getting too caught up.
Luke 10:38-42 (Amplified Bible)
38Now while they were on their way, it occurred that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house.
39And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching.
40But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]!
41But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;
42There is need of only one or but [a]a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [[b]that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her.
we learned this passage the other day, during bible study. can’t say that i relate to martha though.
i was brought up in an environment where perfection was a must – especially with my aunts and other relatives. my parents, however, took a different approach – THANK GOD for them – and only required that i put in my best efforts where it mattered. when i first became a christian, i was a martha, of course. it was strange, being this zealot who fretted over minuscule details she hadn’t thought were important before being a christian.
being a quick study, however, i started craving for that joy i see people having. why do they have it more than i do? how can they be so joyful, although those dark rings under their eyes tell a different story? and i hunted the source of that joy, doggedly. i found the source of it, but how do i adapt to it so it fits me?
first and foremost, the source of that joy was God’s grace. nothing, and no one can ever take it away from me. i had to understand that. grace isn’t just about salvation, you see. i realized that when i saw that it was grace that made sure i got through my day. it was grace that convinced me that it was alright to pray to God about my exams. it was grace that gave me a gentle prod whenever i thought my prayers were too childish, or that i didn’t know how to pray, or when i thought that it was too trivial a thing to even pray for. it was grace that assured me that God isn’t going to turn away and roll his eyes when i ask him for help. it was grace that reminded me that though i should put in effort, i shouldn’t be afraid that i’ll fall short of the effort quota, and that God will make up for my slack – and all i had to do was reciprocate with faith. i gotta believe, despite and in spite of the circumstances, that God delivers. that, to me, is faith.
it’s come to this point where i trust Him. completely. i threw all my burdens aside, because i know that if they mattered so much, He’d pick them up and guide me through them eventually. i cast my cares to the four winds, because i know that i’m safe, so safe and nothing will ever snatch me away when God holds me in His hands. i don’t care about trivial details, or about being seen as perfect by human eyes, because i’m already made right with the One who matters. the One who calls the shots. the One to whom i owe my life, my soul.
so why should i care so much about how i’m going to get through the day? or week? or month, year, decades? i will go through. and i will do so, with grace.
that should be what matters.
of course, i shouldn’t just make decision based on the merits alone. i’ve thought about it through and through. i understand that there are some things i have to remember.
i have to remember that i still have to put in effort, but not as much as i think i ought to. just enough to know that there’s no way i can do it alone. there’s no way i can get good results without Him.
i have to remember that when i put my life in His hands, i’ve got to keep the faith. i cannot afford to lose it when the going gets tough, or when i’m at the end of the rope.
i have to remember that it is He who calls the shots. if he decides something is best for me, i cannot complain. i cannot grouch. i cannot go against His will. it defeats the purpose of depending on Him in the first place.
i think that’s what Mary found. she found that grace in him. and she clung on to it, because nothing can take it away from her. of course, though i wouldn’t fuss too much, i’ll still put in some effort. =) <3
1 Corinthians 8
Had my second bible study session, with Sam, Mikaela, Emily, Jessica and Tiffany. :)
This time it was on 1 Corinthians 8. It was enlightening. For one, I learned that knowledge, of Christianity isn’t necessarily beneficial or without any responsibility. It also doesn’t help everyone. It could bring about someone else’s downfall. Love is what builds up the church. Mikaela and Tiffany mentioned about the blowfish and wall. Like the blowfish, when knowledge puffs up, and you deflate it, it becomes nothing. But like a wall, love builds up and becomes stable. For someone to lean on.
The passage was talking about idol sacrificial food. Some Christians who ate the food went around arguing that they were able to freely exercise their God-given rights. Eating food sacrificed to idols didn’t and wouldn’t bring them any harm, and this was the result of that knowledge. The knowledge that they knew of Christianity and such. Paul didn’t condemn them, but gave a thoughtful answer about considering our brothers and sisters who are weaker in conscience. By ‘weak conscience’, he most probably meant that these people were more prone to slip back into the old thinking that idols were themselves entities, and eating sacrificial food offered to these idols would only entice them into their old ways of worshiping the idols. So, Paul warns them to consider these brothers, and to not do whatever it is that would cause them to fall back into sin.
He goes on to say that we have a responsibility towards our brothers, and with more knowledge, comes more responsibility to do the right thing. We discussed about how this could be relevant to us now, and we came up with a few things.
- Not saying things that can be misunderstood as judgmental.
- Not wearing things that are provocative.
- Not watching things that are offensive to others.
As a conclusion, basically we’re supposed to be considerate of other people, especially our Christian brothers and sisters who are weak. By ‘weak’ I mean not those who are new in the faith ONLY, but those who are unsure, or sensitive towards certain issues. If they can’t stand watching a movie that’s filled with swear words or sexual references, then we shouldn’t ostracize them or offend them by watching. :)
A Compassionate Community
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers . . .”(Ephesians 1:15-16 NKJV)
Christians are wealthy people. I’m not speaking in mere monetary terms but in a more significant and spiritual sense. We know why we’ve been placed here on earth and what we’re supposed to do with our lives. We have a sense of identity and acceptance. We enjoy God’s grace, forgiveness, and peace. And in addition to all this, we’re part of a special community, a compassionate community.
