peace . love . joy

Fickle-minded Holy Spirit?

2010-11-17T10:41:00.004+08:00

Sometimes, when the going is good, we feel like “yea! God’s Spirit is with me! All is good =]”. But sometimes, especially when we feel like the whole world is against us, we feel like the Holy Spirit’s gone from us. I don’t know if any of you have ever felt that way before, but if you have, let me address that. And if you haven’t, it wouldn’t hurt to read on because you never know if and when your ship may just be dragged by dark and raging waters into that sharp and dangerous shallow reef. You may even encourage discouraged friends or acquaintances.

I am not one to belittle feelings and emotions. Quite the contrary, I think practically the world of them and can empathise to certain extents because I, for one, will admit that I am quite a sensitive person. I get bothered easily, take things personally quite a lot (even if they’re totally not personal attacks), get hurt really easily, etc. So I will be the first to acknowledge how powerful feelings can be and how significantly they can affect us (thoughts, actions, etc.)

Even so, there are times when we must pull ourselves above that wall of tumultuous emotions, climb up that tall ladder and see above & past the dark clouds, because authority does not come from our feelings; rather, it comes from the promises given in God’s Word, the Bible. We, Christians, live our lives not by feeling alone; but feeling kept in control, regulated by fact & faith. All this, of course, is based on how much we trust God & His Word.

I like how someone explained this:

Think of it as a train pulling cabooses (or carriages if you will).

The train very simply demonstrates the link between fact (God & the Bible), faith (our trust in God & the Bible) and feeling. Obviously, the train (ie. fact) can puff along the tracks just fine with or without the cabooses (ie. faith & feeling), but the same cannot be said of the caboose: they cannot pull the train on their own. Likewise, we must not depend on our feelings to carry our faith. Instead, we should place our faith upon fact, and feeling comes after (think of more as a response, rather than a trigger).

Above all, remember this: once God begins His work in you, giving you His Holy Spirit to guide you and intercede for you, He will bring it into completion. He will never give up on you! If you need tangible proof, look around! Every face you see is a concrete & living evidence that God never will give up on you  Whatever problems may come our way, whatever ups or downs we may face on our roller-coaster of life, trust and know that God is unchanging and is faithful.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)

Have confidence and be encouraged!

Everyone's got the Holy Spirit?

2010-11-15T18:50:00.002+08:00

Does that mean everyone who says Jesus is their LORD and Saviour will automatically be sealed & marked with the Holy Spirit?

I’m sorry to say, but the answer is no.
“On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” (Matthew 7:22-23)

I’m not saying we have the right to go around telling people “oh! You have the Holy Spirit in you.” Or “You don’t have the Holy Spirit in you!” No, that is not our place, nor do we have any right to judge this matter for ourselves and proclaim judgement over another.

What I’m saying is this: our mouths can say one thing, but our hearts can beat to another.

To be a Christian is more than words, more than actions; it is a transformation that begins from the inside out. Is your heart pure? Do you really love Jesus? Does every bone in your body, every pore of your being ache and long and desire to follow Jesus the Christ? Do your thoughts linger on God’s character, His laws & His works?

These unseen attitudes manifest themselves, evidence themselves, show themselves in your outward, visible actions and behaviour. Do curses and swear words flow like water from your lips? Do you laugh at the misfortune or at the expense of another? Do you share with people in need? Do you stop and help that blind man find his way to the MRT? Do you approach God with heavy footsteps and ask Him to forgive you when you sin against Him?

There is so much more to being a Christian than meets the eye. It definitely entails much more than just going to church week after week and saying grace before meals meal after meal.

It is okay to be confronted time and time again what a sinful people we are. It’s okay to struggle with sin and temptation and tests and trials. Every Christian comes face to face, whether he\she wants to or not, with that carnal, that sinful person he\she is. In fact, even with God’s Holy Spirit sealed securely within us, we still fall into sin.

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.” (1 John 1:8-2:5)

But then we come to God in quiet prayer, knowing full well our short-comings and where we went wrong, confessing our sins to Him. That act of confession in itself is already evidence of the Holy Spirit working within you!

But if you are a genuine, authentic Christian, cling on to the promise “in Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Huh? Holy Spirit?

2010-11-14T16:20:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday, though it wasn't quite the main point of the lesson, one of the 12 year olds I was teaching posed a question to the group:

How do we know if we have the Holy Spirit?

I think that's a fair question to ask. Immediately what springs to mind is "have faith in what the Bible says!" and Weber's Protestant Ethics & Calvinism. But I know that such rapid and pert replies would not even be steam to the kid's fire. So I went home and thought long and hard about it, I asked other people what they would say in reply to him...

And today, we attempted, as a group (the 12 year olds and I) to answer his question. As the discussion and sharing wore on, my curiosity in the matter increased. So I came home, sorted my thoughts and wrote about it. I must admit it's been a while since I've penned anything, but God bore me through and the words came uninterrupted like honey flowing from my fingers.

Though I did not write at length on the matter, I'll present it in 3 parts.

Following from our discussion today, I realise that in order for us to answer the question “how do we know we have the Holy Spirit in us”, it would perhaps be helpful to first have a grasp of who or what the Holy Spirit is, how or what are its (or his, if you prefer) functions, etc.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often used to refer to the Holy Spirit is רוּח (pronounced “roo’-akh), and in the New Testament, the Greek word used is πνεῦμα (pronounced “pneuma”). In both instances, those words are very nearly the same as those which are used to mean wind, or breath. So, it is plausible that the writers of old were suggesting that God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit was like a sacred wind, or a sacred breath: like the everyday wind or breath, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen or touched or contained. “… You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next…” (John 3:8). But just as the effects of normal wind (swaying trees, typhoons, slanted rain, etc.) and breath (condensation on cold glass, heat felt on the skin, inflated lungs, etc.) can be felt, experienced, evidenced, so too can the effects of the Holy Spirit be observed.

But where should we look? What should we look out for?

Here’re some ways in which the Holy Spirit works (I have not noted everything down and so, I hope that if this matters much to you, or if you are at all interested, you would, yourself, bother to go find out):

- It prays for us through us
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26-27)

- It prompts us to obey God out of love
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses” (Galatians 5:16-18)

- It leads us to bear its good Fruit
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:22-25)

- It tugs at our hearts to love other people
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27)

- It convicts us to avoid stuff that is not of God & does not please Him
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:15-17)

So, drawing the tangent, a person filled with God’s Holy Spirit would:
- Desire to please God
- Rejoice always, even in the face of trials, suffering, opposition, etc.
- Enjoy being with other brothers & sisters in Christ, encouraging one another
- Be generous
- Experience triumphs against temptations
- Exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit
- …

Are you such a person?

Others Come First

2010-09-05T13:57:00.004+08:00

Good 1.57pm, world!

Sorry for the lack of updates; been quite busy with a gigantuan church event, the usual (pleasant) craziness of work, and my piano exam preparations.

I've just come home from lunch with some of my Bible study kiddies.. Wait, maybe they shouldn't be called that anymore because they've actually grown up! They're 18 this year; practically legally adults! Some of them have even decided to and have begun serving in Christian ministry: becoming teachers themselves, leading the 13 year olds in Bible study. It's wonderful to see them teach and get all excited and jittery with each Sunday, with each new lesson they're preparing to impart to the young 'uns. It's good to know they've grown and matured and are courageous enough to even take such a step, such a leap of faith! But I guess they were my kiddies and will always be my kiddies, so maybe I'll refer to them from now on as my grown-up-kiddies!

Anyways, during on of those usual short moments of silence during lunch when everyone is contentedly lost in their own thoughts and just feeding food into their thoughtfully-chewing mouths, one of the grown-up-kiddies suddenly spurted a random utterence. 'Twas random because nobody was talking about that topic or anything remotely related to it.

She asked if our now-defunct children's ministry outreach wing was doing anything recently.

To which I answered that wing is no more; we've rebranded ourselves, repurposed, remissioned, refocussed.

Then I asked what I would think is a natural progression of the conversation: why is she asking? Is she interested in rejoining us in our events?

A quick and flat "no" was the reply.

She continued to cite a certain "thing" she was made to do during one of the past events when the old version of the evangelistic wing was still in existence. She really disliked it so much that it made such a huge impression in her consciousness and there it stayed.

That "thing" happened about a year ago.

It was a story-telling tool that she participated in: freeze-frame drama. Someone narrates the story, and the others move their bodies into poses according to the narration. She was chosen to be Mother Mary in the Nativity, pregnant (with a toy doll tucked under her shirt), and giving birth (turning around so that her back faces the children, she quickly slips her hand under her shirt, pulling the doll out and cradling it, she turns back to the children and freezes in that pose). Apparently, she felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed performing that act.

And that got me thinking:

Do we gravitate towards what we feel most comfortable doing?
Or do we purposely uproot ourselves from our comfy sofas and plonk ourselves in the middle of prickly thorns?

Do we confine ourselves to what we like best, or what we do best?
Or do we, as we Singaporeans like to term it, bao ga liao (do everything)?

Which is the right answer?
Is there a right answer?

Methinks that either option is not wrong.

It is natural for us to heed our inclinations, our gut feeling, and do what we feel most comfortable in doing first. Perhaps there is some logical truth in it, afterall, we were all created with a particular and unique shape: some of us love children and enjoy working with them, others may not be able to work with kids and prefer working with teenagers or young adults or seniors; some enjoy first-hand interaction with people, while others prefer to work behind-the-scenes performing administrative and logistic duties. And there is no shame in doing what we each do best, and what we best enjoy doing.

The problem comes when we are asked to "fill the gap", to "stand in", to do something we otherwise perhaps won't voluntarily and immediately do ourselves for whatever variety of reasons. For instance, getting a "runner" to have a hand in the "preparation\planning", or asking someone who is not otherwise inclined to deal with children to help out in running an event with children for children, or like my dear grown-up-kiddy, she is more accustomed to administrative & behind-the-scenes duties, but was asked to lend a hand (due to shortage of helpers) in the story-telling drama performance.

I can understand the discomfort and awkwardness, but perhaps in the days after the not-so-welcomed situation, what kind of attitude should one adopt?

Should one be bitter and apprehensive, chosing to remember the unpleasant feelings and emotions that one felt whilst ministering?
Should one close oneself off from that particular opportunity for ministry just in case such an uncomfortable moment presents itself again?

The phrasing and placing of the question would hint at a "no", but do we actually emobody and manifest that?

Do we even remember what ministry is all about?

"...Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others..."

Why do we engage in active ministry?
What pushes us, obliges us, spurs us on to do and continue in ministry?

"...Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus..."

Ministry is all about the others. Others come first in ministry.

Whether or not our ministry, our deeds leads to the others choosing our Lord as their God, whether or not our ministry, our deeds are primary, are precedents to something mind-blowingly out-of-this-world, whether or not our ministry, our deeds are fully recognised and received by grateful hearts...

"... the issue is not in the outcomes but in the condition of our hearts... routine surrender is the distinguishing mark of His followers and that every opportunity to treat others as more important than ourselves makes us more like Christ." (Joe Stowell)

Afterall, Jesus did come and chose to stick resolutely to His mission, His ministry, all the while looking foolish in the eyes of the world just for us.

So why can't we?

Say the word and I will sing for You
Over oceans deep, I will follow

If each star was a song
And every breath of wind, praise
It would still fail by far to say all my heart contains

I simply live, I simply live for You

As the glory of Your presence now fills this place

In worship, we will meet You face to face

There is nothing in this world to which You can be compared

Glory on glory, praise upon praise

You bind the broken hearted
And save all my tears
By Your word, You set the captives free

There is nothing in this world that You cannot do

I simply live, I simply live for You

"So if there is
any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any affection and sympathy,

complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

~ Philippians 2: 1-11

Is the Going always Good?

2010-07-10T12:28:00.003+08:00

It's been a month and eight days since I first started work at my first job upon graduation from the university. I love my job. I am extremely thankful to God that I've been signed up to a post that combines much of what I believe in and love and enjoy doing, plus my co-workers and superiors are a lovely, comical bunch. And I cannot but marvel practically every day as I leave for home from work at how wonderfully miraculous it is that I have this post; a post that I can boast no formal paper qualifications for and no formal on-the-job experience for. God is really good to me.

But during this lovely month and eight days, I came to see a lacking on my part, a speck of a flaw that must be removed:
For most others that I am acquainted with, it is during the rough times that they must be constantly reminded of the goodness of God.
But for me, for me, it is easiest to forget God when the going is good.

And the going has been very good.

Every week, it is hard for me to step into the grounds of the church, to take a seat in the worship hall, to face a reminder of the Cross, to sing to a God whom I have neglected to worship. How can I just come when I have had six days of chances to come, but did not?

I fought that struggle every week, but each week saw me deciding to try again, to come to seek forgiveness and pardon.

Last week was the hardest because it's been five weeks of the same struggle, and because it was the week of the Eucharist.

It is already hard for me to serve when I am not close to God. But how can I desecrate the Table and eat of the elements when I am not right before God? I cannot reconcile that.

But then, I heard the voice of Jesus say to me that the deed has already been done; He has already come and died for me, taking all my sin and iniquities with Him and put them to death. The Gift of Life has been offered and will always be offered; it will always be extended and never retracted.
The question is will I choose to take it?

I am unworthy. I have much to be rebuked for, much to be shaken until my teeth rattle and my neck is strained for. And it is good for me to remember and know that because:

"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, and the other 50.
When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both.
Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt."
And (Jesus) said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"

And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

~ Luke 7: 41-50

Will your shortcomings, your sins, your wrong-doings push you to or away from Forgiveness and Life Eternal?

Will you come and claim the Gift that has been, is, and will continue to be offered to you
or will you turn and walk away?

Power in the Name

2010-07-06T17:40:00.005+08:00

Isn't there something beautiful when you call out that Name?
Isn't there power amazing when in unity we say, "Jesus"
Your love upon that hill means we are saved.
Jesus, there is power in Your Name.

Majesty, power and love,
Holiness, peace from above.
With me in mind, Lord, You took the blame.
Jesus, there is power in Your name.

Leeland -- Love is On The Move

2010-06-21T17:34:00.005+08:00

I listen to myself talk to God because that is a glimpse into my own heart which I know little of even though it is my own, but when I talk with God, what my heart holds dearest is revealed. And sometimes, I hear myself praying for myself a lot more than praying for others. Not that there's anything wrong about it, but it shows me that in my eyes, I rule; I am what matters most to myself.

But that is not how God wants it to be.
It's all about me not to me; but to Him.
And for me, it's all about Him and who & what He holds dearest.

I am His beloved. In His eyes, I matter so much I cannot even begin to wrap my head around it.
I am loved and cared about and provided for by the great Jehovah; what more can I ever want?

I am loved that I may love.
I am cared about that I may care about.
I am provided for that I may provide for.

I am shown love that I may know how to love.
I am shown what it means to cared that I may know how to care.
I am shown what it means to provide for that I may know how to provide.

You too, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 58 says we are:
- to shout out loud and not hold back declaring rebellion & sin against God
- to loose the chains of injustice
- to untie the cords of the yoke
- to set the oppressed free & break every yoke
- to share food with the hungry
- to provide shelter for the poor wanderer
- to clothe the naked
- to not turn away from our own families
- to keep our feet from breaking the Sabbath
- to not dishonour the LORD's holy day
- to not do as we please
- to not speak idle words
for that is what the heart of God holds.

We are to go & boldly declare the righteousness & holiness of God.
We are to fight & persevere & win victory for the oppressed.
We are to care for others.
And we are to honour God in all we do and say.

But what matters most in your eyes?

On the corner of fifth street
The homeless man needs to eat
Down on the edge of town

Lost his family long ago
Nobody even knows
They all just pass him by

But love is on the move
Revealing heaven's truth
Love is on its way and it will find you

In the high-rise building
The rich man has everything
But the ladder has reached its end

Hasn't talked to his kids in weeks
He and his wife don't even speak
Nobody even knows

But love is on the move
Revealing heaven's truth
Love is on its way and it will find you

And anyone can run
Into the arms of God
Love is on its way and it will find you

And all the world cries for healing
The deepest longing for the love of God
And oh the greatest destiny
Love has come to set us free

In the little quiet town
The hope of the world was found
Under the night sky

He died and rose again
Sacrifice that conquered sin
Now we are His feet, His hands

And love is on the move
Revealing heaven's truth
Love is on its way and it will find you

And anyone can run
Into the arms of God
Love is on its way and it will find you

Oh anyone can run
Into the arms of God
Oh love is on its way and it will find you

It will find you
It will find you

Stumbling Pebbles : Male & Female

2010-06-15T17:17:00.010+08:00

(quotations from the WATV appear in ochre)

According to the WATV (World Mission Society Church of God), the "Bible clearly testifies that our heavenly Mother exists, and that only our heavenly Mother can give us eternal life". Various references quoted from the Bible are then provided as evidence to this claim.

It's time to brush up on our own knowledge of the Bible and of God Himself!
Some passages quoted are trickier than others, but regardless the complexity, to be truthfully following God's Word requires of disciples a certain degree of discernment; to know Truth from falsity; to hear God's Voice and follow it from among the noisy and distracting taunts.

Pray for discernment as we embark on this journey of sifting the good grains of Truth out from the worthless chaff.

(26)Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27)So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

~ Genesis 1:26-27

The above verse states that God has two images: a male image and a female image. Until now, we have only known and called upon the male image of God: “Father.” Then how should we call upon the female image of God? Logically, we should refer to God’s female image as “Mother.” This is why God had said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”

The word “us” is a plural term. “Elohim,” the Hebrew word used in place of “God” in Genesis 1:26, directly translates to “Gods,” the plural form of the word “God.” Therefore, the references to “us” in the book of Genesis refer to God the Father and God the Mother. Some say that the word “us” in this verse indicates God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If this argument is correct, there should be three types of people in the world: those who were made in the image of God the Father, those who resemble the image of God the Son, and those created in the image of the Holy Spirit. However, on this earth there are only two types of people: men and women. However, the “Gods” mentioned in Genesis 1:26 are the male image of God and the female image of God: God the Father and God the Mother.

This begs a few preceeding questions, then:
One. Why did God say "let us" and not "let me"?
To whom or what does this "us" refer to?
And of what significance is this choice?
Two. What does it mean to be created in God's own image?
Three. Why is there a numerical discrepancy in v.27 ("... in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.")
Four. Why are two sexes created?

Let us try to make some sense of these.

One. Why did God say "let us" and not "let me"?
There is some debate over this choice of pronoun.

Possibly, it could be linked to the Hebrew word used here for God too, אלהים (ĕlôhîym), which translated, is a plural: "gods". This plurality could simply be an intensification of the singular ĕl. You see, the Hebrew language is the only ancient semantic language that intensifies these nouns and pronouns by using them in their plural forms. Often, these Hebraic Jewish writers of the Old Testament referred to God Almighty as the plural ĕlôhîym as a mark of respect and a title of honour. So though the literal translation may be the plural "gods", when referring to the True God, the meaning of ĕlôhîym is always the singular "God".

Still some others believe that this "us" in v.27 alludes to God addressing an audience of His Heavenly Court, as per Isaiah 6:8.

This "us" could perhaps also be God speaking to Himself as the Trinity: Father, Spirit, Son. While this may be a possibility, it is impossible to conclude the existence of the Trinity based solely on this verse alone. As Kenneth Matthews aptly phrases: "Although the Christian Trinity cannot be derived solely from the use of the plural, a plurality within the unity of the Godhead may be derived from the passage."

Two. What does it mean to be created in God's own image?
צלם (tselem) is the Hebrew to the English "image". It means a shade; a phantom;(figuratively) illusion; resemblance. Draw out this tangent and "image" would include freedom and responsibility, creativity and order, morality and humility, etc.

This deliberate action of God's, choosing to make mankind differently than He did the other wonders of creation, that is, that man made in His likeness, His image, could point to a deliberate causing of a link. A close and intimate and communicative link, a fellowship between Creator God and created humankind.

Some people call God man's "spiritual image". Still some others see man as metaphorically acting and behaving like God, in that man creates, man governs, man judges, etc.

There may be some wondering if this "image" extends to God having a sex in terms of anatomy.
Perhaps not.
Because in other parts of Scripture, God is notably spirit (John 4:24) and omnipresent (1 Kings 8:27).
God as a sexual being... at least for me, is too far of a stretch.
This verse cannot be taken literally, that we are created exactly how as God sees Himself in the mirror, only with the slight alteration of mortality in place of eternity, because if it were so, it will not resonate scripturally nor scientifically: "... our anatomy and physiology is demanded by our terrestrial habitat, and quite inappropriate to the one who inhabits eternity." (R. F. R. Gardener)

Three. Why is there a numerical discrepancy in v.27?
I personally am inclined to think that this discrepancy really is not a discrepancy at all.

"Man" in v.27 is the Hebrew אדם ('âdâm), meaning human being; mankind. There is no discrepancy, perhaps: plural begets plural.

But if one were not to share my view, perhaps this may help: God created one mankind. Within mankind, there are two (ie. male and female). Mankind is both the plural and singular of man and woman.

Four. Why are two sexes created?
This is of great significance.

Two sexes are created: male and female. They were not asexual, nor were they bisexual (ie. one living organism with both male and female sexual organs), nor were they androgynous. No, they were distinctly male and female.

Female was created from male. More specifically, female was created from one of male's ribs, a position close to the heart, an organ famously tied with sentiment and passion, signifying a closeness, an intimacy, a unity, a oneness between them.
This oneness between male and female, husband and wife reflects that same oneness between God and His Heavenly Court, between the members of the Godhead Three.

All this is precisely why to conclude that there exists a Heavenly Mother, God the Female, based on these two verses alone is insufficient.

Based on Genesis 1:26-27,
To be fashioned in the likeness of God is not a literal but more of a metaphorical meaning; to be like God in character, in deed, in saying, in behavior.
To be fashioned in the likeness of God is to be part of His glorious scheme of things: to be part of a pre-ordained intimate and possible fellowship, relationship with Him.
To be fashioned in the likeness of God is to partake of a unity with the rest of humanity, just as He is one with His Heavenly Court.

Through the creation of male and female God teaches us what closeness, intimacy, unity, oneness means in every sense of those words.

What could be a better teaching tool, eh?

Stumbling Pebbles : "Mother God"

2010-06-09T17:37:00.003+08:00

Last week's been a really busy week for me!

I've just started work at my first post after informally (since the formal university convocation ceremony is not until July) graduating from 16 years of formal education. I absolutely love my job as a music teacher at an established and rather prestigeous childcare centre, although I must admit, it's not as simple than I anticipated! I'm something of a pushover when it comes to kids, so having fun in my class is not too much of a problem, but appropriate and sufficient discipline's the new kid in my town that I must familiarise myself with. Lots of new ropes to learn, new jargon, new methods of doing things.. But all I shall meet with a smile! No grimaces; only grins!

Anyway, last Sunday, I was headed home from Plaza Singapura, crossing the road to the bus stop at the middle section just between PS and Park Mall when I noticed two women with clipboards trying to get people's attention. Knowing I'm a sucker for people with sob stories to tell and merchandises to tout, I attempted to steer clear of them. I was rushing home, in any case, because of an engagement I must keep later in the afternoon. Because the other pedestrians wouldn't give way, I had to settle with walking on the grass just to avoid one of the two women.

She walked up to me and stood right smack in my path, effectively cutting off my escape routes because she wouldn't budge and would match my sliding to the right or to the left.

Asking politely for me to fill in a survey for her, I tried to be nice and accomodating since my bus had not yet arrived anyway, so I did. The survey was short enough (just one side of half an A4-sized piece of paper) and the questions simple enough to answer with just one glance.

But the last question was what really caught me off guard. It went something along the lines of:
The birds of the air have both fathers and mothers,
the beasts of the field have both fathers and mothers..
All creatures have a mother figure. There is not a single creature that can come into existence without a mother.
Our physical life is given to us through our physical mother.
Do you believe that there exists a "Heavenly Mother"?

Once the lady learnt that I am a Christian, she asked me if I have ever heard of a "Heavenly Mother". I said I had because my sister too met with a similar experience on the streets. Then she asked me about my thoughts on the matter. Now, it was quite a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon right in the middle of two busy roads teeming with noisy and smelly vehicles zooming by. Not what you'd call a very conducive environment to begin and entertain a theological debate, would you say?

She then took out her Bible and proceeded to show me Revelation 22:17. It reads:
"The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."
And let the one who hears say, "Come."
And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."
She told me (in a rather annoying and belittling manner) that the Bride in the verse was not the church nor Christians, but the "Mother God" because the church and Christians cannot offer Salvation; only God can, and therefore, the Bride is "Mother God".

I told her that that interpretation was not what I have learnt and understood. In fact, it sounds nothing at all like what I read the verse as, and I told them the context within which the verse must be read has been ignored. She just said "no" and re-read the verse much slower as if I didn't understood her (or maybe even English, for that matter!)

After that verse came Revelation 21:9,22
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying,
"Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."
"And I saw no temple in the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb."
Her offerance for these verses were as such: John was told he would be shown the Bride, the wife of the Lamb, and that was the New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven. She said that he was not shown a person, but a city with no temple, and because the Bride was not the temple, she therefore was not the church, but the "Heavenly Mother".

I'm sorry, what?!

She didn't go very far because, as much of a pushover I pathetically am, I don't take theology very lightly. We were basically stuck on those verses with her repeating her same logic and not understanding what I was getting at until my bus came and I made a hurried and grateful escape.

Though I literally had "reach out to them" in the forefront of my mind all the while, I probably could have handled it all better than I did.

At night, as I re-read Revelation 21 and 22 again and again, I sensed a great sadness in God towards these people who believed this doctrine.

I must admit I don't know the Bible as well as I can, and I am greatly disturbed that one text so holy and perfect as the Bible can be read so grossly inaccurately! There truly can be no other word to describe my feelings than disturbed, disturbed at how a book in the Bible, the one that is to be guarded most carefully can be interpreted so wrongly!

These people come from from the World Mission Society Church of God.

I really don't know what to do, but the idea of coming up with something like a "guide" to dealing with these incorrectly quoted Scripture came to mind the minute I sat safely down in the bus. So in the following posts, I shall pick up several of their teachings and provide some answers to their quotes.

How well do you know the Bible
How well do you know the LORD
that your knowledge and experience can withstand such stumbling pebbles of misquoted texts?

Permissible &\or Beneficial

2010-05-31T09:38:00.003+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had my Bible study group over in my house and we were discussing the issue of Christian conduct. Back and forth the ideas and comments and views came about how we should go about deciphering and living out the verses on "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial" (1 Cor 10:23), on the problem of "what-if"s in stumbling other believers with our particular behaviors expounded with accompanying concrete examples of grey area subjects like drinking alcohol, tattooing, and even dancing (from hip-hop to tango), for it is not good to cause others to sin (Mark 9:42).

If we draw out the tangent that we should not live lives that are full of actions that stumble others, if we do not know who is watching us when we do what we do, and we do not know if what we do is stumbling whoever is watching, then should we renounce our present lives and live ascetic lives in convents and monasteries as nuns and monks?

See, our problem lies not with clear black and whites of right and wrong as spelt out in God's Word; rather, we take issue with issues coloured in grey hues. Amoral, or non-moral if you prefer, behaviours and actions which are in and of themselves neither right nor wrong. These do not involve sin, and therefore morality. There are many that may be not wrong, but also not advisable, as there are many that are not wrong for some, but also not right for others.

The question is:
What do we do when we face such circumstances where there are such disputes?
How do we negotiate such knowledge that one thing may seem okay for us, but simultaneously utterly incorrect for others?

While I do not dare to offer a clear and concise answer, I believe Romans 14 may help us manoeuvre through these grey waters.

