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| I sucked! |
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| CCC Young Adults Group - always young at heart. |
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| my brother's heartburn burger. |
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| my boring hotdog. |
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| jordan and his neapolitan shake - brain freeze, sugar rush. |
Showing posts with label Christian life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian life. Show all posts
Sunday, October 7, 2012
play night
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Spiritual Sunday
I have a bad habit of worrying about the future. Presuming the future. This bad habit of mine gets worst around my birthday. Another year. Somehow freaks me out.
So, the message today at church about facing the future, and the three common mistakes we make in facing the future, was really poignant. Here's a summary of the message based on James 4:13-17:
Three Common Mistakes We Make In Facing the Future
(1) Planning without God. It is wise to plan. The Bible tells us to plan. But the issue or problem is self-sufficiency - when we forget God in our daily lives. Planning without God is "presumptuous atheism." As Christians, and children of God, our business is God's business, so we must include God in our plans.
(2) Presuming about tomorrow. Life is unpredictable. We don't know what's going to happen. And we don't have any assurances. But, that shouldn't scare us. Instead, let it move us to trust God more. Life is short. It goes by really fast. We cannot presume that tomorrow is going to be the same as today. The solution: do not be anxious for tomorrow. Plan for the future, but we must live for today. For right now. Today is going to be the good old days we're going to talk about someday. Make the most of it.
(3) Putting off doing what is good. This is about procrastination. When we procrastinate, we presume that there will be a tomorrow. There are three things we can do with our lives: waste it, spend it, or invest it. Remember that there is another kind of sin in the Bible, which is the sin of omission. Doing nothing with our lives is a sin. The solution: Do it now. If you can do it now, do it now. Good intentions are not enough. Whatever you intend to do for God, do it now. And make your life count.
The pastor asked this question at the end: If you only have one week left to live, how would you spend it?
So, the message today at church about facing the future, and the three common mistakes we make in facing the future, was really poignant. Here's a summary of the message based on James 4:13-17:
Three Common Mistakes We Make In Facing the Future
(1) Planning without God. It is wise to plan. The Bible tells us to plan. But the issue or problem is self-sufficiency - when we forget God in our daily lives. Planning without God is "presumptuous atheism." As Christians, and children of God, our business is God's business, so we must include God in our plans.
(2) Presuming about tomorrow. Life is unpredictable. We don't know what's going to happen. And we don't have any assurances. But, that shouldn't scare us. Instead, let it move us to trust God more. Life is short. It goes by really fast. We cannot presume that tomorrow is going to be the same as today. The solution: do not be anxious for tomorrow. Plan for the future, but we must live for today. For right now. Today is going to be the good old days we're going to talk about someday. Make the most of it.
(3) Putting off doing what is good. This is about procrastination. When we procrastinate, we presume that there will be a tomorrow. There are three things we can do with our lives: waste it, spend it, or invest it. Remember that there is another kind of sin in the Bible, which is the sin of omission. Doing nothing with our lives is a sin. The solution: Do it now. If you can do it now, do it now. Good intentions are not enough. Whatever you intend to do for God, do it now. And make your life count.
The pastor asked this question at the end: If you only have one week left to live, how would you spend it?
Monday, June 25, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
patience.
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| Lake Como, Italy May 2008 |
Four years later, my prayers were answered.
I want to beg you, as much as I can, to be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart, and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign language.
Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
- Rainer Maria Rilke
***
Love is patient
1 Corinthians 13:4
***
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being
patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be
patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you
yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured.
You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome
of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
James 5:7-11
***
It is the lack of patience that makes us hurry things in life,
why we can't stand still. We tend to look for results rather than the process.
- My brother
