I've been busy these days - encouraged by many Christian Students on the campus

My apologies to all the readers of this blog, but these past few days and the next few days coming up I've been / will be very busy. Almost every night before going to bed I am thinking to update the blog, but there are some other things that recently came up. As many of you know, there are many Christian students on the campus all around the world, and here in London there's a bunch of them also :) so I've been helping with them, and there's the College Age Conference in Bower House coming up next weekend... Anyways, before getting into details, here's the picture for today - if you follow me on twitter and on instagr.am you will be up-to-date with the pictures I take and share :)

The Houses of Parliament - on the 5th of November 2011

Remember, remember, the 5th of November - on Guy Fawkes night here in the UK I went to see it with my own eyes, and it's true - the Houses of Parliament are STILL up and there was no blowing up! It's still a conspiracy ;) and V for Vendetta didn't take place. Anyways, that's a simple picture of the Houses of Parliament in London, UK, very close to Big Ben :) Read more about the Palace of Westminster, visiting the Houses of parliament, tourist information, etc.

Encouraged - the Christian Students on Campus, their testimonies

When you go to university that's when "life starts", or at least the part where you are FREE from your parents, you're on your own, and you can basically do whatever you want to do. But if you love the Lord and enjoy Him every day, even though you're free to do whatever you want to do, you still fellowship with the Lord about the little things, the big things, the invitations and words of your colleagues, the matter of having certain people as your friends, the relationships with the other students, the morality and ethics of the other students of professors... - there's so much to talk to the Lord about! And even more - you can enjoy the Lord with the other Christian students on campus! You can "flee youthful lusts and pursue" the Lord with those who call on Him out of a pure heart!

But as our experience tells us, our life is full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, lots of failures, giving in to our friends, etc.... Also, university keeps people VERY busy, and the assignments, course study, essays, seminars, course work, etc... - so that even after classes are finished you need to stay up late at night to study... What's worse is seeing all the other students at the end of the week or at the end of the day going out, doing things, getting involved in things - and you may think, O, Lord, maybe it's OK to do this or that, or to go there with them... Or maybe you feel like, I have no time for the church life or meeting with the Christians on campus - I'm too busy with work, with the clubs I joined, the coursework, friends, etc... Well, along this line, a dear Christian student asked me this question,

How do we balance our Christian life / church life with our study life? How do we give the Lord the preeminence in all our studies?

I thought about it, and it really makes sense - is this possible? Should I take care of ONE, or the OTHER? Are they mutually exclusive? Does loving the Lord help or hinder your studies? Can I study without paying attention to the Lord, and when I finish university, I will come back to Him? - there are so many questions like these... - so I found some very good answers given by some dear Christian students on campus via, Being a Christian Student on the Campus (some of which I'm quoting below):

God, our education, and our character - We as human beings need to fulfill our duties. As students, we need to study and do our best while we can. However, we need to strike a balance between these two things. We cannot say that we only want to love the Lord and attend all the meetings but cast our studies aside. This is not right. On the other hand, we should not love education more than God. God must have the first place in our being.

Practically applying the Life-Giving Spirit to Our Lives - Recently, I’ve been learning to enjoy the Lord as the Life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). We’ve heard this many times, but so many times in my experiences I do not stand on this fact. I’ll wait until the Friday night home meeting to enjoy the Lord, or wait until some sister calls me to read the Word. But the Lord went through a marvelous process so that we can enjoy Him anywhere, anytime, and at any place. We can practically apply this through prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tell us to “unceasingly pray”.

take care of the Lord first and make a schedule! If you give the Lord one hour, He will give you two hours back. Writing an essay is not a matter of ‘quantity’ of time, it’s a matter of ‘quality’. I’ve found that once I’ve enjoyed the Lord, my mind is calm and I’m able to sit down and actually get something done! If I start an essay without touching the Lord, it’s really like untangling a big ball of spaghetti!

Love the Lord and gain Him – there is no other way! Given the insurmountable workload, the constant stress, and the many “attractions” that university life has to offer, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we have been called out of the world and into Him – we have been called to be a lover of Christ. To this, I have many a times fallen victim. Yet, the Lord is gracious. If we only turn back to Him (by reading His word, calling on His name, and touching Him in our spirit), He is faithful to be our daily moment-by-moment supply.

seeing our studying in the light of God’s economy - In Matthew 6:24 the Lord says “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon is usually associated with wealth and riches, but as students our “mammon” can become our education. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and live according to His purpose (Rom. 8:29). Therefore we should not be anxious but diligent to study and not neglect our love of the Lord Jesus.

enjoying the Lord and testifying Him! Throughout the years there have been many difficult situations both in university and in my personal life, but the Lord has been shepherding me to turn to Him, to just take Him as my All, my Person, the living One in my spirit. Through Christ in us we have access to the Father, and in Christ we lack nothing! He doesn’t “dispense virtues” to us – He dispenses His very Person into us and this wonderful One solves all the problems! My top enjoyment from my college years is learning to turn to the Lord and leaning on Him in everything, from small things to big things – practical things and things I’m going through inwardly.

