Saturday, May 10, 2008

Loving God Part 2

Loving God Part 2

fatherson

When growing up, let’s say between 4yrs to 10yrs old, have you ever felt that you will be taken care off for the rest of your life by your parents.

- no need to buy food, clothes

- Shelter/Protection, Money, ETC…


Not that my parents never spoke about me living independently, its just that I was so loved that I never thought about it.

But as we grow older, REALITY checks-in

- Parents don’t live forever. There only on earth for a while.

- Parents stop providing at 18 (Well does not technically apply for all but it was for me

But you know what?

Praise God that we have a God Yesterday, Today and Forever

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Continuing from what God spoke to me about loving HIM (Loving God), I felt God challenged me in 3 things base on the verse:-

1) Think of the God of Yesterdays but DON’T love Him like Yesterday

I say this because I believe God deserves the best everyday in terms of our love, our devotion, etc

· Let’s not love God with leftovers of yesterdays love. Remember Him and love Him more.

Ps 25:6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old

2) Think of who God is Today and love Him more.

· How do we do this? By doing things better all for the glory of His name.

For example: - If you think you worked better than yesterday with what you did, then challenge yourself to do better today. Even if you go beyond your daily routine, then do it all for Him, for His glory.

Ps 59:16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.

3) Think of what God does Tomorrow (Forever). So be Excited

Ps 100:5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

· Everyday is an opportunity to meet God. So be excited on what is God going to do and speak in your life

I am challenged, what about you?

Neil1am

Monday, May 5, 2008

Road to Next Level: - Simplicity – Fallen Branch Thought

Road to Next Level: - Simplicity – Fallen Branch Thought

MilkyWayRoad_landolfiHave you ever seen or heard of a branch that came off a tree, rooted itself on the ground and became fruitful? If you had, please email me at neil@1am.com.myThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , HeHeHe

Anyway, I was reminded of the story in the bible when Jesus spoke about “The Vine and the Branches” on John 15.

You see, we dream about great things taking place, talk about “how to accomplish a dream?” or “See a vision come to pass” but you tell me, do you think that we will be able to see what we dream, what we envision to come to pass by not doing what is simple and that is to be connected to the Father?

What do I mean by connected? Does it mean…

- Read the bible 1 week ago and do Gods call?

- Hear the word of God once a month at church, read the bible whenever I feel and do Gods call?

- Pray today and pray only when reminded?

tree

This is what Jesus said,

John 15:5-8

5I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Well I don’t read the bible almost everyday but I make an effort to read it everyday. Remaining in Him does not necessarily mean read the bible everyday but I guess it simply means this –

Do we start the day thinking about God in whatever our agenda maybe?

In what ever we do, are we connected with Him whether reading, prayer, humility, submission, etc

Our Next Level is around the corner and to do so is to do the simple things first which is “BE CONNECTED”

This may sound easy but its not. Sometimes the simple things are the hardest to do but I believe once you get a hang of it, it would be smooth sailing.

Leakage

Leakage

leak

God painted a picture in my head some time ago where I see a bottle, a bottle that is no obvious defect or abnormalities and the bottle that I saw was filled with fresh water. At first glance, you won’t find anything wrong with it then until the bottle was turned upside down. Then I start to see a drip, a small drip and it started to become bigger drips.


When I saw that picture, it’s like God is reminding me the state of our spiritual life as a band and as a person. Sometimes we think our bottle is full , thinking that our spiritual life is strong, not realizing that there’s a leakage at the bottom of the bottle that is slowly leaking out, sometimes we are unaware and sometimes we are just plain ignorant of the fact that our bottle is leaking.

This is what happened when we do not constantly check our lives, thinking everything is alright without realizing that our spiritual level is low or sometimes even empty and yet we are still ignorant of what is happening. Sometimes our leakage is too small that even we won’t realize it; sometimes we need someone else to tell us that is leaking because sometimes at first glance, we think that everything is alright.

God showed me this picture to remind us that we have to constantly check ourselves, making sure we have no leakage in our spiritual lives and we need to take actions to patch it up if we have been shown or convicted of the leakage that has been happening.

Cuz1am