Firstly I want to ask the Holy Spirit gifted to help me to help me dedicate more time to worship God in Christ Jesus in the area of
giving more to the poor
spend more time with those God, my heavenly Father and Father of my Saviour Jesus, sent me
share and teach people to seek the absolute truth that Jesus taught
ask Jesus to help me to teach and share effectively
be sensitive to hear with clarity and obey the Holy Spirit whom God in Jesus gifted me
to live a lifestyle that witness the Living Christ in me
My personal life:
to eat and live healthily
to record daily what the Holy Spirit teaches me
to work harder and pay more of my debts
to expand more accounts of my greeting cards business to bookstores, pharmacies, hospitals, colleges
I pray my Lord Jesus help me to sustain my commitment for 2007.
Holy Spirit, may your Presence in me provide me the strength and wisdom that I needed to accomplish all things for the honor and glory of my Lord, Saviour Jesus, the Son of the Living God who was sent to rescue me from sin and unite me to my Creator, whom I belong.
Praise the Living God of Israel, Father to my Saviour Jesus, forever and ever, Amen!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Selfishness: A Miserable Life In Solitude
I am sharing a message to a grieving parent who suffered in silent anguish over her daughter's extreme selfishness and felt hopeless how she as a parent can help. She believed she is embarking on a hopeless journey, or so it seems to search for help until she wrote to me.
I am not the Light but I am showing her to the Light that will lead her out of darkness. The Light is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour........ John 1:8-9
Greetings with love and peace in our heavenly Father who is in our Saviour Jesus.
Aunty Margaret, I am saddened by your telephone call regarding your daughter, Adeline. I promised to remember her in my daily prayers. However, I must truthfully admit my joy over your honesty to share about your daughter's problem. Whilst sharing your problem with a fellow brother in Christ, simultaneously you are in reality surrendering your problem to the Almighty God of Israel. Let's discuss about your daughter here as I found that it's the most economic and appropriate method. Thank God for modernization in computer technology.
Selfishness is an illness of excessive self obsession. You can easily identify the traits of a selfish person by his inconsideration, insensitivity, tactlessness, rudeness, and thoughtlessness towards others. A selfish person is someone who prioritized himself first. I have purposely outline about God rewarding those who learn to be selfless in closing. Please read about it at the end of my letter.
Selfishness is a dreadful, frightening, hideous, and literally deadly illness. It silently disfigures a person's character. Selfish people live in isolation in a sociable world. Selfishness is so deadly that in most cases it destroys without any significant symptoms.
In the Bible, we know that selfishness is a part of the Devil's character. Selfishness breeds other fruits of evil like arrogance, erratic emotional moods, hatreds, judgmental, anguish and mental unstableness. In truth, we witness what the Devil is in a selfish person.
Selfish people need urgent assistance. Nope, I am not recommending medical supervision like counseling or psychiatric consultation. What these people need is direct help from God in Christ Jesus. Only God in Jesus Christ can removed such infirmity. Only the power of the Living God in the Holy Spirit can infiltrate the inner soul of these sick people to administer God's potent healing power. Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish correction in our imperfection we suffer in the sin we were all born into. Metamorphosis belongs to the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It's a tragic that most of these selfish people suffer arrogantly by not admitting to their selfishness. They virtually erect a wall around them barricading themselves within, isolating themselves from outside help. Any opportunity to help them is very marginal unless they capitulate, acknowledging they warrant aid.
Besides divine intervention, maybe another effective approach is to administer doses of their own medicine. We should live and behave like them; we take on their likeness! Hopefully, our behavior and lifestyle reflect to them their own likeness. By imitating them, we hope for an opportunity to elucidate subtly about the evil of selfishness to them. This modus operandi might work!
Like I mentioned earlier, it's tragic that selfish people rarely owned up to their personality. Selfish personalities have this impression that they are smarter and highly intelligent beings. They are unaware that they are trapped by their own folly. They lived in deception and in misery.
I wonder whether selfishness is hereditary or merely bad habits develop unconsciously as a result of some childhood trauma. Selfishness is the Devil's incognito in us and we must expose this evil by acknowledging it and summon help. I am sad to mention that such people surround our lives and there's nothing very much that we can do to help them unless they stood out and distinctly confessed a mutation. The obvious simplicity is to commit to the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth and everything in it.
Aunty Margaret, I hope I have articulately encapsulated your daughter's 'illness' with the above wisdom. There is no other miracle healer in this whole universe besides Dr Jesus! Perhaps it's God's plan, when you chose to share with me, that I can redirect you back to Him.
I thanked God for your honesty and the Holy Spirit's conviction that you share with someone your problem. I am confident and is convinced that Jesus is standing by awaiting you to approach Him. Jesus always champion those who approached Him with an honest heart ~smile~
Some Holy Scripture to encourage you.....
Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Philippians 2:3
But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don't brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. James 3:14
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. James 3:16
And of course the best description about selfishness is in Matthew 16:24, Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. It's obvious that Jesus came into the world thinking of us more than Himself.
The Word of God is perfect.
You can never uncover joy until you learn to share! You can never uncover joy until you learn to live with others. If God intended us to be selfish, He would not have created a companion in Eve for us. God would not have established marriage. God would not have share the joy of His only Son with us.
