Dying

If someone was out to kill you, who was your complete enemy, as in he wants to destroy you, your family, your loved ones...if someone that was your enemy took out his gun, shot at you, missed and hit a gas tank...if someone that was your enemy who a half second earlier tried to kill you is now in mortal danger, would you run to save his life and risk dying? Would you die for your enemy? Would you be willing to die to save his life?

Isn't that what Christ did for us? Weren't we his enemies? Christ did that for you. Now what are you going to do?

thought of sean and karen when i saw this...

And i also thought of simpler times when I was a hopeless romantic...

Just a video slideshow of engagement pics.
http://www.lafflerphotography.com/slideshows/2008Bestofe-sessions/iframe.html

You know what I love?

I just had this revelation, okay, maybe not a revelation, but this sudden realization of the big picture. We are all doing our part to fulfill the great commission. We are doing ministry here, there, in Messiah, in GCF, in VCF, in CCF, in the provinces, in NYC, in San Francisco, etc. The thing is that we are all doing God's will for our lives and trying to bring the gospel to every person possible. Why?
Cause suddenly there is this joy of experiencing salvation and knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ we serve is alive. He is not dead, he is not old, he is not out-dated. He is alive and still is working in all of our lives. Just to stop and realize how much He loves each and every one of us. I think that's why everyone LOVES the worship night at camp - it is a time for us to go crazy worshipping and praising God. It's not about the solemn side, which has its place, btu its about celebrating the victory of being in Christ. Sin is defeated! Satan is done! We are free in Christ! He is our savior and Lord and just thinking of how the idea that the war is pretty much over is so thrilling. Just...like...wow.
Can't we just go nuts for the Lord this weekend? Like just tell everyone you meet how much you love God? Why you love God? There usually is this solemn pause as we realize how much God gave, but at the same time there is this feeling of celebration and praise to God that arises in our soul. And if we keep telling people that they can't do this, than it's going to hamper teh joy of the Christian life.
So there you go, thoughts, love on Christ. What has Jesus done for me? He has freed me from sin, He has become completely unfair by dying in my place rather than letting me die, He loves me so much, He is crazy about me even in my worst moments and my best moments. He made me. And He loved me so much that He made that effort, He did everything because of His love. He gave me purpose in life. He is the ONE, my Savior, my Lord. He loved me even before the world was created. How can you not love someone like that? And what amazes me is that He wants to take part in even teh tinyest littlest details in my life. He wants to know how I'm donig, He wants to know my needs, my wants, my desires, my cries and my joys. The God of the universe who created the entire everything wants to spend time with me? It goes deeper than jsut dying for my sins, it goes to Him wanting to have a relationship with me. I love Him so much, and there are times that I do forget that and take Him for granted, but I do love Him so much. God is my eveyrthing - all i want, all i need. To make Him smile, that should be enough, to do His will and give Him my life completely.
So there, just thoughts and deep crying out to deep.

Rick Warren's Prayer at the US Presidential Inauguration last night

Rick Warren's inaugural prayer

The full text, below:

Almighty God, our father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our god; the Lord is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership.

And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in Heaven.

Give to our new president Barack Obama the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life: Yeshua, Essa (ph), Jesus, Jesus, who taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”

Amen.

Another day, another blog

But this one is being typed before lunch. Today is the first day of my diet being back on. So no rice, etc. Eeeek. This is going to be rough. So let's see what happens. I'm currently 235 pounds AFTER the Christmas feasts. Back in October when I started this diet, I was 245. So it's good to know that even with giving up the diet, I've stagnated at a smooth 235. Now I have the task of dropping that to 180 by the new school year. That gives me six months to lose 55pounds. Oh dear, that's a lot of weight and that's a lot o dieting.

