Learning not to DIY but to TGIF
One cannot deny that self-help books have always been popular and is growing in variety.
I was at a local book store a few days back and there are more self-help books in comparison to the number of books on the love of Christ and His victory in our lives at that shop; and even then Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra somewhat found their place on the Christian Living shelf!! =p (Faints!)
I wrote a letter in to the management of the bookstore to inform them of their shelving mistake and I hope something positive comes out of it. =) I know of so many Christians who are Christians in name, but not full in their knowledge yet, who would buy Tolle and Chopra's books thinking that they truly are Christian, then swallowing their contents up hook, line and sinker. I hope that this simple act of writing in will bring awareness to people that not every book that has Jesus or God on its cover is Christian.
Similarly, let's filter the worldly facts that we hear in the news, from doctors and scientists, etc with discernment from the Holy Spirit. Not all facts are true. They can come true if we choose to believe in them rather than what Jesus tells us.
When the doctor tells someone that he/she has cancer, she can choose to confess against it by saying "BY HIS STRIPES I AM HEALED!" and hang on to that truth regardless of what the doctor says, or she can agree with it. A church member of ours clung on to the truth and wrote in big letters on her report - "PAID FOR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST." At every visit she wore a smile and had no fear despite it all. Some other patients were curious as to why she could remain cheery despite the verdict of cancer and she shared her belief in Christ with them. Finally, the doctor did a scan one day and ALL the lumps WERE GONE! Praise God! The doctor conceded it was a miracle and the devil conceded defeat. As long as we know whose we are, he has no way to devour us - he is not a lion.... we ARE! We are IN the Lion of Judah. The devil can only go about AS if he were a lion, trying to gum us to death. LOL!!
Back to DIY books and the DIY spirit.
What is this human fascination with doing something ourselves? Perhaps it is because as people, we derive a sense of satisfaction that we accomplished something with our own might, our own talents. We feel a sense of pride when we show-off that faulty toaster we fixed, the plumbing problems that we solved, the hole in the dress that we patched up... etc.
I remember once when I was trying to help someone out with the Hi-Fi back home. I knew what went wrong but when I offered help I was told that I wouldn't know how to fix it, that he could do it better and that I was not helping by standing there. =p
Looking back I wonder if that is that the attitude we take with our Abba Father? I confess that I've acted that way before and I suspect we all have at one point or the other.
When our Heavenly Daddy offers to take over the problem and solve it for us, do we stubbornly cling on tighter to our problem, convinced that we're right in our decision making? Do we think we know better? That is where our human pride gets in the way and you can be sure that the enemy is doing his best to inflate it further =p
In the past when I was stuck with a problem I would try hard to solve it, do something else to make it better, do my best to get it fixed. Yet all that self-effort amounted to greater frustration as I leaned on my own understanding.
Note - DIY is what I call Die In Yourself -yup not dying in Christ to lead a new and better life, but dying or drowning in your Self by letting cares of the world get to you. =p
When we allow a situation to bug us like that; when we allow a situation to cause us worries, anxiety and mumblings, we are not helping God to help us. He is ready to take over and solve the issue for us, but so many of us are still trying to do something, to try another way... so all God can do is to wait for us to give up trying to do something, and allow Him to take over and do it for us.
As Christians, our lives should be victorious as we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, and the first step to living that victorious lifestyle is to stop trying and to let Him take over. Self help is NO help at all! We need to realise that in our areas of stronghold and realise that fast!
This famous verse from the book of Nehemiah - Not by our might, not by our strength but by The Spirit says The LORD - is etched for good on my mind. Unless God builds it, we build in vain - face it, the Creator has more experience creating than we do. Without His help, we cannot create anything but trouble for ourselves.
There is also no point calling out for help, then not letting go when God's ready to takeover. =)
It's like when Kae was having problems transforming his Transformer some years ago, and he called out for help, Ian was readily there to help him out at the first cry. However the little dude hung on to his toy and continued to have a couple of tries transforming it and grew in frustration. Ian was there to bail him out of those frustrations, but he was not willing to let go! And then he finally gives up and lets go of the toy. Ian helps him with the problem he had and shows him how to go at it. Kae beams and Ian hands the toy back to Kae with instructions. Kae successfully finishes transforming the robot into the truck it is.
Like Ian, Kae's Daddy, our Heavenly Daddy is right beside us at the first cry for help. How fast our problems are solved depends on how quickly we let go of our hot potato so that He can take over. Hanging on just equates to getting burnt fingers. =)
Last night, I got a call that I've passed the Church choir audition & Ian went to help the Performance Arts Ministry out with their auditions. Now, perhaps we all have different experiences, but my experience through the years is this - whenever I start to serve God in some way, the enemy ups his game and attacks. He hates it when we are doing something to bring the light of the Messiah into the darkness of the world. He doesn't like us to be salty and cast it on his wounds.
