The End of Time
I went for the Youth Service for this week as I had Paint-A-Home on Sunday 10 June 2007. Anna accompanied me to it, and to my surprise the service was held at the Covenant Chapel instead of the Sanctuary, and I got a greater surprise when I walked into the Covenant Chapel and realised that it's so big and pretty. =)
Anyway, the service started with worship that was led by two youths. The singer sang beautifully, I felt. Her voice is very unique, and it helped that the rhythm of the songs we sang are very ex-Avril Lavigne like. =)
There was a song we sang that had a line that went, "All I need is You". I used to be able to sing this without thinking deeply about its meaning, but in JC, after I started liking guys, I realised I couldn't truly sing that line in many songs and mean it. It would be a lie if I sang that line when I wanted those people I liked to like me back that badly.
However, on this day, I suddenly realised that this line meant that all I need,
spiritually, is God. Only He can fulfil my spiritual needs. You know that kind of emptiness people get from being too busy with their lives and wondering what they are working so hard for at times? Once they know God, they will no longer feel this emptiness =)
The sermon was on Daniel 2, and it talked about Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
The king had forgotten most of his dream by the time he awoke, and demanded for someone to tell him what he had dreamt of and what it means. No one around him was able to tell him what he wanted, and he was furious. In the end, Daniel managed to interpret his dream, with God's help, and here is what it means:
The king saw a great statue with a head of gold (Babylon, which reigned from 605 to 539 BC), chest and arms of silver (Medo-Persian Empire, which reigned from 539 to 331 BC), a belly of bronze (Greek [Macedonian], which reigned from 331 to 165 BC), legs of iron (Rome, which reigned from 163 BC to AD mid 4th century) and feet of iron and clay (the divided Roman Empire, which is Europe).
A stone smashed the statue and it increased in size until it filled the whole earth. This stone represents God and after it struck the statue, the world ended.
The head was smashed first, followed by the chest and arms, belly, legs and then feet. If we consider carefully, we are actually living now in the time of the feet. This thus means that the time of the end is near...
I found this sermon very interesting. It captured my attention and I stayed awake throughout the whole of it without the help of coffee =P
Alright anyway, the main message is that we should think more about what we are doing now, and if we are wasting our lives on things that are totally unnecessary and don't mean anything to God, we should focus more on Him and do what He really wants us to - namely, tell more people about what He has done for us in our lives and how much other people need Him. We also have to shine more for Him in our lives and not only concentrate on fulfilling our own needs. Our own needs may be important, but we have to consider that of others as well at times, and also not be too obsessed with fulfilling our own needs to bother about what God wants us to do.
Labels: end
Believing
Have you ever felt bogged down by the "rules" in the Bible? I remember reading this part about women without long hair having to wear veils to cover their heads while in the church. There are churches around that practise this, and I think it's totally weird and unnecessary. This was done in Paul's time and is no longer required now. In fact, being bogged down by too many rules and forgetting about who really matters just makes things worse.
We should simply follow God and place Him in our hearts instead of adhering to rules , rules and rules "in the name of God". Recently, Rachel told me the reason why she had left her family church - they were too religious, in the sense that they adhere to a lot of rules and they let these rules run their lives.
But of course she did go to another church in the end =)
When we say we "believe", it is not a mere mental assessment (e.g. "I'm a Christian", "I was born in a Christian church", etc.). "
Believing" is a mind, soul and body experience - you act out what you truly believe in. Therefore, if you find yourself not having this experience, you might want to think hard about your faith and what you could possibly do about it.
The speaker at my church this week, Mr Steve Aherne, also mentioned about a young man who grew up in a Christian family but could never really commit himself to God. He then attended a Bible conference with his family and on the night before the last day of the conference, he got very fed up because he still didn't feel touched by God and so He told God to give him a sign that He is real; if not, he would not believe in Him anymore.
On the last day of the conference, he found everything that the people there did so inane that he gave up and started to walk out of the room, saying to God that he had given God a chance to prove Himself, but since He didn't, that's it.
Suddenly, his brother's girlfriend saw him and a thought struck her as she came to a realisation. She got up from her seat and pulled him aside, telling him that she finally realised that a dream she had some time ago was of him and not of his brother as she had originally thought. She then proceeded to tell him the contents of her dream, which were exactly what he had written in His letter to God the night before. The young man was very amazed, but at the end of it all, he asked her suspiciously, "Did you read my letter?"
