It's Not about Me

There really is more to this life that you’ve been told.

We’ve been demanding our way since day one…

“I want a spouse that makes me happy and co-workers that always ask my opinion.”

“I want weather that suits me and traffic that helps me and a government that serves me.”

Self-promotion, self-preservation, self-centeredness…

“It’s all about me.”

They all told us it was, didn’t they? And we took them up on it. We thought self-celebration would make us happy…

But believing that has created chaos – noisy homes, stress-filled business, and cutthroat relationships. We’ve chased so many skinny rabbits, says Max Lucado, that we’ve missed the fat one: the God-centered life.

[Paperback review from Max Lucado’s It’s not about Me]

Yes, we have missed the fat rabbit: the God-centered life. Today, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been slowly replaced by the Me Gospel. Slowly… the Sunday message is no more about what God have done for us, but what we have achieve in our life. The Christian Gathering is no more about Jesus (though passionately sing “It’s all about Jesus”), but how we can manipulate God into our own self-happiness agenda and programs. Our prayer meeting is no more about communicating with God, but a place where we shut Him up and bombarded Him with our wish lists (which 95% about our own needs), thinking that he is a genie in the bottle.
How we have turned away from God to self! 

How we are deceiving and being deceived!

Hey! It’s not about you, it’s not about me – this life is about Jesus. And when we get it right with Him, when we ‘seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously...’ (Matthew 6:33NLT), when we life a God-centered life, we are truly living. You will find the purpose and the meaning of you life… after all; He is the God who created you. He knows what’s best for you… let Him be the center of your life – It's not about Me, It's about Jesus.

THINK BIG Think less about yourself… think God and others more often.

START SMALL Offer your life to God and by His grace, live a righteous life.

GO DEEP  Jesus said,"seek the Kingdom of God above all else,
and live righteously,
and he will give you everything you need."

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  July 2012 FREE Book

I’m giving away ONLY 3 copies of It's not about Me; Rescue from the Life we thought would make us Happy by Max Lucado. If you never receive any book from Motivates4Life before, you are welcome to get a copy for yourself. Do these 2 things:

1. Comment below “Rich, give me one copy___(Your name). Really, this life is not about me but for God's Glory"
2. E-mail me at Motivates4life@hotmail.com or send message to my Facebook your real name, phone no. and your postal address. Thank you.

Jesus Come to You

‘The gospel teaches that Christ was born, and that he did and suffered everything in our behalf, as is here declared by the angel: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people; for there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10) In these words you clearly see that he is born for us.

He does not simply say, Christ is born, but to you he is born, neither does he say, I bring glad tidings, but to you I bring glad tidings of great joy. Furthermore, this joy was not to remain in Christ, but it shall be to all the people.’ [Martin Luther]

But you see, the main character, hero of the ages here is: Christ the Lord. He is the center of God’s story came near to men. We are unable to climb up the heaven and be with the Lord. Therefore, he went down and presenting God Himself to us on earth. We are so loved by God, because Christ has made it possible – Jesus came to you.

How awesome is that to you?

Really – It’s not about you, it’s all about Jesus.

It’s about you, Jesus come to you.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

My Reflection on John 10:38-42: Oh Mary, why you are not helping Martha?

Mary is a great biblical example of a person whose desire was to be taught by Jesus. Every time she appears in the Bible (as I’m using concordance to refer to her name last night); she’s kneeling humbly before Jesus. In John 11, she’s at Jesus’ feet in sorrow. In John 12, she’s at Jesus’ feet in adoration. In John 10, which I’m quoting below, she’s at Jesus’ feet to learn truth.

“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

(John 10:38-42NLT)

Here I observed: Martha, the committed worker, wants to feed Jesus. Mary, the worshiper, wants to be fed by Jesus with His Word. Martha was in the kitchen preparing meals; Mary was in the living room, learning from Jesus. Martha annoyed; Mary rejoiced.

Jesus, the Lord, told Martha that she was filled with unnecessary ‘worried and upset’ that had affected her priority. It was harmful though it looked sincere, thus Jesus pressed that it wasn’t really important. What is important then? What is the priority that is more important than food etc.? (As work and food conscious Asian man, I have to ask this kind of questions)

In essence, it is the Word of God. Jesus commended Mary for having a good judgment of priority – that is, learning the Word of God.

