Θεία Συνομιλία

The Root?

2010-07-28T06:23:00.000+08:00

This morning after doing my devotion, as I was preparing for work...showering, I got my "Eureka" moment. Hmm...now I realize, recently I have been having a lot of "Aha" moments in the washroom. Good sign, good sign....at least it shows that time are well spent. Not wasted into nothing box or zooming into the blank sheet zone.

As I was saying, I was having this "Eureka" moment...All because I was thinking of someone very dear to my heart, currently doing what she is most passionate with in her job, doing what she knows best in different parts of the world. Haha...Yesterday, a few of us got in touch with this very person, and she was telling us about the culture shocks she experienced as she was travelling. Kinda cool to know.

Then as I was bathing, I was thinking to myself of the different cultures around the world, then I begin to think about mine! And I got in touch with the term "China man mindset". Now, not being discriminative, I love Chinese people (because I am obviously Chinese) and I have nothing against China and its way of doing things. It is just, differences in culture. And I appreciate that.

Then, I begin to think of the way my family is structured. Wow. This is really cool....the term "China man mindset" does not only apply to the business world. Talk about my family, I grow up in a very controlled, proper, well-disciplined family. Come to think of it, running a family is like running a small country, eh? My family could be adopting the methods of the China government. Haha. But then again, that's just a thought. (Don't wanna get sued for writing statements without basis in public :P)....

Recently I got to know that it is still a practice in China that boys and girls aren't allowed to sit together! They have to divide themselves. Wow...that sounds like my dearest daddy! Haha...even until I was 15 or 16, hanging out with boys in a GROUP is most of the time an offense to him! Or a guy friend offering me a ride, is totally unacceptable to him! He even claim that I can only get attached at the age of 25 (obviously I broke the rule :P). But then again, I know he is just being protective over his beloved daughter. Hee *love you daddy*

Then, there are rules and regulations, like girls having have to be more homely, learning to cook, wash the dishes, doll up, be pretty, have to be seen at home most of the time...in my family, guys can escape any house chores...but girls..or I would say GIRL (I am the only daughter) has to do most of the chores! Mom wouldn't mind if brothers doesn't wash their plates...but mom make a big fuss if daughter didn't wash hers. Haha...Good discipline I would say. According to mom, I need to serve my husband in all these in future...which is true to an extent. I wouldn't mind serving my husband, but I wouldn't mind a little help either!

Then it comes to guys being the head of the family, which is true...it is very biblical...but guys get to order the ladies around! Woot! Not that it happens all the time in my own primary family...most of us are modernized and received education on equality so on and so forth (well, at least I would fight for my rights...no chance for bullies ;P)....but I realize it happens in my extended family! The girls, being reserved and submissive...but to the extent that men get to have their says, and girls shouldn't comment so much. This is especially practiced by my Grandpa...and when girls have too much opinion...he would say: girls shouldn't talk so much....or my uncle saying: you are a girl! what do you know! Even my mom do agree to it occassionally...."we are girls, what do we know"...hmmm...I refuse to succumb to that. Yes, we are girl, yes we need to submit to the head of family, but I believe in the freedom of speech and opinions too. Haha..Oh well, as much as I would love giving my opinions, I still speak less in respect to my grandpa and uncles....Like what my mom always say: When you are under my roof, you succumb to my rules. Hah!

Haha...not complaining here....but I come to realize all these things....they are so related by the places we come from! I realize that not only in families, but also in certain nation, culture, schools, groups of friends...etc... it is hard to just come in and bring change, shake their boats a little, shake their faith a little, with something new. They can be so attached to old practices, that they find comfort sticking to it even when it is no longer effective in the modern times. Perhaps, people do find security in rigidity? Hmmm...something to think of.

And in a lot of places whereby freedom are not exactly easily found like the developed nations, the more you deprive the citizens of something, the more hungry they are for those things in their lives. In fact, it is most impactful to them because they don't come easy. Likewise, in my family, things are the same. The more our parents try to deprive us of something, the more desperate we are to cling on to it, and fight for it. For instance, the more my parents try to stop us from getting involved in BGR, the more we were desperate for it to try out! Or the more they try not to mention what they called "sensitive issues" (lets say forbid to eat ice cream..LOL) the more we want to find out (or the more we want to have it)! And boy....what chaos it was when information were discovered! We go underground, craving more once we got our hands on it (eating ice creams non stop in schools!) haha...this is ESPECIALLY TRUE for rebellious boys...*ahem*...and I won't deny, it has been true, even till today for me in certain areas of my life. Areas I am not accepted for, areas that I am not given liberty, and by force was obliged to submit... Hmm....ain't it a great thought? Maybe I should try deprive my members of certain things for them to be hungry for it. Haha!

Just kidding. I think I should send them to certain places for them to observe culture, differences, and start appreciating what they have currently.

No wonder, attending Piper's Ministry, they actually teach us that there are certain spirits you will inherit coming from different nations! Now I understand why. It is true to certain extent that where you come from, does affect your upbringing, your mindsets, your thoughts, the things you find security in. And especially if it has been a practice for a long long long long time....you would find it even hard to break away from this rigidity. But as a believer, I am glad, I discover this truth....and I find that breaking away from rigidity, is a constant thing we need to do as the world evolve. As things improve. Now we wouldn't want to be labeled as backward, or irrelevant, would we?

Understanding this, makes me have more compassion for people around me. And I admit sometimes being human, I can disagree and really dislike certain values in my very own family. But understanding all these, it makes me realize why certain thoughts are being wired that way....and that I need to give more grace and compassion. I need to understand, the kind of emotions, the kind of wavelength that goes on in the brains, and what kind of anxiety they go through....I begin to love my family more. I begin to have more compassion, more grace, more understanding rather than judgments. *sweet sigh*

Thank You, God for this "Eureka" moments.

No wonder Chinese are so grounded to sticking to their roots. It makes them feel really belong to one another, and more than that, understand and love one another even more. Haha.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Birthday Celebration 2010

2010-04-08T21:20:00.000+08:00

Those who knew me very well, knew that this year, my birthday didn't start off good, with loads of things, matters, troubleshootings piling up. I don't know why, but somehow, things happening on your birthday makes you feel a little worse than usual. Haha.

It was easter weekend, all of us were rather busy with many things. And in the midst of all these busyness, there were a few issues to deal with, and boy I was so upset with the enemy sowing unnecessary seeds and hassle into the lives of the people I care the most. I was outright UPSET! Nonetheless, I refuse to allow it ruin my birthday and emotions of course, and still CHOOSE to be happy anyway!

My members, especially my interns, went through a lot with me for the past weekend during easter. Those were the times whereby they began to understand my heart, I began to draw out the bigger picture, and help them see beyond just surface....and focus on the BIG PICTURE. Nothing was in vain. We all learned through these process and a lot of us grew to become more and more matured.

Today, I had a delayed, elaborated and wonderful celebration with my cell members. They lied to me....saying that they were suppose to celebrate Charis' birthday...and lied to Charis that they were suppose to celebrate my birthday! Haha...Ok...I thought to myself...that is quite a smart move, eh? However, this is what my cute members did. They rented the Station ONE stage, and made a deal with station one that they can sing a few songs. Melvyn, Yi Zhen and Kevin Rimas were present too!

So the moment we stepped in, they sang some "jolly fellow" song to welcome us. And that was finally when we realized they were celebrating both our birthdays. And then...sat us down directly in front of the stage. Jireh and Grace, emcees of the night.....Jireh fill up the gap of time onstage with some other emo songs. We had personal waitresses (Tress and Grace), getting our orders (fuh...talk about efficiency, we acted before the waiter comes to take order). WUAH...felt like a princess honestly! All needs MET!

Then, while waiting for our food...my members went up onstage again and sang the song....The Climb...by Miley Cyrus....this song touches my heart the most, looking at everyone of them singing with all their heart. Those who are close to me, they would indeed know this song means something to all of us as cell group members. Haha...:) So touched!

Then each of them, went onstage one by one, shared their testimonies and hearts out about how they truly appreciate Charis and me (will upload their testimonies soon). We were both beyond speechless. Didn't realize that they could remember all the things done together! Some I couldn't even remember if I did :)....Truly a touching moment. Huhuhu~ T_T

Then, after some singings, makan, we played some game (Sabo people drink weird drink), then present presentation!!! tanaaa...

speaking about present. my choir member celebrated my birthday last Saturday too! With the sampat people...and boy!! They gave me a super wonderful big present!!! See...see...xP

Not only them, Shirley, my beautiful, anointed, special leadear...and some few close people in subzone were there to celebrate Anna and my birthday too! Gosh...we are so blessed and honored!! :) Feel so LOVED! :D

So back to my cell members celebration, after everything, some sharing on my part...touching touching...singing that's what friends are for...(so cute right?...we actually sang it so loud in station one....competing with the stereo...haha)....Kevin praying for us....we went home.

I really enjoyed the birthday. Beyond the celebration, the thing that cause me to feel really loved, blessed and honored....is looking back at their lives before...and now...how they came a long way to where they are today...how they fought, struggle through, decide, fall, get up...and just keep going......I feel so privileged to be loved by these amazing bunch of people.....they do not know this, but it is truly an honor that I am given the opportunity to be part of their lives...I wouldn't want to have it any other way...They are indeed my family! :)

Love all of you. Keep shining, keep smiling knowing you (I) can always count on me (you)...for sure! That's what friends are FOR!

:)

Empowerment Meeting!

2010-03-11T14:58:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday, I went to Chinese Church to draw from my ever beloved leader, Shirley Boon. Boy, her message yet again so relevant and so.......NECESSARY!! I think I need to do that whenever I am free on Sundays. Her ONE word always changes life.

After listening to her message, immediately that Sunday itself, I decided, I need to have an empowerment meeting. I need to preach and motivate my core about this! About seeking God. It is so important.We often know the why, but not the what...not how to do it....we are too used to the routine. Becoming robots, that we lose the true reason behind it all. The truth is, you don't pray because you have problems, you don't pray because you are a Christian, you don't pray because you have to fulfill a religious duty....you pray TO LOVE!

Ok, I cannot begin to tell you the sermon now, else I would be violating her copyright XP....hehee...anyway....I wrote everything down that Sunday morning....and I was eager to start an empowerment meeting that very day. My members couldn't make it on Sunday night, so we shift it to Wednesday. That Tuesday night I was in Shirley's place just chatting away with few others...etc....and then I told her I need to prepare my empowerment meeting material for Wednesday night. I didn't even tell her I was going to share what she preached last Sunday. She just told me...let me send you my last Sunday's material in English Version! I was SOOOOOOO shocked. How did she even know my heart? Haha... and I nodded eagerly of course! That would make life SO MUCH easier!

So last night, we had empowerment meeting. The presence of God was so strong. It was such a joy to see these people experiencing continual revival in their hearts, drawing and clinging on to the presence of God...Just worshipping Him...and that's it! No agenda. A lot of time core members always have to rush this rush that for cell group, for service, make sure things are taken care of.....it is good...but there are TOO MANY NOISES. Rarely, people would take time to just sit down and listen...and just enjoy the presence of God. Sometimes, they don't even know how....or forget how to draw from the presence of God again. But last night....it was just us...soaking in the presence of God. Period.

Last challenge I left for them to ponder....and for all of you as well.....

Truly to seek God, you need to die to yourself. But would you rather leave everything that you DESIRE and WANT to just be in the presence of God.....or decide to pursue your dreams, achieve success, go after everything you want....but lose the presence of God forever? :) sometimes you cannot have both. Sometimes, some things need to be sacrificed. What would you do?:)

Jeng Jeng Jeng.

Let's be empowered ourselves by seeking God's face every single day. That you will not move or go anywhere without the presence of God with you. You do not need an empowerment meeting to experience God time in time out. You just need one thing....desperation for God.

toodles!

