Before when I talked about what I'm looking for in the opposite gender, I mentioned responsibility. It's very important for my partner to be responsible, and responsibility comes with maturity and experience. I also mentioned how I want that person to feel responsible over me, just as I would feel responsible over him.
I'm starting to figure out that there is another key aspect that I'd require: reliability. My partner would need to be reliable. Reliable emotionally, too.
There is a difference between being responsible and being reliable. I guess when you're responsible, you are capable of taking great care of yourself. When you're reliable, you're able to consistently come through for someone else.
I feel like this is a difficult quality to find, especially in today's world when everyone is out for themselves, and relationships and even marriages end when one person is having a bad moment.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Gift of Tongues
"Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 14:2 (GNT)
This is an interesting topic. There are some churches out there that believe that their church members should all have the gift of tongues. There are other churches that believe that the gift of tongues shouldn't be used. I say if you have it, then great. Use it well. Praise the Lord. Pray to Him. But don't let it define anything.
A friend of mine once asked me if I believed that the gift of tongues was real. She had heard about other people using it. I told her that it was real.
There was a time in my life when I had it once. This was back in either elementary or middle school. I was going to a church down in Hayward. The pastor kept telling me that I should pray for the gift of tongues. Looking back now, I don't understand why you would teach a child that the gift of tongues was more important than anything else. There was a lot of things I could pray for. My family's well-being, my educational life, etc. But so I prayed for the gift of tongues for two summers in a row. I thought it was important as well because all the pastors in the church could speak in tongue. The elders of the church could also speak in tongue. For some reason, I thought being a Christian was dependent on the ability to do so.
The second summer was when I received the gift. It was at a summer camp, during a worship service. During the prayer time, I was just asking God to give me the gift of tongues. And then it happened. I felt this rush of energy through my body, from my fingertips to my toes, and landing on my lips. My lips started tingling and started moving on their own. I was speaking and praising God in a language I did not know or understand. I had no idea what was coming out of my mouth, but this overwhelming energy was still rushing through me, pouring out of my lips.
So yes, the gift of tongues is real. I've experienced it first hand. However, I lost this gift after a short while because I neglected to use it. I prided myself in finally being able to achieve this feat. I considered myself a true Christian now that I was able to speak in weird languages that other church members could. I stopped using the tongues to praise and glorify God, and just as He gave me the gift, He took it away.
But the gift of tongues is not what's important. You can pour out your heart before God using common language, emotions, and thoughts.
"I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues -- unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped."
1 Corinthians 14:5 (GNT)
And that is the gift that I want to pray for. The gift of tongues doesn't help anyone but oneself. But the gift to talk to other people can bring an enormous amount of glory and praise to God.
I do hesitate sometimes to pray sincerely for such a gift. Because from experience, I know that such a gift from God comes with great responsibility. I pray for the strength of God to be with me to handle such a responsibility so that I may use God's gifts for the intended purposes.
This is an interesting topic. There are some churches out there that believe that their church members should all have the gift of tongues. There are other churches that believe that the gift of tongues shouldn't be used. I say if you have it, then great. Use it well. Praise the Lord. Pray to Him. But don't let it define anything.
A friend of mine once asked me if I believed that the gift of tongues was real. She had heard about other people using it. I told her that it was real.
There was a time in my life when I had it once. This was back in either elementary or middle school. I was going to a church down in Hayward. The pastor kept telling me that I should pray for the gift of tongues. Looking back now, I don't understand why you would teach a child that the gift of tongues was more important than anything else. There was a lot of things I could pray for. My family's well-being, my educational life, etc. But so I prayed for the gift of tongues for two summers in a row. I thought it was important as well because all the pastors in the church could speak in tongue. The elders of the church could also speak in tongue. For some reason, I thought being a Christian was dependent on the ability to do so.
The second summer was when I received the gift. It was at a summer camp, during a worship service. During the prayer time, I was just asking God to give me the gift of tongues. And then it happened. I felt this rush of energy through my body, from my fingertips to my toes, and landing on my lips. My lips started tingling and started moving on their own. I was speaking and praising God in a language I did not know or understand. I had no idea what was coming out of my mouth, but this overwhelming energy was still rushing through me, pouring out of my lips.