Believers are also bound by a special bond?the love of God, which has been poured out upon our hearts. It fills our lives, overflows, and extends toward other believers, resulting in a network of men and women, brothers and sisters, who love each other in the truest and purest sense. We have one another’s welfare at heart and pool our resources in order to meet the needs of our family members in the faith.
I’ve seen this compassionate community countless times. A single mom needs a new set of tires, and a brother in Christ who sells tires takes care of it. An elderly couple needs help moving, and a group of godly guys pitch in and make the move happen. A college student needs help with his thesis, and another saint who’s academically gifted comes alongside to point him in the right direction.
The scenarios are endless, but the principle is always the same. As Christians we’re compelled to meet each other’s needs because God’s love supernaturally motivates us to care for one another. We’re interconnected as a compassionate community, which makes us wealthier than those of this world.
How are Christians to relate and interact with one another?
When was the last time you have personally benefited from this compassionate community?
Hmm. I’m kinda well, I guess this is the right timing for this then. I’m pretty sad that the Long family are moving to KL. Even though I’ve only just begun my new life in Banting, it feels like i’ve been living there all my life. they’ve made it so effortless to blend ourselves into the scheme of things. and i wanna thank them for being so wonderful to the college kids. oh man. i will forever have the beautiful women’s conference moments etched into my memories. haiz. we’re gonna miss them sosososososososososososo much. and i guess, from the way Sis. Sherlin is reacting, i guess the moving on is pretty hard on her too. in a way, i’m glad that we’ve seen less of them nowadays, except for their three juniors – Tabi, Nath, and Deb – because it would’ve made the sending off a little more difficult than what we would’ve liked. next sunday, i’d like to give each and every one of them a hug. we’re all gonna miss them so much. haiz.
anyway, i’ve steered way off-course from the reflection question. haiz. well, i’ve benefited mainly in how i’ve been able to maintain my emotional health. if i didn’t have any christian friends to turn to, i’d probably be out there doing drugs, smoking, and clubbing my fragile life away. i’m so thankful that God gave me these Godly friends to turn to, and for that i pray that he’ll exalt them and may they keep the faith and shine the world. they’ve shone in my life, and i can only hope that i’ve shone at least once in their lives. i wonder.
and for me, i’d really like my non-christian friends to experience the compassion far beyond what they’ve gone through before. i want them to see how things work within the compassionate community, and i want them to think to themselves, “hey, i want some of this too.” and turn to God. i guess the only way i can do that effectively is to live it. and… i’ve managed to do so, with God’s grace. i’ve never really thought that the “insignificant” things i’ve done for them would go way deep… deeper than i could ever imagine that they would cherish and treasure me. =] hee. so happy. haiz. ok. that’s done.
Cleansed Of Compromise
“And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD…for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”(1 Kings 8:10-11 NKJV)
When the temple in Jerusalem was first dedicated, the glory of God was so powerful and overwhelming that the priests couldn’t even stand up to minister. It was a sacred spot where the holy presence of the Lord dwelt and, therefore, was deserving of special treatment. Flash forward a few centuries to the time of Christ. The scene had changed:
Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers doing business. (John 2:13 -14 NKJV)
Man had turned God’s holy house into an animal farm! Money was the? motivation behind it. The temple priests knew that everyone was obligated to bring an unblemished animal to be sacrificed to God (Exodus 12:5). When they inspected the animals that the people brought, they would often find some fault and declare the animals unfit for sacrifice.
Then they would offer to sell acceptable animals from the shops set up in the temple courts (at an inflated price, of course).? The people were stuck and the priests got rich. Watch Jesus’ reaction to all of this:
When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:15-16 NKJV)
God’s glory was being compromised, and Jesus took a stand. I’m not advocating that we become violent, but I do believe Jesus is teaching us a lesson when it comes to spiritual compromise. Maybe there are tables in our hearts that need to be overturned; maybe we’ve set up shop where God should be getting glory.? If so, Jesus can and will cleanse us because, as we’ve seen, He will not stand idle in the face of spiritual compromise.
How had man compromised God’s glory?
How might you be guilty of this?
Well. To me, after reading through, i kinda felt that my heart was set in stone recently, and i don’t understand why. i guess i should be reflecting on my moral values and see where they lie. are they reflecting the values and qualities my God has shown me? or are they reflecting the qualities the world wants to see? at the end of the day… i guess i’ve been compromising a lot of my values, just to fit in and present myself as a cool person.
i don’t want that to happen. but it did. at least i looked up on this devotion and just took the time to read through it and reflected. what happened to me?? i should be studying! i should be doing my daily devotion when i wake up in the morning. i should be happy for every single day that i live, i should… a lot of things i should be doing, but currently neglecting. i can’t just wish it away, because the willpower lies in me, not in wishful thinking. i understand that, but am i really going to do it? well, you never know until you try, right? okay.
these are the few new resolutions i shall now impose upon myself, because i really wanna return to my joyful self. the one that loves God, the one who has the passion for his word, the one constantly in awe of his love, his grace, his might, his EVERYTHING. how can i forsake such a God who loves me like there’s no tomorrow? and how can i show it to my friends – regardless of their race and religion? man… everyday, i’m thankful for my friends. for each and every one of them. wonderful. gorgeous people, with beautiful smiles who care so much for me. man. will they break my heart? i don’t know, and i don’t care. i have nothing to lose, after all.
