lundi, juin 08, 2009 PDL Day 5: Seeing Life from God's POV  I somehow missed a day as I posted. This is Day 5's post.* What's my metaphor for life? Sojourn, waiting. Although sometimes I can't tell what's the metaphor and what's really my thoughts anymore - have I been completely brainwashed by the bible, and is that a terrible thing to have had done to myself, given everything I know and believe about God? Perhaps 'brainwash' has negative connotations - the bible says to renew our minds constantly, but the world calls it brainwashing. Perhaps it's good that the world thinks that we're brainwashed - we're called to be set apart anyway. I think I resent the ten-year series answer, but any other answer makes no sense to me at all - where can I find MYSELF in the midst of the answers? Or is 'dying to self' really mean the negation of all personality? (This is untrue, of course - but what is the alternative/correct answer?) * Every day is a test. [PDL Day 5: Seeing Life from God's POV] |
lundi, juin 01, 2009 PDL Day 07: The Reason for Everything * The logic behind this section is indisputable. If we are created for God, then we are to live for God. The next logical question is - how? In order to explore the HOW, we need to understand what God wants from us; of us. He wants us to live for His glory.Listed are these points - we bring God glory 1. ...by worshiping Him. 2. ...by loving other believers 3. ...by becoming like Christ 4. ...by serving others with our gifts 5. ...by telling others about Him * If we are commanded to observe God's glory, all sin stems from a small view of God. * His pleasure is to see us fulfill His function for us. [PDL Day 07: The Reason for Everything] |
mercredi, mai 20, 2009 PDL Day 06 - Life is a Temporary Assignment  This reminds me of a quote that a lovely lady once told me when I was 11 or 12, at a children's camp at the Christian Outreach to the Handicapped (1991? 1992?) - to learn to hold things with a loose grasp so that it doesn't hurt so much when God takes it away from us. (I think she was quoting Corrie Ten Boom, but I can't seem to find the actual quote and citation.) It's just really hard to remember not to grab everything we can in this "me" culture.It feels really comfortable on earth. Stuff fits us - clothes, shoes, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. There's always something MORE to do/ say/ eat/ take/ see/ experience/ encounter/ learn/ etc. And worse still, our own human desires pull us towards these things, and unyieldingly, we lean towards them... if we forget to check ourselves. My boss once criticised this of me (and he proclaims to be a Christian) - he said "Oh! Thought police!" I'll take that as persecution, thank you very much for adding to my riches in heaven, sir. It's crazy hard to remember this particular lesson: that this isn't home. This isn't our final destination. But it's not a vacation either! There's Matt 28, our eternal "to-do list" that never ends. So we straddle the two as best we can, muddling our way through with the Holy Spirit. I asked Andy last week if I should change jobs, to something a little more fulfilling, and something that would advance my career. He told me that he had once asked Ps. Jack Snell the same question. The answer? As usual, in the practice of all psychologists/counsellors, the answer came back in the form of a probing-reflective question: "Would it take time away from God?" I gave Andy a look that resembled the oft-used emoticon: -_- ... Oh, and Andy's been in his current job for about 10 years. How can one balance all the warring needs within us? To want to fulfil ourselves and our potential, and feel like a useful member of society, versus doing God's work and fulfilling our Holy function (to glorify God)? To meld the two is not impossible, but it's hardly economically-friendly - or put in less PC terms - there's really no money/easy street when you're doing God's work. Rom 7:19-20 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if (I) do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. It sucks being a sinful human. * Besides reminding me of the hymn "This World Is Not My Home", it also remind me of a lovely song by Chris Rice - Life Means So Much Life Means So Much Chris Rice [Album: Smell the Color Nine] Every day is a journal page Every man holds a quill and ink And there's plenty of room for writing in All we do is believe and think So will you compose a curse Or will today bring the blessing Fill the page with rhyming verse Or some random sketching Teach us to count the days Teach us to make the days count Lead us in better ways That somehow our souls forgot Life means so much Life means so much Life means so much Every day is a bank account And time is our currency So nobody's rich, nobody's poor We get 24 hours each So how are you gonna spend Will you invest, or squander Try to get ahead Or help someone who's under Teach us to count the days Teach us to make the days count Lead us in better ways That somehow our souls forgot Life means so much Life means so much Life means so much Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life And don't you think giving is all What proves the worth of yours and mine Teach us to count the days Teach us to make the days count Lead us in better ways That somehow our souls forgot Life means so much Every day is a gift you've been given Make the most of the time every minute you're living Libellés : christian, church, music, PDL2009, thinking [PDL Day 06 - Life is a Temporary Assignment] |