Internet Down

2010-02-10T07:57:00.000+08:00

Won't be able to online for many more days to come in Taiping. In fact, haven't been really onlining for 3 weeks.....pfftt

Currently in dad's office trying to load myself with the countless numbers of email. woohoo! fun. Anything urgent, do not hesitate to call me or sms me peeps. Till I see all of you again (very soon)....Happyy Chinese New Year!!!! :D

Blessings of Faithfulness

2010-01-23T03:00:00.000+08:00

Ruth 4

Here, Boaz, the gentleman, went and ask his other relative who had the rights first, whether he would like to buy over the property of Naomi's children, and marry the widow, Ruth so that their family would have a descendant. Well, the relative agreed to buy over the properties at first. Nonetheless, when it comes to marrying the woman in order to allow the name of Elimelech, Killion and Mahlon to continue on (for they died without descendants, or children). Hearing that, the closer relative who had the rights first, did not agree because he was afraid that his family name might be jeapardized.

Well, Boaz on the other hand, a man of his own words, did not back out fearing that his family name will be jeapardized. He made the decision to marry Ruth the moment he realized that his closer relative who had the priority first, did not want to marry Ruth. Boaz was indeed an honorable man. If his other relative can be fearful of his own family name being jeapardized, didn't it mean that marrying Ruth, Boaz might face the same possible consequence too? Definitely Boaz knew what he was getting himself into, but I believed deep in his heart, he just knew, this was something right to do. And he did it. He married Ruth.

And Ruth, out of her faithfulness (just a decision to be faithful to Naomi, her mother-in-law), found a great husband, a gentleman, a man of honor, of great respect from people, a wealthy man, and a responsible husband. Because she chose to be faithful, she became a woman, that the bible would specifically mention of. She wasn't even a Christian to start of. It was just because of her pure, faithful character....she was so blessed in her life. And after her marriage, she bore a son called Obed...who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David....Through the bloodline of Ruth, it was where Jesus came about as well. Ruth had the honor to be the great great grandmother of Jesus, as well as the great grandmother of King David. Such honor and blessing....just because one choose to live right, and live to be faithful and to honor her leader.

As the saying goes, as how you have honored others, you will be honored in return :))

I truly love the story of Ruth, and I wished to be like her. I hope you guys are inspired as well :)

I will do just as you say...

2010-01-22T02:40:00.000+08:00

Ruth 3

Here, Ruth once again, act out of obedience to Naomi. Naomi, knowing that Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer (in other words, the closest relative who was not married in those days, can marry the widow of a relative - custom back then)...so Naomi was suggesting that Ruth go to meet up Boaz (and she stage up a plan for her to lie near his feet while he is asleep and so forth). Naomi knew that, at that time, that was the right time and open door for Ruth to remarry again.

So imagine, if you were in Ruth's position, your mother-in-law asked you to go and lie at the feed of a man you didn't even know very well in the first place! What would you feel? Naturally your first reaction would be, "what are you crazy?", "are you serious? I don't even know him." , "what if he doesn't like me and send me home? I would be embarassed!", "it is awkward. how can i do it?"......correct? But look at what Ruth said:

"If you say so, I'll do it, just as you've told me."

Ruth did not question, nor doubt, nor debate, nor say anything to refuse it! She just said one thing! Whatever you want me to do, I will do it! And she did! That is one radical way to show faithfulness! If there is a member that say that to a leader, goodness, what great things they can accomplish! No conflict, no politic, no question, just run the vision! And Ruth honors her own word. She did not chicken out, try to bargain, try to come out with conditions....she just do it! Because she knew that was what Naomi wanted her to do.

And as a result, her act led her into Boaz's favor once again. Boaz felt that Ruth had shown kindness to him that she is willing to be married to an older man, like him. However, note that Boaz was also a gentleman. A great man (proven Naomi did not pick the wrong husband for Ruth). Not only was he the boss, and was wealthy, but as much as he favored Ruth, he did not just reserve her for himself totally. He did the right thing, asked the permission of an even closer relative first, before deciding to marry Ruth. And how do we know he favored Ruth? You can see it when he expressed how everyone knew that Ruth was a noble woman, and in the message bible, it even exclaimed that Ruth was a prize! Meaning, everyone in town would love to have her as wife. And Boaz the great gentleman, didn't want Ruth to go back to her mother-in-law empty handed, and gave her barleys to take home.

See, Ruth's faithfulness had not only brought her recognition in Bethelehem, but also favor and a good husband. The right character, always gives birth to the right fruit, and attracts the right people / opportunities. Ruth had all these just because of one thing. She chose to be faithful, and she chose to honor her leader (her mother in law : Naomi), and followed whatever she instructed, despite whether she agrees or not.

Therefore, you can too attract the right things in life, by making the right decision to develop the right character. Again, the choice is yours :))

God bless!~

Stop Striving!

2010-01-21T00:47:00.000+08:00

Ruth 2

I like this chapter very much, because it shows a very clear picture. See, Ruth clung on to Naomi, and then she went to this particular field that belonged to Boaz, to pick some leftover grains. Note that the instant Boaz noticed her and knew who she was and WHAT SHE DID, Boaz immediately had favor on her. Proof? He asked his men to not embarass her, allow her to "ta pao" food back for Naomi, allow her to take more grains back, allow her to eat with him and so forth.

The enitre chapter showed Boaz favor upon Ruth. And Ruth went home having so much, that she even said this:

13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."

See....Ruth was nobody. But because of the kindness she shown to Naomi, she became famous for her deed, and people like Boaz, liked her alot. He even asked her to stay with his servant girls. And Naomi hearing all these was overjoyed, and also urged Ruth to go with Boaz as it would be safer. See...Ruth was capable of stepping into a field shortly after she arrived and find favor with the owner of the field, without having have to go through tons of trials and errors, or bad encounters with other owners of other field. She was that blessed! Simply because she chose to honor Naomi, and clung on to the right principles and character, she was very blessed.

The same goes to human today. See...Ruth needn't have to strive to get to where she should be back then. Likewise, as people of God, we needn't have to strive to be noticed, to be accepted, to be loved, recognized, understood and so forth. What is the key to a prosperous fruitful life? It is when you honor God the right way, show faithfulness to God, and truly just serve God without ulterior motives (this applies to your leaders as well), then God would bless you! I always remember the one word that Shirley told me. Promotion comes not through striving, but when you purely choose to honor God and His appointed people. It will come when you least expect it.

Therefore, stop doing things to be seen or recognized. The world may perceive you as sincere, but God is the one who will truly read the true intent of your heart. Stop striving, and start serving. It is when you humble yourselves to do the will of God, serve Him, and do the right thing....that God will honor you with promotions and abundance.

Have a great day! =)

Messed up dates

2010-01-20T10:59:00.000+08:00

The date on the top of the blogs are messed up as there was twice I updated two blogs for two separate days (couldn't do it on the actual day as was very very occupied)...and there were times I updated the blog a little early, there are times I update the blog during midnight. So the date are quite overlapped.

So don't mind the dates. Each day there is one. :)

Ruth and Orpah

2010-01-20T01:47:00.000+08:00

Ruth 1

Beginning of this chapter, was the depiction of a woman called Naomi, who was living in the land of Judah. However, because of famine in his own homeland, she and her husband and two sons decided to move to another land called Moab. Here, her two sons both were married to moabite women who were of different cultures, religions and beliefs in comparison to them. Soon, in these difficult time, Naomi's husband died, followed by her two sons, leaving her alone with her two daughter-in-laws.

Now, by this time, Naomi heard that the Lord has came to meet the needs of the people back in Judah, so she decided to head back to her homeland. Looking at both Ruth and Orpah, her two beloved daughter-in-laws, she couldn't bring herself to have them clinging to her the rest of their lives as they were widowers at young age. So she told them that she released them, and asked them to go look for their own happiness and lead their own lives. Hearing this, both her daugther-in-law wept loudly as they didn't want to live Naomi. However, after Naomi insisted, Orpah kissed Naomi and left.

Looking at this scenario, is it common that this happens? Well, putting yourself in the shoes of Orpah, you are young, and you are still capable of finding a new partner in life (and in those days, to women, getting married was a big deal! Almost like their primary purpose in life!), wouldn't you want to jump at the opportunity? At least you wouldn't grow old all lonely and husband-less....what more...CHILD-LESS! Who would take care of you at old age? Who would make a living to feed you when you cannot work anymore? Orpah left. And it wasn't wrong...because Naomi had already released her.

But look at Ruth. Ruth had an extraordinary sense of faithfulness. She clung on to Naomi tightly, and didn't want to leave her be even though she knew that it would probably be better for her if she leaves! She loved Naomi with all her heart. She could not bear looking at her grow old alone, having nobody to take care of her. Hence, Ruth decided that she would follow Naomi the rest of her life. Look at what she said:

16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Wow....now, that is RADICAL faithfulness! A radical follower! Imagine us as Christian today, if we can go the extra mile, stay faithful no matter what the circumstances may be, we could change the nation! Imagine having a follower that says this to you: Hey leader, wherever you go, I go! Your vision is my vision! Your God is my God! Your way is my way!....Do you know if this is an army, it would be really strong? If this is a cell group, it would change lives too. See, God is amazing. He works power when there is unity. And what more, when there is faithfulness, God always honors. Ruth was an amazing follower, and an amazing woman that is mentioned in the bible (not even because of the things that she did for God, nor was it for her faith in God -- she was a Moabite with different belief)....but because of her faithfulness. And out of her faithfulness, Ruth was able to know the one true God ...because she told Naomi: Your God will be my God. And indeed...her faithfulness, brought her much blessings.

Would you be faithful today? Much good things come from faithfulness. Not recognition, not fame...but merely just faithfulness, even when times are bad and when nobody notices. Faithfulness = full of faith! =)

Cheers!

Obed-Edom

2010-01-19T04:15:00.000+08:00

2 Samuel 6

We can see that King David was trying to bring the ark of Covenant to Jerusalem. Nonetheless, when the ark was being carried, and the oxen was about to fall off, Uzzah, one of the men there reached out his hand to avoid the oxen from falling. Because of that, God's wrath was upon him (you cannot just simply touch the ark of covenant)...and Uzzah died on the spot. King David was upset with the death of Uzzah. So he left the ark of covenant in a place called Gitite, in a house that belongs to Obed-Edom.

Now, the ark of covenant was left there for 3 months! And throughout the three months...just imagine, the presence of God is in your house! (In those days, the presence of God is only in the ark of covenant. That is the reason why the ark of covenant is placed in the holy of holies...) Imagine, back then, the temple can only have the presence of God because the ark of covenant is there (not like now, presence of God can be anywhere within us and we are His temples)....and only once a year, the priest will enter the holy of holies and sacrifice offerings for the people. Now note...the priest at that time...their legs needed to be tied to a rope with bells. So that if the priest somehow died (probably because of his own sin) while in the holy of holies, people can pull him out. Not everyone can enter the holy of holies because it is where the presence of God is. And where the presence of God is, sin cannot exist.

So just imagine...that same ark that carries the presence of God in the very house of Obed-Edom! And Obed-Edom throughout the three months is able to be close to God, and able to attract blessings. The bible says, his house was very very blessed! Definitely! When God is with you...who can be against you? So you can imagine the whole village is probably looking up to Obed-Edom! Wow...that man is super blessed...wow anything you need just ask from Obed-Edom! That is the power of the presence of God in your life! It attracts all the good things to you. So much so, that the blessings are overflowing, that Obed-Edom became so famous...that King David heard about his blessings. And King David wanted to bring the ark of covenant back to Jerusalem.

