Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
at the cross
this weekend,
isn’t just another long weekend.
as we near this friday,
let us remember the sacrifice that Jesus made.
let us look towards the cross
and be reminded of the great love
that redeemed us
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
CC #5 – Compassion
Are you compassionate? Are the little things in life holding you back?
Let’s just start off with a case-study that I read from ‘The Tipping Point” by Gladwell. It was suggested that the slightest change in context of the things around us can affect us in profound ways. And thus, this scenario was created to prove his point.
This scenario consisted of a large group of seminary students, split into different classes. In one class the professor would be lenient on people interupting his lectures while coming in late. And in the other, the professor would address the late comers publically, expressing his dislike for people wasting his time. Then at the end of the term, they were all given an assignment to preach on the story of the Good Samaritan.
For those who are unfamiliar with the story, a man was beaten up and left at the side of the road. Both a priest, and a levite passing by ignored the need to help him, but a Samaritan (who nobody favored and was unlikely to help) showed campassion and nursed him back to health.
So, on the day of their presentation, a guy posed as a hurt and beaten up man by the side of the road infront of their University.
You would assume that being seminary students that just finished studying this story would stop to help this man; this man who so vividly portrays what they were going to preach about. But suprisingly everybody from the second class, with the prof who valued puncutality, didn’t even stop to help. They were all worried about what their professor would say when they came late. Of course some helped, but the numbers were drastically different between classes. Because in the ‘control’ class, with no penalities for late-comers, almost every single one of them stopped to help.
Something as slight as the opinion of the professor could cause them to forget the lesson of the very topic they were going to preach on. I mean can you imagine not acting out what you just learned? Well thats life. And we are busy people, and even though we may have compassion. We have to show it in order for others to feel the love of Jesus Christ.
Are there small things that prevent us from showing that compassion that we’ve learned and experienced? Are we too busy for compassion?
Without compassion, it is considerably harder to reach those around us. You hear all these new believers tell their story about how some kind fellow stopped to give them a hand, or how someone spent an afternoon with them that ended up pushing them to come to Christ. How carpool service, or an unspoken act of service has impacted someone’s life.
You’d be suprised how far a small act of compassion goes. So dont down play compassion, nor let the small things in life chip away at the need to show that to others. (Like the case-study above) Because without compassion, we’re not living in the image of Jesus Christ. And we’re definately not being contagious containers of the faith we live.
More…
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
halted
If you ever decide to blog and listen to worship music at the same time. You’ll only get distracted and start worshiping instead. So if you really want to blog.
I’m giving you guys fair warning in advance, don’t play any worship music in the background..
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Captivated
Your laughter it echoes like a joyous thunder
Your whisper it warms me like a summer breeze
Your anger is fiercer than the sun in its splendour
You’re close and yet full of mystery
Ever since the day that I saw Your face
Try as I may, I cannot look away, I cannot look away…
Captivated by You
I am captivated by You
May my life be one unbroken gaze
Fixed upon the beauty of Your face
Beholding is becoming, so as You fill my gaze
I become more like You and my heart is changed
Beholding is becoming, so as You fill my view
Transform me into the likeness of You
This is what I ask, for all my days
That I may, never look away, never look away…
No other could ever be as beautiful
No other could ever steal my heart away
I just can’t look away…
by Vicky Beeching
…
Listening to this song makes me realize
just how romantic our relationship with God is
listening to it over and over,
and letting the lyrics sink in
i have a renewed longing to be filled with your presence
to know more about you
to hear your laughter
to experience your whisper
to understand your anger
to unveil the mystery shrouded by our eyes
and to come closer
Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
another day
So many unfamiliar walls,
Lucky me – I see them everyday.
Maybe I might get to know them,
but who am I kidding?
This place is so cold.
I just want to close my eyes.
There’s no place like home,
There’s no place like home,
but I can’t seem to find my home.
Maybe another time,
Another day.
The weather keeps me inside,
It’s so lonely here,
I tried to find my friends.
But they’re all so far away -
There’s no place like home,
There’s no place like home,
but I can’t seem to find my home.
Maybe another time,
Another day
Trapped here for a little longer,
But I’ll soon be gone