Filed under: Day-to-day musings
“If they are bound in chains
and caught up in a web of trouble,
he shows them the reason.
He shows them their sins of pride.
He gets their attention
and commands that they turn from evil. . . .
But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.
For he gets their attention through adversity.”
—Job 36:8–10, 15
Encouragement for Today
God gets our attention through adversity and suffering. When trials come upon us, the first step is to ask God to show us what we may have done to bring it about. It may not be a result of our own poor choices, pride, resentment, or any other sin. But on the other hand, it may be, and seeking to understand any responsibility on our part is the beginning of wisdom and change.
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions
September 12, 2009
“Cynism makes one forget his own reflections… either that… or it is just a cover up.” I have written this and posted in my facebook after being puzzled over something.
But today, while I was reading Today’s Christian Woman online, I saw an article by Lisa Harper and she explained it really well: I know it’s a long read. But it’s a good reminder, really.
What’s the difference between “seeing sin” in someone else’s life and confronting it, and having a critical spirit?
The key distinction between recognizing behavior that’s ungodly and passing judgment on others is the posture of our heart. Are we aware of other people’s mistakes because they trust us and have confided in us, or have we appointed ourselves the “moral police” so as to justify examining blemishes in everyone else’s behavior? Is our ultimate goal to help restore prodigals into a redemptive relationship with Jesus, or do we have a hidden agenda to elevate ourselves by condemning those around us? Be honest now!
What Does God Say About This?
Here are two oft-quoted Scriptures about confronting someone else’s sin:
“If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. … If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17, NCV).
“If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-3, ESV).
The first passage applies solely to professing Christians and includes disciplinary consequences. The second is gentler in tone and more general in application. And while both examples encourage straightforward dialogue about ungodly behavior, they also clarify the respectful parameters in which those hard conversations should take place.
I think the most compelling lesson about uncovering sin in someone else’s life occurs in John’s Gospel account, when a group of angry deacons shove an adulterous woman in front of Jesus while he’s teaching in the temple courts:
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her’” (John 8:3-7, ESV).
One simple statement from our Savior left those mean-spirited men—who up until that moment had been hurling insults—mute. His words illuminated their own ugly flaws, which made shaming someone else much less appealing. One by one they dropped their rocks and slunk away.
How Does This Affect Me?
I’ve been confronted twice lately by other Christians. One came from a red-faced stranger who was furious with me for wearing knee-high leather boots with a skirt to her church. She called me a “Jezebel.” The second came from a good friend, who tenderly pointed out my pride in a specific situation.
The name-calling left a bruise on my soul. But the compassionate rebuke turned me back toward the forgiving arms of our heavenly Father. As Christ followers, we’ve got to recognize that God alone has the perfect combination of holiness and mercy to stand in judgment of the human heart.
We must remember the only One worthy of condemning us chose instead to pardon us. Then—in light of our own sinner-saved-by-grace stories—when the Holy Spirit impresses us to confront someone who’s messed up, we’ll do so with honesty, compassion, and humility. Our motive will be one of real restoration instead of self-righteousness.
June 29, 2009
It’s all over the news. After 50 years, Michael Jackson’s life had finally reached its end. It was a sudden death, they say. The true cause of his death is still under investigation. Could it be due to medical malpractice? Wrong diagnosis? Wrong treatment? Nobody’s certain for sure.
There’s actually a lot of medical malpractice going on. That’s why there’s the existence of Rochester medical malpractice attorney to help you prepare your case. There are many types of medical malpractice. Some doctors can make mistakes just like that.
Of course I’m not blaming the doctors nor the hospital for MJ’s death. Like I said, the cause of his death is still not certain.
June 26, 2009
Sense of urgency is important in achieving your goals. I have noticed that I may be laid back at times but when work calls, I always have that sense of urgency. I must do my best at each task and must complete it fast. That’s how I do with my writings. I may end up having grammatical errors, wrong spellings, weird sentence structures… but I make sure I correct all the wrong things that are brought to my attention before I complete and submit for approval. If of course, after completion, I still have mistakes, that’s because of my naivety… or lack of knowledge.
Here hubby comes into the picture. And I always appreciate the effort of correcting me.
Sense of urgency. Sometimes people relate it to being impatient. I don’t. It’s finishing a task by the deadline. Not a last minute thing to do.You don’t wait until the heavy ball falls on your head to decide to finally make a move to avoid it. By the time you move, your head has already been hit!
Sense of urgency. It’s my personality.
Sense of urgency and the lack of it (at least in hubby’s part), has been my struggle for 5 years in my marriage.
I dislike it when people are slow to decide… only to realize that at the end of the day… we come up with the same decision.
The lack of sense of urgency results to a lot of disappointments and frustrations.
When can people learn to have a sense of it? When can people learn that being patient is not equal to a lack of sense of urgency?
February 7, 2009
I have discovered there’s a radio that talks about mental health. It’s called Your Mental Health Radio Talk Show. It’s a talk show that discusses all sorts and all areas of mental health. It’s on on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00pm. It’s actually recommended to listen to this kind of talk show for us to be aware what mental state are we in.
Sometimes we go our daily lives not knowing or not conscious of how our mental’s condition is. Sometimes, people don’t even notice they are already having mental problems. My hubby could be funny sometimes… There are days when I complain to him about this person saying to me this and that. He just tells me.. no worries. It’s not about you. It’s about that person. He’s just having mental problems.
How do we know then if we’re having mental problems? Oh well… we all should just listen to this talk show about mental health. This way, we won’t be so ignorant about our health.
