Being Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13-16)

I went to Japan over December and celebrated Christmas & New year there! On 31st Dec, while everyone was revelling in Tokyo Roppongi area (the place with lotsa night life), I had the opportunity to attend a midnight mass in a Church in Japan to celebrate New Year (as it was Sat night and also in time for Sunday Mass).

During the Eucharist, I asked God... so what is he going to say for me? Any words for the new year ahead? And it was just like divine inspiration, I just had the words "salt and light" going through my head. I think that was inspiring enough for me, a simple reminder that I need to be a salt and light in my Christian life. And that's how God speaks to me.

And so I want to ask you all to reflect with me on this. Do you also want to be "Salt" and "Light" for others?

Being Salt and Light sounds good and noble, but it's not easy. As Matthew 5 mentions, Salt which loses their saltiness is useless. Are we useful or useless? Are we hiding our light, or shining in the world today around us?

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Mt 5:13-16

This could be a helpful and short read - http://www.teal.org.uk/mat/saltand.htm

Do pray for our OLPS Youth Ministry, and my wish for 2012 is that we can remain salty and shine with our light of Christ in us.... !

God Bless,
Samantha
Youth Ministry

Happy 2012!

Hey all, our blog is quiet but not dead! Wishing all a Happy 2012 ahead... a year for many changes for many of us ;) O Levels for many, and many of our youth leaders are tying the Knot this year... we wish them happiness! ;)

Mother Teresa - The Legacy - Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!! Jesus is Risen!

Here is an Amazing video of Short teachings from Mother Teresa... Absolutely Worth Watching!

She talks about Joy, Poverty of the Heart, God's Love, Loss of the presence of God, God's Mercy, Spiritual Poverty (of being unwanted, rejected), Showing Love, Serving the poor.

This Easter, with Jesus "Alive and Present" in us, even more, we can be compelled to do more small things with Great Love! Watch this video to be inspired!



God Bless!

Young People - Pope's Prayer Intention for April 2011

This month, Pope Benedict XVI has asked that Catholics everywhere pray: That through its compelling preaching of the Gospel, the Church may give young people new reasons for life and hope. So all our young members on Xt3 - and those working with young people - the Pope will be keeping you in his prayers this month!

Watch this video for a reflection on the Pope's prayer intention for April 2011 or play embedded video below! 

God Will Turn It To Gold - Selwyn Hughes

Today I picked up one of those free sampler 30-day bible daily devotionals (by Selwyn Hughes) that I had sitting in my drawer. Of this 30-day sampler devotional, I had read 18 days worth of pages and recorded the date on each article that I'd read. Just flipping back on the pages today, I noticed that I had read "Day 1" of this devotional on the 1st of June 2009. That is almost 2 years ago! The last article I read was on 22 December 2010. Wow. If you divide the months over that span of one and a half years, that is a measely ONE article per month!

Well, a 30-day devotional, spread over 18 months, fantastic. Ok, at least, I have read something over 1.5 years... I consoled myself. Maybe some people haven't read anything in years? But that's quite a poor consolation, isnt' it? haha.

Well, today's devotional really spoke to my heart, and I want to share it here with everyone. It really tells us that our perception of God and about spending time "with" God or reading the bible, is sometimes very wrong! We think spending time reading the bible is going to deter us from fulfilling our daily routines. But here, God promises that it is not so! Read on….!

Day 19
GOD WILL TURN IT TO GOLD
For reading and meditation - Psalm 119:33-40
"Turn my heart towards your statutes and not toward selfish gain" (v.36)
(30 day sampler devotional "Not By Bread Alone" by Selwyn Hughes)

In my introduction I said that I had discovered three chief reasons why people do not regularly read the Scriptures. One, they find it unbelievably dull. Two, the lack time. And three, they don't know what to read and where to read. We have looked at some of the reasons why people find the Bible dull; now we consider the issue of time.

There are many who fear regular reading of the Bible will absorb more time than they can afford. Such an idea is mistaken. Time spent in the Bible is worth more than the time it takes. If God has given us a book which contains His will and purpose for our lives, if He promises (as He has) to work is will in us as we expose our minds to His Word, is there not something almost blasphemous in wondering whether we cna give it time?

Tagore, the Indian writer and poet, once told this parable. "I had gone a-begging from door to door in the vilage 'path', when Thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was King of all Kings! Thy chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell upon me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then, of a sudden Thou didst hold out thy right had and say, "What hast thou to give to me?" Ah! What a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg? I was confused and undecided and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to Thee. But how great was my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a list little grain of gold among the poor heap. I wept bitterly and wished that I had the heart to give Thee my all."

If we give God a moment He will turn it to gold, but if we give Him more - what then?

[Prayer]
OGod, help me see more clearly than ever that the more time I spend in the Bible the more treasures will come out of it. I must re-prioritise my time schedules. Help me to put reading Your Word at the top of my list. In Jesus' name, Amen.