Faith in Action - Grow No Faster Than Grace Allows

Had a very meaningful talk with Sharon today. :) And we were talking about HopeTots versus House of Prayer. About which one I want to commit to more. I'm thinking that God has called me to serve in HopeTots, yet I also really see the value of House of Prayer... especially intercessory.

And met with Peter today :) Reminded of the difference btwn reflecting, contemplating and dwelling.

Think often I do walk a thin line between reflecting (nourishing) and dwelling (dangerous). And after sorting through all my thoughts so far, hmm, think I'm going through a cycle again. But thank God for His grace, I'm going through the cycle a bit cleaner. Oops. I sound like I'm stuck in a washing machine. :P Haha! But why not - it's good to go for a nice clean bath once in a while. XD

Like, last time, back in the NUS ministry, when I was in my down times and sulky moods, I was like a black hole, sucking everything into utter oblivion. Now, I'm just the Milky Way. (sorry, think only astronauts/cosmonauts/taikonauts/peanuts will get the joke. :P)

The Milky Way? Hee, sounds nice - lots of bright stars... and a massive galactic core that sucks in everything into utter oblivion. :P

I hope to grow to become like a Chupa-Chup sweet next time round - I may still suck, but at least I'll be a sweeter sucker. XD

Hee. You know, I think I'm really not tt much of a naturally reflective person. More often than not I prefer to let things go easy, and like it when things go nice and easy. Challenges for me? Haha, let the other fellow have all the fun! :P

But thank God He loves me too much to leave me stuck in my Comfort-Able Zone. So Peter's been pushing me to make decisions and multi-task when under stress.



Oh yes. Something else that Peter told me. That I can't go on dwelling in tiredness. It also causes people to lose respect for me. How would they feel if they saw me wallowing in my tiredness? And how could I lead them then?

And I recalled a 'small' incident of last time, which turned out to have an effect on the person I was taking care of at that time.

I think i've been thinking all along that we should be transparent... yes, but the more important thing is not only being ourselves, but also we can be open with the fact that we're tired... but we MUSTN'T dwell and be self-absorbed in our tiredness.

CS Lewis, in his book, The Great Divorce, describes hell as a place where people are so caught up in their own self-absorbedness, pride and other sins, that even though their houses are at huge distances from one another, they keep building their houses farther and father apart.

And that's where the REAL pain of hell is - worse than a burning fire - is the utter loss of community, relationships and everything else dear to the heart.

Dwell in hell. Rings a bell.


Hmm. I still need to fight against my natural tendency to dwell.

*******
Why the title, "Grow No Faster than Grace Allows"?

Bcos there are times when we feel depressed because we don't grow fast enough to meet our own expectations. And worse still if we try to grow by our own strength. It's like sitting in a taxi, and Jesus is the Driver. You keep anxiously telling the Driver to go "faster! faster!". But the Driver calmly drives on since He really knows the Way. :)

But of course, there is the other side of the equation. What about OUR part?

I was reading the Bible passage that Pastor Jeff covered today: James 2:14-17. Sense that he was very, very burdened to see us grow, especially the Adults, in living a REAL-world faith. We've been talking enough - now let's start walking - I think that's the message of the sermon.

Initially, I thought the passage was about meeting the physical needs of others, when I took a closer look, and realised that the Bible was talking about MUCH more than just meeting the physical needs of others. Then Ps Jeff's sermon became much clearer to me.

Copy-paste here:
"14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

That struck me. James was simply using the example about meeting physical needs as an illustration of bigger things.

So where does action and faith go hand in hand?

I think it simply means that as I seek to grow as a person... I must have faith that God WILL transform me into a new person.
But how do I express that faith? By walking out in faith and doing the very things that the new Yeu Ann will do. Becoming the new person even as I start acting upon the faith that God will make me into a new person. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation - the old has gone; the new has come!"

Yet if I try to do it on my own, with my own strength and effort, I will utterly fail.

Whoa. I think... I can't understand it fully. It's like how Peter walked on water towards Jesus.
You can try and try in your own strength till the cows swim home, but you'll never walk on water for more than a second.

But if Jesus says to you and me, "Come," you'll do what all surfers have longed to do since the beginning of time. :)

I can't fully understand the transforming power of God. And why He can work so fast, and why He chooses to work so slowly sometimes.
He changed some part of me instantaneously when I became a new Christian, yet in other areas He chose to let me fight and struggle on, crawling and plodding through the mud.


Robert was telling me how he was sharing his testimony with a non-believer last night, over a pint of beer. (Because the non-believer had asked Robert out of curiousity how did Robert come to know Christ.) Robert was joking about how powerful his testimony was... he must have been getting drunk by then. LOL!


Oh dear God! I don't understand so many things. In fact, it seems the more I walk with You, the more I know how little I really know! But please teach me anyway and help me pass Your tests for me. =)