reflections at the living waters

fragment.

2007-08-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

at the end of the day,
i’m still not sure if He caught me
or just never let me go to begin with.

but whatever the case,
i’m just so glad i’m not falling
because it feels so good to fly.

Hate who?

2007-07-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." - Luk 14:26

Those are tough words, there's no denying that. In light of Jesus' teachings about loving everyone, even your enemies; this verse seems to contradict the message of love that can be found elsewhere in the NT -- especially because it talks about hating those closest to you. But if you do a little research elsewhere in the Bible, you will realize that "hate" in this context was used as a hyperbole, certainly not meant to be taken literally.

According to Strong's Bible dictionary, one meaning of the word hate is 'to love less.' This is affirmed in Genesis 20.

Gen 29:30 - So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years. 31 - When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

Since Rachel was loved more than Leah, Leah was hated by comparison. Therefore, hate can be rendered 'to love less.'

Now, let's look at the parallel of Luke 14:26, located in Matthew 10:37 -- "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

So really, the verse in Luke isn't telling us to hate our families in the direct sense of the word; rather, it is saying that there is nothing that we should put before God. It's a matter of priority. You know what is right, just, and true; and nothing -- no member of your family, not even fear for your own life, should prevent you from doing it.

However, discernement is certainly necessary in cases like these. As Paul tells us in
Rom 14:20, "Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble."

Therefore, we must assess our motives. If God is truly calling us, we cannot put anything before him, and must obey him first. But if the matter has nothing to do with salvation or God's calling, but more with ourselves; it may be better in some cases to abstain for the sake of those aound you.

For instance, if you have a friend with an alcohol problem, is it right to drink around them, leading them into temptation, just because you're free to do so? Or if all of your family has a religion that prohibits them from eating meat, why create a rift by eating it, and cause them to blaspheme God's name?

Again, these circumstances are very difficult, and require a lot of prayer. But when God is truly calling you, sometimes you need to sacrifice the approval of your family, your reputation, certain aspects of your life, or all of it; just like Jesus did.

That's called loving God more.

My Favourite Lines from Les Miserables

2007-06-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

... One day the Bishop arrived at Senez, which is an ancient episcopal city. He was mounted on a donkey. His purse, which was very dry at that moment, did not permit him any other equipage. The mayor of the town came to receive him at the gate of the town, and watched him dismount from his donkey, with scandalized eyes. Some of the citizens were laughing around him. "Monsieur the Mayor," said the Bishop, "and Messieurs Citizens, I perceive that I shock you. You think it very arrogant in a poor priest to ride an animal which was used by Jesus Christ. I have done so from necessity, I assure you, and not from vanity."

I just love, love, love those lines... that is what being Christ-like is all about. Let them laugh! We have our mission, and that is to surrender fully to Christ. No matter how hard, no matter how unpopular, no matter how 'scandalous'! We have to decrease so He can increase; the one who is humble is great.

You had a bad day...

2007-06-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

I had a terrible week.

To name just a few things: I got hit in the head with a ball two times in a row during gym and my glasses got bent and jammed painfully into my face; I walked out of school with my lock in my hand and didn't even notice; I realized that I had lost my SECOND Romeo and Juliet book of the semester; I managed somehow to jab my eye with a water bottle; and, to top it off, I practically failed my math summative, partially because I forgot to put my calculator on "degrees" mode. There goes 10% of my mark!

Sigh...

As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly in the best mood. I opened my Bible that evening, and I readily confess that it was really out of a nagging sense of duty, rather than out of my love for God. But God never misses a chance to speak to someone who needs Him, even they don't come to Him with a particularly open heart.

I opened to a page in Matthew, and as I looked at it, I thought: "I've read this so many times already... what new lesson could I possibly learn from it?" (hey, I told you I was in a bad mood!). But before I could turn to a different book, Someone led my eyes to Matt. 14:10-14.

