JOY of Christmas--

What does the word joy means to you? Joy is a emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. But I'm here to share a new definition of the word joy.  Joy is like love, as it is not merely emotion but rather a decision. Have you ever felt the drain of a negative pessimistic attitude on your energies? You don't feel like doing anything and bored. When you are excited and happy about doing what needs to be done, we will be all charge up with motivations to do the work. It is the joy that makes the difference. There is a great strength in joy . . . especially God's joy. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." [Nehemiah 8:10].

Three areas for us to focus or emphasize on if you want to experience joy. We will use the pneumonic of "JOY" also.
Jesus 
Others
Yourself

For the alphabet "J" the letter symbolizes Jesus, where we should focus/put our eyes on Jesus. As bible says You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:1.

• [Philippians 4: 12 -13]  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Paul undergo shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, Paul had seen the down side of life. From Paul’s story, Paul has discovered a secret for contentment in all situations: his deeply personal sense of living in Christ. In this he found strength to handle anything. Sometimes, we failed to see the joy and the contentment because the results of things done do not meet up to our expectation or not the results we want. At many times we come before the Lord, to inquire the Lord regarding a matter. Deep down in our hearts we have prepared the answer, we expect the Lord to answer our prayers in our way, not His way and will. Furthermore, we failed to draw strength from God because we did not surrender our problems completely to God to handle it. Some may confess through our lips that “Lord I surrender everything to you, but in our heart we are reluctant to trust God and giving God everything”. Some of us may say “God will not handle small petty things”. I’m here to tell you today that God cares everything we go through, God will be happy for you to involve Him in every little thing that we do. Focus in God~God will help you.
• [John 15: 9-11] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. God is asking us to have a lovely relationship with Him, remaining in His love that endures forever and at the same time obeying His commands. . it is revealed that the relationship between Christians and Christ is the same as that between Christ and the Father.  Having a True  relationship with Him and obeying the commandments of Christ able to  impart joy in us.

As for the letter "O" it represents Others. The second area that we should pay attention to is "Others".

• When we talk about others many times we forgot about the Golden Rule that Jesus taught us in Matthew 7:12 ; So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. This golden rule covers all aspects of our life of [ethics,behavior, righteousness, and godliness]. The Law they mention is one of the Jesus’ greatest commandment; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. At times when lost our conscience where anger has consumed it, we failed to see grace, love, and forgiveness. As a result we pay an eye for an eye and we sin against God and our enemies. So, love your enemies and repay evil   with  good deeds [Luke 6:27].One way to practice the golden rule is to ask the simple question:"How would I want to be treated?" Then treat the other person that way.

• The bible also mention that ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” [Acts 20:35]. Therefore, in this coming Christmas, you can bless other as well [Examples]. All people on earth will be blessed through you. [Genesis 12:3]. God will use us to bless people as well. We can obtain joy by "giving ourselves to others". It means it is not about what we get and what can we get in return, but what we can give to others.

The final area that we are focusing in is Yourself from the letter "Y". It's rather more into attitude itself.

• We should always have a positive/optimistic mindset. As commands/movements of flesh will be controlled by our mind. Having a right attitude to follow Jesus is very important too as it keeps us continue to follow Him closely and Faithfully. Always remember this point that "no one/nothing can rob anything from us except of ourselves!"
• Parable of tenants also teach us to have the right attitudes, God will share the joy of His with us.

• Why putting Jesus/ourselves/people last rather than first?
  
  Conclusion
  1) Always remember that Christmas is all about Jesus and Joy.
  3) Joy does not obtain trough worldly materials, but through Jesus.
  4) Nothing can rob anything from us except ourselves.
  5) Give ourselves to others.

Intimidation (27/12/12)

Intimidation can come from two source, it can come from

1. circumstances
2. people

circumstances is like when Peter looks at the waves when walking on water, intimidated, he started to sink. People is when we are intimidated by words of others.

Intimidation will caused the gifts of God in us to go dormant (ineffective)
Intimidation can cause us to be unable to hear God

Peter, when he walked on waves was intimidated by the waves and the gift of God in him to walk on water went dormant, he begun to sink.
Elijah, when he was intimidated by Jezebel, ran away and never heard God spoke to him until after 40 days and 40 nights.

