Take Time

Take time to laugh
It is the music of the soul.

Take time to think

It is the source of power.

Take time to play

It is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to read

It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray

It is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to love and be loved

It is a God-given privilege.

Take time to be friendly

It is the road to happiness.

Take time to give

It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work

It is the price of success.

-Author unknown-

Found this beautiful poem as I was writing in the FES journal Swee Kit gave me. They've got some pretty interesting writings in there. This was in the section of "What Would You Do If You Were Given A 2nd Chance To Relive Your Campus Life Again?" Reminds me of how my time in uni is limited and I must make the best of every opportunity here in campus. Daddy's in that section too :) His picture so handsome *bangga* hee. :D

Was just reflecting and writing down my four months of holidays and the things I've been through. It's been an amazing journey and experience. Can't believe my holidays are coming to an end :\ Noooooo... Time flies.

Take time and use it wisely. Time is precious.

something about faith

Just wanted to share something I got when I read Matthew 8 recently. 

Matthew 8 is divided into six parts, and in each of these six parts we can learn a little something about our faith in Christ.

Matthew 8

The Man With Leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4) – Will

¹When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ²A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. ⁴Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The first thing about faith is that it must be in God’s will. The man with leprosy came before Jesus and acknowledged that it was only by Jesus’ will that he would be healed. Likewise, we must not come barging into God’s throne room demanding and asking Him to approve and answer our wills. Instead, we should pray like Jesus prayed, “Yet not my will, but Yours be done.”

And as we pray and read His Word, we begin to realize and find out what God’s will is. Our thoughts and perspectives will slowly change as we continue to seek after His will. 

The Faith of the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13) – Word

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
⁷Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
⁸The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their placed at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

The centurion’s faith was honoured by Jesus because he had faith in the power of the word of Christ and he had faith in the authority of Christ. The Word of God is as alive today as it has been 2000 years ago. God is still the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the one with the highest authority. Let’s begin to build our faiths on the foundation of His Word and believe in the power of His word.

But may we be always mindful of the will of God. We see that it wasn’t just blind faith the centurion had, but he too adhered to the will of Jesus. In verse 7, Jesus says that He will go and heal the centurion’s servant. And in verse 13, His Word comes to past. Indeed, His Word will come to past!

Jesus Heals Many (Matthew 8:14-17) – Works

¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”

The thing that really struck me as I read this part was how Jesus did not just stop at teaching and speaking with words, but He went on to fulfil the Words through His life, through His actions. He healed the sick, He did something. ‘Works’ were part of His ministry. He was practical.

These past few months, of being exposed to so many different kinds of needs around me, I am reminded to be practical as well as prayerful about the many needs. We cannot just pray for the poor hungry people that they will be fed and hope food falls from the sky for them. We need to do something. Indeed, faith without works is dead.

The Cost of Following Jesus (Matthew 8:18-22) – Worth It

¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
²¹Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
²²But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Is God worth it? At certain points in our Christian walk, this question is bound to come up. Is God worth giving up my home? My nine to five job? My securities? My comfort? Is He really worth it? Many times we make it all about ourselves but really this whole life, is for God. What are our lives but just a tiny dot in eternity. And as I slowly discover my faith, I believe God is worth it. He is worth more than I could ever imagine. And as I trust in Him, the risks I take are worth it. Obeying Him is worth it. Faith and following Him at times brings me to circumstances when I can’t have my way. But that’s okay, because I know what He is leading me to is worth it. But this is a question, each person has to answer on their own, according to their own convictions.

Jesus Calms the Storm (Matthew 8:23-27) – Winds, Waves and Worries

²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
²⁶He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Looking back at verse 18, we know that it was Jesus who gave the orders to cross over to the other side of the lake. And as follows, His disciples got into the boat with Him. Suddenly, they were hit by a furious storm which threw them into despair. But with Christ in the vessel, they were saved.

Many times, when God asks us to do something, there may come certain difficulties and struggles, winds and waves. And many times, these winds and waves can get really really overwhelming. But as our faith grows, as we remember God’s faithfulness and power in our lives, may we also always remember and acknowledge that our God is with us, and He is able to rebuke the winds and waves in our lives and calm the storms. Completely calm, perfect peace. Worries will come along the way, Jesus did not promise a smooth journey BUT (thank God for ‘but’s) He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And He is far greater than the winds and waves in our lives.