[I hope YOU enjoy these testimonies - read them in full via, Being a Christian Student on the Campus - and leave me your comment below concerning the question above. How is it for YOU as a student / working saint / parent / child? How is YOUR enjoyment and experience of the Lord and the church life?]

you are what you eat - you are what you listen to!

Not sure how is it around the world, but in the UK the fall is coming - that is, autumn is here! It's getting colder outside, the wind is blowing, the windows are not being left open during the night, the heat is on inside, the lights are turned on earlier, and we just switched to the Winter Time! Thicker clothes, a hat on the head, jacket on, an umbrella with you all the time, solid shoes, thicker socks, a scarf maybe, some even wearing gloves... Praise the Lord, the sun is still shining some days - so this brings a smile on many faces.... :)

1 Picture in London - Manor House, close to Baker Street

This is one of the many Manor Houses in London, this time in Central London. As you walk from Edgeware Rd (where district 4 of the church in London meets) towards Baker Street (where you can see Sherlock Holmes' museum, you can visit Madam Tassauds, etc) you pass by some impressive buildings like this one, Manor House. Yes, there's a tube station and several bus stops in London called by this name, but this particular building is Manor House on Marylbone Road (see it online). As I was looking on google maps - google street view, I realized that - wow, everything can be seen on google street view now, all we have to do is "add pictures" to the existing data there!

You Are what You Eat, You Are What You Listen To!

Everyone knows this saying, You are what you eat, and it is true. We eat healthy food - we have a healthy body. We eat junk food, our body will have some problems. We drink healthy drinks - mostly water - and our body has a normal and proper digestion.... But it is the same in the psychological realm - you train your mind by going to school and gaining proper knowledge in a field you're inclined towards - your mind will work as trained. You don't train your mind and you don't put it to work but let it "chill" and cram lots of knowledge into it when exams come - your mind will not work in a proper way, but will tend to prefer the relaxing...

Recently I realized also that You are What You Eat also implies that You Are What You Listen To. More and more wherever you go you see that people are "plugged in" - they listen to stuff! I personally don't want to know what they are listening to, but many people are calmer and nicer to you only after they "take their dose" / after they have been listening to something... When we're on the PC / MAC, when browsing the internet or doing our homeworks, when working or playing, etc, we like to listen to something. .... we passively listen to something and are influenced / infused by what we listen, even without knowing it!

So my thought and my consideration is like this - why not listen to some healthy things, something that gives me more encouragement and even more life? Believe me, I tried to listen to positive thinking speaches, motivational stuff, the TWIT shows(since I like internet and tech), or even the TED conference amazing discoveries and analysis... - these don't give you life, but they burden you and rather load you with all kinds of stuff... It comes down to each one of us making a choice AGAIN and AGAIN - what do stuff myself with? Do I stuff myself with "fried chicken and chips" (the favorite meal of the UK young people, very toxic when consumed in high quantities) or do I choose to have healthy food?

What comes out of us towards others and towards life in general is determined many times by what we put into us. When we listen to something, we passively allow that music / speaking / thing we listen to to get into us and infuse us with a certain "state of mind", a certain feeling... I distinctly remember some walks I took while listening to a specific thing, either a message, a speech, or some music.. And I also distinctly remember when I tried to listen to certain music and certain things - and something within me just didn't agree with that! Oh... I tried to fight with it, and I kind of won... - but eventually I love LIFE and PEACE much more than the feeling of death...

How I wish that we all would really be careful about what we listen to! We tend to become and to be influenced by what we listen to! We actually "eat" that thing we're listening, and we get an appetite for it... We need to learn to change our appetite - yes, there may have been a time we ate "fish and chips" all the time, and we drank mostly fizzy drinks - but as we grow in the human life and in the divine life, we learn to eat healthy and drink healthy, so that we may live a long life and a healthy life! I want to EAT good stuff - healthy stuff!

Examples of good stuff to listen to:

• the NYC YP CD (the New York Young People CD's) - now even on iTunes and on facebook;
• Hymns and Spiritual Songs - download MP3's and listen to them online;
• HymnsRadio - listen ALL the day long to free hymns online...
• Hymnal.net - listen to the melody of all the hymns and many new songs;
• LSM Radio - listen to the whole life study of the Bible radio broadcast, everything is online as MP3's. I went through Luke, Mark, 1 Peter, etc.. - 30 mins portions, DELICIOUS and HEALTHY food!