Symptoms of intimidation are confusion, depression, hopelessness, lost of vision or in short melancholic and pessimistic attitude. The root of these is fear. Deal with the root.

Intimidation --> fear -->paralyze faith-->gift of God empowered by grace to go dormant --> inability to fulfill God's will effectively --> not fruitful life --> Devil succeeded

For God had not give us a spirit of timidity(intimidation), but of power, love and a sound mind.-- 2 timothy 1:7

power+love+sound mind = boldness = 100% effectiveness of functioning in God's gifts

Managing Misunderstanding

In this world, misunderstanding is everywhere, anywhere, big scale, small scale, anytime, dangerous, deadly..destroying friendship, sparking wars, frustrating plans, destroying unity..in the church, the last thing we want to see is a bitterness between brother and sister, although it may start small, the effect can be disastrous as a foothold for the Devil to crumble the church. So it's important we learn how to manage misunderstanding.

Managing Misunderstanding

(Joshua 22:9-34)

1. Assess the seriousness of the matter (v 10-12)

                1.1 Do not ignore or turn away from the problem (v11)

                1.2 Act as soon as possible (v12)

                1.3 Have the correct biblical response

2. Send the right people (v13-15)

                2.1 Choose the appropriate people (v13-v14)

                2.2 Set the right atmosphere

·         With love

·         With friendliness

·         Acceptance

·         Reconciliation

·         Clarification

3. Focus On The Issue (v16-18, 20-27)

                3.1 Be objective, not subjective

                3.2 Gather the facts

                3.3 Ask, not accuse

                3.4 Guard your emotion

4. Offer Solutions or Alternatives (v 19)

                4.1 Offer help, Give Solutions or Alternatives

5. Maintain an Open Mind (v 21-29, 30-32)

                5.1 Not to have wrong or narrow preconceived Idea

                5.2 Not to win at all cost

                5.3 Not to have closed mind or stubbornness

The Potter's Clay

•    Why do you think God uses clay and not other materials?
-->  Clay is a kind of soil; we humans are created from dust of the ground [Gen 2: 7]

•    What does the clay symbolizes?
-->Life, character, heart and basically almost everything!

•    But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. [verse 4]
--> When comes into shaping and molding, there is none expert other than our God. God created us, the ultimate being to reign over life forms [Gen 1: 26].--> the potter [God] has to work patiently and carefully with his clay so that He will be able to make vessels of many designs [character] and for many uses [His purposes]. However, sometimes the clay became marred as it took shape in the potter’s hand. When that happened, the potter reworked the clay and starts to mold it again.

•    He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. [verse 6]
-->  God is trying to remind us that our clay [lives, characters, careers] in His hands. God is asking us to entrust the “clays” into His hands.
-->Sometimes we are stubborn where we refuse to let God to change our live. We refused to be molded instead trying to use our own strength to mold ourselves when the potter tries to shape us into a useful vessel. If he is unable to mold us into the person He desire, we will be as useless as a lump of clay.

•    If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,  and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned [verse 7 & 8]

-->When you repent from the evil, wicked and sinful ways, God will hold His punishment. If allow God to change us, God will slowly mold you over time [verse 3]…Do you see the love and patience of God?

•    “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ [verse 11]

--> we harden our hearts to the 'molding' of God, we will become too hard to even change, that's when God will have no choice but to need to step in and break us by setting trials for us,so that we can become soft again. It’s a painful process and we often question God why such disaster befall us, but it is because God wants to shape us in a better character and the old one is too stubborn and insensitive. So have a submissive heart only then God will be able to start to work on us to make us more like Him. Not to cry over mistakes and sins done, but let those bumps and cracks in a piece of pottery to be worked by our potter to smoothen the lumps and bumps. Don’t see trials as problems, but another opportunity for God to make us a strong and durable vessel.

Conclusion
•    Our life is like a clay in the hands of a potter and many times we fail to realize that God is shaping us to have a better character, the lesson is to help people to be submissive and sensitive to the workings of God in our lives.
•    Analogy of forming clay products.
•    so always be sensitive to God and allow Him to shape our lives, let God bring us through in this process of molding and do not resist Him.

