Lazarus vs Rich Man

Happy Sunday to all of you out there.
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Today's teaching in the church is really great. The priest touched my heart because what he has said is reality that we everyday do. The priest stressed on the phrase, "You cannot see the beautiful mercy of God unless you experienced the misery of sin."
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It's true and I totally agree with it. We human tend not to appreciate things until we realize that we are losing it. God was always with us no matter during happy time or hard time. But us human, will only look for God when we are in hard time. We should reconsider that kind of attitude if we really wanted to be saved.
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Denial. That was the word used by the priest in his sermon. We always hide ourselves from realizing that we are actually committing sin. It is just because of the comfortable and temporary happiness that make us purposely forget things that we should or should not do. Those free thinkers are one of the example given of self denial people. They think that they are the God to themselves. They think too high of themselves which will lead to a lot of bad habits due to pride. When we always remind ourselves that there are greater power taking care of us, automatically humbleness will comes in.
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We will reap the same things that we have planted. If you planted corn, in the end, you will reap corn. There is no way for you to plant grape and reaping apple during harvest time. Same concept applied to our life. If we are planting mercy in our life, we will also obtain mercy from God. So be careful on what you are planting today. If you think that what you are planting is not good, better start to re-plant it. Change to better things. It will never be too late as long as you are still breathing.
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Our soul will feel intense pain even more than our physical body can experience. Pain in our flesh is just temporary but pain in our soul will remain forever. Being in hell will give the pain to our soul. So do you want to go there?
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Repentance starts from our heart and soul. When we repent for all the sin we have done, we should feel sorrow in our heart. Tears will surely coming out from our eyes thinking of all the bad things we had done. Remember this, if we are not crying in this world, we will cry later in hell. Tears is not allowed in Heaven so if you are crying after-death, you know where is your location at that time.
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You can still choose your path NOW. Young age does not mean that you have more time to enjoy before getting back on track. Death can come anytime. We cannot escape death, judgment, heaven or hell. So stop being denial. Open your blind eyes and see.
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It's time for us to calibrate our destination in life.
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Regards,
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Timben

Balance of life

Good day..
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For Malaysian I want to say, "Happy 47th Malaysia Day". Keep our patriotism spirit high.
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In this meaningful day in remembrance, I would like to share my opinion about balancing our life. There are many things in life that we can experience. Even more than what we can take during our life. All we can do is to maximize our exposure to these experiences. Everyone have their own priority in life. Some people will tend to involve more in indoor activities and the other will do outdoor activities. That's why life is so colorful.
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But, we should try those things that we don't think that we like it. We need to broaden our experience. We should be moderate in everything that we do. There will be times when we are too excited until we feel that we could spend our entire life to do that one thing only. Every time we have that feeling, bear in mind that it is just due to the effect of hormones in our body. Once the hormone is gone, you will feel nothing.
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It's different if you are having passion about some things that you do. That will be longer lasting one. We'll talk about that some time later.
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So the message that I want to share in this post is about being able to try a lot of different things (inside or outside our favorite list) and moderate in everything that we do. Life might be like a wave. Sometime we are at the top and sometime at the bottom. Design one back up plan for different times in our life and we will still be able to feel happy even during sad time. It's all inside us. We are special. ^_^
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Regards,
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Timben

You're lost, now I have found you

Happy Sunday,
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How are you today? I hope that peace will always be with you.
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Today's reading is really good. It gives hope to us sinners. Are you a sinners? Well, I admit that I am in the sinners' list. First thing to reach repentance is to admit oneself as a sinner. It's not the end of the world if you do mistake in life. But there will be no salvation for those who always thinks that they never did anything wrong in their life. I can say that they are 100% wrong because nobody is perfect in this universe. They are just being ignorance. Bad for them.
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In the reading we understand how God really stressing on repentance. It is turning back to God after we do wrong. Change our state from lost to found. God will go out and look for us whenever we are lost. As long as we are not with intention planing to runaway from God, we will be saved. "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost." Even though the Shepherd has 100 sheep and only 1 is missing, He will still go out and risk His own life to find that one sheep. The joy of founding the sheep back is extremely joyous and life saving moment.
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But it is normal that there will be another party/people who will be looking you as the problem of their community just because of your history. They are actually the one need to be save. Do not let this kind of people stop you from turning back to God. If they really understand God's teaching, they will accept you with open heart. Let God deal with our past, it's not our duty to judge others. They should look the best side in everyone. God bless them.
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But then, don't misused this information. I know that we are all given a brain to think and do not use this knowledge as platform for us planning to be sinners as we know that God will always accept us back. He always looking at us every second of our life. He knows what we are planning for even before we start to think about it. So be extra careful with what you are planning out there. ^_^.
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All the best to you and me.
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God bless us.
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Regards,
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Timben

Are we blind?