[what do YOU think? Leave me a comment if you have a similar experience of "being bothered within when listening to stuff... DO YOU know any other websites / places where you can find good spiritual things to listen to?]

what can I do to show my love for the Lord? (1 picture + 1 experience with the Lord)

The 30-day challenge is kind of phasing out, and more of a burden is coming in. There are days when it's simply not practical to write something on the blog because you are either too tired to do it or maybe you're too late in meetings with the saints, shepherding the new ones, or taking care of practical matters. It's not a "law" and I don't want to make it to be "do it every day or else...". I want to learn how to do things in life. Enjoy Christ as life, live Christ, and even while blogging - learn to enjoy Christ and express Him in the way of life! So today's portion is about a simple question... before that, here's,

1 Picture for today - Fish and Chips, Britain's Beloved Food :)

Sorry for the quality of the picture, and also for maybe mis-representing Britain's most beloved junk food / fast food, Fish and Chips! The name of the place and the location doesn't matter - almost every major street in London has at least one of these "Fish & Chips" places. Together with the donner and the fried chicken places these are the most popular fast food all-day open in Britain. I love the chips, but many times I think the fish is way too expensive for my budget... :)

1 Experience with the Lord Today - What can I do to show my love for the Lord?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Or, have you asked yourself / the Lord this question today? The Lord loved us so much that He came and gave up His own life for us. Even more, He still loves us so much that no matter where we are and what we have done, no matter the condition we are in, we can always turn to Him and repent, confess, apply His precious blood, and we enjoy life! He is always shepherding us, always taking good care of us, always and continually imparting the divine life into us, and always interceding for us. Many times we don't see how much He is to us and how many things He does for us, but when the Lord shines on us and we see, then we realize His love for us....

I grew up in a Christian family and I read many biographies of the martyrs, the early Christians, the saints who went to preach the gospel in heathen lands, those who lived and died for the Lord, and about the ones who followed the Lord even unto death. It became clear to me that these ones loved the Lord so much and this was expressed in a practical way in their living.... The Cambridge Seven for example were rich, famous, smart, very talented, and also were Stars in England in their age. But they gave up everything and left it all - they all went to foreign countries as missionaries to preach the gospel and bring others to know the Lord. Others like Hudson Taylor left England to go to China to bring the Word of God to the Chinese people - out of love for the Lord...

What about me? What about us? What about the Christians today? Do we love the Lord only with our lips? Do we just say from the tip of our tongues, Lord Jesus I Love You!? Or... what do we do to show the Lord how much we love Him? What did these ones have that we today don't have? Why did they love the Lord so much and did such things for Him in their lifetime? Well, we may say that we can't really go to those foreign countries because of this or that; or maybe we don't have a burden or commission from God to go, etc... But how many times during a day do we just stop and tell the Lord how much we love Him, and how much we want to give Him some time to spend with Him to enjoy Him?!? And in our time with Him, isn't there something that He puts on our heart to do for Him?

You know, throughout the ages, thousands of heart treasures, golden futures, and precious lives were poured out upon the Lord Jesus - because these loving believers considered Him more precious than even their own life! I don't know about you, but when I read the Bible and when I read the biographies of these dear forerunners in the faith, I ask myself and I pray to the Lord, What about me, Lord? What great work do You want me to do for You, so that I would show You my love for You? I don't want to love You just in word, but also in my action, my living, my attitude, in the way I speak, and in the way I spend my time and my money! Lord, how practical are You to me, and how much do I show that I love You? Lord, before Your second coming, before You return to receive Your Bride, Your overcomers, how can I express my love for You and all that You are + have done for me?

... I don't want to go too far with this, and I don't want to stir up anyone or anything. But it all starts with our heart, it all starts with now - right now, whenever the Lord speaks something to us or when we have a break during the day and we turn to Him: we can give Him our time and allow Him to touch us in many practical ways... There are so many ways to show our love for Him! Love always finds a way to be expressed and be shown... Reading His Word, being faithful to be in the meetings of the church every week, praying for the saints and for the church, taking care of the young ones and the new ones, cooking for the saints, inviting some saints over for dinner, ministering to the saints, having scheduled times of prayer, pursuing the Lord with our companions, going out to preach the gospel, etc... To each one of us there's a capacity / a talant entrusted, and we CANNOT put it in a handkerchief + bury it in the ground!

Those who know their God have great searchings of heart and great resolutions of heart. They know their God and take action. Yes, it starts with the small personal things like spending private & intimate time with the Lord often and regularly.... - but it continues with practical expressions and actions, even a more thorough consecration to the Lord as the days go by. We can't just stay passive, and we can't do nothing! Lord, right now, as I turn to You and I finish this article, what do You think - what can I do to show You how much I love You???

this is not normal - you cannot just GET USED TO IT! (1 picture + 1experience with the Lord today) 30-day challenge

I almost didn't do the small article for today, since my laptop is now in repairs... you really need to be careful with these devices, one wrong move and something breaks! And then trouble starts, money needs to be paid, time is spent with no PC...., but hopefully tomorrow the laptop will be returned safe and sound, as good as before(or even better). It's the same with everything / everyone: we need to be careful in our dealings and interactions with one another, or else someone may just "break down" and then a price needs to be paid to re-connect or re-establish the trust...

