[
weird christians i have met by philip baker
i read tis book a long long time ago. July 2004 to be exact. now, i'm here to share with you the essence of the book n wat i love abt it.
anyone read max lucado's love worth giving?? if u haven, GO GET IT!! it's just as good n complements tis book exceptionally well.
'weird' is a realli good book abt e different christians there r in christian-dom. n also, more talked abt, denominations. in tis book, phil creates certain 'profiles' tat he finds ppl falling under, like 'pentecostal pamela', 'end time ed', 'demonic dave', 'frank faith', 'theological theo', 'gullible garfield'... well, u get e picture. it's a real cool book abt how these different groups of pple 'function', wat r their likes n dislikes, wat we can learn from them, n wat NOT to ever pick up from these pple. n each character is studied in a very comedic way as phil writes in a near-hilarious way tat sure guarantees a laugh or two from u.
subject i wanna talk abt today?? not so much as to wat to 'learn' from each character... but how to handle BEING one of these characters.
u know, we all fall under 1 or 2 of those categories. there's no such thing as a 'normal' christian. God din take a mould n just throw in one lump of earth after another... He used His hands to make each of us painstakingly(He dun feel pain but i'm sure He put in so much effort tat it almost felt tat) and fearfully, ONE BY ONE. each christian is made with our own individualism n personality. our own set of plus n minus, our strengths n weaknesses. yes, we do see differently on many subjects n tat may cause some rifts n clashes... but hey, who said they MUST occur?!?!
differences r always there, whether u like it anot. n be it theology or faith, must we engage in an argument n be defensive abt it?? why not adopt a more open mind, n see for ourselves??
i'm not saying this becos of e fact tat new crea is under attack from some pastors. but then, i would ask... why?? pple r blessed when they hear e messages, n isn't tat e most important thing?? e pple?? n if e church is preaching e wrong message, God ain't so stupid to let it continue rite?? all i can say is, e FRUITS WILL TELL. God will prosper tat which His hands touches. :)
but again, no one's perfect. even me. who doesn't get judgemental?? oh well, think it's just e way we r brought up. we all try to be right in e way we do things. cos if we mess up, it will be bad... but selah. wat's so bad abt messing up?? God picks us up n we continue gg on. for one, i fall in e area of practical wisdom a lot a lot. n sometime in e mid of e year, e lack of wisdom had some consequences tat i lamented n cried abt. but still?? God lifted me up higher.
to go more into detail - i suggested to a certain friend tat she should lend money to another friend for a trip to hillsongs. n for tat, leaders decided to take me off worship leading. i lamented n argued abt it(within myself of cos) tat why did it link together?? how should it be tat when i fail in e area of practical wisdom, i get 'punished' in e area tat i thought i did well in, n to me, does not connect to wisdom in any way whatsoever?? why?!? why?!? but yet, as i slowed down, n gave my emotions n thoughts to God, i realised - tat e failure of a realisation of e importance of being a worship leader is tat i've been taking e role too lightly. a role whereby pple do look up to me, n tat my actions did not match up to e responsibilities given. n yes, after tat, I MYSELF was glad i was taken off worship leading. n yet, e Lord did not just let it stop there. thru out e year, He has been blessing me with an increased vocal range, a closer relationship with Him n my leaders, n also a chance to sing on stage for Him on mediacorp, e biggest stage in my opinion. wat i asked for, He fulfilled it in a way tat i could never comprehend n understand, n yet, at e same time, He does not fail to teach me n discipline me in a way so loving n kind(thou it may look harsh at first). in e end, when i look back, i can only praise Him for His grace on me. realli, grace grace. n nowadays, even when i'm on stage for choir, i carry myself so much more... ermm... consciously? think tat's a good word. for i know now e responsibility tat i've been given, e depth n width of e image i project. all glory to God. hope e testimony bless u guys. :)
k, back to e main topic(i din forget k... i just digested... blame it on e anointing of someone up above. :p) - imperfect pple in Christ. we all are. n i know we all want to change. we all want to take care of, n rid ourselves of tat negative trait or weakness we have. so wat do we do abt it?? i'm not afraid to say this - NOTHING. there's no need to purposefully n forcefully change ourselves for e better. why?? think of tis, how many times have u made a new year resolution n stuck by it, n thing is, it DID come to pass?? if u do have times like these, praises to u. *clap. n i'm not taunting u, i'm seriously glad n awed by ur determination. cool!! *smile. but then again, there r many of those who r like me, who fail at every new year resolution tat they have made. so hear me out. it's not easy to change ourselves. n in my opinion, IMPOSSIBLE. cos e way tat we have been hav been in built into us over such a long time tat it's hard to change. only person who can change us, is God. no one else. so why not we see wat He says abt it??
Romans 7:15 & 19(once again, Amplified version. get it!! :p)
15: For i do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered], I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns].
19: For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.
now anyone can identify with these two verses?? hehe, I know very well I can. it's so so so me. :p anyway, do not despair... here comes the good news!! in a stylish way at that(will explain myself later). :)
Romans 7:25
O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 8:1
Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. [John 3:18.]
cool eh?? you know wat I find cool abt it?? hehe... ready for a good surprise?? kk, here goes. anyone realised tis?? tat e name Jesus dun appear in e whole of chapter 7?!?! n e chapter talks on e laws, e old covenant, which links to e perfection of God(e law is e standards tat God sets for Man to achieve, & 7 refers to perfection). n guess wat, Jesus is e One who puts an end to it!! on verse 25 no less... for it's 5 x 5!! grace grace!! woohoo!! n better yet, thru Him, we get a new beginning(number 8!!). a new beginning fo righteousness!! oh yeah!! n also, 'Jesus' appear as e 5th n 7th word in e verse(if u disregard e words in e bracket, n if u dun). grace n perfection combined. need i say more?? Jesus, Jesus... grace grace... *grin
it doesn't matter how u r now. well it matters... but it ain't gonna help if u keep on harping abt it n want to change it BY YOURSELF. cos u can't. instead, why not lean on His bosoms... n rely in His saving grace, His Sacrifice for you?? Jesus came and died for you. His righteousness is now yours, n you are now accepted more than anything or anyone in the world. more so than the holiest man than you can think of. the pope, the pastors & the 'saints'. whoever they are, we are all on equal ground if we accept the power of His blood. we are all cleansed. so even if you are osama, hey, receive the love of God. He loves you. :) and whatever part of you that you dun like, hey, relak one corner... n see the salvation of the Lord.
let's just come back to basics... that we are loved. n know that we can't n din do anything rite by ourselves, n that in tat state of patheticism n error-proneness, God sent His Son down to die for us... so why should we, presently acknowledged as His sons and daughters, strife on our OWN efforts to get clean, when in the first place, He CLEANSED us?? let's stop doing His job n concentrate on ours... to just see more of Jesus Christ, cos it's thru Him, we are cleansed. let focus on our Saviour, n He will focus on our problems.
kk, preached enuf liao... finally can sleep... let u guys know more next time. still got loads n lots to share. hehe. ciaoz!!!
shalom
Post a Comment
<< Home
