Reflector

Heb 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Nehemiah 8:10 “Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The joy of the Lord is my strength. What is the joy of the Lord? I believe it’s the same joy that was set before Jesus which enabled Him to go to the cross for us. How to get that joy? Just ask.

People perish for the lack of knowledge, but even with knowledge, some people still perish. Some people hear the gospel and believe, some people hear it and don’t. Some believe for a while, but their faith is skin-deep. When trouble comes, when the walk gets uncomfortable and inconvenient, they fall away and walk no more. They will never know what they’re missing, or they know but they still choose short term pleasures of the world over the kingdom of God. Like what jac said, it’s like smoking. When people smoke, they know it’s bad for them, but they still choose to do it.

Those who seek the Lord with ALL their hearts will find Him. Sometimes, we seek Him, but only a bit. Then we think that that’s all there is and we stop seeking more. Seeking the Lord requires sacrifice. We need to sacrifice time, energy and sometimes even sleep. How far are you willing to go to seek the Lord? All the way? Halfway? Exams are coming, and I haven’t studied. It’s very tempting to use that as an excuse to say I’ve no time to spend time with God. When the flesh is weak, that’s what I do. But when God helps me, then I can have the will to make a decision to not care about everything else and just spend time with Him. Do you compromise on your time with God because of studies, sleep, friends? How much time do you spend with friends? If God is your best friend, shouldn’t you spend even more time with Him? Why limit quiet time to an hour or even less? Fellowship with cell members, fellowship with friends. Do you fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Is God your friend? Can He call you friend? Haha. 

There’s still so much more to a walk with God than this. Than what I’m having now. I want more. Haha.

I think everyone should really go grab a copy of Good Morning Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn. After reading jie yun’s copy, I think I’ll get one myself :) It’s no use just reading it, hope I can apply it as well.

Jie yun lent me Good Morning Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn. And I realised that I really don’t know much about Him. The Holy Spirit is a person. He has a personality. He’s a gentleman, He’ll wait for you to draw near to Him before He draws near to you. I can’t wait to get to know Him. Haha.

Luke 14:15-24 

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’  And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’  So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’  And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

When Pauline shared this with us today after service, I thought it really made sense. There are some people who make all sorts of excuses why they can’t come to church, can’t come for cell etc. Some don’t come because they don’t want to wake up so early, don’t want to travel so far, no time etc. All excuses, really. People can ALWAYS make time to come if they really wanted to. What’s wrong with waking up early? Just sleep earlier the night before. Even if they can’t sleep earlier, it’s worth losing a bit of sleep to meet the Lord. The King of kings.

We might try to persuade them to come, coax them. But that’s not the way that it should be. We can’t keep treating them like kids, especially if they have been here for some time. And the thing is, they’re missing out. They’re really missing out, and they don’t know what they’re missing cos they’ve missed it. They can’t grow, they can’t reach their fullest potential in the Lord, because they can’t be bothered to. They honestly don’t know what they’re missing. And that is sad. But can’t do much about it except to pray and keep asking them to come.

‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 

Bring those who really need and want the Lord. The Lord’s house WILL be filled. But it’s just the matter of who fills it. And the supper is going to be so so good.