Now...notice the changes in Obed-Edom after experiencing the presence of God for three months. Even when the ark of covenant was taken away...Obed-Edom, volunteers himself to serve the ark of covenant.....just to be close to the presence of God.

Look at these verses:

1 Chronicles 15:18
and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.

1 Chronicles 15:21
and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith .

1 Chronicles 15:24
Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be

1 Chronicles 16:5
Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

See, a man like Obed-Edom had experienced the presence of God...and forever in his life, he was devoted to be near the ark of covenant, just to be near the presence of God. One man, if his life is touched and changed by the presence of God will never stay the same again. And Obed-Edom depict true hunger to be close to God. How many of us today, with the convenience of having the presence of God in our lives, can treasure this presence of God as much as Obed-Edom? Obed-Edom...I am sure he already had a lot of possessions and blessings from the three months of having the ark of covenant in his house. But what did he do? Did he got happy, thank God and continue living his life? No! He left everything he has....just to pursue the presence of God....and to be near the ark of covenant. See from the verses above...from a gatekeeper, to a musician...then to the doorkeeper of the ark. I can imagine Obed-Edom right now....when the King or minister ask...."There is an opening for gatekeeper. Who wants to be the gatekeeper?"...Obed-Edom without hesitant would shout..."me me me! I am up for that position!".....next when there is position for musician....Obed-Edom offered himself again....when there is an opening for doorkeeper....Obed-Edom jumped at the opportunity. Each step he took...it was for one reason only....to be nearer and nearer and nearer to the presence of God.

Wow...Obed-Edom was really an inspiration and example of a man that will go all out to pursue God. And notice. Not only did he do that....but his WHOLE FAMILY....left their home....to pursue that presence of God and to be near to the presence of God.

1 Chronicles 16:38
He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were gatekeepers.

1 Chronicles 26:8
All these were descendants of Obed-Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work—descendants of Obed-Edom, 62 in all.

See...one touch from God, and these people gave their lives to serve God all their lives. How many of us have been touched by God again and again and again....but find that it is still hard to follow God, and run after or hunger after His presence? Why is it that we do not appreciate the presence of God now as before? Because God took a risk to give us the access and decision to have His presence dwell in us or not. That we thought we can have it anytime...even when we choose to only be in His presence later on. A lot of us...prefer living comfortable lives...that we do not appreciate such privileges. Do you think Obed-Edom do not struggle to leave his old ways? To leave the comforts of his home? To leave whatever blessings he already had then? I believe he did! Just like all of us. When we meet God we struggle to leave our old ways, our sinful natures and desires. But Obed-Edom knew one thing. That God was all he ever needed, and it was worth it to leave it all to pursue God's presence. And Obed-Edom knew that if he did not go after the ark of covenant, he would not be able to experience the presence of God. So he appreciated each and every opportunity there is to be near to God. True enough. Obed-Edom and the generations after him were tremendously blessed and honored by God.

So the question today is....do you want to be like Obed-Edom? That you would devote your lives to serve God and do His will....even when it means being uncomfortable? The choice is yours =)

Job passed the test!

2010-01-18T04:14:00.000+08:00

Job 40- Job 42

So finally, God spoke. Job was rebuked. Reading these verses, you will see God questioning God, asking Job to speak up and ask God whatever he wanted to ask or complain. Job kept silent...and reading through, you can see that God used many illustrations to depict that He was in control. So God said this to Job: If you can do all these, then I will admit that you have power your own life. You can save your own life!...Obviously, God wasn't very happy. So Job admitted his mistake, that he had spoken like a person without knowledge and he repented.

However, God was even more unhappy with the three friends. Why so? See, Job did not spoke of God wrongly, he only complained. He was not happy with what he was going through and he was complaining and questioning God. The three friends on the other hand, judged God, and said....if Job were to be going through all these sufferings, surely he must have sinned. Because God won't do such thing to a good person. In other word, they tried to predict how God function, and God was displease. Because they spoke incorrectly about God's loving nature! God will surely punish you if you sin! God will make you suffer! But how many of us today know, that our God is not like that? God will guide you to understand your mistakes....sufferings are consequences of the wrong things we do sometimes. And in the case of Job, it wasn't even sin!

So, never take whatever you speak about God lightly. Know your God, and speak rightly about Him! So God wanted an apology for the sins these three friends had done (it can be considered blaspheme when you speak falsely of God). Therefore, they were suppose to sacrifice animals....and the most eye opening thing would be, God would only accept one man's prayer. Job's prayer. God will only accept the prayer of a righteous man. Hence, that is the reason why everytime when we come before God, it is important to ask for forgiveness! See, God wanted Job to pray for them in order to forgive the three friends' sins. So some of you may be asking! But Job did wrong too! He complained! Well, he complained, he doubted, he was emotional....but he STILL kept his integrity. He did not sin. He did not turn his back against God, let go of God, curse God, nor say anything falsely against him. That make him righteous (at least that was what I perceive reading throughout the book).

And because he clung on to God, God doubled everything he ever had. His family, his money, his possession, and he even get to live long and full in age to see his generations after generations being born. What pride and honor! Saying this, I remember one thing that a very close friend of mine mentioned in one of our conversations...that when we FOCUS on God and God only, despite of what is going on around us, things may be on our side, things may not be. But when we put God as our Only Focus....God completes everything. Whatever we lack, God will complete it for us! Just like Job, God restored, complete him, and bless him with abundance just because this man, chose to keep his integrity through his sufferings. Note that when you keep your integrity, it doesn't mean you cannot be emotional when you are going through problems. After all, we are human with flesh and feelings! Keeping your integrity means, even when you are emotional, you still choose to do the right thing.

So, what would you do now, when you face circumstances in life? =)

The Lord Speaks...(my personal favorite)

2010-01-17T03:41:00.000+08:00

I find this part really interesting and I like it a lot.

Reading:

Job 38 - Job 39

And the Lord finally speaks. Job complained, complained...and finally God speaks! See....I find it very interesting. At least to my own application in my own life. Sometimes, I think there is a linkage between a wise person talking on behalf of God, then God speaks. See...A lot of times in my life, when I talk to my leader about certain issues, my mind were clouded, cluttered and unable to function. So, when I sit down and talk to a wise person, like Shirley or Pastor....suddenly they bring in a new perspective that you have never thought of before. And it allows your mind to be open! When your mind is open...tadaaa....God speaks, you hear.

In the case of Job, Elihu was there rebuking Job, telling him off why he was at fault, why he shouldn't have reacted certain way. I believe, Job's mind was also open by the perspective and the reminder given by Elihu. And the moment his mind was open, he heard God spoke. Now, I do not know if God speaks to Job in audible voices back then. But as far as I know, I have never heard God speaks in audible voice in my life. But each time He speaks, I knew He had spoken. So you see now, why is accountability to leaders and telling the right people (the people who are able to help you) your problems are very important? They help you enlightened and open up your mind to a whole new perspectives. And when that happens, your mind are no longer cluttered or disturbed, and when God speaks, you can hear clearly the voice of God. Likewise, when you tell the wrong person your problems, your mind will become even more cluttered and messy! So be wise! Know who to talk to if you want a solution.

This is very true to me. And indeed, right after Elihu rebuked Job, God spoke, and God began questioning Job the same thing that Elihu did. He asked Job, who were the One that created things and make the many things on earth function so on and so forth. Job kept quiet all the way....until in chapter 40, you would see that God told Job: Let him who accusses God answer him!...God demanded an answer from Job. God wants Job to know that He was in control. He was the one that makes everything on earth, and He is in control of what is going on in Job's life. So in other words, Job had no right to complain to God because it was God who is in control of everything, and God KNOWS what He was doing! Even in His sufferings!

Also..God asked Job this very specific question in chapter 38: who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?

So how can God's counsel be darken? It is when we profusely enter words without knowledge = words not in the bible, words that is not defined by the character of God, words that ar contradicting the Word of God, thoughts that are damaging and are negative, words that are negative, perspectives that are totally irrelevant...never from God, thoughts that are not tallied with who God is, into our little brains! THESE THINGS...will darken God's counsel.....and it will dimmed the voice of God, drained out the confidence in God, and rob what you have with God away. So how come Job suddenly could start hearing from God again? In my own personal opinion, the wise man, brought back LIGHT into the darken mind of Job. And finally, Job is able to be enlightened and hear from God again.

Hence, a lot of time, I always tell my members or people who ask me...why do we need to be accountable to leaders or wise people in our lives? I said one thing: When you are unable to bring whatever you do into the light, into the open whether to leaders or to God....it will always be in the dark. Your mind will be darken by thoughts, lies, uncertanities, wrong solutions.....and it will haunt you and drag you down even deeper. That is one of the enemy's plot to pull you away from God! But when you force yourself to reveal it in the open....you allow light to shine, you allow your leaders to help you, give advises, allow him or her to pray for you...constantly the matter is in the light, issues are being shone upon with the Light of Truth....you will have a clear mind, clear conscience, not living in guilt, and you will often know the right way to react, respond, and solve problems. Hence, I always choose...whatever I do, good or bad, I CHOOSE to reveal it in the open, not because my leader is a busybody, but for my own breakthrough sake...and allow my leaders to come in the midst and shine his or her light upon darkened counsel. Sinning continuously even when you know its a sin, will also darken your counsel...hammer down your conscience and bring about downfall in your walk with God.

So...here it is.One of my favorite post. This is how I reflect upon what I have studied witho the book of Job. But like I said, the word of God, at different season of life will mean different thing to different people. Sometimes, it is only milk, then it becomes bread, then solid food. So I welcome opinion and sharings. Do listen to Pastor Kong's sermon about Job too. I heard that it is pretty awesome, and you can get a whole loads of new insights from there too.

All in all, with the post, I thank God for people like Elihu over my life, and I pray that I can be like Elihu too. :)). Do not speak of what man favor. But speak of the truth, correct and rebuke, do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

With love.

Elihu Speaks

2010-01-17T03:18:00.000+08:00

Read:

Job 32 to Job 37

This is the part that I like the most. When Elihu speaks! You see, truly wisdom is not determined by whether you are old or young; wisdom is when the Spirit of God is in you. When Job and his friends were arguing, both parties want to win the argument. Both parties just want to be right. The three friends kept judging and accusing that Job was in sin, and asked him to repent and confess his sins time after time. Job on the other hand, kept defending his innocence, and complained to God about his situation. So, what happen here? Both parties had too much pride to give in!

Now, looking at this, Elihu could not stand and he began speaking. Notice that Elihu was indeed a very respectful. He was aware that the three wise men and Job were much older than him, so he allowed them to speak first (not wanting to cut in, in the midst of arguments). Allow them to argue with one another. And when these two parties finally stopped arguing, Elihu spoke. Looking for the kairos moment is very important. For instance, if Elihu were to speak when they were all arguing, I am assured that nobody would listen, everybody would be too occupied with wanting to be heard, and worst, their ego would be even more so affected. Then, whatever Elihu spoke (no matter how much it made sense), would be in vain.

Now, Elihu was also a man that was very close to the heart of God. Why? He knew the character of God, he has the character of God, and he was angered by what anger God. He was not blinded by circumstances. Job on the other hand was possibly blinded and overwhelmed by his situation. So, Elihu was angry when the conclusion of the discussion concluded with each party wanting to win the conversation. So he spoke. Note that in the verses, it said, that Elihu listened first because he was young (respect), and he was angered when the conclusion of the method was just like that. From within him, he felt his spirit and words wanted to burst out, to correct and rebuke all of them. Hence, I believe he had been prompted by the spirit, and he indeed spoke with wisdom. He even claimed that he would speak of what God wants him to speak, not what people wants to hear. So Elihu, to me is a very respected man. Truly wisdom does not come with age, but with proper application of knowledge guided by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, that is the reason why a lot of times before I speak or counsel, I need to pray. That the Holy Spirit would guide me to speak the right words, to solve issues, and benefit matters rather than cause more problems to it.

