Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Not Service


It is not service that makes us missionaries. It is not service that makes us SFC, or Mission Volunteers and Fulltime Pastoral Workers for that matter. It is the Lord and his grace. It is Jesus who made us missionaries and by His grace we are still here.

It is important to always be reminded of this truth, because it is so easy to fall into the trap of measuring success with how much service we give. No, this is not what made us missionaries. It is not how much service we give, but rather, how much Jesus we have. Then because we have Jesus, we give Jesus fully in service.

What had been more evident in me: Jesus or service?

by aats

Friday, February 8, 2019

God Almighty




Matthew 14:22-36 tells the story of how Jesus defies the laws of nature by walking on the water. Not only that, he was able to let someone walked on the water as well. Jesus manifested that He is the Almighty God. He can calm down waves and wind, and bring back hope to terrified disciples.

If there is an equation of this gospel reading, it would be like this:

Courage – Fear + Faith = Miracle

The antidote of fear is courage. When the disciples were terrified with fear upon seemingly seeing a ghost, Jesus called out to them saying, “Courage, it is I! Do not be afraid.” Our courage has to be anchored in Christ or else we will just be overcome with fear sooner or later. Courage anchored in Christ enables us to do greater things. Peter, having the courage of Christ and an uncorrupted faith, was able to walk on water. Only when he was not anchored on Christ, and his faith faltered, that he started sinking. The moment he started focusing on the waves and feeling its force, he started to sink.

Miracle is happening already in our midst. We may not recognize it, we are already walking on water, but because we focus on the waves of hurts in our lives we start sinking instead. Let us focus on Christ, He is Almighty, He can perform miracles.

by aats

Friday, February 1, 2019

Of Fish, Peace and Contentment




There is peace in contentment. This was my realization while having my silent moment this morning. I was in front of a saltwater aquarium and while looking the fishes swimming and corals swaying, some thoughts came into my mind. One, they are contented swimming in a limited space. Second, they are enjoying the company of other fishes. Third, they eat what they have while seemingly unaware of what will happen if all the air, wave and temperature control is gone, they just live.

We can learn from this fishes. When we worry about what will happen if this and that is gone, learn from them, enjoy the moment, there are things that are beyond our control. Be contented with what we have. While it is good to dream and plan ahead, there is also wisdom in being aware of our own limitations. We find peace when we know our own limitations. This is the path to a happy and worriless life.

Being aware of our limitations is no way limiting us from dreaming big. It is in fact making us closer to our dreams, because it is anchored on the reality.

by aats