Want

So many times in life, we live and move by our “Wants”…
I want to be happy, and so i do this…
I want to have fun, so this is the way to do it…
I want to eat so i eat, I want chocolates, so i find them…
I WANT WANT WANT…

And after awhile…we find out something weird…
Have you ever noticed that…you can WANT, but WANT’s somehow fail to satisfy?

Like…somehow, even after we get all we WANT, something is still missing?

I think the WANT way of life is way too…natural to our senses
And i’m finding that…sometimes, what i want, is possibly the worst and most harmful thing actually…

I want to only relax & play, have no responsibilities, eat what i want, drink what i want, do only what i fancy, say whatever i want to (no matter if it hurts someone), take what i want to, refuse to do whatever i don’t want to, exercise my mouth, never my brain or my body…and hmmmm…so…if i REALLY did all i wanted, would i like the person i become?

I think not…

And that’s all the motivation i need to find another, better way to live.

I’ve found that living life according to the Jesus way is hard…
the kind of Love that He exhibits is really…out of this world…
He sat with all, but had this special affection for the poor, lost, and infirm…
He walked with many, yet chose 12 ordinary men to spend most time with,
He sat in the house of sinners, and He never scoffed at them, but showed them Love

I heard Michael Ramsden say this…
Why is a gold wedding band expensive? or even Why is gold expensive?

It is ONLY because people are willing to pay a certain price to it,
people are the ones who assign value to gold or to any other thing we deem as precious.
That’s why we call gold a ‘precious metal’ otherwise it would just be a lump of metal!

Well…if that is the case…then…what do you make of this? God sent His ONLY son for us…
Look around you…look at yourself…
God has assigned a price to each & everyone of us…a PRICELESS tag…
His ONLY SON, Jesus Christ, died for us…
He has assigned us with a value beyond measure…
Was i worth it? I WANT to say NO, but God said otherwise…
And He proved it on by that sacrifice on the Cross
And how can I fight that?

So now, i have no greater WANT than this…
I WANT to be like Christ, to Love like Him & to Live like Him,
Following that example well will kill or redeem all other lesser wants…
And yes, that is something i would really WANT

Thirsty?

This 1st post of 2010 is gonna be…weird…

reason being…things have been thrown off for me since Christmas’09, i think that i’ve been off-kilter since that time…and little bits and pieces of me have been strewn everywhere since then.

It was a really mixed 30Dec, it was META Project X day, so we went out and came back celebrating! Because almost 40 ppl PRC’d! yet…in the joyousness of it all, we received solemn news of Rajan’s going home to be with the Lord…that was a total shock, and though i was able to hold it together so that we could run Finale nite, still…i have to say, it DID hit me too, since we were in rather close proximity for our GCTC days. And oh yes, the intangible was…because the news came on my birthday, it just made me think and reflect on life, and how i’ve lived it.

I think that Divine Appointments happen all the time if we open our eyes to see it, and i think that i’ve been looking out for God more these days! And yes, even such solemn news can be a divine appointment if we see it as such…and yes, i’m looking for more of God, i think i need a deeper sense of Personal Revival, and i want to walk in Active Obedience, even when it is hard. Right now, i feel like i’m in the crucible…and it is hard, yet it is also making me thirsty for more of God! and yes, that is good!! =)

Something funny hit me…i don’t think it’s very biblical, but i’d just indulge in this for abit! =P

If we are called to be Salt and Light, Salt is pretty salty and dries the mouth right? and Light, well…standing in the Light makes us sweat doesn’t it?…then doesn’t it make perfect sense that if we are SALT & LIGHT, then we’re also pretty thirsty people? People who THIRST for the living God, for the streams of Living water provided only by Him! =D Haha!

I wanna be a thirsty man, one who hungers and thirsts for Righteousness! =)

The Goal…

In my mind, since afew weeks back I’ve already made the decision not the run the marathon…cuz i’ve not trained for it, yet the whole process of it has been filled with much flip-flopping.

Well meaning people have told me, “you’re fit, you run and you play soccer, why don’t you just run and then get the shirt, and you can surely do it!” And yes, i believe that is so…i’ve done my research, even if you walk at an average pace of 5km/hr you can finish it in 8hrs…it’s not much of a problem.

I know i can finish, i did it last year despite being ill, but if the point is just to finish…then i’ve missed the point for myself. This year, the goal is not just to finish, but to improve and to maintain long term fitness, and here comes the ironic part…if i were to just push myself to finish (but i walked most of the way) I would know that i did it just for the shirt, and that’s not an achievement for me. If i were to push myself for the race, and then crash for a week to recover, i’d have just trashed my body (just a week before my IPPT, not smart…) and in the process, actually set my long term training back quite afew weeks…the sudden burst to do 42.195km, when i’ve just been hovering around 10km and clocking little time on the roads isn’t a prudent one…it may even be a destructive one

Yes, it means giving up some $$ paid, it means being abit embarassed by saying i’m not running though i signed up, it means that my pride is a little hurt. Yet…at the same time, weighing the other side, i’ve an IPPT in 2 weeks which i’ve targetted an award, i’ll still be on track for my long term fitness plan, and yes, i’ll not have to worry about recovery for the next few weeks (when i’ll be really busy with SMC, Youth Camp & META)…

So…this year, the marathon has taught me something else…sometimes, the best thing to do, is to give up a short term achievement for the long term benefit. The process of long term training is of more value than a momentary, quick win…

On the flipside, if i had put in the training, i would have enjoyed the rewards! And yes, i’ve been reminded of another truth…

“You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.” 1 Peter 4:6 (MSG)

Exercising DAILY in God, maintaining that intimacy and spiritual discipline is of great eternal rewards. I need to keep my eyes on the goal…and sometimes that means giving up things that appear good in front of me.

So simple, yet so profound.