I promised earlier to touch on God's exclusive plan to reward those who share generously. Our heavenly Father purposely design our lifestyle in such a manner that we can only discover joy when we learn to share with others. Selfishness results in emptiness. Selflessness generates an abundance of everything good.
Honestly, I like the way of how God infused His blessings with our obedience. It's a "Do and Get or Don't do don't Get!" application.
If you don't believe me, try giving just a little bit and learn to grow your giving and soon your life will be filled with a celebration of great joy that comes from God's blessings.
In concluding my message to you, Aunty Margaret, I wish you a fruitful journey together with your daughter, as you held her hands and walked with her towards Jesus Christ, our Light and Lord and Saviour.
Let the healing begins.............
Happy New Year 2007!
I am not the Light but I am showing her to the Light that will lead her out of darkness. The Light is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour........ John 1:8-9
Greetings with love and peace in our heavenly Father who is in our Saviour Jesus.
Aunty Margaret, I am saddened by your telephone call regarding your daughter, Adeline. I promised to remember her in my daily prayers. However, I must truthfully admit my joy over your honesty to share about your daughter's problem. Whilst sharing your problem with a fellow brother in Christ, simultaneously you are in reality surrendering your problem to the Almighty God of Israel. Let's discuss about your daughter here as I found that it's the most economic and appropriate method. Thank God for modernization in computer technology.
Selfishness is an illness of excessive self obsession. You can easily identify the traits of a selfish person by his inconsideration, insensitivity, tactlessness, rudeness, and thoughtlessness towards others. A selfish person is someone who prioritized himself first. I have purposely outline about God rewarding those who learn to be selfless in closing. Please read about it at the end of my letter.
Selfishness is a dreadful, frightening, hideous, and literally deadly illness. It silently disfigures a person's character. Selfish people live in isolation in a sociable world. Selfishness is so deadly that in most cases it destroys without any significant symptoms.
In the Bible, we know that selfishness is a part of the Devil's character. Selfishness breeds other fruits of evil like arrogance, erratic emotional moods, hatreds, judgmental, anguish and mental unstableness. In truth, we witness what the Devil is in a selfish person.
Selfish people need urgent assistance. Nope, I am not recommending medical supervision like counseling or psychiatric consultation. What these people need is direct help from God in Christ Jesus. Only God in Jesus Christ can removed such infirmity. Only the power of the Living God in the Holy Spirit can infiltrate the inner soul of these sick people to administer God's potent healing power. Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish correction in our imperfection we suffer in the sin we were all born into. Metamorphosis belongs to the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It's a tragic that most of these selfish people suffer arrogantly by not admitting to their selfishness. They virtually erect a wall around them barricading themselves within, isolating themselves from outside help. Any opportunity to help them is very marginal unless they capitulate, acknowledging they warrant aid.
Besides divine intervention, maybe another effective approach is to administer doses of their own medicine. We should live and behave like them; we take on their likeness! Hopefully, our behavior and lifestyle reflect to them their own likeness. By imitating them, we hope for an opportunity to elucidate subtly about the evil of selfishness to them. This modus operandi might work!
Like I mentioned earlier, it's tragic that selfish people rarely owned up to their personality. Selfish personalities have this impression that they are smarter and highly intelligent beings. They are unaware that they are trapped by their own folly. They lived in deception and in misery.
I wonder whether selfishness is hereditary or merely bad habits develop unconsciously as a result of some childhood trauma. Selfishness is the Devil's incognito in us and we must expose this evil by acknowledging it and summon help. I am sad to mention that such people surround our lives and there's nothing very much that we can do to help them unless they stood out and distinctly confessed a mutation. The obvious simplicity is to commit to the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth and everything in it.
Aunty Margaret, I hope I have articulately encapsulated your daughter's 'illness' with the above wisdom. There is no other miracle healer in this whole universe besides Dr Jesus! Perhaps it's God's plan, when you chose to share with me, that I can redirect you back to Him.
I thanked God for your honesty and the Holy Spirit's conviction that you share with someone your problem. I am confident and is convinced that Jesus is standing by awaiting you to approach Him. Jesus always champion those who approached Him with an honest heart ~smile~
Some Holy Scripture to encourage you.....
Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Philippians 2:3
But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don't brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. James 3:14
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. James 3:16
And of course the best description about selfishness is in Matthew 16:24, Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. It's obvious that Jesus came into the world thinking of us more than Himself.
The Word of God is perfect.
You can never uncover joy until you learn to share! You can never uncover joy until you learn to live with others. If God intended us to be selfish, He would not have created a companion in Eve for us. God would not have established marriage. God would not have share the joy of His only Son with us.
I promised earlier to touch on God's exclusive plan to reward those who share generously. Our heavenly Father purposely design our lifestyle in such a manner that we can only discover joy when we learn to share with others. Selfishness results in emptiness. Selflessness generates an abundance of everything good.
Honestly, I like the way of how God infused His blessings with our obedience. It's a "Do and Get or Don't do don't Get!" application.
If you don't believe me, try giving just a little bit and learn to grow your giving and soon your life will be filled with a celebration of great joy that comes from God's blessings.
In concluding my message to you, Aunty Margaret, I wish you a fruitful journey together with your daughter, as you held her hands and walked with her towards Jesus Christ, our Light and Lord and Saviour.
Let the healing begins.............
