Stewardship!

Perfect: entirely without flaws, defects or shortcomings.


When it comes to my material stuffs, I always wanted it to be flawless and perfect. I cannot accept a tiny small bits of imperfection at all. If I can, I want all my MATERIAL items to be PERFECT as long as I lived.

That is a wish I may not be able to achieve in my life. Materials do not last forever.


In this few recent months, I have dropped my 2 months old phone for a total of four times. I had became paranoid when my smartphone starts to lag. Even more paranoid when my phone off by itself all of the sudden. Because of the lagging of my phone, I had stayed up till wee hours in the morning searching on the internet to find the cause of the lagging. I even asked my friend who owns the same phone as me whether he had the same problem with his phone. My mind kept thinking will my phone spoil.. will my phone spoil??? So, all of this had added to my anxiety.

With all this worries and anxiety, my friend reminded me that the materials God had given to us we should govern it with a steward's heart. All that had happened to my phone, I should not worry rather allow this to be a lesson for me. Let me learn to govern the materials God had given me with a steward's heart.

I am grateful for all the things God had given me. In return, I should be a steward to take care of the materials He had given.

However, I should also be careful on where I laid my interests in. How much time am I spending in the materials God had given and how much time am I spending for Him. Sometimes, I fall lope-sided to either one extreme without even knowing it.

So, it is best to always self-check and reflect my day I had lived through.

Materials will pass. Materials will fade. Where are you and I investing our interests at today? Are we being stewards of our materials given by God?

Psalms 23

This is one passage that has been speaking to me lately and bring another new meaning in my life.

PSALMS 23

The LORD is my Sherpherd

A Psalm of David

1 The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want 

(LORD here represent the same true GOD that we see in the early of the OT in the Bible. He is my shepherd. Shepherd is someone who watches and guides you. 'I shall not want': I have never ask God to be my guardian but He chose to)

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures

(MAKES..He chose the best for me. Green pastures: a place of comfort, a place of relaxation, a place of beauty and also a place where you learn to overcome your difficulties and troubles. Who say green pastures do not have stones or pebbles hiding in between those greenary)

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in path of righteousness for his name's sake

(He always gives new hope and joy to my soul. He never choose to forsake me when I walked the wrong path and sinned. He took the extra mile to guide me back to path that is right. Like a parent, He will always want the BEST He can give to His children. In return, we as children will bring glory to His name.)

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me

(I will not be afraid when I walked through painful and tragic moments in my life. For I know, You have lead me there and You are by my side at all times. Your presence and warmth comfort me from within)

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflow

(In ancient New Eastern culture, at a banquet it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil as a lotion. Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs. God offers protection for us when enemies are around us ~ NIV Study Bible)

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever

(All the days of my life, be it in good or bad times His goodness and mercy shall follow me forever wherever I am. I will dwell in His house; not just a physical house but His presence for as long as I live)

I saw this picture of this soldier in Iraq who had written this passage on his helmet. Imagining his life as he goes to war, his life may be the extreme of what we go through in our normal daily life. 

We go to 'war' also as we face our everyday challenges, from studies, work, family and personal struggles. Rather than just focusing on the STRUGGLES we go through everyday lets give it GOD and let Him be the pilot of our life. We may take so much energy to steer our life to the right direction but GOD just want us to surrender and allow Him to guide us. 

The WORD of the LORD had spoken and tells us to put our life in HIS hands.

Stop being a control freak and let Him be our PILOT!

Decisions, decisions…

Decisions, decisions... Finding the will of God in a complex world

Lawrence and Diana Osborn 

Another good book to read especially when you are in a situation of deciding what would you want to do in the future.

How do we find the will of God in this complex world? How our decisions affect others especially our loved ones? How do we know that is what God had called us to do? What is required of us?

After reading and digesting the perspectives of Lawrence and Diana Osborn, I find that our Lord is like a shepherd who actively looks after us in every decision we make. How do we know that? First of all, we must know Him personally through prayer and reading of His words. He is always faithful in leading and guiding His people in the Old Testaments as we read. Even in the New Testament, He continually affirmed His people to continue to walk with Him by following Jesus’ examples. God gives and respects our freedom in our decision (He does not point a gun to our head and tell us to do what He tells us to do).

We also ought to listen expectantly. Reading the Bible daily also allows God to speak to us. We do not pray and open the Bible randomly and read a verse. Then, conclude that God wants us to go into ministry. It is a process. As you read daily, God would speaks through the words and allow you to response towards it.

In every decision making, it is important to KNOW YOURSELF: your passion and your gifts. We are all gifted in different areas so that is also why we are all called to do different works in this world. Everyone is unique in their own ways. 

We must also fill ourselves with information. Being informed is more than just listening passively but it is to avail ourselves with information that can be obtained from media. I would like to highlight that “THE NEED IS NOT A CALL”. There are a lot of needs around, but there is only so much we can do. We can take the need into consideration to our decision-making. 

Personal advices from people who know you are very important as they see different ability that we often overlook ourselves. Remember to keep your people who you asked small in numbers. Advices from family, friends and spiritual leaders are valuable in our decision-making. Prayerful decision is time-consuming. Yet, in our society time is scarce. On top of it all, we must allow God to intervene and influenced our decision-making.

Decision-making is a very personal matter, not mechanical. So, we must give time to let it sink into our mind. Seeking God’s will is like giving birth to dream, IT TAKES TIME! Being silent gives space for us to listen to what God is SPEAKING to us. 

To confirm one’s decision, always remember NO SECOND BEST. Always gives God the BEST in everything that we do as an individual. I should not only look at material blessings. Instead, as I lived out the decision that was made, how I have grown as a Christian. Moreover, being at PEACE with the decision that was made is important. Peace plays a significant part in the process of seeking God’s will.

 

In our decisions, our attitudes should be a beloved child rather than an anxious servant.

One mark of a good dancer who dances to God’s will is precisely a capacity to response creatively to the music. So it is with God’s will: what God expects of us is not blind obedience but the kind of voluntary self-abondonment that creatively interprets the tune he is playing.