Yesterday was my birthday and throughout the day, all I kept thinking was how faithful and merciful God has been. Thank You Lord for one more year.
-ONWARD!
Monday, May 21, 2012
dont be afraid, trust me
I was going through a few notes in my notebook this morning and found this one while I was reading the book of Mark. It deals with having faith, something I'm still not very good at.
Mark 5
Jesus heals a demon possessed man and asks him to tell his friends what has happened to him. (Interesting he didn't say family. Maybe he had no family. Interesting also that a demon possessed man would have friends). He went on to share his story to 10 cities, which is amazing considering the size of one city.
Tell them:
-ONWARD!
Mark 5
Jesus heals a demon possessed man and asks him to tell his friends what has happened to him. (Interesting he didn't say family. Maybe he had no family. Interesting also that a demon possessed man would have friends). He went on to share his story to 10 cities, which is amazing considering the size of one city.
Tell them:
- The wonderful things he has done
- How merciful he has been
What wonderful things has the Lord done for you that you can share?
Jesus always seems to emphasize a practice of faith. The woman who had haemorrhaging for 12 years just believed that simply touching Jesus' clothes would heal her. And it worked. Jesus stopped to look for her just to commend her on her faith. In fact He seems to be annoyed when people display a lack of faith. In Jairus' house he ordered everyone out so he can be surrounded by people who had the same faith that the little girl would live again.
What does this mean for me? In what ways can I display faith where I used to doubt? What things can be possible today if I just believe? "Don't be afraid", Jesus told Jairus, "Trust me".
Mark 6
And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Our unbelief can stop God from acting on our behalf. No matter how dire or unrealistic a situation, always believe in God to see you through it, to make a way. Make room for him to perform his miracle.
-ONWARD!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
holding on
When all is lost, all I remember is that You are good. You are pure good. And You love me. More than I will ever know. So I trust you with my life. I wish it was easier than trying to find my own way, easier than thinking how to make a good life for myself, working harder than I have ever done before. But I believe in you. Don't let me be put the shame. Even if that happens, where else can I go?
-ONWARD!
-ONWARD!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
the people effect
For the past few days I've been meaning to write something but nothing comes to mind. Its like when you're trying to remember someone's name and its at the tips of your tongue yet you cannot articulate it. The brain knows it, you can visualize them in your mind but cannot not utter their name. So close, yet so far.
I'm still relying in my celcom broadband dongle for internet, the slow poke folks at streamyx have not come to fix our internet connection yet so my online presence has been suffering. I have over 60 facebook game requests to respond to and I can't do it until I get real internet.
My external monitor has been fixed. They had to change the motherboard, its a good thing its still under warranty. Once you get used to large screens you really can't go back. With no internet I've been watching and re-watching old movies, series and anime and quite frankly its getting old.
My mornings are spent studying until lunch time, when I switch gears and try to catch up on the news or just read articles online and then my evening are pretty much free. I hardly leave the house except for when I run out of food, or on sundays for church.
This evening I decided to watch Lord of the Rings again and paused it for a while to read the wikipedia article on C.S. Lewis, who wrote the three books that have be made into movies. I really admire C.S. Lewis, or Jack as his friends call him. He is a brilliant writer and reading his wikipedia entry I discovered that he was friends with J.R.R. Tolkein who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, among other books. Tolkein was one of the influences in Jack's life that made him convert from being an atheist to a christian.
Its amazing the effect people can have on each other. Its like having someone's perfume rob off on you leaving a small piece of them behind. My prayer is to be an instrument. Big or small, prime or subsidiary, if only an instrument, that's enough for me.
I came across this verse this evening and it blessed me:
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Roman 4:20,21
I believe.
-ONWARD!
I'm still relying in my celcom broadband dongle for internet, the slow poke folks at streamyx have not come to fix our internet connection yet so my online presence has been suffering. I have over 60 facebook game requests to respond to and I can't do it until I get real internet.
