Day 20: Restoring broken fellowship

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
Stop following people. Don't roam around anyone other than God. No, go straight to God. Think of what God wants in you. Pay attention. Focus.

Arghhh... I need something to cool me down.

Chill chill chill chill chill... No, it didn't work out. It don't work out again. It will not work out either.

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Day 20: Restoring broken fellowship

One of our purpose on earth is to learn how to love others, just like how God loves us. God wants us to value relationships with others and make effort to maintain them, not casting them aside. Broken relationships will be a unpleasing testimony to other unbelievers, since Christ wants His family to be known for love.

Paul was so embarrassed of the Corinthians. That was why he wrote letters to the church in Corinth, which were splitting into warring factions and even taking each other to court. He was shocked that the Christians unable to settle dispute between them. The church was unable to resolve conflicts peaceably.

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1. Corinthians 1:10

If you want God's blessing on your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9

Thus we should actively search ways to resolve conflicts, which is a hard work. Peacemaking is something that you can develop. So, tell yourself: I want to be a peacemaker. But how?

1. Peacemaking is not avoiding conflict. Hiding from conflicts, pretending they do not exist is not helping at all. Deal with them instead, just like how Jesus did it, as stated in the Bible. To do so, pray for the Holy Spirit's continual guidance.

2. Peacemaking is also not appeasement. Always giving in, letting others to run over you is not peacemaking. Jesus is not such a person. He refused to back down on many issues, instead, he stood still on the ground, confronting the face of evil opposition.

Now you know how to be a peacemaker. Let's go deeper topic: How to restore a relationship?

1. Talk to God before talking to the person. Tell God about the problem. Discuss with God. Pray to God that He will guide you to solve the problem. You can't scientifically prove it, but you will often discover that either God changes your heart or he changes the other person without your help. Everything will go much smoother. Sometimes conflicts rise because of unmet needs. Thus remember, expect no one else to meet a need that only God can fulfill. Only God can do it.

2. Always the the initiative. It does not matter if you are the offender or the victim. God wants us to take the first move. A fact that I realize from daily life. If you expecting another person to take the first step, you will end up most probably the conflict unsolved, because the other one might also be waiting for you to take the first step. Restoring broken relationship is so important, that Jesus said:

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer you gift."
Matthew 5:23-24

It is stated here, do not delay nor make excuses. Delay only deepens the resentment and makes things worse. Time heals nothing; it causes hurts to fester. Conduct a peace conference as soon as possible, choosing the correct time and place to meet. The best time is when you both are at your best.

3. Sympathize with their feelings. Listen to them. Focus on their feelings, not the facts. Begin with sympathy, not solution. There is a technique to learn. Do not let them feel as if you are rushing and forcing them to tell you. Let them talk, let them unload emotionally without being defensive. Feelings must not be always true. Resentment makes us act and think foolishly.

When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Psalm 73:21-22

A man's wisdom gives him patience,
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11

So, be patient. And there's a say saying that people don't care what we know until they know we care. Jesus was patient and endured unfounded, malicious anger, just to save us.

4. Confess your part of the conflict. In other words, admit that you are wrong. Admit your mistakes or sin. Evaluate your own actions before meeting them. Ask God to let you know how much problem is your fault.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1. John 1:8

Confession is a powerful tool for reconciliation.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Do not make excuses. Just admit, and confess. Do not blame. Just honestly own up to any part you have played in the conflict. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and ask for forgiveness.

5. Attack the problem, not the person. And yes, do not blame others. Learn to have gentle answer.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

Choose your words wisely. Do not provoke other people. You are never persuasive when you are abrasive.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that is may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

6. Cooperate as much as possible. For the sake of restoring the relationship, learn to compromise, adjust to others, and show preference to what they need.

You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and you place in God's family.
Matthew 5:9 The Message

7. Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. Reconciliation focuses on the relationship, resolution focuses on the problem. When we focus on reconciliation, the problem loses significance and often becomes irrelevant.

Learn the smart way to resolve our differences. A diamond looked from any angle is the same. And God expects unity, not uniformity. Give up not on discussing and even debating - but you do it in a spirit of harmony.

Well, I'm thinking of someone that I want to restore the broken relationship. It takes courage to think like this - to restore a fellowship. That is why peacemakers are rare. That is why God calls peacemakers his children.



Vincent

Happy Fathers' Day 2008

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
The core of the story is true and real. No add-on has been made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could still remember their past, you know.

