Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Father's day.


It's merely 2 days after father's day. Yet I feel as though it hardly existed. It got me thinking, do I only appreciate my father on father's day? What does the bible say about this?

"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" Colossians 3:20

Obedience, 顺服. Sounds familiar?

As Preacher Pau has mentioned on Sunday, It is not easy to be obedient at all times. But take a look at Daniel's friends and the burning furnace! It was obedience that led Daniel's friends to victory! Victory over the burning furnace!

So, we have seen the reward we receive if we obey God, how about obeying our parents?

Deuteronomy 5:16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Longeity! Praise the Lord! I believe that if you respect and obey your parents, not only will God shower you with long life, but shower you with many blessings!

Let us give thanks today, for our parents. Our parents who have been through so much to bring us up. (try babysitting children, it's not easy) Our parents who slog to provide us with our daily needs.

After giving thanks, this is what I hope we as youths can do together. Show some concern over your parents, let them know that you love them too.

Today, try and speak to your parents for more than 10 minutes. It could start with a small question such as "Dad, how was your day?" "Mom, you just came home from work, do you want a drink?"

Or simple things like accompanying your parents for grocery shopping or walking the dog together. It is moments like these God can look at us and smile. (:

2 comments:

Kar Keat said...

Hi peeps….

Have you tried going out yet don't know where to go?! Sounds silly isn't it? True true true. But to think about it, life is really full of silliness especially when our lives go hay-wire.

In our own sight of view, we often think that we are on the right track but how often is it true? 10%? 20%? 50%? 100%? Or... 0%? Actually, we don't and never will we know what is going to happen. The only thing I believe is, only God knows what He has planned for us ahead and it is a matter whether we see it or not, if He is willing to show us.

How to know whether we see it or not?! Simple. Continually examine our attitude toward God. But how?! Well. The simplest step we learnt in the past was…"WWJD". That's right…-”What Would Jesus Do? By placing ourselves in Jesus'’shoes.

Easier said than done, isn't it?!...I got to admit I'm a failure in it too but, I still try and I'm still trying.

If you are like me, still trying, then trusting in God entirely might be the best/only way to do so. It is because of that "Trusting”in Him" which leads us to no clue on what He has prepared for us, it keeps us Wondering more and more, which eventually spurs us to seek the end result that He has for us.

In Luke 12:22 (take out your Bible and find out the verse!), it tells us not to Worry.

In conclusion, try to take note of your daily life. Sometimes, you might have over-plan for A”but sort of in a Blur”way,…things turn out to be B”instead but this B”turns out good and pleasing. It does happen to me personally. Hence, why bother to worry so much? If things turn out differently, pray and ask whether it is God’s will.

In my Quiet Time, this sentence came across, "Have you been asking God what He is going to do?" HE IS THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHETHER HE WILL TELL YOU OR NOT. God does not need to tell you what He is going to do--- more often than not, He reveals to you who He is.”

Bless,
J.M

Kar Keat said...

Kar Keat's response to ODB 27 Jun 2009

Disclaimer:
(a) As a rule of thumb, emails, SMSes, blogs etc. should not, as much as possible, be sent at night. When we are tired, it’s best to keep silent. But as I have given my word to S5, I must honor my word.

(b) Sorry, Gabriel, Cheris. I still could not figure out how to directly post.

TRUST & OBEY
My 3 salient takeaways for sharing

Introductions
Like Cheris' sharing, mine is also regarding obedience.

OT reading: Job chapters 8 – 10
1) God’s sovereignty – you sure you wanna argue with… GOD?

Job 9:2 - How can a man be righteous before God?
Job 9:3 - If one wished to contend with Him, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
Job 9:15 - For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.

Can anyone argue with God? No way, based on what Job said above. The NT equivalent is
Romans 9:16 - So then it is not of him who wills, or of him who runs, but of Him who shows mercy.

This may be hard for teenagers/ young adults to accept. But sometimes, we can only trust and obey. God expects us to treat Him with this level of respect. He also expects us to treat our parents/ elders/ leaders likewise.

2) It's NOT how good we are!
NT reading: Acts 8: 26 - 40
This is reflected in the NT reading.

In the New Testament, three persons were recorded to have confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. They were
(i) Peter, the apostle in Matthew 16:16. Being a paternal society (i.e. male enjoying more authority), Peter's confession of faith in Jesus Christ, given his leadership position amongst the apostle, was expected.

However, the next person was unexpected.

(ii) It was Martha, Mary's sister, a woman, in John 11:27.
She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

(iii) The third person was an even greater surprise, an EUNUCH!
In Acts 8:37,
Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."” And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Again, this shows you, it is not how clever, how smart, how hardworking or how good we are. God, He reigns. (For further reference, see 1 Cor 1: 26-27)

(3) Hence, trust and obey!
ODB's passage –

Proverbs 1:8
My son, hear the instruction of your father.

Amazingly, today's ODB - Advice for the Groom - is along the same grain, talking about the same thing! If we cannot even trust and obey our parents, elders, church leaders, how then can we obey God?

Homework
Read up till Matthew chapter 20 before school re-opens.

May you GROW in Messiah, dear children,
Kar Keat
PS. Thank you also, S5, for starting this blog, and putting up the memory verses.
PSS. ODB URL
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/06/27/devotion.aspx