peace . love . joy

Sometimes I can't remember what I've prayed for when asked to pray on the spot. But somehow, I remembered what I prayed for days ago after our puppet practice for Christmas Eve. I asked God to give each one of us a new revelation, a new emphasis, a new point of view, a new inclusion of the very first Christmas this Christmas.

I remembered and I waited for Him to give me mine.

And then on Christmas day, during church service at 10 am, God granted me my request. It wasn't something totally brand new or out of the box, but it certainly was something that I never did place much significance on, or rather didn't dwell on in the past, didn't spend enough time to ponder on, though I know it's something important. Especially important for people like me. People who are not Jews.

'Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. Patience and encouragement come from God. And I pray that God will help you all agree with each other the way Christ Jesus wants. Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ accepted you, so you should also accept each other, which will bring glory to God. I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God's promises to the Jewish ancestors are true. And he also did this so that those who are not Jews could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them.

It is written in the Scriptures:
"So I will praise you among the non-Jewish people.
I will sing praises to your name."

The Scripture also says,
"Be happy, you who are not Jews, together with his people."

Again the Scripture says,
"All you who are not Jews, praise the Lord.
All you people, sing praises to him."

And Isaiah says,
"A new king will come from the family of Jesse.
He will come to rule over the non-Jewish people,
and they will have hope because of him."

I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.'

~ Romans 15: 4-13

The Greek "ἔθνος" or "ethnos", in English, "gentile", was used here. The very first time the word "gentile" appeared in the Bible, its debut was in the Hebrew "גּי גּוי" or "goy-ee" in Genesis 10. Then, it referred to a "foreign nation", figuratively depicted as a troop of animals or a flight of locusts. Not a very flattering picture, is it? Well, as time went by, the distinction between the Jews and the non-Jews became very much more apparent. Here in Romans, we see the Greek term further specifying the definition of the "foreign nation" or "tribe" to a non-Jewish one. The words "gentile" and "heathen" and "pagan" are linked.

I am most definitely gentile. My ancestors come from China, moving down to Malaysia and finally to Singapore. I am three-quarters Chinese and a quarter peranakan. No Jewish blood in me, no sir.

When I first came to church way back when I was about nine, they were teaching us to memorise the books of the Old Testament in song. I remember learning the Lord's Prayer by heart. I remember learning about how God saved us all, Jew and gentile alike. But it never really hit me that I was a gentile, undesirable in the Jewish eye. I don't know about now because I've never really talked to a Jew before, but if I lived in the past, I was most likely no better than a dog on the street.

We, gentiles, had no hope because we were so often blatantly told that they were the Lord's people, rescued from Egypt, so loved and forgiven by a sovereign, and we were not. We, gentiles, had no hope because it was so often pushed in front of our faces that their God was supreme and powerful and alive, and ours were not. Kinda sucks. And then there was the Old Testament to remind us for all time, for all eternity of our past.

But then, flip a little more and you find the New Testament that includes within its pages a new covenant, a new promise, a new hope. The good Lord sent His Son to Earth to be born in the likeness of man, puny, frail man, to live and to teach and then to die. For all. He came a fool to man, but in God's upside-down, opposite world, He came a King. For all.

Now we have hope because now, we and they are the Lord's people, we and they belong to a God all-mighty, all-powerful, ever-present, and ever-loving. All because He died for us. All because He redeemed us. All because He loved us.

Without this gift, this sad but joyous gift, this costly but free gift, this exclusive but inclusive gift, we would be nothing. We would be gentiles, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts. Where once we had nothing, now we have everything. Where once our name was one of shame, now it is one that tells of the unfathomable and immeasurable love of God Almighty, God of the Jews and Gentiles.

Gentiles, non-Jews, read the Old Testament to remember your beginnings and to see the power of your God, and the New to see His love.
Gentiles, give thanks to the Lord who loves and forgives and sent and died and lives.
Give thanks and praise and honour and glory and blessing to the God of our Salvation and Hope.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming to Earth. Thank you for being born in that dingy place, only to die on that splinter-filled cross. Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for loving me when I was so unlovable. Thank you for forgiving me. And thank you for answering my prayer.

