From a very young age, I've been afraid of having bad skin. Listening to my teacher talk about scurvy or terribly dry skin made me think that I wish I would never ever have that experience.... Well, to my dismay, many years later, which is today, I have really bad skin complexion and am embarrassed about it. Some of you know it as I have been asking you for advice on what to do about it. Honestly, telling others about it takes a lot of effort because sometimes I fear that people would not accept me if they saw my bad skin. (hehe.. My sad story confession.)

I'm still grateful though. because mine is just not nice. It's not harmful.

There may be people reading this who suffer from worse skin problems than myself. Recently I bought a textbook for my course and in it there were many pictures of various skin problems. And really, I felt my hair standing as I flipped through those pages. Some may not face skin problems, nor have fear when they see those pictures. However, a question still arises: would those who have "better" skin be willing to sit with those who have these kind of skin problems? These are problems like cancer, warts, scars, leprosy...

And talking about leprosy reminds me of something:

The Man With Leprosy

When He (Jesus) came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

(From the Bible, Matthew 8:1-3)

When the man asked Jesus if He was willing to make him clean, Jesus not only made him clean and healed him from leprosy, He even touched him. Well yes, we might say that Jesus had power so he wasn't afraid of getting infected by the man's leprosy. But think about it. The man might not have looked the very least welcoming to be accepted. Yet, Jesus touched him.

I do not believe I look like the kind where people might accept me, and this may even apply to many in this world. If it doesn't apply to looks, it may apply to character. Yet, Jesus is there, and ready to touch each and every one. If you're asking now, "Lord, if You're willing, You can make me clean".. He's saying that He's willing. The question is, will you let Him make you clean?

g r a c e
9:05 PM



Just want to share this.. Its something by Jack Deere, which I read recently..

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"I want passionate feelings to characterize my relationship with the Lord Jesus. Of course, I want to be perfectly obedient to the Lord, but I want the obedience to spring out of a passionate love for him. I want to obey Jesus not simply out of discipline of duty, or because of some reward or fear of punishment. I want to serve Him simply for the joy of being able to please the one I love so much. If discipline is what ultimately drives us in our pursuit of Jesus, eventually we will give up that pursuit. But a man in love, or a woman in love will never quit. ... I want my life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God

I'm not saying that we don't need discipline, or knowledge of the Bible, or godly behavior - we do. Nor am I saying that we're to be passive and simply let God do it all. I'm talking about our attitude and our confidence. We must do the right things but never put our confidence in our ability to do those things. Our hearts are incredibly prone to deception (Jeremiah 17:9) and our feet are equally prone to wander off the path of righteousness (Romans 3:10 ff.). In light of this, how could we trust in our ability to follow Jesus?

I've come to realize that passion for the Son of God can't be earned. It comes because He gives it as His greatest and most gracious gift. And after all, isn't that how the greatest things come to us, as gifts? James says, "You have not because you ask not." (James 4:2) The greatest gifts that God has to give us are ours for the asking. I encourage you, from this day forward, to spend more time in your prayer life asking God to grant you passion for the Son of God than you do asking Him for anything else. Our confidence must always be in His willingness and ability to impart to us passion for his Son."

g r a c e
11:16 PM