J'aime vie...

Christmas isn't Christmas till it's Christmas in your heart...

Christmas eve at TMLC...

What is Christmas without the ones you love and care about to share your joy with...I went to my aunt, mum and grandma's Lutheran church which is near to our home to spend Christmas eve there. My mum was back-up singing so we were also there to support her...
It was a very interesting night...during the sermon I considered the excitement of Mary and Joseph when they were resting in the stable and the contractions began. For a moment, i felt a sheer sense of excitement of the awaiting of a Saviour...The feeling that would have been on Mary & Joseph's mind...Have you ever waited in anticipation for something that is of utmost importance or something that is very special to you? You would know the feeling of butterflies in your stomach and the sheer sense of anticipation. I wonder if Mary and Joseph felt that way? They would have!!!

It was a time of hopelessness amongst Israel then. In that time of darkness, a Light was about to shine on Earth forever! Imagine Mary...knowing that this child was born by the Spirit of God and the message that the angel Gabriel told her that He would be Jesus, meaning "the Messiah" running in her mind as one contraction after another came. Imagine the excitement and anticipation in the midst of the pain of contractions. A moment so Holy yet so human. That is exactly what Jesus is...He was every bit God and every bit man. And then He was born. A baby so cute that His mere smile would warm any heart. And imagine the joy upon joy in Mary's heart...It would be beyond joy!

Friends mark the coming of Christmas

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)...Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.(1 John 4:11)...

It was my first Christmas eve in a long while that I spent with friends from high school. Had some of those friends that I went through all the adolesence woes with. Took a lot to avoid the drinks that were shoved to everyone by my friend's parents...hehe! Most ended up drunk and as usual, I was the last sober one standing and drove my friends home. Is this what Christmas is about?

You know the song..."Christmas isn't Christmas till it's Christmas in your heart?" Well, that was when I felt that I wish that everyone could see the beauty and love that can be found in remembering this special day. It's not about the presents, the Christmas tree or even the turkey, it's about a great love story of a God who loves us that He would come and die for us. But Jesus did not just die, He came to live as a man for us...

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted...Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 2:14, 4:14-16)

Christmas at SIB, KL

Emmanuel, God With Us!

The sermon by Ps Lee Choo, really spoke to the heart of many people and many people were ministered to, including myself. It's actually a really simple sermon, but it was a good reminder of the grace of God upon our lives. He is Emmanuel, God Who is always with us! To an old woman in Luke 7:11-17, Jesus was indeed Emmanuel. She had gone through double tragedy. She was not only a widow but she had just lost her son. The village she was in was probably supporting her by being there for her on the day of her son's funeral and thus, the large crowd of people. But along comes Jesus and "his heart went out to her" (v 13)...He not only consoled the woman, but He does more than that. He was about to change her life and her son's life forever. He went up to the coffin of the dead boy and said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" (v14) and the young man came back to life! Imagine the joy of the widow and the astonishment of the young man!!! Jesus did not only 1) Make contact but He 2) brought about CHANGE so that 3) they would give their hearts to Jesus. Jesus had given the young man a second chance. Imagine for a while that perhaps this was a young man who lived in degradation, who squandered money and did not respect his mother. He lived a life of sin seeking pleasure in women...Now, after this experience, do you think Jesus intends to bring him back to life so that he can go back to his sin; go back to his old way of living? No, by no means! I would imagine that the life that this young man lived after that would be totally different...for one, he would definitely make the best of every moment he had! LIVE while you are alive!! How do you live?

The 3 P's that define Life:

1) Perspective in Life
2) Purpose in Life
3) 'Personhood'

There are a lot of people with wrong perspectives and misaligned purposes. So they never find happiness. Some wrong perspectives include thinking that all I want for life is to be happy and live for the moment. But what we want should be JOY, not just happiness. Joy is something that situations cannot rob, but happiness can be robbed in an instant. Do you have joy today? An inner peace and knowing that God has given you a new life to live...that God is always with you...that you will never walk a single day of your life alone again because He will always walk with you...EMMANUEL, God with us!

What is your purpose in life?...Have you ever considered this questions? Perhaps you think you have the answer to this question but is that really the purpose that would bring joy to you. Let us live a life that when we look back one day, old and frail, we will say, "It was worth it!" But that doesn't mean that life will be free of problems. When we look at difficulties, look upon them not as problems but issues/challenges that will help us grow. (Note: Don't blame but ask God to change our perspective.) Live a purposeful life...Live for others, not just ourselves...Carpe Diem! Seize EVERY day!

But to that we need to first know who we are. There a lot of people who do not know who they are...inside...What we need is a change of 'personhood'...a change of identity...There are many who knows who Jesus is and accepts Jesus as Saviour. They know that Jesus died for them and is God, but do we accept Him as the Lord of our life?! What inspired Paul to say - "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." But Jesus can't make us change. "IF IT'S GOING TO BE, IT'S UP TO ME!" Change lies within us. We make that choice, then change will come. And along with change is the change of heart...that now, God is no longer there for us but with us and IN US!


God has come to give life, and life ABUNDANTLY! So LIVE!!! Live every moment you have to the fullest...love and appreciate every one you have around you and seize every opportunity to live out what God may call us into and lead us into to bring hope, love, joy and peace through Jesus....

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

Greetings from Malaysia!!!

I'm back in the midst of family and people I love...Just sitting around eating, talking and just being with one another. Having a really good time here. (For the benefit of those who know...) My coming back was a surprise to my family...haha! Boy was it a surprise! No one suspected anything...And we (my sis and I) arrived at about 7.00 sth am, before anyone was awake. Went straight up to my parents room and knocked on the door...haha! Dad was so surprised to see me when he opened the door. So was mum and the rest. hehee! It's fun to step out of the normal day-to-day routine and do something to show the people we love that we care for them. The surprise was not major (well, you can say flying 6000 over miles across the ocean kinda is but it didn't require any major effort on my side except for the desire to see them and to make them happy) but it showed them how much I cared for them and wanted to be with them. I may only be here for 10 days but I intend to maximise every minute that I have here to spend my time with them. I thank God that He has blessed me with a most loving and supportive family who has really been through the thick and thin with me. Thank you Lord!

