Thinking It Through: The Law and the Gospel (Part 1 of 15)

Heyo,

I promise I've been trying not to procrastinate this. It just seems that every time I set aside that hour or whatever to sit down and think and write, I have like 5 other things that neeeeed to be done, or like I just don't have any energy and I push it off again. I'm here and it's gonna be a little more off the cuff because I just need to do it. 

Quick catch-up: It's been a few weeks. Work was insane, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to ask to be transferred. I was offered a transfer. Woooooot. So this week I've been at a quieter community-style store (that also has Uber Eats ;P) and it's been good so far. Uhhhhhhhh what else? My mom is doing fine. It's been way too cold and wet lately. Idk..? 

Anyways, here's today's topic:

"1. The Law and the Gospel speak directly to you: The law condemns sinners like us. If men are proud and convinced of their own righteousness, the Law is "God's hammer" that pulverizes such presumption (Luther). The Law demands perfection and pronounces the ultimate curse on those with the slightest disobedience in their ledgers. The Law teaches us that we are helpless slaves of sin under God's wrath (Romans 3:9-20). the Law teaches us that we need a Saviour, the ultimate sacrifice who will (1) appease God's righteous anger against our sin once-for-all; and (2) supply the perfect obedience we need to stand justified before God in the judgement. So, the Law drives us to Christ Jesus, our promised Lord and Saviour. On the cross, He freely bore God's wrath in our place and He obeyed the will of God perfectly to the end. God promises to credit His perfect righteousness to all who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This gospel urges us now to repent and be saved! This message speaks today to you. Repent and believe!"

Ok, so. 100% I do believe I am a sinner. I definitely know and attest that I have done wrong and regularly do wrong, whether intentionally or not. I am not convinced in my righteousness. There's no way I can ever by my own deeds or actions or thoughts or anything else make myself holy and pure. The sinful nature in me will draw me to brokenness and depravity in attempts to make myself feel whole or fulfilled, but only leave me just as empty if not worse. I've tried before. Willing myself into purity doesn't work. Shaming myself into behavioural obedience doesn't work and feels crap. I've had to deal with so much untangling the shame that I've layered upon myself over the years as I hid feelings and desires and thoughts; as I fought to not do that things I knew was wrong; as I suffered to be better because I thought that would help my relationship with God. I was definitely humbled and weak and needed God's help. But I think I missed the message of God's love in that or something. Idk. Point: ya. I'm a sinner and I defffffinitely need a Saviour. I know that. and I know I can't be that saviour. 

Paul went on in the letter to the Romans about how he wouldn't have known covetousness if the Law had not pointed it out. Sin in him used that as an opportunity to draw out every sort of covetousness in him and lead him to death (Romans 7:7-9). The law highlights our sinful nature and points to our need for a Saviour. Yes. Agreed. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:20-23), what we deserve for our sin is death, eternal separation from God's goodness, and eternal pain and suffering, "gnashing of teeth" as Jesus put it (Matthew 13:42), where the worm never dies and the flames never cease (Mark 9:43-48). We need the perfect sacrifice to take our place so that we can live, now and eternally, and Jesus is that sacrifice. The one who was mentioned in Genesis 3 (the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head), the one who was typified in the sacrificial system (see all of Leviticus, especially chapters 1-7) and the constant sacrifices for willful and unintentional sins (Lev 4:2). The one who would take the place of many for He had never sinned. The payment for sin is death, one animal for one sin, one insignificant life for small forgiveness, but the ultimate forever payment through the one who didn't deserve to die, the one who didn't need to pay for His own sin first. The sacrificial system only a shadow of Christ to come, the blood of bulls and rams not actually able to take away sin, but Christ dying in the future paying for those past sins and all who would come to Him in faith in the future as well. (See all of Hebrews 10. For real. Hebrews is the best.) There is no one else who can save us the way Christ can. He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), His is the only name by which men can be saved (Acts 4:12). Point: Only in Jesus can we truly be saved. He alone can be the Saviour we need.

So, like, this point isn't the most difficult in what it's explicitly saying. You are sinful: ya. You need Jesus: ya. Repent and believe: hmmm. This I think is where there might be wiggle room in applicable grace? Or where there might be the most need for God-sent conviction and hope to change? I've heard repentance defined so many times when I was in university. To repent is to agree with God concerning your sin and to turn away from it. Which is then generally also followed by asking for forgiveness and grace and renewed fellowship with the Holy Spirit in you. This I think is where I need more clarification: is what I am doing explicitly sinful (I'm currently leaning towards yes) and is there a way to make it acceptable (I'm not sure)? If it is sin, is there room to acknowledge it, claim forgiveness and grace, and live in such a way that is for God (depending how you say it, it feels like either pretending it's not sin, not fully believing that God has said it is, making excuses, lying to yourself, or like not really repenting or whatever)? Is there grace to live in such a way that you can be yourself 100% without shame, loving yourself, while also 100% loving God and living for His glory with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? As written, that sounds very possible. It should be how every Christian lives. It just also in my life sounds like the decade of shaming myself into acting and pretending things were all fine while in cycles of active sin and forgiveness. How is that better? 

I want to be strong enough to do what is right and feel good about it at the same time. 

Repent? I'm going to be looking into this. I googled affirming churches, but I feel like what I want to do with that is steal someone affirming and debate them.

Believe? I think I do. I just am avoiding everything right now. Before I was avoiding everything from the top of the fence. I spent years feeling crap, not acting in either direction. Now I've spent like 3 months on one side of the fence, while holding onto it. On the day to day I don't feel like I'm terrible, but I feel like I might be further from God than before? And like, that's the real problem. 'And this is eternal life, that they know You, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent' (John 17:3). What is life apart from the source of life? What is 'true life' if only 60 years of joy then suffering? I've started listening to the Bible on my 30 minute walks to work. I want to actively try to pursue God again and see if it can work. My head still says it's incompatible. tbd.

Anyways, that's it for today. My brain is tired of thinking this deeply without real answers. :P

Next time: Jesus gave himself to redeem us. It won't be 3 weeks this time I promise. :)

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Vulnerability

Yo,

So, it's nearly Christmas and I've been knitting a lot, so I'm running out of things that I actively want to watch while knitting, and aside from Beautiful Bones -- Sakurako's Investigation (excellent anime!), and the people I am subscribed to on youtube, and the new digimon anime (not very good in my opinion), I've needed to find some new things. Today I started watching some TED talks.

