Tuesday, December 11, 2012
MEASURING LIFE PERFORMANCE
A life without direction is a disaster going somewhere to happen. It’s like a ship without a rudder or a car in motion whose steering wheel just got damaged.
God created every man, woman, boy and girl with a particular purpose in His mind for each of them. He placed dreams linked with those purposes in their hearts which supposed to define their direction. Those dreams can only be clarified by coming into an intimate relationship with the author of life Himself, Jesus Christ.
As we trudge down life’s road we come face to face with issues that tend to distract us or totally remove us from the road leading to fulfilment of God’s purpose for our lives. Many times these are subtle and gradual – such that one doesn’t even know that he/she has veered off. In other cases pressures of life snuff out the passion to pursue God’s purpose for one’s life. Eventually only very few are able to pursue and fulfil God’s purpose.
How then can an individual know where he/she stands with regards to fulfilling God’s purpose? First you’ll need to sit down and check your priorities. What takes most of your time, attention, money etc? What are values? You may need to ask yourself if you still carry the same passion you once had for things related to fulfilment of purpose.
Your sincere answers to these questions would give a clear indication of where you stand. If you find yourself defaulting in anyway, go to God prayerfully and ask Him to guide you and teach you what you do (Psalm32:8).
Peradventure you’re not sure of what God purpose is, seek His face in prayer and be sure that He’ll answer you (Matthew 7:7-11, Jeremiah 33:3).
If you haven’t given your life to Christ, you can’t even talk about discovering and fulfilling purpose. My dear friend, only through discovering and fulfilling purpose can you live a fulfilled life and only through accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and cultivating a relationship with Him can you discover your purpose. So, why don’t you make that decision today?
You need to take some time out, particularly as the year draws to a close, to evaluate yourself to know where you stand. True success in life isn’t measured by what you have (Luke 12:15). It can only be measured in relation to how much of God’s purpose for your life that you’ve fulfilled.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
VIRTUE
Character is like smoke
As smoke reveals the presence of fire
So does character reveal the state of the heart
Character is the very fabric that holds our very beings
Whether it's one filled with virtues or vices.
Virtue thrives on effort
It flourishes on practice
Like a young seedling
Virtue requires watering
Like a fruiting crop
It requires pruning
A man of virtue is a noble man
A woman of virtue is the envy of her peers
Living a life of virtue
You can NEVER go wrong
Saturday, July 14, 2012
For Love Alone
Do you sit by yourself
And wonder what life is all about
If there's a purpose or a plan
Or does it happen by chance?
Do you ever think why it always turns out right?
No matter how bad you find your way again
I've learnt how to keep all together
'Cos now I know nothing else matters...
For love alone
I live my life
From this moment on
I vow to never lose sight
If I ever die
The reason why I did
I'll stop questioning my fears
And know it's for love alone
Times flies so fast
Live each like it's the last
Cherish what you have
'Cos when it's gone you can come back
At the end of the day
When we are face to face
I won't be afraid
I am glad to say
I've learnt how to keep it all together
'Cos now I know nothing else matters...
SONG BY CECE WINANS
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Living with Eternity in View
In Secondary School, my physics teacher taught me that a scalar quantity is one that has magnitude and no direction. I also recollect that a while back, people who didn’t seem to have focus and direction in life were referred to ‘No Future Ambition’ (‘NFA’). Humans place a high premium on living a life with direction and focus.
For instance, a student is expected to have an idea of what kind of grades he/she wishes to get at the end of each semester and at the end of his academic pursuit. This will in turn determine the type of disciplines he /she would subject he /she would subject himself/herself to. It would determine the kind of sacrifices he/she would have to make. The expectations are same for anyone intending to run a career and in fact just about any human endeavour. I once heard someone say: “The why of a demand determines the intensity of pursuit”.
I strongly believe that this should also apply to our lives as Christians. As a matter of fact, we (Christians) were created to fulfil God’s purpose here on earth and reign with Him in eternity. Jesus said in John 14:1-3(NIV): “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.”
Sadly, even with this promise coming directly from the mouth of Jesus Himself, many of us continue to live as if it all ends here. As if after our sojourn on planet earth there’s nothing to look forward to. Many Christians have allowed pressures of life to choke out this reality from their psyche. To some others it has been reduced to a mere myth or fable.
Friend, the truth is that more than ever before we’re closer to the end of age. The pointers that Jesus gave to us are becoming more and more evident. Jesus said this about the end time: “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24: 6-8). You’ll agree with me that all these things are happening around the world almost on a daily basis. The coming of Jesus would be so sudden and unexpected (Luke 17:20-37).
In the light of this, how are expected to live our lives as Christians? The first is to “… seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…”(Matthew 6:33). The second is to live every moment as if Christ or death could come the very next moment.
And if perhaps you’ve not given your life to Christ, there’s no better time than now no better day than today to make that decision. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour guarantees you abundant life here on earth (John 10:10) and eternal life with Him hereafter. Friend, why don’t you make that decision today? Who knows, tomorrow might be too late.
For instance, a student is expected to have an idea of what kind of grades he/she wishes to get at the end of each semester and at the end of his academic pursuit. This will in turn determine the type of disciplines he /she would subject he /she would subject himself/herself to. It would determine the kind of sacrifices he/she would have to make. The expectations are same for anyone intending to run a career and in fact just about any human endeavour. I once heard someone say: “The why of a demand determines the intensity of pursuit”.
I strongly believe that this should also apply to our lives as Christians. As a matter of fact, we (Christians) were created to fulfil God’s purpose here on earth and reign with Him in eternity. Jesus said in John 14:1-3(NIV): “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.”
