A preacher read a short passage of Scripture, took off his glasses, slammed his Bible shut, and said, "This morning I intend to explain the unexplainable, find out the undefinable, ponder over the imponderable, and unscrew the inscrutable."
That is too much to claim, for we read in old testament, "The secret things belong to Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." (-Deuteronomy 29:29) One of them is our future. Moses was reminding a new generation of Israelites of God's covenant to establish them as His people in the Promise Land. Moses also warned that they would be uprooted if they disobeyed. They were not to speculate about how their future would unfold; rather they were to concentrate on living in obedience to God's revealed Law.
There is a greater purpose, however, for the "secret things" that belong to God. He is infinite and we are not. Therefore, He doesn't give us answers to all the question " whys" of His ways. He has revealed, though, how we today can know Him personally by trusting Jesus as a Savior, and how we can live wisely by handling our future to Him as Lord.
Although we will still have many questions, we can be sure that God's secrets are always designed for our own good.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Walk On Water
Matthew 14:22-33 (NIV)
Jesus Walks on the Water
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on
ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he
had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a
considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind
was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a
ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be
afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came
toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning
to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little
faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those
who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of
God.”
This story always remind us of our everyday struggles in life while walking with God.
We don't know when the storm of destruction will strike in our life. Like Peter, we always obey Jesus, we walk in His righteousness. But when the wind blows our way, we cannot see what is in ahead of us. We cannot see our chief goal as a Christian. All we see is the big " WIND", the storm that weaken us, problems that produce worries.
Jesus said. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Meaning, do not worry, He is always with us. Just focus on our goal. WIND is always there but our eyes should only focus on Jesus, don't ever think what the WIND can do to you, its only a trap from evil for us to sink. Faith to Jesus is our bouy to float.
In His Time
My friend Al told me a good news. While he was on his way home from our church, two teens ( boy and girl ) approached him to ask if they can attend in our Youth Fellowship every friday night.
In Al's part, it was a surprise. Try to think that when everytime we invite some youth in our vicinity, we always encounter a rejection. And that girl, we invited her once but did not come. And now they are excited, waiting for friday night.
This inspires me. I remember the song In His Time. God has a perfect time for everything. If you share the Word of God to anybody, and they don't seem to care, don't lose hope, it doesn't mean FINISHED. Maybe it's not the right time. We just need to follow what God wants us to do. We just continue on planting the seeds, and God will do the rest.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
- Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
In Al's part, it was a surprise. Try to think that when everytime we invite some youth in our vicinity, we always encounter a rejection. And that girl, we invited her once but did not come. And now they are excited, waiting for friday night.
This inspires me. I remember the song In His Time. God has a perfect time for everything. If you share the Word of God to anybody, and they don't seem to care, don't lose hope, it doesn't mean FINISHED. Maybe it's not the right time. We just need to follow what God wants us to do. We just continue on planting the seeds, and God will do the rest.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
- Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
A Perfect Test
Mark 6:30-44 (NIV)
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had
done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going
that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with
me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many
who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns
and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he
had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away
so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy
themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we
to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on
the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks
and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to
the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and
were satisfied and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken
pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five
thousand.
Before the incident the disciples witnessed some miracles, but in this
scene, they saw a problem. Why the disciples still worried about
anything?
First, they worried about the people.
-“This is a remote place,” “and it’s already very late. Send the people
away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and
buy themselves something to eat.”
Second, how to feed them?
-" Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)
-“That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and
spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
If you are one of Christ's disciples, would you ask these questions?
Probably, Yes. When you are in a remote area, no water to quench
thirst, no store to buy food. And your Master commanded you to feed
them.
Jesus allows us to be in a impossible circumstances, a negative situation
we do not have any control over. Why does God allow this to happen?
It provides a perfect test.
Why does He test Us?
It impacts our hearts, It changes us. When God test us it is not to grade
us but to make us grow and strong. We become a better person after the
test. The major goal of the test is to bless, enrich and develop us.
God puts us in impossible situations:
- to stretch our undeveloped faith.
- to strengthen our eternal hope.
- to show His incredible love.
Do not measure a problem according to your own abilities.
God's way in teaching Us not to rely on ourselves.
1. God reduces our resources
2. He maximizes the need.
3. He requires our trust
4. He uses our participation.
Jesus used a boys lunch to feed thousands of people. Sound impossible?
What do you have now that God can use? We need to transfer it from our
hands into his hand.
This is our participation:
Jesus Christ invite Us " Bring it to me."
God knows our needs, He just wait for us to ask His Help. Rely on Him
always.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had
done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going
that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with
me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many
who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns
and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he
had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away
so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy
themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we
to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on
the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks
and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to
the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and
were satisfied and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken
pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five
thousand.
Before the incident the disciples witnessed some miracles, but in this
scene, they saw a problem. Why the disciples still worried about
anything?
First, they worried about the people.
-“This is a remote place,” “and it’s already very late. Send the people
away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and
buy themselves something to eat.”
Second, how to feed them?
-" Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)
-“That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and
spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
If you are one of Christ's disciples, would you ask these questions?
Probably, Yes. When you are in a remote area, no water to quench
thirst, no store to buy food. And your Master commanded you to feed
them.
Jesus allows us to be in a impossible circumstances, a negative situation
we do not have any control over. Why does God allow this to happen?
It provides a perfect test.
Why does He test Us?
It impacts our hearts, It changes us. When God test us it is not to grade
us but to make us grow and strong. We become a better person after the
test. The major goal of the test is to bless, enrich and develop us.
God puts us in impossible situations:
- to stretch our undeveloped faith.
- to strengthen our eternal hope.
- to show His incredible love.
Do not measure a problem according to your own abilities.
God's way in teaching Us not to rely on ourselves.
1. God reduces our resources
2. He maximizes the need.
3. He requires our trust
4. He uses our participation.
Jesus used a boys lunch to feed thousands of people. Sound impossible?
What do you have now that God can use? We need to transfer it from our
hands into his hand.
This is our participation:
Jesus Christ invite Us " Bring it to me."
God knows our needs, He just wait for us to ask His Help. Rely on Him
always.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)