Are you working for God?
while i was reflecting on how lazy i was for not attending friday church service... i also did some thinkings... i realized that i am 20 this year already. like past my teenage years and reaLLY going on adulthood le. and so, what have i achieve? of course what i had in mind is not that of the worldly kind of achievements.. eg medals, awards, scholarships, skills... but i meant achievements in the name of GOD. i mean, i am already 20. judging from my weak health, say i live till 80, its already 1/4 of my life on this earth gonE. even if i live till im 100, its 1/5 gone. what have i done for Him? like, zero. nothing.
What abt you, fellow Christians? what have you done for Him? If you are able to list out at least a few things, then good for you. at least if He were to come tmr, you will have things to report to Him about. I probably go "aaaahhhh...errr.... ....."
i always blame it on my family, thinking that since they are non-believers, the time is not yet right for me to work for Him. but is this really the case or am i just taking the easy way out using a "people-will-see-it-as-justified" excuse? people will probably respond and say " yea... but dun worry, God will give you a time to work for Him." but is this really my case?
it seems that if i really want to work for God, i can always do it, even now. it just really requires a step of faith on my part. whether i believe that God will make a way out for me.
So, can we really blame it on a lack of support for our lack of zeal? whether the situation is a lack of peers in church or a non-believing family, can we really blame these situations for us not being able to serve God?
I believe that support is very important. that is why God always stresses on fellowship in the Bible. Fellowship with fellow God's servants strengthens our faith and enables us to strive even further. Through love, it reminds us of God's love. Thru discussions and debates, it teaches us humility that God would like to see in us. when one shld be at fault but repent abt it, it also teaches us mercy and to always forgive. having the right support in church allows us to grow spiritually together.
but even if one doesnt have that kind of support, does he/she just resign to her fate and not grow? definitely not. i believe that God gives to each of us our circumstances as we are deemed to be able to handle. He will not give us what we cannot handle. so perhaps if one happened to have a lot of support network with regards to one's faith, it could be that God understands your weakness and God's grace for the person is that he may not fall away but grow with these support and help him. on the other end, if one doesnt have support at all, perhaps God sees your strength and is putting you to the test to see if you can grow spiritually without depending on these human support but to depend on Him. i guess God's grace for each individual is different, according to one's needs as God sees it. He knows everything and surely He knows what we need most.
of course i often murmur abt my lack of support in my faith. i have a non-believing family. in church, there isnt many who i can really talk and share my thoughts with. and i know that this is a test from God. in fact, i often feel that He put me into many tests. and the solution to each one was often to just rely and trust in Him. its that simple. but most times, i failed. so i began to see that God really wants to build me up in my faith and i believe that He is doing this because He wants to use me in His work one day. i mean, when Paul began his ministry for God, it must have been very difficult as well. i mean he used to persecute Christians along with his peers and co-workers then. then suddenly after God opened his eyes and he began his ministry for God, he had to turn against friends he had. it must be very very painful and difficult. and many a times, he simply relied on God to give him strength. but of course, support and fellowship helped him as well. and He became a great servant of God.
i always always dream of becoming a great servant of God. haha. i hope to join in many many church work. but it seems like im just daydreaming abt it but not doing anything concrete!! im already 20. how much longer do i want to wait? youths younger than me are already going overseas to help with the church work there. do i simply blame it on circumstances that i cant go? that i cant do church work?
i cant think of any biblical examples (if anyone knows, do tell me abt it) but im positive that if one has the heart to do work for God, God will open the way for him. and churchwork is as simple as preaching to friends or sweeping the church hall.
The basic task of a Christian
God basically has given all Christians two tasks to do before His second coming and i hope for all fellow Christians to achieve. the two tasks are 1) to tend to the flock ie God's house, 2) to bring people into the flock ie to preach. are you currently doing these? Do you think that simply going to church every week constitutes what it means to be a Christian? Do you think that simply singing praises to God and trying to keep awake during sermons are sufficient to be considered a Christian? I do not wish for you to be misled by what the world see as the standard for being a Christian. Before Jesus ascend back to heaven after the resurrection, he gave the standard if one were to be considered his disciple. He said to preach the gospels to the world. therefore, the one thing that defines a Christian is to PREACH. preaching is not something that only the evangelical denominations do. it is a commandment from Jesus to ALL Christians.
of course, i am guilty of not preaching as well. i know that it is often easier said than done. but if one really loves God and can see that we are really indebted to God, then one shld really start to repay God by doing more for God.
