Led by Dr. Mok Chong, Dean of the School of Pharmacy.
We can never block out all the chatter – the lies in our minds that are coming from the enemy or from ourselves. But we can learn to tune into God’s voice instead.
“We can’t always block out the chatter,” said Ivy Javaluyas, Director of Student Affairs. “We need to start within ourselves. Don’t do unto others that you don’t want done unto you. Javaluyas encouraged her associates to “listen and accept facts” and to use constructive criticism to improve themselves. She disapproved of gossip, stating that it will not resolve the issue. The key to conflict resolution is communication. “Deal with (the problem) positively and talk to the person you have an issue with,” Javaluyas said.
“The devil comes to take away your confidence,” Dr. Chong said, referring to what was mentioned in last week’s Wednesday Noon Day Prayer. The voices that cause self-doubt may come from those close to us, like friends, family and co-workers. The voices of insecurity could also come from within us and tell us you don’t have enough money, experience, etc. “Until you hear the voice of God, you won’t follow the right path,” Dr. Chong said.
“I would tell people my dreams, they say it doesn’t work for me,” said Amari Sanders, Student Success Coordinator. Sanders affirmed that just because something happened to one person does not mean the same thing will happen to everyone else. It all depends on the situation and the circumstances. It’s important to believe and trust in God’s will and to go where God calls you. “My destiny is already written for me,” Sanders said.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world do. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient.
“Sometimes in business, we have confrontations. Be careful not to use weapons of the world,” said Debbie Brooks, financial aid consultant. When she thinks of the phrase, “weapons of the world,” she doesn’t think of literal weapons such as guns but sees weapons as words. “Worldly people may manipulate you, speak poorly of you and lash out to protect themselves,” Brooks said, “This passage says the way to deal with it is through love. God is love. There’s a lot of power to being obedient to His word.”
“God’s word and wisdom is like a shield- it protects us from chatter,” said Dina Hsu, Head Advisor of Admissions. “We don’t know if the words spoken to us is manipulation. The only way to keep peace of mind is to do what we intend to do here and focus on the wisdom of God.
“We are human and we all make mistakes,” Dr. Chong said, “But we do the best we can to overcome every situation with love, patience, kindness.”
Matthew 4: 1-11 If God is for us, who can be against us? In all things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The temper came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” And said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” And said, “All this I give you, if you bow down and worship me.”
“The devil tempts us with materialism”, said Dr. Chong. Some people are so tempted with worldly temptations and desires that we are “unable to live a balanced life,” he said.Chong also stated how people tend to focus on themselves encouraged the group to be considerate of others. People go through hard times but we don’t always know exactly what a person is going through.
“The devil will always tempt up with easy things in life. Stay on the path and don’t let temptations overpower us,” said Chantal Jura, Director of Affiliation and Career Services.
Jura shared a story of how she was walking out of a store when two homeless men asked her for change. She gave them change, spoke with them and learned that the homeless men were veterans. One was an alcoholic who has not seen his son in fifteen years and the other was in the Navy who always wanted to go to medical school. Jura told him about the college grants and programs that were available to veterans and gave him her card. She discovered that the men were asking for money to pay their bus fare so that they could go to church and receive a hot meal. She took them to church and told them, “Whatever you do, please pay it forward.”
“They said, ‘You’re an angel.’ But I’m not. I’m a normal human being,” Jura said, “Always be nice to others. Do unto others that you want don’t unto you.”