In the first section of the chapter, Paul differentiates between the "stronger" and the "weaker" Christian ("weaker" not in Faith; but rather as C. E. B. Cranfield puts it, "in assurance that one's faith permits one to do certain things"). He chooses food as the amoral issue, for it is neither wrong nor right to abstain as it is to not abstain.

The "stronger" who eats anything and everything he wishes must not look down on the "weaker" who abstains from certain foods, just as the "weaker" is not to judge nor condemn the "stronger".

Neither should judge himself more acceptable or pleasing to God than the other on basis of his amoral actions alone.

And here's the reason why:
It is not our place to pass judgement on another, just as it is not a servant's place to condemn another servant; each servant is answerable to his master.

The "weaker" must not judge the "stronger" because God in His grace has made it possible for the "stronger" to eat as he wishes; the servant is allowed to stand before his Master; his liberty is approved by the Sovereign.

Paul moves on to talk about an instance when the "weaker" does something the "stronger" does not (as opposed to before when the "stronger" does something the "weaker" does not). And again as before, Paul pays no attention to the reason why that particular action is committed. Such reasoning to him is immaterial because such personal convictions are simply that: personal, between one man and God.

And it is because:
What matters is that each lives to please the LORD in his own capacity by his own convictions.
What matters is that each confesses and submits to Jesus the Christ, to God the Father, and to the Holy Spirit's engineering.
We do not live to ourselves, neither do we die to ourselves. Each will be subjected to the LORD's judgement on Judgement Day; each will be held accountable for his own actions; we do not have to answer for anyone else but ourselves.

So really, the question is how intimate are we with the LORD?
Do our lives reflect that intimacy, that relationship?

Verses 1 through 12 were perhaps written with the "weaker" brother in particular in mind. But verses 13 through 23 were written with the other "stronger" believer taking centre stage.

Is the "stronger" Christian's behavior a stumbling block to the "weaker"?

In Greek, "stumbling block" has two main translations:
πρόσκομμα (proskomma) which means an object that a foot may be stubbed against.
or σκάνδαλον (skandalon) which is the English "snare".

Are the actions of the "stronger" retarding the "weaker"'s progress to Christ-likeness, hindering his path or even permanently damaging the "weaker"'s conscience and sensitivities?
Are they temptations to sin to the "weaker" brother?

"Stronger", take heed especially! "For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died." (v. 15)
Which is more important:
Your liberty to act and behave in amoral situations as you do because you understand what Christ has done for you and are fully assured in faith?
Or the safe-keeping and encouraging of the soul of a fellow brother?

See, the big picture is not that we have a right as "stronger" Christians, ransomed and redeemed by God, to live in utter liberty. No, it has nothing to do with how we act with respect to amoral issues. What we have to keep in mind, always in plain sight is the Kingdom of God which "is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (v. 17)

Rather than letting ourselves at each other's throats and tearing down the walls of each other's faith in conviction (not so much Faith in Christian teaching), seek to live in peace with one another: build up and encourage each other in our walks with our wonderful merciful Savior.

For the "stronger", it may spell foregoing some amoral behaviors and actions.
For the "weaker", it may mean refraining from conferring condemning judement on the practices of the "stronger" brother.

"While freedom is a right, it is not a guide for conduct.
Love serves that purpose.
Rights are to be laid aside in the interest of Love."

~ Robert Mounce

Bigger than Big

2010-05-30T16:42:00.003+08:00

"Lovest thou me?"

2010-05-11T10:59:00.003+08:00

A few months ago, I was struggling with this very question Jesus asked Simon Peter, son of Jonas: "Lovest thou me?"

My instinctive reaction is to boldly and profusely declare a solid affirmation to the inquiry, to profess my feelings of undying love to my God, to want to break out in song and dance, to want to put my hand to the piano, to the canvas, to the paper and worship Him as best I know how and can. Wouldn't you?

That question, "Lovest thou me?", however, remained in my subconscious for quite a while, popping in every now and then to repeatedly articulate itself and remind me of its presence. The more that happened, the more I grew uncomfortable.

Do I really love God?
If I do, do my actions, every single one of them from my subconscious unvoluntary breathing down to my conscious and voluntary behavior, betray my love for Him?
If I sin, if that sin is not a new one but an old fiend, does it mean I love God any less?
Does it mean my love is an illusion, that I'm only kidding myself, that I don't really love Him?

And that's when I realised the starkness of Jesus' pointed question: "Lovest thou me?"

I may be telling the truth as best I knew it then, saying again and again that I love the Lord, saying it just as any one of us would to a good person whom we know, to a person whom we are fond of. The way we say "I love you, mummy" or "I love my boyfriend" is most likely precisely the manner in which Peter had fool-hardily sworn before, saying "though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away... Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!" (Matthew 26:30-35) But this is merely φιλέω (phileō): to be a friend to; to be fond of; to have affection for [something or someone].

And, as Oswald Chambers noted, though such emotion may be powerful, indeed so much that it may penetrate into our "natural selves", it is not where Jesus intends for us to remain when the object of our feelings is Him.

You see, True Love never simply announces itself:
"Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8)
To "confess" is to ὁμολογέω (homologeō). This Greek word is the compound of two others, ὁμοῦ (homou) which means together, and λόγος (logos) which means to say or communicate; to be the doctrine of; to shew. "Shew" is a verb, an action word meaning to prove; demonstrate; show; establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment.

This love of ours must evolve from and yet retain innocent and child-like elements of phileō, to include ἀγαπάω (agapaō), to love in a social and moral sense. Where phileō is the love that chiefly resides in the heart, agapaō is the love that chiefly resides in the head.

This is where the Lord intends for us to pursue, the sort of love that He first showed us is the love that He demands in return.

To confess, to homologeō our love for Him requires more than songs, than paintings, than dance, than teaching, than smiling, than greeting, than studying... It is more than mere displays of phileō; it begs homologeō, it begs understanding, comprehension, embodiment.

This sort of love, the one that Jesus asks Peter the first two times He articulates His question, the agapaō kind, is the kind that penetrates not just until our "natural selves", but into the deep recesses of our spirits.

This brand of love can only be attained, be discovered when we truly understand Jesus' "Lovest thou me?".

It is a question full of hope... And full of pain.

See, with that question, every deception, every little thing uttered willy-nilly, every action, every step, every breath, every heart is exposed and weighed. Whoever said the Word of God never hurts God's people, never hurts Christians? Afterall, "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible never did say that it is a sword that only cuts through unbelievers, that cuts through evil alone; so what makes us think that it doesn't cut through us, Christians, too, for are we not also sinners?

Every time we sin, it gets easier to sin again because we slip into deception and lies and foolishness, because our senses are dulled and muted, the hurt and struggle and pain and guilt become less and less until we forget they were even there to begin with.
But one word, one question from the mouth of God is enough to wrench our hearts, to throw us to the ground, to bleed us dry: "Lovest thou me?"

I have experienced that barren and plain hurt inflicted by Jesus' three-worded question. It is a pain that no language can utter and no mind conceive unless experienced first-hand, because it is one that spreads like an angry and wild fire to the farthest corners of my being, body, mind and soul.

When God asks us "Lovest thou me?", it is impossible to formulate any reply because everything is laid bare before our waking eye, everything that brings Him joy together with everything that causes Him hurt, everything we have performed in accordance to His Will together with everything we have committed out of His Will. And that knowledge of causing God pain really is so much, too much to bear.

But we bear it, nail our iniquities and sins to the cross and carry it on our backs because we trust & hope. We trust in the Lord's promise of forgiveness, trust in His nature, trust in Jesus' paid ransom for our souls, and hope for a better tomorrow, hope to continue walking in the Light of God, hope to become more and more Christ-like, and hope to bring Him greater joy - for that is why we exist, is it not?

"Lovest thou me?", asks Jesus.

Invincible -- megan

2010-05-08T10:55:00.002+08:00

For Daena:

Though we're 23 this year, there's still so much for us to learn. But, God-willing, and if you're willing, we shall journey together. Sisters forever.

~Hugs~

P\S: Maybe I'll record this for you and send you a copy when you return from your trip =] I like this one very much too!

You'll be there. -- megan

2010-05-06T15:34:00.003+08:00

Ash-heap Christian -or- Collector of Valuables

2010-04-30T10:39:00.055+08:00

Yesterday marked the end of my formal academic undergraduate life. There's still the actual convocation that's coming up in July, but technically-speaking, I'm done. I had to sit for five exam papers this semester, a first for my in my four years in university. And yesterday was the day I took the last of my five papers, the last I'll ever have as an undergraduate.

It's a weird feeling. I don't know how many people feel this way, but it wasn't a feeling of elation. Maybe I'm too used to having my road planned out for me, afterall, my 16 years of education from primary school all the way up to the university have been pretty much dictated by the consensual norms of society and the desires of my parents. Or maybe I've come to realise that just because the hurdles of academic life have passed, doesn't mean that the chains have broken off, my slave-driver has fled and I'm free; it just means I've been processed, prepared and packaged for the next stage of working life.

Anyhow, I was talking with God as I left the examination hall yesterday and He asked me two questions:

What have I learnt from all my 16 years of formal academic education?
Because what I have learnt, that is how I will begin to and probably will live for the rest of my adult life.

What kind of person will I be?

"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-"
~ 1 Corinthians 3:10-12

Trudging along the path of mortality towards immortality, what have I picked up along the way and chucked into my haversack?

Did I stock up on things of a perishable nature? Things temporal and of no spiritual consequence nor benefit?

I remember Francis Schaeffer calls such Christians "Ash-heap Christians". These are they who, though saved by the Savior's blood, end up standing before the Lord at the end of their journey with nothing to show, nothing brought that will bring glory to His Name. All they have are moth-eaten clothes and grey ashes in their pouches, because what they have collected have been consumed by fire.

Or have I collected items of value, the gold, silver and precious stones that Paul is talking about? Things that last for all eternity, things that bring much joy to the Lord, a smile to His lips?

"each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done."
~ 1 Corinthians 3:13

Strange, that Paul should contrast these things. In one camp, there is a pile of wood, hay and straw. Strong, comfortable, homey. Smells good too. In the other, an array of gold, silver and precious stones. Luxurious, expensive and enviable. But it is the things in the former that perish in fire, but the latter do not just survive the fire; they are refined by the flame!

What we each have in our knapsacks are evidence for what matters most to each of us, what our heart individual hearts beat for.

Über was schlägst du dein Herz?

Do our hearts resonate with the beating of the heart of Jesus?
He, who is our greatest Teacher, who is the Son, who is one with the Father, identified His treasure: people.

And it's not about the number of friends you have, or how quickly you come rushing to a depressed friend's aid, or how many people come to your party or are your friends on Facebook. It's not about the kind of friends or acquaintences you have.

No, it's about touching lives for Jesus Christ. Intentionally, truthfully, prayerfully, kindly, gently, urgently reaching out to love as He taught us to love, as He first loved us.
It doesn't matter who they are: lovers, family, close friends, enemies, people who have hurt us, foolish people, the simple-minded, annoying ones, losers, the proud and the haughty...
It doesn't matter because He came to save us all, and He did. No discrimination; no condemnation.

We have the capacity, the tools to love as Jesus loves.
We have our talents, our giftings, our own paths to walk, our own situations to face... From the most important and crucial decisions to the smallest, most invisible and menial tasks, all are opportunities for us to heap gold, silver and precious stones into our bags, things that do not perish in the fire, but last forever.

The question is

Will you?

What have you in your rucksack?
Wood, Hay & Straw -or- Gold, Silver & Precious Stones?

Are you an Ash-heap Christian -or- a Collector of Valuables?

Standing at the cross-roads of your life,
Re-dedicate yourselves to God.
Re-commit yourselves to what He is passionate over.

"If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."

Battle for Middle Earth

2010-04-22T10:32:00.041+08:00

Why, if God is so all-knowing, would He let temptations dance scintillatingly up to us and risk our falling away?

Why, if God is so all-loving, would He let us even be tempted?

Why, if God is so all-powerful, would He not change events in our favour?

He made us, fashioned us out of the dust from the ground, breathed life into us, carved us out in His likeness. He saw man fall. He sees the past, the present and the future; He is time. Watching us, hurting because of us, crying over us, even sending His Son down to die for us... Surely Jesus, of the Godhead three, would know how difficult it is to tear our captivated attention from temptation.

Why, then, would He still let it at us?

There is one particular sin with which I have struggled, and still struggle with. It's like one of them battles from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Pick one. The Battle for Minas Tirith, the Battle in Pelennor Fields, the Battle at Helm's Deep, the Battle of Isengard, fleeing the Mines of Moria... It's like that for me, except it's repeated over and over and over, sometimes daily, sometimes more than once a day, sometimes after a substantial period of peace.

After two years worth of battle with that sin, I thought victory over it was won. I thought I have been freed from its vice-like clutches, its stench of moral decay, the depressing cumulonimbus clouds have lifted. I was right.

But I was wrong. I was wrong to let my defenses down, I was wrong to think it slain forever, to think it lacking the ability to ressurrect, to think it would stay dead.

Confronting my sinful nature is an everyday affair, an everyday necessity if I choose to raise God's banner over His temple, me. It sucks to realise that I am sinful. It sucks even more to realise that that is what I am, what I was born into, what I would grow up into.

But that's the thing, you see?
With a promise of Life eternal, the demise of Death, cheating Hades of my soul,
with a promise of faithfulness, forgiveness, grace, mercy and love like I have never known and will ever know,
I get to choose.

When temptation presents her scantily clad self, undulating her hips this way and that, licking her lips and seductively touching her body,
I get to choose.
When failure rears its head and brandishes its powerful hooves,
I get to choose.
When depression and guilt stare with empty eyes, anxiously snatching with their bony and emaciated hands,
I get to choose.

I get to choose just as Jesus got to choose.
He chose humility, knowledge & wisdom, forgiveness, mercy & grace, gentleness, patience, kindness, and love. He chose faithfulness to the Father above. He chose immortality by the Almighty's side.

The Teacher showed us that we get to choose.
In the face of pride, we get to choose humility (Matthew 20:28; Philippians 2:1-11)
In the face of ignorance & folly, we get to choose knowledge & wisdom (Matthew 7:24-29)
In the face of bitterness, we get to choose forgiveness (Luke 23:33-43)
In the face of revenge, we get to choose mercy & grace (John 1:14)
In the face of cruelty, we get to choose gentleness (John 8:3-11)
In the face of impatience, we get to choose patience (Matthew 16:8-11)
In the face of hate, we get to choose kindness (Luke 6:33-36)
In the face of scorn, contempt & animosity, we get to choose love (Romans 5:8)

That's why God allows temptations and trials to come our way.
They are our second, third, fourth, tenth, thirty-seventh, ninety-fifth, two hundred and twelfth chance to choose to do right by Him.
They are our faith practiced, because each time we choose goodness over evil, we remember our race, we utter His Words, we build ourselves up in Him.
They are our faith alive.
They are our worship to our Creator King, because each time we choose to exemplify Him over our sinful natures, we show Him we love Him.

Sin is not an ailment, a cannot-be-helped plague that has befallen poor mankind that we are to be pitied and accomodated. It is a baggage that we carry, our own tree that we crucify ourselves with. It can be cast down and renounced.

"Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (who have borne testimony to the Truth), let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us"

~ Hebrews 12:1

That's wWhy, if God is so all-knowing, ~~would~~ He lets temptations dance scintillatingly up to us and risk our falling away?.
That's wWhy, if God is so all-loving, ~~would~~ He lets us even be tempted?.
That's wWhy, if God is so all-powerful, ~~would~~ He does not change events in our favour?.

He loves us too much to watch us wallow ignorantly & foolishly in sin.

Keep struggling, dear one! Wage your Battles for Middle Earth tirelessly and with great conviction. You will claim victory for your King is victory incarnate.

Release your vices, your bitterness, your guilt, your failures, and lay them at the feet of the Living Crucifed Savior.
Seek His wisdom and Truth.
Let Him be your navigator, your little red bell, your disciplinarian, your comforter, your strength.

Choose Jesus, and be snatched out of the Lake of burning sulphur. Live forever by His side, keeping His good counsel, strolling along the River of Life.
- or -
Choose anything but Jesus, and surrender your soul to spend eternity in Tartarus, in Gehenna, in Sheol. Live a life of purposelessness, a life of guilt and empty hope.

Which do you choose?

The Bates Motel or Hotel Adlon Kempinski?

2010-04-08T10:46:00.018+08:00

Remember the Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, Psycho (1960)? I didn't like it at all. I remember the opening sequence in which the Bates Motel was introduced: it was raining, and the viewer sees the first façades of the Motel through the rain-pelted, windscreen-wipin' Marion's windshield. It was dark and wet and cold. The long row of rooms was overshadowed by Norman Bates' house perched on the tippy-top of a nearby overlooking hill. Freaky. The office was laden with stuffed creatures, Marion's room was furnished with only the bare essentials... Not to mention, the basement in Norman's house on the hill was occupied by "Mother".

When I visited Berlin last year, I could not help but compare the Bates Motel and the Hotel Adlon Kempinski: what a contrast! I wouldn't dare to step into the compounds of the Bates Motel simply because it gives me the heebie jeebies, and I didn't dare to step even onto Adlon's welcoming rug because I was afraid I'd dirty it! Adlon is that grand! The plush interior, luxurious furniture... From the clean and crisp white linen that covers each comfortable and inviting bed, to the heavy, dark brown lacquered writing desks, Adlon is the embodiment of perfection, comfort and luxury.

And then I thought of us, and how our bodies are God's sacred and holy temple, set apart for Him and for Him only. If our bodies are God's temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), if our bodies are the homes within which dwells God's Spirit, shouldn't we then take care of it?

Some people think that those verses in 1 Corinthians 6 apply only to our outer shells, our physical members. And so their theology on this point extends only so far as to advise others to take good care of their bodies physically (ie. don't smoke, don't drink, no tattoos, no adulterous behaviour, etc.).

How strange it is, then, to note that the Greek word for "body" used is σῶμα (sōma), meaning the body as a sound whole, both literally and figuratively!
How strange it is, then, to note that the surrounding verses within which these are located beseech believers to flee from sins that not only suffer the body, but also the intangible but powerful will, control, feeling, spirit. Sins, especially those that stem from sexual immorality and impurity, that destroy and mar the external temple, desecrate the inner holy of holies, and snatch the house deed from God's hands.

That is why Peter wrote for us, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Just as the Old Testament saints before us cleansed and purified, making themselves holy, blameless and acceptable in God's holy eyes, we are to do likewise, walking every moment in the light, fellowshipping habitually with one another, kneeling every evening in humble and contrite confession of sin (1 John 1:7-9).

Therefore, flee from sexual immorality, flee from impurity, flee from unholiness, for our bodies, physical and tangible, spiritual and eternal, are the temple of God, the dwelling place of His Spirit.

As they say, God is in the building!
Are you, o housekeeper, diligent and urgent, striving to keep everything clean and in order? Will your abode pass the white glove test?
Is there a hidden basement in your establishment that you keep under lock and key, refusing God entry?

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

~ James 4:7-10

Invite the Spirit to walk with you on your rounds through your temple.
And allow Him to turn your eyes towards neglected areas now covered with a layer of dust, allow Him to point frankly at secret and closed doors.

So, what does your temple look like:

the Bates Motel or Hotel Adlon Kempinski?

Lord, How Can I Repay?

2010-04-02T14:13:00.005+08:00

Heart Transplant

2010-03-26T11:09:00.031+08:00

What makes a Christian a "good" Christian?

Going to church weekly, participating in small group Bible studies, volunteering in church, doing our daily devotions, praying at least once every day, saying grace before meals, making sure we drop something into the offering bag as it goes by, saying the right things at the right times...

I don't think it's wrong to do all the above (and more!).

They are what I'd call the "outsides" of a Christian: they're what other people can see. We've a shop with an clear perspex glass front, those actions are our goods paraded in our glass display window, they're the first things shoppers see.

Nothing wrong with that. I'd reckon most of us know what to do so others will see and think we're "good" Christians. We know from exemplary deacons we see in church, we know from the Bible and the characters in the Bible, we know from the advice exhorted by certain Bible characters, we know what it means and we know what it takes to be "good". Great if we actually heed advice, emulate sound and mature teaching and teachers.

But here's where a sly problem can potentially sprout:

Are we all about the "outsides" that we forget the "insides"?
Is everything that is on display just for display?

If our Christianity is just about the "outsides, then, Houston, we have a problem.

Our Jesus is like Mushu from Disney's Mulan; He can see straight through our armours. Jesus sees both our "outsides" and our "insides"!

When He looks at us, what does He see?
Are we liable to be compared to manicured grave plots: grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh? That when people look at us, they think we're saints, but beneath the skin we're total frauds, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness?

Beautifying our "outsides" can bring about an inverse effect on our "insides".
How easy it is to slip down the muddy, slimy slope into the pit of pride!
When all that knowledge, all that "good" behavior, all that "holiness" gets to our heads, it's more than easy to become ever so proud of ourselves!

And we all know how God feels about a proud heart.

How easy it is also to tote all that lousy, smelly attitudes in one hand, and our Bibles in the other to church!

Rest assured, though, that God sees everything.
He sees our secret sins, our self-sufficient attitudes, our resentments, our selfish motives, our proud characters just as plainly as He sees the noses on our faces and the teeny tiny hairs that cover our bodies.

Maybe that's why Christianity is more than just the "outsides"; it extends its busy tentacles also into the invisible-to-the-naked-eye "insides". It is about the santification and transformation of our "insides", our spirits and souls, that brings about the inevitable change in our "outsides", the body and its works.

As Joe Stowell puts it, "it's not a facelift - it's a heart transplant!"

When God looks at you,
Does He see the termite-infested crumbling house as He did the pharisees in Matthew 23?

What do you think?

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5: 23

Come, be reconciled to the One who loves you.

2010-03-22T20:39:00.004+08:00

I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him,
until he plead my cause,
and execute judgment for me:
he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?

He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities;

and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

~ Micah 7: 9, 18-20

Be Strong & Courageous

2010-03-20T10:47:00.140+08:00

Did you know that the phrase:
"I will never leave you nor forsake you"
appears four times in the Bible?

How familiar we are with that favoured passage! I, myself, have used it quite a few times and have had it quoted to me too. And very often, the quote usually starts with "I (or God) will never" and ends with "forsake you".

Today, I was led to this statement again.

But so what if God promises to never leave us nor forsake us?
So what if it's repeated four times in the Bible?
How do we react to such a declaration of faithfulness?
Do we need to?
Do we simply nod and say "thanks, God, now remember me!" and that's it?
Is it a mere promise, an unretractable clause that we can wave in God's face every time we feel down and out?

Reader, those words are not just words, they are not a printed and unfeeling and inconsequential series of alphabets; they are worth a thousand times more than your weight in gold! And God knew that when He said it and let it be written, forever stamped in the pages of His Truth, our Sword.

You see, God knows, from the beginning of time, that every single one of us, each person, from the oldest sage to the youngest babe, all will face trying times. Temptation saunters by, undulating her hips and licking her lips, teasing us. Tests of our faith and trust meet us like a brick wall that goes on forever to the left and to the right, making us meet it head on with no chance of escape. Giants of fear and terror grow fast and tall like mushrooms, shaking our world beneath their heavy, stomping feet. God knows. And that is why He promised us what He promised us.

The first time, (Deuteronomy 31) Moses said to Israel that he longer could lead them because he was old. But still, they were to cross the Jordan and inherit the land God has said He would give them. They will not be led by their proven leader, and mighty nations stand in their way. And Moses said "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." For where Moses leaves them, Joshua will rise up. And where Moses cannot go before them, the LORD will make safe their path.

Then, turning to Joshua, that strapping young lad, Moses says "Be strong and courageous... The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

After Moses had died, the LORD himself came to Joshua (Joshua 1), Moses' aide, telling him to get ready, to get ready to cross the Jordan River, to get ready to conquer and inherit the land they were promised. And He says "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."

In Hebrews 13, the writer extols us to not be swayed by the ways of the world, to not harbour a spirit of covetousness, to instead be content because God had said "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." And so we can say with confidence "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

When we, like the Israel of old, are faced with uncertainty and fear,
When we, like Joshua, are pushed to the fore, are tasked with a mindbogglingly colossal task,
When we are instructed to keep pure our ways, to keep content our circumstance,

We are explicitly assured of God's continued and undistracted presence and attention.
Because that is when we need to hear it again and again the most.

Such assurance grants us the badges of bravery, of courage and of confidence, grants us the sustenance of perseverance.

We claim it all because we are reminded, surely and undeniably, of our hope, of our trust, of our faith, of our allegiance in the Sovereign One.
He is everywhere at once. "Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there"
He is all powerful. He made the day and the night, the land and the sea, the stars in the sky and the air that we breathe. He calms the storm, feeds the thousand, clothes the lilies of the field and feeds the birds of the sky. He conquered death. He is Life. He alone holds dominion over all.

That is why we are strong and courageous.
That is why we are brave and not discouraged.
That is why we can say with confidence ""The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Therefore, beloved of the LORD,
"Be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

~ Joshua 1: 7-9

Goodbye for Now

2010-03-16T19:08:00.011+08:00

Someone once said that parents should never see their children die. Children are meant to outlive their parents.

I'm not a parent.
I'm not his parent.
Not literally, anyway.

But in a way, I feel like I am.

2 hours ago, he died.

Would've turned 18 in 2 months' time.

I'm the one on the cold, wooden bench with a blank look on my face. I don't know how to feel and I don't know what to do or how to do anything anymore.

I stare at your Facebook profile page,
and glance through your pictures
as I have so often done.

Your profile picture of your younger self looks up,
a cheeky smile just grazing the corners of your lips and lights up your eyes.

A soft-spoken kid, hails not from a shabby background, but still a nice, good boy.

We never sat down together,
have a good long chat over sushi.
We never had one of 'em heated arguments over theology or application.
We never prayed together,
just the two of us.
We never exchanged rapid smses late into the night.

Heck, we never even added each other on msn.

We weren't close.
But strangely, I feel so sad.

Not the a-part-of-me-has-died sad, no.

There's not much to remember.

You were a boy in my Bible Study group.
You were always so quiet.
And we were always having subconscious staring matches.
You very rarely spoke up.

But I know you had fun.
I know you had a group of great friends who love you and watched out for you.
I know one of us, your leaders, cared a great deal for you,
went out of his way to befriend you.

No, we were never close.

But I still feel as though you are my baby.
And I would never wish you ill.

I remember we made a card out of coloured paper for you.
Pink, yellow, blue and green.
With clouds and rainbows on a bright blue sky.
I remember because I prayed over what to write to you, to your parents
while you lay on that hospital bed.

I remember because I was the one who tied all the pages together.
I remember because I was the one who took all the pages home.
I remember because I was the one who read every message that was written to you.

I remember because it caused me distress.

Goodbye for now, my darling boy.

We were never close while we shared time here on Earth,
but I'll see you on the other side.

I'll see you happy, healthy and well again.

Even though I never showed it,
and even though it's too late now,

I love you.

Rest in peace.
But don't rest too long: wake up when Jesus comes a-calling!

Now we lay you down to sleep
We pray the LORD your soul to keep
If you should die before you wake
We pray the LORD your soul to take

You & me

2010-03-10T11:52:00.001+08:00

Hurry!

