Becoming a Go-to Person

READ: Luke 7:1-10

When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. —Luke 7:3

“Would you pray for my sister?” the burly worker asked awkwardly. I eyed him suspiciously.
Months earlier, muggy August heat intensified emotions in the pre-strike atmosphere of the assembly plant where I was working that summer. Managers drove production at a frenzied pace and union members resisted. During breaks, we were coached by union officials on slowing down our output. My faith and idealism got me in the doghouse because I didn’t think God would accept anything but my best effort. I naively tried to explain.

My co-workers’ response was harassment, and this burly worker asking for prayer had been the ringleader. An undesirable task? I got the assignment. Off-color jokes had me as the star.
So now I greeted this prayer request with suspicion. “Why me?” His answer jarred me: “Because she’s got cancer,” he said gruffly, “and I need someone God will hear.” The bitter rancor between us eased as I prayed for his sister.

Like the centurion in Luke 7, people in the storms of life don’t waste time or mince words. They go directly to the people whose faith they’ve tagged as real. We need to be those people. Do our lives mark us as a go-to person in touch with God?

— Randy Kilgore

Even the hardest of souls might ask for help when someone they love is at risk.

For me, I think I ever meet these situations too. Got a friend, he still not yet believes in Jesus. Amazingly, he will ask me to pray for his godmother because of her cancer. Besides that, one day he feel no peace because he feel got something follow him back home. He asks me to pray for him too, for peace and safety. The main point is not what the problems are, the main point is when a people got problems, no matter he or she is a believer or not, they will know Our God can help them. That's why they find us.



Tavia

Who Is In Control?

When we look around us today, we see many people reading self-help book or participating in workshops which they think will empower them to change for the better. "Self-improvement" and "self-fulfillment" are popular catch words. Truly, 'change' has become fashionable these days.

Also common are sayings such as "To change the way you are, change who you think you are" or "Whatever you want in your life, the key to success is to transform yourself". The overarching idea here is that we have the ability and the power to take control our lives, to transform it and to determine our own destiny.

What am I giving up?

As we enter into the first Week of Lent, many of us are also determined to experience some form of change. One of the main ways we try to achieve this is by practicing acts of self-denial. And so, the question that is often asked is, "What am I giving up for Lent?"

It is, no doubt, an important question. The difficulty arises, however, when we start to think that self-denial itself, that is, what or how much we want to give up to God, is what Lent is all about.

But lent is not only about self-denial. It is mainly about us being transformed by God, especially in those areas of our lives where we are acting irresponsibly. Acts of self-denial are means by which we empty ourselves so that God can take control of our lives.

The temptation to take control


In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we read how the devil tried to tempt Jesus to achieve or obtain whatever he wants by his own power (Matt 4:1-11). The devil was trying to tell Jesus, "Don't depend on God. You have the ability and power to take control of your life and to determine your own destiny."

Jesus, however, denied himself what was promised by the devil - physical possessions and pleasure, power and authority - not because he wanted to show how good he was or what great self-control he had. Rather, Jesus knew that his very existence and mission on earth depended on his emptying himself totally so that God can take complete control of his life.

So, the question for Lent is not "what am I giving up: but instead "what can I do to allow God to transform me?" The answer depends greatly, of course, on who we think is really in control - God or us.

by Dr Steven Selvaraju

This is another great article, it asked us a very interesting question, 'what are we giving up for lent?', is it how much we give up for God, is what Lent is all about. Matthew 6 teaches us to be humble, to give charity without publicly, to pray privately without the need to boast like the hypocrites, to forgive people, and to not seek praises form people when fasting. when God sees what we do in private, He will reward us.
This article challenge us to think differently, instead of "what we can do for God", we should be asking "what God want to do through us" God is in control of our life, and let God's will be done.

Let us pray for the victims of Japan tsunami and also pray that may God's will be done

Love,
Lionel

Japan Earthquake. A Different View

As you all might know, yesterday, a magnitude of 8.9 offshore quake struck at noon and triggered a massive 7 meter tsunami that hit northeast coast of Japan. The quake shook dozens of cities and villages within the radius of 2,100 kilometers, even the tall buildings in Tokyo swayed.

As a Christian it is right for us to pray to God. Pray to repent and ask for God's help. Pray to understand and be inline with God's will. Pray to invite God to do His will through us. Ultimately to have faith in God and in what we prayed.

There are a lot of people in social network sites that asks people to pray, for the victim of Japan, for the country, for everything... which is a great thing.

But suddenly this morning I saw a post, its a prayer that looks something like "Satan, you may disturb Japan by causing earthquake. But you can't lay your dirty hand at my hometown because The Guy whom Jesus Loved are there.... flee to hell Satan, in the name of Jesus!"

It got me thinking, and this might be controversial, but is this earthquake really Satan's work? Aren't there Christians in Japan too? Don't Jesus love people in Japan too?


Yes this is the strongest quake that Japan has even seen for the late 1800's, but now I challenge you guys not think that this earthquake Satan's work, but it is God's will.



Before you guys starting to make any assumption to rebuke my statement, please give me a chance to explain why do I say this? After I saw the picture of during and the aftermaths of the tsunami, it is very sad and depressing, but earthquake is actually quite common in Japan

We will never truly understand God's divine plan, and why all these catastrophe happen. But we should pray and have faith that, whatever happen in Japan or at anywhere in the world, God have His reason and it is His will that it happened. And pray may the His will be done.
We should pray that the faith of the Christians in Japan will not crumble in this incident, but make them stronger in faith and believe in God and seek God for guidance.
We should pray that after this incident even more people will turn to Jesus.


