”Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”“ John 11:9-10 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.11.9-10.NIV
My Remarks:
I’ve got an insight during the discussion on this week’s BSF session.
We received enough grace from the God during the daylight such that we should shine to others during the night? Just like a solar powered system?
It’s tough as we are sinners. But the grace we received is worthy. It should let other sinners know as well.
Amazing Grace
We are not the sun. But we can reflect the sunlight like the leaf in the photo. It’s still attractive, right?
The Miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fishes Luke 9:10-17 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish–unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
My Remarks:
I once thought 5 loaves and 2 fishes was a miracle. However, I was reminded that it can physically be executed, especially in these days of shortage of masks.
Isolation From God
If everyone is stocking masks in his own castle, then the masks is always in shortage. Hence, there’s some people have a lot in hands and some people don’t have any in hands. This kind of imbalance would soon break out into dispute and in worst war’s starting.
Experience God’s Mercy
However, If everyone is keeping what’s needed and shared with each other for the excess, everyone would soon be satisfied and all will be saved. And this is how 5 loaves and 2 fishes exactly worked. This is not a miracle any more. We all can do it. I’m lucky that I’m living in a city where God’s words is executed.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
My Notes:
Actually, we discussed Luke 12:35 – 48 (Be in readiness) this week. It involves the discussion of God will come like a thief. Hence, I chose the related verses instead.
I get used to using house as a symbolism of our shield. We would usually equip ourselves as much as we can. Sometimes we may also stock many tools inside our shield.
Can you imagine you’ve always got a AK47 pointed outside? Or Your house is a military castle? It’s a side track, but I can’t stop my imagination la.
However, are they necessary? What will be left when God come again?
I’m starting to prioritise what should be important to me.
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?
If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.
For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
My Notes:
In Parable of the sower, we were reminded to be deep soil to let the sower grow.
In this week, we were reminded what to be grown, our fortune or our inner spirit – the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.
Our fortune is our bank account when we live while the fruit of the Spirit is our bank account when we live in the Holy Kingdom.
Hence, we were reminded the importance of growing the fruit of the Spirit instead of the fortune.
In this photo, I took a shoot of a decorated tree for Christmas to represent the relationship between the fortune and our fruit of the Spirit.
The decoration on the tree symbolises the fortune that we concentrated on. When the fortune grows, we usually will invest in decorations and put on ourselves. It may be jewelleries, properties, arts or bachelor degrees.
However, this tree is in condition, it is supported by external. It symbolises the lack of growing our inner soul – the fruit of Spirit.
If the condition goes on, the weight of the decorations on the tree will pull us down.
It is to remind us what is more important.
Updated on 10 Dec, 2019:
The Christmas is coming and the decoration for Christmas is fabulous.
It would be amazing when our fortune is growing with appropriate decoration.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
My Notes:
This week’s service discussed the journey and the destination of following God.
That’s exactly what I wondered.
In Exacting Discipleship , God lead us out of our shield/house to start a journey. But then, for what?
In Genesis 12:1, God asked Abram to leave his country. Abram left his country at 75 years old and without a son.
After thousand years, Abram’s grand grand grand son, Jesus redeemed us all.
To conclude, Abram started from barrenness and cropped with Jesus.
Hence, it suggested that everyone started from barrenness?
My shield/house is built with years with extra cares. It equipped everything that I intended.
But barrenness?!
At least a garden ma………….
After studying Exacting Discipleship, I think I can keep my house with me. I can hide in my shield if anything goes wrong throughout the journey with God.
But now…….my house is barrenness? That’s meant that the journey with God is one way ticket?
Let me introduce the house in Exacting Discipleship. It was a gift of being the highest score in class in the first examination that I attended in my life.
The door of the house was broken for a long time. And when I seek help to fix the door, I was taught not to fix it because of reminding not to lock myself in the house.
In below photo, I smashed the house to symbolise my determination to start this one way journey to God.
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wow……..Do you think I’ll smash my house? Don’t be silly la, I smashed a house built with the kinetic sand as the symbol instead as follows.
10:1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
Luke 10: 17-20 The Happy Results
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.
My Remark:
We discussed the exact wordings that Jesus told how to evangelise in this week.
“Peace be to this house.” will be the greeting when we visit people’s home. This just like the secret that shared among the Christians.
In this photo, I shoot the decoration that I put on the main door to symbolise the welcome of the peace in this house.
Updated on 16 Oct, 2019:
I confessed that I bought the decoration without careful consideration. But God let me know…… so I finally printed my recent favourite photo with the greeting on an aluminium plate.
In the photo, the flower was blowing up by a wind such that the shadow of the stamen was reflected on the petal. This is an amazing moment and I’m lucky to capture it.
But it is regrettable that the flower is not in perfect condition. You can see the spot on the petal which defected the shadow of the stamen.
Anyway, this is my recent favourite photo.
Updated 22 Aug, 2020
I learnt a new Hebrew word, Shalom, which is the original word used in bible to represent the greeting of Peace be to this house.
57. As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
58. And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59. And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
60. But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
61. Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
62. But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
My Remarks:
Follow a KOL is easy nowadays. You can like her and her feeds will send to you for viewing automatically. She then gains popularity when many people liked her posts. Hence, she will prepare her feeds based on the likes.
It’s somewhat different to follow God as I experienced. He won’t scold you, but He’ll let you know something’s wrong. It’s always your choice to follow Him or ignore it.
We discussed the possible situations during the discipleship in this week’s fellowship.
1. Actively Following
Jesus’s response: I have nowhere to lay my head.
The house symbolises your shields and the door is the excuse to follow Jesus. In this situation, you’ve not only opened the door to let Jesus in. You also let Jesus take you out of your comfort zone. You can then find there’s a world outside.
2. By Invitation with excuses
Jesus’s Response: Let the excuses go and you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
In this situation, your door is knocked by Jesus. You opened the door to let Him in and He asked you to go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God. You answered Him by knocking other’s door.
3. Actively Following with excuses
Jesus’s Response: You are not fit for the Kingdom of God.
In this situation, you trapped yourself in your house.
Magic Moments 