Yearly Archives: 2009

Hearts Hardened Towards Loaves (I)

We all know the story of when Jesus walked on water. Jesus had just fed the 5000 and sent them away, and He asked his disciples to go ahead of Him to the other side of the water while He prayed. As evening came, there was a storm, and it was at this time that Jesus walked towards them on the water and calmed the winds and the waves. Needless to say, the disciples were amazed. The account according to Mark, however, contains an interesting after thought:

Mar 6:51-52 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

Why did the disciples marvel? I guess it’s obvious; they just witnessed somebody calm a storm at will. But in hindsight, Mark realized that the fact that they were amazed at the time was because they did not understand something about the loaves, and their hearts were hardened. What did they not understand? Matthew 14:33 gives us the answer:

Mat 14:33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

If we put these two accounts together, we see that even though the disciples witnessed Jesus feed over 5000 people with merely 5 loaves and 2 fish, they did not understand He was the Son of God. They did not see the power of God in people eating their fill of food. They did not think multiplying bread to feed a large crowd was “miraculous enough.” To them, this miracle was not worth marveling at.

Mark, however, in hindsight, realized that it should’ve been. They should have marveled when Jesus began to endlessly hand them bread to distribute to the multitude. They should have shaken their heads in sheer amazement, thinking in their minds, “Truly, You are the Son of God,” as they picked up the 12 baskets of leftovers. But they didn’t, because their hearts were hardened.

How many of us receive more than our daily bread…and marvel? When we say grace and give thanks before eating, do we express our thanks out of courtesy and politeness as to a regular person, or out of astonishment and awe as to the Almighty God? Do we begin to doubt the existence of God because we see no miracles in our own lives?

Paul writes:

Rom 1:20-21 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The ordinary everyday things – daily provision, protection and safety, God’s creation, etc. – are already sufficient evidence of the power and mercy of God. They manifest the glory and might of God just as much as the extraordinary, and thus are equally worthy of being marveled at. We have no excuse not to glorify and be thankful to Him.

We need not feel envy or self pity if others seem to be experiencing God in extraordinary or supernatural ways and we are not. We need not doubt the almightiness of His power if we are sustained everyday through ordinary means. Through creation alone, things that are made, we can clearly see His eternal power and Godhead. Truly, everyday is a miracle and grace worth marveling.

Workers’ Self-examination

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From time immemorial, God has raised numerous workers at every phase of human history to do His work. He, likewise, has chosen us at the end time to serve Him. This is His wonderful grace (Ezra 7:28; Eph 3:7). None of us is considered more worthy than others to serve. We can learn many great lessons from the past. Some workers faithfully fulfilled what God required of them. Others fell away from being God’s workers along the way, because they failed to carry out their service according to divine directives. In any case, God’s work goes on.

Serving God is difficult. The greatest obstacle to doing God’s work is the workers themselves. There have been instances in which workers focus so much on the work itself that they lose sight of the divine purpose. Our service should spring quite naturally from understanding of God’s will, which is the foundation of our work (Jn 4:34). In service, it is those who do God’s will who will succeed in their work (Mt 7:21). This God-set ideal is attainable when we constantly refine ourselves spiritually, which puts us in a position to honestly treat and assess ourselves correctly.

One crucial point that requires self-examination is this: “Do we truly know the works that we do belong to God?” We do not have exclusive right to any of God’s works. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit…” (Phil 2:4). They are to be delegated according to the gifts of each worker (1 Cor 12; Rm 12; Eph 4). It is when everyone understands this principal truth of working together, that we can eradicate pride and jealousy. Being open to correction always works to our advantage. Otherwise, we maim the progress of the church.

For us to work, we need wisdom from God. One aspect of this wisdom is to respect one another (1 Pet 5:5). “…in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil 2:4b). There has always been misunderstanding springing up from the indifference of one worker toward another. Whenever a task is to be carried out, it is best that its plan is discussed with, and approved by the co-workers. If not, we dampen the working atmosphere. To lend a listening ear and to value the suggestions of others are other aspects of respecting one another.

When a conflict arises, parties involved should prayerfully face it. It is quicker and far more effective for us to be more inward-searching and demand ourselves to change than for the same to be imposed on others. One quality of God’s workers is to be genuinely forgiving. This ensures God accepts the works performed. Always remember God searches our hearts. Our motives determines God’s acceptance of our work. God has the final say in deciding whether or not to accept the work we do. Let’s pray that we all know what we are doing for God.

When You’re Happy, I’m Happy

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I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city
That is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statue given to Israel.
There the thrones of judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels,”
for the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will see your prosperity.
—Song of Ascents, Psalm 122 (NIV)

This is just one of the many examples of David’s heart, a passage I return to often to encourage and evaluate myself. Some people, when they speak, you just want to listen–you just know that the things that pour out of their lips are pouring directly out of their hearts. Men like David are not men of contradictions. His actions always matched up with his words–how he truly felt about God, how he really felt about people, and how he wholly served.

He may not have been a perfect man, but he’s proven over and over that his heart belonged to God. One of his defining qualities is the spirit with which he served. He looked always to the glory and joy of the Lord. He cared for the people with only His possession in mind. It was a mindfully genuine and selfless reign. He saw the bigger picture–he looked towards the end of the race course, and he sought out that one beautiful expression of God’s love: peace.