2010-03-08T10:40:00.140+08:00

My grandmother came over to our house a few weeks ago after paying a visit to the eye specialist. She had lived a life as a farmer before she came to Singapore way back when. So, naturally, she gravitated towards my dad's little 'garden' by our waterfall installation. I watched her take each of the many heavy pots of plants outside into the common lift landing, lug a full bucket of water out from the toilet, and squatted there watering the plants, re-potting the plants, washing every single leaf of every plant we had. Time stood still as I squatted there with her, watching her as I used to do when I was little and we lived together in a big (maybe I remember it as big because I was small) house in Changi, the comfortable silence broken only by short exchanges in Hainanese and the sloshing and dripping of water.

She started tending to them plants in the early afternoon, right after lunch. And she finished, sitting down to dinner, satisfied, only late in the evening. We talked over dinner. She was telling me about how sad she was that too many of my cousins did not understand our dialect, let alone speak it, how I must be a good girl and look after my parents when I'm grown, how I should be looking for a good boy to settle down with... Things that I otherwise would not be open to hear from anyone else, I listened with great anticipation, lapping every single syllable that passed her lips... I listened with great sadness and eagerness.

She, with my paternal grandfather (my maternal grandparents have passed away a long time since. I never knew my maternal grandmother), are old. Her body is bent with time, her bowed legs even more prominent, her eyes grey with cataracts. My grandfather appears to be holding up much better though: he still walks tall and proud, laughs with a hearty guffaw, smokes, climbs up a mountain with still energy to spare much better than I can. Even so, I know the time is ticking. Constantly ticking.

They do not know the LORD. They may have heard of Him, mentioned here and there, but they do not know Him like I know Him.

And I want so badly for them to come to know and understand and love Him.

It pains me that it's so hard to share God with them through words because my grasp of Hainanese is probably as advanced as a three year old's. Why not revert to Chinese if I'm better schooled at that, if I want so badly to share the Gospel to them, you ask? I loathe speaking in Mandarin to them because I am not Chinese; I am Hainanese. We speak a beautiful dialect, not the crude language that annoying emperor concocted. And I know my grandparents get so tickled when I try to speak our dialect with them. And also because my Chinese also isn't that brilliant. I think my German's miles better than my Chinese.

Those urges I keep bottled up inside me burst open and spill out through my actions. I join my grandmother, even if it is in silence, as she does what she loves most - looking after the plants. I listen to what they have to say. I pay attention to what makes them smile, simple things like calling them to eat dinner, kissing them goodbye, saying "hi" to them individually, calling them by the correct kinship term, simple things like that I do.

Oh, how I long for the day when I can rattle off in Hainanese and talk to them so fluidly! Maybe that day will come. Maybe God will grant me the gift of tongues, even if it's just for a few minutes, to speak fluently to them both in their own dialect. I don't know.

But until then, I will try, through my actions and what little Hainese & Chinese I know, and I will help those who try, like helping my father give my grandfather books about Jesus to read, to win them both over to Christ, to the glory of God Almightly above.

Do you know people like that?
People who don't yet know God, and by 'know', I mean to comprehend, to accept, to love Him as we, Christians, say we do.
It could be your neighbour, your friend(s), your grandparent(s), parent(s), sister(s), brother(s), uncle(s), aunty(s), cousin(s), colleague(s), mark(s)...

These people are somehow connected to you.
For you have been given the opportunity, the chance to be in someone else's life, to help them, to change them, to bring them and win them over to God, to the glory of God above, to share with them Life.

You could say "hi" to them every so often, mow their lawns for them without their asking, buy them lunch, do the dishes without seeking praise or recognition...
You could give them books about Jesus to read, invite them over for a cup of tea, introduce them to your Bible study mates...
Take something off their plate to ease their burdens, forgive them...
Show them that neat trick you learnt in Sunday School, sing them that catchy song you sang in church, or recommend that great movie you saw...
You could pray for them, and sometimes, if they permit, pray with them...
Often, sharing Jesus comes in persevering in seemingly small acts of kindness and love, gentleness and patience.
Are you not capable of that?

But beware, dear ones, the time is short.
Everyone dies, but no one knows exactly when each person will pass. Every day, every person faces perils, from mundane daily activities like crossing the road, to health threats by illnesses, to unpredictable environmental events liks tsumanis, typhoons, gusts of wind, scorches of heat, and the shifting of the land beneath the feet.
Jesus is coming again, "Heaven and earth shall pass away... But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24: 35-39)
Therefore, awake from your foolish and simple slumber, and delay no longer!

You hold Life in your hands.
Are you ready to share it with those who march toward eternal death?

Or maybe the question is
Are you willing to?
Are you aching to?

Look out the window.
Do you see those people?

Do they matter enough...
for you to get up off the couch
and reach out both hands?

The Tongue is the Tattletale of the Heart

2010-02-26T11:34:00.005+08:00

I was really excited over Chinese New Year this year. It's a big thing for my family (it probably is for most all Chinese) and I love that it's a great excuse to get together with the entire family, even those who've travelled overseas to make a living there return, eat good food together with people whom we love, and get free money, haha!

I didn't get to celebrate it last year with my family because I was over in the UK for my student exchange. And while we did celebrate it, it was with new and unfamiliar faces, and it was just a dinner (and not enough food, at that!). My father brought the webcam over to my granparent's place (we always go there on the eve and on the first day of the celebrations). All throughout the skype conversation, as each of my aunts and uncles, cousins and my grandparents took turns to stand within the frame of the webcam to speak to me, I literally bawled. I never knew I'd miss my family so much!

So you can imagine how excited I was to dress up and go visiting this year.

But on the eve of CNY, I woke up with my left eye alarmingly red. Now, my eyes aren't the healthiest; they're ultra-sensitive and sometimes turn red for no reason whatsoever, but this wasn't the usual redness. This was worrying.

My mum took me to see the doctor at the A&E. He didn't lend himself to be very caring nor compassionate nor trustworthy. But I did listen and took the prescribed medication as directed.

So for the whole of CNY, I had to deal with a bare face (no make-up: I know, I can be quite vain), take ugly photos with other fresh-faced & glamourously made-up people, deal with constant questions about the redness of my eye, and to top it all off, endure the discomfort of my eye.

I was pretty upset! My eyes were fine and so blue-white the days leading up to CNY. What happened??

I prayed really hard and constantly, and I mean persistantly, for God to take it away, for a miracle, and a quickie at that! But somehow, I kept feeling as though God wasn't listening, and it's not because my eye wasn't miraculously healed. Rather, it was as though there was a perspex glass between me and Him and I was hollering, but He couldn't hear. It didn't faze me though; I ploughed right on, relentless in my verbal tirade.

Then, on the first day of CNY, I decided not to go with my family to church for service because my eye was quite bad that morning. When they left, I decided that it'd be nice to have a little "service" of my own right at home. But it was a glimmer of a thought that flitted through my brain. I was quickly distracted by other thoughts.

"Starts with a P-."

That came into my mind all on its own, and all of a sudden.

"Prayer", was my immediate response that surprised me, for I was thinking nothing of prayer in the immediately preceding thoughts, in fact, I was thinking nothing of my faith (more on what I'd eat for lunch and what programs were on TV later)!

Then, I knew what God would have me do in that time I was completely alone at home.

He wanted me to focus on Him.

So I asked that I not be disturbed by anything, no telephone calls, no smses, no person knocking on the door, and certainly no family returning from church. Not until we (ie. God and I) were done with our little rendevous.

Thinking it'd be nice to play the piano and sing to God, I tried that. I ain't good at playing and singing simultaneously so I don't usually do that, but I did it anyway that day, and surprisingly, it wasn't too shabby an effort!

As I was playing and singing, I was reminded that once, not too long ago, I asked for a glimpse into God's heart. Then, I immediately got what I asked for. That glimpse. And I thought maybe I ought to ask for it again, that I may pray for what is in His heart, instead of going on about what I want.

I did.

And His answer?

Haiti.
Wars and conflicts.

How foolish I was to pray only for myself!
How much more selfish can I be?

How could I have been so disturbed by the 12012010 earthquake in Haiti then and not continue interceding for them on their behalf?
How could I go on and on and on about my selfish vexations and not about something that grips and wrenches and twists God's heart?

How could I have seen and not be moved?

Maybe I would have seen better if my eyes were shut.
Maybe I would have heard better if my heart were beating together with God's.

I need to re-align myself with my God.

Do you?

Search your heart.
Difficult, no?
How terrible that even we could lie even to ourselves!

So I find one of the easiest ways into a person's heart is what he\she speaks and prays for, for words, the utterances of the tongue betray the desires of the being.
The tongue is the tattletale of the heart.

What is important to you?

Do you ache for what He longs for,
cry for what brings Him sorrow?
Do you rejoice over what He loves?

Do you need to re-align yourself with God?

Will you re-align yourself with God?

(BTW, I wasn't disturbed at all while communing with God. My family came home a good twenty minutes after we were finished.)

who ME?!

2010-02-19T11:44:00.070+08:00

Insecurities: we all have them & we all have to deal with them.

Each of us are made differently, possessing different levels of various skills, some of us are better at some things, and some of us are better at some other things. That's probably a given. And there's nothing wrong with that. Each of us are born with different aptitudes and inclinations, each of us are presented different opportunites of varying intensities to hone our proficiencies and capabilities, and each of us have different potential scales of different maxx levels or excellency limits. It's okay.

The problem comes when it gets to us so much that it isn't okay anymore. We begin to think thoughts that throw us headlong into a depressing kamikaze (ie. self-destruct) spiral. "Don't ask me. Ask Him\Her; (s)he's better than me", "(s)he's better at this than I am; my position is in jeopardy", "Does he really like me? It can't be. I think he likes her more", "how come I can't get a boy\girlfriend? Is something wrong with me?", etc. Sound familiar?

If you've had bouts of insecurity, you're not alone, honey, I'm right there with you.

But not only are insecurities a catapult of massive proportions, hurling gigantuan projectiles at us, it has a concievable chance of leading us to break Commandment numero diez, "thou shalt not covet... anything that belongs to your neighbour" (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Jealousy and envy at another's talent and accomplishments should never be allowed to take root for it could bring about disastrous consequences. If movies were anything to go by, then meanness, backstabbing and hurtful remarks, disunity would be in the forseeable future.

Insecurity ain't good, and we all know that.
But somehow, we can't seem to shake it.

I've been meaning to write about this for the longest of times, but I just never could find the answer, or never was satisfied with what I had learnt, most likely because I didn't quite understand what it means to "have confidence in God".

I now do with the help and blessing of Robert J. Morgan and Psalm 27.

Morgan summed up his ideas in the "Cure for Insecurity" with the repetitive use of a single phrase ONE THING. And that spurred me onto mine own investigations into its usage as chronicled in the Bible.

That particular phrase isn't used much, methinks it is precisely because of its exclusivist nature: it is serious business to stop and proclaim that only one thing matters or is required. Much thought must have been put into the pre-exclamation phase.

The more notable times it was used was when Jesus bade the rich young man to sell all he has and give to the poor, that he shall have treasure in heaven, and to go, follow Him, for that was the one thing he lacked (Mark 10:17-22), and to Martha, teaching her that only one thing is necessary: that which Mary has chosen (Luke 10:38-42). Paul too uttered that phrase, saying it is but one thing he does: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, pressing on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called him heavenward in Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).

So are there many one things?
Or just one?
Is the antidote for insecurity a whole array of prescriptive syrups and tablets?
Or just a single pill?

Psalm 27 starts off on a high, somewhat boastful and cocky, rather confident tone:
(the paragraphs beginning with the big green "one thing"s are Morgan's)

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

ONE THING I KNOW the LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

ONE THING I DESIRE that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

And it is here, at the junction between verses 6 and 7, that the tone of the psalm shifts. All of a sudden, it is as though David remembers moments of weakness, fits of doubt flit here and there in his mind... insecurities... So he cries:

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

ONE THING I NEED hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

ONE THING I'LL DO I will stay confident of this — that I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

And that is how David deals with his insecurities.

The cure is a single PILL:

Pray, commune with God always, regardless.
Remember the Great I AM, His statutes, His character, His works.
Look where you are headed, keep in mind your purpose.
Not forgetting to Live as befits who you are: a servant and child, a soldier and friend of the Most High King.

Nowhere in the psalm does David dwell on that which he lacks. Nowhere does he dwell on his predicaments.
Instead, his words betray a trust, a reliance, a relationship with an entity who loves and cares as much as He judges and forgives.

Only one thing is needed.
Only one is required.
Only one is crucial.

And if that one thing is not present, we will most likely be plagued by insecurities, like locusts to a field.

The cure to insecurity is to have confidence in God.

And to have confidence in God is

ONE THING:

To abide in God Almighty.

Humility, Mercy & Love

2010-02-05T17:06:00.069+08:00

I actually have many many things to write about; so much has been hoarded up in my mind and in my heart! But writing them takes up quite a bit of time, which I don't have much of, and a whole lot of effort, even though it brings me great happiness because when I write, I feel God's smile. Anyway, I shall note each thing down on a piece of paper, and write about them all in time.

Last Sunday (010210), I joined two others from the Youth (we call the Youth Service in our church The Tackle Box, stemming from us being called to become "fishers of men") prayer ministry in praying and interceding for the Youths. We usually gather to pray in the prayer room just outside the Worship Hall about 30 mins before TTB service begins, but without any formal stop time (sometimes, we pray a good half hour into the service!)

Though our numbers are not massively impressive, there are actually about seven or eight prayer warriors\intercessors from TTB for TTB, I feel the ministry is good because I know God is there with us, listening to us, I know Jesus is praying with us, seated at the right hand of the Father, I know the Holy Spirit is groaning and interceding through us, for us.

It was interesting, what was prayed for last Sunday morning. Interesting because all three of us, though there wasn't any prior agreement nor consensus to pray for a particular item or topic, we found ourselves crying out to God for pretty much one something that weighed and was pressed very heavily on our hearts:

sin
vices
temptations
falling away from God

And for some reason, as I listened to the others, fervent in prayer, as I too prayed, I heard God saying that what we were doing, our prayers, our psalms, our lamentations were beautiful. And so, while the subject of prayer was painful and potentially discouraging, it became wonderful, sacred and encouraging.

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
~ Matthew 18: 19-20

This is a very commonly cited passage that many use to implore us to pray with one another, to pray together. But exactly what meaning is packaged in these two verses? Does it mean that numbers in prayer count? Does it mean that if I pull a friend to pray with me about the same thing, even if God doesn't want to, He's got to do what we ask?

There are various differing views on this passage. What follows here is what I have gathered and tried to make sense of thus far.

Let's unpack the package.

Praying Together

There is something quite fascinating about Biblical ideas concerning Mathematics.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven..."
It was written in the Old Testament that "one (could) chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight" (Deut 32: 30a). Strange ratio, no? It isn't a straight linear proportion that we find here: one to a thousand, and hence two to two thousand. No. Here, it is one to a thousand, and two to ten thousand!

So maybe there is some kind of power that comes with numbers, albeit not necessarily proportionately!

But here's the catch:
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven..."
While there are a number of Greek words that have been used in the Bible, they don't all imply the exact same thing, so it is useful, in fact, crucial to know which is used when.
Here, the word is συμφωνέω (sumphōneō), and it means to sound together; to be harmonious. The Amplified Bible refers to this "agreeing" as to "harmonize together, make a symphony together".

Ray Stedman uses the analogy of a piano:

"Two related notes struck on the piano will harmonize.
The harmony is already there, it is simply brought out as you strike the right notes.

So this verse pictures two Christians coming together; (each) one says what is on his heart, what he believes God wants him to pray for,
and where they find they agree, where they harmonize, where they sound together,
those are the areas where they can fully expect God to work.
These are areas where God says,
"It shall be done."

In other words, he says that "where two or three of you sound the same note, not by comparing notes beforehand, but simply, voluntarily, spontaneously, sounding this out, it shall be done by (the) Father which is in heaven" because that is when the "mind of the Spirit" is "determined".

That is one view vocalised by one camp of thought.

Law & Instruction

On flipside, some people say that these verses must be read "in context", that is, with reference to the preceding verses (vv. 15-20).

Here, Jesus was giving instructions, how to go about restoring a wayward brother (or sister). And with the word for "thing" in "anything" to be the Greek πρᾶγμα (pragma), which stems from a primary verb which means to practise; to perform repeatedly or habitually, a certain deed; business; matter; thing; work, "anything" must therefore mean kinds of judicial decisions or corporate discipline.

In other words, this passage is spoken with reference to the authority and methods of the church specifically; it has little or even nothing to do with prayer!

I don't know which perspective is true and which is problematic, I'll admit.
But I have found a third lens, and to that, I subscribe:

Humility, Mercy & Love

Let's look at Matthew 18, the chapter in its entirety.

It begins with a question:
"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Jesus' answer to that question was an unspoken one. His response made the disciples realise that the answer to their question did not matter. What mattered was whether or not they'd be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Their question betrayed a desire for individual greatness over others, betrayed a proud heart that displeased God. Temptations, like wealth, power, fame, lust (Great4), all these keep us from understanding what was important, all these keep us from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, all these keep us from God.

And the remedy is humility

Jesus continues his answer with the parable of the lost sheep, instructions on how to address a wayward brother (within which our two verses are located), and the parable of the unforgiving and wicked servant.

Do you see a common thread in all three passages, a thread that in fact runs from the beginning of the chapter to its very last word?

Why would the man leave 99 to search for that 1 lost sheep?
And why, when found, did he rejoice over that 1 so greatly?

Why would Jesus instruct us to repeatedly attempt to gain over a wayward brother?
And why would He say that if all else fails, to treat the wayward as a Gentile and a tax collector?

Why would the master release and forgive the indebted servant?
And why was he so furious when the pardoned indebted refuse to pardon another like him?

Why would Jesus spend time to remedy his disciples' misconstructions?

Why did the chapter end with forgiveness?

The answer is Mercy & Love.

Mercy is at the very heart of God.
It is because of mercy that the man searches for that 1 lost sheep.
It is because of mercy that we are instructed to repeatedly advise a wayward brother.
It is because of mercy that the master would release and forgive the indebted servant.

Love is who God is.
It is because of love that the man rejoices so awesomely.
It is because of love that we treat a stubborn wayward as a non-believer.
It is because of love that Jesus spoke all He spoke.

Because our Father is merciful,
because He loves us so very much,
He sent Jesus to die on that splintered cross for our sins and transgressions
that we may be reconciled with Him again,
as it should always have been.

The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who truly understands the heart of God, a do-er of the word,
one who fears the Lord
one who shows mercy to others (which was the reason for all the explicit instruction)
one who shows love to others through forgiveness (just as we too were forgiven).

I think Jesus summarized it in Matthew 22: 37-39 quite succintly, saying:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

A Martyr's Life

2010-01-22T11:31:00.070+08:00

Now, here is a topic to ruffle feathers. Most of us know something about it and that it is a reality that is happening even now as I write, as you read this. But most us don't quite want to talk about it for whatever reason. But really,

What is Martyrdom? Or perhaps, what is a Martyr?

Asking around produces a few usual answers:
Somebody who dies for his\her faith
Stephen (Acts 6-7)
Some of the 12 disciples who died for Christ
Voice of the Martyrs
Restricted Nations
Serious stuff

The word "Martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς (mar'-toos), which actually means something more along the lines of "witness", and occurs in its various forms (of the word) multiple times in the Bible.

There is no promise of death nor suffering within the definition of mar'-toos itself. Our perceptions of such is deduced mainly from the deaths, murders may be a more fitting description, of the early Christians, and from a single verse: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." (Matthew 5:11)

Instead, I think when Christ called us to be His Martyrs, His Witnesses, though He did promise insults, persecution and false testimonies against us because of our faith and trust in Him, it was to shift our focus from possible horrid demises & sticky endings to the verb, the action, the process of being a Martyr. The living far outweighed the dying.

He wants us to testify, to affirm, to profess, to give evidence. That is what we have control over, that is what we aim to be, that is what we must do simply because we cannot help it! What comes after is that which is not within our control and is not what we are to be trapped up in: what comes after is the world's response to the Savior's Love.

That is the meaning of Martyrdom.

Hearts that are furiously beating...
Bones that are painfully burning...
Actions that are blatantly testifying...
And lips that are tirelessly proclaiming...

... the Good News...

Regardless.

Is your life the life of a Martyr?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
~ Acts 1:8

(Clicking on the banner will lead you to Voice of the Martyrs)

Matthew West -- More

2010-01-18T10:33:00.005+08:00

Take a look at the mountain
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

I love you more

Shine for Me
Shine for Me
Shine on, you shine on
Shine for Me

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you

More than the sun
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun

Are You on the Quest?

2010-01-16T09:09:00.088+08:00

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep."
~ John 21:15-17

I remember once while I was reading this passage with my youths, I stopped and finally, after years and years of reading this same passage, realised what Jesus was saying to Peter.

Thrice Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, thrice Peter answered he did.
But three times, each time, Jesus responses to Peter's declaration of love differently.

Βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου \ Feed my lambs
The Greek word for "feed", pronounced boskō, means to pasture; to graze; to feed; to keep, and "lambs" literally mean what it denotes: lambs, or baby sheep, if you like. So altogether, Jesus is asking Peter to look after His little ones, meeting their requirements for life (food, water, shelter, etc.).

What does that mean for us, for us who profess to love Jesus?
It means to satisfy the babies'-in-faith hunger, thirst and basic welfare. We feed them life-sustaining milk, tidbits from the Bible, the crucial nuggets of wisdom and Truth they need to grow, every so often, like a mother breastfeeds her infant. We tenderly place them onto our shoulders and pat them on the backs, following up each session of feeding, making certain they understand all that was taught, answering any questions they might have, like a mother burps her infant. We protect them, watching out for them, young and innocent, from ravenous wolves, like a mother shelters her infant. We are careful not to overfeed them with knowledge, giving them only what they can bite off, like a mother periodically laying her infant down to sleep.

Ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου \ Tend my sheep
Ποίμαινε (poimainō) differs a little from boskō. It means to tend (as a shepherd does); to feed; to rule; to supervise. Supervise His people.

To supervise means to oversee; to superintend; to have the oversight and direction of. It's like an added-on responsibility of a shepherd: we don't simply pasture the sheep; we herd them! In the olden days, one of the shepherds' jobs was to make sure the sheep reach markets in time for shearing. As overseers of the whole flock, we receive direction from God, the First Shepherd. We know where He wants the flock to go, and move them to specific areas He wants them to be at at specific junctures. We nurture their individual gifts and talents whether they are artisans or managers, whether they are caretakers or techno-wizzes. This is our duty to them, this is our calling from God.

The last command serves like a reminder, like a marriage of the two prior instructions:
Βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου \ Feed my sheep

Make certain, as much you can, the flock never hungers, never thirsts. Make certain, as much you can, the flock heads in the right direction and are not led astray. Make certain, as much you can, the flock receives opportunites to grow.

Jesus was not saying the same thing thrice.
He was talking about different things each time he responded to Peter's "You know that I love You". He was spelling out explicitly what He means when He says to watch over His flock: to pasture, to oversee, to nurture.

But they cannot be taken apart for they are intimately intertwined.
They are the 3-part follow-up to the ultimate question.
They are the 3-part bullet-points that spell the Quest the Lord has proposed to us.

This is our Quest with a capital "Q".

Will you raise your swords and hammer your shields?
Will you shout and clang your weapons together?
Will you kneel and receive the Quest?

And will you ride forth,
brave blistering winds of confusion, of much talk and wayward distractions
& scorching deserts dry as bones, of seeming hopelessness,
to fulfil that Quest?

Jesus is asking
"Do you love me?"

What say you?

Married to God: Party Time ♥

2010-01-12T11:12:00.000+08:00

"No man can come to Me unless the Father who hath sent Me draw him; and I will raise him up at the Last Day."
~ John 6:44

When God woos and courts us, in what manner does He go about this delicate business?

Is it a gentle affair?
Often, we read of Jesus as the Master fisher-of-men, an analogy from which many conclude that Jesus' wooing us, the fishes, is of a gentle nature, placing a significant emphasis on the processes of "attraction". Maybe this is because we tend, or perhaps even want to see Him as a kind and loving Savior, a silent and affable lamb, always patient, always caring. And so it is difficult for us to visualise Him as an agrily passionate and urgently violent Lover.

Perhaps it is so.
And perhaps "we only see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe... We lie to ourselves so much that after a while the lies start to seem like the truth" (Dr. Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy").

In John 6:44, the Greek word used to record Jesus' meaning, translated here as the English "draw", is "" (pronounced hel'ko). It refers to a (figurative & literal) drawing; (a less violent) dragging.

That same hel'ko is also used in other instances in the New Testament such as Peter "drawing" his sword to cut off Malchus' ear (John 12:10), the disciples "drawing" the net after casting it on the other side of the ship (John 21:6), Peter "drawing" the net to the land when the ship neared the shore (John 21:11), Paul & Silas being "drawn" into the marketplace to face the rulers (Acts 16:19), etc.

While there are other Greek words used, such as suro, to mean roughly the same thing, the difference is hel'ko alludes to a purpose, be it in the final destination of the "drawing" or the aim the "drawing" serves.
And, compared to suro, another term for "dragging", hel'ko bears less brutality and force, though, if I may point out, this does not suggest a lack of intention nor urgency.

Each time hel'ko is used in the Bible in relation to God, many Bible dictionaries add that this metaphorical usage of "drawing" also pointed to a "drawing" by use of an inward, divine power. So when God hel'kos us, God the Father is drawing us nearer to Him, by the stirring of the Holy Ghost sealed within us, through Jesus the Son, a drawing not with a lenient and strengthless hand, but by a nature heavily pregnant with purpose, energy and urgency.

This is His idea of wooing, His idea of courting.

God knits us together in our mothers' wombs, and so carefully and meticulously, in His divine and perfect timing, reveals Himself as desirable and compulsory, as faithful and sovereign. He showers us with love so simple and yet incomprehensible, so gentle yet suffocating, that tugs at our heartstrings and causes our bones to ache. Those intimate moments we've shared with our Groom, the visions of life promised through this communion, the knowledge of what He has already done for us, the sacrifice He has made on the Cross.

All this in a bid to hel'ko us to Him!

Such is the extent and depth of His love that He would willingly pay the highest price, quietly perform the highest sacrifice, to lay down His life for us.

All that remains is our answer.

Does your heart ache,
And your lips beg?
Does your nose seek,
And your eyes search?

How does one respond to such a powerful hel'ko?

Will you echo the words of the Bride as she cries
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth -
For your love is better than wine.
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
Draw me away!"
~ Song of Solomon 1:2-4a

Will you turn and run, o runaway bride?
Or will you walk towards the altar?

Will you depart from His presence and hide?
Or will you walk with Him forever?

Do you take Him to be your wedded Husband?

Do you with deepest joy come into your new life with Him?
As He has pledged to you His life and love, so too do you happily give yours to Him?

Do you in confidence submit yourself to His headship?

And will you live unto Him, loving Him, obeying Him, caring for Him and ever seeking to please Him?

Do you therefore throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of you, for better & for worse, for richer & for poorer, in sickness & in health, pledge to Him you life as an obedient and faithful wife?

"Marriage is like a party:
You know what you want the end to be, but you've got to stick to it.

Sometimes, you dance blissfully through it,
and other times, you plough stubbornly through it.

You'll find creases that need to be ironed out
and you'll find hearache,

But you keep on going,
Have fun along the way,
And it'll turn out great."
(a comment I once heard)

(picture credits: Rutherglen Community Carers)

Married to God: Mirror Reflections ♥

2010-01-08T15:15:00.002+08:00

I remember growing up, one of my favourite cartoon films was Disney's "101 Dalmations" (1961) (and before any of you ask, no, I am not a flower child. I wasn't even conceived in then!). The opening was, I felt, one of the most enjoyable scenes:

Pongo was looking out the window, searching for a mate for his "pet", Roger. And he as he watched female pair after female pair stroll along, he supplied a running comedic commentary.