My 2 cents today:

SURRENDER
Surrendering doesn't mean that we don't care or to hide something out of the mind or don't think about something. But surrender means to give God full control of our life, especially situations that you have no control over. Lord, help me to surrender each day and each situation in life to You. Help me to let go of the things I should not hold on to and to receive the peace in You, by faith. Help me to seek to develop of patience in waiting for your will to unfold in my life. Help me to learn to trust you wholeheartedly...

A DREAM inspired by God...

This morning...Actually, it's yesterday already by now...Yesterday morning...I awoke thinking about this whole Tunisia calling thing. And was a little filled with apprehensiveness of what to expect and how will I actually get there and all that. As I was thinking about all these, God placed an inspiration in my heart to establish a Children's shelter call Hope Shelter. That has now evolved to House of Hope, that will run under the organisation call Hope Shelter...And by faith, this will be established in various Northern African countries where poverty is rampant and many kids with no homes and have no education. The primary focus will be to show them love and to provide them with basic educational needs such as learning English, and other basic subjects...It will also be a shelter for women. Many women are mistreated in those parts of the world. They barely have a say in anything at all...because the Northern African countries are predominantly Muslim nations. In Tunisia, there are only about 0.6% Christians / Catholics (prob mostly Catholics). And Tunisia is quite densely populated as one of the better off Northern African countries. So, you can do the maths...the harvest field is ripe and plentiful. But more so than that is the fact that many of these people have never experienced the beauty and wonder of God's grace...In just being about to have simple things in life such as basic education...and rights. I am very excited when I think about it. God has been slowly unfolding His plans before me as I seek Him...I must admit that I do not know how I will do it or where the funds will come from, but I do know that God is the God of Heaven and Earth. He who created all things, owns all things and will provide in His timing and will.

One step at a time, God. One step at a time...

But wow! Can you imagine??? Little houses like these in desert towns...with blue front doors and a sign with "House of Hope" in Red words hanging above the blue doors. Blue signifying HOPE and the Red words for the Door Post to remind us that hope comes only from the blood of Jesus that was poured for each of us. This will be our 'signature'!!!!...Each house will have white washed walls (We are washed as white as snow...most people will be dark like me and so will be an amazing thing for them to realise) and the walls painted with pictures of choice by the children and women. On Sunday, we will be able to church service in these houses...But of course, we can't outwardly share the gospel but will definitely be able to intersperse Bible stories in the co-curiculum of stories and teachings. Hahaha! So exciting!!! And just let the people be drawn by the love and hope found in these shelters. Anyone wanna come and help??? In the future! God will bring it to pass!


On a side note, Prince cute or not??? hahahaha! He is wearing a new pair of sunnies I bought today. Getting in with the trend...BIG oversized sunnies that looks more expensive that it actually cost me...hehehehe! Can't wait to wear them tomorrow...It's getting very HOT now! Hot till I feel the drum of a headache...the type caused by the heat. Malaysia is not going to be better but worse! Lord, please help me maximise the 10 days I have with no headaches. Looking forward to a wonderful time with family to celebreate Christmas and New Year. Incidentally, my whole family (uncles, aunties and all from overseas) are also back for the festives...They are in for a BIG surprise on Friday morning! hehehehe!



Wow....am so amazed with God. HUGS and lots of Love to all my friends. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR in advance!!!

A Sermon from Hope of God Bangkok, International Fellowship

Date:       27th November 2005
Speaker : Ps. Isaac Alamo
Scripture: Philemon 1:4-7 >>

ASPECTS OF RELATIONSHIPS IN CHRIST...link to HOBIF Sunday sermon outline

Intro:

• God is a god of relationship
• Wronged relationship shown here; Philemon/Onesimus
• Paul intercedes to restore the relationship
• Result is blessing
• Relationships should be godly and we should be able to correct problems.
• Here we see two different aspects of godly relationships in Christ.

A.   Forms of Relationships in Christ
      - Christians represent God here on Earth; our relationships should be healthy.
      - To do so we must relate first to God and then to others in a balanced way. Eph 2:15-16 >>
   
First aspect of relationship in Christ:

1.     Vertical relationship with Christ v1a
            Paul a prisoner of Christ..
            - We have a unique form of love in Christ; slaves to his love. Rom. 6:16 >>
            - Everyone is a slave to something; Christians choose Christ  (perfection by grace)         
              1Cor. 7:22-23 >>
            - We deny ourselves and give it all to Christ; true freedom.  Jn. 8:23 >>
            - He alone can cover our faults and weaknesses; no other way works.
            - Relationship problems start to happen when our relationship with God is not well.
            - Improve your relationship with God and improve relations with people.

2.     Horizontal relationship with the church v1
            - The church is God’s chosen vehicle to present his purpose for all.
              Eph. 3:9-11 >>
            - The church is eternal and important to God.
            - The church referred to as the bride and as the body.  These analogies
              refer to the church’s relationship to Christ, part of him. Thus we must
              relate to both Christ and the church.

Three pictures of the Church:

A. Family (v 1b, 2a and Timothy our brothers to Apphia or sister)
- God’s love sets the example for us to love each other.   1 Jn 2:9-10 >> ,
- We are shown to be godly by our love. 1 Jn. 3:10 >>
- Brotherly love should be strong in church; our biological family will cease to be but our spiritual family is eternal.
- Out of love we should look to help one another; we all belong to God. Eph. 2:19 >>
- As a family we need to express concern for one another; trying to meet each others needs.  Jas. 2:15-16 >>
- Let our love find ways of expressing itself outwardly.

