Moses, Peter & Setbacks

         Lately this semester, my small group and I have been on a study through the book of Exodus and looking closely at Moses’ story and his relationship with God. We looked into how he came to be someone whom God decided to use to present His glory to the world. It was quite interesting as to the kinds of questions we've had so far.

Stirrings in My Heart - January 2014

I find that more and more, I still struggle with this whole concept of love. It’s not that I don’t know what love is, but I find it much more difficult to experience it sometimes in a physical sense. While I know that my parents and sisters would tell me that they love me, I find that I see and experience the love from my parents more easily and readily than I do the latter. Why exactly do I struggle with this? What is it with love that I have a hard time experiencing (feeling) it around me? It’s not like God is not with me, right? Then again, maybe I have forgotten to allow him to fully take over my heart. It’s been in pain before, and I feel confused about quite a few things: how can God love and accept me for being such a wreck? Why is it that I was born with Autism, and how will this be relatable with other people? It’s not easy to live through life where you’re around people who hurt you at times and often don’t forgive you. Oh, how there is such darkness in this dying world.

The Bible: Language of the Jesus Culture

Do you know what I like about studying French? I like how I am able to learn not just a language, but a set of cultures based around the language, each with its own rich history, customs and contemporary habits. I find that learning French has opened doors for me, allowing me to be more aware and appreciative of the ethnicity of other people. God has gifted me to learn French for a reason. Part of it might be because I need to be in a certain job where a knowledge in French is useful or even necessary. Studying languages like French can be rather beneficial, especially in the mission field.

In a way, you could say that the Bible is written as one of God's "special languages" that was designed for us while living on the earth. Unfortunately, this particular language is the most difficult to learn, especially when you have never lived in its culture before. Yet some pastors will tell you that reading your Bible is easy.

Why would pastors say this? Well, they do have a point; reading the Bible is easy, but understanding it is a whole different story. I think that if we are going to bring the Bible to our spiritually seeking friends, as I am learning to do through the book that I am reading, we should at least let them know that really reading it is not going to be as easy as it may seem.

A verse in the Bible that I see involving words is Psalm 119:105 (taken from the NIV): "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path." It means that the Bible, as God's word, is a key piece to living an abundant life with him, another one being prayer. It appears to be part of a prayer of joy and promise toward God which can be applied to us today. By allowing Christ to take over that abundantly promising life will be more realized, and sharing the experience with a friend will also be very rewarding, not only for you, but your friend as well.

I think that a good challenge for me would be to go out and actually apply the principles of inviting a friend into spiritual conversation, or even just continue to be a generally good friend to him or her. That way, sharing things like faith would be easier to come around. Perhaps this is a good challenge for all of us Christians. You can consider this one for yourself along with God.

Take care and may God continually bless you along the way!