there is something about women that strikes me as very peculiar, and i mean it in the good way. i find it amazing that they are willing to sacrifice much for their families. i remember my mom waking up at 2 in the morning to study for her class just so that she had enough time to make breakfast for 2 demanding kids. and though she would be tired after work she used to make sure we were fed well. she sacrificed her whole life, her happiness and even her health for her families sake. and to think that i never appreciated her till she passed away last year on mothers day. funny thing about men is that we take things for granted and we only realize what we have lost after we have lost it for good. it would have been nice to be there by her side especially when she needed me. she was always there for me and it does hurt a lot to think i wasnt there for her when she needed me the most. i do miss her dearly. the only consolation is that she is in heaven because she trusted Christ as her savior. i remember this one time when she said that 'my jesus died for my sins'. she was content with what she had. her colleagues labeled her 'as docile as a sheep'. she excelled at her work. very gullible. i remember once convincing her that recent research has showed that humans have only 22 pairs of chromosomes instead of 23. and though she was a microbiologist she believed me :-). had a simple faith in Christ and his word. would pray before she left for work and right after she came from work. read her bible the first thing in the morning. cant understand why God had to take her away though at this point of my life. guess He wanted her more than any of us here. He knows what He is doing and ill have to be content with that. i know she loved me, even more than my sis, maybe even more than my dad. if only i understood a moms love for her child i could have showed my love for her even more. guess this is one thing that men wont ever fully comprehend.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Hymn that helped me from my unbelief
This hymn really helped me when i was struggling to trust God. William Cowper, who penned the famous hymn "There is a fountain filled with blood" also penned this hymn. He suffered from depression, fears and doubts throughout his life.
God Moves in Mysterious Ways
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy,
and shall breakIn blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Those verses in blue really helped remind me that it was foolish on my part to judge God and his purpose in my life just because things didnt happen the way i wanted them to. It helped lift this dark cloud of unbelief and it was a great relief when i started to believe Him again. It was Gods answer to my prayer for help, to help me believe and He did answer. And the amazing thing is, the reason this whole thing started in the first place was i started to doubt if God did answer prayer and if He didnt which at that time seemed to be the case then the bible had to be wrong. When Gods word itself is twisted to justify unbelief what hope has anyone? I didnt know what to believe anymore. After allowing me to wallow in my unbelief for a while He was gracious enough to help me out.
It is amazing that He was there whenever we needed Him and yet the moment we are in trouble we start wondering where He is and what His motives are. And when He has proved himself faithful yet again we cant help but feel like a fool for doubting Him.I feel like a fool now for ever doubting Him and His word. When will i learn? God only knows.
When all seems lost, it sure is comforting to know that God is there smiling upon us, his elect in Christ.
Two things before i end this post.
a) have mercy on me, O LORD, for i am a sinner
b) Lord increase my faith
As the bible says 'All things happen for good...'
God Moves in Mysterious Ways
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy,
and shall breakIn blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Those verses in blue really helped remind me that it was foolish on my part to judge God and his purpose in my life just because things didnt happen the way i wanted them to. It helped lift this dark cloud of unbelief and it was a great relief when i started to believe Him again. It was Gods answer to my prayer for help, to help me believe and He did answer. And the amazing thing is, the reason this whole thing started in the first place was i started to doubt if God did answer prayer and if He didnt which at that time seemed to be the case then the bible had to be wrong. When Gods word itself is twisted to justify unbelief what hope has anyone? I didnt know what to believe anymore. After allowing me to wallow in my unbelief for a while He was gracious enough to help me out.
It is amazing that He was there whenever we needed Him and yet the moment we are in trouble we start wondering where He is and what His motives are. And when He has proved himself faithful yet again we cant help but feel like a fool for doubting Him.I feel like a fool now for ever doubting Him and His word. When will i learn? God only knows.
When all seems lost, it sure is comforting to know that God is there smiling upon us, his elect in Christ.
Two things before i end this post.
a) have mercy on me, O LORD, for i am a sinner
b) Lord increase my faith
As the bible says 'All things happen for good...'
Excerpts from psalms
Psalm 30
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
1I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.
7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled.
8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication:
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
God truly is gracious.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
1I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.
7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled.
8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication:
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
God truly is gracious.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
How do I know I am a christian?
Each and every christian has a cross to bear. If one professes to be a christian and has no cross to bear then i would ask them to test themselves to see if they are in the faith. One of the main problem facing those who are raised in Christian homes is that they think just by believing the right things like Jesus was born a virgin, paid the penalty of my sins on the cross, was buried, died and raised from the dead etc; they are saved. But there is a sharp contrast between believing and trusting. One saves and the other doesnt. If believing the facts of the bible doesnt impress on your hearts the need to trust Christ with our lives then that person isnt saved. That is why the bible keeps saying believe on/in the Lord Jesus Christ. Belief that doesnt cause trust, even in the slightest sense, cannot make one a christian. It infact is good only for deceiving ourselves into thinking we are saved just because we believe the right things, go to church, are baptized, lead moral lives etc.
