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(Proverbs 31:25-26)
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; She can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." |
| Tunes in My Head |
Create your own Friend Test here |
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| Wednesday, January 17, 2007 |
| redefining friendship in god's terms |
In Philippians 2:19-20 (NLT):
If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
In the Old Testament two words are more generally translated into "friend" or "companion":
1) re`eh which means a mere associate, passing friend, neighbor, or companion;
2) 'ahabh with the meaning indicating affection natural or unnatural.
In the New Testament, there are also two words:
1) hetairos which can be translated as "a comrade," or "fellow,"
2) philos which suggests a more affectionate relationship.
I was looking and searching and I feel that the word "philos" describe the love Paul had for the church in Philippi. This word is primarily used (sorry for a short english lesson... the affliction of being an english teacher~ :P) as an adjective which means loved dearly, but it was often used as a noun, implying the actual nature of love described in the Bible. In the strictest definition, a friend is someone whom we love dearly with a love that expects nothing in return. Sounds like a tall order huh? That's why only Christ is able to place this kind of love in our hearts for He has loved us so.
Paul wrote this verses as he was imprisoned and was unable to visit his beloved brothers. Yet he hopes to be able send Timothy who was a young and trusted friend and colleague of Paul. It was rather interesting for me to read about how special Paul regarded Timothy. He actually used a phrase "have no one else" except Timothy. So what is so special about Timothy? What can I learn from Timothy about friendship?
Firstly, a real friend must be trustworthy. Paul was sure that Timothy would take care of the welfare of the brothers and sisters in the Church of Philippi. He had no reason to doubt the heart of this special friend. Timothy was trustworthy because he cared for the interests of Christ Jesus (refer to verse 21).
I count myself quite lucky that I have been able to find fellowship of different brothers and sisters who I can trust. Yet I must also ask myself have I been a trustworthy friend? Have I been focused in seeking for the interests of Christ Jesus e.g. speaking the truth in love, calling each other higher in our walk with God and our mission (Proverbs 27:17), etc?
A real friend has to be available. I find this one of my toughest challenges. As I am currently teaching in a school, there are at times meetings that can drag and affect my availability to spend time or do other things. I also find it physically challenging as I get tired rather easily. All this pushes me to have to be so much more organised and disciplined in how I use my time. I have no time to procrastinate AT ALL. And it's totally against my sinful nature. I am used to nua-ing or taking my sweet time in some things I do. Yeah... I can be super efficient but I can be super nua as well... and with my current schedule, I cannot afford to procrastinate. Timothy, with all his duties and obligations and things to do, still had time to listen to Paul in his hour of need. It's not easy. It requires one to be inconvenienced. It requires one to sacrifice. It requires one to accept that whatever effort put in may be wasted (ever try to be there for a friend but was brushed off/ignored/basically unappreciated? I had.). It requires one to surrender to God's will; to accept that whatever you can do is also limited...
A real friend has to be genuine. Ha... Another of my biggest struggles. It took me 2 years before I could really be vulnerable to even my closest friends. Often I only share moments of victories AFTER I struggled, moments of triumph AFTER I went through trials. I never allowed people to get into my life in my down-est moments. Genuine here also means a real concern for the friends or people around us. Often than not, I catch myself having critical thoughts about how this person is treating me; how my friendship is with this brother/sister. Of course, it's natural to have certain basic expectations; however, it's also true that we must be willing for friendships to be one-way sometimes. Some friends are harder to love and a few may never love you back. That's the truth and we need to be surrendered in how friendships with brothers and sisters turn out when we know fully well that we have done our part to the best of abilities. I learnt this lesson thru the hard way with one of my longest best friends. Nevertheless, I am always comforted by the fact that there will always be one friend who will always love me unconditionally. Yep... that's God. In Philippians, Paul commends Timothy to the church at Philippi as a genuine, legitimate friend who is only concerned about the welfare of the believers there.Our motivation must never be "what it does for me" but rather "what it does for you(others)".
Some of the thoughts for these past 2 days... :)Labels: my time with Him |
ranted by Jerraine @ 7:04 AM  |
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| Monday, January 15, 2007 |
| Rethinking Sacrifice |
I was reading online a story about a man called Abraham Bininger. Below is the summary of his convictions that made me rethink about my definition of sacrifice.
"Abraham Bininger, a Swiss boy from Zurich, came with his parents to this country on the same ship that brought John Wesley. The father and mother of the lad both died on the voyage and were buried at sea, and he stepped alone from the gangway onto a strange continent where there was not a single familiar face. This solitude of his childhood drove him closer to the Friend in whom religion had early taught him to trust. The orphaned condition of the gentle boy must have appealed strongly to the sympathy of Mr. Wesley, and it was probably the great preacher himself who took him from the ship to the Methodist orphan school in Georgia where he was educated.