Christmas Eve's here!

Tomorrow'll be Christmas day proper, yay!
Can't wait to see the look on people's faces when they greet each other and when they open their presents and when they gather for dinners..

Christmas.

Let's ask that "what is" question wee kiddies all learn to ask when they receive their first bag of inquiring words & sentence structures that include the all-famous "why", shall we?
What is Christmas?

(I didn't put the inverted commas on the last word so I'm not expecting "a word" as an answer.)
Most Christians would, and have answered "Jesus' birthday".
My Mum says there're some denomenations that refuse to celebrate the 25th of December as Christmas, as the day Jesus was born on Earth, because they say it's the wrong date. I think they're missing the entire point of a celebration, to remember and remind celebrators of important, meaningful events. I don't think it's terribly vital that we get the exact date right, though it'd be nice. Anyhow, that's not what I want to discuss here.

If we build on that answer, "Jesus' birthday", then let's ask this other question:
What happens at a birthday party?

Presents!
Presents are given to the birthday boy or girl, of course.

So allow me to inquire as to what you've wrapped up and stuck a tag on with Jesus' name on it this Christmas?
Or perhaps have you ever consciously given a gift to Jesus on His birthday?

A lovely blue bird once told of a family tradition that I know tickles Jesus each year.

Let's build on it. The previous post had us re-casting the words of the Lord's Prayer into our own. So today, armed with your own personal translation of the Prayer, converse with God, and together, select one line. If it's not too specific, for example "try not to sin", narrow it down, to something like "no lying".

Now write that line on a piece of paper and fold it up. Tie it up with a pretty bow, or fold it into an origami crane, or just simply tape it with scotch-tape, and place it under the Christmas tree.

That is your gift to the Lord Jesus this Christmas. You're saying that you'd make a conscious and continuous effort to live in the Lord's Prayer. You're saying that you're now taking a step to becoming more and more like the beautiful one you so love and worship because He deserves it, because you want to.

Then on Christmas day, open it, commit it in prayer, pledging your year to act in this manner for the glory of God the Father, this promise, this gift you make to Jesus the Christ, asking the Holy Spirit's guidance and nudging.

Place it somewhere where you're sure to see it each day (a mirror would be perfect) to remind yourself of your promise, of your gift.

Happy Christmas.

Today's the day before Christmas Eve.

What would you say if I asked you what's the Lord's Prayer?

You'd probably recite the entire prayer for me, no?
Or even spit out the passage reference(s) in the Bible.

What if I asked you the exact same question again after your first answer?

You'd most probably then say it's a prayer because you're running out of answers to the question.

Those answers are not wrong. They are in fact correct.

But someone saw something that will stretch your vision.
Max Lucado saw something beyond a mere prayer, beyond the words written in the Bible, beyond the precise passage reference. Max Lucado saw a blueprint of the layout of rooms and passages and hallways, as guidelines and instruction for life, for living. It is more than a prayer, it is a life plan.

I don't know about you, but to me, these few verses can be rather general and even vague. Why? Because it is not terribly specific. It's like a single strawberry that has many stems growing from it, and on those stems, leaves and flowers and new fruit. People can read the same line and think about many different things, though originating from the same point, along the same tangent. But that non-specific-ness precisely is the the beauty of the prayer: it's for everyone.

It's a life plan for everyone.

So today, the day before Christmas Eve, I want to challenge you, and even myself, to re-eat the Lord's Prayer. But this time, to do so consciously seeking instruction for you, yourself, for wherever and whatever point you are in right now in your life. And then re-digest & re-mould the Prayer in your own personal words.

"In these verses, Christ has provided more than a model for prayer, he as provided a model for living.
These words do more than tell us what to say to God;
they tell us how to exist with God."