Funny, isn't it, to see pets, especially dogs, looking and even acting like their owners? But it gets even more interesting to realise that this pattern actually carries over from the happy watercolor drawing boards of the Walt Disney studios to gritty real life. Sunglasses flaunted proudly by a couple strolling along the sidewalk, the master and his English Bulldog, beautifully and painstakingly combed blonde tresses adorn the heads of two lovely ladies, the mistress and her Afghan Hound...

But before this transformation of the pet (since we like to think the owners have the upper-hand) can take place, there must first be a purchasing of the pet by the owner. After the purchase, or perhaps with the purchase comes a promise of a good relationship, a good life together. The purchase is made with an idea that the pet will make the owner happy, and the owner likewise the pet.

It's somewhat of a shadow of what a real marriage is:
Vows of commitment toward each other
Promises of constant companionship with one another
...
And it usually starts off with wanting to be happy together, thinking each would make, and strive to bring the other happiness, or the chinese 幸福.

But what if marriage, to a man or a woman, or indeed even to God, is more than just to bring each other happiness?
Happiness, no doubt, is one of the goals of marriage, one of the ideal aims, but what if it is not the por ultimo?

Returning to the dog and the master, dogs, in fact practically all breeds of dogs, have the ability to be trained and the capability of undying loyalty... And the potential to resemble the master.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we're dogs. Instead, perhaps
the big purpose of marriage is for us to resemble our Master, our God.

The call to Christ-likeness is not found in one conclusive be-all-and-end-all verse, or even passage for that matter. No, its significant and varied meaning bearing a network of vast implications is found across the Bible, specifically the New Testament.

"By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."
~ 1 John 2:5b-6

The more we spend time with Him, the more we fear Him (becoming more awestruck), the more we know Him (becoming more intimate), the more we yearn to resemble Him.

We, at the altar, standing across from our Groom, our Lord, give the "go" to change for the better, to change to become like Him.
We, in the days to come, living with our God, effectuate our commitment to persevere in becoming like Him.

But this change occurs not on our strength. We endorse and allow it to happen, to continue, but it is God, in the Spirit, who is hard at work:

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
~ John 16:7-15

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Spirit works to mould us through people, through circumstances, through spiritual disciplines. It moulds us to become like Christ in service, in love, in patient endurance, in mission.

We are not dogs who merely resemble our Master, looking and sounding like Him, but that is all. No, we are created to possess a far greater capacity for intellect, our calling more complex:
to reflect Christ.
To learn to think as He thinks, to feel as He feels, and the freedom to choose to act as He acts.

Our Groom's gift to us is happiness.
Happiness through holiness.

What is your gift to Him?

We stand at the white altar
And turn to face our Groom.
He offers up His gift to us:
A flower yet to bloom.

Will you take this little bud
And plant it in your heart?
Will you promise to tend to it
'Till grown - a work of art?

Will you walk with me each day?
Will you let me light your path?
Will you let me come inside you
And transform you with my love?

What say you?

May
"he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
~ Philippians 1:6b

Married to God: The "S" Word ♥

2010-01-01T12:35:00.002+08:00

Friendship vs. Marriage

In many discussions with other people, the most commonly cited defining difference between the two is the "s" word: sex. For some, they speak of it as a "consummation" of a marriage, and for others, sex within marriage is a God-approved and blessed act of mutual accountability toward holiness and for the purposes of procreation. But for all, sex is good, sex is desirable. More specifically, though, it is the closeness that both partners feel through the act of sex that is the goal.

In our marriage with God, perhaps to speak of the consummation of our union in terms of what as humans we understand as sex would bring some discomfort to our minds. And so, we replace the distinctly mortal and finite concept "sex" with a more "acceptable" term "intimacy".

Intimacy with God.

How many of us have counted as one of our blessings an exprienced "spiritual high"?
Returning from a mission trip, during an intense worship session, after an awesome time of fellowship over Bible study... That fantastic connection of our spirits with His, that alignment of our wills with His... That indescribable union. If anything, we'd label these instances as feeling intimate with the Father, with the Groom. And of course, we love it and want more of it!

But what about the times when (and I say "when" and not "if" because it will or has already happened to every one of us) we don't feel that intimacy we crave?
When you pray and feel nobody's (ie. God) listening, when you sing songs on Sunday and feel nothing, when you engage in studying the Bible and sense a wall blocking your way... When you feel alone and unwanted, cast aside... Like you're living in the same house as God, but you feel He's not acknowledging your presence... Like the intimacy, the romance is gone. And you just sit and wonder what's happened, when and why did this relationship grow cold...

Regardless what answers you find, this Truth must be remembered:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"
~ Hebrews 13:8
That you not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.

And with that, we examine our lives, for the one who has moved cannot be the Lord, and therefore, it is us.

Sin on our part may be the reason for the lack of intimacy:
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness."
~ Isaiah 59:1-3

Emotions may be the reason for the lack of intimacy:
I like what Dr. James Dobson wrote in "Emotions: Can You Trust Them?". He said that "(emotion) has a definite place in human affairs, but when forced to stand alone, feelings usually reveal themselves to be unreliable and ephemeral and even a bit foolish". Even so, he goes on to explain that to "minimize the impact of emotion on human behavior" would be a terrible mistake. Emotion is not bound by the logical faculties of reason, and thereby a powerful tool the Devil may choose to wield. "Every river of emotion running deep within the human spirit has the capacity of overflowing its banks and flooding the mind with its rampaging waters... Our purpose has been to fortify the banks of those rivers with scriptural truth and psychological understanding".

Lack of discipline, of self-control may be the reason for the lack of intimacy:
Our relationship with God is built on the premises of studying His Word, of communicating with Him, of bending our wills to His, of worship. Should we lack in any of these, our union is headed for disaster.

Know these three are but three from a long list of possibilites that can account for the coldness in a relationship with God.
Know these three are not isolated, but have the ability to become a confusing ball of yarn:
For example, sin causes guilt. Guilt may lead to an overwhelming emphasis on the human unworthiness. And that may lead to a continued belief that culminates with a sense of unworthiness to commune with the holy God, a foothold for the Devil, let alone engage in a relationship with Him.
Sometimes because we don't feel close to God, we lose interest and desire to study His Word, we forget to talk and walk with Him...
And this is but two permutations of these three factors.

These could lead to adultery, the Hebrew נאף (nâ'aph) meaning the breaking of wedlock, particularly by the woman, the bride. Straying from the marriage bed by courting and worshipping that which we should not: sexual immorality, deceit, sorcery, drunkeness, rivalry, jealousy, anger, dissensions, etc. (ref. Gal 5:19-21).

Would it disturb and frighten you to know that while God loathes divorce, there exist verses allowing divorce for one reason and one reason alone: adultery?

"You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
declares the Lord.
Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom.
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now called to me,
'My father, you are the friend of my youth -
will he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end?'
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could."
~ Jeremiah 3:1-5

Divorce from your union with the Lord.

But read on:

"'Return, faithless Israel,
declares the LORD.
I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful,
declares the LORD;
I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the LORD.
Return, O faithless children,
declares the LORD;
for I am your master;
I will take you,
one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion."
~ Jeremiah 3:12b-14

If anything, this goes to show how much our Groom detests divorce,
how much our unfaithfulness hurts Him,
how much He longs to be reconciled with us,
how much He loves us.

"God's silence is as much a sign of God's presence as of God's absence. That divine silence is not a vacuum to be filled, but a mystery to be entered into. Unarmed with words and undistracted by noise, a holy of holies, in which we too may be struck dumb by the power of the unsayable God" (Barbara Brown Taylor, When God is Silent).

We can find intimacy when we feel no intimacy.
When we truly sense the Lord watching, but not speaking, our yearning for Him to just at least say a word, a yearning not answered, a hunger not sated, a thirst not quenched,
our longing for the goodness of what we have tasted reminds us of the realness of God,
His choosing to be quiet reminds us of the sovereign power Jehovah is,
the absence of communion is the grace He offers us.

All this in a bid, His bid to nudge us closer, draw us more tightly into the arms of our loving Groom, Jesus the Christ, who very interestingly is the only one on this planet to have ever heard the true deafening power of God's silence, and that during the time when He wanted and longed for it most: nailed to the Cross, crying out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

He longs to be intimate with us.
We long to be intimate with him.

Listen and root out the sin in your life.
Never give up the discipline of coming to Him daily.
And hide His Truth in the depths of your heart.

Our marriage with God truly is worth the fight and the perseverance.

Consummate your marriage with God daily,
and dwell in the intimacy that comes only with such a communion.

"I am sure that neither death nor life, angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of god in Christ Jesus our Lord"
~ Romans 8:38-39

Married to God: Making It Work ♥

2009-12-23T10:29:00.124+08:00

Have you ever watched a full programme on Starhub's channel 95: The Biography Channel?

I don't usually. But although I don't religiously stock up knowledge on the life and times of famous people around the world via The Biography Channel, the one time I did, I was mighty encouraged. And whose life story was it, you ask?

The country legend, Dolly Parton.

Now, as many of us know, falling in love isn't too difficult; it's the staying in love that is the hard part. And especially when you're somebody famous, when you've hordes of people clamouring to capture photographs of you, when there are dozens of people attempting to chronicle your life, your life is broadcasted for the world to scrutinize, and that world loves the "juicy bits": the love story. How many celebrities boast a list of ex-lovers, of ex-spouses?

One might subconsciously be moulded to think divorce and breaking off of engagements is normal.

Maybe it is.

But it certainly is not a feature in the life God calls us to live.

See, what made my respect for Dolly Parton increase (and it already was very high) was the fact that she married Carl Dean... And she stayed married to him. They met in the summer of 1964, and were married in May, 1966. And they've been living together as man and wife for 43 years, and are still married! Dolly said, in an interview, that the biggest secret to getting married and staying married were three simple words:

Make it work.

Three simple monosyllabic words that contain more than what any encyclopedia can hold.

It means commitment.
It means perseverence.
It means a heck of a load of effort and resolution.

What God has revealed to me was that this attitude is not only applicable to the institution of marriage between man and wife, but that it is attached to a Christian's relationship to Him. One could even say that it was the intention of God to have human marriage be modelled after, to serve as a practice for, the church's marriage to Him.

When we profess to nurture a relationship with God, to utter our wedding vows to Him, we enter into a sacred relationship with Him. But think not of our wedding day as a "finally!", instead, think of it as an "... and...", an addition, one more "Life Tile" in our "Game of Life"; not the end of the beginning, but the beginning of the end, a glorious end.

Making it work means essentially two very broad things:

To stay together during the bad times...
In Revelation 2: 9-10, the Son of Man had this to say to the church in Smyrna:
"I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

And to stay together during the good times.
When the going is good, forget not the author and perfector of your faith, the creator of all that is good. Give unto Him praise of which He is worthy. "Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judements he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!" (1 Chronicles 16: 8-13)

We've all be taught that we ought to persevere in our faith, to make it work. There exist scores of verses and passages in the Bible, various people's life stories, biographies from which we gain insight and knowledge, lives that tell of perseverence and commitment (and also lives that fail to commit), words of warning and encouragement in the faith. A great deal many.
But when the context shifts, when the kaleidoscope turns and we look upon it as though we were lounging on a bed covered with crisp white linen, gazing into the eyes of our Beloved and Lover, it no longer becomes an "ought to". Rather,
we want to.

We want to keep on keeping on.
We want to make it work.

Even when the going gets tough,
even when the going is good.

Because we are in love
with the greatest Lover the world has ever and will ever know.

Married to God: A Sacred Covenant ♥

2009-12-13T13:57:00.027+08:00

God impressed a perspective upon my heart some time ago while I was deep in troubled conversation with Him. Then, I was drifting away from Him, again enticed by the sickeningly sweet temptations of the world and of the flesh. And if I was the girl in the well-known Lifehouse music-sketch, then I too met with the final unholy character who presented and urged me to use the gun of renouncement, of renouncement of my relationship with God. God answered with a simple question:

Did I ever once consider and realise that my relationship with Him was a marriage?

I confess I was startled by that revelation because in truth, I have never ever thought of our relationship in such a manner. Yes, I have conducted and have been part of Bible studies that include the famous passage evoking the image of Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride, but no, the veil was never drawn for me to see the parallel in my life.. until then.

Now, I am not married, and I never was married in the terms of this world. So the amount and type of insight I have is limited, perhaps, to that of an "outsider". But what I write here, I write what the Good Lord has shown me thus far.

(Ideally) nobody enters into a marriage unless they knew what they were getting themselves into. They may not have sufficient foresight to anticipate what specifically lies ahead, both the good times and the troubling ones, but they will at least make sure that they know whom they are marrying.

After countless dates, going someplace special or just hanging out and talking "about yourselves, about your interests, your likes and dislikes" (Disney's Enchanted, 2007), both parties finally gather sufficient information about each other, and upon making sense of their emotions and feelings towards one another, then decide together whether or not to enter into a marriage.

This process of getting-to-know is long and riddled with complications and hurt sometimes. But it is crucial nonetheless because marriage is not something to be taken lightly or to be trifled with.

It is serious and binding and, in the eyes of God, holy.
It is a promise not meant to be broken, for the Lord frowns upon divorce (maybe save one particular circumstance of adultery in Matthew 5:32).

Likewise, we the church, as the lover of the beloved, as the bride of the groom, Christ our Saviour, we must not take our relationship with God lightly. Our professed faith and following is our marriage certificate; we are the wife of Christ our Husband. Gone are the days of restless flitting about and flirting with suitors and idols for we have found the best and the most worthy, one whose wooing we have submitted to and unto whom we have pledged our continued companionship and love.

So enter into this sacred relationship in sober consciousness,
knowing full well what you are doing.
Utter the binding vows with full knowledge and understanding,
knowing your Husband, His character, statutes and works.
And uphold and commit to live out your days in faithful holy matrimony with God.

"Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."

~ Hebrews 13:4

Make-up vs. Made-up!

2009-11-20T09:52:00.042+08:00

Is man's obsession with beauty "innate"?

As far back as I know (which really isn't that far and that detailed), image has been everything. From the latest fashion pieces hot off the runways of Paris and Milan, to seasonal make-up color palates, to edgy hair-dos, it's all hide this, flaunt that, conceal the unflattering, exaggerate the beautiful. Just turn on the television and there are countless programmes on beauty, in particular, physical beauty. There's even a whole channel devoted to it!

Apparently, beauty and youth go hand in hand... at least for majority of us (the Helen Mirrens, Meryl Streeps, George Clooneys Sean Connerys of this world are supposedly few and far between). The pursuit of beauty is underlined by a relentless chase to retain youth. Grey hair is "bad" and "ugly", and one feels practically compelled to yank 'em out or dye the entire crowning glory the moment one is observed. Mothers implore daughters to drink lots of water not to satisfy basic biological requirements in order to survive, but so the skin will be well hydrated and beautiful and won't look older than the being it envelopes. In bids to promote anti-smoking attitudes among school children and teens, slogans claim, among other more serious health threats, that smoking causes premature aging and the ugly-fication of the body. In make-up, concealers are used to hide blemishes while an array of colored powders and shades of tints help sculpt the features and bring a youthful glow. More recently, new technologies and methods hail the "progression" of medical surgery to cosmetic surgery. A little nip here, a little tuck there, a little implant here, a little suction there and voilà, you're good as new!

As many can probably testify, though, such procedures (creams, laser treatments, enhancing cosmetic surgeries, fashion, etc.) are exactly what they are: superficial. As Joe Stowell points out, these efforts are all (not inexpensive!) temporary, require maintenance, and are really in vain. Physiologically, our bodies are aging and uninhibitedly proclaim the process with knee creaks and neck cricks.

It's not because aging is inevitable, and out of a fear of that looming, oncoming defeat that we scramble to find some good in it.
Quite the contrary: that inevitable aging is good... for a disciple of Jesus Christ, that is.

Professor Chuck Dolph in Torch Magazine wrote:

"If we live long enough, we will lose our beauty, our strength, our wealth, our independence, the control of our bodily functions, our pride, and perhaps our very self."

What's so brilliant about that, you ask? Well,

"These are our idols, all the things that we trust in life to make us attractive, valuable, and self-sufficient."

For a vast majority of us mortals, the physical proves to be a real entrapment, a real fascination. There really is nothing wrong with wanting to look one's best, but all too often and all too easily, the focus shifts from thanks to the Creator God for the blessing of sight and beauty and creativity and provision, to a preoccupation, an obsession with the temporary, the fleeting. That which is transient, man has poured uncontainable efforts into transforming it into that which is permanant.

Christians are not blessed with some supernatural powers that spell victory over the juggernaut of physical aging. Christians too fall prey to the material, to the visual.
But here's where the Christian declares triumph:
In aging, the Christian is robbed of his youth (and sometimes beauty, since it really is subjective). And with that, so too is self-reliance and pride (in the tangible) robbed of him. Into their places step a dependence on and trust in God and humility (Stowell).

But a note of caution, Christian, do not wait for aging to become apparent before attaining these nuggets of life. Turn your focus now from the material, the tangible, the corporeal, from the make-up which does not matter to that which does, that of which we are made-up of: the immaterial, the intangible, the spiritual. Even though we are getting older, even though our shells of bodies are dying and wasting away, with our focus on God, we pour our hearts and spend our mights into the pursuit of internal eternal beauty - where it counts!

Age daily into a beautiful person whose eternal character is "wonderfully dependent on the grace and strength of God"(Stowell)!

Here's looking forward to "being more alive inside than ever before in our relationships with God" (Stowell)!

"If our aging is successful, we will end our lives stripped of everything but God...
utterly dependent on Him and the love of others." (Dolph)

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day... So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
~ 2 Corinthians 4: 16, 18

A Reminder

2009-11-19T09:50:00.003+08:00

To all teachers, leaders, mentors, exemplifiers, demonstrators and live-rs of the good and holy Word:

When the world seems just too strong, too attractive,
And man appears just too weak, too susceptible,

When sheep are madly scattered,
And shepherds sadly frustrated,

When strength is spent,
And weariness creeps into bones,

When fort walls crumble,
And the enemy(ies) stick their foot in the doorway,

When tempting lies make their unwanted debut,
And once strong wills are battered at,

Turn around and say "hah!"
Because your God sees.
Because your God hears.
Because your God loves.
Because your God fights.

Tire not in serving
Because it is good.
Because it is needed.
Because you were and still are called.
Because you are loved.

Teach what accords with sound doctrine.
Model good works,
Show integrity, uprightness, dignity and uncondemnably sound speech.

Renounce ungodliness!
Renounce worldly passions!

Men,
Be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled,
Sound in faith, in love, in steadfastness.
Urge young men to be self-controlled.

Women,
Be reverent in behaviour,
Train young women to love, to be self-controlled, pure,
Working at home, kind, submissive to husbands.

Wait for our Blessed Hope,
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Fight the good fight!
Plough through lessons that at times seem to fall on parched soil,
Speak words of wisdom that at times seem to fall on deaf ears,
Display acts of love that at times seem to be refused,
Offer prayers that at times seem to be unanswered!

Finish the race!
Jump hurdles that stumble,
Pass batons of duty,
Heave weights of people,
Award medals of appreciation!

And keep the faith.

inspiration taken from Titus 2 and 2 Timothy 4:7

Them Two Nasty Big Blue Capsules

2009-10-29T19:31:00.002+08:00

Hello world!

Tonight, I have accomplished what I've never been able to do before... With a lot of help from God. And because it's so fantastic, I want to share it with you:

Earlier this week, after my bath, I realised that my face was tingling in the most uncomfortable manner, in a manner I've never experienced before in my life: it was cold and hot at the same time, and was as though a gazillion needles were poking into my cheeks at once. Thinking perhaps I didn't wash off all the soap properly, I went to the bathroom and vigorously scrubbed my face again. But the discomfort (to put it extremely mildly) remained. I went to sleep last night, the discomfort slowly ebbing away.

The next morning, I awoke and went to wash my face (as I've always done since I was young when I wake up). The hundreds and thousands of needles attacked again! No words could describe how helpless and distraught I was! It was horrible! But I dried my face and the sensations very slowly died away.

In the evening, after my bath, the pain returned, this time as I stood under the shower.

For the next few days, I survived the tinglings, drying my face as quickly as possible and, thinking that perhaps it's because my skin was very dry, dabbed on moisturiser immediately after.

But last night, the sensations did not go away, even after the drying and the moisturising.

Throughout the night, the heat-blazed needles plagued me. I couldn't sleep and I didn't know what to do.

And today morning, the pain had spread to my entire face.

I guess I'm not the sort who likes to go and consult the doctor each time I sneezed or coughed (I much prefer to recover by myself if I can). But this morning, I honestly couldn't stand it anymore. I approached my mother and said, "I'm really sorry, mummy, but can you take me to see the doctor? My face feels like it's on fire."

We ate breakfast, dropped Ellie off at school, and off we went to see the skin doctor at Tampines. I like him, and most importantly, I trust him. He's been my GP and skin doctor since I was little and he's never been wrong or unsure about something.

But this really stunned him. After asking several questions, he decided that the sensations were most likely due to chemicals sprayed in my house, since they only began around the time when the bedbug control people came to spray our furniture, and prescribed me a whole lotta pills (I hate pills. I'd squeeze them in my hand, stand and look contemplatively at them, as though hoping they'd shrink or something. In other words, it'd take me forever to just get the pill into my mouth, let alone swallow.), a face wash and a cream.

The ride home was torture. My face felt like there were a million fishes with nibbly teeth biting away at my flesh, or like bucket-fulls of needles, having passed through fire, were now jabbing mercilessly at my face. I wanted desperately to sleep, to claw my face off, to just get the pain to stop.

We couldn't have reached home soon enough. The moment the front gate was opened, I ran into the bathroom, washed my face with the new prescribed face wash, quickly dried it and slogged on the cream. The tingling sensation returned, but not as vicious as before. I took the smaller tablets (the kind that I would have squashed, but I was too tired), and tried to avoid the big blue capsule.

Mummy noticed and told me to take them.

Brilliant, innit? The doctor just had to prescribe me them big blue capsules, the kind that can't be cut nor crushed. And they simply had to be antibiotics, ie. I've got to finish the whole course. And they just had to be taken two by two in regular six hour intervals.

I tried. They just got stuck and caused me even more panic. I gave up, twisted them open and downed the contents with gulps of water. It was the most disgusting medicine I had ever tasted! Yech!

This evening, after my bath, the face-washing, the cream-slogging, I realised it was time for the two big blue capsules again.

I stood at the counter, punched out two tablets, poured myself a glass of water... And prayed.

Then, I put one pill into my mouth width-wise so that it'd be "easier" to go down, chugged a mouthful of water (which spun the pill into a longer length-wise position), looked up, and... gulped it down!
It went down!
I prayed again for God's help and assurance, gulped again, and down went the second one, and I barely felt a thing!

For those of you who know me, this is nothing short of a miracle.
Me! Megan! Managed to swallow not one, but two gigantic capsules!
I was always rather fearful, and I guess perhaps that fear kept me from being calm and swallowing them nasty pills, clenching my throat at the very moment the pill was about to slide down, making them stuck, and feeding back into my fear of choking.
I always cut my pills in half, or even better yet, squash them between two metal spoons.
What if there were no metal spoons, you ask? Well, I always brought two metal spoons with me whenever the situation called for me to take pills.

So I sit here, on the cold marble floor, savouring the triumph of downing two capsules, proclaiming to the whole world what a marvelous encourager and soother my God is: no trouble too minute nor too lowly for Him.

Thank you, Father Lord.
Thank you for helping me swallow my pills.
Please heal my body, as You've healed my soul.

Amen.

Step One:

2009-10-09T10:05:00.064+08:00

'But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.

For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.'

~ 1 Timothy 4: 7-10

Paul wrote this epistle, of a very pastoral nature, to Timothy at the novel beginning of the growth and expansion of the first century churches, and at the waning end of the apostolic period. And though such issues as church order, truthfulness of faith and personal discipline were not new, they were again dealt with here in 1 Timothy.

As a brief introduction to the situation young Timothy faced, here, the church of Ephesus was under siege of the ascetic apostates. Paul therefore urged him not to become too embroiled in addressing and refuting such godless and feeble claims, but instead turn his attention toward a far more pressing and worthwhile matter: training himself up in godliness.

And this is what is interesting.

What the New King James Version calls "exercise", the New American Standard Bible calls "discipline", and the Amplified Bible and English Standard Version calls "train", is actually the Greek γυμνάζω, which has two meanings: one of which is to (figuratively) train or exercise. The other usage of the term occurs during actual games. It means to practise naked.

Perhaps I am going out on a limb here, but I think there is a reason why this particular word was used. On the one hand, could be due to the issues presently being dealt with (ie. bodily issues of asceticism versus spiritual intangibles). But I think there is a possibility that it alludes to something much more profound than simply that.

Dictionaries define "naked" as laid bare; exposed; plainly revealed; being without concealment, adornment nor disguise; to be vulnerable.

So to train "naked" or in fact, to do anything naked, allows us to see ourselves in our entirety: in physical training, as what Greeks were accustomed to doing so nude, it allows for clearer understanding of positions and methods, for revelation of mistakes and errors, for pinpointing areas that beg greater improvement. And if we translate that to a spiritual training, a spiritual discipline, a spiritual exercise in efforts to become increasingly godly (note: not god-like), it means we reveal ourselves, our past and present situations, for God, our master trainer, to see, to chastise, to correct, and to nurture (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16).

Our successes, our glories, our triumphs, our certainties... And also our failures, our hurts, our vices, and our uncertainties. All must be plainly exposed without distraction.

And that is not easy. Not many of us think, let alone actually doing it, of praying for God to reveal to us our weakness, our habits of destruction and discouragement, our misconceptions, etc. Most of us don't even like to think of our shortcomings because we're afraid it will lead to our wallowing and inescapable spiraling into self-pity. We don't like to feel we're worthless, we don't like to look at our feebleness. There's nothing wrong with not liking the feeling of worthlessness, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to be discouraged by anything, even more so by our own lives.

What is the point, you ask? Why should we even entertain that notion of praying that we reveal our Achilles heels?

The answer is there: to exercise thyself unto godliness.
It is our calling (2 Peter 1: 1-11). No doubt not an easy call to answer, a tough duty to perform.
But we know this is important and we obey because it pertains to life. In 1 Timothy 4:8, that life is the Greek ζωή, meaning a higher principle, a perfect antithesis to death. It was ζωή that was used here, as opposed to βίος, the physical aspects of life.
We obey because we cling onto the Hope. The Hope that exists beyond and transcends the grave. The Hope that is the living God, the universal Savior of all mankind.

I like what Dr. Constable has written that "(God's) Salvation is sufficient for all but efficient only for those who believe". Presumably that is why Paul wrote that last bit in verse 10. For us believers, we are able to rise from the dark depths of our humanity, rising to the challenge, because we have and know the Hope which is in Jesus Christ, because the 'Joy of the Lord is our strength'.

Perhaps this training was not meant to discourage. Instead, it was meant to build up and strengthen, that through our lives, our strengths and our weaknesses, God may be glorified. Ever wondered why He said what He said in 2 Corinthians 12:9?

In your obedience, be not discouraged.

Don't look at the problem; look at the solution.
Don't look at the difficulty; look at the One who overcame the difficulty.
(Rick Warren, in a recorded series of Encouragement).

It all depends on where you have your eyes on...

So where and what are you looking at?

I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free!

2009-09-26T09:28:00.005+08:00

It's been a while since the last post, hasn't it?

Having been back in my own church (that which I grew up in since I first attended back when I was 9 years old) for about three months since my return, I've been quite down. I look at the familiar congregation, the dear ministries which I serve in and serve alongside in and I am sad.