The first couple were about apleoanthropology and the origins of man and stuff like that related to cave paintings and Salem. The next was about public health and wealth distribution inequality and stats. Then I got to one that I had seen a couple times before, so I was about to skip over it. But I decided to watch it anyways.

It is titled "The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown". Feel free to watch it now before I spoil any of it. It is WELL worth your 18 minutes. I rarely, like really, RARELY rewatch anything. Seriously, I just liked the video and added it to a new public playlist called 'favourites' and I will very very likely watch it again.







I think there's a whole lot of great things that Dr. Brown says in her talk. Like a lot. Many things that cut me to my heart. Things that I 100% relate to in her own story. And so much of it I see as very biblical too. Loving yourself and others because of the worth Christ has shown us and grace He has given us. I find it very difficult to allow for uncertainty in what I do. And owning up to weakness keeps me distanced from others.

So ya, really great talk. May God help me to be more vulnerable and to experience His joy and goodness without numbing out all emotions.

"you know what, you're imperfect and you're wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging"

D.Fa

Baby Geese

Yo,

yesterday was pretty busy. I was out of the house literally from 9 am to midnight. I had decided to join the Ottawa Christian Chorale for this season, so I had practice for that, followed by worship team practice, assisting a bit with Westfest (an annual neighborhood event in westboro) stuff at church, YA, and street marshaling for Westfest. So it was a busy day, but fun.

1. I am not a tenor. E's I am good with. F's sometimes. F#'s... G............ G#    (o. O). A? Please no. So I need to learn how to sing in falsetto, or not sing the tenor parts for some songs. (Otherwise OCC was tons of fun! =D)
2. I biked to and from all of those things. On the way to worship practice I biked along the river and ran into a pack of geese who had a bunch of baby geese! So I had to stop and play with them. I ended up following a couple of the babies that had been separated and caught one when he got stuck on a fence. I held him and pet him. He was very fluffy. (sorry no photos) So I tried again, but I couldn't manage to get the babies away from the parents. They were very protective.

As I mentioned the day before, I think discipleship is one thing that the church really needs more of. Not just my church, but quite a few (I can't comment on all of them to any degree). When I say discipleship I mean more mature Christians kinda mentoring and spending time with younger Christians to help them grow in their faith. And the thing here is that this is what Jesus calls us to! The great commission (Matt28:18-20) isn't to go and tell everyone about Jesus and then leave them hanging. Jesus says to go to all nations and make disciples, people who follow Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him. Paul calls the church at Philippi to follow after examples of godly men and women, and calls the church at Corinth to follow after him as he follows after Jesus' example. And further in the great commission Jesus calls us to teach these disciples to obey everything that God has commanded. And here we see the example set by Paul in 2Tim2:2 as he had trained Timothy who was then to train other reliable men who would be qualified to train others. We see a chain of discipleship, unbroken between generation, age, race, or any other divisions. As Paul explains in Eph2 God has broken down the divisions and made out of two (Jew and Gentile) one church, unified in Him; and again in Rom12 he speaks of the body of Christ being unified yet diversified, each with the different skills and abilities to build up the church.

Discipleship; a chain of disciples following and being further trained by more mature godly men or women as they all follow Jesus.

And discipleship, which I think is so great and the heart of the church, is one thing which I think definitely cannot be offered through parachurch. P2C for example, is a group of students at university. Essentially all in the same phase of their lives, mostly going through the same trials and temptations. Some may have grown up in church and came to truly trust in Jesus earlier, but even they don't have all that much to teach if they themselves are not also growing and being discipled by older men and women. There are some staff members, but they are often not too much older, and are kinda in the same phase of their lives. Additionally, parachurch is typically focused on one thing, and in P2C's case that would be training in evangelism, not so much in deeper bible study or other areas of life.

I had been reading a small book called "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert E. Coleman. The book is all about looking at how Jesus did His ministry and the core concepts we can learn and apply. The second chapter was on 'Association'. Jesus spent time with his disciples. He spent His life teaching and ministering to them so that when He left (bodily) they'd be good to lead the church. The chapter emphasizes the need for this association, without which a new believer may not really grow in their faith and may be swayed by the world and the enemy. And as funny as this may sound, the geese from yesterday morning kinda provide an analogy.

The geese, now mature, protect their babies from any potential threats while also teaching them how to survive and helping them grow. In the analogy I am the enemy coming to swoop down on the unsuspecting poor helpless little geese. But afterwards I had no way to get at them, especially when they stood together in a group in unity.

Thus should the church be; building up, protecting, teaching and caring for their young.

So I will continue to talk about and pray for the church and for God to really help establish a core of discipleship which would cause stronger community, deeper faith, and greater holiness (and Christ-likeness) in the church.

D.Fa

Reflections on Job

Earlier in the morning I had read Job 7-9 and I thought there were some interesting things, but I had no time to think about it, so I read it over again as well as 10-14... lol.

I guess I always thought Job reacted differently. From what I've read so far he's in this huge debate with his friends about God and who he is. You see, satan kinda challenged God saying that Job only worships God because of all the blessings he has, so God tells satan that he's wrong and so God let's him take some stuff away from Job. His family, his house, his stuff, his health, etc. but not his life. I thought Job would always be like 'well, I have God, so I'm good', but I see him being human. He's having trouble dealing with it. He's thinking he would rather have never been born. He's pretty annoyed and he's being pretty dramatic too like 'If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas!' But he also knows how great God is and how based on ourselves we can't approach him.

Job says all of the following in the book of Job in the Bible:

9:4-10 "His wisdom is profound, his power is vast... He moves mountains ... and over turns them ... He shakes the Earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

12:13,16 "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his... To him belong strength and victory"

9:19 "If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him?"

12:10 "In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

10:8-12 "Your hands shaped me and made me... you molded me like clay... Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit."

7:17-20 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone for even an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?"

10:14-15 "If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty -- woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and aware of my affliction."

9:2 "can a man be righteous before God?"

9:32-35 "He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

14:15-17 "You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offense will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin."

I know I can relate to what he is saying. I struggled for a long time thinking that I needed to become more righteous before I could come before God and ask for forgiveness. I knew, to a degree, that the sin in my life was extensive. I knew that and thought that I needed to fight it. Fight it myself until the battle was nearly won then let Him destroy all that was left.

