I'm Beginning To See The Light
Hrmm... interesting... on the tag board 2 girls say I've got to read Joshua Harris books... one is my sis... the other, another friend... I've just checked it up on Google... and from what I've seen, I think I can already guess what the books are about... Even though I've never heard about a Joshua Harris before... but do correct me if I'm wrong... it kinda stunned me for a moment... from the captions and all... Then I realised I was veering off on a tangent in my life...
Now there is this part of me that wants to take back all that I said yesterday for fear of public humiliation and another that wants to leave it there as a reminder of how naive I was... But for now... I'm going to leave it there... and face the music... haha...
The title on one of the Joshua Harris books reads... "stop dating the church"... now... that is a very big wake up call and it hit me like a tonne of bricks... In your face and to the point... 'nuff said... now all of those girls I've mentioned yesterday are from a variety of places... maybe one or two from church... if you asked me 5 mins ago... "hey, do you think what you're doing is right?" I would just brush you off and say "I dunno" or give you some other evasive answer... but now, after looking up Joshua Harris, I am challenged... and it makes me think twice about shooting my mouth off in public...
Instead, I have come to realise that I should let God take control over all of my life... and when I say all... I mean... body and soul... all of me... I realise that I have to keep God at the centre of my everyday living... I realise that I have strayed a bit since I have stepped down from the music ministry and have had more time to myself... I realise that I've gotten carried away with this free time and forgot about God and about what it means to be a living sacrifice for Him...
I realise that I need to repent and need God's forgiveness...
I realise that even in my own church or others, that there are lots of guys and girls who "date" in the church, subtle as it may be... and I realise I must not conform to the ways of this world or peer pressure...
and I realise that all this is not easy...
All I can do now is pray for myself and for others that we all may come to know and understand the full extent of God's mercy, grace and love... and that we not take it for granted like we all have a countless number of times...
So no interesting stories about my life today but rather some reflective thoughts to get you thinking... I know that I need to surrender everything to Him... I hope you will too... Well, I just can't keep on saying this and not do anything about it... actions speak louder than words... I'm cancelling some dates I've planned and I think I might spend some time with the Lord instead... I'll let God lead and trust not on my own understanding... very few people realise that this verse is up on the wall where we worship at Shine Forth... "Proverbs 3:5"... I think that's the verse... I may be wrong... haha... like I so often am at times but refuse to admit...
After all, I'm only human...
James 4:4-17
v4 - You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
v5 - Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
v6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
v7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
v8 - Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
v9 - Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
v10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
v11 - Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
v12 - There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbour?
v13 - Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
v14 - Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
v15 - Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
v16 - As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
v17 - Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
Now there is this part of me that wants to take back all that I said yesterday for fear of public humiliation and another that wants to leave it there as a reminder of how naive I was... But for now... I'm going to leave it there... and face the music... haha...
The title on one of the Joshua Harris books reads... "stop dating the church"... now... that is a very big wake up call and it hit me like a tonne of bricks... In your face and to the point... 'nuff said... now all of those girls I've mentioned yesterday are from a variety of places... maybe one or two from church... if you asked me 5 mins ago... "hey, do you think what you're doing is right?" I would just brush you off and say "I dunno" or give you some other evasive answer... but now, after looking up Joshua Harris, I am challenged... and it makes me think twice about shooting my mouth off in public...
Instead, I have come to realise that I should let God take control over all of my life... and when I say all... I mean... body and soul... all of me... I realise that I have to keep God at the centre of my everyday living... I realise that I have strayed a bit since I have stepped down from the music ministry and have had more time to myself... I realise that I've gotten carried away with this free time and forgot about God and about what it means to be a living sacrifice for Him...
I realise that I need to repent and need God's forgiveness...
I realise that even in my own church or others, that there are lots of guys and girls who "date" in the church, subtle as it may be... and I realise I must not conform to the ways of this world or peer pressure...
and I realise that all this is not easy...
All I can do now is pray for myself and for others that we all may come to know and understand the full extent of God's mercy, grace and love... and that we not take it for granted like we all have a countless number of times...
