Monday, April 18, 2011
i learnt alot today during sermon, and i hope whatever i typed here may be of help to you all be it that you are a christian or not.
today's sermon addressed the question that i always had
be it whatever things i read.
the bible, my notes, books, etc.
dont seem to rmb the contents the next day unless i made special effort to memorise it.
but here goes a story...
one day, a pastor met a girl who lived on a mountain.
the girl asked, why is it impt to read the bible even if i'll just forget what i've read?won't it be useless?
the pastor replied, go take your rattan basket to draw water from the well.
the girl was puzzled, but she obeyed and went to draw water from the well.
when she came back, she said,"see, there's no way i can get any water back using the rattan basket!"
the pastor asked her to try again, and the same thing happened 2 more times.
finally the pastor said,"although you didn't get any water back, but by dipping your basket into the well, don't you think it looks cleaner now?"
indeed it was. and so it'll be just by reading God's word. It has a cleansing and purifying effect on your soul even if you couldnt rmb most of what you've read. It's really quite enlightening for me because i always felt sad that i can really rmb the news i've read, the books i've read, the bible passages i've read, and other things i've encountered in my life. i guess although i don't rmb but it does have an impact on me, just like how i wouldnt rmb what i ate a month ago on a particular date, although i was filled from it and it wasn't useless.
also, i got reminded that we should always tune into the Holy Spirit.
as my pastor put it, imagine you've been listening to a gossip channel on the radio.
yet at the same time, you admire those who listen to classical music and think that they are sophisticated. by continuing to listen to the gossip channel and not doing anything to be more sophisticated, you won't change. you may not understand classical music when you first start listening to it, and may even feel uncomfortable not listening to the juicy gossips, but once you've learnt how to enjoy the classical music, going back to the gossip channel may just make you feel disgusted at how you managed to tolerate so much rubbish in the past.
similarly, we must always tune into the Holy Spirit.
at the start, it may seem really uncomfortable because afterall, we belong to the flesh.
but gradually as we get used to the guidance and teachings of the Holy Spirit,
hopefully we may one day view the temptations of the flesh with disgust lest we succumb to it.
+ val-* @ 12:16 AM
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