Showing posts with label 1 timothy. Show all posts
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Gratitude and Prayer
Last night, I was able to attend the Hope Filipino Dubai lifegroup. Hope was my church in Singapore that opened my path into Him that resulted to personal relationship with Christ. I was so glad to know that finally, there is a lifegroup here in Dubai that will have the same spirit as to what I have experienced in Singapore. Though the lifegroup setup last night wasn't the same as the Singapore "version", it was a good start for me since it was only the 2nd gathering and we don't have a ministry house yet. Nevertheless, we had a fruitful discussion over dinner. That night, I was reminded of two major points during our sharing session.
First, we must/need/should thank God for everything. Not just for blessings and good happenings in our lives but also the challenges. As I shared before here in my blog, problems and adversities are good opportunities to get closer with Him. We might sometimes feel helpless and that there is no one else to run to but to Him. So for every obstacle in life, we should thank Him. For every pit stop in our journey to victory, let's take a pause and pray and thank Him for the opportunity of feeling His presence and guidance. The world isn't all about happiness and joyful moments. Time will come that we will be pulled out from our comfort zone to face "non-entertaining" parts of our lives. This is clearly stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus). These chapters of our life is not about punishing us but a reminder that He is always there for us, waiting to be called and waiting for a spare time that we might have. And besides, there is nothing we can't overcome if we have Him.
Second, I was reminded to pray not only for ourselves and family but also for others such as co-workers, friends, housemates, etc. We might sometimes forget that the people surround us have a great effect on our daily lives. If we are cornered by an angry person then everything around us can be messy. If a friend is having a problem, it consumes us, we got affected. If a housemate is in a bad situation, the atmosphere of the house will be polluted. We should also pray for them that everything will be okay and that God will give them the wisdom for every decision and to remind them the never ending love of God. Pray for their success and pray for a wonderful day. Verse 1 Timothy 2:1 (I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people) describes what kind of prayers we should do.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Purpose of Conscience
I'm sure every one of us has a conscience because God gave it to us. It is like a radar or a warning system that sends us signal once a disobedience is about to occur. It also alerts us for some important things and factors in order to avoid harmful activities and decisions. The conscience also gives us power to identify those things that are moral and immoral. The question is how we respond on it. Do we ignore it or we use it as an important tool to weigh options that leads us to a better understanding?
Speaking of tool, as a believer, it is actually the "magic gadget" being used by the Holy Spirit. He is responsible to pattern this apparatus conforming to the God's principles and teachings. It sharpens us on the way we think so an immediate response is a must. But we should be reminded that the next thing to happen completely depends on us; how we act on those warnings and signals. It is the sole responsibility of the Holy Spirit to send us notification and advise us on the things that we were about to execute. We can choose to ignore these warning bells and stop hearing about it and put completely to ourselves the control for those situations. But be warned, there's a price for every ungodly things that we do.
In 1 Timothy 1:18-20 (18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.), mentioned those people who chose to reject the alarms of the conscience. They paid no attention to every word that God gave to them. Result was shipwreck faith. Our faith in Him will be destroyed if we stop on listening to those voices. If we completely ignore the radar then it might stop working and that's the time that we should be scared.
Let's listen to those whispers and pay courtesy to all those signals. Whether we call it radar, alarms or warning, it is very important for a believer to understand the principle of obedience and faith. Don't wait the time when the Holy Spirit will not speak to you anymore. God gave us this opportunity to have someone to be with us and be ensured that it will guide us correctly.
image taken from letnotyourhearts.blogspot.com
Monday, November 26, 2012
Money, Money, Money
This morning, as I checked my investments in the stock market, I was astonished to what I saw. Oh yes, I earned enough and it was a tremendous mark. Being a "newbie" in the stock market, those green marks gave me a huge smile. Sometimes, I really think that money is a big part of our everyday lives and generally, we can't live without it. I am blessed that I have a sufficient supply of it but I never put into my mind that this thing will dictate my lifestyle. I've been to those times of being needy so I know exactly how to be wise enough in spending and not allowing money to change me.
There is a saying that money is the root of all evil. Do you agree on this? Well the Scripture doesn't exactly state this thing. Read carefully what 1 Timothy 6:10 says: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs". When I first read this passage, I immediately concluded that yes, it is money the root of all evil. Fortunately, my spiritual leader here in Dubai opened our eyes and emphasized the words love of money. Money can be generally good or evil; it matters on how we use it. We can help others using the money and we can hire an assassin to kill a man by spending our money. It really depends on how we execute our spending manner.
What generally makes the love of money the root of evil is the way on how we trust on it for what we need. It is like permitting the money to control us and depend only to it. It is a huge insult to God! Failing to have faith in Him will take away all the opportunities to have a deeper relationship with Him. We cannot take our money when we die, money will be useless in times natural disaster as only God controls it. He can immediately make us poor and strip us out of wealth. Oh yes, He is that powerful. On the other side, the love money isn't always involved in the evil things. But it becomes root in our hearts that we become blinded by its prestige and power and that we sometimes come up with incorrect decisions and ungodly things.
We have been warned so we better take the necessary precautions about it. Spend wisely, save for your future and spend it only on the good way. Sharing it with others will bring you a good feeling and a priceless smile can be seen to others. The world isn't all about the money, we have family and friends and especially, we have Him who gives us unending grace and never ending love.
image taken from truth-not-trickery.blogspot.com
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