April 26, 2007

Wanted: Friends who don’t believeby Jon Walker

“Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people.” (Romans 12:16 CEV)

In The Message paraphrase, 2 Corinthians 5:20b is rendered: “Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.” That’s the message we’re to take to the world, yet often we limit our influence by seeking and maintaining friendships exclusively among other believers.
Jesus, on the other hand, sought out the lost, deliberately becoming friends with those who needed a friend in God.

The Bible says that when the Pharisees saw Jesus keeping company with the community’s great unwashed, “they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. ‘What kind of example is this from your teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?’ Jesus, overhearing, shot back, ‘Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” (Matthew 9:10-13 MSG)

Jesus knew who he was, according to God’s design; Jesus knew whose he was, according to God’s truth; and Jesus knew his purpose for being here on earth. All this allowed him to relax and ignore what others thought or said about him.

It meant Jesus wasn’t worried when others accused him of being a friend of sinners (Luke 19:7) because he was doing exactly what the Father sent him to do: persuade men and women to make peace with God (2 Cor. 5:20).

Likewise, we’re to represent Jesus, speaking on his behalf to those still on the “outside.” Yet some of us are so isolated and disconnected from unbelievers that we rarely have any meaningful conversations with them. The tendency is that the longer we’re believers, the more insulated we become from unbelievers, and perhaps the more uncomfortable we become with them.

The result – we no longer have friends who are non-believers.

Jesus’ actions suggest that our witness to a non-believer starts with friendship: We earn the right to share the Gospel through relationship. The old cliché is a cliché because it’s true: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Those who have yet to become friends with God are just like you and me, looking for deep, true, supportive friendships.

The Apostle Paul encourages us to find common ground with non-believers: “I do this to get the Gospel to them and also for the blessing I myself receive when I see them come to Christ.” (1 Cor. 9:21-23 LB) Finding common ground is an act of friendship; it guides us to look for the positive instead of the negative in those outside the faith.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, he pointed to what they had in common rather than the things he could condemn. (John 4) As a result, she not only became friends with God, she brought her friends and family into the presence of Jesus.
So What?

· Do you know who you are? – This is critical for you to become friends with non-believers. Otherwise, you may overly worry about what others believers think of you, or you may drift into sinful behaviors because you become concerned about what non-believers think about you. Jesus knew who he was and whose he was, and Jesus knew God’s purpose for his life. This allowed him to relax and ignore what others thought or said about him.

· Love people, not their values – God loves people (John 3:16), but that doesn’t mean he loves the values of the world. The Apostle John warns us not to “love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.” (1 John 2:15 MSG)

· Building friendships requires:
Courtesy: “Always talk pleasantly and with a flavor of wit but be sensitive to the kind of answer each one requires.” (Col. 4:6 NJB)
Frequency: You’ve got to spend time with non-believers in order to become friends with them.
Authenticity: “Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it.” (Romans 12:9a MSG)

· Be friendly with everyone – “Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people.” (Romans 12:16 CEV)

Monday, April 09, 2007The Right Kind of Fear

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
— Psalm 111:10

Even the most committed believer has those moments when fear or worry can kick in. Anxiety can overtake us. Maybe we are concerned about our future, or maybe we are discouraged about some things we have done or failures we've experienced.But far too often, we are afraid of the wrong things in life, and we are not afraid of the right things or the right One.

Many people don't fear God. Yet the Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.To fear God doesn't mean that we must cower in terror before Him. Rather, the fear of God has been properly defined as a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. So if I have sinned, my fear should not be based on the anticipation of what God will do to me, but on what I have done to displease Him. That is what it is to fear the Lord.

It is to love the Lord so much that you don't want to sin against Him.We need to fear God.

The remarkable thing is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else. On the other hand, if you do not fear God, then you fear everything else.David said, "The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Only the person who can say, "The Lord is the strength of my life" can then say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"Maybe you feel that your life has been a failure, or maybe you are discouraged about something or afraid of something.

If you're gripped by fear and worry today, then let the Lord be the strength of your life.

"He had no beauty or majesty
Tied on the cross and stripped for all to see
God crushed his son, for me...for me
What have i done to deserve a love like this..."

i thanked God for a wonderful Good friday event, with all the helps that i have received.

it was stressful to be part of the committee.

but God sent me good angels to help to oversee the whole event.

i thanked God cos i gotta swop shift today, to enjoy the presence of my lovely spiritual family members. esp those who are in Mabel's cell. been a long time since i got connected to them..prob 1 year.

still remember the last time, we had whole lotsa fun was during the retreat camp at PLMGS.

time flies...

i tot i've somehow managed to overcome part of it.

till today.till i saw, and the emotions building up were jus too much for me to handle.

i tried, but i cant. i failed and it's diff to pick yourself up over and over again.

i hate to lie. and i have to admit.i cant,i am not ok.

i am a human.God knows i have real issues in my life to resolve.

but i dun wish to withdrawn anymore. i need to face it, the hard and painful way.

i cant turn away and start running away.

i gotta chose the only 1 way.

the God's direction.

i dun know, for i am lost.

i am lost,and seems like i have never been found in this area.

it's like a bottomless pit. gog deeper and deeper.

h-e-l-p. i know You are here.