Happy New Year 2007!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
The Ability To Be Still And Hear With Clarity
All my years as a Christian, I rarely heard a sermon preached on being still and hear from God in Jesus Christ, sensitive to the still gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
Albeit the never ending order to pray, I believed it's even more important to listen to our heavenly Father. While praying is conveying our needs to our Saviour God, listening is getting instructions and guidance to live righteously for His honor and glory. This is different from praising and worshipping our heavenly Father in Christ Jesus.
Prayers are important but without listening, how do we ever know what our heavenly Father demand of us? Prayers is imparting our thoughts to our heavenly Father while listening is allowing our Father to reveal his will to us. And I personally believe that it's significant to hear from our heavenly Father.
In order to be still, one needs to learn to navigate his focus on Jesus through the maze of evil set up by the evil one. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us be sensitive to his convictions. Honestly, there is no such thing as the best times like waking up in the middle of the night; you only need to open your mouth and ask the Holy Spirit to help you be focus!
I thank Jesus in the Holy Spirit, revealing this awesome truth to me about my unfruitful spiritual life being the fault of me talking too much and failing to listen more. I could witness my spiritual growth as I started learning to be sensitive listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance.
I heard you asking how are we supposed to tune our ears to the still small voice of our heavenly Father in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour?
READ THE BIBLE!
Amazingly, this was how the Holy Spirit revealed to me when I asked my heavenly Father to tune my ears to hear Him with clarity.
Reading the Bible is spending quality time with our Saviour Jesus as He teaches us, we listened with the help of the Holy Spirit, gifted to us.
Reading the Bible is allowing the Word of God ministered to us. And the Word is our Saviour Jesus (John 1:1, 14). As we read, we listened and learned obedience, resulting us planting Jesus into our life, building Him as the foundation, the Rock.
Like I mentioned earlier, there is no such thing as waking up in the middle of the night, hiding away on a retreat, locking yourself in the room, or any other man created rubbish reasons. You only need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you develope an honest passion after the heart of our heavenly Father in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Desire the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness as your priority in worship and all things will be given to you (Matthew 6:33)
Starts reading the Bible today and allow God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ speaks and minister to you as you learned to be still and listens.
God Bless You............
Albeit the never ending order to pray, I believed it's even more important to listen to our heavenly Father. While praying is conveying our needs to our Saviour God, listening is getting instructions and guidance to live righteously for His honor and glory. This is different from praising and worshipping our heavenly Father in Christ Jesus.
Prayers are important but without listening, how do we ever know what our heavenly Father demand of us? Prayers is imparting our thoughts to our heavenly Father while listening is allowing our Father to reveal his will to us. And I personally believe that it's significant to hear from our heavenly Father.
In order to be still, one needs to learn to navigate his focus on Jesus through the maze of evil set up by the evil one. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us be sensitive to his convictions. Honestly, there is no such thing as the best times like waking up in the middle of the night; you only need to open your mouth and ask the Holy Spirit to help you be focus!
I thank Jesus in the Holy Spirit, revealing this awesome truth to me about my unfruitful spiritual life being the fault of me talking too much and failing to listen more. I could witness my spiritual growth as I started learning to be sensitive listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance.
I heard you asking how are we supposed to tune our ears to the still small voice of our heavenly Father in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour?
READ THE BIBLE!
Amazingly, this was how the Holy Spirit revealed to me when I asked my heavenly Father to tune my ears to hear Him with clarity.
Reading the Bible is spending quality time with our Saviour Jesus as He teaches us, we listened with the help of the Holy Spirit, gifted to us.
Reading the Bible is allowing the Word of God ministered to us. And the Word is our Saviour Jesus (John 1:1, 14). As we read, we listened and learned obedience, resulting us planting Jesus into our life, building Him as the foundation, the Rock.
Like I mentioned earlier, there is no such thing as waking up in the middle of the night, hiding away on a retreat, locking yourself in the room, or any other man created rubbish reasons. You only need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you develope an honest passion after the heart of our heavenly Father in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Desire the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness as your priority in worship and all things will be given to you (Matthew 6:33)
Starts reading the Bible today and allow God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ speaks and minister to you as you learned to be still and listens.
God Bless You............
What Is A Christian?
Today is Christmas Day 2006.
As I kneel to pray for my family, friends, those who persecute me and my nation whom my heavenly Father has placed me in, I pondered for a minute and asked myself this question: What exactly is a Christian? What am I and who am I when I decided to confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord Saviour, identifying myself a Christian to the world at large?
Jesus Christ my Saviour died, nailed to the cross for my sake. If I claimed myself to belong to Him, how shall I lived my life for the honor and glory of His Majestic Name?
If I am a Christian, I must lived like my Saviour Jesus. I must live according to all He has taught me in the Bible. I wouldn't want my Saviour to pose me this question as in Luke 4:46, Why do you keep calling me, "Lord, Lord!" when you don't do what I say?
And what exactly did our Saviour taught us?
Love each other like we love ourselves.
Love our enemies.
Provide for others.
Share with others
Be prepared to sacrifice our own lives
are just a few examples of what our Saviour taught us.
I know most of us thought these acts are almost impossible to execute. It's totally and absolutely not true! This is one lie the Devil wanted us to believe. If we rebuke the lie, swallow our pride and learned to ask, then we can do what Christ our Saviour taught us. The strength to pray comes from our Saviour in the power of the Holy Spirit that our heavenly Father gifted us when we confessed and believed by faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God.
