One and a half thoughts for every hour of the day to keep you from burning out and losing your effectiveness as a Christian and the joy of living in a relationship with the Creator of the Universe.
1. Pray (like talk to God as a best friend, if you think it helps, hold a phone to your ear if you think talking to yourself looks silly)
2 . Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it .
12. Live within your means; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S . (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego. 33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
How to attend Church for a whole year!
If you struggle to get yourself out of bed every Sunday to Church, you are probably not alone. One of the more interesting articles I came across the Lifehack website is one on How to attend service for 52 weeks in a row . Here are a few additions to the list:
1. Get your perspective right about God. When you know God better, you will want to visit His house more.
2. Don't ask yourself whether you should go to Church. Just do it. When the alarm sounds, don't lie there considering how great another 20 min of sleep would be, just get up. If you find it hard, ask God for help!
3. Alarm clock mp3 Set your mobile phone to wake you up with a stirring message or song that will get you up with the right perspective.
4. Drive someone to Church. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for someone else.
1. Get your perspective right about God. When you know God better, you will want to visit His house more.
2. Don't ask yourself whether you should go to Church. Just do it. When the alarm sounds, don't lie there considering how great another 20 min of sleep would be, just get up. If you find it hard, ask God for help!
3. Alarm clock mp3 Set your mobile phone to wake you up with a stirring message or song that will get you up with the right perspective.
4. Drive someone to Church. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for someone else.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Mobile Phones - your phone is also your sword
Mobile Phone JAVA Bible Programs
Nothing like the luxury of searching through your mobile phone for a verse when the pastor says turn to Romans 6:23 and having everyone look at you as if you are smsing during church!
Download a free bible for your phone (even the old JAVA phones can download this)
http://gobible.jolon.org/
1. Use it to read the Bible at the bus stop
2. Check up a verse with their keyword search
3. SMS a verse to a friend in need of encouragement straight from the application
Nothing like the luxury of searching through your mobile phone for a verse when the pastor says turn to Romans 6:23 and having everyone look at you as if you are smsing during church!
Download a free bible for your phone (even the old JAVA phones can download this)
http://gobible.jolon.org/
1. Use it to read the Bible at the bus stop
2. Check up a verse with their keyword search
3. SMS a verse to a friend in need of encouragement straight from the application
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Grace - every Christian needs it
I spent much of my life not knowing what grace was. To me, it was a religious word which meant basically God giving us Jesus Christ when we didn't deserve it. That is true but that is just saving grace. Recently I learnt the importance of grace in a Christian's life, and this is the greatest God hack you can ever learn.
In Summary (verse references coming soon)
1. Grace can only be obtained by being humble.
2. Grace is the power to do what God wants you to do
3. Ask God for grace who gives liberally
4. Without grace, you're without God's help - and without God you can do nothing.
(a)You can't overcome sin without grace! (this may be worth a separate post but one of Christianity's greatest misunderstandings is that once you are a Christian, you can resist sin automatically)
(b) You can't follow God well without grace
Get grace from God and your life will start to show forth the Christlikeness that is expected of a Christian.
In Summary (verse references coming soon)
1. Grace can only be obtained by being humble.
2. Grace is the power to do what God wants you to do
3. Ask God for grace who gives liberally
4. Without grace, you're without God's help - and without God you can do nothing.
(a)You can't overcome sin without grace! (this may be worth a separate post but one of Christianity's greatest misunderstandings is that once you are a Christian, you can resist sin automatically)
(b) You can't follow God well without grace
Get grace from God and your life will start to show forth the Christlikeness that is expected of a Christian.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
How do you meditate?
I've seen this in the Purpose Driven Life as well as from Jim Berg's Biblical counselling course, if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. Meditation in the Christian sense is not emptying your mind but the "thinking over" of verses, promises and attributes of God. If you struggle to sit down and read the Bible, just take one verse, one promise from God in the Bible and think about it.
The MAP method of meditation is one way to spend time on a verse:
1 > Memorise the verse. Express it in different ways, emphasizing certain parts of the verse and maybe express it in pictorial form so you can remember it easily.
2 > Analyse the verse. Think about what this verse is saying. Try to understand individual words in the verse. Look them up and see where cross-references of that verse leads you to.
