Mi Corazon

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Faith working in our lives

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Today's sermon was amazing. The topic was on Faith and Works and to sum it up, it basically talks about the way we live our life as Christians. Does our work, our life and our actions exemplify what we believe in?

Taken from James 2:14-26

Genuine faith is not just a matter of what you say, feel, think and believe. Prove it! Faith is not just about talking, and as the saying goes, "talk is cheap". Does your life show what you say? As Christians, we should not need to tell others we are a Christian, but it ought to be known through our lives and action. Faith as well is more than emotions. We can be emotionally moved but yet nothing gets done. "Oh, my brother here is feeling low, I feel sorry for him" but what's important is, does anything get done? Do you go to him and give your support? If we only desire, and believe that we should be good and yet we still live ordinary self-centered lives, then we ought to be called hypocrites. The love that we speak of, do we show it? Do we set out to love the unlovables, or just love only our friends and the people that we like, are we no different than the common folk? Yet so many of us are only filled with head knowledge, but only little comes from the heart. Stated clearly right and wrong, we continue to indulge ourselves in earthly pleasures. True faith leads to commitment, submission and obedience. And lastly, faith is not determined by how much we do, but by what is demonstrated.

It pains my heart to know and see myself and fellow Christians professing their faith, yet our actions speak otherwise. Oh how our lives instead of bringing glory, has brought shame and sneers to Christianity. Where has the love gone to? Should we not put aside ourselves and stop being complacent and really start living as what we have faith in. To love others just as Christ has love us?

Yet another point is that daunted upon me a week ago was about bringing God into our daily lives.

Is it merely that we appear holy in a setting that calls for it? In church, in Christian gatherings? Do we only think good thoughts, say positive words, carry an optimistic attitude in selective places? And then after everything is over, we return to our 'normal' lives? Lives where we speak profanities make crude jokes, gossip behind people's backs and all other vices? Why is this so? Should not our lives be one? The one that God has set us apart for? Does this not scare you? that we as Christians live double lives, and yet we brazenly acknowledge it without shame and remorse. Repentance only comes to mind on Sundays, as though they were reminders as a "holy day". Do our behaviours speak worthy of our representation of Christ-likeness? Do your actions bring glory to the name of the Lord? or worse, do we as ambassadors of Christ bring shame unto what we are called for. Repent now and change your ways, that we will be written as in 1 Timothy 4:12 that we be an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Be the light to this world as your Saviour has commanded, and let not Satan taint you and poison your minds. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and praise your Father in heaven". Live a life that when the world looks at you, they will be amazed and be drawn in to the beacon, that they too might receive the hope and unfailing love that you draw upon. Wont you, dear brothers and sisters live your life in glorification to God. Just as how we were redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, that we do not leave our lives to foolishness, but in all gratefulness and reverence, honour God in our lives.

On a lighter note, here's some smiles.

Random Smiles:

haaaa, Went to Fish & Co. Express for lunch and order fish and chips. And the (reallyreallyreallyreallyreally) weird thing is that, they dun serve knives? O.o It seems their trying to cut cost or something with all their plastic wares. But hey, they give spoons and forks, but the food they serve 1) requires no spoon - they don't serve rice, coleslaw or potato [except soup] and 2) they miss out the most needed cutlery, a knife.

Oh oh and why do we need a knife?

TO CUT THE CRISPY FRIED FISH THANK YOU VERY MUCH. and yea, to kinda of cut our fish into chunks so that we can dip our nicely cut fish bits into the tartar sauce that you stingy-ly give us. Like erms do they expect us to poke our forks and lift the whole piece of fish to bite from it? Do they expect everyone to eat in a fairly uncivilized manner...?