**

He was sitting at the bench. He was watching the birds chipping in a small grass field in front of him. He was, however, covered with anger and hatred. The feelings were so intense, that even the birds could as if feel the aura. His sight was fury and dangerous. He did not want to be like this too. These two peaks inside his little soul created internal conflict.

He was holding his badminton bag, sitting in front of the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) Badminton Hall, alone. Sometimes, his Indonesian coach, who lived there, would come out and talk to him. Else, air was his company. The water cooler nearby was the only thing that talked to him with his drumming engine sound, which he ignored. He was scared, most of the time. Except Saturday. That was the only day when he could see the sun after badminton training. Else, it was only lamp light and moonlight. Even the stars were not bright enough for him.

The old blue van would then come. The driver was a businessman, smiling at him. Sometimes the wife would accompany him. Sometimes some other relatives would be inside the car too. He would hop into the car, and said nothing.

He wanted to shout out anger. But in the end he turned out crying on his bed. Whose tears only God knew.

And this was repeated nearly always, back then.

**

He was sitting in front of computer. He enjoyed playing computer games. And back then Dune 2000, Command and Conquer: Red Alert, and Sonic Underground was his favorites. But neither could he play long, because the very same businessman would appear beside him, asking him to step off from the computer desk. He would say, "That's enough, you had already played for more than an hour." Then he would reply, "Don't lie, it's only an hour." Most of the times, this led to quarrels. Other times, it led to bitterness. An one-direction bitterness of the young to the old. The young always acted like a mouse, a thief. Whenever the old went out with his wife, he would sneak to computer desk, press the power-on button, and play games. His ears were sharp, hearing a single footstep, he would press and hold the power button. Except the heat from the computer, the 5 seconds hold were enough for him to cover his mouse-like awkward look and flee from the scene.

There were once, the businessman summoned everyone to the kitchen in a quiet night. Holding a butcher's knife, he said, "I've warned you all. But you all forced me to do this." A swing toward the chopping board accompanied by a sound "whack!", and the power cable split into four. But that wasn't enough to cease the wilderness of the kids.

**

He is a very stubborn youth. The businessman is also a block-headed. Their stubbornness is almost the same magnitude. So when two solids head-on collide , they would never stick together. In Mechanics we learned about "Conservation of Momentum", and by applying it here, it only caused both of them to retract. Newton was really clever back then to create this theory.

They seldom had same thinking. Quarrels were like daily routine of their lives. They would piss each other off, they would shout at each other... the resentment and anger were so intense, that the wife could not know how to calm both of them down. He would slam his room's door in the business' face. The businessman would discipline him with his cane. But both of them were tough, never let go of each other. And the poor wife was always the victim. It was like the war at Iraq. The businessman would be the I-am-the-true-justice United States and Alliance, and he would be the hard-core-dictator Saddam Hussein. And the wife? Nothing but the citizen caught in the midst of the war. They said both the US and Iraq suffered quite a huge number of loss. But none mentioned the pain of the citizen. Every side was too self-centered to think of other people.

***

Today the businessman and the youth are far from each other. God destined them to be apart for some time. And it was when the youth grew up.

Looking back, the businessman was busy to find income to support the family. That was the only reason he always late to pick him up.

Looking back, the power cable was chopped off so that he could focus on his studies.

Looking back, the never-wrong US were, after all, unlike the real US, was trying to protect the Saddam Hussein. Maybe it's just that the method was wrong. Or maybe he was too conservative in his deeds. A method that would never apply in this 21st century.

Looking back, everything was done so that he could grow into the person he is today. Still a youth, but able to think in and outside the box. Able to live a life that he knows what he is doing. Able to understand life more easily. Able to keep temper and remain smiling at circumstances.

The businessman was very affectionate to the youth, actually. He always bought him his favorite kolomee, teach him the way of life. Taught him 三字经. Sent him to go for art tuition. He was not that good in earning money. He was too kind with other people that most of the time others took advantages on him. But his heart is pure. Because of this he met most of the Malaysian Leaders.

He is a potter, of both literally and metaphorically. His works could be seen in Government Art Museum. He was a teacher before then - a potter of human soul. And the youth is his one of his products. Although is still unfinished and flawless, but he is proud of it.

Today, the war can never take place anymore due to geographical disallowance (there's no such word).
Today, the youth wants to pay tribute to him.
Today, he wants to hold his hand back again.
Today, he wants to be his friend.