B. Team (v1c to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker),
- Serving together develops strong relationships; opportunity to build each other.
- We shouldn’t be just brothers and sisters by name only.
- Serving together should be done in the spirit of God’s unconditional love.
- We all bring different gifts to the body of Christ.  1 Cor 12 >> , seek harmony.

C. Soldiers (v2b to Archippus our fellow soldier)
- As we are all on the same team we also belong to the same army.
- We fight in the spirit realm; same enemy - the Devil;    Eph 6:12 >>
- Best way to defeat an army is to turn itself against itself.
- Our weapon is God’s word.  2 Cor. 10:3-4 >>
          

Second aspect of relationships in Christ:

B. Attitudes of relationship in Christ

1. Value one another v4
    - See each other as Christ see us.  All
      have godly values
    - We are created in His image.
    - Christ saw the value enough to die for it.
    - As Jesus did put others above ourselves. 
     Rom. 12:10
    - No one is perfect, chose to see the good. 
      1 Peter 2:17

2. Love one another v5
    - If we love Christ we must love
      one another. 1 Jn. 4:7
    - Not the world’s love; love all,
      even the difficult people. 1 Jn. 4:11
    - Love by Jesus example, agape love, sacrificial love. 1 Jn. 3:16-17
    - Give glory to God by your love for others. Jn. 15:12-13
    - We are made complete as we love others with God’s love. 1 Jn 4:12
    - God’s love is eternal and never fails.

3. Mean well towards others v6
    - Express a sincere love and concern for others lives. Share their lives!  1 Cor. 12, 1 Th 2:11-12
    - Give of yourself that others may be blessed.

4. Encourage one another v7
    - Easy way to impact people’s lives for God.
    - Be quick to give a good word or pray for one another.  Eph. 5:19
    - Bible tells us to encourage lest we cause someone to become hard hearted.  Heb 3:13
                      
Conclusion:

God has clearly placed great priority on not just how we relate to him but how we relate to each other as well.  If we are not living up to God's standard than we need to look in our hearts and see what is lacking and ask God for grace to receive it and to change so that we can love and relate with others the way God desires us to. If we do this we will surely have a church of God's love which lights the way to God at all times.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I learnt:

• Always leave a conversation with a note of encouragement even when we correct or rebuke. Love does not cause confusion but reaffirms that God loves us even though we are weak and we should look to God to ask Him to help us change our weaknesses.
• Always seek to see the good...When Jesus looked at Judas Iscariot, he called him "friend" because He did not merely see Judas who would betray him but he saw the love and will of God in Judas.
• Always show our appreciation for each other - Don't be brothers and sisters by name only. We need to continuously reaffirm each other and remember that we are not just partners in ministry but just as Jesus called us His friends, we are also friends to each other...close enough to sit in each others company and share our joys, fears, doubts, anxiety and life...
• Always seek to express our love outwardly...let us not just speak of love. Remember the friends, family and people we love around us and do something to show them that you really care!
• Always always always LOVE!!!!

The Reason for the Season

Hope of the World...

Isaiah  9:1-7

To Us a Child Is Born

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-

² The people walking in darkness
       have seen a great light;
       on those living in the land of the shadow of death
       a light has dawned.

³ You have enlarged the nation
       and increased their joy;
       they rejoice before you
       as people rejoice at the harvest,
       as men rejoice
       when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
       you have shattered
       the yoke that burdens them,
       the bar across their shoulders,
       the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Every warrior's boot used in battle
       and every garment rolled in blood
       will be destined for burning,
       will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child is born,
       to us a son is given,
       and the government will be on his shoulders.
       And he will be called
       Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace
       there will be no end.
       He will reign on David's throne
       and over his kingdom,
       establishing and upholding it
       with justice and righteousness
       from that time on and forever.
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty
       will accomplish this.

This is an amazing passage from the Bible that speaks of the fulfilment of God's promised "Messiah" (For the benefit of some, Bible Hebrew word that means "Saviour"). Many things shared by Isaiah in this passage, we know have come to pass because Jesus has already come and died on the cross and rose again. How amazing to know that these have all come true. If you don't believe me, do some research on history. The life, and death of Jesus is not just some story tucked away in the library or some fable of some mythical character but He is as much a part of mankind's history as Einstein, Mother Theresa or any great person was. And Jesus came because He loves you and me.

Anyway, back to Isaiah 9. This prophetic encouragement from Isaiah about the future could not have come at a better time. Israel was in a state of despair when Isaiah wrote this passage...the people were in a state of distress as they await the attack of the Assyrian army that was sure to totally destroy them! It was a situation, if we were in it, that one would not be able to see the hope of the future because of the impending doom that you and your entire family was going to be slaughtered by this mighty army.

And in the midst of this dark time, Isaiah writes about a future hope...a hope that would have been difficult to imagine in such a time unless you believe in God...and unless you trust in the faithful nature of God that He will fulfil His promise in our lives. I wonder if Isaiah thought twice about uttering these words. But as a prophet you do not question God but just convey every message that God hands you to pass to the people, and that was what Isaiah did. If it had not already happened and come to pass, we would have said it was impossible.

And sure enough, the Assyrian army was miraculously turned around and Judah was spared when most of Israel was destroyed by this vicious army. And Isaiah's word of encouragement would take a good 1000 years before it would come to pass. And so they waited and waited and waited...

0 A.D...

Luke 1:67-79

  ⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
      because he has come and has redeemed his people.
⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
      in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹salvation from our enemies
      and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷²to show mercy to our fathers
      and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
      and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
      through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
      and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the path of peace."