So what did Elihu do? Elihu rebuked Job’s three friends for being so judgmental, trying to play God accusing Job. God is indeed just, that He has the authority to do whatever He wants to whoever He likes. After all, our lives belong to Him. Like what is mentioned in the bible, who are we to judge what should happen to our own lives. See, our lives belong to God, even if He wants us all to become dust this instant, we shall be! So who are these wise men to judge that, wow Job, if you are suffering so much, you must have some unconfessed sins…quickly, confess your sins! Don’t be self-righteous…bla bla….

Let’s be honest with ourselves, sometimes we can be like Job’s three friends. We judge and we assume. Wow, this church, they allow people to wear funkily, wow there are so many lights….this must be a CULT. Wow, this church doesn’t speak in tongues, such an old-fashioned wrong church. We judge our neighbors over and over and over again, assuming that there is ONLY ONE FIXED way that God functions. Who are we friends, to predict what God’s intentions are, and the purposes of the things happening in life? Who are we? God? Can we understand His mysteries? No! Therefore, don’t judge!

Then Elihu went on rebuking Job, for complaining to God that he has to suffer even though he has been faithful to God. So Elihu asked Job one thing that really impacted me:

Job 35:
6 If you sin, how does that affect him?
If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,
and your righteousness only the sons of men.

So, to Job, he felt discouraged and was deeply overwhelmed by the oppression. I believe in simple terms, Job was asking God, "Why God? Why all these? Why life so meaningless? Why me?" So in other words, Job was indicating that he do not understand why he should be in such a sitatuion. He was suffering terribly and he cannot take it! Like some of us, we would ask: “God, why does this thing have to happen! I already pray, yet it still happens! I am angry!!” But guess how Elihu responded to Job’s attitude? Elihu asked Job: So if you sin, do you think it affect God or if you not sin does it affect God? It only affects men like you and I! Some people think that when they sin, they are getting back at God, but hey….here is a revelation for all of you today….nothing you do can affect God at all. It can only affect yourselves and others. And a lot of time, God forbids you from doing certain things because He loves the world enough to not want you or others to suffer the consequences. So here, Elihu was rebuking Job for mistakenly judging the loving character of God, as one that is of injustice and empty anger. Job was rebuked for complaining against God and not understanding God’s true nature.

Many a times, we are like that. Just like Job. And we get upset with life, and we try to get back at God (but note that Job did not). But in the end, we are the ones who suffer the consequences ourselves. And when trials, tribulations wave into our lives, we become so overwhelmed, that we forget the good things God gave to us. We only look at the bad side, and keep asking why, keep feeling unfair, and keep wanting to be the “God” over our own lives, telling God how He should treat us, pamper us, reward us for the good things we have done in life. But friends, it is understandable that you felt things were unfair, but it is not for you to question God why your life need to be in a certain way. We need to remember the true nature of God even when times are bad. That is one way to counter misconceptions about God’s love, justice and so forth. We need to know God!

In these chapters, one wise man, Elihu, who speaks of what God wants him to speak, indeed was able to change the perspective of another person. From here, we saw that God used the ordinary people to do the extraordinary things….and He often uses the unexpected. In this case, Elihu, a man that was youngest of all, spoke such wisdom. And wise words often bring life. Like I often say to Shirley, my leader, her one word can change life. Because of the wisdom and the anointing of God within her that when she speaks, she gives insights and revelations.

Do you want to be Elihu today? Do you want to be less judgmental, and carry a good attitude even when you are going through trials and tribulations? Everything you want to be is determined by the decisions you make. Life is about making CHOICES!

Job and his three friends

2010-01-14T19:28:00.000+08:00

Reading from

Job 3 to Job 31

It is obvious to me that there are two things happening.

1. There were strong debates between the three friends and Job.
2. Job was complaining to God and despising his own life.

(Please do read it, you can read how sometimes close friends can be a real pain to you)

So instead of encouraging Job, which was their initial intentions, Job's three close friends were mocking him. Accusing and discouraging Job, telling him that he should not complain so much, he must have done something wrong in the sight of God. Looking at this, sometimes as human, we are too quick to judge. Even with our close friends. We look at certain situations, we do not consider anything else but simply just assume and jump to conclusions that it must be someone's fault. Do we even bother to listen to that person's explanation, or try to understand his sitaution? No. We just want to judge and we want to be right! That was exactly what the three friends wanted. They wanted to be right and they felt superior and right to judge. All these defeated their initial purpose of visiting Job. Instead of encouraging him, they became a pain and heartache to him, they became the source of discouragements to Job. Note that there will be such people in our lives, that in our time of pain and need, they will add salt to the wound, instead of encouraging they would discourage....and worst, are the kinds who never rejoices with you in your good times but try to hurt you instead. Nonetheless, we cannot give up because of this. Giving up and succumbing to discouragements is indeed A CHOICE.

Now look at Job, as I have said in the earlier post, it would be understandable that he complains and blames God and rant. Lo and behold, finally, Job could not take it any longer. Even though he defended God when his wife cursed God, he was already really upset and disappointed with life. Its only natural. He was also a human with feelings, and Job sort of starated complaining to God about his suffering. Note that complaining and blasphemying are two different things. When you curse God and accuse God of untrue things, you sin. But when you complain, it is simply ranting of emotion, and you may not have sinned! Job spent a lot of his time, justifying that he had kept his integrity, he had not sinned when his friends accused him. Job kept complaining. And he felt that he had the rights to complain seeing the situations that he was going through. Putting ourselves in his shoes....is it understandable that he complains? Yes....but was it appropriate? Of course not! Job was so overwhelmed by his situation that he forgot the need to stand in reverence, in awe, and in respect before God. He began to doubt and lose faith about life! Job felt not justified for. Many times we are like Job when we go through sufferings, and trials.This whole portrayal display a very human side of human. The emotions, the anger, the self-pity. So some of you might say....oh so Job finally becomes unfaithful! No....he did not. These are two different things. Complaining is one, acting on complaints and decide to be unfaithful and sin, is another. Job complained to God, but he still submit to God, he did not curse God nor did he decide to leave God. So that is the difference between faithfulnes and being emotional with God.

Nonetheless, was it a mistake to be so impatient and unhappy with God? Yes.....Therefore, Job in all his miseries, did a mistake, but is still faithful to God...reading on the next chapter, I really love what Elihu said after that. He was the one that corrected Job as well as the so called wise men who are Job's friends. Though he was young, but the spirit of God within him gives him wisdom and knowledge to speak and correct people who are supposingly older and wiser than him. I will continue this in the next post. Meanwhile do read the arguments between Job and his friends, and God. It is pretty real and interesting. You find yourself very much relatable to Job and also to his friends.

Enjoy reading! :))

Integrity or Not?

2010-01-14T02:29:00.000+08:00

Continuing with the book of Job...
Job 2

Job's Second Test

1 On another day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish [b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job's Three Friends

11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job suffered very much, not only from the emotional pains that was inflicted because of the lost of his fortune, or the death of his children. Job was also inflicted physically. He has soles all over his body, and he was constantly in pain. Imagine, having have to suffer pain with each step you take, or each movement you make, or with any slight contact with anything at all! Such a miserable life! Yet, Job kept his integrity, and God is very very pleased with him. He did not curse God, nor was he ungrateful. He kept his faithfulness toward God and STILL DO what is pleasing to God's eyes. How many of you can keep being this faithful should all these inflictions come upon you? Some of us even fret and complain at the slightest trial we go through.

See...Job's suffering was so great....that his three friends who wanted to come an comfort him, in the end tore their clothes and cried FOR HIM. They were in pain...looking at his condition! And what more? Their purposes of coming to comfort Job was defeated. That they even had to just sit there. Seven days, seven nights....and none of them could come up with any word....that they find suitable to comfort him. None of them, knew what to say. Such agony, such suffering. And yet what did Job chose to do? To keep his integrity.

Now there are two portrayals here. Notice his wife said: "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" .....now Job's wife is the portrayal of a Christian who is very much suscpetible to blame God when it comes to trials and tribulations. See, Job's wife, too lost her sons and daughters, as well as her fortune. And then she had to look at her husband suffer from all the physical inflictions and take care of him. Naturally, she would be angry at life...and in this case, obviously angry at God. CURSE GOD AND DIE! She said. Even though she knew that cursing God or disobeying God, or rather sinning will lead to death, she couldn't care less anymore. Her conditions were overwhelming her. And she'd rather die, then go through what she had to go through.

Job on the other hand, carried a very different attitude. He not only kept his integrity, but he scolded his wife...Well, commonly someone under a great infliction would be "happy" with the angry or defending remarks made by another person. For instance, lets say Sasha is going through a deep pain like Job. She lose her money, and her loved ones. Commonly a remark that goes "Goodness Sasha, life is so unfair! How can God do such thing to you? You have been such a good person! It is just so unfair!"....so commonly, even if Sasha disagrees with those remarks....normal reaction would be...keeping quiet, and at the same time trying to reason, yea what did this happen to me? See....as a normal human being with feelings, it is VERY COMMON...that we would have SLIGHT self pity for our condition.

But look at Job. He was FURIOUS at his wife for cursing God. Even though he knew his wife is going through a lot of pain, and even though he knew that nobody would blame him should he have dwelled in an amount of self-pity, he didn't. He just knew that it wasn't the right thing to do and he went all out to go against it. Look at what he said to his wife: You are talking like a foolish [b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"......Such purity at heart.

Job was determined, that his life, his destiny everything is in God's hand. God can do whatever He likes. If God can give him years and years of goodness, it is okay if God gives him trouble. It DID NOT change one bit of his loyalty toward God.....And that....is a man after God's own heart. God was VERY PLEASED with Job. Because no matter what you do to him, he will not let God go. One thing that really touches my heart here is that, even when it is understandable for Job to break, or to curse God, or be emotional, or to give up, Job did not. Job kept his integrity and only did the RIGHT THING. How many of us today, can be like Job? Obviously we do not go through as much sufferings as Job did. But can we tell God....no matter what God, I will fight on and keep my integrity, even though I am going through hell....

Can we stay true to God in times of trouble? Just as you want your life partner or loved ones to stay true to you and with you through good times and bad times...God wants that too :)

See, there is a saying that goes....a true character is tested when one is placed under pressure. During good times, it is easy to praise God, to go all out for God. But it is the bad times, that determines the realness of these characters. Will your good characters be consistent in good times and bad times....in relaxed and pressured situations? Well, it is a choice to be made.

It is not easy to be Job, but it draws the favor of God upon your life.

toodles~

Arrgghh....!! Why the Sufferings?

2010-01-12T15:56:00.000+08:00

Job 1

6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Satan and God is often in a battle. Hence the reason why we are often in a spiritual warfare. This is a very famous book, and by now we should have known that Satan is all out to get us, for one reason only. To FRUSTRATE God, and truly because he is an enemy of God. And he could not care less about us. Therefore, he is capable of doing all sorts of things to bring us down. That is why, I am curious at times with people who are very much involved in the lurings of Satan, realized about it, and yet still feel it was alright. They like the momentary feeling of pleasure and could care less about the consequences. But little did they know, they are about to be yet just another "vessel" for the enemy to put a fight with God. Being used, and nothing more.

So as you can see, Satan came (as any other angels, because he used to be an angel too) before God. And God asked him...so where have you come from? And Satan said, from roaming through the earth back and forth in it. See, reading this, my interpretation is that, Satan has been roaming the earth looking for yet another prey to hurt, to pull down. What God loves, the enemy hates. Therefore, if God loves us, he hates us, hence the reason why he has been such a nuisance to our lives. So note: Satan hates us. I believe he has been looking for a prey, and that is why...God brought up Job! Have you CONSIDERED Job, God said. There is NO MAN ON EARTH that is like Him. God takes pride in Job! God praised him and is very pleased with him.

