...scratchinghiddenwithchrist
|
ARCHIVES
|
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
my dad used to wake up at 6 a.m. on saturday mornings to drive me to hockey practice and he'd stay there just to watch...he's like the asian tim horton's grandpa who keeps his son's hockey card in his wallet and shows him many years later. It was always like that with my dad...he would show his love in his actions. in high school, my mom bought me a thermos. She said she wanted me to have a hot lunch everyday because it was healthier than eating lunchables. She would wake up half an hour before me every morning and fill the thermos with a fresh, hot lunch everyday. It's symbolic of how she gives her all to serve the family. This is a shoutout to my parents who, in the past twenty four years, worked as hard as they could to raise and provide for me, encouraged me to be independent and expressed their love to me in their own unique, individual ways. I understand more of God's love, mercy and grace because He has shown it to me through my parents. As I leave for Toronto tomorrow morning and begin a new phase of my life, I know the best is yet to come but I also know that I am who I am in Christ today largely because my parents allowed the Lord to use them to push me towards Him. Thank you mom and dad. I love you both and will miss you a lot. Friday, May 05, 2006
journey vs. destination I used to live from moment to moment. God would reveal truth to me in specific instances and I would live for that. It's like getting my fix of realizations. After a while, I made it about the moment and if I didn't feel at peace, I would wait in expectancy for the truth and consume myself wondering if the moment had come. It took a very close friend to show me that it's not so much about the moment something happens, it's about the journey Christ takes me on to get to that realization. I picture a sprinter winning the gold at the olympics. All the fans and viewers see the < 10 seconds they run for and cheer for them in those moments but no one sees all the hard work and training involved beforehand. No one sees the times the sprinter probably didn't want to practice but did anyway. "do you believe one can change his destiny?" "I believe one does what he can till his destiny is revealed." God will show me what He does when He chooses to. He is never late. My job is to come before Him, worship Him and cry out to Him. He is not accountable to how I feel in the moment but His truth remains in the moment and in the tough in between times. Saturday, December 10, 2005
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” - John 6 It doesn't say the work of the Lord is to go out and run revival conferences, it doesn't say to go out and do things till you burn out... it simply tells us to believe. Bearing fruit has nothing to do with results...it has everything to do with identity we have been given in Christ when we believe with our hearts. 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” - John 6 Jesus offends because it is what Christians need to hear...when we continually do things hoping the Lord will work in them, we are not even scratching the surface to the full power and authority Christ has given us. If Christians say they bear the mark of Christ, it's time to read the Word for what it says...not what we think it says. If the truth does not pierce your heart like a sword it's because you're not allowing it to work in you. It's time to push past what we think we know and assume we know nothing. It's not until we allow ourselves to be emptied that His Spirit will fill us. Monday, November 28, 2005
I am going to make myself very clear on where I stand.. I believe people can go out and do things and make a difference and achieve good results...but when someone stands firm in their identity in Christ, they become something else entirely. It says specifically in the word that we are more than conquerors through Him (Romans 8), that we can do ALL things in His strength (philippians 4) and that we have been given ALL power and ALL authority in Christ (matthew 28). The word never says go and do more... so often when Christians experience a glimpse of the Lord, they equate conviction with going out and doing more...I believe it is more important to be driven to your knees before His throne of grace crying out for His glory from your heart. The word calls us to be still and know who God is (psalm 46) and to stand firm in the freedom of Christ (galatians 5). If you think that talk is cheap and that you've been soaking in the Lord for too long and it's time to go out and do something about it, then you need to go back and examine your heart again because I don't believe you understand fully in your heart the identity Christ has given you. It's not about what you do...it's about who you are in Christ. If you focus on what you do, you forget about the Lord but when you understand in your heart the anointing you have been given by the Lord, then what you do will come naturally... faith without deeds is nothing...but deeds without His anointing and His conviction are even worse. God cares about the heart... not what you can do for Him because there is nothing you can do for Him. God is most satisfied in me when I am broken before Him. He is not a part of what i am doing. I choose to be a part of what He is doing. Sunday, November 20, 2005
if Jesus were on earth today, He'd probably live among the poor. He'd probably go to the less fortunate places and give those people hope... ...but if Jesus lived in North America, He would definitely come into each one of our houses and then into each one of our rooms and rebuke us so sharply and there would be no way we could deny that He has spoken truth directly to our hearts. What the hell do we hang onto that is more important than His truth. He says in the Word that He has called us to live life and "live it to the full". The only way for us to live to the full is to live in Christ. The time to be true to ourselves is now. The time to strip away all the layers and break down the strongholds that satan has in our hearts is now. It is a sin to just keep living for the sake of living and going through events and just taking it as an event rather than knowing that the Lord is using it to transform. If you are simply coasting through life, you're not living; you're dead. 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? - Matthew 16 Waiting on the Lord does not mean sitting back and expecting something specific from Him. Waiting on the Lord is an active thing. To wait on Him is to seek His face and to know His Spirit is moving in you...to not be consumed so much by what the truth is but to focus on the journey that He has brought you on. Wednesday, October 05, 2005
