Blind

Luke 18:35-43 - Jesus heals a blind beggar

³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.³⁶When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
 ³⁸He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
 ³⁹Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
 ⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?"
      "Lord, I want to see," he replied.
 ⁴²Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." ⁴³Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

-

v.38 - The beggar knew who Jesus was, "the son of David" - a messianic title.
Do we know who Jesus is? Truly, who is He to us?

v.39 - People tried to stop him from getting to Jesus, but he tried harder.
Do we show how much we want Jesus in our lives? Do we 'shout louder'?

v.41 - Jesus asked the man, "What do you want Me to do for you?" when, since he was blind, it was clear that Jesus (being God) knew what he wanted. But Jesus asked him so that He could verify his faith. and the man replied, "Lord, I want to see."
Do we respond to God in the same way the beggar did?

v.42 - Jesus replied, "your faith has healed you"
Do we have faith Jesus can make miracles? Really, do you?


The beggar was blind, and he didn't deny it. Many people nowadays are 'blind' but they do not acknowledge it. They are like 'lost sheep' (Luke 15) who are 'respectable people who think they do not need repentance'.

If you know that you are one, turn back to God. Let us not be blind leading the blind!

Tick-tock

Please don't tell me Kaysha's single comes to mind when you look at the title.

ANYWAYS! Easter is coming in a few days! Excited?

You shouldn't, because you should always be excited about our Lord ;)

Besides that, I was recently going through some rough times, and got so distracted that i left the tap for the kettle on for too long. I sighed as I saw the flooded kitchen, knowing how much work it would require to dry it back up.

When I tried to take the easy way out of the problem (always seems to be first choice), I realized that the vacuum cleaner was broken. So I dragged myself to bring a mop and pail and start my work.

It was pointless, I told myself. The cleaner had just come yesterday to mop the floor, and here I am doing it again. With every swipe and stroke, the floor didn't seem any drier. But soon, slowly, by meditating on God, the water slowly, slowly collected and dried.

Why tell you pointless stories of my life? Well, because shortly after that (had I gone away frustrated, I would not have) noticed that there was a faint smell lingering in the air. Tracing it, i found out that the gas was being leaked out. And my mom was going to cook later.

I don't know a single thing about cooking, but the smell and all just reminds me of those movies where houses blow up because of gas leaks. I know it can't happen but the point was, I discovered the problem after a little perseverance. Even though I had other things to do, God told me to be still and go on doing that 'useless' chore.

Speaking of blowing up, have you ever wondered how short our life can be? As James had stated in the forth chapter of his book, that our lives are like vapour, have we really considered the magnitude of his words?

Pastor said last sunday that yesterday is history, and there MIGHT NOT BE a tomorrow. All we're left with is today.

So thank God for every day you're alive, because you KNOW very well that He can take your life away anytime He wants, whether or not you're ready for judgement.

---

Another thing I thought of while erm..doing my sejarah homework was. : we constantly pray for the nation. We pray for our Muslim friend's salvation. But are we ready for it?

The idea struck me gradually and the more I thought of it the more it makes sense. God placed us here in this very education system so we can learn their language and therefore, preach Christ to them!

Think about it. I'm itching to get my hands on a BM version of the bible, Al-Kitab. Can't find any yet...any ideas on where to look?

Lets continue working together, fighting for change in Malaysia. And let every action count.

Can I say the Lord's Prayer?

I cannot say OUR,

if I live in a watertight spiritual compartment;

if I think a special place in heaven is reserved for my denomination.

I cannot say FATHER,

if I do not demonstrate the relationship in my daily life.

I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN,

if I am so occupied with the earth that I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME,

if I, who am called by his name, am not holy.

I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME,

if I am not doing all in my power to hasten its coming.

I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE,

if I am questioning, resentful of, or disobedient to his will for me.

I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN,

if I am not prepared to devote my life here to his service.

I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD,

if I am living on past experience.

I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US,

if I harbour a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION,

if I deliberately place myself in a position where I am likely to be tempted.

I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL,

if I am not prepared to fight it in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.

I cannot say THINE IS THE KINGDOM,

if I do not accord the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.

I cannot say THINE IS THE POWER

if I fear what people may do or what my neighbours may think.

I cannot say THINE IS THE GLORY

if I am seeking glory for myself.

I cannot say FOR EVER AND EVER,

if my horizon is bounded by the things of time.

I cannot say AMEN,

if I do not also add "cost what it may". For to say this prayer honestly will cost EVERYTHING.

By Author Unknown

Do you really mean everything you pray?

YiShien

Prayers!

Lately, God has been answering ALL of my prayers SO faithfully, in ways I have NEVER expected!

I prayed for wisdom, and pastor preached of wisdom and humility. And though it wasn't a wonderful change/experience, God gave me what i asked for. Thank you Father..:D

I prayed for strength. I almost had given up on my duties. I almost broke down again. But God, again, being faithful when i am faithless, brought me to PJCF camp on the last day, where I listened to the message brought by Pastor Andy which spoke personally and directly to me. Praise Him...