Now note, whatever God is pleased with, the enemy dislikes. So Satan wanted to hurt Job. Satan wanted to take everything that Job has. And looked at what God said? God allowed! God said...do whatever you wish. Everything he has is in Satan's hand. This verse particularly jumped up to me. It occur to me, that it is VERY CLEAR here, that God has to give permission to Satan to come and test, tempt and do anything to us. And God even had to say, very well...everything he has now I give you permission, and PUT IN YOUR HAND. You can do whatever you want. Meaning, everything is in God's control! So even when we are suffering, God must have given Satan the ACCESS to the things in our lives! But God only allow, if we can take it. "So what is the point?" some would ask. There is a lot of point to it. Reading on the whole chapter of Job, you would understand. God allowed Satan to put Job in misery, but yet, God preserves Job's life. And God allows it because God knew, Job can take it. And as all of us know, true enough Job did take it....and Job passed all the test, and it drives Satan even madder! Satan try to increase Job's sufferings from stages to stages.

So why do God allow such testing? Very simple. One....our moulding of character, whether will we still stay faithful with God when we face testing? See Satan did say....surely Job will worship You, God. Surely you take pride in him now, but this is not his true self! He is so faithful because You bless him! Try taking everything away from him!....Well, God was assured Job is faithful, and it is honestly a test to be faithful in bad times, but Job passed it! And he became stronger in God. Two...it is a testimony, that when we continue staying faithful, the power of God is manifested in our lives. Job had everything doubled up after he passed the tests. Three...the glory of God was revealed. God was very very pleased with Job, for He brought Him glory and I believe even more people were convinced of who God is through his testimony and life!...Four....the victory is always ours. Why? Because God is in control. He had to give permission to Satan to even lay a finger on us or to get involved in our lives.

So next time when you face trials and testings? Consider it a joy. Why? Because: 1. You will become more like God, 2. You will allow the power of God to be manifested in your life. 3. You are the vessel that will glorify God if you persist on, 4. You will surely have victory and make the enemy very upset. In the first place, why do God allow you to be tested? Because God knows you can take it. But it is the matter of decisions that cause downfall to occur when one fails the test sometimes. And that is what the enemy tries to prove, and tries to break the heart of God with. And why does the enemy targets you? Because you are a threat, and he is jealous. He dislikes what God likes. And you are allowed to be tested because God likes you, and God BELIEVES in you. That is a whole lot of pride to take in! God believes in who? In weak, fleshly-inclined human...like you and me. And He chose you to bear the test! Ain't that make you special?

So when you face trials and testings in your life....remember....it is a privilege :)

(p/s: not any Tom, Dick or Harry gets to suffer for God. Some people, God has to halt the permission to access for protection :)) )

much love!

Hearing God speaks

2010-01-11T18:52:00.000+08:00

Continuing with Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 1

11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.

12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."

13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.

14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.

"Their kings will come and set up their thrones

in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;

they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.

See looking at this passage, something just jumped to me. God actually ask what did Jeremiah see. And Jeremiah answered, and God confirmed that he has seen correctly. Sometimes, people ask me, when God speaks, how did you know that God speaks. How sure are you it is not yourself, or worst, the devil? The answer is, when God speaks, God will confirm it. Yes that is correct! He will say. So how do we know when He said it was correct? How do we recognize His voice? Simple. You need to know the Word of God. The Word of God, the Bible, is His voice. If we become a flaky Christian merely just discerning the voices in our heads, and not checking if it tallies with the Word of God, we might be a false prophet. Therefore, don’t be lazy! Reading and understanding the Word of God, is just like reading God’s diary! Or talking to God. The more you read it, the more you understand Him.

So does every voice you hear in your head belong to God? Does every word you receive through prophesy is from God? You have to test every word that comes into your life. And you are only able to do that, when you know the voice of God. And one very practical way of recognizing and knowing His voice, and discerning of His spirit, is through His word. When my members tell me they want to draw closer to God, they want to learn to hear God speaks. I told them one thing. Then, do the basic. Talk to God often, connect with Him in prayer, and read the bible everyday. You need to know God’s voice, before trying to hear Him speak ….See, how can Jeremiah be sure that it was God who said “correct” and that those are the things that God wants him to prophesy? Why Jeremiah did not ask…God is that You? Oh are you sure you are God, and not the devil? Why didn’t he question? Simple. Jeremiah recognized the voice of God. And that comes by knowing Him. It is the same as how blind people are able to recognize voices better. They train their ears, they analyze the personality of the voice. Like how you can recognize the voice of your best friend, your parents, your siblings or your loved ones through the phone when others can’t. Why? Because you know them very well, you talk to them a lot, and you understand the personality of their voices.

Therefore the answer to how you can hear the voice of God is : Pray, and know the Word of God. There is no shortcut. And if you notice, God did not ask those who are without a relationship with Him to do His work. In fact, many of the people who do great things from God in the bible, are man of God, who always humble themselves and seek His face. It is also the simple principle of why you rather ask your family or close friends in comparison to an acquaintance, a new friend, or a stranger for a favor. Therefore, build a relationship with Him today :)

Have a nice day!

Complacency, Fear or Obedience (yesterday's)

2010-01-11T18:50:00.001+08:00

Sorry for the late post. I have been having problems signing in blogspot. Anyway…here it is 

Jeremiah 1

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

Reading this chapter I am amazed at how God used Jeremiah to be a prophet for Him. See, when God first called Jeremiah, what did God said? I have already knew the plans I have for you. I even plan it before you were born. Now I want you to do this for me. Be a prophet! Now, notice what is Jeremiah’s response? Oh God…I am just a kid, how can I speak? Well…isn’t this a very common reaction from all of us? God? Me? No way man….I have this limitations, I cannot talk properly, I cannot preach well, Sorry I am too busy, Sorry I don’t want to do something radical like that, what if they hate me? God it is too difficult! God I prefer a simple life!

Isn’t that some of the very common excuses that we give God, when God challenge us to do something? Well, there are two reasons why we often push the challenges of God away. Number 1, out of complacency. We do not like being challenged, we do not like to change our habits, we do not want to greater things. We want to have a comfortable life, being simple, and non challenging lifestyle. I tell you, if you are living a life that is complacent, you are no different from a backslider. Staying stagnant is equals to backsliding. See, if you want to be complacent, you are not even a threat to the enemy. The enemy wouldn’t even bother challenging you cause he knows you are of no asset to the kingdom of God. A lot of us always are very “loud” when it comes to doing the work of God. But to actually get your hands dirty and doing it, very little are willing.

Jeremiah is different. In his respond, he was not complacent. He wanted to be challenged. But he had succumb under the second reason to why people push God’s challenge sometimes. Number 2, fear! A lot of people can be very paralyzed by fear. They are eager to do great things, but the fear of failing, rejection, bad results, being ignored….all welled up in their heads even before these things actually happen. And this fear will truly paralyze his or her determination in charging for God. That is also another strategy the enemy use, to pull those who are an asset to the kingdom of God down. And how do we know when we are fearful? It is when we are CONVICTED that that certain something is what God wants us to do, but we are just not COURAGEOUS enough to step up and own the conviction.

See the bible said, God told Jeremiah, do not be afraid! Don’t say that you are just a child! I am with you I will rescue you! I have already lay all the plans for you!! Funny how sometimes as human, we thought that we can RUIN the plan of God. Jeremiah was no different. He must have thought to himself…God are you kidding me? Did you make the wrong choice? But the fact is we just do not have faith enough to trust that God can use us to do great things sometimes. The trust and belief that when God is on our side nothing can tear us down is VERY CRUCIAL in order allow faith to arise, and push ourselves to the launching of His call.

See when Jeremiah finally accepted his task, God touched his lips and anoint it. And God said, let My word be your word. And I APPOINT you over nations to UPROOT, to TEAR DOWN, to DESTROY, to BUILD, to PLANT! In other words, God appointed Jeremiah, to be what? Only to simply be an ordinary prophet? No…God appointer Jeremiah to be the EARTH SHAKER. Doing the RADICAL things. Doing what normal people would not do. When the spirit of God is within someone, you will know it. How? By looking at how confident is he or she in doing the work of God, the anointing he or she carries within, and the kind of energy that is extraordinarily portrayed even when he or she looks extremely ordinary. In other words, we can recognize a person doing the work of God, when we see God own his or her side, empowering him or her from within. Yes. It is common to be afraid. It is only human nature. But how you FEEL and how you REACT is totally two different things. God is looking for a WILLING and OBEDIENT servant. Not one who is rebellious, complacent, and often unwilling.

So what kind of servant you want to be? Remember we are all made for great things! But it is our actions and decisions in life that determines how far we can go, and whether we will get there.

toodles~

Wisdom or Foolishness

2010-01-09T15:30:00.000+08:00

Ecclesiastes 10

¹² Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

¹³ At the beginning his words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness-

¹⁴ and the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell him what will happen after him?

¹⁵ A fool's work wearies him;
he does not know the way to town.

A very short one. So what does it mean by the word from a wise man's mouth are gracious? To me personally, when a wise person speaks, it brings LIFE to others. For instance, I always find life in the words that were spoken by pastor and Shirley to me. When I sit down and talk to them. Just within few minutes, I would know what to do with my problems, or I would have revelations! Isn't that amazing? I yearn to have that kind of mouth. The mouth of the wise, they say. But of course we know, this is also the mouth of the anointed people of God. So in the bible says, when a wise person speaks, there is grace. I personally feel, a wise person and a fool can speak the same intended message, but with very different result. Because of the words they chose to use. The wise will speak with words that will draw to himself and others, grace, mercy, enlightenment, respect and honor. Whereas when a fool speaks, people would just want to strangle him or her to death, throw shoes at him or her, or just disrespect that person. So be careful with your words. See, it also says in verse 12, that a fool's words will consume his lips. In other words, when a fool speaks, he will attract negative effects and consequences to himself. Again....the words are in play.

Verse 13 shows that it is very easy to detect a fool. How? When everything he says doesn't bring harmony, doesn't bring peace....and doesn't make sense at all! Wicked madness! That is how a fool speaks. MADNESS! Haha....in this, I am not talking about jokes. But truly, he believes in what he says, and people thinks whatever he says is madness. That is indeed very sad. Who wants to be considered mad? Eventually, very little people will draw close to a fool. Because, what benefit can he offer? Good advise? I doubt! A fool will only create conflicts and misunderstandings. They are not careful with what they say, they do not think thoroughly of what to speak. They just SAY IT! That is one big mistake that I find in people a lot of times. They just speak things without proper filtering or consideration of consequences, and at times, it brings trouble and worst still, they damage the self-esteem, confidence and respect of others.

A fool, only draw problems to themselves. And reading on in verse 14. What is the conclusion? All gossipers = to fools. :) If you gossip and you are very much excited by other people's juicy news, and problems....then, you are a fool! Worst is when you spread things, and said it in untrue manner. I am often very upset by people twisting the truth. Because I find it very damaging to the people involved. The right message never get conveyed, and worst is when everybody else misunderstands. So, there is no such thing as being lazy in listening (irrelevant), or assuming stories. I dislike assumptions A LOT. If one is not sure, what would a wise person do? ASK. Don't assume. Don't create stories! If you are lazy to hear the proper stories, or that you are unclear of the whole situation, then don't speak of it AT ALL! Don't comment, don't even begin to tell it out, because you do not know! It is better to take the stand of "not knowing anything" than say you "know everything" and tells the wrong story. And a wise person will always choose the people he tells the stories to. A wise person will tell the right things to the right people who are either able to help, to keep a secret, to edify him...and not to gossippers, and careless whisperers. Wisdom is what makes a person walk in noble, respected light. Wisdom is what makes a person capable of handling his life well.

