Aug 8, 2010
Danny shared tonight on Romans 8:29 which say’s; God uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Danny then closed with a saying that he got from his mother, “God does not waste any opportunity in our life.” Those are very true words.
A couple months ago I was spending some time with one of my friends who is not a believer, and he was telling me some things that he regretted; Things that he could have done better in his life. I listened and then after some time I told him that I do not regret a single thing in my life. He said, “You know most people would call you a liar if you said that.” It is probably what he thought too, but just wanted to say it in a nice way.
After Danny spoke it brought that back up to mind, and I began to ponder. Is it true that we can go through life without regrets? Biblically I am sure we can. So then my next question was, why is that?
I think it is because God loves us and He does not waste opportunities. Everything He does is used to mold and shape us into the image of His Son. For me, I now look back to all those years in which I was living for myself. I remember how hopeless and empty it was, so now that gives me a drive and a desire to seek God, and His best for me, no matter what it takes or where it takes me. God used those precious years in my life to make me into the man I am today. If it was not for those things that He led me through, then I would not be here today. It matters not how it happened, nor how long it takes, only that in the end of it all we come to know God and love God. If I lived the worst possible life imagined but yet at the end of it all came to a saving knowledge of Christ it all would have been worth it. Only those that don’t know Christ will have regrets on that faithful day when He calls us home.
So now, let us throw down every hindrance and run the race that is set before us with all diligence because the things in this life are meaningless compared to the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Aug 1, 2010
Bathrooms are horrible! They are my least favorite thing to clean in the whole wide world. In fact I don’t like any type of cleaning, but bathrooms are by far the worst. That was, until something very strange happened this past month.
In the month if July it was my turn to clean bathrooms. It just so happened that the last two weeks of this month the August students were leaving and so it was time to deep clean the house in preparation for the new August students. So I scrubbed and I scrapped applying lots of fancy chemicals to the shower and bathtub to remove all that nasty mildew build-up. I also got to get down on my hands and knees and clean the toilets, those lovely toilets that get rid of all our sweet smelling wastes (ha, yah right!). The floorboards, walls, counters, mirrors, etc… also had to be cleaned.
At the beginning of the month I was not excited one bit, but as time went on I actually started to enjoy the bathroom cleaning. It felt humbling and like I was serving my fellow house mates in doing this. It became a joy and I would now gladly clean the bathrooms every week, for the rest of my life.
It is funny how God works. It seems like all the things that I used to hate are now becoming things in which I love. Other things like sharing a room, going to church, reading my bible, writing, speaking in front of people etc.. have all become things that I deeply enjoy. Although speaking in front of people is nerve racking it is always a pleasure to do. I never thought that I would enjoy any of these things. Haha, God is good!
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Jul 29, 2010
One time I asked my roommate if God had been glorified by him today? He said I don’t know then he asked me the questions “did you glorify God today?” I said I think so, but then I began to really ponder that question. Was God really glorified by me today??
The answer came quickly. Yes. God is glorified by my whole life. He is glorified when I am sad and when I am happy He is glorified when I do good work and when I do bad work; He is glorified when I struggle and when I don’t; He is glorified when I eat and when I don’t eat. He is glorified when I sleep as well as when I am awake. God is even glorified when I sin and when I don’t sin. In all things God is glorified.
Why is that?
It is because I am His, and He is mine. It is because He chose me even while I was still a sinner and because every day God is with me shaping me into the glorious image of His son. He is glorified because a holy God who can have nothing to do with sin, instead of calling down fire from heaven to consume me, He has come and made a living inside of me. He is glorified because through His power and strength this sinful, timid, hateful man will be transformed into a bold, soul winning, lover of God; if that is not glorious, than I do not know what is.
So now I ask the question to you.
Did you glorify God today?
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Jul 6, 2010
In class we went through a book called the “Pursuit of God.” Then we had to share in front of our classmates what we thought and learned from the book. This is what I shared, in teaching format. (Sorry if its a little long)
Who is God to You?
Is He like the president? Some one that you know is there and is high and important, maybe one day someone you think it would be cool to meet; someone that passes laws that you can or cannot choose to follow?