We shld have all been dead. but Jesus paid the ransom with His blood. we often see in drama serials how after one was saved by another, he will say to the person "you saved my life and therefore this life isnt mine to live anymore and is yours." This is exactly what we shld say to God and our lives shld be God-centred as well. everything we do shld be for Him and for the kingdom to come. This doesnt mean that God is selfish and doesnt let us have our own life as we want it. We also cannot say it is not fair. if you were drowning, someone saves you, will you say that it is "not fair" because now you are obliged to repay the person. of course not! similarly, you shld be more than willing to live your life for God.
of course, this doesnt work for people who dun believe that we are "dead" to begin with, who dun believe that man had sinned against God. this entry im writing for fellow believers. i'll try to write to edify non-believers next time. (:
i think i should stop here. many thoughts are still running through my head but i cant quite put them into words. i just hope that God will grant each of us strength to live our life for Him, especially those who truly loves God. Hope my entry helped you in some way. (:
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8
What abt you, fellow Christians? what have you done for Him? If you are able to list out at least a few things, then good for you. at least if He were to come tmr, you will have things to report to Him about. I probably go "aaaahhhh...errr.... ....."
i always blame it on my family, thinking that since they are non-believers, the time is not yet right for me to work for Him. but is this really the case or am i just taking the easy way out using a "people-will-see-it-as-justified" excuse? people will probably respond and say " yea... but dun worry, God will give you a time to work for Him." but is this really my case?
it seems that if i really want to work for God, i can always do it, even now. it just really requires a step of faith on my part. whether i believe that God will make a way out for me.
So, can we really blame it on a lack of support for our lack of zeal? whether the situation is a lack of peers in church or a non-believing family, can we really blame these situations for us not being able to serve God?
I believe that support is very important. that is why God always stresses on fellowship in the Bible. Fellowship with fellow God's servants strengthens our faith and enables us to strive even further. Through love, it reminds us of God's love. Thru discussions and debates, it teaches us humility that God would like to see in us. when one shld be at fault but repent abt it, it also teaches us mercy and to always forgive. having the right support in church allows us to grow spiritually together.
but even if one doesnt have that kind of support, does he/she just resign to her fate and not grow? definitely not. i believe that God gives to each of us our circumstances as we are deemed to be able to handle. He will not give us what we cannot handle. so perhaps if one happened to have a lot of support network with regards to one's faith, it could be that God understands your weakness and God's grace for the person is that he may not fall away but grow with these support and help him. on the other end, if one doesnt have support at all, perhaps God sees your strength and is putting you to the test to see if you can grow spiritually without depending on these human support but to depend on Him. i guess God's grace for each individual is different, according to one's needs as God sees it. He knows everything and surely He knows what we need most.
of course i often murmur abt my lack of support in my faith. i have a non-believing family. in church, there isnt many who i can really talk and share my thoughts with. and i know that this is a test from God. in fact, i often feel that He put me into many tests. and the solution to each one was often to just rely and trust in Him. its that simple. but most times, i failed. so i began to see that God really wants to build me up in my faith and i believe that He is doing this because He wants to use me in His work one day. i mean, when Paul began his ministry for God, it must have been very difficult as well. i mean he used to persecute Christians along with his peers and co-workers then. then suddenly after God opened his eyes and he began his ministry for God, he had to turn against friends he had. it must be very very painful and difficult. and many a times, he simply relied on God to give him strength. but of course, support and fellowship helped him as well. and He became a great servant of God.
i always always dream of becoming a great servant of God. haha. i hope to join in many many church work. but it seems like im just daydreaming abt it but not doing anything concrete!! im already 20. how much longer do i want to wait? youths younger than me are already going overseas to help with the church work there. do i simply blame it on circumstances that i cant go? that i cant do church work?
i cant think of any biblical examples (if anyone knows, do tell me abt it) but im positive that if one has the heart to do work for God, God will open the way for him. and churchwork is as simple as preaching to friends or sweeping the church hall.
The basic task of a Christian
God basically has given all Christians two tasks to do before His second coming and i hope for all fellow Christians to achieve. the two tasks are 1) to tend to the flock ie God's house, 2) to bring people into the flock ie to preach. are you currently doing these? Do you think that simply going to church every week constitutes what it means to be a Christian? Do you think that simply singing praises to God and trying to keep awake during sermons are sufficient to be considered a Christian? I do not wish for you to be misled by what the world see as the standard for being a Christian. Before Jesus ascend back to heaven after the resurrection, he gave the standard if one were to be considered his disciple. He said to preach the gospels to the world. therefore, the one thing that defines a Christian is to PREACH. preaching is not something that only the evangelical denominations do. it is a commandment from Jesus to ALL Christians.
of course, i am guilty of not preaching as well. i know that it is often easier said than done. but if one really loves God and can see that we are really indebted to God, then one shld really start to repay God by doing more for God.
We shld have all been dead. but Jesus paid the ransom with His blood. we often see in drama serials how after one was saved by another, he will say to the person "you saved my life and therefore this life isnt mine to live anymore and is yours." This is exactly what we shld say to God and our lives shld be God-centred as well. everything we do shld be for Him and for the kingdom to come. This doesnt mean that God is selfish and doesnt let us have our own life as we want it. We also cannot say it is not fair. if you were drowning, someone saves you, will you say that it is "not fair" because now you are obliged to repay the person. of course not! similarly, you shld be more than willing to live your life for God.
of course, this doesnt work for people who dun believe that we are "dead" to begin with, who dun believe that man had sinned against God. this entry im writing for fellow believers. i'll try to write to edify non-believers next time. (:
i think i should stop here. many thoughts are still running through my head but i cant quite put them into words. i just hope that God will grant each of us strength to live our life for Him, especially those who truly loves God. Hope my entry helped you in some way. (:
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8
