How Full is Your Backpack?
by Jon Walker
But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life. Only a few people find that road. Matthew 7:14 (NCV)
""He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." --Missionary Jim Elliot, killed while attempting to tell the Waodani people in Ecuador about Jesus."
Imagine trying to walk down a narrow path that is hemmed in by thorny vines and low hanging branches and you’re wearing a backpack overstuffed with the many things you think you need.
Imagine how exhausted and frustrated you’d be as your heavy backpack kept getting snagged in the branches and the vines. You’d begin to see that many of the things you carried were more of a hindrance than a help, and so one-by-one, you’d start pulling things out of your backpack, regretfully tossing them aside.
Imagine how you would feel when you come to the end of the narrow path and discover that to get to where you want to go, you have to squeeze through a very small gate. You start to pull the last of your things out of the backpack, but then you realize there is no sense in taking an empty backpack through the gate.
So you reluctantly leave it behind and head through the small gate into a new life. It is your life in Christ and you have followed Jesus down this narrow path and through this small gate into the kingdom of heaven.
Inside the kingdom, you realize you’ve made your journey more difficult than it had to be simply because everything you’d been so reluctant to leave behind is useless in your new life. And the things that Jesus provides for you in your new life are far more precious than any thing you left behind.
When Jesus demands our allegiance, he isn’t trying to take good things away from us; rather, he knows the world is coming to an end and he is trying to prepare us for an eternity living with him.
How are you doing with your goals and plans for this Decade of Destiny? What’s that one thing you’re reluctant to give up? Maybe it’s not a thing; maybe it is giving up the lack of discipline when it comes to your finances, or your health, or your Bible study.
Whatever it is, Jesus brings you to this choice: Will you trust him when he says you need to give this thing up, or will you insist that you need to carry an overstuffed backpack throughout the next ten years?
19.2.11
14.2.11
We, However, Have the Mind of Christ
By Jon Walker
We, however, have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16 TEV)
"If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking."
When Jesus calls you, he expects you to begin thinking like him. Pastor Buddy has been teaching us how important this is in order for God to enable real, lasting change in the way we make choices and the way we behave.
Learning to think like Jesus isn’t as impossible as it sounds because the Apostle Paul says we have been given the mind of Christ: “As the scripture says, ‘Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?’ We, however, have the mind of Christ.’” (1 Corinthians 2:16 TEV)
The issue is in accessing the mind of Christ as you mediate upon God’s Word and listen to the Holy Spirit, who is your guide into all truth. (John 16:13) If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking.
As you walk with him day in and day out, you will become intimate with his likes and dislikes; you will see what he sees and hear what he hears. You will know what he cares about and you will know what he considers insignificant, petty, or distracting.
You will witness how he responds to problems, criticism, truth, exhaustion, excitement, expectations, disappointments, hunger, poverty, love, laughter, accusations, manipulation, sorrow, sin, tension, distrust, redemption, rejection, legalism, ritual, religion, hypocrisy, happiness, joy, and you will learn what he thinks about your future.
All of this is will teach you to think from God’s perspective, to engage the mind of Christ available to you through the Holy Sprit.
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
We, however, have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16 TEV)
"If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking."
When Jesus calls you, he expects you to begin thinking like him. Pastor Buddy has been teaching us how important this is in order for God to enable real, lasting change in the way we make choices and the way we behave.
Learning to think like Jesus isn’t as impossible as it sounds because the Apostle Paul says we have been given the mind of Christ: “As the scripture says, ‘Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?’ We, however, have the mind of Christ.’” (1 Corinthians 2:16 TEV)
The issue is in accessing the mind of Christ as you mediate upon God’s Word and listen to the Holy Spirit, who is your guide into all truth. (John 16:13) If you imagine discipleship as a physical journey, then you can easily see that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to understand his way of thinking.
As you walk with him day in and day out, you will become intimate with his likes and dislikes; you will see what he sees and hear what he hears. You will know what he cares about and you will know what he considers insignificant, petty, or distracting.
