Topics that don't need a category, or don't fit into any other existing category.
Answering Life’s Toughest Questions, part 3
All of us are slaves of time, we get stressed out for not having enough time to do our stuff, even a seven year old kid cries from not getting to school on time. Not only that it’s not sufficient, time is also unmanageable – remember the times when we have to wait, or when we are miserable? Those times when we don’t have the control over things. Here’s what we should do in order to make the most of those times.
Accept that God has a purpose in both the good and bad times of our life. “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.” Eccl.3:1 Remember that in happy times, God gives us blessings and for every bad situation, God is shaping our character. We are not here just to take up space; God has a specific plan for each and everyone of us. And those problems are simply temporary setbacks to that purpose. Things might not be according to what we have planned but the thing is, His plans are bigger, and His purpose is greater than any situation you will ever experience. Affirm our faith in God in confusing times. The moment we became Christians we surrendered everything to God including our troubles, it become his. When we try to fight God’s battles in our own strength, we are sure to get defeated. God is trying to tell us to relax in faith, and let Him work through us. We can save a lot of time from worrying by standing firm on the character of God - He is faithful, and by waiting in quiet confidence for His written promises in the bible. So the next time we have a problem, pray to God and thank Him, because there is no situation that He can’t take care of, and that is true faith – to thank Him in advance.
Apply the present time to doing good. “Whenever you possibly can, good to those who need it.” Pr.3:27 is teaching us to use our present time wisely by doing something for others, to think also about others aside from ourselves. Our gifts and talents were given to us not just for us to enjoy, but also a tool for us to reach out to our brothers. The thing is, the bible is urging us to do it now, while we’re still able. God wants us to grab every chance to be of help to others as an opportunity to give love, it’s not surprising because life is all about love, and happiness we feel is in direct proportion to the love we give. Appreciate all our time as a gift from God. 86,400 seconds is given to us by God everyday so we can enjoy our lives. Every waking hour is a gift, so be happy where ever you are. Be contented with all the blessings that come our way. Or, is there a sin you can’t give up? Don’t be stifled by the life you’re living in, it’s a complete waste of time. Come to Jesus instead and make the decision to pursue the kind of life He intended you to have. Anticipate giving an account of your time. Our time is the most precious commodity we have, our time is our life. When it’s time for us to face our creator expect Him to ask us how we spent the time He gave us. Did we use it to get to know His Son? Did we accept Him? Are we able to have a relationship with Jesus? Of course God would ask us these questions, He’s expecting us to live our life looking for Christ. Why, He went bankrupt when He gave us His precious Son.
Our actions revolve around us surely as the earth revolves around the sun, and what we do with our time shows who we really are, it’s the truth of our lives. How do we give God that truth? What answer do we give Him when He asks us about our time? If we want to make God smile while we do our life’s report let’s do something more worthwhile with our time….time is running out.
Answering Life’s Toughest Questions, part 2
Eccl.6: 6 (LB) “Though a man lives a thousand years twice over, but doesn’t find contentment-what’s the use?”
In every survey, the FAQ is about being happy or satisfied. There are also countless books on happiness, that’s not surprising because even Solomon, the wisest and riches king of all, looked for answers to these questions: He tried to be happy by acquiring the highest education, the sweetest pleasure, the greatest achievements, amassing great wealth, and to be very successful. In the end he grew tired of it and finally realized that these things don’t satisfy, everything was meaningless. “So I hated life.” 2:17 He was devastated because all his efforts were in vain. Actually, there is nothing wrong in acquiring all of these, especially if used for God’s glory, it’s actually a blessing.
For us who can identify with King Solomon and is a in the middle of our quest to find true happiness, Jesus has keys to what we’re looking for found in the 8 Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-10).
Get To Know God! (v.3) God is the most powerful being; surprisingly the only thing that He longs for is a relationship with us. If friendship with Him is our privilege, in His end He calls it His pleasure. Trust God when life is disappointing. (v.4) Suffering will always be a part of this big plate of life because we live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Trusting God means believing that He is in control of everything, amidst the storms in our lives and that He always acts in our best interest. He promised not to forsake us, and He intends to keep that promise until the end of time. Expect God to meet our needs.(v.5) If there is someone who will be able to give us everything and make us happy at the same time, we’re in for a big surprise to know that it’s not our spouses, or our children, not even ourselves. It’s only God, all we have to do is ask. Of course when we do, we should anticipate for an answer, because it means relying on Him and not on ourselves. Remember, He always answers our requests, maybe not with a yes but always with what is best.
Follow God’s instructions. (v.6) Remember our own fathers? Didn’t they remind us to hold on to the rails when going down the stairs? How hard wasn’t it, especially when you love to slide down the rail. If we didn’t obey their instructions we all might be cripples by now. Same thing with our Heavenly Father, let us abide to his instructions, even if it hard, for He uses everything for good in our lives . Cultivate a forgiving heart.(v.7) Bitterness is the greatest barrier to happiness. When you’re hurt you have the option to cry, to hurt yourself, to get even, but you can also choose to forgive instead and move on. By harboring ill feelings towards someone means letting that person hurt us more. “You are only hurting yourself with your anger.” Job 18:4 Maintain a clear conscience. All of us are sinners, and there’s nobody who knew this better and loves us just the same than God, so let us give our sins to Jesus, confess to Him directly. Besides, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty. Build healthy relationships. Relationships are always worth restoring, because life is all about learning how to love. If all it takes to maintain one is to be humble; so as not to be so much focused on oneself, or to be courteous enough to respect our differences, so be it.. Live with an eternal perspective. None of us are meant to live here on Earth forever, a 100 years of inconveniences is nothing compared to never ending happiness. Look beyond what is here and now.
Through the many changes in life, one has to maintain the discipline and temperament of a long-distance runner, who, focused on the end goal, just keeps on running through the inevitable bumps on the road. Be happy!
Answering Life’s Toughest Questions, part 1
King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 7:24, asked, “How can anyone discover what life means?” That’s exactly what all of us have been asking and searching – the point of life.
It is very important to understand what life really means. If we don’t, life seems useless. Life goes in circles, a rat race. Life will also become tiresome – we won’t be able to see our accomplishments and enjoy those. Life will be unfulfilling – we will never be satisfied. Life will seem insignificant and uncontrollable.
So what is the point of life? The Bible gave us the ultimate answer to this question. “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us … with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!” Eph. 1:4-5 (LB)
We are created to be loved by God. We are the object of his affection. He rejoices when his creatures accepts his love and is adopted to his family.
“And this was his purpose; that when the time is right he will gather us all together… to be with him in Christ forever!” Eph. 1:10 (LB)
Because God’s purpose is for us to be with Christ forever, life here on earth is just a preparation for eternity. If we will focus our attention to eternity rather than the temporal things, our life will have meaning.
How do we prepare for eternity?
Get to know God. Our everyday lives are filled with expressions of God’s love towards us. Unfortunately, we do not recognize him because we do not know him. As we start a relationship with Him, we will know him little by little and enjoy his goodness.
Become like Christ. It is God’s desire for us to grow in character. Becoming like the character of Christ is a process. We shall prepare for eternity by looking to Christ and emulating his ways.
Practice serving. In eternity, God will allow us to do the things we love the most. While waiting for that, we should exercise by serving our fellow men with the ways and things we love the most.
Share God’s purposes to other people. As we enjoy the new found purpose in life, let us make it a habit to make God – the purpose giver – known to our family and friends.
At Grace Place, we are committed to helping you prepare for eternity so when you get to the final exam you’ll know the right answers.