It described Jesus finding out about John the Baptist's death. Deeply saddened, Jesus "withdrew to a desolate place by himself," probably to mourn and pray. But then, the people began to come.

They brought the sick to Him and he healed them.
They told Him their problems and sins, and he listened with love and compassion.
Their numbers grew and grew, until there were 5000 there. Then He fed them all.

And that made me think.

Jesus was feeling a lot worse than I was -- after all, failing a math summative doesn't even come close to having one of your best friends die. And yet, when the needy came to Him, he did so much for them... even though he probably wasn't in the mood for socialising!

Whereas I, with my insignificant little problems, really did nothing for others except complain to them. I was so full of self-pity that I seemed to forget that other people existed too, and had problems of their own that I could help them with.

That really struck a chord with me, and to anyone reading, I just want to say:

It doesn't matter how bad life is going for you... nothing can prevent you from doing good.

Did Jesus borrow the idea of the Golden Rule from Buddhism?

2007-05-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Buddhism states: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." This is very true, but it's only a tiny part of the idea the Golden Rule of the Bible encompasses. Buddhism says that, for example, you should not hate anyone if you don't want to be hated. Christianity says that not only should you refrain from hating anyone, but you should also make an effort to LOVE them as well. "If someone compels you to go one mile, go with them two," says the Bible. It's that extra mile that makes all the difference.

Modern philosophies agree: have you ever heard psychologists say that you are not just supposed to tolerate differences but embrace them as well? Or that you should not be a bystander but an active player? The above quote from Buddhism says: "don't do." As Christians, we believe not doing is not enough.

By the way, a paraphrase of the Golden rule actually exists in Leviticus 19: "The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus was written nearly 1000 years before Buddhist writings came into existence.

Finally, the availability of Buddhist writings in Isreal in the first century was almost certainly close to to none. It is not at all likely that Jesus could have had access to them.

Hope that clears it up... any thoughts from Buddhist friends? :) I'd love to hear your views.

If God is love how can He hate?

2007-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Bible clearly states that God is love, loves people, and wants us to love in the same way that He showed us love on the Cross. However, the Bible also states that God hates sins such as lyring, pride, divorce, etc. So how can someone who is 100% love, have any particle of hate in Himself?

Here is my take, which I pray is Spirit-directed. It came to me just this morning:

It's simple. God is love; so wherever God is, there Love abides as well. God does NOT dwell in evil things ... no part of Him is in blasphemy, cruelty, and lies. Those things are full of satan and evil spirits, and by nature, have no Love in them. Therefore, if you take away love, you are left with hate. If God is not in them, He does not love them.

Tonight

2007-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

I was writing a blog post tonight, for my other blog. It was very worldly... completely oriented around myself, with only paragraphthat had anything to do with God. I had spent about an hour on it, when I accidentally logged off and closed the window. When I came back, everything I had written was gone.

I cried.

The conviction was so strong. I had just wasted one hour without praising God, serving God, doing anything to glorify God.

It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 3:15 -- "If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." How much of what I am building is eternal? How much of what I am building is pleasing to God? How much will withstand the fire?

I don't want to be saved only as one escaping through the flames. I want to make the most of every second, and have the incomparable joy of carrying out God's will in this world. I want to stop wating my time on worldly things that are worthless.

Please pray for me.

Thank You

2007-03-15T18:07:00.001-07:00

Thank you God

for creating us in order to love us

For dying

in order to show us your love

For letting us live

in order to love us forever

You are Love indeed.

The Body of Christ

2007-03-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our God, the Almighty Creator,
Shaped us by the work of His hands,
To shine like a light in the darkness,
And carry out all of His plans.

To some He gave hardships and sorrow,
But as soon as they called on His name,
He filled them with hope for tomorrow,
Delivering them from their pain.

To others He gave many riches,
Then taught them to cast them away,
That they might seek first the Kingdom of God,
And trust Him to provide for each day.