1 Picture Today - An Accident almost Right In Front of my Eyes!

The picture above is of an accident I almost witnessed on Holloway road this afternoon as I was doing some shopping. Everyone was out in the streets, it was a 26 degrees Celsius evening - very hot - and people were shopping or walking around, many of them being in a hurry to get to the Arsenal game tonight... And right there, in the middle of the street, on a busy road, two cars crashed into each other. What's more crazy is that people who witnessed the accident were not that much interested to help the ones in the crash, rather - every one was watching, taking pictures, and commenting about it.

This is Not Normal - You Can't Just Get Used to This! One experience with the Lord today

The truth is that in London these days we see all kinds of strange and crazy things - less than 2 weeks ago there was at least one fatality in a similar accident just up the street. We see people dressed in a crazy way walking around on the street, people with strange piercings and tattoos everywhere, people dressed with strange clothes and some with less clothes than others, people with hairstyles that defile you by just looking at them... Normal human beings dressed in a normal way and with a normal haircut - these are very rare(they are so rare that sometimes you're being stared at because you're not trying too hard to look as cool as they do]. It's becoming common to have all kinds of gang fights, teenage stabbings, thefts, muggings, etc here in London. ... And this is just something outwardly that - when you think about it - it sounds abnormal and crazy...

But you know, even in our personal life and in our private time, where no one sees us - if we think about it, we spend so much time online on websites like YouTube, Facebook, twitter, google+, social networks, news, entertainment websites... We are randomly browsing and watching... And the videos we watch... The news we hear and see... The conversations we have with people... Many times, if we think about all these, we have to admit that it's just not right, it's not good, it's not pleasing to the Lord... Just being online and reading / saying / doing stuff there - if you check with the Lord, He is NOT happy with that...

Everyone these days wants things out of the ordinary, not being "normal" but being someone unique and special... And the price we pay for this is all kinds of terrible things happening. I tell you, I have never seen or heard of so many accidents, riots, stabbings, gangs and fights, open violence, rebellion, disrespect, thefts, and evil speaking until recently - and we all kind of consider that, That's the way things are, we need to adapt to it and accept it! ... I want to say it again,

No, this is NOT normal, you can't just Get Used to This!

What's the solution? We can't really change the world, and it's obviously clear that there's no way to cure the people today... The best thing we can do is RIGHT now touch the Lord and give ourselves to Him. All we have is now - now, as the Lord touches us, we say AMEN to His word! Just a little opening to the Lord right now, and then again in a few minutes, as we do this and that... will keep us not only surviving and being sane, but will keep us growing in the Lord!

Wherever we are, whatever we are about to do, we can choose to turn to the Lord and enjoy Him! This is NORMAL, and we should get used to this! It is normal for us believers in the Lord to enjoy Him, even to have regular times set aside to spend with the Lord! This is normal, and this is good! This is the solution to the situation today - it starts with ME, I need to enjoy the Lord right now! Everyone is going their own way, being swept away by "a flood of dissoluteness"; what saves us from being in the same current is our enjoyment of Christ, the One who is really life and can live a life for God's purpose!

Many times the Lord within us wants to speak to us and He wants to draw us to Himself that we may just spend some personal time with Him! But we are too busy or too "drugged" with what's going on, what's new, what's the score, what our friends say on Facebook, the latest pictures with our friends, or even the news of what's going on in the world! Oh, Lord Jesus! How much we need to be de-contaminated, saved from the stupefying and drugging effect of the world, and washed in the water in the Word! ....

Lord, amen, save us from being swept away - we want to be those building the ark so that we may be saved from this crooked and perverted generation! Save us from being in the current of this age... Gain Your ark today - those full of vision, seeking You! Gain some who withstand the current of this age and who shine forth as luminaries in this dark age!

It is worthwhile to waste your life and your time on the Lord (1picture + 1 experience with the Lord today) 30-day challenge

Especially at the end of the week, when everyone on Friday night wants to go out and party, I ask myself the same question again and again, Is this Worthwhile? Is it really worthwhile to waste my time and my energy on the Lord and on the church life? - or should I just "slide along" and drift along the current that sweeps everyone... or maybe just stay at home and catch up with some work, some rest... At least until now, as far as I see it and the Lord allows it / shows me concerning this, I think it is definitely worthwhile to waste my life and my time on the Lord. And I hope He will continue to strengthen this vision in each of His believers - His worth, His preciousness, His excellence, is so much more precious and worthwhile than anything or anyone else can offer...