sixteen months in review where to even start after 16 months?...I could go on and give a lot of individual shout-outs or take the time to remember all the many inside jokes (knocking over the lamp with a volleyball and almost getting hit, *shrug* "go on missions", lions for life, my interesting relationship history, eugene broke the drums, 10 reblazed practices, awkward alan, worship with vels, hazel & namestealer every week, making sue sing high for every sunday worship, pho88, alton towers, alan playing indescribable, softball everyday with james & justin, seeing james get 2 degrees before I get one, re-raised, driving julie home, beach vball, alternating short-stop with sam wong, edmond wanting to teach everyone to be a slugger, the "lele" tatoo, the sanctuary green wall, playing fundamental ball with albert, shopping at overpriced mitchell's with hazel, umping 1:20 games with jo, being stuck at 1B & 2B for life, being a 1 spot hitter, karaoke master____ with lon, sex with lon,...) but I'd rather share a little about my journey and what I've learned... It's always interesting when I get a chance to taste post-graduation without any of the responsibilities. I saw the Lord pull me away from everything that I thought I knew and tell me that I never knew it because it didn't belong to me in the first place. I remember spending the whole last week of 3rd year saying goodbye, packing the truck with van, diane and victor, moving into TO and then going to ottawa and saying goodbye. I sat up one nite in my new, unsetup place in TO and realized that it's not about where I'm at. I should never get too comfortable anywhere on earth...home isn't about a place...home is where God is moving in you at a certain time and if you focus on His kingdom, it won't matter where you are... I spent a lot of time running away from being involved and leading various things...I wanted to take a step back and observe but no matter how hard I tried, I got thrown in anyway...I saw that instead of running away from things I didn't think I wanted to do, I should wonder "where else would I spend my time anyway?"... if being a leader is part of who I am, then the time I put in never feels like it's a sacrifice and the joy and strength to do what I have to comes from the Lord... ...in living alone, I had a lot of time alone...and although it meant struggling with a lot of temptation, God's presence was so much bigger. It wasn't until I got a chance to choose Him when all the hype of 2o0 person CCF was gone that I understood what it meant to simply live in His presence...when I'm in groups, I can always experience fellowship and loiter outside the King's gate but going way beyond has nothing to do with others...worshipping the Lord when no one's around comes only from being convicted in Him. the biggest thing I learned this year was that being a leader means being a servant. Any leader who is confident that Christ is in them and that His Spirit is moving in them won't be afraid to be real with others. Being transparent and being hidden in Christ comes from focusing on things that matter and sharing with others about things that matter...things that are in your own heart and it's not until I have examined my own heart and been true to myself that I am able to fully worship Him and encourage others. To live in Christ is to die to myself...to expose all the lies of satan in my life and to live in peace knowing that God is transforming me. I should never be afraid of letting others see who I really am because I am in Christ. Any failures or garbage in my life is so insignificant because Christ is my life... it's not about all that I'm going through, it's about His presence. something to leave Titus with... when first became a part of Titus (or itus), I saw how much potential the people had. When we had struggles coming up with new leaders, I was told that to focus on the leaders we do have and let everyone else live their journey. I believe that every single one of you has so much potential but it's not until you are willing to deal with instead of avoiding the real issues in your life ... it's not until you come before God and are willing to be touched by Him that He will empty you and fill you with His Spirit. So often, we focus on things that don't matter and are consumed by things that don't matter... it shouldn't take a chaotic period in your life to feel a sense of urgency to pray...growth in the fellowship isn't about running better events or doing more stuff outside of fellowship (although those are good things)...it's about every individual seeing who they are in Christ and being convicted in that...no one can tell you what truth is...it has to come from the Lord...and God will only show you when you are desparate for Him. so to everyone in Toronto...good morning...and if I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnite. 16 months came and gone... Friday, July 15, 2005
this is gonna be a bit jumbled up... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And lean not on your own understanding In all your ways, acknowledge Him And He will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 God is a god of the humble and the obedient. He only cares that we come before Him and see who He is. Some of the most encouraging sermons are told at Treasure House Ministries (a soup kitchen downtown). I find that many times, when speaking to Christians who have it all, the gospel is hidden behind all the blessings and material wealth that we take for granted... when preaching to the non-Christians who have nothing, the message is very raw and simple. The mystery of the gospel has always been "Christ in you, the hope of glory" and when we don't mask it and we just tell it for what it is, it hits home that much harder. My prayer has always been to see His people come before Him and seeing how much they need Jesus...to strip it all away and stop focusing on things that don't matter... the simplicity of the life we are to live is stated in the verse above... "If the Word isn't alive to you, it's because you have not yet died to yourself... if the Word doesn't speak to you, it's because you are reading it with blind eyes." - Paul Urich |