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I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
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@livelife-original
A “Godless” Generation - Jon Jorgenson
We might just be as blind as those whom we’re trying to give sight
Instead of trying to force people to religious journey, share before we teach
Let us make faith in Jesus a little more attractive
Standing Up (Lesson from Proverbs 3)
"Five seconds of awkwardness can save you from a lifetime of regret"
Five seconds of standing up for yourselves can change the entire course of your life. Standing up for oneself is not only about being assertive or insistent about what you are speaking about, but its more about one's faith and being firm in it. There's a verse that goes along with it in Proverbs chapter 3:3-6. It speaks how love and faithfulness will prevail every time we have those two core values planted in our lives. When you love your neighbors you are treating everybody the way you wished to be treated, and your faith to God; whenever you trust in God you put your faith and hope and heart, He will never leave you, the verse said : "He will make your path straight, He will take care of you". And what's really neat about this verse is that it said: "Then you will win favour in the good name in the side of God and in men". So sometimes we have to say something and stick up for what is right and at the time it may feel uncomfortable or might make things more difficult and put a strain on a relationship, but in the end you will win His favour, and in men, and people will appreciate that or respect you for it. And this goes with the whole theme of TheDailyDifferent, about standing up for something that may be difficult, but in the end you will win favor in God's eye.
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you: bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight"- Proverbs 3: 3-6 (NIV)
The Daily Different-Week 2 (Philippians 3 & Matthew 6)
This week’s verse is all about Living FOR Christ!. Tune in and I hope you’re all blessed!.
God doesn’t lack in answers of prayer, we just lack in the art of true faith.
Jarrid Wilson (via littlethingsaboutgod)
Worrier/Warrior
Do you often deal with anxiety?. Are you consumed with worry?. We all do. Most of the time we draw our attention to how bad the situation is, instead of a greater solution. LIfe is full of many concerns, steaming us to feel worried and pulling us away from being thankful, grateful, and letting our lives be in absence of control and consistency over the future. But God will and can make anybody a warrior. He did that with David; the shepherd boy with rosy cheeks, turned into a victorious king. We all worry about a lot of things. But that is what the devil wants. He wants us to be confined with our fears. Which is why it is very important to be in control of our anxieties, let God shape you, and realise that His love never fails, His plan never fails, everything God is doing for us is always perfect and for the greater glory of His kingdom.
simply-divine-creation:
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free
Christian, if God is not precious to you, what a stranger you are to your inheritance.
John Piper (via littlethingsaboutgod)
Dare to be Different
It never occurred to me that being a good writer means taking risks about the things you write about, and the message you want to entail. Same goes for life. The way I see it, we are only short seconds away from always taking risks, making tough decisions, and having to contemplate with simple life challenging events. The thing is, the risks we decide to take often made us someone who is different. Different to other. Different to society.
Radical. I like that term better. Somehow, this word made me feel like being different is a good thing. But what should we be different at?. I know a lot of ancient myths and life philosophies raise the importance of "being yourself" or having your own say and virtue when living life, well, my life philosophy is in the Scripture. I base my life "radically" in what the Scripture tells me.
As a young adult, I see adolescents making difficult decisions. A lot of time their decisions ruin their future, or it can benefit them. But the more we think of it, it is not always about "making decisions", it is often about "going with what society wants us to, in order for us to look cool", and that is what's so wrong. One of my favorite verse is reminder for all the youths (including me) to live a daring life, which is the best way to live yet. Ecclestiastes 12:1; Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. I know you heard this verse a lot of times, fact is, we forget a lot about the verses we read about when we live life.
Being different means being brave, and bold, and having your own principles. These when combined, create a radical way of living in which we can say "no" to the worldly ways to live. Being different means having a say in the middle of a tough, judgmental crowd, being able to stand up for what is right, and not only say " i told you so", but instead prove to them that their mistakes don't define them, God's grace and mercy define us. Our goal is to live a Christ-like life, and believe me, it is not easy. We often went astray and felt that the rush of society's voice is bigger than our voice. Truth is, God's voice is bigger than any. Listen to His voice, then listen to your heart.