3 > Personalise the verse. Think about how this verse applies to you. How is God changing you through this verse? How can you use this verse in your daily life?
If you find that your quiet time is not fruitful, the solution is increase your quiet time - your praying time, your reading time and keep reading the verses and ask God to show you what He wants you to get out of it. Have faith that God will speak to you through His word.
Try these verses to meditate on:
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
The MAP method of meditation is one way to spend time on a verse:
1 > Memorise the verse. Express it in different ways, emphasizing certain parts of the verse and maybe express it in pictorial form so you can remember it easily.
2 > Analyse the verse. Think about what this verse is saying. Try to understand individual words in the verse. Look them up and see where cross-references of that verse leads you to.
3 > Personalise the verse. Think about how this verse applies to you. How is God changing you through this verse? How can you use this verse in your daily life?
If you find that your quiet time is not fruitful, the solution is increase your quiet time - your praying time, your reading time and keep reading the verses and ask God to show you what He wants you to get out of it. Have faith that God will speak to you through His word.
Try these verses to meditate on:
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Growing while you walk, run, jog or drive (ipod Godhack)
How far is your work / school from your house? If it is like me, it is a 30min haul each way. This can be a time of frustration and traffic weaving without much benefit to your spiritual walk. Learn to enjoy your trip to the shops, school, church or home by listening to a sermon using an mp3 player attached to your car stereo system. The easiest way is to use an FM TRANSMITTER.
These things plug into your earphone jack of your ipod or mp3 player and broadcasts your music/sermon to a FM frequency (for example 106.5FM for my model). Tune your car radio to this frequency and you will be able to listen to your music/sermons on your car speakers!
Additional Hack: Share what you are listening to, with the car behind you! Add a bumper sticker that says "TRY SOMETHING NEW: 106.5FM" and watch them in your rear mirror adjusting their radio to get with the program :)
Recommended sermons: Look up "BJU chapel hour" on www.sermonaudio.com and you can download 25min sermons which will last you even for a short trip. Greg Mazak sermons are good for short trips like this.
These things plug into your earphone jack of your ipod or mp3 player and broadcasts your music/sermon to a FM frequency (for example 106.5FM for my model). Tune your car radio to this frequency and you will be able to listen to your music/sermons on your car speakers!
Additional Hack: Share what you are listening to, with the car behind you! Add a bumper sticker that says "TRY SOMETHING NEW: 106.5FM" and watch them in your rear mirror adjusting their radio to get with the program :)
Recommended sermons: Look up "BJU chapel hour" on www.sermonaudio.com and you can download 25min sermons which will last you even for a short trip. Greg Mazak sermons are good for short trips like this.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mobile Phone Evangelism via BLUETOOTH
Hey bluetooth technology has been around for a while now. Quite a while ago I heard this trend in the UK where people would send a message to someone random nearby and see their reaction when they receive the message. This practice is called bluejacking. Of course, this could be quite mean but there is a way to evangelise to people using bluetooth.
1. Create a new entry in your phone book.
2. Make the name "If u were to die 2nite, where would u go?" or something like "Someone nearby cares abt u"
3. Add an evangelistic website to the contact details for example under the email address field type www.needgod.com . Depending on what other fields are available to you, you can add other messages.
4. When you are in a crowded area, select this contact card, select SEND via BLUETOOTH and pick out a person's mobile to send it to. You have just given them a gospel tract :)
1. Create a new entry in your phone book.
2. Make the name "If u were to die 2nite, where would u go?" or something like "Someone nearby cares abt u"
3. Add an evangelistic website to the contact details for example under the email address field type www.needgod.com . Depending on what other fields are available to you, you can add other messages.
4. When you are in a crowded area, select this contact card, select SEND via BLUETOOTH and pick out a person's mobile to send it to. You have just given them a gospel tract :)
Movies on the Internet
Another major advancement in technology is the availabilty of video on the Internet. Some critics berate the internet for opening up the door to more accessible porn but that is only half of the story. I found the following websites really beneficial as a Christian. The first is
Way of the Master TV. Watch live footage of people sharing their faith on the streets with this program. Exciting viewing that will tempt you to run out there and tell the good news to the people on your street. Are you ready?
http://www.livingwaters.com/watch.shtml.