Here is John's father, proclaiming something that is very similar to Isaiah 9:1-7, because he had put 2 and 2 together, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (ie Spirit of God), Zechariah knew that God's promise was being fulfilled right before his eyes (Zechariah is Jesus' uncle)...And thus his joy as he praised God! It's almost as if Zechariah was jumping with joy as he said this. Can you imagine it?

Today, we know that this Hope is found in Jesus, who is The Reason for the Season. What Season? The Season of Christmas of course! The origin of Christmas was not about gifts and Christmas trees, but about the birth of a Child who was every bit God and every bit man. Don't ask me how. Go figure. God cannot be understood with human intellect. You can only believe, by faith.

Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled:

v1: Jesus was from Galilee

v6: the government will be upon His shoulders - Jesus was greatly persecuted by authorities although He did not do anything wrong

v7: "he will reign on David's throne" - God promised that there will always be a king on David's throne. Jesus is of the line of David. And after Jesus, there need not be any other King because Jesus now sits on this throne forever. He is the Everlasting King.

---------------------------------------

Quoting Pastor Ian..."Jesus is the only hope and security that will last through all the dramas of our life. Our hope in Jesus doesn't last just in this lifetime but will last eternally...

Christmas is the fulfilment of God's promise."

Do you know the Reason for the Season?  

Gwen, you made me CRY!!!!

Gwen's room
Originally uploaded by olivialoh.

Sending Gwen off kinda didn't feel like she was going to off for good...Trina and I both agreed that we didn't feel like Gwen was really going to go home for good. It was only when Gwen walked through the departure door that the reality began to hit us and you could see all the tears well up in our eyes...* sniff sniff *

God blesses us by sending friends into our life so that we can share the good and the bad together. And Gwen is one of those friends who have been there for me and gone through some highs and lows in the last 3 years. Seeing who she is now and she was when she first came, I thank God as I really see God's grace on her life and how she's changed...Of course, God is still working in her life and perfecting her but we love her just the way she is!!!!

Gwen Gwen...we're gonna miss you so much! Saw the few drops of tears in your eyes when you walked into the terminal. Hah hah! Someone said won't cry?! :P

Whenever I think of Melb when I go to France one day, you will always be a part of those memories...

Love and HUGS always!!!!!

Keep the Faith...

Despite popular belief, the Christian life is not easy. Some mistakenly assume that once they become children of God, their struggles are over. Many Christians begin their walk with Christ enthusiastically; but as the pressure mounts, they lose heart and abandon their pilgrimage (journey to God).

Paul described his Christian life as a battle. There were times when he struggled, and only through perseverance could he continue. It may surprise us to know that the great apostle had to struggle at times to be faithful to God. Paul faced persecution, misunderstanding, betrayal, and death threats. His Christian life was anything but easy, yet he persevered.

Your faith in God is not proven by beginning the race but by enduring to the finish. Publicly announding your commitment to Christ in your church does not compare to a lifetime of devotion to his cause.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have fept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

~ ~ ~ ~

Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry T Blackaby and Richard Blackaby...

~ ~ ~ ~

It is so true! Many of us start off with God with a BANG! Myself included. I still remember times when I had just come to know the Lord and everything was so freash and exciting and God was just amazing...He still is but the awe, the passion and the intimacy with God I once possessed so consistently is like a yoyo that goes up and down. There are times we feel like we can climb Mount Everest with the Holy Spirit and you and then there are times when everything crumbles and you feel like you can't go on. Well, guess what?! It's ok to feel like that cause you're only human! That's why we need Him! That's why we need God to sustain us and to strenghten us and to send people around us to encourage us...to encourage is to "add" courage...or to "become" courage. So we are meant to receive boldness and a sure trust towards God when we are encouraged...


But that is not enough...What's most important is a daily relationship and communion with our God. The knowing comes not from how much we know about God but how well we know Him intimately, personally, and daily. If we have such a relationship with God, then it's hard to go from high to low and then high again...and low again. Jesus' love is constant and faithful like the sun that rises and sets without fail...with each difficulty we overcome, we become a little stronger and little more consistent. With every battle that we fight, scar wounds proudly protruding from us, we become more skilled at fending off the enemies lies and discouragement. However, not everything is from the 'enemy'. Sometimes, God allows us to go through tough seasons and difficult times to toughen us...So that we can be like Jesus who does not waver even when faced with the rejection of the whole world...even when the pain as He was pinned to the cross was overbearing. He did not turn away but He endured... suffering for us.


...Say what you mean and do what you say! Here's a new motto that I've learnt. Even to God, don't say what you do not mean. Don't say that you are happy when you are sad...don't try to 'please' God and thus, lose out on the chance to draw close through honesty and transparency towards God. "A broken Spirit and a contrite heart...You will not despise... You will not despise..."

This was a vision that God showed me the other day...I saw a book...and I was flipping through the pages of the book. There were a lot of content but I couldn't read what they were. I looked to the cover of the book and there were some words in language I did not recognise but I somehow I understood that it meant "My Life". And so there I was staring at my life but not being able to read the content of the book!!! God only showed me one page...it was a blank page that had a cross protruding out of it... kind of like the one I drew in my journal above. Didn't quite understand what it meant but on Sunday God reminded me of that vision and said, "Your life is to be about the Cross." hmmm...so profound. I don't know if i fully understand what it means...hmmmm.

Yesterday, I penned these words in my journal..."to a life long goal of making known the Cross of Jesus and the everlasting and faithful love of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is MY truth, MY way and MY life...In You, Lord, I trust and depend...

Amen

Just BELIEVE!

There are many things in life that we can't control...But there is one thing that we can, which is to believe the One He sent...To trust Him who has our best interest at heart and the best plan of our life in His hands...