Today, we can also be distracted by less important details (you names it) that had robbed your time spending in the Word of God. The Word of God here I’m referring to Jesus Himself and the Scriptures; the Bible.
Are your priority is to be in fellowship with the Lord?
Are you desire to hear Him as He speaks to you through Bible reading and studying?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus is the Only way to Salvation. Someone asked, “How can you be so sure?”

“That is your opinion,” she said. “I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Oh…” I replied, “I’m telling you the truth. There is only One way to salvation; that is, through Jesus.”

“You’re so religious… I’m a Christian too okay, but I don’t know… how you can be so sure?” she doubted.

“The Bible said so.”

The question astonished me to the core. It bothers me, not because of her question, that’s normal. But because where does the question coming from: a person who called herself a Christian. It is clear that the Scriptures recorded that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6NLT) Jesus doesn’t says, ‘I am one of many ways’ or ‘one of the way is through me’ but clearly said that – He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life.

Now, let’s talk about truth, since I said, ‘I’m telling you the truth’  to her. Today, the concept of truth is almost disappearing in our generations. Most motivational books, movies, and self-help seminars are telling us something like this: ‘Truth is whatever you believe in. You’re in control and only you can determine what’s right and wrong. You are the master of your own. Your destiny is in your hand. What makes you happy, that’s the truth!’ So there’s no concept of actual truth, just what you believe in, that’s the truth for you. So wickedly wrong!

Do you know that there are 3 kinds or concept of truth? First, there’s telling the truth. Someone being honest or being trustworthy, therefore we know that they are telling the truth. It is essential in relationship. We have to be truthful if we want relationships to work. Second, there’s absolute truth. For example, the truth (the law) of gravity is that when you drop an object, it will definitely fall down. [Try to imagine that you jump from the highest point of Twin Tower Petronas building and I ask you to think positive that you will not fall down… would you fall or not?] Or in Mathematical equation, 1 plus 1 equal to 2. Or just observe the absolute truth about life. All of us enter this world as a baby; all of us someday exists this world through death. That’s the absolute truth!

But what I’m saying when I said ‘I’m telling you the truth’ is not the first two concepts, but the third one. That is, the spiritual truth. This kind of truth has to do with human relationship with God and others that are absolute and never will change (constant) despite our feelings and beliefs to the contrary. But you see, we, humans always wanted to tailor-make truth for ourselves to suit our own conditions or if it doesn’t fit our ideal of truth, we tent to ignore it or worst, to believe that it doesn’t exist at all.

When Jesus telling the truth: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”, for this is what had been recorded in the Scriptures (or the Bible as we called it today), it doesn’t left us with anymore option. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. I know that this kind of truth may be hard to swallow and very difficult to accept for some of you, BUT ‘I’m telling you the truth’ – what Jesus have claimed about Himself, as the Only Way to the Father, will definitely affect the way you live here on earth as well as your eternal destiny. Just like the law of gravity; what’s goes up will surely fall, it is even surer that “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The Way is exclusive: Only through Jesus, but the Invitation is open to all; everyone who wants to believe in Him.

Her question, ‘How you can be so sure?’ oh, I’m sure, because the Bible said so… because Jesus said so. I’m willing to sacrifice my life for it. However, you are free to ignore this truth if you choose to, but I have to warn you (not threaten you): you do so at your own risk, both now and for eternity. Would you believe this TRUTH?

“Truthful words stand the test of time,
but lies are soon exposed.” (Proverbs 12:19NLT)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

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Reference:
1) Divine Moments of Students: Everyday Inspiration from God’s Word. © 2008 by Ronald A. Beers.

Love your Neighbor as Yourself. Why?