Nobody knows what can happen to a fool. His consequences are a threat to him. Whatever he does, wears him out. He gets tired, he gets shut down, blown off time after time because of mismanagement of himself. He doesn't even know the way to "town" the bible says. He doesn't know how to get himself to a resourceful place, a place of fulfilment, a place of success. He lost his way halfway there, and will be running in circles.....So why is life unfair for the fools, you may ask?....Well, friends....it is because to be wise or to be a fool, it is definitely a CHOICE. The way you react, respond, speak, act, and do things determine whether you are a fool or a wise man. And wise man always gets heard, the fool will often get ignored.

So I believe it is very evident here, that being wise have very much benefits. However, if you are stuck in the circle of a fool, and you find being in that circle is good for you, well...then the choice is yours.

Choose today who you want to be. Choosing the proper words and actions are the key to wisdom.

Have a great day, folks!

Standing in Awe

2010-01-08T00:59:00.000+08:00

Stand in awe of God....this is one chapter that speaks to me much this morning.

Ecclesiastes 6

Stand in Awe of God

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

² Do not be quick with your mouth,
       do not be hasty in your heart
       to utter anything before God.
       God is in heaven
       and you are on earth,
       so let your words be few.

³ As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

When you come to the house of God, when you go to a place of worship, be it in churches or in cell groups, what is your first intention? Are your actions consecrated? Some people walk into the house of God, or a place of worship merely to boast their voices, their talents, their wealth, riches, their clothes, or status? Perhaps some go with an intention to get attention. So it doesn't mean when you are going to church, to serve to sacrifice, you are a step closer to God. No! The church is a place not only for us to serve, but to truly worship, and to listen to God. To hear from Him. See, the bible says, don't step into church like fools to simply just offer something. Go to expect God, to receive and to learn. To listen. God speaks to those who listen. A lot of time we are too proud about what we can offer. Friends, going to church is not merely about position or what you can give, or offer. If that is so, you can even do that in the world out there. You come to the house of God to be refreshed, to hear a word of revelation from God, to recharge, to draw nearer to Him. Come with the right intentions.

The passage goes on in talking about saying the right things with God. Don't be quick and hasty in your words. Don't be too quick to make vows that you cannot fulfill. This is something very true to me. A lot of times, people say it is okay to be upset, to throw tantrums at God etc? That you need to come before God real! I agree with coming before God real, but I do not believe in throwing tantrums or being angry at Him. See, I find reverence with God is like reverence we have for our leaders and pastors. If we are able to speak with respect to man of God, all the more we should do that with God. Yes, when I am upset, I tell God, I am upset, I tell Him exactly how I feel, but eversince I learned to draw closer to God, I am very careful with the words and promises I made to Him. I do not just do it for fun, or just say something nice for the moment to make Him happy. God doesn't need that. God needs genuineity. You see, the author was right. God needn't have to be angry or destroy the work of your hands. But God always honors His words. So the same, He takes promises to Him seriously.

Many times I hear people telling me, God told me this...and I promised Him I will fulfill His mission for me. Or that God told me not to do this, and I promised God I will guard my emotions and not get carried away in future. But many a times, I saw these promises being broken. Do they really take the promises to God seriously? It makes me wonder. Don't promise if you cannot fulfill it. Why do you even want to do that? Did God force you to? No....You wanted to promise God, so you have to make sure you keep it. See, with my campus outreach it was the same. I promised God I will run this vision given to me no matter what. Even when it means facing a lot of persecutions, circumstances, and barriers. Was I discouraged? Yes! Have I felt like giving up? Many times! But because I knew it is a promise from me to God, I cannot let it go. I will keep doing it. Until God tells me to stop. It is my promise to Him. I promised God to serve my leaders till the end of my days...without ulterior motives. I hope that I am able to fulfill it till the day I die, or at least till the time God change my course of directions.

So, friends, don't be hasty! Not in your promises nor your expressions. My principles are, when I am upset, I tell God I am upset. I told Him what I went through, I cry in front of Him. I complain to Him. He is my best friend. But never have I once (Ok...maybe when I was a younger Christian) said things that intended to hurt God, such as blaming Him for everything, hating Him, cursing Him...or even throw tantrums at Him. It is good to be real with how you feel, but it is another to disrespect. There should always be a sense of reverence when we come to God. That is why the bible says, stand in awe...in His presence! Stand in respect, in reverence, in honor...in fear! We can be honest with God, but be careful with Your words with God. Like how you do not want to hurt the person you love, you should do the same, even more to God. I get upset when I hear people blaming God and saying nasty things about Him. Be careful with your words....when you are before the King =)

that's my thought for the day!

Much love...

Companionship and Friendship

2010-01-06T20:15:00.000+08:00

I actually find Ecclesiastes quite an interesting book. It is Solomon finding that everything else is meaningless. So I continued reading on today....and this verse actually caught my eye.

Ecclesiastes 4

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

¹⁰ If one falls down,
       his friend can help him up.
       But pity the man who falls
       and has no one to help him up!

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Basically the author, King Solomon of this book find that practically everything is meaningless. Whatever done is like chasing the wind. Pointless, directionless, meaningless, purposeless. He was rather negative about things throughout the chapter, until verse 9 in Ecclesiastes 4.

What I interpreted when I was reading would be that, everything else is meaningless, everything else is pointless in life. People still go through sufferings, injustice is still everywhere, fools who are prideful are still unable to live well. Nonetheless, when you have friends, companions, things would be somewhat better. Here it says, two are better than one, if one falls, somebody if there to pull him up. If one is overpowered, the two can defend themselves.

It goes on to tell me that the wise king of all time, King Solomon, actually felt that it is not riches, not wealth, not justice, not anything that are meaningful in life. All those things are like chasing wind, he said. What is the point being rich? You can't bring it to death with you. What is the point for this and that. But when King Solomon sounded positive in these verses, it impressed upon my heart that he actually finds relationship the most meaningful of all. It is true you see. What is life without real friends, without people we love, people who loves us in return, without a companion?

You see, we can be very successful, we can be really rich, we can be really famous. But without true friends, without companions, without real relationship, who can we share our successes with? Who will celebrate with us? Who will be there to encourage us when we are down? Who will know the true us and accept us for who we are? Is life about wearing masks? Or is life about true relationship? See...the world is not looking for more technology, or money, or successes....the world is looking for more love...for a genuine relationship. Give a broken person some love, he will heal better and faster. Give an orphan some love, he or she will feel so grateful and find sense of strength and hope.

So what are we looking for even as a church, or a cell group? Yes, the word of God is very important. But what makes us come back again and again to services to cell groups? It is the relationship. The fellowship we have with God, and the fellowship we have with one another. It is truly relationship and genuine connection that will cause someone to stay. Because, they found a place that they can finally call home, finally be themselves....finally feel belong. That's the reason why day in day out, I often tell my cell members...don't try to retain new friends for the sake of retaining. For the sake of just increasing numbers. Do it genuinely. Have a heart to love people. Go out there and really love people. With that, the person will keep coming back.

Two are indeed better than one. Today, I wouldn't be here doing what I am doing if it was not for great support and genuine relationship with people. Relationship with my leaders, with my cell members, with my loved ones, family etc....It is because of true relationship, a real friend...a person who would stick through with us through thick and thin, a person who will love us through your strengths and weaknesses....through good and bad days...that makes us stronger...and makes us who we are today.

You want to raise normal and mentally healthy children? Give them love. Build an environment whereby they can be comfortable being themselves, and yet be accepted. With that, life can be meaningful. Everything else will fade away, everything else is temporary. But your relationship with someone, will leave a footprint, and a mark even when you leave this world. It defines your legacy. Your relationship with God, will be brought to eternity. So invest on good relationships. Prioritize family, friends and important people in your life. When life gets ugly, you need these people to help you sustain and pull through. :))

Therefore, here is my chance. To tell all my dearest family, friends, members, leaders, loved ones out there.....you know who you are....that I love you, and I do appreciate every single moment and experiences we go through together.

Cheers. Hope you are blessed today!

Seasons of Your Life

2010-01-05T13:08:00.000+08:00

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

This passage is rather direct, yet it speaks so much to me. A lot of time as human, we want everything to be done quickly, we want to see immediate results, we want to do everything our way. But timing is indeed everything. Emotionally we might feel that it is the right time to do or say certain things. But rationally, if we calm down and think, if we put aside emotions (happy or sad), we might realize that certain times are not the right for us to do or say or act on certain things.

Talk about as a discipler, discipling a member, rebuking them when they make mistakes is the right thing to do. But not the right thing or the right place if it is in public. So, we need to bring them aside to rebuke and correct at the right TIME...or when a discipler or a disciple is angry, emotional, it is not the right time to correct. Wait for both parties to calm down, then do what we need to do..When we are emotionally provoked, it is easy for us to say the wrong thing, and it is easy for the disciple to shut down. Or talk about wanting to surprise a person. We might be very excited, we want to quickly surprise a person. But if we are overwhelmed by the excitement, we do not wait for the right time to reveal things, or perhaps we cannot contain it anymore and begin to pour out the surprises. What would happen? The surprise would be ruined!

Or talk about teaching someone for instance. If the person has already shut down, or not listening anymore, it is obvious the person is not interested, persisting teaching would only make that person shut down even more and learn nothing in return. If we do not know how to STOP at the right time, thing would become very naggy and uninteresting. And the person would eventually probably refuse listening to us in future for the perception they have concerning the teacher in their mind.

Therefore, the right time, the right season, the right amount the right thing the right words are ALL very important. We have to be able to gauge, to measure and to decide when is the right time. Timing is everything. If in a season, we have too many responsibilities, and we can barely handle what is in our hands, then accepting more responsibilities is not applicable at that point of time. Yes, exposure and expansion are important, but timing is everything. If we start a relationship at a time that we are not ready, it would also be a disastrous relationship. If we promote a leader at a wrong time, a time he or she is not ready, we would also bring downfall to the leadership team as well as the followers' lives.

Therefore, how do we know when is the right time? Walk closely with God. The right timing for certain things is when God says it is the right timing. When we feel ready, when we feel we can handle with a little bit of expansion in faith and sacrifice (not unwisely), when know the season we are in for a certain thing. Therefore, I always believe it is IMPORTANT to know what kind of season we are in all the time. I always remind myself of the season I am in all the time (you can even see it in my MSN nick....season to build, or season of expansion, season to love, etc)...according to the season I am in , I decide on the things I want to focus on. I do not let the things I do to decide the season I am in, I need God to let me KNOW the season I am in, and decide what I do...

Verse 9 says:

⁹ What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. ¹³ That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

God has indeed make everything beautiful in His timing. Sometimes we do not know why we are going through certain things at a certain time. But in due season, at the right time, God always reveal to us His plans, and why He did the things He did. And it is all beautiful. We will learn to discover in amazement and find it really beautiful. Man cannot guess what God has planned for us, what God has in store for us from the beginning to the end even though we know that God already has a plan for us. That is called the mystery of God. And so long as human....continue to do good, no matter what plans God has for us (be it if we go through good times or bad times), so long as we do good, stay happy, draw strength from God, have faith and trust God, find joy in His strength, we will be satisfied....even when we are IN ALL HIS TOIL....even when we are going through worst time of our life. And that is the gift of God for us. That despite of whatever we go through, we can still CHOOSE to be happy and trust Him. And He will still make our lives BEAUTIFUL. In different season of different timing, we can still be assured that He is in control of the different plans He has for us.

