There are two wonderful tips on "how to avoid a pretentious wealth" in the 13th chapter of Proverb! They encouraged us to find our true vision of life.
"Easy come, easy go, but steady diligence pays off." -Prov 13:11 MSG
"One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth." -Prov 13:7 ESV
Many of you are probably familiar with "Alice in the Wonderland", where Alice is a character who went into a trippin' world called Wonderland. At first, she thought that everything was merely a dream. But after a while, she found that her trippin' world wasn't trippin' at all. Awake, she finally mustered up a courage to take a stand. Like Alice, we may view some people under the influence of drugs as all trippin', while unbelievers, like Alice, may view us Christians as trippin' as well. Alice once viewed herself as trippin'. After the talk with Absolem, she finally discover her reality. She then realized that all of her memories weren't trippin'! They are her actual memories in the Wonderland, which is real! Their talk goes like this:
Alice said to Absolem, the caterpillar, "Why are you upside down?" "I've come to the end of this life," he said in a cocoon, "transform". When Alice didn't want Absolem to go, he told her that he had to go because Alice had to figure things out on her own (with God, I added) to discover her true vision (I had to pause the video to capture those words for they excited me!).
In fact, ever since Adam and Eve ate the illegal fruit everything had been upside-down! It's easy for us to find an easy way out such as marrying a wealth guy. Cheating our way up the ladder to a success, which may leave us crushed easily as the way we came up. "Easy come, easy go". We love to find an easy way, something fast! But this verse shows us that "steady diligence pays off." Alice once thought that she should agree to marry this wealthy guy to please her mother and to settle herself down for a secured life. But after a tough lesson through her Wonderland (like how we may learn our tough lesson through seeing the unseen kingdom as we grow in Him), she learned that she had to discover her true vision. She fought her way out of the scheme to find her true self! Now she's starting a true vision of working with her almost father-in-law to start an innoviative business, which she plans to expand it into China and Hong-Kong! What a big dream!
We may be like Alice or Absolem. If we live under the pretentious wealth like Alice almost did, then we may need someone like Absolem to help us discover the reality. But God's the only One who can bring us into the "Wonderland" so that we may see the spiritual world and discover what's our true God-given purpose being on the earth. If we know someone like Alice, then we may be like Absolem who may direct Alice to discover herself in what non-believers may call a trippin' world by telling her that she's starting to be more and more like Alice, go on!
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
A Just Weight of Gut (Prov 10-12)
"A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight."
God hates it when we are cheating or lying, but He loves it when business is aboveboard. The word "aboveboard" came from the difficulty of cheating at cards when the hands are above the table. When one cheats at cards, one doesn't share the credit with the cardholders he/she is peeking at in order to win. But it is a stumbling block to a true success. It's like climbing up a ladder rather than stepping up a stair. Wise is the man who steps up the stairs so that he may not fall, foolish is the man who climbs up the ladder in haste so that he may fall and crush his skull!
"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."
Suppose the man decided to keep his business aboveboard, what should he do with his anxiety? He couldn't predict what would happen if he decided to play all of his cards. There's no other choice, but have his guts to play! Where did his guts come from? No one may answer, but we all know this: it's a step into the unknown. Without a step into the unknown, we will never exist! We are born to make a step into the unknown just as we first came into this unknown world out of our mother's womb. That's who we are!
Are we tired of living or stepping into the unknown? The good news is that God created us to create cheerful words to others. God created us to encourage one another, to give credit to others, to boast about others! Even Paul boasts about others, about their zeal.
Get ready to carry a just weight of gut up with some cheerful words backing us up.
God hates it when we are cheating or lying, but He loves it when business is aboveboard. The word "aboveboard" came from the difficulty of cheating at cards when the hands are above the table. When one cheats at cards, one doesn't share the credit with the cardholders he/she is peeking at in order to win. But it is a stumbling block to a true success. It's like climbing up a ladder rather than stepping up a stair. Wise is the man who steps up the stairs so that he may not fall, foolish is the man who climbs up the ladder in haste so that he may fall and crush his skull!
