I wrote this blog post long before Haiyan storm came. And I was ready to publish it. But for some reason, something just kept me from doing it. Now, I understand. God has a far better message for us. And I had to live through that message first before I can share it with you. I am not playing up my part in this message, for I know I am just a mere instrument. So if ever my weaknesses or deficiency in words, or my human failings are evident through my writing, I hope you pass them by, and read instead God's wonderful message. He loves us and He wants more than just mediocre lives out of us. He wants to see us through our potentials and live up to His dreams for us. He wants us blessed.
In case you haven't read the first part of this blog, it may be best for you to read it first. Here's the link: Living God's Dream.
God has put wonderful dreams in my heart, which in His extraordinary way is working out in my ordinary life. It is too wonderful not to share with you how it is possible for us, mere human beings, to LIVE UP God's incredible dreams in our lives.
Before anything else, we need to remember that we are not entitled into God's dreams for us. No, we don't deserve them. Nor can we manipulate Him to give His dreams to us. God is good, though. It is in His nature to bless us. And it is by His choice, not our works or merit, that we are blessed and living His wonderful dreams.
Also, we need to remember (as I have mentioned in a previous post Living God's Dream) that God's dreams may be different from what the world promotes--- prosperity, popularity, prestige, power, comfort--- but it sure would be greater than our perspective, bigger than our plans, and more dynamic than we could ever envision, as it would include all of time, space, people, events and anything we may experience and know. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In living out God's dream for my life, and in observing and reading how other people, who are aware that they are living God's dream for them, live, I have noticed an unmistakable pattern. Putting it into an acrostic for us to easily remember it, it comes up to the word: LIVE UP.
To live up is to do life with the aim of moving on to a higher ground.
To live up is to intentionally be full of life despite circumstances or people pulling us down.
To live up is to come alive and remain alive in God's truth, His presence, His power.
To live up is to know and believe that our help only comes from above, that our blessings can only flow out from the good heart of God, and our very lives come from His own poured out life.
If we want God's dream for our lives, we need to be aware of our patterns of behavior and decisions and examine them closely to God's standards of goodness and love. Are we on the right track?
Who or what are we leaning into? When we lean, we give up control and give it to another. Leaning on God frees us from our self-imposed labor. Labor that most often do not produce the best results in us. However, giving up control is not easy for most of us. Even if... especially if it is God. What if He takes us way out of our comfort zones? But if we want what God wants for us, we must allow Him to control how our lives play out and to decide to live according to what He wants. Whatever happens.
We normally listen and learn from what our hearts lean into. "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God" (John 8:47). Most of the time, we talk to God rather than listen to Him. If we take the time to listen, we will find out that He speaks to us in many ways: through His Word, nature, our experiences, and other believers. He wants us to notice His presence, His ways and His will in our lives. And in being aware, we learn.
To learn is to acknowledge Someone is stronger and wiser. To learn is to acknowledge that we don't know it all and to hope for better results in us. For wherever we may be in life's learning, we still don't know it all. So in humility we ask for help and in humility we go under somebody's tutoring, teaching or training. We submit to the teacher. It is an essential part of learning. We trust that the teacher knows more than we do and He can help us learn. We lean. And in leaning, we learn.
We willingly open ourselves into accepting a part of the teacher's life or expertise. A learner will have to decide how much he will learn from his teacher. But the teacher can only share so much, it is up to the student to learn.
There are kinds of learners.
As mentioned, there those of us who seemingly drift in life. Whatever life handles, they copy and paste. I call them 'the copy/paste' learners. While staying with a teacher-friend, I overheard her and her student talking about a quote that caught my attention. "There is no shortcut to learning." Sometimes, we just want it easy. But often, we would find out in the end, that that's not the way to learning.
While I was in graduate school, many of us who were studying already had various responsibilities--- children, work, home, church, school, and personal goals. So when it came to fulfilling course requirements, many resorted to simply going to the internet when handed an assignment, like an essay or a research work, copy/paste somebody's work and hand it as their own. They got by to getting the grade they wanted until it was time to work on their own thesis. This time, they have a dilemma on their hands. We know this is not right. Yet, many of us, go through life just simply copying and pasting whatever other' people's lives are and living it as our own. Problem is, when real problems come to us, we flounder and fail.
