how many of us thought of what is life ??? what am i doing in my life ??? why i need to work ??? why am i here on this earth ??? what do i want in life ???
haha.....but i can't give you the answer as well even though i know most of human being been through these or going through this. of coz i have thought of that as well.
lately i'm so into book of ecclesiates. it was so good and i'm addicted to it. i starts from chapter 1 of ecclesiastes where solomon said everything is MEANINGLESS. solomon is the person in bible who had everything ; wisdom, power, riches, honor, reputation, god's favor. he is mentioned in chapter 1 what the world would offer us is emptiness. whatever we are accomplishing and efforts now will meant nothing in the end. instead it is our commitment to god is the only reason for living.
solomon wrote this book based on his own experienced. as mentioned he has the riches but apart from from god nothing can make him happy. yes it's true. at times we might have all the possessions or technology or whatever we wanted but in the end of the day , what would it brings us ???happy for a period of time and that's it. it's not an everlasting happiness within us. it's just a TEMPORARY thing.
if in our life we are trying to find accomplishments in our work, material or etc rather than god , we will never be satisfied. everything we pursue will become wearisome or getting tired of it. we always need to bear in mind whatever we accomplish on the earth will disappear one day. if not we will be proud of ourselves when we succeed or felt disappointed when we fail. what solomon is trying to say is that whatever we accomplishments and possessions are meaningless. only the pursuit of god brings real satisfaction. we should honor god in all we say, think and do.
"TRUE WISDOM COMES FROM GOD ; TRUE HAPPINESS COMES FROM PLEASING HIM."
i like the explanation in verse 16-18. it says like the more we understand , the more pain and difficulty we experience. for example, the more we know, the more imperfection we see around us; the more we observe, the more evil becomes evident.
as we set out with solomon to find the meaning of life; we must be ready to feel more, think more, question more, hurt more and do more. are YOU ready to pay for the price of wisdom ???
how true it is ???are we willing to pay that price for wisdom ??? if we are going through time thinking why we are doing what we are doing now .....ask wisdom from god. whatever possessions or accomplishments we have now or in future might not be what we want and will not satisfied our needs. TRUE SATISFACTION comes from god.
why i say that also because these few years i' ve seen that in my life. i consider myself having a good life far more than a lot of people yet i felt i'm not satisfied. i've been searching and finding till i've met HIM along the way. though i am not like solomon now but i know for sure still a lot of thing i still need to learn as well gaining god's wisdom in my life.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Are we Forgiving ???
i wanted to post this chapter for some time but always lazy to do it. the reason of course it speaks to me and i do hope it speaks to you as well.
2 samuel 9
it is a story of David and Mephisosheth. i don't remember someone actually told me about this story or i heard it myself as usual as i read i reflect on the story only it makes more sense to me.
the story was about mephisisheth the son of jonathan. now david is the king of israel. david was asking whether is there anyone left in jonathan's household. david and jonathan was sworn brother if i remember correctly. jonathan was proctecting david even when saul which is joanthan's father trying to kill david. then the servant of saul said mephisosheth is living and he is crippled in both feet. the reason david wanted to see mephisosheth because he wants to show his kindness to him for jonathan's sake and also to show god's kindness. when mephisosheth was brought to david , he was invited to eat with the king which is david on the same table. david also gave everything belongs to saul back to mephisosheth. even he is crippled from there onwards, mephisosheth always ate at the king's table.
let us reflect back on us ???how does it relate to us ???? everyone of us are 'cripple' in certain ways whether on our past, our the things we have done or whatever it is yet god has never failed to invite us to eat with HIM on his table. he shown his kindness by sending his son , jesus to everyone of us. but it still our decision to accept it or not. despite for who we are , he forgave all our sins. he never take any records on it when we confess upon that cross. at times we can be like mephisosheth felt unworthy to receive the gifts from david but he chose to accept it. it's true we will feel unworthy for god has given to us , we felt we does not deserve it but that's god's promise to us. see (ephesians 2:8,9 - 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. )
from the chapter it shows david's kindness and forgiveness even when saul wronged him. when we chose to reject god , yet he remain faithful to us and forgive us. how many of us can be forgiving when someone wronged or rejected us ??? can we still be that generous to those who are less deserving ??? let us think about it.
when i thought of it ; i can only see how small myself is and how big God is. he really been always faithful to me through my journey with him. a lot of times i do not understand what i'm going through of the ups and downs yet time he proved he is right. the reason behind what's going on. the reason he chose to let me going through those valleys. the reason he wants me to cry our my heart to him. the times when i've got no one to understand me yet he remains there to listen ; at right time to show me his way.