Good day to all,
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It's a good and peaceful day today. Thanks to God because we are able to read this blog. That means our eyes are working well. At least we can still see and read even though we are wearing spectacles/contact lenses. What about those who cannot see? The world is dark for them. There is no light signal can go through the nerve system going to their brain.
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In the reading, Jesus mentioned about, "the blind lead the blind". Do you think they are really blind like cannot see light from the lamp? No no. It's not that type of blind. That is physically blind. Jesus is talking about those who is blind at heart. They cast themselves away from the Salvation of God. Furthermore, they are trying to lure others to follow them. So mean. The process of luring others to join the blind-at-heart people is the what Jesus mentioned as "The blind leading the blind." Where can they go? They will move towards the wrong direction. They thought they are right until some unwanted things happen. That is what Jesus meant by "fall into a pit."
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Some more about people behavior. Yelling at others' mistakes while themselves are also the same or even worst. People hardly wanting to look whether themselves are doing right or not. But when it comes to accusing others, talk bad things about them, judge others, they are the best. This type of people we can call them hypocrite. Before judging others, we must first judge ourselves. Look into thyself and learn how to continuously improve. If we are not okay, please don't judge other people. By judging others even though we are also having problem is showing others how plastic we are. I know that we don't like people to judge us by the outside appearance, so, stop doing that also. Be aware on what comes out from our mouth as there are no reverse-gear for it. Once it's out, it will go out and spread like a virus.
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What can we talk or teach to others? We can teach others things that we had already taught to ourselves. We already put it into practice and it is proven to be effective. That is the thing for us to share to others. We can guide them. Bringing them to see clear vision of where we are going to go. Give them proper direction and teach them how to walk. That's the basic concept of leadership which applies to all type of organizations. Interconnection between Leaders and Followers. Two way communications and open discussion. That is the main recipe of success in every organization.
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We have this tendency to look at people the way we saw from the outside. Please remember that we are normal human being. We cannot see what is inside of the person. It is not fair to conclude just from the exterior looks. Yeah I know, first impression is bla bla bla. But, that is psychology of the weak. Which they are lazy to think and analyze. Looking from many perspectives. Put themselves in the shoe of the others before making any conclusion. First impression is used for fast filtering process but it is not necessarily appropriate. Sometime, with this kind of method, they will grab the pretty glasses and let loose the dirty diamonds. When we want to do early conclusion, always start with "looking the best of others." Human concept is that everyone is actually the best. The different is only on what field he/she might be the best. When someone had been rejected during an interview, there are only 2 reason. One, the interviewer is blind. Two, your "best" field is not with the company.
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One last thing in this blog for today. Whatever we give to others, it will come back to us someday. If good is what you did, you should be proud of it. If it is on the other side, start to change direction NOW as He is watching you. ^_^. This message is for you and for me as well.
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Thanks for your eyes to read this blog.
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Regards,
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Timben

Accept responsibilities given by God

Shalom,
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I would like to take this opportunity to greet all my Muslim friends out there "Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri". Even though we have different belief, we must have strong respect in each other.
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Back to my sharing for today. It's about "responsibility". Sometime we will receive unexpected responsibility. Just because it's unexpected, we should not immediately reject it. We should take time to think and give decision not too soon and not too late. Like Mary when the Angel came to her and told Her about a good news. She will conceive the Son of God. In an instance, just milisecond after the Angel told Her about that news, do you think Mary became happy or sad? She took some time to think about it. At that few seconds of Her life, she consider everything, including her condition that is still a virgin. She thought about how the community would look at Her and Her families. She thought about how to survive and raise the Child for She is still a teenager.
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But then, one thing had helped Her to say "Yes". It's Her faith in God. She believes that God has plan for Her. All She had to do was to agree and accept the responsibilities.
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Do you think it is easy to accept such responsibility? Put yourself in Mary's position at that time. Without enough faith, you will unable to agree with it. It's not just about that type of responsibilities. Let's talk about small responsibility like praying to God. Can we do it everyday with open heart? I bet we can. If we have genuine faith in Him our God. Just remember this. Our God died for us on the cross. To save us from the grasp of sin.
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Whenever we receive any duty, think. Give your reply not too soon nor not too late. If we give answer too soon, people would think that we do not think at all. If we give the answer too late, it might be the responsibility will slip away. Who knows it will be our opportunity to be a better person through experience.
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Let us make Mary as our model of faith. To accept responsibility that is beyond our understanding is sure hard. All we need to do is to put some faith in it after thinking about it for a while.
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Let's us consider this as a thinking moment.
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Best regards,
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Timben

Bad, Change and Regret...

