Read and make a reflection paper on BIG FISH section – September 2014
volume.
07 September 2014
Think
about it
Has
someone hurt you? Where are you in the stage of forgiveness?
My reflections:
Yes, some people have hurt me. Everyone can’t resist not being hurt.
I have
been hurt by others verbally and physically. But I have forgiven them already.
The hurt was all in the past. And it was done by people I didn’t and shouldn’t
care much about.
I have to
learn to apply what God commands in Ephesians
4:32: “But become kind to one another, tenderly
compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely
forgave you.”
Only
Jehovah God can determine in what stage I am of forgiveness.
When I forgive
a person, it’s like I bury his/her sins. To help me do this difficult step, I
meditate on Colossians 3:13-14 and
try my best to apply it: “13 Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one
another freely even if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Just
as Jehovah freely forgave you, you must also do the same. 14 But
besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond
of union.”
Going
fishing
Pray
for the people who hurt you. Pray that the Lord heal your heart.
My
reflections: If I feel that I have been the victim of an
injustice or wrongdoing, and I find it difficult to forgive a wrongdoer who has
repented, it helps me to realize that the offender too is a victim. He or she
also suffers the effects of inherited imperfection (Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God”).
Jehovah feels
compassion toward all imperfect mankind. Therefore, it is appropriate to pray
for the offender. It is unlikely that we would continue being angry with someone
for whom we are praying.
Just as Jesus says: “43You heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ 44 However,
I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you;
45 that you may
prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his
sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people
and unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)
My prayer:
Dear Jehovah God, I pray for the people who have hurt me and kindly help them
so that they would be safe and well…in the name of Jesus, Amen.
14 September 2014
Think
about it
How many times have you been impatient, an always–complaining
Israelite? What was God’s response to all your complaints?
My reflections: In
one reference, I read: “Pride may be one cause for complaining. A person may
think too highly of himself and, in order to build up his own ego and his
stature with his brothers, he may resort to criticizing the faults of others.
In this way he draws attention to the fact that he does not have these
particular faults to the same extent. Another may be impatient because his
brothers are not as quick to grasp things as he or he becomes irritated at what
he considers to be their weaknesses. Others who suffer some unusual hardship
may feel self-pity when comparing their condition with other brothers in the
congregation and thus may complain because of this. A desire for greater
efficiency may cause some to complain, feeling perhaps that they could do the
job better than the one who is appointed to serve.”
Well, my complaints are not so serious. Sometimes, I
just tell my mom: “Mama, I’m so sleepy” or “I want to eat…I’m starving”.
21 September 2014
Think
about it
How many times have you felt life is unfair? Or is
God just sending you a message? Silence your heart. What is God saying?
My reflections: I
read these historical events somewhere: “No matter where you look, social
disparities are there. For instance, why do those living in some countries have
so much food that waste and overeating are common, while in other lands millions
are undernourished or even starve to death? In July 1983, the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization painted a gloomy picture of the
urgent need to supply millions with grain if actual starvation was to be
averted. Starvation came, as events in Ethiopia during 1985 bore out.
“Consider
another example of unfairness: Some people can afford to live in mansions,
while millions of fellow humans, because of utter poverty, must live in
substandard dwellings, many in little more than a lean-to or a shanty dwelling.
According to The New Book of World Rankings for 1984, “one-fourth of the
planet’s population—some one billion human beings—live in poverty so stark and
dehumanizing that [it] is inconceivable for most people living in Western
societies.
“But
even where houses do exist, in many lands the main chore of womenfolk is to
bring water from a well or a river, sometimes miles away from the house. In one
country 99.7 percent of all dwellings are without piped water. Another 5
countries have more than 95 percent without water, and 50 more countries
range from 50.6 percent to 88.9 percent without piped water.
“These
are some of the inequalities plaguing mankind today.”
Why
has God permitted this inequality, unfairness? The answer to this is connected
to the question: Who has the
right to rule the universe and humankind, and whose rule is right? His being
almighty and the Creator of all creatures gives God the right to rule over them.
Since He is all-wise, His rule is best for all creatures. But God’s rule had been
challenged by Satan. Also, man (since Adam’s time) wanted to become independent
of God.
The Creator then allowed humans the total freedom they wanted. They
chose that course of their own free will, so God permitted it.
By allowing humans enough time to experiment with total freedom, God
would establish for all time whether humans are better off under God’s rule or on
their own. The inequality that prevails worldwide and through all times has
proven that only God has the right to rule humankind if equality and fairness
have to exist.
Going
fishing
Even
if you do not understand, trust God.
My
reflections: With the
above statement, I am reminded most of these characters in the Bible –
Abraham
and his favored descendants, Isaac and Jacob. They came to know God as Almighty
in power.
As their “shield,” God protected them and their
families from the mighty ones of earth.
The birth of Isaac to aged parents demonstrated that
nothing is “too extraordinary for Jehovah.”
God prospered these servants of His.
With good reason, these men had strong faith not
only that God is alive but also that he is the powerful “rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Imitating the faith of these patriarchs can help me
trust Jehovah more deeply.
28 September 2014
Going
fishing
Be
true to your word.
My reflections: This
statement brings to my mind the words in Matthew
5:37: “Just let
your word ‘Yes’ mean yes, your ‘No,’ no, for what goes beyond these is from the
wicked one.”
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