Let God transform you.
Romans 12:2
Change only takes place when you:
(1) Decide to change.
The London Times newspaper once invited readers to answer the question,
"What's wrong with the world?" G.K. Chesterton supposedly sent the following reply:
"Dear Sir, I am." Face it, if you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week.
Discipleship - the process of becoming like Christ - begins with a decision.
Jesus calls to us, and we respond. "'Follow Me and be My disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Mathew got up and followed Him" (Matthew 9:9 ).
That's all you need to get started: a decision!
(2) Change the way you think.
"Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think"
(Romans 12:2 ).
Change starts in your mind.
The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.
So wash your mind, feed your mind, and programme your mind with God's Word.
(3) Take a small step every day.
Most of us want overnight change.
No, change comes slowly.
To be successful we must start with small things and do them every day.
St. Francis de Sales said, "Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly start remedying them - every day begin the task anew."
You say, "But I fall so far short."
We all do.
Don't be discouraged: "God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished" (Philippians 1:6 ).
http://www.thevine.co.nz
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Stay Focused
Let's keep focused... those of us who want everything God has for us.
Philippians 3:15
You become effective by being selective. It's human nature to get distracted. We're like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but not getting anywhere. Without a clear purpose you keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, etc., hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, 'This time it will be different,' but it doesn't solve your real problem - lack of focus.
The power of focusing can be seen in light. With a magnifying glass the rays of the sun can set paper on fire. But when light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel. Nothing is as potent as a focused life. The men and women who make the greatest difference in life are the most focused. For instance, the Apostle Paul said, "I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing" (Philippians 3:13 ). Paul's obsession was to make Christ known.
So if you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Turn away from even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. Poet William Matthews wrote, "One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth a hundred shallow faculties. The first law of success in this day when so many things are clamouring for attention is concentration - to bend all our energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor to the left." Does focus come easily or naturally? No, it's a discipline that must be practised every day.
Do not swerve to the right or the left.
Proverbs 4:27
Focus does three things for you: (1) It keeps you on target. We find ourselves pulled in a dozen different directions, spending much of our time and energy on things we don't really care about. Author Don Marquis put it this way: "Ours is a world where people don't know what they want, and are willing to go through hell to get it." The Bible says: "Let your eyes look straight ahead… Do not swerve to the right or the left" (Proverbs 4:25-27 ).
(2) It increases your energy. Attempting everything, like attempting nothing, will suck the life out of you. Focus gives you energy. Admiral Richard Byrd, the Polar explorer, said, "Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." One of the reasons those wells go untapped is lack of focus. The mind doesn't reach toward achievement until it has clear objectives.
(3) It lifts you. It's been said that "the world stands aside to let anyone pass, who knows where he or she is going". In a sea of mediocrity, just knowing what you want to do and making an effort to pursue it, distinguishes you from almost everybody else. Henry David Thoreau asked, "Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated?" Just by striving to become better than you are, you become elevated - even if you don't accomplish what you desire, and even if others don't step aside for you. By trusting God and aiming higher, you move to a higher level.
Acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6
When it comes to staying focused, keep in mind:
(1) Focused people always look for a better way. What got you where you are, won't necessarily get you where you need to be. A family who moved into a new neighborhood had a late start one morning. As a result their six-year-old missed her school bus. Though it would make him late for work her father agreed to take her to school if she gave him directions. After 20 minutes of going in circles they finally arrived at the school, which turned out to be only a few blocks away from where they lived. Steaming, her dad asked why she drove him all over the place when the school was so close to home. "We went the way the school bus does," she said. "That's the only way I know."
(2) Focused people concentrate a little harder and a little longer. Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron says, "What separates a superstar from the average ballplayer is that he concentrates just a little bit longer." Focused thinking is the ability to remove distractions and mental clutter so that you can concentrate with clarity.
(3) Focused people make commitments, not excuses. A sign on the desk of an officer at the Pentagon read: "The secrecy of my job does not permit me to know what I'm doing." It's a cute joke, but not so cute when it's true. When you don't know what you're doing, you become frustrated and end up failing. That's why praying and getting direction from God, is critical for your life. "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Your paths" (Proverbs 3:6).
That special gift... you were given... keep that dusted off and in use.
1 Timothy 4:14
Paul told Timothy to focus on his strengths. "That special gift… you were given… keep that dusted off and in use" (1 Timothy 4:14 ). Focused people don't hide their weaknesses or excuse them; instead they focus on their strengths! There's a story about a couple who decided to build a farm. Then they began to argue. The wife wanted to build the house first. The husband wanted to build the barn first to house the animals. They went back and forth until finally the man said, "Look, we have to build the barn first - because the barn will enable us to build the house, the garage, the silo, the childrens' swing set, and everything else!" When you focus on putting first things first, everything else is more likely to fall into place.
Anthony Campolo says, "What you commit yourself to, will change what you are and make you into a completely different person. The future conditions you, not the past. What you commit yourself to become, determines what you are - more than anything that ever happened to you yesterday. Therefore, I ask you, 'What are your commitments? Where are you going? What are you going to be?' Show me somebody who hasn't decided, and I'll show you somebody who has no identity, no personality, no direction."
Focusing on weaknesses instead of strengths is like having a handful of coins, a few made of gold, the rest of tarnished copper, and setting aside the gold coins to spend your time shining the copper ones in hopes of making them more valuable. No matter how long you spend, they'll never be worth what the gold ones are. So, stay focused on your God-given strengths!
http://www.thevine.co.nz
Philippians 3:15
You become effective by being selective. It's human nature to get distracted. We're like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but not getting anywhere. Without a clear purpose you keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, etc., hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, 'This time it will be different,' but it doesn't solve your real problem - lack of focus.
