After having fed the five thousand with five barley loaves and two fish, the
multitude was ready to take Him by force and make Him king. (John 6:15)
Matthew recorded that Jesus sent the disciples away in the boat while He
remained and dismissed the crowd. (Matthew 14:22) Perhaps, they could have
easily gotten caught up in the excitement of the crowd. Though Jesus would
be King, it would not be in this way. Then as the crowds continued to
follow, Jesus tried to redirect their focus from physical things to the
spiritual. (John 6:22-65) Some of this teaching was difficult for many to
accept and therefore many turned away no longer walking with Him. (John
6:66)
For Jesus' closest disciples (the Twelve) to have witnessed such a
following and then see so many walk away, had potential to impact their own
view of what was to come. What were they to make of it all? Witnessing
rejection can really take away the excitement when so much momentum seemed
to have already been building.
We read. . .
"(66) After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer
walked with him. (67) So Jesus said to the Twelve, 'DO YOU WANT TO GO AWAY
AS WELL?'" (John 6:66-67 ESV)
In spite of others, where did they stand? Would they be discouraged
enough to wonder whether or not it was worth hanging in there with Jesus?
Where was the success in such a picture? Now, Jesus knew who would believe
and who would not, as well as who of the Twelve would betray Him. (John
6:64) But did they themselves know where they stood?
For us to consider where we stand is important as well. To verbalize it
helps strengthen the resolve in our own minds and solidify our stand. Though
all others leave, would we remain?
Peter's response would have not only helped establish deeper roots to
his resolve, but also encourage the others.
"(68) Simon Peter answered him, 'LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? You have
the words of eternal life, (69) and WE HAVE BELIEVED, and HAVE COME TO KNOW,
that YOU ARE THE HOLY ONE OF GOD.'" (John 6:68-69 ESV)
For Peter there was NO OTHER OPTION! That is a great resolve for us to
share as well. Let us not even leave the door open a crack for ANY OTHER
OPTION. Having come to know that Jesus is "the Holy One of God" and
remembering it is only He Who has "the words of eternal life" should keep us
from turning away. May our following never end.
Have a great day CONTINUING TO STAND WITH JESUS!
Where do you stand??
Humility
calling all LIFE GAMERS!!!
Registration: 19th March 7.30am.
Camp starts punctually at 8.30am.
To bring; sufficient clean clothers, shoes, slippers, toiletries, notebook, stationery, BIBLE, water bottle.
Camp ends : 21 march (sat) 5pm
BTW i-Youth fellowship is still ON. Return to base.
YOUTH SUNDAY
alas.. i did not managed to get any pictures....
Dear i-Youth, please give / burn me a copy of all the pictures taken during our Youth Sunday so that we can compile
FISH ALERT!!! RED ALERT!!
Dear all,
Please take note of the subject below. Please buy sea or pond fish for the time being and pass the word around to our family members. This has happened since 3 weeks ago.
Thanks,
Evelyn
Subject: Better don't eat fish for now
Hundreds of fish were dying in Baram River
Then Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (Brimas) is shocked with another wave of mysterious death of fish in Sarawak. Over the last few days, hundreds of fish were found dying in Baram River, particularly around the Kuala Baram area.
Brimas officers have conducted field visits and investigations in the area and were surprised to see several species of freshwater fish dying in the river. The fish species that were found dying are locally known as Ikan Baung, Ikan Burih, Ikan Tapah, Ikan Padi to mention a few.
Also found dying were various types of prawns. Through our observation, most of the fish seemed weak, tired and having difficulty in breathing. As a result, the fish surfaced for air but after sometime suffocated to death. Also, the fish appeared blind.
Our officers have conducted site examinations on some of the dead fishes, particularly checking their gills. Brimas found that the gills of the fishes were not clogged with mud or blocked by silt. The stomach or intestines of the dead fish did not contain mud but seemed watery.
Regarding the condition of the Baram River, Brimas officers noticed that the water was murky. According to some local villagers at the Kuala Baram area, they have not seen any difference in the water as over the past years, the river has always being brownish, muddy and polluted with silt due to logging, oil palm plantations and industrial development activities.
Brimas has collected some water samples from Baram River for further investigation and necessary action.
Brimas is concerned with the safety of villages and members of longhouse communities along the Baram River. These people are exposed to danger and environmental disaster as they entirely depend on Baram River for their daily livelihood.
Brimas has seen these people scooping up the floating fish as well as collecting the dying fishes in Kuala Baram. It is alarming to note that these fish were sold at the local markets around Miri here. Innocent members of public could have bought and consumed these fishes and prawns unaware of the possible health risks.
Brimas is appalled with this reoccurrence of the large-scale dying of fish in Sarawak rivers. It seems that major rivers throughout the state are affected by this mysterious phenomenon. This seems like a wave of destructive incidents affecting all of our rivers.
These series of mysterious death of fishes had occurred twice in the Bakun dam project area in Belaga, then in Balleh and last week it was at the Mukah River.
With this new incident at Kuala Baram, based on our site investigations and observations, Brimas has identified the possible source and culprits that cause these incidents. However, Brimas would rather not pinpoint the culprits now but allow the relevant authorities to carry their investigations independently.
Brimas urges the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) to conduct thorough investigations to find out the cause of the death of these fishes. Their reports must be made public as the nature of this mysterious phenomenon is of public interest and concern.
Brimas also supports the NREB in taking whatever action in enforcing the law against the culprits or responsible parties so that these incidents will not recur in the future.
The writer is programme officer, Brimas (Borneo Resources Institute) .