That was a losing battle with no chance of winning. I'd last a couple days longer and fail again. I'd last a week longer and fail again. I wasn't making any progress and instead it was just getting to me. I was feeling frustrated. I couldn't do it and it was so hard. I read once that 'you don't know how hard it is to be good until you really try' and it's true.

The thing is that we, in 2011, live in a different time than Job and his words say more than he thinks. I mean, what he has said has actually come to pass. He longs for an arbitrator that can help him approach God. Someone that can help him stand even in the knowledge of his past sins. Someone who can bridge the gap between sinful man and the perfect, holy, creator of the Universe, God.

And the difference is that we have that arbitrator. God's wrath has been diverted. Indeed, God does not let sin go unpunished, but instead had someone else pay for us. God sent his only begotten Son to us. God came and took on flesh. He came down to Earth and became fully man while remaining fully God. He had "days like those of a mortal [and] years like those of a man" (Job 10:5). He can fully relate with us and is God. And through his death on the cross the rod of God's wrath that was on us has been redirected. We can stand firm before God because of the hope we have in this life He has given us and the love He has shown for us. Through Jesus' resurrection we see God's victory over sin and death. God is calling out to us and giving us the choice to answer or turn away.

We still go through these struggles, battling intellectually the same way Job was, but we also have the next part of the story that hadn't been written at the time when Job was alive.

As Job's friend put it "if you devote your heart to him, and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope" (Job 11:13-18)

Jesus has taken my sin and covered me in his righteousness. By Him and Him alone can I stand firm before God knowing I have been forgiven. This hope, this undeserved grace, this love poured out upon us, it's all right there, the gift of God is being offered to each of us.

Where am I now?

So, I'm not gonna write a post about how much work I have to do right now or how many things are piled up. Read this instead: Running on Empty. It describes basically exactly where I was at. But even while in this state, relying on myself and slowly losing perspective, God is still doing so much for us.

A couple minutes ago I thought I should use the extra time I had between classes to read some of His word and it was awesome. It reminded me of His love for us and all He has done for us. I was reading Ezekiel 33-36. So good. lol I will now quote many things I read:

'Son of man, say to the house of Israel, "This is what you are saying: 'Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?'" Say to them, "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?"
'Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, "The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness."'
...
My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
...
I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of cloud and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries
...
I myself will tend my sheep ... I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak ... I will shepherd the flock with justice.
...
I will make a covenant of peace with them
...
They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them ... and no one will make them afraid.
...
You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.
...
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back ... I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ... I will save you from all your uncleanness
...
I will do it."

Ezk 33:10-12, 34:6, 11-13, 15-16, 25, 27, 28, 31, 36:24-27, 29, 36. (emphasis added by me)

I see a lot in these verses. Remember though, that when it was written down, God was speaking about the future. When God says He will do something, He does it. It may not happen as soon as we might wish or expect, but it always happens in the perfect timing.

As seen in those passages, all have sinned and been separated from God, the consequence being death, spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Also seen is God's love for us. He himself is going to do all the work, the only thing He asks of us is to turn back to him and accept all that He is doing / has already done / will do for us. Through Jesus, God the Son, who came down to Earth, God dealt with all of it. By God's own doing, He died on the cross willingly so that we may be forgiven of our sins, that we may have our past payed for and so that we can start over justly. Of course by our own strength we fail, but with the new heart and Spirit placed inside of us, God gives us the power and helps us. We aren't in it alone, God is with us 'always, to the very end of the age.'

D.Fa

Take It All!!!

So, I was sitting in class and 'The Stand' gets stuck in my head, thank God. I had this terrible song stuck in my head all morning. Anyways, I went to the library to send some more support letters (via facebook) and went on youtube to listen to The Stand. Through some links I ended up on this song!

This song is amazing! Even though its half in Spanish I think that makes it way cooler! lol. I had to blog about this as soon as I heard it!

English Lyrics:

Searching the world
The lost will be found
In freedom we live
As one we cry out
You carried the cross
You died and rose again
My God
I’ll only ever give my all

You sent Your Son
From heaven to earth
You delivered us all
It’s eternally heard
I searched for truth
And all I found was You
My God
I’ll only ever give my all

Jesus we’re living for Your Name
We’ll never be ashamed of You
Whoa o oh
Our praise and all we are today
Take take take it all
Take take take it all

I'm Running to the One
Who heals the blind
I'm Following the shining light
Cause In Your hands is
The power to save the world
In my life

I found a video with the lyrics!!! (it's the same video, just with reliable lyrics. lol)

This song is so good!



Toma Tomalo!!!

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Mobile Parties are Cool

Hey! So. I need to learn how to be concise.

1. I hate shots.
2. It is not easy to get travel immunizations.
3. My imunization record is pretty sketch.
4. I need to learn to play footsy better..?
5. I don't tell you I love you as much as I should.
6. I don't love You as much as I should.
7. I need to cut down on words like kinda, maybe, sometimes, or other stupid modifiers.
8. I would like to be able to be in more than one place at once.
9. Microsoft Office hates me.
10. I understand LRC curcuits much better now.
11. Skipping math is always an idea that is not bad.
12. I learned some kanji today! or at least what they look like...
13. Breakfast at 8pm is odd.
14. I need to get a proper meal routine.
15. I'm leaving this house at the end of April..?
16. Someone keeps eating my food. This week a banana and half a litre of punch have disappeared. Also, RL ate the leftover spagetti I was planning to eat today and the leftover spagetti sauce I was planning to eat tomorrow... >.>
17. Jesus is the perfect spotless lamb that acts as the permanent sin offering for our sins.
18. I'm ahead of the game even if I think I only have 3 days left to do stuff..?
19. When did our lives become so complicated?
20. Snow + Rain = a very terrible combination. Sidewalks are the lowest place, ,', that is where the rain goes, ,', there is no where to walk.

Ya, Ttyl.

D.Fa

I Wish I Could Always Stay Here.

So. I want this to be quick so I can cram for my Bio midterm. I may be getting into a longish post however. xPP >.>

So, I stumbled upon (no not actually.) this song when I was trying to get a set list for worship one week and I really liked it, but I didn't think it should be in the set list. So I wrote down in a blog post draft titled "Note to Self" that I should blog about this eventually.

Can I Stay Here Forever by Starfield. The lyrics are as follows:

Through forgotten convictions
Misplaced affections
I'm losing the sound of Your voice
I've been chasing after emptiness
Trying to tidy up this mess
I swear I've been down this road before
I want to get back to where it all began
When I would long for only You

Like a child I'll take You at Your word
As these mountains of doubt, they fade away
I'm longing to trust and love You more
So for me this is beautiful
A brand new thought, and a brand new world
Can I stay here forever here with You?