"The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent." John 6:29...

God has been teaching me a lot in the last 3 weeks...Opened my eyes to see so much more and opened my heart to experience His love and grace more. Sometimes, it takes those desert seasons when we are stretched beyond what we can bare and placed in a situation where we direly hold on to God, that we realise, we can't live without Him...He is all that matters.

Pastor's sermon this Sunday really spoke to me..."Our confidence in the future, as Christians, should be based on the nature of God, that He will fulfil His promises in our lives..." Then Pastor went on to talk about Moses and the Israelites...haha! Bible history of the month for me! Seem to keep facing this bunch the last couple of weeks. God, let me learn all that you want to teach me...

The Power of Hope

11 Dec 2005 - Pas Ian Foley

The definition of Hope is "the expectation of something good".

The basis of our hope is found in what Jesus has done for us and what God has in store for us.

But a lot of our expectations are based, instead, on what we think will happen in the future.

As Christians, our confidence in the future should be based on the nature of God, that He will fulfil His promises in our lives.

We can see this in the way our lives have been transformed by God ever since we came to know Him.

3,000 years ago, God promised to deliver the Israelites from slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey. God first miraculously brought them out of Egypt and defeated the Egyptian armies...something that was impossible humanly.

After 2 years, they approached the Promised Land. And Moses sent out 12 spies into the land. And they brought back a big bunch of juicy grapes - so big that they had to hold it with a pole. Indeed the land was flowing with milk and honey - everything God promised. But of the 12 spies, 10 of them also reported that there were strong men and giants in the land who were impossible to defeat - a picture that left God out of the picture.

Own note: Here was God who had brought them out of Egypt so miraculously and had given them food out of nowhere, shade by day in the form of clouds that followed them everywhere, warmth and light by night in the form of pillars of fire that surrounded them, so much quail that they got sick of it after 30 days...and to top it all, they had seen the cloud of God's presence over the tent everytime Moses met with God. And here they were, doubting God...Sigh! Sounds so much like us...all the time!

Of the 12 only, 2, Joshua and Caleb had faith and conviction that God would deliver the land into their hands. But that was not enough. The faith of the people fell, and the people rebelled against God.

In spite of all that God has done, the people did not trust in God. God forgave them but the generation that did not believe would die in the desert and never step foot into the Promised Land before the people would move into the Promised Land. The Israelites lacked faith to believe that final step! Are we like that as well sometimes? We're at the final step of entering into God's victory. But it is this final step when it is most difficult. Will you turn around and rebel against God or will you move forward, trusting God, even though you don't know what to do or how to do it...

Faith and Hope is very closely linked.
Our hope in God will only come to pass if we trust in God.
If we trust Him, only then can you overcome the hurdle.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

This has been a key verse to me in the last 3 weeks as I learn to surrender my life to God and to allow Him to teach me what He wants to teach me in a very difficult season...

1) Justification brings Hope of the glory of God

The point that God justifies us is when we are saved.

Verse 1 - "justification through faith"

Previously, Paul said in Romans 3 that "all have sinned and fallen short..." Sin damages character, relationships. But as we move on to verse 2, we see that as God saves us, a change comes about and our relationship is restored.

Glory of man before God will be restored.

The key to this is "JUSTIFICATION", meaning "declared righteous".

"Justification by faith" means to Accept Christ.

Because of sin, we are condemned but when we accept Christ, put faith in Jesus, the Judge now no longer sees our sin. Our relationship is restored, brought back so that our life can truly reflect the glory of God.

2) Trial Produces Hope

Paul encourages us to rejoice in our suffering.
Doesn't make sense when you think about it. How can you rejoice when you are feeling pain, hurt, confused?

We can, when the basis of our rejoicing is what those trials will do to our lives.

It is easy to throw in the towel then to persevere and to stand the test of trial.

Even in our tough times, God is faithful and true.

When we know that God is faithful, our hope arises.

In the greater difficulty in the future, we will reaffirm that God is with us.

As we persevere, we are being developed in our character.

We only have one life to live, how we live it is what matters.

If we feel that we have made mistakes, it's not too late to turn around and turn to God.

Love Strenghtens Hope

God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
It is God's love that holds us to our hope to expect the "good plan" that God has for everyone of us.

This is SO true! We can believe and trust that God has a "good plan" for us because we know that He loves us. How can a God who loves gives us something bad or a life that we may dread? Yes, it doesn't mean that it will be a bed of roses. But it means that even when thorns are surrounding us, we will still have a reason to rejoice, because our focus of joy is not this life or 'difficult' moment, but Christ who loves us and what He has done for us...And the eternal life that awaits each and every one of us.

So, the knowledge of God's presence in our life and His love strenghtens us.
Often, we focus on the giants. But God can deal with them and turn things around!
Or we want it now! But be patient so that God can deal with us/grow us through the trial. Face the circumstance and REJOICE!! Look to God!

It is so true. Many times, when situations get difficult, we are tempted to run away instead of facing up to the difficulty and overcoming it. God has been teaching me to wait...WAITING is hard when you are uncertain. But that's why we need to JUST TRUST AND BELIEVE. There are no explanations. We can't rationalise how to trust or believe. It has to come from the heart...That deep in our heart, we know who God is and what He has ALREADY done for us. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If God can deliver the Israelites from the mighty Egyptian kingdom and army, God can deliver us from any difficulties or situations where the outcome seems impossible. When we wait, we do not wait as one who has no hope, but we wait as one who HOPES IN THE LORD! Daddy knows best...

When life doesn't seem perfect, we just trust in the One Who is.

Happy Be-Earlied Birthday Joey!

