Every Word that comes from the mouth of God

The Temptation of Jesus

1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'(*Deut 8:3)"

The Temptation of Jesus (Part One)
Ahh, I needed to drag myself to blog today. It is not like I'm too tired or anything like that, is just laziness, in which I am bitterly fighting a battle with. I must win.

Anyway, I'm starting a series of (hopefully 3) on the Lord's temptation. Today I start with the one most confusing. It is quite straightforward here that I don't find the need to retell the story in my own words. But why it made me ponder and frankly a little confused was why Jesus, who is God, refused to turn the stone into bread. Was it because it was a challenge from the devil? Was it because it was a lesson he wanted us to learn? Or was He just conceding that after 40 days, He simply didn't have the energy to do a miracle? (The God-human debate?)

I struggled with it and came to a conclusion that the whole point is about God's Will. Jesus said in another occasion that He only does what the Father wants Him to do. This is one such occassion. Ok, no doubt that if He wanted, Jesus could have turn the stones into bread. He could turn the devil into a chicken and eat him. But that was just not within God's Will. I don't think Jesus would have broken any of Moses' law by turning the stones into bread (unlike the second and third temptation), but it just wasn't what His Father willed Him to do- He only does what His Father wants, nothing more nothing less. You see, even the smallest miracle by Jesus is appointed by God the Father in His time. So Jesus' answer was absolutely precise, man does not only do what he needs (bread), he does God's Will (God's spoken Word). Sometimes, we are like Abraham and Sarah, who thinks they can accomplish the ends by their own means (by sleeping with Hagar and giving birth to Ishmael), but God said in His time- He will provide the son that will bring forth a nation. So the lesson is to do what God thinks is proper and not what we think is necessary.

Another reason why Jesus cannot turn the stones into bread could be found in another book of the New Testament. In Hebrews 4:15, it is written For 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. Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man with the intention that we might know that He is fully human while He was walking on this earth. This is entirely crucial because God came as man to show man how to live a sinless life- not that we can live a sinless life, but Jesus who was fully human, showed that man can live a holy life. By living as a man, those who came later will not be able to say that Jesus overcame sin and temptation because He was God walking this earth. No, Jesus was facing the same kind of temptation and in the same weak "shell" (flesh) as we are- yet He did not sin. Consequently, it was crucial for him that during His fasting, He remain focussed and remained man and not try to turn stones into rock acting un-humanlike. Now, Jesus faithfulness to His calling as a man is something we ought to learn, ain't it?

I Refuse to be Discourage

It's getting cold over here though supposedly it is still summer in Tasmania. Seems like that's how I would like to describe my blog : "This blog is like the weather- always updating!". But it's just the winds I guess- I'm feeling rather good here actually- been through a lovely and meaningful day. First of all, a couple of 'firsts'- first time I cooked chinese herbs chicken (and it actually taste nice!) and the first time I watch City Harvest Church Singapore's Kong Hee preach- sheer enlightenment.

Secondly, it's 11:28 p.m. and I feeling sleepy! That's new- I usually sleep around 1 a.m. However, the good run today was totally great and I ran and ran and ran- to keep fit and not slim (obviously!). I only reached halfway through my destination but I guess it was an encouragement for someone who has weak stamina like me. I mean, not stopping frequently is already an achievement in itself. But as I ponder upon the subject of running, which is a constant theme this year for me (for example Hebrews 12:1-3), I wonder whether my journey of faith could be equated to my running. I hope not but I seriously thought about that. I was wondering the fact that I didn't reach my destination (to Long Beach) and turn back halfway is something of an "unbiblical" thing - We do see many people stop doing things that they try to pick up- such as quit smoking or dieting- I am a good example for always failing to pick up good habits. And also, I get so short of breath and muscle-strain-- symptons of lacking in stamina.

