朋友來信

禱上帝加強我的信心和智慧

前天收到信我好高興. 看郵章，信是去年12月2號寄出。這信足足走路48天才到，我感覺其重要。

菖弟，我很想念在台南一周的時間。我作的自我形象的講座，我也繼續改進以便更加幫助我們之間的溝通。

昨天我連續跑會議沒有吃午飯呼吸道似乎也染病到下午吃一包泡面覺得好難吃。一天因同事和時間的催促我進而手忙腳亂回到家感覺沮喪，自己開始懷疑我是否能勝任這份工作，不清楚我何時何方能走出現在的忙亂而且虧欠的任務越來越多。我似乎也開始了沮喪卑觀的自我對話。我今天

特別忙碌作工到晨二時，且開始流鼻涕确定是感冒了但我的責任放不下要咬牙作工且同步求信心智慧就如聖經說

5 你 們 這 因 信 蒙 　 神 能 力 保 守 的 人 、 必 能 得 著 所 豫 備 、 到 末 世 要 顯 現 的 救 恩 。

Prayer power and the power of positive thinking

Psalm 78:72 with upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skilled hand.

Sustsinable skills: eg planning, public speech

Nehemiah 1:4

Today's devotion is about Aaron standing b/w the living and the dead with incense and atonement.

Incense represents the prayer.

That reminds me of the book Power of Positive Thinking by Peele:

Altogether too many people are defeated by the everyday problems of life. They go struggling, perhaps even whining, through their days with a sense of dull resentment at what they consider the "bad breaks" life has given them. In a sense there may be such a thing as "the breaks" in this life, but there is also a spirit and method by which we can control and even determine those breaks. It is a pity that people should let themselves be defeated by the problems, cares, and difficulties of human existence, and it is also quite unnecessary.

 ... You can permit obstacles to control your mind to the point where they are uppermost and thus become the dominating factors in your thought pattern. By learning how to cast them from the mind, by refusing to become mentally subservient to them, and by channeling spiritual power through your thoughts you can rise above obstacles which ordinarily might defeat you. By methods I shall outline, obstacles are simply not permitted to destroy your happiness and well being. You need be defeated only if you are willing to be.

 

 

From Whence is that fire kindled in your heart? Certainly not some haphazard ideas !

Last night, I had hard feedback: go steady, not reacting often to haphazard impulses, as I sometimes do: be deliberate, have intentionality.

Remember AIR?
- Authenticity  Intentionality, Receptivity.

Being receptive so my inner fire can be kindled by the source that is pure and worthy, not alien and random.

Today's devotion is actually online at http://calvarychapel.com/

Is my heart burning as in Romans 12:11? And is my heart my inner man kindled to faith, grow warm to love, be set on fire for mercy?

11殷勤，不可懶惰；要心裏火熱...

Or is it today that in my meditation fire became inflamed, as in Psalm 39?

3我的心在我裏面發熱。

我默想的時候，火就燒起，

我便用舌頭說話。

4耶和華啊，求你叫我曉得我身之終！

我的壽數幾何？

叫我知道我的生命不長！

5你使我的年日窄如手掌；

我一生的年數，在你面前如同無有。

各人最穩妥的時候，真是全然虛幻。

6世人行動實係幻影。

他們忙亂，真是枉然；

積蓄財寶，不知將來有誰收取。

To the contrary, is my inner fire glow in the spectacles of the circus, in the contexts of horses, in the context of athletes?  T'is the so called "strange fire or alien fire".

Wisdom for Today

Strange Fire

Monday, January 20, 2014

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
Leviticus 10:1-2

These two men offered strange fire to God. And their service came to a sudden end as the fire of God consumed them. What was the strange fire they offered? Their fire came from a source other than fire that was kindled spontaneously by God.

It could be that they were just excited and caught up in the emotion of the moment. It is quite possible that they had disobeyed verse 9 of chapter 10 where the Lord commanded, "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die." It could be that these boys were a little tipsy and not in full control of their faculties. Or maybe they were motivated by the desire of bringing attention to themselves and to their ministry rather than bringing glory to God.

We may earn our living by doing other things, but the real call upon each of us is to serve the Lord.

The question is: What motivates you? From whence is that fire kindled in your heart?

God, help us to serve You with the true fire of Your Spirit burning in our hearts. May we know the joy, the privilege, and the blessing of being an instrument that You have used to minister to others.

Amen.

The following page touched my heart.

2 Timothy 2:22

Acts 2 fellowshipBerkeley

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteous faith love and peace along with those who call on The Lord out of a pure heart.

Do Gard Things (a book)

Acts 2:42-47

Tighter bond with those who are forgiven.

2014心意更新而晝夜思考靈魂真理

去年我再理順對內心最重要的思想基礎：

I am taken and chosen by God to be set aside for a purpose

I am blessed He loves me to the end

I am broken just like any human being

I am given to serve and love God and love serve others the way Jesus does

Now what shall I live, in the wake of this knowledge my belief of a friend who chose me, bless me, accept me the way I am broken and calls me to be part of a higher plan? 

The answer is: 心意更新而變化, to walk with God ( the way Eric Liddell walked in the plains of northern China and Olympic fields ).  Romans 12

如何心意更新而變化？

1. The change of my body 12:1 將身體獻上當作活祭

2. The change of mind 12:2 be not conformed to this world but transformed by the renewal of my mind

3. The burning of my spirit

2014 Challenges from Shuyi to Me

3 old habits she said that she observed in me:

1. Still is addicted to work

2. Still seeks appoval from others

3. Still interacts poorly negatively with my dad, just like my son interacts badly with me

The danger, she sees, is i will find emptiness after my son and daughter leaves home in about 6 years

Amazingly today's devotion is about sour relationships, and yesterday, no complaints in a bumpy ride journey across the desert.

2014 books for future taylor and tasty tracy

1. Books by Henri j. M. Nouwen

2. Don't waste your life John Piper

Compare to a year ago ...

Today is first day of 2014.

Comparing to 1/1/2013:

I feel less lonely, more grounded in His friendship and His influence His power to mould me

I feel i did a somewhat deep study of self image: the world pushes us to consider us losers unless we can prove our worth with good deeds but that is not true any more thanks to Christ who restored us  to His image.

I feel closer to my wife my daughter more ready to give me to them and to Taylor.

I like that we are enforcing parental contro on macs and the pc.

I am joyful taylor now loves swimming and even Taekwondo.

I feel more confident the 4S Spring group is following His steps and serving out of love.

I love it that, even though i do not deserve the grace, somehow Sterring assigned me the undisputed acess control, memory map and crucially the SMMU architect.