Had so much fun tonight Joe!!! Thanks for the great suggestion...Would never have discovered this nice little German-themed restaurant right in the heart of the city if not for you...Hofbrauhaus really surprised us with how fun it was...Loved the dancing after the dinner. Was caught by surprise by it but what they hey, we had lots of fun!!! Haha...the little boy so funny. Some more danced all the way out into the street. Good thing not many people were on the street on Market Lane outside the restaurant, except maybe the poeple eating in Flower Drum and that Jap restaurant across. Hahaha! But was fun!

I'm tempted to put up your video as well of you as the Bell Maid...but better not. Don't want to get *bished*.

Hope you enjoyed yourself Joey...And for your birthday on Monday...I wish you great joy in who you are and who God has made you...I wish you all the best in every friendship and finding your Mr Right. He's somewhere out there...squashed in the midst of 6 billion people. It's a lot of people to sift through so be patient...hehehe! Like my uncle said last time, if we do our maths, we should be able to find Mr Right after we round the earth about 40 times. You'll surely bump into him....haha!

Happy Be-Earlied Birthday again, Joe!!!

MUAKS!

Learning to Make Better Choices (Part 2)

Decisions. We make them. Then they turn around and make us. And sometimes they break us. Eve was a woman who faced a decision. It was probably not a decision most of us would put in the life-changing category. It was a casual decision about a piece of fruit. The fruit looked delicious. So what's the big deal? The next time you stand in the produce section of your supermarket and choose the right bunch of bananas of sort through the strawberries, think about the choice Eve made about some fruit...

Now we want to look at another woman in the bible who made a decision to throw away everything she knew to be her life, chose to hide 2 Israelite spies and became the ancestress of the Messiah...Rahab knew enough about God to believe He would use His great power to benefit His own. She was willing to bet her life on it. She knew how thick the Jericho walls were. She lived on them. She knew how ferocious the Jericho soldiers were. As a prostitute she probably had listened to enough of them brag about their strength and prowess when they visited her. But despite all that, she had come to believe that the God of Israel would triumph, and that the Israelites were on God's side. She believed that so thorougly that she was ready to bet her life on that reality. Rahab dared to stand alone against her culture because she had a strong faith in Israel's God.

In fact, to our surprise, Rahab's faith was heralded as an example of outstanding faith.

"By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient."...Hebrews 11:31

Here in the Hall of Fame for heroes of faith we find only 2 women - Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and the prostitute Rahab. Remarkable!

Look also at James 2:25-26:

"In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

Rahab's faith led not only to a strong statement about Israel's God: "Your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." It also led to a strong action for the people of God. Someone has said that "faith is a step, not just a statement."

The story is told in Joshua 2...Rahab had heard about what God did for the Israelites to bring them out of Egypt - the drying of the Red Sea and the defeat of Sihon and Og, 2 powerful kingdoms were all impossible if not for God being on their side. All Rahab had was a belief in Israel's God...

This is the story...The Israelites had roamed the desert for 40 years and were now ready to embark upon the Promised Land that God was giving to them. Under the new leader, Joshua, the first step was to send 2 spies into Jericho, one of the strongest and most fortified cities in the land of Canaan. These spies aroused the suspicion of the king of Jericho as hearsay got to the king that the Israelites had sent 2 spies to spy on the land. The king sent soldiers to look for them in Rahab's house. But Rahab hid the Isralite spies and led the soldiers on a wild goose chase. Then Rahab made the Israelite spies promise to spare her and her family when they defeat Jericho.

Think about Rahab's decision. What on earth convinced her that she would do better betraying her own people and risking her own life just to save the lives of 2 men whom she had never seen before and didn't know if she would ever see again?

What would you do? Would you do the patriotic thing and turn over the spies to the king? Or would she lie and become a traitor by sheltering the enemies of her people?

Like many split second decisions we make, Rahab's decision came out of who she was and what she believed about herself, about her world, and about God. What she believed gave her the courage to go against her people and her government when she was faced with a split-second decision.

And true enough, Rahab's decision saved her. Joshua would lead the Israelites in a most unusual battle. One where God was the only factor they won the battle. Jericho was a fortress like none other. The mud wall of Jericho was about 20 feet high. And it wasn't just one but 2 walls with a room-wide gap between them. If an enemy succeeded in scaling the first wall, he would be trapped in this no-man's land, an easy target for the defenders. Jericho was well protected. You'd think that a perfect plan of attack was the only way the Israelites would defeat Jericho. No, God had other plans. Led by a team of "worship leaders" or priest, the Israelite army marched around the wall 7 times for 7 days and finally, on the 7th round of the 7th day, they would raise their voice in a loud shout and the wall of Jericho would tumble down, so the armed Israelite soldiers were able to run up over the rubble and engage the sure-to-be bewildered Jericho militia in battle.

"The young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel."

Safe! Rahab had bet her life on Israel's God. God has come through for her and for all who huddled with her inside that house on the wall of Jericho. But wait! There is more to the story. In Joshua 6:25 the writer tells us that Rahab lived among the Israelites to the day the book of Joshua was written. She became one with the people of God. The fact that she had been a prostitute was no longer relevant. By faith she was joined to the community of God.

One of the remarkable things we see when we look at Jesus' contacts with women in the four Gospels is that He often stooped down and lifted up "fallen women". Rahab remminds us that being joined to the family of God has nothing to do with our goodness. It has everything to do with God's grace. Through a prostitute God teaches us that we are saved by grace, not by being good.

But our story is still not over. Turn to Matthew 1 - that dry, dull genealogy - and look at verse 5: "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab."

Rahab the mother of Boaz? That means she was the great-great-grandmother of David, Israel's greatest king. Even more amazing, she was an ancentress in the genealogy of Jesus, the Lord of glory, the God-man, the Saviour of the world.