What I'm trying to get to is that in life as christians- there are all sorts of habits and "incidents" in life that prompt us to equate them with our faith in Christ. But really, those shouldn't discourage us from trusting in Him. Rather, we should learn from these fallbacks and focus on whatever good we could find in the fallbacks. When you hit a wall, try not to focus on the wall but focus on the fact that you are not stagnant but moving forward. This is not being over-optimistic, and we shouldn't over-indulge ourselves in self-pity and trying "force" something wrong into something right (eg. smoking or lust) but we should know our limitations and God's way of working- we are weak as humans and God is more concerned with the process rather than the results. So don't expect that He will always turn your situation overnight; sometimes it could be for a long, long time before we finally see daylight. But we do have all the promises that He is working everything out for our good and He will produce a masterpiece out of our dumpster. So, if you are in one of those seasons where you are hitting the ceiling, rest for awhile and consider His grace; pause and look at things in a different perspective - the God/Loving father perspective- discipline comes with love. And when you realize that, it's time to pray "I can do all things through Him who strenghthens me" and start running again. He will come and save you.

As I was struggling with this "running" issue while I was running, it start to dawn upon me that I seriously can't expect myself to be a marathon runner by running once in a month. I will try again in 2 days time, and try to run the distance progressively. I did not reach my destination but that was the past, the important thing is I will continue to run forward with a direction and a goal set- the desert is almost at the edge, and the promise land is bound to be claimed- so to speak.

Wrestle with God

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

27 The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.

28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, ^[e] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, ^[f] saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, ^[g] and he was limping because of his hip.
Genesis Chapter 32

I hated watching Wrestling on T.V. Not because I hate violence or anything like that, but wrestling on TV is show more than fight- wrestlers walking around the ring holding a mic, showing off their baboon outfits. Haha, I prefer not to go to the outfits. But I recently read about wrestling in the bible. One of the more bizarre moments in the entire biblical history- perhaps dramatic and adrenaline-pumping. In the above passage, God came down and wrestled with Jacob. I don't know about you, this is something I just could not fathom. Would that even be a fight? But God came alright, and Jacob actually said "game-on" and they wrestled for the whole night.

Dictionaries define wrestle as "a struggle" or "Engaging in deep thought, consideration, or debate". This was the attitude when Jacob came to a crisis point of his life- he (with all he had) was about to meet with his greatest adversity- his brother Esau (whom he had greatly offended) with 400 strong men. Jacob was possibly about to lose everything. And the night, God came as a man to face him and wrestled with him. Jacob knew this was his only chance- win and he might actually get God Himself to spare his whole family- so he gathered all his strength and fought God!

Until it was nearly dawn, God said "enough is enough", touched Jacob's hip and dislocated the bone there. Jacob was no match. However, he did not give up. He had nothing to lose, he held on to God and said "bless me or I will not let you go". That day, Jacob's life was transformed. For all his life, he cheated and deceived to get all he had. And learnt the lesson the hard way. This day, he met God "face to face" and wrestled with God Himself- and God said he had overcome. Not just that, Jacob got a new name "Israel" . The name that means "he struggles"; the name that was to be the identity of Jacob's house and God's people.

Are you in a situation like what Jacob is facing right now? Much is against your stake; 400 problems stack at your doorstep; or just people who opposes you; dreams unfulfilled? desperate for God but not just quite there yet? In my tiny and inexperience life, I have always find myself in one or more categories of the above- even now- I feel I could get closer to God. But God is not far away, He wants to see you face to face. In fact, He had already provided the way to do so through Christ Jesus. Yet, our Lord wants to wrestle with us- through prayer. He wants to be so desperate for His blessing that we would say "I would not let you go unless you bless me". In Colossians 4:12, Paul writes to the Colossians about one of their local boy Epaphras, who "is always wrestling in prayer for you". Not a wonder why only Epaphras was mentioned as being so intense in the struggle- He was one of them, and cares for them a lot. What had God put for you in your life that you care so much? What is it that you want God to bless you with? Don't struggle with yourself (in your mind) or anyone else- struggle with God in prayer- God will give you the blessing- and maybe a new name.

Are you willing to give your "only son"? (Genesis 22)

I guess God works in strange ways, many times- or rather He works in ways that are unusual. I mean, why would He give Abraham a son (at 100 years old,and his wife, 90) and take away the son's life. Today we explore one of the most amazing story in the bible. Not to mentioned, the climax to my little study on Abraham, as I walk through the Bible.