Extraordinary Attitudes

Introduction

 When we talk about Christians no doubt that we are ordinary people who walk among the prebelievers, but what makes us special are the extraordinary beginning and our extraordinary attitudes. For us to make an impact or to be the salt and the light of the world, we do need extraordinary attitudes. And yes, YOU CAN BE MORE THAN JUST ORDINARY by having these attitudes! This book of Ruth teaches us some extraordinary attitudes as well:

1. Loyalty Beyond Duty  (Ruth 1: 14-18)

How do you define the words duty and loyalty when they come across your mind? According to the dictionary, the word duty defines as an act comes from a sense of moral obligation while the word loyalty defines abut an allegiance to a person or something. In an easier way of understanding, duty says “ought to” but loyalty says “want to”. In verse 16-17, we are able to observe Ruth’s extraordinary loyalty whereby she continued and persist to stay with Naomi until the end. In the old testament, a deceased man’s wife will be inherit by the kinsman redeemer, but if there’s no kinsman redeemer to inherit them, they will be” released” for fulfilling their responsibilities. Ruth would have left her mother-in-law like Orpah [her sister-in-law] did, but she did not. Instead, she even begged Naomi not to urge her to leave Naomi and said “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” Therefore, in application of this verse in our relationship with God, God appreciates a person’s sense of duty but He prefers a deep loyalty over duty. An example to illustrate this point is a relationship of a husband and wife, do you get married just because to fulfill the sense duty of a boyfriend or because you are deep in love and loyal to your spouse? Brothers and sisters, duty [serving ministry] alone won’t go far and cause you to worn out even faster in life, BUT loyalty will get you further. Through loyalty, we will stick with God and able to have a genuine relationship with God. God will reveal His heartbeat to His people whom He closes with.

2. Courageous Proactiveness (Ruth 2:2-7)

Proactiveness brought a definition of acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory where courage (also bravery, boldness, fearlessness, mettle, fortitude, or intrepidity) is the ability to confront, fear, danger, pain,uncertainty, or intimidation. Courage will mostly function or work when there’s a situation prompt us to be, but proactiveness is based on our own initiative. Ruth has shown her courage and proactiveness in verse 2- 7. She was proactive in seeking for food for Naomi and herself despite being a stranger in the land and depending on other people for survival. Do remember always that a person can be courageous and not to be proactiveness and vice-versa. For this, we need to have the conviction in our own and the holy spirit to change our heart, because through His spirit and His strength (power) we are able to change our character [2 Timothy 1:7]. Brothers and sisters, does this strikes you that you need to have both; courage and proactiveness simultaneously in our life?

3.  Postured in Humility (Ruth 2: 10-13)

Ruth showed her humility in verse 10, where she bowed down with her face to the ground greeting Boaz the owner of the land she is gleaning. Besides, in verse 13 she said “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” In this verse we realized that she knows her identity as foreigner who came from Moab; she acknowledges and respects the owner of the land (Boaz). Through  verse 13 we also know that humility is the key of finding favour in people’s eye. Pastor Wilson shared the three types of humility. The first type of humility is called the “poor humility” where an individual felt a sense of inadequacy and inferiority. Normally this humility will be shown by an individual where he/she is in the disadvantage situation. For example, Gideon in the book of Judges; “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” [Judges 6:15]. The second type of humility is called “rich humility” is demonstrated by Abraham whereby a proper sense of who we actually are before God. And finally, the last type of humility is called the “fabulous humility” where we maintain a humble attitude with determination and discipline in order to submit to God. In conclusion to this point, God will find favour in us and all of our deeds for Him when we postured in humility. I know sometimes is difficult to be humble especially you are someone in the society either big or small, it is always easy to humble when you are nobody.

4. Untiring Diligence (Ruth 2: 7, 17-18)

In these verses, the bible is trying to portray Ruth harvested diligently from morning to night. She not only harvested the barley, but she also went the extra mile to process it until was in a usable form. I believe God is trying to speak to us through the bible that we have to work diligently and He is looking for diligence in each individual. And I also believe that He is looking for people who are willing to be used by Him as a vessel and being sent into the harvest field. Though sometimes we are being rejected by the people/the community when spreading the gospel, it is God they are rejecting not you. Furthermore, do not be discouraged by those circumstances because you have not FAILED , BUT YOU HAVE FOUND WAYS THAT ARE NOT WORKING! So never give up in any course, as treat them as a process to grow~

