Today, during my transition from period 3 to period 4 I felt like the kids passing by me were just a blur, I didn't pay attention to them anymore like I used to. I used to be very alert of who's passing me by and which one of the people I knew so I could smile to them, but today, at that time, I wasn't paying attention, I felt like it was some kind of a routine that would repeat itself over and over, at school: I would go to chapel, go to my first class, got to my second class, eat lunch, almost fall asleep during math, and have fun in Geography. It seemed boring to me, but then my mind averted to the kids and people in developing and 3rd world countries who do not have this education. I thought about how much we didn't want school because we got it so easily and how much they wanted school because it was very hard to get an education. I know that sometimes, sitting in my math class or french class I wish that it would've been a snow day so I can stay at home and relax my brain from learning. The kids in the 3rd world, do not have the same feelings as us, instead, they long for the boredom of lectures and math equations, to learn other languages, and what other less developed countries than theirs are out there. How fortunate are we in Canada, Japan, and USA, that we get education. It may not be excellent, but it is certainly easy to get, whereas most other countries are not granted with postsecondary education and sometimes, it is only the richest that can afford education. I think we should be grateful for the education that we are getting and even when we feel bored out of our mind, we should think about those who do not have this chance like you do.
Everyday Devotions by an Ordinary Christian
Monday 27 February 2012
Friday 17 February 2012
How Much Is THIS Much?
But he was wounded for the wrong we did;
he was crushed for the evil we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him,
and we are healed because of his wounds.
We all have wandered away like sheep;
each of us has gone his own way.
But the LORD has put on him the
punishment
for all the evil we have done.
Isaiah 53: 5-6
Always Been Loved
He loves you ALWAYS, even before you took your place in this world.
I cannot even comprehend that He knew me even before I took my place in this world, to even comprehend that He LOVED me before I was born! God's love for us is way too great for us understand. I could say that I will love my child that I might give birth to in the future, but I am way too young to be thinking about that now and I don't even have that certainty of knowing that I will conceive. What if God's plan for me is to adopt or not have kids at all? But God, he KNOWS you before your parents get to know you, before he makes you. Isn't that awesome and weird at the same time? Before he made you, he loved you and knew you? Wow, that is some amazing God. I just get butterflies TRYING to think about it, I can't even think about it, I have to try! That's how great God's power is! We can't even begin to think about it, we can't even try to think about it.
I cannot even comprehend that He knew me even before I took my place in this world, to even comprehend that He LOVED me before I was born! God's love for us is way too great for us understand. I could say that I will love my child that I might give birth to in the future, but I am way too young to be thinking about that now and I don't even have that certainty of knowing that I will conceive. What if God's plan for me is to adopt or not have kids at all? But God, he KNOWS you before your parents get to know you, before he makes you. Isn't that awesome and weird at the same time? Before he made you, he loved you and knew you? Wow, that is some amazing God. I just get butterflies TRYING to think about it, I can't even think about it, I have to try! That's how great God's power is! We can't even begin to think about it, we can't even try to think about it.
Monday 13 February 2012
Perfect in Sinning
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| But, I am a perfect sinner. |
Sunday 5 February 2012
Renewing and Reviewing
TO RENEW YOUR LOVE FOR CHRIST, REVIEW CHRIST'S LOVE FOR YOU.
I absolutely love this saying. I heard it at the same winter teen retreat that I mentioned earlier. "To renew your love for Christ, review Christ's love for you." Christ's love is just so great that you automatically love him back for loving you so greatly. If you feel that you need to love him more, review all the things that God did in your life that expresses his love for you, and you will receive that feeling and longing to do something great to express your love for him.
I absolutely love this saying. I heard it at the same winter teen retreat that I mentioned earlier. "To renew your love for Christ, review Christ's love for you." Christ's love is just so great that you automatically love him back for loving you so greatly. If you feel that you need to love him more, review all the things that God did in your life that expresses his love for you, and you will receive that feeling and longing to do something great to express your love for him. Wednesday 1 February 2012
You be the Judge
I believe that we should work on our character before we judge others. We are just like the ones we judge, we are not worthy to judge others whom we think are worse than us because we are sinners just like them. It is like a liar judging another liar saying "Why do you lie to everyone? You are just destroying the trust that those people had in you." The one that said this was also a liar and really should've judged himself before he judged that other liar.
What does God say about judging?
He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.
2Chronicles 19:6 (NIV)
You are judging by appearences. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.
2Corinthians 10:7 (NIV)
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Matthew 7:1 (NIV)
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 (NIV)
"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"
Luke 12:57 (NIV)
Let's go through each verse and understand it's meaning of the type of judging that is presented.
2Chronicles 19:6 states that when you judge, you judge for the Lord and that you do not judge for a human. God will be with you when you present the case, meaning that it will almost be like you're working side by side with God when you judge, so judge carefully.
2Corinthians 10:7 states that some of us judge by how others present themselves to the world and think highly of themselves while judging. You may deny it, but really when you judge others because you feel or think that you are greater for you are Christian or are forgiven of you sins, remember that they are just like you. They have an equal opportunity to believe and before you believed you were just like them. As it says, we belong to christ just as much as they do.
Matthew 7:1 says that if you judge, you will also be judged. This can go many different ways. For instance, If you judge someone, they will eventually judge you back and find some fault in you. It can also mean that when our time has come, you will be standing before the throne of God and you will be judged for all sins that you have committed while you were on Earth. If you have judged before, you will be judged before God.
Luke 6:37 basically states that what you do is what you get. If you judge others, you will be judged, if you curse others, you will too be curse, if you forgive others, you will be forgiven back.