You will witness how he responds to problems, criticism, truth, exhaustion, excitement, expectations, disappointments, hunger, poverty, love, laughter, accusations, manipulation, sorrow, sin, tension, distrust, redemption, rejection, legalism, ritual, religion, hypocrisy, happiness, joy, and you will learn what he thinks about your future.
All of this is will teach you to think from God’s perspective, to engage the mind of Christ available to you through the Holy Sprit.
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11.2.11
Uncle Ringo
So, this is what I'm wearing today. For tonite's sixties theme. Desperate last min attempt to at least hav a feel of the theme =p
It seems like I'm gg to... Here. Haha
I wonder if they moved the props from the movie set to sk. looks quite like what's in the movie.
Ahh... 好怀旧哦..all the retro games
I hate those spinning fishes.
童年跑去了哪里？
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It seems like I'm gg to... Here. Haha
I wonder if they moved the props from the movie set to sk. looks quite like what's in the movie.
Ahh... 好怀旧哦..all the retro games
I hate those spinning fishes.
童年跑去了哪里？
-BlogPress <3 iPhone
8.2.11
Shalom!
Jesus calms the storm
Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
BlogPress <3 iPhone
3.2.11
Choose Faith and Ask for Help by Rick Warren
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
When faced with the reality of a situation that is overwhelming, the best thing you can do is focus on God. The disciples, in Matthew 8, knew that Jesus could do something about the storm that threatened their lives as they were tossed on the sea.
Their answer to the overwhelming storm was to ask Jesus for help. “The disciples went to him and they woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord save us, we are going to drown” (Matthew 8:25 NLT).
Why is it that we wait until it gets really bad before we think we have to pray? One of the keys to dealing with anxiety is to cry for help earlier because God wants to help.
Instead of trying to live life on your own and let the worry overwhelm you, turn to God. He wants you to live life connected to him, talking to him, and getting connected with others because when you try to do it on our own and never ask for help, worries just multiply.
Maybe it’s hard for you to admit your needs. Maybe you think no one cares. Maybe you’re convinced you know the answer and no one else does. I think a lot of people don’t ask for help because they don’t want to be a bother to anyone.
It does not bother God when you ask for help. He stands ready to help you in every moment of life.
“Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). Talking to God in prayer is the single most effective cure for worry, and it needs to be the attitude of your life.
Our verse today gives us the formula for how this works.
“Pray about everything.” First, you talk. As you talk to God about everything, you will find the anxiety level lessening in your life.
“Tell God what you need.” That’s the second thing. A lot of times people go to God in prayer and tell God about everything and everyone else, but don’t share their needs with him. Tell him what you are worried about!
“Thank him for all he has done.” There is something about gratitude that lessens anxiety and opens the door to peace and incredible faith in your life. No matter what you’re going through in life right now, there is something you can look back on and say, “God, I’m grateful for that.” So hang on to that.
When faced with the reality of a situation that is overwhelming, the best thing you can do is focus on God. The disciples, in Matthew 8, knew that Jesus could do something about the storm that threatened their lives as they were tossed on the sea.
Their answer to the overwhelming storm was to ask Jesus for help. “The disciples went to him and they woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord save us, we are going to drown” (Matthew 8:25 NLT).
Why is it that we wait until it gets really bad before we think we have to pray? One of the keys to dealing with anxiety is to cry for help earlier because God wants to help.
Instead of trying to live life on your own and let the worry overwhelm you, turn to God. He wants you to live life connected to him, talking to him, and getting connected with others because when you try to do it on our own and never ask for help, worries just multiply.
Maybe it’s hard for you to admit your needs. Maybe you think no one cares. Maybe you’re convinced you know the answer and no one else does. I think a lot of people don’t ask for help because they don’t want to be a bother to anyone.
It does not bother God when you ask for help. He stands ready to help you in every moment of life.
“Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). Talking to God in prayer is the single most effective cure for worry, and it needs to be the attitude of your life.
Our verse today gives us the formula for how this works.