1 Picture for today - The Corner Cottage, somewhere in Coventry

This is the Corner Cottage somewhere in Coventry. Very close to the campus. Some saints live there. They open their home for the visiting saints and for the students. This home has lots of bedrooms and a nice backyard, great for children to play. What really is nice about this house is the open heart and open fridge the saints have for the new ones, the students, the saints, everyone! Many people live for themselves, and they care ONLY for themselves, but these saints do not really care that much for themselves. I have been recently touched with the high price some people pay to be open not only to the Lord personally but also to be open with all they have towards the other members of the Body...

1 Experience with the Lord Today - It is Worthwhile to Waste Your Life and Your Time on the Lord

In the Gospels we see this particular lady who listened to the Lord Jesus when He was speaking, and she understood that He was about to die very soon. What she did was so sweet - she bought an alabaster flask with pure ointment and poured it on Him, "wasting" close to 1 year's worth of pay on the Lord Jesus(Matt. 26:8). To her, He was not just the Teacher, the Master, the Messiah, or even the Son of God - to this one, He was the most precious One, the most lovely One, and the One whom she loved. What she had most precious, she poured out on Him. [read the footnote on this verse] Others considered it a waste - to her, it was NOT a waste!

The Lord Jesus commended this woman saying that this is the story of the gospel - not only that God became a man to redeem man and bring man back to God, but also that man loves God and treasures God to such an extent that they pour out on Him what they have most precious. There is such a group of seeking ones and Jesus-lovers on the earth that don't look at the others, at the price, or at the time - they just "waste themselves and all they have" on Him. To those who love Him in such a way, He is altogether worthy of their offering - and they don't "waste" things on Him, but offer a sweet fragrant sacrifice to Him as a testimony of His beauty!

Practically, when it comes down to our living, how can we waste our life on the Lord since we see that He is so precious? This lady sought the opportunity and grabbed it so that she would do this. We also can grasp the opportunity today to waste ourselves on Him, especially as we see that His second coming is drawing near. The Lord Jesus is the most precious and lovely One, and it is worthwhile to waste our life and our time on Him. When we taste Him in the morning and we continue to contact Him throughout the day, He becomes so precious to us. The worldly things fade away, and their value decreases when compared to Him. Even more: we would gladly give up things, relationships, positions, golden futures - "wasting them" on the Lord Jesus....

Going even more practically into our daily life, I realized that making it to the home meeting on a Friday night, though I'm dead tired and super-loaded with things to do - wasting this time on the Lord with the saints is a worthwhile thing to do. It's not a waste - the Christ you gain and the fellowship you enjoy far surpasses anything or anyone else can offer you. Even while coming back from the home meeting last night, the view London had to offer... - drunk young men and women, people standing outside of the clubs and waiting, people smoking, some people being taken to the hospital while others are arrested because of the fight they got into... - though these things may seem "cool" outwardly, they rather make you empty inside and don't add up to an eternal meaning and worth....

Setting up a regular schedule to read the Bible, contacting the Lord early in the morning to enjoy Him, spending time with the Lord to confess your sins, praying with your companions, praying for your friends, talking to the Lord as you go through the day, opening your situation to some older saints for more fellowship, visiting the saints, being in the homes of the saints, etc - these are just some simple examples of how you "waste your life" on the precious and loveable Lord Jesus. He's worth it. He's so much more precious than words can describe! How I love Him...

it's all going down unless you're growing in the Lord(1 pic + 1 experience with the Lord) 30 day challenge

There we go again, a quirky title, just like many of the catchy phrases you see on the advertisements on the streets, on the bus, at the tube stations, and literally everywhere in London. Sometimes even on the way to the Lord's Table meeting, as you're praying within and contacting the Lord, if you look around on the tube and glance at the advertisements on the wall, you get out of your spirit! Everything is catchy, gives you something to think about.... but today it's simple:

1 Picture for today - Topshop in Oxford Circus in London

This is a "twisted picture" of the Topshop in Oxford Street in London - Topshop Oxford Circus London - one of the most desired-to-shop-at places for many youngsters today. Everyone in London wants to go to Oxford Street, because anything you want can be found there: jeans, snickers, t-shirts, sports shoes, suits, electronics, mobile phones, jackets, underwear, etc. Among those shops is the TopShop - one of the many very expensive shops there, who sometimes has some reduced prices on stuff and everyone goes there! They sell clothing, designer collection, shoes, accessories, make-up, gifts, etc - visit their website to find out more (including pictures of skinny people wearing their clothes).

1 Experience with the Lord - It's All Going Down if You're Not Growing in the Lord!

I don't really know whether the title explains what I'm trying to say, but it's something like this: if we are not growing in the Lord every day, we don't "stagnate"; rather, we are "going down". The reason the picture above is slightly inclined is that the whole world today, with all the shops and the shiny stuff, is GOING DOWN. Morality is not present anymore, ethics are up to you, respect is not found unless you're a close friend, love is re-defined to include all kind of perversions and twisted inclinations, and people are not pure anymore.