5.Trusting & Principled Obedience (Ruth 3: 1-9)

When is the last time you ever said “I will do whatever you say” with full of faith and without questioning God in whatever God is asking you to do? In the bible; the book of Ruth 3: 5-6, Ruth obediently trust Naomi with full of faith and without questioning Naomi in the tasks she is asked to do. She said “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.  So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.” Ruth entrusted her future into Naomi’s hands, trusting and following everything as Naomi instructed. We too, can respond to these two verses by obediently trust God’s decision, obeying and carry out everything God has asked us to do. During the service, Pastor Wilson shared about the ways obedience can be imparted in an individual. Obedience can be forced externally, out of duty, principled and can flow out of trust.

Conclusion

God looks for loyalty, courage, proactiveness, humility, diligent and obedient sons and daughters. Brothers and sisters, our God is an extraordinary God where He is able to do extraordinary things through ordinary people that willing to submit and follow Him fully.

A Letter to God -- 13

LORD, let not your grace ever depart from me
May it go deeper and deeper
like how your servant David yearn for your presence
May I dwell in Your presence forever and ever

In my life, let Your glory be shown
More of You and less of me
In my trials and temptations do not forget me
Surely in your timing you will rescue me

Always and always I shall sing your praises
Let praise never depart from my lips
Let my enemies flee before me
Let my worries vanish under the power of your grace

In my foolishness for You, my LORD
In my zeal for You, never forget me oh God
That no jeers may stand against me
For in your timing, You will rescue me

And let all see that your glory and providence for me never fails
For You will cover me in Your wings of promise
And will not forsake me
Even if You will call me home, may Your glory still shine forth through me

On Dry Grounds -David Wilkerson

God insists there must be “dry ground” on our way through the Red Sea. He told Israel, “[You] shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:16). Amazingly, God uses this phrase four times, telling His people, “You will go over on dry ground.”
We see this phrase again when Israel was poised to enter Canaan. They crossed over Jordan on dry ground on their way into the Promised Land.

Simply put, dry ground is a path. And if you are on it, then you are going somewhere. You are not losing ground or going backward; your dry ground is the Lord’s plan, His work in your life, His miracles to perform. You are moving toward a revelation, a new victory in Christ, toward something greater.

Scripture proves this. Note where Pharaoh and his army lost their battle: on God-given dry ground. Dry ground is the exact place where the devil will come after you. He wants to attack you when you are at your weakest. Yet, it is on this same dry ground that the Lord removes the “chariot wheels” from Satan’s principalities and powers: “The waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained” (Exodus 14:28).

God is telling us, in essence: “I want you to learn to move on in faith—not according to a vision or a voice, but when you are in the midst of a dry spell. I want you to be confident that when you cannot hear My voice or see ahead—when you are on dry ground—I am leading you somewhere.”

The Lord promises that He will turn our dry ground into springs of fresh water: “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues fail for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. . . . I will open rivers in desolate places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isaiah 41:17-18).
Dear saint, are you dry? God is telling you, “Soon you will see a harvest. Where there once was dry ground, life will spring up at your feet. And I have created it! Stand still and see what I will do for you on dry ground.”

THOUGHTS ABOUT LOVE AND FAITH- David Wilkerson

Let me share some very healing thoughts about faith and love. I believe God works miracles in answer to the prayer of faith. And I believe every promise in God’s Word. But, through much suffering and tears, I have discovered something wonderful about the way God works. What you are about to read should help renew your confidence in the Lord and set you free from the bondage of trying to figure out faith.
Here are my conclusions:

• If you cannot give God perfect faith, give Him perfect love. “Perfect love casts out all fear.” Perfect love is the rest God has for His people. He wants us to rest in His love, trusting that He will always come to our aid as a father to a hurting child in spite of our inadequate faith.

Stop evaluating or grading your faith. And stop trying to figure out faith. The Bible says, “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). If you are going to specialize in anything, specialize in love—faith works by love.

• If God does not answer certain of our prayers, we can be sure He has some great eternal reason for not doing so.

