Why not worry?

Why not worry?

I vividly remember a quote from my high school basketball coach regarding worrying for results:"(speaking in a Singaporean slang we call Singlish) Aiya, Why you all worry so much for your results, you all are so stupid! Worry for 3 weeks for what, affect your own mood. Just worry the minute before you are going to receive your results."

Words of wisdom I thought at that point of time as I had not received Christ into my life. Today, after being a christian for almost 4 years, that quote does have some element of truth in it. True enough, living in today's fast-paced society is stressful and strenuous. It calls for efficiency, high work-rate, results, being the top and giving our best in whatever we do.

Worry is a problem all of us face in our lives. Many people say a little stress can drive a person to achieve better results. True enough. There are of course people who buckle under stress and enter depression mode, some even end their own lives by suicide. It is indeed scary how much our worries can drive us to a corner if we do not handle it nor if we do not know how to face it properly.

There's a distinction between how we see our troubles in life.

Having problems in life DO NOT equate to having worries about those problems.
WE CAN HAVE PROBLEMS BUT WE DO NOT NEED TO WORRY EXCESSIVELY.

Looking at people all around us, it will be interesting to find anyone living without any problems at all. I have been a person who is pessimistic. I will tend to think along the negative lines of thought about things in life, that are worst case scenarios without them actually happening.

After I received Christ and started knowing more about God, I started to realise that God has not left it to doubt about the issues/problems we face in life. Regarding worries, there are a few bible verses that really go to show how much God cares for us. Like in Matthew 6:25, Matthew 6:28, Matthew 6:31, Matthew 6:34, Luke 12:29. God actually knows our thoughts and worries. Yet, the bible tells us of a much deeper thought regarding our worries.

Often, we get caught up in life about issues like the bible described: we worry about what to wear, what to eat, but we forgot that the body is what is important. God tells us not to worry because He cares for us. In Matthew 6:30, we are told to look at the flowers or nature. No one looks after them but yet they flourish, because God alone takes care of them. How even more God cares for us?

Many a times people might ask: "I have heard God is all-knowing and knows our hearts even before we ask anything of Him, If so, why do we pray?" Indeed, the only times we draw closer to God is in times of our problems and needs that we pray. Of course God knows our problems, but yet, he gives us the freewill to choose our own paths or seek help from him. Notice in 1 Peter 5:5-7, the verse that comes before casting our worries onto God talks about humility in seeking God first. God himself offers and extends that Hand out for us to come to Him to present our requests. And only rightfully we approach God with a sincere and humble heart when doing so trusting in Him to help us.

God did not promise that He will solve our problems the way we want it to be but He promised that He will be with us in His presence as in Philippians 4:6. May the God of Peace guard our hearts in Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus told us to trust in Him in John 14:27.

We have problems.... but!!! We have a bigger God. =)

P.S. Btw I'm trying out a new widget that allows bible verses to pop up :D hope it shortens the posts =) do give me feedback...!
Loving a God who loves us

Loving a God who loves us

I have really been struggling to juggle stuff in life and balancing out things in life, yet a little encouragement from God himself in:

Philippians 3:7-14 (New International Version)

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Pressing on Toward the Goal
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I strongly felt the verse speaking in echo to another verse:

Matthew 10:39 (New International Version)

39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
I haven't been willing to surrender all my life to God, but I have made the decision, to be prepared to lose all I have for God alone. Some things in life I should let go, and trust God to lead me, yet that doesn't mean I don't do my part in taking responsibility of my life.
I surrender all because God gave us His best in His one and only Son Jesus Christ. God, I surrender all.
What we are here for?

What we are here for?

Haha...! I haven't been really updating alot because recently alot of things happened. I attended a Christian conference back in December where it was a life changing moment for most of us. It was a "meta-morphosis" camp. Why so? God in fact touched each and every of the hundreds of conferees, who some were lost about being a Christian for so long.

For myself, I have once posted about what it meant to be a christian. I believe truly that its not about the church going, following the certain "right" things to do, but whether YOU enjoy that close relationship with God that makes you a true christian. Rather, the correct thing to say would be: a christian attends church, do things for others etc out of a response to what God has done in his/her life.

I myself wonder at times, what did God put me here on earth in this timeframe to accomplish. Is it just purely studying? Is it working... Is it.....? Sometimes we get really confused and disillusioned. Why do I not understand what God has set me out to do? Why do I not feel happy serving Him in alot of church activities/positions?

Have I really found God's calling? I don't know what God wants me to do!

Unfortunately, God has not called us into a life we will spend purely on our own enjoyment, nor promised us a life thats painted a rosy picture ahead. He called us onto his plans not for us to stumble and wonder what we are doing here. God did not leave it all to doubt.

1) God's calling for us to be Holy 1 Peter 1:16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Do we truly understand what it means to be holy? Or are our lives full of holes exposed when we falter in our walk with God? Holiness in the bible is related to a concept of "cleansing and setting apart" things and activities used to worship God. In short, it is to dedicate our lives, or the things we do, our time, to be set apart as a living sacrifice to God, and to honour God.