What may be good for other people, may not be what is best for me. Only God, the Maker of me knows the workings inside me and what will work for me. Best. And anybody else's life may work but won't be what is best for me. This why copy/paste learning doesn't work in real life. I have to find out for myself. I have to learn.
Another type of learner is 'the praraphrase-r'. A paraphraser is an enthusiastic learner. However, he absorbs others' lives much like a copy/paste does, but with more earnestness. There is no room for mistakes. He must interpret the lessons he has learned to perfection. In such rigidity, there is no space for the Holy Spirit to move in his life. We oftentimes find him suspicious with new information or anything that contradicts what he believes. And just like a copy/paste learner, he gets all surprised and confused when real dilemma comes and which falls out of any theory or method that he knows. He may have to learn that life is not a series of steps, but a road to travel, and from there advance on. Or he may totally get discouraged and find himself falling out of the way.
The third leaner is what I call 'the transformed' learner. The Bible has commanded us to 'not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (our) minds. Then (we) will be able to test and approve what God's will is--- His GOOD, pleasing and perfect will' (Romans 12:2, modified and emphasis supplied). This kind of learner learns for transformation. He is aware that every event, person, time and space is filled with learning. Each day is supposed to leave him better than yesterday. He understands that today is given by the Alpha and Omega for Him to bless and to be used. The transformed learner understands that God is calling him forward. "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us" (Philippians 3:13-14).
There is no turning back for one who has learned through transformation. Yes, he may make mistakes but they are not meant to discourage him but to prod him forward, to hold more tightly on the One who transforms, so he can do better, reach for the prize, get to graduation, and hear the Master say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
To live God's dream for us effectively is to move beyond a copy/paste and even a paraphraser existence. We have to be willing to let go of our notion on what is normal. For to do so will allow God to put us in places or positions that we are not even able to imagine. We learn by leaning on the Teacher and by listening to Him. From there, we start to live God's dream. Being 'transformed', people may not see us perfect in the world standards, but we are reflecting our Light from our lives, shining His glory. They see our Hope instead of despair, our Joy instead of fear, our Strength in place of weakness. When we give God the space to move in our lives, He weaves His dreams in our lives. .
Next post: LIVE UP God's Dream 2. See you again!
In case you haven't read the first part of this blog, it may be best for you to read it first. Here's the link: Living God's Dream.
God has put wonderful dreams in my heart, which in His extraordinary way is working out in my ordinary life. It is too wonderful not to share with you how it is possible for us, mere human beings, to LIVE UP God's incredible dreams in our lives.
Before anything else, we need to remember that we are not entitled into God's dreams for us. No, we don't deserve them. Nor can we manipulate Him to give His dreams to us. God is good, though. It is in His nature to bless us. And it is by His choice, not our works or merit, that we are blessed and living His wonderful dreams.
Also, we need to remember (as I have mentioned in a previous post Living God's Dream) that God's dreams may be different from what the world promotes--- prosperity, popularity, prestige, power, comfort--- but it sure would be greater than our perspective, bigger than our plans, and more dynamic than we could ever envision, as it would include all of time, space, people, events and anything we may experience and know. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In living out God's dream for my life, and in observing and reading how other people, who are aware that they are living God's dream for them, live, I have noticed an unmistakable pattern. Putting it into an acrostic for us to easily remember it, it comes up to the word: LIVE UP.
To live up is to do life with the aim of moving on to a higher ground.
To live up is to intentionally be full of life despite circumstances or people pulling us down.
To live up is to come alive and remain alive in God's truth, His presence, His power.
To live up is to know and believe that our help only comes from above, that our blessings can only flow out from the good heart of God, and our very lives come from His own poured out life.
LIVE UP
L - Lean, Listen and Learn. Many of us often go through life looking like we are drifting. However, that is not the case. The choices we make, the standards we live by, our hopes and dreams all tell us of our own design and plan for our lives. Even if only a few of us truly examine our life plan or mission, our consistent decisions and pattern of choices tell us our way of living and where we are going. And as in any school, we are listening and learning whatever our hearts are attuned to in this life. Whether we are intentional or not, what we are habitually leaning to is what we are developing in ourselves and which would take us to the future.If we want God's dream for our lives, we need to be aware of our patterns of behavior and decisions and examine them closely to God's standards of goodness and love. Are we on the right track?
