Saturday, June 16, 2007
11:01 AM
Im so tired. Last nite while waiting for TZ to sms me when he reach home den we can arrange a time to meet for supper at prate house. In the end i fell asleep, when i wake up suddenly at abt 2.55am, i look at my fone. Saw 3 miss call and 2 sms from him den i gif him a sms. He is awake and we decided to meet at 3.30am at prate house for supper and to chill out. In the end, we chatted on the cases we attended etc till 6 plus in the morning..its like dame tired..its been a long time since we chatted bah...when i left sch, they still schooling and we lost contact for quite sometime till last yr i saw him at my station when he came to cover duty and from then we contact again...when back home, slp for awhile before going to work. In the end i over slept and woke up at 7.30am and so KC and rush to work. haahaa....
Later still got dragonboat training and adventure race..so tiring and sleepy...tml on day shift somemore...
Jeffrey Tan was here.
10:50 AM
Two friends of Jesus, Martha and Mary shed some light on the impact of hurry sickness on our lives. Our lives can get so busy. Sometimes twenty-fours isn't enough for school, chores or work. fun, and whatever else you have to do today. The truth is, as much as we complain about it, we are drawn to hurry. It makes us feel important. It means we don't have to look too closely at the heart of life. Hurry causes great harm to our spiritual growth. Hurry is not a merely a shortage of time; it is a disease of the soul. Hurry lies behind much of the anger and frustration of modern life. It disrupts our life-giving connection with God and prevents us from receiving love from the Father or giving it to others. if you want to grow spiritually, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.
We need to stop at times and ask, are we doing so much that we haven't time to sit at Christ's feet and learn? Here Jesus did not blame Martha for being concerned about household chores. He was only asking her to set priorities. It is possible for service to Christ to degenerate into mere busywork that is no longer devotion to God. Neither accomplishments nor possessions nor networks would define me- just me, my desire or lack of desire for God...
Lord, You alone can satisfy, I long to come into your presence. You are my God, earnestly I seek you.
Jeffrey Tan was here.
10:39 AM
Jesus was quite aware of this kind of problem in his day. As we will see, he repeatedly withdrew from crowds and activities. He taught his followers to do likewise. When the disciples returned from a busy time of ministry, Jesus told them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while", Mark explains that "many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat". That could be the motto for some people today. Some people imagine this to be a good thing that perhaps God will reward one day. "What a life you had!You were even too busy to eat. Well done!" But Mark did not mean this statement as a commendation. Jesus urged his disciples to take time out. Following Jesus cannot be done at a sprint. If we want to follow someone, we can't go faster than the one who is leading. We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.. This does not mean we will never be busy. Jesus often had much to do, but he never did it in a way that severed the life-giving connection between him and his Father. He never did it ina way that interfered with his ability to give love when love was called for. Jesus was often busy, but never hurried.
Everyday responsibilities pull us in many directions, we each need times of solitude-times to withdraw, take a deep breath, focus on God, recharge, and evaluate.
Lord of Sabbath, help me to make rest and refreshment a priority, and free me from the need to be indispensable.
Jeffrey Tan was here.
Friday, June 15, 2007
5:36 PM
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls and keep us from living well.For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith.It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it.We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.
We suffer from what has come to be known as "hurry sickness". One of the great illusions of our day is that hurrying will buy us more time.With the advance in technology,people would have more free time as they need to work lesshours.Ironically, it has not produced what we're after:a sense of having enough time.We often experience the opposite.While people in the advanced countries are rich in goods.,they are extremely poor in time.Many societies in the two-third world ,by contrast,are poor in material possessions,by our standards,but they are rich in time.They are not driven or hurried.They live with a sense that there is adequate time to do what needs to be done each day.Hurry will keep us consumed by the "cares and riches and pleasures of life",as Jesus put it,and prevented His way from taking root in our hearts. Jesus never suggested that it's wrong to be concerned about basic needs. He simply said it's unnecessary. When we appreciate how much God loves us, we are no longer feel pressure to run after even the necessities of life.
Lord help me to employ my time for you, not in frantic busyness, as if i've had something to prove, but in calm thankfulness for all you've given me, including the gift of time. Amen.
Jeffrey Tan was here.