So no interesting stories about my life today but rather some reflective thoughts to get you thinking... I know that I need to surrender everything to Him... I hope you will too... Well, I just can't keep on saying this and not do anything about it... actions speak louder than words... I'm cancelling some dates I've planned and I think I might spend some time with the Lord instead... I'll let God lead and trust not on my own understanding... very few people realise that this verse is up on the wall where we worship at Shine Forth... "Proverbs 3:5"... I think that's the verse... I may be wrong... haha... like I so often am at times but refuse to admit...
After all, I'm only human...
James 4:4-17
v4 - You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
v5 - Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
v6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
v7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
v8 - Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
v9 - Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
v10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
v11 - Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
v12 - There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbour?
v13 - Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
v14 - Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
v15 - Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
v16 - As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
v17 - Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
posted by Jordan at 9:33 am
8 Comments:
as cliche as this is dear bruv...
please don't judge Joshua Harris books by their cover inc. title.
they do no justice to the actual content of the book.
so please take 2 girls' words for it and just read the book, tho you may think you've got it sorted, which if you have, take it as uplifting encouragement and gentle reminding.
plus, after you get it, you can pass it on to whoever you feel really needs it.
which is what i would do if you were here.
his latest book, Stop Dating The Church is about the importance of choosing the right church for you. not really about dating in the church. It really helps those that have been brought up simply going to church as ritual, read reviews on amazon maybe. again, don't take the book by its cover. So...his last book isn't about "bgr"...put simply.
love mei
hey you... oops... haha... chey... I didn't say I've got it sortted out... did i? haha... I just stated that I realise certain truths now... even if I got the title of the book and context wrong... haha... anyway, both ways.. it still works for me... and thank you for your concern... I'm trying to find his books... which ones do you have? so that I don't buy the same one...
Actually i beg to differ slightly from Joshua Harris' view.
seriously, there is nothing wrong with dating, with Godly dating principles and boundaries.
The key in dating is getting to know the opposite gender and knowing how to relate to them but church people sometimes abuse their 'dating rights' by dating for the wrong reasons, e.g. betting with their pals to see how many gals they can get....or to boosy their egos with track records...all WRONG!
basically it's wrong to flirt around with a person of the opposite gender if we're not genuinely interested in him/her.
wow... all this talk about dating... and I wonder why the boys don't comment...this is like a forum... haha...
hi kimbarley, in all humbleness, i believe you're threading thin ice here.
my conviction on dating is that it's not right/wrong. all Harris points out are the bad elements in dating which i now appreciate, because getting to know someone in a false environment is ultimately your loss. it's probably why so many people fall out of love after marriage.
having said that, have you read all his books? have you read them with an open heart? i'm not trying to defend him, just trying to understand your stand, which at present seems a lil' grey.
in fact by you saying it's ok to date with Godly principles, it's mixing one thing of the world with God. it's like going on a calorie counting diet where you only eat chocolate. it might seem good cus you're staying within the "boundaries" but is it ultimately good for you? in the long run? think about it.
all said in love dear.
no intention on starting an argument.
o yeh forgot to answer your qn kor, i've got I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Boy Meets Girl, Not Even A Hint and Stop Dating The Church.
basically all his books.
Jem... he's got a few more right? anyway... I'm getting my hands on... stop dating the church from Roy... you dun know him.. haha
hi jemi,
ok my definition of 'Christian dating' is getting to know a member of the opp. gender. (with right boundaries).
erm.....i'm not arguing with harris' WHOLE book. and i definitely agree we should not 'date around'. For me, 'dating around'the secular way can take the form of these:
1) 'hanging out' one-on-one with the person too soon, before group dates,
2) spending too much time on the phone chatting a person, neglecting work/family/friends
3)flirting without genuine interest (actions, words, body language, winks)
and all these are not WRONG butr highly unhealthy, thus causing hurt and disappointment.
the KEY to EMPHASISE in courtship/dating is just this:
"Love always protects"
so, if we truly LOVE our brother(s) we gotta protect their hearts on top of our own.
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