My Christian Life

Hello Blog!

Many of you are aware that I have been ‘absent’ for the past few months. Apologies for not updating my blog. I have to admit that I have not been reading the bible as frequently as I used to do. I have not lost my faith in the Lord but my time was pretty occupied doing random bits.

Think I just got carried away focusing on my career. It was all about me. Even on the bus , I spent most of the time thinking about how I can succeed in the future. Maybe I have become one of those career-driven-crazy-woman.

Ok I have an intresting story to blog today. First of all I do not know much about how the holy spirit works. I live quite far away from my workplace and have to catch the annoying bus to work. Now this girl (lets call her Wanda) also catches the first early bus to uni. We usually acknowledge each other but we don’t speak. I like to ‘relax’ at the back of the bus, while she reads ’something’ and sits towards the front of the bus.

A few months ago , I was having some issues with my faith (mainly to do with the spiritual attack from a non-believer) , my life and being lonely. The bus was ‘packed’ and my ‘relaxing’ space was not vacant. I sat next to Wanda and for the first time I had a conversation with her. The first question she asked me “Are you a Christian?”. My heart sank and I was trilled to hear that she was a Christian. I realized that the book that she was reading is the Bible. Hehe I also showed her my bible installed in my phone. We had a good conversation , although sometimes I couldn’t hear her (due to those noisy students in the bus). She gave me a lot of encouragement , to continue believing in the Word of God and not to stray away from my faith.

Before last week, I met Wanda in the bus. This time I did not recognize her (because she changed her hairstyle). I recognize her towards the end of my bus journey and we spoke for a while. We chatted about a lot of things – previous work , people and faith. What a coincidence!. Wanda and I used to work at the same place few years ago. She spoke about how she encouraged one of my workmates (lets call her Mini) to read the bible and grow stronger in her faith. I believed her because last year I bumped into Mini and she was very passionate about her new faith. I informed her about my friend’s mum(lets call her D) who is ill. D and her mum used to work at the same place. Wanda was quite concerned and told me that she will call my friend immediately.

This week I received a phone call from Wanda. Unfortunately I was working and did not answer the call. After work I called Wanda and got the bad news that D’s mum died this week. I was extremelly upset and shocked. I knew that D’s mum was ill for the past 2 years but never realized that the illness was serious. Immediately I called D and we met that night.

I have stopped believing in ‘coincidences’. The events that happened in my life can’t be a conicidence. Now this is the second time that Wanda has been in my life when I feel vulnerable and I simply can’t explain how I feel.

March 21st, 2009 | Tags: the lord prompted me to read the bible | Category: Holy Spirit, wedding | Comments (1)

Last thursday I felt anxious and worried about my fiance. It was nearing the end of his ‘dreadful placement’ and he was a bit worried that he will ‘fail’ his placement. As usual I assured him and encouraged him to pray and have faith in the Lord. I also told him that we can’t deal with this problem and we have to leave it to the Lord. Later I sent a text to all of my friends from my former cell group, urging them to pray for my fiance. Guess what!!!!.. our prayers were answered and my fiance passed his placement!!!!!

Following the conversation , I met with my close friend who was feeling rather angry and upset with some issues that is troubling her. A day earlier, she spoke to me and asked for my advice on a particular problem. I urged her not to react and stay calm. I am so glad that she ‘cooled down’ and did not do anything drastic. Last year ,I was upset with some issues concerning my life. It made me bitter and I ‘reacted’. In those times , I prayed but my prayer was pointless because I was burning with anger’. Thank the Lord , that I have learned my lesson from the past mistakes and have moved on.

Prayer works and if we remain faithful and trust the Lord , we will not ‘panic’ in any situations.

December 14th, 2008 | Category: Prayer | Comments (1)

This week , Sky Real lives aired a controversial documentary on suicide tourists. The documentary follows the last moments of an American who suffers from motor neurone disease. I refused to watch this documentary because i felt that it was ‘taking away the dead person’s dignity’. Besides I felt very sorry for the deceased person and for his family. It must have been a brave decision to appear on TV and to go to Dignitas in Switzerland to end your life.

