The Cooling Stream

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."

And to one he gave 5 talents, to another 2, and to another 1, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey."

We are all endowed with many different talents and capabilities.

None of them belongs to us; they are all given to us by God our Creator.

Now the Lord God wants to know how we use His talents.

And there would come a time when we are required to give an account.

"Then he who had received the 5 talents went and traded with them, and made another 5 talents."

"And likewise he who had received 2 gained 2 more also."

"But he who had received 1 went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money."

Some of us who are richly endowed have fully utilized our talents.

Some of us who are less gifted have also perfected all our capabilities.

But there are others who have hidden their talents and capabilities, the very gifts from the Lord God.

"After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them."

"So he who had received 5 talents came and brought 5 other talents, saying, ' Lord, I have gained 5 more talents besides them.'"

"His lord said to him. 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'"

"He also who had received 2 talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me 2 talents; look, I have gained 2 more talents besides them.'"

"His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord."

The time would come when the Lord God would settle account with us; there would be no escape.

There would be those who would be praised by the Lord God: Well done, good and faithful servant.

They have been faithful over a few things, and the Lord God would entrust them with many more things.

And they are invited to share the joy of the Lord God.

"Then he who had received the 1 talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talents in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours."

"But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents."

"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away."

"And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Some of us have treated the Lord God not as our Heavenly Father, but as a hard cruel Master.

We fear and tremble before the Lord God. We dare not use His given talents. Instead we hide them from people, even until now!

There would be those who would be reprimanded by the Lord God: You wicked and lazy servant.

They have not been faithful with the few things that they have been entrusted, and the Lord God would not give them anything.

All that they have would be taken away and given to the good and faithful servants.

And they would be thrown into outer darkness; they would not share the joy of the Lord God.

*******

We all have our God-given talents and capabilities.

Where are they now?

There would come the Judgment Day when we have to give account.

Who are we serving?

God or men?

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord"

The Lord Jesus pronounced 8 woes upon the scribes and Pharisees. They were hypocrites!

1. They prevented others from entering the kingdom of heaven by their many human traditions and religious rules.
   
   
2. They devoured large possessions and donations by long and pretentious spiritual prayers.
   
   
3. They won and made many more worse than them.
   
   
4. They were blind guides who brought people further into darkness.
   
   
5. They ignored the heavier objects of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. They were obsessed with trivialities, and would do anything for the sake of looking good, powerful, and righteous.
   
   
6. They looked clean, but were full of extortion and self-indulgence.
   
   
7. They looked righteous, but were full of lies and hypocrisy.
   
   
8. And they praised themselves but criticized others.

The Lord Jesus called them serpents, brood of vipers.

And warned them that they would not escape the condemnation of hell.

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There are just too many religious hypocrites among us.

These are the people who would prevent others from entering the kingdom of heaven.

These are the people who would devour others of their wealth and possessions.

These are the people who would win and make others worse than them.

These are the people who would lead others further into the darkness.

These are the people who would create so many dos and don'ts for other to follow.

These are the people who are not clean; they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

These are the people who are not righteous; they are full of sins, living in lies and hypocrisy.

And these are the people who just love to praise themselves but condemn others.

But the Lord Jesus said they would not go unpunished!

Some of us have been working for years.

Work has become a routine and nothing can really surprise us anymore.

We know our line of work and we can carry out many tasks without much thought.

Some of us have slowly become a valuable asset to our organization. We are pleased and proud with ourselves, and at time a bit bossy and sometimes manipulative.

Some of us demand a better treatment from the organization. We are not satisfied with what we have and there are more to what we want.

Although we have more than what we need and are in fact lacking nothing, we want more attention, more love and more of everything.

Some of us are not happy when the new, young and fresh workers are treated too well by the organization. We wish that they would learn things the hard way just like many of us in the past.

I believe in whatever organization we are serving, it is good to realize that we are not indispensable; that the younger generation is slowly taking over our roles and that we will one day retire.

It is good if we can continue to play a contributing role to our organization.

It is good to always try to do our works to the best of our ability.