It boils down to this: God has all power and can do anything. Nothing is impossible to Him. He has promised to answer every prayer in Christ’s name, so we must ask in full assurance of faith, expecting an answer. But should God delay that answer or choose another path for us, He must have a mighty good reason for it all. And we must believe that whatever God permits in our lives will one day all work to our good (Romans 8:28).

Our heavenly Father knows exactly where we are going and what we need. He will give us what is best, in proper Holy Ghost timing (Matthew 7:11).

God will not permit you to be overcome by your trials. You may come to what you think of as your breaking point, yet you will survive and live to tell of His faithfulness if you will not harden you heart but fall into His arms, trusting His everlasting love.

A Letter to God -- 12

Thousand times I fail, Your mercy remains
Through sins and corruption, Your grace is there for me

My spirit cries out, and You are there for me
Love keeps no record of wrongs,
How unfathomable is this love You have for me

You put a stone in my path to test me
And I stumble again and again
You allow me to enter destruction and corruption
So that I may remember You and come back to You

My actions are foolish, my wisdom mere folly
meaningless is my life without a love for You
Better off with me in the grave than to travel a godless path
Corruption overwhelm me, I am consumed.

But I cry out again and again,
mercy my God, I repent my LORD
and You will never fail to reassure me of Your faithfulness

My heart had gone cold,
I'm buried under my own folly and foolishness
But in the midst of darkness I saw You

LORD I know You are angry,
But only You who had balance holiness and love
In Your holy anger, You never cease to love me
calling out for me so that I may not deny You

I will come back to You, my heart is set
that I may honor You
LORD Your test for me I will pass
That I may be strong in this world of turmoil

I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. -- Hosea 14:4

God Describes His Love For His People- David Wilkerson

God describes Himself this way: “I taught Ephraim [Israel] to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them” (Hosea 11:3).

In the original language this verse reads, “I came to them in their despair and tenderly nursed them through foul, rugged places. I held them in my arms as a nurse!” But Hosea 11:7 says, “My people are bent on backsliding from Me.” The word bent here means “hanging in suspense, hanging in doubt.”

Israel was not sure of the Lord’s love and tenderness and God was saying to Hosea, “My people are doubting My love for them. They do not really know Me and they are unsure of My love!”It was true! Israel could not believe God still loved them. They were idolaters, backsliders and doubters and they were probably thinking, “We brought God’s displeasure on ourselves. We sinned willfully and He will surely judge us!” But God said, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred” (v. 8).

Listen to His words of comfort and healing for you:"For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would fail before Me, and the souls which I have made” (Isaiah 57:16). The Lord was saying, “If all you saw in Me was anger, your spirit would fail because it would be too overwhelming.”“For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners” (v. 17-18). Does this sound like God gives up on His people when they fail?

You may be going through deep waters right now. I do not mean temptation or trials necessarily. I am talking about overwhelming events that are being thrust on you that you cannot understand. Winds and waves of all kinds are flooding you, things beyond your comprehension. They are coming to your home, your church, your job, on all sides. But God wants to carry you through it all! He wants to restore you to spiritual health! If all you can believe right now is that He loves you in spite of all your stubborn ways, that He begs you to see Him as your Divine Nurse, then that is enough!

FILLED WITH HOPE, JOY AND PEACE!- David Wilkerson

If you want the peace of God to reign in your life, you have to quit several things:

• You must quit trying to figure out how God will work everything out.
• You must quit worrying and fretting: “Be anxious for nothing...” (Philippians 4:6).
• You must quit telling God what you think is right for you.
• And most of all, you must quit thinking you are a failure; stop thinking you do not please God!

One of Satan’s most effective traps for robbing Christians of peace is to convince them they must strive in the flesh to please God. He springs this on me all the time!Sometimes when I need a quiet place to pray, I get in my car and drive to a secluded spot. I can praise the Lord and enjoy His presence while looking out over green fields and forests. But sometimes the thought hits me that I am not doing anything for the Lord!I pray, “Lord, I’m just not accomplishing much for Your kingdom. All I do is pray, get messages for sermons, and go to church and preach. The whole world is going to hell, and I’m not doing anything for You!”

Have such thoughts ever hit you? You do everything you can in order to please the Lord, yet you do not feel holy. I hardly ever feel holy. That is true even in my best times—even when I am preaching under the Spirit’s anointing!