I prayed for leaders. God is showing me many promising signs. :D

etcetera etcetera. He even answered things I have NOT prayed for.

Example...the props which i was half-panicking about, but did not pray for. I got them ;)

Oh..God can do wonders through prayer. Keep praying, folks! =)

i can't seem to post comments.. *is there anything wrong? :(

CBN would be having their Easter's celebration in school this year, like usual, organized by CF & CSS. (CSS= Catholic Students' Society)

we need prayers.

so far, we've been doing fundraising by selling J.Co Donuts and candies.

sales has been good, Praise God. :)

pray that many would turn up to hear the Gospel; and that their hearts, ears and minds would be receptive to the message.

pray for the speaker, Pastor Lisa, that God would protect her even as she prepares the message (you know, when we are so ever active serving God, the devil would be so jealous and wants to pull us away)

and most important of all, that God would grant us His Holy Spirit's presence in this whole event.

share with us about your CF and let us pray for one another!

God bless! :)

Love,

Kit May.

How are you?

Fellow NSCFL-ers...how have you been? I've not gotten much news from you guys.

Post something up about your CF! Link your CF blogs! Let's not put this effort all to waste.

These few weeks have been very hard on me, and I'm struggling with a different set of new challenges which drain me one by one. I pray that I won't break down...

But let this blog continuously bring testimonies of all our youth around Malaysia. Don't tell me nothing has been happening around your school lately?

I recently read about the revolutionaries around Malaysia doing great stuff in their schools, including sharing and getting support from the most unlikely authorities.

Well, God is definitely doing great things all around our schools. Just recently I contacted a sound engineer who is involved with church work, explaining our situation in St Davids. We want to do an easter performance, but our sound system sucks, and we have no money, so we were wondering if he could help. The very next day, Uncle Lam had a conference with our headmaster and a few other authorities, and decided to order a new set of equipment costing a figure up to 5 digits. Praise God that He has provided, even for things we didn't expect.

Let's continue inspiring and helping each other do greater things for our God. Don't let the spiritual fire burn out when there are so many opportunities to fuel it!

Even if its a small gesture of kindness, like buying water for a construction worker on a hot day (or any day for that matter) because God said that if we do any acts of kindness to anybody, we are doing it unto the Lord Himself.

Lets take an initiative.

A very popular question

that many people ask is, "If God is such a great and loving God, why does He allow all the bad things in the world to happen?"

Let me give my straightforward opinion.

No.1, Acknowledgement

Notice that people credit themselves for the good things that happen, and blame God for the bad things that happen? (referring to majority here).

Take a step back and look. Isn't that just childish? Only taking what you want and cursing what you leave.

Acknowledge that God is an omnipotent God first. YES, He can do whatever He likes. What can you say about it? Before you call Him a cruel God, look at yourself. You're reading this now, meaning you have internet connection. Meaning you are blessed. Take some time to thank God.

As my brother once said, "Ukur baju sendiri" before you start blaming God. Are you (or me, for that matter) more righteous than God? Can you understand the mechanics of holding the world in your hand?

Everybody would end up doing things that eventually benefit themselves. Which brings us to our second point about God.

No.2, Appreciation

God, being a leader of this world, did NOT create us for destruction. He said before that He is the good shepherd that lays His life for us. And He DID do it.

Which leader of this world will actually TOLERATE being accused, tortured, mocked, betrayed and so much more, while being quiet about his sovereign power? Tell me who.

Most of us, being just touched by a small hint of these, recoil in immature outbursts of wrath (myself included).

Jesus didn't. He shut up even though He didn't have to. He could have silenced and transported them all to hell. He could silence YOU and transport YOU to eternal burning flames. But no, He didn't. More often than not people like to dwell and meditate on what God CAN do, rather than what God HAS done.

He HAS died for us. Being a leader, He sacrificed Himself for His followers. Now THATS what i call a leader, not someone self-serving or self-righteous. Jesus didn't even mutter a word.

No.3, Appraise

Check at whatever tragedy had just happened. Even when things seem bleakest, be sure, and you better be, that our God is ever-present to the needy. THE QUESTION IS, HAVE THEY RESPONDED?

Not all things always turn out for the worst. Even mighty tragedies. Look, if Jesus didn't have to go through all that suffering, He wouldn't have saved us all, right?

If there is no rain, there is no sunshine, right?

Same theory applies, no matter how much you might condemn me or God, saying "oh, you never will understand." Truth is, God always does, though humans may not. He understands, He comforts. Can you say that God doesnt understand? Can you see past those nail-pierced hands, that for love's sake, He became poor?

Appraise. Bad things may not always turn out bad. It requires patience, most of the time. God might be using the testing to produce the best testimony.

Until then, God bless, all of you.