~ Max Lucado in 'The Great House of God'

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers, no compromise

I wanna shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know You're really there

Well I wanna thank you now
For being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have to trust
And just believe what You say
Oh You're coming again
Coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
The love that set me free

I wanna tell the world out there
You're not some fable or fairy tale
That I've made up inside my head
You're God; the Son; You've risen from the dead

(Chorus)

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
I wanna share the love that set me free

In grateful memory of Keith Gordon Green
(21101953 - 28071982)

Yesterday I lost something that I placed great importance on: a rainbow-coloured cloth bracelet with the words "God keeps His promises" printed in black bold letters along its length, held shut by a yellow & black plastic clasp that has a cross cut out from it. The words ring with a special resonance within me because there are promises He makes that I hold very dear and it is because of them I am able to walk bravely into my today and tomorrows. But not only that, the bracelet was given to me by A.Mag, someone whom I truly admire and respect and love.

It mattered so much to me that after I visited Nelson in hospital, I made my parents drive me back to that coffee shop so I can ask around and look for it, even though my brother and Cindy and Daena all told me that it's highly improbable that I'll find it.

Well, they were right. Nobody saw it and I could not find it.

I felt quite miserable. I am sorely missing my littlest brother, Elwyn, who's away in Japan for a school band trip. Plus I have just lost a material item that I really treasure. And nobody seems to care. My father was not too happy with eating at the coffee shop for dinner, my mum's mind was caught up in making a mental list of everything I need to bring with me for my UK exchange trip, my other siblings couldn't care less how I was. I almost cried there and then in the middle of a noisy coffee shop somewhere near Daena's house.

So I decided to message someone whom I know will care. And he told me not to be sad and not to worry. It didn't make much sense what he said, but I was glad that he cared enough to reply my sms.

In between the first and second round of sms exchange, I talked with God.

And He told me that there really was no cause for worry.

The words on the bracelet was indeed true of Him, that He is a God who keeps His promises. And that I really did not need a material thing to remind me of that because it's there in my heart, written in permanent ink. And should I ever forget to look and remind myself, He'll remind me.

He also said that He is not a God who can be contained in a material thing, like a large, magnificent temple, much less a cloth bracelet nor a phrase. And here I was reminded of Timmy's sharing about learning to let material things go. Funny how looking back, it seems as though God was giving me a sneak peak as to what He had in mind to teach me next.

He showed me a picture in my mind of the bracelet on a cube of rubbish about to be discarded into the incinerator, and revealed to me that I need not be sad.

So I prayed in response. I asked that wherever the bracelet is right now and wherever it is going to be that it encourage people who see it and read it or even touch it along its way to its final destination. I asked that the words, the cross cut out, or even the colours speak to whoever's path it crosses and build them up and remind them that He is God. I asked that God show His creativity in using the bracelet for His glory, and that the bracelet would be a blessing to more than just me.

I do miss my bracelet, afterall, it was only yesterday that I last wore it. But it's not a sad, cramping, gnawing sense of loss that I felt before God spoke to me. Instead, it's a hope that wherever it is right this moment, God will grant me my prayer request.

And today, I flipped open my Bible and the first thing I read was Isaiah 26: 3-4. Boy did that bring a knowing and expectant smile to my lips and happy tune to my vocal chords to execute.

So here's the verdict. After a long and tiresome and excitement-killing application and long email exchanges, I wasn't able to make it for the Autumn exchange. But, I will be going away to the UK for the student exchange over the Spring and Summer! Yay!

Thinking I had to get a visa, since the website and student exchange handbook suggested, I filled in the thirteen-page application form, gathered the documents listed in the checklist attached to the form itself and marched to the visa application office. Once there, I was told that I had insufficient documents to support my application, and lo and behold, there was another checklist that was located on some obscure page of the website. Also, that bank statement that I spent twenty dollars on, was insufficient. They wanted to know exactly how much was in the account and the transactions made over the past three months.

So I went back home, gathered the rest and went back.. Only to find that they only accept applications until 3 pm. I was there at 3.45 pm. My bad. Didn't see that sign amongst the many other signs posted on the door.