The way I see, it is no longer about "daring to be different", it is about asking yourself, Truth; are you ready to be different with what society is, to reject every worldly things society does, and ready to be shaped in accordance with Christ?. It is a great deal of questions to ask for, but young adults have a lot of time accepting it. Just like the game Truth or Dare, it is easier to do a Dare rather than confess a Truth.
{Going through} a Change is good
The year 2013 will be coming to an end, and i am able to look back for what this year has given me. I can sum up the many things that jolts down the reason(s) why 2013 has indeed be “the year” for me, and the only word I can think of to describe this extensively blessed year is : Change.
Now the word “change” can be somewhat scary for certain people. It can be a sort of alarming word to get their life straight, which is transforming a bad habit, into a good one, or it can be the other way around. Other than that, change can be both physically and spiritually ( which what we call, self-improvement). Physical changes that happens to us is a part of the biological growing process, we can’t avoid it, but we sometimes underestimate the spiritual change that is a crucial process to having spiritual maturity, and the Scripture tells us that: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” - Romans 5:3-4 (NIV). Character is an important aspect in the Christian way of living. And character growth is all about going through…changes !.
Why do God bring us through changes?. To be completely honest, sometimes I dislike having to go through tough changes. I prefer having things the way it is, the way it used to be, in other words, I have my own comfort zone. But God often call me out of my comfort zone, why? Because He does not want me to stay still, and let my spiritual relationship with the Gospel rot. The word “rot” is what happens to our character when we stay in the same place too long. Anything that becomes untouched, and unused, will sooner or later wear out and eventually rots, and for a character to rot out, means that it is no longer bearing any fruitfulness in its actions, and functions. For our relationship with Christ to rot out, is just unfathomable. Then, why is character very important?. This is because character is the only thing we are bringing with us. God is not interested on what we have in this world, what position we hold in our work, or how respectful your are among your peers. He simply looks at our character. Because character is something we possess in our heart, which is displayed in the form of actions and words. It is the only thing going to heaven. What we become, is our character.
We tend to continue acting as we have acted in the past. It is inevitable that letting go a certain habit is hard. Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. Like a river flowing through a canyon, the longer the habit continues, the more deeply engrained it becomes, and this is true for any good or bad habit.
Managing changes is a difficult process. It is not something that happens overnight. I could certainly say that the first step of the changing process is acknowledging your weaknesses. God wants to know that we are living a sinful life, and we want to step out of the way we used to live, into a life surrounded by His mercy. Change starts and ends with Christ. I believe that throughout this year, my change has been initiated by God, in his well-set plans. I realise that God’s goal is for me to grow up. Its time for me to get out of my comfort zone, to be a better, more mature workmen for His glory, because He is not interested in my comfort. What I can take back from the changes is that, I can still find joy even it times of troubles, being spiritually strengthened every day.
Character is about not focusing on what is lost, instead turn your mind to what is left. Do not feel as if you were a victim of change, we are never victims of Christ’s works, instead we are always made victorious. In Philippians 2:3 it says: " For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him, and the power to do what pleases Him." God not only say that He will be with us for the rest of our lives, He says that He will be IN us. Therefore, besides asking Him to change you, go through the change with Him because "As the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him." - 2 Corinthians 3:18. To live a Christ-like life, is a life spent with the greatest love of all.
For i am Yours, and You are mine.
Seventeen Reasons to...
"...Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" ~ 1 Timothy 4:12-14.
I turned seventeen last month and I can say that I am no longer considered a little girl anymore (its obvious). But I have come to realize that I should jolt down what I am going to do differently in this age. This year is a special year for me. I am going through changes, stages in life I have to conquer, and on top of that, manage to work it out.
So I have come up with a "Seventeen reasons to...." list. This list, I will try to finish hopefully by the end of the year, or by the time I turn 18. The thing is, I want this list to be all around Jesus. Only because of His grace, love, and never ending mercy all these 17 years of my life, I can still live. So thank you, Father.
So, this year, I'm starting my university life. To be completely honest, I am very afraid but at the same ecstatic. I don't know yet how its going to turn out, but I know for sure that God has His blueprints readily set out.