In Britain , euthanasia is illegal and according to the BBC website , Dignitas has helped around 100 ’suicide tourists’ to end their life. A minority of the ’suicide tourists’ do not have any ‘degenerative diseases’.

There were many many questions were racing through my mind when I first heard about this documentary.

1. Is it morally acceptable to end your life if you are suffering from incurable degenerative disease?
2. Are we allowed to play God?
3. What are the Christian views on Euthanasia?

Life is precious and life on Earth is temporary. I pray and hope that these individuals will find ways to live rather than to end their lives in suicide clinics. God has given us a precious gift and we should sustain it. If any one is suffering , then we should help and pray for their healing and wellbeing. The Almighty God knows each of his sheep by name and each of us have a purpose in life.

December 13th, 2008 | Tags: death, euthanasia | Category: Moral Issues, News, Obituary | Leave a comment

It is barely less than two weeks before Christmas. Work has been a bit stressful. I can’t wait to finish work and have a good holiday. I will be attending Christmas Mass this year for the very first time. For the past few years I have not celebrated Christmas in a ‘good manner’. Christmas has always been a time where I watch TV, spend some quality time with the family and unwrap Christmas presents. I have never included Jesus Christ in the equation. Hopefully this year I will spend more time reflecting on the Works of Christ and His Mission on Earth.

I am overjoyed when individuals read out their baptism testimonial. Yet I am saddened by some individuals who ‘deny the existence of Christ’ or choose not to follow Christ. We have to pray that those sheeps that have gone astray will find their way back to the Master.

I have been feeling quite bitter recently. Feel totaly powerless to defend my own faith. My faith means a lot to me and perhaps one day I would like to share my faith with non-believers.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for your help in my fiance’s life. I pray that you will show the way for the fallen sheeps. I pray that they will read the Bible and answer questions .I pray for those who face prosecution and injustice , that You will give them comfort .

In Jesus Name , Amen

December 12th, 2008 | Category: Christmas, spiritual attack | Leave a comment

It took me more than one and half years to understand God’s Grace. I assumed that the main criteria to enter Heaven was to perform good deeds ,unfortunatelly I was extremelly wrong. Currently I am reading Philip Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace?. In this book , Yancey gives examples on the power and common misconceptions of grace.

Grace is Amazing. We do not earn or bribe God to receive Grace. God does not rank any of his children or  gives special treatment. Christians are not perfect and yup occasionally we end up doing some bad things. God acknowledges it and sometimes he gives us grace. it is free of charge , a gift from God.

I am back now in Coventry (just dropped to say hi to my lovely Church and friends). I had an awesome Christimas dinner with the cell group. It is so lovely to meet everyone.

December 7th, 2008 | Tags: Grace | Category: Books, Coventry, Grace | Comments (1)

As the current economic crisis worsens, we should pray and seek guidance from the Lord. The Bible has numerous verses that can be applied in this moment of time. It gives us guidance on how we should manage our wealth and help others in this situation. The words in the Bible are powerful and will give you strength, comfort and confidence during this turbulent time.

1. The Lord will bless you with Wealth (Proverbs 10:22 and 2 Kings).

Money is good. We need money to provide basic needs in our life. If our main purpose in life is to be ‘imitators of Christ’ and have a relationship with our Heavenly Father, then surely the Lord will bless us if we require some financial assistance. It is mentioned in the Bible, if we ‘ask, seek and knock’, the Lord will listen and answer our prayers. If you are facing financial difficulties, I urge you to pray and have faith in the Lord as He will show you the way. This is also the time where our faith will be put to test. As Christians we will face many trials and tribulations (see James 1:2 – 4). Through perseverance our faith develops and grows stronger.

2. The Lord provides the wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18 and 1 Samuel 2:7-
These verses reminds us that the Lord is our creator and He gives us the ability to produce wealth. We should spend our money wisely and the Bible encourages us to help the needy. In this current economic situation, there are increased number of people being made redundant, losing their homes by repossession and sometimes losing loved ones. Take this time to help others who are facing hard times.