Here you see one of the strangest command God could give to anyone- sacrifice one's only son (Genesis 22:2). If there's anything we know about God, is that He is absolutely good and perfect- morally superior- and He hates those other gods that men has created who have human sacrifices. The Bible even tells us that "...God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." (James 1:13) But now, He is asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, whom was himself a God-given child of the barren Sarah. Extraordinarily absurd. Well, if you haven't read any commentary or heard sermon on this, you would even be angry. However, the beautiful and crucial part of this incident is not on the act of sacrificing, but the act of obedience. And I would even go as far as saying, this is not really a test from God, but a proof from God why Abraham deserves to be called "father of many nations" (and still is today).

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

This kind of faith is really fantastic! "God will provide the lamb", Abraham knew very clear that he would have to sacrifice his son that moment, although somehow he knew that the Yahweh he knew was going to provide - that God will bring Isaac back to life or somehow turn this whole absurd situation around for Abraham's good! He remembered the promised made to him by this same God that through Isaac will his offspring be reckoned! Now, of course is just too easy to say that without proof and I have doubts about it in the past as well but not anymore. The bible says that this whole sacrificial thing ended with God himself providing the ram to be sacrificed and Abraham (and Isaac obviously) would thought (that was close). Yet with reverence, Abraham did not hold grudges for some kind of joke that God played on him but instead had a new revelation over his life and over the God he serves - from thence Yahweh was Jehovah Jireh - God the provider. Abraham was indeed God's most fanatic friend.

So what's the fuss of all this that it would be so important to Abraham, to God and all of us? The answer is found in the angel's second call from heaven:

16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

If you are following through from the start of Abraham's first encounter with the LORD (from Gen 12), you will find this "declaration" rather familiar- God had promised Abraham these before (see Genesis 12:2 & 13:14-17). Was God therefore just making empty promises the first time round? I think not. I think God, the Alpha & Omega, who sees the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning knew what Abraham would do - and therefore would declare Abraham as blessed and made great promises to him even before this ultimate test of obedience. From the start, God had no doubt about Abraham's faith and obedience- Abraham would give up anything to please the Lord God.

So the lesson for us today is, would we give up our "only son" to obey the Lord God Almighty? That is of course figuratively speaking- what God wants us to do is to let go of the things we regard as most important in our lives - and follow Him. That is consistent throughout the Bible. These things are important and God knows that- but He assures you that if you fix your eyes upon Him and be faithful to Him, He will not disappoint us- He asks us for our "son" and gives us descendants, cities and blessings (verse 17 above). Commit everything to the Lord everything you do, and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). It is really difficult sometimes, but that is the only way to please God- the rewards however are bountiful.

And last but not least, Abraham sacrificed his son but God provided the ram to spare Isaac, but God sacrifice Jesus and Jesus was not spared. Ever so familiar but ever so important, For God so love the world, that he gave His ONLY SON... (John 3:16). What a great sacrifice- what a wonderful love story, what a stark contrast! It is reminded once again:

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God gave His all to you, how would you respond with all that you are today?

God bless you.

Honoured.

Being in the midst of someone famous and/or someone with position gives me a special feeling. Gives me the feeling of being privileged. Since arriving in Tasmania, has been such a period where I have the honour to meet some of the politicians/ex-politicans which I would not dream of meeting if I were in Malaysia. For instance, my labour law lecturer was once the Attorney-General of Tasmania, and in one of our seminars he invited the minister of forestry and fisheries, Senator Eric Abetz to speak. Those were those very special moments I would feel a little fuzzy and truly honoured. Yesterday, I got to find out that my International Criminal Law lecturer was a fomer amicae curie (friend of court) for the trial of the President of former Yugoslovia Slobodan Milosevic. Indeed, it was a groundbreaking trial and to really get a person that was in the courtroom itself was indeed an eye-opener.

I guess along the way in life, I would be meeting more of these people and feeling elated for nothing. But the reason I am writing this is because I figured, these people are not that special indeed if compared to the most High God Himself. The thing is, I have the opportunity and privilege to go into His courts and into the throneroom anytime I like. Since through the sacrifice of His son Jesus, I have reconciliation with my Creator (the curtain is torn!). Since I have this privilege, I think I ought to spend more time with Him because this is the King of kings here! I guess sometimes I just take for granted, but if I don't treat prayer and being in God's presence a special and most wonderful thing, then I'm just living in a deceit and chasing after wind.

Prayer
Lord help me to chase after your presence- because in Your presence, there is fullness of joy...