As Christians, we must lived our new lives in the power of the Holy Spirit gifted to help and guide us to live above the lifestyle of the ordinary man. The gifting of the Holy Spirit is an extra in the ordinary us. The extra of God's gift to us created us anew to become extra-ordinary!
In Matthew 5:43-48 our Saviour Jesus taught us to live apart from the ordinary. "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."
Every good works belonged to the power of the Holy Spirit because goodness belongs to God alone. No man who is dust can do God's work except God Himself in the Holy Spirit. Even our Saviour Jesus acknowledged in John 14:10 that his work belonged to the Father who lives in him to empower him.
I also discovered the teachings of our Saviour Jesus are foolishness to men. The unbeliever can never grasp and fathom the ways of our heavenly Father because the ways and thoughts of God are higher than man. Without the Holy Spirit, no one can love their enemies, share kindly and generously, love unconditionally and witness for the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus by living right. God's wisdom to us is to live to please Him alone. God's wisdom is foolishness to man.
To stay away from sinning, I daily seek the Holy Spirit, gifted to help me and constantly remind myself reading and meditating John 8:47, Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don't listen because you don't belong to God.
I spent the last 5 years with the help of the Holy Spirit, gifted to me, learning to run from sin, finding shelter to hide in my Saviour. And each day the strength of my Saviour grew in me to help me confront evil bravely. Each day I commit my weakness to my Saviour Jesus so that He can be my strength. Each day, I learned obedience, grew to be like Jesus as the Holy Spirit slowly transforms me.
This Christmas, I wish for myself that Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour continue transforming me into His likeness. I pray the Holy Spirit remain in me to help me live my earthly life, firmly as a Christian, bearing fruits for the honour and glory of my Majestic Lord Saviour Jesus, Creator and Father.
And may the Holy Spirit filled and equipped me to do the will of the Father, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Merry Christmas 2006!
As I kneel to pray for my family, friends, those who persecute me and my nation whom my heavenly Father has placed me in, I pondered for a minute and asked myself this question: What exactly is a Christian? What am I and who am I when I decided to confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord Saviour, identifying myself a Christian to the world at large?
Jesus Christ my Saviour died, nailed to the cross for my sake. If I claimed myself to belong to Him, how shall I lived my life for the honor and glory of His Majestic Name?
If I am a Christian, I must lived like my Saviour Jesus. I must live according to all He has taught me in the Bible. I wouldn't want my Saviour to pose me this question as in Luke 4:46, Why do you keep calling me, "Lord, Lord!" when you don't do what I say?
And what exactly did our Saviour taught us?
Love each other like we love ourselves.
Love our enemies.
Provide for others.
Share with others
Be prepared to sacrifice our own lives
are just a few examples of what our Saviour taught us.
I know most of us thought these acts are almost impossible to execute. It's totally and absolutely not true! This is one lie the Devil wanted us to believe. If we rebuke the lie, swallow our pride and learned to ask, then we can do what Christ our Saviour taught us. The strength to pray comes from our Saviour in the power of the Holy Spirit that our heavenly Father gifted us when we confessed and believed by faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God.
As Christians, we must lived our new lives in the power of the Holy Spirit gifted to help and guide us to live above the lifestyle of the ordinary man. The gifting of the Holy Spirit is an extra in the ordinary us. The extra of God's gift to us created us anew to become extra-ordinary!
In Matthew 5:43-48 our Saviour Jesus taught us to live apart from the ordinary. "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."
Every good works belonged to the power of the Holy Spirit because goodness belongs to God alone. No man who is dust can do God's work except God Himself in the Holy Spirit. Even our Saviour Jesus acknowledged in John 14:10 that his work belonged to the Father who lives in him to empower him.
I also discovered the teachings of our Saviour Jesus are foolishness to men. The unbeliever can never grasp and fathom the ways of our heavenly Father because the ways and thoughts of God are higher than man. Without the Holy Spirit, no one can love their enemies, share kindly and generously, love unconditionally and witness for the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus by living right. God's wisdom to us is to live to please Him alone. God's wisdom is foolishness to man.
To stay away from sinning, I daily seek the Holy Spirit, gifted to help me and constantly remind myself reading and meditating John 8:47, Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don't listen because you don't belong to God.
I spent the last 5 years with the help of the Holy Spirit, gifted to me, learning to run from sin, finding shelter to hide in my Saviour. And each day the strength of my Saviour grew in me to help me confront evil bravely. Each day I commit my weakness to my Saviour Jesus so that He can be my strength. Each day, I learned obedience, grew to be like Jesus as the Holy Spirit slowly transforms me.
This Christmas, I wish for myself that Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour continue transforming me into His likeness. I pray the Holy Spirit remain in me to help me live my earthly life, firmly as a Christian, bearing fruits for the honour and glory of my Majestic Lord Saviour Jesus, Creator and Father.
And may the Holy Spirit filled and equipped me to do the will of the Father, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Merry Christmas 2006!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Some Disturbing Questions!
I accompanied my mom to lay some offerings for my deceased father at a nearby Taoist temple.
There were literally hundreds of vagrants of various races lining outside the temple grounds with a variety of 'begging' bowls. There could be Ming porcelain bowls among them ~smile~
While mom was doing her things inside the temple, I couldn't help wondering why there were always so many vagrants outside chinese temple grounds. I pushed my memory back to a few weeks earlier when I was driving pass a Hindu temple in the Mid Valley shopping mall area and also saw many vagrants outside. Out of curiosity, I purposely searched out a Moslem mosque and checked out it's surrounding. Eureka! There were a few vagrants loitering around it's grounds and some were napping along the corridors.