“Now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (Jesus in the Book of John 13:34-35NLT)

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39NLT) Wait… why in the world did Jesus say to love your neighbor as yourself? Why not saying, love your neighbor as you loves me [Jesus]? I think, maybe, because God knows that our first instinct, both you and I know, that we tent to take care of ourselves first. In the beginning, it is God who loved us first; we love ourselves. Therefore, if we can learn to meet the needs of others in the same way we meet our own needs, then we are fulfilling Jesus’ command. It helps us to slowly be more others-centered rather than self-centered. Furthermore, 1 John 4:12 says, “If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

Caring for others, my friends, is what loving our neighbor is all about. Every time we show love to others, we are allowing God to be the center of our life. We are in fact touching two hearts – theirs and yours into fellowship in God’s heart: that is, Divine Love.

“It is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (James 2:8NLT)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Prayer for the Unsaved

Praying for our unsaved friends, family members and others is the best way to begin reaching them for Christ. We should pray for the unsaved for God to draw them to Himself (John 6:44), so that they would seek to know God (Deuteronomy 4:29), for them to believe the Scriptures (Romans 10:17), so that Satan would be prevented from blinding them to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4), for the Holy Spirit to work in them (John 16:8,13), so that they would believe in Christ as Savior (John 5:24), so that they would turn from sin (Acts 3:19), so that they would confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9,10), and so that they would take root and grow in Christ (Colossians 2:6,7).

Charles H. Spurgeon once writes;

“If you really desire that men should be saved, pray for them. It is an empty wish, a mere formality, if you do not turn it into prayer. Every loving desire for any man or woman should, by the believer, be taken before God in prayer. We cannot expect that God will save men unless His people pray for it. There must be travail before the birth, and there must be travail in prayer with God before we can expect that many will be born again into the church of God. Oh, for more prayer! Let us cry to God in secret, and in the family, and in all our assemblies, that God would save the sons of men.”  

[Quoted from Spurgeon Gold by Ray Comfort. Copyright ©2005 by Bridge-Logos.]

THINK BIG Think of others, the unsaved people around you.
Would you stop from self-centered prayers and start praying for them?

START SMALL. Start with those who are closed to you.

GO DEEP. Trust that God will work the Message of Salvation in their lives. Pray.

Which one do you want? Zinger Burger?

 “Which one do you want; colonel burger stacker or zinger burger or toasted twister or fun fries… anything? Just name it” I asked my friend. We were having our lunch at KFC.
“I don’t know”, he responded.
“Well, you got to decide which one so that I can proceed with our ordering”
“Hmmm… I don’t know.”
“What I don’t know? Just choose one and all will be done. Quick, what do you want?”
“You choose for me”, he said in replied.
“Hey, can you make a decision on what you yourself going to eat? Please choose one.”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
At the point of almost smacking his face [5 minutes later] he finally said in a soft indecisive tone,
“I order what you ordered. Thank you.”

Lord, help me to overcome my anger. Amen.

In this life, for most of the time, you must be decisive. If you’re in the role of leadership, especially, you got to be a decision maker! John C. Maxwell writes, “Everything begins with a decision. Then, we have to manage that decision for the rest of your life.” When it comes to important matters (maybe choosing a menu at KFC can be an exception) such as regarding about your eternal life, responsibilities, critical actions etc. you got to make decisions. Make decision based on what is the best at that present moment. Maybe you need time, yes, but make decision you must. Then stick with your decision and accept the consequences.

You must be willing to be decisive because I tell you, that indecision is a decision not decide. If you say, “I don’t want to decide”, then your decision is: let it be. It is better to make a decision that may not be the best, than to not make one at all. I always said to indecisive persons; in the end, if you let things happen that is within your power to change it… don’t blame God for the bad outcome.

Yes, before making decision, ask God first. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Yes, we should trust God also in whatever the consequences may be; good or bad – but never, never left the important matters undecided.
Be decisive!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Get Ready to Meet my love, Jamie Sullivan

I had long ago fall in love with a girl named Jamie Sullivan (played by Mandy Moore) in a movie called A Walk to Remember; story based on a bestselling author, Nicholas Sparks. She is so wonderful, sweet, simple, and strong and knows how to bring out the best in someone else’s life. Oh Jamie, I’m so in love with you.

When I was in college, I imagined that one day I might find someone like her. I want to believe that she was out there. So I always prepare a song to sing for her. But as you might suspect, she seems impossible to appear. She gave no indication, however, when she might suddenly come into my life. Maybe not, I said to myself. But what if she’s here all of a sudden, I don’t know. All I care was that I want to practice the song as well as I could, so that if she might appear; maybe during early morning class, afternoon lunch at canteen or late evening after football –  I’m ready to impress her with my voice. I know what I’ll do. I’ll just keep practicing the song all the time!