You say, “You, Brother Dave? You feel at times as if you’re not doing much for God?” Yes! The devil comes in and makes us all feel unworthy, unfulfilled. And we lose our peace by giving in to these awful feelings!

Listen to Paul’s prayer for us: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Trust in His goodness. Believe in His love and mercy. Do not accuse Him of being angry or upset with you or of not speaking to you. Let His peace rule in your heart and over your whole life!

Random

Your good deeds don't save you
Your achievements on earth won't save you
Your status on earth won't save you
Your kind and generous actions won't save you
Your wisdom and knowledge won't save you

All these ways won't save, all these roads DON'T lead to heaven, all roads are doomed to hell (like it or not, I'm saying this, cause it's fact) except one

That is through Jesus Christ, the narrow way and narrow gate that often people refuse.

God is love (19/9/2011) --by Rick Warren

The Bible tells us, "God is love." It doesn't say God has love. He is love! Love is the essence of God's character. There is perfect love in the fellowship of the Trinity, so God didn't need to create you. He wasn't lonely. But he wanted to make you in order to express his love. God says, "I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you."

If there was no God, we would all be "accidents," the result of astronomical random chance in the universe. . . Life would have no purpose or meaning or significance. There would be no right or wrong, and no hope beyond your brief years here on earth.

But there is God who made you for a reason, and your life profound meaning! We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives.  --Rick Warren



Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  -- Isaiah 46:4

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give nations in exchange for you, and people in exchange for you life. -- Isaiah 43:4

Cross Cultural Understanding Part 1

Non-Buddhist don't really understand what's going on inside Buddhist cultures, Buddhist families and Buddhist lives. Most Buddhists also don't really know what Christianity or the Bible is all about. They sometimes perceive each other as enemies, which is simply not the case~ What I intend write in the following is to emphasize are the many largely unrecognized similarities between Buddhism and Christianity, which serve as a bridge for cross-cultural understanding. Thai terms be used here, and their definition or explanation will be stated.

Firstly, we should start with a famous word/term which Buddhist love to say; karma. Karma will follow people from their past life of sins and Buddhists' belief that karma always follow them. It will follow them forever until somehow it is paid for. Thai Buddhists called it as wain gum or the revenge of the karma. To free yourself from karma, the monk may advise you to meditate, then sadau kro. Sadau kro requires performance of a good deed that usually involves buying something; eg. buying birds or eels and releasing them. This probably descended from the Old Testament practice (from the Bible) of releasing the scapegoat into wilderness (Lev:16:22) and releasing a clean bird dipped in blood into the open field (Lev:14:6). The Old Testament practice predated Buddha by 3000years, and was codified by the time of Moses 1000 years before Buddha. Southeast Asia, doesn't have native goats, they substituted the Biblical practice with other things; like pigs, chicken, eels, or even flower.If you are unable to sadau kro, then become a nun/monk to pay off your sins. What Christian believed in is, God has sent His One and ONLY son to die for us. Jesus was crucified, bared our sins and His blood washes off our sins.

Karma is always retributive. The self-blame, the fear of karmic revenge, the hopelessness of never being set free from a curse, all add stress and uncertainty to a Buddhist life. Please do not think that a typical Buddhist is living in harmony with nature or floating on a cloud of peace. The doctrine of karma does not usually produce compassion, but condemnation. A sincere Buddhists will try to purify themselves of their own karma and keep all 227 laws of Buddha (for men) and 311 laws for women. This produces even more condemnation when they realize the cannot do it. However, This doesn't mean that Buddhist will not need to hear the Gospel that Christians have to share with them. This is because Buddhism is a set of practices, not a set of answers. Buddhism does not answer the questions of the origin of the universe, the origin of demons, the origin of mankind, the beginning or ending of karma. It merely states that karma comes from our inward lusts, but it doesn't tell us why we have them. The issue of a "First Cause" is completely ignored! But the Bible tells them all. So please do refer to your Christian friends for all the blank answers. Don't be shy as they would be very happy to entertain you. The Biblical account will fill gap that Buddhism leaves wide open.

Thank you for your patience to read this article...More of such articles will be written and summarized from the book from Buddha to Jesus <An Insider's View of Buddhism & Christianity>  by Steve Cioccolanti. Next article will be related to misunderstandings about Buddhism and Christianity, the concept "Luck" and "First Cause".