Or, is he like your favourite movie star or singer? A person you greatly admire and dream of meeting one day but, you know it will probably never happen. A person you love and respect and do some of the same things He does, but, all in all your lives are almost completely different. OR…
Is God your best friend? The person that you spend most of your time with; Someone, who you would go to the moon and back for if they asked; Someone that you talk to on a daily basis and he\she talk back.
My whole LIFE, Up until a couple of years ago God was the president! I didn’t pay much if any attention to Him, like I do the prime minister of Canada, but I followed the rules and behaved well. Then 2008 in my senior year of high school God totally revolutionized my Life. He became a personal, loving God, a God that gives good gifts to His children, a friend. That in essence is what the book “The Pursuit of God” is all about. God can be known as much as you and your friends know each other. He can be felt, and loved as if He were your spouse. And the best part about all this is He desires that kind of relationship with each and every one of His children. Praise God! Doesn’t that sound great?
However… This Kind of relationship does not come without a cost. If you truly desire a close relationship with Christ then everything else in your life must take second place. God is not pleased to give Himself fully to you, unless you give yourself fully to Him. Paul said it well in the third chapter of Philippians.
Paul, a man of the Law was blameless, a Pharisee of Pharisee’s. He was looked upon as a righteous man, respected by all. Everything he had a Pharisee though, he gave up. Look what he says in verse 7and 8.
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may Gain Christ. Christ is worth your whole life, and more.”
The book put what I have been feeling into words, and strengthened my resolve to seek God, to expect great things of Him and to make Him my all, my everything. I want to be able, with Paul to say. I have counted all things as rubbish that I may gain Christ. How is this done? Some practical steps though that are sure to help.
For one, if anything in our life is important to us, we must ask ourselves. If God asked me to give this up, would I be able to? If God asked me to sacrifice my very own son like he did to Abraham would I be able to? Even if you don’t have children that can apply to many things. Money is a big one, food, clothes, friends, family, yes even your very self. If God asked you to go to a foreign country to preach the gospel, in which you would probably die. Would you? I know I wouldn’t, and that’s why we need this second step.
We must be constantly asking the God of the universe to change us, mould us and give us the strength to give up everything for Him. You just can’t do it alone. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in us to will and to do for his good pleasure.” Cry out to God, it is the only way.
To end, I would like to share this quote with you written by Brother Yun and a Chinese House church leader.
“I had experienced so much in those four years, but God had been faithful. I’d suffered some horrible tortures, but God had been faithful. I’s been dragged in front of judges and courts, but God had been faithful. I’d been hungry, thirsty, and had fainted from exhaustion, but God had been faithful.
Through it all, God was always faithful and loving to me. He had never left me nor forsaken me. His grace was always sufficient and he provided for my every need. I didn’t suffer for Jesus in prison. No! I was with Jesus and I experienced his very real presence, joy, and peace every day. It’s not those in prison for the sake of the gospel who suffer. The person who suffers is he who never experiences God’s intimate presence.”(The Heavenly man, pg 187)
Have you experienced that presence? Who is God to you?
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Jun 4, 2010
Last night after prayer meeting I was spending some time in the kitchen snacking on some chips and celery with peanut butter on it. That was the beginning of one of the weirdest nights in oue house.
Through the living room and on the other side of the house, I seen my roommate step out side for what, I was not sure. My imagination started going wild and I thought to my self, ‘What would my roommate think if when he can back in I was staring up at the fan and spinning in circles?’ I just had to find out.
After about a minute of spinning I heard my roommate try the doorknob, it was locked. Ha, was my first thought, he locked himself out. Then the door bell rang which caused the second thought, ‘I need to open the door for Him!’ So, with that I stopped spinning and hurriedly started to move towards the front door.
That was not an easy trip, the house looked like it was starting to lean to the left and after almost falling over twice, I finally made it. I opened the door laughing like a mad man. He was so confused.
After explaining the situation, for the rest of the night (half an hour or so, it was late) me, my roommate and our house leader took turns spinning underneath the fan trying to see who could get the dizziest and still stay standing. Yup…It was a good night.
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