You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'A friend indeed!' category.
There were 2 disappointing events this week. The first came on wednesday, when I was supposed to meet my cousin on wednesday for a movie “The empress and his warriors”, but it turned out he couldn’t make it at the last minute due to the emergence of a meeting. The movie plan was postphoned to friday. Then on friday, which is today, we finally watched it but it turned out to be really a flop – we kept laughing at Kelly Chen for her unnatural facial expressions in the show. The story was very badly written as well.
On this day, I talked to this friend about “love”. I asked him: “ What is love to you?” He said its a feeling. I questioned him and asked: ” There must be actions which led to the feelings right, and what are those actions to you?” His answer was: ” I have not really felt love before, so since I never really felt love how could I possibly know what brings love?”
Love, has been explicitly spelt out in the bible in 1 corinthian 13 which is a well known chapter. Let’s just take the first description – love is patient. Lets say when we are being taught by a teacher on a subject, and the teacher raised his frustrated voice at us when we couldn’t answer his questions or contrary, the teacher patiently guided us to the correct answer, which is love? An act of patience is an act of love which will produce loving feelings. Think about it – the description in 1 corinthian 13 are acts which creates love as a feeling. Is love around in your cell group? Is your cell group filled with actions of love that the love aroma suffuse and saturate the cell?
Lastly, I received an sms from a youth in church, she asked - if you had 3 wishes what would they be? For me, they are – To be healthy, to enjoy living the life I was given by God and lastly to be able to glorify God with this life. What are your wishes then?
Brothers and sisters and fellow bloggers, thanks for the understanding, prayers and support through my uphill task of maintaining this blog despite battling an obstinate cold caught during my winter trip to Japan about 2 weeks ago; a temperamental computer which had given me a fair share of his tandrums because its 2032 battery had ran out a week ago resulting in the date and time settings not being able to be saved; adapting to a new job and environment after I came back from Japan, getting to know my new boss and colleagues and finally the worsened chronic wrist pain due to poor ergonomics (posture) since two months ago. When things seemed to be picking up, I received a call from my dad informing me that my grandmother had passed away today. I pray for my family to find comfort from God during this time especially for my mum though she’s not a believer.
This period of turbulence has provided me unexpected rest to gain fresh fodder (ideas) for my blog. Soon, I will post again on … 
New words/phrases for my vocab arsenalReview on the first 3 chapters of intercessory prayers and my own prayer and intercessory experience from Japan trip till now; Part 1and 2- “Die to live” – a post on my new job
- AUL – on cell group living, we had thanksgiving, prayer, now we need the WORD!
Ouch, ouch !!! – My first acupuncture experienceThe silent exit of a headstrong woman - about my deceased maternal grandmother- A post to claim my thinking blogger award
- Gal 6:1
With humble apologies, thank you once again for your support for “outofthefort” and your love for me. Signing off … David aka attacking midfielder.
Gal 6:2-5
2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
5 for each one should carry his own load.
Have you ever once felt that your brothers and sisters in church only cared about their own business and have no time to mind your business? 2 years ago, I mentioned to a brother that I think this is commonplace in a meritocratic society like Singapore which is fast-paced and individualistic. However, we are indeed taught in the Bible we should mind our own business. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11,12 it says – make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. In Galatians 6:5, it says for each one should carry his own load. So, let us learn to do our own work and take pride and be contented in it, not comparing ourself with another person who has his own work to do. One practical way is to have an organiser and tick off the tasks you have achieved which gives you a sense of satisfaction for that day.
However, we must not neglect Gal 6 verse 2 which says “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Does it sound enigmatic; why verse 5 says to carry your own load but verse 2 says to carry each other’s burdens? It does not. For in verse 2 it means “heavy burdens” – those that are more than one person to carry; while in verse 5 it means your “pack”. In verse 2, Paul refers to helping christians , sharing their load whenever temptations oppress or life depresses them. Love being the fulfillment of law that is stated as the new commandment (John 13:34). Therefore, we should burden ourselves with mutual sympathy as well.
Two things may hinder mutual sympathy
-
Conceit; thinking yourself more highly and important than others (Gal 6:3; Romans 12:3) and thus refusing to bear another’s burdens. This is self-deception as measured by God’s standards, no one amounts to anything.
-
Comparing your works with the works of others; positive sense (“I’m happy I’m doing better than they are”) and negative sense (“I’m unable to do anything; everyone else is much better”)
To end off, I would like to use an analogy to illustrate this lesson. As you all know, my extended family and I are going to Japan from tomorrow. My aunt will be bringing along her friend who has weak knees and this friend required the use of a wheelchair. To facilitate this, my aunt reduced her luggage to just a backpack instead of a pull-luggage and backpack which most of us will be bringing; she said this will enable her to take care of her friend in wheelchair. I have to praise my aunt for her love for her friend. During this trip, not only has she to carry her own load (backpack) but also to bear her friend’s burden (moving in wheelchair).
I thank God for the people, friends and family, who bore my burdens while i was in bondage of sins and depression. I will be adding this new thing I have learnt to my prayer list and year-end reflection.
In the next post, I will write on Gal 6:1 for the cell group category. It’s about restoration of a person who has sinned. Personally, I was very hurt by how this was done in a previous christian gathering I have joined. What is the most appropriate way?
At the end of the year 08, reflect – Have I taken pride in carrying my own load and also bear the burdens of other people.
“You are full of gratitude for me, however, you have not acknowledged me!”
Do you find the above sentence ambiguous? Being a young man, I have always failed at showing acknowledgement to people who cared for me. At most a – thank you. A thank you, is, only a statement of gratitude, and it’s at its simplest form. A more complex way to show gratitude is to say: ” I thank you for helping me with my school assignment,” or “I thank you for spending time with me.”
A statement of gratitude becomes a statement of acknowledgement when we laud the person of a beautiful, intrinsic value the person possesses derived from our keen observation of him/her performing that act for us.
For example, we may now say: ” You are a selfless friend to give up your own free time to help me with your assignment,” and “I could tell you really treasured our friendship to take time off your busy schedules to spend time with me.”
I thank you, whoever you may be, to drop by and read my blog. It means you care for me and is interested to know what’s going on in my life.
God bless you. :)
“Where are you? I miss u noe.”
I am a person who enjoys revisiting quotes from famous people on the internet, getting momentary inspiration, and sometimes copying them down somewhere for future reference. Recently, I discovered that my friend Marcus is a genius at forming quotes of this sort too. Not wishing his works be disintegrated in my memory bank eventually, I chose to give him a compartment in this category to store his works!
A list of his well-known
-
Patience brother, I’m sure God will add it unto you one by one. (Jan 08)
-
Take this as training ground, be faithful in what God has added unto you! (Jan 08)
Recent Comments