For example when I started to serve in Funeral Services ministry as a worship leader, I've been falling ill or Kae catches a flu or a meeting pops up during my induction where I am supposed to be trained to serve. It was so frustrating. Without the training, I cannot go out to serve at funerals.
So last night, it happened again. We were about to go to bed when Ian had some concerns flood his mind, and then his worrying made me worry. Yup anxiety can be contagious. =p
The devil was rocking our boat and we were getting motion sickness looking at each other. It was bad - there were some tears (my puddling, not Ian's) and a lot of sleeplessness.
We quickly caught ourselves and looked at Christ. I reminded Ian about how He has NEVER not fulfilled His promises to us in the provision in all areas. We recalled His Word to negate the lies flooding our minds. We thought about George Muller and his childlike faith. We remembered Christ is in control even in choppy waters and His command to the wind and waves - Shalom. Be Still.
So we focused on our Heavenly Daddy's goodness to us and I sang a praise and worship song that had a refrain that goes "Jesus, all my fears they fade away when I see You." We were not about to let the Devil rob our rest, our peace and our joy in the LORD which is our strength! The only fight/work we truly have today as Christians, is to fight/work to remain in His Shalom, to keep His joy in our heart. As I let go, I praised God that we were weak in that area we worried about so HE can be strong for us! AMEN! =D
U see - when you fill an area of darkness in your life or mind with His light, darkness cannot help but run away!!!
With our backs turned away from the Light, we could only see the shadows we casted on our path. The moment we realised we were turning the wrong way, we caught ourselves and turned to face the Light, now our path is so clearly illuminated with His presence!
Friends, it is impossible to DO anything by ourselves, with our own efforts and energies. We can ONLY do something successfully if we are willing to consecrate it to our Daddy God and let Him take the wheel.
And if there are any fears and anxieties of lack in any area of our lives, let us remember that when our Saviour Redeemer was on the Cross, he yelled out "It is FINISHED."
Thank God It's Finished!!! (my version of TGIF) - That flu? Paid for and finished off by Christ! That financial issue? Paid for and finished off by Christ! That job problem? Paid for and finished off by Christ!
When Jesus says our problems are over and finished, that He means it. He has done His perfect work on the Christ, so as long as we allow Christ to live in us in every area, to do for us, our concerns are perfectly paid for and finished in Him. =D
Today, let's remember that it is not what we can do but what Christ can do for us that makes us Conquerors and members of the Winning Team. =)
Cast your cares on Him, guard your heart above all things and remember not to let your heart be troubled or afraid as you do His good work in your life.
Do not DO because you think it will give you brownie points, Christian DO-ing does not work that way ever. We DO because HIS GRACE is sufficient for us, HIS GRACE gives us that desire to serve Him, HIS GRACE super abounds where sin abounds. We DO not so that we can enter Heaven. We DO His will in our lives out of praise and worship that We have already entered into a victorious life with our Messiah. =D
If we DO His Work with the wrong attitude or mindset, our egos will only get in the way of our bearing good fruit. Thank our Abba Daddy that I CANNOT DO IT so that HE DOES IT ALL FOR ME! AMEN!
These are also reminders to me as I take the step to serve Him more and more, see Him bigger than every obstacle and focus on self less and less.
As I serve Him, I must remember - why am I doing it? (To praise and honour Him!) Who am I doing it for? (JESUS! DADDY! HOLY SPIRIT!) What am I doing it for? (To spread the light of His Word and to glorify His name! To walk in the light of His glory. To fill hearts with His joy!) How am I doing it or with what spirit am I doing it? (Remembering how Christ washed the feet of His disciples, hopefully reflecting His tender love and servitude towards us.)
Okay - I've got to go prepare for service now. Quite excited because today is combined worship where our church of about 20,000 will gather together to praise Jesus as one body, and also because I know His Word will minister to us greatly after our last night's attack. It always has!
(Check out my 6 year old son's latest blog entry =D - http://kaelenmichael.blogspot.com)
I was at a local book store a few days back and there are more self-help books in comparison to the number of books on the love of Christ and His victory in our lives at that shop; and even then Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra somewhat found their place on the Christian Living shelf!! =p (Faints!)
I wrote a letter in to the management of the bookstore to inform them of their shelving mistake and I hope something positive comes out of it. =) I know of so many Christians who are Christians in name, but not full in their knowledge yet, who would buy Tolle and Chopra's books thinking that they truly are Christian, then swallowing their contents up hook, line and sinker. I hope that this simple act of writing in will bring awareness to people that not every book that has Jesus or God on its cover is Christian.
