don't WORRY

If God brings me to it, He'll bring me through it. :)

it's time for CHANGE

I hate the person I'm becoming.

The paradox is, I don't want to change. Either I'm too scared, it's too hard, or I'm just too comfortable with who I am right now.

LORD SAVE ME.

i need a HIGHER view of God [john 3:30]

He must increase
He must increase
He must increase
He must increase
He must increase
but I must decrease
but I must decrease
but I must decrease
but I must decrease
but I must decrease

a rotten SEED

I read an article and learned a little biology today:

"Yet before this force of life can be released, the hard outer shell must be broken down, allowing moisture and other nutrients into the heart of the seed. In a sense, the seed must decay before it begins to live and grow."

Giant Sequoia trees, apple trees, dandelions--every plant starts off as a seed. But before it can sprout, the seed itself must die. The seed shell rots, and that is when life truly begins for a plant.

It reminds me of my own spritual life. I had to die to myself before life truly began. "Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." [Luke 17:33] And when I finally died to myself and surrendered to the One, God allowed me to blossom by the power of His grace. First my prideful shell decayed. Then I drank the Living Water of the gospel. And lastly I got my daily Sonlight. Now it's the season to start bearing them fruits! :)

If you haven't done so already, I urge you to give up everything and take up that cross-- it's infinitely worth it. Only God can make something dead into something alive.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up

and a garden causes seeds to grow,

so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise

spring up before all nations.

[Isaiah 61:11]

JAMES 1:19

"let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak"

Yet I'm a person who is slow to hear, quick to speak.


Just something to reflect on and work on for this week.

the one who never SLEEPS

I've been really busy these days. I've been pulling all-nighters (or nights with 2-3 hrs of sleep). And it's taking a toll on my body. I am falling asleep in class, and even when I am awake I am in zombie mode. My immune system is running at approximately 15%, and I am constantly tired due to sleep deprivation.

So it makes me wonder, why in the world did God create our bodies with a need for sleep? Why did he create us in a way where we need to be knocked out for 1/3 of our days?

As CJ Mahaney puts it, sleep reminds us that we are weak. We are not self-sufficient. We are dependent creatures. We are not God. There is only One who "will neither slumber nor sleep" [Psalms 121:4]. It's humbling to know that there is only One who never grows tired nor weary. Even a young man like myself is nowhere close in comparison to God. It brings me to my knees.

But even when I do sleep (which seems like it's not that often these days), I am humbled when I open my eyes in the morning. Is it the sunlight that wakes me up? My annoying alarm clock? My other alarm clock? My roommate? Chemical hormones in my body? Nope. It is GOD who sustains me and gets me through the night, and it's also God that lets me arise in the morning. I am unconscious but my heart still beats and my lungs still breathe--yet even that I know is sustained by my Creator. Who can go to sleep tonight and be 100% sure he will wake up in the morning. Not a single person. It is by God's will and power that we see another day. So once again, it humbly brings me to my knees.

Remember. The next time you pull an all-nighter, it is a God-glorifying activity. So pull them more often! And if you happen to go to sleep, it is still God-glorifying because He alone is the One who awakens and lets us live.

Blessed by His Grace.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

[Isaiah 40:28-31]

ALEXANDER the great

Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks.

One day a cowardly soldier caught running from battle was brought into the tent of Alexander the Great:

"Soldier, what's your name?" demanded Alexander the Great.
"Alexander, sir."

Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name?"
"My name is Alexander, sir," the soldier repeated.

A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is your name?"
A third time the soldier meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir."

Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "either change your name or change your conduct."

[Rebuke to MYSELF]

Don't call yourself a Christian if:
1) You only act like one on Sunday, but live otherwise from Monday through Saturday.
2) You are ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
3) You you are continuously stumbling others, and God forbid, bringing them into sin as well.
4) You refuse to share the "good news" with those around you.
5) You hate more than you love.
6) You don't take up your cross daily.
7) You are your own god.

I'm not saying you have to be perfect to call yourself a Christian. But I am saying, you MUST put all of your heart into loving and living for God. Of course I'm a sinner! And I don't hide that fact, I only boast in my weakness--because His power is made perfect in weakness.

However, it's a whole different thing to publicly declare yourself as a Christian but live otherwise because that is putting to shame the name of Christ. Believe it or not, fake hypocritical Christianity is visible to others--and it leaves a false impression in the minds of unbelievers, which takes so much more work to reverse.

So if you don't feel like being a Christian, then don't call yourself one. Change your name or change your conduct. Just don't spit on the name of Christ. On the other hand, if you're going to call yourself a Christian, then live as if it means everything.