Turn your eyes upon Jesus

This is a devotional reading from last friday. It has blessed me a lot since then, and I don't see why a reason not to share it with you. It's written by a preacher from my church (Chen Li Presbiterian Church), Pr. Ang Eng Hoe..

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March 20, 2009
Turn your eyes upon Jesus


Scripture reading taken from Mark 6:47-56

The story of Jesus walkin on water was recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-33, John 6:16-21, and Mark 6:45-52. According to the Gospel of Matthew and Mark, the event occured immediately after Jesus fed the five tousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish. Right after this, Jesus abruptly told the discples to get into a boat and to go ahead of him to Bethesda while he took care of sending people away. Half way through the boat journey to Bethesda, the disciples saw a figure approaching their boat. Thinking it was a ghost, the disciples became afraid. According to all three Gospels Jesus spoke to His disciples and these were His words: "It is I. Don't be afraid!"

Although the disciples had just witnessed the feeding of the five thousand performed by Jesus, they still missed the truth and were unable to grasp who jesus was. In Mark 6 verse 12, the disciples even drove out many demons and healed a lot of sick people. Obviously, God was at work in those disciples. How could the disciples still not be able to understand who Jesus was? How could it be? Isn't it not too long ago that the disciples witnessed a stunning ministry experience?

Are we not like the disciples too? We know Jesus. We attend church every Sunday. We pray in Jesus' name. We have experienced God's presence in the midst of our faith community and He helps us in our daily living as Christ's disciples. We even tell others about Christ. Yet there are still moments when we forget just who it is that is present with us.

When the storms of life scare us, when we become preoccupied with what threatens us, do we sometimes forget that Jesus is with us in the storm? As Christ's followers, we must not think that being Christians means we will always be protected from all hurts, criticisms or various forms of sufferings or unpleasant events. Jesus told us to expect tough times ahead and the history of the church testifies to the fact that Jesus was telling the truth. Jesus' presence with us in those storms may or may not result in an instant calming down, But there is comfort and hope. You and I are not alone. Jesus wants us to put out eyes o Him and not just the external circumstances.


When Leonardo da Vinci finished his painting, "The Last Supper," He invited a friend to view it. An excited exclamation greeted the artist. The friend was so drawn by the cup in the painting that he seemed to ignore everything else. Leonardo reached for his brush, dipped it into paint with one bold stroke, wiped out the cup from his painting! To the astonishment of his friend , the artist exclaimed, "Fool, look at the Master's face!" The friend almost missed the glory of the painting when he looked only at the cup. Likewise, today we need some painters of external truth to exclaim, "Look beyond the cup and circumstances and look at the Master's face."

A hymnal gives us a clear answer,

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the thisngs of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of his glory and grace."


Prayer: O Lord God, we give You thanks because for Your presence in every circumstances of our lives. In this season of Lent, help us once again to focus on Jesus rather than ourselves and our circumstances. In times of doubts, give us faith to believe in You. In times of fear, give us assurance because You are with us. In times of uncertainity, lead us through every moment.

When life's storms threaten to overwhelm you, remember this - Keep your eyes on Jesus. When all seems lost and you do not know where to turn, let Christ direct your way.

Oleh-oleh dari Tony Roma's

DISCLAIMER: BARANG JAYUZ... BUKTI BAHWA ORANG YANG KEKENYANGAN NGOMONG MERACAU...

ini sebagian dari entah berapa banyak jayuzan yang keluar selama dinner besar malam ini...

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"Software Design is like a Cathedral. You Build it and Pray afterwards."

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A mantau and a chicken pau went to a movie to watch a sad film together. Only chicken pau cried. Why?
Answer: Because mantau has no feelings

The chicken pau went to another sad movie with a char siew pau. Chicken pau cried, but char siew pau laughed. Why?
Answer: Because they have different feelings

Chicken pau went to a comedy with Big chicken pau- the big chicken pau laugh harder. Why?
Answer: Because he has more feelings

Chicken pau went to see a movie with Ikea meatball now. He can't decide whether to cry or to laugh. Why?
Answer: Because he has mixed feelings

Two scallops are never able to get popular in the oceans. Why?
Answer: Because they are two shellfish

(Note: try to read the word 'feelings')
(Note2: Ikea meatball is made from beef and pork.. if i'm not mistaken..)

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Kenapa Tan(a) hamil? Karena sin(a) diper cos(a) --> -___-'

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closing video... just click and see...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUDvNmnYJRQ

selamat malam dan salam jayus...


Forewords

There was a time when I lost my desire to write and to share. There was a time when I didn't see the point of doing a blog to express my thought. I am who I am though, inconsistent as I am in doing this blog, but I do want to share and I do long to write. Today I'm giving it another go. Fingers crossed. But I still wish that "Let there be light" is the message that I convey.
  • January 1st 2012, Kristo