"Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:5-7
. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . .
—1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
- By Oswald Chambers, from his book, My Utmost for His Highest
A positive attitude can help you feel good and spread cheer
People want to be happy.They want a fulfilling career and a satisfying life filled with good experiences.They want good relationships and a job they enjoy and can be proud of. They want to see their dreams come true.And they want to be loved, liked and respected by all.
Unfortunately, happiness is not something that you can acquire – either you are happy or you choose to be.Everybody has different ideas on what will make them happy.In 1957, a large number of people in the United Sates were asked whether they were happy with what they had in life.About a third said “yes”
Then in 1962, when the researchers conducted the same study, again a third said “yes” despite the fact that the standard of living had increased substantially.So what does the study mean?It means that about one-third of the people interviewed knew the secret of being happy.
Happiness comes from within.It depends not on what possessions you have but on what you are and what you experience.Many people think they are happy when they buy that next possession or achieve another goal.This is a mirage!The reality is they will stop being happy after a while until the next thing comes along to buy or chase after.
So how happy are you?Do you have an accurate self-assessment, a high degree of self-confidence and an accurate self-awareness of who and what you are?Can you make yourself happy even in dire economic times?
If you take the time to focus on what you already have and be appreciative and thankful for it, you are a good candidate for happiness.Rather than pine for the material success that you want to pursue, why not simply just decide to be happy now?
Try to see the glass as half full, rather than half empty.At work, don’t moan, complain, whine, condemn or criticize.You certainly won’t gain happiness that way.Stop being a liability to yourself by indulging in this unseemly and negative behavior.
Stop sucking away like a vacuum cleaner whatever goodness the office environment may offer and replace it with a sour and negative environment.
Simply decide to act positively.Even if you don’t feel positive, try putting a smile on your face that says you’re happy!Research shows that a positive attitude can influence the way you feel. In other words, choose to be happy and you will be happy.
Be positive about your fellow work mates and the future.Be grateful fro what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t have.
I am not suggesting that you ignore the bad news about you.When financial times are not so good and the organization has to take people off the payroll, or if a project’s gone badly wrong, then discuss it.Face the facts and discuss them in the right context.
It is not possible to skip into the office daily, wearing a false smile and pretending that life is perfect.But you can monitor your thoughts and avoid whining and complaining in a negative fashion.So choose to be happy and you will be happy.Count your blessings.Put a smile on your face.Do something nice for someone and spread some happiness.
Sharing frm : Sis Ah Guat
Article by Ricky Lien, a specialist in conflict resolution, communication and emotional intelligence
Why believe in God’s existence, when it can’t be proven scientifically?
Something that can be demonstrated by the scientific method is a scientific fact. But it doesn’t follow that just because something can’t be demonstrated scientifically it is less “real” or important than “scientific fact.”
For example, the survival of human civilization depends on the distinction that most people make between good and evil. Yet moral values like good and evil can’t be scientifically proven. Does the fact that moral values can’t be proven imply that they are less real—less “factual” in an ultimate sense—than the things that science can prove?
Most people would consider it morally evil for a man/woman to abandon his/her wife/husband and young children to begin a new life with another woman/man. Most people would consider this a serious moral failure, one of the “worst” things a person could do. But is there any compelling “scientific evidence” that could be brought to bear on such behavior to “prove” that it is wrong?
What “scientific evidence” could prove that murder, rape, and robbery are wrong? What would become of our system of justice if the prosecution had to scientifically prove that it is wrong for one person to kill, rape, or rob another person!
The existence of love, evil, and good are not “falsifiable hypotheses.” Yet most people—including atheists—admit that values like “love,” “goodness,” “friendship,” and “loyalty” are moral/spiritual realities that truly exist. Theists, whether Christian or non-Christian, have long considered the mind-boggling complexity of the material universe as evidence of a Creator. Although the scientific “spirit of the age” of the 20th century once insisted that the material world was nothing more than the product of impersonal, random evolution, today’s scientific consensus is shifting towards the conclusion that the universe was consciously designed (with incredible exactitude) for the development of life.1
Just as it is reasonable to assume that everything in physical reality has a cause, it is reasonable to assume that everything in spiritual reality has a cause. Immaterial spiritual values like love and goodness are even more amazing than the material wonders of the universe.
God’s existence cannot be proven scientifically. But although God’s existence can’t be proven, reasonable people acknowledge that the small number of alternative explanations for the wonders of material and spiritual reality can’t be proven either. Although faith is as much a matter of the heart as the mind, and belief in God is a moral as well as a rational decision, the rational case for the existence of God as the source of all reality is stronger than any other explanation.