There are some classic Christian movies that are also (believe it or not) available on the internet for your viewing and downloading pleasure - legally! The Trinity Broadcasting Network www.tbn.org also helped develop many Christian movies such as the End Times thriller
The Omega Code http://www.tbn.org/index.php/8/1.html and also its sequel - Megiddo. For Christian movies, both of these are really well made! Now whether you believe it or not, there is also movie/documentary called
To Hell and Back which you can download (371MB) here: http://media.tbn.org/download/tbn/gallery/To_Hell_And_Back.wmv This show talks to people who supposedly died and came back to life after seeing visions of Hell. Like I said, I am skeptical so don't shoot me if this seems fanciful to you.
As you can see, there are plenty of movies and shows to watch on the internet which can help you in your spiritual walk.
Way of the Master TV. Watch live footage of people sharing their faith on the streets with this program. Exciting viewing that will tempt you to run out there and tell the good news to the people on your street. Are you ready?
http://www.livingwaters.com/watch.shtml.
There are some classic Christian movies that are also (believe it or not) available on the internet for your viewing and downloading pleasure - legally! The Trinity Broadcasting Network www.tbn.org also helped develop many Christian movies such as the End Times thriller
The Omega Code http://www.tbn.org/index.php/8/1.html and also its sequel - Megiddo. For Christian movies, both of these are really well made! Now whether you believe it or not, there is also movie/documentary called
To Hell and Back which you can download (371MB) here: http://media.tbn.org/download/tbn/gallery/To_Hell_And_Back.wmv This show talks to people who supposedly died and came back to life after seeing visions of Hell. Like I said, I am skeptical so don't shoot me if this seems fanciful to you.
As you can see, there are plenty of movies and shows to watch on the internet which can help you in your spiritual walk.
Must downloads for Christians
Sermons
Sermonaudio.com
Thousands of excellent sermons from Charles Spurgeon, to contemporary preachers like Ray Comfort, Ian Paisley, Greg Mazak, Jim Berg and Ken Ham
http://www.sermonaudio.com
Evangelism Sermons
Listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret to get that fire back in your belly for sharing the gospel with your loved ones. Hey, its a commandment!
http://www.livingwaters.com/listenwatch.shtml
Once you have listened to that, check out the other messages online. Unlike many of the sermons you may be used to, at times you may think that the speaker is a stand up comedian. Enjoy getting fired up here:
http://www.livingwaters.com/listen.shtml
Living for God
Who would know better about how to live like a Christian than the dean of students at a Christian university! This book Created for His Glory by Dr Jim Berg is excellent. You can listen to some chapters (45mins long) and learn something more about your human nature and how to get it right.
http://www.createdforhisglory.com/sessions.htm
Sermonaudio.com
Thousands of excellent sermons from Charles Spurgeon, to contemporary preachers like Ray Comfort, Ian Paisley, Greg Mazak, Jim Berg and Ken Ham
http://www.sermonaudio.com
Evangelism Sermons
Listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret to get that fire back in your belly for sharing the gospel with your loved ones. Hey, its a commandment!
http://www.livingwaters.com/listenwatch.shtml
Once you have listened to that, check out the other messages online. Unlike many of the sermons you may be used to, at times you may think that the speaker is a stand up comedian. Enjoy getting fired up here:
http://www.livingwaters.com/listen.shtml
Living for God
Who would know better about how to live like a Christian than the dean of students at a Christian university! This book Created for His Glory by Dr Jim Berg is excellent. You can listen to some chapters (45mins long) and learn something more about your human nature and how to get it right.
http://www.createdforhisglory.com/sessions.htm
Why God Hacks?
This blog is to share ideas about how Christians can live effectively in this world for God. Quite often, we hear messages that inspire us to do more for God but our willpower and our lack of creativity limits our ability to effectively carry out what we hope to do for Him.
We'll start off with a look at ADSL or cable internet. What can a Christian download which is not breaching copyright but instead, is actually benefitting their spiritual walk?
We'll start off with a look at ADSL or cable internet. What can a Christian download which is not breaching copyright but instead, is actually benefitting their spiritual walk?
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