Lessons from the Siege of Sodom (Genesis 14)

To tell you the truth, I'm really proud of myself for thinking the title up. Of course, the "Siege of Sodom (and Gomorrah) refers to Genesis 14 where four kings decided to go against five kings in one of the most epic and greatest wars of Abram's time. In this war, the four kings, with the help of the terrain (Valley of Siddim, which was full of tar pits in verse 10) manage to beat the 5 kings, among which were kings of the infamous Sodom and Gommorah. The army of Kedorlaomer and his allies, victors of the battle, however, did an error that cost them much- they kidnapped Abram's nephew Lot, taking his possession with them.

When Abram got to know of the news, he responded positively. Now, backtrack a little, we read that there was a rivalry between Lot and Abram when their herds became too big. Abram, being a wise person that he was, decided that he would choose peace and tolerance- allowing Lot to choose where he wants to go, while Abram would go the opposite direction. Lot chose to pitch his tents near Sodom- and trouble came to him because of that choice.

You see, Sodom was a wicked city- the whole city were really, seriously wicked. By choosing to stay near Sodom, Lot was heading harm's way. The bible says in Proverbs 13:20 " He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." It is really not that hard to perceive that bad company, leads to bad influence, which leads to bad character. Furthermore, being in a perverse environment would really lower our values, our morality- as you can see how popular culture like Hollywood had influenced today's generation. Confessing myself, I too were influenced by my group of friends long time ago- where my life were running out of the tracks. Only when I came out of the group, was I able to put my life into order again.

Back to our story, the amazing man we have been looking at these few days, decided to launch a rescue effort to save his nephew Lot- forgetting the past rivalry and remembering that "we are brothers" . (Genesis 13:8) Isn't it so important really to have good friends, and brothers/sisters in Christ. These people really take care of you, man! I mean I gotto pause here to thank God really for blessing me with different groups of christian brothers and sisters, who look out for me and love me so much! Hallelujah!

Of course, the hero always wins. Abram and his warriors were not just heroes that day, they were literally "super" heroes. God was with them and fought the battle for them because with only 318 men, they beat an army five nations failed to beat. Absolutely fantastic! Observe what was said about Abram, though. "During the night Abram divided his men to attack them, and he routed them..." (verse 15). Abram was a brilliant commander, and he divided his forces that God gave him well. Likewise, we should divide and utilize the "forces" so to speak, well- our time, our money, our education, our experiences, our all- God can use them to defeat an entire army- or four.

Finally, don't even touch anything that belongs to the wicked- no matter how much we think we deserve them. God detests the wicked and the corrupted- may we never receive any bribes and goods that is "impure" (eg pirated goods???).

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep

I'm beginning to see and learn more and more why the Lord highly favours Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12 (yesterday's entry), we read of God calling Abram (before he was named Abraham) to leave his country, people and father's household. And of course, we know he was called into the land that his descendants would possess - the "land flowing with milk and honey" Canaan. However at the beginning of the chapter, God did not reveal where he was leading Abram, God simply said "go to the land that I will show you". Astonishing! Abram moved literally all his possession, and left the rest all behind to a destination he did not even know! Now that's great faith.

I believe today God is also calling us to go to this unseen land. Well, we do know a lot of our destinies, but quite often He leaves the locations of our destinations at just the right time- sometimes it means that we need to wait much more patiently (the hard part). Not like He like to torture us mentally, but rather He wants to give us maturity and prepare us for His blessings - in Abraham's case, it was more than 5 generations until Joshua finally brought his descendants into the promised land. To share of my life, I have completely no idea where I'll be and what I will be doing this day next year or for that matter, next 10 years. But I just have to put my head up above the water and continue to hope on the Lord and pray.

The reason why I use "head above the water" because if we are not careful, it is easy to get wash away and drowned in the worries and distractions that are guaranteed along the way. Just like the Israelites who were constantly complaining and worshipped the golden bull when they could not see Moses coming down, and Abram, as we shall see, bearing Ishmael with Hagar, when God had a better plan. So, to sum it up, God's promises is crucial when we are in the journey to the land we are destined for, whether it be where God wants us to be in our work and family, and eternally speaking- heaven. God's plan is to prosper us, to give us a future (Jeremiah 29:11), to let us rise up like eagles (Isaiah 40), to save and not to condemn us. Today, let us confess of the times when we worry of our future and when uncertainties crop into our minds. God sees the beginning from the end, our destination from His creation- and He is a good, loving, awesome God- He must have a good, loving, awesome future for us! Don't lose sight of that, and wait- He will lead the way.