Anthony Flew, an eminent British philosopher who has been widely published as one of the world’s most intellectually capable and well-known atheists, has recently become a theist on the basis of scientific evidence for design:
Darwin himself, in the fourteenth chapter of The Origin of Species, pointed out that his whole argument began with a being which already possessed reproductive powers. This is the creature the evolution of which a truly comprehensive theory of evolution must give some account. Darwin himself was well aware that he had not produced such an account. It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design.
Veruca Salt, one of the not-so-sweet characters in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was notorious for demanding whatever she wanted. Her indulgent parents didn’t know what to do, especially when they couldn’t comply. The result? A foot-stomping, arms-flailing, out-of-control tantrum.
Most of us have probably learned to control our tantrums, but our inner desires still burn within us. We crave what we want until we get it—or get mad and depressed if we don’t. Yet, often what we thinkwe really want is not actually a need at all. What we really are after is peace, security, and a deep-down sense of joy, purpose, and meaning in life. But with our eyes fixed on the next best thing, we miss the fact that what we really need is a deeper, more reliant relationship with Jesus. Everything else is at best temporary and sometimes, quite frankly, not all that good for us.
This is why Jesus is so bothered with the Laodicean believers inRevelation 3:14-21. They thought they had gotten all they needed, but, in reality, they had forgotten their real need for Jesus. This was so offensive to Christ that it made Him sick.
Could it be that He is bothered with us for the same reason? Could it be that we are so consumed by the clutter of stuff and the clamor of our desires that we barely hear Jesus knocking? Where does it leave Him when we are spinning out of control in our self-sufficient world? On the outside.
Toward the end of His comments to the Laodiceans, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). I love the fact that Jesus, though offended by our sense of flagrant independence, still wants us! He still longs for the intimate fellowship that occurred around the dinner tables of the ancient world. And don’t think you are off the hook just because you think that the knocking on the door metaphor is about non-Christians accepting Christ. Don’t miss the point! Jesus is talking to us in this text—specifically, to those of us who no longer feel the need to sing the old song, “I need Thee, O I need Thee, every hour I need Thee!”
So, He calls us to repent and to open the door of our hearts to let Him in. To pursue the riches of fellowship with Him and to covet the things that money can’t buy but that He can supply: Purity of character—“gold refined in the fire.” The covering of His righteousness—“white clothes.” Wisdom to see life from His point of view—“salve” for our eyes (Revelation 3:18).
If our needs today are all about physical treasures and temporal pleasures, we’ll assume that we’re fine without Jesus. But Jesus tells us that we’re not. And so He knocks and invites you to open the door of your heart to Him and to know that what you really need is deeper fellowship with Him. When we know that we can count on it, He will be sure that we have what our hearts truly long for.
Disappointment is often attached to our encounters with people who don’t measure up to what we had hoped them to be. This is true of Christians as well. Followers of Christ sometimes fail to match the ideals of our own faith, or the expectations of a watching world. Still, is it possible to be a Christian, yet not act like it? This brochure offers careful thought on this challenging issue.
Disappointment With God
Many church people seem to be saying with their actions what they would never admit with their mouths. Even the expressions on their faces suggest that they are unhappy and bored. Their behavior makes it difficult to believe that their faith gives them any real satisfaction. How can others be expected to trust a God who hasn’t lived up to the expectations of His followers? One answer offered by the Bible is that some who claim to be followers of Christ are not authentic. For a while they look genuine. But they are not (Matthew 7:21-23; 13:24-30; 1 John 2:18-19). The infiltration of impostors, however, is not the whole story. The Bible does not hide the fact that real people of faith also have been disappointed with God. Both Old and New Testaments give examples of people who were distraught and even angry with God because He allowed them to suffer circumstances they expected Him to protect them from (Numbers 14:1-4; Psalm 73 ).
Distraction
Under pressure, and even in times of prosperity, real Christians can be distracted from the confidence that their ultimate well-being doesn’t lie in the hands of other people or circumstances. Because of ever-present diversions and distractions, the Bible urges the people of God to renew their minds continually by remembering what God has done for them (Romans 12:1-2). The Scriptures urge believers to keep their hope and faith alive by stirring up the memories of what they already know (see 2 Peter 1:1-15). The reason is clear. A lack of basic Christian behavior can often be attributed to a critical lapse of memory (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).
