Faith?

I found this short article from Herald Malaysia online. Time and again it serves a reminder what faith actually means, especially in our country where we seemed to lose our courtesy and other key values, and where religion is expressed without tolerance to the other faiths.

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True faith lies within. What is expressed without (from the outside) means nothing if there is no enlightenment within.

Self-righteousness in any religion and culture causes pain and conflict. And doing all this in the Name of God, mocks God.

One of the biggest problems we have today is, quite many religious people (including us Catholics, of course) practise the vertical form of spirituality.

We forget that there is a horizontal dimension to spiritual practices, and that happens to be a very crucial component.

It’s all about: how we treat our neighbour, how we relate to another, how we forgive the offender, how we serve and love those around us, how much help we render to those in need.

If praying 100 times a day don’t make us more compassionate and grace-filled, then we pray in vain.

For me, true faith is not about how we address God: Kyrie, Dominus, Allah, Lord, Yahweh, El-Shaddai... (and I suspect God doesn’t really care either). It's not how we address God that really matters. No, but what really matters is, how we address another person: brother, sister, friend, fellow-human being.

All beautiful, all worthy of respect, all children of the same God.

Cast Out the Net

Very early in life (almost from birth) we are trained to be successful according to the world's definition of success. We are driven by goals and accomplishments from the day we take our first steps and ride our first bike. As we grow older, we are pressured to accumulate knowledge and "things" in order to prove our success.

In our Christian walk, Jesus calls us to a new definition of success - one determined not by what we accomplish, but by our obedience. The disciples walked and talked with Jesus, but they still faced many challenges with faith and obedience. One morning after fishing all night without a catch, Jesus called from the shore. John 21:6 "He said, 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some {fish}.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish."

The disciples were successful that morning. But we must understand that the large number of fish did not define their success. They would have been successful even if the nets remained empty. They were successful the moment they were obedient and threw out the net. One thousands years earlier, King Saul was told to "attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them," (1 Samuel 15:3). But Saul allowed the Amalekite king and the best livestock to survive. He tried to cover His disobedience by saying the calves and lambs were for a sacrifice to God. "But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.'" (1 Samuel 15:22).

In any task we undertake for God, it's easy to become discouraged by our apparent lack of success. We often feel inadequate - and those feelings increase when our goals seem to be elusive. But we must remember, the outcome of the task is secondary to our obedience. God doesn't need our "fish" - He wants our devotion and trust. He desires that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let's take our eyes off the accomplishment of the "catch" and what we can produce. Rather, let's focus on walking each step according to His leading. Let's concentrate all our effort on obeying His call to cast out the net. Amen!

Always There

Hello God, I called tonight

To talk a little while..

I need a friend who'll listen

To my anxiety and trial...

You see, I can't quite make it

Through a day just on my own...

I need your love to guide me,

So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep,

My family safe and sound.

Come and fill their lives with confidence

For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face

Each hour throughout the day,

And not to worry over things

I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home

And listening to my call,

For giving me such good advice

When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one

That answers every time.

I never get a busy signal,

Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening

To my troubles and my sorrow.

Good night, God, I love You, too,

And I'll call again tomorrow!

We Lose Our Standard

by Max Lucado

When I was nine years old I complimented a friend's model airplane. He curtly replied, "I stole it." He could tell that I was stunned because he asked, "Do you think that I was wrong?" When I told him I did, he answered simple, "It may be wrong for you. It's not wrong for me. I didn't hurt anyone when I stole the plane. He knew the owner. He is rich. I'm not. He can afford one. I can't."

What do you say to that arguement? If you don't believe in life beyond the rafters, you have little to say. If there is no ultimate good behind the world, then how do we define "good" within the world? If the majority opinion determines good and evil, what happens when the majority is wrong? What do you do when majority of kids say in a certain group it's all right to steal or raid or even fire pistols from a vehicle?

The hedonist's world of no moral absoultes works find on paper and sounds great in a college philosophy course, but in life? Ask the father of three children whose wife abandoned him, saying "Divorce may be wrong for you, but it's OK for me." Or get the opinion of the teenage girl, pregnant and frightened, who was told by her boyfriend, "If you have the baby, it's your responsibility." Or the retirees ripped off their pension by a huckster who believed anything is right if you don'y get caught.

A godly view of the world, on the other hand has something to say to my childhood thief. Faith challenges those with cricket brains to answer to a higher standard than personal opinion: "You may think it's right. Society may think it's OK. But the God who made you said, "You shall not steal" -- and He wasn't kidding.

By the way, follow the godles thinking to its logical extension, and see what you get. What happens when a sociery denies the importance of right and wrong? Read the answer on a prison wall in Poland " I freed Germany from the stupid and degrading fallacies of conscience and morality."