YOU DESERVE ALL OF ME !!!
2 samuel 9
it is a story of David and Mephisosheth. i don't remember someone actually told me about this story or i heard it myself as usual as i read i reflect on the story only it makes more sense to me.
the story was about mephisisheth the son of jonathan. now david is the king of israel. david was asking whether is there anyone left in jonathan's household. david and jonathan was sworn brother if i remember correctly. jonathan was proctecting david even when saul which is joanthan's father trying to kill david. then the servant of saul said mephisosheth is living and he is crippled in both feet. the reason david wanted to see mephisosheth because he wants to show his kindness to him for jonathan's sake and also to show god's kindness. when mephisosheth was brought to david , he was invited to eat with the king which is david on the same table. david also gave everything belongs to saul back to mephisosheth. even he is crippled from there onwards, mephisosheth always ate at the king's table.
let us reflect back on us ???how does it relate to us ???? everyone of us are 'cripple' in certain ways whether on our past, our the things we have done or whatever it is yet god has never failed to invite us to eat with HIM on his table. he shown his kindness by sending his son , jesus to everyone of us. but it still our decision to accept it or not. despite for who we are , he forgave all our sins. he never take any records on it when we confess upon that cross. at times we can be like mephisosheth felt unworthy to receive the gifts from david but he chose to accept it. it's true we will feel unworthy for god has given to us , we felt we does not deserve it but that's god's promise to us. see (ephesians 2:8,9 - 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. )
from the chapter it shows david's kindness and forgiveness even when saul wronged him. when we chose to reject god , yet he remain faithful to us and forgive us. how many of us can be forgiving when someone wronged or rejected us ??? can we still be that generous to those who are less deserving ??? let us think about it.
when i thought of it ; i can only see how small myself is and how big God is. he really been always faithful to me through my journey with him. a lot of times i do not understand what i'm going through of the ups and downs yet time he proved he is right. the reason behind what's going on. the reason he chose to let me going through those valleys. the reason he wants me to cry our my heart to him. the times when i've got no one to understand me yet he remains there to listen ; at right time to show me his way.
YOU DESERVE ALL OF ME !!!
Monday, May 19, 2008
nothing is a SURPRISED !!!
as i mentioned before in my last blogging ; i don't remember where i read the phrases or whatever it is. i finally got it. it's actually from the bible but different version no wonder the translation was so good.
it says "what happens now has happened in the past, and what will happen in the future has happened before, God makes the same things happen again and again". this version is so easy to udnerstand.
especially with the SiChuan earthquake going on ; no doubt people will starts questioning why this kind of disaster are happening again ??? at least this verse gave me the reason to it. it's not a surprised from god but as he said in his words....what had happened in the past and going to happen in future; it has occured before.
but of coz through all these i believe god is not silent about it. let us keep praying and let god's love surround them and knowing god is still in control in all these.
it says "what happens now has happened in the past, and what will happen in the future has happened before, God makes the same things happen again and again". this version is so easy to udnerstand.
especially with the SiChuan earthquake going on ; no doubt people will starts questioning why this kind of disaster are happening again ??? at least this verse gave me the reason to it. it's not a surprised from god but as he said in his words....what had happened in the past and going to happen in future; it has occured before.
but of coz through all these i believe god is not silent about it. let us keep praying and let god's love surround them and knowing god is still in control in all these.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
a time for everything
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1 For everything there is a season,a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
The Injustices of Life
16 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17 I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe[a] and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. 21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here! No one will bring us back from death to enjoy life after we die.
i've listen to message for twice by erwin mcmanus. first time doesn't impact me so much and yesterday night was the second time i heard him in our church. doesn't know why this time it makes much more sense to me and makes me reading back few times for the passage. really loving it.
'The Beauty of a Tradegy'
this passage says about a time for everything. a lot of time what we facing in life whether good or bad , god has his purpose. especially when we are facing our giants ; god said he makes everything beautiful out of it. because we always sees things the way it is ; we can't acknowledge the beauty of god allows to go through. we are blinded by the circumstances.
a time to destroy and a time to build. a time to cry and a time to laugh. a time to to be sad and a time to dance. life is always fill with colors !!!
i think i read it somewhere or what i just forgot it about it suddenly. if says something like what happen in the past, present and future ; god already knows about it. it not something surprises god. also whatever happen now had happen before. i really can't remember where i read it but it's really good. that phrases explain much more better than me.
whatever season everyone is going through ; hope we face it strongly and overcome it by god's strength and power. everything has its reason and its season. let us learn together the see the BEAUTY OF A TRADEGY together. don't also indulge in the tradegy but see outside the box.
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