So yes, the gift of tongues is real. I've experienced it first hand. However, I lost this gift after a short while because I neglected to use it. I prided myself in finally being able to achieve this feat. I considered myself a true Christian now that I was able to speak in weird languages that other church members could. I stopped using the tongues to praise and glorify God, and just as He gave me the gift, He took it away.
But the gift of tongues is not what's important. You can pour out your heart before God using common language, emotions, and thoughts.
"I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues -- unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped."
1 Corinthians 14:5 (GNT)
And that is the gift that I want to pray for. The gift of tongues doesn't help anyone but oneself. But the gift to talk to other people can bring an enormous amount of glory and praise to God.
I do hesitate sometimes to pray sincerely for such a gift. Because from experience, I know that such a gift from God comes with great responsibility. I pray for the strength of God to be with me to handle such a responsibility so that I may use God's gifts for the intended purposes.
We Value Humans
Wow these are a lot of posts in one day.
But anyways, I'm on a Bible reading plan, and the plan gets me to read some of the Old Testament, some of the New Testament, and a chapter or two from either Proverbs or Psalms. I'm reaching the end of Exodus.
The Israelites' devotion to Moses is something that really gets me curious. They adore Moses. They call him the father of nations, the refer to the law as Moses' law, and everything they say goes back to Moses. All God did was use Moses as a vessel. I'm not saying that he wasn't important or anything, but I feel like they adored Moses more than they loved God. When God came down to earth in the form of Jesus, they rejected Him. They rejected Jesus, the embodiment of the true, living God, and accused Him of breaking laws that were written by Moses.
This is just a comment on how strange it is that we would give such awe to other humans just like us, yet reject God, even when he came down in human form to reach us.
But anyways, I'm on a Bible reading plan, and the plan gets me to read some of the Old Testament, some of the New Testament, and a chapter or two from either Proverbs or Psalms. I'm reaching the end of Exodus.
The Israelites' devotion to Moses is something that really gets me curious. They adore Moses. They call him the father of nations, the refer to the law as Moses' law, and everything they say goes back to Moses. All God did was use Moses as a vessel. I'm not saying that he wasn't important or anything, but I feel like they adored Moses more than they loved God. When God came down to earth in the form of Jesus, they rejected Him. They rejected Jesus, the embodiment of the true, living God, and accused Him of breaking laws that were written by Moses.
This is just a comment on how strange it is that we would give such awe to other humans just like us, yet reject God, even when he came down in human form to reach us.
Proverbs 4:18
So today at work, there is a district-wide MUNIS training going on, which means that nearly all of the clerical staff, including the entirety of the front office, is out today. For me, that means that I get to take over all the phones and take messages for everybody. It also means that I can't do my work in my room, so I have quite a bit of down time.
During the down time I have, which is surprisingly not that much because the phones keep ringing, I've decided to read the Bible. I haven't been reading in weeks, and I feel like I really need to spend more time just being with God and in His Word.
So while I was reading I came across Proverbs 4:18
"The road and the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come." (GNT)
"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (NIV)
I feel like this passage really describes what it is like when living a healthy, Christian life. We start off not knowing much. Knowing as in wisdom and insight given by God, not the typical school education you can get from anywhere. So we start off with not much. but we know and feel the love of God and His amazing grace. That love that guides us is very bright compared to the state you were in before. But as your walk with Him continues, He lights your path more and more. He reveals to you more of who He is. His love for you feels ever expanding. He gives you so much patience, love, and wisdom, only to know that there's always more.
I don't want this walk with Jesus to ever end. I love being surrounded by Him and His people.
During the down time I have, which is surprisingly not that much because the phones keep ringing, I've decided to read the Bible. I haven't been reading in weeks, and I feel like I really need to spend more time just being with God and in His Word.
So while I was reading I came across Proverbs 4:18
"The road and the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come." (GNT)
"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (NIV)
I feel like this passage really describes what it is like when living a healthy, Christian life. We start off not knowing much. Knowing as in wisdom and insight given by God, not the typical school education you can get from anywhere. So we start off with not much. but we know and feel the love of God and His amazing grace. That love that guides us is very bright compared to the state you were in before. But as your walk with Him continues, He lights your path more and more. He reveals to you more of who He is. His love for you feels ever expanding. He gives you so much patience, love, and wisdom, only to know that there's always more.