Peace within His walls, peace among His people, not for David’s sake, so that his reign would be smoother, so he could avoid hassle, so it won’t be inconvenient to his other parallel pursuits in life, so he could “get it over with,” so it becomes some political lobby to gain votes when time nears the election of God’s council. Rather, for the sake of his brothers and friends (not his subjects or inheritance)–for the sake of the house of the Lord.

In his personal life, though, and during his reign, did he really have peace? That’s debatable. There was too much bloodshed, God said. He could not build those walls. It wasn’t going to be him. But nevertheless, even though he did not stand for personal gain, he sought the peace of the assembly and prayed it with his whole heart. It was his lifelong and final desire.

That which he possessed as a little boy, he never forgot or traded or compromised. He offered it to the Lord until the very end–his heart of gold. It is the most beautiful part of a person; the inner mettle we are made of, and what refinement will reveal when the fire has had its way with us.

It’s not a wonder why God, while He may have been disappointed now and then through the years with this willful child, He was always satisfied and pleased with this select creation, because for this servant, God’s happiness was his own –and this was functionally measurable: he loved the people of God and he sought their prosperity. This degree of commitment can only be made possible through selflessness. That’s why I am convinced: this man gave his Master his all.

Reject Rehoboam’s Example

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Introduction

The way we can relate to the ancient biblical kings is understanding that we are kings ourselves. As a result of what Jesus has done, we have been made kings:

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our made us kings and sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Gather, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:5-6).

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth” (Rev 5.9-10).

“even when we were dead in trespass, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:5-6).

There is a saying that goes along these lines: A person who has enough sense would learn from their own mistakes. But a wise person would learn from the mistakes of other people without themselves having to go through it and taste the same consequences. So let us look into the story of Rehoboam and learn from his mistakes to be wise.
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In the Multitude of Counsellors

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As a parent, God has blessed you with children; as an RE teacher, God has also blessed you with your students which are your spiritual children. As both an RE teacher and a parent, we have a responsibility to teach our children how to live their lives according to God’s truth and Spirit. Although teaching our children is important, we should also know how to counsel our children.

Proverbs 11:14:

Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Proverbs is a book that gives a lot of comparisons. This proverb compares two important aspects: the presence or absence of counselling, and the effect the presence or absence of counselling has. In the proverb we have just read, although it does not specifically mention teachers or parents, it is something that we as RE teachers and parents can think about.

To counsel means to give good advice and guidance, especially on social or personal problems. Because our children are still growing up physically and living in an environment where there is a lot of influences and pressures to conform, it is important that we as RE teachers and parents should know how to give the best advice and guidance to our children so that we can give them safety, just as this proverb tells us–to save them from becoming bad people or sinful in the eyes of God. The best advice can be found in the Bible, which means that we should be familiar with the Bible verses and teachings. So we as parents and RE teachers are also counsellors for our children and students and should out effort into our own spiritual cultivation and in Bible reading.

Another aspect of being counsellors is that we should always be alert to spot when our children encounter problems so that we can solve them with our child through the means of counselling. Although sometimes our children may not want to share with you their personal problems and some hide it better than others, but in some cases, all you have to do is ask them. Some children may get involved with the wrong crowd of friends, or may have difficulty understanding a subject in school, or have some grudges that they might be holding against another person. But no matter what problems they do have, it is our responsibility as RE teachers or as a parent to identify that our student or child has a problem and to make time for them in our lives. This is so that they will be able to receive counselling from you to know how they should handle their problem.

How you counsel them is by firstl by listening to them. Listen to what they are willing to share with you. Perhaps you could share with them your own experiences or other people’s testimonies who have faced similar situations, or look to the Bible for example on how they dealt with their situation. It is important that you can lead the student back to God because only in God is there hope and peace.

If we fail to see that our student or child has any issues they are having trouble with and we do not counsel them, then as this proverb says, they will fall. They will either fall deeper into the problem they have, they may fall into the wrong hands, and more importantly, they may fall away from God into the hands of Satan. So counselling is very important in a child’s and student’s life because there is safety as this proverb says. When we give good advice or guidance to our students and children, we are able to rescue them from harm–physical or spiritual. So we are not only teachers in the classroom or at home, we are also our children’s counsellors.

Looking back at the proverb, it says that “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety”. “Multitude” means abundance or a great number. If there is a great number of counsellors, then this means that there are many people to give advice or guidance. So if we are our children’s counsellors, this means that there is team work and that every counsellor is working together to make sure that our children do not get harmed in their physical life or in their spiritual life. That’s why it is good that we hold Parents and RE Teachers fellowships so that we can work together to know how we can be good teachers and good counsellors for our children.

So if we are an RE teacher or a parent, we need to remember how important our role is to our physical and spiritual children. Not only do we teach them about God and the right way to walk in life, we should also be able to counsel them when they have problems. We start by identifying that our child has a problem, take action to resolve the problem, and know how to counsel them, because when there is no counsel, our children or students will fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. We must provide that safety for our children and students, to give them good advice and guide them how they can lead a holy life in a world of darkness.