When we are kids, father is the coach. When we are teenagers, father is the adviser. When we are young man, father is our friend.
Jia Jin

The youth is me, the US/businessman is my father, and the Iraqis is my mother. And although times when our father looks as if fierce, and we're like debtors to him, but still, when you grow up, you will understand how much sacrifices our father poured out for us to be who we are today. You might say your father is a bad person; or you father is a good person. But either way, he is our father, and I'm sure every father wants his sons and daughters to grow into a better person than he is.

That is the reason behind the nags.

That is the reason behind the resentment.

That is the reason behind you anger.

That is the reason behind your hatred.

That is the reason behind our truth.

Because after all, a father's love cannot be defined as how a mother's love is. The both keep you in perfect.

Happy Fathers' Day!



Vincent

p/s: Mom, let Papa see this. He never read my blog. Ha ha.

Day 19: Cultivating community

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
Alright, this time the post is simpler a bit and was shortened. Hope you can take some time to read.

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Day 19: Cultivating community

Community requires commitment. Holy Spirit can create real fellowship between believers, but first we have to make our choices and commitments. A loving Christian community requires God's power and our effort.

And we know God wants to create this Christian community, so thus the determinant depends on us alone. If you are tired of fake fellowship and want to have a real one, you need to make some tough choices and take some risks.

1. Cultivating community takes honesty. Care enough to lovingly speak the truth, rather than ignore it. Many fellowships have been sabotaged by fear - everyone keeps quiet while a member's life fell apart.

An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
Proverbs 24:26

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
Galatian 6:1

Speak out problems. Frankness is all what it is about.

Until you care enough to confront and resolve the underlying barriers, you will never grow close to each other.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

After all, it was stated in Bible:

He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor
than he who has a flattening tongue.
Proverbs 28:23

Fellowships today are, however, destroyed by lack of honesty. Paul in Bible rebuked the Corinthians of their eyes-closed mentality in allowing immorality in their fellowship.

2. Cultivating community takes humility. It simply means no self-importance, stubborn pride, because these destroy fellowship faster than anything else.

Cloth yourselves with humility toward one another.
1. Peter 5:5b

Pride blocks God's grace, and we can only receive God's grace by humbly admitting that we need it. Humility is thinking more of others.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

3. Cultivating community takes courtesy. It means respecting differences, and being considerate of each other's feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us. In a family, acceptance is not about how beautiful or talent we are, but because we belong to each other. Same goes in spiritual family.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Romans 12:16

We all have our good sides and bad. Learn to understand others.

Instead of thinking about how far they still have to go, think about how far they have come in spite of their hurts.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

It's not about denying others' doubts. Real community created when its members know it is safe enough to share their doubts and fears without being judged.

4. Cultivating community takes confidentiality. When someone shares deepest hurts, needs and mistakes, he hopes the group will keep it as confidential. It is something like "bigger secret keepers". What is shared is meant to be kept inside the group, not spreading around, telling other people. Do no gossip.

A perverse man stirs up dissension,
and a gossip separates close friends.
Proverbs 16:28

5. Cultivating community takes frequency. Meet up your group members regularly. You have to spend time with people, a lot of time in fact, to build deep relationships. Spend more time for them.

Community is built not on convenience but on the conviction that I need it for spiritual health.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Meet them up, even you don't feel like so, because you believe it is important. In Bible it was quoted that the first Christians met together everyday!



Thus a small group or class must make a group covenant with these nine characteristics of biblical fellowship:
1. Authenticity,
2. Mutuality,
3. Sympathy,
4. Mercy,
5. Honesty,
6. Humility,
7. Courtesy,
8. Confidentiality,
9. Frequency.

It is the reason why genuine fellowship is so rear. It simply means giving in a lot effort and giving up self-centeredness and independence in order to become interdependent.

The benefits of sharing life together far outweigh the costs, and it prepares us for heaven.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Vincent

Day 18: Experiencing life together

..::*+ Small talk +*::..
Pray for me, that I can stay focus on Him always.
Pray for me, that I can live a lifestyle of worshiping Him.
Pray for me, that I bring glory to Him in my daily activities.
Pray for me, that I will not fall for temptations.
Pray for me, that I can stay strong always.

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Day 18: Experiencing life together

God wants us to experience life together. The shared experience is fellowship. But today, the biblical meaning has gone. Fellowship is just a casual conversation, socializing, food and fun.