The first in my list is:
1.) Be Independent, on my own, but not completely alone, because Jesus is with me. I want to independent-wise like doing chores, cleaning up, taking out the laundry, that is living independently in a new environment. But I want to also be completely dependent on Jesus, spiritually, in my studies, activities, and in everything I do. So be: Independent, and Dependant on Him! :)
2.) The world does not center on me. We live in a world with the population of more than 7 billion people. I don't live alone, so I want to be compassionate. Even if it is my birthday or any special occasion, it shouldn't only be about me. My life is His life, and I should give back to those who truly needs it. I want my year to be someone else's year too, bringing someone back strong. I don't know who he/she is, but I'm excited!.
3.) Be a good servant. Jesus says to humble yourself down and you will be brought up. He showed that by washing His deciples' feet, revealing the true meaning of servanthood. Humility is the key.
4.) Be grateful. Truly blessed, beyond measure. Being grateful should not only be at good times, but I want to learn to be grateful at the most worst situation, where things aren't going my way. That way, I can learn to listen to His voice more than my own.
5.) Remember Your Creator In the Days of Your Youth. I want to Be steadfast to Him. Temptations will be everywhere, and the true test is whether we can keep holding unto Him or flutter away. I want to experience His love, by being steadfast.
6.) Be content. Simply be happy with where I am, what I got, who I am, at whenever time.
7.) Be confident. Confident to take the challenges, knowing that it'll bring good, acknowledging God in everything I do and receive.
8.) Be faithful. Multiplying my faith which is as small as a mustard seed
9.) Be cautious with my surroundings. Give a helping hand when needed, become a blessing to others. Think of others, serve them, before myself.
10.) Be wise. For wisdom comes not only through the way we think, but also through the way we act. Wise in actions shown, as well as the way we think.
11.) Be fruitful. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, and self-control" Galatians 5:22-23. These, I want to grow myself into. For Jesus spoke to His followers, that there is nothing against these spirits, that against such things, there is no law that condemns.
12.) Be forgiving. Forgiveness is a hard thing to do. Knowing that you are wrong, is a hard thing to accept. But Jesus said: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" Ephesians 4:32.
13.) Be willing to accept criticism. A lot of times, we felt the need to always be right. Therefore, we hardened our hearts. But I realize that in order to hear His small, stiff voice, we should not hardened our hearts, and just let Him speak His ways to us.
14.) Be of good conscious. Always do the right thing, for the right cause.
15.) Be helpful. It is always a good thing to lend a helping hand. Jesus never stop caring, up until now He has helped me even in the most sillies request. But nothing is ever silly, or embarrassing, or too little for a God so Great!.
16.) Be obedient. Obedient both to His word, and to my parents especially. Respect to my parents is probably the most important area God wants to me to grow into.
17.) Be a blessing. Loving God, and Loving People. That is our cross. I love Him, but I should also love those around me. Loving people doesn't have to be a big gesture to someone we don't know. Just by simply doing things for your family, siblings, we'll do. And to Love Him, is to Love others. For nothing can compare for His great love, the love on the cross, the love that saved me.
The Challenge Revelation.
Plentiful and undeservant. Lately, I have been caught up with the many school works I had, as well as my finals, and assignments. Now that it's over, I felt relieved, happy, but also confused. I can now look back at the things I have managed to go through, finishing my last months of college life, and along the way, learn many lessons, I am pleased to encounter. Now you may ask why most of my post has the word "revelation" in it. Its simply because, everything we do, no matter how bad things seems, or how good it looks like for a while, God will give us the revelation we deserve. The ending to a beautiful story. The victorious finish to a bad start. That's all His revelation working in us.
So today I speak of a challenge that I took, and the revelation I received. I guess I am a person who likes to pick challenges, I love them, but that does not necessarily means I am not afraid of them. The thing about challenges is that, you're in the middle, and you are stuck in a mindset where you are to believe whether the challenge you took will benefit you, or it'll cost you everything. The Bible says that: "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV). Jesus told His deciples to take the challenge. To spread the gospel to all parts of the world is not an easy task. God warned them about being steadfast, about going the miles, rescuing people, spreading the good news, but Jesus promised a firm protector, the Holy Spirit.
Same goes to us. I have took the challenge to do something that mankind wouldn't normally do. People will say all things about challenge takers, things that wouldn't necessarily bring our hopes up. The deciples, Paul, in particular, didn't go out of Jerusalem just to "be safe", or to ran away from condemnation. They spread out because they have a duty, because when we start following Jesus, we take the "challenge".