But it was my imagination…
something that I hope will happen...
to meet Jamie Sullivan.

Today I long for something else. Something that is much more real and very significant in my life [In our life if you want to join me]. That is; the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Both the Old and the New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming. Paul Lee Tan writes, “There are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament… of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to the second coming, or 1 out of 30 verses. 23 of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event… For every prophesy on the 1^st coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ’s 2^nd coming.” This is amazing! And perhaps one of the most important event in the Universe (after the Cross)! And it’s real! Oh Jesus, I’m longing for you.

Jesus is coming. He said, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:3). He may come any time now. “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:44). No matter when that grand event maybe, He will surely come. “Yes, I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:20).

The question now is, will you be ready when He come? Have you prepare ‘a song to sing’ for Him? To those who are so-called ‘not prepared’, those who have rejected the claims of Jesus (as King and Savior) will face eternal punishment, as the Bible tell us, in hell. But for those who have believed in the gospel ‘of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21ESV), the so-called ‘prepared’ followers, rejoice! Do not fear, for you will live for eternity in the presence of God in Heaven. You will discover that in God’s presence ‘there is fullness of joy’ and at His ‘right hand are pleasures forevermore’ (Psalm 16:11ESV).

This is not the production of imagination, this is God’s promises that will come true…

this is something that I’m expected to surely happen…

to meet the Living God, the victorious King.
“Amen! Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

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*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from New Living Translation, NLT, copyright ©1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Blessed are Those who Encourage Others

If you see anyone is doing something good, if you like what he or she’s doing, if you love it, if it worth praise, tell the person now – don’t waste a second! Don’t withhold your compliment till the person finished doing it and someday might forget about it. For then, no matter how you shout it, the person will never know about it, not know how much you appreciate it. So if you feel like you want to give the person some praise, now is the time to tell it. For who know, if you never see that person again… or the person might never see you again.

Who could the person(s) be? Perhaps; your parent, co-worker, employer, employee, classmate, cleaner, storekeeper, bus/taxi driver, cashier, teacher, waiter, friend, elder, stranger, or if you want to be more radical – maybe even to your so-called ‘enemy’. Give some genuine praise due to them. Give them encouragement for job well done. “There are high spots in all of our lives,” writes George Matthew Adams, “and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don’t care how great, how famous, or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause.”
Would you be the one who makes a different in someone else’s life today?

If the person earns your praise, bestow it. If the person inspires you, let it be known. If you love that person, go and tell. Your words may warm their heart, give them new hope, renewal their faith and encouragement to uplifting their soul into greatness. Do not wait till life is over.

William Barclay once said,

“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement… it is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”

Be an encourager!

THINK BIG. Yes, THINK BIG! Even God encouraged, “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9NLT), how much more we ought to encourage others?

START SMALL. Give praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer wherever, whenever you have a chance and opportunity.

GO DEEP. Make it a habit; a godly habit. Don’t simply live, spend more time encouraging others.

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P.s: I want to tell my mom that dinner today is awesome! Thanks, mom! Wooooohooo!!!!

A Changed Life: Christ-Like

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue his work until it is finally finished
on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6NLT)

Beware of thinking that you will become Christ-like overnight – no, never in this side of the world. You won’t. Some habits will be very reluctant to give way, just as some ice is so thick (from my today’s early morning breakfast) that it takes quite some time to melt besides hot coffee. All sin was forgiven at the Cross, this I believe, but we are not automatically straightaway become perfect human being as Jesus was.

And even though we may experience immediate deliverance from any particular wrong thing that is getting us down, God may keep us in suspense when He show us, in His time, something else (and more) in our life that needs attention. Oh, He often does that to me; whenever I think I’m fine, Lord Jesus, in His mercy shows me something else that needs to be repentance of. I tell you, the process of refining us to become Christ-like will go on all through our lives. We shall need time if we are to grow like Jesus. It is slow process; God will ‘make us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.’ (1 Corinthians 3:18NLT)

“Be patient,” writes Michael Green in his book New Life, New Lifestyle (1973), “keep in close touch with the holy God who has called you. Study the life and teaching, the behavior and example of Jesus if you want to know how God wishes you to act and react in the pressure of everyday life. And ask the Holy Spirit who lives inside you to take control of your personality and make you progressively more and more like Jesus.”