Similarly, let's filter the worldly facts that we hear in the news, from doctors and scientists, etc with discernment from the Holy Spirit. Not all facts are true. They can come true if we choose to believe in them rather than what Jesus tells us.
When the doctor tells someone that he/she has cancer, she can choose to confess against it by saying "BY HIS STRIPES I AM HEALED!" and hang on to that truth regardless of what the doctor says, or she can agree with it. A church member of ours clung on to the truth and wrote in big letters on her report - "PAID FOR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST." At every visit she wore a smile and had no fear despite it all. Some other patients were curious as to why she could remain cheery despite the verdict of cancer and she shared her belief in Christ with them. Finally, the doctor did a scan one day and ALL the lumps WERE GONE! Praise God! The doctor conceded it was a miracle and the devil conceded defeat. As long as we know whose we are, he has no way to devour us - he is not a lion.... we ARE! We are IN the Lion of Judah. The devil can only go about AS if he were a lion, trying to gum us to death. LOL!!
Back to DIY books and the DIY spirit.
What is this human fascination with doing something ourselves? Perhaps it is because as people, we derive a sense of satisfaction that we accomplished something with our own might, our own talents. We feel a sense of pride when we show-off that faulty toaster we fixed, the plumbing problems that we solved, the hole in the dress that we patched up... etc.
I remember once when I was trying to help someone out with the Hi-Fi back home. I knew what went wrong but when I offered help I was told that I wouldn't know how to fix it, that he could do it better and that I was not helping by standing there. =p
Looking back I wonder if that is that the attitude we take with our Abba Father? I confess that I've acted that way before and I suspect we all have at one point or the other.
When our Heavenly Daddy offers to take over the problem and solve it for us, do we stubbornly cling on tighter to our problem, convinced that we're right in our decision making? Do we think we know better? That is where our human pride gets in the way and you can be sure that the enemy is doing his best to inflate it further =p
In the past when I was stuck with a problem I would try hard to solve it, do something else to make it better, do my best to get it fixed. Yet all that self-effort amounted to greater frustration as I leaned on my own understanding.
Note - DIY is what I call Die In Yourself -yup not dying in Christ to lead a new and better life, but dying or drowning in your Self by letting cares of the world get to you. =p
When we allow a situation to bug us like that; when we allow a situation to cause us worries, anxiety and mumblings, we are not helping God to help us. He is ready to take over and solve the issue for us, but so many of us are still trying to do something, to try another way... so all God can do is to wait for us to give up trying to do something, and allow Him to take over and do it for us.
As Christians, our lives should be victorious as we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, and the first step to living that victorious lifestyle is to stop trying and to let Him take over. Self help is NO help at all! We need to realise that in our areas of stronghold and realise that fast!
This famous verse from the book of Nehemiah - Not by our might, not by our strength but by The Spirit says The LORD - is etched for good on my mind. Unless God builds it, we build in vain - face it, the Creator has more experience creating than we do. Without His help, we cannot create anything but trouble for ourselves.
There is also no point calling out for help, then not letting go when God's ready to takeover. =)
It's like when Kae was having problems transforming his Transformer some years ago, and he called out for help, Ian was readily there to help him out at the first cry. However the little dude hung on to his toy and continued to have a couple of tries transforming it and grew in frustration. Ian was there to bail him out of those frustrations, but he was not willing to let go! And then he finally gives up and lets go of the toy. Ian helps him with the problem he had and shows him how to go at it. Kae beams and Ian hands the toy back to Kae with instructions. Kae successfully finishes transforming the robot into the truck it is.
Like Ian, Kae's Daddy, our Heavenly Daddy is right beside us at the first cry for help. How fast our problems are solved depends on how quickly we let go of our hot potato so that He can take over. Hanging on just equates to getting burnt fingers. =)
Last night, I got a call that I've passed the Church choir audition & Ian went to help the Performance Arts Ministry out with their auditions. Now, perhaps we all have different experiences, but my experience through the years is this - whenever I start to serve God in some way, the enemy ups his game and attacks. He hates it when we are doing something to bring the light of the Messiah into the darkness of the world. He doesn't like us to be salty and cast it on his wounds.
For example when I started to serve in Funeral Services ministry as a worship leader, I've been falling ill or Kae catches a flu or a meeting pops up during my induction where I am supposed to be trained to serve. It was so frustrating. Without the training, I cannot go out to serve at funerals.
So last night, it happened again. We were about to go to bed when Ian had some concerns flood his mind, and then his worrying made me worry. Yup anxiety can be contagious. =p
The devil was rocking our boat and we were getting motion sickness looking at each other. It was bad - there were some tears (my puddling, not Ian's) and a lot of sleeplessness.