So how does one really know that they are saved?
a)There is a newfound love for God, for what he has done for us through Christ our Lord. And this love if genuine would want to spend all our time with Him, getting to know Him through his word, what He likes, what He dislikes, trying to please him with everything we do. The closer one gets to Him, it is only natural that one should hate themselves for being the wretched and depraved persons that we are. Yet at the same time the more we realize who we are the more we appreciate God and his love for us. It is only in this contrast that we can truly appreciate God for who he truly is. Grace is such an amazing thing, isnt it? John McArthur talks about how a new christian has an insatiable appetite for Gods word. Who wouldnt want to know more about the person they love. And what better way to spend ones time getting to know the God, who is love.
b) there is a love for man who is made in Gods image.
c) hatred for sin - most of the things we do we dont even realise that they are sinful. which is why we need to spend a lot of time reading the Word, to figure our what is and what isnt sin. The words we speak, the things we do, each and evry thought word and deed is to be brought under the subjection of Christ. Everything we do, we need to ask ourselves if it is sinful or not? it takes time to be holy.
d) humility - the closer one gets to God the more humbles he/she becomes. and we get closer to him through his word not by finding our inner self or other such nonsense we find new age people saying.
e) prayer - we spend time with the one we love. so if you really loved God you would spend a lot of time with Him.
It is interesting how all these are intricately linked with each other. For example, the more one prays, the more we learn to be humble and the more humble we become the more we pray.
So how does one really know that they are saved?
a)There is a newfound love for God, for what he has done for us through Christ our Lord. And this love if genuine would want to spend all our time with Him, getting to know Him through his word, what He likes, what He dislikes, trying to please him with everything we do. The closer one gets to Him, it is only natural that one should hate themselves for being the wretched and depraved persons that we are. Yet at the same time the more we realize who we are the more we appreciate God and his love for us. It is only in this contrast that we can truly appreciate God for who he truly is. Grace is such an amazing thing, isnt it? John McArthur talks about how a new christian has an insatiable appetite for Gods word. Who wouldnt want to know more about the person they love. And what better way to spend ones time getting to know the God, who is love.
b) there is a love for man who is made in Gods image.
c) hatred for sin - most of the things we do we dont even realise that they are sinful. which is why we need to spend a lot of time reading the Word, to figure our what is and what isnt sin. The words we speak, the things we do, each and evry thought word and deed is to be brought under the subjection of Christ. Everything we do, we need to ask ourselves if it is sinful or not? it takes time to be holy.
d) humility - the closer one gets to God the more humbles he/she becomes. and we get closer to him through his word not by finding our inner self or other such nonsense we find new age people saying.
e) prayer - we spend time with the one we love. so if you really loved God you would spend a lot of time with Him.
It is interesting how all these are intricately linked with each other. For example, the more one prays, the more we learn to be humble and the more humble we become the more we pray.
Heavens last best gift?
Who or what can it be?
"My latest found, Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight. " - a quote from Book V of Paradise Lost - refers to a wife, according to John Milton.
I've heard this joke about how he wrote Paradise Lost after he got married and Paradise regained after his wife passed away. Donno if it is historically accurate though.
"My latest found, Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight. " - a quote from Book V of Paradise Lost - refers to a wife, according to John Milton.
I've heard this joke about how he wrote Paradise Lost after he got married and Paradise regained after his wife passed away. Donno if it is historically accurate though.
Benjamin Franklin quote
"God helps those who help themselves"
Is this really true? The bible insists on putting ones faith in God rather than in ourselves or other men. Logic/reason also demands that since God is Almighty we might as well put our trust in Him even though at times things seem to be going quite out of hand.
Is this really true? The bible insists on putting ones faith in God rather than in ourselves or other men. Logic/reason also demands that since God is Almighty we might as well put our trust in Him even though at times things seem to be going quite out of hand.
The Chewbacca defense
Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor ... Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense!...it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.
This last statement is a parody of Johnnie Cochran's closing arguments in the O. J. Simpson murder case where he states to the jury: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," in reference to an earlier point in the trial when prosecutor Christopher Darden asked Mr. Simpson to try on a bloody glove found at the murder scene, which he did unsuccessfully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense
This last statement is a parody of Johnnie Cochran's closing arguments in the O. J. Simpson murder case where he states to the jury: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," in reference to an earlier point in the trial when prosecutor Christopher Darden asked Mr. Simpson to try on a bloody glove found at the murder scene, which he did unsuccessfully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