Sadly, even with this promise coming directly from the mouth of Jesus Himself, many of us continue to live as if it all ends here. As if after our sojourn on planet earth there’s nothing to look forward to. Many Christians have allowed pressures of life to choke out this reality from their psyche. To some others it has been reduced to a mere myth or fable.
Friend, the truth is that more than ever before we’re closer to the end of age. The pointers that Jesus gave to us are becoming more and more evident. Jesus said this about the end time: “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24: 6-8). You’ll agree with me that all these things are happening around the world almost on a daily basis. The coming of Jesus would be so sudden and unexpected (Luke 17:20-37).
In the light of this, how are expected to live our lives as Christians? The first is to “… seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…”(Matthew 6:33). The second is to live every moment as if Christ or death could come the very next moment.
And if perhaps you’ve not given your life to Christ, there’s no better time than now no better day than today to make that decision. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour guarantees you abundant life here on earth (John 10:10) and eternal life with Him hereafter. Friend, why don’t you make that decision today? Who knows, tomorrow might be too late.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
MY HEART, MY LIFE
Have you ever responded to a tense situation, say for example a vehicle runs into a ditch thereby staining your clothes by using words that are derogatory. If you’ve ever had such an experience, you were probably shocked by our own choice words because you don’t use such words.
I remember an e-mail a friend sent to me a few years back: a pastor brought two jugs of the same kind and placed them before the congregation and tell the contents of jugs. Of course they couldn’t. He tipped the first one out of which water poured and then the other from which vinegar poured. The moral of the story is that our true personality is who we are when we’re under pressure – how we reflect under pressure is a true reflection of the state of our heart.
The state of our heart is a function of percolations – things that have crept in and settled into our hearts without our even noticing it. Proverbs 4:23 (The Message) “Keep vigilant watch over your heart that’s where life starts”. You see, we have to play an active role in keeping watch over what enters our hearts. There are three ways by which information filters into our hearts. They are:
1. The things we hear
2. The things we see
3. The things we read
These three go a long way in determining the state of our hearts and the output thereof. Many times, we unconsciously act out those things that have settled into our hearts.
Whatever we hear and keep on hearing in no time becomes a part of us. That’s why it’s important that we’re careful of the kind of music we listen to because a song always takes us back to its source. What we watch also influences the state of our heart. For instance, people who watch pornography wouldn’t be able to have a healthy relationship with the opposite sex because they can only view them through the pornographic lens in their hearts. The same applies to those the books we read. They influence us in more ways than we could imagine. A person who reads some type of books is very likely to become manipulative – without even realizing it.
“A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thorns, or grapes on bramble bushes. A good man produces from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.”
– Luke 6:44 & 45,The Living Bible
Friends, it doesn’t matter how long mask the state of our heart, the truth is that one day under some circumstance, it will be revealed. It’s just like in microbiology when you’re culturing microorganisms, it looks like you’re not doing anything. But once you put the freshly transferred organism into the oven at the right temperature and pressure after the recommended amount of time, the organism becomes visible.
So, what’s it going to be?
I encourage you to culture a good heart with God’s help – and the result would be a great life. Romans 12:2 says we should renew our minds with God’s word; Joshua 1:8 encourages us to meditate on God’s word. The truth is that the heart is always meditating on something whether knowingly or unknowingly. No wonder the Psalmist says in Psalm 19:14 (KJV) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Phillipians 4:8 (The Living Bible) “…Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be proud be”.
I remember an e-mail a friend sent to me a few years back: a pastor brought two jugs of the same kind and placed them before the congregation and tell the contents of jugs. Of course they couldn’t. He tipped the first one out of which water poured and then the other from which vinegar poured. The moral of the story is that our true personality is who we are when we’re under pressure – how we reflect under pressure is a true reflection of the state of our heart.
The state of our heart is a function of percolations – things that have crept in and settled into our hearts without our even noticing it. Proverbs 4:23 (The Message) “Keep vigilant watch over your heart that’s where life starts”. You see, we have to play an active role in keeping watch over what enters our hearts. There are three ways by which information filters into our hearts. They are:
1. The things we hear
2. The things we see
3. The things we read
These three go a long way in determining the state of our hearts and the output thereof. Many times, we unconsciously act out those things that have settled into our hearts.
Whatever we hear and keep on hearing in no time becomes a part of us. That’s why it’s important that we’re careful of the kind of music we listen to because a song always takes us back to its source. What we watch also influences the state of our heart. For instance, people who watch pornography wouldn’t be able to have a healthy relationship with the opposite sex because they can only view them through the pornographic lens in their hearts. The same applies to those the books we read. They influence us in more ways than we could imagine. A person who reads some type of books is very likely to become manipulative – without even realizing it.
“A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thorns, or grapes on bramble bushes. A good man produces from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.”
– Luke 6:44 & 45,The Living Bible
Friends, it doesn’t matter how long mask the state of our heart, the truth is that one day under some circumstance, it will be revealed. It’s just like in microbiology when you’re culturing microorganisms, it looks like you’re not doing anything. But once you put the freshly transferred organism into the oven at the right temperature and pressure after the recommended amount of time, the organism becomes visible.
So, what’s it going to be?
I encourage you to culture a good heart with God’s help – and the result would be a great life. Romans 12:2 says we should renew our minds with God’s word; Joshua 1:8 encourages us to meditate on God’s word. The truth is that the heart is always meditating on something whether knowingly or unknowingly. No wonder the Psalmist says in Psalm 19:14 (KJV) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Phillipians 4:8 (The Living Bible) “…Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be proud be”.
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