The purpose of my writing today involved a disturbing question that has been swelling on my mind: Why are there no such category of people outside Churches? Has anyone seen, once, even just once, one less fortunate person begging outside a church?
Ever wonder why?
What could be their reasons staying away from begging outside Churches? Many Churches claimed thousands of worshippers present at one service. Churches should be an excellent choice to beg for these less fortunate. And afterall, it's only a few hours in a days work; Sundays!
The other disturbing fact is about religious services. I observed that the various religious place of worship are open into the late evenings of the day. Churches opens only on Sundays or unless there is some functions.
I checked with a Christian about this and he told me that they are vigilant over thefts.
And I thought Christians were supposed to trust God to have His angels guarding His own house? And how are the Churches serving the community when it's doors are closed on most days of the week?
Hmmm?
There were literally hundreds of vagrants of various races lining outside the temple grounds with a variety of 'begging' bowls. There could be Ming porcelain bowls among them ~smile~
While mom was doing her things inside the temple, I couldn't help wondering why there were always so many vagrants outside chinese temple grounds. I pushed my memory back to a few weeks earlier when I was driving pass a Hindu temple in the Mid Valley shopping mall area and also saw many vagrants outside. Out of curiosity, I purposely searched out a Moslem mosque and checked out it's surrounding. Eureka! There were a few vagrants loitering around it's grounds and some were napping along the corridors.
The purpose of my writing today involved a disturbing question that has been swelling on my mind: Why are there no such category of people outside Churches? Has anyone seen, once, even just once, one less fortunate person begging outside a church?
Ever wonder why?
What could be their reasons staying away from begging outside Churches? Many Churches claimed thousands of worshippers present at one service. Churches should be an excellent choice to beg for these less fortunate. And afterall, it's only a few hours in a days work; Sundays!
The other disturbing fact is about religious services. I observed that the various religious place of worship are open into the late evenings of the day. Churches opens only on Sundays or unless there is some functions.
I checked with a Christian about this and he told me that they are vigilant over thefts.
And I thought Christians were supposed to trust God to have His angels guarding His own house? And how are the Churches serving the community when it's doors are closed on most days of the week?
Hmmm?
Not Just A Decision!
What does it take to fulfill an intention?
Just a decision!
Yet, it takes a lot to muster enough strength to make a decision abeit a small and simple one. Commitment in a decision helps to bear fruit to it. Decisions are easily uttered through the mouth but it takes a whole heart to realise it. It is easy to aye to a decision, accomplishing it is another matter.
Like this morning, while brushing my teeth, I decided to wash my car after breakfast. With a mug of the loveliest coffee, I slumped my body to my comfy cushy chair to catch a little bit of the morning news and was trapped sitting there until my wife, looking slightly annoyed, asked whether I am ready to be served 'dinner!'
What! It's dinner time?
"Hey! I thought I heard you muttering in between brushing your teeth this morning that you are going to wash the car?", scowled a very sweet and patient already used to my character wife.
I am writing this to remind myself how easily most times I told my Saviour Jesus about my intended repentance from certain weaknesses in my lifestyle. It's so easy to pray and say I decided to turn away from heavy eating and bingeing at the sight of anything edible. But when I encountered all these glorious food, I just give in and stretched out my hands towards those food.
I could never be able to muster enough strength to bolt from food that seems to appear everywhere and every time when I could feel strength enveloping me. I failed each time.
Today, I thanked Jesus in the Holy Spirit to reveal me it's secret about making decisions and conforming it.
The strength lies in my Saviour Jesus! The knowledge of this fact was with me since birth! Yet, this knowledge never served me well but speaking into my heart to convict me each time when I needed it most! The Devil must be working overtime to keep the knowledge from divulging me.
I just decided to make a donation to an orphange. Knowledge whispered audibly to me that I could never do it on my own. I thanked my heavenly Father for my Saviour Jesus who promises me He'll be my partner in everything I wished to do.
Merry Christmas!
Just a decision!
Yet, it takes a lot to muster enough strength to make a decision abeit a small and simple one. Commitment in a decision helps to bear fruit to it. Decisions are easily uttered through the mouth but it takes a whole heart to realise it. It is easy to aye to a decision, accomplishing it is another matter.
Like this morning, while brushing my teeth, I decided to wash my car after breakfast. With a mug of the loveliest coffee, I slumped my body to my comfy cushy chair to catch a little bit of the morning news and was trapped sitting there until my wife, looking slightly annoyed, asked whether I am ready to be served 'dinner!'
What! It's dinner time?
"Hey! I thought I heard you muttering in between brushing your teeth this morning that you are going to wash the car?", scowled a very sweet and patient already used to my character wife.
I am writing this to remind myself how easily most times I told my Saviour Jesus about my intended repentance from certain weaknesses in my lifestyle. It's so easy to pray and say I decided to turn away from heavy eating and bingeing at the sight of anything edible. But when I encountered all these glorious food, I just give in and stretched out my hands towards those food.
I could never be able to muster enough strength to bolt from food that seems to appear everywhere and every time when I could feel strength enveloping me. I failed each time.