To some He gave voices for preaching,
To confess in the presence of men,
That Christ died so they might inherit,
The kingdom that reigns with no end.

To others He gave depth of wisdom,
To study the sky and the land,
And the deeper they dwelve into science,
They see fingerprints from the Lord's hand.

To some our God gave feet for dancing,
To worship with laughter and cheer,
While other feet travel the planet
To serve those lonely hearts, far and near.

We're all part of this powerful puzzle,
And we're working each day and each night
To make His name known
Before we go home,
We are the Body of Christ.

All around us the world is in darkness,
But our Father is giving it light,
By reflecting His love in our hearts and our lives,
We are the Body of Christ.

Who Created God?

2006-12-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

If you try to witness to atheists about creation, there's a big chance that you will be asked someday ... "if everything needs a creator, who created God?" I was recently asked this question, and had to do some research. It's a hard question to wrap your mind around, but it's not impossible to answer.

First, let's begin with the Biblical answer. Take a look at Rev 22:13; words spoken by God Himself: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." God didn't say I have a beginning, He said, I am the beginning. That means that there was nothing before God.

We can further prove that point by bringing out the flaws in the question, making the debate even easier to win. I love how GotQuestions.com puts it:

...The question does not even make sense. It is like asking, "What does blue smell like?" Blue is not in the category of things that have odor, so the question itself is flawed. In the same way, God is not in the category of things that are created, or come into existence, or are caused. God is uncaused and uncreated - He simply exists.

Another problem with this question is that if you use it to go further backwards, you could go on forever. "If God created the world and some else created God, and someone else created the someone who created God, and someone else created the someone else who created...." This is actually a problem with many arguments that atheists give, including "the earth came from the Big Bang." Well then, where did the Big Bang come from? Obvisouly, there's something wrong with these statements. We have a definite answer, and atheists don't.

As we have found out, the question, "who created God?" is weak. No-one did. Now, comes the matter of proving that, which is actually pretty easy. Let's walk through it step-by-step. For someone to create God, there would have to be someone before God. However, 'before' and 'after' are measures of time. It is necessary for time to exist to allow there to be a 'before.' The Bible says that God created all things, and therefore created time itself. Time came into existance only after God created it; God Himself lives outside of time. If God lives outside of time, He is not a product of time. 'Before' is impossible without time, therefore, there was nothing before God, and no one to create Him.

Prayer

2006-11-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

Make me bold, Lord, that I may speak what your Word says.

Make me humble, Lord, that I may do what your Word says.

One Way

2006-11-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

In the Bible, there are many places which imply that we must follow one path, and not be divided or two-faced. Here are just a couple:

Jesus said that the one who tried to enter the sheepfold through any way but the door was a robber (Joh 10:1).
Jude wrote that the Spirit is not in those who cause divisions (Jud 1:19).
Jesus said, 'I am the only way to get the the Father' (Joh 14:6).
Jesus said that married couples become one flesh which is not for man to separate (Mat 19:6).
Paul wrote that nothing can separate us from God (Rom 8:35-39).

One of my favourites, however, is found in Leviticus. Chapter 19, verse 19, says: "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material."

These laws, if taken figuratively, are great standards to base your daily life upon, and can be supported by other verses in Scripture. Let's take a look, and see how we can apply them to our lives.

- - -

"You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind." I do not like to compare humans to cattle, but 2Co 6:14 sprang to mind as soon as I read this, where Paul wrote: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. ... What fellowship has light with darkness?" Once people marry, they become one body. If the body believing, it brings forth light, and if the body is of unbelievers, it brings forth darkness. But how can a believer and an unbeliever be one body? A tree cannot bring forth two kinds of fruit (Mat 7:18). God dislikes division, but how is there to be fellowship between spiritual 'different kinds'? This law given to Moses many generations ago holds true today for sevants of the Lord Jesus.