STRESS!!!!! @%^&#@%&^@@$ (Part 2).

2. Paul's response

a. “Three different times I begged the Lord...”

b. Paul BEGGED the Lord, he not only prays, but begged (pleaded) the Lord to take this thorn away.

c. After he begged the Lord three times and………………nothing happen.

d. WHAT??!! Nothing happen!

e. But let’s look into the Book of Acts:

i. 19:11-12 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When the handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

ii. At Paul’s times, he had to travel from town to town to preach the Gospel by only WALKING.

iii. Throughout spring, summer, autumn and winter, and less chance to bath, can you imagine the conditions of his handkerchief after come into contact with sweat, dust, mucus and dirty things?

iv. Yet......God gives his handkerchief to have the power of healing! Simply because he is obedient and faithful to God.

v. Acts 20: 9-12 whereby apostles Paul raised a man who fall at a height of three stories and continue preaching to the Gentiles.

f. God has given Paul the power to perform miracles but when he pleaded God for three times and nothing happen! So how??

3. Paul's solution

a. When he had experienced all this, he CHANGE HIS PERSPECTIVE and no longer look at the thorns.

b. Instead, he delights in his weaknesses when God reply his prayer.

c. In verse 9, we can see how Paul change

i. First, he looks at his struggle at a different perspective and grows bigger.

ii. Second, he boasts about his weaknesses so that the power of Christ can be made perfect in him.

d. Why does God say His power is made perfect in our weaknesses?

e. Who will need God’s healing power? If you are healthy physically, will you need a doctor?

f. Who will need God’s provision? You will experience it when you are in need.

g. If you are stress, you can solve it by

i. Removing the source of stress- you can always quit a job when stress come from you career. BUT…..what if your wife and children are your source of stress? So we need the other solution.

ii. GROW bigger than you stress!

h. God sometimes may place stress over your level so that you can come to Him, UPGRADE your processor so that you can GROW to higher level than your stress.

i. Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conclusion:

When you’re stress,

· Pray and bring your problems to God

· Hear and listen to Him, yes, he may not able to solve your problem, but absolutely he will help you to overcome.

· Think and look at your struggle, problems at a different perspective.

· Obey and do what God tells you.

my dear brother and sister and whoever read this post, i do hope to encourage u all with this post. Hope you continue to grow in Christ, depend on Him more and love more (if you're a believer). If you aren't, i hope that you can change your perspective on your current problem if you found no way out, indeed, you can grow BIGGER than you problem.

STRESS!!!!! @%^&#@%&^@@$ (Part 1).

STRESS! A lot of times we are frustrated over things happen in our life, when things start to piled up, when things which supposed to be finished are unable to finished on time, when things doesn’t go as how we plan or expect, STRESS!!

Then we start to question and blame, what is God will for us? Is this what God want me experience, is this ‘blessings’ that God want me to have, is this abundance life that He promised, is this hope and future that God wanna give me???!!!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Jesus Christ.

Huh?? Be joyful always? Are you sure God? BUT I’m STRESSFUL! How can stress and joy come together?? How can joy come when I’m stress??

Now, the bible says yes! Let’s learn something from someone great, the apostle Paul.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 ⁷even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. ⁸Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. ⁹Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ¹⁰That why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1. Paul’s problem (v.7)

a. In verse 7, Paul said there is a thorn in his flesh.

b. What is this thorn? What is this that torments him?

c. When we refer back to Numbers 33:55

i. Numbers 33:55 but if u fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live.

d. Paul had been appointed as apostles to the Gentiles!

e. When he comes to a new town, he will first attend the synagogue, then get chased out, then he turns to the Gentiles, preached and taught them, gather them and appoint elders, then he da pao, and left to another town.

f. He had been doing this to each and EVERY TOWN he stepped in, but each and every time he left the town, Judaism believers will come and destroy his work.

g. When Paul tells the gentiles, “When u become Christian, you don’t need to be circumcised.” But when Judaism believers come into the church and said, “You all have to be circumcised!”

h. So have you experienced what Paul experienced? When you almost complete or reach your goal, someone something just come into place and destroy everything!

i. How?! WHY!?

Ancient China -- Is christianity there before buddhism?

