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
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Monday, 27 February 2012
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.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Sheep Without a Shepherd
"He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things."
Mark 6:34
Saturday, 14 January 2012
I Find You When I Fall Apart
I was listening to a song called "Fall Apart" by Josh Wilson, my favourite christian singer/song writer, and it was saying in the song
"Why in the world did I think I could only get to know you when my life was good? When everything just falls in place, the easiest thing is to give you praise. Now it all seems upside down. Cause my whole world is caving in, but I feel you now, more than I did then, I cannot come to the end of me, and somehow still have all I need. God, I want to know you more, maybe this is how it starts, I find you when I fall apart."
I just love the lyrics to this song because they're absolutely true words. I find myself praising the Lord more when I feel blessed and in my time of trouble, I don't praise Him, instead, I call out to Him. I find that I get to know more about how my Lord works, and I find Him better when my life is "falling apart" or when I don't understand why these little problems and troubles keep popping up in my life.
As it also says in his other song, "Before the morning", "The pain that you've been feeling is just the hurt before the healing, just the dark before the morning." The problems that your faced with in your life, they will turn into something better than that, they will help you gain wisdom, confidence, a stronger character, peace, happiness, and many more marvellous things. When you think that your life's about to end, think again, it is just the beginning to greater things.
Here's the song if you want to hear it.
"Why in the world did I think I could only get to know you when my life was good? When everything just falls in place, the easiest thing is to give you praise. Now it all seems upside down. Cause my whole world is caving in, but I feel you now, more than I did then, I cannot come to the end of me, and somehow still have all I need. God, I want to know you more, maybe this is how it starts, I find you when I fall apart."
I just love the lyrics to this song because they're absolutely true words. I find myself praising the Lord more when I feel blessed and in my time of trouble, I don't praise Him, instead, I call out to Him. I find that I get to know more about how my Lord works, and I find Him better when my life is "falling apart" or when I don't understand why these little problems and troubles keep popping up in my life.
As it also says in his other song, "Before the morning", "The pain that you've been feeling is just the hurt before the healing, just the dark before the morning." The problems that your faced with in your life, they will turn into something better than that, they will help you gain wisdom, confidence, a stronger character, peace, happiness, and many more marvellous things. When you think that your life's about to end, think again, it is just the beginning to greater things.
Here's the song if you want to hear it.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Loving others (Behind the Scenes)
I had just started my first year of high school a couple of months ago with excitement and anxiousness.
Not knowing what I was going to face, whether God was going to use me or use others to help me grow strong in character, what adventures he might bring upon me and what troubles and stresses I might go through. All these thoughts were running through my head as I took my first step into the building with my friends.
It looked normal, but what was behind the scenes at my high school? What were the students like?
High School is a major leap from Elementary school. More work, bigger facilities, more students, more studying, gym everyday (I'm not much of an athlete, I just like Thai kickboxing and Brazilian Jujitsu), more rotary, and harder teachers.
But what was so good about high school was that you can find more people who you enjoy to be around, whereas in elementary school, you were practically forced to be friends with the people in your grade since Kindergarten until grade 8 graduation. This was an advantage for me. I figured, the more people who would listen to me, the more I can share God's love, and in a Christian school! So they've already had some background knowledge from chapel.
I would like to share with you a heart changing experience that I've had in my first semester of high school.
My homeroom is science which I have with one of my close friends, I didn't really get to know much people then because we were just settling in and getting to know our teacher, but one person caught my eye right away, and I'm pretty sure he caught everyone's eyes too. You can't miss him. He was a boy about 6"5 and here I am 4"11 or maybe 5"0. About double my height. WOW. I know. All my life I've dreamed of being tall, but I never thought about being that tall. When you think about Goliath, he sounds pretty tall, but you don't actually see his height, you just get a written description. Now, I think that Goliath was massive because the boy is only 6"5 and Goliath was like 9 feet!
See, this boy, I got to know him as the days went by, he is actually the sweetest boy I have ever come across, but what I didn't know about him was all behind those eyes of his.
I was talking to him one day in one of the classes we had together and another girl as well and we were talking about our elementary school years, the girl was telling me about how she wasn't treated properly because she was born in U.S.A.! Isn't that crazy? People will try to find any reason to bring you down and to raise themselves up. The boy on the other hand wasn't treated well either because of how tall he was! That tore my heart away, all the stories I have heard, it was unbelievable! I started to pray for them, for them to find someone whom they can trust and someone who will treat them as a friend, a true friend. I also gave them my link to my blog.
Later I asked the boy if he looked at my blog, he told me that he didn't have time but he always had that piece of paper with him that had the link on it. That brightened up my spirit. It told me that I was doing the right thing.