- - -

"You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed." To sow is to allow something to take root and grow. In Mar 16:15, Christ gave us what is known as the Great Commission -- to preach the Gospel to all creation. Elsewhere in the New Testament, Jesus said, "the seed is the Word of God." We, as children of Christ, have a responsibility to sow the Word of God by proclaiming the Gospel to our friends, our family, to strangers, to the rich and poor. We don't always see the results of the seeds that we plant in peoples' hearts, because watering those seeds is left up to the Holy Spirit. Our job is to sow them, and as children of God, let us sow no others. Let our fields be pure from evil fruit sown by our thoughtlessness and worldly nature, but let them be full of the fruit of the Spirit.

- - -

"You shall not wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material." The Bible makes it clear that clothing and outer adornment are worthless in the eyes of God, and encourages us to clothes ourselves instead with humility (1Pe 5:5), righteous deeds ("fine linen") (Rev 19:8), and with Christ himself (Rom 13:24). See how glorious is that "fine line, bright and pure," described in Revelations! Let us not spoil its purity with stains of sin and strands of worldly string, but let our spiritual garments be pleasing to the Lord.

- - -

God's character is unchanging. The same laws He gave millenia ago so that His people would live the life He had planned for them; along these same lines He gave us the New Testament's rules for living. God never wanted us to be two-faced and divided within ourselves, for the road to Him is one-way.

Man's way leads to a hopeless end - God's way leads to an endless hope! -Anonymous

Every Day

2006-11-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

Doesn't it seem that we're better Christians when we're in need?

"When life gets too hard to stand... kneel," goes the saying; and when we're sick, when we commit a great sin, when we really need something; we pray, we read Scripture, we resolve to become better people. However, as soon as the Lord takes the burden off our shoulders and we can stand again... we walk away. Have you ever been guilty of this, my friends? Have you ever ceased serving the Lord after He granted you your desires? I know I have, and I'm sure you have too.

Why do we serve God so fervently when we're in the midst of a crisis, and stop (save for a 2-second "thank you") as soon as the issue is resolved? What does this say about us? It shows that we are selfish. We act as if we only need God when there are problems in our lives. It shows that we are so proud that we don't want to go back to the helpless state in which we were when we found Him. It shows that we are not willing to give God our whole lives. I've acted in this way. I've done this yesterday, I've done it today; and I'm ashamed. Are you?

Friends, we have to stop depending on God only in our crises, and start depending upon Him in every moment of our 'normal' daily lives as well. And even more importantly, we have to realize that we have needs in those normal days too, which are often even more critical than any physical illness or casualty. Every day is a 'crisis' enough to call upon God. On any given day, we are capable of commiting sin. On any given day, our unsaved friends could die. Are these not reason enough to turn to God, to continuously pray for guidance, to continuously pray for the salvation of our friends?

We are in as much danger of death right now as we would be if we were hanging off the edge of a crumbling cliff, but we don't pray nearly as much in our situation as we would in the latter. Ralph Erksine once said, "I like a roaring devil better than a sleeping devil." You will fight the first one, but watch lest you get so comfortable with the latter one that you fall asleep beside it.

Today, friends, don't wait until there's a car running a red light and about to hit you, to call upon God. Realize the silent, spiritual dangers that are crowding around you, your siblings in Christ, and your unsaved friends; and pray about these.

1Co 15:18 - Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

Mar 14:38 - Watch [be vigilant] and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
Mat 20:34 - And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

In Faith I Walk

2006-10-24T14:09:00.001-07:00

When I first knelt before Jesus
When my soul first saw the Lord
Then a love was born inside me
Wings of hope within me soared.

In all my life, through trials and triumphs,
He has never left my side
In faith I walk through life’s long journey
His grace my everlasting guide.

I praise God with all my being
Every step I take for him
Through the path on which he leads me
With a light that won’t grow dim.

I surrender to Thee, Master;
Kindest Father, sweetest Friend,
God and Son and Holy Spirit
Glorious kingdom with no end.