We should believe that God's plan is great and after this incident good things will arise. Continue to pray brothers and sisters, pray that helps will come to Japan, pray that God's will, will be done

God bless everyone, continue to have faith in God

Love,
Lionel

Lent

Hello everyone, today is Ash Wednesday, and its the start of the Lent season. For those who don't understand the meaning of Lent season, I had planned to write a whole post about it, buuut I figured that a video means so much more than words :P

Plus this video has explained Lent season quite well in just 1 minute! Now I know inti student widi is very VERY slow, but be patience and try to load it and watch. Trust me, it's worth more than the 1 hour time we spend on checking friend's status in Facebook ;)



Hope you guys understand something from this video.

Numbers 19:9, 19:17
Jonah 3:6,
Matthew 11:21
Luke 10:13
Hebrews 9:13
Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance , and Lent is a time for transformation.

So let us repent, transform and come back to the heart of worship. God bless, everyone :)

Love,
Lionel

It Happens On the Inside

Another article that I got from my church bulletin:

The theme that the Church invites us to reflect for the month of March is 'Mission for Transformation'.

This theme is especially relevant for us since it is during this month that we will enter and journey into the Season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday. The very spirit of Lent is connected with transformation, as we are called to turn away from sin and return to God with all our hearts.

What is transformation?

Many people think that 'transformation' simply means 'to change'. Yet there is a difference. Let me illustrate this with an example.

Imagine you are standing in front of the mirror and you notice that your shirt does not match the color of your pants. So, you remove the shirt and put on one which you think is more appropriate. This is change.

Now, imagine you are standing in front of the mirror and you become aware that you are not happy with the way you usually dress. You feel the clothes you wear do not suit your personality or express who you really are. And so you decide to change the way you dress. That is transformation.

Change therefore, is something that usually happens on the 'outside'. An event takes place, may affect us for awhile and in time is forgotten. It may or may not lead to transformation. Transformation often happens on the 'inside'. An event, an insight or an experience affects us so deeply that it bring about a sudden or gradual but significant change in the way we believe, think or behave. We are never the same again.

The willingness to change

Another difference between 'change' and 'transformation' is that while 'change' may be something that is forced upon us or entered with reluctance, 'transformation; requires from us the sincere willingness or desire to change.

So when speaking of Lent, we could see it as a period that is forced upon us by the Church or into which we enter reluctantly because of the 'usual' obligations it entails. Or we could enter into it a willingness to allow God to truly transform us on the 'inside' in His way and in His name.

Yes, Lent for us this year can be just another event on the Church's calendar or become a significance journey of transformation. The choice is up to us.

by Dr. Steven Selvaraju

This article is very meaningful and interesting... to me at lease. It talks about 'change' vs 'transformation'. We often try very hard to 'change' our lifestyles, to 'change' our attitude, to 'change' the way we talk... we even change that God will 'change' us. But through this article, we understand that 'change' is often outside, forced, and won't last long. What we should do pray to God is to be 'transformed' from the inside out, willingly, and always.

May God bless us, and with His great love, transform us from the inside out to be disciples of God and fisher of men.

The Necessity For Dialogue

Got this article form my church bulletin:

The word "dialogue" derives from two roots:"dia",which means "the word", or more specifically, "the meaning of the word." Thus the image one gets is of a river of meaning flowing around and through those who are participating in the dialogue.

Dialogue is one of the most effective means in the struggle against negative conditioning, prejudice and fanaticism. But in order for any dialogue to be effective, certain qualities are needed: Sincerity, humility and interest. Sincerity is needed because this is what moves the heart. Humility is needed because this is what makes one person value another. Interest is needed because it is the source of all question.

In his book, Dialogue, the Art of Thinking, William Isaacs writes the following:"Dialogue is altogether a very different way of talking. Generally, we think of dialogues as "better conversation," but there is much more to it. Dialogue, as defined, is a conversation with a center, not sides. It is a way of taking the energy of our differences and channeling that energy toward something that has never been created before. It lifts us out of polarization and into a greater sense of the commonalty, and is thereby a means for accessing the intelligence and coordinated power of groups of people."

Why dialogue?

Firstly, by engaging in dialogue with others we can reduce tensions, conflicts, and even wars. It is known that through the ages, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences have led to misunderstanding, hostility and conflict. The root of conflict is ignorance and ignorance is the source of prejudice. To get to know each other through dialogue is essential for the establishment of world peace.

Secondly, in today's world there are over 6,000 communities and as many distinct languages. Such differences naturally lead to a diversity of vision, values, beliefs, practices, and expression; all of these naturally, deserve equal respect and dignity. Through dialogue, we can promote better understanding of and creative cooperation among cultures and religions, while acknowledging and accepting their differences.

Thirdly, technology has expedited globalization and made distant countries seem like neighboring towns. Progress in communication and transport technology during the 20th century has enabled us to overcome geographical boundaries and has revolutionize our way of living. the world is now linked to such an extent that local event cannot take place without having an impact on the international community and vice versa. the world has become like a village. But this village is very diverse and includes many cultures, faiths, and traditions.