"..How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall i deliver thee, Israel?..." -Hosea 11:8
today's message, i thought this verse kind of just emphasize itself to me. not only on the ppt, my notes, the bible and what pastor barnabas(or barnaburst :p) said, but it's just telling me so much. today is the start of the new sermon series of passion4christ and i thought its really relavant. much as we all know all these, like God love us so much that he sent His son to die on the cross for us and all, but did we really allow it to stay rooted in our heart? you know how sometimes its simplicity in life that impacts us so much.
yesterday, i had a very nice chat with one very good friend of mine *raise eyebrow*. we were talking about a lot a lot of things. for 3full hours. my phone was HOT after the conversation and i was thinking of ways to cool it after i put down the phone. ok. that's a little of a sidetrack. and yesterday one part of the conversation went to the mission trip this friend went. and when this friend actually asked the kids there "how do you know you have Jesus?" the answers they gave were so simple and innocent "because we have joy, and so we have Jesus." its like double wow. how often can we get such simple and innocent answers from anyone in our society here. probably never. they probably give you all the standard and bible answer. the christian life that we have is NOT LEGALISTIC, its about a REAL RELATIONSHIP. and no relationship can be defined into an instruction book can it? sidetrack abit, the rest of the conversation i had with this friend is not any of your business. HAHA. but what can i say, she's a friend worth having and more. (:
you know, if not given with all these luxuries and all, we probably would know God more. i dont mean we cant do it now, but we got to admit that the tangibles that we have in life to satisfy our WANTS are also an obstruction to building a higher level of relationship with God. its not impossible to have one, but it requires a lot of determination and all. but anyway, i really truly believe that when you actually have a God, well, no other Gods but Him and Him alone, everything will just come flowing in, because He WANTS to bless you. YES! he does. sometimes its really hard to share the experiences i have with God, cause all of them are just simply, beyond description. when you're in it, you just literally stand in awe of Him. He is THAT WONDERFUL MARVELOUS and all you can think of. (:
the way i live my life, though not always perfect, but all the giving and all that i have for people, its really all from Him. because if Jesus did not die on the cross for me, i wouldnt have the connection to Him that block off all the negative stuffs that i can give to people. yes, i may feel insecure at times. but God is always so great, cause he never allow me to feel insecure for long. Before i know, he sent someone to talk to me about His greatness, His faithfulness. tell me, who can know you more then you yourself. the answer is YOUR CREATOR. and YOUR CREATOR is just HIM.
"Greater love has no one then this, that he lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13
just search your heart. would you do that for your friend? i say, i would. not because i have this great love that surpasses everything. but rather, because its His great love that brings me to say I can do that. because his love is OVERFLOWING in me. i mean, how else can i explain and describe this marvelous experience i have with Him which is NEW everyday.
why do you always feel lost?
why are you not feeling secure?
why do you yearn to love so much, but yet dont know how?
why do you get depressed so easily?
all these can be answered, the reason is simple. you dont have Jesus in your life. its harsh, but its the reality. friends, i love you all, that's why i want to tell you, go to Him.