If we understand like the writer above, about who God really is. That God endures forever, God will never make mistakes, and God knows what He is doing, that nothing can ruin His plan, not the enemy, not what we go through, not what we think we know.....then we would learn to trust God in all circumstances. When we learn to be SECURE in ALL SEASONS of our lives, be it a season to build, a season to cry, a season to suffer, a season to learn, a season to enjoy, or a season to grow.....we will find much joy in every season. We will learn to be so grateful and appreciative of every situation we go through...and we will understand the season we go through by and by....

But we need to understand that God is in control, and nothing is a mistake. We need to learn and believe that God knows what He is doing, and our trust and security in Him, does make a difference in how we journey through all the seasons He has planned for us. Know that God has plans only to prosper us, never to harm us. I have personally gone through many seasons with God, and each time God reign victoriously. Each time I learned a lot, each time I learn to understand God better, and I grow more in love and appreciative of all the plans He has for me. Timing...is everything. Don't try to outsmart God. Don't try to tell God what to do. Don't try to change your season, and don't try to understand everything. You are not God. Just journey your season and know the Creator and Planner of the season of your life. Take time to know Him better. You will find this journey a very very amazing and beautiful one. Trust me, you will turn back and not regret one bit. I have stories upon stories to back this up.

Feel free to ask me, if you want to know about it :))

But most importantly, know the season you are in with God. God will impress it upon your heart. It is like your life theme for the particular period of time. If you know your season, you would know the right time to do the right things. Therefore, the question I have for you to ponder upon today is this: ...what season are you in, my friends?

Hope you are blessed today!

With much love

On Break

2009-12-31T16:38:00.001+08:00

Break for few days.

Will be on holidays with family. No internet access. Blog post resuming on January 5th.

Meanwhile, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2010, here we come!

In the Name of Peace

2009-12-30T19:37:00.000+08:00

^{John 16}

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will^[d] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Today, this verse especially speaks to me very much. I am at a transition season, whereby I am learning to adapt to my new life....going into the working world, taking a new outlook on things, trying out something new, stepping into the unknown not knowing what is in store for me.....and a lot more other decisions for the future.

At times thinking about all these things can be quite messy and very doubtful. Like the disciples of Jesus who are at a point of worry very much about their future. Because they do not know how their world would be like in time to come without Jesus, when Jesus gone back to His Father. But Jesus clearly said this, everything else would be scattered, there will be trials there will be tribulations...Now that you believe that I am Christ, you will have peace in Me no matter how bad situation may be.

The revelation of your identity in Christ should give you peace. The revelation of God's position in your life should give you the courage to keep on keeping on in the face of circumstances. Even though I am stepping intothe working world, and honestly I always feel that I am not very street smart, and there will be a lot of challenges I face....But I am assured that Jesus will bring me through. I have a great destiny in God. Peace of God shall be upon me, and together with Jesus I can also overcome the world.=)

It is a short verse that I meditate on today. Hope it blesses you!

Disclaimer

2009-12-29T17:22:00.000+08:00

hehehee...ok a short disclaimer.

Apparently, according to someone (you know who you are XP), these blog posts are very long. Well, true. If you are wondering why, it is because this is my actual devotion here. So the purpose of this blog is to share with a few who happen to be interested in the insights I have while reading the word of God. And it is also for myself to keep track with what I have learned for the day (I usually do that in a journal). Nonetheless, it is not mandatory for all of you to read everything yap? If you are interested, do read on, if not...it is okay. Just a medium for us to learn the Word of God together.

I will try to keep it as short as I can. OK? *cross fingers*

But trust me.You will have fun reading it :))

Love~

The Joshua Generation

2009-12-29T13:24:00.000+08:00

Joshua 1

The LORD Commands Joshua

¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: ² "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea ^[a] on the west. ⁵ 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.

⁶ "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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."

¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹ "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "

Being the Joshua generation for God at this very given time is absolutely necessary. Living in the end times, people are no longer afraid of heaven and hell, they do not care about eternal life, but what is in store for them at the current life! People are no longer receptive to the gospel as before. To them, these things are just lies. Something psychological to make all of us feel better. As Science and Technology take over our generation, people reason more than ever now, everything else is related to facts and proof, people who believe very much in God are called delusional. "Why are they so fanatical about their God?" Well friends, the fact is this. We are all living in a time whereby challenges are vast and a lot, persecutions are everywhere and hostile (verbally or physically). What do we do then?

I always find encouragement as I read Joshua 1. Today, I wished God would actually speak to all Christians like how He spoke to Joshua so clearly. That He would be with Joshua, never leaving him nor forsaking him until the land is given over to the Israelites. God COMMANDED Joshua to be strong and courageous. Not once, but many times. Be strong and courageous....Why do we need that? Because God knows perfectly well, that it is not going to be easy, and it is going to be really scary to lead a group of people to battle. A lot of times I tell my members, I would want to build a generation of army. Not only Christians who will come to cell group and service every week. But who are on fire, and are willing to fight the good fight, claim the nation for Jesus. Well, I desire that. But thinking of actually doing it, is it scary? Yes! I won't deny it! The amount of persecution, discouragements, fear of failing, fear of causing another to fall, rejection, circumstances (hey, we are merely humans...) does mount over you at times. There will be voices that says: Oh come on, who do you think you are but just a little small potato?

But each time I read this passage, I take courage. Personally, I feel strong again. Why? Because God clearly said to Joshua when he was facing all the possible negative voices....: Have I not COMMANDED you to be strong and courageous?...It takes courage. It takes strength, to keep going when everything is unsure, and the only Hope you ever have is God. In a Non- Christian setting, in a family full of non-believers, in a college full of intellectualism mindset, in a world that people are no longer afraid to mock you in the open....this is exactly what we all need. To fight the good fight, and to be a strong army, just trusting and knowing that God will not leave us. I want to be the Joshua generation, not only in church, but at home in my family, in my marketplace.

How would we keep our faith, be strong and know that God would be with us? It is simple really. In this verse it says, " do not let the Book of Law depart from your mouth!"....In other words, read and meditate on the word of God (the bible) day and night, night and day. Then and only then, you will discover strength, faith and the character of God. It gives you confidence. It gives you courage. I love this verse very very much and reading it gives me courage too. See right after God spoke to Joshua, immediately he commanded his officers to get his people ready to claim the land and God is going to give it into the hands of the Israelites. See that Joshua did not doubt. He did not say...God may give it to you, or by God's grace we will get the possesion. No! He said: Three days from now, you WILL cross the Jordan here to GO IN and TAKE possession of the land the Lord your God IS GIVING you for your own! One word from God, strengthen him and give him a whole new and confident outlook about his mission.

And finally....in Verse 16

¹⁶ Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

When Joshua had the confidence, and God was with them, with a leadership that is closely connected to God, the people has no fear. See, one's leadership is very much closely knitted to his confidence and him knowing the resources he has to win. You think the people are blindly saying "CHARGE!" to everything Joshua commanded? They must have been won over by his influence and know for sure God was with him! The people captured Joshua's spirit and become the Joshua generation. They did not doubt, they did not fear. In fact, they said: Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go! ....whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death! Only be strong and courageous!!!

They also have the strong and courageous spirit. And one thing I admire about these people is that, they do not know Joshua as well as Moses. They have not seen Joshua do miracles like Moses, but they still obey his authority, knowing that Moses had now pass the baton to Joshua. How many of us as followers have actually supported our leader like how these Israelites had? Very rare. Often we would comment, oh this is leader is not as good as that leader, this leader is not fluent, so we do not want to respect him/her. Then my friend, with an attitude like that, we would find fault with any leadership placed over us. Why? Becuase human are not perfect. If you cannot accept the immediate leader place over your lives, then don't dream about serving greater man of God. People always start from humble beginning. God will only give you a greater responsibility if you are faithful in small things first.

And, remember...the people who are able to go into the Promised Land to claim their possessions are those who were 20 and below from the time the two spies (Caleb and Joshua) decided that with God it is possible to win over the land....they are people with a different mindset. Mindset that is not defeated but faith-filled. That is the reason why God will use young people mightily. They are brave, they have faith like a child, they are courageous, and they are flexible.

But some of us as young as we are act like an old man / woman. When our leaders ask us to do certain things, we criticize! We cannot see things coming to pass. Today my challenge for all of us is this, let's be a Joshua generation that win over our nation for Christ. To be faith-filled and courageous. We have to cling on to God, be strong and courageous, adhere to the Word of God, and most importantly, have the spirit that says....Oh God...Oh my leader, wherever you send me I will go. Whatever you ask me to do I will do. I will not talk about the impossibilities but the possibilities. I will help YOU fulfill your vision. And a Joshua generation spirit does not choose a leader for themselves, they respect the authority given to the leaders above them and still run after the vision of whichever leader place above them.

So here's my question for you, friend. Will you be the Joshua generation today? It is not easy, definitely challenging....but POSSIBLE for EVERYONE. The choice is yours. =)

LOL...this picture is funny. but at least they look fierce :P

Have a great day ahead!

Jeremiah 17: 5-10

2009-12-28T12:42:00.000+08:00

^{Just finished devotion. Feels good when we come before God without agenda, just enjoying His company. Today let's do something different. Looking at Jeremiah 17 verse 5 onwards, lets try to break the verses into parts...}

^{Jeremiah 17}

⁵ Thus says the LORD:

“ Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his strength,

Whose heart departs from the LORD.

⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.

The man whotrust in man, people, and the circumstances around him, instead of God, who do not rely on Faith and God as strength, but rely on his own flesh, mind, thoughts, intelligence, will wither to nothingness...like shrub in the desert and will not know when good things come. Well, to me this simply happens not because God curses that person, but because that person do not know how to discern the things of God. And even if God meant to bless him, he would not know, because he is too dependent on his flesh. On what seems to be the right thing or "feels" right to do, instead of what God wants him to do.

⁷ “ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

And whose hope is the LORD.

⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear^[b] when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

The man who place his faith and trust on God will be like a tree planted by the waters. Let's picture this, the tree = us, water = God. Trees planted by the water will have its root spread out in very vast areas, we learn that in science, correct? In other words, it grows well and have abundance (planted by the river, and river never runs dry! It keeps flowing, it is not fixed like ponds or lake). More than that, the tree will be glorious (ever green), fruitful, contributive and useful to the society and the things around it. Trees that grow well is able to hold the ground strong and firm, when its root spread out (no landscape problem in that area), it yields fruits for the inhabitants living around it, it always look good (with green leaf)...and yes indeed, when circumstances arise (heat), there is no need to be fearful. Problems may come, but a person who hopes in the Lord will never need to be afraid of not being able to solve it. Because, God is the water/river that gives life and solution to the tree (us). So the river of living water (God) is capable of ensuring the tree (us) from experiencing drought (burnt out / backslide). But what do we need to do? We need to HOPE ON THE LORD. Again, here it speaks of two kind of people. People who made different decisions and choices when it comes to God.

⁹ “ The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

Here, the bible is painting a picture of the human heart. It is deceitful (manipulative, selfish, in order to get things done its way), and desperately wicked! Truthfully, a lot of times people say follow your heart in everything you do? But try following your heart without self-control (ok...don't try it). You will lose your cool easily, murder a person whenever you feel like killing them, get involved in things that would bring you pleasure (good or bad for your body). Why? because the heart says so! Very emotional based. Like the bible says, each of us in our heart already planted 13 deadly sins. But will these seeds of sin grow? Yes. When we feed it!! Can we stop it from growing. Yes also. With the Word of God and the strength of the Spirit. The heart is very connected to the flesh. So we often have to bring in a third person to break the connection. The Holy Spirit. That is what we called...purifying the heart. The Holy Spirit acts like a filter. To filter out the heart's improper desire, and make it proper to be yielded through our being. Often we sing the song of clean hands, pure heart. But what does pure heart really means? It means this. The desperately wicked heart, being cleansed, filtered and renewed.

¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

This part of the passage is the one that jumps up to be the most. God searches the heart....He knows the content and the intent. What are your motivations in doing certain things. Is it out of selfish desire, or a pure heart? "I test the mind"....When I read this, this phrase truly jumped up to me a lot. It shows that God would search your heart and knows the content of it but yet He will still test your mind! See a lot of time people say, think with your heart, not your mind. What you really want deep inside. Follow the flow, follow your heart! But at times, thinking with your heart can be quite a disaster. What if what you want is not in God's will? Or perhaps you want to do certain things to really fulfill your pleasure, but knowing that it is a sin, does make a difference, right? This verse to me reflect how decisions made by human are being tested. See...God SEARCH the heart....He knows the content of it, but God also knows that the mind is the one that act upon it. That is why the TEST only comes on the mind. So, we can face temptations to sin, but whether we sin or not is a different story. The test comes not with the temptation we face, but the action we yield in conjunction to the temptation. The TEST on the mind fails, when the negative desires of the heart OVERPOWER the mind. The TEST of the mind pass with flying colors, when the mind is able to discern the intent of the heart, exercise self-control, and produce the right acts.

But what about following your heart for the passion and dreams you have? So do we make our heart our mind or our mind our heart? My conviction is, there are certain things, we can allow our heart to take lead....but there are also certain things that we need to use our head and mind to take control. Not everything from the heart is totally pure. Unless purified by the Holy Spirit, following your heart to fulfill your fleshly desire can be quite dangerous. So there needs to be a balance between the heart and the mind.

The verse ended with

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

Here, I see a good Father in play. God wants to give us all things. But he is very careful. We can pray for something sincerely, but at times the answer could be a no. According to the results of the search of the heart and the test of the mind. And according to the fruit of your doings. Good trees, will bear good fruits. Bad trees will bear bad fruits. So if your heart is pure, your intent are with the will of God, and you act carefully upon what you feel (test every thoughts that come into play in your mind), I believe God will grant you this according to your ways (your prayers or doing), and see to it that good fruit will be bore. I always remember what my hometown pastor (Pastor Dalbir) always tell me. He said one thing. I will not judge a church by what it is doing, but by the fruits that it produces. :)) And true enough, the fruits or the results of your action will be revealed in due season according to how your heart and mind comes together to produce the action.

Wow...Hope you guys are blessed! :) The Word of God is could be a milk or a bread to different people.

Different people may feel the same passage speaks differently to each of them. So feel free to share what these passages speaks to each of you individually. It would be interesting to see how different words are being revealed to different people at different season and walks of lives.

Anti-Partiality

2009-12-27T13:38:00.000+08:00

Finally finished my house chores. Here is the post for the day. Feel free to initiate any discussions! =)

James 2

Beware of Personal Favoritism

¹ My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, ³ and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? ⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”^a]">[a] you do well; ⁹ but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”^b]">[b] also said, “Do not murder.”^c]">[c]Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

So in James 2 here, the people of God were warned to not look at status to treat a person right, but rather treat everyone equally. For there is no favoritism in the kingdom of God. Then, why does it seem that God has chosen the poor to have more faith and the rich seemingly destined for doomed?

Ha....here is where I find the bible becomes interesting. You see, often we take things as they are as we read. But knowing the heart of God, does make a difference when we read the context.

Reading the bible, at times we often wondered, why God seem to favor the "poor" so much? So are we suppose to be poor to be godly? Well....I don't know bout you guys, but I do not deny the fact that I once thought that Christian need to be poor in order to be a great man or woman of God. Well...I was proven WRONG of course. Haha.

Who are the poor in this context? I have came to realize that, God favor the poor, not because they are physically poor, or materialistically lacking. But, the "poor" here refers to those who are often hungry and wanting more of something. For instance, if you are materialistically poor, you would not complain there is too much money. Right? In fact you would want more money! And you would learn to be grateful with what you have, because you know a lot of things in your life don't come easy! Well, here, I believe the poor refers to those who are always wanting more of God. Those who really rely very much on God. If you are poor, you would know that without God you really cannot survive. So you always need a miracle! You will always be humble and grateful.

Speaking about the rich (as referred to those who think that they can have anything they want in the world), those who are rich rarely have anything in lack, and are often proud (not all but usually). Why? Because they think they can have anything they want, they can do anything they want, they can buy anything they want. They can afford to be INDEPENDENT of God. They do not need God. They already have everything.

So then, is it better to be poor than rich? The answer is NO. We can be rich financially, but still poor spiritually. In other words, if we are able to have a lot of possession, and yet still humble ourselves, wanting more of God, God has no problem with abundant finances. In fact, the bible says, God wants us to prosper in EVERY WAY. This means, even financially. So what is the point of the verses in James 2?

It calls for equality in the kingdom of God. The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first. God will humble the proud and make the humble rise. So our call as Christian here is we do not set status among people. We do not discriminate others just because of who they were or who they are. Oh, you are rich, so you can sit at the front seat. You are poor. Go all the way to the BACK! Your father is a sinner, you have no rights to be in the church. You have committed adultery, you cannot be part of our church. You are a gay! Get out of our church....You are from such a complicated background, a broken home...please don't mix with my kids!

Bible says, when you do that...when you have partiality in acceptance....YOU SIN! Who does the Kingdom of God belong to? To everyone. The poor, the rich, the sinners, the saints. Jesus came to this world, not for the righteous, but for the sinners. He set an example when He decided to eat with the tax collectors, receive the love of a prostitute so on and so forth. Who are we indeed to judge? Are we God? Can we determine who will enter heaven? Or are we given the authority to preserve the church only for the people we think "worthy?"....the RICH?

The one thing that I admire Pastor Kevin is when he said, whatever past a person carries, or whatever struggles (whether gay or not gay, whether adulterers or not adulterers, whether prisoners or drug addicts) we open the church and welcome all of them. If they still sin, our job is not to condemn or reject them, but to guide and teach and support them, hoping that one day the power of God is going to change them inside out. We cannot change a person. But God can. All we can do is to be a vessel for God to use to impact and engage the lives of others. So are we to judge?

The bible says....God desires mercy more than judgment. So today, if we have judged and we have partiality in accepting others, then we have already sinned. And there is no such thing is greater or smaller sin. When you sin, you sin. Big or small...

Let's live a life right before God, and start loving our neighbors as ourselves. :))

God despised partiality. Partiality = lukewarm. And when you are neither hot nor cold, God will spit you out. Choose your side today. You can either be totally accepting, or totally rejecting.

Hope you are blessed. Have a great day ahead!

The Criminals on the Crosses

2009-12-27T00:18:00.000+08:00

I did not have the time to post anything in the morning because this morning, the connection wasn't good. So here is some thoughts I have on the passage I read.

LUKE 23
32Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.

33When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.

34-35Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."

Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, "He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!"

36-37The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: "So you're King of the Jews! Save yourself!"

38Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.

39One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!"

40-41But the other one made him shut up: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this."

42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom."

43He said, "Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."

44-46By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.

(For easy reference: Since it is not written which side both criminals are at, let's just assume, the criminal on the right is the one that defended Jesus, and the criminal on the left is the one that mocked Jesus)

To me, these two criminals, the right and the left are light the little angel and little devil in our heads. One will question our identity, be very negative and try to manipulate our feelings. The other, always encourage, always help us remember who we are and allow us to have something to hold on to in moments of devastation. Reading this, reminded me again of the constant struggle that HUMAN will always have, and very less likely to escape. Unless if you are dead. The struggle between the flesh and the spirit is always existent.

I was once in the other extremities whereby I succumb very much to the voice of the little devil. But eversince being equipped with the Word of God, I find the little devil's voice being trumped over almost everytime when it tries to voice out. So COOL! haha...But see, the battle between these two voices are always there. When one voice is easily overcome by the other, it doesn't mean the struggle don't exist! It just meant which side you have fed on more, and which side is stronger in your life! That is the reason why people often struggle to do the right thing. At times, they get confused. And they begin to lose sense of who they are and got into the wrong things as they search for their true identity. The battle of the voices is always a battle of identity. Between who you SHOULD be, and who you FEEL like being.

Even Jesus Himself, His identity was questioned over and over again, even nearing death, on the cross, He was again hurled insults and question over and over again. Jesus did not quiver nor was He shaken. He knew exactly who He was and what He was sent to earth for, and He accomplished His mission. Could He have saved Himself? I believe yes. He could have asked the angels to come down and burn everyone who mocked at Him even! But He chose not to. He chose to do the right thing, and stick to the Word of God.

Today in life, when we are faced with difficult situation, even at the brink of the cross, people mock us, whose voice do you listen to? The right or the left? See, Jesus was very secure, and He knew what to respond to. The whole place was mocking Him, even the left criminal. But He gave no respond. But the moment the right criminal defended Him and spoke to Him....He said: Today you will be with me in paradise....

Jesus responded to the right voice. As I said, the voices in our head will constantly make us struggle. Should we be emotional or not? Should we get upset or not? Should we feel certain way? Should we react certain way? What if we feel injustice? In the flesh I feel so much like doing something, I feel so much like sinning!....But which voice would you choose to respond to?

See, it is always easier to respond to the flesh, to the little devil's voice inside of you. Why? Because it gives momentary glory, momentary pleasure. It makes you feel good about YOURSELF. Do you think it is not easy for Jesus to respond to the mockery and say something negative? I believe He struggled to keep His thoughts and actions pure. He was under such torment yet people were still not giving Him a break! He had all the reason to be upset and angry. He had the all the rights to shout at the mocking crowd, defend Himself, and feel good for a little while with all that He was going through. But, He did not. He did not respond at all....But, Jesus chose to ONLY respond when the right criminal spoke to Him....He gave an UNUSUAL respond that is an example for all of us today... When we face the struggle of two voices, what do we do? Ignore the little devil and respond promptly to the little angel! XD

Looking at the right criminal, he too gave an unusual respond! Analyzing this just amazes me. He decided to defend Jesus on the cross because he decided to do the right thing. To defend justice. Despite of what majority were saying, what the crowd was saying. Even on the cross, he could care less about justifying his own life. He defended Jesus instead, in the midst of his punishment, at times when it is understandable for him to curse the law and the unfairness of life. But, he did not. See, let us imagine. Logically if we were put on the cross, in pain and under the heat, wouldn't we just mind our own businesses, and let Jesus worry about His own problem? Well, this criminal to me, is amazing. He didn't just defend Jesus. I believe that very day, this criminal had TRUE REPENTANCE.....maybe he did hear about Jesus. But, I believe more than just true repentance, that very moment on the cross, his eyes were open. He had a REVELATION.

He saw Jesus as more than just another man on the cross along with them. He took the last strength left in his body, defended Jesus, and asked Jesus for forgiveness, and asked Jesus to remember him when His kingdom come...He could have kept quiet and succumb to the voice that said: who are you to ask Jesus to remember you? You are just a criminal! A nobody! You are on the cross now, it is too late to do anything! You couldn't have repay all your mistakes now. Its too late! But he did not. He chose an UNUSUAL respond. He chose to listen to the voice that said: He is the Messiah. The Christ, the Son of the Living God! Ask Him for forgiveness now! You will enter paradise. He did. And tadaa.....He entered heaven that day.

So, who would you listen to? who would you respond to? And who would you want to be?

The right criminal, or the left criminal?

The choice is yours =))

Officiate the First Blog

2009-12-27T00:14:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

This blog is specially for those who want to keep really close connection with me. I have already promised my members in E30 and E45 that I will post up devotional stuffs online so that we can continue keeping in touch. Feel free to drop by and give a thought or two. This blog would be very discussional based :))

Love,
Hazel