My challenge revelation is more than what I expect it will be. God multiplies. His grace is extravagant, plentiful, out of reach, that its hard to keep up. King David didn't start off as a big and muscular young men who is stepping into the battlefield armed. David took the challenge that brought him to another level. His challenge is not Goliath. His challenge is actually the "catapult" that he brought to the field. He took the challenge by being un-armed with weapons. But God make use of David taking the challenge, and made him victorious.
God looks at the heart. Not the way things appear. God knows what we need more than we want. He wants more of us than we want for ourselves. Its hard to believe that we want a lot, but God has our best interest at heart. Doubting your abilities won't work. Take David as an example. He thought he would be mending sheeps for another decade, but God has other plans for him. And so for us. Our approach to God shouldn't be with hidden agendas, or with embarrassment. No!. God knows what we truly wants, He just wants us to say it. For what its worth, the challenges look small when we seek a Greater God.
The most important thing about the challenge revelation is that, after receiving it, we should acknowledge God as the center of success and victory. It is only because of Him, and Him alone that we are able to do the things we dare not do. His strength behind every single thing we receive.
The thing about taking challenges is that let faith be the weapon against the challenge. Let our faith as small as a mustard seed, as small as David's catapult, fight against the challenge that is big. It is not something that will always cost us, but if it does, remember that it is never the end with our God which have no limit. Who has no beginning and no end because He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
The Quality of Faith
We have all heard the verse from James 2:17 which said: "Faith without action is dead". The thing here is, a lot of times, we don't even understand the definition of faith. We heard it a lot of times in the Bible, pastors speaking about "having faith", even words of encouragement!. But what does it truly means to have "faith"? What does Jesus said about the faith of a Christian life? in other words, what should our quality of faith be?
Hebrews 11:1 defined faith. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, assurance in what we do not see". Faith in godly terms, is believing what you do not see. But developing a quality of faith that God wants from us takes time. It takes a few stepping stones to be able to have a faith that is not only for a wile, but for good. Matthew 17:20: "Because you have so little faith, truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain: Move here to there!". The faith God wants from us is all small as a mustard seed, one which we cannot see, and is not truly visible in the eye. God doesn't require much from us. He doesn't want us to have faith as big as the mountains, instead, it is the other way around. The problem is, we sometimes find it hard to have faith as "small as a mustard seed". We have these boundaries that kept us from having faith more than a seed. The worldly boundaries.
The first step to having faith in Him more than a mustard seed is the fact of knowing Him. Knowing Him simply every Sunday morning doesn't give in. We need more than that. Knowing Him just by listening to other people's convictions with the Lord is not enough. You must experience His love first-handidly.
Ways in which we can increase our understanding about Him is by doing what He wants us to do, and that is regularly reading the Bible every single night, not as a routine, but as a passion. It is said: "Do everything for the Glory of the Lord". Do not do something simply because it is "a must" but do it because of passion, longing to know Him more.
Just like David, He became closer to God because he do what he loves to do, and that is to sing. David praise the Lord with his harp, he glorify God with the songs He wrote. David longs to praise God and God showed His love and promise to David by making him a King.
Praying is the last but not least things we should do to Know Him more. Praying is not bounded by where you are or what circumstances we are in. We should pray anywhere at any time. By simply praying, we are acknowledging our worries to Jesus, we are confessing our sins to Him, speaking on behalf of what we have done that does not seem right, and what we hope for.
Daniel prayed even when he is in captivity. He continued to pray because He longs for God's guidance when he is under temptation and jeopardy. He knows that when he continues to pray he will be put into the lion's den, and he did. But even that didn't stopped Him. Instead God's guidance was shown inside the lion's den, when God shut the mouth of the lions and kept Daniel safe.
Knowing Him is one part of the three things in order to have the quality of faith that God intends us to have. Being simply written, Knowing Him should be more than just theoretically, but instead personally. Having a personal relationship is better than having a formal or written one. By knowing Him, what He loves, what He will do, and what He has done, we develop an understanding like no other.
