Day 24: Transformed by Truth

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
God, please help me.
God, why do I have this impatience in me? I need a peaceful mind to write all these entries.

I want to cry, but I don't know what to cry for. That's why, I can't cry.

I... I don't know. Calm the raging sea in me. I... believe in You.

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Day 24: Transformed by Truth

Jesus said, "sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
John 17:17

The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. Thus, to be Christlike, we must fill our lives with his Words.

God's Word is unlike any other word in this world. It is alive. If we look in the Book of Genesis, God created the world by Words. The whole Chapter one of this book tells us how God created this world - all by His Words.

God's Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever!
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

His Word should be considered as essential food of our life. Job said:

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
Job 23:12

Abiding in God's Word

Having a Bible at bookshelf without reading it is pointless. We need to feed ourselves with God's Words. Jesus called this "abiding".

If you abide My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.
John 8:31 New American Standard Bible

Then comes the same question: How? There are ways, of course, and they include:

1. I must accept its authority. The Bible must be the only compass that I'm relying on for my direction, the counsel I listen to, and the benchmark I use to evaluate everything. It must be the first and last word in my life.

Often unauthorized elements take over: culture, tradition, reason or emotion. Now you must know for yourself, who you want the authority to belong to. You must choose Bible as your final authority. Refer back to the Bible when you face problems, but the other four. Trust that whatever God asks you to do, you need not to understand straight-away before you do it. Often God shows us His true purpose. A testimony that I want to share is that, it was an event yesterday. I was searching for my "handsfree set of my W910i. And I couldn't find it. No matter how I searched. I began to suspect my housemates. There was really the urge to confront them - knocking their doors and ask. But, God somehow spoken in my mind, "be patient, this is My test of your faith. Now, sit down. Pray to Me. And go find it again."

And guess what, I found it in my bag - the one which I searched twice and I thought it was 100% not inside there. Here, I guess I was tested 2 elements: patience and trust. Not trusting Him that God wants to teach me, but trust in people around me. When I think back again, it was indeed a higher level of test that God wanted me to sit. And I nearly fail. Frustration nearly explode.

2. I must assimilate its truth. Fill our minds with Bible Words so that the Holy Spirit can work in me. It is not hard - there are five ways: receive it, read it, research it, remember it, and reflect on it.

a) receive it, with open, receptive attitude. The parable of sower spoken by Jesus told us about these unreceptive attitudes - closed mind ( hard soil), superficial mind (shallow soil), distracted mind (soil with weeds). Check on ourselves when things seem not right.

b) read it. Bible was once a sacred book that the high priests in church had access to it. Nowadays, we all can have this chance. So spend more time on the book, not on television. Do you know that by just spending 15 minutes a day, you can read through the Bible once within a year?

c) research it. Think critically when you are reading the book. Sometimes by the 5W1H questions (what, when, where, why, who, how), you will know far more.

d) remembering it. You might say that your brain is weak and memory-discharge easily. But keep it up. Take time to memorize them. There are lots of promising benefits. It will help us resist temptations, make wise decisions, reduce stresses and many more. How to remember? My mentor taught me to read it aloud. And yes, you might laugh, but this was what we learned during kindergarten times, no? Teacher always ask us to read aloud, so that we can remember.

e) reflect on it. In other words, "meditate". Focus on the verse, reflect it in life, when was it in our life that these verses helped us.

3. I must apply its principles. We must apply them into our daily lives. Be the doer of the words.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built is house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24

One thing important is that the truth will set you free. God will show us our bad, our weaknesses, our sins, and expects us to change. It is a hard work to change, since resist changing is a natural human nature. Therefore, it is important to discuss the personal application with someone. And to me, I think finding a mentor to guide you would be a wise idea.

Develop the habit of writing down exactly what you intend to do. This action step should be personal, practical, and provable.

Every application will involve either your relationship to God, your relationship to others, or your personal character.

What does God has asked you to do through His Words and you haven't do? Write them down. And begin to think of steps to do them.

And oh ya, if you happen to visit my room , I guess you will see lots of small but important things that I want to do, pinned on the board. =)

"remember to brush teeth before sleep and after wake up"

"40 days commitment for Purpose Driven Life with Stephanie"

"Don't purposely sleep late"

" What are you doing now"


ha ha.

Vincent