Rahab, the prostitute. Wouldn't you think that God would be a bit more choosy about the lineage of His Son? For people for whem descent was everything, wouldn't God take their scruples into consideration and choose a purer line for the Messiah? Apparently God wanted us to learn something ekse as we look at Rahab.

Rahab stands as a tribute to the possibilities within every one of us. God saw in her the possiility of an active and invigorating faith. Never mind what she was. He looked at what she could become.

It is the same for us. Our past is irrelevant. Our future alone matters to God. Faith can blossom in any environment. Roses can grow in manure piles. Whatever lies behind us is not nearly as important as what lies before us. The choices we have made in the past have brought us where we are today. The choices we make today, tomorrow, next week or next year will determine our destiny.

Some of those choices will be split-second decisions. They will come out of who we are and what we believe about ourselves, our world, our God. Those decisions will determine the actions we take.

What Rahab had been was irrelevant. What she became through active faith was all that mattered...


(RBC Discovery Bible Studies - Eve & Rahab: Learning to Make Better Choices)

Seeing Long Term Consequences in Little Decisions...

Learning to make better chioces in Life...

All nature is programmed to respond as God designed it to respond. Birds fly. Fish swim. Deers run.

But in the midst of all creation, a man and a woman were created with a difference. They could choose. They could choose to love God and obey Him. Or they could choose to turn their backs on God and go their own independent way. They were the one unprogrammed element in the universe.

God validated choice, and He validated His image in us by giving us the power to choose. The tree was there so that Eve and Adam could voluntarily choose to keep themselves in fellowship with God.

All of our loves are bound up in choice. Without the power to choose, to say that we love has no meaning. We can demand obedience. We cannot demand love. The tree gave Eve and Adam the opportunity to love God meaningfully. The tree, through its very presence, was a visible reminder to the man and woman that they were creatures, dependent on their Creator.

....CHOICES.

What are the choices Eve made? It was just a decision about a piece of fruit. Or was it? Behind our little decisions often lurk big decisions. For Eve it was really a decision to doubt the goodness of God. It was a way of saying that God has misrepresented Himself, that He really did not have their best interests at heart.

And so, Eve gained what she had been promised: a knowledge of good and evil. She knew toil, pain, loss and death. Many women have lived lives of great tragedy. But no other woman has even known as she moved from Eden to alienation - alienation from God, from her husband, and from a benevolent environment. To have known the good as she knew it must have made the evil much more stark in its awfulness.

However, within the tragic denouncement of this story lay one tiny ray of hope for Eve. The tiny ray has become a life-changing beam of hope for us today. Even in the midst of meting out punishment and prophecies for the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:15), God was concerned with reestablishing a relationship with those who bear His image. He warned Satan that his victory was not forever. The day would come when one world be born of the seed of woman - who would crush the head of the serpent.

Here was the first word of promise, the first hint of a future deliverer from sin. The bad news contained good news. God has not written off his creatures...

The Author stepped into the story and changed the ending. God could take all the bad decisions and the pain and sorrow and use them to make a happy ending.

You and I live not as Eve lived, waiting for the fulfillment of God's promise. You and I live with that promise fulfilled in our lives. Jesus Christ had come, and through Him you and I can have a relationship with God.

In Christ I can be made alive. In Christ you can be made alive. In Him we can experience a vertical relationship with our creator...We can choose to have God write a happy ending to the drama of our lives. We can choose to have Him establish a relationship that is not broken by our independence and our bad choices. We can then watch Him bring healing to human relationships that weigh us down.

We can choose...

Eve & Rahab: Learning to Make Better Choices (RBC Discovery Series Bible Study)

This story reminds me of a song God once placed in my heart...this was sometime back, when I sang this song and shared a testimony about how God is painting a picture of my life...there are spots that used dull, dark colours (difficult times in life)...and there were times with bright fresh colours (good happy times)...we need both to make a complete beautiful picture. And God the master painter knows exactly how this paiting will turn out...

"Jesus, You're the Author of my life..."

Passion for God?

What drives an old man to stand in the middle of a crowded Bourke Street Mall (right across the most crowded corner of the Nike store front), in funny clothes and attire...with a hula hoop around the waist...and a great BIG SMILE on the face...A great love for God...

This man that you see in the picture (with the Jamaican colourful hat and green attire) is an old Korean man who is raising money to build a church in Korea. He doesn't speak English but bows humbly and smiles and waves at everyone who drops even the smallest amount of coins into the coin box. He writes on his cardboard his testimony of how God changed his life and he wants to give back by raising money for a church building. This is no small feat...we know how much it can cost. One man can believe God to provide so much. How about us? How big is our faith...

He may not be a Big time Evangelist like Reinhard Bonnke. He may not be leading a church of 12,000 people. But I am certain that when God looked down from heaven and saw this man, in the middle of Bourke Street Melbourne, He would have smiled and said, "My good and faithful servant. Come and share in your Master's happiness."

What is your Passion?

"Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."

Garde-moi dans ton amour!

Keep me in your love!

Amen.

Authentic Faith

What if life isn't meant to be perfect, but we are meant to trust the One who is?

Been reading this book call "Authentic Faith" since before I went to Singapore...and been very blessed by it. It is written by a guy call Gary L. Thomas...Bought it in KL when I went home for hols the February past and it's the first time I took it out to read it...and the timing is perfect! Sometimes, we can't help but feel that there is this "omni-present" friend who is guiding and directing us even when we don't realise it...

Excerpts from the book:

"In spite of our obsession with instant results, we serve a God whose calendar moves by millenia, not minutes, and who thinks in terms of generations, not seasons. Unless we understand this about God - that He moves in millenia, not minutes - we will never understand His ways with us. Peter is very clear: "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Peter 3:8). We are obsessed with where we are today and with what's going to happen in the next year, while God's plans for this world often take a long-term view. (pg 38)"
......