Today, I thanked Jesus in the Holy Spirit to reveal me it's secret about making decisions and conforming it.
The strength lies in my Saviour Jesus! The knowledge of this fact was with me since birth! Yet, this knowledge never served me well but speaking into my heart to convict me each time when I needed it most! The Devil must be working overtime to keep the knowledge from divulging me.
I just decided to make a donation to an orphange. Knowledge whispered audibly to me that I could never do it on my own. I thanked my heavenly Father for my Saviour Jesus who promises me He'll be my partner in everything I wished to do.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Judge Not!
One day, many moons ago, while shopping in Metrojaya Buikit Bintang, I witnessed this young mother beating her daughter. The poor soul was crying her lungs out. Shoppers were crowding around them; non responded to stop the young mother or tried to allay further beatings. I took the initiative and walked towards the mother.
I could only managed to utter one word, "excuse" when this young mother burst out crying. I was slightly embarrassed by the sudden outburst. The crowd started to disperse when they thought all is well. I stood there with the young lady as she explain her predicament in between sobs.
She told me she was a single mother and doesn't know how to care and love her daughter correctly. She truly loved her. But the daughter was mischievous by her benchmark. She tried to spend as much time with her. Someday she even took her to work.
She admitted to me that many times she contemplated suicide together with her daughter or leaving her daughter at the orphanage so that she could start all over again. But she truly loved her and promised herself that she would not give up the struggle to bring her up. Close friends and relatives evaded mother and daughter because of her bad choice in her husband.
She told me she hugged her daughter and assured her how much she loved her each time after a beating.
She wasn't prideful holding back explaining her weakness to me, a total stranger. I was glad I stayed to listen to her. If she did not explained and I did not stayed to listen, I am sure I would have totally misunderstood her beating her child.
God, our heavenly Father in Christ Jesus taught us to love each other, to love our neighbors like ourselves. In Luke 6:46, our Saviour Lord Jesus asked why called Him Lord! Lord! when we don't obey what He has taught us.
It is easy to claim that I am a Christian but followed a different lifestyle. Titus 1:16
I realized I would never be able to offer any form of assistance to anyone because I decided so. But I could help anyone if I draw strength from my Saviour and asked Him to live in me in the power of the Holy Spirit to help. I can love if Christ lives in me.
I cannot do anything for Christ's glory if I chose to live independant of Him.
I would have condemned the young mother for beating her child senselessly. I thanked my heavenly Father for teaching me to understand why not to simply judge people when we do not know the truth.
Our heavenly Father knows the end from the beginning. Everything happened for a reason and everything works according to His plans for His glory.
When I was rotten and a reject, a sinner who is not worthy of anything, Christ came to die for me on the cross. Jesus alone loves me. I am the worst sinner but Jesus never gave up on me.
With all sincerity, I could have passed judgement on the parents for the lives of their three children. (A couple was arrested for taking the lives of their 3 children in Malaysia in a suicide pact that went awry). I am glad I did not because each day I pray for grace to work in my life and today I pray that God in Jesus Christ will work His grace through me. Without His grace, I am still rotten, rejected and lost out there.
Without grace, probably I could be worst than the parents of the 3 lost children.
I do not want to be arrogant about my faith lest God send me a test too great that I may fail. I know I will surely fall away if God removed His grace from me. What am I without the Holy Spirit who lives in me to fill me and equip me to live my earthly life for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour.
As a Christian, I learn each day to view everything from God's heart and not interpret anything by my own wisdom. My wisdom is foolishness to Him. I may pass judgement wrongly!
I could have ended up a crook, a rapist, a snatch thief, a murderer, a person filled with all types of evil if not for the grace, mercy and unfailing love of my Saviour, Lord Jesus.
I pray for the parents whom many people are judging them and bind the powers of the evil one so that in each of us, we reign with Christ our Lord with victory. I asked for Christ grace, mercy and unfailing love for them. I pray our Saviour is there with them right now, not because they deserved anything but because Christ is Lord and Saviour, because of His abundance mercies. Because He came to die for the undeserving like me.
Christmas ain't Christmas if Christ did not come to die for us when we were still sinners!
Merry Christmas!
I could only managed to utter one word, "excuse" when this young mother burst out crying. I was slightly embarrassed by the sudden outburst. The crowd started to disperse when they thought all is well. I stood there with the young lady as she explain her predicament in between sobs.
She told me she was a single mother and doesn't know how to care and love her daughter correctly. She truly loved her. But the daughter was mischievous by her benchmark. She tried to spend as much time with her. Someday she even took her to work.
She admitted to me that many times she contemplated suicide together with her daughter or leaving her daughter at the orphanage so that she could start all over again. But she truly loved her and promised herself that she would not give up the struggle to bring her up. Close friends and relatives evaded mother and daughter because of her bad choice in her husband.
She told me she hugged her daughter and assured her how much she loved her each time after a beating.
She wasn't prideful holding back explaining her weakness to me, a total stranger. I was glad I stayed to listen to her. If she did not explained and I did not stayed to listen, I am sure I would have totally misunderstood her beating her child.
God, our heavenly Father in Christ Jesus taught us to love each other, to love our neighbors like ourselves. In Luke 6:46, our Saviour Lord Jesus asked why called Him Lord! Lord! when we don't obey what He has taught us.