No one is seeking God - not even one(Rom. 3:10). They think they re-define God just as they try to re-define love and marriage. There's a trend today towards immorality, disrespect, not caring for anyone but yourself, reading and doing your best to be influenced by people who think the way you do, refusing to think about God or talk about God, rejecting and despising those who believe in God and love God, ... - and, in general, doing what YOU want but in such a way that you ignore God and His Word.... - the world is going down to the extent that they would rather believe a lie than believe the truth(2 Thes. 2:11)...

WHY am I saying all the above? It is simply because if we as believers in Christ, as lovers of the Lord, as saints in the church life, and as young pursuers of Christ - if we are not DESPERATE to grow in the divine life every day, we are being swept away by the trend in this world, the current that culminates in the lake of fire! If we ignore the Lord today, if we don't pay attention to His speaking within us tomorrow, and if we are not willing to pay the price to meet with our companions and with the saints, then we are not "surviving" or "stagnating" - rather, we are being little by little swept away by the strong current in the world!

In these last days, before the Lord returns, we do not have time to waste. I waste too much time on meaningless things, and especially after a home meeting like tonight - where we enjoyed the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd as revealed in Psalm 23, we had some new ones, we all shared something of our enjoyment in the Word, and we had fellowship with one another around some nice Thai Green Curry and some healthy fruits as dessert... - I realized this even more: I need to Grow In Life More Today! I know I can't grow faster than the speed of life, and I can't grow by just "desiring to grow"....

Lord Jesus, grow in me! Gain us as mature young saints who are here as a stepping stone for Your return! Save us from being influenced or swept away from You by the current of this age! Lord, keep us close to You! Keep us in the middle of the church life. Make us those who seek You with our whole heart, those who are willing to pay the price of their soul life that they may gain You!

Whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not, or whether we want to hear this / know this or not - the whole world - with all its glitter and its mud - is lake-of-fire-bound, and unless we are actively building the testimony of Jesus today (like Noah did in the old days) no matter how strong we are, we will be swept away in this flow! Daniel HAD TO refuse the king's food so that he would not defile himself. We HAVE TO stay away from certain places, certain people, and certain situations - so that we would not be defiled. But we also can choose the Lord right now - today! We can turn to Him right now so that He would continue to grow in us more today!

On Time 4 the LTM + Thorough Cleaning - One Meaningful Thing I Did Today (30-days challenge)

The most meaningful thing a human being can do - before the Lord's return with His kingdom or him being raptured to the heavens - is to enjoy the Lord and worship Him at the Lord's Table Meeting on the Lord's Day! Praise the Lord for this privilege! The Lord's Day is a new beginning - it's the first day of the week, the day of the Lord's resurrection from the dead, the real Sabbath, the day in which we all can gather to enjoy the Lord together, remember Him, and eat + drink together in the Lord's presence! Which brings me straight away to...

One Meaningful Thing I did Today - On Time for the Lord's Table Meeting + A Thorough Cleaning!

I don't know how you are in this respect, but many people I know - myself included - tend to be late especially for this, the Lord's Table Meeting. I don't know, maybe 5-10 minutes late... and sometimes I have no problem with this! I come late to the meeting, and "it's fine" with me... This doesn't mean I have a habit of being late, just that - due to unforseen or unplanned things - I somehow get to the meeting a bit late! When I get there, yes, I do exercise my spirit and participate, but recently I have been shined on by the Lord and convicted concerning this.

How comes I'm never late for work? Actually, if I'm late, I apologize, I promise I won't do it again, etc. How comes when I attend important outward events that I care for - I'm never late? How comes I'm never late when I'm supposed to meet someone at a certain time we both agreed on? How comes I'm never late for interviews? How comes I'm never late for the train or the plane - rather I plan to be there 30mins ahead or hours even? But... when it comes to meeting with the King of Kings at His table, when it comes to meet with the saints - the sons of God - to bring God praise and worship... I have almost no sense of guilt?

This is not to put guilt into people or even into me - but the Lord Jesus, the living Person within us, has something to say about this. Just contact Him and ask Him about it! That's what I did, and I was rebuked, corrected, adjusted, and exposed... so today, even though I had to take the tube (and not the bus as I used to) I made sure I was there right at 10.00am! O, the joy! O, the flow! O, the praise! I was sitting between two dear brothers and as we prayed and praised, the Spirit with our spirit... was so rich and so moving! Praise the Lord... Paying the price - YES, there is a price to pay! - to be on time at the meetings can also bring you some more practical experience and enjoyment of Christ!