I've lost sight of what first drew me
To the love that pursued me
The joy that inspired my song
The friendship that was all I knew
The arms that I would fall into
Seem miles and years from where I am today
I gotta get back to where it all began
When I would wait for only You

Can I stay here forever
Here with you?
Surrounded by Your mercy
Clothed in Your truth
Always, I'll stay
Always here with You

Can I be here forever
Here with You?
Can I know what it's like
To deeply love You?
Always, Lord, let me stay
Always, here with You



Also, we are playing this song for worship during Getaway and I really like singing it. Rediscover You by Starfield. Lyrics:

I need to just admit
my faith is paper thin
I'm feeling so burned out
On religion

I say an empty prayer
I sing a tired song
I need to just admit that the passion's gone

And I want to get it back

You told me
Look for You and I will find
So I'm here
Like I'm searching for the first time
Revive me, Jesus
Make this cold heart start to move
Help me rediscover You

I want to learn to pray
The way that David prayed
I want my soul to burn when I hear Your name
I want to feel like new
I want to hunger for you
Bring me back to life like only You can do
Cause I don't want to stay the same

You told me
Look for You and I will find
So I'm here
Like I'm searching for the first time
Revive me, Jesus
Make this cold heart start to move
Help me rediscover You

Lord, I want to be Yours today
I want to know the passion of the saints
And how they were changed

You told me
Look for You and I will find
So I'm here
Like I'm searching for the first time
Revive me, Jesus
Make this cold heart start to move

I want to burn for You
Bring me back to life, Jesus
Help me rediscover You



Both songs express how they were passionate for Jesus and just living for God. In the first song, they ended up being drawn away by other things and started losing touch with God. In the second song, it became so much about the traditions, practices and keeping up their appearance while no longer actually connecting with God.

1. How did they ever come to know God?

"I've lost sight of what first drew me, to the love that pursued me." God loves you. God loves every person He has created. He has made each of us with a unique purpose and He loves each of us and wants us to be in a loving relationship with Him.

2. Why did they ever leave this relationship if they had come into relationship with Him?

Everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. The original reason and most of the reasons since then is that we get so focused on ourselves and satisfying our own desires by our own means that we lose sight of the fact that God provides for us and instead go our own way. The thing is, God created us with free will. This is amazing. He could have forced us to follow Him, but if we so desire, he will let us do as we wish. However, disobeying Him and seeking to fulfill our desires separates us from Him. "I've been chasing after emptiness / Trying to tidy up this mess" Things like lusting over women, or seeking to be popular to try and substitute for the hole where God was in our hearts doesn't work. We were built to have Him in our lives.

3. Can we get back to a relationship with God on our own?

The answer is no. Nothing we can do can reconnect us. There are a few main ways that people try to get back to God by becoming 'more holy' in various ways, such as doing good works, religion or philosophies. As it says in the second song he confesses about how empty religion is "I'm feeling so burned out on religion, I say an empty prayer, I sing a tired song" but it's not the same, it's not a real relationship with God.

4. So how do we get back into a relationship with God?

In the songs they sing of getting back to where they were or rediscovering Him, so it must be possible. The answer is in God's love for us. While we were still going our own way separated by our own decision, God took it on Himself to come to us and even then He was rejected. God gave His only son on the cross so that we can have a relationship with Him. The effect of going our own way, the payment for that is death. Only through Jesus' death have our past actions been erased so that we can enter a relationship with God again if we so desire.

5. Jesus died, so I'm good now, right?

Well, yes and no. Yes, He did die, but you can't just know this and then BAM! without doing anything your life is fine. Jesus also came back to life and that has to be reflected in what we do as well. We were dead in our sins, but alive in Jesus. We can't continue living separated from God, that's what got us where we were. You have to put your trust in the fact that He did this for you and ask Him to be a part of your life. This isn't a one time thing. Every Christian ends up going back to the way they were at some point. It's a challenge sometimes, why else would there be so many songs about it? But the thing is, when you turn away again, you turn right back and continue to trust God for what He does in your life.

6. So, how do I ask Jesus to come into my life, and what does that mean?

The way we talk to God is in prayer. But just praying without your heart in it means nothing. The words don't matter as long as you truly mean them. The amazing thing is that God always listens to us when we pray to Him. The following is a sample prayer that you can pray, but you can say whatever you think you need to.

Part two of the question: What it means is that Jesus will be in your life and with you always. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit and will be able to live an empowered life to live the way God intended.

Sample Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. I'm sorry for going my own way and trying to find my own path. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door to my life and ask you to be my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.

7. Now what?

Now you are filled with the Holy Spirit and are in a relationship with Jesus. All your past sins have been forgiven and you have just started a long journey. "As these mountains of doubt, they fade away, I'm longing to trust and love You more". There will be times when you doubt, but if you truly seek, you will find God's truth and love for you wipe away the doubts. There's always room to grow closer to God, it's not an instant process. I still have a long way to go. The best way to start growing in your relationship is by exploring God's word, the Bible, and see what He has done for you. I advise starting in the book of John. You should also pray regularly. No relationship grows if only one person is doing the talking. You should also get to know some other people who trust in God by joining a Bible study or going to a church.

Also, if you have just accepted Christ into your life, please message me. =D I'm super excited about this. Leave a comment, or you can email me: dylan.dfa@gmail.com

Ya. xP I hope you come to know God more closely and I will try to help answer any questions or help you in any way I can.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. There is a lot more I could tell you about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

PPS. Starfield is pretty cool.

'I think that was the most asian thing you've done in a while.'

So, ya.

It is Sunday, I was on the worship team today, we played some neato upbeat positive songs, but no trainwreck endings. Today's call to worship was the song 'I Surrender All' to which AL explained a few thoughts on the subject. Saying that the usual way it is interpreted is that we surrender all to Jesus, ie even when the going gets tough, too bad Jesus helps us win the battle! This is true, but there is also the very importnat part in which you admit defeat and surrender. If you don't admit defeat, do you really need Jesus..? Yes, you need Jesus, but will you believe that you need Him..?

