at keeping in touch with people. This thought came to me after receiving wedding invitations and RSVP to a friend’s wedding that I have no idea what is going on in people’s lives these days. Working, ministry, and dating have kind of put me in my own little routine world over the past year. It just made me think of all the people I had lost touch with the past 2 years…thankfully I’m not a complete recluse, and I do have human interaction, don’t worry. But still, I could be a lot better about it…so here’s to making a better attempt at things! And yes, if you read this, tell me what’s going on with you!
Routine is good, it helps us feel like we are in control of things. Even for the most adventurous, having life always be unpredictable leaves them uneasy at times. Routine also gives us discipline, but it so easily makes us feel like we’re being productive or even honoring God with what we do. Routine can also help us forget God and rely on ourselves. Heck, if I did everything yesterday without thinking about God at all, what are the chances I’m going to be doing the same things today and stop and dwell on Him? Life becomes routine too quickly, may we come to the Cross daily to be refreshed and allow every new day to bring us closer to Him. Lord, I want to be closer to you than I was yesterday and the day before that.
“The presense of impatience reveals the absence of humility, reveals the presence of self-righteousness in our lives. When we are impatient, we have forgotten God’s patience with us.” – CJ Mahaney
very humbling…
There’s a feeling of joy that comes with free food that can only be matched by a few things in this world. The patience to go through with something knowing that there will be a delicious meal waiting for you at the end. A working man coming home to enjoy a home-cooked meal with his wife and children. It gives you a nice romantic/homey feel. Longing for nourishment and the comforts of this world sure seem like worthy pursuits, but if only we could have the same satisfaction from being fed by the Word of God. As Christ says in John 6:35 35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” If only I could fully grasp this bread of life to satisfy and quiet my wants and desires…
With an injury, depending on the severity, comes many emotions: fragility in my injured body, frustration that comes with the inability to do “simple” tasks, embarrassment, determination, just to name a few. These “simple” things become so mundane, we forget to thank God for them. Sadly, not until God temporarily took away my ability to walk on two feet, did I fully appreciate the gift of being able to physically walk. In midst of these circumstances, one feeling I did not expect to have from the injury was joy. Joy in knowing that there is a heavenly body awaiting me at the gates of gold. That although there is much pain and suffering in this world, we carry on and live joyfully in faith with eyes fixed on the coming of our Savior and King. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”-James 1:2-3
Update on what happened this past Friday at Wooden. Teammate stole the ball threw an outlet pass to me, I drove left and went up for a layup, and the opposing player fouled me up in chest area and my face. Suddenly my upper body was falling backwards and my right leg was straight up in the air. My left foot touches the ground first, then the rest of my body came crashing down on it. It was too much weight for my foot to handle, so the ankle gave out. I think it’s a sprain… hopefully that’s all it is.
I’ve been reading Spectacular Sins by John Piper. It’s a very good book, and I highly recommend it. (Unlike most Piper books, it’s short and to the point!) It’s not just informative but it’s given me a greater understanding and appreciation of God’s sovereignty, especially in the area of sin and God’s sovereignty over it. One statement that struck me was: “Wimpy worldviews make wimpy Christians”. How often we talk, sing, read about the greatness of God, and I have no doubt that if I was to ask a Christian, or specifically someone from GOC what he/she thought about God, I’d probably get some responses ranging from “holy, awesome, powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, all-knowing, wise, faithful, etc” but how do those beliefs manifest themselves in our daily lives? I for one often lack faith when I choose to rely on myself on how I am going to get this or that done, deciding my future, or even making everyday decisions. Where is God in that picture? I am doing the exact opposite of what it says in Proverbs 3:5-7:
We are supposed to build our faith on the solid rock of God, not the sinking sands that are ourselves. Christianity is more than facts but not less. We as Christians often say we read the Bible to “know more about God”. That statement might be inadequate depending on your definition of “knowing”. “Knowing” more about God does not do the Bible, or our Lord justice. After all I could pick up a book on USC sports history and know more about it, but I could care less about it. Plainly reading or hearing the Bible does not make us more like Christ, the Pharisees knew the Word of God inside and out but all that knowledge meant nothing for their perishing souls in the end. They were exactly the kind of people James warns us not to become when he says, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” The greater our understanding of God through the application of His word, the more faithful our worldviews will be. Let’s not be wimpy Christians, I don’t want to be one.
Just enrolled for the last classes of my college career. Yikes senior year is ending quickly. Senior year has been busy and seems to only get busier as time goes on, but all to the glory of God…well hopefully I’ve been able to be faithful in that. Tack on work starting on Tuesday and that equals some busy times ahead. Busyness tends to bring out the worst in me sometimes. The danger of focusing too much on the busyness and not on God, forgetting to care enough about others, thinking about what I need to do next, being impatient, being terse with people, among probably other things. These all boil down to selfishness. Selfishness being an exalting of oneself, therefore a lack of humility. Well this is what Peter has to say about it:
What a comforting promise that is, that we ought to humble ourselves before Him and cast our anxieties on Him BECAUSE HE CARES FOR US. What a boundless love it is.
I’ve been sitting at this desk too much these past couple days, my legs feel decrepit… like that feeling you get in your legs/feet when you’ve just woken up from sleeping in your seat during a long flight.
Another year wiser? I can only hope to strive to learn and understand more of what Solomon writes in Provers 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Wow I’m 22 now. 21 is supposed to be a landmark year and in many ways it was. What a crazy year, lots of challenges, , lots of sin, lots of growth, a lot learned, and grace that abounded it all. Too much for this one page. Here’s to another year of blessed life. Thank you Lord, and thank You for family and friends.
“The presence of impatience reveals the absence of humility, reveals the presence of self-righteousness in our lives. When we are impatient, we have forgotten God’s patience with us.”