It is easy to claim that I am a Christian but followed a different lifestyle. Titus 1:16
I realized I would never be able to offer any form of assistance to anyone because I decided so. But I could help anyone if I draw strength from my Saviour and asked Him to live in me in the power of the Holy Spirit to help. I can love if Christ lives in me.
I cannot do anything for Christ's glory if I chose to live independant of Him.
I would have condemned the young mother for beating her child senselessly. I thanked my heavenly Father for teaching me to understand why not to simply judge people when we do not know the truth.
Our heavenly Father knows the end from the beginning. Everything happened for a reason and everything works according to His plans for His glory.
When I was rotten and a reject, a sinner who is not worthy of anything, Christ came to die for me on the cross. Jesus alone loves me. I am the worst sinner but Jesus never gave up on me.
With all sincerity, I could have passed judgement on the parents for the lives of their three children. (A couple was arrested for taking the lives of their 3 children in Malaysia in a suicide pact that went awry). I am glad I did not because each day I pray for grace to work in my life and today I pray that God in Jesus Christ will work His grace through me. Without His grace, I am still rotten, rejected and lost out there.
Without grace, probably I could be worst than the parents of the 3 lost children.
I do not want to be arrogant about my faith lest God send me a test too great that I may fail. I know I will surely fall away if God removed His grace from me. What am I without the Holy Spirit who lives in me to fill me and equip me to live my earthly life for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour.
As a Christian, I learn each day to view everything from God's heart and not interpret anything by my own wisdom. My wisdom is foolishness to Him. I may pass judgement wrongly!
I could have ended up a crook, a rapist, a snatch thief, a murderer, a person filled with all types of evil if not for the grace, mercy and unfailing love of my Saviour, Lord Jesus.
I pray for the parents whom many people are judging them and bind the powers of the evil one so that in each of us, we reign with Christ our Lord with victory. I asked for Christ grace, mercy and unfailing love for them. I pray our Saviour is there with them right now, not because they deserved anything but because Christ is Lord and Saviour, because of His abundance mercies. Because He came to die for the undeserving like me.
Christmas ain't Christmas if Christ did not come to die for us when we were still sinners!
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Ryan Watched Pornography!
Hmm....Am I having your attention now?
Pornography are acts of mischief that may excite or may bring offense to people. The dictionary defined pornography as obscene, filthy, dirty, lewd, and unholy!.
Is our Christian life like pornography to unbelievers?
SCENE 1:
A certain Christian leader addresses a group of young Christians about the harmfulness of smoking. They were shown photo slides of victims suffering from cancer; the effects from smoking. It generated a lot of excitement among the children. The children were also taught to look after their body because its the temple of the Holy God. When the dialog ended each child applauded to acknowledge that they fully understood and appreciated the message about the effects of smoking on their health.
Ryan, aged 8 was with his parents in a restaurant having dinner. There was a commotion in the restaurant. It was between a diner and the waitress. The diner, lost his cool and uttered a stream of profanities at the waitress, who apparently accidentally spilled hot coffee on him. Ryan recognized the diner as the person who spoke to them about the ill effects of smoking. Ryan was an attendee at the smoking dialog. Ryan remembered the part about honoring the body which is also the temple of the Holy God.
Ryan turned to his parents and exclaimed disappointingly, "Mum! Dad! This man taught us about honoring our body and to keep our body from harm because God lives in it. Look at him shouting at the waitress and the words he is using on her. Isn't that a shame? I am wondering how God is feeling inside him now? I am sure the anger wasn't from God? And I thought when God lives in us, we have the gift of self control? Isn't anger worse than smoking?"
SCENE 2:
Immediately after Sunday service, the small group of Christians were frenzy over something. They were getting ready to visit someone. Its the new believer's home. At the new believers request, they are going over to his home to remove the idols he was worshipping in the past. Half an hour later, there were celebration. The idols had been removed.
Young Ryan was with his family in the car. They were on the way home after shopping at the nearby supermarket. Ryan's mum suddenly recall that she forgot to buy something when they were in the supermarket. Ryan's dad stopped the car at the convenience store for mum to get her stuff. Young Ryan glimpsed a furtive person at the betting shop. Young Ryan thought he looked familiar. Aha! He was the new believer who had his idols removed a week ago. Ryan's parents were at the new believers home to help removed the idols.
Mum returned to the car after she got her stuff.
Ryan turned to his parents and exclaimed disappointingly again, "Mum! Dad! Could you recognized that man in the blue shirt in the betting shop? Isn't he the guy we went over to his house with our other Christian family to remove the idols he used to worship? I thought he had repented of everything and only worship God in Jesus alone. Isn't it more important that we removed the idols in our hearts first? He had those idols removed in the home he lived but not those in his heart where God dwells. Since he still had idols in his heart, where will Jesus be because Jesus would not share His home with someone else. Is there a union between holiness and unholiness?"
Isn't it apparent that the Devil has made lies look like truths? Lies dwelled in us deceiving us to remove the wrong priorities that stumble us!
Our heavenly Father gifted everyone who confessed his son, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us live our earthly life for God. The Holy Spirit is a gift to guard the Father's children. The believer has given up his old life and by confessing Jesus Christ as the Saviour, the person lived the new life obedient to the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatian 2:20).
The true children of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).
Our new life in Jesus should not be like pornography to the non believer (Titus 1:16). Each and every moment of our life as a Christian is a testimony of His holiness in us. Each and every moment of our Christian life is a testimony of Christ victory in us.
