Hi. I am appleaddict. Loved by my Maker. Valued by Him more than I know. I am the apple of His eyes. So are you! :) I thank Him for creating me and giving me chance living on this Earth, be who I am. With His love, I will treasure life and live to make a difference before I leave this place, to finally see my Maker.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The rich fool could have been the rich wise
Was reading my devotional book this morning.. and it wasn't exactly something new that I haven't read before. It's about the parable of the rich fool.
Luke 12:13-21 (New International Version)
13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
When I read the passage, the word 'for yourself' and 'for himself' caught my attention. I never read this passage in this way before. Being rich is not a sin. But being rich, and not wanting to share with others, is greed. If there's a businessman who is doing well expanding his enterprise, it is a good thing. But he must know what he's expanding it for. For God or for himself? For the pleasure of himself or pleasure of God? So if you aspire to be rich, go ahead, and remember why you wanna be rich for.
I saw some photos of saints body being exhumed for display on facebook.. Saw some comments saying how miraculous it is for a body to remain intact after being buried for so long. Out of my curiosity, I went to do a little research on this process.
Found out a few interesting things:
1) For the case of Pio of Pietrelcina, the photos of his body display is amazing, however could be misleading.. not that his face is still intact, he's wearing a life-like silicone mask (wikipedia).
2) The famous Bernadette Soubirous body.. These are the exact words from wiki: St. Bernadette Soubirous at Nevers was exhumed and put on display with a wax mask and wax hand coverings. So, those are not her real skin.
Read more here: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4126
"God called me into music and missions together, and I believe that God called me because I am not qualified for either one of them. And with a background like my past being a failure, how can I really be used in missions? And also having a past failure in the area music, how can I become a musician? So both the areas were not my expertise, not something I would ever dream of with my own strength... we all know that God is more interested in our availability rather than just our ability...." -Benny Prasad
A friend of mine shared with me about a natural disaster that is going to take place. Honestly in my heart, I didn't quite feel the burden to intercede, or to do anything about it. I'm housed in my nice rented room.. I have my source of clean water. I still have money to buy groceries and food. I am employed. This is a picture of a comfortable life. Until I read this devotion that day, and it shook me.
God purify my heart and let me have not just heart of compassion but hands and feet that will show your compassion too.
It Is My Business You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge . . . , but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Leviticus 19:18
In 1955, when the South was still highly segregated, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, visited relatives in Mississippi. After Emmett “dared” to talk to a white woman, two white men brutally murdered him. An all-white, male jury found the two “not guilty”—after deliberating for barely an hour. The two men later confessed to the crime in a Life magazine article.
Following the verdict, Emmett’s mother said, “Two months ago I had a nice apartment in Chicago. I had a good job. I had a son. When something happened to Negroes in the South, I said, ‘That’s their business, not mine.’ Now I know how wrong I was. The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all.”
Making another’s concerns our own is what Leviticus 19:18 calls us to do: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus quotes this verse and interprets it as not placing any limitations on loving those around us (Matt. 22:39; Luke 10:25-37). Our neighbor doesn’t just mean someone close by; it’s anyone who has a need. We are to care for others as we care for ourselves.
To love our neighbor means to make the persecution, suffering, and injustice of our fellow human beings our own. It is the business of all who follow Christ. — Marvin Williams
For Further Thought How can we be a good neighbor? Be respectful to all. Lend a hand. Volunteer. Join a neighborhood association. Speak up when others are treated unjustly.
I love this talk, got it from one of my tutor's blog. Often people get overwhelmed about the problems of the world, because the magnitude of it seems too big for one person, but not for this person here. He believed that he could make a difference. One person. Creative problem solving.
Imagine aftermath of a disaster. People don't have homes, they don't have safe water. Humanitarian agencies usually transport water to the place, but this invention can let the people save themselves. Though transporting the bottles to the place is still necessary, at least people do not have to queue up for water where diseases can easily spread. Not just for disaster relief. This is also good for poverty stricken countries where people live in slumps with no water supplies.
A friend of mine asked me "do you have any new year resolution?". Very quickly my answer is "NO". I haven't been thinking about it. But I know one thing on my mind was, I have too many things on my hand, I need to know what is my share, and what is not.
So thanks to her question. I'll make this my "new year resolution". To realise what is my share, and what's not. And knowing my priorities will also help me to make good decisions. So far, I think I have been doing many things I love... But I need to know how to balance them. Like if I have two Frisbees thrown at me, both heading different directions, I've gotta make the right decision based on the priorities I've drawn.
Towards the end of the year 2009, I had listened to Tim Elmore's Rivers and Floods: Power of a Focused Life. The message reminded me that I have to know the exact reason why I am in a certain place, and not just doing and doing without knowing the purpose. The reason I am in PLACE A is ________. And PLACE B is _________. So that when I know my portion, I take my share, and only my share. It helps me to prevent burnout experience and also to appreciate the tasks given to me.
One more thing I have to keep in my mind this year is also that, I am priviledged to serve the Lord. And I need to change my serving mindset to loving mindset (refer to my earlier post).
I came back last week... Thought it can be a nice break from everything.... Well sometimes serving alot in Church makes me think that I am losing out alot of things.. But when I really think about it again. I've gained so much more.
Last Sunday, when I went to church with family for the first time in a long long time.. The sermon preached was about the prodigal son. One thing that struck me the most is when the preacher began to teach about moving on from being a servant, to being a son.
When the prodigal son came back to the Father, he requested that his father made him like one of the servants in the house. However, that wasn't the father's intention. In the mind of this prodigal son, he is thinking, I have sinned sooo much against my father, I want to be a servant in my father's house to earn for myself selfworth, or perhaps earn his father's love.
However, the father wanted to restore his son's identity. His father wanted to let him know that he does not want his son to serve him, he wants first and foremost for his son to love him.
Then I was reminded. Sometimes we use the word serving God alot in Church. It makes it sounds like an obligation. But when we change the word to loving God, our whole perspective changes. From growing tired of serving to being re-charged to love God through our service.
May we always be reminded that the true reason for serving in Church is not to gain the Father's love. It's not for being accepted in His house. But let our love for God be the driving force for us to serve in the house of the Lord.