Third time's (hopefully) the charm. Yes! The nice lady let me go down to MPH to take a more recent passport photo at ten dollars because mine wasn't recent enough (even though I look exactly the same as in the photo). But I managed to submit the application form and all.
Then at 5 pm, the office called saying that I'm not elligible for the student visa, but that I should apply for the student visitor visa because I'm still considered as an exchange student, even though I'm going to be there for about six to seven months. They wanted me to come back down again and fill it up on the spot. But here's the catch: the office closes at 5.15 pm. No way I'm gonna make it in time.

So I went back the next day. And after checking the website and filling in the new student visitor application form, I am told that since I am a Singapore Citizen holding a Singapore passport, I need not apply for the student visitor visa (something about Singapore being a Commonwealth country). Argh! Brilliant. I wasted four trips and thirty dollars on nothing.

This whole.. Ordeal.. Gave me a really bad impression of administrations. Yes, I am generalising, but honestly, TV shows and real life experiences have been eating away at what trust I had in organisations and paper achievements. Heck, I don't even trust my doctor nor my dentist!

Kind of reminds me about Giddens and his ideas about modernity. More specifically, his ideas about modernity and trust. Simply put, Giddens thinks that dealings in modernity is characterised by a time-space distanciation where goings-on no longer happen exclusive of the outside world, where events outside our local geographical territory or space affect us, where time and space are becoming increasingly negligible, where social relations become disembedded. And because of this disembedding of social relations, trust becomes a really important issue. Because of this disembedding, people become more and more reflexive of actions. They monitor, assess and re-evaluate time and time again nurturing feelings of uncertainty and insecurity.

The modern society probably would not exist, or at least would not be coherent should the mechanism of trust breaks down. We have trust in paper money. We have trust in diplomatic discussions between politicians and what not. We have trust in health gurus. We have trust in what we read in the news and the internet and hear on the radio. We have trust in our various religions, whatever you individually subscribe to.

But I guess for me, thanks to the media, this advent of new technology and creativity of the modern mind, ironically causes me to lose trust in some of the gears in the machine of today's society. For example, "House" makes me lose trust in doctors, makes me analyse their every prescription to people I know (I realised that my doctor's pretty keen on anti-biotics, just like how everything's caused by Lupus to House). If you think even a little more than what you usually do when you sit paralysed in front of the TV, you'd realise there are loop holes in quite a lot of things, the most classic example I can think of is the programme fails to answer a really important question, especially one that could jeopardise the validity or reliability of the whole content.

Inefficiency and 'blur-ness' of the administrative officers of that visa office really leaves room for doubt of their abilities and capabilities, which is not good since applicants are trusting them with their passports and other original documents like birth certificates.

My mother says the whole saga probably is God teaching me patience. Perhaps.

Besides teaching me patience, I also think God is arming me with yet another reason to praise Him.

Trust.

Like society which cannot function without trust, like more individual, personal relationships which also cannot function without trust, our personal relationships with God likewise cannot function, stand the test of time, grow without trust.

As I look back and reflect, as I stand in the shower at night (which is kind of like a confirmed personal and uninterrupted time with God alone even when the other five people in the house are awake and noisy) and talk with God, I stand in stark realisation that when all else fails, when the world is stripped bare, when I feel so alone and so vulnerable, I am not alone. I am not vulnerable. Because He is not. And because He in me, something that was reminded to me twice by Timmy, and He is greater than anything else ever.

I trust in the Scripture. And I trust in my experiences and conversations with God. I trust that He is Amen.

And you know what the brilliant thing about my God is?
My God is unchangable.

What happens when the world around you collapses?
Perhaps not physically, but more metaphorically.
Perhaps not globally, but more personally, like family, circles of friends.

How much trust do you place in God?
Not in Bible study materials or Quiet Time materials, but in the Bible itself, in the Spirit, in Jesus, in God.

Do you take what you trust for granted?