The understand His promise, we should speak to Him. You can't expect to receive an answer when you didn't ask. It makes sense. And that is what God wants us to do. Is just to simply talk to Him, develop a Father-son relationship in which we can talk to Him about anything, without being judged, and instead, being advised. His advise is a lovely advise. An advise that will bring good to us. So make a decision today, to know Him more, not as "a must" but as you long for His guidance.
The Green Light.
Have you ever wonder how when you're already late, you'll be even late when you're jammed in the traffic, or that the red light seems to take longer than you expect?. Well it did to me. Just a few days ago, I was late to an important appointment, and its not that I woke up late or anything, its just that I was staying at my grandma's house which has quite an unpredictable distance with my appointment place. I was positive that lateness will be in my agenda that day.
Everytime I know I am going to be late, whether it be to school, to my lesson, to a birthday party, or anything that does not require lateness, I tend to be cranky, and annoyed. But today was different. I went to the same road which I now was quite known for its long, and many traffic lights. Around 8 of them to be exact, and that's when I know that this will be a long, late, and unlucky day. But things soon changed-up, a day which I thought I'll be blamed for being late soon turned into a life lesson which I can share now, here, today. Before passing through the road, I closed my eyes in the backseat of the car and said; "God, help me, God be with me." it is a simple whisper.
All through the first five traffic lights, all of them were already green!, straight 5 strikes, and I can drive easily, the road was open, fast, and unwinding. And as I drive through the last 3 stop lights, it only took me 2 minutes to go through them, which the usual, may took 20 mins or more. Then I think, I know that God planned this. I know that He made all these happened. People may not realize that, but God works to the simplest things, God works in the smallest of voice. When He truly sees our needs, and when we ask for it from the bottom of our heart, only then can we see His true works. He works in every parts of our life, even the ones that you think is silly, or unimportant, even the ones you've taken for granted. The fact is, God never sees our lives as "taken for granted" or unworthy, because He has died for us, and the thing is, it is not about us being worthy, it is how HE is worthy !.
I am very grateful that I learnt something out of a traffic light. One where people usually complain about, brings out the worst of a person, the unpatience ravel in submission. Well. One thing I also noticed was that He was reminding me of something. And it is to be still.
The connection with "being still" is taken from the book of Exodus 14: 14 which says; The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Being still doesn't mean you don't need to do anything at all and just stand there for the rest of your life hoping for a miracle. Being still simply means that; even though the lateness, the problems, the shame are getting into you, let it be there, let it stay there, and the only thing we need to do it just to know that God will work in us, and He did. He worked specifically in my life, and made the lights turned green without me going all cranky and mad. He works in this impeccable timing, that is just right.
I've also noticed another thing. The green lights shows God's thumbs up, and approval. These past days, my life has been one roller coaster ride, that will be a long story to be written. I have gone through the bumps and 'ouch' of life, and well, you can't really avoid them, cause you can never know when they're coming. But the point is, my life has a missing direction, and I felt that God is not with me to direct the path, but it is soon shifted. The green lights shows me how God's plan for me is like that road, that day. Free from jams, no stop lights, and it felt infinite. He wants to tell me that the future will be filled with green lights, which people like, which meant that the road will be fast, we will be going fast, and the stop lights will be just for a minute or two, which hints that the problems will only be for a short time, and that THE STOP LIGHTS WILL NEVER OUTWEIGH THE GREEN LIGHTS. The green lights will be more than the red ones, God's perfect approval, and amazing promotion will always be more than the troubles, and restrictions. That, I believe.
God is capable and God is willing. Just like what He did in the Jericho, tore down all the walls, a wall that is so strong, and no man could ever break, a wall made so nobody could overcome the hard rocks of it. But God did. He did it once, He did it twice, and His amazing capable mercy will never end, and all that we need to do, is Be still and know that He is God.
God doesn’t want you to live worried and anxious about anything. He knows that worry is counterproductive. It steals your peace and joy and affects every area of your life, even your sleep! Have you heard the saying, “Don’t worry yourself sick?”
Yes, worrying will actually make you physically ill. You won’t ever gain anything by worrying, in fact it causes you to lose precious moments that you can never live again. The good news is, God has promised to bring you victory over worry. When you make the choice to put an end to worry, God will give you His peace