Yesterday I was thinking of the idea that we have been freed from our slavery to sin by Jesus. Before Jesus had set us free, we had no choice but to live in the consequences of our sin. But now we have the choice. The choice to continue sinning or follow Jesus. Often we will think why didn't He just destroy all sin? It would be way easier for us. But then it wouldn't be true free will He gave us when He created us. Free will is one of the very basic yet important things that God gave us when we were created. He will not force you to love Him, He will not force you to follow Him, He will not force you to go to heaven if you would rather live apart from Him, He gives you the choice. We had no choice before. We were born inheriting the sins of our parents and so right from the start we had no choice. But since Jesus has died on the cross and risen again to set us free, he gives us the choice. (lol. I think I used the word choice too much in this paragraph. Almost as much as that other time. lol) 'Can't make my own decisions, or make any with precision. Well maybe you should tie me up, so I don't go where you don't want me.'

Well, ya. I finished all my work around 6 so I had a lot of free time. I have a lot of food in my house now. Half leftovers from my parents and half stuff I bought because it was on sale. xP

So, ya.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

What Will Your Story Be?

Hey, whatsup..?

I am currently in SP 100. It is 6:52. It is 'Weekly Meeting' time for Campus for Christ and we are currently all on our laptops. xP My friend HK just messaged JC "hey. aren't you supposed to be at WM?" lol... It's like, why are you on your laptop..? Well, you see, we are all brainstorming different ways that we can bring the gospel to our friends and just tell them about how great God is. The main focus this month is on writing our own personal testimonies about how God has impacted our lives and just about where we are coming from and just how we came to know God personally. I missed the weekly meeting last week where we started writing our testimonies and everything, and in Discipleship group this week we 'continued' working on them. I still don't really know what to say in it. The main thing about the testimony is that it has to have minimal 'Christian-ese' in it and has to just be easy to understand for people who don't know all these Christian terms that we just put in our sentences while we speak. xP

The other day I was texting VW again and she asked if she had ever shared her testimony with me. She summarized it into 'pastor's daughter. baby. but blessing.' When we finally meet in person it's gonna be interesting. We kinda facebook stalked each other slightly and have had a couple text conversations. The thing I got out of that conversation is that when we finally do meet I should have my testimony ready...

Well, today I went sharing with RM and MW. First we were in the food court and we approached a couple groups of people. The first group was a band and they were about to play somewhere and were just grabbing a quick bite, so they didn't have time to speak with us. After that we approached another group and they were all in a 'secular group' or at least I think that's what she said, so basically they said they didn't want to talk with us. RM had to leave and so it was just me and MW and the Holy Spirit.

We talked to two different guys. One in Loeb Lounge who was a non-practicing Catholic and one in Oasis who is a Methodist pastor's son. We had the most amazing conversation with him. He was originally from Ghana and lives in Toronto. We went through the 'Satisfied' booklet that talks about how to live the Spirit-filled life and just how we are satisfied when we put God in control of our lives and just trust in Him. It was really sweet going through that booklet again. It's always good to be reminded of all that stuff. We talked with him for a long time and we prayed for him. I think he actually encouraged me more than I encouraged him. One thing he was saying is about "Why do pro atheletes practice..? I mean they are so good, why do they need to practice..? The same reason we still need to read our Bibles and pray."

You can never be too good or 'too spiritual'. Christians don't get 'too good' until we get to heaven. We still struggle with sin and temptation and stuff while here on Earth and need to rely on God and the Holy Spirit and Jesus' forgiveness.

Anyways, in both of those conversations they asked about what denomination we were in or just what background we come from. I really need to work on my testimony.

Ya. So, we were brainstorming about how we can use the internet, twitter, facebook, blogs, emails, anything to reach our friends. This blog is my main way of reaching out to people, but clearly I'm mostly reaching people in my church... xP But I don't like the idea of plugging my blog, like "Hey I have this blog!" .... XP So, I was thinking I should blog, and post my testimony to facebook and maybe even upload worship songs to youtube or something.

So, I was just wasting time on hotmail, blogger, etc. and I went to facebook and at the top of the page it said "Introducing Your New Profile: Now with more ways to show and tell your story." Tell Your Story

With these overwhelming hints. I suppose that I should really work on my testimony. Especially because I am supposed to be sharing it in DG on Monday... xP

Ya. I will post my testimony here, don't worry. You are a part of it for sure. xP

Ttyl.

D.Fa

I'm Free!

So, hey!

I have completed semester 1A, I mean, first semester of first year. I completed my Calculus exam in an hour and a half with some inspiration here and there, but it was pretty easy. I only really studied breifly on Friday derivatives and crammed yesterday for a few hours on Integration. Do you ever cram all the hard stuff and then only the easy stuff is on the exam..? It annoys me sometimes, but then I realize that I will be getting a better mark because it was easy.

I hadn't checked any of my marks until today and I only checked because my CHEM prof sent me an email. This is what it said:

"Hi – You got an A+ in CHEM 1001. Pretty awesome.

Bob."

That is all it said except for all his contect info at the bottom. Bob is my favourite prof. xP He's so sarcastic sometimes. xP

Anyways. I am now done my exams. yuss. I also just beat LoZ Spirit Tracks. The final battle is very similar to a number of other LoZ battles my brother tells me. A possesed Zelda, a puppet master, an over-sized, blue, horned, red-haired, gem-on-the-forehead monster on four legs, a light arrow, a magical instrument, sages, a magic sword, stabbing the bad guy in the head, all have been done before. xP It was still very fun.

Ya. Only a few days until Christmas! and a couple more until WC!!! I still don't know how I'm getting there. xP

Ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. I'm free because Jesus set me free from my slavery to sin.

Sick at Christmas

So, hey.

What's up..? I'm really busy with work and studying and stuff. That is what I should say, but honestly, it's only been like a few hours of work a day and I have not studied yet and I have wasted massive amounts of time watching Pokemon Best Wishes and playing Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks. I also havn't really been reading the Bible or praying too much... and I've fallen to quite a spiritual low... If it wasn't for my friends and a certain blog I would be even lower possibly.

So, ya. I started working in Salad Bar on Tuesday and I have worked like 25 hours since then. Christmas is the time when people buy platters because they are having parties and stuff so they needed to make a bunch. Salad bar is pretty fun. There's always something to do and you often have someone to talk to. Broccoli Salad looks really gross though..... xP Like someone already chewed it. Spinach Salad looks sooooo tasty....