Dangerous Relationships
Jesus was known by the company He kept. He ate and drank with people other religious leaders wouldn’t think of associating with. But Jesus did not eat and drink with such people because He was attracted to their way of life. He did it to be the best friend a sinner ever had. With the wrong motives, the relationships He cultivated would have been dangerous. Without His strong and loving purposes, the accusation that He was a “friend of sinners” would have been more damaging. His own apostle Paul would later write, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning” ( 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NIV ). Even the wise King Solomon paid dearly for such forbidden relationships ( 1 Kings 11:1-13). The resulting confusion caused him to act like someone who had never known God ( Ecclesiastes 1-12).
Unchanged Tendencies
Genuine Christians have made decisions of faith that signal a change of direction in their thinking about God and themselves, but they have not overcome their struggle with self-centeredness. Neither are they morally superior to non-Christians. Their capacity to be self-centered remains unchanged (Romans 7:14-25). The downward pull of desire remains as predictable as the law of gravity. When real Christians stop living under the influence of the Spirit and the Word of God (Galatians 5:16-26), it becomes as natural for them to revert to self-interest as for a kite to drift slowly to earth when the wind stops blowing.
Self-Reliance
The God of the Bible asks His people to trust Him on His terms rather than their own. He urges them not to rely on their own understanding but to use their best judgment and sense of reason to rely on Him. He invites His children to let Him live His life through them. Those who forget this principle of God-dependence fail in practice to distinguish themselves as genuine Christians. Even the original disciples of Christ learned about the danger of self-reliance the hard way. On the night of Jesus’ arrest, one of His closest followers, a tough-minded fisherman named Peter, announced that he was ready to follow his teacher to prison or to death (Luke 22:33). But within a few hours, he found himself denying repeatedly that he even knew the man from Galilee. His mistaken confidence was recorded for our warning.
Prayerlessness
Look-alikes have a reputation for being hypocritical in their prayers (Matthew 6:5-8). People of genuine faith use prayer, not as a means of impressing others but as an honest means of giving thanks, confessing sins, and asking for direction and help. They know that prayerfulness is not optional for anyone who wants to develop a personal relationship with God. When followers of Christ do not show their dependence in prayer, they can end up acting like anyone else (James 4:1-6). Jesus warned His disciples about this likelihood on the night of His arrest. Pausing from His own struggle in prayer, He urged, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). They didn’t understand. They slept instead of praying, and within a few hours all had abandoned Him.
Carelessness
King David was a man of authentic faith. By his love for the law of God, he distinguished himself as someone committed to avoiding moral and spiritual failure (Psalms 1; 119:11). The Bible itself acknowledges that he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). His record of spiritual accomplishments, however, did not keep David from becoming an adulterer and murderer. One night, as others fought his battles, and as he stood in apparent security on his own palace rooftop, David used the power of his office to pursue another man’s wife. In an unguarded moment, David discovered the meaning of the statement, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
An Unexamined Heart
As a teacher of the heart, Jesus reminded us that unexamined motives can result in complicated forms of self-deception. Many years earlier, the prophet Jeremiah acknowledged the dangers of “inner darkness” when he wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Modern psychology has confirmed our tendency to avoid emotional pain through subtle forms of transference and denial. It has documented habits of the heart by which we attempt to blunt the pain of real or false guilt. Psychology, however, cannot change the heart. We all have reason to join King David in his prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139:23-24).
An Unseen Enemy
The people of Christ have a spiritual enemy who is attempting to confuse them and neutralize their impact. This adversary is fighting a war of attrition. There are many casualties. Countless numbers of real Christians are rendered ineffective by one who is far more subtle and clever than they think. While he can’t make Christians sin, he and his demons are constantly looking for weaknesses that give him an inroad into the lives of genuine believers (Ephesians 4:27; 6:10-20). Like a predatory animal, he looks for vulnerable prey (1 Peter 5:8).
A Lack Of Accountability
People don’t develop into spiritually mature persons by doing what comes naturally. Neither do they grow in Christlikeness by being left to themselves. Even the strongest Christians were never meant to go it alone. Jesus taught His disciples not just to make converts, but to train them thoroughly in His ways (Matthew 28:19-20). A few years later, the apostle Paul likened followers of Christ to a human body where all members are dependent on one another (1 Corinthians 12). While many in our day have developed a spirit of independence, such an attitude does not reflect the original intent of Christ for His church. He made it clear that He calls people not only to Himself, but also to one another.
You’re Not Alone
You’re Not Alone.
You’re not alone if you find yourself honestly unconvinced about whether Christ rose from the dead. But keep in mind that Jesus promised God’s help to those who want to be right with God. He said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17 NIV).
If you do see the reasonableness of the resurrection, keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died to pay the price for our sins, and those who believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). The salvation Christ offers is not a reward for effort, but a gift to all who in light of the evidence put their trust in Him.
