Different Definitions

Though Alyssa and I are usually together we don't really have many pictures together. So last Sunday after a youth welcoming activity at church we decided to take pictures together. Here is one of what we took.

(L-R) Alyssa and Christin goes wacky.

The picture should really be wacky but it turned out that we have extremely different definitions of wacky. :)

Nokia 8210 Is A Classic!

I am an owner of a Nokia 8210 cellphone model for so many years now--and hopefully for more years to come. My cell phone can text people up to only 160 characters. It can call and receive calls, don't you worry. It has a 1-hour maximum talk time. It has a yellow backlight and black characters--in short, it's not colored. It has limited space for only 60 text messages and around 500 contacts for storage. It has a calendar, an alarm clock, and basic calculator. Its tones are all monotones. And yeah, my ringing tone is Love Is the Answer, if you care to know.

My phone is pretty much functional. It works I assure you. It's kinda invincible too. I've acidentally dropped it many times. It even got smashed but when assembled, it still works perfectly well! If you think my cell phone is boring, you're wrong! It has games. I have the classic headless snake, the mind-boggling memory game and the frustrating rotation game.

Many people gloat at the fact that I still own an old cell phone model. There are so many "hi-tech" phones out there that has plenty of options for texting, calling, voice, messaging, gaming and even Internet. To many, my phone is outdated and totally out of fashion. Obsolete. I could read people's eyes when they look at my phone, "Why on earth is she still using that phone?"

I guess I just learned to be content. I've learned (and have been learning) the difference of need and want. God taught me that some things, such as cell phones, can be so alluring that you will want it too much and end up thinking that it's a need. "It's gotta be a need!" We shout and then we go into a flurry of why it should pass for a need.

Cell phones for the past years have heightened people's mobility with the advent of Internet right at your phone. "The world is at your fingertips," an ad says. It may have increased mobility and interaction but it has lessened the value of true interaction with real people in real life.

Online activities are already overwhelming with computer alone. And I won't have online activities follow me everywhere I go. Email, Facebook, Twitter, and everything online should stay home in the computer, their rightful place. Call and text is all I really need to carry with me and the rest would be natural and real life conversations with friends. Something God has originally designed for what communication and interaction should be.

It must not be mistaken that I am against online interaction. I have plenty of online friends and it's always a pleasure to chat with them when we "meet" online. It is just this: God has placed in my heart to value higher the real life communication He designed than the high technology communication our human efforts invented.

My Nokia 8210 isn't outdated. It's a classic and it reminds me of my favorite biblical adage,

But godliness with contentment is great gain
(1 Timothy 6:6)

I will continue to pursue God with whatever He provides regardless of what the world may think of his provisions for me. They may be unfashionable, outdated and obsolete to them. But anything from Him, I regard it classic and timeless.

Names of God

I love names. I have a list of my favorite names. I like telling people that I like their names and would say their names five times or so just to enjoy its beauty. Some of them are Sunday, Honor, Umaga, Jane, Anne, Edward, Paul, Elaine and Louise. I just love calling them their names.

As much as I love human names, I've been constantly drawn to know more of God's names. Listed below are some of His many Names. Look them up and enjoy the beauty and meaning of Him and His Names.

1) Jehovah Rohi
The Lord Your Shepherd (Isaiah 40:11)

2) Jehovah Nissi
The Lord Your Banner (Exodus 17:8-16, Deuteronomy20:4)

3) Jehovah Shalom
The Lord Your Peace (Judges 6:23-24)

4) Jehovah M'Kaddesh
The Lord Who Sanctifies (Leviticus 20:7-8)

5) Jehovah Jireh
The Lord Who Provides (Genesis 22:13-14)

6) Jehovah Sabaoth
The Lord of Hosts (Psalm 46:7, Psalm 24:8)

7) Jehovah Elyon
The Most High God (Psalm 7:17)

8) Jehovah Rapha
The Lord Who Heals (Exodus 15:26)

9) Jehovah Shammah
The Lord Who Is There (Ezekiel 48:35)

10) Adonai
Lord and Master (Joshua 24:19-21)

11) El Roi
The God Who Sees (Genesis 16:13, 1 Chronicles 28:9)

12) El Olam
The Eternal God (Genesis 21:33)

13) El Shaddai
The Almighty, All Sufficient God (Genesis 17:1)

14) Elohim
The Strong Faithful and Only True God (Genesis 1:1. Deuteronomy 10:20)

I'd Like To Know You More

In high school, I loved having my friends sign my autograph book. Aside from spending time with them, my knowledge of them increases because of the autograph book. Take note though that my autograph book is not the kind you buy from bookstores. I made it myself with questions and things that I want to know about them. From contact details down to their hobbies, likes, dislikes and all favorites than can be listed such as colors, seasons, food, drink, etc.

It's most useful to me during holidays and birthdays. I would know just what to give to please them and make them happy in those special dates. I just love making their day.

I'm currently reading A.W. Tozer's Pursuit of God and it has been shaming me of my shallowness and correcting my views about God. Tozer wrote,

"The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His word. We have almost forgotten that God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can."

Most people would acknowledge that there is a God. And to Christians we wholly believe that there is a God. We know that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and if we receive Him in our hearts we receive the gift of eternal life...

Sadly, we end there when in fact there is so much more to receiving His gift of eternal life.

John 17:3 clearly defines what is eternal life, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (NIV)

We forget that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit is a Person. He is not an object in the far heavens who is just there. He is a Person who "thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires, and suffers as any other person may." (Tozer)

We enjoy the fellowship of our family and friends and He also enjoys having fellowship with His children. Yet, between us and Him, He is the only One who really desires and would enjoy fellowship. We treat quiet times as something dragging, tiring and boring. I'm very much guilty with that.

In relationships there is what you call interpersonal communication. It's a communication between two persons. For it to be effective, each person should keep the communication flow constantly. Just how can our personal relationship with God flourish if the only Person who wants to keep the flow going is Him?

As much as we love being with our loved ones then so much more should we love being with the Person who is our Redeemer, Father, Brother and Friend! We can never enjoy the gift of eternal life if it's only Him knowing us and us not truly knowing Him.

To enjoy eternal life is to enjoy Him. Take action brothers and sisters. How have you been treating God? Is he a mere object or a faraway God to you? Thirst for Him. If you don't feel that thirst, then ask Him to make you thirst! Because only when you thirst will you have the longing to know Him more.

Know what He likes and dislikes. Know all His names. Know what glorifies Him. When we try to know Him, He is so much pleased with us and is glorified.

O God, you are my God,
Earnestly I seek you,
My soul thirsts for you,
My body longs for you,
In a dry and weary land
Where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

Let us continuously thirst for Him and we shall truly know what is eternal life.