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...

we all know it - now we need to practice it! (1 pic + 1 experience with the Lord) 30 day challenge

Many times people try to encourage us to do something, explaining how good it is to that particular thing, how healthy it is, etc... and you know what, you already KNOW IT! In my case it can be about going to gym and eating properly - not too much, not too little, not too much junk food, not too many sweets, etc... - and I KNOW IT! But now I need to PRACTICE it! ... But before I get into this, here's the,

1 Picture for today - The Grosvenor House in Central London

The above is Grosvenor House - home of JW Marriott Hotel in Park Lane, Central London, very close to the Hyde Park and the US Embassy. Only fancy cars around, and all kinds of stylish events and conferences are being held there. I heard about it "by the hearing of my ear" and I knew it was in London - I KNEW IT! - yet I wanted to see it! So one day I was around on a street called Park Lane, and here it is - the Grosvenor House! Of course, this picture is not a match to the official Pictures of the Grosvenor House, A JQ Marriott Hotel, from their website! [read their website for more info...]

At SparksDirect.co.uk we sell a light fitting called Grosvenor Light and another whole range called, Park Lane Wall Lamps, and recently I have been writing some articles on the NewLights blog to promote and introduce them. I have actually never known that these lamps are named after real streets in London and real buildings in London! One day I heard that there's actually a house called Grosvenor House, and there's a street in London called Park Lane.... - and since then, even though I KNEW where they were, I wanted to go visit them! Yes, we all KNOW it, but now we need to SEE it and PRACTICE IT!

1 Experience with the Lord - we all know it, now we need to practice it!

Just like with many things in life, we may KNOW a lot about the Lord Jesus - especially if you're in the church life practically, or if you're a seeking one pursuing the Lord daily - and about having a personal relationship with Him. We know we need to read the Bible daily, we know we need to confess our sins whenever the Lord shines on us, we know we need to regularly pray daily, we know we have to make it to at least one home meeting per week, we know we need to listen to the Lord's speaking within us... - we know all these things and so much more! Now it is time to practice it!

What use is it for me to know that there's a street in London called Park Lane, and on that street there's a hotel in a house called, Grosvenor House - if I don't go to visit that place EVEN THOUGH I live in the same city with that place?!? It kind of doesn't make sense... In the spiritual life, we don't just need to know things about God, about the Bible, about the church life, or about the saints - we need to be open to the Lord and enter into the life practices that we may OWN these things in our practical living! I need to practice being grouped with the saints to pray together! I need to practice reading the Bible regularly!

This is what I was pondering over today... these last days even the children know a lot of things, and the young people think they know everything. But what about our experience? Lord, I want to really spiritually see the things in the Bible, so that they may become my vision! I want this vision to be inscribed and written into me so that it may be my living, my practice, and even my being! Make me one like Paul who said to the king, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19).

... and this is a passive-active matter. It's not "me doing this", neither is it "me waiting for the Lord to do it in me" - it's God mingled with man, man learning to take the initiative and God coming in to fill man, and somehow being open to the Lord that He may do it in us... I hope you get what I'm saying - God will never come to you to force you to do things which you know you should do, but He will come in and strengthen you + be everything to you if you take the initiative to do something in oneness with Him! Lord, may I know You more! May I experience You more! May I practice living one with You more!

One portion of the Bible that sometimes sends chills down my spine when I read it or hear it is where the Lord says, Those who know much and don't do will be punished with more stripes than those who knew little and did something according to what they knew(approx. Luke 12:48). As believers we can't just "know", we need to enter in by practicing these things! Is there a home meeting close to where you live? Don't just KNOW about it, but make sure you pay the saints a visit! Is there a younger one that needs shepherding once or twice a week? Pray about it and the Lord will release your time for this... - the divine life in us is LIVING and ACTIVE, not DEAD and PASSIVE... - that's what I love about it!

even though you're busy, you get really, really hungry! - 1 Pic + 1 Experience with the Lord(30-day challenge)

:) A new challenge! At least as far as I see it now, I think it will be something like, 1 Pic + 1 Experience with the Lord today... Since I'm in London, I was thinking to put one picture from London on the blog and say something about it, then share something from what I enjoyed today... I have received a lot of feedback concerning the previous challenge, One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - and it looks like it is very encouraging to find out about our experience with the Lord! O Lord Jesus.... So without further delay, here it is:

Even Though You're Busy, You Get Really, Really Hungry! - 1 Pic + 1 Experience with the Lord Today

This is Archway, close to where I live and work. At 6pm, everyone is running - literally running - to the bus, from the bus, from the office, towards home... you have to dodge people on the street, make sure you don't hinder other busy running people, the people coming off the bus or getting on the bus or running after the bus.... To the Left is the Archway Tower, and straight ahead there's Office Spaces :) and all kinds of companies renting it. Right behind that building is the Archway Leisure Centre(where I go to the gym :) almost every day) And there's Bus 43 :) which goes all the way from High Barnet to London Bridge.

Mondays are usually busy days - lots of things piling up from the weekend, there's a new week in which we need to take care of the urgent and important things, etc. At work is even busier these days - lots of orders, lots of enquiries, people calling to check the stock and more info, others checking what's going on with their orders, etc... It's fun, you can have a decent conversation with many of the people who call. I love doing some customer care from time to time :)

And then there's the daily routine - every day there are some things that you HAVE to do, and specifically on every day of the week there are some things that you know you need to do. Today - Monday - I was so busy that today I almost forgot it's time to take a lunch break! And when I came back from my lunch break - after eating some physical food :) and praying with a brother... - I was so busy that only after 5.20pm I realized, Maybe it's time to go home... - there are so many things that keep you busy that 24h in the day are not enough!

Even though I was so busy today that I almost had no time to take a break, at the end of the day I got hungry - not hungry physically, but I got hungry spiritually! You know, with all the things you do, the things you accumulate, you take care of, or even the things you achieve - they never satisfy you or fill you inward hunger! Things may go well, or things may not go so well - in both cases, you never are satisfied... Even while doing something good, something noble, commendable - achievements or success, failure or distress, nothing satisfies your inner thirst and hunger!

I got so hungry that I knew - I had to get into the Word of God! I had to read the Bible! After a whole day of reading, writing, speaking, etc - I need to eat the Lord! And not only a little bit - but I need to seriously have some "big dinner" of Christ! A "steak of Christ", a solid portion of Christ... So I went to the gym and I got to go through John 4-6 (long chapters, filled with life and Spirit!). Also, I got to listen to almost the entire message 6 from the Crystallization-Study of Psalms(1) on The Organic Shepherding of the Pneumatic Christ. Such a supply to hear again that Psalm 23 is according to God's economy: Christ in His ascension is shepherding us and taking good care of our inner being that we may grow in life, be living and functioning members of the Body, and accomplish God's economy!

It is so good to EAT when you're really really HUNGRY! Just like my previous experience with drinking the real water (and not going for Pepsi) - when you're hungry, don't eat fast food, junk food, ready made food, or all kinds of food that doesn't fill your hunger! Eat the Word of God! And as you're eating, drink of the Lord Jesus by calling and saying AMEN, LORD! It is very good to learn to EAT when you're hungry - eat the Word, eat the Lord in the ministry which opens up the Word of God, learn to turn your heart to the Lord... - and whatever we eat, that's what we become!

Hallelujah, Eating Jesus is the Way!