John Waller While I Am Waiting Take a minute and imagine this :
you are STARVING. You finally found a restaurant. But, it's full of people. You have no choice, this is the only restaurant you can find. You grumble to yourself and you join in the super long queue. You waited and waited. Sweats are dropping from your hair, and they stink.
What would your response be? A) Complaining B) Angry C) Wondering why is this happening to yourself D) All of the above
Obviously the answer is D.
Very often, when we wait for something, we tend to get impatient. Then all the whining, complaining, anger, will come along. And often, we might just walk away.
This is no difference when we see our walk with God. We face problems and difficult situations in life. They tear us apart, they worn our souls out, they rip away our faith. We pray, and we wait. But very often, in the process of waiting, frustrations, anger towards God tag along and sometimes we even start to wonder if the so called God really exists or not. Some just stray away from Him, when they think that they have waited for too long. All the anger, complaints overshadowed the faith that we should have. We focus on our own earthly emotions, that we zoom in to the negative things and we let it swallow the light which we will find at the end of the tunnel.
I was sort of being awaken when i came across this song. John Waller sings,
While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint
I was shocked, actually.
Especially by ''while i'm waiting, i will worship".
Ashamed, but true, i have never done that before. Each time when a problem strikes, and i wait for the answer. However it never comes along with the thought of worshiping Him while waiting for the answer. What we always ended up doing is, asking Why Me? Why this? Why now? And we worry about it all the time, all of our prayer will only be filled with "God, why?"
We got so lost and busy with our own whys and anger that we forgot how to praise Him and worship Him. It is just like, something bad just happened, but you still have to give thanks to God who let that happened. It's hard to be done.
But, when we fully understand Jesus, it is not hard to be done at all. All you need, is, faith. When we have faith in Him, all things are possible. Just like it's said in Philipians 4:13 -I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me-
It is tough times like these, when we have to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) And in times like these, we should learn how to worship and serve Him while waiting.Because very often, these are the times when God is working something through us.
I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am hopeful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it is painful But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident Takeing every step in obedience While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint I'll be running the race Even while I wait
I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am peaceful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it's not easy But faithfully, I will wait Yes, I will wait I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve you while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord
Peace Child is a book written by missionary, Don Richardson. This book tell of how God reached out to the most barbaric tribe of people that is unheard by many through His willing servants. We always hear how people say, "Go. God will guide you, He will put words in your mouth and prepare the way for you, only if you're willing to go." Many of us would nod and agree but how many of us would actually GO and dedicate our life to His work in the mission field? Indeed who can do God's work apart from the Almighty Himself? But, we can be his tools to reach out to others, and it might even be that neighbour who had been living next door for the past 20 years!
Don Richardson and his wife, Carol risked their life to share the Good News to an uncivilised group of people, the Sawi tribe of Papua New Guinea. These people had never seen the outside world, and speak only the Sawi dialect. Together these two missionaries brave the unknown, the dangers of living among headhunters, cannibals and there, they build a home among the people, reach out to them, start a family there, all on the foundation of faith that they have in God, to keep them safe, not only from the barbarians but from diseases such as malaria in the jungle. From an uncivilised tribe who believe in fattening up victims with friendship (gaining their trust to prepare for slaughter), they became the people who fear God and come to believe. The missionaries tried to reach out to them but to no avail. But they pressed on, believing that God will make a way, and that God has His own timing and method.
Who would have known that the traditions that the tribe have would be the key to opening the hearts of the Sawi people to the gospel. The title of the book, Peace Child refers to the tradition where two tribes make peace with one another by exchanging their child as treaty that they will no longer attack one another. Even these uncivilised people could understand the pain of giving up their children. Through this, slowly, Don see this as a breakthrough, a stepping stone to how to share the gospel with these people. He relate about how Jesus is an eternal "Peace Child" from God himself, that came to bring peace to us all. (to redeem us from our sins and give us eternal life).
From a tribe of cannibals and headhunters, they became a group of God-fearing people who served and love God with all their heart and soul. They built their own church, even having missionaries and pastors emerging from among the Sawi people. What an encouraging experience!
The story strike me that there is no fix way to communicate about Christ with others, and God can use anything and show His power and grace through almost anyway, anhywhere, anyhow. As long as we are willing to answer His calling, we too can make a difference and be a channel for God's work for us. This book is a good read, not only for those who inspire to one day enter the mission field, but to all of us Christian as an inspiring true story to strengthen our faith and see God at work. You see, people can come to God in many way, so we should never give up hope when we are being turn down, because we plant the seed and God is the one who can make the seed grow. As long as we are willing to take the first step.
So, are you willing to go reach out to the world and bring back God's lost sheep?