Also, the main reason I have been wasting my life on LoZ is because I am going to give it to my brother for Christmas, but I would like to play it first. I mean, I bought it in September and didn't play it until Wednesday. I'm nearly done, just one more temple and then the final boss fight. Ya... xP

YA was so much fun on Thursday. We had a going away potluck for R(?) and HK. Then, while JC was finishing her project worth 40% that was due at midnight we went tobagoning on a GT Snowracer. LOL. Just Lol. We had a short lived competition to see wich team could go the farthest, we ran down the hill. xP We then went and tobagoned down the bridges... xP It's more fun then it sounds. Then we went back to CW's house. "Look out for the hill!" LOL.

Ya.....

I was thinking how can we ever live up to God's expectations? Like its so easy to sin, how can he expect us not to...? Do we just have to try our hardest..? No..... I've thought this before. We can't try our hardest and expect that to please God. Our hardest is still a giant failure. Humans are weak and sinful. We can't rely on ourselves to please God or try to earn favour. 1. Our best is still far from good and 2. It just doesn't work. This is why Jesus came down on Christmas a couple thousand years ago. He came to us because we could never reach Him with our own efforts. He came to reconcile us to God, to take away our sins, to give us power over sin, to give us his Spirit. But if we don't rely on his strength we just fall back to the situation we were in before.

Why do we sin? Why? Why can't it just be easy? How can I want to live as Jesus wants me to, while at the same time be hiding sin.

On a lighter note, I found these amazing toys at Zellers the other day. Sooo fun. xP



xP. Taken on my phone, so ya.. xP The toys sing each sing a different song, but you get to decide the tempo, by making them sing the next note in the song each time you squeeze them. They also hold the note as long as you squeeze them. They make chords and stuff if you play with more than one at a time, but while taking the video I only had one free hand and there was a message over the intercom (it wasn't the toy talking xP)... So, ya. You should just go and see them in person. xP

Ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. Slovenia and Ukraine! w00t!

CHEM 1001

Hey.

I have now completed a University exam. It's practically the same thing as a highschool exam, just on a larger scale. They are apparently scarier when it comes to cell phones and other potential cheating, the exam room is WAY bigger, but the exam itself is only 11 pages... xP

Okay... I failed again today..... After I went and finished my studying. I turned on the radio (CHRI) and there were a few talks. Mostly they were about prioritizing and wasted time etc. It was talking about how Jesus only had 3 years to do the biggest thing any man has ever done, save the world, yet he took the time every morning to pray and spend time with God and he was never rushing to get anywhere, one of his biggest sermons was to one woman at a well.

How can I really rely on God if I'm not even talking to him very much. Okay.... I've been failing because I've been relying on myself again. I am going to try to spend 15 minutes of every four hours in prayer/reading a passage and reflecting on it.

Earlier I was thinking "Seek first His kingdom and His righteosness and all these things will be given to you." I was using this as an excuse to not study last second. Instead I would go sharing around 5:30 and be doing His work. Then the test would be guarenteed. I mean it is just something else, just another thing. What is going to last..? Only what is done for love's reward will stand the test of time, or so the song goes... xP

In the end, I forgot my calculator and had to walk home after waiting at a bus stop for 10 minutes... It was so cold... xP But, really, my planning had failed. Emphasis on MY.

Ya, I really need to sleep so that I can wake up and study for Bio... xP I'm gonna waste a lot of time on Pizza buffet and Singing Christmas Tree tommorow, so I really need to get to work...

Also, you guys should pray for RL. I will be. This morning at 10 he said he was going to sleep and that I should wake him up at 12. I then hear video game sounds from the other side of his closed door for 2 hours as I study. I then hear him "go back to bed" then "wake up" then start a new game. I then go to 'wake him up' and he says good morning. I tell him that he's been playing video games for two hours, he says, no I just started. See, look at the counter (it says how long he's been playing...)... He then played for another two hours. Now, at midnight he plans to 'study' for two hours, go to sleep and wake up 5 hours later then bus to school for a 9am exam........ He is watching Glee.

JW says that 'parenting won't help him' and that 'if he makes mistakes he'll learn from them.' I don't want him to fail. I don't want him to starve. I don't want him to be sleep deprived. I don't want him to waste his life on video games (It is seriously taking over his life.).

Ya.......

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Far East Movement is also a good band. xP

Twelve Charcters (or rather 10 characters and two dolls) in Search of Authors / Unashamed

So, ya. Yesterday I went to a play at Carleton, "Six Characters in Search of an Author". I had seen the same play done by MHS last week. They were pretty different. MHS's was more comical while CU's was very very intense with very good blocking and audio/visual elements that really added to the depth of the symbolism and stuff. For example in the play all the "actors" were wearing colourful shirts while all the "characters" were black and white, showing a disticnt difference between them. Also, the use of lighting made it very clear when something was a 're-enactment' or when something was 'real'. I understand that you aren't really following what I am saying right now. xP But! If you want to find out you can still go to tonight's performace (Closing Night!) at Carleton's Kailash Mital Theatre at 8pm tickets are 8$ for students and 12$ for general admission. I strongly recomend it, but doubt that anyone will either read this in time or be able to go. xP

The thing with MHS's play is that I knew everyone in it (mostly) and I thought a couple people were really really good in their roles. Especially NJ, MHC, MU and CK. TM overacts sometimes which is often very funny, but sometimes out of place.

I can't choose which is better because they are both special in their own ways and actually have a different tone to the play and don't end the same way, so really, its as if they were different plays.



Anyways, the reason that I was blogging originally was to tell you about what just happened.

I woke up. I looked outside to see the gross slushyness that is winter in ottawa. I gave into the flesh. I looked in the mirror and saw "unashamed" written on my cheek. LOL

That is honestly what happened. xPPPPPP It was so funny. Honestly. I AM unashamed. God has paid for all my sins. I prayed right there. I confessed. I thanked Him for everything he has done that I Can stand there unashamed even after such iniquity. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We no longer deserve wrath when we confess our sins and are purified of all unrighteousness. We can demand justice because we have been bailed out by Jesus.

You may be thinking "Why was 'unashamed' written on his face..?" Well, yesterday I went to C4C and there's always a time of worship. We sang 'Unashamed' by Starfield and it was really cool, so I wrote it down on my hand so that I wouldn't forget to look it up later. I don't know when I had my hand on my face so that the ink transferred (probably when I was sleeping), but it's so funny.

Also, right after I prayed I looked outside and it was snowing, kinda blizzard-like in its wind and snow, but all the gross slushyness of winters in ottawa was covered up by fresh, pure, white snow. It stopped snowing like a minute afterwards.