In his youth, Bininger gave proof of singularly devout and tender feeling, and this character was intensified with added years. When he had grown to manhood, he asked to be sent to tell the story of the cross to the Negroes of the island of St. Thomas, having heard of their great misery and degradation. When he arrived at the island, he learned that it was against the law for any person but a slave to preach to the slaves. It was the policy of the planters to keep the blacks in ignorance and superstition. Shortly after this, the governor of St. Thomas received a letter signed by Abraham Bininger, in which the writer begged urgently to become a slave for the rest of his life, promising to serve as a slave faithfully provided the could give his leisure time to preaching to his fellowslaves. The governor sent the letter to the King of Denmark, who was so touched by it that he sent an edict empowering Abraham Bininger to tell the story of the Messiah when and where he chose--to black or white bond or free."
The first thing that went through my head was "What? Become a slave?!"
A definition of a slave is :
1. One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household.
2. One who is abjectly subservient to a specified person or influence
It just blows my mind to read about how this man was so eager to share about God's Word that he was willing to give up his freedom (that many people would rather die than to give up) in order to be able to preach. And mind not, in those days, the slaves' lives were very hard and their belief system had been based on supersitions and traditions! I could not imagine what kind of sacrificial attitude he must had... to sacrifice for people who might not be appreciative at all. This reminds me of Jesus... who died on the cross for me even though I have had rejected him time and time again; refused to repent time and time again, etc. He died on the cross for me fully knowing that I could reject him. My mind sometimes just goes into a blank when I try to fathom such unconditional love.
In Philippians 2:17-18:"Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me."
Here Paul mentions his willingness to be "poured out as drink offering" on the sacrifice of the Philippian people. Paul is referring to his willingness to be martyred for the cause of Christ. He is willing to sacrifice his life along with the sacrifice of these people.
To some sources I found, Paul is said to be referring to the Old Testament sacrifices. Looking at a couple passage in Numbers chapter 15, what Paul is alluding to; (Numbers 15:5-7) "and one-fourth of a HIN of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb. Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a HIN of oil; and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a HIN of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD."
In the Old Testament we see that at times a drink offering was to be made along with the offering of a lamb, ram, or bull. What Paul is saying is that he is willing to be that drink offering to go along with the sacrifice of service of faith, which the Philippian people were offering up.
That sacrifice of the Philippian people is mentioned in the previous verses. The sacrifice of their worldly sense of pride by allowing God to work in them, sacrificing worldly concepts of "self-control" for a spirit controlled life. They sacrifice to shine as stars into a dark world, they sacrifice as they hold fast to the word of life. And these sacrifices were all prepared with joy and rejoicing. That is the law of sacrifice. That sacrifices need to and should produce joy and rejoicing. Giving something unto the Lord should cause our hearts to be filled with joy to the point that we rejoice in our sacrifices.
Perhaps, the question to us is... does sacrifice brings joy to our hearts? Does sacrifice equal to joy for us?
For me, I know the answer is not always a yes. And I want to be able to change so much more in that... I really want to be able to have that joy in my heart that nothing can take away.
Something to ponder over the couple of days... like a cow... chewing on the grass :PLabels: my time with Him |
| ranted by Jerraine @ 7:03 AM |
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| Friday, January 12, 2007 |
| What focus? |
Just wish to share my quiet time for this morning...
I was reading Philippians 2:1-4 and I looked for different translations. I find myself going "ahh" at the message version (not that any other versions are not good la...) -
"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."
If we look at verse 3, we will realise that being inwards focused only makes us focused on what we want to achieve. We will want to push people away consciously or unconsciously. When we are outward-focused or at least trying to be, we will realise that we want to share with the others the need for them to hear God's Word and how it can change their lives. We will also do things that will bring people together as we do things out of love.
(been trying to update my blog for ages... 29/1/07)Labels: my time with Him |
| ranted by Jerraine @ 7:01 AM |
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| Wednesday, January 03, 2007 |
| Another sunset... hehe |
something I drew... :) A sunset in my mind.Labels: in creative mode |
| ranted by Jerraine @ 5:20 AM |
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| Monday, January 01, 2007 |
| What do you choose for 2007? |
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!
As usual, I will try to put photos up... if I get all of them in time. :P Aniwaes...
just wanna share this article I saw online. It's a good way to start thinking of what we choose for the new year.
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I Choose Love…
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I Choose Joy….
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical….the tool of the lazy thinking. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I Choose Peace….
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I Choose Patience….
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I Choose Kindness….
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I Choose Goodness….
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I Choose Faithfulness….
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I Choose Gentleness….
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I Choose Self-Control…
I am a spiritual being….After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when the day is done, I will place my head on the pillow and rest.
Extracted from the book “When God Whispers Your Name” by Max Lucado. |
| ranted by Jerraine @ 12:25 PM |
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