Month: February 2017

Day 17. What are your spiritual beliefs and how do they impact your relationships/relationship status?

Excerpt from “Reflections of a Man” by Mr. Amari Soul

Welcome back to this long overdue challenge!

I only have two verses in mind when it comes to my spiritual beliefs and my relationships. The first one is 1 Timothy 5:1-2, which is my guiding principle for cultivating godly relationships in general, and the second one is 2 Corinthians 6:14, which is my guiding principle for romantic relationships.

On godly relationships

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. (1 Timothy 5:1:2)

When it comes to dealing with other people, I always try to follow this framework based on the verse above:

Older men – treat them with respect as with my father
Younger men – treat them as brothers, with absolute purity.
Older women – honor them like my own mother
Younger women – treat them as if they are my own sister.

My only problem with this framework is that the verse says nothing about how should I treat men of my own age range, and I’m really struggling in this area.  I really don’t know how to relate with them so my natural tendency is to have nothing to do with them altogether. ?But then lately, God taught me that I should not reject friendships with the opposite sex altogether. With the right and pure  motives and clear boundaries, being friends with guys, especially with   my brothers in Christ, can be a beautiful thing as they can help me understand more the dynamics between men and women.

On romantic relationships
I’ve been taught early in my Christian life that when it comes to choosing a romantic partner, I only have one rule to consider, and that is:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

This means he should be a Christian, and that is, he is fully committed and submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ. I know how hard it is to be romantically attracted to someone who doesn’t meet this standard but God was so gracious that He enabled me to uphold it. So now, having this standard makes it easier for me to identify who are those I can consider to have romantic business with. ☺

Wild Flower

Listened to this song again after some long, long time. I used to love this song for its melody but now I love it for its lyrics.

Wildflower Lyrics (Skylark)

She’s faced the hardest times you could imagine
And many times her eyes fought back the tears
And when her youthful world was about to fall in
Each time her slender shoulders bore the weight of all her fears
And a sorrow no one hears
Still rings in midnight silence in her ears

Let her cry, for she’s a lady (She’s a lady)
Let her dream, for she’s a child (Child)
Let the rain fall down upon her
She’s a free and gentle flower growing wild

And if by chance that I should hold her (If by chance that I should hold
her)
Let me hold her for a time (Let me hold her for a time)
And if allowed just one possession
I would pick her from the garden to be mine (I would pick her from the
garden to be mine)

Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm
Be careful how you touch her, for she’ll awaken
And sleep’s the only freedom that she knows
And when you walk into her eyes, you won’t believe
The way she’s always payin’ for a debt she never owed
And a silent wind still blows
That only she can hear, and so she goes

Let her cry, for she’s a lady
Let her dream, for she’s a child
Let the rain fall down upon her
She’s a free and gentle flower growing wild

Let her cry, for she’s a lady (She’s a lady)
Let her dream, for she’s a child
Let the rain fall down upon her
She’s a free and gentle flower growing wild
She’s a flower growing wild
She’s free

University Adversity

​A. W. Tozer once wrote, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.” God has a mission for your life and mine. But before we can carry out that mission, we will often go through the boot camp of adversity. If this is where you find yourself today, ask God to give you His grace to walk through this time with you. He promised He would never leave or forsake us.

Am I Ready to be Poured Out as an Offering?

I’ve  been taught that following Jesus is costly. I’ve always known this in theory because Jesus himself said this to His disciples a lot of times.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:26‭, ‬33)

I said I’ve known all of these in theory but for the longest time, I failed to realize is that these very same words from Jesus also apply to me. I always tell Jesus that there’s nothing else I want in my life but to follow Him all the way, but now that He’s asking me to give up my whole life for Him, then why am I relenting?

I’ve been praying for fruitfulness in my personal ministry for a long time now but it seems that nothing is really happening. Yes, there is fruit but not the much fruit He had promised. So I was asking, ‘God, what’s wrong with my motive and my strategy?’ Then last Saturday God answered me during our usual DIPF. God told me that if I really want to achieve a different result this time, I need to totally change my lifestyle. I can’t live my life in the same way I had it before.

As if God wants to make His point clear to me, He confirmed the direction that He wants me to take during my quiet time yesterday through this text from My Utmost for His Highest: 

The text asks me to tell God I am ready to be poured out as offering but I told God otherwise. I told God I don’t want to say it because I know that once I’ve said it, He will surely do it. He did it the last time  I told Him I am willing to take the more difficult path for the sake of my growth, and it was painful. I’m not sure how painful  it can get this time because I’m looking forward to a greater reward. I’m struggling because as much as I hate it, I know that there is no other way but to go through it. So in the end, I told God that I am not willing, but please, make me willing!

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)