Of course the girl did not know anything about the letter. And it was then that the young man realised that God had shown Him a sign about Himself, and he started to truly
believe.
The young man is the speaker's son. =)
Labels: believing
Why Are We Here On Earth?
Have you ever wondered why we are suffering on Earth instead of going to Heaven immediately? I believe in Jesus Christ - why am I not brought straightaway to Heaven? Why must God let me suffer so many years on Earth before I can finally taste the sweetness of Heaven?
There is a reason for His doing so - He wants us to be the salt and light of this decaying Earth, and to save souls. We must show that we, who have God in our hearts, shine through the dullness of the Earth.
When the Bible mentions unity, it means to be the same in heart, soul and mind, devoted to one true God. We have to put aside all our differences to unite as one wherever and whenever.
As long as we live here on Earth, we should pray to be strong men and women, and not for an easy life (e.g. ask God to solve problems for us). This is so that we will grow!
And if we pray for strength to solve our problems, we should also always remember to give all our glory and honour back to God, like what John the Baptist did.
After all this growth, it is only then that we are fit enough to face God and serve Him in Heaven =)
Labels: why
The Beatitudes
My church had an external speaker, Mrs Malar Solomon, on 19 May 2007.
She talked about the first three beatitudes in Matthew 5.
First of all, the word "blessed" in all the beatitudes means divine joy, and not just happiness (laughter, pleasure and worldly rewards).
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."God's presence would only fill the hearts of those who are constantly praying and longing for Him, as well as those who are very aware that they need God's presence, not those who are 'rich in spirit' and would not turn to Him or long for His presence. If we were poor in spirit, we would pay more attention to God and be more ready and forthcoming in sharing His word with others.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."When should we mourn? When, for instance, we are seated in church but our thoughts are not on God. If we mourn then, God would hear us and guide our thoughts back to Him. We would also mourn if someone we love has been taken away from us. However, only the one who is able to take away the sting of death can comfort us.
If we mourn and look to God, He will comfort us.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."This meekness definitely does not refer to weakness in character! It means gentleness, kindness, humility, and the beauty of purity in a gentle self. Mary of Bethany (Martha and Lazarus' sister) displayed meekness in her actions. One instance of this is when she anointed Jesus with very expensive perfume oil even though she is not rich herself. She did this because she truly felt that she wanted to do a beautiful thing for her Lord and Saviour, and knew that He was going to die for her soon - it was her way of showing her grattitude.
After she did this, Jesus' disciples criticised her and said that what she had done was a great waste. However, Jesus defended her and said that "wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." The Lord defends those who are authentically His =)
Mrs Solomon also talked about her own conversion experience, where her friend mourned over her not being Christ's yet. Moreover, for years, Mrs Solomon didn't convert because she did not come from a family of believers and didn't want to convert rashly. She wanted a sign from God that He was real. One day, her friend brought her to watch The Passion of Christ and it was when she saw how He had suffered for her that she finally believed, and became fervent for Him.
It's always nice to hear about others' experiences =)
Labels: beatitudes
Money Matters
I read in one of my devotionals about money matters recently. Consider this:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5
In this worldly society of ours, money means everything. However, to us, money should only be a basic necessity. Money can only buy the basics; everything else that is required to perfect the basics need our efforts, not money.
That said, we must also remember that money actually does wield a lot of power in this world indeed, which is why many people are driven to earn it. It is also able to make a difference in addition to making a living. We earn money to secure our places in the world - a house, a family, friends, and so on, who would all benefit from our financial statuses. However, what differentiates a person who is merely obsessed with money from someone who knows how to make good use of it to make a difference? It is Christ-seeking generosity. One who gives to earn the applause of others is not giving to earn the praises of God. When you give, think about what and whom you are really doing this for.
Generous giving is also joyful giving, because "God loves a cheerful giver." It is also thoughtful and prayerful rather than spasmodic and impulsive. We should give to better the lives of OTHERS as well, not just to use it to our own benefit. That is making a difference, and God would be pleased when He sees that you do not place as much importance as living well in this temporal world but have an eternal vision - to live in Heaven with Him.
Labels: money, worldly