Hi,
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I saw one drama in television about a mother and her daughter. Once she was a bad person who likes to scold her daughter and forcing her daughter to do what she wanted. .
Until one day, her daughter caught in an accident and passed away. This makes the mother have a change in heart. 360 degree change. Since that day, she never being bad and never force people to do things her way. This behavior of her causing people starts to step on her head and starts to do bad things to her. She never fight back as she would do before her daughter died. Now, she is just a quiet person.
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She has a son. This time, she let her son do whatever he wanted to. This son of her look at this as an opportunity for him to do whatever he wanted to. Because of no control by her mother, this boy grow to be a bad person and doing a lot of bad stuffs. Until one day, he involved in a big fight and was beaten to his death.
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Now this mother had been caught in between. Being forceful cause her daughter's death and not being forceful had caused her son die. Now she felt regret and don't know what to do.
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For me, the best way to manage this problem is to be moderate. Being not too forceful yet too flexible. There are time for everything. It's a matter of how we get the timing right. Somethings need us to be forceful for example, directing our children to study.
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Take your time to think about this.
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All the best,
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Regards,
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Timben

The Disciples

Good day.
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Today, the reading told us how Jesus could "Pray all night". Translated into hours of prayers. This is time when He can communicate with God in Heaven. It's a time of peace and tranquility. This is the time when our mind, body and soul combine into one. Good idea will flow like rivers flowing filled with water. The challenge on people nowadays is on the issue of, "not enough time" for everything. When asked to pray, they say, "Yes I know that praying is good but what to do, I am busy." or "My boss asked me to do a lot of works!" (Even blame others for they own weakness). Man, please~ I tell you, and I tell myself also, that, there are no such thing as no time to pray. Be honest and just say that you are actually lazy. Don't forget, God give you life and He can take it anytime and anyway He wanted it to be. You must pray. Don't care if it is just a short while, as long as you are sincere with it. Communicate with your creator and He will give your ideas on how to complete the tasks given by your boss. ^_-.
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Peter,Andrew,James,John,Philip,Bartholomew,Matthew,Thomas,James son of Alphaeus,Simon,Judas son of James,Judas Iscariot. These guys are very lucky to be selected by Jesus as His disciples and companions. Together they do wonders on the life of many people. Jesus had guide them into a very good way of living. Spread the good news of God and live simple. People choose them who do not have anything to brag about. They are no-one in the eyes of those "some-one" at that time. But in the eyes of Jesus, they are hidden diamonds to be polished.
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Crowds at that time are very keen just to touch Jesus. He got this healing aura around Him. Those who touch Him will be healed physically and spiritually. "Lord, only say the word and I shall be healed." The faith that can heal us. Believe in God and you will be able to see His miracles in you and your surrounding. Go and sought to touch Him in your heart.
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Which side do you stand on right now? Doubt or Faith? Go for the faith and eternal life shall be yours. Same decision is mine to take. Let us together have faith in God our creator. It may be hard but it's not impossible if we can spend time to pray everyday. Prayer can be in many form. You can do your prayers through singing, poems, reading and even blogging. Our world has been modernized so we should be up-to-date.
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All the best in your prayer life,
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Regards,
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Timben

Looking deep inside the movie..

Just now I watched one China movie starred and directed by Stephen Chow by the title of "Shaolin Soccer". This movie is not new as it was shown in the cinema during 2001. This is a comedy movie but if we really look beyond what is appearing in our physical eye, there are important lessons inside this movie.
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I got 2 messages that for me is a life changing lessons.
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Number one is about using Tai Chi style to defeat the strong. I learn from "Ah Mui" the Tai Chi girl. How she use the strength of opponents to create a powerful spinning ball for Sing to kick and use that power to defeat the opponents. This shows that us human can use not our own energy to create winning in our life. All we need is some skill to develop and the ability to believe. Use the power around us into good use. God will help those who have faith in themselves.
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Number two is about "Old Shoe". Don't forget that our old shoes have brought us to what we are today. In the movie, the old shoes had been repaired by "Ah Mui" many times because she realize that the shoe is what bringing Sing to success. At first, Sing didn't realize the important of the shoe until the last match where his new shoe let him down and "Ah Mui" the repaired old shoes for him to wear for his winning kick. I am not saying that we should not change our shoes if it got damaged. Just that, don't forget where we are coming from and appreciate the pass for bringing us to be what we are today. If we can appreciate the pass, we will be able to cherish present and creating better future.
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I need sleep now. All the best to you and God be with you always.
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Regards,
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Timben

Go with those who cannot pay you back.