Who made the boast? Adolf Hitlet. Where are the words posted? In a Nazi death camp. Visitors read the claim and then see the results: a room stuffed with thousands of pounds of women's hair, rooms filled with pictures of castrated children and gas ovens that served as Hitler's final solution. Paul described it best : "their foolish minds were filled with darkness" (Romans 1:21)

"Come on Max, you're going too far. Isn't it a stretch to state that what began as a stolen model plane will conclude in a holocaust?"

Most of the time it won't. But it could, and what is there to stop it? What dike does the God-denying thinker have to stop the flood? What anchor will the secularist use to keep sociery from being sucked out to sea? If a society deletes God from the human equation what sandbags will they stack against the swelling tide of barbarism and hedonism?

As Dotoevsky said, " If God is dead, then everything is justifiable."

DRY AND BRITTLE BRANCHES

DRY AND BRITTLE BRANCHES
By Marion Smith

John 15:5 - I am the vine, you are the branches

With the drought situation in the Atlanta area this year, the trees and shrubs in our yard have taken quite a beating. As I was strolling in our yard with my grandson yesterday, we investigated a part of the yard I usually avoid. Many dogwood trees had seeming dead and useless branches- dry, brittle looking and void of leaves. As I pulled one down to snap it off, I had a surprise. It wasn’t quite as dead as I had thought. I pulled and twisted, but right where the branch met the trunk of the tree, there was life. I was unable to snap the branch as I had intended, and now I would have to get a saw to finish the job.

Sometime our lives seem so dry and brittle..don;t you think? Sometimes I feel parched for strength, peace, and understanding, and I feel so brittle I could just snap and break! But Jesus is the Living Water and if we stay connected to Him we will receive spiritual living water and not wither up. Sometimes, when the valley we are in is very deep and we are not even able to pray, our friends may be the ones who hold us up in prayer to God. Sometimes Christian music will be the source of nourishment, manybe we can just call out the name- “Jesus”- and sometimes God just drops a happy surprise right in our laps to give us a great big laugh! (Laughter truly is such a wonderful thing!)

We may not be as spiritually dead as we think, you know. From all appearances, the dogwood branch(someone feeling lost) was a goner. But! No—there was life left in it… right close to the trunk(Jesus). If you are feeling dry and brittle- ready to snap - remember, God loves you and will see you through your difficult time.

Ask Him..O.K.?

DID JESUS USE A MODEM AT THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT?

* I love this *

Did Jesus use a modem, At the Sermon on the Mount?

Did He ever try a broadcast fax, To send his message out?

Did the disciples carry beepers, As they went about their route?

Did Jesus use a modem, At the Sermon on the Mount?

Did Paul use a laptop, With lots of RAM and ROM?

Were his letters posted on BBS, At paul.rome.com?

Did the man from Macedonia, Send an e-mail saying "Come?"

Did Paul use a laptop, With lots of RAM and ROM?

Did Moses use a joystick, At the parting of the Sea?

And a satellite guidance tracking system, To show him where to be?

Did he write the law on tablets, Or are they really on CD?

Did Moses use a joystick, At the parting of the Sea?

Did Jesus really die for us, One day upon a tree?

Or was it a hologram, or technical wizardry?

Can you download the live action video clip, To play on your pc?

Did Jesus really die for us, One day upon a tree?

Have the wonders of this modern age, Made you question what is true?

How a single man, in a simple time, Could offer life anew?

How a sinless life, a cruel death, Then a glorious life again,

Could offer more to a desperate world, Than all the inventions of
man?

If in your life, the voice of God, Is sometimes hard to hear.

With other voices calling, His doesn't touch your ear.

Than set aside your laptop and modem, And all your fancy gear.

And open your Bible, open your heart, and let your Father draw near.

Tomorrow

TOMORROW
Contributed by Melanie Schurr

There is a song by the popular music group Fleetwood Mac entitled, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow." This sentiment is quite contrary to how our current generation often lives, since most of us tend to exist solely for today, the here and now.

Without concern for what tomorrow may hold, many live their lives as if they are walking along a narrow trail in a dense forest. On such a path, one cannot see what dangers lurk or stand before them. All that can be seen is the beauty and pleasure within the immediate visual realm. If one is not careful, a seemingly unassuming path can lead right off a deadly cliff.

In the Bible, we are told not to give too much worry for tomorrow, but, in the same breath, it is certainly not our Heavenly Father's intention for us to be ignorant about one's future either. For
decisions we make today can determine where we will spend our eternity.

Do you desire to spend your eternity with God, to partake of the salvation only His Son Jesus Christ can offer? If so, then don't just live for today, lift your head up, see the big picture, and, as the song goes, "don't stop thinking about tomorrow."

Call on Christ. He will answer.