40 DAYS: Day 9

Jesus heals a man with a shrivelled hand Mark 3:1-6

In these verses, it tells us of a story of when Jesus healed a person with a shrivelled hand. During this time, some of them were just constantly looking for excuses to accuse Jesus and his acts. So he would get arrested and wanted by the nation or the city. 

Therefore, during the Sabbath (holy day) they placed a man with a shrivelled hand to see if Jesus would do a miracle on him during the Sabbath. However in verse 4 he asks the people around him "Then Jesus asked them, "which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" but they remained silent"

This really confused me. I understood that it is the law to do nothing but worship God during the Sabbath but why does Jesus relate this to good/evil and life/death? Is miracles really considered "work"? Knowing the concepts of Jesus, one of his commandments is to love your neighbour as yourself. Therefore, it is understandable to not just ignore the people in need because there was the parable as well about the good Samaritan. 

Another thing that stood out for me was the constant aim of the people to find faults in Jesus to sentence him to death or to get him sent to jail. This reaction of Jesus really shows me that if you want to be like him, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone, don't go mainstream but to do what's right.

40 DAYS: Day 5

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Straight from God's word, God is telling us that we should not be "anxious" or worry about anything. Even though it's hard to because our requests may feel selfish, embarrassing, shameful and more. 

However, we need to all remember that our God is good, forgiving, and just. He understands all of us and he is never changing today, yesterday and tomorrow. He has suffered the most and because of his son, he understands all the pain and sufferings we have to go through. We shouldn't hide from him when we do something bad or sinful. We need to be able to accept that we are completely hopeless without him and in order to regain the hope, we need to continually ask for forgiveness without fear or pride but humbly bow down to him and surrender ourselves so we can put our complete trust towards him. 

40 DAYS: Day 4

"I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Philippians 3:12

The topic written above in this paragraph was called "Pressing on towards the goal" 

Reading this, it was very hard for me to understand at first but after reading it over, I began to understand it a little but find it difficult to describe in words. 

What I took out of this passage is that our main focus should be continually focusing our lives towards Christ, building a foundation and a firm relationship with him. Therefore, we should have the willingness to press on and grab what we can and to learn what we can from what Jesus has given us.

In a literal analogy, if Christ Jesus came down to grab hold of you from dying (saving your life) a typical human response is to grab back holding firmly to the person who has just saved your life. We should not take him saving our lives as a burden but should be continually holding on, thanking him for everything he's done for us. For sacrificing his own life just to save us from danger. 

40 DAYS: Day 3

"For god is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." Philippians 2:13

This verse was a great reminder to me about how God is in control and how he does amazing work through and IN you. It is also through his power that allows us to get the desire and the will to work and to help serve him. Therefore, with this will, he will give us power in order to do great things for him. 

However, you need to understand that this power comes with responsibilities and challenges. This could be going out of your comfort zone, giving up a good amount of your time and so on. 

As my friend Samantha Lee has said, God does have great plans for you but he doesn't necessarily call everyone to be comfy, happy, and do what they want. He allows this but his full purpose and call for you may have different plans then your own. You just need to understand the difference. 

40 DAYS: Day 2

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ"

Philippians 1:27a 

In this section of Philippians, Paul is thrown in jail because of his beliefs and his continual support for Jesus Christ. He writes this letter to explain to people how his actions of even being thrown to jail has allowed many others to courageously be more outward with their beliefs, sharing the gospel with the willing heart and following the steps of Jesus Christ like we are suppose to as disciples of Christ. 

This verse specifically talks about how living a life of Christ is difficult and the bible does say to be prepared to be discriminated against by the world because of satin. However, Paul explains that no matter what happens in any scenarios, we should continually prove ourselves and act with a heart that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Therefore, even in the most painful or excruciation times, we should never contradict our beliefs and show others the true love and gift that Christ has given to us. 

40 Days: DAY 1

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" Philippians 1:6 

The book of philippians is a letter written by Paul and Timothy to saints at Philippi.

In this verse, Paul and Timothy are explaining to the saints that God has been working in each and every one of us once we allow him and give him to opportunity to do so. Once we accept him and proclaim him as our Lord and Saviour, we need to ask him to work in our lives. 

Saying once you allow him, he will begin his work and once he begins, he will never stop. 

Our God is forever good so all his work will be good as well. Therefore, good is being produced within you

It's his "will" to continue working and

"carry it on" he will support, he will provide, persistence. 

Will never stop until it has been completed. 

Through emphasizing and finding these particular words in this verse, I have realized that once God has been accepted in your life, his aim is to continually produce work and be with you forever until the day of Christ. With God on my side, I am able to be satisfied and understand that all of my work should be a reflection of Christ for all of his work is good and I want to help him produce the good works that he provides each one of us!

Total and Complete Submission

"Submit yourself, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" James 4:7-8

After coming back from Retreat, I've realized and learned many things I've never thought of before. The verse above practically sums up my experience and my new perspective in my spiritual life.

Through scouts, and my willingness to help others, I have become known and have become used to being the dependable one. Without knowing, this became my main goal and I've never thought of myself this way either. Therefore, hearing that I need to be dependent on God and he will lead the way, It's a very hard concept for me to accept because of my background. 

I feel that God has shown me this verse to explain to me that running from the devil will create a closer and better relationship with God and all I have to do is give my Total and Complete Submission of my life and values to him. This is because if we don't, why are we aiming to do all these things such as high marks and such? We should look to do all of this in his name and to use these skills and marks to give them all to God and his glory. 

My goal is to continue to learn about him and to give up my life to him and to give him my complete trust.