This is also true about the home meetings, the prayer meetings, and all kinds of meetings - somehow we tend to get late (for various reasons) to the meeting, and... it can become a habit. Especially when you're young this is more true... In the Full Time Training you just CANNOT be late - and you learn to be regulated in this, in order to be a proper human being and a proper vessel in the Lord's hands. But what about when no one is demanding this from you - when there's no "serving one" that gets you to the meeting, but you have to do it yourself? Would you be early / on time because you just love the Lord? When we meet with the saints - this is the greatest joy on earth! It is here that our spirit never faints, and our lives are filled with worth!

The second thing, as mentioned in the title, is... THOROUGH CLEANING! I'm not sure you YOU are in this, but I both love and hate cleaning! I love cleaning and I love being clean, but at some points in time I just don't want to / hate cleaning! This doesn't mean that it's clean / messy in my room / place all the time, but it means that things pile up, the cleaning gets delayed, other more important things get in the way, etc - and the cleaning part sometimes gets forgotten! It's even more difficult when you have your own place - you don't live with people, parents don't see you to be on your case, you can "do what you want"... but many times the divine life in you and even your inward sense of being a clean-proper-human-being bothers you to CLEAN - and CLEAN THOROUGHLY!

When the divine life comes into us through our regeneration - when we are born again to be sons of God - we start a new life, and there's another Person in us. The Lord is very real and very practical. Though you may not feel anything when you tell Him daily, Lord Jesus I Love You! - yet when the time comes, when there's a practical thing happening, the Lord will be real to you within and He will speak to you specifically. He is not at peace with me enjoying the Lord in my room when my room is in a mess! Many times I repent to Him about the state of my room, the state of my heart, the state of my PC, my facebook comments and pictures, my twitter comments, etc... The Lord has something to say about everything we do/say/are! And the more we listen to Him, though we may do outward things in fellowship with Him, the more we gain Him!

So... please accept my apologies again for "using myself as an example" - I'm not different than anyone else and I'm not "special"; rather, I believe we all have this kind of experiences... - but the Lord somehow needs to make His home in our heart more! The inward enjoyment is expressed outwardly in a practical way by having Christ lived out in us - we become Jesusly human, human yet divine, proper human beings living Christ! ... to cut the story short, after such a wonderful time at the Table Meeting today there was a bothering in me, and when I got home, I was strengthened and motivated within to clean my place! Dusting, wiping, hoovering / vacuuming, washing dishes and cleaning, putting things where they belong, ironing the shirts (30mins of ironing!), arranging things, getting 2 loads of laundry done + putting them up to dry, putting out the trash / rubbish, etc... - these are just some of the things I had to do....

Lord, thoroughly clean my inward being! No separation or cloud between me and You! Shine on us, Lord, and may there be no hindrance. Keep speaking to us. Even in practical things, Lord, we want Your presence. Re-arrange the "furniture" in our heart, and strengthen us to cooperate with You even outwardly in our room, our house, our family, among the people we work / study with... Make us real Christians, real God-men!

Making a 3-months Commitment to Read the NT - one meaningful thing I did today (30 days challenge)

Wow, it's not easy to keep up with this, especially when the home meetings are so sweet! Tonight we enjoyed the Lord so much - just appreciating how much God loves us! God fell in love with man - for only God's love can make man just the same as He is in life and nature! ... What made You, Lord, to die for me... - I was Your enemy! Lord now I love You more and more each day - Lord I love You more this very day!

Believe me, the greatest joy on earth is that on Friday night you get together with the saints of all ages, races, colours, cultures, and backgrounds... and just enjoy the Lord! This is THE BEST thing you can do! Of course, on the way home you see Satan's usurping the humanity created to contain God - especially young ones being usurped and spoiled by Satan.... but there's One in us who is the most lovely One - and in the whole universe we just love Him! O, Lord.... nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus! But coming back to the 30-day challenge for today, here's

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - 

Making a 3-month Commitment to Read the New Testament!

Being raised up in a Christian family - with seeking parents who infused in me a desire to read God's word and a love for the Bible, I have to admit that the older you get, even though you know the importance of it, the reading of the Bible tends to be put aside again and again. I long for this, to have a schedule of reading the Bible consistently, consecutively, and even with a companion that would check on me and encourage me. Recently even more, after listening to some messages from the Team Reunion (saints from Christian Students on Campus), I was convicted, exposed, and enlightened + encouraged at the same time: I can do it!