So, here are two songs:

Unashamed:



and Jesus Paid It All:



So, ya. This never ending, unconditional love that is freely given to everyone is pretty amazing. If you don't fully know about it, you could go to a local church to find out, or if you wanted to you could message me about it and I could try to tell you more about it. xP

I'll talk to you later.

=D.Fa

Response

I have recently been shown how blogging because "you have to" produces unsatisfactory posts. This may be one of them. You cannot post an in depth post, which clearly states what you think when you are trying to compose it between classes or in a couple spare minutes.

Sometimes I end up not fully explaining my thoughts, or not being clear enough with context or other seemingly important information. I also sometimes blog as though you know everything I am talking about.

I also admit that I have problems with pride sometimes.

Don't listen to your feelings. Trust in and have faith in the truths that have been revealed in Jesus and the Bible.

I fail so much. Honestly. And yet I still have this stupid pride.

Also, I don't really think about things or have a purpose for what I am doing. Yesterday I was asked "Why do you go to YA?" and I really had nothing to say. All I know is that I like YA and 7-10 Thursday night YA is more important to me than almost anything. I don't think about why I am going, but I want to.

Is it really pride..? What if I genuenly want to help out in any way I can if someone needs help..? Is it about pleasing people..?

A number of people have said a number of very significant statements to me recently (usually through email or other textual media) and I really don't know how to think about it or what to do about it.

I feel really bad about not being able to help out. I feel really bad about having blogged certain comments with implications I did not intend. I feel like I am a terrible role model for KC.

.................................

O heavenly Father, you are perfect and powerful and mighty and can do absolutely everything. I am not. You are just and faithful and above all creation. I am not. Lord, you took away my sin, you paid for them all. While we were still your enemies, while I was still unborn, you died on the cross for my sins and the sins of the whole world forever because you loved us so. This unconditional, unending, unimaginable love you possess is indescribably amazing. Lord, I have fallen to sinful actions and sinful attitudes. I'm sorry for feeling that I should be better than KC. All of us, your children, are all equal in your sight. Lord, I'm sorry. I know that when we confess our sins to you, you forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. Lord reveal to me all my sin that I can confess them. Lord, I don't live the way I should. Lord, help me rely in your strength and power and not my own because I will fail on my own. Lord, I need a new attitude.

Help me.

.................................

D.Fa

Rice Deficit

So, hey. Whats up..? nm..? me either... xP...

I seem to answer "what's up?" based on how busy I am at the moment compared to other times, but I usually am only asked that question when I am between things, like I just got to Loeb cafe and I'm not going to work on the pile of homework for like half an hour, so I'm not doing much right now, even though I have a lot to do, like studying for a CHEM midterm. >.>

Ya. I am a yes person. I will almost always agree to do something if I am asked to. I always have a busy schedule and I will just try to fit more in. I always can. Usually by taking something 'less important' out, such as sleeping a couple more hours or unintentionally taking out a meal or taking out all my textbook readings... xP or I will just do work on the bus instead of relaxing for 20 minutes. I've just become used to this constant unprepared last-second finish for everything. It seems to work out, but only to a satisfactory degree.

I really hate focusing on one thing. I'd rather have a tiny bit of a million things... >.>

Today someone asked me if I was excited for christmas. I responded "not really" and he was all like "Isn't this your time of year..?"
1. It's Movember. not even near christmas.
2. I hate how comercial it is.
3. You don't get excited just at Christmas. You should always be excited that Christ died to forgive your sins and give you freedom from sin.
But ya... it felt funny. That conversation.

Yesterday I went out for supper with my parents for my dad's birthday. We went to "Siam Kitchen" and my parents ordered way too much... xP So when we were going to leave, they packed it all up into doggy bags and said "Oh, we'll give you rice" with a smile. I only opened the bag today. There were 3 big plates and 2 smaller bowl-like containers. There were 4 dishes and then rice, but when they say "o, we'll give you rice", you would think there would be enough for the stuff we were taking. I did not. I mean there was so much stuff left and there was not room for all the rice we would need in the bag they gave us.

Was there enough rice..? No. Not at all. One of the small containers had rice in them. That was not even enough for the other small container of stuff. Luckily JR had some rice, so he gave me some and I gave him some stuff. Free leftovers are pretty good. Especially if it's asian food. xP Yum.

Ya... I'm in Math class. I am not following our prof at all........ Integration doesn't make sense in my mind... xP...

ttyl.

D.Fa

He Will Never Leave You.

Hey.

Sup..?

I havn't had supper yet. xP. I have to go to sleep though.... xP I havn't had supper in a few days... xP I have like 3 heads of romain in my fridge that need to be eaten, but clearly not for breakfast and lunch is inconvenient for a salad, so supper is the only possibility I have left......... They cost me 4$ yo.

Anyways, I managed to get everything done today and even kinda read over the stuff I'll be going through with KC tommorow. It's in this book "Knowing Jesus Personally". Lesson 1: Understanding Your Relationship with Jesus Christ. I suppose I should breifly cover the gospel in case you havn't heard it so that it all makes sense.

4 main points:
1. God loves you. He made you perfect and in his image so that you could have a relationship with Him and fulfill the purpose and plan he has for you.
2. Our Condition: All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This sin separates us from Him. This sin is anything that keeps us from a relationship with Him such as going your own way for selfish desires or just ignoring Him. This condition that we have makes us impure and unable to establish a relationship with Him by our own means.
3. God's Response. God sent his only begotten son to die for our sins. The wages of sin is death. Jesus had no sin. You cannot get rid of your sin, but Jesus has already paid the price for your sins. He died on the cross and rose from the dead.
4. Your Response: Knowing this is not enough. Neither is an emotional experience. You must accept the gift of eternal life and invite Jesus into your life. You can do this by praying a prayer repenting for your prior sins, thanking Jesus for paying for them and asking Jesus to come into your life and lead you to become the person God meant you to be.

Anyway, that is a very basic general overview of the gospel.

So, ya. Tommorow's lesson has 5 truths.
1. Christ forgave your sin.
2. Christ made you a child of God.
3. Christ came into your life and he will never leave you.
4. Christ gave you new life.
5. Christ gave you eternal life.

There are various bible quotes and thought provoking questions associated with the lesson. The last question is "Which of these five truths are especially maeningful to you now?" and "Why?". I'm really bad at deciding one thing over another. I can't decide between 1 and 3. I have sinned, but He still forgave me. He hasn't just forgiven me, He is also giving me a purpose and he has a plan for my life, even though I was a sinner. On top of that if I ever happen to sin He doesn't just throw me aside, He is always there. He always calls us back to Him, we just need to hear Him and repent of the sin.

