|
Week:11, Season:1,
2012
Posted on Saturday by PCT
|
|
Reflection under the Rainbow
|
|
Scripture：《
Genesis 9:8-17
》
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. ”12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
|
|
|
|
What is the relationship between my ‘thought’ and my ‘destiny’？
Nineteenth century English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray wrote, “Sow a thought, and reap an action. Sow an action, and reap a habit. Sow a habit, and reap character. Sow character, and reap destiny.” It is true that character determines our life and a ‘thought’, although the smallest unit of life-changing factors, is the most important element! Research shows that eighty per cent of a human being’s mind is occupied by negative thought. If we do not try to keep thinking positively, it is natural for us to skew to the negative side.
News at the beginning of last year reported two parents in Keelung committed suicide because they felt they could not afford to raise their third child. They left a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son with TWD200,000 for them to survive themselves! A misguided thought seriously damaged the whole family.
Where does the wrong thinking come from？
God tells us in Genesis 8:21, “… every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood…” Genesis 6:5-6 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” The ultimate source of evil thought is that act of the human ancients, who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Our eyes may have been opened, but at the same time our brain lets negative thoughts come in. Adam and Eve began to think up a number of ways to escape from God, which eventually evolved into a destiny far from God. Satan knows the importance of thought. He only needs to input one negative thought into the human brain for human beings to gradually walk towards the road of destruction.
Another example is from John 13:2, “The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.” We can conclude that negative thought is related to Satan. Therefore we should not indulge ourselves in whatever we would like to think, believing that this causes no hurt to others. Any negative thought has the potential to become a crime or to offend God. Even more, such a thought could destroy our heart. We must think in ‘God’s way’ to defeat the attack of the devil.
Right thought is God’s thought
‘Filled with God’s thought’ means to think of God every second of every day. No matter good or bad the situation, wherever we are, we must learn to think of everything positively. And we must always keep this in mind, “The perfect and kindest God is with me now.” Wherever we go, we shall learn what it means to ‘welcome God’s presence’. When we focus our thought on God, any negative thought will leave us.
Opening the story of David challenging Goliath, we probably all agree that the Israelis are going to be the losers. We can judge this by the three facts: 1. the Philistines can use weapons of iron to fight while no blacksmith is to be found in Israel. 2. Goliath was over nine feet tall and his coat of armour weighing 57 kg, the iron point of his spear alone weighed 7 kg. This is a far better position than King Saul. 3. King Saul was giving up hope. Merely ‘hearing’ about the enemy rendered him extremely frightened, with the result that the whole country was losing faith and courage too.
But David was completely different from King Saul. He owned a different way of thinking, truly trusting that God was with him. He was without fear and was determined to tell the Israelis that God was with them (Samuel 1 17:46). The thought of victory made David stronger than his brother, the King of his country, and even than the apparently invincible Philistines and the finely-honed Goliath! The winning point was not David’s military prowess or good luck but his victorious thinking!
What thought is in my mind？
Do you feel frustrated because of the tough environment around you and the prospect of difficulties ahead？ The story of Chuang Fu-hua, a young woman from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was once broadcasted at Taiwan Public Television channel. Young Ms Chuang had been in coma due to a fire started by her neighbour. She awoke after three months but the severe brain damage had made her lose her vision, and her ability to move or speak. However, the extraordinary patience and perseverance she owns has touched all the medical staff. Love of God and from her family gave her the courage to live and regain new energy for her rebirth from the accident. Now she has achieved her goal to be a poet. Her next step is to become a movie director!
Chuang Fu-hua’s story presents a message of vitality for people living in despair – the power of positive thinking, and the confident ability gained from fully trusting in God. Ms Chuang is determined to live for God because she believes that trusting the Lord will lead her to happiness. No matter how tough the environment is, we can do everything through Him who gives us strength. Therefore, let God act as your calculator to solve the problems in your life for you. The answer has long been revealed, from the moment you start your calculation.
How to show Christian spirit？
Christian life means that in everything we do, we should acknowledge our God. There are many promises made to us in the Bible: the most significant is that we can do everything as long as God is with us. In fact, our God is the almighty God who ‘can do everything, and the God who loves to give. As long as we walk with Him, we will conquer countless difficulties and assaults. Hold firmly to this thinking in your mind so that you can welcome each day with a joyful heart and have peace in every storm.
It is now over one year since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Many people still remain unfound. Reconstruction of the country is non-stop and the rebuilding of people’s minds and souls is even more urgent. When God sent the flood to punish this world, after the seemingly endless storms and rains, our Lord prepared a beautiful rainbow which shone through the bright sunshine. No matter how strong the storms and rains in our life may be, behind all the ups and downs, God’s merciful help is always there for us. The rainbow is the sign of the covenant God made between himself and us. Let us keep in mind our God who painted such a beautiful rainbow for us, which is present even when we are facing storms in our life. This is a tip to help us to treat sufferings positively at tough times!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For discussion：
1.In order to let God fulfill his promises in our life, what preparations have you made？
2.How can we keep thinking positively when depressed？
Please pray for：
1.Pray for ourselves to remember God’s mercy, trust in His promise, and rely on him to conquer the barriers in life and to face the difficulties with positive thinking.
2.Pray for refugees of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. May rescue from Lord Jesus come, may God’s will be done, and all of them be comforted and helped by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer：
Dear Heavenly Father, you are the amazing Lord who planned the ark to rescue us. At a time when few believed in you, Noah and his family chose to seize Your way. Thank you for giving us salvation through Jesus and for leading us to the green grass where the greatest and kindest God is with us now. We want to only choose thoughts according to Your will. We believe you promise us a better future, and that you will lead us to walk the road of grace and justice. In the name of our Lord Jesus we pray. Amen!
Something you can do：
Pass on the story of Chuang Fu-hua through the Internet or letters to those who have lost motivation in life.
|
|
|
|
|