Who or what are we leaning into? When we lean, we give up control and give it to another. Leaning on God frees us from our self-imposed labor. Labor that most often do not produce the best results in us. However, giving up control is not easy for most of us. Even if... especially if it is God. What if He takes us way out of our comfort zones? But if we want what God wants for us, we must allow Him to control how our lives play out and to decide to live according to what He wants. Whatever happens.
We normally listen and learn from what our hearts lean into. "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God" (John 8:47). Most of the time, we talk to God rather than listen to Him. If we take the time to listen, we will find out that He speaks to us in many ways: through His Word, nature, our experiences, and other believers. He wants us to notice His presence, His ways and His will in our lives. And in being aware, we learn.
To learn is to acknowledge Someone is stronger and wiser. To learn is to acknowledge that we don't know it all and to hope for better results in us. For wherever we may be in life's learning, we still don't know it all. So in humility we ask for help and in humility we go under somebody's tutoring, teaching or training. We submit to the teacher. It is an essential part of learning. We trust that the teacher knows more than we do and He can help us learn. We lean. And in leaning, we learn.
We willingly open ourselves into accepting a part of the teacher's life or expertise. A learner will have to decide how much he will learn from his teacher. But the teacher can only share so much, it is up to the student to learn.
There are kinds of learners.
As mentioned, there those of us who seemingly drift in life. Whatever life handles, they copy and paste. I call them 'the copy/paste' learners. While staying with a teacher-friend, I overheard her and her student talking about a quote that caught my attention. "There is no shortcut to learning." Sometimes, we just want it easy. But often, we would find out in the end, that that's not the way to learning.
While I was in graduate school, many of us who were studying already had various responsibilities--- children, work, home, church, school, and personal goals. So when it came to fulfilling course requirements, many resorted to simply going to the internet when handed an assignment, like an essay or a research work, copy/paste somebody's work and hand it as their own. They got by to getting the grade they wanted until it was time to work on their own thesis. This time, they have a dilemma on their hands. We know this is not right. Yet, many of us, go through life just simply copying and pasting whatever other' people's lives are and living it as our own. Problem is, when real problems come to us, we flounder and fail.
What may be good for other people, may not be what is best for me. Only God, the Maker of me knows the workings inside me and what will work for me. Best. And anybody else's life may work but won't be what is best for me. This why copy/paste learning doesn't work in real life. I have to find out for myself. I have to learn.
Another type of learner is 'the praraphrase-r'. A paraphraser is an enthusiastic learner. However, he absorbs others' lives much like a copy/paste does, but with more earnestness. There is no room for mistakes. He must interpret the lessons he has learned to perfection. In such rigidity, there is no space for the Holy Spirit to move in his life. We oftentimes find him suspicious with new information or anything that contradicts what he believes. And just like a copy/paste learner, he gets all surprised and confused when real dilemma comes and which falls out of any theory or method that he knows. He may have to learn that life is not a series of steps, but a road to travel, and from there advance on. Or he may totally get discouraged and find himself falling out of the way.
The third leaner is what I call 'the transformed' learner. The Bible has commanded us to 'not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (our) minds. Then (we) will be able to test and approve what God's will is--- His GOOD, pleasing and perfect will' (Romans 12:2, modified and emphasis supplied). This kind of learner learns for transformation. He is aware that every event, person, time and space is filled with learning. Each day is supposed to leave him better than yesterday. He understands that today is given by the Alpha and Omega for Him to bless and to be used. The transformed learner understands that God is calling him forward. "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us" (Philippians 3:13-14).
There is no turning back for one who has learned through transformation. Yes, he may make mistakes but they are not meant to discourage him but to prod him forward, to hold more tightly on the One who transforms, so he can do better, reach for the prize, get to graduation, and hear the Master say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
To live God's dream for us effectively is to move beyond a copy/paste and even a paraphraser existence. We have to be willing to let go of our notion on what is normal. For to do so will allow God to put us in places or positions that we are not even able to imagine. We learn by leaning on the Teacher and by listening to Him. From there, we start to live God's dream. Being 'transformed', people may not see us perfect in the world standards, but we are reflecting our Light from our lives, shining His glory. They see our Hope instead of despair, our Joy instead of fear, our Strength in place of weakness. When we give God the space to move in our lives, He weaves His dreams in our lives. .
Next post: LIVE UP God's Dream 2. See you again!
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