Month: November 2015

I had an interesting conversation with God this morning.

I was praying to God during my quiet time today about my love for Him because I’m still having a hard time to digest and absorb the message I heard last Sunday. I realized that the reason why I feel burdened by the challenge I am facing in my personal ministry, particularly the daily evangelism, is because I’m not doing this out of love and out of obedience to God. I confessed to God this mistake and I prayed that God would fill me with His love so that it will be easy for me to love Him. Then I was reminded of that prayer this morning and I asked Him again to remind me always how much He loves me. To my surprise, as I was praying, God impressed to me that the only way I can always be reminded of His great love for me is by sharing the Gospel. And I realized He’s right. The Gospel is a love story between God and mankind. It is a story of how Jesus showed His love to man by giving His own life for the forgiveness of our sin. By sharing the Gospel, I testify to other people how that great love story became true to my life. So by sharing the Gospel to other people, I am somehow retelling to other people how God saved me from my own sinfulness so now it’s my turn to share to other people the great blessings I received when I heard that message.

Praise God that He has helped me settle this burden in my heart. I am now encouraged to share the Gospel all the more. 

2 Thessalonians 2 (NLT)

Events Prior to the Lord’s Second Coming
Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

Believers Should Stand Firm
As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

Dear Friend,

Yes, you, if you consider me as one of your friends. I know you’ve noticed that I’ve been silent for a while now and have been rarely visible these past few weeks (and even months). I wish I can say that the reason for this is because I’m really busy. But no, I’m not actually busy.

No, I’m not undergoing a quarter-life crisis or something. And no, I’m not on anti-social mode again or isolating myself from people. And don’t ever think that I’m angry at you or you’ve done anything wrong that’s why I decided not to spend time with you anymore or talk to you anymore (although I must also admit that I’m also learning to let go of some people who are supposed to stay only in my life for a season).

I’ve just decided to streamline my activities to focus more on things that really matter. When I say things that really matter, these are things that are of eternal value. These are things that I believe will have an impact for eternity.

It’s not that you don’t even matter me. You are precious to me, in the same way that God sees you precious in His eyes. It’s just that I’ve decided to free up some of my time to give room for the work that God will give to me in the near future. I need to let go of the good things to make room for the greater things that God has prepared for me. So for me, it means letting go of the good and pleasurable times with my friends.

It really hurts me not to see my friends more often but if this is the only way for us to save both of our lives, then I have to make that hard decision of realigning my priorities. I have to make the decision to put God first above all else in every area of my life, and that includes friendship. So expect that I might decline to most of your invitation for quality time or for doing fun times together. But please do remember that if you need a helping hand, I’m still a text, call or message away. I promise to do my best to make time for you. But if I really can’t make it to be physically present, rest assured that I will still make time to pray for you.

I hope you understand.

Your friend,
Cary