"Where do you fellowship?" becomes "Where do you attend church?"
"Stay after for fellowship" means "Wait for refreshment".

Rick Warren made this comparison, which speaks the truth. However, real fellowship is unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and many more. An important factor in fellowship is size. The smaller the better. When a group becomes more than 10 people, domination and discrimination occurs, and sometimes the members do not notice it. Jesus could have chosen more than the 12 disciples, but He knew that was the ideal size.

Biology tells us that cells form a body. When these cells doing what they suppose to do, the body gets its moving. The body here means the Body of Christ. And the cells means fellowship, or cell groups. For quite long I wonder why do they call "cell groups", now I guess it is the meaning. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, if you imagine church is a ship, then the lifeboats attached to it are the small groups. But sometimes even if we are in a small group, but we experience unreal community. So, what is the difference between real and fake fellowship?

1. In real fellowship people experience authenticity. It does not mean surface-talking, but genuine, heart-to-heart sharing. It only happens when the members get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They can share their pains, tell their feelings, confess failures, disclose doubts, fear, admit their weaknesses, and ask for prayers.

Sadly a lot of Christians wear masks, keep themselves away. And these attitudes are the death of real fellowship. But of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It is the only way to grow spiritually ad be emotionally healthy, although we might have to face our fear of exposure, rejection and being hurt again.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
James 5:16a

We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk of all is to be honest with ourselves and others.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

2. In real fellowship people experience mutuality. It is the art of giving and receiving. It is about building reciprocal relationships, sharing responsibilities and helping each other.

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
Romans 1:11-12

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19

The Bible commands mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, and mutual honoring.

You are not responsible for everyone in the Body of Christ, but you are responsible to them.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

3. In real fellowship people experience sympathy. It is never a rush help to other people, but putting ourselves in their shoes, share their pain. Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs: to be understood and to have your feeling validated. Through this we build fellowship. Learn to think for other people.

There are various level of fellowship: the simplest level are the fellowship of sharing and fellowship of studying God's Word together. A higher level is fellowship of serving, that is, doing missionary trips together. The deepest level is the fellowship of suffering, where we come into their pain and feel it together with them.

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

It is during crisis, grief and doubt that we need each other the most. We need friends to have faith in God for us and pull us through.

4. In real fellowship people experience mercy.

Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
2. Corinthians 2:7

A thing we must know is that bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowships. You can't have a fellowship without forgiveness.

Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13

There is difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is an immediate action, and we are commanded to forgive those who hurt us, but we are not expected to trust them. They must prove that they have changed as time goes on. And the best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small group that offers both encouragement and accountability.

Something new to me; something that I will learn. Forgiveness is an instant action, but trust takes time to reveal.



Vincent

Take It To The Streets Europe Tour 2008

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
Hmm, first of all, sorry for did not post up chapter 18. Will do it soon. But anyhow, yesterday I went Hillsong London + Matt Redman concert. I remembered last time Gladys asked me to go but I rejected. Guess this time I have the opporturnity again. So, enjoy~

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After a my class which ended at 17:15 (GMT +1), I went back home, took a bath, and prepared myself to go pick Daniel and Yong at the Main Train Station. After that we had our dinner while watching football - Deutschland versus Croatia. Too bad the Germans were not on form, and Croatia dominated the ball possession since beginning. Anyway, the score was 2-1.

We walked from there to the city center, where Theodor-Heuss-Saal, the hall. It was around 19:30 and a lot people were already there. Hardly we found seats for 4 of us: Jia Jin, Yong, Daniel and me. And at around 20:15 it started.

We had our first song kicked off~ And the atmosphere started to rise. More and more people stood up and jumping with praise.

2nd song was no-one-unfamiliar ONE WAY. And it was fun as we did it just like the One Way in the Super Strong God album of Hillsong Kids. During the Bridge part, we all squatted down, and rise slowly. Just that it was not in the Techno version.



After that we had Matt Redman with his UNDIGNIFIED. It was a nice song, and he excited everyone.

After that we had BLESSED BE YOUR NAME.



Next we sang another song from Matt Redman, YOU NEVER LET ME GO.



Next up was one of my favorites HOSANNA.



Then it was THE TIME HAS COME.



Then it came, Hillsong London's new unreleased song. Honestly, I don't know the name, but I guess it should be "Giver of Life". We'll just wait and see.



Next was HAIL TO THE KING. Another new song from Hillsong.