Luke 12:57 says what I think is most important and I think should be taken into action before all the other verses. It asks us to judge our actions and decisions so that we may do what is right. To judge for what is right, not for what we want, for what is the right thing to do. This is the hardest of all to do for our lusts for the world are great and overpower our urgency to do what is right and to do what God says is right.
If you have another opinion or reflection of any of the verses please share, I may be wrong with my interpretation of the verse, but that is why I post these up. To get feedback and to learn.
What does God say about judging?
He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.
2Chronicles 19:6 (NIV)
You are judging by appearences. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.
2Corinthians 10:7 (NIV)
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Matthew 7:1 (NIV)
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 (NIV)
"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"
Luke 12:57 (NIV)
Let's go through each verse and understand it's meaning of the type of judging that is presented.
2Chronicles 19:6 states that when you judge, you judge for the Lord and that you do not judge for a human. God will be with you when you present the case, meaning that it will almost be like you're working side by side with God when you judge, so judge carefully.
2Corinthians 10:7 states that some of us judge by how others present themselves to the world and think highly of themselves while judging. You may deny it, but really when you judge others because you feel or think that you are greater for you are Christian or are forgiven of you sins, remember that they are just like you. They have an equal opportunity to believe and before you believed you were just like them. As it says, we belong to christ just as much as they do.
Matthew 7:1 says that if you judge, you will also be judged. This can go many different ways. For instance, If you judge someone, they will eventually judge you back and find some fault in you. It can also mean that when our time has come, you will be standing before the throne of God and you will be judged for all sins that you have committed while you were on Earth. If you have judged before, you will be judged before God.
Luke 6:37 basically states that what you do is what you get. If you judge others, you will be judged, if you curse others, you will too be curse, if you forgive others, you will be forgiven back.
Luke 12:57 says what I think is most important and I think should be taken into action before all the other verses. It asks us to judge our actions and decisions so that we may do what is right. To judge for what is right, not for what we want, for what is the right thing to do. This is the hardest of all to do for our lusts for the world are great and overpower our urgency to do what is right and to do what God says is right.
If you have another opinion or reflection of any of the verses please share, I may be wrong with my interpretation of the verse, but that is why I post these up. To get feedback and to learn.
Kindness that lasts a Lifetime
Just this past weekend, I was at a teen winter camp retreat in the States. It is called camp Li-Lo-Li and I was looking through my Bible during chapel time and I found this one verse in Psalm that caught my eye and brought peace to my heart.
Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him;
praise his holy name.
His anger lasts only a moment,
but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
Psalms 30:4-5
Right away, I fell in love with this verse. How it expresses that God's Kindness lasts a LIFETIME. Isn't that just amazing? Sometimes, when you read the Bible, it talks about God's anger, but even in anger, he expresses grace towards us. That grace lasts longer than His anger. The last section of this verse, "Crying may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning" reminds me of a song I mentioned in an earlier post called "Before the Morning" by Josh Wilson. It says in the chorus, "The pain that you've been feeling, is just the dark before the morning." You may find yourself asking God "Why? Why did you let that happen?" But know that whatever happens, God is using that to work out your relationship with him. And even the pain, sorrow, and guilt that you have come across, instead of being those awful things that they are, can be used to bring glory to his name and all the wrongs that you have committed will be forgotten. Isn't that just amazing to know that he will forget the terrible things that you have done that bring guilt upon you? This doesn't mean that it's okay to commit them though.
The almighty, powerful God, that created the world from the smallest insect, to the largest mammal. The God who created you and I. His anger ONLY lasts a moment, whereas His kindness lasts a LIFETIME.
It still marvels me! His kindness outweighs his anger. Our God is quick to forgive and slow to get angry, and that's how we should live as well. I know for a fact that I’m the opposite. I'm struggling to forgive as much as I get angry, let alone forgive! I, as a sinner, am great at holding grudges and bringing it up every time I see the person that I'm holding the grudge against. It's a terrible "Habit" that we as sinners cannot get rid of easily. I called it a habit because truthfully it is something we can't control. We all struggle to forgive and do what is easiest, get angry.
Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him;
praise his holy name.
His anger lasts only a moment,
but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
Psalms 30:4-5
Right away, I fell in love with this verse. How it expresses that God's Kindness lasts a LIFETIME. Isn't that just amazing? Sometimes, when you read the Bible, it talks about God's anger, but even in anger, he expresses grace towards us. That grace lasts longer than His anger. The last section of this verse, "Crying may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning" reminds me of a song I mentioned in an earlier post called "Before the Morning" by Josh Wilson. It says in the chorus, "The pain that you've been feeling, is just the dark before the morning." You may find yourself asking God "Why? Why did you let that happen?" But know that whatever happens, God is using that to work out your relationship with him. And even the pain, sorrow, and guilt that you have come across, instead of being those awful things that they are, can be used to bring glory to his name and all the wrongs that you have committed will be forgotten. Isn't that just amazing to know that he will forget the terrible things that you have done that bring guilt upon you? This doesn't mean that it's okay to commit them though.
The almighty, powerful God, that created the world from the smallest insect, to the largest mammal. The God who created you and I. His anger ONLY lasts a moment, whereas His kindness lasts a LIFETIME.
It still marvels me! His kindness outweighs his anger. Our God is quick to forgive and slow to get angry, and that's how we should live as well. I know for a fact that I’m the opposite. I'm struggling to forgive as much as I get angry, let alone forgive! I, as a sinner, am great at holding grudges and bringing it up every time I see the person that I'm holding the grudge against. It's a terrible "Habit" that we as sinners cannot get rid of easily. I called it a habit because truthfully it is something we can't control. We all struggle to forgive and do what is easiest, get angry.
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