It is not the number of years or the years of experience that matters; rather it is the willing heart to serve and to sacrifice for the sake of our organization.

Whatever we do, at the end of the day, we must realize that we will have to give an account of our earthly journey to the almighty God.

"Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant."

Maybe that is the attitude we must have in our organization.

Let us faithfully do our work, cultivate our reputation, and in due time have our reward, whether from earth below or heaven above.

The Lord Jesus fed five thousand men, besides women and children with only five loaves of bread and two fish. When they all ate and were filled, they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

On another occasion, the Lord Jesus fed four thousand men, besides women and children, with seven loaves of bread and a few little fish. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.

I don't know on how many occasions did our Lord Jesus feed many thousands of people. The apostle John said there were many other things that the Lord Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, the world itself couldn't contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).

Many people chase after the things of this world. They choose to possess and enjoy everything that the world can offer. They live for the world, and they live for the food. They may be rich or poor, famous or unknown, influential or pressured, etc. It doesn't matter. They work for the world and live for the world. But they can never be satisfied with what they have and they will continue to hunger and thirst for more.

The five thousand men and the four thousand people knew better. The Lord Jesus is the Bread of Life. They had come all the way from afar together with their families, to meet up with the Lord Jesus. They have left those who chose not to follow in order to listen to the Word of Life.

They sat down and listened to the Word of God for hours. They came hungry and thirst for the Living Word of God, but they were satisfied. All their fatigue, worries, burdens, and depressions had disappeared. In fact, they were so content with their stay that they had forgotten about everything else.

The Lord Jesus is compassionate to them; He provided everything for them. He had told them the Kingdom of Heaven; He had fed them spiritually. But He also fulfilled their physical needs; He was to provide for them; they would all eat and be filled.

The disciples were not that sure. What could you do with only five loaves of bread and two fish? Or with seven loaves of bread and a few little fish? But they chose to wait on the Lord Jesus and see what He chose to do.

The Bible had said, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Our priority in life will determine how we would live our lives.

We can never serve two masters; for either we will hate the one and love the other; or else we will be loyal to the one and despise the other. We cannot serve God and mammon.

Some people seek to please God by doing what His Son had commanded. They would put the Lord God first in everything they do. They would first hunger and thirst for the things of God; all other things are secondary.

Surprisingly they always have everything they want.

They are always contented and satisfied.

And they seldom go hungry and thirsty with the little they have.

Many people in the world live to eat. But there are also those who prefer to eat to live.

Food and everything that the world can offer aren't everything. There are more to life than just food and everything in the world. There are always spiritual food and the after life to deal with.

I don't know just how many times our dear Lord has fed us and care for us. But I remember there were many occasions where our dear Lord brought us and carried us through our difficult times.

Like the five thousand men and the four thousand people, I would rather be in the house of the Lord.

Like the disciples, I would continue to wait on the Lord and see what He would do in His Ministry.

Seek first the Kingdom of God; it is everything.

Wait on the dear Lord; it is everything.

Thanks the Lord God for His satisfying Word.

There are no roads. Roads are made by walking.

This is an age old saying.

Its truth is undeniable.

And its words expansive and transformational.

*******

Where there's an idea, there's a DIY.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Where there's passion, there's determination to succeed.

*******

That is how we solve difficult problems with simple ideas.

That is how we create miracles with simple tools.

And that is how we make our many dreams come true.

*******

They all come from our widest imagination.

They all come from our unwavering commitment.

They all come from our strong desire to make a difference.

*******

But if we don't try, we will never do.

And if we never do, we will never be successful.

*******

Things just don't fall from the sky magically.

We must act, and act effectively and soon.

But we must also act prudently and cautiously.

*******

I was driving slowly up the slope of a steep hill.

It was a narrow road to a remote village miles away.

It was built by its people who was fed up with the water way.

They yearned for a dream come true.

And they made their way.

*******

I finally drove to the top of the hill.

Looking down, I could see the village and its people.

Soon, I told myself, the steep hill will be no more.

I looked at the people, and shook their hands.

And smile to them with their confident smiles...