I probably didn't explain what those truths actually mean to me properly, but you get the point, right?

Anyways, I'll ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. DG was cool.

1 John 4:19

Hey.

I could not wake up again.... I didn't get out of bed until like 7:20. xP

Pro-tip: Oatmeal is a very fast meal to make. This is especially true when there is a kettle in your house. You can put the kettle on and do other things in that time, which is very short, and then eat oatmeal.

So, on the bus this morning I scrambled to read a text book and write down equations. I then went to my PHYS tutorial a couple minutes late and did my midterm (pretty easy, but I just don't understand elevator problems...). In the remaining two hours of my class time I went to Loeb Cafe and did some more Worship related things. Yesterday AH and VS were at our house and we watch "How to Train Your Dragon" (It is still very good) and talked and played ping-pong.

Apparently VS has difficulty singing without adding twang to the song. If she ever became a singer, it would have to be country music. She even does this in church apparently.

In an attempt to find songs for this weekend I have been asking people what their favourite worship songs are. I also looked for the song VS supposedly (as in I may have heard incorrectly..?) twangs to. It's cool. It's actually really cool.



So, ya. I only have like 3 of the 5 songs for Worship right now.... but all this time just listening to music, reading lyrics, singing to myself, praying, reading the bible in search of 'call to worship' passages, etc. has been really cool.

Anyways. I talked to KC today. We had MATH class together then we went to a med school workshop on applications, then we walked for a bit and I shared with him. We didn't sit down anywhere, we just walked through the tunnels. People were going by, it was echo-y and it seemed to me to be ... idk. xP. It was cool. It was kinda like sharing in front of a bunch of people. Everytime someone went by I'd be saying 'Jesus' or 'faith' or something.

I won't be going to Sunday school this weekend. I'm meeting KC at Baseline station around 10.

I should thank you guys for your prayers.

Thank you.

I should thank God too.

Oh heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for just being in my life, that I may know you, that I can sing your praises. Lord, I thank you for pushing me outside my comfort zones and Lord, I thank you for sending your son to pay our debts. We could never pay them ourselves, no matter what we did and by your mercy, grace and justice we have been freed from our slavery and brought into a relationship with you. Lord, I thank you that you can work through me and through all your children to reach out and bring other brothers and sisters back to you. Lord, it isn't by our strength that we can bring others to you. It's not by our works that we can save others. It's not by our words that their hearts are changed. It is all because of your power and love for us that we can live a life in which we can know you personally. Lord, I pray for KC that he would grow and that you could show him more than I could ever tell him. Lord I pray that in everything I do it is for your glory. Lord. Thank you.

Anyways. Ya, I should be working on this set list / cleaning the kitchen / making supper..? / idk.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Above the World

So. I was thinking.

Creation looks so amazing from up here, but down there it's not the same. Down there you can see all the hate and destruction and sin. Up here all you see is how beautiful it is on the outside. Why would God, who is above all of this, come down to our level. Up there you can only see how wonderfully it appears to be, but down here you can see deeper into the problem... Up there we are insignificant specks, but God took / takes the time to not only keep an eye over all of us, but to come down to our level and listen to each and every one of us. All 6 billion+ of us. All 6 billion + of us who have walked our own path. Not only listen to each of us, but also reach out to each of us.

He could have just watched from afar. He could have just destroyed us. He could have done a lot of things, but he chose to speak to us, to reach out to us, to come down and show Himself to us, to teach us, to die for us, to save us. Each of us.

I was thinking while I was up there that I would want to be the person with an office on the highest floor of the tallest building. That would be so cool. Then I realized that it would just be empty pride. It would be easy to become proud of being above other people wouldn't it..? but God humbled himself and came all the way down from his heavenly throne and came down to our level. He was tempted every way we are. He was fully human and fully God. He never sinned. He fought the devil with the Word and with prayer and followed God's word to the dot.

The God above everything, the one whose name is above everything, the greatest of all creation, the creator himself came down from infinity and eternity and stepped into time and even washed Peter's feet. Even though he [Peter] turned from Jesus and denied Him three times in one night, Jesus didn't abandon him.

I don't know where I'm going with this anymore, so, ya..... xP

God is pretty amazing and He even takes the time to reach out for you and me and everyone in the whole world, we just have to pay attention.

D.Fa

Late Update

So, ya.

Remember how I said I was planning to share with my friend Thursday morning..? Well, after a very boring Physics tutorial I went to meet up with him to study for our Bio Midterm on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure we were supposed to meet at 10. We met up at 10:55. I wasn't actually very concerned about studying for it though... I had 'studied' with DK the day before for a couple hours and it's all review from grade 12.

So, ya... I didn't end up sharing with him that day... but just spending the time with him in the library was cool too. I am being completely open with him about me being Christian. His reactions are interesting. I don't really know how to describe them though... He seemed kinda surprised when I said "Worship music" as my third answer to 'what type of music do you listen to?' and he just nodded along when I told him I was on the worship team / was going to church when he asked what I was doing this weekend.

He doesn't really say too much. I'm not sure if he's christian or not, but thinking about it, that day when we had overpriced stirfry in the loeb building he didn't say grace..? but people sometimes forget / I'm not always very observant... >.>

Anyways, I realized, when I was originally writing a post similar to this one, that I was always really shy about sharing my faith, like even saying that I was Christian or admitting that I went to YF or church or anything. Since I've been openly sharing that much things have been way cooler and honestly no one has ever hated on me for saying I was Christian, so what was I so afraid of..? Then I realized that there are people who fear what people will do to them if they were ever found to be Christian. People living their lives hiding their beliefs from others.

I suppose that it is a blessing that we can live in a country with freedom of religion, but I guess at the same time that makes it harder too...

Anyways, this discussion led me to 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Live your lives intentionally so that you are always an example and people can see God's love flow through you, even if you aren't directly sharing the gospel. I havn't spent too much time lately on my memory verses, so I needed to get my memory verse sheets for that.

When I went to get them I also realized that I had yet to read any of the bible that day, so I read 2 Timothy 1 and 2 Timothy 1:8-10 spoke to me. "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"

So, ya. There is no reason for us to hide the truth of our faith from others, but rather we should shine the light that is in us into the darkness of this world, or something along those lines.

xP...

D.Fa