Sunday, November 26, 2006

Stand firm in grace, truth, and power of Christ Jesus

I’ve been at home for almost a week. I feel that my faith is getting weaker, the thing that I was worrying all the time before I came – forget about God and walk further from Him and walk towards the crowd, or more straightforward, the world. I did not go to church today. As me and my parents were discussing which church should we go, we did not come out with a conclusion, so we end up went to the market instead. It is hard; especially it is weird to “intrude” a church that you do not know anyone there. I’ve been trying to read the bible and Christian books everyday. However there are too many distractions, the noise level in KL especially in my house is amazing – my brother plays music, rock and metal music at home, and parents were watching television, even I shut my door I still find it hard to concentrate. I could say – the quality of quiet time is not as good, and I found it really hard to focus and think about God. I knew it, I knew that I am weak, I knew that without the surrounding of my fellow brothers and sisters I cannot be that strong. I start missing New Zealand, start thinking how would I be if I’m still in Palmy, walking with my flatmate to the church, meeting my fellow brothers and sisters there, have church lunch after that, and talk about God and everything. Those are the most precious times that I had.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

Yet I still have to fight, or more correctly, stand firm in my faith in Christ.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-18)

And from 2 Timothy Chapter 2, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, as a soldier who wants to please his commanding officer, as an athlete that competes according to the rules, as a hardworking farmer, an approved workman, a clean vessel, and a faithful servant.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You won't forget God and God won't forget you. Just keep praying to Him and reading as best as you can, perhaps if you read when your family is asleep :)

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever seperate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can seperate us from God's love."

Romans 8:38

`wangzhao said...

well, guess you have found out that Christianity is part of your life here but not necessary part of your life at home. yet God remains. it is indeed a good thing to be able to look at your relationship with God apart from all the amplifiers like Christian friends, church and so on. now you are on a date with God alone, enjoy it. he is very faithful