My external monitor has been fixed. They had to change the motherboard, its a good thing its still under warranty. Once you get used to large screens you really can't go back. With no internet I've been watching and re-watching old movies, series and anime and quite frankly its getting old.
My mornings are spent studying until lunch time, when I switch gears and try to catch up on the news or just read articles online and then my evening are pretty much free. I hardly leave the house except for when I run out of food, or on sundays for church.
This evening I decided to watch Lord of the Rings again and paused it for a while to read the wikipedia article on C.S. Lewis, who wrote the three books that have be made into movies. I really admire C.S. Lewis, or Jack as his friends call him. He is a brilliant writer and reading his wikipedia entry I discovered that he was friends with J.R.R. Tolkein who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, among other books. Tolkein was one of the influences in Jack's life that made him convert from being an atheist to a christian.
Its amazing the effect people can have on each other. Its like having someone's perfume rob off on you leaving a small piece of them behind. My prayer is to be an instrument. Big or small, prime or subsidiary, if only an instrument, that's enough for me.
I came across this verse this evening and it blessed me:
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Roman 4:20,21
I believe.
-ONWARD!
Friday, April 13, 2012
make allowances
Its been over a week now since I returned to Miri. I came back to find my guitar sort of broken, my internet disconnected and my external monitor not working. Not a way to start off the week let me tell you. So the first week was spent fixing things but not having my usual setup made me read more. I've already gone through two of Haruki Murakami's books and almost at the end of 'To kill a mocking bird'. And I've been listening to more music and surprised to discover there are really nice songs in my collection. Its great to be back though. I never think I could say this a few years ago but I miss Miri when I'm not here. There's something about this city that has grown on me.
Last week was great, got to go for the VCF bible camp at Lambir. This is my second time in Lambir, the first time I almost drowned but this time I had good sense to stay out of the water. But it was a great experience. You would think that will all the camps I've attended in my lifetime it will be like a 'been there done that' thing but it wasn't. It was different though. There was a time when I was just a participant and went along with what was already planned but now I'm involved in some of the execution. I thank God for Aaron who invited me to go. It was kind of a last minute thing and I was reluctant at first but gave in eventually. VCF is very special to me and even though I felt a bit left out it was still special to be able to lead a small group and share the gospel.
I had an interesting conversation with Pastor Lim of Piasau Baptist Church, he asked me of my plans when I go back home and I told him, and then he asked if I had considered starting a new work and I have not considered it at all because well, I know how hard it is to do something like that and my brief stint at leadership has left its mark on me. Its not for me. At least not for now, maybe in the future things will change but its an interesting point he brings up. There's a natural progression of things and what he said is that if you are faithful with little, more responsibility will be given to you and its something I know but not something I make allowances for, plan for, expect and anticipate. But its worth looking at.
-ONWARD!
Last week was great, got to go for the VCF bible camp at Lambir. This is my second time in Lambir, the first time I almost drowned but this time I had good sense to stay out of the water. But it was a great experience. You would think that will all the camps I've attended in my lifetime it will be like a 'been there done that' thing but it wasn't. It was different though. There was a time when I was just a participant and went along with what was already planned but now I'm involved in some of the execution. I thank God for Aaron who invited me to go. It was kind of a last minute thing and I was reluctant at first but gave in eventually. VCF is very special to me and even though I felt a bit left out it was still special to be able to lead a small group and share the gospel.
I had an interesting conversation with Pastor Lim of Piasau Baptist Church, he asked me of my plans when I go back home and I told him, and then he asked if I had considered starting a new work and I have not considered it at all because well, I know how hard it is to do something like that and my brief stint at leadership has left its mark on me. Its not for me. At least not for now, maybe in the future things will change but its an interesting point he brings up. There's a natural progression of things and what he said is that if you are faithful with little, more responsibility will be given to you and its something I know but not something I make allowances for, plan for, expect and anticipate. But its worth looking at.
-ONWARD!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)