No Pecking Zone

That’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.
Your soul was more important than His blood.
Your eternal life was more important than His Earthly life.
Your place in Heaven was more important to Him
than His place in Heaven.
So He gave up His so you could have yours.

Philippians 2:5-8 (New International Version)

 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 ⁶Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 ⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!

Would you do what Jesus do? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy
stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for the company of killers. He
could hold the universe in His palm but gave it up to float in the womb of
a maiden.

If you were God, would you sleep on straw, nurse from a breasts, and be
clothed in a diaper? I wouldn’t, but Christ did.

If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still
come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would
you still care? If you knew that the tongues you made would mock you, the
mouths you made would spit at you, the hands you made would crucify
you, would you still make them? Christ did. Would you regard the immobile
and invalid more important than yourself? Jesus did.

He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the
straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held
the universe took the nail of a soldier.

Why? Because that’s what love does. That’s what love does. It puts the
beloved before itself. Your soul was more important than His blood.
Your eternal life was more important than His Earthly life. Your place
in Heaven was more important to Him than His place in Heaven.
So He gave up His so you could have yours.

He loves you that much, and because He loves you, you are of prime
importance to Him

A Love Worth Giving

God loves you. Personally. Powerfully. Passionately. 
Others have promised and failed.
But God has promised and succeeded.
He loves you with an unfailing love.
And His love – if you will let it – can fill you
And leave you with a love worth giving.

Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so.
We know what God wants us to do. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23) But how can we? How can we be kind to the vow breakers? To those who are unkind to us? How can we be patient with people who have the warmth of a vulture and the tenderness of a porcupine? How can we forgive the moneygrubbers and backstabbers we meet, love, and marry? How can we love as God loves? We want to. We long to. But how can we? 

By living loved. By following the 7:47 Principle: Receive first, love second. More than one person has hailed 1 Corinthians 13 as the finest chapter in the bible. No words get to the heart of loving people like these verses. And no verses get to the heart of the chapter like verses 4 through 8. 

 ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

I suddenly have this thought of replacing the word love in this passage with my name. I will become a liar. “Paul is patient, Paul is kind. Paul does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud….” That’s enough!! Stop right there! Those words are false. Paul is not patient. Paul is not kind. Ask my mom. Paul can be an out-and-out clod! 

It set a standard I could not meet. No one can meet it. No one, that is, except Christ. Does this passage not describe the measureless love of God? Let’s inset Christ’s name in the place of the word love, and see if it rings true.

⁴  Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. ⁵Jesus is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Jesus never fails.

Rather then let this scripture remind us of a love we cannot produce, let it remind us of a love we cannot resist – God’s love.

Some of you are so thirsty for this type of love. Those who should have loved you didn’t. Those who could have loved you didn’t. You were left at the hospital. Left at the alter. Left with an empty bed. Left with a broken heart. Left with your question “Does anybody love me?”

Please listen to heaven’s answer at the start of this post. 

God loves you. Personally. Powerfully. Passionately. 
Others have promised and failed.
But God has promised and succeeded.
He loves you with an unfailing love.
And His love – if you will let it – can fill you
And leave you with a love worth giving.

Excellence (+Excellence)

Excellence has to be surrounded by excellence, or it will compromise. In other words, if you’re not continually associating with other people of excellence, mediocre people will continually try to pull you back to the mediocre level where you lived in the past.

That’s why it’s so important to network with individuals who are of the same heart and have the same inner drive for excellence as you do. The people you choose to network with largely determine how well you continue to grow and become successful in your life. 

Yes, there are many types of people who hold different positions in your life. But you must never lost sight of this fact: The people with whom you presently have close relationships with either take you up or take you down in life. Therefore, God wants you to spend the bulk of your time with those whose lives you are moving toward as you follow His will for your life — not those you are coming from.

So surround yourself with people of your future, not with people of your past. In other words, make sure you always choose to associate closely with the people who are a part of your tomorrows, not the people who might draw you back in yesterday. 

AN EXCELLENT MINISTER SEEKS TO NETWORK WITH OTHERS OF THE SAME SPIRIT.

 

Love Must Be Sincere

Singapore Prime Minister said this during a Singapore Medical Association 50th Anniversary Night yesterday. 
“I have learnt the importance of good bedside manners and found that even when I cannot solve my residents’ problems, lending a patient listening ear will often help them unburden themselves and feel better. For MPs (Members of Parliment), like doctors, must not only try to cure – and in fact not all cases can be cured – but must always care”

Care must be sincere, so is love.  

As we seek to love according to God’s design, we must pursue sincerity: “Love must be sincere”. The love God wants His children to live by has no room for deceit and hypocrisy – it has to be genuine and earnest. 

Unfortunately, much of what takes places between guys and girls today is insincere. There is nearly always an angle, a hidden agenda: What can you do for me? What can I get from you?

I’ll never forget a conversation I sat through with a group of guys. Girls, you would have been appalled if you had overheard it. These guys were discussing things a guy could do on a date to get a girl to fall for him. They recited lines for stirring the heart and lines for getting a kiss. One guy explained his technique of alternating warmth with disinterest and coolness – he claimed that this approach kept a girl guessing and try her best to please him. Another guy shared ways to put a girl in a romantic mood. He’d take a date to a furniture store, and as he and the girl walked through the displays, he would talk about families and ask which tables and couches she would want for her home someday. “Girls go nuts for this!” he told us. He explained that with marriage and future plans on her mind, the girl would more likely be romantic and affectionate during the day. 