I don't want this walk with Jesus to ever end. I love being surrounded by Him and His people.
Tree of Knowledge
So what is sin?
Sin is simply the disobedience of God. What I find really interesting is the sinful nature of human beings. As of now there are a lot of moral codes to live by and laws that we shouldn't break lest we sin. No murdering, no stealing, no lying, etc. But there was a time before those laws were even made. There was a time when Adam was alive, and all he had to do was follow just one simple rule: Don't eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Don't eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Just one tree, out of all the other trees available. Just one fruit, out of all the other edible things in the garden. Just one rule to live by, just one rule to follow. And Adam breaks it.
What people don't mention is that in the middle of the garden next to the Tree of Knowledge was the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve could have easily picked the fruit from the Tree of Life instead and lived forever in the presence of God. After Adam and Eve were cast out from the garden, God sent down angels to protect the Tree of Life. It is from this tree that we are to eat of when Jesus comes back for us, and that is what is meant by eternal life with Him.
But no, instead of taking the fruit from this amazing tree that God put right there within Adam's reach, he ate from the exact one that God told him not to.
This actually reminds me of a child psychology study that was done a while back. I can't seem to find the study, but I remember watching a small clip of it. A male child of approximately 10 years old was put in a room. He was sat on a chair facing a mirror-wall. Behind him was a lego set up of cars and building, etc. His mother told him not to turn around right before she left the room. After the door closed, the boy sat there for a couple seconds, fidgeting. Then he got off his chair to turn around and look at the toys for a quick second before getting back on his chair. He then turned around quickly to look again, not having noticed that he was put in front of a gigantic mirror and could look at the toys as much as he wanted without having to turn around.
It's interesting how human nature makes us want to do the exact things that we're told not to do. Instead of doing anything else possible to avoid that one mistake, we'd rather make it.
And I guess this is what makes us humans sinful by nature. It's a condition first born in Adam, carried through the generations and into us.
Sin is simply the disobedience of God. What I find really interesting is the sinful nature of human beings. As of now there are a lot of moral codes to live by and laws that we shouldn't break lest we sin. No murdering, no stealing, no lying, etc. But there was a time before those laws were even made. There was a time when Adam was alive, and all he had to do was follow just one simple rule: Don't eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Don't eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Just one tree, out of all the other trees available. Just one fruit, out of all the other edible things in the garden. Just one rule to live by, just one rule to follow. And Adam breaks it.
What people don't mention is that in the middle of the garden next to the Tree of Knowledge was the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve could have easily picked the fruit from the Tree of Life instead and lived forever in the presence of God. After Adam and Eve were cast out from the garden, God sent down angels to protect the Tree of Life. It is from this tree that we are to eat of when Jesus comes back for us, and that is what is meant by eternal life with Him.
But no, instead of taking the fruit from this amazing tree that God put right there within Adam's reach, he ate from the exact one that God told him not to.
This actually reminds me of a child psychology study that was done a while back. I can't seem to find the study, but I remember watching a small clip of it. A male child of approximately 10 years old was put in a room. He was sat on a chair facing a mirror-wall. Behind him was a lego set up of cars and building, etc. His mother told him not to turn around right before she left the room. After the door closed, the boy sat there for a couple seconds, fidgeting. Then he got off his chair to turn around and look at the toys for a quick second before getting back on his chair. He then turned around quickly to look again, not having noticed that he was put in front of a gigantic mirror and could look at the toys as much as he wanted without having to turn around.
It's interesting how human nature makes us want to do the exact things that we're told not to do. Instead of doing anything else possible to avoid that one mistake, we'd rather make it.
And I guess this is what makes us humans sinful by nature. It's a condition first born in Adam, carried through the generations and into us.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Status of my Right Arm
So updates on my arm:
If it was just the pain in my arm, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But along with the pain came down the numbness that was originally in my face. So currently, the entire upper right half of my body is numb, and my right, dominant arm, is quite weak. It's actually weaker than my left arm right now, and it's not much of use when carrying files and putting stuff away for my job. It kind of hurts while I drive, so I try to rest it whenever I can. I'm trying to get an appointment with the Neurology department for MRI scans at the Oakland Kaiser because the Richmond Kaiser is booked. But in the meantime, I'm going to go to the chiropractor and try to see if they can do anything.
