Refreshed

Thank God for the past 2 weeks sermons... when i hear the sermon topic... I sorta knew it was going to be very useful for me already...

First sermon on Job... when I heard of the book... I immediately laughed to myself... Job led a tough life... and it was amazing how he managed to overcome his trial...

Second sermon today on removing the old and replacing with the new...

And I also heard a sermon on evangelism during the mid-week...

All 3 have been great encouragements and reminders and even scoldings...

From Job... like Vinc mentioned... through tough times... it is a test of our true relationship with God... and I can't help but think that... whether the relationship is true or not...

Also... it actually taught us to live life without explanations at times... because sometimes... knowing the reasons doesn't change the situation or circumstance we live in...

Tough times teach us that there is more to life than 'hearing' from God... we need to see him too... not literally... but rather not just stop the spiritual life at the early stage... but to mature and to see his works and truth more and more...

From the mid-week sermon... the preacher talked about Luke chapter 12... the parable of the rich fool...

18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Here the rich man thought wise that he has already planned out his future... taking life easy... to eat, drink and be merry... However, God said to him "you fool" ... for who on earth can predict when he's going to die?

Therefore, life isn't just about the big plans we have... for our plans... might be foolish ones if we are not careful... It's not about being vexed about not having a girl... or being vexed about not having riches... or worrying about how to earn loads of money... or gain the praises of the world...

Life ... is more than that... It is important to find the right focus... things that have eternal value instead of temporial value... To me... now is about giving my best to God in school, in church, and to my family and friends... for life is a worship to God... and worship is to honour and glory God through offering our whole life for His usage...

And today's sermon... is really apt. I finally confirmed my hypothesis... That I actually enjoy this feeling of sianness... of emotional lows... and of complaints... A pessimistic attitude... one that does not allow for God's grace to be reflected through us because of our attitudes... just like pouring new wine into old wineskins... the wineskins will burst... and the new wine (symbolic of God's grace) will not be held within... We'll just continue to complain...

Throw away the sinful methods of solving problems... Pray for more optimism and blessings...

Forgo the old mindsets.... embrace the new... It's not downwards looking... but upwards... don't always feel down... dun wallow in the enjoyment of the negative emotions... but seek ways to go up... through God who gives us strength... learn from Paul's example...

and... to the most exciting point... forgetting the old grudges... I guess the emotional low... has been due to 2 factors : A lack of emotional support and the inability to overcome grudges built with other people...

Wallowing in these emotions of not being understood... and of unhappiness with life... seems like the concoction that led to this current state that I'm in... Life is more... Life is more than these...

It's time to be magnanimous... to let go these past hatred... dissent... unhappiness... to let go of pride... to learn to forgive... to learn to embrace... to learn to accept... to learn to love...

And as Paul mentioned in Colossians... to set our minds on heavenly things... to use His methods to solve problems...

Life is unfair ( I AGREE!) haha... thus we pray for more grace and mercy to embrace the unjust in life...

Continue meditating on God's words... today's sermon used the verse that I quoted the other time... Lamentations 3:23... His mercies are new every morning (: Every day is a new day... as in Romans 12... that we should transform ourselves by the renewing of our minds... (:

Continue to meditate on His words... We have been given a new life... and we have to strive for a new thinking... a new paradigm...

Anyway... there was this part that talked about Man's tendency towards covetousness, greed, lusts... The pastor said to be wary of not building on your greed... we've been taught to fight for what we think is good... but there is nothing good outside of God...

I nearly teared when I heard this statement again... Yeah... I've been fighting too hard... It's time to trust God... not to lean on my own understanding... to learn not to covet after another's heart... (:

Life goes on... (in a good way now)... Thank God...

And I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who has been there for me these weeks... who've shown their concern and love and care... be it directly or indirectly... and I thank God for His reminders through all these...

"Dont' give up"

I haven't... (: