renewal

hey guys...

i'm not sure if i shared in my previous posting but God has been really good to me these few days? haha. basically, during the last part of 07, i was feeling incredibly dry and even during the transformers camp, i wasn't very 'touched' or anything, there was no spiritual high for me although of course, i was very encouraged by the work God was doing and the way in which He answered my prayers for the camp.

but anyway, i'm the journalling sort. i've been journally quite faithfully since maybe like when i was 19. yes, looong time ago but ya, during my dry period, i felt like it was so pointless to journal coz i had nothing much to say. u know how we usually start off with thanksgiving and all? i felt like i had nothing to say and journalling had just become a chore although it's a good way to properly pray coz i write down my prayers and it helps to have something to look back to when answered prayers come along and i need confirmation and stuff. but anyway, i decided to just stop journalling out of habit and to take things a little easier. again, since maybe about 19, i've made a point to do my qt first thing in the morning to set my focus right for the day and stuff but maybe at the start of the new year, i was lamenting to God about the state of my spiritual life and i decided to do thing differently. i will only journal when i want to and i won't do my qt out of habit. hmmm. i sound like a terrible person now but the truth is, God responded and has somehow put this new zeal and desire in my heart to spend time with Him. now, i journal at night or in the afternoons, whenever i feel like i want to and when i read the bible, it's no longer dry and boring but i'm learning new things everyday. and i can honestly say that i'm excited about what the Spirit has to reveal to me in His word daily now. i wake up in the morning and i'm happy coz i can sense His presence in my life tangibly :)

i'll share some things that He has taught me la. some of it might seem quite duh but it was so refreshing when He opened my eyes. i'm reading the book of Romans now and somehow, this phrase popped up at me, 'Spirit of holiness' (1:4) and i was so wow and then as i was pondering it, i was like, of course la, He's the HOLY Spirit what. and then i went on to consider what that means and i realised that the Holy Spirit is holiness itelf. His character is personified in His name and it dawned upon me that i cannot ask for the Spirit to fill me if i am not holy coz unholiness is antithetical to Him. i'm not saying that we can be holy on our own efforts but that we must have a spirit of humility to ask Him to reveal our sins to us, to confess and repent and to have the blood of Jesus wash us white as snow. and we can be holy by seeking to have an attitude of obedience to His word. it is ridiculous to speak of holiness without mention of an obedient and surrendered life. so yeah, the concluding point from this pop-up would be that we cannot ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit if we are clinging on to unholiness.

yes, the second thing is a very familiar passage from Romans 12:1-2
'Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.'
this was quoted to me by doreen yesterday. i can't remember the context of the situation but this morning when i woke up, i was pondering it. it's a familiar passage that i had to memorise in the past and it's a blessing to commit His word to memory la. something i hope to do more often this year :P but anyway, as i recited the passage to myself in my mind, i was struck by the word 'transformed' coz obviously, that reminds us of the recent camp and the answer to being transformed is encapsulated in the verse. to not conform any longer to the ways of the world and to have our minds renewed. the first would be pretty obvious. to be aliens and strangers in the world, to be set apart for God etc. the second part, the renewing of our minds, how does that happen? i believe that it's through the study of His word, allowing it to judge our hearts and thoughts, allowing if to be a purifying and focussing agent in our lives. the reason why i say focussing is coz i believe the bible helps us to declutter. not just like our physical lives but also our emotional lives. forgiving enemies, pressing on ahead, having our security in our identity in Christ. the word of God does so much more than the little i've mentioned.

wow. i'm learning things as i'm writing them out. God is way cool :)

anyway, my resolution for this year would be to read the bible more and to know His word better coz that's important :)