"Abraham was a sprightly 75 years old when God promised him that he would be made into "a great nation" - a bold promise given to a childless man (see Genesis 12:1-5). A quarter century passed before Isaac was born, and a full century went by before the promise about the land took concrete shape.
......

Abraham's excruciating exercise of waiting marks the essence of the Christian life. The psalmist, though full of hope, recognizes that God's blessings do not always come with the speed of a bullet, but rather within the slow, steady approach of a glacier: "I want for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning." (Psalm 130:5-6)...
......

One thing is clear: God won't be rushed. Without a willingness to wait, we will be regularly frustrated with God and may become disillusioned with our faith. God never promises us that our present circumstances will always make sense. Sometimes, we'll have to wait until the present becomes the past before what we are going through becomes even remotely understandable...
......

This waiting can be debilitating and suck our souls dry - unless it is marked by hope in God. Waiting, for the believer, is not the futile and desperate act of those who have no other options, but rather a confident trust that eventually God will set things right - even if he is not operating within our preferred time frame. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength," Isaiah tells us (Isaiah 40:31). It almost goes without saying that there is no reason for hoping if we already have all that we want......"

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope...Psalm 130:5

Remembering...

Come February 2006, i would have been in Melbourne for 8 YEARS now! 8 long years of my life...that's 1/3 of my existence. Who would have thought that this place would grow so much on me when I first stepped into the country...So much has changed since that first day of stepping into the country...Can't help but be in a nostalgic mood...it is after all close to the end of the year. Was digging up old photos and cards and going through the pages of journalS of my life...reading of entries that really made me laugh at myself and remembering the tough times that moulded me as a person...There have been so many moments and highlights and most of all, PEOPLE, who have made up pieces of puzzle in my life...my life wouldn't be the same without everyone that God brought into my life.

A brother in Christ told me today...walking with God doesn't mean that we don't make mistakes. And boy, do we! Sometimes, without even knowing it. But do we live in regret? Just because we made a boo-boo, does that mean that it no longer applies?...That "ALL things work for the good of those who love him." That is the grace of God upon our life...We're never meant to be perfect, and we NEVER will be. But where we fall short, Jesus Himself has become our Cornerstone, our support, our rock and our strength. He helps us to go through even mistakes that we could regret for the rest of our life, with our heads up and hope in Him still...because He is our everlasting Father...whose faithfulness never ceases, and Whose love endures FOREVER! Forever, means forever! Every moment of our life, every breath we take, God's love will carry us through it...God's love will surround our life. Take heart! God has overcome the world! Should we let the world now overcome us again? No?! No way! We're not going back!

Was watching "The Biggest Loser" the other night with my sis...it's a reality show where they find a group of overly obesed men and women (my sister had to fill me in cause this was only my 2nd time watching it) and put them into sort of a fitness-type camp with strict diet and lots and lots of exercise (including 2 instructors that kept pushing them)...And the outcome? AMAZING! 10 out of 10 of them were transformed! And it did not just end at the 'camp'. When each of the contestant went home, many were still pretty overweight. But an instant change of lifestyle and diet and learning to love themself saw all shrink at least half their size...The sheer determination to give themselves a 2nd chance in life to be the person they would love to be...fit, healthy and happy. Interesting thing that i observed was when the 3 finalists went back to their natural environment, suddenly, without the instructor shouting down at them and a fixed diet of healthy food, they found it hard to adjust. They became distant from friends because it was hard for them to understand what they were going through...At certain points, they shunned their friends because they felt they had to determine to fight the battle away from temptations, because others did not understand...Reminded me a little of myself...How? Dunno.. hehe! But the thing was these people had experienced such a dramatic change in life that they have determined never ever to go back again...Are we on that level of life change with Christ? That we have tasted how good it is and know His way so well and rejoice so much in it that we don't want to go back...it is when tough times come and things seem uncertain, then we pine to go back to our old comforts...Can we? Should we? By no means, Jesus has called us to be onward looking people...not backwards at all.

Thank You Lord...for everything...

Scenery that greeted us on the drive to Forest Edge...

The world is like a great big present from God to us...when we look at the wonder of creation, one can't help but marvel that God looks at us and sees us as more beautiful than His creation. I remember staring into a sunset once and being amazed at how truly beautiful the scene was...and then God spoke to me then and said, "You know, to me, you are more beautiful than that sunset..." I was totally blown away!

There's nothing like being in the midst of God's creation and feel so much closer to our Creator...been a while. Before driving off tonight, I just stared into the clear night sky...amazing view of stars just stared back. Didn't see a shooting star this time but it was just good to stare up into the sky and know that God's promise is being fulfilled daily...

But what was so special about this trip was just the time with the people at the Hawaiian themed night of fun, celebration and fellowship...

Dearest Jasmine, Chin Ling, Gwen, Trina (TLG aka Mountain Song group), Ivana, Crystal Ter, LYNE!! (didn't forget you), dearly missed Amy, and, last but not least, the on-vacation-in-Malaysia Elena,

You guys have been my great source of joy and encouragement. Time flies and before we know it, some of you are going home. But I am glad to have shared the last few years with each and everyone of you. You guys have filled my life with laughter, tears (hehehe!), fun and love...Seeing each of you grow has been a great reminder of His grace and His loving purpose that we are all called to...to love Him and His people. And I hope that no matter how long we still have with to walk alongside one another or where we will go in the future, I hope that we will always remember each other in our hearts and pray for each other to keep persevering in the Lord and to love Him more and more each day...from strength to strength, from glory to glory. ;)  Love you guys!

There are times when it's hard to look ahead,

That is when we need to look to our sides and find the people we love and that is when we see His direction....all along....

Let us love one another just as He loves us....