300912
by obedoei
turrty nine - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS
CHURCHHHH DAYYYY.
My heart is immensely at peace today... (until I dropped my phone and cracked a corner [1mm crack])... but putting materialistic thoughts aside, I am very content today and I am not sure why....
Let's backtrack to see what happened...
Met up with Jo at 1.30pm to head off to NHM together...
Waited at Gangnam at 2pm for Rebekah (Jo's friend who is extremely funny and bubbly) and headed off to NHM together.
Kool suitcase on the way... Vintage style.
$60 i think it was..
McDonalds after the sermon! LOL.
The sermon today was on Acts 11:19-26 - Barnabas, the son of encouragement.
The speaker today was a guest speaker from Ireland (I think) and he was very cheerful and gave off a positive vibe so it was fitting for this topic =].
"Everything in the Bible is meant to teach us about something... The less commonly read books included... We need to be deeply in reading of God's word (a habit/a discipline) so that we can learn how to live, how to encourage and be encouraged by the same words. Furthermore, by reading and knowing the Bible, we can pass on the encouragement that was written years, decades and centuries ago to encourage those in today's time. In this way, this encouragement isn't 'second hand', it remains alive and relevant because it is God's supreme word."
God has given us the Bible so that we can continue to encourage "one another" as we run this race together.
In Acts 4:36; Barnabas sold his fields and brought his money to the apostles' feet.
A good leader is a person who isn't afraid to share his home with others; to use what he has for the work of the Lord. To serve others with hospitality and selflessness.
In Acts 9:26-27; Barnabas pursues Paul, a persecutor of Christians [whose life was later turned upside down by an encounter with God], by sheer faith and courage - when no one else from the Church would.
When we pass on an encouragement (biblically sound) to another... We must remember that it is not the end of it. That message is alive and will resonate in that person's heart, and later passed onto another, and another, and another... even if you were no longer in this world. It is alive because it is God's word.
In Acts 11:22-24; Barnabas is sent to Antioch to encourage the people there to remain faithful and to stand strong in the Lord - "and a great many people were brought to the Lord".
These changed people were the first called "Christians".
An encourager builds people up, exposes them to different experiences where the grace and glory of God is made known. They help others see their potential in God.
God uses people like Barnabas to encourage those who are lost, backsliding or struggling... to call people back to Him.
God has never given up on us.
God uses brothers, sisters and other means to remind us of Him.
The Gospel of Mark and the letters of Paul wouldn't have been written if Barnabas wasn't sent to encourage them... but more importantly, Barnabas would not have been sent if God's perfect wisdom and supremacy did not allow it.
We all have a Barnabas in our lives... For me, it is people like Ed Cheng, Hemi, my father, my church congregation as a whole and my faithful sister Jo, here in Korea.
No matter where I am in life, no matter what I've done... When they sense that something's wrong, I could definitely depend on them to slap me awake and point me back to the direction of God.
Everyday I thank God for them.
"The voice of the church should be MASSIVE"
Why don't we all be like Barnabas to one another...
Encourage and be encouraged.
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Before dinner, we decided to walk around to look for a restaurant that Rebekah recommended... and whilst we waited for the others to come anyway, we decided to venture...
I've never seen Gangnam so dead...
Neighboring streets of Gangnam were dead because of Chuseok.. So many shops closed.
OBALTAN!!! Mmmm Sydney Obaltan memories...
We went to a pub/steak bar for dinner because hardly anything was open...
Even inside, we were the only ones there!
Helena, Jo and Rebekah.
Hamburg steak. Wasn't the Western steak I expected.. but it was good anyway! ($8)
After dinner, we went for dessert.... Cake + Bingsoo!
Pretty cake!
More...
Cake and bingsoo =D At a cafe named 'A Twosome Place'. LOL.
Kbbq place. Looked yummy but I was full as.
So.... Why am I content today?
It could be perhaps a mixture of good things today..
The message, seeing Jo after 3 weeks, laughing and getting along with new people so easily... and maybe that's it.
Maybe I haven't hit the spot... but I do know this - God is awesome.
---- still a bit sad about my phone.... but hey, at least the screen survived scratch free and the only damage was a 1mm crack and a minor dent... Maybe I can hide the crack with white paint.... mmm =].
Thankful: An awesome day. God's Word and encouraging brothers and sisters.
Prayerful: That I can be a Barnabas for those around me and back at home... May my words build people up and may my tongue move only in such times.
Dangers: I think I am getting a bit too materialistic... Money, belongings and what-not have recently been a major source of anxiety...
