite controlling the movement of His people and those He loves.
He is NOT a God that watch a person to die without any action.
He is NOT just a God that has a fix place whereby He can be found.

To me, God Himself is actively giving chances, merciful yet holy and holding true to whatever He said. He do as He pleases and gave the same freedom for people to follow Him or not. He allows man to make their mistakes and even record them down in His Word - the Bible, in hope that people of the current generation will not make the same mistakes. Morever, He always made known His promises so that everyone may be encouraged when the time is challenging. And, did i mention that He is so good, that He is but a prayer away?

Everytime, when i say the word from my very bottom of my heart, "Dear Heavenly Father,..." , i will always feel Him replying "Yes? my son,..."

So ya, i pray that someday somehow, God will touch you as well and you will know why God send His Son Jesus Christ to Earth. May you be overwhelmed by His faithfulness, today.