Like most of us - we do not want to see ourselves losing to others. Even when we are running in a marathon, our mind kept on telling us to be at least better than the average. If we were to see deeper in ourselves, we have yet died in self. If we have died in self, we wouldn't be having such thoughts. When running in the marathon, remember to look back to see how many people are still behind you. All the people are struggling to complete the race. Some of them starting to give up. Look back again and decide what to do next. Is it really important to run to complete the race in a certain time range you have set for yourself or is it giving up your priorities and lend a giving hands to people who needs it? The heart of giving stays in the receiver memories forever.

This is a small part from one of my dear sisters. =) Just managed to read this. It speak so much of myself, how I wanted to work so much for Christ. And being practical for myself in order to grow better and more fruitful, it's hard especially this time, when I was being refined by Christ, where everything in my life becomes more specific.

Yes, I did wanted to work more for Christ, maybe much more than my body can handle? I do not know, I just want more, like how others such as Ps Khong and Ps Kong can do in others' lives, and deeply in love with Christ. My heart, till this very day, is like I wanted to do more things, to show how much I loved Christ and I am much better than anyone in the family.
After I saw her devotions, well, I repented.
What's the point of working better and better, and comparing yourself with others, especially God makes us individually unique from each other?
Instead of making myself to compare with them, I will make them my inspirational figures in my life.

Everytime I heard of a parable about the farmers who came at different timing and have the same pays at the end of the day, I detected there's something within my spirit similar with those farmers who worked earlier to the end of the day, received the same wages of those who just came in at the very last hour.
It's actually the spirit of comparing, which we dun have to. One thing, yes we are unique. But what really makes one stand out different is how we see actually the inspirational figures in Christ made this all these things possible. Their acts are not for us to compare ourselves with them and to make ourselves to reach as a target or goal, but to give thanks together with them, because their actions had actually bring out the very desire from us to serve God, to the very best. Eventually, God just want us to enjoy the process, because that build us up.
Sometimes, how often, as time goes, we somehow had forgotton them, but still thank God as He never fail to place someone around us to help us. =)

I thank God for this opportunity to work with the family as a group, and some of them, to build the bond even better.

As Pastor was speaking and when he said,
"Ask and you shall be given.
Seek and you shall find."
It caught my attention.

And I begin to analyse the words, breaking them.
A simple explanation will be this.
You will ask from God and He will answer your prayers. So you will trust in Him more and more, and you will begin to seek Him.
There will be a deep desire within you to seek God for more and more, you will find Him slowly, through prayers and ministry.

But a sophiscated explanation will be this.
When the desperate you is seeking God and praying desperately, He answered your prayers and gave you the best answer. The desperate dun believe, so you prayed again. He showed the same thing again. After you followed the answered that He has given to you, you are enlightened by His words that He has given to you when He was answering your prayers.
A curiosity burns within your inner heart and you begin to look into the things of His. Miracles and miracles upon He done and answered through your prayers, the curiosity of a child turns to a desire to know Him more and better. You began to find Him, lots and lots more, and whenever you feels the fulfillment and satisfaction in your life, you know you have found Him. =)

Praise God. =)

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”- James 3:13

It leads me back to one day, when James ask Dad that whether is there really good life when one knows about Christ. Dad said yes.
Christians may seems to be having tough days, but it will be different if you take it in the Way of Christ. It takes one to understand what and why is he doing that, why God wants to put it that way.
The weakness that you shown to others make other feel that you are eager to helps and need helps, and that makes one stand out from others, because if one really have to make his road smooth, one will have to bend and break according to situation, and that requires the wisdom from God to do it. =)

3Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 11:3

It may make like God sounds very ego, but on the other hand, God is telling you, loves each other like Christ, like God because we all bear the blood of Christ. Equality is among us. =)

Praise God and thank God for today.