Hi.
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Suddenly I am thinking about something so I wanted to share in this blog. It's also from one of the readings that I heard sometime ago.
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It's about people who we help. The reading says that if we want to help, we should help those who cannot pay anything back to us. So that, God in Heaven will give us the rewards. Fill us with blessing.
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If we help those who can give back rewards to us in return, then we will get nothing in return. Most important is the sincerity of helping. That is why, when I mix, I will mix with those who is considered as a bit unfortunate compared to me. I seldom mix with those great person as they are already better than me and do not need me anymore. It's their duty to look down and see people who need their help.
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Supposedly, those richer person should look over those who are less fortunate. Our standard trend, the less fortunate people will look up and praise the rich and famous and the rich will look up to those even richer and having more power. We need to make things go opposite. The assistant should go from top to bottom.
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This is all purely from my brain. Don't have time to filter or make the words sound beautiful. Hope reader will get something from this spontaneous writings.
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Regards,
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Timben

The first in mind is God.

What a nice Sunday today,
May you have a wonderful Sunday too.
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Today's reading could lead us to confusion if we take just the direct meaning of the words used. So let's discuss about it here. I will put my opinion on the meaning of today's reading in this blog.
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There are few key points that I got from all three readings for today (and also the psalm.)
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First of all is "refuge". We are vulnerable to destruction. Destruction can be in the form of physical, mental and soul. Winning is on our side against these destruction because God is our refuge. He is always there and it is only a matter of whether we want to seek for His help and blessings. God will always love us even though we are sinners.
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People will appreciate things if the things are hard to get or very limited. We are talking about lives here. Our life is short if we truly realize it. By remembering about it, you should have the initiatives to help yourself to put into good use the life God has given to you. Live not just by receiving but you must focus on giving also. The hand that gives are much better than the receiving hand. What can you give today?
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In the Gospel, Jesus use the words, "Hate your families." Seems like bad and this is the part that could make the readers confuse if they don't really want to understand the deep meaning inside the Gospel. Jesus just wants us to put God first in our Heart and Mind. By putting God first, everything else will follow graciously including loving your families and neighbors.
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Most people lives for possessions. This will show whether they are rich or not. They will play the game of comparing. Who is ricer than who? But when they are asked to follow God, God says, "Give up ALL your possessions!" Do you think you can do it? I know it will the hardest thing to do especially those with a lots of possessions. That is why Jesus always tells us that the rich will find it hard to enter the kingdom of God even camel going through the eye of needle will be easier. Gentle reminder for those rich people, think whether you could bring your treasures to the after world.
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A very good news for us is that Jesus treat us as His friend. He told us that we are friends to Him because He had told us what His father (God) had told Him before. When I think about it, it's logic. A master would never told something secret between father and son to his slave. He will do it only if he consider the person is his friends. Thank God for considering us sinful people as Your friend. We promise not to abuse the relationship.
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Take your time to think deep about these.
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Regards,
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Timben

What is your catch today?

Good day.
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Today's reading told us to do one of the hardest thing to do. To follow God's command even though we are in the time of hardness. Some more when the things that God tell us to do is something that we do a lot of times but still the results is not as what we wanted it to be. For example in the reading, Simon, had gone out to catch fish all night and got nothing. He felt so exhausted and in the process of cleaning his nets thinking of going home to rest. Suddenly, Jesus step into his boat and command him to go far from the shore. If you were in Simon's place? What will you do? In that condition, tired and disappointed, I will not blame you for disobeying the command. Your condition can really control you at that time. But what did Simon do? He followed obediently, supplied with great faith in Jesus. After finish teaching, Jesus even tell Simon to try catch fish with his net. What? After all the tiredness of catching no fish and clean this nets? This guy wants me to make my nets become all dirty again??!! No way! That is what people normally think. But what did Simon says? "Ok Lord, because You asked me to do it then I will do it." What a faith!! Not everyone can do it. By depending on our human strength, we will never be able to do it. But with the help of our faith, we can do it.
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God gave us the assignment to be his messenger and become fisher of men. But please take note that God never ask us to force others. Instead, we need to become like magnet. Pulling people towards us by showing goodness and love. People will be attracted by the "aura" that comes out from the way we act and express ourselves.
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Let us lured people to God by showing good examples. God will always show us the way.
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Regards,
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Timben

The Healing Touch

The healing hand.
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That is what shown by Jesus in today's reading. His disciple who believes in Him did ask for their family to be healed.
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Not just that, Jesus even drawn the devils away. That shows a very powerful strength Jesus had.
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The question now is whether you believe or not? I understand that nowadays it is really hard for us to believe because we cannot SEE. But it is possible to do it because God gave us His word. We can get it through readings from the Bible. We just need to spend a bit of our time to read the Bible and study yourself the teaching in the Bible. If you understand the teaching inside, you will be able to have faith. This faith is your believe.
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By believing, you are actually doing what was taught in the Bible. You will be nearer to the healing hand of God. Don't expect to look for healing only in terms of physical. You can also be healed through the changing of lifestyles and attitudes. This is a great healing. A healing of life. To be a better person for better future.
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Start your day with 100% faith in God's Healing Hand.
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Regards,
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Timben