The power of focusing can be seen in light. With a magnifying glass the rays of the sun can set paper on fire. But when light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel. Nothing is as potent as a focused life. The men and women who make the greatest difference in life are the most focused. For instance, the Apostle Paul said, "I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing" (Philippians 3:13 ). Paul's obsession was to make Christ known.
So if you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Turn away from even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. Poet William Matthews wrote, "One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth a hundred shallow faculties. The first law of success in this day when so many things are clamouring for attention is concentration - to bend all our energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor to the left." Does focus come easily or naturally? No, it's a discipline that must be practised every day.
Do not swerve to the right or the left.
Proverbs 4:27
Focus does three things for you: (1) It keeps you on target. We find ourselves pulled in a dozen different directions, spending much of our time and energy on things we don't really care about. Author Don Marquis put it this way: "Ours is a world where people don't know what they want, and are willing to go through hell to get it." The Bible says: "Let your eyes look straight ahead… Do not swerve to the right or the left" (Proverbs 4:25-27 ).
(2) It increases your energy. Attempting everything, like attempting nothing, will suck the life out of you. Focus gives you energy. Admiral Richard Byrd, the Polar explorer, said, "Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." One of the reasons those wells go untapped is lack of focus. The mind doesn't reach toward achievement until it has clear objectives.
(3) It lifts you. It's been said that "the world stands aside to let anyone pass, who knows where he or she is going". In a sea of mediocrity, just knowing what you want to do and making an effort to pursue it, distinguishes you from almost everybody else. Henry David Thoreau asked, "Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated?" Just by striving to become better than you are, you become elevated - even if you don't accomplish what you desire, and even if others don't step aside for you. By trusting God and aiming higher, you move to a higher level.
Acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6
When it comes to staying focused, keep in mind:
(1) Focused people always look for a better way. What got you where you are, won't necessarily get you where you need to be. A family who moved into a new neighborhood had a late start one morning. As a result their six-year-old missed her school bus. Though it would make him late for work her father agreed to take her to school if she gave him directions. After 20 minutes of going in circles they finally arrived at the school, which turned out to be only a few blocks away from where they lived. Steaming, her dad asked why she drove him all over the place when the school was so close to home. "We went the way the school bus does," she said. "That's the only way I know."
(2) Focused people concentrate a little harder and a little longer. Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron says, "What separates a superstar from the average ballplayer is that he concentrates just a little bit longer." Focused thinking is the ability to remove distractions and mental clutter so that you can concentrate with clarity.
(3) Focused people make commitments, not excuses. A sign on the desk of an officer at the Pentagon read: "The secrecy of my job does not permit me to know what I'm doing." It's a cute joke, but not so cute when it's true. When you don't know what you're doing, you become frustrated and end up failing. That's why praying and getting direction from God, is critical for your life. "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Your paths" (Proverbs 3:6).
That special gift... you were given... keep that dusted off and in use.
1 Timothy 4:14
Paul told Timothy to focus on his strengths. "That special gift… you were given… keep that dusted off and in use" (1 Timothy 4:14 ). Focused people don't hide their weaknesses or excuse them; instead they focus on their strengths! There's a story about a couple who decided to build a farm. Then they began to argue. The wife wanted to build the house first. The husband wanted to build the barn first to house the animals. They went back and forth until finally the man said, "Look, we have to build the barn first - because the barn will enable us to build the house, the garage, the silo, the childrens' swing set, and everything else!" When you focus on putting first things first, everything else is more likely to fall into place.
Anthony Campolo says, "What you commit yourself to, will change what you are and make you into a completely different person. The future conditions you, not the past. What you commit yourself to become, determines what you are - more than anything that ever happened to you yesterday. Therefore, I ask you, 'What are your commitments? Where are you going? What are you going to be?' Show me somebody who hasn't decided, and I'll show you somebody who has no identity, no personality, no direction."
Focusing on weaknesses instead of strengths is like having a handful of coins, a few made of gold, the rest of tarnished copper, and setting aside the gold coins to spend your time shining the copper ones in hopes of making them more valuable. No matter how long you spend, they'll never be worth what the gold ones are. So, stay focused on your God-given strengths!
http://www.thevine.co.nz
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Good Bye Papa
Papa has gone to his eternal rest on 3/7/08 405pm...
He gone very peacefully, all his children were at his side when he stop breathing...
His wake was at Yong's place from 3/7/08 Thursday to 7/7/08 Monday. He is resting at Bright hill columbarium 65546....
I missed him when I am doing work that he taught me, I cannot hear his voice, I cannot hold his hand anymore.
But I am glad that I had told him all that I need to tell him, I did it in writing, he read it when he was in NUH WD 57 Bed 4....I show my gratitude and thanks him for what I am today, I told him I Love him too... And I represent my bother and sisters do the same to him...
Today is the 9 days that he has gone, I felt that his spirit is around and wtaching over us...
Bye Bye Papa...
He gone very peacefully, all his children were at his side when he stop breathing...
His wake was at Yong's place from 3/7/08 Thursday to 7/7/08 Monday. He is resting at Bright hill columbarium 65546....
I missed him when I am doing work that he taught me, I cannot hear his voice, I cannot hold his hand anymore.
But I am glad that I had told him all that I need to tell him, I did it in writing, he read it when he was in NUH WD 57 Bed 4....I show my gratitude and thanks him for what I am today, I told him I Love him too... And I represent my bother and sisters do the same to him...
Today is the 9 days that he has gone, I felt that his spirit is around and wtaching over us...
Bye Bye Papa...
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