That night I went on my blog and found that i had a new follower. I took a look at my comments and found one by a person named Tall but small. I laughed, surely this was the boy. I was so happy that he commented. I clicked on his name and on his profile it showed that he had a blog. I decide to read it and follow it because he didn't have anyone following it. What I read in the next 10 minutes broke my heart. It showed me what I was missing. People in the world look like they're having a great time and enjoying their lives, but once you look behind the scenes, its a whole other world that they're living in. But at the end of each post, he wrote about how he could always count on God to help him get through his pain and how He'll always be there for him. This showed me that I had really impacted someone. After he took a look at my blog it inspired him to make one of his own and I think that through this process he was strengthening his faith in God. Before it seemed as if he had given up on God but now he's a whole new person. I feel like God had used this boy in my life to show me that there are many others in the world who need this type of love and understanding, and a friend. He had also recently added a post called Friends, it was about me and it showed me how much I impacted his life and how much he impacted mine.
If you want to visit his blog, and know more about him, here's the link:
http://goodformegoodforu.blogspot.com/
Not knowing what I was going to face, whether God was going to use me or use others to help me grow strong in character, what adventures he might bring upon me and what troubles and stresses I might go through. All these thoughts were running through my head as I took my first step into the building with my friends.
It looked normal, but what was behind the scenes at my high school? What were the students like?
High School is a major leap from Elementary school. More work, bigger facilities, more students, more studying, gym everyday (I'm not much of an athlete, I just like Thai kickboxing and Brazilian Jujitsu), more rotary, and harder teachers.
But what was so good about high school was that you can find more people who you enjoy to be around, whereas in elementary school, you were practically forced to be friends with the people in your grade since Kindergarten until grade 8 graduation. This was an advantage for me. I figured, the more people who would listen to me, the more I can share God's love, and in a Christian school! So they've already had some background knowledge from chapel.
I would like to share with you a heart changing experience that I've had in my first semester of high school.
My homeroom is science which I have with one of my close friends, I didn't really get to know much people then because we were just settling in and getting to know our teacher, but one person caught my eye right away, and I'm pretty sure he caught everyone's eyes too. You can't miss him. He was a boy about 6"5 and here I am 4"11 or maybe 5"0. About double my height. WOW. I know. All my life I've dreamed of being tall, but I never thought about being that tall. When you think about Goliath, he sounds pretty tall, but you don't actually see his height, you just get a written description. Now, I think that Goliath was massive because the boy is only 6"5 and Goliath was like 9 feet!
See, this boy, I got to know him as the days went by, he is actually the sweetest boy I have ever come across, but what I didn't know about him was all behind those eyes of his.
I was talking to him one day in one of the classes we had together and another girl as well and we were talking about our elementary school years, the girl was telling me about how she wasn't treated properly because she was born in U.S.A.! Isn't that crazy? People will try to find any reason to bring you down and to raise themselves up. The boy on the other hand wasn't treated well either because of how tall he was! That tore my heart away, all the stories I have heard, it was unbelievable! I started to pray for them, for them to find someone whom they can trust and someone who will treat them as a friend, a true friend. I also gave them my link to my blog.
Later I asked the boy if he looked at my blog, he told me that he didn't have time but he always had that piece of paper with him that had the link on it. That brightened up my spirit. It told me that I was doing the right thing.
That night I went on my blog and found that i had a new follower. I took a look at my comments and found one by a person named Tall but small. I laughed, surely this was the boy. I was so happy that he commented. I clicked on his name and on his profile it showed that he had a blog. I decide to read it and follow it because he didn't have anyone following it. What I read in the next 10 minutes broke my heart. It showed me what I was missing. People in the world look like they're having a great time and enjoying their lives, but once you look behind the scenes, its a whole other world that they're living in. But at the end of each post, he wrote about how he could always count on God to help him get through his pain and how He'll always be there for him. This showed me that I had really impacted someone. After he took a look at my blog it inspired him to make one of his own and I think that through this process he was strengthening his faith in God. Before it seemed as if he had given up on God but now he's a whole new person. I feel like God had used this boy in my life to show me that there are many others in the world who need this type of love and understanding, and a friend. He had also recently added a post called Friends, it was about me and it showed me how much I impacted his life and how much he impacted mine.
If you want to visit his blog, and know more about him, here's the link:
http://goodformegoodforu.blogspot.com/
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Highlights in Ephesians
I was looking through the book of Ephesians and i found on pg. 1288-1289 of my Bible a lot of highlights and they were really interesting so I'll share them with you.
- Ephesians 4:1&2 Therefore I urge you who have been chosen by God to live up the life to which God called you. Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love.
- Ephesians 4:17 Do not continue living like those who do not believe. Their thoughts are worth nothing.
- Ephesians 4:22a & 23-24 You were taught to leave your old self-to stop living the evil way you lived before... But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God - made to be truly good and holy.
- Ephesians 4:25-28 So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth, because we all belong to each other in the same body. When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.
- Ephesians 4: 29&30 When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need - words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you.
- Ephesians 5:2-4 Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God. But there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of evil greed. Those things are not right for God's holy people.
- Ephesians 5:8-12 In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. Light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the things done in the darkness, which are not worth anything. But show that they are wrong.
- Ephesians 5:15 So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Have Faith and Watch Your Actions
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things in him that strengthen me.