Then came the song from Matt Redman, titled TAKE IT TO THE STREETS, from his album Beautiful News (2006).






Then we sang MIGHTY TO SAVE.


HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD came next. And we started off the Chorus part in German version.




Next we sang a slow tempo song - JESUS IS.


Followed up was MY FUTURE DECIDED.


Next was DANCING GENERATION from Matt Redman.


Next up was WHAT THE WORLD WILL NEVER TAKE.




Lastly we sang a These were the song that we sang. But it was not about singing praise to Him only, no? Matt Redman's words were strong and managed to bring in a big number of people to know Christ. Wonderful eh? And we were asked to do something fun.


We even being told about the suffers that other people from the other parts of the earth and an Adoption program called Compassion was created, each volunteer adopt a child.

UNICEF made a statistic. If every Christian brought ONE person to Christ, 2 and 1/2 year is enough for the whole world to be saved. If everyone donate 1/10 of the wealth they have, and by how churches' functionality, there will be no poverty in this world. Amazing fact?

Well, we brought back not just a heart of dancing and praising:
1. Worship is more than a song.
2. Love is more than a feeling.
3. Passion is more than a party.


Amen?

Day 17: A place to belong

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..

Typing too many "0", now my that keyboard button got a bit defect. Sigh.

***

Today being enlightened about the word "OMG". It is an unconsciously expression abbreviation from "Oh My God". It is commonly use in the world of online games such as DotA, Gunbound (do people still play this?!) etc. In the same world, the common replaceable words are "WtF", "WtH", "FFS", "PFFS", etc.

The word usually comes out from myour mouth without go through our brain - something dangerous. Learn to avoid saying it without meaning it, because:

it always expresses a longing for Him, a desperation, crying out, pleading to Him for help, and i think God's really pleased when we call out to Him like that.
Stephanie Goh

She's the one reminded me to stop using that word carelessly. And yes, I will =)

****

The day is coming near. I know what will happen. I see myself that day. I know my expectation. From You, from you, and from you. That's all I want. To hatch the egg. To write "two" instead of "one" this time. Yeps. I await.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 17: A place to belong

You are called to belong, not just believe.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

We are not created to be isolated and become one-man-show. We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God's purposes by our own selves. We are not to be wanderer, spending time alone at weirdo places, meditating or whatever.

In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:5

We see a lot of clubs or groups that have "membership" style. But little do we know, according to C. S. Lewis, the word membership is a Christian-originated word. In church, it is just to simply adding your name to a roll, with no requirements nor expectations. However, just look at today. The meaning of the word has skewed from what it supposed to be. We need to recover and practice the biblical meaning of membership.

The church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organisation.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

For organs of our body to function, they must be connected to our body. We are part of Christ's body, and we'll loose our second purpose of life if we are not attached to a living, local church. Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist. It is also why people often backslides if he/she attend inconsistently at worship services and other gatherings of believers. Everything will slacked, when we become careless about fellowship.

...I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Matthew 16:18

Here is tells us that church is a strong and indestructible foundation, which will exist forever.

"I don't need a church," is either arrogant or ignorant.
Rick Warren -The Purpose Driven Life

God commands us to love the church as much as Jesus does. But too bad, nowadays, many believers use church instead of love church.

Your local fellowship

A Christian without church is just like a sheep without its flock, an organ without body, or more clear and simple, a child without family. Independence has taken over today's world. Many spiritual orphans exist. Many hop around from a church to another without any identity, accountability, nor commitment. Many think that they can also be "good Christians" without attending church. But God says NO!

Why you need a church family

1. A church family identifies you as a genuine believer. You are a follower of Christ if you are committed to a group of disciples. You are not the body of Christ on your own. You need others to express that. Together.

2. A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation. Church is a place where you learn to get along with other brothers and sisters. And we go through things together, not alone. Liverpool's motto says, "you'll never walk alone", but God's Bible says:

If one part (of the body) suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1. Corinthians 12:26

And through regular contacts, we learn to be committed to each other. We know John 3:16, but do you know 1. John 3:16?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
1. John 3:16

And God expects us to love each other - a willingness to love them in the same way Jesus loves you.

3. A church family helps you develop spiritual muscle. In the Bible more than fifty times the phrase "each other" was used. We need to do things together, and only by that our faith can be tested. A runner will not know how much stamina he has without running. Same thing here: You will never know how strong you are spiritually unless you test it. We need Bible to grow. But we need others too. And often, learning from/with other people is faster and stronger.