"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."
Suppose the man decided to keep his business aboveboard, what should he do with his anxiety? He couldn't predict what would happen if he decided to play all of his cards. There's no other choice, but have his guts to play! Where did his guts come from? No one may answer, but we all know this: it's a step into the unknown. Without a step into the unknown, we will never exist! We are born to make a step into the unknown just as we first came into this unknown world out of our mother's womb. That's who we are!
Are we tired of living or stepping into the unknown? The good news is that God created us to create cheerful words to others. God created us to encourage one another, to give credit to others, to boast about others! Even Paul boasts about others, about their zeal.
Get ready to carry a just weight of gut up with some cheerful words backing us up.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Carrying Other's Words (Prov 5-7)
"My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck... for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light."
According to Becoming A Person of Influence, scientists dropped a rat into a jar of water that's being place in a total dark place and timed how long the rat will continue to swim before it gave up and allow itself to drown, the result was a little more than 3 minutes. Then they dropped another rat in a jar that had a ray of light shine into it, the rat lasted for 36 hours! I know that it sounds cruel, but this experiment showed that the light gave the rat a lastingly hope! Maybe we feel like we are in a dark tunnel, but we got to believe that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We will enjoy the sighting when we came out of the tunnel! Always tie the words of encouragement around your neck and keep believing as whoever once believed in you.
Proverb 4:23 note from my youth pastor bookmarked in my old Bible. Positive things about me from the Deaf Academic Bowl team 2005 taped in my scrapbook. And some "Thank You" cards taped on my wall. What about you?
In fact, most of us would list half of our strengths as our weaknesses. It's much easier for us to list our weaknesses. Is it true for you?
Increase our faith in ourselves and in others. "Say to wisdom, 'Your are my sister,' and call insight your intimate friend." Say to Jesus, 'You love me' because the Bible says so! Yeah the Bible says so! Have hope in one another.
According to Becoming A Person of Influence, scientists dropped a rat into a jar of water that's being place in a total dark place and timed how long the rat will continue to swim before it gave up and allow itself to drown, the result was a little more than 3 minutes. Then they dropped another rat in a jar that had a ray of light shine into it, the rat lasted for 36 hours! I know that it sounds cruel, but this experiment showed that the light gave the rat a lastingly hope! Maybe we feel like we are in a dark tunnel, but we got to believe that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We will enjoy the sighting when we came out of the tunnel! Always tie the words of encouragement around your neck and keep believing as whoever once believed in you.
Proverb 4:23 note from my youth pastor bookmarked in my old Bible. Positive things about me from the Deaf Academic Bowl team 2005 taped in my scrapbook. And some "Thank You" cards taped on my wall. What about you?
In fact, most of us would list half of our strengths as our weaknesses. It's much easier for us to list our weaknesses. Is it true for you?
Increase our faith in ourselves and in others. "Say to wisdom, 'Your are my sister,' and call insight your intimate friend." Say to Jesus, 'You love me' because the Bible says so! Yeah the Bible says so! Have hope in one another.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Guard Your Heart (Prov 3-4)
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." - Proverb 4:23
With Psalm scratched off, my youth pastor back then replaced it with Proverb before handing us a note. My brother and I got it and I've been clinging to this verse ever since. Even the note is still bookmarked in my old Bible.
Even with his small action of handing us the note, I have seen how it impacted my life so much. Whenever I'm angry, "guard your heart" came into my mind. Whenever I'm thinking such malicious thoughts, "guard your heart" came into my mind. Whenever "Above all else, guard your heart" came into my mind, I recalled the reason: "for it is the wellspring of life."
Do you want to make a big impact? Do you want to stop the aching?
