Living with Christ, Living in Christ

Driving has always tested my patience. Every now and then, I would get motorcyclists cutting lanes and challenging cars, while other car drivers would purposely deny me the right to change lanes, tailgate me, and giving faces of disgust when I haven’t even begun to think about my next move on the road. My mind would be running through lists of murderous thoughts, trying to pick out a way of vapourising the car that wronged me.

This is just one of the things that gets on my nerves in my daily life. Of course there are other issues, like dealing with difficult people, things going wrong and it’s not my fault and many more. They made me fume for minutes, if not hours on end about that single event. I would become grumpy and cold and old. My girlfriend always said, “There’s no point in getting angry over these all the time. It’s a waste of time and energy.” It is true. I couldn’t do anything about it. I can’t be getting out of the car and yell at the other person all the time. I can’t be doing anything physical lest I’d be arrested instead. And in the process, unhealthy stress levels release toxins that mutate cells that have the potential of being cancerous (National Cancer Institute). And the worst is, these murderous thoughts that flood through the mind, no matter how brief, is sin.

From BibleGateway:

Matthew 5:21-22
²¹“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca (contempt) is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

So, I always have to seek forgiveness and repent from this as it is sinful in God’s eyes. Self control in this issue is a difficult thing to do, but it’s achievable. Instead of thinking about curses, I thank God for saving me from an accident, or I thank God for letting me have the chance to practice patience. In times of great anger, I ask God to take this anger away from me and help me keep from falling into the trap of curses. My friend once told me that every time he encounters a brazen driver, he just says, “God loves you.” That is an example of holy living. Fill our mouths with godly speech, and shun all evil that craves to leak from our tongues. Pray for the Holy Spirit to come fill your lives each day and the fruit will show.

Galatians 5:21-23
²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Say, “God loves you.”

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15

Since the creation of man, God has already bestowed the responsibility to manage what He has given us and use resources wisely. In the beginning, it was the plants and the animals and the whole works of nature that had to be managed. Then as we progressed, we had more things to take care of: money, time, energy resources, businesses, and the environment. The responsibility portfolio hasn’t changed much as a whole. Therefore, money is not to be used without purpose, but neither is it not used for essential purposes. Save it, invest it wisely and use it for good things. Time is so limited therefore it is best to live like everyday is almost the last day we’ll be here on earth. Through that, everyday would be a purposeful day and one would be fulfilled. Petrol can be rationed while driving a car, for example, changing to neutral gear at a stop, or controlling the speed as to not overpress the gas. Start your hobbies, don’t waste another day just dreaming about it.

God has commanded us to be good stewards of the things He has given us. We naturally would take care of the things we worked for and the things that are valuable to us and to waste money, time and resources would be against His commands, and this would show that these commodities are not valuable at all. Some people recognise the importance of money, but sometimes it becomes their obsession after a while. Nothing is more valuable than the relationship with God. Instead of worrying about the ability to manage, ask God for the wisdom and will to be good stewards. He will be more than glad to help us if we’re humble enough to admit that we can’t do it without His help and if we have the courage to take up the responsibility that He has given us.

Good stewardship has bountiful rewards.

Would you agree that the end times are near? Tsunamis, earthquakes, wars, persecution. They have happened, and are happening. There are even movies made depicting the end of the world, a few in this decade, and recently there is a movie made about angels sent down to start the Apocalypse. Disasters and hardship are all expected in these days that God has told mankind would happen. But let’s not dwell on that.

The more important issue is, have you enough time to do what you are supposed to do while we are still here? What has God told you to do? I don’t think we have the luxury to postpone anything more. If we are called to serve in a particular area, and He has already made it clear, go for it. Go do the service in faith. Our time is limited by our mortality, and even more limited with the other human tasks that we are all bound by, such as working. Sometimes we might not think  that we are suited for the job, but does that show that we don’t trust Him? We have nothing to fear if we trust Him as nothing is more valuable than to do His will. In the process of following His plans, then not only it’s beneficial to yourself, but you will be a blessing to others. He uses us for these great things, for results that we may never see. To postpone these tasks is to delay the blessing to others.

If you have to start a blog to tell people about God, start it with faith. If you have to write songs to tell the world about Him, start writing. If you have to start teaching kids about God, start training with the church. If you have to start greeting fellow friends and giving a great smile to welcome them into church, start shaking hands and smile. Do all these in faith and trust that doing His will will never go unseen. We are limited by our time here on earth, so use it wisely to maximise it for His purpose. We don’t have to worry about the outcome, or whether the world will be touched by us or not, as God has all eternity for His plans. But it’s the little things we do that contribute to His plans.

Do you have something that God has impressed upon your heart to do? Something that you can put your talent to great use? Start thinking about now, and put it into action immediately. Time can be our enemy or our friend.

As you know, the site has been brought down by a major glitch. It was a  bad few days as I was trying to pick up the pieces, realizing that no back ups had been made. I was on the verge of shutting down for good as my heart just broke when I thought about the work lost. But then a small voice spoke to me that all is not lost. It said that if I had the heart to continue, it doesn’t matter what problems there are as we can overcome anything. I took it in faith that if it is for Him, nothing can bring it down. Patience is tested again, this time with more agony. However, something made me just press on to find a way to solve the technical problem. And yes, it was a task as I’m not very proficient in computer systems and all, but as I collected my breath and calm, I just took the time to read and reread the instructions again, and voila, it worked. I really thank God for the patience He gave me, or you will be seeing a “coming soon” banner, or worse, a “retirement” banner.

So help me God, to serve the people. Give me songs to write, and teach me so that I can continue to share with those who are in need. And please put into the hearts of the dear readers that they share with others. Amen.

This is a whole new day. The system has managed to be upgraded, and I pray that from now on, there will not be any more glitches. Thank you all for your patience.