What has happened in those six months that I was gone?
The passion and excitement in those young eyes I remember has died down. The lust for a holy life, filled with ever so frequent uncontrollable urges and convulsions to commune with an awesome God, the pining to tear away and sit at the Savior's feet, lapping up every word as though it were a precious and delicious morsel... All that has vanished. And in its place, distracted joking, vacant expressions, sloth, fiddling on iphones (and what not).

Have they forgotten the reason why we gather and read and pray and sing and serve?

Recorded in Philippians 2 is a morning hymn that early Christians sang. Some of us may know it today as the Carmen Christi. Then, it was not a passage around which theological debates now rage angrily around, it was simply given a melody and sung; difficult and complicated Truths about the Incarnation were just accepted as such and celebrated as such. No digging nor clarifying nor qualifying. None. Just belief in the unbelievable, an adoption and a profound understanding.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
who, being in the very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human lifeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death --even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

~ Philippians 2: 5-11

Just reading these black words on the white pages of my Bible makes me quiver in excitement!

I hear proud and majestic trumpets and horns, coupled with the pristine singing of strings accented by the delicate plucking of harps, crashing cymbols and the bells of the tambourine, all set against, not a formal and structured choir, but a noisy and rowdy crowd jostling and yelling and shouting and praising in what can only be described as a "joyful noise"!

Life is given to two otherwise lifeless concepts of humble servitude to exalted lordship, joined by an interesting word "therefore" that points to a strange and radical reversal of traits and status.

Do you not also hear this intense magnitude of sound waves?

Can you not feel the a strange excitement well up within you, knowing you belong to a God who turns tables in His wake, who began His most glorious miracle in a minor key of a servant bending his knee to a painful death, but then resolves the minor by a clever and rousing sequence of chords to a elated major key, taking His place as God of the cosmos!

We sing because we know the Truth,
because the Truth is alive,
because we live in the Truth.

Don't get caught up in the studying and the rationalising and the theory,
at least not so much that you forget that what you are reading is not words, but Life.

Those early Christians didn't, but then maybe it's also because many were not literate, or that in those days, close studying of the Scriptures wasn't their culture. In any case, their faith was alive. And it gave them such joy and pleasure to be keepers of of the Truth that they could not help but "make a joyful noise" (Psalm 95, 100) to the Lord, the Rock of their salvation.

They made a רוּע, a noise, an ear-splitting, triumphant cry. No coherent words could unify their many loud voices, no one could control their many varied outbursts. But an onlooker could not but describe it as a "joyful" noise.

What does your noise sound like?

Psalm 51

2009-08-12T19:30:00.003+08:00

To the choirmaster.
A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejioce.

Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Inspired Spirits & Feebled Bodies

2009-07-27T11:52:00.053+08:00

Yesterday we did a Bible study about "putting sin to death" with our group of 17 year olds. Along the way, someone mentioned that it's quite hard to put sin to death, acknowledging that often we fail to do so, saying at times the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And that caught my attention at once.

Does that, that quote of the spirit being willing, but the flesh being weak, sound familiar to you?

Well, it should. It appears in the Bible. More specifically, it is spoken by Jesus Himself in the garden of Gethsemane before He was betrayed and arrested:

'And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."'

~ Matthew 26: 40-41

Methinks it is a fact, that while sometimes we are able to control ourselves, to discipline ourselves, to attempt to "put sin to death" by doing so, we do encounter situations where we find it practically impossible to succeed. But this struggle has a strange twist in that while we are so enthusiastic, so idealistic, so driven to want to resist committing a particular sin, or to obey a request of God's, we somehow find ourselves incapable. The primary enemy here, we realise, being not so much the devil, perhaps, as ourselves.

For example, feeling led to attend a night sermon, one cheerfully does so, but finds one cannot stay awake for its duration.
Or perhaps trying hard to kick the habit of watching pornography, one somehow finds oneself failing and going back again and again, even though the interest is consciously stifled, as though the finger has a mind of its own and automatically clicks on a link, and the eyes become glazed and passively watches subdued.

Admittedly, failure, especially repeated failure does get us down. We start off with the best intentions, the most excitement and resolution, but somewhere along the way riddled with in-vains after in-vains, those initial motives become blurred, those sentiments become muffled and abandoned. It is very easy to throw in the white towel, quoting what the Savior Himself conceded, saying we've tried, no doubt about that, we've tried and we were so willing to change, but our σάρξ, our flesh, our physical bodies were just so weak. It is as the Christ had said, it is as our Bible study student had said.

But aren't you forgetting something?

That was not all Jesus uttered that evening, and it is of vital importance when reading the Bible to read the entire verse, the entire chapter, or even better yet, the entire book. It is extremely crucial to not neglect and to quote out of context, out of reference, for such is the way of the devil. Half-truths are never Truth.

On the one hand, Jesus did say that while the mind may be indeed willing, the flesh is no doubt weak.
But on the other hand, He also subtly implied the invalidity of that statement by reminding us of the whole Truth; die ganze Wahrheit.

We are reminded, even before that truth of contrast between our "volatile strength" and "weak physique" was confessed, that we have residing in us a power far greater than our own puny human capabilities and abilities, a power far greater than the influence of the physical body, and that entity has been invited into our being the moment we said yes, the moment we realised our insufficiency and error, the moment we acknowledged our status with respect to another, the moment when we humbly took our place at His feet and bowed to the Sovereign God.

Our infinitely gracious and urgently loving Lord and Friend did not simply remind us that we have living within us a force we can use, in fact are to use. He left us precious instruction.

Our job is to submit to conviction and to commit to resolution. I like what Jonathan Edwards said to be "Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be". That is our duty, our choice, our first step to partake in a victory already won. Not forgetting, however, that because the flesh is weak, we must exercise and fully comprehend that reminder: we must not fail to draw on that higher power, to call on that higher being - God; we must not forget to pray, to call for His help, to seek His counsel, to be filled with His strength, to obey His instruction.

And He will answer. That I promise you.

Watch & Pray, said He.

Two things. Two beings. Two hands to clap.

Our all-powerful God is willing and ever-ready to respond, to help and to conquer.

Question is:

Are you?

Michael Card -- A Better Freedom

2009-07-21T11:40:00.000+08:00

Nehemiah 8:10b

2009-07-13T07:36:00.209+08:00

'Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone hwho has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."'

~ Neh 8:10

A lovely verse, innit? Many a time, I hear people quote it, attempt to encourage another with it, verbally claim it. We even placed it in a song and sing it during church services.

But what exactly does that mean? And in particular, or perhaps especially so, what does Nehemiah mean, what is he referring to, what is he talking about when he said "for the joy of the LORD is your strength"?

What is "joy"?
Or an even better question: what is the "joy of the LORD"?

Not too long ago, God opened my eyes that I was given the priviledge to see, to glimpse, to have a taste of what it meant to draw strength from the "joy of the LORD", what exactly was the "joy" that was His, that was to be ours. I was but just emerging from a lengthy period of darkness, of walking through the valley of shadows, of wandering in the desert. I was hungry and thirsty, drawn out and tired. But in that state of lethargy, I closed my eyes, and on bended knee and arms raised to the heavens, with a mind and heart and soul heavy laden with priceless history, I praised my Father who there resided. I sang to Him and spoke with Him.

And I felt His joy.

This joy was interesting. It was an everlasting and deep-seated happiness, but it was rooted in pain and suffering, hurt and longing. It was an emotion, an attitude, a fuel that arose out of time. And it was the God's. Strange that such an ironic relationship between words seemingly opposite can be formed. Even stranger, how it actually makes sense.

There can be no doubt that God loves us. He simply does. There is no questioning that sentiment. That direction of feeling, that intensity, cannot be retracted nor renounced, nor can it be bought and sold. From before we were created according to His Will, we were conceived in His mind and we were loved. Before we even grew understanding in our mental faculties, before we even learnt "love", we were loved. Our Lord was present long before creation was born. And so was that passion He harbours for us.

When he created us, beginning with the first Adam and the second Eve, that love was realised in material form. And it was good. All was beautiful and satisfying and happy. But then came the Fall of man. And since then, the struggle was on, the match had begun. Israel, he who wrestled with God, came to pass. But the bridge was sealed off: unholy man was cut off from the holy One, a severed tie He ached and urgently and excitedly contemplated its uniting.

His beloved Jesus Christ was sent to die. His body the bricks and His blood the motar that filled the ugly gap on the bridge to Life.

Even still, the essence of Israel, of the wrestler, methinks is very much alive in every one of us today. Often, we voluntarily or allow ourselves to be tempted and teased away from God's side. He is like our customer, albeit a very persevering one, one who keeps returning, or perhaps even never left, and we the whore. After all He had done and will still do, after reading and hearing and knowing all this, we still choose to leave His pastures.

Imagine His hurt and sadness, the emptiness of a desire and a longing not fulfilled, a pining love not returned. Being forced instead to stand by and watch as His beloved succumbs to crude carnal natures, pawning herself to the temporal and the ugly unrighteous.
But also, imagine His happiness, an uncontainable and overflowing happiness, elation, joy when just one lost sheep is found, when just one lost coin is located, when just one prodigal returns home!

This joy can never die, it is ageless, undying and unceasing for it is the joy of the "LORD". Between the two "Lord"s mentioned in Neh 8:10, the former is the Hebrew אדן אדון, comparable to God's titles that begin with "Adoni-", meaning sovereign, master, owner, controller. The second, used in direct relation to this joy, is יהוה. And this refers to a self-existent or eternal entity, Jehovah.

That was the joy I witnessed when He revealed a part of His heart to me.

And it was a joy I understand because it is personal, it is ours, it is mine. Me and God, we go way back, maybe not as far as some others, but we sure have been through quite a bit together. Ups and downs, elation and depression, we shared it all. And this relationship, this marriage culminated in a bubbling and exciting, a passionate and insatiable, a quiet and heavily pregnant with meaning, a mature and solemn sentiment of joy.

It is His joy that is catching and infectious and empowering! A joy that I share because of the relationship that binds us together.

That is the "joy of the LORD".

Tired and heavily burdened, sad and dejected, dry and burnt out, come and sit in His presence, recline at His table and let Him wash your feet.
Come be filled and be replenished, come experience and know, come be strengthened by His miasmic and eternal joy that sustains.

It is the lifeforce: the helium that keeps the balloon bobbing in flight,
the power: the steam that drives the massive turbines,
and the hope: the gas that keeps the car going.

Keep your eyes on the LORD, know who you are in Him, attain His eternal perspective and the joy of the LORD will reign supreme and surely strengthen you.

Let the joy of the LORD be your strength -
May His peace fill your heart day and night;
As you walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
You will find that He'll lead you aright.
(Clair Hess)

The Cube, The Ocean and You.

2009-07-09T16:56:00.017+08:00

I am tossed into a cube.

It's large enough for me to sit comfortably in it, but small enough that I can't stretch my legs out from under me. I can't raise my arms above my head, neither can I reach out beyond my bent knees.

It's made of a material that cannot be chipped, ripped nor broken. A transparent material. And I am made to look out of it, made to see. I cannot blink. My eyelids have gone.

There are no doors, no hidden contraption.
No way in, no way out.
Just me in it.
Looking out.

Looking helplessly out.

That cube is then tossed into the ocean.
But this ocean is unlike the ocean you and I know, teeming with life and movement; this ocean is still and dead.

Death is all around me.

As the cube sinks deeper and deeper into the depths, I see bones, cartilage, lifelessly limp bodies of creatures. Those few still alive, one by one, shudder in uncontrollable fits, screaming and moaning, then grow still as death snatches their life away.
Unfair.
I want to get out.
I need to get out.

I can't get out.

That's my nightmare.

It's everything that I fear most: a bottomless ocean, the grim trail and evidence of death, being made to witness what I'd much rather not see..
And being unable to help, not possessing the knowledge to help, absolutely incapable to help.. Being helpless. You cannot even begin to imagine how much that scares, no, torments me.

What is your nightmare?
What do you fear most?

Can you imagine yourself in that situation?
Can your imagination even voluntarily picture you in that situation?

Maybe you're already in that nightmare of yours. Maybe you're already under the circumstances that causes you to fear, to become frustrated, to suffer agonising fits.

Seems like there's no way out. You can't crawl under a desk, grab your blue blankie, curl into a ball, suck your thumb and wish it all away.
It's there, staring you straight in the face.

And then, amidst all that pouting and rolling, amidst all those tears and cries, you suddenly hear a voice. A small voice. A quiet voice. A voice you know so well and have grown to love even when it reprimands. And it says:

I am your shepherd; you shall not want.

I make you lie down in green pastures,

I lead you beside still waters.

I restore your soul.

I lead you in paths of righteousness for my name's sake.

Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil, for I am with you; my rod and staff, they comfort you.

I prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies;

I annoint your head with oil; your cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life,

and you shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

And while the doorless cube remains a doorless cube, while the ocean of death remains an ocean of death, while the helpless you remains a helpless you,
it's not so bad
because you know He is there. He makes bold statements, boldy speaks and boldly promises because He is powerful and faithful, just and true.

And the best part about it all?
He loves you.

Maybe your doorless cube is still sinking into the darkness of the ocean of death, bearing the helpless you.

Keep sane because He is with you.
Keep peace because He is leading and protecting you.
Keep faith because He is faithful and just.
Keep hope because He holds your future.

The ocean must have a floor.
The cube must have a door.
And you?
You will have only Him to be thankful for.

(Scriptural passage taken from Psalm 23)

I'm Yours -- The Script

2009-07-08T17:17:00.003+08:00

You've touched these tired eyes of mine
And mapped my face out line by line
And somehow growing old feels fine

I listen close for I'm not smart
You wrap your thoughts in works of art
And they're hanging on the walls of my heart

I may not have the softest touch
I may not say the words as such
And though I may not look like much,
I'm yours.

And though my edges may be rough
I never feel I'm quite enough
It may not seem like very much,
But I'm yours.

You healed these scars over time
Embraced my soul, you loved my mind
You're the only angel in my life

The day news came: my best friend died
My knees went weak and you saw me cry
Say I'm still the soldier in your eyes

I may not have the softest touch
I may not say the words as such
And though I may not look like much,
I'm yours.

And though my edges may be rough
I never feel I'm quite enough
It may not seem like very much,
But I'm yours.

I may not have the softest touch
I may not say the words as such
I know I don't fit in that much,

But I'm yours.

Manual-Tuning Radios

2009-07-07T10:03:00.026+08:00

My mother loves to listen to recordings of Christian talks and seminars. And she was doing just that yesterday when I walked into the kitchen to wash up from lunch. Usually, I'd just walk on by, slightly cringing (because I don't quite like people angrily screaming into my ear, for some strange reason, preachers tend to love doing that), but then something the speaker said caught my attention:

No Christian has his theology perfect.
And we've all been guilty at some time of not only misinterpreting texts, but our own experiences.
And what Wesley says about that is our experience is not the final authority;
the Word of God is the final authority.

So if there is some kind of conflict between the Word of God and the experience, which one of those has to be wrong?
That would be the experience.
Experience is not an independent authority in our lives. A Lot of people say things like "I can't deny my experience". My response is "yes, you can".
You have to critically evaluate your experiences.

Here's the point:
A genuine experience may not be a true experience.

(Rev. Dr. Ben Witherington III, Rapture or Parousia?, Aldersgate Convention)

Here, he was answering a question about someone's apparent vision of the Rapture and being left behind. Now, what interested me was not discussed topic of the End Times, but his ideas of our experiences.

All of us experience things, from simple physical stimulations, like sounds and smells, that our body and brain register, to more complex intangible and invisible sensations, some of which we find great difficulty in expressing and recounting in exact terms to others. Human beings were created with, to borrow from Jane Austen, sense and sensibility. And all of it is very real to us, however you choose to define 'real'. That's what Rev. Dr. Ben meant when he mentioned a "genuine" experience.

But here's where the confusion and complication begins:
he claims not all experiences, no matter how "genuine", are "true".
By "true", he was refering to experiences that originated, that are created and sent by God to us.

This statement resonates profoundly within me. Because I, for one, place great significance and value on my faculties of sensibility. My belief is that God has given me a body, a working physical body complete with its hidden inner mechanisms, whose functions I shall exploit to understand and glorify Him as best I can. Through my body, its receptors and processors, through my past and present circumstances, through my experiences, the Bible and its contents have been brought to life, God has been made real in my life.

But while some experiences are "true" and God-inherent, others aren't.

Descriptively put, our brains are not permanently and exclusively tuned to God's channel.

We are like radios that require manual-tuning, you know, those with the little knobs that you turn to adjust the frequency, to listen to different radio broadcasting stations. Sometimes, there is a clear and abrupt change when you turn the dial: just one degree of rotation and the station changes without a confusing mish-mash of voices, static and what not. But sometimes, there is a transition, there is this range of frequencies within which, you can register two different channels and so, you simultaneously hear two different stations layered upon each other. And that's when you'll have to decide which station is the one you desire to listen to.

Messages, words, pictures or visions, voices, sensations.. Some are honestly from God, of God, good, correct, True. Others are obviously not. But those that aren't so clear-cut, those whose frequencies straddle the fence, slyly overlapping and sharing them frequency ranges..

Testing our experiences, what we perceive, calls for discernment, wisdom, knowledge and a very strict and critical mind.
Methinks this is not an easy task at all fundamentally because our experiences are so authentic, so difficult to dispute with, to deny, to doubt, to call into question.
But sometimes, it's also because the Truth is not what we want to hear, to see, to know.

A genuine experience may not be a true experience.

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

~ 1 John 4:1-3

Forward.. or Back?

2009-07-02T06:17:00.004+08:00

A Youth-Centred Culture is a Backward Facing One.

That's one interesting statment that most certainly caught my attention! On first glace, it doesn't make much sense to me. Well, maybe my being part of church ministries serving the youths has something to do with my lack of understanding. But then comes the qualifier:

A society with such a culture is one where people honour who they used to be.

Look around you, I think this culture, this taken to reminiscing and romanticizing about the past, is very much alive in this world. Certificates, medals and achievements are laminated, framed and prominently displayed, plastic surgery becomes an answer to the aging body. In fact, I'd generalise even further to extend that honouring to the wider past. Museums are built to remember the dead and the deed, the young are educated in affairs of the past.

There isn't anything inherently evil about looking over the shoulder. For some, the past is simply an interesting string of events that occurred, a means for understanding the present, a reference that guides better-informed decisions of the future. I, myself, am rather fascinated by history, both the larger world history and my own personal past. But when does that celebration and commemoration become a worship, an idolisation, an obsession?

Why is it that while we always speak of "the future", and we write brilliant imaginative essays, draw fantastical pictures of a life yet to come, we tend to treat it as though it were something vague, distant and crawling?
And all the while leaving a foot in the door that we are peeking out from, the doorway of the past..

While there may be many reasons for this reluctance to move on, a significant keeper of this jail, I fear, is fear.

The fear of the unfamiliar comes head to head with the assurance of the familiar.
Which shall emerge triumphant?

We came from the past. It has finished, it is over, it cannot change any more than a satellite that has been knocked off its course in the vastness of the theoretically ever-expanding space. The truth is we find comfort in the unchangable, unchanging past. The glorious days of the life we once lived and the achievements we've made give us a reason to be proud of ourselves, to continue believing in ourselves when we fail. And that is something we hold very dear to our hearts, something we need.. Or is it?

The future is uncertain. We cannot tell what the future holds. And that is scary. Change! Change is scary. We, Christians, are called to greatness, to fulfil deeds and speak words and live lives so marvelous. "Yes! Amen!", we say, but then we go and forget all about it, drowning what is yet to come in the fermented vines of the past, cutting it out of the juicy pies of the present, reducing the could-be, would-be fantastic to boring mediocrity.

We fear letting go of who we were, what we held on to because we don't know who we will become, where we will end up. We don't know if we will like it.

We forget, then, that we have a God, that we belong to a God who 'works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose', who is that 'Perfect Love' that 'casteth out fear', who 'arms us with strength', who is our 'shield', 'rock', 'fortress', 'deliverer', whose very Name is 'a strong tower'!

All too often we fear the future, we fear the unknown, we fear. But in that fear, O trembling one, realize that you do know the final permanent outcome, you do know the One who sees all, each minute detail and macro picture, you do know what will last for eternity.

Eternity.. such a strange and foreign concept..

But hey, our God is the God of eternity, no?
Our God is eternity.

Be brave and have faith:
Release the self you once knew;
The person that grew,
And become the you,
Spirit-bathed.

'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave nor forsake you.'
~ Deuteronomy 31:6

Growing Up

2009-07-01T12:23:00.010+08:00

It's a strange feeling coming home.

Six months don't seem like a long time. One minute races into the next, the numbers on the clock relentlessly rotate and progress, days slip and slyly skulk by, the pages on the calendar torn off one by one at an alarming rate.

Maybe it's not the time.. But the person.
Maybe it's the person that adapts and changes that makes time stretch, as though who they were before had long gone, not even the shadow of the former self lingers. And there, a stranger stands.

For the first time in a long time,
I come home to a family of six, live in such close proximity with them such that it's impossible to pass a single day without speaking to each one of them at least once.
I share a bed with someone, a bedroom with three others, a study with five more.
Someone shops for groceries instead of me, decides on what to cook instead of me.
Someone yells at me to come eat, tells me to go to bed, wakes me in the morning.
Someone instructs me on how to sit at the table, where to eat, what (not) to wear.
I have a curfew again.

Living alone away from home, moving back home to a family..
I guess there are both good and not-so-welcomed sides of each.

One of the things that I'm trying to get back in step with is controlled freedom.
Trust me, it's not that easy a shift to progress from a rather strict control of freedom (dressing, drinking, curfews, etc.) to absolute total freedom, and then straight back to the way things were before. Eyes are opened, ears are unclogged, skin is thickened, spirits have soared to new territories.. and somewhat enjoyed the new experiences, new indenpendence, new freedom.

Maybe it's part of growing up, I don't know.

My "growing up", my taste of "adult life" came like a bullet train. Once I stepped off the platform of safety, let go of my parents' hands, and onto the carriage, the ties that bound me to the familiar world of protection and, to some degree, dictation were abruptly severed, and I was left to either survive or live.. on my own. But as quick as it came, as quick it made its rounds and docked back at that old familiar station, and I alighted.

But while it is tempting to demand our parents step back and let go, thinking we've all grown up (maybe we have, maybe we haven't), perhaps we've even "prooved" that we can do it, wanting, desiring to taste yet again the juicy grapes and sweet wines of independence, of freedom, to push boundaries, or better yet, demolish them entirely,
I pray you stop and consider:

'Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.'
~ Exodus 20:12

Sure, you're growing up, perhaps thinking it is in some respects a step already towards it, and you'd want "some space". Try talking to your parents, all the while exercising self-control and patience, sit them down over scones and tea, and hold a good solid conversation, not one of those flimsy uncertain flippant remarks, but one that aims at conscious (for all parties) negotiation.

They might let up or even relinquish control over some things.

But what if they adamantly and vehemently refuse?

What then will you do?

'Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord'
~ Colossians 3:20

Who or What Are You Worshipping?

2009-06-20T17:28:00.042+08:00

„Lust auf Lust: Macht uns an!

Wann ist die Filmwelt eigentlich so spießig geworden? Das Kino braucht dringend wieder mehr Sex.“

"Desire on desire powers us on! When has the film world actually become so stiff? The movies urgently need more sex." So declares the title of an article I chanced upon while reading the news (and simultaneously practicing my German).

While it may be a bias of mine, viewing the Germans as a very sexual people, just browsing the Nostalgiemarkt, a stretch of make-shift collapsable stores along the river, and finding a prominently displayed large (apparently actual life-sized) replica of a German male's phallus on sale, watching WWII movies, think Schindler's List, that happened to have generous portions of Germans having sex, I might just be wrong. The whole world, every country, every nation, every people could be very well just as caught up with sex. Recently, I've been watching (or rather catching up with) films. Perhaps it was my bad choice of films to watch in one sitting: "The English Patient" (1996), "Coyote Ugly" (2000), "The Notebook" (2004), "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), "The Reader" (2008), but they all had quite a notable amount of rather sexual references and scenes. In fact, in some of them films, sex takes the centre stage, the CEO's chair, the lone spotlight on a raised platform: the entire story is weaved around it.

After Scotland and after attending summer school, I finally understood why the Romantics were so very taken by nature. It is indeed the most beautiful thing the Earth possesses, with its rise and falls of the land, the winding streams and the still collection of water bodies, the myriad of colours and textures, the incomprehensibly sweet smell of life... Though landscape paintings in that era were not even considered "proper" art, the market favouring genre paintings over those, that group of brave, stubborn, emotive and innovative young painters blatantly defied the conventions of the day to paint what they felt drawn to paint, what captured their hearts, their fancies, their imaginations - nature. To some of them, nature was sacredly special: it was God's creation, a title heavily pregnant with meaning, value and significance. They saw God in nature, His character, His laws, His works, all best exhibited and displayed in the natural world of flora and fauna. Their paintings, so very detailed and real (like the later Pre-Raphaelite paintings), could even be branded a worship of nature.

Whilst on tour in Edinburgh, we visited a number of churches, in one of which I distinctly remember seeing a Celtic cross. Though it is hard to pinpoint an actual date and location that Celtic Christianity was first developed because of its variety of practices and ideologies, a common trait of the various strands of this belief was its conceptions of the presence of God. In particular, the presence of God in nature. The Celts lived in nature, their way of life fantastically interwoven and in absolute harmony with it. They saw the whole of creation, the trees, the streams, the flowers, the sky, the wind, everything, every element that creates the very fibre of nature as the demonstration and display and indisputable proclamation of God (especially His omnipresence). It could be that precisely because of their close ties with nature, their oneness with it, that they placed a great amount of importance on it.

But here's the catch:
They did not worship nature.
They looked beyond the marvelous spectacle, the fantastic phenomemon, the amazing creation...
And saw God.
And it was Him that they worshipped. It was Him that they sought. It was Him that they placed high on a pedestal, dead centre in the limelight, the point about which their world revolved.

It is ever so easy to fall so madly and blindly in love with what we primarily see, touch, taste, hear, smell...
How easy it is to become so taken up by music, by the elements, by work, by necessities, by fun, by friends, by sex...

And how comparatively more challenging to look beyond what was gifted to us, what was granted us for our pleasure and stewardship and ingenuity, to see the Giver of the gifts.

Worshipping sex, worshipping nature, worshipping intelligence, worshipping art, worshipping relationships, worshipping money, worshipping talents...
Does not equate to worshipping the Creator.

That which was given to us, which we enjoy, which we use as aids to express and worship, should, no, must never become the worshipped.

"Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name."

~ Amos 5:8

Scotland (120609 - 150609)

2009-06-19T04:11:00.003+08:00

What exactly is love?
What does it feel like? How do you display it?

Recently, I've been questioning myself and my relationship with God.
Why is it that I stray from Him so quickly and so frequently these past few weeks?
Why is it that when I do, I feel guilty and miserable?
If such an act makes me feel bad, and if I love God, shouldn't I want to be with Him and not get distracted so easily?
But since I apparently prefer doing other things than spending time with Him, as much I can, whenever I can, does it mean that I don't love God?

That led me to put my relationship with my family on the hot seat:
Assuming I love them, every one of the five of them, am I showing that I love them?
Why do I love them?
Because as much as I can gather, there was never a "why" in this love equation. I just love them. They're my family and I love them. But then, if they were someone else, if they weren't family, would I still love them? In that case, does that love equal a feeble blood tie? If so, it's a weak association.. or is it?

