28/10/2012

....ok..other than how God can bless us in unexpected ways..I think the main focus of today was being blessed through blessing others. I think this was something that passed by a lot in our devos, how there was somewhat of a theme on having more of Jesus by sharing more of Jesus. Something along those lines.


Well, this kinda thing is usually hard to put into our lives, since naturally, we're introverted to any stranger there is. That's just how we were raised from the start and how we are trained to react. Then, along the lines, we learned to judge people, see if they are safe to approach, and then approach them. I think that's the big problem when it comes to sharing Jesus. Jesus is someone who needs to be told of to many different people disregarding their physical, mental, and spiritual state. If we can't manage to do that, we start to fail and compromise the kingdom of God. We don't completely compromise it, but we stop it from growing and really thriving..

We have to stop judging people negatively and just passing them away. We have to find those negative traits and brainstorm of ways to help them compensate for their negative traits through their positive traits. :]

as for yesterdays sermon i thought that it mainly was focused on the idea that you are blessed by God through someone blessing you. God is using that person to bless you just as we as the praise team are used to lead people into praise and worship. i remember when we went into our small groups, we talked about how human beings arent meant to be trusted; they are meant to love and to serve. we can serve God in many different ways and one specific example would be to bless others, others to bless us, vice versa. God will approach us and bless us in a completely unexpected ways if we give with our hearts. we should put our hearts into everything for God because we will be rewarded with the best result. and not only should we do that, but we should be giving to others so that it will give us the satisfication of serving God.

I came towards the end of the sermon since I was at the adults service for a little bit.....
But the main idea I got from the time I was at the service is to count your blessings. There are just many things to thank god for everyday. That is why we should acknowledge them whenever we can. So many people are less fortunate than us.
I learned this from a bible study before: it can be hard sometimes to think of things to be thankful for at certain times but always know whether on a good or bad day, that god is continually providing many things for you.

~Audrey~

Man Dan Joo shared TONS of great things
Not just on service but on leadership as well
He spoke a bit how he doesn't mind spending money on us because he considers us family.
He said how he does this, so in hopes that WE do the same.
This is all essentially leading by example.
To be honest, Dan joo does a lot of things for us..
He pays for a lot of our things with his own pocket at times.
To have this mindset, that instead of just telling someone to do it, we do it so that others see that and follow is truly a great thing.
Makes me want to do things like that too now.

First of all, two big things that I remembered from the whole sermon was that God works in mysterious ways and that he will provide if you trust in him.
I loved Dan's story about the $50 gas card he got after giving his $50 as offering.
Actually, this week, during small group, Yeni was telling us about something she went through during the week and how she kept hearing God say "focus on me".

Seems relevant to my life because lately, my life has been revolving around school, and some other things. It's just, overall, been harder to focus on God.
But this week's sermon and Yeni's story have both been eyeopening in that I realized how little time I spent on God. Got to get back on track!

Honestly... doing this now.. i forgot everything... but i read over the devotions that you guys did and immediately the message came right back.
Be a blessing.. give blessings and put other before yourself... and God will provide anything for you whenever you need it.
Like Dan Joo and the Esso Card... He was struggling but God providing him with the perfect thing that he needed.
Althought we may not know it, God is working miracles and providing us with everything we need and deserve. We shouldnt blame God for things we dont get... because we dont receive them for a reason. And that reason is because God never intended us to receive it.
Bless others and be blessed.