The pain was quite agonizing at first, but I'm on pretty strong painkillers right now. The painkillers definitely help with the pain, which allows me to use my arm, which is why I'm able to type right now. But on the down side, I get pretty woozy, and I'm feeling out of it for most of the day. I'm hoping that the effect wears off by the time I have to drive home again.
I guess everything started freshmen year of college. I woke up one day to a tingling sensation in my right hand. I wasn't sleeping on it weird or anything. The tingling sensation lasted the whole day, leaving my right thumb pretty numb. I went to the doctor and they said it was nothing, so I forgot about it until the right half of my face went numb in October. The face going numb was definitely due to the stress I was going through during that time. My face is still numb, and even though they did CT scans, lumbar punctures, and MRI's of my brain, they couldn't find anything wrong. Because it wasn't life threatening, they said it was fine and so I forgot about it until last Thursday, when my entire right arm, including shoulders and neck and chest went numb. Now it's no longer nothing, and I really hope I can find out what's going on.
If it was just the pain in my arm, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But along with the pain came down the numbness that was originally in my face. So currently, the entire upper right half of my body is numb, and my right, dominant arm, is quite weak. It's actually weaker than my left arm right now, and it's not much of use when carrying files and putting stuff away for my job. It kind of hurts while I drive, so I try to rest it whenever I can. I'm trying to get an appointment with the Neurology department for MRI scans at the Oakland Kaiser because the Richmond Kaiser is booked. But in the meantime, I'm going to go to the chiropractor and try to see if they can do anything.
The pain was quite agonizing at first, but I'm on pretty strong painkillers right now. The painkillers definitely help with the pain, which allows me to use my arm, which is why I'm able to type right now. But on the down side, I get pretty woozy, and I'm feeling out of it for most of the day. I'm hoping that the effect wears off by the time I have to drive home again.
I guess everything started freshmen year of college. I woke up one day to a tingling sensation in my right hand. I wasn't sleeping on it weird or anything. The tingling sensation lasted the whole day, leaving my right thumb pretty numb. I went to the doctor and they said it was nothing, so I forgot about it until the right half of my face went numb in October. The face going numb was definitely due to the stress I was going through during that time. My face is still numb, and even though they did CT scans, lumbar punctures, and MRI's of my brain, they couldn't find anything wrong. Because it wasn't life threatening, they said it was fine and so I forgot about it until last Thursday, when my entire right arm, including shoulders and neck and chest went numb. Now it's no longer nothing, and I really hope I can find out what's going on.
Quick Confession
The last two weeks have been hectic. I guess I've been stressed because I feel like I really need to find a good job. Summer is in a week, and I need to start applying right now. However, I've been really unmotivated, and so I've been using my time doing other things. I've been going to the gym as often as I can to avoid having any down time at home. I've been meeting up with life group members. I'm going on a mission trip in the first week of July, and I've been focusing on that, too. I'm also in a pretty bad health condition right now, and I feel like I'm using that as an excuse to not get anything done.
But what's worse is that on top of all that, I've been neglecting to read the Bible and just spend some time in the Lord. Just through this Sunday's sermon, talks in the mission group meeting, and talks with life group members, I feel like God is telling me to bring my focus back on Him, and that way everything will be solved.
So here I am, laying down my worries again, laying down my sins, and asking Him to take me back into His peaceful arms.
Please give me the strength and courage to keep going, and the motivation and determination to start on my career.
But what's worse is that on top of all that, I've been neglecting to read the Bible and just spend some time in the Lord. Just through this Sunday's sermon, talks in the mission group meeting, and talks with life group members, I feel like God is telling me to bring my focus back on Him, and that way everything will be solved.
So here I am, laying down my worries again, laying down my sins, and asking Him to take me back into His peaceful arms.
Please give me the strength and courage to keep going, and the motivation and determination to start on my career.
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