Gracious Jesus, always lead me
Fill my heart with love’s sweet song
Take me where you take the weary
Let the weak in You be strong!

Coins

2006-10-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Devotional on Mat 22:15-21 (ESV).

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his talk. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's."

Then he said to them, "Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

- - -

"When they heard it, they marveled," continues the next verse; and there is much to marvel about in this teaching. It can be taken literally to represent honesty as a citizen (paying taxes) and as a Christian (offerings to the Lord). But there is also a deeper lesson here, an affirmation of a message that has been echoing through Scripture since the first chapter of Genesis.

Let's begin with the Pharisees' comment: "You are not swayed by appearances." We know this to be true from other verses (1 Pet 3:3-5, 1 Sam16:7); and although the Pharisees gave this compliment falsely (with the motive of testing God, not praising Him), this comment is true and proven by Scripture. God is not swayed by appearances because he created us; His powerful hand shaped us "fearfully and wonderfully" (Psa 139:14), and He is well pleased with His creation.

Now, just before I link the subject of appearance to Christ's teaching about the coins, let me ask you for a moment to imagine what God looks like. The word that pops into my mind is beautiful. I don't know what His eyes look like, what colour His hair is or what shape His radiant smile must be; but there's no doubt that He is beautiful.

And we, humans, are created in His image. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'" Think about that. God is not swayed by outward appearances not only because He designed them, but also because He blueprinted them right after His own image. What a great example of His love for us! He made us beautiful, just like Himself. For this reason we neither attempt to "improve" our looks, nor judge others by theirs, nor allow ourselves to be swayed by outward appearances -- because we all bear the image of our God. Which brings us back to the coins.

Jesus asked the Pharisees, "whose likeness and inscription is this?" If He were asking the same question about us, the answers would be quite clear:

Likeness: We bear God's likeness.

Inscription: God's word is written on our hearts. (Jer 31:33, Deut 30:14)

We were created in the image of our God. As the coins have Caesar's image, we humans have been created in God's likeness, His word is inscribed into our hearts. "Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's," Jesus said. The image of Ceasar on the denarius was the ultimate symbol of ownership; it was like his signature, his "Belongs To" tag on the coin. And in the same way, we humans are living, moving possesions of God. "Give to God the things that are God's." We belong to God, and offer ourselves to Him -- our bodies (Rom 12:1), our praise (Heb 13:15), our love, and our lives. Our offerings are not attempts to cover our sins, for Christ was the final atoning sacrifice (Heb 10:11-18), but they are offerings of love. We give our lives to Christ, as He gave His for us. We have nothing else to give. We are fully God's, and allow Him to use us for whatever purpose He has planned for us. (Rom 9:20-21)

When people refuse to give their lives God, they waste their time and energy on the sinful and superficial things of this world. Instead of being God's 'coins' they become worldly 'riches' and God's Spirit does not dwell in these (Jud 1:19). They deny having been made in the image of their God, they believe only in themselves; thinking that they bear but their own image, they consequently pay to themselves, rather than to the God who owns them. However, they in no way can cease to wear the image of God, and that's why He still loves them despite their sin. But they act as dishonest citizens, they do not pay their 'taxes' to the Lord, and for this they will be punished greatly -- eternally.

Eternal punishment, you may think, is a very harsh penalty for this crime. But think of what Jesus called the "great and first commandment": "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Mat 22:37-38). Jesus loved us enough that He laid down His life for us, and He told us to love others as He had loved us (Joh 13:34). Now, if one is not willing to lay down his life before God as a living sacrifice, he does not love God. Why should God let him spend time with Him in heaven, if the man did not want to spend time with God on earth?

But we Christians know that we are God's. We are full of love for Him, ready to sacrifice everything for Him. We were created in His image, we are fully His, and we are glad to give ourselves to Him. "Give to God the things that are God's." I pray that you and I will always choose to make every second of our lives a sacrifice to God, honouring the image and inscription He has imprinted upon us.