All of us can live that victorious life for Jesus if we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us. And that is if we are prepared to kneel and ask Jesus to come into our lives to help us. Jesus is prepared to do just that because he remembered that we are dust. He remembered because when He came to save us, we were on our way, doomed for eternal destruction.
If we are obedient to the power of the Holy Spirit, we can experience God's amazing grace in metamorphosis of a sinful Adam into the perfect Christ.
Pornography are acts of mischief that may excite or may bring offense to people. The dictionary defined pornography as obscene, filthy, dirty, lewd, and unholy!.
Is our Christian life like pornography to unbelievers?
SCENE 1:
A certain Christian leader addresses a group of young Christians about the harmfulness of smoking. They were shown photo slides of victims suffering from cancer; the effects from smoking. It generated a lot of excitement among the children. The children were also taught to look after their body because its the temple of the Holy God. When the dialog ended each child applauded to acknowledge that they fully understood and appreciated the message about the effects of smoking on their health.
Ryan, aged 8 was with his parents in a restaurant having dinner. There was a commotion in the restaurant. It was between a diner and the waitress. The diner, lost his cool and uttered a stream of profanities at the waitress, who apparently accidentally spilled hot coffee on him. Ryan recognized the diner as the person who spoke to them about the ill effects of smoking. Ryan was an attendee at the smoking dialog. Ryan remembered the part about honoring the body which is also the temple of the Holy God.
Ryan turned to his parents and exclaimed disappointingly, "Mum! Dad! This man taught us about honoring our body and to keep our body from harm because God lives in it. Look at him shouting at the waitress and the words he is using on her. Isn't that a shame? I am wondering how God is feeling inside him now? I am sure the anger wasn't from God? And I thought when God lives in us, we have the gift of self control? Isn't anger worse than smoking?"
SCENE 2:
Immediately after Sunday service, the small group of Christians were frenzy over something. They were getting ready to visit someone. Its the new believer's home. At the new believers request, they are going over to his home to remove the idols he was worshipping in the past. Half an hour later, there were celebration. The idols had been removed.
Young Ryan was with his family in the car. They were on the way home after shopping at the nearby supermarket. Ryan's mum suddenly recall that she forgot to buy something when they were in the supermarket. Ryan's dad stopped the car at the convenience store for mum to get her stuff. Young Ryan glimpsed a furtive person at the betting shop. Young Ryan thought he looked familiar. Aha! He was the new believer who had his idols removed a week ago. Ryan's parents were at the new believers home to help removed the idols.
Mum returned to the car after she got her stuff.
Ryan turned to his parents and exclaimed disappointingly again, "Mum! Dad! Could you recognized that man in the blue shirt in the betting shop? Isn't he the guy we went over to his house with our other Christian family to remove the idols he used to worship? I thought he had repented of everything and only worship God in Jesus alone. Isn't it more important that we removed the idols in our hearts first? He had those idols removed in the home he lived but not those in his heart where God dwells. Since he still had idols in his heart, where will Jesus be because Jesus would not share His home with someone else. Is there a union between holiness and unholiness?"
Isn't it apparent that the Devil has made lies look like truths? Lies dwelled in us deceiving us to remove the wrong priorities that stumble us!
Our heavenly Father gifted everyone who confessed his son, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us live our earthly life for God. The Holy Spirit is a gift to guard the Father's children. The believer has given up his old life and by confessing Jesus Christ as the Saviour, the person lived the new life obedient to the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatian 2:20).
The true children of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).
Our new life in Jesus should not be like pornography to the non believer (Titus 1:16). Each and every moment of our life as a Christian is a testimony of His holiness in us. Each and every moment of our Christian life is a testimony of Christ victory in us.
All of us can live that victorious life for Jesus if we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us. And that is if we are prepared to kneel and ask Jesus to come into our lives to help us. Jesus is prepared to do just that because he remembered that we are dust. He remembered because when He came to save us, we were on our way, doomed for eternal destruction.
If we are obedient to the power of the Holy Spirit, we can experience God's amazing grace in metamorphosis of a sinful Adam into the perfect Christ.
God's Richness
If I ever wanted anything at all, I will always ask my heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, my Saviour.
I asked for food because I haven't eaten for 3 days and my Lord and my God sent someone with food. I have asked for a variety of things and told my Saviour why I wanted and needed them. If my Saviour approved of what I asked, a friend or a stranger will come along and gave them to me; but never once had I received anything monetary.
I believed that's faith in my Creator, my heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, my Saviour. And the reason why money was never a part of God's providence could be that He wouldn't want me to hope in money. And moreover money is never something godly. Money is something from the world.
My hope and trust is always in Jesus my Lord and Saviour.
God's providence is always from His richness.
You may chose to believe otherwise!
I asked for food because I haven't eaten for 3 days and my Lord and my God sent someone with food. I have asked for a variety of things and told my Saviour why I wanted and needed them. If my Saviour approved of what I asked, a friend or a stranger will come along and gave them to me; but never once had I received anything monetary.
I believed that's faith in my Creator, my heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, my Saviour. And the reason why money was never a part of God's providence could be that He wouldn't want me to hope in money. And moreover money is never something godly. Money is something from the world.
My hope and trust is always in Jesus my Lord and Saviour.
God's providence is always from His richness.
You may chose to believe otherwise!
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