Friendly Stranger

I saw the most blog worthy scene on the train this morning. I was about 4 stops away from my exit and I was trying my best to finish the readings assigned for class that day when I heard giggling coming from the person sitting across from me. I looked up and quickly noticed that he was laughing at his friend who was standing about 7 feet away to my right. He was being tightly embraced by an older gentleman around the same height as the boy who looked no older than 18 years of age. I can boldly say that although I know very little about this boy, his actions told me a great deal about his character, and that it was strong, and that he had a great respect and love for others. It wasn't too long after observing the scene that I realized that the man who had his arms around the boy was mentally challenged, at least to some degree. I say this because he was making loud muffled noises and he began patting the boy's shoulders loudly and soon after, began kissing the boy's hand all with a big smile on his face. While all this was happening, the boy remained calm. He was clearly uncomfortable but he kept his composure and refused to disrespect the man by showing any signs of disgust or contempt towards the man. The public display of hugs and kisses were not scorned but bared with love. He did not push off the man, nor did he yell at him to stop what he was doing. Even the laughter coming from his friend at his 'embarrasing' encounter did not change the boy's disposition. I use the word encounter since it was only until two stops away when the boy and his friend exited the train and I realized the the man who was embracing him was a total stranger to him. All the while I was convinced that maybe it was his family or close friend or at least somebody that he knew. My respect for this young boy - really a young man - increased exponentially. I considered how he handled this unscheduled encounter - with great honour and love - and gave thanks to God.

Communication. One of my greatest weaknesses.

God made us all completely unique. Just imagine our fingerprints alone. If you searched the past, present and future, you will find not one person with the same fingerprint as you. God took the time to form each and every one of us all in His perfect glorious image. Being unique yet beautiful creatures as we are, we do things differently from each other. We look different, we laugh differently, the way we interpret the world is different, even the way we think is different. As amazingly cool as that is, it also means that we must consider the way we interact and communicate with each other.  Since we all have our own sense of the world and we all have our own way of communicating, the challenge in relating with each other lies on the basis that an action that is meant to mean one thing may be interpreted as something else. How do we find that middle ground in communication so that the message sent is the message received? Many have written books claiming to resolve all communication problems. Those books usually group mankind into a neat personas that all think and behave the same. Are you a Type A or a Type B? Because Type A people do this and react this way and Type B. .blah blah. People are not cut out dolls. We are unique and we need to figure out ourselves before we can figure out how to communicate with others. I don't claim to have all the answers. In fact, I don't claim to have any. Communication has always been a great weakness of mine and I have absolutely no clue how to fix me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corin 12:9 NIV)

Chilling in downtown Toronto with Teesh.

Is not life more than food?

we are empty vessels

I hope you've read my previous blog about our purpose here on Earth. This post goes hand in hand with 'Jesus Jr.' In this post, I will talk about the importance of Holy Spirit. This is NOT a study guide on all that Holy Spirit is and does. However, I will tell you this, Holy Spirit is given to all those who are Sons of God, He is God, He operates in us to guide us and display God's power through us. I could give you many scriptures on who exactly Holy Spirit is and what He does which would be fun no doubt, but that is not the focus of this post. My focus here is to show us a bigger picture of who we are as members of the family of Jesus Christ.

First we must completely understand that we can accomplish nothing on our own. To put this into perspective, let's examine what you are probably doing right now. Which one of you can supply their own breath? Who here tells their heart when to beat and when to stop? Your eyes, how do they work? Which colour do you see was of your choosing? Your finger that clicks so that the page scrolls down, where did its strength come from? Was it you who provided the strength for your finger to move? If you broke that finger, would you by the word of your mouth straighten it and renew its strength? I think not. Mediate on every single action that you do that you believe is of your own doing. You will quickly find that none is truly of your own doing and it is the Lord who provides you with everything. It takes a wise person to admit their insufficiency and completely dependency on the Holy God of Israel. When you reach some point of understanding concerning this matter we can move on.

With knowledge that we are but empty vessels, completely dependent on the Most High God, our question to God changes from, "What can I do to glorify your name?" to "How will you use me to glorify your name?" God gave us His Holy Spirit so that we may showcase the glory of God here on Earth. Everyone of us are given a territory that the Lord has ordained for us to take over. There is a different piece of God's glory in each and every believer and it is up to us all to bring to full view God's glory here on Earth. The key to letting God's glory shine is allowing Holy Spirit to work in us. Obedience to Holy Spirit will cause God to be glorified. He is in us to guide our EVERY step. He equips us with God's power in order to make us stand out from the crowd. We are like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are the light of the world, placed on a lamp stand so that everyone around us will see God working in us. To understand that it is God working in us to bring Glory to himself changes our focus in life because now our only responsibility is to turn to God. Our focus turns from ourselves to God. Responsibility moves from ourselves to God. Burdens move from ourselves to God. Fears move from ourselves to God. Troubles are no longer troublesome because we know that we are being led by God to glorify God and do what it is He has ordained for us to do.

Jesus Jr.

For the past couple weeks I have been learning about my purpose as a Holy Spirit Filled Christian on this Earth. Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? I wanted to know the big picture. What is the purpose of every Christian here on Earth? The revelation that I received was not quite the big picture I'm sure, but it was definitely a much broader perspective from my previous way of thinking.

The Holy Spirit led me to John 3:16. Almost puzzled as to why He was directing me to one of the most 'famous' verses in the Bible, I flipped to John and began reading the verse.

John 3:16 (King James Version)


For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Let's look at the word "Son".

God gave His Son to the world so that through His Son the world may see, hear and believe that He is God.

Why would the world believe in Jesus? 

Jesus acted like God, talked like God, walked like God and displayed God's power. God's Son is an exact representation of God the Father who resides in heaven (now with His Son). The world saw all that Jesus did and believed in Him/God because of it.

What does this have to do with us as Christians?

When a person becomes a born-again believer, having believed in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, that person literally becomes a Son/Daughter of God.(John 1:12-13) And so, they in turn are given in the same way unto the world as representatives of Christ Jesus (2 Corin 5:19-21) to do what Jesus did and live as He lived so that others will know God through His children and believe in Him who sent them.

You might even say, "God gave His Son/Daughter, __(your name here)__  so that others may see their actions which are the actions of Jesus and Believe in God."

How do we walk as Jesus did in love & purity?

In order to walk as Jesus walked, you must first know how He walked. Study the things Jesus said, His teachings, How He acted towards others, namely unbelievers or 'sinners' as well as those He loved. As you study Him, submit yourself to God and commit yourself to a change of lifestlye. For Jesus' way of doing things is completely different from the world's way. Set yourself apart to learn from the Master, Christ Jesus.

Secondly, become completely reliant on the Holy Spirit for guidance, conviction and power. Follow up blog on Holy Spirit coming up.

Prayer:

Holy Father, I ask for deeper understanding of what was just taught to me. Give me a revelation of my purpose here on this Earth. Show me the things in which I must do inorder to be more like you Jesus. I ask that you would transform me Lord. Thank You Jesus for listening to my prayer. Amen.

Disclaimer: There are very graphic pictures used in this video.