The Lord is our creator (Genesis 1) and He has the ability to remove our wealth (1 Samuel 2:7).

3. Store up your treasures in Heaven – (Matthew 6:19 – 24) Our main purpose in life is to have a relationship with God, however if our main purpose in life is to get rich, then we may get distracted and lose faith. In this passage, Christ is encouraging us to ‘build up the treasures in heaven’ and not to worship idols such as money. We could store up our treasures in heaven by simply choosing to follow Christ and recognize that He died at the Cross for our sins.

4. Even if we have wealth, we want MORE – (Ecclesiastes 5:10 – 11)
We live in the materialistic world, where we are never satisfied with our wealth. We crave for new gadgets, clothes and become obsessed with spending money. This verse could be applied to the current world where we crave for more expensive items and wealth. We should remember those who can’t afford to buy simple necessities such as a loaf of bread and remember those who face starvation on a daily basis.

5. Money is the root of all evil – (1 Timothy 6:6 – 10)
Here Timothy urges us not to fall into the trap of loving money. In any circumstances do not be tempted by the devil.

Everyday we hear news on how individuals break the law for money. These crimes include murder, rape, torture, robbery, prostitution and bribery. Nations become corrupt due to money and her children suffer as a consequence of loving money. Money leads to evil temptations such as plotting evil deeds. Brothers and Sisters do not fall into this trap that the devil has planted.

6. Free yourselves from Love of Money – (Hebrews 13:5)
In the concluding passages in Hebrews, Paul urges us to keep our lives free from the love of money.

As Christians we should spend wisely with our money and be ethical.

November 30th, 2008 | Tags: Economic crisis, Finance, money | Category: 1 Samuel, 1 Timothy, Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Economic crisis, Hebrews, Matthew | Leave a comment

Here I am , alone in my room. The internet is the only place I could read more about Christianity and read the bible. My life has become restricted since that I can’t openly talk about my faith. It is really frustrating and sometimes I feel as if I am slipping away from my faith.

I miss my past life in Coventry and my Church. All those good memories are cherished and not forgotten. I kept running away from Coventry , thinking it is the most horrible place to live in England , yet there I discovered Christ , met my fiance and met many lovely Christians.

For the past few months , I have not been attending Church. Life is not great without attending Church. In life , you need spiritual guidance and support. Coventry Cathedral was like my second home. Everyone was extremely kind , understanding and supportive.

For the past few weeks, I have stumbled upon verses related to praising the lord and singing. It can’t simply be a coincidence. I believe the Lord wants me to go back to Church , however I have to keep on praying to find a solution.

November 23rd, 2008 | Category: Church Services, Coventry, Stress | Comments (1)

This week I attended my graduation ceremony. It was a wonderful occasion and it was nice to catch up with my university friends. Apart from my graduation , nothing exciting has taken place recently.

My life has become dull after university and have lost my bearings and there is no direction. I am ever increasingly becoming frightened of not developing my career and worried that I will be stuck in the same dull job for the rest of my life.

I feel hindered and discouraged to learn new skills. With the current economic situation , it is becoming more difficult to take risks or make any changes.

Guess I just have to allow the Lord to come in to my life and deal with my worries.

November 23rd, 2008 | Category: University | Leave a comment

How many times have you used the atlas or the Internet to find unknown locations mentioned in the Bible? Well hopefully with the help of Biblemap.org , you could easily identify the key locations in the bible.

Recently I came across this amazing website , Biblemap.org . It is like an interactive Bible Atlas and uses Google Map to map key locations. Users are able to select ESV or KJV version . Most of the locations from the bible are mapped with relative/actual known positions.

The Map browser is user friendly and allows users to pan , zoom and click on points. Unfortunately some locations are not identified in this website and the user receives pop up error message.

The only thing missing from this map browser is a gazetter or a search engine.

November 16th, 2008 | Category: Website | Leave a comment