“Pray about everything.” First, you talk. As you talk to God about everything, you will find the anxiety level lessening in your life.
“Tell God what you need.” That’s the second thing. A lot of times people go to God in prayer and tell God about everything and everyone else, but don’t share their needs with him. Tell him what you are worried about!
“Thank him for all he has done.” There is something about gratitude that lessens anxiety and opens the door to peace and incredible faith in your life. No matter what you’re going through in life right now, there is something you can look back on and say, “God, I’m grateful for that.” So hang on to that.
2.2.11
Face Reality, Then Choose Faith by Rick Warren
“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:23-24 (NLT)
If you are going to deal with worry and anxiety, the first thing you have to do is face reality.
In Matthew 8, we see the reality of the situation that Jesus and the disciples faced. What they went through shows us the reality of what we have to face when life doesn’t go the way we plan.
They faced a sudden storm. This is a picture for us of unexpected problems. We often don’t know what direction a problem is going to come from or where we will be when it hits.
If you build your life around the belief that you’ll be okay this year as long as nothing goes wrong, you’re going to lose. Because something will always go wrong.
They faced waves. Waves in our life are overwhelming circumstances. For the disciples, the waves in the midst of the storm were higher than their boat. They had overwhelming circumstances. And the same thing happens to us. A storm hits our life and the circumstances of it leave us wondering, “How am I going to face that?”
They had a boat. This is a picture for us of inadequate resources. The boat wasn’t big enough to hold the waves that were coming. We face the same situation.
If only we had all the money in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. If only we had all the time in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. That’s just reality, and saying anything else is a lie.
Jesus was asleep in the boat. Here were the disciples in the midst of a storm and almost ready to drown, and Jesus, the one they knew could make a difference, was asleep.
This is a picture of how many of us feel when we are facing a genuine problem in life. We don’t know what to do or where to turn, and we know God knows what we’re going through. The worse it gets, the more we wonder, “God, where are you in all of this? Why don’t you do something to change the situation?”
The question is how can we keep from worrying when life is overwhelming and it feels like God is slow in answering?
Anxiety wears you out and it shortens your life, but if you have no other answers, you are going to keep worrying. Many people think the answer to worry is to somehow pretend that there is nothing to worry about. But the only way to deal with worry effectively is to face reality and then choose to face reality with faith.
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
If you are going to deal with worry and anxiety, the first thing you have to do is face reality.
In Matthew 8, we see the reality of the situation that Jesus and the disciples faced. What they went through shows us the reality of what we have to face when life doesn’t go the way we plan.
They faced a sudden storm. This is a picture for us of unexpected problems. We often don’t know what direction a problem is going to come from or where we will be when it hits.
If you build your life around the belief that you’ll be okay this year as long as nothing goes wrong, you’re going to lose. Because something will always go wrong.
They faced waves. Waves in our life are overwhelming circumstances. For the disciples, the waves in the midst of the storm were higher than their boat. They had overwhelming circumstances. And the same thing happens to us. A storm hits our life and the circumstances of it leave us wondering, “How am I going to face that?”
They had a boat. This is a picture for us of inadequate resources. The boat wasn’t big enough to hold the waves that were coming. We face the same situation.
If only we had all the money in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. If only we had all the time in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. That’s just reality, and saying anything else is a lie.
Jesus was asleep in the boat. Here were the disciples in the midst of a storm and almost ready to drown, and Jesus, the one they knew could make a difference, was asleep.
This is a picture of how many of us feel when we are facing a genuine problem in life. We don’t know what to do or where to turn, and we know God knows what we’re going through. The worse it gets, the more we wonder, “God, where are you in all of this? Why don’t you do something to change the situation?”
The question is how can we keep from worrying when life is overwhelming and it feels like God is slow in answering?
Anxiety wears you out and it shortens your life, but if you have no other answers, you are going to keep worrying. Many people think the answer to worry is to somehow pretend that there is nothing to worry about. But the only way to deal with worry effectively is to face reality and then choose to face reality with faith.
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
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