Check out this site: Mental Health Talk Radio Home Page
April 1, 2008
Credit is a way of life nowadays. Plastic money has been essential
in the personal finances of some. But what if you get into too much
trouble? What if your credit card debt has surmounted into an
amount that is way beyond your means and now difficult to settle?
Do you file for bankruptcy or you get a debt consolidation?
Filing a bankruptcy will forever hurt your financial history and a
simple debt consolidation may not always be the answer.
As I browsed the internet, I have found a new term used to help
get someone into a debt-free life by availing something like a
debt consolidation but even better! It is called debt settlement
and debt negotiation. These terms are used by
SuperiorDebtRelief.com. As I looked into their debt relief program,
I have found out that they have an outstanding way of settling
credit card debts. As decide to start your way into
taking steps to financial freedom, they assist you first
by letting you fill-up an online form or by calling them
in their toll-free number. They will give you a FREE
quote and will help you determine if you are eligible
to avail of their debt negotiation program. When you get
yourself approved, they will gather information on all your
credit card debts and unsecured balances from all
your creditors. From this, they will help you get the
most affordable monthly payments that will be kept in
a special account for you debt settlement. After which, a
negotiator will work on your behalf to help you get your
creditors consider your debt settlement issues.
Once your negotiator agrees on the offer your creditors
have given. They will send your debt settlement fund to
your creditor thus making your debts paid in full! Then you will be
placed in SuperiorDebtRelief.com’s program on helping
you secure a more financially stable future!
Isn’t that a wonderful company? They don’t just help you
settle your debts but they help you not to get into the
same problem again.
March 25, 2008
Last December was the most trying time for us. We were so broke. Of course, nobody knew coz I made it a point to make our Christmas holidays special, with or without money. Most of our Christmas dinners were on potluck so I didn’t have to spend a lot on buying groceries for our food. I just bought some new things, small small things for our house decoration to make an ambiance for Christmas. The giveaways I prepare for each guest that come to our house was not that expensive either. I just wrapped them in a very special wrapper, which was recycled, and voila! I have created a very special Christmas Surprise for my guests.
Well, you might wanna ask me why we were so broke. Actually, throughout the year, we have used our credit cards tactlessly. By the end of the year, we have reached our credit limit and we couldn’t use any of them. Plus, there’s a lot more things we spent that even our money in the bank was used up. So the main reason of our being broke was the misuse of our credit card.
That’s why, for the new year 2008, hubby and I have resolved to be careful in our spending habit. We have learned a lesson. Expensive lesson it may be, but quite a good lesson.
January 23, 2008
Another new year has come. It’s time to reflect the year that has passed… and create resolutions for the new year. Time to do up all what has left behind the past year. It has been a busy new year for us, especially as a family coz our boy is starting his school already. He’s in pre-school 1 and today was his first day. On top of that, it’s my husband’s first day in training school for this year. He’s directing a training school which runs from January until March every year.
This reminds me that our car insurancehas expired and we definitely need to register again for this year. We usually ask our friend to do it for us coz my husband is always too busy to register. We just couldn’t fit it in his schedule. And I don’t drive. Not that I can’t drive. I can. But I’m not used to driving on a right-hand road. We use left-hand driving in the Philippines – American style. Here in Malaysia is British style so they drive on the right side.
So, as I was saying, we usually ask a friend to do it for us. But what if that friend is busy? I checked some auto insuranceonline, whether we can apply online. I found some auto insurance quotesand tried opening it. Will probably apply online if my friend is too busy to do it for us this time. And have to do it fast coz the auto insurance has already expired.
January 7, 2008
I’ve been talking about Christmas shopping and all that for Christmas gifts. But I have a friend who’s going to baptize her child during the holiday season. So now, I have to buy Christmas gift and a baptism gift for him, right? It’s unfair if I only buy one just for Christmas. I saw this personalized baptism gifts online and I started checking it out.
I think it is a good idea to give something that’s memorable like a personalized gift. Using the latest production technology, your favorite picture is specially dyed into a photo blanket, photo bedding, photo pillows and photo dog beds. The end result is a superb high-quality custom photo product. You won’t find a sharper, more vividly colored custom photo product than this one! They are indeed number one for photo blankets and throws!
Check it out guys. I really think it’s cute. They have somethings for dogs, too… like the photo dog bedding. I never knew dogs should have a special bedding to be comfortable until I saw this one. They really specialize in blankets, throws, duvets, and just about anything when it comes to bedding. Just send in the photos and they will customize it according to your style. Great huh?
After going thru their site, I realized you can use their products as Christmas gifts too.
December 24, 2007
Remember the last time I told you I was thinking about making money from my blog and hubby disapproved? Guess what… He finally did, without me asking him twice. He just thought why not give it a try. Also, with a holiday season going on, we need extra cash to enjoy our holidays and merry-making. So I thought why not get paid thru one thing I’m passionate about.
The first thing I did after I got the go signal: search in the internet for some online companies that offer to pay for bloggers who wanna earn thru blogging. I found so many. But one thing that caught my eyes was this: Smorty.
While I discovered that I can sign up with Smorty to write a blog to earn, I also discovered that you can advertise product here! Smorty is a service connecting advertisers with bloggers. Advertisers can pay bloggers to write opinion posts with links back to the advertisers site. So advertisers can get customers thru bloggers and bloggers are getting paid. This is two-way round!
I am very excited as this is my first ever entry to make money. I signed up with Smorty and I found it was very easy to do so… very convenient. The opportunities to write are fast selling! I’m sure there are many bloggers who are using Smorty that are writing for advertisers.
If you’re an advertiser… sign up quickly! Advertise on blogs. Use Smorty. A lot of bloggers are just waiting for the opportunities to write!
December 12, 2007
Previous page
