Today Glen preached on the text from Luke today, of when the Angel Gabriel appeared before the virign Mary and told her that she would be conceived with a child by the Holy Spirit. The child was to become God incarnate, and he would save the world from its immeasurable sins. Many tend to think that Mary (who was then a teenage girl living in a small Jewish village in first century) merely accepted the fact that she was to carry, out of wedlock, and her child would bear such a heavy responsibility of saving the entire world from its perish! In the gospel of Luke, it was told that Mary was upset. She was confused, and scared, and most probably wished that this "blessing" could have been given to another. Mary was to give up her whole life in saying Yes to this daunting role that she was to be given - her family, her friends, her reputation, her future... everything, all to be faithful to God. In a way she was to become Jesus' first disciple. And what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? It is to give your life over to God, to fully trust in him in all that you do, which is extremely difficult, especially in this society today, where the human mind (human intelligence) has been placed as paramount. It is hard to imagine ourselves relying fully on anybody else other than ourselves isn't it? In the song by the Beatles, John Lennon sings of letting things be. He referred to the wisdom of Mother Mary, who in the midst of her fears of what she had been told was about to happen (in those days, the punishment for a woman who was engaged and got pregnant was death by stoning), trusted the Lord her God and handed her life over to him. This wasn't what she wanted, but if it was God's will, "May it to me as you have said."
I reflected on Glen's words and thought of all the things in my life that wasn't the way I wanted them to be. Of course life's got its troubles, everybody is faced with difficult times, pain and suffering. But I am talking about the times when you think something "should" be a certain way and it doesn't turn out to be, and you wonder why things are the way they are, you wonder why can't this person be more of that or that person be more of this. When God has put you in a situation that you've got absolutely no control over, no matter what you do you cannot change the reality of how things are. It is an on-going struggle between the "self" and God. I know I have to trust him, and give my life to him. But sometimes it is so hard with the alluring calls of the secular world, wanting me to hand myself over to them instead. What am I holding onto that I am not ready to give up to God? I think in the back of my head there are many things floating around. Maybe my reputation? Maybe monetary wealth? Perhaps it is my comfortable life? More and more I have been hearing God's call and thinking about the ways that I can use my gifts to glorify him. Glen's words hit me today that if I really wanted to follow Jesus it would have to be with my all (or nothing!). This is definitely something to think about. If the Father is great, and all sovereign, like I often claim in my prayers that he is, then what am I so afraid of? I am also reminded to trust God. As Glen said, trust him and let him take over every aspect of your life - your love life, your job (or school), your money, everything. And when you do, he will give you more than you ever asked for. This "more than I ever asked for" is something I have experienced myself. So what am I so afraid of?
These days I find it so hard to find time to spend with God. With the business of exams and the Christmas season approaching, I have been missing my daily devotions. Isn't it ironic that with the coming of the celebration of the birth of Jesus that I have found myself getting busier with life's many tasks that I have neglected God? We are called to put God first. He wants our time, he wants our hearts. How I long for the Holy Spirit to fill my heart with passion for HIM, that my thoughts may be always of him, and that everything I do I would do for him? There will be no answer to that question, this is not a blog like a Full-House episode where by the end all our problems are solved. All I know is I will continue to pray, for faith, for trust, for the fire in my heart to keep burning of a love for my Father, the creator of heaven and earth, my all and all.
I reflected on Glen's words and thought of all the things in my life that wasn't the way I wanted them to be. Of course life's got its troubles, everybody is faced with difficult times, pain and suffering. But I am talking about the times when you think something "should" be a certain way and it doesn't turn out to be, and you wonder why things are the way they are, you wonder why can't this person be more of that or that person be more of this. When God has put you in a situation that you've got absolutely no control over, no matter what you do you cannot change the reality of how things are. It is an on-going struggle between the "self" and God. I know I have to trust him, and give my life to him. But sometimes it is so hard with the alluring calls of the secular world, wanting me to hand myself over to them instead. What am I holding onto that I am not ready to give up to God? I think in the back of my head there are many things floating around. Maybe my reputation? Maybe monetary wealth? Perhaps it is my comfortable life? More and more I have been hearing God's call and thinking about the ways that I can use my gifts to glorify him. Glen's words hit me today that if I really wanted to follow Jesus it would have to be with my all (or nothing!). This is definitely something to think about. If the Father is great, and all sovereign, like I often claim in my prayers that he is, then what am I so afraid of? I am also reminded to trust God. As Glen said, trust him and let him take over every aspect of your life - your love life, your job (or school), your money, everything. And when you do, he will give you more than you ever asked for. This "more than I ever asked for" is something I have experienced myself. So what am I so afraid of?
These days I find it so hard to find time to spend with God. With the business of exams and the Christmas season approaching, I have been missing my daily devotions. Isn't it ironic that with the coming of the celebration of the birth of Jesus that I have found myself getting busier with life's many tasks that I have neglected God? We are called to put God first. He wants our time, he wants our hearts. How I long for the Holy Spirit to fill my heart with passion for HIM, that my thoughts may be always of him, and that everything I do I would do for him? There will be no answer to that question, this is not a blog like a Full-House episode where by the end all our problems are solved. All I know is I will continue to pray, for faith, for trust, for the fire in my heart to keep burning of a love for my Father, the creator of heaven and earth, my all and all.
Let it be
The Beatles
When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.
Let it be, let it be, .....
And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be, .....
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