These sentiments and questions increasingly crowded my mind in the days leading up to our Scotland visit. My family had come up to the UK on my request, and we were going to travel to Scotland together.

And in the day just before we left, I opened my quiet time materials and the closing instruction was for me to lay a question at God's feet, something that's been bothering me, but just bringing it up to God, not demanding an answer from Him.
But what do you know, God chose to answer there and then:
He told me that I will be shown what love is during our Scotland getaway.
So all I asked was for me to keep my eyes and ears and heart peeled for the answer that I really needed to know. That's it.

What is love?

It came in a long and drawn out reply.

Our mode of transport was purely trains. We took a train ride from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Haymarket, from Haymarket to Mallaig, from Mallaig to Fort William, from Fort William to Haymarket, from Haymarket to Edinburgh Waverly, and finally the Caledonian Sleeper from Waverly to London Euston.

And all the time, looking out the window, I'd see landscape after landscape, sometimes bare greens of ferns and coniferous trees, sometimes the vast highlands giving way to lakes and trickling streams and rivers. Occassionally, we'd come across a house or two dotting the scenary. Cows, sheep, rabbits, birds contributed the only animated movement in the stillness of earth and sky. Colourful flowers decorated the land, and full clouds interrupted the clear blue heavens. Beautiful, majestic and sublime. It was then I realised and really understood why the Romantic painters like Constable, Palmer and Turner loved landscapes. I could see the paintings, not super-imposed, but in the actual vision of Scotland itself. I know why they placed nature on an elevated pedestal, treating it with some sort of religious agenda, stopping shy of calling it "god". Their paintings were in essence a worship of nature, of God's creation.

I loved what I saw.

But when the trains stopped, ceasing all individual private meditation on the sacred feast for the senses, human interaction began. And those of you who know my family, know we tend to irritate one another. If we're in a foul mood, the phrase "misery loves company" aptly applies. Sometimes, some of us even search for opportunities to get upset. Walking the tightrope between being "true to yourself", no matter how much you've changed as a person, and being patient, self-controlled and obedient to your parents is no easy feat. And so far, I think I can claim the victor's crown on one occassion out of the multiple countless times the situation called for such an exercise of character!

And that's when it hit me.

Someone once told me that love is a choice.
It was new to me then, and it is still new to me now.

Love is a choice.
A decision to be patient, self-controlled, honouring to another who you think deserves it not.
An immovable stone in difficult and raging white water.
A perseverence.

It's so easy to love something so beautiful, something that can't talk back; can't react, something that just lies there and lets your hungry senses undress it.
But it's ever so difficult to love something that is not beautiful at that very moment, something intelligent that retorts; that responds, something that is animated and has its own ideas.

So far, I think I haven't mastered the act of loving my family.
But I do hope to do so one day. And I hope that day approaches soon. Because I don't like what an impatient, impulsive and argumentative person I've become especially when dealing with my family.

It makes me think about God, and how He has loved me.

It is difficult perhaps, to love God: Him being wild and untamable, an animated being that responds and replies, an intelligent entity with His own will. C. S. Lewis hit the nail on the head likening God to a wild lion.

I hope to love Him as much I did, no, more than before. To show Him I do love Him.

As to the question of why I love Him, why I love my family.. There is no answer. I just do. Perhaps the reasons, while unclear to me now, are feeble and pathetic. But for now, they'll have to do, whatever they are. I don't think I'll ever find an answer to that question, one answer that pleases and satisfies me.

But the assumption that I love God, and I love my family holds true for me.

All the same, a hope is merely a hope: a sentence of words strung together. A glimmer in the distance.

It'll take a heck of an effort on my part to lift my feet and make them walk towards that glimmer.

But until the cows come home, until the sun implodes, until the day of Judgement, may I be found walking and reaching towards that hope!

3 days & 4 nights

2009-06-02T18:07:00.007+08:00

Yesterday, I saw off the last of my closest friends I've made here in the UK. Heaven knows I'm lousy at goodbyes, even if the goodbyes really are see-you-laters.

cupcake

AnnaBanana

sQuishy

Before I came, I was really thrilled that I was going to be alone (that was wayy before I heard that some others were also going to come to UniS) because then I'd have to really force myself to be brave and courageous and make new friends. Oh, the thought of a clean new beginning! Terrifically exciting!

But about a week into being without old friends, without family, it hit me just how hard it is to be utterly alone without a familiar face, without a familiar voice. Any reminder of home will usually be received with tears on my side. And that was when I was really thankful that God brought sQuishy, cupcake & AnnaBanana to me. They were new friends, yes, but they were good friends, the closest I have here. How we clicked is simply miraculous. When we felt down, we cheered each other up. When we were troubled, we shared the load. When we were happy for no reason, we celebrated together. It truly is amazing. I am so thankful for them.

I realised I don't like to be alone. I dislike it a great deal more than I dislike the feeling of loneliness. I need people around me, noise and laughter and voices conversing, footsteps on the floor, the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen, the slamming of doors.. I need to know there's human life..

But the time came for summer vacation.

Everyone packed and left right about the same time. 12 of the 14 rooms on my floor emptied in one morning. The noise ceased, the signs of life dwindled, the largeness of the kitchen and the starkness of the corridors suddenly grew large and wide and empty.

That same day, AnnaBanana's aunt came over. They had to leave early the next morning so AnnaBanana could catch her flight. sQuishy also shifted over to my room to spend the next two nights. She didn't like being alone in her house, since her housemates left too, which was off the university campus.

AnnaBanana left 6.25 am on Sunday.
Her leave was too early in the day for me to feel anything, but when I took a shower later that morning..

That added another digit to the emptied rooms on my floor.
Mine was the only one left occupied.. But occupied by two, not one.

sQuishy & I.

It was fun scavanging the kitchen with sQuishy for anything left by their previous owners that was edible (like that potato salad & chicken breasts), and could be used (like that peeler, a bottle opener, olive oil, washing liquid, &c.). Really fun times! It felt as though we were in one of those movies where zombies have taken over the world and we were the only two left and were trying to survive!

She left yesterday.

I helped drag her luggage down, which was another fun activity in itself, what with our laughter extremely piercing and loud and unstoppable echoing through the stairwell! Hilarious!
And I cried watching the taxi drive her away.

Now it's just me.

Home never sounded so good before. Ever.
Trust me, when you watch everybody around you leave, close friends, acquaintences, strangers alike, when you have to watch them go knowing full well that they won't be coming back (unlike Easter vacation), knowing full well that you will have to stay.. It tears you up and assasinates you inside like nothing ever can. Not in the same way, not in the same silent helpless viciousness.

But I am very thankful that God answered my earlier prayer, and also a prayer that I did not utter:

He knows me better than even I know myself!
He sent me people from home to be with me when, and even though, I couldn't see that I would need them.
And those people became my closest friends here, along with some others from other countries. I miss my old friends back in Singapore, yes. I miss them very much and I can't wait to be back. But all the same, I love these people too, these new characters and personalities that have walked into my life.

He cares very much for me even though I haven't been the most obedient and pleasing of children, showing me, literally showing me how much He knows me and how much He loves and cares for me no matter my earlier tantrums and naughtiness and disagreeable-ness.
He realised I dislike being alone and feeling cut off from the world even before I could ever forsee myself actually being thrust into situations that evoke those sentiments.
And He sent me people to help ease me slowly into being more alone than ever before.. Even then, He made sure I knew that I am not entirely and absolutely alone.
AnnaBanana and her aunt stayed for another night after 12 of our floormates left.
sQuishy came to stay with me for two nights, one more after AnnaBanana.
And while I was lugging her bag down 4 storeys for her (I stay on the highest floor), I bumped into a guy who was coming up huffing under a huge bag of clean laundry! We exchanged "hello"s, why we were still here and when we were moving out. He was going to be here until the 8th. I would be in this house until the 5th when I move to another university accomodation for the summer (that house would be filled with other students staying for the summer so I will be surrounded by people again).
When I reached my room after sending sQuishy off on her way, Piki, superman, YappyYap and dae were there on MSN waiting to speak with me. They opened windows first to chat, not me.
And when it came time for them to sleep because of the time difference, Esther opened a window and we chatted the dark and windy night away, retiring only in the early morning.

And now the glorious sun is suspended high in the sky, shining its brilliance and magnificence on the Earth below to the glory of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus playing in my head. I greet the day safely holding God's hand, looking up at His face and seeing Him smile down at me before we both look forward and take a step together, embracing this next 24 hours.

Thank you, God. Thank you.

Chocolat (2000)

2009-05-17T18:31:00.003+08:00

Have a look at this movie =]

... & no, I didn't watch it just because Johnny Depp's in it.

New Look at Humility

2009-05-12T17:03:00.007+08:00

Yesterday, Cupcake and I decided to return to the lake, after a beautiful and relaxed yesterday experience there, for round two! We didn't sit long, however, because the cold and powerful wind overpowered the sun and made its warmth negligible, driving us to seek shelter at the nearby Channies, and giving us an excuse to indulge in our curly fries cravings.

But in the short while we were by the lake, I read a passage that intrigued me. A passage, or comment if you like, about humility for a Christian.

Our purpose in life is to worship, to obey, to exalt, to trust... To love God. We labour and toil out of the respect and reverence and relationship we have for and with Him, the love of our lives, and our Lover, who returns our sentiments many uncountable folds over. In so doing, we, the branches, bear fruit for His good purpose, for His glory. Our goal is to love Him, our intentions spilling over and becoming evidential in our lives: the activities we partake in, the words we utter, the creations we give birth to, the thoughts that race through our minds... All, all of it, we purpose and strive to bring Him happiness, to bring Him glory.

Most of us are taught that true humility is to bring ourselves down to a level no better than the lowest in any caste system history has ever seen. To beat ourselves the moment we feel a tinge of pride when we excel in something, produce a work of unspeakable beauty...

'"Let's pretend that you were the artist who painted that (beautiful) picture."

"Okay," he said, looking a little uptight.

I motioned to the picture and yelled, "What a stupid-looking painting! Those colours are terrible! That thing is so ugly!" I paused for a minute. "Now," I said to him, "does demeaning the painting somehow glorify the artist?"
"No!" he answered.

...

so I continued, "Not only is God Himself the one who painted us, so to speak, but Jesus was the one who sat in the chair and modeled for the masterpiece! Remember, we were made in God's image and in His likeness. We didn't create ourselves. God created us. We are the work of His hands. When we tear ourselves down we aren't being humle, we are being stupid!"'

No doubt we have fallen from grace, Romans 3:23 tells us that we are a people who have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Our original purpose was to share in God's glory, and to bring God glory, to glorify Him with every pore of our being. But our sin threw a shroud over us, cloaking us in despair, uncleanliness, hopelessness and unworthiness. Romans 3:23 proceeds with verse 24. Encouraging us with the Good News, the reminder of God having already paid our ransom of the highest cost, our justification as a gift, our redemption and restoration to our original purpose.

And if we have been restored our former and rightful title, the title that God had been planning to bestow us with since the beginning of time, should we not receive it with great gratitude and thanksgiving? In what way does brow-beating, head-slapping and toe-stubbing bring glory t our glorious Father, the creator of all things, tangible and intangible?

But here is where my opinion differs slightly from that of the comment I read:
I think humility does not stop at remembering our bleak and dreary past. I think it does not stop at thinking, feeling or perhaps knowing we are unworthy of praise and recognition (though I think perhaps this cultivation of such a sentiment originates from a fear of allowing self-pride to overtake one's faculties, thereby reducing God in our eyes). No, I think true humility goes a step further than just stopping there at self-diminishment, for such an act alone can never bring glory to the Lord.

Humility is knowing our past, and so exalting God with our present and trusting Him for the future.

We know where we came from. We know full well our situation were He not to have intervened and bought us back from slavery. We know now who our Maker is and what He is like and what He likes. We know now to whom we owe our existence, from whom we received our talents and gifts. We know now our greatness, because of whom we were made in the likeness of, but we must never exalt ourselves beyond what we deserve: we are great, we were made great to be capable of tackling great deeds, but God is greater that all man's greatness combined.

Humility is going out into the world with confidence and assurance, creating and producing, giving birth to and encouraging, fighting and winning, but all the time, all the time seeking the wisest counsel that can only be God's, proceeding with the best that can only be God's, and at the end of the day, no, at every moment of the day, pointing all applause, laudation, extolment, acclamation, honour and reverence to the only One who truly deserves it because it is rightfully His - God.

God is not king over a nation of the gutless, neither is He the commandant of an army of cowards. He does not deserve such, and neither did He create such. In what manner does a people of faint hearts bring such a glorious being glory? Under what circumstances does a regiment of wimps and deserters bring such a majestic and powerful entity glory?

The victory is already His.
We face every day knowing that. We face each sunrise with gratitude and thanksgiving, with confidence and assurance.

Later that evening, when Cupcake and I were in her room talking, she said something that made me all the more sure of what I now write. She said that I am never too bad for anyone, and no one is too good for me. And I knew then that bringing God glory came not from demeaning myself. Restricting myself in that manner serves no good purpose, only to limit God's scope of work, the magnitude and variety of opportunities for Him to display His awesome power through me. No, it came from knowing who I am, where I have journeyed from, who I am walking with, and where I am headed. And that is where true humility lies: knowing who I am and knowing who God is.

'Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become.'
~ Nick Portokalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

'But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.'
~ 1 Corinthians 15: 57-58

God has given us a great task. A task that only the great can embark and attempt, let alone accomplish.

'"But you will receive power when the Holy SPirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth."'
~ Acts 1: 8

Will you shed your shame and embarrassment, your uncertainty and pride,
will you be restored to your orignal purpose, donning the cloak of humility
and let the God prove His strength and greatness in your weakness

The Unlovely for the Lovely

2009-05-11T19:44:00.005+08:00

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.

The more they were valled, the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them

I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.

They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.

The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.

My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.

I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.

They shall go after the LORD;
he will roar like a lion;
when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;
they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes,

declares the LORD.

~ Hosea 11: 1-11

The Unfaithful for the Faithful

2009-05-09T08:09:00.010+08:00

Love is really a fickle-minded thing, huh?

Maybe I should qualify that: of all the different faces of love, romantic love proves to be one of the most, or perhaps even the most tricky and slippery of them all. An exciting prize calling out to be hunted and courted and gained, a warm and beautiful lense with which to view the world and all that exists once possessed and shared, yes, but also pure torture and misery when unrequited or lost.

Sometimes, we think we know someone, we think we love someone, we feel like we're already married, vows yet to be uttered though, but understood between two. When suddenly, the tablecloth is whipped from under us and all that's left are the shiny metal and glass cutlery grinding on the cold hard surface of the table of life. We feel hurt and confused, upset and frustrated.. and somewhat betrayed.

If an Earthly romance that we experience and relate in our puny intellect and finite emotions can cause so much devastation to our entire being, what is it like to an entity whose knowledge and wisdom far exceeds our ability to comprehend its vastness and wealth, to an entity whose vocabulary of feeling is so complex and unfathomable, to an entity who created word and feeling, to an entity such as God?

A creation abandoning its creator, choosing to worship other creations and looking no farther than what its bodily senses register. A beloved betraying her lover, choosing to romp the fields with another. A bride shaming her bridegroom, choosing to satisfy desires of the flesh out of wedlock.

Through our misery and joy, we are like Hosea, we are like he who was chosen by God to reveal to the world His inner turmoil and frustrations. God uses our pain to acquaint us with His pain, to acquaint us with His love.

We are Gomer, the unfaithful, the adulteress, the enlightened creation who abandoned its creator, the courted beloved who betrayed her lover, the promised bride who shamed her bridegroom. Though we have heard of and know this perfect and good love of His, we still choose to satisfy the longings of the flesh and the desires of the world. We choose to worship the senses and that which delights the senses, but forget the One who made it all. We choose to stray. And left to our own devices, the urge and temptation to stray will prove fatal to many, too many.

By instructing Hosea to buy back his wayward whore-wife, God demonstrates a prophetic act which He will and has performed:

He bought us.
Paid the ransom of a pure and blemishless lamb which He loved and still loves with all His heart,
and set us free from sin and eternal death of burning Sulphur, of gnashing teeth, of darkness and rot.

We are habitually unfaithful, serial adulterers, whores.
We are broken. We are dirty.
And yet, God demands us not to clean up our act before we may return to His side.
No.
He is ever ready to heal and to love, to redeem and to revive and to restore.

The one condition is that we return to Him. That's all he asks.
To come back and to let Him do the cleaning, let Him bring out the soap and water and sponge, let Him bring out the cloth and polish.

What kind of creator is that?
What kind of lover is that?
What kind of bridegroom is that?
To take back into His arms the wayward, the strayed, the runaway, the unfaithful?

One who truly knows how to love, who made love, who is love.
Magnanimous to forgive.
Patient to wait.
Extravagant to lavish and ransom.
Faithful to the end.

'Come, let us return to the LORD...'

~ Hosea 6:1a

'You are not your own; you were bought at a price.'

~ 1 Corinthians 6:19

'After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will restore us,

that we may live in his presence.'

~ Hosea 6:2

Ask Him to keep a close eye on you. And thank Him for His faithfulness to you.

Pain

2009-04-29T03:31:00.016+08:00

These few days, I've been reading the book of Hosea. Now I'm pretty sure many of you know the story, the big picture of Hosea. He's the prophet who is called by God to pursue, marry, lie with, ransome and love a woman infamously notorious for her adulterous behaviour.

'When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him,

"Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness,

because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing form the LORD."'

~ Hosea 1:2

Spanning just the first two chapters of the book, Gomer, Hosea's whorish wife, took on the profession of a prostitute! Imagine that: they've only gotten married at the beginning of chapter one, and by the end of chapter two, she's become a whore! Mind you, the first two chapters of Hosea are not long at all: together, they amount to only 34 verses. Moreover, consider who she was married to - Hosea, an obedient man of God, a prophet. Not to mention a perhaps somewhat trivial, but fun fact that a book in the Bible is named after him! Gomer's slip back into unfaithfulness, assuming her character as she was before her marriage to Hosea, was quick and perhaps unmeditated for this tendency of hers had become too much a part of her being, probably, that it would take quite a bit for her to even consider to mend her ways.

At the beginning of chapter three, we see Hosea instructed by God to go again to Gomer and to love her in spite of her behaviour:

'The LORD said to me,

"Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress.

Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

~ Hosea 3:1

Embarrassing. Hurtful. Impossible. Saddening. Frustrating. Confusing. Painful.
These are the brand of words that I can think of to describe this "marriage" of sorts, between a prophet of God and a prostitute of the world. I don't think I can manage to even catch a glimpse of what Hosea must have felt locked in this relationship, out of love and out of obedience.

Obedience to God's biddings sometimes come with a tag that reads "caution: part of you will take a beating if assumed". Sometimes it's something in us that is squished and trodden all over, like swallowing our pride and saying sorry and asking for forgiveness when we are wrong. Other times, it feels as though we must climb up to the summit of a mountain steeper than K2 and higher than Mount Everest, like when the Holy Spirit sealed within us tugs at our heartstrings to say something, or stand up for what we know God deems is right when we feel fearfully shy or apprehensive to do so. And sometimes, in obeying the Lord, we find ourselves on the receiving end of not just emotional turmoil, but physical torture.

Can you identify with any of these?
Are you like Hosea: obedient, even though sometimes the instruction puzzles you,
even though it causes you some form of pain or torment,
even though you know it will cause you pain?

Sounds a little depressing, doesn't it?
A kind of win-lose situation, where He wins some and we lose some.
To answer and respond to the "Perfect Love" only to be rewarded with embarrassment, hurt, sadness, frustration, confusion, pain..

But get this:
through Hosea's tiring ordeal, God, being the mastermind He is, was doing something incredibly fascinating!
You see, because of Hosea, because of his life being recorded and passed down through the generations as a part of the Holy Bible, breathed by God, sacred and true, we are all invited to see, to literally read into God's own emotional life!

Hosea and the Father share an extremely bizarre, practically out-of-this-world commonality:
they are both married, voluntarily yoked to unfaithful brides, adulterous wives.
Hosea's hurt, though perhaps very much more human in that we may attempt to and achieve understanding of his anguish, is God's hurt. His sadness is God's sadness. His frustration is God's frustration. His pain is God's pain.

But oh how much more God's affliction is compared to Hosea's, compared to ours. His bride is not just one mortal, His lifetime along with hers not just one composed of finite days. No, His bride is all of us, each separate individual, each beloved creation-life coming in and out of existence on Earth in a staggered, overlapping fashion.

He knows this.
He knows that it will be a torturously long and painful torment to love the unfaithful, the adulterous, the whore.

And yet, He still chooses to love and to suffer.

To love and to suffer..

For us.

Back.

2009-04-23T15:27:00.002+08:00

Hello, world!

I have returned to sanity after 21 days scooting my bum around 5 countries in Europe.

While touring "should be" relaxing and enjoyable and other synonyms of the sort, this one seemed more to me like a challenge, a test, a long period spent in the classroom. Many times I found myself failing each test of a day, composed of many facets, each chance of a day. And many times my heart may be likened to an earthen jar slowly being chipped away at, bit by bit.

But everytime, sometimes when one tiny chip appears, and sometimes when one more chip is just about all my little jar can take before shattering, God intervenes and reaches down from His Heavenly Throne and sticks a band-aid (or many band-aids) on and give it a reassuring and loving touch before withdrawing, all the while, His watchful Eyes kept trained on me.

These band-aids come in many sizes and many shapes and many states.
It could be an enlightenment, a reminder, a new look at an old lesson, something that you didn't get, a person, some persons...

There is a catch though:
You've got to be still, to be searching, to know and realise and recognise the Hand of God and its works, let alone to hear His Voice.

'Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!'

~ Psalm 46:10

Life..

2009-03-30T03:11:00.029+08:00

There is something very encouraging, very pleasing, very exciting, very satisfying about John 12: 20-26.

'Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.'

In the very last verse of the very last chapter of the Gospel of John, he writes

'Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.'

Considering that, it probably means that whatever is contained in his message, whatever detail he includes, it must be of utmost importance and bear much significance for John to make a note of it and feel it imperative that it be passed down the generations.

So what is it that is so important in this passage?
And why is it so beautiful?

Well, read all four Gospels once more and be alert as to how many times the word "Greek", as in referring to a person of that heritage, is mentioned.
You will find that it appears not in Matthew, nor Luke, and but only once in Mark. Twice the Greeks are mentioned in John.

It is in this interview with Jesus that the Greeks are taken special notice of a second time in John.
And it is in this interview that Jesus reveals a vital information, a Truth, Salvation.
Never before in John has Jesus said "the hour has come". Until that instant, it has always been "the hour is coming" and others like it bearing that same message.

Jesus chose to "drop the bomb" in the presence of both Jew and Gentile.
This dual presence hints at the inclusion of both peoples, indeed all peoples, in partaking the benefits of His death and resurrection and ascension.
Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Risen Lord, He opens His arms wide to receive both Jew and Gentile into His embrace!

In God's eyes, there is no more a distinction between Jew, traditionally known as the exclusive God's people, and Gentile, the other less favourable horde.
We are equal heirs to God's Kingdom and riches, doesn't matter our ethnic heritage, our skin colour.
We are all memebers of the body of Christ, doesn't matter our language.

We are all God's people: ransomed, redeemed, beloved.

There is just something very encouraging, very pleasing, very exciting, very satisfying about John 12: 20-26..

Especially for one such as I, a gentile.

To-morrow

2009-03-23T18:38:00.020+08:00

Legoland: a fun-filled place for the kiddies. Where the rides are tame and the queue is young, where the language is pure(r) and the attire less provocative.

I went to Legoland last Saturday thinking it'd be heaps of fun. It's probably not the funnest place on my list but it did take me back to my childhood days of Barbies, Tea sets and tricycles. It made me miss my family all over again, made me want to analyse each conversation I had with each family member as we passed the golden gates into the land of play, as we waited in line for our turn to ride the biggest, baddest coasters, as we ravenously devoured our meals.. It made me miss my friends with renewed vigour..

Seeing whole families, grandparents, parents, neighbours, aunts, uncles, friends, children, cousins.. together agitated worry to suddenly reach out and squeeze my heart.

I wondered what would happen to me next year after I graduate from the university.
See, schooling (especially in Singapore) has been rather a rather fixed and uniformed course for all, our experiences moulded and shaped by and around it:
(some of us enter) kindergarten,
then comes the compulsory 6 years of primary and 4 years of secondary education.
After which, the road forks into at least 4 possible routes. I took the junior college path.
2 years after college, I founnd myself in the university.
Come August, I would be embarking on my very last year of undergraduate studies.
And then..?

Where would I go?
What would I do?
Who will I meet?

Having spent my first 21 years out of an unknown total I have, dictated and guided by the people and institutions around me, my family, the government, &c., and now, facing the frightening future of uncertainty, of (almost) absolute freedom to choose and chart and commence across vast and unpredictable waters.. It is quite unnerving..

Will I have enough resources to strike out on my own and survive?
Will I not simply survive, but actually live?
Will I make new and keep old good friends?
Will I be married and have a family?
Will I find favour with God?

You never know what rickety bridge, what mountain pass, what raging river you will meet.
You never know what you'll find at each turn of the labyrinth, on every stepping stone you will step upon.

But while the future may seem like a gigantic, muscular, angry black bull hooving the sandy earth, readying itself to charge in your direction,

'Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them.
Of how much more value you are than the birds!

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.
For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.
Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approches and no moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'

~ Luke 12: 24-34

I don't know exactly where I'll find myself at each complete orbit of the Earth around the sun, but this I know:
I shall keep my eyes on His face,
my feet shod and pointed His way,
my hands tightly gripping His
and my heart and mind on Him.

And I shall see you all at our final destination:

Heaven.

What Goes In, Must Come Out

2009-03-16T02:38:00.009+08:00

Last Night, I attended Shine, a Christian "concert" organised by Chosen CF of the University of Surrey. The last act they had on was a team from Hillsong, and what the worship leader said fascinated me: ...

Worship in the Bible has been defined in many ways, they refer to many things, many angles, many attitudes. Undoubtedly, the English "worship" cannot suffice to even begin to hint to the vastness of the meanings, of the words in Hebrew and Greek that were so broadly grouped into that one English term.

Some Hebrew words translated into "worship" mean a physical posture (to postrate before, to bow down before, to kiss, &c.). And especially in the Old Testament, the act is associated with paying respect, paying homage to God, and is almost always used in the context of a specific place, the Temple or the Holy City, and sometimes even time.

In the New Testament, noting that well-used passage of John 4: 7-26, Jesus himself tears down the barrier of physical space, of physical time. He emphasizes the inner intangible state of the heart, of the spirit, of the mind. "Worship" can no longer be termed simply an act, but more than that, as someone suggested, it is both an act and a state.

More often than not, "worship" is linked very much to the idea of sacrifice, of displaying reverence, praise, submission, obedience, and the like.

How many of us know that worship is not simply the act?
That it is spawned in the hidden wonders of the heart and the spirit and the soul, that the mind acknowledges and expresses into outward witness-able actions. It requires the heart, the mind, the spirit, the body.

How many of us have heard our leaders insist that worship is not simply the part where we sing songs during a church service?
That worship goes far beyond that limited, fenced-off time, spilling over to engulf our entire lives. Every moment (I'd go so far as to say in waking consciousness and in sleeping, dreams), every moment of your life, you have a choice to worship God with the things you say, the actions you perform, the thoughts you think.

But how many of us actually realise that worship is more than that?
That it leads us to something that God desires us to obtain?
Worship, so defined by the Hillsong team leader, is to become more and more like the character of God.

