"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty;

not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some."
Charles Dickens

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Daily Prayers Dissolve Your Cares

I meet God in the morning
And go with Him through the day,
Then in the stillness of the night
Before sleep comes I pray
That God will just "take over"
All the problems I couldn't solve
And in the peacefulness of sleep
My cares will all dissolve,
So when I open up my eyes
To greet another day
I'll find myself renewed in strength
And there'll open up a way
To meet what seemed impossible
For me to solve alone
And once again I'll be assured
I am never "on my own"...
For if we try to stand alone
We are weak and we will fail,
For God is always GREATEST
When we're helpless, lost and small,
And no day is unmeetable
If on rising our first thought
Is to thank God for the blessings
That His loving care has brought...
For there can be no failures
Or hopeless, unsaved sinners
If we enlist the help of God
Who makes all losers winners...
So meet Him in the morning
And go with Him through the day
And thank Him for His guidance
Each evening when we pray,
And if you follow faithfully
This daily way to pray
You will never in your lifetime
Face another "hopeless day."


Wise words indeed from Helen Steiner Rice. Why do we find it so hard to trust our Abba Father? How many miracles does he need to perform in our lives everyday before we can see Him for the God He truly is? Why can't we see?

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Labelling...

I am a tad bit upset with comments made about things or events or people being labelled "Christian". I am talking about Christian music, Christian event, Christian... this and that by Christians themselves...

Why? I believe that as a "Christian" we ought to know that Christianity can't be turned on and off like a tap. Phrases like, "God is not interested in your spiritual life, He is interested in your life" stands out to me and makes me remember that whether we are engaged in what we label a "Christian" thing/activity or not, He is still there right beside us in our lives. Some may think that freaky but I think it's the most wonderful gift to me! See, He doesn't care if my shit's smelly, He's with me in the toilet. He is next to me as I worship Him and He's also there when I am angry with the car in front of me!

My point is, if I start to think of certain activities/things that I do as Christian and some as non-Christian, how do I draw the line? Is going to basketball a Christian event or not? oh... if you are going to be playing with church members then it's a Christian event and if you are going to play with your schoolmates, it's not. Well, I would ask myself then, would my behaviour be any different? How so? And, erm, would God be there if it were not a Christian event...

I find this labelling troubling... I am trying to eradicate being a dual personality person. That's hard cos when I talk with non-believing friends, then I would have to be much better read about current affairs, etc. whilst still making sure I put in bits with Godly values into my accounts and speech. I want to make sure my time with them counts for something in God's eyes as well as theirs, and that I have given them a true real honest to goodness witness to God whether it be in a small or big way.

In engaging with believers, I also have to do the same in many ways but I am freer to speak Jesus' name and goodness directly, etc... Even so, I do not like to limit speech to merely church related events/people but instead to enquire deeper into people's lives. Call me nosy but my aim is to enrich a life.... eheee, whether they like it or not!

I was once told by a visiting pastor's wife something precious that I try to emulate... She said that (in not so many words) everytime we speak to others, we ought to ask the Lord for words that come forth from our mouths to be meaningful, impactful (as opposed to small talk) and life-changing! That done, the person you spoke with would never be the same after that! How I wish to be as wise! Well, God certainly used this sister most meaningfully in my life! I am far from this still but I really think we all ought to do this. You needn't guess why she spoke in this manner to me on a first visit! haha!

My point is that all our life belongs to God, not only sundays and fridays but every sleeping, waking, eating, lepak-ing, shopping, tv watching, guy/girl watching, whatever moment. Every single thing we do is CHRISTIAN because that's exactly what and who we are! I wouldn't have it any other way!