Miles Militis
God is first our sole/soul desire,
Fighting on with Holy fire,
In our hearts we move as ONE,
To lead the lost to the Son.
Misunderstanding of Love
http://sarahljay.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/misunderstanding-of-love/
I was browsing facebook and looking at one person’s profile leads to another person’s profile etc. I came across a “friend” who has just gotten out of a pretty long/serious relationship in the end of 2009. A relationship that claims that they loved each other. Three months later, this “friend” is now with another person and everything is all lovey dovey, I love you, I’m-so-glad-i-found-you stuff. I just don’t understand how a person could “fall into love” and then “out of love” and then back “into love” in such a short time period. Doesn’t love take time to grow? Isn’t love a process? And how can you truly know someone in such a short amount of time? Can you really learn every single little quirk about a person in three months? What about the other person’s flaws, can you learn to love that in three months? Ultimately, how can you truly love if you don’t know Jesus? There’s the worldly definition of love, and the truth. I feel like the term “love” is thrown around so loosely in our society that it’s become another word for “really like.” I know that there is a difference between being in love and to love. We love all the time, everyday. I think we show love everyday through our actions. But to be in love, I think that is a long long process and should be forever. I thought I was once in love, but then lately I’ve second guessed that. Perhaps life just happened (ref. 500 Days of Summer) and that’s how we fell out of love. But shouldn’t being in love be forever? Obviously that thing I called “being in love” did not last forever. Did I know the true meaning of love back then? The only way we can truly love is to know that Jesus first loved us. His love is unfathomable to us, we could only try to emulate this love towards others and back to Him. His sacrificial love for us, His grace that we don’t deserve, His mercies that we receive everyday, the everlasting love that He gives us, His providence all around us…. Perhaps, when I feel this way towards someone, then I am truly in love. And in order to do that, I think it takes lots of time and getting to know the person inside and out, experiencing Jesus’ love in each of their lives together and separately, knowing that the other is also trying to love how Jesus first loved us. Love is complicated, yet so simple.
Today, I woke up feeling excited and ready for morning prayer! Usually, I’m so tired and get there by 7:30, but today, I finally got there somewhat on time, at 7:05, and sung and danced a little before anyone got there, and began reading my devotionals.
Going through the “Living Life” devotional booklet has been awesome, was SUPER encouraged by today’s story thing, The Results of Death and Martyrdom, talking about how pastors and missionaries were killed for the sake of the gospel. While reading and being pumped up through this, I get a text, a dreadful text, of dreadful news.
We have been anticipating the bad news for more than a month now and it finally happened. “chloe passed last night sorry for the bad news.” Just like that all my encouragement and excitement about the good news was pushed out and replaced by the feeling of guilt and grief from chloe.
When I first heard had Chloe stopped eating, I exclaimed, “Praise the Lord! He’s going to be skinny again!” and I’m so sorry Chloe for saying that, I know you loved your food and it must have been painful to eat and to not eat! Though we knew for more than a month now that Chloe had liver problems (from birth) and the doctors even recommended us to put him to sleep, I had faith and hope that God would heal my kitty and it would be a testimony of His power to my family. This misfortune has even made my brother pray for Chloe. (=]) What hurt me the most was the pain in his face and the thought of him being alone, dying from pain. I felt guilty because I couldn’t be there when it happened.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24, the memory verse for this week, referring to the necessity of Jesus’ death was comforting me. Even though Chloe’s death was not for the sake of the gospel or anything remotely close to bring a good cause, his life and this difficult process of taking care of him has taught our family: patience (he peed everywhere around the house), compassion (my parents and us would always find and pet him, sweet talk him, and encourage him to fight on), the non-importance of material things (he peed on a lot of our towels, blankets, probably will throw most of it away) and probably the biggest thing that encompasses all this, love.
My parents would try to comfort us and Chloe, “Chloe, hurry and die, that way you can come back and be a human,” and bogus stuff like that, which always ticked me off. [haha] But, knowing that God created a cutie like Chloe, He wouldn’t make him suffer in hell because animals don’t have souls or the cognitive ability to understand the good news and make that decision to believe in Jesus (I think, correct me if I’m wrong please). Chloe lived a wonderful life, in my opinion, he was my role model-in a way, he ate so much but still remained so cute! :)
This is an extremely long post and I have so much to do today, but I didn’t just want to post on twitter or something, “RIP, Chloe,” because this cat, deserves more!!! So whether or not you read this, this is in remembrance of my first kitty, who only lived 3 human years, endured a life with a girl’s name (sorry!), and ultimately dug a place in my heart!
I LOVE YOU CHLOE!!!!!! <3
ps. On ring road today, 2 frat guys approached me and asked to donate money for liver cancer, I only had some change, but I gave in remembrance of YOU Chloe, so they would have funds to research liver problems and hopefully save other people or kitties who had the same liver probs as you, bud!!! :)
Kim walker on worship leading. THANKS HOLLY!