If you read the Scriptures carefully, you’ll be amaze by how God wants to take men and women, who are humble enough to say their need for God and come to Him in simple trust – I tell you, even in spoiled human lives, He is able to changed! Therefore, be open to God. Be humble. Be patient. Once He makes you more and more like Jesus – your life will change. When people noticed how much you have change, they will be amaze and realize that Jesus is real to you: this will bring Glory to Him. Amen.

THINK BIG. Beware of thinking that you will become Christ-like overnight… it takes time.

START SMALL. Get to know Jesus personally and obey His Word.

GO DEEP. Be Christ-like, and bring Glory to God.

Don’t Work Harder; Work Smarter

This saying is common sense but not common practice. Most people still think there is a direct relationship between amount of work they do and success – the more time you put in, the more successful you will be. One successful entrepreneur when asked to speak to a group of college students about what it took to be successful said, “This will be the shortest speech in history because it’s easy to be successful. All you have to do is work half a day. You can work the first twelve hours or the second.”

While successful people do work hard, they think before they act. They are proactive, not just reactive. Most people mentally have a sign on their desk that reads: Don’t just sit there, do something! The best advice I ever received was to redo the sign to read: Don’t just do something, sit there!

If you don’t take time out to think, strategize, prioritize, you will works the whole lot harder, without enjoying the benefits of a job smartly done.*

THINK BIG. Think before you act.

START SMALL. Don’t work harder – work smarter.

GO DEEP. Enjoying the benefits of job smartly done.

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*Quote from The Heart of a Leader: Insights of the Arts of Influence by Ken Blanchard. Published by Honor Books © 1999, 2004.

Don’t be lazy! Get a Book and Start Reading

“From your parents you learn love and laughter and
how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover
that you have wings.” (Helen Hayes with Sandford Dody, On Reflection)
“Books may well be the only true magic.” (Alice Hoffman)

Books are one of the most important things in the world of mankind, this I believe. Good books of course, are not mere papers, ink and glue but a breathing-thing that can bring life to its reader. Since I love books, I couldn’t get away with it. My day is not complete without reading words printed in wood smell papers. ‘I cannot live without books’, writes Thomas Jefferson, and so do I.

Come to think about it, God of universe is also a God of communication and words, and one of His chief tools to tell us about Himself who is beyond us is through the Bible; that is God’s written Word in human language. The Bible is a primary way that the Holy Spirit opens us up to the God who is Above-All. God is still speaking and guiding us personally and intimately through the Word. God use Book to communicate to us. Therefore, reading the Bible is primary than any other books. Period.

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Here I want to offer you 3 of my precious books for the month of June for free because I also believe that God does use books (and people) to speak to us as well (though I believe it is secondary mediums compare to the Bible). These books are secondhand if you don’t mind but still in good condition, I promise you. I believe (and pray) that it will brings hope and inspiration for you to experience Christ in someone else’s stories thru the writer's many years of journey with God.

‘Every man who knows how to read,’ said Aldous Huxley, ‘has it in his power to magnified, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting’ – this I can assure you. So don’t just sit on that lazy-spirited chair; transform it into inspire-spirited chair. Get a good book and start reading!

THINK BIG.START SMALL.GO DEEP.

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June 2012 FREE Book

I’m giving away ONLY 3 books by Max Lucado;

1) Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

2) Facing Your Giants: A David and Goliath Story for Everyday People

3) Six Hours One Friday: Living the Power of the Cross

If you never receive any book from Motivates4Life before, you are welcome to get a copy for yourself. Do these 2 things:

1. Comment below “Rich, give me one copy_(Book number)_(Your name).”
2. Then, E-mail me at Motivates4life@hotmail.com or send a message to my Facebook your real name, phone no. and your postal address.
3. That’s all. Thank you.