The more I think of it, the more I think it true.
If worship is what we are to do, what we want to do every day, every second, every moment of our lives, meditating on God's character & His laws, praising His works, interceeding for others, begging forgiveness, sacrificing for His sake, obeying His commands, submitting to His will, conversing with Him, we cannot help but glorify Him in our doings and thinkings, we cannot help but become more and more like Him. The saying "what goes in, must come out" holds quite true both literally (with food) and metaphorically. The more time you spend with God, the more you become like Him. The more you worship God, the more you become like Him.

Our unifying purpose, my brethren, is to worship Him.
Our aim, my friends, is to become more and more like Him.
Worship leads us to that goal of Christ-likeness.

The more we worship Him in spirit and in Truth, the more we see how marvellous and how deserving He is of our praise, our adoration, our allegiance, our submission. We cannot help but want to worship Him as much we can. It may never feel nor seem enough what we do, but we want to and we do anyways. We give our best and try to out-do ourselves each successive time.

That is why we do what we do. Some of us sing, some jump, some dance, some sit quietly and reflect, some draw, some paint, some create, some cook, some clap, some raise their hands, some fall down, some weep, some write, some clean, some teach, some smile, some play...

And the more we reside in His presence, the more we converse with Him, the more we walk with Him,
the more our hearts beat as one with His, the more our characters bend to His,
the more we become like Him.

What goes in, must come out.

Worship - - - - - - > Christ-likeness

Loving the Lover

2009-03-12T00:16:00.004+08:00

When I first came to the UK at the beginning of my exchange in January, one of the things I knew I needed was to find a church that I could attend faithfully. I didn't quite know how to get about doing that. How indeed does one judge which church to attend? What criteria does one base the judgement upon? What makes one church better than another? I came to no conclusion, found no answers that satisfied me to any of the three above questions. I did manage to find a church that I now attend faithfully. How did I make that decision to stick to this church? Well, I asked God. And during the first song we sang in that church, I felt God tapping on the walls of my heart and I felt that there was something that God would have me do for this church, that I could offer them. I felt I must stay. And stay, I did.

This church offered me what I really longed to have from any church - fellowship.
Every Sunday, after the service was over, we, unless called away by prior engagement or by an emergency, all adjourned to a room in the back where we had tea or coffee and some biscuits. There, we'd stand or sit around and talk and catch up with one another. And they really make a stranger feel so welcomed. I love that. That friendly smile or nod just as service begins, that reassuring "I'm so glad to see you here this week!", that sincere remembrance of what was shared or conversed the week before between two people. It really is like a family.

But there is one thing that I felt lacking in this church. And it is something that I never really could imagine myself saying before. In fact, I probably would never have said nor noticed this were I to never have come here. The way they sang songs to God together as a congregation, to me, leaves quite a bit to be desired. Perhaps I am too "modern" in my thinking, or too accustomed to hearing clapping hands during a fast-paced song, or seeing lifted hands, upturned faces, swaying bodies, jumping bodies...

This puzzled me. Granted, the population of this church is quite old, many were born during World War II, many are parents, grandparents, but surely a trifle so small as rhythm-clapping hands to accompany an up-beat song to express a light-hearted emotion could be witnessed? During my first Bible study with one of the church's small groups, I was a little discouraged to learn that quite a number are very closed to the idea of outward expressions of emotions and even manifestations of the Spirit; gifts from the Lord (such as the speaking in tongues). Yes, even the clapping of hands, someone was dead against it. Not all of them think that way, mind you. But it was still a little discouraging because many, if not all appear to take their cues from those who are very strict and reserved; not many dare (in fact I think only a handful, but they do not often outwardly display either).

Why don't I ignore them and worship God as I feel fit?
Well, it is really not as easy as it sounds. Imagine being in a small congregation of about fifty or so, and being the only one clapping and singing at the top of your lungs. Imagine all eyes on you, among them disapproving stares. I learnt from a Nigerian lady who is about my age that in Nigeria, some of the more conservative churches actually ask you to leave if you so much as clap during the singing of songs.

However, I am not giving up on these people. At least not so easily. A very kind and trusting church lady told me that she thought this very reserved and quiet nature of many of the older generation had to do with their upbringing. These people were born either just before or during the War. These people were the ones whose fathers went off to fight, whose mothers left each day to work. Some of the fathers came home, some never did. These children watch their mothers never physically show any emotion. They watch their fathers go on endless strolls by themselves, or sit in a room staring blankly. So when they grow up, that's all they know. That's what they think is right and so they too in turn hide their emotions. But the lady told me that the more something matters to them, the more they hold dear in their hearts, the more they hide it away. But if I should go and talk to them one-on-one, there is a chance that I might see what they treasure. She told me not to be discouraged.

I think it really is interesting that childhood matters so much. This really is like sociology, psychology coming to life right before my eyes. Intriguing!

Very interesting to learn of and witness the different styles of worship!
But I do so love to worshipping God with what He has given me. I personally cannot imagine worship without at least facial expression... What God has given me, whatever I can use, my physical body, my mental capacity, my abilities, my gifts from Him, &c., I shall use to worship Him as best I can because that is all I can offer Him for so much that He has given me.

No style is perfect.
No style is wrong.
What matters is that you are worshipping the Lord as best you can and as best you know how.

Praise the Lord!

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands...

~ Psalm 149: 1-6

I Can't Wait to Get to Heaven -- Keith Green

2009-03-10T19:24:00.001+08:00

Lent & Fasting

2009-03-02T01:34:00.061+08:00

Today's sermon was interesting. It was entitled "why we keep Lent". I'll bet some of us don't even know what Lent is, its significance, its meaning.

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.

Thus begins an old hymn that was based on Christ's temptation in the desert by the tempter as recorded in Matthew 4.

There are many interesting things about Lent, like the symbolic significance of the forty days, the colour purple typically used by churches to mark this period, how the forty days are counted in different cultures across the globe, and what the word "Lent" actually means. And if you'd like to know the answers to those questions, many books and websites available online will suffice to quench your curiosity.

But what I find interesting is the association of Lent with fasting.
Already I see some of us cringing at the very thought of fasting. That, I think is quite a natural and understandable reaction. Of course, coming from one who lives for food, and once associated fasting with food and only food.

Many people fast from a certain food, or even all food during the entire period of Lent or part thereof. The different types of fasting, from food in particular, can be seen strewn throughout the Bible. Examples and methods and types that we can follow.

A few days back, before the beginning of Lent proper with Ash Wednesday, I felt led to fast.

"God", I said, "I think You want me to fast this year. For the first time in my life. But You know and I know that it most definitely can't be from food. You know how much I need it; without it, I'll die! Or if I don't, I'll die from the embarassment of a growling tummy in a quiet classroom!"

"Hang on", God replied patiently. "It's not from food I want you to fast from. It's selfish dwelling on your emotions. It's what you've been wanting me to teach you to let go of, to look past, to be rid of. Your selfish dwelling and emphasis on your own emotions, especially negative emotions, affecting the way you act towards your friends, towards other people. It is something you can do without and must do without, but let's take it one step at a time: try the forty days of Lent first."

"Oh, okay. But you know it's not going to be easy.. So I pray You help me along the way. And I pray that You won't give up on me.

I love You."

Lent is in essence an emulation, a repetition of Christ's fasting and withdrawal into the wilderness. It's a time, a season of quiet personal reflection leading up to the glorious and victorious celebration of Easter on Sunday, commemoration of the event where Jesus rose from the dead, proving once and for all that He is God, cleansing our sins, being the very manifestation of the magnanimous and undeniable and undying love of God the Father. It's a period where Christians, disciples, children, lovers of God remember the events leading up to the cruxifiction of Christ on the Cross; the tears like blood in Gethsemane, the trial and torture at the hands of Pontius Pilate, the excruciating walk up to Golgotha, the painful cruxifiction and dark death.

Fasting is an outward expression of self-discipline, one of the characteristics Christians strive to, and indeed are called to possess. But it is also an inward desire and product to train the eyes onto God alone.

You see, when a Christian fasts, he fasts not by complaining or voicing excuses of weakness during that period of time. No. He fasts by replacing that time used for say eating with a time of meditation and reflection. His eyes are fixed very clearly, perhaps even more so because of the fasting, on God.

Most don't fast from things they need not or can do without, like colour pencils for children with marker pens, or from using an ipod for youths who have the iphone or phones that are capable of storing music and pictures. Instead, many, if not all, fast from things that they depend on, or things that they practically cannot imagine life without, things they need, or are chained to or have become part of their being, like food or food stuffs, or smoking, or alcohol, or pornography, or like in my case a certain personality tendency. Sometimes, the forty days of fasting in Lent extend long after that year's Lent is over.

Why Christians fast?
Well, some fast from personal convictions, others from the word of God. Some fast in a response to God's instruction, others from longing for and pleading with God. Many reasons, but all include God in the picture. Indeed, God is in the very centre of the picture.

Fasting is not a selfish ambition. At the end, and also throughout the process of fasting, strict meditation and reflection and a constant remembering of why one is fasting in the first place keeps one's eyes and ears particularly attuned to God during that period. If it sounds easy, let me assure you it is not. Imagine going without your favourite gadget, or one you use regularly, imagine going without your favourite food that you eat very often, imagine giving up part of your character.. Not so easy now, is it?
That is why through fasting, we grow to see even more clearly than we ever did. We grow to see how much we've simply got to rely on God. We grow to see His power and might, His character, His perfect goodness and abilities and capabilities, His spot-on timing.
We depend on Him to sustain us, to daily give us strength to see the day through and surplus to bring glory to Him, to worship Him as He rightfully deserves, to not dwell on our myopic plights and discomforts.
We depend on Him even more than if we had not fasted. And we see it most acutely.

That is what fasting is all about.
It is not about bragging to your friend or your crush that you've got the ability to, the time to, or whatever.
It is instead about humility, knowing who God is and who you are. The dependant and the depended-on, the weak and the strong, the imperfect and the perfect.

What more beautiful and perfect way to lead up to wonderful Easter?
I cannot imagine any other but Lent.

To reflect, to meditate, to give thanks.

Grow strong in the Lord, dear ones.
Grow strong and tall and do not falter.
Do not hesitate to come to Him and ask for forgiveness.
Do not hesitate to come to Him and place your offerings at His feet.
Praise and adore Him for who else deserves such attention?

Reflect on your own life & be encouraged.
Remember the torture, the pain, the sadness and the cross & be loved.
Go out and encourage!

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.

Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones thy pillow, earth Thy bed.

Should not we Thy sorrows share
And from worldly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Strong with Thee to suffer pain.

Then if Satan on us press,
Jesus, Savior, hear our call!
Victor in the wilderness,
Grant we may not faint nor fall.

So shall we have peace divine;
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.

Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
Ever constant by Thy side;
That with Thee may appear
At the eternal Eastertide.

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Pleasing Manouvre

2009-02-23T01:40:00.008+08:00

What makes your parents happy?

Surprising them with a weird gift? Enveloping them in a bear hug for no reason? Telling them you love them out of the blue? Sweeping the floor without being told? Picking up after yourself?

As kids, I think more often than not, we always try to please our parents. It's as though we live for our parents' pleasure, we live to please them. When we accomplish something, we run on our little feet pitter-patter along the corridor to where our parents are and proudly show them our latest victories. It could be construed as our learning to be proud at a young age, but I think not. I think a child, and I base this on myself, thinks very little of his own ego. "Pride", in terms of self, exists not in a child's dictionary, let alone consciousness. No, at least for myself when I was little and I hurried to show my prizes to my parents, all I wanted was to make my parents happy, proud of me. I wanted to please them with what I had done.

I'd run home to tell them I've "beaten" someone in school at hula-hoops, I've read this-and-that book, I've drawn this picture for them..

My world truly revolved around them.
Whatever I did, I sought their approval, I sought their happy faces and enthusiastic laughter.

Vested interest.
I formally learnt of this term when I was nineteen in the Economy & Society module in the university. But the meaning of this term was learnt first at a much younger age. I think you know it. It's when you want something, that's the "vested interest", and you do whatever you assume you must to get at it. For example, your parents only allow you to keep your hair long if you stayed a good girl for a week. And because you really want long hair, you resolve skirt pass all temptations to act up for a whole week, so that at the end of it, you get your wish.

As we grow older, we do things "for a price". We ask "what's in it for me?" before we decide if it's worth our while, if it's worth our trouble. Our stringent demands and detailed scrutiny of fine-prints heighten when we deal especially with our parents. When they ask us to do something we don't like, for example folding the laundry or washing the dishes, we stomp our feel and mumble under our breaths and put on a displeased and irritated display. But when we want something from them, like a new game for our Nintendo D/S or PSP, we treat them like royalty and proceed to work out an agreement with them.
Gone are the days when we do things simply to please them.

Do you treat your parents the way you did when you were little?

Do you treat God the same way you treat your parents?
Do you know what makes Him happy?
And do you do it?
Do you do it because it makes Him happy or otherwise?

What kept us going as children, returning like serial bounty hunters to our parents, was that feeling of satisfaction we receive when we see that smile, hear that approving voice, feel that comforting touch; not that short-lived gratification when we hold that new game, or down that bottle of alcohol. If ever, our "vested interest" then was vested in our parents, not ourselves.

We never did stop and ponder how inappropriate, or how insufficient, or how inadequate our gifts to parents were. All we cared about was that they approved, was that confirmation of love and pride and joy in us. That's all we lived for.

As adults, as youths, we do sometimes pause and think ourselves not enough, not enough to satisfy the Lord's appetite. How rightly so! Surely God deserves much more than our silly songs, our crummy paintings, our awkward dances, our pathetic money, our limited time, etc. What we bring to Him surely does Him no justice, surely does our feelings to Him no justice.

But don't let these feelings tie you down nor turn you away from Him. He searches and knows our hearts. He fashioned and made our beings; from our neurons to our toe-nails. He creatively created us so we can creatively create and give back to Him. Our hearts carry different burdens, our thoughts occupied by different concerns, our bodies react with different stances. He knows. And I have a funny feeling He did it on purpose because He likes and appreciates variety.

So knowing we possess the knowledge and the capacity and the abilities to please Him, to make Him happy, will we?

Will we στρέφω, really twist and turn all the way round; convert back into the way we once were, and put on the seemingly rags of the humble?

Will we be ready to admit our wrongs & re-capture that teachable, malleable heart
relinquish our command over things & re-possess that absolute, automatic trust
run from shady vague un-truths & re-exercise that bold frank-ness
realise our respect & re-turn to that sumbissive stance
put aside ego and image & re-abandon that deceptive, mysterious mask
surrender all & re-ly on Him?

Will we ταπεινόω, really depress ourselves, our ego; humiliate our hearts and minds, and become like a παιδίον, a child; an immature youngling once again?

Do we have the courage and the faith to do so?

'At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."'
~ Matthew 18: 1-4

My Family (2005)

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Leaning Tower

2009-02-19T18:51:00.008+08:00

I am nearing the end of this particular exposition.. At least for now unless and until God shows me more to explore.

I will be turning two and twenty come October this year. Two and twenty years (not to mention the approximately nine months in my mother's womb) of existence. We learn and are taught to stand on our own two feet, to be independent. And now, as I am writing this overseas, in the room allocated me by the university, away from my family, away from my parents, I am thrust into the world, far from the comfort and familiarity of home, having to learn to be on my own. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad about being taught to fend for oneself! Indeed, it might even be thought good because our earthly companions, parents, siblings, family, friends, acquaintences, will all fade and fall away. They cannot be with us forever, at least not while we are here on Earth. We cannot take for granted that we shall always have them with us.

I am reminded by my little cousin, especially seven-year-old Aren, that when I was little, I relied entirely upon my parents. I relied on them for the boring necessities of life, my education, my enrichment, my health, my food, water, shelter, my toys, my protectors, my "chauffeurs", my disciplinarians, my ATM machines.. I needed them. Strange how of all creatures, we, human beings, are but one of the relatively few species whose young are born utterly defenseless and reliant on their parents. No bright markings pigment our skin to warn off hungry predators nor changing colours to camoflage, no sharp beaks nor kicking hooves, no tails to swim away nor wings to fly, no stiff cocoon to snuggle in nor ink to confuse. We are, as they say, sitting ducks. We cannot even stand on our own feet!

Even our emotions, feelings of worth, etc. These were dependent in our first years, at the very least, on our parents. Our feelings were hinged almost, if not so directly onto theirs, onto their actions. We value their displays of love, their help, their provision for our leisure.. I remember my parents tirelessly taking me to the library which was at Marine Parade week after week to feed my voracious reading appetite. I remember holding up a whole apple to my mother who sat in our sunken TV area in our Toh Crescent home, asking her to help me because I couldn't take one measely bite out of the smooth and hard surface (my mouth was too small to have a good grasp of it!). She'd take it from me, and taking a bite, passed me the bit that she chewed off and the rest of the apple back. I'd be so happy because now I can eat my apple, starting from the concave jagged groove that my mother had made for me. I remember being so terrified after watching Jurassic Park that I daren't go up to my room alone to sleep. In my parents' absence, my grandmother would take me up and sit with me until I fell alseep.

I felt so secure in my status in life in terms of survival, my position amongst my family and friends from Kindergarten and the neighborhood because of what they did. I did not deserve nor earned any of it. I was not the most well-behaved of children, nor was I the handsomest. But my parents and uncles and aunts and grandparents especially all showered me with love and affection such that I was content.

Today, while I, a person who places high significance on her family still and probably always will, do depend to some extent on my family for my needs, I am growing increasingly independent, feeling that I have to earn merit, earn respect, earn tokens which I may redeem to add to my sense of worth. My mental and emotional constitutions, gradually increasingly dependent on my pride and self-precribed worth, become more and more complicated to appease, seeking approval of wider society and networks more vast, than just my parents, family & close friends. Quite a way from when I was a child, and the world revolved around my small circle of people.

There is nothing wrong with growing independence, for your Earthly parents cannot be with you forever. It cannot be that should they die, you lose all sense of self and decide to live not a moment longer. And as they age, the disc-like table will rotate, and you, their child, will now be holding the bowl and spoon, while they, your parents, will be sitting in the babyseat, now dependent on you. Remembering the past, when you were the babe and they were your guardians, how will you then treat them?

But there is one parent who indeed begs you forever to rely on Him, to be totally and absolutely dependent on Him. He wrings His hands in desperate hopes that you will tie your future with Him, attach your affections and emotions to His.

As we learn to be independent on Earth with regards to our Earthly society, realising where and in whom we once placed our entire faith and trust and life are not eternal constants, learn also to be dependent on the Father, the One who is eternal and the same always, the Rock, the High Tower, the Shield, the Gardener, the Provider, the Lover, the King, God.

Turn back the clock, neglect your down-trodden feelings of unworthiness, for we will never be found worthy of such a Relation. Allow them to lurk such that they keep you grounded and humble, but no more than that. Instead trust that He has the power and the authority to grant us everything we shall need in His perfect timing and way, and at times even what we want. Trust and lay back in His perfect parenting, His deep knowledge of each individual us, & His never-dying love for His creation.

Be a child, the child that to Him you always will be, and let the world revolve, as it rightfully should, around Him.
Be the Leaning Tower against His strong and mighty hand.

' Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices! '

~ Psalm 37: 3-7

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Abandoned Mask

2009-02-18T16:54:00.006+08:00

Elinor from Jane Austen's 'Sense & Sensibility' probably came a far way since when she was a child. Full of sense, prudence, tact and obligation, she even goes to the extent of swallowing her true feelings and keeping them thus concealed within her tortured being to spare her more emotionally-driven mother and two sisters any depression. Probably not all of us are like her in that capacity; able to keep even our feelings secret and utterly private, we need at least someone to share what weighs upon our hearts with.

But still, should we compare ourselves now and with ourselves when we were but children, I would daresay we too are a far enough cry from our younger days.

As children, most of us would probably not care how our actions and behaviors and expressions would affect our standing in society. We knew not the meaning of self-control, neither did we know when to exercise it. We simply acted in the manner we felt like at that moment. If we were happy, heard a tune being played and felt like dancing, we would! If we were just spanked and were surprised and physically hurt, we'd cry. If we felt like showing love, or requiring comfort, we'd run and hug our parents tightly.

Growing up, we are taught not to allow our expressions of emotions free reign.
We are taught self-control.
Self-control is not bad, though. Where it is exercised wisely, it yields great and good results and consequences.

But methinks we over-do it, or we've yet to know when it is appropriate to be controlled, but when to let 'em lose. We have too much concern for our 'image', to aware of the fragility of our dignity, too proud to be 'un-civilised', too afraid to reveal. No doubt we still express our inner feelings, but in a more muted fashion. No longer do we burst out in song or dance when we feel elated, no longer to we crumple and collapse in a pleading, sobbing heap when we feel sad or dejected..

When you worship the Creator, the Forgiver, the Lover, our God, writing a song for Him, helping someone cross the street, offering your seat to someone who needs it more than you do, consoling a friend, encouraging the discouraged, disciplining and advising the young..
When you sit content in His presence and bask in the glorious sunshine of His love..
When sickness of heart grips you in its iron fists..
When you feel alone..

Allow yourself to courageously behave like a fool for the Wisest.
Be a child once more and tear off the mask on your face that is vital in expressions, for I do not think He chose to riddle our bodies with sinews of muscle and ligaments to stand controlled and our feelings supressed in His presence. No, I believe He gave us physical strength to worship Him, and emotional strength to take our 'silly-ness'.
Show your emotions in your own ways; dancing, singing, skipping, drawing, painting, creating, smiling, clapping, stomping, running, hugging, kneeling, bowing, crying, sobbing, sitting, lying, punching, speak, play, etc.

Unabashedly and unrestrainedly express your joy in the Lord!
Uncontrollably and brokenly express your sadness to the Lord!
And all the in betweens, mixtures and corners..

God's Own Fool (Michael Card)

seems i've imagined Him all of my life as the wisest of all of mankind,
but if God's holy wisdom is foolish to men He must have seemed out of His mind.
for even His family said He was mad, and the priests said the demons' to blame!
but God in the form of this angry young man could not have seemed perfectly sane.

we in our foolishness thought we were wise, He played the foold and He opened our eyes.
when we in our weakness believed we were strong, He became helpless to show we were wrong.
so we follow God's own fool, for only the foolish can tell.
believe the unbelievable!
come be a fool as well!

so come lose your life for a carpenter's son, for a mad man who died for a dream,
and you'll have the faith his first followers had, and you'll feel the weight of the beam.
so surrender the hunger to say you must know! have the courage to say i believe!
for the power of paradox opens your eyes and blinds those who say they can see.

we in our foolishness thought we were wise, He played the foold and He opened our eyes.
and we in our weakness believed we were strong, He became helpless to show we were wrong
so we follow God's own fool, for only the foolish can tell.
believe the unbelievable!
come be a fool as well!

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Up-turned Palms

2009-02-17T18:27:00.008+08:00

What keeps little children from moving off their seat when you give them a time-out? Or when you say "no" when they ask you for a sweet just before dinner time? Some of them may pout or even throw a tantrum, but most would obey and respect what you say anyways. I'm pretty sure you did not put glue on their seats so they sit there and think about what they've just done wrong, and you did not tie their hands together behind their backs so they cannot help themselves to a cookie. No. So what is it that keeps them "in line"?

Ever observed children playing a game, or perhaps even joined them in one? When my seven year old cousin wants to play a game with me, but one that is new to me, he proceeds to dish out all the instructions and the rules he has learnt about the game, expecting me to follow and not cheat (I know this because I've tried a couple of times just for amusement's sake).

Observance of something that is higher in authority than they are is something most children possess. They need not the person of higher authority who made the rules or gave the instruction to be physically presnt for them to obey. They simply needed to know their given perimeters and they'd stay within them.
But it is also something that most lose as they grow older. They go through what is termed a "rebellious phase" where they seem to live only to annoy and to disobey. They find joy in flouting rules and getting away with it. I speak not from ignorance, but from experience. I think many of you know what I mean.

Respecting and Obeying a higher authority is not easy especially when you've dug up their "skeletons in the closet", when you've got way too much pride and way too little humility.
Think you don't have this problem? Here's a simple, but not fool-proof, test: when you're in a class (be it in school, or in church during Bible studies, etc.) and the teacher in front starts to speak, do you continue talking with your friends, ignoring the teacher?

We think we know better than the one who is trying to teach us, the one who is our senior, the one who has the authority. We think them outdated, we think them inexperienced or too "slow" or that they "don't know what we're going through", we think them not worthy of our attention and respect. We think ourselves above the rules, above their command. We think ourselves superior, and them inferior.

Our decisions to treat authority as frivalous wooden toys hurts both the people around us and it also hurts God, who is watching us. He watches us as we choose to disrespect our parents, disrespect their wishes, disobey given rules, not submitting to the authority that He has placed above us to guide us and to teach us because soon we too shall be the ones in authority with the task to exercise our authority and wisdom and judgement over the next generations.

Jesus has asked us, told us to return to the way we were when we were but children, learning, trusting, honest and submissive children. Loving hildren who belong to the Loving Father. The body whose head is Christ.

For if God first loved us, and now we love God, and God loves His creations, surely we must aspire and stubbornly try to love them. Unlovability is not a factor.

So,

'Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people whoa re free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Honour everyone.
Love the brotherhood.
Fear God.
Honour the emperor.

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight o God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.'

~ 1 Peter 2: 13 - 21 (paragraphing added)

'Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."'

~ 1 Peter 5: 5 (paragraphing added)

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Revealed Cards

2009-02-13T18:50:00.006+08:00

Ever felt the torture and embarassment of a kid's brutal honesty?

They don't tell it like you want to hear it; they don't use polite words, nor avoid touchy subjects, nor sugary coat their sentences, they simply tell it like it is. Their honesty explained in this manner definitely sounds no more appealing than a fly in a soup, but children know nothing but honesty. They don't lie. So in that respect at least, you can be assured that their opinions and their reports are precisely what they've heard or seen or felt or smelt or tasted.

So what happened between that innocent honest beginning and the conniving calculative adult? I remember learning to lie when I was about nine. I forged my first signature when I was nine on a spelling test I did not do well in. I was ashamed for that bad grade, but at the same time, I was afraid of the consequences of the bad result. A classmate told me to copy one of my parent's signature onto the paper. I asked if that was all right and she said "perfectly so". So then of course my parents were asking after my results, to which I lied saying that it was not returned to us yet. And from then on, I was educated in the art of verbal deception, and I am rather ashamed to say that I grew to be very good at it. My lies were fool-proof and never found out.

Perhaps not all of us have lied to such "terrible extents", but how about telling someone their make up is horrible, or their outfit looks crummy, or their room smells funny, or the food isn't that good? Do you say it like it is, but of course in a more tactful manner and not as painfully blunt as a kid might phrase it? Or do you avoid the subject altogether, and when breached, you answer with a vague but total opposite sentiment to what you really think?

A child's honesty cloud also shadows on the pasture of their requesting for something or someone. Their words are not coated in bashfulness nor unworthiness nor uncertainty. There are exceptions like for example naturally shy children who speak very quietly and with their heads bowed, fingers in nervous knots and feet pointed towards each other. But more often than not, especially towards their parents and siblings, children ask with no shame. "I want that cookie!" or "I need to go potty!" or "Carry me!" Familiar? I'll be you asked the same things in the same manner when you were little.

As an adult, we feel a strange sense of uncertainty that what we ask for may be refused. If for no good reason, we accept, but if for a reason that borders on sensitive issues or self-image, we feel absolutely devastated and embarrassed and wished we'd never asked in the first place. And as we grow older, some of us might even feel ourselves not up to even asking for anything! For some reason, our emotions have gone on overdrive and steer our lives. Our emotions, particularly pride, have become our masters.