"People come here and say, 'I am hurting so badly. Can you help stop the aching?' One of the most important things we tell them is, 'You need to get involved with serving someone else's need. As you serve, watch what God does to your need.'" Dino Rizzo learned that we need to go out to meet others' need to allow God to meet ours. "After we had prayed for a while, God spoke quietly inside my heart. He said, "Dino, if you will take care of people outside the walls of this church, I'll take care of filling it.'"
With Psalm scratched off, my youth pastor back then replaced it with Proverb before handing us a note. My brother and I got it and I've been clinging to this verse ever since. Even the note is still bookmarked in my old Bible.
Even with his small action of handing us the note, I have seen how it impacted my life so much. Whenever I'm angry, "guard your heart" came into my mind. Whenever I'm thinking such malicious thoughts, "guard your heart" came into my mind. Whenever "Above all else, guard your heart" came into my mind, I recalled the reason: "for it is the wellspring of life."
Do you want to make a big impact? Do you want to stop the aching?
"People come here and say, 'I am hurting so badly. Can you help stop the aching?' One of the most important things we tell them is, 'You need to get involved with serving someone else's need. As you serve, watch what God does to your need.'" Dino Rizzo learned that we need to go out to meet others' need to allow God to meet ours. "After we had prayed for a while, God spoke quietly inside my heart. He said, "Dino, if you will take care of people outside the walls of this church, I'll take care of filling it.'"
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Gollum's 'Precious' Kills (Prov 1-2)
"To understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Gollum challenges Bilbo Baggins to a riddle competition; Bilbo wins the competition by asking the riddle, "What have I got in my pocket?" which Gollum cannot answer (although it's not a riddle "according to the ancient rules"). The answer was the One Ring, which Gollum had lost and Bilbo had found. After discovering that Bilbo had the One Ring, which Gollum called his "Precious", Gollum flew in a rage. Bilbo inadvertently discovered the Ring's power of invisibility as he fled, allowing him to follow Gollum undetected to a back enterance of the cave system. Bilbo thought about killing Gollum, but the pity overcome him when he saw how Gollum had a split personalities known as "Slinker" (good one) and "Stinker" (bad one) by Samwise Gamgee, Bilbo's friend.
Although Bilbo inadvertently found a way out, the entire series of the Lord of the Ring shows that Bilbo is the chosen one. He is the carrier of the Ring. The Ring came into his hand because it is his destiny to pass it down to Frodo so that he would complete the task! Bilbo's huge mistake was his greed. He began to struggle with a little of split personalities that increased every time he puts the Ring on his finger and went invisible. The power of invisibility takes him closer to the Eye, the most horrid character in the book!
Just like Bilbo, we may mishandle the authority that God gave us. As the result of mishandling, your life will waste away. For us to understand His guidance, we must keep "the fear of the Lord" with us as we keep hearing and learning Scripture.
Frodo listens. He used the Ring when needed with cautious, not for any "unjust gain".
"Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."
In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Gollum challenges Bilbo Baggins to a riddle competition; Bilbo wins the competition by asking the riddle, "What have I got in my pocket?" which Gollum cannot answer (although it's not a riddle "according to the ancient rules"). The answer was the One Ring, which Gollum had lost and Bilbo had found. After discovering that Bilbo had the One Ring, which Gollum called his "Precious", Gollum flew in a rage. Bilbo inadvertently discovered the Ring's power of invisibility as he fled, allowing him to follow Gollum undetected to a back enterance of the cave system. Bilbo thought about killing Gollum, but the pity overcome him when he saw how Gollum had a split personalities known as "Slinker" (good one) and "Stinker" (bad one) by Samwise Gamgee, Bilbo's friend.
Although Bilbo inadvertently found a way out, the entire series of the Lord of the Ring shows that Bilbo is the chosen one. He is the carrier of the Ring. The Ring came into his hand because it is his destiny to pass it down to Frodo so that he would complete the task! Bilbo's huge mistake was his greed. He began to struggle with a little of split personalities that increased every time he puts the Ring on his finger and went invisible. The power of invisibility takes him closer to the Eye, the most horrid character in the book!