This conversation was a study in manipulation. All of it was completely fake, completely insincere. These guys weren’t seeking ways to bless girls. They merely wanted to push emotional buttons to get something for themselves.

I’m sure many girls would admit to having their own set of tricks. But no matter how commonplace or ingrained in our culture these practices may be, we all face judgement by the four simple words given by God: “Love must be sincere”.

We need to embrace the incredible responsibility we bear as representatives of Christ’s love here on earth. The world will know we are different and get a glimpse of God’s divine, saving love by the way we love. Will others see the sincerity of Christ’s love in our relationship? Or will they see the same brand of self-centered love practiced by the world and turn away in disappointment?

I’ll be untiringly embracing / the Love that I have found to be sincere  
 

All you need is a sincere
 

Personal Discipline #3 Body (Health)

The very last window to our character can’t never be less than our own personal body (health).

We should not fault a person because of things he or she cannot control ~ height, features, and in some cases, weight. Neither should we be overly concerned with the external. However, the way a person cares for his or her body tells us something about that person’s character.

First, how does this person dress? A girl who dresses immodestly may catch guy’s attention, but what does her clothing say about her heart? A guy who spends his money on the latest style of clothing may have the appearance of “togetherness”, but his infatuation with fashion could mean he’s too preoccupied with what people think of him (and that he may make poor decision with his money).

Next, how does this person care for his or her body? Does he or she have disciplined eating habits? Does he or she have a reasonable and consistent program of staying fit? God wants us to maintain the health and condition of our bodies so that we can more effectively serve Him. This does not mean, however, that we should become obsessed with exercise. A person who is too concerned about weight lifting is just as out of balance as the person who doesn’t exercise at all. 

How would you stand up to evaluation in this category? Is the room for improvement in your life?

How would you take care of your body now?

Personal Discipline #2 Money

The second window to our character, would definitely be how we handle money. 

The way  a person handles money is one, if not the surest, indicator of character. At Dylan nineteenth birthday party, my friend Andy asked everyone to bring extra $10. But he didn’t want the money for himself. Instead, he gave all of it to a Aid Assistance Fund in the College. Andy’s attitude toward material things proved him a man of compassion, love, and generosity. It showed that he valued the eternal more than the material. 

Is the person you’re observing (or are you) caught up in clothing, cars, and other material things? Does this person thinking through purchases, or do he or she spend impulsively, prone to splurging? A person’s spending habits reveal his or her level of responsibility.

How would you plan and handle your money well?

Personal Discipline #1 Time

There’re so many windows to character. But I would like to elaborate how a person disciplines and conducts his or her personal life. “HABIT,” writes Charlotte Mason, “is the greater part of nature.” The things we do involuntarily, almost without thinking, reveal our character. 

When we consider this category, we need to note the difference between sinful habits and simply annoying habits or poor manners. Everyone has habits that another person will find silly or irritating. One of my friends complained about the way her mom eats corn on the cob. Her method is reminiscent of an old typewriter: Munch, munch, munch, munch, kaching! Munch, munch, munch down the next row. This may not be the best table manners, but it isn’t a sinful habit. Instead of concerning ourselves with issues such as these, we need to examine whether our own fosters habits that are disobedient to God or that reveal a deeper disregard for others. 

In this post, I will share a glimpse on your personal character. Watch these closely. 

How a person uses time.
The first thing that always attracted an opposite sex will be how he/she memorized scripture waiting for someone. That observation tells me that he/she was disciplined and efficient. 

The way a person spends his or her leisure time tells us what he or she values. Does this person fill free time with mindless hours in front of the TV? Does this person cultivate his or her mind and build relationships, or does he or she run to the next distraction? Seek to find someone (and to be the kind of person) who uses time wisely.

How would you plan your time more effectively from now onward?

I’ll be sharing on money and body on the next few posts. Be on track with my posts! =) 

Rescue me

To my dear classmates, Lee Chee Wee from NY0804W!

When im alone the world is such a different place
Sometimes its hard to keep the smile upon my face
It seems like I try so hard and still I let you down
Its taken so long but now theres one thing that Ive found

When everyting starts crashing down
When all I know falls to the ground
When darkness comes and I can’t see
You’re always there to rescue me

Just when I think that Ive got it figured out
You open my eyes and let me see that theres no doubt
But you’ve got it all within the power of your hand
It seems like the more I know the less I understand

When everyting starts crashing down
When all I know falls to the ground
When darkness comes and I can’t see
You’re always there to rescue me
When all my strength has turned to fear
When I wonder if you’re near
When I dont know how to break free
You’re always there to rescue me

I wonder if Ill make it through this darkest night
I need to know your strength in me gonna win this fight
Im reaching out wont you take my hand show me to the light
I know you’re by my side

 
Repeated reminder of unconditional love in my heart is going 
to change the hearts of these friends in need!! Daddy God!!!