Emotions are not downright evil. They are given to us by God, crafted into our beings as a gift to assist us in our relationship and experiences with God, our Lover. I learnt in Sociology that emotions are at least one of the components that make us human. So we need them. But when they takeover and we become their slaves, it is wrong. God and only God can be our rightful master, and we His humble servants.

Undeserving indeed are we of His generosity and love and forgiveness and protection and care and even attention. Insufficient are are our words and actions and behaviors of praise and worship and adoration to Him. But still He chose to look, to listen, to be a part of our lives, of us.

When I ask Him for something, even something as seemingly trivial as a good dream at night, I feel a great sense of unworthiness, that my sins are great and so I deserve not His even listening to my requests. My words and even body language as I speak them reflect this inner turmoil. I have lost that child-like innocence to demand from my parent, even though as a child, I owe everything including my very existence to my parents and "by right" have no right to ask anything of them.

But the Father says to praise and to honour and to glorify and to beseech and to plead and to converse with Him. It is practically a command, I feel!

We are unworthy, yes. But through the blood of the blemish-less Lamb, we have been made worthy. The bridge has been restored.

Do not avoid or cover up your sin. Do not feed your sinful nature and give in to pride and ego, lying and giving excuses for your moments of weakness to the Lord for He desires not that response to your giving in to temptation. Instead, expose it! Tell it like it is! Reveal your hand of cards on the table! Lie it naked before the Lord and ask that He forgives you.

Pray; give thanks and ask the Lord, who has sent His one and only Son to die for you, for everything and anything!

Speak with a heart that knows its unworthiness, but also a heart that hopes in faith to receive.

Encourage each other to speak in Truth, even if it is the hardest thing to do with another person, even if it is the hardest thing to hear from another person.

' Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.'

~ Ephesians 4:25

It is hard to return to this state of child-like frankness.

But try to embrace, that it may not be shackled to your feet and weigh you down, & look past, that it may not blind you to the Truth, that sin that was wiped with pure and holy blood from your slate, and see the Almighty reaching out to you with loving hands and gaze.

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Automatic Trust

2009-02-11T23:32:00.006+08:00

I've worked with children, for children.. I love kids. I love how when they look up at your face, into your eyes, there's no pretense. When they ask me for something or about something or someone, they take my answer. No questions asked. If they do ask, it's usually a follow-up question, building on my answer and not refuting or doubting its accuracy, reliability or validity. I think there's quite a lot of trust involved here, and trust in someone they've only but just met!

Have you ever carried a little baby before? Or even a toddler, or small child. (If they're not already throwing a fit for whatever reasons,) they hold still and are content in your arms. They squirm and adjust a little to feel more comfortable if your arms start getting tired and droopy, but other than that, they remain as they were and do not cling to your kneck in fear that you might drop them. If they ascertain that you are not comfortable in holding them, they assist you by putting their arms around your kneck or shoulder. They don't care how old you are, or how strong you are, or how "qualified" you are to know the correct method of carrying them; they just trust that you ain't going to drop them and injure them. They don't even need past experiences to back up that trust; they give it automatically from the get go.

Growing up, one of things we gradually discard is that automatic trust. We doubt our government's sincerity, the advertiser's interest, the things we read, the food we put into our mouths, even the people we meet. We simply must "check it out" and verify the data we receive, the sources from whom we receive, we judge by the method it was delivered.. I remember my first conscious putting on of the lense of "uncovering the truth" was in my history class when I was fifteen. We were learning about propaganda, vested interests and to decode sources (pictures, transcripts, etc.). That was when I began to realise that world was not all that simple.

But still, I am quite trusting as a person. I will give you the benefit of the doubt if you say you need some money to take a bus because you've lost your wallet, if you need help in finding a location, or if you want me to taste your sauce for you, even if you're a stranger or shallow acquaintence. Though there was this one time that really shook me and my trust in people. A young man came up to me when I was I think seventeen or eighteen and asked to borrow my handphone. So I said yes. The moment he took it, he ran off. I can tell you I felt very miserable. My parents and friends have warned me about lending my handphone to strangers, but I always thought no one could be that desperate or mean. Apparently, I was wrong. At the moment though, my trust in people still stands though it is standing under the shade of slight wariness.

As we grow in age and experience, depending on our environment and the people situated within our circumstances, we gradually, or sometimes immediately, lose that initiative to trust automatically. It may be from habits and skills we've acquired from school, or from experiences with people or objects even.

I'm not too sure about trusting people, the degree which we would consider reasonable, the expressions that we would consider appropriate..
But I do know that we ought to place our complete trust in God above for the simple reason that He is who He is. His very character forbids Him to lie and cheat, His tendencies and inclinations towards us obliges Him not to treat us as play things, but as beloved creations of value and worth.

We place our trust in the salvation we receive by the acceptance of Jesus' death and blood on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice, atonement for us in all our sinful glory.
But do we place our trust in Him daily when He says to speak to that person, that friend, or that stranger? To put that much money into the offering bag? To do something that is just outside of what we're accustomed to, comfortable with?
To take a leap and let Him catch you?
To take the opportunity He is leading you to, to let Him wrap you in His trustworthy arms?

I don't think many of us can say we place our entire trust, no part lacking, no area left under our control, our idea of standards and utopian situations, in the Lord. I know I can't.
We can't say that when we say we fear, nor when we say we prefer our way to His. If we say that, we aren't putting our trust in His ideas for our lives, in His ideas of expressions of His love to us, in His ideas of the perfect timing and the perfect method.

At times, it's hard for us to relinquish command over areas of our lives. Sometimes, this reluctance to let it go, let it return to the only One whose hands are worthy of steering the rudder, eats like a plague into more areas, even our ministries in church. We think we know better, we think we must plan and then pray for His blessing on our plans, we think if we don't act now, it'll all go to waste. We place our trust in ourselves. And when things go great, our ears strain to hear the praise that belongs to us. But when things take a turn for the ravine, we point the accusing finger to God, we get discouraged.

But sometimes we realise our mistakes. Our loving God points it out to us and yearns for us to come back to Him, to let Him steer the boat.

Question is:
Have we learnt our lessons?
Have we the humility to say we were wrong?
Have we the humility to say it was His doing in times of success, and to give Him the glory due?

Have we that child-like faith, that absolute faith, that automatic faith in Him to trust Him?

Read the Bible and be convinced of His nature, His statues, His promises.
Be convinced of His love & goodness.
Be convinced of His trustworthiness.

And just trust Him.
Put your arms around Him and let Him carry you.

I think that is what Jesus wanted.
I think that is what He meant when He said we ought to be like the little ones.

'Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?

All day long they injure my cause,
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.
For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings,
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afriad.
What can man do to me?

I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feel from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life."

~ Psalm 56

Exposition into Child-likeness - The Malleable Heart

2009-02-10T19:07:00.008+08:00

Let me begin this exposition by saying that I really am not too sure if I'm taking these verses out of context, so please forgive me and correct me if I am wrong.

'At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."'
~ Matthew 18: 1-4

These verses, especially the last two puzzled me. Indeed, I still have a few more little details to work out.

Here is what I don't quite understand:
'"... Whoever humbles himself like this child..."'
What does it mean to humble yourself like a child?
Is a child humble to begin with?

So I decided to explore a few characteristics that most children possess, traits that perhaps most adults, or even teenagers and young adults have lost, in hopes that some corner of the veil between us and understanding be lifted, in hopes that we at least catch a glimpse of the Truth behind Jesus' words.

Do you ever notice that children ask a lot of questions? And I mean a lot. I remember passing through a playful phase where no matter what answer I was given, I'll take it in, but I want to get to the very bottom, to understand the subject in all its glorious totality. So I'll say after each answer, "yes, but why?" My uncle was game enough to provide me answer after answer, right until probably the eighth time I asked "why" and I was satisfied.

The "what" phase, the "why" phase, the "how"s, the "when"s, and "who"s...
Children don't seem to ever stop asking. Even simple things like learning to hold their chopsticks right and learning to read, they'd ask unabashedly. Trusting that the answer(s) they receive are true and correct.

Do you remember that time? When your parents especially are your heroes. They seem to know everything, do everything right in your eyes. From teaching us about the planets in our solar system and identifying star constellations, to drawing us a kitten for our art project, our parents seems the most talented people we've ever come across. We hang onto their every word as though it were precious stones or gold. It didn't matter if what we thought, if our own "common sense" were marked with a big red cross; what mattered was that now we know what is correct. I remember. I'm not sure if you still see your parents in that manner, though. I know I'm edging away from it.

And I think, at least for myself, the reason why I'm putting up speed bumps and hurdles that the information I learn from my parents and even teachers and friends, testing each one at the very least, is because I'm proud. I want to be able to say "no, that's not correct, but this is why..." to them, to stamp a huge angry cross on their answers. I want to be able to say their answers are wrong, but mine are correct. I want the credit when things go right, but shun it when things don't. I want to appear clever and intelligent.
Perhaps For others, at times it's not even because they're proud, but because they're stubborn. Before they even enter in to a debate, they've long since made up their minds that their way is the the right way. So even though they "listen", they toss the sheets of information the other party's feeding them with behind their backs so they're somewhere in their consciousness, but not studied and digested. All they know is it's their way, or the highway of misleading misconceptions. If others will not give way to them, they throw up their hands in disgust, shake their heads in obvious display of disagreement and stomp out the door.

But why is it so crucial that we turn and be open to suggestions, differing opinions, opposing viewpoints, and also encouraging ones?
First, answer me this: why did God create children to be so unashamedly inquisitive?
The obvious reply would be so that they can learn. They can learn and so grow up to be independent and "self-sufficient" in that they may be able to take care of themselves, getting a job, finding food and housing, etc. should their parents no longer be with them. The bottom line is so that they may learn the ways of living.
So we need, we must take on that inquisitiveness, that open, malleable heart in order to learn the ways of God, to grow into Christ-likeness.

This does not of course mean that we go about every debate and information imparting sessions with no background, no informed opinions and no filters; just blind trust. Definitely not! Rather it means that we tackle issues intelligently; with our experiences and information that we've harvested over the years, but at all times be ready to concede that we were wrong, to shove pride entirely out of the picture, to maintain a humble, teachable heart just like a child's.

So are we able to put aside our pride?
Are we able to στρέφω, to really twist and turn all the way round; to convert back into the way we once were, and put on the comparative rags of the humble?
Are we able to ταπεινόω, to really depress ourselves, our ego; to humiliate our hearts and minds, to become like a παιδίον, a child; an immature youngling?

Do we have a humble, teachable, malleable heart?

Do we possess sufficient humility to become like a child once more and grow and be educated in the ways of humble but proud, quiet but exciting royalty that only befits the children of the most high King, our Lord and God Almighty?

Lord of creation to You be all praise!

2009-02-09T06:33:00.004+08:00

Lord of creation to you be all praise!
Most mighty your working, most wondrous your ways.
Your glory and might are beyond us to tell,
and yet in the heart of the humble you dwell.

Lord of all power I give you my will,
in joyful obedience your tasks to fulfil.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song,
and held in your keeping my weakness is strong.

Lord of all wisdom I give you my mind,
rich truth that surpasses my knowledge to find.
What eye has not seen and what ear has not heard,
is taught by your spirit and shines from your word.

Lord of all bounty, I give you my heart,
I praise and adore you for all you impart.
Your love to inspire me, your counsel to guide,
your presence to shield me whatever betide.

Lord of all being I give you my all,
if e'er I disown you I stumble and fall.
But led in your service, your word to obey,
I'll walk in your freedom to the end of the way.

~ John Copley Winslow

p\s: if you wish to sing this, it is sung to the tune of Slane (is. same melody as Be Thou My Vision)

Re-arranging the Furniture

2009-02-05T17:17:00.004+08:00

Last night, I dreamt I was entering my hotel room, wherever it is. And as I approached the door to the room, there was a great champagne-coloured sofa sitting right smack in the middle of the doorway such that one must climb onto it in order to get into the room itself. Inside, there was a pair of dark green simple wooden framed chairs, a pair of plush champagne armchairs, and another pair of deep maroon plush armchairs (though not as classy as the champagne ones), two potted plants, a standing golden lamp, a fireplace, and a queen-sized bed resting on its golden frame complete with white bed linen, two pillows and a pink-ish quilt with ornate shimmery embroidery. Immediately, I set about my task (which seemed apparent to me in my dream, though no one told me I had to) of re-arranging the furniture to make it more live-able as everything was in a mess! A man was present, and also a family member or friend, though I could not see her face, I felt I knew her. These two were in the room, the man dishing out advice and instruction about where each furniture should be, and how I must consider the other pieces as I moved a single furniture, the girl just being there. I could not see the man, but I could see the girl. And as I was re-arranging things, new furniture appeared where there once was none, and old ones disappeared! As such, my job of re-arranging was never completed.

Accepting God as our Lord and Master, Jesus as our Saviour and Friend, the Holy Ghost as our conscience and guide, is quite like re-arranging the furniture in a room.

Your life, your character, your being is the room, equipped with some pieces of furniture already present. As you lived apart from the knowledge of God, you arrange the pieces yourself, under the influence of others you come to interact with.
But then, once God comes into your life, everything changes, whether abruptly and suddenly, or gradually and almost unnoticeably.

No one can remain the same in a relationship with the good Lord, because what we were, our personalities, our tendencies and inclinations, are not the same as God's. Our purposes and viewpoints, our hearts' desires are not the same as God's. And upon entering that sacred and fragile relationship, we cannot help but be moulded by the Father's great love and grace and glory and forgiveness and mercy and honour and majesty. Perhaps "cannot help" is the wrong phrase, but rather, "must" would be a better word, for what our sinful nature desired was not, is not, and never will be compatible with what God desires.

We change for the Lord. We are changed by the Lord for the Lord.

He adds new things, new furniture, to our knowledge, to our beings, to our rooms and takes away others. He causes some rooms to diminish in size and others to be stretched.
We are shaped into beings that more and more resemble the Father, not His disciples, not His Old Testament heroes and prophets and seers, but God Himself.

Dear ones, I am being taught that the past can sometimes keep you captive, but for this instance, I think it not captive, but the route to freedom. Look back, reflect.
How has the Lord changed you?
How has He urged and encouraged and disciplined you?
And how have you responded?

It all boils down to the same few questions one must address daily, indeed every moment.
Do you know those vital questions that demand answers that are lived and not merely uttered?

' Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

But that is not the way you learned Christ!
-- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.'

~ Ephesians 4: 17 - 24 (paragraphing added)

Quandary & Felicity

2009-02-03T18:10:00.005+08:00

'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.'

~ Psalm 46: 10

This short psalm culminates to this exciting and emotional verse.

In the original Hebrew text, "be still" is recorded as a form of the verb "רפה" (raphah). It means to cause oneself to be weak or faint; to make yourself let go; to cease and to slacken.

But the verse leaves us hanging not. It continues to entreat us to "know". We are to "be still", to cause ourselves to decrease in our eyes, and in Hebrew grammar, in order to "know".
A variant of the verb "ידע" (yadah) is used. It means to know, but to know in a great variety of manners; to know figuritively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially; to acknowledge; to comprehend not on blind trust, but to intelligently observe and discern.

And what is it that we are to "know"?
We are to know that God is God. Indescribable, incomprehensible, uncontainable, infinite, all-powerful God of all creation.

My family in Christ, let Psalm 46 be on your lips when you are troubled, when you are in distress, when you are dismayed for it speaks of our everlasting and immovable Father, our powerful stronghold and commander-in-chief, our fortress. Let Psalm 46 be also proclaimed proudly and vehemently when you triumph, when you are joyous, when you praise our God.

'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy inhabitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.'

~ Psalm 46

Because I find my happiness in making Him happy.

2009-01-30T04:19:00.007+08:00

I'm taking two modules this semester. Both of them are part of a part-time degree programme, hence almost all my classmates are middle-aged or older save one thirty-ish gentleman (I call him so because he really is a gentleman in manners and air) in one class, and a German exchange student who's about my age in the other class. So you can imagine I don't really get much of a chance to get to know other UK students my age. I don't get invited to hang out in town, or to go for trips somewhere together, especially because those I do get to know are busy with work, family and house. The only UK people I know now, and not too well still since it's only been two weeks, are my floormates and my classmates.

It's not a big deal, I guess, but I've always thought I'd get to know more UK people or even exchange people from other places while I'm here; oh, the novelty of adding someone who's not Asian to my Facebook Friends application! I did get to know some UK people, a girl from Holland, and more Asian people and for that I really am thankful! But still..

Today, it suddenly occurred to me that one way, and an almost certain way I might add, to get to know or be acquainted with more UK people is to join one of my Singapore friends on her nights out to the clubs in town with her UK housemate and friends. You know how as the snowball starts rolling down the hill, gathering more snow, it gets bigger as it rolls? Same principle; start with one bunch and get to know more.

And there I paused and a little conflict arose within me. Why not? If that is what I want, why not? Certainly the Bible did not say "thou shalt not go to clubs" or "though shalt not go to clubs to gain acquaintences". And afterall, I am here and my parents are not; they need not know my every move.

I sat facing the window, watching the dark landscape, dotted with occassional dots of orange street lights, framed by the four square panes of window, uncertain and conflicted tears started falling down my face. I told God what I know He wanted to hear, and what I wanted Him to hear, and what I needed to hear myself. I told Him that I would not go to clubs, especially not for such a reason. If a friend were in trouble and needed my immediate assistance at the club, it'd be another matter entirely. But for such a reason, I shan't. The Bible did not say such things as quoted above, but it did say to honour our parents, and my parents are apprehensive about my going to clubs. I have utterly no intention of disobeying or dishonouring them by going behind their backs and covering my tracks by lying.

God quoted my first psalm to Him "... bend my will to receive Yours...". I shall bend my will to receive His. God has been very good to me not just this past two weeks, but for my whole life! Even before I knew Him! I have every reason to let Him do the planning for my life, to bring people into my life and out of my life. And indeed I have every intention of letting Him do so.

Often at times in our lives, we are faced with heart-wrenching dilemmas; on the one hand, we have something that is questionable but desirable in our eyes, and on the other hand, we have God's way.

How then do we choose?
What then do we choose?

I don't know.
I chose by faith, and faith not unfounded.
I chose by love, and love for people and One who deserve my love and more than I can ever offer.

I chose God's way, I chose the way I know will lead me to where I want to be.
I want to stand in front of God in Heaven and hear Him say "welcome, good and faithful servant! come and share in the Master's happiness!"
I chose to honour my parents, I chose the path that will make God happy.
I want to make my parents proud of me, I want my siblings to look up to me and be proud of their big sister, I want my God to be proud to be called my God and to be happy...

... because I find my happiness in making Him happy.

What about you?

(Hillsong Kids "Tell the World" You're the Answer)

The Oil that Never Stops Flowing

2009-01-27T21:12:00.004+08:00

Ministry sure is fun! Especially in the "joining" stage where you want to be everywhere doing everything! You want to be on stage in the worship team, you want to be behind the scenes folding the bulletins, you want to be up in the AV room controlling the microphones and slides, you want to teach the younger ones about God.. Really exciting stuff!

Then someone comes along and advises you to think it through, to really seek God and His direction for your life, to ask His instruction on where you should head at the moment, and most of all, that someone gently warns you about spreading yourself too thinly, about serving in too many ministries, about burning out. Almost like cold rain on your parade.

I don't know about God's specific instruction for each one of you reading this post. I don't know if it is His will that you serve in only one ministry, or if you should serve in many. I don't know the intricacies of your individual design, your blueprint as God made you.

But I will say this:
wherever God leads you to, however the situations, whomever you meet, whatever area you end up serving in,
never neglect God.

Some people start off well, with them in the passenger seat and God in the driver's, cruising down the road of service in preparation for His Kingdom, for His glory and to bestow honour and praise to Him. But somewhere along the line, they've switched places with God in the car, and even further sometimes, even kicking God out of the car! They serve people without God leading them on. They are people who serve because they were told to serve, whether by people or by God at the beginning, but have lost sight of their direction, lost sight of the reason, lost sight of God.

I'll let you in on something:
service is a neutral term for a neutral thing.
It is the service for whom that really matters because that person or entity dictates the actual act that constitutes the service.
Serving in ministry pleases God if and only if it is done for God and with God.
Serving without a genuine desire to please and to love, this coming (usually) from an understanding of some sort of the character and the works of God, I would venture to be meaningless even. This kind of service is empty. I probably would not go so far as to say that that angers God, but I would say that it most definitely displeases Him, and to some extent hurt Him.

How then, you ask, does one keep serving in full consciousness that it is for the Lord?

The answer is a simple, but not so simple one.
Simple to say, but not so simple to actually do.
Serve with the Lord.

Seek His counsel and presence. Do not stray from Him. In an excited moment, in a downcast and dreary one, do not walk or run and lose your way. Hold His hand and clench it tightly to your breast. Ask Him and speak to Him as often as you can manage. Remind yourself and walk daily with Him.

"Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!"
~ 1 Chronicles 16:11

Sometime we feel bogged down, or drained for whatever reasons. Sometimes we get so excited we charge ahead and pause only to pray for God to bless what we have planned, only to end up feeling disheartened and tired. Sometimes God speaks very clearly and instructs you on what you are to do in that instance, but sometimes God sits back and lets you choose which way you want to act. Choose wisely and when unsure, ask. Ask God, ask other believers.

Ministry for God should draw you closer to Him with you realising that you need to lean on Him, you need Him to serve.. Well, Him! In ministry, especially those that require servants to give and give, to pour oil into others' cups, without expecting much for mutual return, it can sometimes be as though you were a sponge squeezed dry and laid out in the sun to bake. That is why you must daily walk with God. Take a turn around the garden, just you and God. Let Him pour His oil into your cup. Let Him fill you so that you may go and fill others. Draw your strength from Him for His oil never runs dry. Praise and thank God for that!

And most importantly, obey Him. If He calls you to wait, don't stubbornly plough ahead just because you think it right for sometimes your intentions are noble, and your actions are good, but the timing is just not right. You have no way of seeing this, but God sees. Trust in His perfect timing and wait. If He calls you to take a break, to take a turn with Him around the room, grab a kitkat and rest in His presence. Take a step back, spend some concentrated one-on-one time with Him. If He calls you away to another ministry, do not be burdened by fear and uncertainty, choosing to cling and linger in a comfortable pasture. Go.

Never spend a day without the Lord for it is one of the surest paths to forgetting about Him, forgetting about His big plan for your life, and forgetting to keep an ear open to the smaller directions He injects as we go from day to day, moment to moment.

"Even youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
~ Isaiah 40:30-31

Now go and serve.
Serve the Good Lord.
Serve with the Good Lord.

Remember not to leave His side.
And remember to daily draw oil from the One whose well never dries out.

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

~ 1 Peter 4: 10-11

That One Night Stand

2009-01-23T17:56:00.002+08:00

I remember when I was younger, praying to God only at night, just before I go to sleep. And then slowly, I came to realise that that was not a good idea because I sometimes found myself dozing off whilst still in prayer! Imagine that: talking to someone and then drifting off, your voice becoming an increasingly inaudible whisper, to silence! How rude!

After that, I decided to pray as and when I wanted to. Of course, as time trudged along, I soon forgot to do just that - pray. I decided I was a creature of habit (aren't we all?), and so required a fixed time at least to assure myself and God that I'd spend a bare minimun of time with Him everyday.

It became a morning thing. Which worked fine once I was out of secondary school and junior college (because they were morning schools), and began to gain some experience in the working world. In between during the day, I'd talk to God when I felt I needed to, like a string, held in the palm of God's hand, attached to a bell, hung in my being, and everytime He pulled, I prayed, for whatever He wanted me to pray for.

Today, in this foreign place, I find myself walking and talking and singing to and with God almost every moment of the day. When I walk into town, through town, when I walk from building to building in the university, when I take my bath, when I do my grocery shopping, just before I sleep... I have been like a maidservant in the 19th Century Britain (think Jane Austen), who at every tug of the bell by her masters, she answers obediently and willingly. Everytime God pulls, I answer. Immediately. Sometimes, He just wants to hear me sing, or read Him a passage from the Bible, sometimes it's to pray for someone He places on my heart, sometimes it's to give thanks.

Verses in the Bible, past players in the Faith have beseeched followers and fellow believers to pray always, even in the Old Testament, people prayed anytime, anywhere! Go read! There is no fixed place, nor fixed time. Jesus himself prayed practically continuously. When He is happy, when He is sad, when He is desperate and full of anguish, when He is in pain, He prays.

Often you have heard this, that for a relationship to work, all parties must communicate, whether it be verbally or non-verbally. But communication is a must for such an association to be sustained and to progress.

If you know that,
then how much do you want for this relationship you have with the Lord to work?
No one can answer for you because while we are "in this together", in the midst of this "togetherness" there is "the individual". There are choices and stands you must make for yourself.

If you deem this relationship worthy, if you deem the Lord worthy of tireless and passionate pursuit, how is your communication highway with the Lord like?

Do you treat Him like a one night stand? Your mistress, and not your wife?
Only talking to and appeasing Him at night?
Do you keep Him confined within the walls of your bedroom?

I challenge you to remember the Creator 24\7!

I see the Father sitting up and rubbing His hands together in excited anticipation.
He is ready.

I challenge you to remember Him 24\7!

With a Thankful Heart

2009-01-21T16:12:00.002+08:00

I just had another crazy thought!

I love Christmas.
It means life, it means family, it means love.

While I am here in Guildford, I find myself thanking God for a great many things, things that I probably would never have sincerely thanked God for were I still in Singapore.

I thanked God for the internet, through which I am able to stay connected to my family and friends back home and even over here.
I thanked God for water heaters and radiators so I can keep warm in this cold.
I thanked God for YouTube that I may entertain myself while waiting to fall asleep.
I thanked God for this opportunity to travel to a foreign land.
I thanked God for music that fills uncomfortable silences.
I thanked God for fashioning us in the likeness of Him, that we too are creative mini-creators!
I thanked God for who He is, being able to come with me, no matter where I go.
... ... ...

It's still about the beginning of the year, so try this:
get out your Christmas tree, or if you're lazy just wipe clean a clear window pane.
then everytime you catch yourself thanking God for something, not in jest but very sincerely,
write it down on a piece of paper.
get a bit of sticky tape or bluetack and stick it onto the tree or window (whichever you choose).

This is a year-long project, so don't lose steam!
Keep going!
I'll be you'll find as you keep doing it, it'd be like drinking sweet wine after a long and arduous journey in the desert.

At the end of the year, sit down on Christmas Eve and read all you have written. Thanking GOd all over again as you remember each experience, each grateful moment.

I think thankfulness, the ability to say thank you in truth and all sincerity, is a spiritual gift. Some of us find it easy to do, some harder. Regardless, we have much to be thankful for. The bed we have to sleep in at night, the food on the table, the air to breathe, water to bathe, Bibles we can read, quiet areas in which we can spend time seeking God's counsel, our very life...

Many many ways with which we can employ to thank our God, to worship Him, to show Him our gratefulness.
Some of us sing, some dance, some create artistic works, some write, and some proclaim or shout!
It really is fantastic watching and learning all these ways creative man uses to praise our creative Father.

May you learn to possess an observant eye,
an alert nose,
sensitive skin,
a hungry tongue,
and receptive ears.

May you learn to see what the Lord sees,
and feel what the Lord feels,
and hear what the Lord hears.

May your heart be as moulding clay,
that it should be fashioned in the hands of the Potter
to rejoice and ache and be still and scream
as He does.

May each morning find you raring to go,
and each night find you on your knees in heavy thankfulness.

May you seek the Lord at each turn of the pavement,
and may you find Him in the most unexpected places.

"... but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in singing and making melody to the Lord with everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

~ Ephesians 5: 18b - 21