We quickly caught ourselves and looked at Christ. I reminded Ian about how He has NEVER not fulfilled His promises to us in the provision in all areas. We recalled His Word to negate the lies flooding our minds. We thought about George Muller and his childlike faith. We remembered Christ is in control even in choppy waters and His command to the wind and waves - Shalom. Be Still.
So we focused on our Heavenly Daddy's goodness to us and I sang a praise and worship song that had a refrain that goes "Jesus, all my fears they fade away when I see You." We were not about to let the Devil rob our rest, our peace and our joy in the LORD which is our strength! The only fight/work we truly have today as Christians, is to fight/work to remain in His Shalom, to keep His joy in our heart. As I let go, I praised God that we were weak in that area we worried about so HE can be strong for us! AMEN! =D
U see - when you fill an area of darkness in your life or mind with His light, darkness cannot help but run away!!!
With our backs turned away from the Light, we could only see the shadows we casted on our path. The moment we realised we were turning the wrong way, we caught ourselves and turned to face the Light, now our path is so clearly illuminated with His presence!
Friends, it is impossible to DO anything by ourselves, with our own efforts and energies. We can ONLY do something successfully if we are willing to consecrate it to our Daddy God and let Him take the wheel.
And if there are any fears and anxieties of lack in any area of our lives, let us remember that when our Saviour Redeemer was on the Cross, he yelled out "It is FINISHED."
Thank God It's Finished!!! (my version of TGIF) - That flu? Paid for and finished off by Christ! That financial issue? Paid for and finished off by Christ! That job problem? Paid for and finished off by Christ!
When Jesus says our problems are over and finished, that He means it. He has done His perfect work on the Christ, so as long as we allow Christ to live in us in every area, to do for us, our concerns are perfectly paid for and finished in Him. =D
Today, let's remember that it is not what we can do but what Christ can do for us that makes us Conquerors and members of the Winning Team. =)
Cast your cares on Him, guard your heart above all things and remember not to let your heart be troubled or afraid as you do His good work in your life.
Do not DO because you think it will give you brownie points, Christian DO-ing does not work that way ever. We DO because HIS GRACE is sufficient for us, HIS GRACE gives us that desire to serve Him, HIS GRACE super abounds where sin abounds. We DO not so that we can enter Heaven. We DO His will in our lives out of praise and worship that We have already entered into a victorious life with our Messiah. =D
If we DO His Work with the wrong attitude or mindset, our egos will only get in the way of our bearing good fruit. Thank our Abba Daddy that I CANNOT DO IT so that HE DOES IT ALL FOR ME! AMEN!
These are also reminders to me as I take the step to serve Him more and more, see Him bigger than every obstacle and focus on self less and less.
As I serve Him, I must remember - why am I doing it? (To praise and honour Him!) Who am I doing it for? (JESUS! DADDY! HOLY SPIRIT!) What am I doing it for? (To spread the light of His Word and to glorify His name! To walk in the light of His glory. To fill hearts with His joy!) How am I doing it or with what spirit am I doing it? (Remembering how Christ washed the feet of His disciples, hopefully reflecting His tender love and servitude towards us.)
Okay - I've got to go prepare for service now. Quite excited because today is combined worship where our church of about 20,000 will gather together to praise Jesus as one body, and also because I know His Word will minister to us greatly after our last night's attack. It always has!
(Check out my 6 year old son's latest blog entry =D - http://kaelenmichael.blogspot.com)
I am a born again Christian who also loves and reads Depak and Tolle. Why are Christians afraid of books that preach love? Get outside your little fundy box and learn to think for yourself. I used to listen to only "Christian ministers" who told me that rock was evil and that voting for Bush was Christian. Now I understand, that my God is bigger than what James Dobson says. You can be a Christian and still learn form Eckart Tolle and Deepak Chopra.
ReplyDeletePeace out.
PS If Jesus came back today, the church would again call him new age and try to have him killed. Bank on it.
There is nothing wrong with books that talk about love but these books attempt to draw people away from the love of Christ and leaning on Him and His wisdom into leaning on the wisdom of the world.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you've had bad experiences before. The ministers you heard who preached rock was evil and vote Bush is Christian are prob misled themselves... not every minister preaches out of the leading of the Holy Spirit. I was scarred before my wrong teachings so I understand your frustration.
Discernment is key. If you can operate out of discernment you might be able to draw out the good from certain worldly books and toss out the bathwater where needed. BUT most people can't.
There is so much wisdom to be found in the bible... layers upon layers of love, wisdom, strength. Most Christians scratch the surface but never go into the deep.
Deepak and Eckhart may speak like wise men but they speak of borrowed wisdom that they then made their own with theologies that men can be their own gods and are in control of their own destinies. They preach that one no longer needs to fear or worship Yahweh.
That is where the danger lies. =p