We have been redeemed from our sinful lives and Jesus Christ himself set us apart with His blood, that we may be reconciled to a God who is Holy in nature. It is only right to live our lives in the right way, set apart for God, because God is holy. (more related info available Here)

Sadly, we may have become an "unholy trinity" in ourselves: (I, Me and myself) when we try to care for only our own interests and see things to our own benefit.

Here, God tells us. "BE HOLY, for I am Holy." It is not "try to be Holy, because I am Holy." Clearly, God desires for us to follow Him, each and everyday of our lives living out a life that is honoring and pleasing to Him. This is only the right response we give to God as an answer for His grace upon us through Jesus Christ.

2) God's calling for us to Share the Gospel
Matthew 28: 18-20 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."


We are told to make disciples of all nations here. By disciples, they are not to be just mere believers but rather truly followers of Jesus who live out their lives for God. If Christians do not share the Gospel, who else will? Sharing the gospel is simply taking that initiative to share God's Love and trusting in God but yet, not forcing people to believe and leaving the choice to them.

Romans 10:11 - 15 says: "11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Indeed how can people come to know God without people telling them about how God changed theirs? How can they hear if no one tells them? How can they believe in God if they don't know about God?
We are also reminded to preach the word at all times, in and out of season, being ready to share when the right situation arises:
2 Timothy 4: 1-5 "1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
We should be ready to share God's Word, to rebuke wrong teachings and also to encourage fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we clearly know there are 2 things God set out for us to do, we can no longer say that we don't know our calling. Each and every one of us has been called out to these 2 things in life that God has clearly directed us to. He did not leave it to doubt.

Yes, there might be more specific callings in our lives yet to come, but certainly, there is at least 2 of them we cannot choose to ignore now that we know.

Jesus: the true Story

Recently watched Avatar!! Haha.. it was really a great movie for many years to come. Maybe some would not agree with me but I felt the story had a decent plot and amazing CG that exceeded expectations making it a movie worth watching.

More info about the film at: http://www.avatarmovie.com/index.html

In this fantasy story, Jake Sulley (played by Sam Worthington) was an ex-marine who was paralyzed half down. He received a mission to take over his brother for a programme "Avatar" to this planet where a species besides humans was in existence. These alien population was called Na'vi or “The People. Basically, the Avatar programme allows humans to be able to transfer their minds and consciousness onto a genetically produced Na'vi people.

As the story goes, the planet Pandora has a resource Earth needs which sells 20million a kilo. Jake, the story's main character was given the task to go to the alien species and tell them evicting for the resource for humans or face the inevitable disaster of destruction of their species.

The story of Avatar had laid along the lines of communication, and to let the Na'vi know of humans, the humans created Avatars, that is people in the native form, so that man can reach and communicate what they wanted.

Okay.. so as not to spoil the whole movie you guys should really catch it yourselves... :D

However as I watched the movie, I was reminded by how God himself came to us.. in our own form. Over 2000years ago, Jesus Christ was born. The child, an incarnation of God himself humbled into human existence is a story far more exciting than that of Avatar.

You could probably say God had something to tell us in this form and He did as the bible recorded of what He did over the 30years of his life where He went around telling people of the Kingdom of heaven, forgiving people of their sins, performing miracles and talking of salvation that would save the people from eternal death, if they believe in Him. Jesus said in John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

As we celebrated Christmas, I truly wonder if people knew of the message behind Christmas. Christmas is a time to commemorate Jesus's birth, and also the message behind His birth: God's salvation to us. God is powerful and if He wanted, He can make everyone believe in Him. Yet He gave us a choice of freewill, to Choose to believe in Him or not. He as the mighty God humbled himself onto human form to take on all of man's sin and to die on the cross once and for all for all the sins we commit, past, present or future.

By sin, it is like falling short of the glorious standard God had intended us to do. Sin may come in many forms: greed, jealousy, dishonesty, lust, and so on. God created us in His own image and our conscience pricks us each time we do something wrong because we are able to know whats right and wrong. Yet sin does not just happen at the point we DO something wrong. It begins with the thought as the Jesus said in the bible:

21
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment. Matthew 5:21-22

27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-28


God came not to condemn us but by giving us His Son in Jesus Christ, to reconcile us back to God with His redemption for our sins on the cross, although He Himself was free of any sins at any time.

Today, God gave us a chance to know him personally, to be saved from our sins and to experience the plans He has for our lives, but we need to make that decision to acknowledge we are sinners and turn away from sin.

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

If you would like to receive Christ into your life to free you from your sin, this is His promise to us, that we will become children of God and enjoy a fuller life that God has intended.
If you would like to find out about how God can come into your life right now, you can find more information on: http://www.everystudent.com/sg/features/gettingconnected.html

Merry Christmas and Happy 2010! :)