Sacrifice

I've been thinking a lot lately about what in my life is not necessarily pulling me away from God, but rather, is keeping me from being effective as a leader for God. What is keeping me from being the best I can be for him? One thing I experienced this past December was having a lot of money to bless others with. And it was probably one of the most generous times of my life and real times where I gave to the point of cost. Today, I realized that God truly has given me more than enough. I really should be much better with my finances. So I realized that indeed my money is not really my money - but I am a steward of God's money. So what is tehre that I have to give up, that I know I am spending too much on? Food is one. I know that I've been eating out a lot more and eating at expensive places on a regular basis. I can't believe taht I do this while others have to focus on keeping a P50 budget for meals while I don't mind spending P200 on a meal. I think it's because I grew up thinking that when you are working, you're allowed to live nicely and to splurge. But there is also the idea of being able to have the means to help the Kingdom when God asks me too. And at this point in time, I don't have that means.
So food, that's one thing that has to go. I think I'm going to have to ut back on comics at the end of this month. And I mean seriously cut back on comics. As in I'll drop my pull list to less than half I normally get. It's just not there anymore either. I used to come home with a stack of comics and just sit and read them. But now, well, I seem to not really care anymore. I got a TON of comics over Christmas and I've gone through half of them. And it's been almost two weeks. And I haven't been digging and pouring through them either. Comics are so hard to let go of because I tendt ot feel that that is what defines me. I love comics and I get a lot of inspiration from them. But i can get inspiration from places that don't cost as much. Basically, I normally get anywhere between 8-12 titles a month and a few random issues that look interesting here and there. So I'm thinking of dropping that down to 2-4 titles a month. Mind you, for someone who has been collecting comics seriously for the past 4 years, that is a hard thing to give up.
So I think I'm going to do it. It hurts. But the thing is that I want to be the best I can be for God. And it also means that I need to be a better steward of His finances. Keep me in prayer about this. And the goal is to start thsi in February. It's going to be hard.

Love in a new year?

Here's something interesting - there are probably only three people right now in my life that have the ability to take my breath away. Is that something to measure love? No. But it does provide a lot of kilig moments. Hmmm...but more importantly, this blog is not about love in the romantic sense. This is just a post to simply be talking about loving others.

Last year's verse of meditation for me was from the book of Matthew where Jesus says that if anyone wishes to follow HIm, they are to take up their cross, deny themselves, and follow. It's definitely a lesson that I really learned last year and could continue learning more this year. But it's time to move on and see what is needed.

I think, for me, as of day one of the new year, it's more about defining what real love means from a Christian perspective. Love doesn't always mean being a nice guy and letting people destroy their lives. Love should be wanting the best for that person, even if it means rebuking them or going to the point of being hurt by them. If you're going to try to help a dog that is wounded, you're most likely going to get bit. In the same way, I know that people tend to be like that too. Lately, I've been noticing people more, just having small flashes of loving them with the love of CHrist. Like, I may not even know the person taht well, but I suddenly get this sense of value in the person, that this person is worthwhile, that God made them. And then it makes me sad when I fail to show love to that person, to let them know that God loves them. I keep trying to figure out why it is that I can't do it.

There are so many times I want to just talk to someone in a cashier or a store clerk or even a security guard and find out how their day is going. As they say, being a representative of Christ should also mean that some relationships are long term and aren't always about speeding through the gospel message. There are times that we are to just be friends and let them see the love of Christ in us. I really wish I could do that more. But it costs money to spend time in a store. Lol. What a reason to raise support, huh? I go witnessing to the everyday folk that tend to be forgotten. I don't know. I really wish I could go and just talk to people more. But it's so hard for me to get out of my shell and just talk to people I don't know, even when they so easily make the first effort. My dad is amazing at this skill. He has no problem making friends with anyone. He can open up in a way that is natural and not like in a "i have an agenda" type of way. THis is one thing I really want to grow in this year.

I guess I'm scared of being rejected - of making a fool of myself and getting asked to never come back. There's that fear. But then isn't it a selfish fear? Isn't that like someone that was given a flashlight and is afriad to use it cause people say that it blinds them at first. Why is that? Gotta work on it. Gotta trust God more.

What does it mean to truly deeply live for God? In your life? What does that mean? And a deeper question to ask is - when there are storms in your life, do you trust God even if the storm still rages around you? Do you stand strong trusting on Him even in the face of the worst mess imaginable? Are you like Job who has confidence in the Lord no matter what? If only I could reach the point of being like Job, being able to say that even the Lord smites me, still I will worship and praise His name. Scary? Yes. But isn't it awesome when you love your parents so much to the point that even if they discipline you, you still love them?

So one last question for all of you to comment on below: What do you wish to happen by the end of this holiday break?