The journey of Faith
What is faith? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines faith as i) a strong belief or trust in someone or something, ii) belief in the existence of God or strong religious feelings or beliefs, iii) a system of religious beliefs.
Well, the bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hoped for and certain of what we do not see." NIV
I started this blog post with the definitions so that I would have a clear idea and direction of where I am heading to with this post. Anyway, the journey of Christian faith has not been easy. At times, I find myself doubting my beliefs and my existence here on Earth. There have been ups and downs. I would be lying if I said I got the Christian faith all figured out. But through it all, God has been very faithful and He has sent people who provided the necessary encouragement and advice that I needed.
Just a quick survey... At times, how many of you feel like you're not good enough? Or you worry that you might not succeed in life? You might not get your dream job? You might not get rich?
Yup, I thought about those things too. It made me feel worthless, like I was never good enough to survive in this world. But you know what? God loves you! He loves you not because you're good looking or smart or rich... He loves you for who you are! This life that you have is a gift from God! Our time on Earth is limited. We have to choose wisely if we wanna live a wasted life or a productive life.
Here, enjoy this song titled Who am I by Casting crowns! You're not alone in this world, you're very much loved!
My youth leader, Sherwin chose a book by John Piper as our bible study material. John Piper said "It was not always plain to me that pursuing God's glory would be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these paths are two and not one."
The question for this activity stated... In your mind, is pursuing God's glory "virtually the same" as pursuing your joy? How do you conceive of these pursuits?
If you asked me this question a few years ago, I would say that they were two different paths altogether. However, after seeking God and trying (I use trying because I am not perfect at it yet) to put God in the centre of things, I realised that they were actually the same path! The more time we spend seeking Him, He starts re-aligning our priorities and pursuits of joy to fit His! [I think I gave an example in this blog post...] I witnessed how He has used me to touch the lives of people and I experience great joy even in the simple things like for example, understanding why God made me go through a period of doubt, feeling so lousy about myself... It was so that I could empathise with them, help and provide the necessary encouragement that they need to overcome this moment.
Other people may think I am crazy in rejoicing over trivial matters... but it really brings me great joy!!!
Another youth leader, Dorothy shared what Actor/Comedian Jim Carey said "I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know it's not the answer." I mean so what if you're rich, you'll probably not satisfied and you'll keep wanting more. If we assume that pursuing God's glory and pursuing your own joy were 2 separate paths, we'll spend our time pursuing what we think would bring us joy neglecting God's glory.
We have to remember that our lives on Earth is only a fraction of eternity. And that God has everything planned out for us. All we gotta do is to decide if we wanna live life God's way, knowing that we are not alone and we can depend on someone greater for guidance and strength. Or our way, that has no instruction manual or "after care service guarantee"?
I can't conclude this blog post yet as my journey of faith is still ongoing. If there is one thing that is beneficial to this journey, it would be to Trust & Obey. Yes, it is counted as one thing because we need to do them both.
I'll like to end of with a hymn titled Trust & Obey!
God's love & blessings~
Xoxo
Marissa
Well, the bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hoped for and certain of what we do not see." NIV
I started this blog post with the definitions so that I would have a clear idea and direction of where I am heading to with this post. Anyway, the journey of Christian faith has not been easy. At times, I find myself doubting my beliefs and my existence here on Earth. There have been ups and downs. I would be lying if I said I got the Christian faith all figured out. But through it all, God has been very faithful and He has sent people who provided the necessary encouragement and advice that I needed.
Just a quick survey... At times, how many of you feel like you're not good enough? Or you worry that you might not succeed in life? You might not get your dream job? You might not get rich?
Yup, I thought about those things too. It made me feel worthless, like I was never good enough to survive in this world. But you know what? God loves you! He loves you not because you're good looking or smart or rich... He loves you for who you are! This life that you have is a gift from God! Our time on Earth is limited. We have to choose wisely if we wanna live a wasted life or a productive life.
Here, enjoy this song titled Who am I by Casting crowns! You're not alone in this world, you're very much loved!
My youth leader, Sherwin chose a book by John Piper as our bible study material. John Piper said "It was not always plain to me that pursuing God's glory would be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these paths are two and not one."
The question for this activity stated... In your mind, is pursuing God's glory "virtually the same" as pursuing your joy? How do you conceive of these pursuits?
If you asked me this question a few years ago, I would say that they were two different paths altogether. However, after seeking God and trying (I use trying because I am not perfect at it yet) to put God in the centre of things, I realised that they were actually the same path! The more time we spend seeking Him, He starts re-aligning our priorities and pursuits of joy to fit His! [I think I gave an example in this blog post...] I witnessed how He has used me to touch the lives of people and I experience great joy even in the simple things like for example, understanding why God made me go through a period of doubt, feeling so lousy about myself... It was so that I could empathise with them, help and provide the necessary encouragement that they need to overcome this moment.
Other people may think I am crazy in rejoicing over trivial matters... but it really brings me great joy!!!
Another youth leader, Dorothy shared what Actor/Comedian Jim Carey said "I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know it's not the answer." I mean so what if you're rich, you'll probably not satisfied and you'll keep wanting more. If we assume that pursuing God's glory and pursuing your own joy were 2 separate paths, we'll spend our time pursuing what we think would bring us joy neglecting God's glory.
We have to remember that our lives on Earth is only a fraction of eternity. And that God has everything planned out for us. All we gotta do is to decide if we wanna live life God's way, knowing that we are not alone and we can depend on someone greater for guidance and strength. Or our way, that has no instruction manual or "after care service guarantee"?
I can't conclude this blog post yet as my journey of faith is still ongoing. If there is one thing that is beneficial to this journey, it would be to Trust & Obey. Yes, it is counted as one thing because we need to do them both.
I'll like to end of with a hymn titled Trust & Obey!
God's love & blessings~
Xoxo
Marissa
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