Prayer

Lord, I give thanks that my future is in Your hands. I stand strong in Your Word. Protect my heart as I walk this journey of faith- and lead me to the blessing You have planned for me. Amen

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave ... " So Abram left

The Call of Abram

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

...

If God is a fair and just God, Abraham must have done something really, really wonderful for God to bear with his descendants and calling them His people. The book of Genesis, as I read it through in my bible-in-a-year program, tells of this man's "humble" beginnings. In fact, it doesn't really tells us much about Abram (as he was named) before He was called out of the place called Ur of the Chaldeans. Yes, I always think that is a weird name of a place. So we have to check out his character, personality and life post-Ur. I leave this "checking-out" to you, as I will have no time to do that in this entry.

The first hint/the beginning of a great and wonderful (sometimes Tragic) story of the Jews starts really from chapter 12. Here, the LORD (Yahweh) for the first of many times calls Abram (I shall find out exactly why He picked Abram and not me or you), and speaks a blessing into this man's life. This little one-way conversation apparently changed Abram's life forever. A great demand, yes, to "leave your country, people, and your father's household". Yet, this man of faith did not question God's intention but instead did just as he was commanded. The strangest thing is, Abram did not attend church, or know much about thid God. That IS faith. And he was 75 years old.

I guess, parallelly speaking, we are also called to leave our environment, circumstances and forsake all to take up the cross and follow Jesus- not so much of a different from Abram spiritually speaking. Although one might say he had blind faith, but we shall find out that it was not blind faith. Faith is indeed believing what is unseen, what has not happened- that it will take place in the future. Faith is being obedient to His Word, no matter how inconvenient it could be to us. Faith is being sure that the pain we have, will be nothing compared to the gain we will get. The only way for us to do so today, is to fix our eyes on Jesus- love Him more than anything, continue to endure our faith, and praise Him every moment.



Tomorrow: Abram called to nowhere?

Your Mercies are new every morning

This blog entry is supposed to be yesterday's if you read the last entry, you'll know why. Better late than never, though. I had an exceptionally interesting day yesterday. Prayer meeting was fantastic. I would say sheer magic because of God's presence there. It had been some time since I felt Him so close to Him- God is good. And really He keeps on surprising me since I was expecting 2 or 3 people MAX. Yet there were 5, and was really good. I can feel the walls breaking down already. Constantly meeting up together and praying is not only a command, it's the only way things could change. Consider 2 Chronicles 7:14...

That was the later part of the day. The earlier part was quite stressful as usual. Having to beat the closing of the post office to do my work (sending stuffs for my friend) is one of the challenges I face everyday. And though I made it on time I mistakenly sent 2 wrong items, so it was really chaos for my boss. I just thank God for the grace in prompting me to take notice and informed my boss immediately. These are the times we really need to uphold God's promises of hope that everything will turn out for the good of those who love Him.

At last, weekend has arrive. I will probably update the blog one more time throughout these 2 days but hope I will endure till the end. You see, I've been playing Need for Speed: Underground 2 on my console- and I find that the hardest thing to do in a race (at least in the game) is to keep the speed and not crash till the finish line. Many times I lead throughout 90% of the race only to crash and left last just before I cross the line. Really frustrating but it does give me some insights about life- endure and persevere till the finish line of our call in Christ. Amen.

Have a lovely weekend.

God bless.

I'll be faithful with the 24 I have

I actually don't have anything specific to blog today. But this is part of my initiative for the new year to be a more disciplined (and consistent) person- so by hook or by crook I will complete all the tasks I have planned at the start of the day. Blogging and reading the bible (of course) being part of the daily must-dos. And I am quite satisfied with the "progress" so far, being able to accomplish and tick (in my diary) off the completed events. I know that works don't save, but I also remember what James wrote "show me your faith without works, and I will show you mine with works". Planning those small things (things as small as "ironing!" or "revise 15 pages") and writing them down not only builds faith, it keeps me more focussed. I mean, the 24 hours are utilized more efficiently (using economic term), and keeps me from wandering off or playing excess hours of Playstation2. Oh ya, I am learning fast on how to iron - call me pampered but I am blessed to have parents who do the ironning and washing for me when I was younger. Hehe, just a thought.