Just like Bilbo, we may mishandle the authority that God gave us. As the result of mishandling, your life will waste away. For us to understand His guidance, we must keep "the fear of the Lord" with us as we keep hearing and learning Scripture.
Frodo listens. He used the Ring when needed with cautious, not for any "unjust gain".
"Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."
Monday, September 20, 2010
Bridle Your Tongue (Ps 39-40)
"David said, 'I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.' I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 'O Lord, ..."
David decided to hold his tongue when the ungodly was around him. He had to hold it even when it makes him a mute. He had to. He held his tongue. It burned hot in him. It increased! Then he spoke! He spoke not to the ungodly, but he spoke to the Lord.
It was hard for him to hold his tongue for it makes him feel like:
"But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes."
"Surely a man goes about as a shadow!" David said to the Lord. Oh yeah! Believe it or not, but it's as if we go about as shadows when we have to bridle our tongues! But do you know what happen when you bridle your tongue as you sink in the "quicksand"?...
The Lord responded by drawing David up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, out of the net, out of everything. Then the Lord shall set his feet upon the rock, upon the level ground. As if the Lord "reset" David's alarm code and took care of it. PEACE OUT!
David decided to hold his tongue when the ungodly was around him. He had to hold it even when it makes him a mute. He had to. He held his tongue. It burned hot in him. It increased! Then he spoke! He spoke not to the ungodly, but he spoke to the Lord.
It was hard for him to hold his tongue for it makes him feel like:
"But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes."
"Surely a man goes about as a shadow!" David said to the Lord. Oh yeah! Believe it or not, but it's as if we go about as shadows when we have to bridle our tongues! But do you know what happen when you bridle your tongue as you sink in the "quicksand"?...
The Lord responded by drawing David up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, out of the net, out of everything. Then the Lord shall set his feet upon the rock, upon the level ground. As if the Lord "reset" David's alarm code and took care of it. PEACE OUT!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Response to Maliciousness (Ps 34-35)
"They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. But I, when they were sick - I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning."
Can you imagine yourself mourning for the others when they are sick even though they mock, criticize or harm you when you are trying to do what is good? "Love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you," Jesus said to those who are listening.
That is what David did! He had to! He loves God and that's probably the only cure to his anguish against those people. Slander them, hurt them, mock them, envy them, offend them, kill them, or any other avenging actions won't help David. He's probably trapped with those kind of thoughts like most of us would. David was different because he acted against all of those thoughts by praying. He tore his clothes off to put himself into the sackcloth and fasted for his enemies as if they were his close friends or family, David probably say this, "I can't do this on my own! My evil thoughts are trapping me. I need to afflict myself with fasting. Help me, O Lord. Look at them and understand my sorrow for You are the Lord of justice. You know everything. You judge them. I need You!"
"They open wide their mouths against me; they say, 'Aha, Aha!' Our eyes have seen it! You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!"
David is man of God.
Can you imagine yourself mourning for the others when they are sick even though they mock, criticize or harm you when you are trying to do what is good? "Love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you," Jesus said to those who are listening.
That is what David did! He had to! He loves God and that's probably the only cure to his anguish against those people. Slander them, hurt them, mock them, envy them, offend them, kill them, or any other avenging actions won't help David. He's probably trapped with those kind of thoughts like most of us would. David was different because he acted against all of those thoughts by praying. He tore his clothes off to put himself into the sackcloth and fasted for his enemies as if they were his close friends or family, David probably say this, "I can't do this on my own! My evil thoughts are trapping me. I need to afflict myself with fasting. Help me, O Lord. Look at them and understand my sorrow for You are the Lord of justice. You know everything. You judge them. I need You!"
"They open wide their mouths against me; they say, 'Aha, Aha!' Our eyes have seen it! You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!"
David is man of God.
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