Well, last post we talked about the story of Noah's ark. So what happens after Noah's ark? The world is completely empty, and The Bible said that Shem, son of Noah traveled east from Mount Ararat.

So, today, we are gonna explore the real secret behind Chinese (China people), their origin, and to discover their original religion. Is Buddhism really their 1st religion? or is ancestor worshiping or animism? Or are they people that came after the worldwide flood? which means that they are Christians at first! We need to travel back into time, to the very origin...their writtings.

What's so special about Chinese writings?
Chinese letters are make up of pictures, they are drawn based on what they saw. which means that a tree in Chinese word will be similar to how a tree would look like. It is through time that Chinese wordings simplified and we got the simplified version of the Chinese wordings today (after few evolutions). But some remains unchanged, and whether it is traditional handwriting or simplified, lets explore how Chinese words can possibly relate to God.

God in Chinese language
If ancient Chinese worship God, than how do they name God?

They name God 'Shang Ti'

Emperor Shun from the Han dynasty worshiped Shang Ti. In fact, the word 'shen' -- God in Chinese has an origin

  Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed -- Genesis 2:8

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth. -- Psalm 33:6

 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.--Psalm 33:9

Tian can refer to the sky or heavens, but when we look at the etymology of the image, we see something even greater. It speaks of the One who is beyond the sky! The two characters used to create Tian are GREAT and ONE. Indeed, ShàngTi is the GREAT ONE!

Garden of Eden:

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. -- Genesis 2:7

  The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." -- Genesis 2:18 (referring to creation of Eve for Adam)

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. -- Genesis 2:8 


   

In the Bible, Devil (the serpent) was inside the garden of Eden, He know about the secret (which bought death) about the tree of knowledge of good and evil (commonly known as the apple..-.-) and It tempted Eve to ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge in stead of the tree of life. Genesis 3:1-6   
    
   

So the Chinese word for tempter is merely the devil inside the garden of Eden in the vicinity of the tree of knowledge and tree of life where it tempted Eve to eat the fruit from the 1st tree. 

 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. -- Genesis 3:6 

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” -- Genesis 2:16-17 

In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. -- Genesis 2:9(b)

 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; -- Genesis 3:7(a)           

 The Great Flood

And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood -- Genesis 7:7 (Noah has 3 sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth)

 

 The Chinese word total talks about eight person left on the earth after the great flood. And interesting enough, the word flood just add in water to that word.

This word means to hand down, or to pass down the stories. Interestingly, it consist of eight person, passing it down by mouth after the flood.

Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. -- Genesis 9:14-15                                             
(Rainbow signify ending of the rain)


Extra Links
There are more words that points ancient China to Christianity before actually there is any ancestor worshiping or other religions, if you want more proofs or you are still doubting what I said is true, check out Chinese words on the links below :

1. God in Chinese Language

2.Creation of Man

3.Garden of Eden

4. Cain and Abel

5.Noah's Flood 

6.Tower of Babel <-- where the language of the world is confused

7.Migration of People to China

Conclusion:
At a rough count, there are about 40-50 chinese words that we re-discover it is related to Christianity. But how can we confirm this is true? It is because These people that created those Chinese words, derived their words from stories up until Noah's Flood..That means, Chinese words related to Biblical stories are created even before the Bible is created!! That means what is told in the Bible is actually not just fabricated!

So, reflect this, if we say we worship our ancestors, if we say we worship gods and deities or follow Buddhism because our ancestors do so, try tracing it back to here, because our ancient ancestors worshiped God at first, not their ancestors, so why are we worshiping them? o.0???

The Chinese word of alone talked about Adam and Eve chased out of the garden of Eden because of sins. They are alone, separated from God, and if separated from God, that means only Hell...

But God gave us more grace, although we sin, God doesn;t wants us to go to hell, therefore He send Jesus to die on the cross for us.

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! -- John 1:29(b)

The ancient word for righteousness 'yi' told us about how Christ had come to give us salvation, so that we can enter heaven. It depicts on how Jesus as the perfect lamb was above us, covering us.

He always long for us to comes back to HIS arm, He don't care what you have done or what you are or how worthy you are, He gave this gift of salvation to all.

God loves, God save, Ask Him to be your LORD and Savior today~

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

You have heard His voice today, what say you