One other significant thing about exercising faith for my personal life today must be suggesting and trying to organize the prayer meeting. I guess is a bit out of place for me as a relatively new OCF member to ask for a prayer meeting but I just feel right doing so since it is the beginning of the year. And then there are some texting and calls (I haven't made the calls yet actually, gotto write it down!) and there is always this doubt that nobody's gonna go or it will have opposition... I know it is quite a petty thing, but I guess I've gotto blame it on the devil. However, the fact that prayer meeting is going to happen tomorrow even if there's 2 or 3 people means the devil's schemes will fail as God's people come together to rock the throne!

Finally regarding the 5th Anniversary of the Guantanamo Bay detainees- they deserve whatever punishment but give them a fair trial PLEASE.

Today's Prayer
Father, give me strength this day and everyday to persevere with the good things I'm doing and bring me a place of rest in Your arms. Amen

Psalm 103 (Part 2) - Jesus, Lover of my Soul

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The past few days had really been challenging for me. This is because, I've got to work while attend summer school (International Criminal Law rocks!). Yet God continue to grant new revelations. If you are following this series on Psalm 103, you will know that recently I have been pondering a lot on these verses. Well, the first few verses is pretty easy to grasp or so I thought, but somehow I seem to feel that there is something more to them. So desperately, I prayed for more revelation through the Spirit. And, true enough, God showed me more. First of all, yes, give thanks to God for He forgave our sins (I don't know about you but I am an awful sinner, still learning now), and yes, give thanks that He heals all our sicknesses (I remember the times when Iwas down with fever and flu and thought whether that day would be my last). BUT ON TOP of that, and this being His first revelation to me, the "forgives" and "heals" are in present continuous tense. That is amazing because, not just when we were born again did he forgave our sins, till now our Father continuously forgives us for all the hiccups in our daily journey. This is as what Jesus had said in the last supper "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean..." (John 13:10). We need to be continued to be washed and refresh through the washing of blood and water.

The second revelation is the fact that forgiveness and healing comes together. Well, this was really made clear to me when I was listening to Pastor Phil Pringles' sermon of the Lord's prayer on forgiveness (yes, I'm now officially into the podcast-craze). I guess it is the need to release the bitterness, and letting go that really sets us free, and this also healing us of our emotional and (apparently) physical hurt. Phil Pringle shared of a man who refused to forgive another who ripped him off and was inflicted with respiratory disease ("something-semia") and was healed once he was converted and subsequently forgave the trespasser.

Now, if I were to count all the blessings and all the good things God had done in my life, it would take approximately 100 years to finish counting. I mean just the fact that i'm able to blog and have internet access makes me the top few percent of the world. Yet beyond the physical, there is the more critical aspect of the spiritual. The spiritual blessings that God gracious gives through His son Jesus makes me equal with the poorest christians in the World, and I'm glad just to know that I'm counted as the Father's child.

I think, in the essence, David in this 5 verses is really talking about spiritual blessings, rather than physical blessings. God's third revelation through these verses to me (which really popped out like an answered prayer, literally) really paints the whole passage and my understanding of it into a lovely and complete picture. He forgives YOUR SINS, and heals YOUR DISEASES... Crowns YOU with love and compassion... satisfies YOUR desire with good things. Who is this YOU? I think the beauty of this Psalm, and the thing that stands out, is that it refers and is directed to the soul, and not so much of the body. This really makes sense because at the end verse 5, it doesn't really 'click' if it was referring to the body- I mean how is our youth suppose to be renewed by getting good things? But if it refers to the soul, then it can be said that even if you are old, your "youth" could be renewed when the desires of your heart are satisfied with all the spiritual blessing and all the love and compassion that God gives through Christ Jesus. Hence, we find that David reminds his soul, that it is being crowned with love and compassion- the very things that our soul desires deep within us, than any other. Praise the Lord!

I think, at the end of this entry (i can hear your sigh of relief) it is apt to be reminded (I need to remind myself rather) of the song "Jesus, lover of my soul".

