Monday, January 7, 2008: life can be
a strange yet wonderful, painful yet happy experience, journey, thing, all at once.
i am reminded of pastor noel's message at shineforth.
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall."
Malachi 4:1-2things havent been the greatest, but lets hope we can soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow faint. faith isnt easy, at all.
maybe in the darkness somewhere we might just see a glimmer of light; maybe then we can be like calves and leap forwards, instead of tumbling into an endless spiral.
a shout of praise.
6:30 PM
Saturday, January 5, 2008: a quick word said in jest, can hurt.
"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from the desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight."
James 3:3-6, 9-10; 4:1-2maybe just a word that came out unintentionally caused such a mess today, maybe i was just thoughtless, or maybe i didnt see what was coming. i remember in one of the bible studies of james we did this very passage and i once thought about situations like these that happened in the past: a sweeping statement that caused friction, or a stubborness which made it hard to be humble-all these causing unnecassary pain.
i wonder why God allows such pain in our lives.
i have come to realise though, that the pain was only a result of our own disobedience, our own discontent, our own sin; that God did not intend for us to be broken.
maybe what said tonight was out of our anger, out of our disappointment, but maybe what we have to work on, is probably humility, grace and forgiveness.
"But because of your stubborness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgement will be revealed."
Romans 2:5
a shout of praise.
11:26 PM
i am reminded of pastor noel's message at shineforth.