mardi, mai 19, 2009 PDL Day 04: Made to Last Forever  * God has planted eternity in the human heart (Eccl 3:11)* Interestingly enough, the start of this chapter made me think of relationships. If we're made for God, and made for eternity, should not our quest to find someone to spend the rest of our lives with, be instead a quest to find someone to whom we can ask – would you like to spend the rest of our lives serving God together? That our quest to find someone to hang out with until we die is wrongly focused – on ourselves? Some food for thought there. I think God would be pleased with that proposal. * Considering everything in light of eternity is paramount to Christian living. If all Christians thought about eternity in everything they did, we'd have a much better reputation. * Atheists are liars if they aren't also nihilists and completely debauched – in the same way that Christians who don't attend church aren't really Christians. Quote from Bones 5x26 The End in the Beginning: "You love someone, you open yourself up to suffering. That's the sad truth. [PDL Day 04: Made to Last Forever] |
samedi, mai 16, 2009 PDL Day 03: What Drives Your Life? * I think I'm driven by fear of failure.* I also think that the question, "What Drives Your Life?" has a mixed bag of responses. As sinful, fallen creatures, we can only expect - at best - an even mix of altruism, self-love and God. Phileo, Eros, Agape. * Scary questions to be asked by God: a) What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ? b) What did you do with what I gave you? * Thoreau and "lives of quiet desperation." I think many in Singapore are living this life. Bleak. Libellés : PDL2009 [PDL Day 03: What Drives Your Life?] |
vendredi, mai 15, 2009 PDL Day 02: You Are Not An Accident * Day 2 is all about Psalm 139: about how we were created - with love in mind. Notions of worthiness and value must be inculcated when we are born/are young, or self-love will not be inherent. Our life situation is planned!* We cannot understand WHY we are formed unless we understand the nature of God - which we can't, not really. This is the step of faith: to accept that God exists, and that He *is* love. Libellés : PDL2009 [PDL Day 02: You Are Not An Accident] |
jeudi, mai 14, 2009 PDL Day 1: It All Starts With God D wanted to do Warren's PDL, and I offered to accompany her along the journey. We're cross-blogging to keep each other accountable, but to keep the pressure light, the blogs don't have to be completely coherent.Day 01: The central idea is that nothing makes sense without starting first with God. That we get confused because ask questions "Why" that start with us. Having the wrong starting point leads us to places we never wanted to be in the first place. Thoughts: * The Bertrand Russell quote, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless" reminds me of someone who once asked me to read - with an open mind - his treatise on religion, "Why I am not a Christian". That was quite a clearly marked line that I thought I could bypass... but it's like a latitudinal line - stretched all the way around and there's no circumventing it. * The other interesting thing is the idea of success versus one's life purpose - what matters the most? We don't get to choose our life's purpose - we were made by God, for God. I think this is what sticks people the most - that we don't get to choose. But none of us could have made ourselves, so everyone's just angry at the God for making them, but that's like the pot being angry at the potter. We've deluded ourselves into thinking that we're in control, and that's why we're so angry when we don't get what we want (success.) Only after we - like addicts in the Program - admit that there is a Higher Power, only then will we be able to define our life's purpose, and only then, conceptualise what our idea of "success" is. * The Free Will covenant is a myth. Nowhere in the bible did God say that we have the freedom to choose Him or not. Freedom is slavery to the self - only surrender to God will bring release. This is the paradox of faith. * Constant renewal in the mind by reading God's Word will bring understanding. Nothing else will. My activities, friends, and entire life must remind me of God and my purpose in life here. This is where we falter - because we do stuff that doesn't remind us of God at all. We secularise our lives, thinking that we can compartmentalise. It doesn't work that well. Integration is the key to being a whole man, not a "double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:8) Libellés : PDL2009 [PDL Day 1: It All Starts With God] |
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