The Healing of Two Demon-possessed Men (Matthew 8:28-34) – Wins

²⁸When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
³⁰Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
³²He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank and into the lake and died in the water. ³³Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

The part of this last few verses that struck me was that of verse 29, where the demons knew Jesus had power and authority over them and in God’s time, they were doomed. God always wins. At the end of the day, He is and will be victorious. So, whose side will you choose to stand on? Our faith is not a hopeless airy belief, it is based on truth and based on a God who is victorious, who always wins at the end of the day.

My faith is not all of that, my faith is still very very small. But I pray that as I continue to journey with Christ, my faith in Him will grow.

As of now, I know that this faith, this following Him, is worth it.

favor

For He says, 

"In the time of My favor I heard you, 

and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor and now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2

I asked God for favor,

and favor He granted me.

Thank You, Lord.

these rainy days

have been back in campus since Wednesday. and have been going through lots of talks and sessions for this whole PM (Pembantu Mahasiswa/ Orientation Helpers) thing. last phase and then it’s the real thing – Orientation Week

and through it all, i’ve actually learned quite a lot. well, much more than i expected.

i went for half of a course called “Energise and Be Energised” in replacement of a friend. although it was very very very, i say again, very brain draining, i did gain valuable insights. i was encouraged to see students from all kinds of backgrounds come together, talk, discuss and exchange views. we had to go deep into eight of the core values of Universiti Malaya. kind of like a moral class but which forced us to think practical not just the nice sounding moral-ish answers.

apart from that, a little something happened which reminded me that every opportunity must be stretched out for (it’s like i just came back from a motivational talk) but sad to say, i learned this through letting an opportunity pass and really regretting it after. it was a chance to speak up but i remained silent it wasn’t a big thing, but it was a chance. i’m asking God to grant me the courage to speak truth and the wisdom to speak it in love.

been listening to some sermons which Gloria sent to me. two have been very impactful – one on Unity by Nicky Gumbel and the other on Leadership by John C. Maxwell. both have caused me to reflect and repent from parts of my life that have been pretty off target from God’s aim. need to start investing my time in the right things now.

everyday, i look at myself and i wonder what does God see in me? i am so inadequate in so many areas, i’m so inconsistent, i have so many insecurities and fears and yet, everyday He brings me through. He gives me chance after chance after chance (i think i’ve long passed my second chance).

everyday, i get by and i know it is only by His grace and His power.

thank You, God. may You be seen in my life by the people around me.

 

You are my strength when I am weak.

be careful what you say

the thing about people nowadays (me included) is that we’re not very careful with our words.

i remember when we were younger, “stupid” would get you into trouble. we were taught that it was a bad bad word and we were not to say it. but these days, we use “stupid” so carelessly. stupid this, stupid that. we use it for situations, people, things, etc.

i remember i used to struggle with maths when i was in standard 6 and once i said out of frustration “i hate maths!” my mom reprimanded me for using the word “hate” because she said it was a strong word that should not simply be used. i agree. yet today, i just have to take a look at facebook and i get to read all kinds of “i hate’s” on people’s statuses. in my opinion, “hate” is a very strong and destructive word.

well on the other hand, i think the meaning of the word “love” has been terribly misconstrued too. twisted, downgraded and misused. in its essence, “love” is such a beautiful and powerful word. however, it is used so lightly and simply these days. i myself have been guilty of this ‘sweet talk’ and because of that have hurt others and have been hurt by it too. i think many times  we don’t really understand the meaning of “love” when we use it. how can you say you love someone and a few months down the line that love just disappears or worse, turns into hate.

are we saying things we do not mean?

saying things we may regret in time?

are we saying things that hurt others?

are we saying things simply because we feel like it without thinking through its consequences?

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
- James 3:9-10

Lord, forgive me for the things i have said that i should not have. Grant me Your wisdom and guard my lips that the words i speak will be careful and glorifying unto You. Help me to only say what i mean but to also think through the consequences of my words. Keep my heart close to Yours because out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.