4. The Body of Christ needs you. God assigns unique role for you to play in His family - a ministry". You local fellowship is the place where God designed for you to discover, develop, and use your gifts.

5. You will share in Christ's mission in the world. As a member of Christ, He is the head, and we are the body. He works through everyone of us. And church is the instrument of God on earth.

6. A church family will help keep you from backsliding. Yes. This is definitely true. We are asked to encourage each other daily. We are asked to keep each other on track.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back.
James 5:19

And we must always be reminded that detached believers are always the target of Satan. Because they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics.

It's all in the church

Worship helps you focus on God; fellowship helps you face life's problems; discipleship helps fortify your faith; ministry helps find your talents; evangelism helps fulfill your mission.

Although we were born again, but it's our choice to become member of a local expression of God's family. The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. We need to do it, not just theoretically mean it.

You become a Christian by committing yourself to Christ, but you become a church member by committing yourself to a specific group of believers.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

**

Anyway, I need to sincerely confess that this post was not well done. I'm loosing concentration on EVERYTHING lately. Pray for me.



Vincent

Day 16: What matters most

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..
有时候，我们把自己看得太渺小了。
别以为你所说的每一句话都没有影响力，有时候，有些人真的很在意你对他说的话。

你所说的话、所讲的诺言、所祝福的每一句鼓励，将影响某些人：你可能把他带到更高峰，或彻底干扰他的心情。

所以，你不是一颗渺小的草；你是有些人的力量。你知道吗？


眼泪，我抹去了。你呢？你是否哭了？

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Day 16: What matters most

No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
1. Corinthians 13:3b The Message

Still remember who is God?



Yes, God is love. And thus the most important lesson that God wants us to learn on earth is how to love. It is also the foundation of every command he has given us.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Galatians 5:14

Love, it sounds so a simple word. It is, however, different from the love between a husband and wife. And to learn to love unselfishly is never an easy task. And therefore we are given a lifetime to learn it. God wants us to love everyone, but we must put more concerns on other family members.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10

But why? Why other believers first, you might ask. God wants His family to be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said:

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:35

We need to have this "family responsibility" to prepare ourselves for an eternity of loving. Therefore, practice it. Have close and constant fellowship with other believers to develop this skill of loving.

The best use of life is love

Love is our top priority. Love is what we should learn to master.

Love is not a good part of your life; it's the most important part.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Let love be your greatest aim.
1. Corinthians 14:1a Living Bible

Relationships must have priority in your life above everything. But, why?

Life without love is really worthless. Relationships are not something to be fitted into our daily life. They are what life is all about. The Ten Commandments talked about what we should and should not do; in fact, the first four deal on our relationships with God, while the other six deal with our relationships with other people. Matthew 22:37-40 basically talked about the summary of it.

After learning to love God (worship), learning to love others is the second purpose of your life.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Busyness is the greatest head-on enemy of relationships. Most of us busy in our daily living, accomplishing tasks as if these are the living purpose. But they are not. Rick Warren gave a wonderful mathematics equation:

life - love = zero
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

Love will last forever. This is another reason God wants us to let love be the first priority in life. And love is the secret of a lasting heritage.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1. Corinthians 13:13

It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.
Mother Teresa

And of course, when we die, all of our earthy wealth will not be brought over to eternity. But our love and our relationships will be brought over to heaven. Wisdom is learning this truth sooner rather than later.

We will be evaluated on our love. This is the third reason to make learning to love the goal of our life. When we cross over to eternity, we bring nothing other than our faith through love.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6b

And that's why, pray to God every morning after you wake up. Pray to God that He makes sure you can spend time loving God and other people around - and that's what life all about.

The Best Expression of love is time

Time is your most precious gift because you can only have a set amount of it.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

The time we spent on others cannot be retrieved back. That is why, it is the greatest gift that you can give someone. The time you and efforts you gave to others is the most treasure gift. It is all about how much we give of ourselves. Nothing can take the place of that.

The most hungered gift of love is not diamonds whatever-number carat nor chocolates from Lindt nor 18 roses nor postcards from Paris nor valuable stuffs. It is focused attention. Jesus showed this love:

Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:2

The best time to love is now

We never know how long we will live. Therefore, instead of waiting tomorrow, why don't just start to express our love? Love to God, and love to others. I like this quote from the book very much:

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life

I love God. I love you.


Vincent