Since I'm online a lot, even though it's better to read the Bible as THE BOOK, the physical book, sometimes it helps to be reminded online / by email about it! So these days I found these two great tools that help us with reading the Bible according to a schedule, in a consecutive way, and even in a consistent way:

• ReadHisWord.com - a website in "beta", with free registration, which helps you create your own schedule according to the time period you want to allocate to a certain reading. If you want to read the New Testament in 30 days / 90 days or any number of days, there's a filter there and a result that shows you what chapters you need to read every day! There's a calendar, a journal, and even alerts by email. Very simple, but this tool helps you set aside some time - in a scheduled way - to go through the Bible!
• LetTheWord.com - a website in development, recommended especially to the students - you can login with your Facebook account and form a group with someone(either by inviting them, adding them, suggesting it to them, giving them the key, etc). The website is simple - you just post your reading there - your smiling face (your facebook profile picture, unless you change it) shows up there on the board as having read that chapter. What's nice about it is that, according to the burden of the website, this is for READING the WORD with COMPANIONS! So you need to grab one or two companions and remind one another about it! I wish there would be more integration with facebook, as in allowing this api to post on facebook your reading, etc.

But coming back to this Meaningful Thing I Did Today - the Lord has been burning in me to start this, to get on a regular schedule and read the Bible! I began a schedule so many times... and I gave up either weeks or a few months later! But as I did this, I prayed, Lord, have Your Way! Be the initiator! You need me to do this and I also need to do this! - and there was a desperation growing in me... 

So here I am, I found a dear brother to be my companion, we formed a group on the LetTheWord, and now we're going on little by little! Even though I promised myself NOT to start with big bites, I want to go ahead with a 90day reading of the entire New Testament. Lord, what about my time right before I go to sleep?!? I want to learn to redeem my time - and also to fall asleep in a nicer / more positive / more constructive way than browsing, watching, or other things! Amen to the Word of God! Remember: 

Christians love to read the Bible! As loving seekers of the Lord, we will read the Bible every day until we will meet the Author of the Bible in person - face to face!

One Meaningful Thing Today: Going Through Psalms 2 thoroughly! (30-day challenge)

Especially if you love the Lord and love His Word, you will enjoy reading the Bible! The Lord speaks to us here and there, here a little and there a little, bit by bit, verse by verse, etc. Sometimes from a whole chapter there's only one verse or even one sentence or one word that stands out. In our consecutive reading of the Bible we enjoy the Lord so much, we see the history in the Bible, the poetry, the commandments, the teachings, etc. In our more in-depth study with other spiritual guidelines, ministry books, life-studies, the footnotes in the Recovery Version, etc - we get even more riches out from the Word. And when we get together with the saints in different home meetings, group meetings, prayer meetings, vital group meetings, Lord's Table Meetings, prophesying meetings, training meetings, conferences, etc - we get even a richer deposit. There's so much in the Word of God! 

It's not easy to pick only ONE meaningful thing from what I was in today or from what I did today(not that I was doing a lot of things or anything like that...)! Especially on Tuesday there's the prayer meeting - and I have to say, this is THE MOST MEANINGFUL thing I did today! Praying to enjoy the Lord, to fellowship with the Lord, and to cooperate with the Lord that His kingdom may come and His will be done on earth as it is being done in the heavens - this is the best thing you can do on a Tuesday evening! But for today I would like to choose this particular matter as the

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today -
Going Through Psalms 2 Thoroughly

Many times I desired so much to go through a chapter in depth, verse by verse, not only through the life-study, but also through the crystallization-study, through the up-to-date speaking, through the footnotes, through the portions in the morning revival, through the pray-reading of the verse, etc. I never had time to do that, in a thorough way, for any chapter in the Bible! I even memorized chapters and Psalms, but never went through in a thorough way with a concise abstract / summary of the study. "Milking the Word" and drinking the milk in the Word, getting the nourishment...

So today in the Morning Revival on the Crystallization Study of Psalms I couldn't help it - I had to go through the whole second Psalm and immerse myself into it! I enjoyed it so much - reading it, praying over it, remembering from the message, listening to portions in the second message in the last training, reading the footnotes, reading the life-study... - this Psalm is so rich! And I managed to get two portions out on the aGodMan blog that summarize my enjoyment and my study of this chapter: Psalm 2 in the light of God’s systems of grace and of government – the nations are in open rebellion, and, Kiss the Son! Love the Lord!

Wow, how wonderful to see God's economy in Psalms 2! Though the whole world is in rebellion against God and even I AM in rebellion against God, He already has installed His King in Zion! And now all we need to do is Kiss The Son - Love the Lord! We can't and we wouldn't submit to God in His government - but the Lord can do it in us through our enjoyment of Him, loving Him, kissing Him, and allowing Him in us! This Psalm has become so rich to me, and I am so happy I could set aside a considerate amount of time to get into it and share about it!

[Disclaimer: I have the feeling that if I continue to do this "challenge", everyone who reads these portions will see not a THING but will love the Lord more. At least this is my purpose, and this is my heart - not to give people ideas or things, but to get to know this Loveable One and enjoy Him - even in practical things, normal things, day-to-day matters such as... reading the Bible and thoroughly enjoying a chapter! Read the two articles about Psalms 2 - Open Rebellion and Kiss The Son - and you will definitely love the Lord more!]