This past year has been a test to my Faith and courage. I have been faced with many obstacles that questioned me and my Faith. It has been very hard but I had faith that the Lord could give me the confidence and courage to go through them. The Lord has blessed me with a christian family and christian friends of who I am very close to, he has also blessed me with the encouragement of my church as well, and the faith that they have in me. Those who do not know the Lord need someone like all the comforters I have and they need someone to show them the way. If they do not know the way then they will scatter like lost sheep and be like the seeds that had fallen on the thorns, they might hear the word but they will not take it in for they need someone who cares for them to bring it to them. They need the Holy Spirit surrounding them and making sure that they don't wander away, they need our love. They need to see what the Lord has done in our lives, they need to see that they will change their ways and that accepting the Lord will have an impact on how the act, speak, and think. That they will make wiser choices and that they have peace. But if we, as 'born again believers' don't even contain peace and do not make wise choices then they will not be interested and will think that this God will not change my life. We impact others by our actions, if we show that we make bad choices and do very bad things then we will have a negative impact on others. If we show God's love to others by the way we act then we will have a positive impact on others. People are looking for peace, they are looking for a love like no other and we have to give them what they are looking for. But this is very hard to do when we have people against us, that is why we need to pray together to the Lord in order for him to strengthen us and to give us confidence and faith that we can change many lives. I, myself am not perfect, sometimes the way I act gives a negative impact on others, I have to watch what I say and how I act and how I think.
So please pray that we, as Christians act the way that God wants us to act and show the world his love through us.
I can do all things in him that strengthen me.
This past year has been a test to my Faith and courage. I have been faced with many obstacles that questioned me and my Faith. It has been very hard but I had faith that the Lord could give me the confidence and courage to go through them. The Lord has blessed me with a christian family and christian friends of who I am very close to, he has also blessed me with the encouragement of my church as well, and the faith that they have in me. Those who do not know the Lord need someone like all the comforters I have and they need someone to show them the way. If they do not know the way then they will scatter like lost sheep and be like the seeds that had fallen on the thorns, they might hear the word but they will not take it in for they need someone who cares for them to bring it to them. They need the Holy Spirit surrounding them and making sure that they don't wander away, they need our love. They need to see what the Lord has done in our lives, they need to see that they will change their ways and that accepting the Lord will have an impact on how the act, speak, and think. That they will make wiser choices and that they have peace. But if we, as 'born again believers' don't even contain peace and do not make wise choices then they will not be interested and will think that this God will not change my life. We impact others by our actions, if we show that we make bad choices and do very bad things then we will have a negative impact on others. If we show God's love to others by the way we act then we will have a positive impact on others. People are looking for peace, they are looking for a love like no other and we have to give them what they are looking for. But this is very hard to do when we have people against us, that is why we need to pray together to the Lord in order for him to strengthen us and to give us confidence and faith that we can change many lives. I, myself am not perfect, sometimes the way I act gives a negative impact on others, I have to watch what I say and how I act and how I think.
So please pray that we, as Christians act the way that God wants us to act and show the world his love through us.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?)
A good tree does not produce bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its own fruit. People don't gather figs from thornbushes, and they don't get grapes from bushes. Good people bring good things out of the good they stored in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil they stored in their hearts. People speak the things that are in their hearts.
Luke 6:43-45
We are like those trees, there are bad people and there are good people. The Christians in the world should produce good fruit for all to collect. We, as Christians should be like the good tree and only do things that are good, we want to tell and show everyone who see us that we are followers of Christ without telling them so. They should be able to walk by and identify that we are born again Christians. Sometimes though we tend to do the wrong things and end up in the wrong crowd that causes us to do the things that God would not like us to do. It all depends on what we are living around and what type of world is surrounding us. The movies we watch for instance, affect the way we think. If our friends use alot of inappropriate language then we might start using the same language as them which will eventually lead us away and farther from God. What we need to do in order to stop us from making the wrong decisions is use the famous saying WWJD. What Would Jesus Do? That way we would know for sure whether or not we are making the right choices. Praying to the God would also help in making the right decision. In conclusion, just imagine Jesus doing what you think you should do and if the picture doesn't fit then know it's the wrong thing to do.
Luke 6:43-45
We are like those trees, there are bad people and there are good people. The Christians in the world should produce good fruit for all to collect. We, as Christians should be like the good tree and only do things that are good, we want to tell and show everyone who see us that we are followers of Christ without telling them so. They should be able to walk by and identify that we are born again Christians. Sometimes though we tend to do the wrong things and end up in the wrong crowd that causes us to do the things that God would not like us to do. It all depends on what we are living around and what type of world is surrounding us. The movies we watch for instance, affect the way we think. If our friends use alot of inappropriate language then we might start using the same language as them which will eventually lead us away and farther from God. What we need to do in order to stop us from making the wrong decisions is use the famous saying WWJD. What Would Jesus Do? That way we would know for sure whether or not we are making the right choices. Praying to the God would also help in making the right decision. In conclusion, just imagine Jesus doing what you think you should do and if the picture doesn't fit then know it's the wrong thing to do.
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