Fire Iron Frenzy- Dandelions
(3rd verse)
Fathomless your endless mercy, weight I could not lift. Where do I fit in this puzzle, what good are these gifts? Not a martyr, or a saint, scarcely can I struggle through. All that I have ever wanted, was to give my best to you. Lord, search my heart, create in me something clean. Dandelions you see flowers in these weeds. Gently lifting hands to heaven, softened by the sweetest hush, a Father sings over his children, loving them so very much. More than words could warrant, deeper than the darkest blue, more than sacrifice could merit, Lord, I give my heart to you.
Lord, I thank you that though I am just dirty, itchy, annoying weeds, You see flowers in me.
Lord, use me.
As my last quarter is approaching here at UCI, the first thought/prayer flows through my mind is, “Lord, strip away my insecurities and imperfections, and USE me!! Give me boldness, a heart for the campus, a heart to do Your will and NOT mine” I was sent here for a purpose and now my time is almost up, I feel like I want/need to do it big. Lord, USE ME.
It is so scary for me to think of moving on; life after college. Usually I love change and love new/different things, I find it refreshing. But leaving this life I’ve been living in Irvine for the past 4 years, is surreal and frightening. But God, grant me Your wisdom and Your peace that whatever happens, wherever I go, You are leading me and using me for Your purpose.
“Clear eyes, full hearts. Can’t lose.”
I’ve been watching Friday Night Lights lately and I can’t help but see so much Christian imagery through out the show. During practices and games, the Panthers always say, “Clear eyes, full hearts. Can’t lose.” The more I repeat this line, the more it means to me and the more I want to live by it.
When we have “clear eyes,” or when our focus is solely on God and when our hearts or full of Him, we cannot lose.
To put it plainly, we are at war. Every day, every person we come in contact with, these are our battlefields. But the war was won when God was God. In His sovereignty, He orchestrated not just a victorious plan, but He orchestrated victory from the beginning. Just so as long as we have our heart’s eyes focused on God and have our hearts filled with Him, we cannot lose because we have already been won.
Brothers and sisters, I am guilty of having my vision obscured and my heart filled with the things that are not of God. And when I reflect back on those times, my heart feels heavy. But in some mind boggling way, God tells me that I am victorious. That I cannot lose. Christ made sure of that.
Surely this does not mean that we can live our lives blindly and with our hearts filled with the things of this world. It is time that we live like saints who have been won by Christ, with our vision clear and our hearts full.
“Change your conduct, or change your name.”
During the Miles Miltis Christmas party, Dave shared something really cool from 2 Corinthians 3:2-4. Paul writes to the church of Corinth that they are letters of recommendation of God! This reminded me of a sermon illustration I heard a few months ago about Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great, who had one of the largest empires in ancient history, was sitting on his throne when one of his guards brought in a young soldier. The boy was brought before Alexander because he had deserted his post. When Alexander first saw him, he was taken by the boy because he had the same colored hair and same eyes as he did. Their conversation went like this:
Alexander: What is your name?
Boy: Alexander.
Alexander: WHAT is your name?
Boy: Alexander.
Alexander: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
Boy: Alexander.
And then Alexander the Great replied, “Change your conduct, or change your name.”
The young boy, having the same name as Alexander the Great, was asked what his name was multiple times. Alexander the Great replied to him to live up to that name because his name was great. In the same sense, we are letters of recommendation written by God. When we don’t live up to the name and calling we have been given, maybe it’s time to start reflecting on the importance of what it means to be called a Christian—we are His workmanship and His example in this world. We are his letters of recommendation.
Let’s be the salt and the light in this world and give God the praise and glory by being imitators of Him.
when i say i am a christian…
I’m not shouting I’m clean livin’. I’m whispering I was lost, now I’m found. When I say I am a Christian, I don’t speak of this with pride. I’m confessing that I stumble & need Christ to be my guide. When I say I am a Christian, I’m not trying to be strong. I’m professing that I’m weak & need His strength to carry on. When I say I am a Christian, I’m not bragging of success. I’m admitting I have failed & need God to clean my mess. When I say I am a Christian, I’m not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it. When I say I am a Christian, I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches so I call upon His name. When I say I am a Christian, I am not holier than thou, I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s good grace, somehow.
- Maya Anelou
daily encouragement from our leader….
“the truth is the truth, 1 plus 1 = 2, no matter how you feel, it’s not going to change.”
Wise words from our wise leader, Allan Buntoengsuk, referring to our faith and the truth of Jesus Christ. No matter what season we are trucking through, especially those dry and windy seasons, God is the truth, no matter how we feel. Let’s not base our faith on emotions but on the TRUTH.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
…and that my friends, is the TRUTH.
here is our love,
here is our God who’s come
to bring us back to him.
He is the One.
He is Jesus. ” -
David Crowder Band He came to us and simply did all he could. That is love.
Go to people and simply do all you can for them.
(via rebeccachai)