Jesus lover of my soul.
Jesus I will never let you go.
You've taken me from the miry clay,
You've set my feet upon the rock,
...and now I know.

I love you, I need you.
Though my world may fall, I'll never let You go,
My Saviour, My closest friend,
I WILL WORSHIP YOU UNTIL THE VERY END

Psalm 103 -Praise the Lord, O My Soul (Part 1)

Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I would have chosen Hebrews 12 to blog on but I'll leave that to a later date. The reason is, I've got this Psalm to share. This has to be one of my favourite Psalm and verses in the Bible and constantly strike me. Yet just this few weeks I've been pondering a lot about it and thought I'd have too write it down "by hook or by crook". And "at just the right time" (quoting Paul), it's new year, and we need to praise the Lord for what He had done for us in 2006 and start praising Him for what He is about to accomplish through us in 2007.

The first time I ever heard or know Psalm 103 (or at least part of it) goes way bac kwhere we had this cassete on Mr Donut Man. These were series of kids tapes (were yellow) that were biblical in nature. I can't remember exactly whether "Praise the Lord, O my Soul" was a catch phrase or song but it struck me and it got stuck in my brain ever since. Yet it was just recently I really get to know what it truly means.

Praise the Lord, O my Soul - this is simple and practical. In fact, it is great news for those of us who always travel alone or work alone or like to do something when they are in toilet or bathing. Talk to yourself. Rather tell yourself something. ACTUALLY tell yourself to praise the Lord! 1 Thesselonians 5:16 says "...give thanks in all circumstances..." and really in every moment of our lives whenever we are not concentrating in doing our work or something that requires attention, we should praise the Lord. Recently, there are several minor "issues" in my life that consistently bug me and disturbs me, I mean all of us have these things, but in particular this person who without any good reason is picking on me and hates me. That is not good because it makes me feel insecure- wondering what went wrong and all. Yet, at this juncture of my life, I am reminded and I "force" myself to focus on this "Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul". So when this person and the nasty things he say and do to me pops up in my mind, I "ask" myself to praise the Lord, and start to pray. Not just that, but praising the Lord from the soul necessary requires the remembering of all that He has done for us - the blessing, the parents, the partner, the friends, the life. Hence, remember to "forget not His benefits". But benefits are manifold and has many aspects. I will spend some time reflecting on my thoughts on the "benefits" in Part 2 of this series. But right now, I'm off to some praising.

I will praise you all the days of my life, Lord.
I will praise you for what you've done- and most of all- for who You are.

Praise the Lord

Breaking the chains and Rising Up in 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007. It's been awhile, but my blog is "activated" once again. 2006 seems to have brought loads of good memories to the people around me-- and I have to admit it had been an amazing year for me as well. Though it's difficult for me to explain this part of the "journey", one thing for certain is the fact I'm here in Hobart is indeed a great miracle and and amazing blessing.

And as I turn from looking behind me to looking forward, the long and winy road stares back, but deep in my heart and right from my mouth I will proclaim 2007 and the years ahead would be many battles won, many fantastic experience, and of course much love to give and receive. In between this blog and my last blog, I was actually quite busy with work... work... work... yet it meant I did have lots of time to think, so I do have a lot to write if I will to do so (but I'd prefer to keep this short and sweet for you to enjoy the picture above).

Which brings me to Superman. Heck, I'm a great fan of superman but I'm not gonna talk about him- rather I'm gonna talk about the verse that would so guide me and spur me in 2007.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endure the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not gow weary and lost heart.

These verses in Romans 12 have always been of great inspiration to me. The words are just so apt to convict me of that RACE that I so often got weary and stopped (like the hare in the story), yet the author of Hebrews asks us to persevere our race of faith, this done through the continuous fixing of eyes on our Lord and Saviour.

I will be elaborating more on these verses throughout the year, really- both using my understanding and experience, through the Spirit's guidance. But one last time, in which my OCF brother Yoong Sing had aptly suggested- start each big plan with small ones- don't just start a new year with a new resolution, but rather, start each new day with a new revelation.
"His mercies are new every morning..." & "Those who hope in the Lord... will renew their strength... they will rise up on wings like eagles..."

Enjoy the picture and ponder upon why I put it there. I've got a much nicer and real-er version of it on the wall at the side of my table- with the verses on it. Constant reminder.