God Takes a Risk to Bless Us - Deut. 8

God's love is incomprehendable. Blessing us yet risking that we will be too focus on the blessing than the blessor. Several times in a roll, God has repeatedly remind us not to forget to obey His law and He is Lord. Cannan is a land of abundant provision and blessing, after years of wandering, the Promise Land is heaven. God wants to give all that He could for our enjoyment. The shortcoming of human nature, makes it an opportunity to turn away from the creator and the provider of such enjoyment. (to be continued...)

Putting Other's Needs First

It hurts to see they are suffering.

日出之友

最近去了一個婚禮，碰到很多多年沒有見的朋友。勾起了不少回憶。人大了，對於昔日總是有很多懷緬、感觸。看到不少成熟的面孔，當日不知天高地厚的小子轉眼成了父親。昨日滿有情懷的也成了母親和少婦。在歲月的消磨下，當年一班在事奉中出生入死的好朋友，今天都在現實與際遇下失了色。看到摰友一個一個帶著不少傷痕過日子，婚姻似乎沒有帶給他們近似當年的氣息，似乎也還未帶來醫治。

日出之友，好像沒有那一個能得到真正的幸福和滿足。內心總是流露出幾分蒼涼，隱若的疤痕在淡淡的談話中呈現。只有小數在健全的教會生活中慢慢痊癒，在真正愛主、跟隨主的群體生活中重新建立信任與互愛。

幾日前聽到弟兄的分享，心裡真的很感動。一位主內的好弟兄、好朋友在教會生活中傷痕纍纍，走過不少崎嶇路，經過不少屬靈生命的低谷，他在眾人前分享主與他走過的窄路，帶給他的每一個應許。死陰幽谷之後確是有出路、有希望，讓他今天更珍惜教會肢體生活，更重視領袖的牧養。我很為他的勇氣、信心感謝主！願昔日「日出之友」找到一個家。

Lecture VI-A Rule of Life: Cultivating Rhythms for Spiritual Transformation (Ruth Haley Barton)

Sometimes we need to be unplugged.

I’ve learned a new term in this lecture, however it is not something new to my personal experience, CHRISTIAN FATIGUE SYNDROME. It is described as jar of water got shaken up... too many bubbles, it is unclear, it needs to be settled for clear vision. It takes a still soul to unfolding our spirituality.

Sitting down with God, with no agenda, no scripture to read, no prayer to pray, just sit still, face just what is about me at that moment with the presence of God. Hear my heart whispering my desire, the deepest desire... longing for love, happen at the unlikely place, beneath the busyness and noise. At times, this finding is not pleasant at all, and it can be quite annoying and uncomfortable to realize my longing.

Rhythms - setting up rhythms in our lives orient ourselves to the transforming of God.

Rhythms of solitude and silent: settlement of our life.
Self-awareness: seeing ourselves of who we are. (Isaiah, Paul & David)
Spiritual Journey of who we are and who God is.
Invitation to settle, water become water.
Rhythms of spiritual discipline
Normal to experience some resistance, it is time that when God is at work.
Effective Spiritual Practices
Personal – no two individual are the same. There are different practices for different sins we cope with.
Ruthlessly realistic – people with kids to take care, need to set-up realistic practice
Balance – pick those that stretch you.
Flexibility – God doesn’t need our rule of life to find us, we need it. God can still do HIS work in us, be flexibility, open to God presence.