Tuesday, January 27, 2015

1 Chronicles 18:11.

"King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek."
I was doing a quick morning devotional, and I came across this verse. At first, the verse doesn't seem like much. It's just part of a typical Old Testament story. But then I read it again. This verse stuck in my head for some odd reason.

Right now, I'm in the recruiting process to get an internship. And it's been really fun to meet firms and their staff. But I think this verse serves as a warning to me (and maybe you too). Don't get caught up in all of it. Don't begin to direct everything towards yourself. Don't make it about you even though people say it's about you.

I bet King David plundered a whole bunch of gold and silver. He defeated 5 nations at this time. 5 nations. That means he took the wealth of 5 little economies. That's a whole bunch of money. I don't know how much that is worth in today's time. But I bet he felt like he won the lottery at least once or twice.

But here's amazing thing. He still dedicated all this wealth he received back to God. That's tough. I wonder if I'll be able to dedicate my success (if I do ever become successful) to Him. Greed is a real temptation, and I hope I'll be able to overcome it when the time comes. I hope that I'll be able to direct others to Him when they look to me (if that ever happens).
Share This:   FacebookTwitterGoogle+

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Boston and New York.

So it's been about half a week since I came back from my week long vacation. If haven't guessed already, I went to Boston and New York! 4 days in Boston and 3 days in New York. It was my first time going there for a vacation break.

Here are some things that I learned and experienced.

It was very cold.
Very cold. Negative 15 degree wind chill. Therefore, I wore a thermal, long sleeve shirt, sweater, light jacket, scarf, and coat. And I also bought myself some yoga looking/feeling pants. Don't judge me.

Everything is expensive.
Food. Subway tickets. Apartments. Clothes. Stuff. Everything.

I will never live in New York. 
And I most likely will not live in Boston. It's too busy and congested. I like my space.

On a more serious note, I saw a big problem that could enter into my life in the near future. Consumerism/Materialism is a huge trend. In my opinion, New York is the epitome of consumerism/materialism. It's ridiculous how much money gets spent in that city in a single day. People are buying souvenirs, clothes, food, etc. And it's definitely not cheap.

I'm not sure how to explain it, but I felt a conviction not to live that kind of life. I'm not saying buying things for yourself is wrong. We all need to buy things in order to survive and do what we need to do. But I want something else. I want to evaluate whether or not the thing I'm buying will lead to God's glory
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." - 1 Timothy 6:10
I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with being rich. God blesses some for certain purposes in His great plan. And it'd sure be nice if I could be one of those people. But I shouldn't use this idea as an excuse to justify my own pursuit for wealth. And neither should you.

If you think that your financial status determines your satisfaction in life, then you got it wrong. If you think that how much stuff you have determines your happiness in life, then you're wrong. True wealth and satisfaction comes from Christ and only Christ.

In my opinion, how little or much money I have should not determine my satisfaction and happiness in life. Only Christ determines my contentedness in life. And that means I can find contentedness and happiness all the time because He is constant and never shaken.
Share This:   FacebookTwitterGoogle+

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

2015: Godliness with Contentment


But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” - 1 Timothy 6:6-10
I know that was a handful of verses, but I’ve been convicted about seeking contentedness in life. Let me explain. I listened to a sermon over these verses a skiing vacation with my family. It may or may not have been a Judah Smith sermon.

The Sunday I came back, I heard Pastor Chae give a personal testimony about his past life. It was about the struggles and temptations he faced with materiality. Especially in America, society drives you to keep buying new things for yourself to find satisfaction. In the afternoon, I went to visit my old church and heard my pastor preach about the dangers of the lust of money. That same evening, I saw Lecrae (who is a Christian rapper), share a devotional he had about the same verses (1 Timothy 6:6-10). Coincidence? I think not.

Godliness with contentment is great gain”. I find myself putting my identity in so many different things. I’m sure you’re the same as I am. We put our identity in our job, financial status, number of followers, likes, friends on facebook, retweets, etc. If you think about it, it’s quite silly that we gain our confidence and meaningfulness through these things. All these things fluctuate, and they are always shaky and changing. For example, you can’t control the economy. Therefore, you are not in full control of your money. The same can be said for everything else in this world.

Which leads me to this verse. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Isn’t it funny that the pursuit of money/wealth leads to dis-contentedness? We think money equals true wealth, but we’re always left unsatisfied. We always want to buy more things. The Bible says otherwise. True wealth lies within contentment. And contentment is tied to godliness. 

According to Judah Smith, godliness basically means having “God awareness”. If we are aware of God, then we should easily be content with our lives. How does that help us be content? Let's think about it. Isn’t God faithful? Won’t He provide what is necessary? If God is faithful, which He is, then why are we constantly trying to take over our life to ease our worries and satisfy ourselves?

If we are aware of God, then contentedness should be apparent in our lives. Just to be clear, contentedness does NOT mean laziness or settling down in life. Contentedness means to have a settled heart/mind/soul because we know who is in control of our lives. 

I want to be aware of God’s presence throughout this year because I know it will give me a settled heart, mind, and soul. I want to put my identity in Him because He is constant and never changing.
Share This:   FacebookTwitterGoogle+

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Unordered List

Text Widget

Pages

Advertisement

Follow us

FOLLOW US @ INSTAGRAM

About Me

POPULAR POSTS

Copyright © Justin C. Ha | Powered by Blogger
Design by Blog Oh! Blog | Blogger Theme by NewBloggerThemes.com